Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fluff Forevermore ❯ Potions ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except Kou. Period. Paragraph.

“AHHH!”

Hiei was woken abruptly by the loud yell, and then he felt the absence of Kurama's warmth. No…He sat up, fumbling blindly for his katana.

“Hiei, put it away. Everything's fine.”

“Kurama?”

“Yes. I'm sorry for scaring you.”

Hiei slid his katana back into its sheath and blinked until the sleep cleared from his eyes. “Wha' happen? Why'd you yell?” he asked, his voice slightly slurred.

“Sorry,” Kurama repeated. “Harry scared me.”

It was only then that Hiei noticed Harry standing next to the bed, and that the rest of the room was empty. “Oh. Well, don't do it again,” he muttered, yawning.

He head Kurama's musical laugh, and smiled. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Seven-thirty. Harry was coming to wake me up, and he saw us both here, and…”

“And he was surprised to see the position we were in,” Hiei finished.

“Er…you could say that,” Harry said. “So…are you two…um…” He trailed off, flushing red.

“Together?” Kurama supplied. “Yes.”

“So both of you are…”

“Gay.” Kurama nodded. “Bi, actually.”

“But…how…when…?” Harry asked, confused.

Hiei answered this time. “About a year.”

“Then why haven't you given us any sign of it?”

Hiei smiled ruefully. “One of us is a bit bullheaded.”

Harry was silent for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not to say what he was thinking. Then he said, “It's nice to see you smile.”

“Isn't it?” Kurama said brightly. “You know, the Hiei you met two days ago used to be the only Hiei there was.”

Harry shuddered. “I don't envy you guys…”

“Shut up, both of you,” Hiei snapped, making Kurama and Hiei laugh.

“Get dressed,” Harry said, changing the subject. “We're late. Yusuke and Kuwabara are in the Great Hall already and Hermione and Ron are in the Common Room. I'll meet you down there.”

As he got up to leave, Kurama asked, “So this doesn't bother you?”

Harry looked genuinely confused. “Should it?”

“Er…well…the whole same-gender-relationship thing bothers most people.”

Harry shook his head. “I don't see why…you're both happy, right?”

“Yes, of course,” Kurama said, at the same time Hiei said, “Obviously.”

“Then there's no problem.”

“And do the others feel this way?” Kurama asked.

Harry thought about that for a minute. “I know Ron and Hermione won't care. Hermione just wants to learn from you, and she could do that whether you're gay or straight. And Ron is just…Ron.” He shrugged, as if that explained it.

“What about the other boys…Neville, Seamus, and Dean?” Hiei asked.

“Neville won't mind. I don't think he really thinks about things like that. I don't know about Seamus and Dean, but they should accept it. What I want to know is why you didn't tell us before.”

Kurama shrugged. “I don't know…it just didn't seem important to tell you, since…”

“We weren't talking,” Hiei finished.

“Why weren't you talking?” Harry asked.

“Never mind that,” Hiei said, when Kurama simply looked uncomfortable. “It's not important anymore. Now go down and tell the Redhead and the Scholar that we'll be down in a minute.”

As soon as Harry left, Hiei surprised Kurama by turning around, jumping into his lap, and kissing him thoroughly. Kurama's eyes widened, but then he wrapped his good arm around Hiei and kissed him back.

“I missed that,” Hiei said breathlessly when they parted.

Kurama smiled and squeezed his hand. “Get your cloak, koi. I'll get dressed.”

A couple of minutes later, Hiei and Kurama walked down to the common room. As soon as they entered, it became obvious that Harry had told Ron and Hermione what had transpired up in the dormitory, from the looks they got from the two. But it seemed that Harry had been right; Ron and Hermione treated them no differently than they had been for two days.

As they walked down the corridor, Harry suddenly began to laugh. At Ron's, Hermione's, Hiei's and Kurama's have-you-lost-it looks, he explained, “I was just thinking about the looks on all those girls' faces when they find out about you, Kurama.”

“Girls?” Hiei asked, as Ron and Hermione chuckled. “There are fan girls here too?”

Kurama sighed. “Afraid so. It's worse than the black plague!”

“It can't be that bad,” Ron said. “Why, if I had all those girls fawning over me all the…ow!” He yelped as Hermione slapped him on the arm.

Kurama was still laughing at the very idea of being happy about all the fan girls when they got to the great hall.

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully to Yusuke and Kuwabara. “Beautiful day, isn't it?” He gestured to the clear ceiling, which today showed gray, stormy clouds. He hummed a happy tune as he sat down and began piling the plate in front of him with food.

“What's got into him?” Kuwabara asked, staring at Kurama, who was quickly joined by Hiei, who sat down next to him and kissed his cheek. Kurama's smile got just a bit wider, and Kuwabara grinned. “Oh. So they're back together.”

“They never broke up,” Yusuke corrected. “Just argued for a while. Did we ever find out what that was all about?”

“No. And it's none of our business,” Kuwabara said firmly.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. “All right, all right. Spare me the lecture.” Muttering, he went to sit down next to Neville, whom he'd seemed to take a liking to.

All through breakfast, Hiei and Kurama tried to do the newly-made-up-couple thing, but they were repeatedly interrupted by the female of the species (well, Shuuichi's species, anyway…) who literally came up to them every five minutes, commandeering the seat on the other side of Kurama to chatter his ear off until; Harry, Ron or Hermione told them to go away.

Those girls were either the bravest ningen ever to walk the earth, or they were just too absorbed in Kurama to notice Hiei's frequent death glares for stealing his fox, who was, in Hiei's opinion, far too polite for his own good. Couldn't they see that Kurama was so bored it was growing painful? It was plain on his face! And couldn't they hear the low growls coming from the kitsune's mate?

An explosion was coming.

The most recent girl had moved away, and Hiei was moodily turning his fork over and over in his hands, while Kurama halfheartedly began their conversation for the sixth time, when Parvati Patil's all-too-perky voice piped up being them. “Hi, Kurama!”

Hiei growled loudly. “Oh, by Kami—” He threw his fork down so violently that it bounced across the table and nailed Yusuke in the face, turned in his seat, and pulled Kurama into a kiss that would have made the fox weak at the knees, had they been standing up. Kurama was shocked by the action at first, but then he closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of Hiei's lips against his own.

After a few moments, Hiei pulled away, feeling in great need of air. After he had dragged some into his lungs, he turned to the wide-eyed, shocked Parvati and snapped, “Do you get it now? He's not yours, so go away.”

Parvati didn't understand, of course, but she didn't need Yusuke's translation; she had gotten the general idea. In her silence, jeers sounded, and laughter at the look on her face. It was mostly from the boys, though; the girls found nothing funny about the fact that their crush was actually homosexual.

Kurama, though, was laughing. Parvati seemed to take this as a personal insult, and she flounced off in a huff.

“That was fun,” Hiei said, though he was still too annoyed to smile.

Kurama grinned at him, though, and just the sight was enough to make Hiei crack a smile. “I don't think they'll be around again, koi,” Kurama said, leaning over to kiss him again, lightly.

“Aww…” Harry teased as they parted.

“Shut up, ningen,” Hiei said darkly as he turned to wolf down his food.

Kurama, watching him, shook his head. “Koi, there are several hundred people in this room who, unlike me, are not used to your habits, and do not find them rather endearing. Don't repulse them.” His tone was teasing, though.

Hiei smiled slightly and slowed down. “What's your first class today?” He asked around his toast. (He may have been able to eat slowly if his fox told him to do so, but he had yet to master the art of not speaking with a full mouth.)

“Hiei, koi, remember what we talked about at every meal we ate with my mother before we came here?” Kurama reminded him gently.

Hiei, looking sheepish, swallowed the food and repeated his question.

“Potions,” Ron answered, groaning.

“Great,” Harry said sarcastically.

“What's the problem?” Kuwabara asked.

“The problem is that you four are going to meet the two worst people in the entire school in one fell swoop,” Hermione told him. “I can't think of why you haven't met them yet, but you'll get your fill of them in one class period, I promise you that.”

“Oh, it can't be that bad,” Yusuke said, chuckling.

“You just wait,” Ron said darkly.

“Well, no matter how bad they are, I can say with a completely clear conscience that the Reikai Tentei has met and killed worse,” Hiei said casually. At their incredulous looks, he asked, “Did I say something ningen find odd again, Kurama?”

“Probably,” Kurama said. “The whole killing thing disconcerts them.”

“You've killed people?” Ron exclaimed, though he kept his voice very quiet, in case someone was listening. “I thought you were a detective team.”

“We are. Our job is to hunt down anything dangerous to the Ningenkai and Reikai in Makai, and destroy it,” Hiei said, as if it were the most obvious job in the world for a detective team to do.

“Wow…” Harry said.

“Isn't that dangerous to all of you, as well?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, very,” Kurama replied. “But we've become used to it.”

“What kinds of fights have you been through?” Ron asked interestedly. “I bet it's awesome to do that kind of thing all the time!”

At that, an uncomfortable silence fell over the four. Yusuke was the one who answered. “No,” he said quietly. “It's…painful, sometimes.”

“Painful? How?” Ron asked.

Before anyone could elaborate, a bell rang—causing Hiei to start and curse—and everyone in the hall began to leave.

“Time to head to the torture chamber,” Ron said, heaving a sigh that seemed to let forth all the sorrows of the ages.

It turned out that Potions was one of the few subjects that didn't require magic, and therefore, it was one of the few subjects in which the Tentei could participate. But there was a problem.

The class was held in the dungeons, which they hadn't known.

“Where are we going?” Kurama asked uneasily as Harry, Ron and Hermione led them down the stairs into a dimly-lit hallway.

“Class,” Hermione replied. “In the dungeons.”

Just that one word was enough to get Kurama shaking. Hiei took his hand and smiled reassuringly, and Kurama squeezed it hard, as if that action alone could banish the fear.

And maybe it would have been able to do so, if the teacher wasn't so…creepy.

That was really the only word to describe him, in Hiei's opinion. As everyone went into the classroom, he swept over to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama, reminding Hiei of an overgrown bat. Kurama's hand tightened in his. The room was utterly silent, unlike any classroom they'd been into yet.

The professor spoke. His voice was very quiet, but the words carried in the silent dungeon. His voice was deep and icy, and made Kurama shiver. “I am Professor Snape. Welcome to Hogwarts.” Something about his voice indicated that they may have been welcome at the school, but he really would have preferred it if they were not in his classroom. He gave each new student a once-over, and when his eyes flicked over Hiei and Kurama's interlocked hands, his lip curled in disgust. “Why are you shaking, boy?” he snapped at Kurama. “I assume you are going by that gender.” The students with green tags on their robes (there were some with red—Gryffindor—and some with green. The concept of house colors had been explained already.) laughed maliciously.

A low rumble sounded from Hiei's throat, but Snape ignored him. Kurama squeezed his hand in a gentle warning and said, “H-hai…”

“I'm sorry? I don't speak that vulgar language,” Snape said. Hiei growled again, louder this time, and he also threw in a death glare. Kurama's grip got a bit firmer, and he said, “I'm sorry. Yes.”

“Yes what? I am afraid that in waiting for a reply, I forgot what it was you were supposed to reply to.”

Kurama's face went slightly red with anger, and he answered in a clear, carrying voice, showing not a trace of embarrassment. “Yes, I go by the male gender, but if you wish for me to act as a woman, then very well. Of course, I can't think of why you would want me to put up that kind of front, unless, perhaps, you wish to date me yourself, but do not want to be ridiculed?” He said, barely making the last part sound like a question.

Laughs sounded around the room, mixed with the indignant yells on Snape's behalf from the students in his House. Hiei, able to understand because of the translator, smirked. Snape, though, was livid. Seemingly unable to control his actions, his fist lashed out and connected with Kurama's chin with a loud smack. Kurama, with instincts born from living in Makai for over a thousand years, didn't move or make a sound as blood trickled from his lower lip.

But Hiei did.

With a roar, the Jaganshi shot at Snape. No one saw what happened; one second Hiei was standing next to Kurama, staring at Snape with undisguised contempt, and the next, he was behind the professor. His arm was around Snape's neck, choking him, bending him painfully backward, while his free hand wrenched Snape's arm up behind his back. Snape's other hand was held at his own throat, under Hiei's arm.

The room went deathly still as every single person waited, with bated breath, for what was coming next.

Hiei glared down into Snape's black eyes. It didn't matter that he couldn't speak English. The menace in his eyes said clearly that he would have no qualms about snapping Snape's arm like a twig, or, worse, crushing his windpipe into mush.

Hiei spoke quietly in Japanese, and Kurama's translation proved Snape's assumption. “He says that if you ever strike me again, you will be begging for mercy long before you die.”

Hiei spoke again.

“He demands an apology to me,” Kurama translated.

Snape's eyes widened, and he hissed, “It is you who owes me the apology!”

Hiei's arm tightened around his neck, and he cried out as his arm was bent at an even more painful angle. Snape, though, remained stubbornly silent.

“Let him go, koi,” Kurama said suddenly without bothering to switch to Japanese. “He isn't worth it.”

“Worth what?” Hiei snapped. “One squeeze and I could kill him, right now.”

Kurama did switch to Japanese then. “Koi, you know you can't kill humans. Kurama would put you back on probation, at best. At worse, you'll end up in Reikai jail.”

“Hn. The toddler could do nothin to me,” Hiei said. But, seeing the worry in Kurama's eyes, he threw Snape away from him. “Tell him that my warning stands,” he said, glaring at Snape with disdain.

Kurama translated, and Snape's lip curled in distaste again. “Take your seats, all of you,” was all he said. But as Hiei threw him one more death glare, as Kurama guided him gently after Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he gave them a look that said clearly, “You have a fight on your hands after crossing me.”

Hiei smirked, and shot him a look that said in reply, “I like it that way.”

“That was awesome!” Ron said, practically skipping down the corridor half an hour later. “Malfoy was absolutely cowed, and you didn't even touch him!”

Hermione seemed to be fighting back a smile as she said, “But he shouldn't have done it, Ron! He's going to get into trouble!”

“And how's that work, eh?” Yusuke demanded, outraged. “He hit Kurama first!” He gestured at the kitsune, who was lagging behind with Hiei, insisting—again—that he was fine, and that Snape hadn't hurt him much at all.

“Yeah, and he's really gonna tell the truth to Dumbledore,” Ron said. “And he'll get his pet to back him up…why isn't that rat following us, anyway?”

Harry chuckled. “Hiei scared him too much. He seems to think that Hiei will kill him and Snape if he comes near us, for some reason…”

Hermione couldn't help it—the stern look left her face as she exploded into laugher. “You told him that?”

“Now would I do that?” Harry asked innocently, feigning a look of shocked hurt.

“Yes.”

“Good girl.” Laughing, Harry called back to Hiei and Kurama, “Come on, guys, it's Divination next!”

“Not with that professor…the one I met at breakfast?” Hiei asked.

“Yep,” Ron said with a grin.

Hiei groaned.

Okay, there you go! Another chapter! Now, down to author business: I apologize to those readers who wanted a lot of crap between Draco and the Tentei. I wanted it, too, but I'm not so good at portraying the mean people, and I don't want to do it anymore than I have to. So though Draco will be in this story, there won't be a lot going on with him. I'm sorry. I also need the opinion of my reviewers. Should I continue with the issues between Hiei and Snape, or should I just kind of forget that? Send me an answer in reviews before I get too far ahead of myself!

Reviewers' comments:

MikaSamu: Hey, I was wondering when you'd review! And here's some more for ya! Do you really thing Kurama's problems work! I wasn't sure if they did! You have now made me a very happy authoress. Just tell me if I overdo it, though, okay? Thank you!

YokoYoukai: The beginning of this chapter holds answers to your questions! And I'm happy too! dances I hated myself for making them fight! Anyway, thanks for the review! And must you keep trying to hack the authoress into little bits! runs away

Pyro: Yep, the “Golden Trio” found out! Kinda anticlimactic, though…stares at fangs I know I've asked before, but…do you happen to be friends with YokoYoukai over there? points at person with saber Because both of you seem kinda intent on killing the authoress!

Koritsune Dragonrider: Don't you hate it when people say things are “just a phase”! I know I do…anyway, I plan to try and become a novelist, or at least keep writing stories until I die! And thank you for the advice about flamers. I never really did get why people flame stories. If you don't like a story, simply don't review. I have never sent a flame in my life, though there have been many stories I don't like, and I don't ever plan to! And also, I haven't heard of Big & Rich…I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the review!

shiorifoxiesmom: Thanks for the review! dances happily because the fox and the firebaby are back together

StormAZ: If you liked that part, how'd you like Hiei's reaction? I thought it was fairly amusing myself…gets hit on head by hammer that falls out of the sky HEY! I WAS NOT BRAGGING, KOENMA! rubs head Anyway, thanks for the review!

“Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” -Holocaust Museum, Washington D.C.