onemuseleft | Excerpt from Rude Awakenings

Kuwabara only caught a glimpse of silver and black out of the corner of his eye and he barely had time to reach out and catch the katana by the hilt, flipping it in his hand until it rested reasonably secure against his palm. Then he threw himself backwards off the porch, stumbling slightly as he landed, still not used to how much his strength had changed without his reiki. He planted his feet and brought the katana up just in time to parry Hiei's attack.

"No fair!" Urameshi's voice carried from inside the temple. "How come Kuwabara gets to use a real sword?"

"Because," Hiei said, "I'm fairly confident he won't manage to cut his own head off with it by mistake."

Kuwabara blinked at Hiei and raised an eyebrow, surprise almost making him slip. The fire demon raised one corner of his mouth in a condescending smirk, never letting up the pressure of his attack.

Even without youki, Hiei is still a demon. Physically he was still faster and stronger than Kuwabara, and had been using a sword for longer than Kuwabara had been alive. The katanas were his personal weapons, designed specifically for him. They were too small for Kuwabara's large hands, and the katana's balance wasn't right for him, giving Hiei an even greater edge. But Kuwabara didn't care. He hadn't realized he could miss the weight of a sword in his hand, even one that was made of metal and not spiritual energy.

On the other side of their crossed katanas, Hiei's smirk slipped into a grin, just for an instant, and Kuwabara had the sudden suspicion that he and the fire demon were having an actual moment.

Then Hiei kicked him in the knee and tried to cut his head off and status quo was restored.