Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall...
Part VI

By Caithi'on

Standard Disclaimers

Survival in the Makai is most certainly more than a thing of chance. If you were strong, you survived. If you were crafty, you survived. If you were paranoid... you excelled. Youko Kurama had mastered these three qualities to a fine art, and sixteen years of soft living wasn't about to wipe out three thousand years of prior instincts. This said, it was no surprise that the red-haired half-human reacted like a wild thing when he felt a hand brush his posterior.

Kurama whirled with a snarl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The teenager backed away as far as he could on the crowded train. "Uhh... I'm sorry, really... I didn't mean... the train swayed and..."

Kurama wrinkled his nose at the terror he could smell radiating from the human. He also attempted to put more distance between them. "Oh, shut up."

The boy's mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and he turned around quickly. He nearly lost his grip on the metal railing, his sweat-slicked palms finding no purchase.

I don't get it, the boy thought, why am I so scared of a pretty (if slightly bitchy) girl?

The train clanked along the track at a nearly blurring speed, but somehow the boy didn't think the trip could be over soon enough.

Finally shaking off his rage at the human's clumsy mistake, Kurama turned his mind back to the problem at hand.

Hiei. He's enjoying my weakness, I can tell. Why else would he circle me like a god-damned vulture? Kurama's lips drew back unconsciously, causing his fellow passengers to back off a bit more. He must be toying with me, or else he'd have finished me off when my wound made me weak and he had no witnesses. Now that he knows this form throws my reflexes off, he's decided he has time to play the Game. Heh, how amusing for him... hardly any effort at all, and he can claim the death of an S class, as well as all the prestige and power that comes along. Green eyes burned with a cold fury as a delicate, pink tongue flicked out in a fox laugh. I think not, demon.

The boy shivered and reflected that the once-refreshing air conditioning was a torture when covered in a cold sweat.

"Oi, Urameshi..."

Yuusuke sighed, and abandoned the idea of sleeping. He opened his eyes to slits and glared at the redhead. "Look, Kuwabara, I said you could hang out up here and skip classes with me, but if you can't keep your mouth shut for—"

Kuwabara made a face. "This is important, man!"

"Yeah, yeah... What now?"

"Did you notice anything funny about Kurama last time we saw him?"

Oh jeez... "Let me think, a several-millenia-old fox spirit acting in a way different from our own... nope, not a sign!" Kuwabara, sometimes you're a real winner, y'know?

"Oh yeah." Kuwabara's face fell. "Good point."

"I-I already told you! I don't have any money!" The man's voice was becoming desperate.

"Ohhh, ain't that just too bad... right, boys?" The group of thugs laughed as they circled their prey.

Maybe I shouldn't have gone on ahead of the train...

The resounding clatter of trashcans colliding and falling drew a small sliver of Hiei's attention. He frowned.

...I mean, no telling what could attack Kurama while I sit here waiting for that slow thing to arrive.

"Shit! I think we killed him!"

"Take the good stuff, then get the hell out of here!"

Sirens.

"Too late! Cops! Split now!"

Rattles and rapid footsteps marked the abandonment of the alley. From his rooftop perch Hiei noted the disturbance, but again it was classified as unaffecting him, and his main thought-stream continued uninterrupted.

Still, I hate trains... too closely packed... can't breathe, let alone defend yourself from a knife between the ribs, and wouldn't that be a pathetic way to go? Oh Seven Hells... I'll just go intercept the damn thing and ride on top the rest of the way... just in case... With a flicker, he was gone.

In the alley, a collapsed figure moaned.

Kurii's nose twitched as he caught a tantalizing whiff of youki. "Kurama?" He laughed. "How amusing..."

If he still had hackles, Kurama knew they'd be straight up in alarm. Something's Hunting me... He glanced around at the other passengers, who were all eyeing him oddly by now. Damn, almost home... He sent out a tendril of thought, seeking. There! Low class, slightly familiar youki but I can't place it... Of all the times for an old enemy to come Hunting! Still, shouldn't be a problem. If they're sloppy enough to give their presence away, I can take them.

The train slowed and Kurama swayed gracefully, avoiding the other passengers' stumbles. I could almost get used to this form... almost.

Highly disgusted with this train, and all public transportation in general, Kurama did his best to shove his way to the exit first. Of course, with some forty other people attempting the same thing, life can be exciting. Perhaps that's why Kurama discounted the queasy feeling. As he stepped off the train a wave of dizziness caused him to stumble, clutching at empty air. He threw his arms out to protect his head and felt the rough scrape of concrete.

Shit. The acrid smell of blood came through clearly to his muddled senses. That'll draw the hunter's attention... Wonder if anything's broken...? He weakly resisted before surrendering to a world of half-dreams with a small sigh.

Hiei watched Kurama stumble, frozen with indecision. If he jumped from the top of the train into the crowd he had two options: one, do it so fast he seemed to materialize from thin air (Oh, that'll go over well), or, two, go slowly, drawing everyone's attention to the fact that he'd been on the roof (Even better...).

He moved as Kurama hit the pavement. Quicker than thought, he was there, checking for broken bones or other injuries. Nosebleed, scrapes— Che, pulled the old wound open again! Hiei eyed the sluggishly bleeding wound. Not too bad. But why the hell did he fall... and pass out?

Kurama moaned, curling into a ball.

Sick? No...

"Unh..."

Ah! Changing back... of all the— Why didn't that bastard Koenma tell us the cure wouldn't take effect right away?

"What's this? Kurama's found another tame pet?" The voice was harsh, but had a warm undercurrent of amusement. "Step away, little-one, or you'll die with your master. Tsk, tsk, a human form, Kurama? I'd have thought that below even you, lowlife that you are."

Hiei was very aware of the crowd flowing around inside the busy station. A crowd of ignorant humanity whose attention they were starting to draw. "Let's take this somewhere else," he said coldly.

"Why? I find this much more entertaining. And how terribly embarrassing for Kurama, to die like a freak-show, among humans." The tall figure raised a brow. "Unless, am I mistaken? Have you come to kill him? I wouldn't dream of interfering in someone else's Game..."

Kurama moaned again, and Hiei knelt to lift him in one smooth move. He held him in a protective grip. "Like hell!"

"True, that might have been just as amusing—" Kurii blinked as the demon raced from sight faster than he could follow. "How rude..." A grin spread across his sharp features. "Fire-demons have such short tempers. I do believe he may have been more fun to play with than you, Kurama. I might have known you'd fall in with such a fellow. Ah well, I can see he's in a hurry. Another time, little demon." Better get back to the Makai before She gets angry.

'Like hell!'

Kurama growled, wishing he had control of his muscles back again. With consciousness had come hearing, but no conscious control.

'Like hell!'

What had it meant? Was Hiei so eager to make the kill himself? If so, why not just do it? Why protect him from someone he perceived as an enemy? Which reminded him...

Kurii, your sense of humor... I'm going to strangle you some day, cousin, Kurama vowed. Masking you youki to look like a Hunter's... 'Like hell!'

Hiei shifted his grip on the limp figure he held. "We seem to be doing this a lot lately, fox. At least you're not a damn female with five-lifetimes worth of hair this time." Although... it was rather— He cut that line of thought off abruptly.

He glanced down. Still unconscious. "Well, I won't have to guard you anymore, right?"

Kurama twitched. 'Guard'?!

Hiei finished re-bandaging Kurama's old wound with a curse. While being applied, the kitsune's healing salves had found every nick and scratch on his hands, and stung like a mimizu no hi. His only consolation was that Kurama's pain was no doubt ten times worse.

A glance at the sleeping redhead caused his glare to soften somewhat.

"Baka... itoshii kitsune... I know you don't even trust me as far as Enma could throw me— It's funny though, the double act I put on: pretending to like and pretending to hate. Your act's not nearly as complicated, ne? I wonder how Urameshi and the Idiot would act if they ever saw through us... saw the truth of a youkai... hn."

A cold wind blew in through Kurama's bedroom window. Without thinking, Hiei pulled his cloak over the shivering Kurama, who clutched it reflexively. Only then did Hiei realize that the kitsune was laying on top of several perfectly good blankets.

"Baka-yarou." This time he spoke to himself. "Too late now."

Kurama stirred, and the black figure blurred away. He opened his eyes slowly, not really seeing. Looking in instead of out. "Hiei?" He relaxed his grip on the cloak. Was that another plot? A well-conceived speech? Somehow, he couldn't believe it. Who'd have thought, a fire-demon fallen... The idea wasn't nearly as amusing as it should have been. "Damn..." he exhaled.

His room suddenly seemed oppressive, alien. When had he started feeling comfortable here? When had he stopped cursing his human life? When had his subconscious stopped seeing Hiei as a threat, despite his mind's imagined plots?

Things may get complicated... He wrapped himself tighter in the cloak and drifted into sleep.