Kurama's pale eyebrows drew together and he frowned, a hand rising to brush past his temples.  His head felt as if he had landed on it, something sticky
meeting his fingers.  But his confusion didn't last long at all.  He sat up suddenly, wide eyes flying around him.  "Hiei?!"  His breath caught in his throat and he
stared into glazed red eyes.  Hiei was sitting less than two feet from him, his back pressed to a dark wall.  Kurama leaned toward him but paused when those
dark eyes closed and Hiei gave a long sigh.  He abruptly sagged against the wall, falling onto his side.  "Hiei!"  

"Let him sleep, he's barely closed his eyes since he brought you in."

Tensing, Kurama's eyes narrowed and he shot a dangerous glare at the unfamiliar youkai standing just outside the doorway.  The demon was a nondescript
brown color, not the least bit intelligent looking, and it shrugged at him before turning away.  With a quick glance around the small room he was in, Kurama
frowned.  "Wait.  Where am I?"

"In his bed," said Mukuro.  Kurama's glare reappeared twice as dark, and Mukuro smirked, stepping into the doorway and waving her underling away.  "You're
just where I thought you'd be."  She stepped into the room, her gaze dropping to Hiei's closed eyes for a moment before her smirk widened.  "You should feel
honored.  You're the first person to ever sleep in that bed."

Kurama had an unexpected urge to shove the woman aside, grab Hiei and not look back.  But his head throbbed when he swung his legs off the edge of the
bed and he waited, eyes still glaring at the female.  There was something very annoying about her smile.  He barely resisted the need to move away when she
sat next to him, her gaze turning from Hiei to him.  "Why did he come here?"

"You know," Mukuro murmured, her voice calm as if she were merely making conversation, "I asked him the same thing.  He told me to move.  He really has no
respect for authority."  The youko was still glaring at her and she frowned back at him.  "He wouldn't say a word, and he refused to let anyone else touch you.  
He didn't even trust me with you when you were unconscious.  To be blunt, Youko Kurama, I don't see how he carried you here.  As for the why, my guess is it
was his only option.  I can't imagine him doing it otherwise."  Those pale gold eyes shifted away from her and she followed them, her face clearing when she
looked at Hiei.  He really did look awful, but at least he was sleeping now.  

The female moved and Kurama flinched when she crouched near Hiei's head.  He was on his feet immediately, baring his teeth without thinking.  "Don't touch
him."  She glanced back and his eyebrow twitched at her knowing smile.

Mukuro held the youko's gaze for a moment before pressing her fingers over Hiei's forehead, closing the jagan.  "You're as defensive as he is," she
commented, standing again.  Her hand dropped to her vest and she tossed a bit of cloth at the youko, watching as his pale arm lifted to catch it.  "Tie him
yourself, then, and come outside.  We need to talk."

Kurama's fingers curled around the white cloth, his narrow eyes following the female until she disappeared through the doorway.  It was his first encounter with
her.  Despite the number of times he had seen her, he'd never had cause to speak to her.  But he could see her personality was one that must drive Hiei
crazy.  His gaze dropped to the little youkai and he knelt, fingers brushing Hiei's temple.  The hair was damp, but only a few traces of the blood he'd seen
earlier was still visible.  He thought of how glazed Hiei's eyes had been when he'd woken to find them on him.  Whatever he thought of the woman, Mukuro had
a point.  Hiei had been in horrible shape before Kurama had gotten knocked out.  He couldn't imagine Hiei trying to carry him.  Only someone as stubborn as
his lover could have done that.  "Hiei..."

Black brows twitched when Kurama lifted the demon's head, but those eyes remained closed.  He tied the band around Hiei's forehead, and then glanced over
the room they were in.  The bed was easily large enough for three people, but it was the only thing in the room, space left on three sides of it but not filled with
anything.  And the walls were bare, reminding him more of a prison cell than a bedroom.  But she'd said it was Hiei's bed.  Kurama lifted Hiei carefully and laid
him in the center of that bed.  He could easily believe that Hiei wouldn't have slept in it, even if it were supposed to be his.  He looked far too small in the
middle of that bed.  He didn't want to leave him there, even for a minute.  What he wanted to do was the same urge he'd had when he first woke, to take him
home.  But Mukuro was obviously providing shelter to them, whether he liked the idea or not.

Mukuro was leaning against the wall when the youko finally came through the doorway.  She nodded sharply at him.  "You'll want to talk here."  The kitsune
nodded, but she'd expected as much.  Kurama wouldn't want to leave Hiei alone; the fox trusted her even less than Hiei did.  Not that it bothered her.  "He's
been gone for days.  Do you plan to tell me what's going on?"

"No."

Her lips twitched and she smirked suddenly, inclining her head.  "I didn't think so.  The last time I saw him he was going to check on a youkai who'd crossed my
border."  She shot a sideways glance at the youko, noting how those pale eyes narrowed.  "And then he showed up here, carrying you.  It took him two hours
to get you inside.  Of course, he rejected any assistance."  Kurama remained silent.  She sighed, leaning against the wall again.  "You're still living in the
Ningenkai, aren't you."

There was a cold tint in the female's words.  Kurama frowned at her, folding his arms over his chest.  "Yes."

"The Reikai's slacking in its control over the portals," Mukuro said, her eyes closed.  "They open often right now, but that isn't going to last.  How long do you
expect him to keep crossing over to see you?"  Wide golden eyes locked on her when she glanced at him.  She snorted, looking away again.  "You think I don't
know?  I keep waiting for him to either forget you and that sister of his, or stay in the Ningenkai.  It's been months since he last went...I didn't expect him to go
back."

Kurama glared, his back very straight.  "It's none of your business what he does," he said softly, meeting her gaze with dark eyes.  "He chooses to work for
you, but that's his choice.  What he does the rest of the time doesn't concern you."  The words echoed something familiar, but he paid no attention.

"You sound confident," Mukuro nodded, "but how tightly have you tied him?  Judging from his condition, I'd say you aren't strong enough to protect him.  And
three months is a long time."

"He's mine, whether he likes it or not."  Kurama stared down at the short female, his expression dangerous.  He couldn't read her face, and he flinched when
she laughed, a small, sharp sound.

"Good."  The fox blinked at her, and Mukuro smirked, enjoying his confusion.  He wasn't as young as Hiei, but he still had a lot to learn.  "Because if I ever see
him like this again, you won't see him again, not in the Ningenkai, not here.  Do we understand each other?"

Anger threw his confusion aside and Kurama's hands curled, not quite grabbing the female.  "You think you could keep him away from me?"

"Look at him," Mukuro said sharply, waving a hand toward the open doorway.  "Look again.  Didn't you see his eyes?  I've seen that look before, but I didn't
expect to see it again.  You've made your claim, now prove you have a right to hold him."  Her voice softened a bit, all expression leaving her partially covered
face.  "Whoever did that...if he's too much for you, there's nothing wrong with asking for help.  Pride is no excuse for allowing that to happen."  Some of the
fury left the youko's face and she turned her head, looking off down the dark hall.  "He left his things.  Take them with you when you go."

"You..."

"The teargems, his katana, and his clothing."  Mukuro smirked suddenly, her eye glinting once more as she glanced over her shoulder.  "That outfit...I never
thought to see him in ningen garb.  It doesn't suit him.  If he hadn't been carrying someone twice his size I'd have believed he'd regressed to his childhood.  
The outmost guards didn't even recognize him until they saw the jagan."

Kurama was confused.  He didn't know if the woman was staking a claim to counter his own, or showing her support of them.  But her feelings for Hiei caused a
throb of jealousy that he didn't understand.  It was as if he hadn't expected anyone else to see Hiei for the treasure he was.  "Mukuro."

"I'll see the two of you to the nearest portal to the Ningenkai," Mukuro said sharply, her eye still glinting.  "Then it's up to you."

.-.

PART 10

.-.

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