General Principles

By: Kowareta

Pairing: HieixKurama. Takes place after the series.

Only a bastard could love a bastard.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

---

"And does Mukuro wait for you in demon world?"

The wind was cold and they sat together on the high rooftop. The level structures of glass and concrete stretched on endlessly. The sun was just rising and the faint golden brushstrokes of morning dusted the scenery. A haze of snow swirled somewhere below the rooftops, tinted yellow now that the sun was up. The early morning bustle of the human streets below sounded as though it was really beginning to get into the swing of things. There was also a cheery car crash just to get things into motion.

Hiei's eyes flickered over to his redheaded companion.

"She does."

Kurama leaned back, resting his elbows on the peak of the roof. He was dressed in sweaters, a coat, and a scarf. The wind threatened to take the scarf, however. The wind threatened to take everything. It always did.

"Yusuke is getting married this week. Are you going to stick around to watch?"

"No."

The redhead mused, "I don't think they wanted you there anyway."

On general principals, Hiei did almost anything anyone didn't want him to do, and, he decided, Kurama was an evil bastard for using that knowledge to his advantage. Which, also on general principals, Hiei approved of. Any proper demon should be an evil bastard. You couldn't go around backwards acting like you cared for things other than for getting what you wanted. No proper demon did that.

The fire demon grunted to himself. His back rested against the roof's chimney and his legs hung out over the edge. His arms were folded over his chest and Kurama assumed this was Hiei's way denying to the world the fact it was cold.

Then again, Hiei was a fire demon, and perhaps, to him, the world wasn't so much as cold as simply there. And he had to accept the fact that the world was just there, and if not cold, then most definitely causing suffering. But demons are used to struggle. So are humans in their own way. Life without struggle is not life at all.

This is why demons rarely need to sympathize. They expect everyone to be able to deal with their own problems.

The redhead attempted to brush hair out of his face. This was mostly futile. Kurama's hair is like a beacon for wind. No matter if it was a dry and dead day, a wind would always seem to find him and mess up his hair. There's no scientific explanation for this. There doesn't have to be. People with long hair everywhere know that it is a fundamental fact that wind will always find a way to suffocate you with your own hair.

…And in so high and cold a place, nothing was yours. You could only belong to the wind…

Kurama moved closer to the chimney.

"I heard, through rumor--so it cannot be confirmed--that Yukina accepted Kuwabara. They're a couple now."

The fire demon gave the redhead a sideways glance.

"You wouldn't tell me if you didn't know the truth, Kurama. What kind of reaction are you expecting?"

Hiei's voice is as exciting as mud. It's just kind of there and there's very few ways of using it: Accusingly, angrily, or monotonously--personally, Kurama liked accusingly best. Mostly because he could get away with almost anything, but sometimes he let things slide. It wouldn't be fun otherwise if there was no chance at getting caught, or at least letting someone else believe that you could be caught.

"Not that one, I'll admit."

The fire demon shifted himself against the chimney so Kurama could sit beside him and out of the wind. Below, the wind was driving snow drifts, and a whiteness blotted out the streets. Wind is everywhere, and everywhere it's much the same. If it's strong enough, it'll push you in whatever direction it wants. And sometimes if that's the direction you want to go, you just ride…

But wind is tricky. Wind is capricious and doesn't like doing what people want. Just like demons, actually.

Wind can break people.

"Kuwabara is tolerable," Hiei confided. When he noticed the amused look on Kurama's face, he added with an edge to his voice, "And only just."

But, as Hiei noted before and approved of, Kurama was an evil bastard. The redhead wasn't just an evil bastard, though, he was also mischievous. Evil and mischievous bastards are the worst kind of evil bastard you could encounter. This is because they liked to see how far they could push a person before that person snapped back. With Kurama, he pushed people so close to the edge there's almost no room to retaliate and he just danced away from the edge and watched people fall. Then sometimes he looked back on it and laughed. When no one's looking, of course.

"And soon you'll be in-laws. And only just."

The fire demon glared at Kurama. The redhead gave a small smile and his green eyes glinted wickedly.

Aside from being a complete and utter evil bastard and being mischievous to a degree that kills most other people, Kurama was a daredevil and wasn't afraid of death. Which was probably only because he'd sort of done it before and knew what to expect.

He leaned over and kissed Hiei.

While as the fire demon didn't pull away, he did glare at the redhead through its whole duration.

"You're terrible," Kurama told him.

"I know," Hiei replied, smirking.

The redhead wrapped his arms around the demon and rested his head on Hiei's shoulder.

Smoke gray clouds began to crowd in, draining the blue from the sky. Smoke gray clouds driven by nothing but the wind. Clouds are made to ride the wind. They were born to. Demons and humans are not. People have got to fight back. Sometimes the force of the wind drives you, and there's no fighting to be done because you've already lost.

And demons hate losing.

Losing is weak.

Everyone's lost at some point, but what matters is whether or not they admit it. A person of great integrity can admit that they've lost and get stronger. A person who shrugs it off, not admitting anything, and gets stronger anyway is just a bastard.

And bastards are driven by terrible winds. They have to be. Struggle is everywhere and in order to survive you've got to be driven to be stronger. And bastards are perhaps the strongest of people, because it takes more of an effort to stand alone and say, "I'm a bastard, and there's nothing you can do about it" than it does to follow along with the wind. Winds have carved rocks, twisted trees, and broken people, but they have never mastered bastards.

"Does Mukuro know why you're here?"

"If she does not, she wouldn't mind. If she does, she doesn't mind."

"But you didn't tell her why you're here?"

"Hn."

The fact of the matter was that both Hiei and Kurama are evil bastards and have a disreputable reputation to protect. Having someone like Mukuro in the know would make them uncomfortable, only because Hiei had a slight suspicion that Mukuro would only smile, encourage him, and ask him if it was any good. She was probably an evil bastard too.

All demons are evil bastards and, on general principles, hate all other evil bastards. But the only people they really approve of are other evil bastards, because the only thing they could really trust in was the terrible wind that broke some people, and that some people have always fought off.

Because those people were bastards, and, on general principles, liked to spite other people.

"You told me in demon world you weren't interested in me this way."

"I lied."

In demon world things get so confusing when you ask mommy and daddy about the concept of love.

---