Mirror

When forced to make a comparison, no one would ever really say that Hiei and Kurama were similar. The latter was calm and collected, going through life making plans and acting upon them. He drew people to him, pushing some away, and keeping others close. He wasn't reluctant to smile or joke or help someone in need.

Hiei, on the other hand, was fierce and angry. He rushed blindly into things and didn't care about consequences. People shied away from him, afraid that they might meet their end on the edge of his blade. He pushed everyone away, even those that he wished he could keep closer. His smiles were sinister, and the only jokes he made were ones designed to cut. He'd help you only if it helped him to do so.

People found Kurama to be the sincere one. The one who was genuinely kind and gentle. They assumed that Hiei acted tough to cover up for years of being shunned and abused. They could not have been more wrong.

Kurama's every action was planned. Every word was scripted. He knew how to play his roles and play them well, for he'd had centuries of practice. He could act like your best friend one day, and be your worst foe the next. It was he who was the opportunistic one, in truth.

Hiei wore his feelings on his sleeve if you knew how to read him. There was anguish in the way he swung his sword. Loneliness in the way he insisted he was not a part of the team.

The two of them understood these facts about each other. That they were each a mirror image of what beings in all three worlds saw them to be.

Hiei could read the ruthlessness that sometimes flickered in the green gaze of his comrade, just as Kurama always knew when Hiei needed someone to hold him. It was this this that made them so well matched. This that drew them together. Because while outwardly there was nothing very similar about them, it was only with the other that each could be themselves.


A/N: While the Hiei and Kurama in my story Little Wonders are my heart, I have missed their demon forms. So expect a one shot every once in a while to help scratch that itch.