Blood Brothers RPG 1

((*laughs* I got distracted.))


Hiei didn't move. He merely arched a brow at Koenma. "Please?"

"Please what?" Koenma demanded.

"Let's go - please." Hiei said with just the hint of a smirk.

Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked before bursting into hysterical laughter while Kurama facepalmed. Yusuke grinned. "You're teaching Koenma manners?"

Hiei shrugged. "Yukina is rubbing off on me."

((*laughs* You and your short attention span))

Koenma glared at him. "Need I remind you who I am?"

"Need we remind you that means jack-shit to us?" Kurama retorted, a small smirk on his face. "Or have you forgotten that I slipped past Spirit World once already?"

Koenma continued to glare. Yusuke was trying to not laugh, and Kuwabara simply took a step back out of the line of fire.

Hiei didn't move when Koenma rounded on him. "What? Did you expect us to go play with you quietly because you ordered it? Our loyalty doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the Detective, and if he needs us, we will go. Consequences be damned."

Yusuke grinned. "Aw, Hiei, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"I wasn't talking to you."

Koenma scowled. "You forget I'm Yusuke's superior, and by default, yours."

"Wrong again." Hiei said, smirking slightly. "Mukuro is my superior. I think she'd have something to say about that if she heard you." He grinned as he watched Koenma start to fume.

Kurama merely rose an eyebrow. /Hiei, are you winding him up on purpose?/

/Yes. I don't want to babysit the little snot./

/So you're baiting him into finding somone else to do it./ Kurama nodded.

/That's the gist of it./

/Huh. Hopefully that works before he kills you. I'd rather not get into trouble for maiming Koenma./

/Aw, Kurama - you do care!/

/Shut up./

Koenma ground his teeth while he seriously considered maiming Hiei. "Fine. Let's go - please."

"Better." Hiei hopped down off the windowsill and stretched before shooting Koenma a smirk.

Yusuke grinned. "Something tells me that we'll be seeing the two of you before very long." he said to Kurama, who smiled at him.

"That's a good possibility. Or, you'll be seeing Hiei sooner than me. Hiei does like to make fun of Koenma, and the time we'll be spending in Koenma's company will present him with multiple opportunities to relentlessly mock Koenma." Kurama said, grinning back at Yusuke. "So don't be surprised if Koenma cuts him loose before he does me."

"Will Hiei leave without you?"

A snort came from Hiei. "No."

"Didn't think so."

Kurama smiled faintly. "Hiei - you do care!" he teased.

"Shut up."

"Let's go!" Koenma snapped. Kurama and Hiei exchanged dark looks before moving to stand on either side of Koenma. All three vanished on Koenma's cue.

Yusuke sighed. "I think I'm not going to like this."

Kuwabara groaned. "I hate it when you say that."

"Why?"

"Cuz when you hate it, so do I."

Kuwabara glanced at the door. "So, how do we get out of here without alerting Ms. Shiori that her son is gone?"

Yusuke paled. "I didn't think of that. I don't know."

"Oh, good. As long as I'm not the only one who's clueless."

"That's you pretty much all the time, Kuwabara." Yusuke said dryly. "We can go out the window. There's a tree branch we can use to get down."

"You're insane, Urameshi."

"No more than you are for hitting on Yukina."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." Yusuke grinned as he climbed out the window and onto the branch.

Kurama looked around. /Back in Spirit World./ he commented dryly.

Hiei had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over. /I hate this place. I wish it would burn down./

/You just hate Koenma./

/So?/

"Wait here." Koenma said. "I have to speak to my father."

"And no demons are allowed to cross the hallowed threshold." Hiei growled. Kurama subtly elbowed him. Hiei just glared.

Koenma glared right back at Hiei before disappearing into his father's office.

Hiei glowered and scuffed the toe of his shoe across the tile, brightening marginally when he left a black mark on the floor. He quickly began scuffing swear words and insults on the tiles as Kurama merely shook his head and tried not to laugh.

"What are you doing?!"

Hiei looked up and smirked at Koenma. "Little victories."

Koenma rounded on Kurama. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"Because I was considering carving something similar into the pillars. You came back before I could."

"I don't understand you two." Koenma shook his head. "This is why demons are so rarely allowed up here."

"Ah, you're just jealous because you can't do the same." Hiei said, still writing cusses with the toes of his boots. Kurama leaned over his shoulder and started reading.

"Hiei, I don't believe that one is physically accurate."

"Bite me, fox. I think it's funny."

"I think you'd taste bad."

Hiei considered Kurama's words and grinned suddenly. "Only one way to find out."

Kurama facepalmed. "Don't even go there, Dragon. Not. Happening."

"But it could be -"

Kurama gave Hiei a dry stare. "If you finish that sentence, Hiei, you better be quick."

Hiei started to snigger. "You of all people know I am."

Kurama rolled his eyes. "You're in one of your moods, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Kurama is NOT biting you in front of me!" Koenma protested.

A wicked grin crossed Kurama's face. "Would that make you uncomfortable?"

"YES!"

An equally evil grin crossed Hiei's face before he flicked a glance at Kurama. "If you do decide to bite me, don't draw blood. I'd hate to have to patch this cloak."

Kurama grinned. "Is that all you're worried about?"

"Pretty much. I like this cloak, and your teeth are sharp."

Koenma shuddered once before turning his back on them and stalking down the hall. "Your quarters are this way."

Hiei glanced at Kurama. /It suddenly occurred to me that I rather doubt he asked Murkuro if I could be his bodyguard. She doesn't take things like that lightly./

Kurama facepalmed. /You're right. Which means this is not going to end well for Koenma./

Hiei grinned. /This makes me happy inside./

/It makes you happy on the outside too. You just won't admit it./

Koenma pointed. "These are your quarters."

Kurama glanced inside. He arched an eyebrow. "One bed, Koenma? Honestly, you don't really believe the rumors, do you?"

"No - I figured Hiei would sleep on the windowsill - if he sleeps at all." Koenma snipped.

Hiei wandered into the room and settled on the bed. "I don't know - Kurama may have to get used to sharing the bed. It's comfortable."

Kurama's eyebrow didn't move. "Since when do you sleep on a bed? Even during the Dark Tournament you didn't sleep on the bed provided for you."

"Well, it wasn't as soft as this one." Hiei said, stretching out and crossing his ankles.

Koenma glanced at Kurama once and shuddered again before shutting the door behind him with a bit more force than necessary.

Kurama grinned. "Well, if you wanted to gross him out, I think you've just succeeded."

"Good. Maybe he'll send us home."

"I doubt that." Kurama wandered over and stretched out on the bed beside Hiei. "I imagine it will take a lot more for him to send us home."

"Pity."

Kurama closed his eyes for a moment. "It might be safe to rest for a few minutes."

"Maybe being the key word there." Hiei said dryly. /If you want to sleep, I'll take first watch./

Kurama opened an eye to stare at Hiei. /Only if you agree to wake me after two hours./

/Hn. Get some sleep, fox. I'll wake you./ Hiei shifted slightly so his back was resting on the headboard, and turned to stare out the window.

Kurama nodded once before dozing off.

/--/

Yusuke scowled as he and Kuwabara headed to Genkai's. If anyone would know about Sensui's return, it'd be her. "So, do you really think it's Sensui, or someone who's taken his name and reputation?" Yusuke asked, glancing sideways at Kuwabara.

"I dunno. We saw you kill him yourself. Unless he's like the elder Toguro and is like a roach that just won't die when you stomp on it."

"That makes me feel so much better." Yusuke growled. "I don't need another near-immortal on my hands."

"Near?" Kuwabara grinned.

"Did you forget what Kurama did to him?"

"Nope." Kuwabara made a face. "That was icky."

"So let's go see what Genkai knows about this."

They made it to Genkai's temple and Yusuke rapped on the sliding door before barging in. "Yo, grandma!"

"In here, you idiot." Genkai's voice came from the other room. They followed it to where Genkai was sitting with Yukina. "What do you want?"

"We have a couple questions for you." Yusuke said, settling down and giving Yukina a small smile. "There are rumors that Sensui is back. You know anything about that?"

Genkai put her teacup down to stare hard at Yusuke. "Excuse me?"

"Koenma's had a few attempts on his life, and he says that he thinks Sensui's behind them. You hear anything about that?"

Kuwabara nodded. "He even recruited Kurama and Hiei to be his bodyguards, and we all know that the three of them don't exactly get along. It's more a grudging respect."

Genkai processed this, frowning slightly. "I haven't heard anything. I thought for sure he was dead."

Yusuke sighed. "Dammit."

Genkai considered. "I'm surprised, though. Why would Koenma pick the two demons to be his bodyguards?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "No idea."

Yusuke shot him a dark look. "Getting back to the topic at hand, is there any way to find out if it really is Sensui short of just knocking on his door? I don't want to do that again just yet."

Kuwabara nodded. "That makes two of us, Urameshi. I remember the first time you fought him. You scared the daylights out of all of us."

Yusuke shrugged, earning a dirty look from Kuwabara. "Yeah, well, it did what it was supposed to. How do we figure out if this is actually Sensui?"

Genkai shrugged. "I'll look into it and get back to you on it. In the meantime, I suggest you tell Kurama and Hiei to keep a close watch on Koenma. If this is Sensui, they'll have a fight on their hands."

Yusuke grinned. "I dunno. They're a bit peeved with him. They might just let Sensui kill him just outta spite."

Yukina spoke for the first time, a slight smile crossing her face. "Somehow, I doubt it. Not if their pride is at stake."

Kuwabara grinned. "Yeah. Besides, I'm sure Kurama'll keep Hiei in line!"

Yusuke and Genkai exchanged 'oh brother' looks.

Yukina nodded. "I just hope they stay safe. They're a long way away if something happens to them."

Yusuke gave her a smile. "They'll be fine. They're considered to be the boogey men of demon world, you know."

/--/

Kurama stretched and glanced around. Hiei's attention was on the door leading into the room, his eyes narrowed as his jagan stared through the door. /Everything okay?/

/I'm not sure. I sense someone waiting for an opportune moment to strike, but I can't find them. I can only feel the intent./ Hiei said, frowning slightly.

/Where is it coming from?/ Kurama asked, sitting up and stretching before heading to the door.

/I'm not sure yet./ Hiei stood and followed Kurama out the door. /Where are we going?/

/We're bodyguards, remember? We need to protect Koenma./

/Oh./ Hiei scowled as he and Kurama entered Koenma's office. Koenma looked up in surprise.

"What are you two doing here?"

Kurama merely smiled and sat down, crossing his arms. "Hiei sensed someone waiting for a chance to strike at you. We wanted to be here when they made the attempt."

/I never said it was Koenma they wanted to attack./ Hiei bit out. /I said I felt the intent./

Kurama considered. /If it's Koenma's assassin - /

Koenma cut him off. "So you're just going to sit here instead of searing for this person?"

"If he's after you, he'll come straight to you." Hiei growled. "Why waste time chasing him down when we know where he'll be?"

Koenma nodded, conceding the point. "All right. Tell me one thing. Is he still there?"

"Yes." Hiei said, settling against one of the pillars. "He's waiting." He closed his eyes, and relaxed.

Kurama glanced around, hands clasped in his lap. He rose an eyebrow at Hiei. /What are you doing?/

/Keeping tabs on the detective and the oaf. As of right now, they're with Genkai and Yukina./

/Are they making any headway?/

/Genkai is going to keep an ear out for any thing, but so far, all the signs point to Sensui still being dead./