While the desire to openly give such affection had been born of his feelings for the Hiei, the spirit fox had not truly expected much in the way of reciprocation. It had started off almost amusing in a way, how the fire demon had responded in all of his uncertainty before really warming up to it. The little ways that attention had clumsily been returned had actually confused him initially, although whether Hiei noticed that surprise was another matter entirely. Not that the fox took any time at all to adjust to the welcome change, taking it for what it was as things developed over time.

The warmth at the suggestion he's earned that pride is short-lived. As Hiei's additional comment manages to confuse the redhead completely, leaving him momentarily dumbstruck in the following silence hanging between them. After a moment, Kurama pulls back to regard the fire apparition, thinking it over before responding. He's not sure what to do with that, or how to take it, really.

“A game? You can't truly believe that's what it was.” It's meant as a question, but the delivery is almost flat with how the assertion blindsides him, attempting to understand where exactly Hiei is coming from before truly reacting to it.