The fox temporarily pushed away distracting thoughts of work and relaxed, content to spend the few remaining minutes of his break in peaceful silence with Hiei next to him. Eventually his inner clock warned him that their time was coming to a close. Verifying his watch, Kurama sighed when he saw that that his lunch hour was almost up. The fox sat up and leaned over his love, his red hair brushing against Hiei’s pale skin as their lips connected. Kurama was reluctant to break the warm kiss but he pulled away a moment later. ”It’s time for me to go back,” he said regretfully before rising. Stuffing the remnants of their lunch containers back into the plastic bag, he stood and brushed a bit of dirt off of his backside.

Hiei leaned into the kiss slightly. He didn't want the redhead to go back but he was too proud to admit that he would miss his love for the rest of the day. Instead he rose and stuck one hand in his coat pocket while holding the other out to the fox. "I'll walk with you." Hiei offered with a small quirking of his lips. He go with Kurama as long as the redhead allowed him to tag along. It wasn't like he had anything pressing to do for the rest of the day.

Kurama nodded and took the hand Hiei offered into his own. They were not the only ones filtering out of the park as other employees in the area returned to work. The redhead dropped off the bag containing the remnants of their lunch in the nearest trash receptacle on their way out of the park. ”What will you do this afternoon?” Kurama asked as they walked towards his workplace. He imagined that Hiei would possibly spend a lazy afternoon lounging wherever he felt was convenient but then again his partner had acted very serious about his change in residency recently and it was possible that the raven-haired demon had something else in mind.

Hiei shrugged without releasing the redhead's hand. "I have an errand to run." He said slowly, reminded of his previous thoughts about needing a weapon that would be easier to conceal in his human disguise. He had dealt with a few of the demons in the area before, during his previous time in the city. He only hoped the one he had in mind was still in the same general area. "It shouldn't take long. When do I need to be back?" He asked, one hand slipping into his pocket to clutch the heavy silver watch that would allow him to track such things. He thought he was beginning to get the hang of reading the contraption.

As they walked, Hiei enjoyed the way Kurama's hand entwined neatly with his own. The fox's skin was cool against his higher body temperature and the contrast was pleasant. The fire demon shifted his steps a bit closer to his love as they left the park, erasing the distance they had previously been maintaining between their bodies and allowing their sides to gently brush against each other as they walked. The increased contact was not unpleasant, despite the stares it drew from several of the humans they passed. The lack of nervousness Hiei felt at relinquishing his much prized personal space sent a small thrill of excitement through the shorter demon. He fought the urge to deepen the mental link between them as well, so he could know if Kurama noticed the small steps Hiei was managing to take towards overcoming his ingrained aversion to being touched.

The fox was curious as usual but he didn’t feel the need to pry. He was doing his best to give Hiei the trust he deserved at the sacrifice of satisfying his insatiable curiosity. ”Four o’clock,” the redhead responded to Hiei’s question, reminding him of his quitting time. He again pointed out the corresponding number, aware that the fire demon wasn’t yet used to the precise way that ningens kept track of time.

Kurama smiled as Hiei closed the distance between them. Though holding hands had been enough contact to let him know that Hiei was glad for his presence, the occasional brushing of their bodies made the fox’s heartbeat quicken. Shuichi almost had to laugh at the way his body responded to his love. It was as if he was one of those old fashioned men, excited by catching a glimpse of a young woman’s ankles. Still, the gesture was not lost on him and Kurama applauded Hiei for taking strides towards overcoming old habits and fears.

They were nearing his workplace now and Kurama resisted giving into his own fears and stuck close to Hiei’s side until they reached the door. The redhead paused somewhat awkwardly at the entranceway, reluctant to say goodbye just yet. ”Would you like to see where I work?” he asked after a moment, mostly to prolong their parting but also because he thought it might be interesting to show Hiei a bit of what he did during the day.

Hiei paid close attention to the instructions regarding the time he now needed to look for on his watch and nodded once he was certain he had the positions of the hands memorized. It took only a few moments to commit the information to his eidetic memory.

With the jagan link between them barely in place, Hiei was oblivious to Kurama's amusing thoughts about their courtship though he did get a general sense that the redhead was pleased with the increased contact between them.

When they stopped outside the front doors to the tall lab building, Hiei fully expected the redhead to leave his side as he had that morning, so the offer came as something of a shock. He had entered the building with the redhead as a friend before but this felt different and the fox had made no move to release his hand. Kurama had already demonstrated that he wouldn't hide their relationship and yet this was something more than holding hands in the street, telling a strange child they were on a date, or deterring his nosy, flirtatious neighbor with a small display of affection. Hiei was pleased with the offer. Beyond prolonging the time he could spend with his love, it would also be a good opportunity to stake his claim on the beautiful redhead in a subtle way for the humans to see. He had caught far too many stray thoughts about his love while he had been waiting for Yamata that morning. The fox's coworkers needed to know 'Shuichi' was spoken for.

The fire demon nodded sharply, decision made. He didn't release the redhead's hand, instead using it to tug the taller man towards the building to get them moving again before falling into his position at Kurama's side once again. He opened the door with his free hand and held it for the fox to enter, unaware that his actions would play neatly into the redhead's earlier thoughts about their oddly old-fashioned relationship.

OOC: Shall we start with the receptionist's reaction before we take the boys upstairs to break the news to Hana? lol. ^_^'

Heie barely seemed to pause as he decisively shook his head “yes” and pulled them towards the door. Kurama wasn’t entirely surprised by the fire demon’s actions. It had already become apparent that his partner was of the jealous type and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make it painfully clear that he was already taken.

Kurama chuckled to himself when it was his turn to play the female in their little old-fashioned drama. As he walked through the door Hiei held open for him like a proper gentleman, Shuichi had to wonder if it wasn’t something the fire demon had possibly picked up from watching TV.

As he entered the building however, Kurama felt himself grow tense. He could only assume that news of his new relationship status had already spread throughout the building. There was no going back at this point, the damage was already done and even if he called their relationship off that very second in the middle of the lobby, Kurama knew that his colleagues would never see him the same way again.

The fox reassured himself that this is what he wanted despite his apprehension and did his best to push away his distracting thoughts. Without showing his nervousness, the redhead led Hiei towards the reception desk; wary of doing this right this time in light of the previous disaster that had visited them the last time Hiei had accompanied him to his lab.

Without letting go of his partner’s hand, Kurama picked up the pen that was attached to a clipboard by a string and carefully wrote Hiei’s name into the list of visitors and scrawled his signature next to it along with the time. ”I’d like to register a visitor,” he said matter-of-factly as he handed the clipboard over to the woman behind the desk.

The young woman glared at the raven-haired midget next to Dr. Minamino and reluctantly accepted the clipboard from the redhead’s outstretched hand. Looking down at the paper, she took note of the visitor’s name. ’Hiei…’ she thought vehemently as she retrieved a plastic badge from her desk but waited to hand it over. ”And how long will your visitor be staying Minamino-san?” she asked, her sour mood clearly apparent in her voice. She had seen the two of them arrive together this morning and had caught the couple kissing through the glass front door.

Kurama blinked, a bit taken aback by the receptionist's less than friendly attitude. Sure, Nachi could be a bit pushy at times, but her current tone of voice was just one notch away from rude in his book. Without connecting the reason behind her vehemence the redhead patiently responded, "Not long, maybe twenty minutes?" He doubted it would take him that long to show Hiei around but decided that he would rather overestimate the duration of his visit than get Hiei in trouble for staying too long.

OOC: Actually I was thinking he probably would have picked such a chivalrous behavior up from Kuwabara, though you would never get him to admit it. lol. ^_^'

Hiei allowed Kurama to tow him to the receptionist's desk, his face automatically slipping into a mask of apathy as he waited for the fox to sign him in. He watched the process carefully, knowing he would need to be able to do it for himself the next day for his meeting with Yamata. He didn't want to seem lost in front of the female who was now glaring daggers at him as her tone clearly showed her hostility as well.

Nonplussed, Hiei glared back and was satisfied when the female averted her gaze after only a few moments. Only then did he look away himself, though he didn't do so out of embarrassment. He did so to turn his glare on the security guard who had paused in his rounds of the lobby to gawk at them.

Ichiro gaped openmouthed at the usually reserved redheaded scientist holding hands with the man who had dislocated someone's arm the week before and then broke into the building that morning, according to the lecture the entire security team had received from Yamata-san. It took him a moment to process the fact that the dark haired man had turned to glare in his direction. The young guard swallowed nervously before offering the short man a somewhat stiff nod and hurrying on his circuit of the lobby.

Hiei turned his full attention back to the woman and Kurama's conversation just as the fox was stating his guess as to how long the fire demon would be visiting. Hiei's features were impassive once more. He didn't care how short the visit was. It would be sufficient to suit his purposes. He was fairly certain that the whole building would soon be quite aware of Shuichi Minamino's 'boyfriend'. The human term sounded strange even in his thoughts and he repressed the urge to roll his eyes, a bad habit he had picked up while working with Yusuke.

They don't even look good together,' Nachi thought to herself as Shuichi responded to the question she had posed. The young woman was honest enough with herself to know she was jealous. Sure she had a boyfriend but he was rather boring and Nachi would have dropped him in an instant if Minimino so much as hinted or gave the tiniest signal that he was interested in her. 'Any other woman would do the same,' she assured herself as she slid a plastic visitor's badge across the counter to the scientist and his boyfriend. "I hope you have a wonderful time visiting our facility," she said sarcastically before turning to her computer to signal that their conversation had come to a close. Nachi was aware that her comment could probably get her fired if it reached the correct ears but Minamino was a "good guy" and she doubted he would bother reporting her.

Kurama frowned at Nachi's sarcasm and took he badge she offered without comment. As they walked out of earshot he said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into her..." Shuichi was not quite sure why he was apologizing but he felt bad for his partner's exposure to his oddly rude coworker. "Pin this to your shirt," the redhead instructed, handing over the plastic yellow badge onto which VISITOR had been printed in bold black letters. Once Hiei had done as bidden, Kurama led the way to the stairs. Pushing back the heavy door, he entered the stairwell with Hiei in tow. The space between the whitewashed walls was somewhat confining but definitely less so than the elevator. Without ceremony, the redhead began to climb. The six flights of stairs between the ground level and his office was probably enough to leave most humans winded but it was hardly a warm up for the two physically fit demons.

Hiei snorted at Kurama's apology for the human's behavior. He knew exactly what was wrong with the female and it didn't bother him now that he had proven his superiority to her in their little staring contest. She didn't stand a chance with the fox anyway. The fire demon did as the redhead instructed and then followed his love to the stairs. He tried to stay focused on the larger amount of space above them instead of the closeness of the walls around them but that didn't stop him from tugging Kurama's hand to encourage a slightly faster than human pace up the flights of stairs. There were no humans in the stairwell so he didn't feel there was much risk in the action. The sooner they were out of the narrow space, the sooner he'd be able to breathe properly again, not that he let his distress show in any way other than his sudden desire for haste.

In a matter of moments the pair emerged onto the desired floor and Hiei repressed the urge to sigh in relief. The wide corridor and the wall of plate glass windows gave the claustrophobic demon a much needed sense of freedom after the confines of the stairway.

After a few steps Kurama felt Hiei’s pace quicken and for a moment the fox felt himself being slightly dragged along before picking up his pace to match his partner’s. Soon enough they emerged into the sixth floor hallway. The light that filtered through the windows was bright and it took a moment for Kurama to notice the pair of scientists at the far end of the hallway. They had seen him first and it was obvious from their furtive glances that they were talking about him.

This time it was Kurama’s turn to drag Hiei as he led them towards his office with a huff. Opening the door he led his partner inside before allowing the door to swing shut on its own. ”My office,” he announced unceremoniously, donning his lab coat. As he turned, Kurama noticed his assistant hunched over the computer in the back of the room. ”Ah, Hana…” he began, ”I thought you were going to get some lunch, no?” he asked, surprised that she was still there.

Hana nearly jumped out of her chair when Kurama spoke. Startled, she let fall a stack of papers and quickly bent over to retrieve them. Shuffling them around a bit, she did her best to put them back in order and straightened, holding the papers tightly to her chest almost like a shield. It wasn’t until then that she noticed the other man in the room. ”O-oh, you have a visitor,” she stuttered nervously, suddenly feeling very self-conscious for her clumsiness.

Hiei allowed himself to be pulled along the corridor, his glare daring the pair of humans to say anything to him or Kurama. Their thoughts were far from complementary and he didn't want his fox dealing with such negative reactions if he could prevent them.

As they entered the office, the fire demon released the redhead's hand so Kurama could change into his white coat. The fire demon wasn't certain why the fox would be putting on a coat to stay inside but he didn't ask, simply because it wasn't that important. Hiei didn't feel the need to understand all of his love's human mannerisms. He just knew he had to accept them.

The human woman caught his attention right away but he instantly dismissed her as a non-threat. It wasn't until Kurama spoke to the female that Hiei focused his crimson gaze firmly back on the flustered creature. She seemed to notice him after few moments and her emotions became even more confused. Hiei waited silently for Kurama to answer the woman's unspoken question about his presence. This was the redhead's coworker and therefore it was up to him what they told her. Hiei tried to pretend it didn't matter how Kurama introduced him, and outwardly he did very well at seeming utterly indifferent to the situation. Inwardly, his heart clenched uncomfortably as he waited to find out if his fox was truly willing to be open about their relationship in all aspects of his human life. Only his eyes reflected his true feelings and he purposefully turned his face away from his love on the pretense of getting a better look at a plant that was sitting on the nearby desk, so the fox wouldn't see the traitorous red orbs before he chose his answer.

”Ah, yes,” Kurama said, realizing he had forgone introductions. ”Hana-san, this is Hiei,” he said, motioning to his partner who seemed to be distracted by a plant on his desk, ”Hiei, this is Hana-san, my assistant,” Kurama likewise motioned to the human female. By purposefully omitting an honorific after Hiei’s name, the redhead made clear his relationship with the black-haired man without needing to actually state as much. ”He will be visiting for a few minutes while I show him around.” Kurama smiled despite the tension in the air in an attempt to set everyone at ease.

Kurama’s meaning was not lost on his assistant. Hana’s eyes betrayed hurt as she opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. She had heard whispers in the hallway but she thought, or at least hoped, that they were just that – rumors without factual background. Her boss made it clear in very few words however that the short black-haired man beside him was someone of great importance to him and their close proximity left little to doubt.

”Oh…” was all she managed to say at first, her throat constricting slightly as tears threatened to well up in the corners of her brown eyes. The young woman turned and set down the stack of papers in her hands to hide the emotion and when she turned back around, her face was dry and she had arranged her features into an unconvincing smile. ”I think I’ll take a break now,” she said quickly dismissing herself without another word, leaving the two demons alone in Kurama's office.

Hiei wasn't sure he fully grasped the nuances of the human interaction he had just witnessed but the wave of hurt that crashed over him from the human female let him know that Kurama had made their.relationship clear to her without actually saying much of anything. He shook his head as he watched the upset woman leave. Sometimes humans still baffled him as much as they had when he first set foot in the human realm all those years ago.

"She thinks she's in love with you." He pointed out though he was pretty certain the redhead already aware of that fact. Even without telepathy it had been painfully obvious. "Rather...she's in love with the idea of you." The fire demon corrected himself thoughtfully. "She doesn't really know you at all." He smirked, feeling a bit foolish for his earlier jealousy. The humans might spend more time with Shuichi Minamino than he did but only he truly got to know Kurama for everything the fox was. It was a heady feeling and Hiei acted on it without thinking, blurring into the redhead's personal space and pulling him down for a kiss by the forelocks of his ridiculously perfect hair.

OOC: Hope you don't mind that small liberty. I figured even if Kurama might not want to be caught smooching in his office.he wouldn't refuse Hiei a small kiss...lol....*pictures the mailroom clerk walking in* ^_^'

Kurama watched Hana make her exit and waited for the door to close fully behind her before releasing a pent-up sigh. Either Hana hadn’t been privy to the spreading gossip about his relationship or she had been in denial. The redhead nodded absentmindedly at Hiei’s statement, his own thoughts caught up in recalling his assistant’s pained expression as she left. ”Things will be awkward for a little while…” he admitted, wondering if Hana would request an assignment change.

When Hiei grasped his hair suddenly to pull him down to his level, Kurama let out a gasp of surprise that was quickly swallowed by a kiss. Their embrace lasted only a second, barely visible by the human eye, but Kurama still couldn’t help but look nervously back at the glass window pan in the heavy door to reassure himself that no one passing by had seen them kissing.

Though the quick check confirmed that they hadn’t been seen, Kurama couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for missing work and pleasure. ”We should probably keep the kissing to a minimum in here…” the fox said with a smile to let Hiei know he was not chiding but rather making a statement. ”Public displays of affection are usually frowned upon at work,” he explained.

Once she exited the lab, Hana quickly made her way to the woman’s room at the end of the hall, ignoring the pair of scientists chatting a few feet away. They seemed too engrossed in their conversation to notice her anyway. Once inside, she let her tears well over onto her rosy cheeks. ”Well at least that explains it,” she told her sobbing reflection in the mirror, doing her best to make light of the situation.

Hana let herself go for a few moments before reigning in her emotions. Letting out a long shuddering sigh, she blew her nose and washed her face with cold water. As she dried herself of with a paper towel, the young woman inspected herself in the mirror. Though she had only been crying for a few minutes, her eyes were red and puffy. Hana grimaced and fought the urge to hide in the restroom for the rest of her break. It was past two o’clock however and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

”My wallet!” she remarked with despair, ”I can’t believe I forgot it…” she groaned, debating whether or not she should go back to get it. Hana quickly decided against doing so however, she wasn’t sure she could see Minamino-san and his boyfriend again without tearing up again. ”I’ll ask Nachi for a loan…” she mumbled to herself as she exited the woman’s room.

((Hehe, I debated having Hana come back and see them but decided against it. Man people were grumpy in the subway this morning... You'd swear today was Monday! Thankfully I was able to get a seat about halfway to write this up though.))

"Hn." Hiei snorted his opinion of what the humans frowned upon but he took a step back to acknowledge that he would abide by Kurama's wishes in the matter. Hiei surreptitiously used the jagan to track the human woman and ensure she wouldn't return, giving her thoughts a gentle nudge to discourage her from coming back for her wallet. He was pleased when she accepted the suggestion and he disengaged his mind from hers as she left the floor.

Not wanting Kurama to figure out what he was doing, the fire demon took the opportunity to look around the small office curiously. Even though he knew Kurama worked there, it was hard for him to picture the fox in such a sterile environment. Despite his feelings on the matter, Hiei didn't voice his thoughts, not wanting to start an argument they had worked hard to put behind them. Kurama could do what he liked and Hiei would stay with him, even if that meant playing human for a while.

"I should go before your minion gets back." He said after taking a few minutes to look around. He still made no move to leave, not really wanting to be away from the redhead but knowing he needed to find a decent concealable weapon before he could feel truly comfortable in his human disguise.

Hiei’s scoff told Kurama exactly what his partner thought about public displays of affection at work. Still, the fire demon accepted the fox’s gentle prodding without argument and Kurama was glad for it. The redhead watched his partner walk around the office, silently inspecting things here and there. He had planned on showing his love around the other rooms and maybe explain a bit of what he was currently working on, but Hiei seemed to think it was time to go.

Kurama couldn’t decide the reasoning behind Hiei’s sudden suggestion that he leave. Was Hiei uncomfortable in the lab? Had he unknowingly offended his partner in some way? Was the fire demon simply not interested in seeing more? Or maybe he wasn’t aware of the duration of 20 minutes? Was he really afraid that Hana might come back? The reason wasn’t really all that important but the over-calculating fox was curious. Still, he supposed he probably should get back to work.

”My ‘minion’ probably won’t return for a while,” Kurama informed Hiei, smiling at the fire demon’s choice of vocabulary, ”But I should probably get back to work,” he admitted regretfully. ”Do you want me to walk you back downstairs?” the redhead asked. ”You will need to sign out and give your badge back to the receptionist,” he informed his partner, aware that Hiei would be unfamiliar with the proper procedure.

Hiei nodded his agreement that the human would not return for some time but he shook his head slightly at the offer to walk him downstairs. "I can manage. I'm not a child, Fox." He said with a smirk to show he wasn't really offended. "I want a mate, not a nursemaid." He blushed as he realized it was the first time he'd actually called the redhead his mate out loud. "Get your work done. I'll be waiting for you at four." He said firmly, preempting whatever comment the fox might have had with his quick words. He headed for the door but hesitated just a moment, not wanting Kurama to think he was upset with him. "I love you, Fox." He offered in a gruff mumble that only Kurama's keen ears would pick up, before he ducked out into the hallway.

OOC: I hope I'm remembering that correctly, but I think Hiei has been avoiding the 'M' word for the most part because of the intimacy that it implies that he's still not really ready to deal with. I think... ^_^ Regardless it was cute.

The fox bristled, preparing for their second argument that day when Hiei’s smirk set him at ease. He blinked at being called both “mate” and “nurse maid” in the same sentence but Hiei quickly cut off any comment before the redhead was able to formulate one. Kurama regretfully watched as his “made” made his way to the door before he could so much as say goodbye. Hiei seemed to sense that his partner was looking for something more before he left and softened his departure with a mumbled “I love you”. Hiei’s parting words set the fox at ease. ’I love you,’ he thought back fondly before getting back to work, having been successfully chastised by the fire demon.

Hana did her best to hold her head up high and act as nothing was wrong as she approached the reception desk. There was no one in the lobby except Nachi, which wasn’t unusual at this hour. Most employees had already returned from their lunch breaks and visitor’s didn’t often come this late in the day.

Nachi took one look at Hana and sighed, ”I guess you heard, huh?” she asked, trying to soften her own distaste for Hana’s sake as the girl looked a wreck and had obviously been crying. The young woman was rather simple-minded and Nachi found herself drawn towards her in a motherly sort of way. Over the past year they had come to be friends of a sort, not the kind born between kindred spirits but rather one of convenience.

Hana merely nodded, doing her best to hold her composure.

Nachi signed and pulled the shorter woman into a brief hug. ”It’ll be fine, you’ll be over him before you know it.” Nachi smiled mischievously, ”Besides, I happen to know that there’s someone else who has their eye on you…” One of the guards had a crush on the redhead’s little assistant. Nachi had known about it for some time now but so far had decided not to interfere despite her love of playing the matchmaker.

Hana’s eyes widened in surprise, ”What!?” she answered, clearly shocked and disbelieving. ”W-who is it?” She had been seeking Shuichi’s attention so single-mindedly that she had never even considered that there might be someone else who was genuinely interested in her. She had never really been the object of any high school crushes before and had kept her own feelings for others a secret.

Nachi laughed at the inexperienced girl’s reaction. ”Oh I couldn’t possibly give him away,” she said, both to tease Hana and to play up the drama. ”I just hope he gets up the courage to speak to you soon, otherwise you might be waiting around forever!” she added in a regretful tone.

Hiei heard Kurama's mental reply to his words and it brought a small hint of a smile to his lips as he headed for the stairs. Even the way the pair of gossipers grew silent as they spotted him couldn't ruin his good mood. As soon as he was alone in the stairwell he decided to test his ankle, fairly certain he was fully recovered from the bad step he had taken the day before. In less than ten seconds he was exiting the stairway into the lobby, back to moving at a leisurely human pace. He was quite satisfied that there was no hint of pain in his ankle as he moved towards the receptionist's desk. He spotted the two women talking and his steps faltered for a fraction of a second before he continued on his path to sign out. He wasn't about to let two human females intimidate him.

He walked to the desk and calmly held out the badge he had been given without a word.

((Dropping Kurama for now.))

Hana fell silent, obviously trying to work out who it might be. Nachi knew it was hopeless though; the younger woman would never guess on her own. If her friend's admirer did not approach her soon, Nachi decided she just might have to give him a gentle push in the right direction. Noticing movement by the stairway door, Nachi looked around Hana and spotted Minaminio's lover. When Hana noticed her looking, she also turned to look and nearly jumped at the sight of her boss' boyfriend approaching. She seriously considered trying to duck behind the desk but it was too late.

Nachi watched the dark man approach. He came to a stop before them and held his badge out without a word. 'What is with this guy?' Nachi thought as she grabbed the badge and unceremoniously chucked it into her desk drawer. "You need to sign out," she snipped, motioning towards the clipboard where an empty "TIME OUT" box awaited his signature. Nachi burned with desire to say something nasty, but while she felt she could read Shuichi easily enough, this guy was hard to read and she decided it would be against her best interest to take the risk.

Hiei ignored Kurama's human minion's obvious discomfort, not wanting to further embarrass the female as it served no purpose. He suppressed a small growl at the receptionist's rudeness but he was hardly one who could throw stones in that department so he let her attitude pass.

He snatched up a pen and hastily scrawled his signature in barely legible kanji, remembering just in time that humans didn't sign things in blood. Satisfied that he was properly signed out as the fox had requested, Hiei turned away from the desk before hesitating. He was most likely going to be interacting with these humans regularly and animosity from them would make Kurama uncomfortable. He fought back a sigh and turned back to face the pair of females.

"I will be back tomorrow." He said carefully. "I do not want that to be a problem." His face was blank except for his eyes which betrayed some of his concern.

Nachi watched intently as the short man signed the clipboard, silently waiting for him to leave. As he turned his back to the desk, Nachi reached a hand out to grab the clipboard but quickly snatched it back as the dark-haired man suddenly turned back around. The human woman blinked in surprise before narrowing her eyes slightly at his statement. Apparently they would be seeing this guy quite often... Grabbing the clipboard, Nachi checked his entry. "Well then...Hiei-san," she said, reading his name off of the list, "Maybe next time you can try signing the paper correctly." Nachi pointed at the wobbly kanji, "This column is clearly labeled 'time out'." The woman clearly did not notice or did not care about his concern nor his diplomacy.

((Nachi is such a pill... >.>))

Hiei frowned at her words. True his signature had spilled slightly out of the allotted box but it was hardly cause for such vitriol. He had not had cause to write in Japanese in ten years amd he hadnt done it often before then. Still he held his temper for Kurama's sake...well mostly.

"I see." He said his words clipped as he bit back several other things that struggled.to escape his lips. "You're going to be petty." He shrugged as if it mattered little which to him it truly did. However there was one thing this female needed to know. "I dont really care what you think of me." His tone was bored but a hint of steel crept in as he continued. "However should I hear that you have turned your venomous attitude on Shuichi for even a moment you will have me to deal with and you do not want to make an enemy of me." With that he turned his attention on the quiet woman who was still trying to pretend she wasnt there. "Move on. Shuichi was never yours and you know it." The words were a bit harsh but they were offered in compassion as much as Hiei could muster for the heartbroken female.

Satisfied that he had said all he needed to the fire demon turned and headed for the exit again.

Nachi stared unblinking as Hiei made his retort in a tone that somehow managed to sound bored and threatening at the same time. Despite her bravado, Nachi felt a chill run down her back and realized she was probably in over her head, though she'd never admit it. When he was through with her, the dark-haired man then turned upon her friend. Hana visibly stiffened and admirably held her composure until Shuichi's boyfriend had walked out the door.

What a prick!" Nachi exclaimed, her face red with pent-up anger. Hana's reaction was just the opposite as silent tears began to slide down her face. "The sad thing is that he's right..." Hana sobbed, trying to wipe away the tears that continued to fall down her flushed cheeks. "Oh come on," Nachi said, gathering the young woman into her arms. "Don't listen to him, he's a moron. He couldn't even sign out correctly...the guy put his name instead of the time. I mean, who does that? Even a five year old can do it right. Do you remember that time Tanaka's son came to work with him for a day? He did it right..."

Nachi knew she was rambling but Hana nodded, seeming to appreciate the change of subject. The young woman wiped away her last few tears and put on a brave face. "Well anyway, the whole reason I came to see you was to ask if I could borrow some money for lunch. I forgot my wallet..." Nachi smiled, glad to see her friend bouncing back a bit. "Of course!" she exclaimed as she pulled a pink wallet out of a locked drawer in her desk. "Here, she said, offering Hana a few hundred yen.

Hana thanked her profusely but Nachi quickly waved away the gratitude. "Don't' worry about it. Just buy me a coffee the next time you think of it. The shit those guys serve downstairs is terrible..." Nachi made a face which inspired a laugh from her friend. "Okay, I will. Thanks again..." With a ave the brunette left to find something to eat.