An oldie, but a goodie. Another piece for a challenge I've been doing on my Live Journal, this is a sad and emotional snippet of a scene I could see happening some time after the series ended. While it is an unlikely scenario, I just ask you to open your minds up and see the sibling love within. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still own nothing, after writing in this fandom for seven years...

Final Moment

She retained herself well as she walked through the dark and terrifying corridors lined with grotesque looking guards that would gladly eat her for dinner if she posed any sort of threat to them. But she hardly wanted a death wish, having returned to Makai at the urgent request of the mighty lord Mukuro, whom she barely knew. In fact, Yukina hadn't even met the woman and had only heard about her through Yusuke and Kurama. What she was needed for in such a proud and still dank stronghold was a mystery to her, but nevertheless, she heeded the call and came rushing into unknown territory.

Once she had given her name to the final guard she had encountered down the extensive hallway, the lady Mukuro emerged from the chamber beyond the large door Yukina stood at, her signature orange hair alerting the Ice Child to her identity.

"So you've come," Mukuro said dryly, no warm welcome in store for her guest as she went on. "I don't exactly see the resemblance, but he has called you here for a reason, so I suggest you make best of your visit, as this will most likely be the only time."

Yukina looked at the one time warlord peculiarly and folded her hands within the sleeves of her kimono. "I beg your pardon, but who have I come to see?"

Mukuro looked down at the naïve girl and replied in her simple monotone, "Hiei; he's dying."

Overwhelmed by this terrible news that easily stirred the young maiden to burst into tears, Yukina did well to maintain herself and followed Mukuro's guiding hand into the chamber. Upon entering the dark and drab place, the large doors behind her closed, leaving her alone with nothing but dim lights showing the way to hopefully where Hiei was resting comfortably.

As she tripped over various objects and stumps along her path, she asked herself many times why Hiei wanted her here. Did he have a final testament he wanted only her to hear, or did he have news of her brother, which he had no intentions of bearing until his death? She couldn't be certain, but still the questions lingered, boggling her until she resigned herself to reason and chose to believe that he required her presence to convey his predicament to the other former spirit detectives. But then again, why not ask Kurama…?

Peering into the unyielding darkness, Yukina snatched up a candle from a nearby table and proceeded on, trusting her instincts to guide her. When she sensed a presence she could not deny, she spoke, "Hiei… is that you?"

At first there was silence, not even a twitch could be felt on the air which hung so heavily around her. Was she too late? Then there was a sound, something she knew she had heard, but couldn't quite make it out. Metal on metal… a smooth, flowing sound from one end to the other.

Shing

Shing

"Leave the candle where you found it," his voice said, raspy and lacking the deepness she knew him for. "You don't want to see me like this."

Recognizing him immediately, she took a couple of hurried steps forward, only to allow the light he detested so much to lick his battered body; his face was pale and thin, his clothes a raggedy mess barely covering his frame, and his hair was wild and untamed in this pathetic condition she never thought she would see him in.

Yukina gasped and put a hand over her mouth to stifle her oncoming scream, then recovered slowly as his eyes that were once ablaze with fire and passion looked solemn and broken. What had happened to him? "Hiei… I don't see how this could have happened to you, but I will gladly heal you if-"

"I didn't ask for you to come here so that you could heal me," he replied bluntly, turning away into the darkness once more. The sound Yukina had been hearing was the sharpening of his sword swiping across a special stone designed for improving the efficiency of a blade weapon, but why was he sharpening his katana when it looked like he clearly had no will to live?

Feeling brave, she urged him on, "Then what did you call me for?"

Hiei sighed heavily and tried to sound discouraging, wanting her to lose hope in that which she dreamed of so fondly. "I called you here to tell you that your brother was dead. Kurama obviously didn't give you the message."

As expected, her heart sank and she let loose the tears she knew she would shed one day for him. Her hopes had been shattered, and now, under even more dire circumstances in which one of her friends was about to die, she felt she had to cry for both of them. This fear… she knew it was there, constantly nagging at her from the back of her mind, telling her that her aspirations of one day running into the arms of her twin brother was nothing more than a foolish girl's fantasy. But now those dreams had to die, and Hiei would take them with him.

Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her face and spoke, "If I may ask… what were my brother's final words?"

Unexpectedly, Hiei froze in mid-swipe and tripped over the thoughts in his head. There was no way he could lie to her again, even if his back was turned to her in the dark. Yukina deserved his honesty, especially since she had come such a long way. But… what would he want his last words to be?

Her name?

A death wish on the name of their father?

Unspoken love for their mother?

He didn't know what he could say to her, but there was no turning back now. He had to tell her something. "He said… to tell you that he was sorry."

Though a normal girl would be dissatisfied with such simple and rather cold words, Yukina was overjoyed to hear them, elated to know that her brother cared enough to express his sympathy, even to a stranger. He did have a heart somewhere within him and wasn't as cruel and menacing as the elders continued to label him, despite never seeing his face after he was tossed from the island.

Surprised by the silence, Hiei turned his head to look as if he was about to glance over his shoulder, but didn't for fear of seeing her in tears, and thus breaking his cover. "You are happy to hear this?"

Yukina gave a quiet and something of a half-laugh, her gentle hand over her heart to feel it still beating as strong as it always did. "Yes, I am. I'm just so glad to hear that he at least cared enough to tell me that."

Always so loving and thoughtful, he finally turned around fully to look at her, her hair fading softly into the dim light of this room he had confined himself to. She was a breath of winter to this dry and summery landscape. If only he had told her the truth… "Forgive me for not giving him your hiru stone, though," he said lowly, pulling the necklace out of his pocket to show her in the still bloody palm of his hand. "I didn't feel a need to give it to a dying man."

Touched by his honesty when he could have easily sold it for a large profit, Yukina admired how the gem still glowed so radiantly in the light and smiled. "You keep it, Hiei – for good fortune."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm about to die myself, Yukina. Why give me-?"

"Because it's a gift," she quickly finished, kneeling down beside him so that she could look him directly in the eye.

Worried that she would detect his deceit, he turned back around to continue his former task, but was soon after terrorized by a painful coughing fit that prompted Yukina to take him in her arms and lean against her sturdy, yet frail body. As his coughing continued, she raised her hands over his chest and a steady, cooling glow came from her palms; she had summoned her healing energy to cure him.

But he wouldn't allow it, clasping a dry and cracked hand over her arm. "Don't," he said, coughing again. "Let me die with what little pride I have left."

Though she couldn't just let him sell his soul to Hades just yet, she did understand his faintly burning desire for honor, and let him hold onto his dignity as she held onto him. She called back the power she rarely used and allowed the fingers of her right hand to grasp his weak ones, tenderly rubbing in sweet and sensitive places so that he would know she was going to stay with him until he drew his last breath.

Much to her surprise, his grip became alarmingly tight and he let his head loll to the side, war torn eyes gazing up at her desperately. "Yukina… Yukina…!"

Clutching their joined hands to her chest, she replied soothingly, "Sshh, it's all right, Hiei. I'm here and I won't leave you. I'm here…"

Feeling his breath beginning to fade away, most likely due to his sudden hacking and coughing fits that robbed him of what little life he had left, he relaxed into her embrace and found comfort in the constant beat of her heart. It pulsed in time with his, though his beat considerably slower, but they still held in syncopation. Was it a sign that were joined forever by the blood they were never supposed to share, or was it just another reminder that she still loved her brother, even though he was apparently dead?

A wave of relief washed over him as he felt himself fading faster, but knew that with his final words he could fulfill the last testament of Yukina's beloved brother. "Yukina… I'm sorry."

Yukina felt his body go limp in her arms, and little to his knowledge, she had already been crying even before he had spoken his last words. She knew what they meant and understood them as she buried them in her heart to hold until her own death drew near. "I know, Brother, but don't be sorry. You were always here – I knew who you were all this time."

There's no getting around it, kids - I love to put these two in sad situations to bring them together. lol Review if you liked, and if you didn't, be gentle, please? Thank you for your time, my Beloved!

47th Light