Working Together

Summary: When Yusuke and Hiei are fighting, Kurama decides to step in...and not only stop it, but also make sure it doesn't happen again
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the series; AU; references to violence and canon character death
Author's Note: When I saw Kurama fighting with his whip, and how he was the voice of reason when Yusuke and Hiei were fighting, this idea gripped me and wouldn't let go.
I do have a couple of other plot kittens for this series, too.

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Kurama knew he shouldn't have been surprised to find Yusuke and Hiei in the middle of fighting again. The two were far too alike: both fiery-tempered; both refusing to give even an inch. If Yusuke had taken the time to ask questions before attacking, he would have realised the Hiei had nothing to do with Keiko's kidnapping. And if Hiei hadn't been so quick to react, he might have realised the trap that had pitted them against each other.

But they were too stubborn to consider anything else, falling prey to the machinations of those who were there true enemies.

"Enough." Kurama didn't raise his voice. He didn't shout. But he made sure they both heard him. And when neither paid him any heed, he drew his whip and uncurled it, before letting it fly towards the two battling fighters.

The whip wrapped around Hiei's waist, and Kurama jerked it with enough force to pull his fellow yokai off balance. Then, with a snap of his wrist, he freed the whip and leaped forward, placing himself between the two.

Yusuke was brought up short, staring at him, his breaths coming in harsh, heavy pants. "Kurama?" His voice hitched with confusion.

"I said enough." Looking away from Yusuke, Kurama focused on Hiei. "Both of you. You shouldn't be fighting each other. You need to work together. We all need to work together."

"I don't work with anyone," Hiei stated, eyes narrowed and hand on his stolen sword.

"I know where she is." Kurama spoke the words hurriedly. He shifted enough to allow him to see both of them easily. "She and Keiko are in the same place. The only chance we have of rescuing them is if we work together."

"Forget it," Yusuke said shortly. "I'm not going to work with him."

Hiei glared at him. "Don't get in my way."

"Likewise," Yusuke growled.

They didn't really have time for this. Kurama knew he couldn't force them to agree they needed to work together just by talking to them. But if they all left and tried to rescue Keiko and Yukina in this state, they'd fail long before they even reached the location.

He'd been human long enough to know that.

Kurama shook his head and turned to Yusuke. He owed the human a debt he could never repay, but that didn't mean he was blind to the human's faults. "Yusuke. You came to help me save my mother, sacrificing half of your life force in order to do so. Do you trust me?"

Yusuke frowned, eyes darting to Kurama's face. "What kind of a question is that?"

"One I need an answer for. Do you trust me?" Kurama asked again.

"Yes." Yusuke's irritation was palpable as he added, "But I don't know what that has to do with anything. I trust you. But I don't trust him." He nodded towards Hiei.

Frustration was a very human emotion. It was one of many that Kurama had experienced since he'd taken on his human form. But if he reacted with frustration, he wouldn't get anywhere. He needed to handle this with a calm head, as neither Yusuke or Hiei were capable of reacting in the same way right now.

Without saying a word, Kurama reached out and grasped Yusuke's arm. He turned the human to one side and gave his backside a firm smack.

Yelping, Yusuke jerked his arm away from Kurama's grip. "What's the big idea?!" he demanded.

Ignoring the reaction, Kurama walked over to Hiei. He grabbed the yokai's arm and turned him to one side, giving him a swat at a similar strength to the one he'd given Yusuke.

Hiei tore his arm away and drew his sword.

Unmoving, Kurama just stared at him and said, "If we fight among each other, we have no hope of rescuing anyone, or winning the battles to come. And if you cannot learn to behave without help, then I will step in."

"I can't believe yokai know about human punishments like spanking," Yusuke muttered.

Kurama looked towards him. "Do you think I chose to live in the human world, as a human, without learning everything I could?" He reached out for Hiei's arm again. "Both of you are too impulsive and hot-tempered. You will ensure we fail, if there is no attempt to even try to work together." Keeping a firm grip on Hiei's arm - his fellow yokai hadn't tried to pull away again - Kurama led him over to the wall and turned him to face it. "Stand here."

"We're wasting time." Hiei ground the words out, but he didn't move from the position he'd been placed in.

"Time taken to form stronger connections is never wasted." Kurama walked back to Yusuke and reached out.

The human stepped back warily. "Are you going to hit me again?"

"I didn't hit you," Kurama corrected. "I spanked you. It's a punishment that works well on those who allow their tempers to rule over their heads, whether human or yokai."

"What makes you think I'll let you do this?" Yusuke demanded.

"You haven't fought me." Kurama was calm as he answered the question, watching Yusuke closely. "This isn't something I'm going to do to hurt you, or get any kind of hold over you. You helped me in a way I will never be able to repay. I will help you save your girlfriend. But to have the best possible chance of succeeding, we all need to work together. And I know that won't happen if we try to leave and rescue her and Hiei's sister now."

"She's not my girlfriend," Yusuke muttered, looking away.

Kurama waited, but when Yusuke didn't say anything else, he figured that meant the human was accepting his words...even if Yusuke might not agree. Since it didn't seem he was going to fight what Kurama planned, Kurama reached out and closed his hand around Yusuke's wrist.

The tension in the human's body was immediately obvious, and Kurama wondered if he might face an attack anyway. But Yusuke didn't pull away, and he didn't try to make an attack. Instead, he stared into Kurama's eyes...like he was trying to look for something there. Whatever it was he was looking for, he seemed to find it, as his body relaxed a little as tension seeped out of his body.

"Thank you for trusting me," Kurama said quietly. He looked around and then sat down on the ground, guiding Yusuke into position across his lap.

"I can't believe I'm letting you spank me," Yusuke muttered, shifting slightly. "I wouldn't even let my mother do this to me!" He cast a glance towards Hiei, who was still standing where Kurama had placed him, and muttered, "I really hope you're planning to thrash him too."

"Worry about yourself, not Hiei." Kurama let his hand rub gently over Yusuke's back for a few moments, before he proceeded to pull his trousers down.

"Hey!" Yusuke threw his hand back, grabbing at his trousers. "I didn't agree to this!"

"You agreed to put yourself in my hands." Even if Yusuke hadn't said the words, his decision not to fight and let Kurama do this made that clear. "You told me that you trust me." He waited, but when there was no more protest, he said, "Move your hand."

Yusuke's breath came out slowly and he pulled his hand away from his trousers. "I should have kicked your ass," he muttered, the words barely carrying to Kurama's ears. But he didn't argue or try to stop Kurama, even when his underwear was pulled down to join his trousers.

Before he continued, Kurama looked towards Hiei...who hadn't moved from the position he'd been placed in. If Kurama hadn't known better, he might have thought the other yokai was frozen...but he suspected that for whatever reason, like Yusuke, Hiei had decided to see how this played out.

Turning his attention back to Yusuke, Kurama placed a hand on the human's back as he spoke quietly. "Attacking without pausing and waiting long enough to ask questions first is going to get you killed. You might be a skilled warrior, but there are plenty of yokai who are just as skilled as you are. And some will be more skilled. You cannot only rely on brute force to win your battles." As he finished the last word, he lifted his hand and brought it down in a firm smack that echoed crisply in the warehouse.

Yusuke yelped, as if taken by surprise by the force of the smack, and Kurama reminded himself to hold back his strength. No matter how skilled the human was, he was still a human...and if Kurama wasn't careful, he could break Yusuke.

Lessening the force behind the next smacks, Kurama began to swat steadily, his hand landing in random spots all over Yusuke's backside. He didn't use any discernible pattern, so there was no way that Yusuke could predict where the next swat would fall and therefore prepare himself for it.

"What do you want?" Yusuke finally demanded, his voice strained.

"I want you to stay alive." Kurama spoke the words without any kind of hesitation. "You did something for me that no one else has ever done. But that doesn't change what will happen if you continue down this path. Hiei could have killed you if he wanted to."

"I could have done easily," Hiei stated.

Glancing up, Kurama frowned as he saw that the other yokai had turned around and was watching the spanking. He locked eyes with Hiei and lifted his hand from Yusuke's bottom, circling his index finger.

With an audible sigh, Hiei turned back round to face the corner once more.

Kurama turned his attention back to Yusuke and resumed swatting, this time going a bit harder and faster. "Hiei might be arrogant and far too confident in his skills, but he's right. He would have killed you, if he'd been trying. Easily." He moved his hand a bit lower, beginning to focus more swats to the tops of Yusuke's thighs.

"Ow!" Yusuke threw his hand back, his breath hitching a little. "I get it, okay? You can stop now."

Kurama looked at the back of Yusuke's head and listened. Not to the words themselves, but the tone of Yusuke's voice. And to any other sounds.

Yusuke didn't sound angry anymore. He sounded embarrassed...but he wasn't attacking. And he wasn't shouting. Both meant that he was in the right frame to listen and perhaps even take in what Kurama said to him.

Kurama slowed the swats down, lessening the force a little, but he didn't stop spanking. Instead, he spoke in a stern voice, using the smacks as a counterpoint to what he was saying. "It's not enough just to say the words and hope that's what I'm looking for, Yusuke. You need to actually change your behaviour. I can't believe that anyone who trained you made no attempt to teach you to control your temper."

"He's probably more useful to them as a hothead." Hiei spoke over his shoulder.

"Hiei." Kurama looked up at the other yokai. "I won't tell you again."

Rolling his eyes, Hiei turned back to face the wall.

Hiei might have disobeyed the indirect order to stay in the corner and not talk, but he still had a point. Kurama let his other hand rub gently over Kurama's back as he thought. Finally, he said, "Maybe that's what they intend. To point and aim you at whatever threat there is. But I'm going to make sure you learn a different way. I'm going to make sure you learn to use your mind and not just your fists. Because that's the only way you'll survive." He resumed swatting Yusuke's bottom.

"Hey!" Yusuke yelped. "You want to teach me? That's fine! But you don't need to spank me to do it!"

"This is how I'm going to teach you. How I'm going to train you. By spanking you every time you let your temper control you and force you to do stupid things." Once more, Kurama began swatting a bit harder and faster. He could feel the heat from Yusuke's backside every time his hand connected...and he heard the sound of quiet sniffling.

"I don't think that's something that can be taught easily!" Yusuke was speaking with tiny huffing gasps and little pauses between each word. "Means you'll be doing this a lot!"

"I'll do it every time it's necessary," Kurama replied. "How many times it occurs is entirely up to you." He finished with a final flurry of smacks to Yusuke's sit spots and thighs and then brought the spanking to a stop. He rubbed the human's back for a few moments and then pulled Yusuke's clothing back into place. After giving him a few more moments to calm down, Kurama helped him to stand and then stood as well. Grasping Yusuke's arm, he walked the human over to the same corner Hiei was standing in. Drawing the other yokai out, he guided Yusuke into the corner. "Stay here until I come and get you," he directed.

Taking a deep breath, Yusuke let his head gently drop against the wall.

"Are you going to teach me and train me the same way you are him?" Hiei was watching Kurama closely.

Kurama paused, watching Hiei just as closely. What answer was the other yokai looking for? Would he get angry if Kurama said yes? It didn't really matter, if he was honest. Whether Hiei agreed or resisted, it wouldn't change what he planned to do. Or the reasons behind it. "Yes." He gave the response without hesitation. "You need to keep control of your temper. And you need to work with me and Yusuke. Not against us."

"I don't work with others," Hiei stated. "I've always worked alone."

"So did I," Kurama admitted. "Before I took this human form...I only ever worked alone. But after I was born into this world, I learned that there was a different, better way. If I hadn't, then my mother would be dead by now." He'd been willing to give up his own life, even after knowing what the cost of saving her would be. But Yusuke had sacrificed half of his own life force...and it was a debt Kurama could never repay. "I trust Yusuke," he added. "And I trust you too. But it's really important that all of us trust each other, if we want to succeed in rescuing those who were taken."

Hiei looked away and said nothing.

Since he wasn't arguing or protesting, Kurama sat down on the floor in exactly the same place he'd sat earlier. He guided Hiei across his lap, positioning him in such a way that it was comfortable for both of them. Then, he proceeded to pull Hiei's trousers and underwear down.

Unlike Yusuke, Hiei didn't voice a protest or try to fight the position in any way. He pressed his face into his arms, his body tense, and waited.

Kurama didn't leave him waiting for long. He wrapped an arm around Yusuke's waist, holding the other yokai tight against his stomach, and then lifted his hand, bringing it down in a firm smack. He used more force than he had with Yusuke, knowing that Hiei was stronger than the human.

Hiei drew his breath in sharply, but otherwise didn't react. He was still and quiet as Kurama began to pepper his backside with hard, sharp swats. He only began to react when Kurama started to swat skin he'd already covered in the stinging swats.

Sensing he needed more than just the spanking itself to get through to Hiei, Kurama began to speak. "I know you, Hiei. I know you don't work with others, yokai or human. I know that because I was once like you. But I've learned that working alone will only result in having no one there to have your back when things get rough. I nearly ended up paying the ultimate price, because I wouldn't ask for help," he admitted. "I wanted to save my mother. My human mother. Because she was dying and I love her." There was just the three of them there in the warehouse; he felt comfortable in admitting that, knowing neither would use that knowledge to gain power over him. "I didn't know that making the wish to save her would have cost me my own life...but even if I had, it wouldn't have mattered," he admitted. "I was prepared to save her. At any cost to myself." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yusuke jerk. The human didn't turn around...and he didn't speak...but it was obvious that the words had startled him.

"You would have given up everything for her...but it would have hurt her if she'd lost you." Hiei's voice sounded strained, like he was only hanging on by a thread. "But...it didn't happen. You didn't die." There was a note of confusion in his voice.

"No. I didn't," Kurama agreed. "Because Yusuke gave up half of his life as well. To help me save her. So that I didn't die. That's why I know I can trust him. Why I expect you to trust him. Because I'm only still alive because of him." He fell silent as he began to swat a bit harder and faster. When Hiei began to shift and let out little tiny huffs of air each time Kurama's hand connected with his backside, he began speaking again. "I believe that we'll be unstoppable. If we work together. You want to give your sister the best possible chance of survival. Don't you?"

"Yes." Hiei's voice hitched.

"And you." Kurama raised his eyes to focus on Yusuke. "You want to save Keiko. To keep her alive. No matter what. Don't you?"

"Yes." Yusuke's response was given in a voice barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat, glancing back over his shoulder, and locked eyes with Kurama. There was a questioning, uncertain look on his face.

Kurama nodded, gesturing for the human to speak.

"I know you're good." Yusuke spoke to Kurama. "I saw something in you...something human. When you told me you wanted to save your mother. Up until that point, I never really believed that yokai were capable of feeling anything. That they were capable of caring about anyone."

"Not all yokai...are violent and hateful," Hiei muttered, staring at the floor.

"We're different." Kurama looked between the two of them, willing both Yusuke and Hiei to see the same things he did. "And if we don't fight each other, we can succeed." He was still swatting the other yokai's backside, heating the skin the same way he had Yusuke's bottom.

Yusuke swallowed hard and nodded. "I trust you," he reiterated. "I think you're right. About us all working together," he added. "Not sure I like your methods of persuasion, though...even if they work."

"And you?" Kurama addressed Hiei. "Will you agree to work with me and Yusuke? Will you agree to work with us as a team?"

"Will you continue spanking me if I say no?" Hiei's voice was even more strained.

"I'm spanking you because you fought against Yusuke when you knew he wasn't a bad person," Kurama answered. "I'm spanking you because you lost your temper and could have ended up hurting Yusuke...or even getting hurt yourself, if you made a wrong move. I'm not spanking you for not wanting to work as part of a team."

Hiei breathed out slowly, his body slumping over Kurama's lap. "You don't want either of us to get hurt?" he asked. "That's why you're punishing us? To keep us safe?"

"Yes." Kurama could have pointed out that he'd already said words to that effect, but since both Hiei and Yusuke were stubborn and hot-headed, he figured they needed some time to actually accept what he was saying was true. "I care about both of you. I'm sure that if nothing happens, if no one cares enough to step in with either of you, you'll end up getting yourselves killed. And I won't let that happen."

"Okay." Hiei's voice was soft. Accepting. He took a deep breath and slumped even further over Kurama's lap. "I...accept. I accept that you care about me. That you'll step in to stop me from doing something stupid and dangerous. And I'll work with you. I'll work with both of you."

"Thank you." Kurama brought the spanking to a stop, gently rubbing Hiei's back, and then tugged the yokai's clothing into place before he helped him to stand...standing up himself. "That goes for you too." He looked towards Yusuke. "Any more putting yourself in danger, or losing your temper, and I'll be acting again. Do you understand?"

"Can I get out of the corner yet?" Yusuke asked, in lieu of responding.

"Yeah," Kurama agreed.

Stepping out of the corner, Yusuke glanced at Hiei before he focused on Kurama. "So are we ready to make a plan now?"

Kurama nodded. "Like I said. I know where they're being held...." He began to tell them the location he'd found.

The End