Seven Days In A Week II



Resolutions




Part Four


Kurama was in love with him. 
It was the last thing he'd expected - how could that damned youko be in love 
with him? When Kurama had propositioned him that night after they had returned 
from the Makai, he had thought that the fox wanted to play, the sort that his 
race was infamous for - something that wouldn't require him to *feel* anything 
in return. 
Hiei felt like his life was spinning out of his control, as if the edges of it 
were fluttering just out of his grasp, slipping through his fingers - he hadn't 
felt so…terrified since he was a child. No one had ever loved him before; Yukina 
didn't count - she had loved even before they were born, while they had laid 
together asleep beneath their mother's heart. 
Kurama was in love with him. 
What was he supposed to do? How do you act around someone who's …? What could he 
do to stop from hurting Kurama again? The torment in the kitsune's eyes had cut 
him straight to the bone - Hiei hadn't even known that he was capable of 
inflicting such pain on one of his few friends in both worlds. 
" Dammit!" he snarled, slamming his fist into the tree trunk. The ache felt 
good. 
It was Kurama's fault - *he* certainly hadn't wanted this… 
" 'niisan," Yukina's soft voice floated up to him. Looking down, the fire demon 
saw his sister standing underneath his branch, staring up at him with their 
identical crimson orbs. " Are you alright?" 
" Yes," he answered gruffly. 
She opened her mouth to say something, and then sighed in understanding. She 
knew him much better than he gave her credit for - Hiei would not appreciate 
advice at this time, he had barely enough time to sort out his own feelings. 
Yukina had watched the both of them together - Hiei and Kurama - could sense the 
tension and subtle undercurrents, even though neither one said a word about it. 
" When you're ready, you welcomed to come down from the tree and join us." 
Hiei gave her a brief nod, his thoughts already turning inward… 
The half-youko in question was waiting for Yukina when she reentered the house. 
The tension in his slender form plainly visible as he nearly pounced on her with 
anxious questions. 
" How is he?" 
" 'niisan seems quite alright." 
Flicking back his long, red hair in frustration, Kurama made a small distressed 
noise. Hiei was giving the world his I-have-no-feelings-nothing-can-hurt-me act, 
it made him want to scream at that stubborn youkai, or knock some sense into 
that solid-rock head. Most people would be *ecstatic* at his declaration of 
love, but not that little fire demon…no, not him. Instead, he'd frozen Kurama 
out of his life and removed himself from the others. 
Idiot…baka… 
" Kurama?" The half-youko jumped slightly as Yukina touched him arm. 
He looked down at her…faltering. 
" Oh, Yukina!" He threw his arms around the smaller ice demon, probably 
startling a few centuries from her lifetime. " I told him that I was in love 
with him - he's such a damned foolish… " 
…jerk… 
Yukina patted him comfortingly on the back. " Give him time." 
Kurama sniffed - I will *not* cry for that ungrateful midget of a youkai. " How 
long? A day? Three more?" 
" Maybe slightly longer than that." She hid a smile - Kurama was distraught and 
Hiei was confused - they made the perfect couple, even though her brother had 
yet to see that and Kurama was too busy feeling sorry for himself. " Don't 
worry, Kurama-san. I'm sure oniisan will come to senses soon enough." 
He held her for another few moments before letting go. " Thanks, Yukina-san. I 
feel much better now." Sniffling again, he gave her a weak smile as he left to 
go back to the others. 
The ice demoness watched him leave, a smile on her lips as she smoothed down her 
wrinkled kimono - they were just so *right* for each other. 
Hidden in the darkened hallway behind her, Kuwabara's fragile heart was 
breaking. 
Kurama and Yukina… 
On his shoulder, a familiar small green-eyed demon danced gleefully. 




Part Five




Kuwabara was jealous…very jealous. 
Glaring at Kurama's oblivious back, he silently wished that lying, cheating 
half-youko would lose all of his prized tresses to a freak accident with a pair 
of scissors. Betrayed by his friend and fellow Reikai detective…it just showed 
that you couldn't trust a youkai, even one who appeared human. Oh, Yukina-san, 
how could you chose him over me? 
An insidious voice whispered in his ear - maybe because he's better-looking, 
charming and more powerful than you? 
Immediately, he quashed the voice mercilessly - he was Kuwabara Kazuma, the 
greatest… 
He was Kuwabara Kazuma, dumped for a silver five-tailed youko. 
Alone. Miserable. And jealous. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hiei hovered at the very edge of the group, his face set in its usual impassive 
mask and his arms folded across his chest. His crimson eyes were guarded, 
carefully avoiding looking at Kurama while he sat at his usual perch at the 
window sill. 
A small object whizzed past his head, brushing the stiff bristles of his spiked 
hair. Hand flashing out faster than the human eye could follow, Hiei caught it - 
an empty cup, luckily for whomever had thrown it. 
" Tea?" Kurama's soft, beguiling voice curled around him. 
Deliberately not letting anything show on his face, he held up the cup and 
watched determinedly as the steaming hot liquid streamed into it. Then, half 
against his will, Hiei lifted his eyes and met Kurama's emerald gaze looking 
back down on him. Both were so caught up in the enthralling spell that neither 
noticed that the tea had overflowed the cup and was running over the fire 
demon's fingers. 
" Um…Kurama?" Keiko's voice managed to cut through. " You're spilling tea on the 
floor." She sounded like she was trying not to laugh. 
The half-youko yelped a loud exclamation as he jumped away, jerking the tea pot 
from the cup. Blinking, he looked down at the pool of tea at their feet and 
flushed in embarrassment. When he looked up, he saw that Hiei hadn't moved a 
muscle. 
" Did I scald you?" Kurama asked anxiously as he put down the pot and reached 
for Hiei's hands to check for injuries. Without hesitation, his fingers curled 
around the fire demon's that were gripping the cup so tightly, it was incredible 
that it hadn't shattered under the pressure. 
Belatedly, Kurama realized that it would take more than hot tea to burn a *fire* 
demon. 
Hiei's gaze dropped to their holding hands. Mesmerized, the half-youko followed 
his line of sight. Neither one moved. 
Time slowed to a halt… 
Shizuru cleared her throat loudly. 
Realizing that the others were watching them; some curiously, most of the girls 
with knowing smiles, Kurama was spurred into action. Grabbing the fire demon's 
slack wrist, the half-youko jerked him out of his seat. With an apologetic smile 
to the others, he dragged the shocked youkai behind him as he went in search of 
a private place, muttering something about 'talking'. 
" *That's* a new word for it," Shizuru commented lazily. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

" Kurama, what - ?" Hiei broke off what he was going to say as he was shoved 
unceremoniously into his darkened bedroom. " You stupid fox, what in all of the 
Makai do you think you're doing?" 
" Guess," he answered impatiently. He had finally come to the conclusion that if 
he let Hiei make all the decisions in their relationship, he would be an old man 
before anything exciting happened. Despite the lack of lighting, he found Hiei's 
snarling mouth of unerring ease. It was like kissing a bolt of lighting - anger, 
passion and the wilderness all mixed up in one interesting package. 
The fire demon bit him. 
"Owww!" He could taste the blood in his mouth. " That wasn't really necessary." 
Reaching out to coil a tendril of Kurama's red hair around his fingers, Hiei's 
eyes glittered dangerously. " Fox, what are you playing at?" 
" I want you," he answered with stark honesty. 
" You're in love with me," Hiei growled out. " And you're insane." 
" Loving and wanting usually go hand in hand. What's so crazy about it?" 
" I don't love you." His voice was cold and hard like the unfeeling stone that 
he believed was his heart. 
Oh, that hurt. 
With a soft sigh, Kurama leaned closer towards him. Hiei did not draw away - 
that was something at least. Gently, very slowly, almost as if he was facing a 
feral creature that might break away, the half youko allowed his arms slide 
around the other youkai's waist, letting his hands settle at the small of his 
back. 
" It doesn't matter…yet." 
His words shocked the fire demon - Kurama could feel the way his body stiffened 
under his hands. Hiei hadn't expected that; he probably thought that if he 
expressed his total lack of emotions towards Kurama, the half-youko would slink 
away from his life and he could escape without *feeling* anything in return. 
" Kurama, you're a…" Words failed him. 
Surprisingly, Hiei no longer felt that irrationally fear that had assaulted him 
yesterday when Kurama had told him that he was in love with him. The choking, 
constricting band around his chest loosened and disappeared in a soft breath of 
relief. Desire, wanting - he grasped that, could deal with it. Not love though, 
you couldn't understand something that you've never had… 
" I want you too," he admitted hoarsely. 
When Kurama kissed him again, Hiei didn't bite him. 
Smiling inwardly, the half-youko pulled his pliant body down to the bed. 
Never do the expected. Always do the unexpected. 




Part Six




It was the best of mornings. It was the worst of mornings. 
Hiei woke up with a nagging feeling that he had somehow lost a very important 
battle. He was tucked between the wall and a softer, warmer barrier, his legs 
tangled up in the bed-sheets. The cozy, comfortable bed was certainly a welcomed 
improvement to the tree branches where he normally spent his nights. 
Then, he noticed that he was naked. Totally. 
Beside him, a lock of reddish hair had escaped from the deep mound of blankets 
that buried the significant other person he was sharing the bed with. Letting it 
slide through his fingers, Hiei seriously considered panicking. 
And I can't even say I was drunk… 
" Hiei," Kurama's sleepy voice came from somewhere deep within the tangle of 
blankets. A pair of dreamy emerald eyes emerged, still glazed with sleep. 
Yawning, the half-youko buried his nose in Hiei's spiky, black hair, mumbling 
something barely coherent against his neck. 
" What?" The warm breath brushing against his skin made his entire body tingle 
with the memories of what Kurama could do so well with his mouth. 
" I said," he sounded amused, " would you like to that again?" 
" When?" Maybe he would do that thing with his tongue… 
Lifting himself up by his elbows, Kurama beamed down at him with a slightly 
predatory glitter in his eyes. 
" How about… now?" 
" Don't you have to go somewhere?" 
" I don't have school on Saturdays so I usually sleep in." The grin on his face 
widened to a sly smile. " I don't plan to sleep in today." 
Hiei sighed blissfully as Kurama enthusiastically demonstrated how he intended 
to spend his Saturday morning. 
" Hnnn…" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Kuwabara paced the alleyway next to the Minamino residence impatiently - he had 
been waiting all morning for Kurama to come out. After a few days of thinking it 
over, the tall human had enough time to calm down and consider his problem 
rather carefully. He would simply ask the half-youko to back away from Yukina. 
After all, Kurama was a reasonable human being. 
And if he didn't, things were going to get nasty… 
" Dammit, when will he be coming out?" he muttered to himself. Maybe Kurama 
wasn't even awake yet, maybe he had left very early in the morning…to go see 
Yukina…or something. Maybe… 
" I'm not getting anywhere standing out here." Staring at the formidable-looking 
tree that grew outside the half-youko's bedroom, Kuwabara frowned thoughtfully - 
that branch looked just strong enough to hold his weight. With luck, he could 
just tap on the window and wake Kurama up. 
Before he had a chance to seriously think it over, Kuwabara had already put his 
foot on the base of the trunk and was half-climbing, half-pulling himself up the 
tree. The branch creaked in protest as he put his entire weight on it. Gingerly, 
Kuwabara inched forward, extending a hand to tap on the closed window. 
The sound of laughter made him pause, tentatively balanced on that 
less-than-sturdy branch. Now gravely reconsidering his current position, 
Kuwabara wondered how embarrassed he would be if Kurama had to rescue him down 
from the tree. 
The windows were blurred with condensation, Kuwabara could barely make out 
Kurama's slender frame topped with that mane of brilliant red hair - he was 
seated at his desk. Just as Kuwabara opened his mouth to call out to him, the 
half-youko got up and went over to his bed. 
Leaning over so that he could get a better view, Kuwabara realized, with no 
small amount of shock, that there was someone in the half-youko's bed… 
Hah, I bet it isn't Red Riding Hood's grandma either. Why that sly old fox… 
At least it wasn't Yukina - Kurama's mysterious bedmate had black hair… 
They were kissing passionately - Kuwabara was starting to feel like a voyeur, 
spying on a fellow teammate like this but… he sighed happily. At least it isn't 
Yukina-chan. Sliding away, he was suddenly in a perfect angle to see *who* it 
was that Kurama was kissing… 
…black, *spiky* hair…the white starburst… 
The branch gave way under him. 

********** 
" Did you hear that?" Hiei asked, breaking the kiss to frown at the window. He 
could have sworn that he heard a loud thud, but there was no one outside the 
bedroom - the tree swayed innocently in a slight breeze. Other than that, 
everything seemed perfectly normal. 
" Yes," Kurama drawled in a teasing voice. " It was the earth moving beneath our 
feet." 
" Hn." 
********** 

Kuwabara didn't move. 
Lying on the wet grass, he let out a pained groan. The fall hadn't been soft or 
quick - he had met a few other branches on his way down. 
Remembering what he had seen, he made another low moaning noise. 
" I really didn't need to see *that*." 




Part Seven




Kurama woke up alone. 
It didn't alarm him because he had felt Hiei leave even though the fire demon 
had been careful not to make any noise. Watching him dress was almost as 
interesting as getting him *undressed*. His movements were short and abrupt, 
almost as if he was angry…probably at himself, if Kurama guessed correctly. 
Smiling to himself at the memory, he rolled over and buried his face in the 
pillows - his fire demon could sometimes be so predictable. So darned stubborn 
even when he knew that there was no chance of escaping - Kurama had made sure of 
that. From the first day they had met so many years ago, he had made himself 
indispensable, casually moved into Hiei's own space in such a subtle way that he 
doubted the youkai had even noticed. 
Youko Kurama had spent his youkai lifetime stealing legendary treasures of 
priceless worth, evading the best traps and the most vigilant of guards. But 
never, in all his four hundred years as a youko thief, had he stolen a more 
cherished prize…or overcome a more difficult obstacle… 
And it was worth every moment. 
Because now he had stolen the most elusive treasure of all… 
Hiei's heart. 
Just before he slipped back into sleep, Kurama's last thought was tinged with 
amusement as he wondered how long it would take for that obstinate fire demon to 
acknowledge the new change in ownership… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

He was an idiot, Hiei decided with a vengeance. 
Now that their relationship had ventured into a more intimate and unfamiliar 
territory, he knew that it would be impossible to come out of this without 
getting hurt. Despite all his barriers, his uncaring mask, Hiei had let the fox 
get too deep under his skin. Even now, he could smell Kurama's scent on him - 
spring - and remembered with startling clarity what it was like to be held and 
loved by that playful half-youko. 
It was a weakness to feel so much for someone. Sooner or later, that youko was 
going to get bored with his fire demon lover and cast his eyes towards more 
beautiful, more charming bedmates. The problem was he didn't know how *he* felt 
about the entire thing - he couldn't sort through the turmoil of conflicting 
emotions…didn't want to face them… 
Hands tightening into fists, Hiei tried to imagine what it would be like *not* 
to have that irritating, smart-mouthed fox around… and couldn't. Since when had 
that happened? For the first time, Hiei was well and truly jolted by the depth 
of his attachment… In the past, he had never had anyone that he couldn't walk 
away from without a backward glance. 
It's too late, he realized with a sinking heart, I can't leave. He might never 
be able to act like a swooning lover, write poetry or do anything like that fox 
expected, but neither could he abandon Kurama, at least not without leaving a 
considerable piece of himself behind. 
Kurama had won. 
But, he suddenly grasped with a flash of insight, there never was a battle to be 
fought. He had only imagined that what Kurama offered him would weakened 
him…that was why he had resisted it for as long as he could. But that was never 
what Kurama intended - he had only wanted to love him. 
Love him. 
As incomprehensible as that sounded, it didn't scare him as much as it did 
before. He accepted it, held it close to his chest, savored the warmth that it 
brought to his barren life…and in return, felt an answering spark born deep 
within himself. It would be a long time before he admitted its existence to 
anyone, but just knowing it was there made him feel better. 
Kurama had once asked him… 
What do *you* want, Hiei? 
To be with you. 


--Finis--