Blood Brothers RPG 1

Kurama just smirks. Yusuke shivers. "Nope, your smirk is worse. Stop it. Both of you."

Hiei snorts. "I thought you knew by now that I have nothing on Kurama. The sadist." The last is added on almost affectionately.

"Masochist." Kurama shoots back with a small smile.

"I should be filming this." Yusuke says observationally. "And here we see the mating habits of fox spirits and fire demons."

Hiei snorted. "Only if we get to film your mating habits with the oaf."

Yusuke blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You and the oaf. Sometimes I wonder if you two aren't just hiding the fact you're together. It would explain a lot." Hiei said, shrugging.

"Kuwabara and I are not together."

"Whatever you say, detective." Hiei started walking, Kurama and Yusuke falling into step with him. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Yusuke shrugged. "Some cafe` Kuwabara found."

Hiei shot Kurama a droll look before refocusing on Yusuke. "Yes, Yusuke. Not dating."

Yusuke blushes furiously. Kurama just smirks. "You're not being subtle about it, you know."

"Subtle where it counts." Yusuke shoots back. Hiei blinks.

"Okay, Kurama wins that bet." At Yusuke's confused look, he adds, "he figured you were dating Kuwabara and just neglected to tell him."

"Him and a few others." Yusuke admits. He glares at them. "And not a word to anyone."

"Our lips are sealed." Kurama says with a small smile.

Hiei scoffs. "Who would I tell? My social circle is limited to three people, maybe four if you count Genkai."

Kurama grins."You don't count Botan? I'm sure she'd be heartbroken."

Yusuke starts laughing. "Yeah, I'm sure she would be." he says between sniggers. "You'd better amend that before she finds out."

"No. She is useless, and irritating with it." Hiei says flatly. "If it wasn't for the fact that she's the toddler's favorite minion, I'd have killed her long ago."

Kurama and Yusuke share an amused look. "Favorite minion?" Kurama asks, trying not to laugh.

"Yes. Just like I'm Mukuro's favorite minion."

Kurama sniggers. "Favorite minion. I need to remember that next time Yomi asks me for something."

"Yomi has minions?" Hiei blinks. "I thought he had toys."

That makes Yusuke laugh. "Okay, so Kurama is his favorite minion by virtue of being his only minion." he teases.

Hiei considered that for a moment. "That's a fair point. Kurama's hard to break, and Yomi's not nice to his toys. I can see how Kurama became his only minion."

"You do realize that I am standing right here." Kurama said mildly, trying not to grin.

"Also, can you define 'break'? 'Cause I've got a couple of ways I can take that, and I'd prefer the less mentally scarring method." Yusuke muttered.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Yes, Yusuke. Yomi tried to break Kurama with whips and chains." he said dryly before pausing briefly. "Actually, he might have. Kurama?"

Kurama actually laughs this time. "No, whips and chains were not involved." he managed through the laughter. "Though I may have to mention that to him next time."

"Please don't." Yusuke pleads as they walk down the sidewalk. "I do not need those nightmares."

Hiei smirks. "It won't be nightmares for Kurama."

"With Yomi? Yes it would." Kurama mock-shivers. "Besides, Hiei, you know I only love you."

Any retort on Hiei's part is cut off by Kuwabara. "Now I know what held you up." he observes, glaring a little at Hiei. "I thought we were eating by ourselves?"

Yusuke shrugs. "It's a double date."

Kuwabara turns bright red. Kurama smirks. /Looks like Kuwabara knows they're dating after all./

"Does that mean I win the bet after all?" Hiei asks, glaring right back at Kuwabara.

Yusuke shakes his head and grins at Kuwabara. "What? I thought asking them along was a good idea. After all, Kurama's fan club is now convinced that Kurama and Hiei are dating."

Kuwabara blinks at Kurama. "Seriously?"

"I'm not so sure about 'convinced', but I imagine they suspect, since I blew Hiei a kiss before leaving campus." Kurama says with a grin. "The opportunity was a little too good to pass up."

"And Hiei didn't kill you?"

This time Kurama bursts out laughing as they sit down. "No. Hiei's put up with a lot worse than that from me without decapitating me."

"Like what?" Yusuke gives Hiei a curious look.

"Trust me when I say you don't want to know, detective. It happened to me, and I'm still not sure how he talked me into it." Hiei says with a small smile. "Just take my word for it."

((is this one gonna be slash? seems like we're leaning that way))

Yusuke mock-shivers. "Nope. Don't wanna know."

"That explains why he never takes your threats seriously." Kuwabara muses as they enter the café.

"There is one threat Kurama takes seriously." Hiei observes, taking a seat. "I have no clue what they serve here."

"I take it seriously because you followed through." Kurama retorts. "I'll order for you."

"Damn good thing I trust you, fox."

Yusuke sits across from Hiei as Kuwabara goes with Kurama to order. "I don't know how I let him talk me into coming here." the detective muttered.

Hiei just gives him a look. "Do you really need me to explain that to you?"

((I think so, but I imagine it'll be pretty light.))

Yusuke laughs quietly. "Nah, I think I can connect the dots. It was more a rhetorical question than anything."

"Is the oaf aware of this?"

"Not yet, and I'd like to keep it that way, thanks." Yusuke says with a grin. Hiei just rolls his eyes.

Yusuke's grin becomes impish. "Question. When you roll your eyes like that, does the Jagan do it too?"

The question makes Hiei blink at Yusuke for a moment or two, causing Yusuke to burst out laughing.

"No, it doesn't. What on Earth possessed you to ask that?" Hiei demanded, giving Yusuke a genuinely baffled look.

Kurama and Kuwabara choose now to return to the table, Kuwabara looking between Hiei and Yusuke. "Uh, did we miss something?"

"Nothing important." Hiei says quickly. Kurama just laughs and sets a drink down in front of him, taking a seat by his side. Kuwabara does the same with Yusuke. Hiei sniffs his drink cautiously before almost smiling and taking a sip.

"What did you get?" Yusuke asks.

"Hot chocolate." Hiei says happily. "With extra whipped cream."

"A fire demon on a sugar high. This could be trouble." Yusuke teases, taking a sip of his own drink.

Kurama smiles . "But oh, so worth it." he murmurs into his own cup. Hiei just flashes him a wicked smirk.

Hiei rolls his eyes again, causing Yusuke to snicker. Hiei glowers at him briefly, causing Yusuke's snickers to become outright laughter. Kuwabara frowns, and turns to Kurama.

"D'you know what's going on here?"

"No. I was not part of this conversation, remember? Hiei?"

"The detective was curious about something. Unfortunately for me, it appears to now be a running joke." Hiei says sourly, punctuating the tone with a swift kick to Yusuke's shin.

"OW! Okay, okay, Jesus, that hurt, Hiei!"

"Good."

Kurama outright laughs at that. "I won't ask."

"Thank you. I'm not telling."

"And if I tell, Hiei will kick me again." Yusuke says with a grin. "I'm not saying anything."

Hiei salutes him with his cup. "Smart man."

Kurama's gaze snaps to the door of the café. A demon, and lovely coincidence, one Kurama knows. He just hasn't seen him in a very, very long time. There's a good chance the demon won't actually recognize him. Kurama chooses to ignore him.

Hiei follows Kurama's gaze. "Someone we should be concerned about?"

"I don't think so." Kurama says quietly. "Just keep your back to him, and we should be fine. After all, your hair and eyes are rather distinctive."

Yusuke snorts. "No kidding. I can pick Hiei out of a crowd by his hair alone."

"So help me, detective, I'll gut you and not even feel bad about it." Hiei says casually.

Kurama and Kuwabara exchange looks as Yusuke and Hiei bicker.

"I'm so glad it's Yusuke that's getting picked on this go-round." Kuwabara says with a grin.

"It is a nice feeling, isn't it?" Kurama teases lightly.

Suddenly, the demon behind them speaks. "Kurama!"

"Ah, hell." Kurama calmly folds his hands in his lap and stares up at the ceiling. "I do not look a thing like my demon form, how the hell does he know I'm here?"

"My guess is your energy." Hiei says helpfully. "Are we still ignoring him?"

"Yes. Until he makes it impossible to."

"Kurama! I know you're here! Show yourself, you coward!"

There are three hastily stifled snickers as Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara simultaneously have trouble breathing. The demon keeps talking without realizing that he's yelling for Kurama while standing right behind him.

Kurama glares at everyone at the table. "Was that necessary?"

Yusuke clears his throat, and tries not to laugh. "Was what necessary?" he asks pseudo-innocently, the occasional snicker getting through.

"That. All of you are laughing at me."

Yusuke grins as the demon yells again. "I know you're here, Kurama! Face me like a man!" Yusuke's grin grows wider as Kurama twitches in aggravation.

"Don't take it personally, Suiichi." he says with a grin. "Watching you not rise to the bait is great."

Hiei and Kuwabara lose the fight and burst out laughing at the look on Kurama's face. Kurama looks over at Hiei.

"It's not that funny."

"Actually, it kind of is." Hiei says through his laughter. "That's one sure-fire way to get a rise out of you."

"Kurama!"

"Sounds like he's getting pissed." Hiei comments, refusing to turn around. Kurama simply takes a sip of his tea.

"If he thinks I'm rising to that bait, he's insane." Kurama observes. "He's a low class, otherwise he might have realized by now."

Yusuke blinks. "What the hell did you do?"

Kurama just smiles. "Watch and learn." He leans back in his seat, still completely disregarding the demon behind him, despite the loud voice and increasingly violent insults.

Kuwabara leans back in his seat and takes a sip of his tea while listening to the demon continue to insult Kurama in various ways. "Man, does he kiss his mother with that mouth?"

Yusuke watches as the manager of the cafe comes forward to try and talk to the demon. "We might have a problem, guys."

Kurama glances back. "He knows better than to kill a human." he says quietly, listening to the manager tell the demon to get out of his cafe and to stop bothering his patrons. "He works for Yomi occasionally."

"Oh. So I don't have to kick his ass?"

"No. No ass-kicking needed." Kurama smiles serenely as the demon is forced out the door.

Now that he doesn't have to worry about being recognized, Hiei turns to look at the demon properly. "I recognize him. He works for Mukuro freelance as well."

Kurama gives him a look. "Is she fond of him?"

Hiei gives a careless shrug. "As fond of him as she gets, anyway. She thinks he's amusing."

"Would she care if I killed him?"

". . .Hard to say."

"What do you care about Mukuro?" Kuwabara wonders.

"One does not go pissing off extremely powerful demons without a very good reason." Kurama says calmly, watching the demon leave the establishment.

Hiei snorts. "And what reason did you have before?"

"I wanted what they had."

There's a flash of something just outside the door, followed by a very high-pitched scream. Everyone in the cafe jumped, except for Kurama, who calmly took another sip of his tea. Hiei leans over and grins.

"Damn, fox. Impressive. There's nothing left but a smear."

Kurama smiles over his cup. "Thank you."

Yusuke and Kuwabara exchange looks.

Hiei gives them a slightly exasperated look. "What? You've seen Kurama at his most ruthless. This shouldn't even phase you."

"It doesn't." Yusuke says with a shrug. "Trust me when I say we're both well aware of how ruthless Kurama can be. That doesn't mean it can't surprise us from time to time."

Hiei nods slightly. "That's the human in you talking. As a demon, something like that is very ordinary. You see worse than that on a daily basis in the Makai."

Kuwabara gave him a look. "I'm still completely human. Just throwing that out there."

"Yes, and you're the only human in existence who's able to pass through the Makai untouched because of how powerful you are." Kurama says with a small grin. "You may be human physically, but that doesn't matter - demons judge other demons by their power and strength, and by those standards, you are equal to myself, Hiei, or Yusuke."

Kuwabara considers that for a moment then grins. "That sounded like a compliment! I like that!"

"He's still a class A idiot." Hiei murmurs into his hot chocolate.

"Hey!"

Yusuke laughs. "And there's the consistency he knows and loves."

"Shut up! I like compliments!"

"Especially considering you get them so rarely."

"I'm gonna kill you, tiny!"

Kurama glances at Yusuke. "Who is dating who here?"

Hiei lets his gaze move up and down Kuwabara once before snorting into his cocoa. "One - the oaf is not my type. Two - I think someone else has designs on him. And may Enmah have mercy on that poor sap's soul." he says, giving Yusuke a grin.

"Wow, rude. Also, you have a type?" Yusuke leans forward. "Since when?"

Hiei merely looks at him. "Does it really surprise you?"

"A little. I thought you didn't care."

"I don't. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't have preferences in what I find attractive. I'm a demon, not dead, Yusuke." Hiei says, taking a sip of his cocoa.

Kurama smiles. "When was the last time you found someone adequately attractive, Hiei?"

"A while. What's with the interrogation?" Hiei demands.

"It might have something to do with the fact that you're actually telling us a little about yourself." Yusuke says with a grin.

Hiei snorts. "Why would you care?"

"It's the novelty, Hiei." Kurama says lightly. "You're actually sharing information that they don't have to pull out of you with various methods of torture."

"This is torture. Sitting here with you idiots."

"It's not. You have hot chocolate."

" . . . Have I mentioned I hate you lately?"

Yusuke grins. "I think you've found someone attractive enough a lot more recently." he teases, his gaze flickering from Hiei to Kurama.

Hiei merely raises an eyebrow at Yusuke before pointedly glancing at Kuwabara before looking back. Yusuke shrugs and grins. "I ain't ashamed."

"Yet." Hiei says, grinning as he takes another drink of his chocolate.

"Again - rude." Yusuke turns to Kurama. "How do you put up with that?"

"The same way you do, I'd imagine. Just be rude back." Kurama laughs.

Kuwabara's eyes narrow briefly at Hiei before turning to Yusuke. Kurama and Hiei can actually see him make the connection, because he goes bright red.

"Any darker, and he'd match his hair." Hiei observes conversationally.

Kurama smirks into his drink. "And this is what they get for inviting us along." he muses. Hiei snickers before abruptly turning serious. He glances over at Kurama.

"Is this actually a date for us, Fox?"

The other considers for a moment. "I paid. Yes, it's a date."

Hiei hums into his hot chocolate for a moment before responding. "Next time you need to make it official."

Kurama actually starts laughing at that. Yusuke and Kuwabara exchange looks. "Do we wanna know?"