Chapter One

The desire to own a flamethrower had never been higher in Hiei's life. Sure, he'd wished for one a couple of times before, naturally along with unlimited ammo for the thing to burn all of his enemies alive and then sit back and watch with satisfaction as they ran around screaming in agony before collapsing, but now the desire was almost overwhelming. Largely because the fucking tree right the fuck outside his window had become the city for birds. Mating birds. That sang, all damn day long. Hacking the tree down would take too long, and he just didn't have the patience for that kind of grueling physical labor. No, a flamethrower would be much quicker, not to mention much more satisfying. Get all the little tweeting fuckers at once. Bwa ha ha ha.

But I really like that tree...

Hm. New plan. ...Okay scratch that, time to think of a new plan, because he didn't exactly have one (or a basis for one) to fall back on. It wasn't like he spent much of his time thinking about birds. Though with how this was turning out, he might have to dedicate some of his brain power to it until something more interesting came along.

A bright red, most likely testosterone swollen male flitted dangerously close to his window and let out a piercing note that made the boss cringe. Cracking an eye open, he growled and lunged forward to try and grab it. Its next note was strangled with surprise at the accurate hand that clenched around it. Not tight enough to kill, but enough to certainly panic the poor thing just trying to get it on with one of the many viable females.

The satisfaction at having caught the bird wasn't noticeable on his face as he pulled it close to look at it. It was small, and bright red, with darker wings and a belly the color of glowing embers. It was rather pretty.

Looking at Hiei, most wouldn't expect him to be one to care about beauty, but actually he cared about it a lot. He liked beautiful things. He liked valuable things. He liked beautiful things that were valuable. And he liked surrounding himself with beautiful things that were valuable. This bird was beautiful, but not really necessary in any way, shape, or form. It was just beautiful.

But he'd kept things for less. So, bird in hand, he started looking around for something to hold it temporarily. He had a few boxes lying around that he could stuff it in, but it wouldn't be a permanent solution. Still, he'd rather not keep it in his hand all day while looking around for a bird cage, which he was sure he didn't have in the house somewhere. What did he need with a random bird cage, anyway? Unless someone had tried to pay him with it...

Speaking of which.

"Hiei-sama." The voice was coming from outside his door, loud enough to be heard.

"Enter," he called, flipping open various chests and boxes, looking for one he could stash the bird in that he didn't mind emptying (or potentially getting bird crap on). The door opened and Toguro took a step in before stopping respectively.

"Minamino is behind on his payments again." Why didn't that surprise him?

This is why I shouldn't lend so much money to middle-class suits. They think nothing can bother them as long as their home life and job is perfect, and they never feel like they have to pay me back.

"Hn." He found a suitable box and emptied out the miscellaneous shiny things onto his desk (noticing a few he hadn't seen in a while and making the mental note of going back through them), carefully replacing them with the bird and then trapping it by closing the top.

"I'll pay him a visit myself." For some reason, people were more afraid of him than of the lackeys he sent. Weird, because he had some pretty scary lackeys

Ought to look into that. He handed the box to Toguro.

"Give this to Puu, tell him to get a bird cage for it." Toguro had learned long ago not to ask. It was usually just better in the long run.

"Any particular design?"

"Gold. Its red, so it will look better in a gold cage."

Just...don't ask, Toguro reminded himself. He could already guess because of the nervous cheeping coming from the box.

"Right." Holding the box gently, the giant of a man stepped back out and headed towards the kitchen, where Puu tended to spend his free time – when he wasn't running errands for Hiei. There wasn't much for Hiei to do; he was already dressed, collecting (unnecessary but habitual) weapons took less than five minutes, and his jacket and shoes were at the front of the house. He would get them when he left. So, he grabbed his two trusted weapons that always came with him; the more out of date, but more satisfying katana, and his more convenient pistol, which was hidden in the waistband of his pants, pressed against his lower back.

Honestly? The chances of him needing them were right around zero, with a margin of error of ten. On the negative side of things. But it was always, always better to be prepared for anything.

"Hey boss."

Which reminds me to close my door more often so that random idiots can't wander in whenever they please.

"What." Shishiwakamaru took that as an invitation and stepped further into the room, arms crossed over his chest loosely.

"What do you intend to do about Minamino?"

"I should do something different than normal?"

"Give him a real reason to pay? Just the 'pay or we'll break your arms' doesn't seem to work on these guys."

Because they're idiots was a shared sentiment.

"It works if you break the right arms. Take away his home or work, and he'll pay up." Shishiwakamaru tended to work more on the lower end of the collection agency spectrum. Someone as formal as him had much more of an impact on street thugs in comparison to just one of their kind.

"Sure, but we seem to get this problem a lot."

"Because they're all like that." He straightened, sword held in his hand and pistol secured against his back, and headed out. "You can come along if you don't have anything else to do."

"I suppose. It's been quiet lately." Quiet? ...Yeah, sure, you could call it that. Largely quiet because there weren't a lot of people out there willing to challenge Hiei's reign. Hiei didn't say anything else, heading down the hall with Shishi trailing after him. Toguro reappeared sans the boxed bird.

"I've gathered up some of the others to come with us." This is why Hiei liked having Toguro around; he was loyal, good in a pinch, a good man in a fight, and efficient. He didn't waste time when there was something to be done.

"Good. Let's go." The rest of the group accumulated around them in the time it took them to get to the front door. It was almost comical, having a collection of large, fairly buff fighters with a nasty look to each of them following after someone as short as Hiei. He made up for it with the obvious muscles that wrapped around his build.

"Toguro, where are we headed," he asked, tone bored. It was fake though. He actually enjoyed this; going to the home of some suit and tearing their sense of safety and security to shreds. It gave him a deep sense of satisfaction. He half listened as some street name of a no doubt nice suburb was rumbled off (Toguro didn't really 'rattle' anything) as he slid into the car, sword held in front of him.

"How far is it."

"Not long. Should only be fifteen minutes." Mm. Car ride. Leaning back, he decided on a nap, musing over how the little red bird would look in its new cage. Around him, some of the men who had come along spoke to each other in low voices. Apparently some were just coming because they liked seeing Hiei screw with the middle-class as much as he liked screwing with them. It made him smirk.

Most of his guys (and him) had come from fairly low class, desperate situations. With Hiei's help, they'd clawed their way up to get a standing in the world of crime and had held it; and that had been, and was, the real challenge.

Of course, what came along with the low class thing was one, a hatred (or at least extreme dislike) of the middle-class people with happy nice families and two, a deep loathing, but also a reluctant respect for someone just as cold-blooded and territorial about holding their place in life.

Hiei tried not to smirk too much at the thought of destroying the perfect family his "client" had no doubt created. Maybe he would have a daughter that they could terrorize some. Hopefully not a son; sons were idiots who tried to save the day, but girls were scared easily and traumatizing them was child's play. Of course now Hiei was finding it increasingly hard not to grin widely at the thought of having a little fun.

"Well that's a pretty terrifying face," Shishi commented. Hiei ignored him calmly, still pretending to be asleep. Toguro was kind enough to reply for him.

"He's having a good dream. Let him be."

"Good dream or not, it doesn't make his face less terrifying. Hey which is worse, his angry face, or this one?" Hiei barely managed not to snort at this, but it was an interesting question. Sadly, Toguro gave the generic answer of "shut up", so he didn't get to hear what his right hand thought.

"We're here." Opening his eyes, Hiei took the time to peer out of the car window. Yep; perfect little suburb on Happy Home Drive. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't get his face back to normal. The house they were in front of was a perfect, two-story home that neatly matched all the other houses down the near-empty street. The only difference was the garden in front. Sure, the other houses had pretty gardens, but this one just seemed to make all of them pale. It was gorgeous, with painstakingly cared for flowers arranged in such an aesthetically pleasing way. It made looking at the house a pleasant experience, and would fill most passerby's with an uplifted, happy feeling.

Hiei liked it all the more because he could imagine the dutiful wife (or daughter) that tended to the plants. He would break her, and enjoy it.

"Let's go." He stepped out, resting his sword against his shoulder as they climbed out. Toguro had gathered a small group, so there was only seven of them, including Hiei, Toguro and Shishi. Two of the men slunk away to the back door to keep them from sneaking out, and one stayed behind in the car. It was Hiei, Toguro, Shishi and Rando that walked up to the door. Toguro reached up and firmly (and loudly) knocked on the door. Hiei hummed to himself in his head, pleasantly waiting for the moment about to come.

"I'll get it hon, don't worry," a man from inside called; Minamino. A second or two later, the door opened. He wasn't an ugly man, just average, with big glasses. Hiei vaguely recalled he had needed the money for his new wife's medical bills.

The gang leader really, really didn't care. "Yo," he greeted calmly. He shifted out of the way and let Toguro kick him back inside by driving his foot into his stomach. His body hit the nice wooden floor of the hallway, rattling a small nightstand and causing a vase to smash to the floor. There was a cry from somewhere inside the house as Hiei stepped in, moving over Minamino quickly to let his comrades in behind him. Shishi closed and locked the door, leaning back against it.

"Kazuya!" Well, there was the wife. Hiei could see her through the hall to the kitchen where she was pressed back against the counter, horrified and completely unable to come up with what she should do. Smirking, Hiei stepped on Minamino's hand, heading for the kitchen.

"Your wife? Ironic. I'm pretty sure you borrowed money to save her. Now it's what's getting her in the most trouble-" He'd gotten right in front of the stairs when he saw a red blur to his right, out of the corner of his eye. He had just started to turn his head when something hard collided with the side of his head, knocking him sideways into the wall and smashing the other side of his head into a picture frame. He could hear someone run by him from the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hiei-sama!" He shook it off quickly, snarling and trying to drive himself back into a standing position.

What the fuck? Looking up, he felt himself freeze for a second. The one who had hit him was now standing protectively in front of the woman with eyes like green ice. Despite having just been attacked by him (her?), Hiei couldn't deny that they were absolutely beautiful. Long, vibrant red hair that was obviously well taken care of, and huge emerald green eyes (currently narrowed dangerously) set in a perfectly sculpted face covered in pale skin. Even with those features drawn into a mixed look of hate, fear, and defiance, they were beautiful.

He-llo. He was smirking again as he wiped the trickle of blood off the side of his face.

"H-hey, boss, you all right?", Shishi asked nervously. Toguro didn't seem the slightest bit worried and was picking up the crumpled form of Kazuya off the ground. Hiei watched the redhead's eyes flicker to their father (step-father, more than likely) and then back to Hiei, turning even colder if that was possible. Their stance changed, as if they were trying to make themselves bigger so as to better protect the woman cowering by the counters.

Hm...pretty, like a girl, but now that I think about it, it could be a boy...certainly acts more like one; girls aren't always this defiant. He still hadn't answered Shishi and shrugged it off.

"Just caught off guard," he smoothed over. The back door opened and the two guys stationed there peeked in, making the pretty redhead tense up even more.

"Everything all right boss?", one of them called.

"Fine." He watched green eyes dart back and forth between the door, the men, Hiei, and Kazuya, frantically trying to think of a plan.

Oh ho, are you going to lash out or shut down? What's your plan?

"Toguro, bring that trash to the living room, so we can explain the purpose of our visit. Rando, get those two. Shishi, keep an eye on the door." Toguro somehow managed to slide past him in the small space and dragged Kazuya into the living room with him. Rando, smirking, moved past towards the redhead and (more than likely) his mother. The boy tensed up, reaching back as if searching for something. Hiei knew where this was going and just decided to watch for now. He was right on target as a kitchen blade flashed out and slashed across Rando's chest.

"Gaaah! Fuck, you little-!" He grabbed at the other's wrist, but it seemed he wasn't willing to give up so easily; he wrenched his arm away from Rando's grip and drove the (un/fortunately?) small blade into his chest. The two men from the back door moved forward now as Rando staggered back.

"Stop," Hiei called lazily as the redhead reached for another knife. He pulled the gun from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at the woman over the boy's shoulder. He practically jumped away from the counter to get in front of her.

Good boy. Protect your mother.

"You really think I won't shoot her once you're down on the ground from a hole in the head? Be good and take your mother into the living room." The cold eyes were now burning. He could see the other's jaw clench as he slowly straightened, reaching back.

"Mother," he asked quietly, taking her hand. He didn't let her get much in front of him as he moved around Rando cautiously and walked stiffly past Hiei.

"For future reference," Hiei asked calmly. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

"I'm a boy," he said tensely, venom dripping off his words.

"Mazeltov," Hiei congratulated with a smirk. He found he liked pushing the boy's buttons. He followed them long enough with his eyes to see the teen help his mother into a seat on the edge of the sofa and then kneel next to her on the ground before turning back to his men. Rando was sitting down, just kind of looking at the knife in his chest. He looked okay otherwise; nothing major had been hit.

"Oi, one of you take Rando back to the car and bandage him up. Whoever doesn't go, lock the back door and keep watch." They nodded, picking up the wounded and helping him outside. That taken care of, Hiei turned back to the living room. With Toguro looming in the corner, it made the atmosphere rather tense. Hiei liked it. He plopped himself down in the cushiest chair there and crossed his legs over each other.

"Now then," he started cheerfully, keeping his eyes on the boy. "I think everyone would like an explanation. Kazuya here-" he indicated the man with his sword "-borrowed money to pay for his dearly beloved wife's medical bills, which seem to be putting quite a lot of you in debt, I guess. I don't really care about reasons people have for borrowing money-"

"We're not in debt." It took Hiei a second to realize the boy had cut him off, even though he'd been looking straight at him.

"Scuse me?" The green eyes didn't waver from his own; a rare skill.

"She was very sick for a while, and she needed to go to the hospital. We were struggling, but we were never in debt." He said this very calmly, but each word felt like a dagger...directed at his step-father. The woman's hand found her son's shoulder and squeezed it. Hiei blinked slowly at him.

"Sorry, what was your name again?", he asked after a moment. The redhead's jaw clenched again and his eyes burned.

"Shuuichi." Every syllable of that was a dagger aimed at Hiei.

"That's dull. Don't you have a nickname your friends use for you?"

"Yes, I do." He was still calm, even with anger bleeding out from every word. He didn't continue speaking, though Hiei gave him every chance to. After waiting long enough, Hiei grew impatient.

"Well? What is it?"

"It's a name only my friends call me, so there would be no point in telling you." Dagger words again. Hiei brushed them off mentally, not too bothered, but they did chill him. If he were less of a person, he would have been encroaching on terrified after just a few minutes of this treatment.

The jab about the nickname made his eyebrow twitch just a little.

"All right then, how about I start guessing? And every time I get it wrong, I'll cut off something of your mother's. Her hair, a finger, a nose, maybe her eyes... Just so you know, I don't really have a vested interest in getting it right-"

"Kurama," the teen said quickly. "My nickname is Kurama." Hiei's smirk was back and he reclined in the chair comfortably. He liked how easily those cold eyes had switched to fear, if only for an instant.

"Better." 'Kurama' shot him such a nasty look it was as if he was trying to set Hiei on fire, or make acid burst out over his skin.

Good luck with that, kid.

"Now, as I was saying. For whatever reason, your stepfather assumed you were in debt and came begging me for a loan. He asked for quite the hefty sum, and it seems everything worked out hunky-dory for you all. But I'm still missing my money. And since Kazuya here hasn't been following the nice convenient payment plan I laid out for him, I've come to make sure I get it."

"How much does he...do...we, owe?", the woman asked tensely, the hand on her son squeezing a bit more. Hiei tried not to look like he was enjoying this too much, though admittedly he was. He loved it when the idiot who borrowed money and wasn't paying it back hadn't told his family; he got to see the strain of trying to deal with it after having just learned what was going on.

"Ten million yen." Kurama finally dropped his look of utter contempt for one of shock and disbelief.

"What?", he asked in a choked whisper. Hiei smirked more.

"Ten. Million. Yen," he repeated slower. "And now, because I had to come down here, it has interest." The woman was trembling a little.

"But...my medical bills...they were expensive, but never..."

"Ask your husband about it. Later," he added as she opened her mouth. "I don't care how you fight it out. What I care about is how you're going to pay me back. Ten million is a lot, and with interest, it's even worse." There was a tense silence again, and Hiei smirked.

"Well, since you don't seem to have any ideas, I guess I'll decide. Toguro, grab Kurama for me." The effect was instantaneous.

"No!", his mother cried out, leaping up and trying to get between Kurama and the huge man.

"Wait, you can't do that!" That would be Kazuya. And what was the pretty redhead doing?

"Mother no!" He tried to pull her away before Toguro could get a hold of her. This put him within arm's reach of the monster man himself, who went the direct route and grabbed a fistful of red hair.

"Ahhh!" He was dragged away from his mother, yanked up until he was almost on his tip-toes.

A momma's boy even when he's the one in danger. Standing, Hiei calmly slid his sword out of it's sheath and pointed it at Kazuya.

"I think you and your wife should sit down." Shishi poked his head in.

"Everything under control?", he asked, not really bothered by the scene.

"An extra pair of hands couldn't hurt." Shishi nodded, stepping in and drawing his own blade, this one concealed. He and Hiei bullied the couple into sitting on the couch as their son winced in pain, hair still held firmly by Toguro. He was trying to relieve the pain some by gripping Toguro's hand and pulling himself up on it, putting the strain on his arms instead of his scalp. The tips of his feet brushed the ground, unable to find purchase. It was satisfying to watch him dangle there.

"Now then," he said calmly. Hiei came to stand by Toguro while Shishi lingered by the couch. "Ten million, with interest, is quite a lot of money to pay. Your son is worth two million to me, which leaves you only eight million left to pay, not including the interest. And since he's with me, you don't have to worry about spending money on him, which means you can pay me off faster. I'm actually being quite generous." The woman was almost in tears, which only furthered Hiei's delight. He let his eyes slide to his left to watch the red-haired beauty struggle and squirm in Toguro's grip.

"Have I forgotten anything?"

"How much the interest actually is?", Shishi suggested.

"Hm? Oh, yes. .05% more every month you don't pay, and didn't pay. That's five hundred thousand a month, and you haven't paid me in six months. Can anyone tell me how much is five hundred thousand times six?" His eyes moved sideways again.

"Toguro, let him answer." Toguro let Kurama down enough that he could think straight, but didn't release him fully. Kurama winced, glaring back at him and answering tensely.

"Three million."

"Smart boy." There was nothing but disgust in his eyes. Toguro tightened his grip again, lifting him back up. "It seems you actually owe eleven million, taking him into account. It shouldn't take you too long to pay it back. And..." He advanced on Kazuya, reaching out and ripping his wife away from his arms. Shishi's blade against his throat kept him pinned so easily.

"If you don't pay..." He dragged the tip of his blade up the woman's side. She whimpered, but didn't struggle.

"No! Mother!" Kurama struggled as much as he could in his position, even trying to kick back at Toguro. Hiei smirked, throwing her forward at his feet.

"I won't be as nice as I'm being to your son. I've no need for a weak and useless woman. Though perhaps someone else does. Maybe I'll take her and sell her to whoever wants a submissive, crying woman in bed."

"Don't! You! Dare!" Hiei cast a casual glance at Kurama, and had to do a double-take. The boy had apparently started trying to claw at Toguro's hand. And had been succeeding, but Toguro was very good at not reacting to pain, despite the blood now dripping down his hand. Kurama was oblivious to it too, even as it started to trickle down his face.

"Uh...Toguro?", Shishi asked, staring at the two as well. He said nothing, as stoic as always. Since Toguro wasn't bothered, Hiei decided not to be bothered either.

"Well then? What are you going to do to compensate me?", he asked calmly, coming over to stand in front of the redhead. "Right now you're only making it worse by tearing up my subordinates hand." The ice was back in those green eyes and he stopped clawing at Toguro's hand. He focused instead on glaring at Hiei with all the hate he could muster up. Which was a lot, actually. Hiei smirked.

"So you can be obedient. Answer me then." Toguro let him back onto the ground, not releasing his hair still.

"Please don't hurt my son," the woman whimpered. Hiei glanced back to see her bowing as deeply as she could. "Please, I'll do anything." Smirking, the mob boss motioned to her.

"Your mother is quite willing to do whatever I want her to. Are you just going to let her?" The look Kurama gave Hiei at that point could have melted someone into the floor and send their soul directly to Hell.

"Tell your dog to let me go," he said, voice as icy cold as his eyes. Hiei felt slightly chilled by the look, but still managed to smirk and nod to Toguro. The vibrant red hair that had been held up by a huge hand was released and fell around his shoulders like so much silk. Kurama's eyes brushed past him to his mother as he walked forward and knelt down beside her, leaning in to whisper something to her. She shook her head furiously, hands gripping his arms.

"No, you can't! I'm not going to let you pay for something like this with your life!" Hiei slid around, trying to see the redhead's face. What he saw made a stab of something carve right through him: the icy look had melted into a gentle, reassuring smile that made Kurama's features just light up.

"I'll be fine," he promised. "I'll work to pay back how much I'm worth. If we just keep up with the payments, there won't be any more interest added on. As long as it stays as a fixed price, we can pay it back. Call Yusuke and Kuwabara. I hate to borrow money from them, but I think they'll understand, and I'll pay them back." Swallowing, the woman nodded, seeming to calm in the face of her son's cool head and soothing smile and voice. Kurama leaned forward, hugging her tightly before standing up, helping her up as well. He set her back on the couch before turning to Hiei. He went from calm back to icy in a split second.

"Are we leaving?" Hiei tried to adjust as rapidly as Kurama switched and smirked.

"You are smart." He motioned to Shishi. "Tell the others we're going. And you," he pointed his sword at Kazuya and his wife, "I don't think I need to tell you not to call the cops. You should understand that all on your own." He sheathed his sword, motioning to Toguro and Kurama.

"Let's go, both of you." Toguro put a hand on Kurama's shoulder, but he pulled away from it immediately.

"Am I allowed to bring some of my things along?" For a few moments, Hiei debated saying no. But they had room, and it would be good to at least try to make him happy.

"Fine. I suppose it will take a few days for me to get clothes for you, so you can go get some to wear in the meantime. Just try not to take too long." He watched the redhead pause, eyes shifting over to where his mother was sitting quietly on the couch, looking very small.

"May I take my mother upstairs to lie down? Stress is very bad for her and I don't want her to exert herself." The message was fairly clear; I don't trust you enough to leave my mother alone with you. Interesting how his step-father was no longer part of that, if he ever had been before. Hiei didn't even really feel insulted. Actually, he was pleased with that. Polite dialect, a tone fighting to be just as polite and stifle burning hate, and a very clever way to maneuver his mother into a safer situation, under his control. And now Hiei was caught. Did he reward the cleverness and let him take his mother, or did he crush this defiant attempt at control and keep her here?

Decisions, decisions.

Of course, if he rewarded the cleverness, he could kill two birds with one stone and try to make him happy again.

"Go ahead." The other's shoulders loosened so little it was barely noticeable. He was quick to take up on the kindness and was beside his mother in a moment. There was that gentleness again, and Hiei watched with hawk-like eyes, eating it up. He watched Kurama put an arm around his mother, as if trying to shield her, and leading her out of the room towards the stairs. As they disappeared up to the second floor, Hiei was already trying to come up with ways to make Kurama look like that in the future.

"You sure he's not going to run?", Shishi asked skeptically, also watching the stairs.

"He won't," Hiei said confidently. "There's no way he can get his mother out with him, not in her state, so there's no way he'll run. He'll be back down soon." Sure enough, a little over five minutes later, he was back downstairs with a back-pack slung over his shoulder and his icy chill back in full force. It was wrapped around him like a shield.

"Is your mother taken care of?", Hiei asked without really caring about it.

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go," he called through the house to the guy guarding the back. Shishi had moved to the front door, unlocking it and holding it open for Hiei and his new "pet". Toguro had picked up that Kurama wouldn't run and didn't bother trying to restrain him.

"It'll be cramped in the car," he pointed out to Hiei.

"He can sit on the floor by me," Hiei answered calmly. He didn't risk glancing back, even though he really wanted to see the kid's reaction.

Bet he's got a seriously pissed off look on his face. As they quickly climbed into the car, Hiei got a chance to see it. It was more than pissed off; it was murderous. It would have been screaming 'I will kill you', but it was cold anger. It was more like saying it with utmost certainty instead of flying into a screaming rage to get it across.

It gave Hiei a sense of satisfaction as he slid in and leaned back in his seat, motioning for Kurama to squeeze in and sit on the floor in front of him. He showed no hint of reluctance, just hate, as he climbed in and sat with his knees folded under him, back to Hiei. This made both Hiei and Shishi happy; Shishi got to peer around and inspect his face rather blatantly close, and Hiei got to reach forward and snatch a lock of hair, rubbing it in between his fingers. It was as soft as it looked.

"Wow, he is pretty," Shishi complimented airily. "You sure he's really a guy?"

"You can check if you want," Hiei offered, still focused on the hair, now using both hands to inspect it. There were streaks of blood in it from Toguro (whom was currently impassively bandaging his hand) that would have to be washed out. But the untouched parts were silky and slid easily through his fingers, only catching a few times.

"Oh, can I?", he asked, smirking and reaching forward. He tugged at the collar of Kurama's shirt, trying to pull him closer. The redhead didn't budge. "So, do you want to show me?" He didn't say anything, just kept looking straight ahead. As Shishi moved to lean forward, he suddenly spoke up.

"Do I have a purpose in being owned by you?", he asked Hiei directly. He completely ignored Shishi, as if he didn't even exist. He treated everyone else in the van exactly the same. Despite having two guys on either side of him (one of them being Rando, who was glaring at Kurama with not even half the hate the redhead used in his glares), Hiei felt like they were sitting in the van alone.

"Yes, you do. You're my property."

"That's not a purpose; that's a status." Shishi was still tugging at his shirt, trying to get his attention, but now even Hiei was ignoring him.

"I'll figure out what to do with you soon enough. For now, you're merely a decoration." Kurama tried to jerk his hair out of Hiei's hand.

"Understood," he said curtly. Hiei grabbed his hair again, pulling back on it harshly.

"Which means you're to behave." Kurama's body was tense and Hiei pulled on his hair again. "Well? Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"Look at me and say it." Even from behind him Hiei could see the redhead's jaw clench. Then, slowly, he shifted to turn and look at Hiei. He had a reserved smile on his face, perfectly restrained and distant, like the one rich people used on people they hated. His eyes burned coldly though.

"I understand, Hiei-sama." Even his voice was calm and polite. Hiei smirked, sitting back and keeping a lock of hair captured in his fingers.

"Good." The smile was gone and Kurama turned back around, still ignoring everyone else. The ride back was silent, everyone edging away from them slightly. Hiei entertained himself by playing with Kurama's hair, loving the feel of it against his skin.

I'll have to make sure he keeps good care of this, he noted mentally, smirk spreading over his lips. He reached forward and ran his fingers up the back of Kurama's neck to play with the tiny, soft hairs that collected in tight rings at the base of his skull. He brushed against the soft skin at the nape of his neck and something made him stop.

Was that...? He brushed it again, this time applying more pressure and kneading softly. He felt the redhead tense up, but there was another reaction; a shiver, that started at his shoulders and rippled out. Once the shiver worked it's way out, the redhead hunched his shoulders somewhat and tried to pull away. Hiei grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back as a grin nearly split his face in half.

Well now. Looks like I found a way to make this more interesting.

End Chapter One

A/N: Yep. Sorry this took so long. After my announcement I had to deal with an eye ulcer, grandparents, adopting a stray off the street, and then a second ulcer in my other eye. But! I finally managed to get it out, with help from reading through all of the Yu Yu Hakusho manga (at long last!). So, here it is, and I'm starting on the second chapter right after I put this up, so you should be (hopefully) getting it soon. A bientot!