The Benefits of Being a Fire Demon
a Yu Yu Hakusho story
by LadyMiriamele
A bird was chirping in the higher branches of the tree, singing a cheerful song. It annoyed Hiei to the point where he wanted to fry the stupid animal so that it would be silent. He wouldn't do it, though, because he knew how much Yukina loved birds. It would crush her to see him kill it. So he allowed it to continue to sing, and jumped down from the tree so that he wouldn't have to listen to it as much.
Boton saw him first, and smiled, her eyes glowing. "Good to see you, Hiei!" she exclaimed. Hiei thought she was even more annoying than the bird. "So everyone's here. Good." She indicated Kuwabara, Kurama, Keiko and Yukina.
"Where's Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked. "He's not here."
Hiei grunted. "That's because this is about him, you idiot."
"Don't call me an idiot you little---"
"Come now," Hiei heard Kurama's soft voice from behind him. "Let's listen to what Boton is saying."
"Thank you Kurama," Boton smiled warmly. "Okay, as you all know, Yusuke's birthday is next week..."
Hiei tuned her out, not caring what she was about to say. He was too busy focusing on Kurama, who's hand rested on his shoulder. The redhead seemed weaker, his spirit energy slightly wavering. Which was unusual; they hadn't battled recently and Kurama had no reason to be weakened. Hiei looked up at him, and noted that Kurama's small smiled seemed to be pulled tight, almost as if he was forcing it to remain upon his face. His eyes looked as if they were weary from being opened for so long.
"Kurama, would you mind helping Keiko with the decorations? You do such a good job at it," Boton was asking.
"I'd love to," Kurama said. Boton nodded at this and continued to talk.
"Fox." Hiei nudged Kurama slightly, quickly so that no one else would notice.
"Yes, Hiei?"
"Your spirit energy is weaker than usual."
"Is it?" Kurama shrugged. "I must be tired."
Hiei knew that wasn't it. If he were merely tired, Kurama's spirit energy wouldn't be weakened to such a great extent. There was something more.
That something more became apparent a moment later when Hiei heard a loud "Kishhh!" coming from Kurama. He looked at the fox just in time to see the redhead's hands coming down from covering his nose and mouth. Everyone else was looking as well, stunned into silence. Kurama recovered quickly, sniffing and looking up as if nothing had happened.
"Are you okay, Kurama-san?" Yukina asked sweetly.
"I don't think I've ever heard you sneeze before," Keiko remarked.
"I'm fine," Kurama replied with one of his forced smiles.
"Are you sure? Your spirit energy does seem low, now that I notice it," Boton observed.
"It's okay. I'm fine, really."
Keiko nodded. "So does everyone know what the plans are? Next Wednesday at four we start getting ready."
"Gotcha." Kuwabara smiled at Yukina. "I'd love to walk you home."
Hiei resisted the desire to shove his katana down Kuwabara's throat. Instead of waiting to say goodbye to the others, he jumped into a tree, watching the departure from above. Kurama seemed to look around for him a moment and Hiei, who had masked his spirit energy, said nothing. Kurama, unable to locate Hiei, turned to Keiko and spoke to her for a few moments about the decorations. They said their goodbyes and Kurama was left in the part, alone.
Hiei was about to leave himself, figuring that Kurama would be fine, but then it happened. Kurama leaned against a tree and sighed deeply, relaxing his body. Before he had another second to breath, his body jerked forward and he sneezed continuously. "Hetshoo! Hehchoo! Heh...Heh...Heh-kishh!" When his fit had died down a bit, he pulled a rose-colored cloth from his pocket and gracefully blew his nose. Hiei took that as his invitation and jumped down from the tree.
"Hiei," Kurama acknowledge, sniffing and putting the cloth back into his pocket. "I thought you left."
Hiei ignored that statement. "You're showing your mortality," he snapped.
Kurama sighed. "I am aware of that."
A short silence passed. "I never heard of a youko becoming ill," Hiei finally said. "Especially the great Kurama."
"In case you---" his sentence broke short as he struggled with a sneeze. "Eh... heh... hehitchhh!"
He took a second to collect himself before trying to talk again. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm currently a human."
"I've noticed plenty of times."
"I wouldn't talk."
Hiei glared. "What are you implying?" He demanded.
Kurama coughed lightly, hiding a smile. The light cough escalated into a coughing attack, which then escalated to the point where Kurama appeared unable to catch his breath.
Enraged, Hiei decided Kurama deserved to cough himself dead and left in the blink of an eye.
It only took a couple of hours before Hiei swallowed his pride and decided to make sure Kurama was okay. The fox's spirit energy had depleted significantly and though Hiei would never admit it, he was concerned. So he made his way to Kurama's house and up the tree so that he could request entrance at the window. He was surprised to find the window open. For him.
Idiot, he thought. He's going to make himself worse by allowing the cool air into his room.
He climbed through the window and found Kurama sleeping upon his bed, huddled up in the blankets for warmth. He went forward and touched the sleeping fox's hand, finding it cold. With a grunt, Hiei shut the window and took a seat upon its sill. He didn't remain there very long, for he could tell by Kurama's unsteady energy that he was still cold and the room was taking too long to heat up. He took a moment to make sure Kurama was still sleeping, and when he confirmed this, he got in bed beside the redhead, allowing his own energy to cover Kurama's.
"One of the benefits of being a fire demon."
Hiei was stunned to find that Kurama was awake, after he had been sure he was asleep. Slightly embarrassed to be found in his bed, Hiei began to get up and make a dash for the window. But an arm draped across his stomach held him.
Kurama sniffled slightly and then laid his head upon Hiei's arm. "Don't leave. I'm cold," he whispered. He sniffed again, then instantly pulled himself off of Hiei, a sneezy expression clouding his face. He quickly took out his handkerchief and caught the sneezes just in time. "Ehhshoo! Hetshoo!"
"Stupid fox," Hiei said, hiding a grin. "I'm trying to sleep."
Kurama blew his nose softly, and then snuggled back against Hiei.
The End
Alas, I do not own this series nor do I own the characters affiliated with my story. A/N: It's been a while since I've written a YYH fic, so I'm not sure if I still have the knack for it, but I tried. Enjoy! Feedback, as always, is most appreciated.