A/N Here it is the final chapter. Thanks to everyone who made it this far, here is your reward. This is defiantly my favorite chapter!

Kurama collapsed inelegantly on the bed, allowing his face to mirror all the agony that currently racked his body, unaware that he was currently being watched.

"You can't fool me, I know you were being supported by the detective just as much as you were supporting him, if not more," came a cold, clear voice on the other side of the room.

First Touya and now Hiei, Kurama was beginning to lose his touch. When Kurama gave no indication of answering, Hiei took his silence for concession and continued, "Come here, fox. Turnabout is fair play. Don't make me drug you as you did me."

"…Hiei, you are overestimating my ability to move…if I were able, I would be on my feet," came the soft reply, voice laced with the pain he was too exhausted to hide. Hiei's eyes widened and his face hardened, brow furrowed, not bothering to hide his concern. He came over to where Kurama lie, his face contorted in unfathomable agony, he had undoubtably made his injuries worse carrying on as he did…every movement rent the torn flesh…

He supported him as he stripped him of his shirt and gently laid him back down. He made a small, hurt sound as Hiei disentangled the remaining remnants of his shirt from the most severe wounds on his abdomen. The dried blood had acted as glue, bonding the torn cloth to equally torn flesh. The tenderness of his actions surprised Kurama as did the sharp intake of breath when he examined the now bare, open wounds. They were scorched and blackened at the edges, but raw and pink where the muscly sinew was exposed.

"Bloody Enma, Kurama, how could you stay conscious much less move as you are?" He demanded gruffly, in shocked admiration with a hint of anger.

"...Pure stubbornness," he whispered weakly, voice constricted in agony.

"I'm going to have to clean the wounds…but it will be painful…" Hiei hesitated, dreading the answer he was sure to receive to his next question. "Do you wish to be unconscious for it?"

"No…I'll survive," Hiei frowned at this, noting that despite his brave words, he appeared to be on Death's Door, only too weak to knock. He proceeded to sterilize a clean rag with the air of someone going against his better judgment. Dabbing the wound as lightly and as tenderly as possible, Kurama still hitched his breath as the rag raked across his sensitive flesh.

Even as rational thought had long since abandoned him, dimly, in some small part of his brain not numbed by flesh searing agony, he registered how gentle Hiei was being. Despite his hard exterior, his true nature was very much similar to that of his sister's. He could be very gentle and caring when the occasion called for it, provided that no one was around to bear witness to it.

He remained stock still, refusing to make a noise to vocalize his torture as Hiei continued to thoroughly cleanse his wounds.

"It's alright, Kurama, you can scream. It will make you feel better," he urged, applying the same ointment on his burns that Kurama had used on him such a short time ago and also applying an herb he had taught him was good for closing wounds. They truly had come full circle. Hiei allowed himself the time to ponder this, before realizing that Kurama, like him, would be too full of pride to listen to reason.

He shook his head mulishly, but could not stifle the small whimper that escaped him as Hiei barely skimmed a severely deep gash as he began to dress the wounds. He shivered slightly, and at this Hiei finally became aware of the heat radiating off the demon. He had assumed until now, that it was merely a byproduct of his energy healing his torn and broken body. Hiei's eyes narrowed suspiciously as his hand came to rest softy against Kurama's forehead. His hands were sword callused and rough against his skin.

"Kurama, you little fool, you've made yourself ill with your posturing, you have a fever," he growled. "You've pushed yourself too hard!"

"…There's an antipyretic in the first aid kit," he said vaguely, shivering again. Hiei dug it out and forced it down the now slightly delirious fox's throat.

He watched in silence as the fox's face began to glow a color that would have made his hair jealous. He started to huff occasionally, breath coming in gasps, before evening out slightly as he slipped into unconsciousness. Hiei dimly remembered the need to make the fever break before it could get better, so he retreated into the bathroom, bringing out a cool, damp cloth and a bucket of cold ice water. He rung the rag out, and placed it on Kurama's still burning forehead. He then walked over to his own bed, stripping it of its coverings and laying them over the now bandaged, sleeping fighter. He truly did look so frail, lying there under piles of blankets, shivering, his delicate features sharpened by pain.

"Hiei…I'm sorry," he mumbled weakly and absently, half incoherent form exhaustion and fever, his voice small and sounding as if it came from very far away. Hiei started at this sound, certain that he had been deeply asleep.

"What are you saying?" he asked, realizing that Kurama, like him, talked in his sleep.

"...You told me…not to be foolish…anymore…and not to do anything so reckless…again…I…let…you…down…" His voice became more and more hushed as he went on until Hiei could barely make out the words he was speaking.

Hiei blinked at his sleeping companion, surprised that he had taken his words to heart. He had meant what he said after Kurama's thrashing by that sorry fool, Bakken. Kurama always took unnecessary risks in battle, but much as it irked him, it was also endearing. Just part of the fox's enigmatic charm.

"Hn, fool, I wouldn't care this much if you weren't the pain you are," Hiei only admitted because he was sure Kurama was either asleep or so delirious that he would not remember. "You'd better not die on me; it would be too much trouble to break in a new best friend."

He had realized as much while he watch Kurama struggle to survive against Touya and Bakken, while he himself was powerless, unable to help. He had realized then just how much the fox meant to him, and just how much it would hurt to lose him.

He mused on this, replacing the now warm cloth with a colder one, draping it across his burning forehead. "You're the one who needs to take better care of himself."

He was proud of the fox, truly. He had heard the things that Karasu was speaking to him during their fight, even if no one else had. He had been trying once again to steal into Kurama's mind, trying to get him off balance. Hiei had to admit that the words coming out of the demon's mouth were sickening. They had disgusted him, and when he took a dip into the demon's mind to confirm his suspicion, he found that they were all true. He really desired the fox and wanted him in the worst way. His perverse fantasies had made even Hiei cringe. Kurama had been rattled when the demon had cornered him only yesterday, and yet, during all of that fight Kurama remained steadfast, determined not to give Karasu any foothold in his mind. He had been calm and collected the entire fight, even at the end when he stared down almost certain, bloody death.

Grateful, for the first time, for having some knowledge of first aid, for he was a fighter after all and knowing something about healing was a necessity in the harsh and unforgiving Demon Realm, he kept vigil at Kurama's side through the night, relief hitting him in waves as first Kurama's shivering subsided, then his fever broke, and eventually his wounds began to seal themselves.

Satisfied that the fox would, indeed, survive, Hiei left his bedside, venturing into the common area. He was surprised to find Yusuke there, awake and staring at nothing. He looked up when Hiei entered, giving a half-hearted smile in greeting.

"Kurama alright?" he asked, correctly guessing that Hiei had been attending to him all this time.

"The idiot made himself sick with his tough act. He was more injured than he led us to believe," the taciturn Hiei replied. "I believe that you are as familiar as I am with his flair for understatement."

"Will he be alright?" the detective asked, rephrasing his question.

"How should I know? I'm no doctor," Hiei replied unsociably, then added when Yusuke looked honestly stricken, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Satisfied, Yusuke nodded, and they remained in companionable silence until the bored detective eventually nodded off. Deciding to return to his room in case Kurama took a turn for the worst, Hiei left the detective, but not before carefully wrapping a blanket across his still form.

The next morning, Hiei was surprised to find Kurama not only dressed and awake, but busy moving around the room collecting his things. He looked unnaturally pale, and he moved with less than his natural grace. Before he could yell at the stupid fox for straining himself, Kurama turned a dazzling smile on him. It was only the third time Hiei had witnessed this powerful expression, and it was just as strong as it was the last time.

"I'm feeling much better today, thanks to you. My wounds have almost fully healed," he announced cheerfully, removing the roses from a vase at his bedside and shrinking them into seeds before stuffing them into the pockets of his oversized jacket.

"Hn," he grunted noncommittally, getting up and putting on his cloak with a flourish.

Kurama, still smiling, said softly, "I promise to take better care of myself from now on…"

Hiei froze at the comment, turning slowly to glare at the fox. His smile turned into a wicked grin upon seeing the look on Hiei's face.

"I'm touched that you think of me as your best friend, Hiei. I had thought you were above such sentiments," he continued, amusement dancing in his bright but tired green eyes.

Hiei mentally cursed himself. Of course, Kurama would remember even when he was asleep…or maybe he hadn't been. The fox was certainly tricky enough to pull something like this on him. He growled threateningly and promised menacingly, "Don't repeat what I said to anyone, or I won't have a best friend among the living any longer."

"You have my word."

They walked out of the room together in silence, arriving in the common room where Kuwabara and Yusuke had already gathered.

"If it isn't our favorite demonic duo," Yusuke greeted in false cheer. Pretending to be in good spirits but fooling no one.

Kurama smirked at the reference, and Hiei merely scowled in annoyance.

"How ya holdin' up, Kurama," Yusuke asked, worried.

"I'm fine…nearly as good as new," he said, giving Hiei and appreciative glance that was pointedly ignored. Hiei wasn't about to own up to being nice. As far as he was concerned his days of playing doctor were over.

A/N If you're wondering when the second time Hiei saw Kurama's smile was then read my fic, Caring, and you'll find out. This chapter also refers to my other work, Light, as well. It features a conversation between Touya and Kurama right before this happened.