A/N: Here's the first chapter! More like a prologue, actually. Like a hint at the future. Y'know? Anyway! I decided, due to challenges/prompting, to write a multi-chapter HB story thing. You'll find that I probably won't update this too often, and also that it won't be very long, but I'll try to at least get the first chapter up by this week. And to finish the story to the end.

About the actual story: It's gonna be action-packed, so I hope you're not all looking for a squishy tale of love&romance. x) Also, it does not take place after the series, and unfortunately I do not know at which point it does take place. But Yukina's existing, so somewhere between the two extremes. Keep in mind that this whole thing is very much inspired by extraneous literature, most noteably Robert Frost's poem 'Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening', in case you're any bit curious as to what direction it's going in.

Now, on with it!

Miles To Go

Prologue

He never liked snow. Every part of him detested its very existence, despite the one-half of his heritage which said otherwise.

The wet of the whole ordeal got right down to his bones in a way that rain never did. He felt his movements slow, felt his body get heavier, and heard a definitive creak in his joints. For Hiei, it was like a window to the older years in his life he would probably never get to see.

Every year the winter came and every year Hiei went, fleeing the inevitable season. It became less of a thought-out strategy and more of a habit he partook in annually at the end of fall. He followed the birds south and trailed after them when they returned to their homes. He had no place to nest, however, and found that he traveled with different flocks each time.

It was only recently that Hiei discovered it was growing more and more difficult to escape the weather. Now he had a purpose. He had orders. And, more importantly, he had to carry out these new-fangled orders. Not that he liked it, but he supposed it carried a certain ring to it when he thought about how he had people relying on him to do a job.

He couldn't just up and leave like he used to. That might have been the underlining bad thing about the whole idea of having a purpose.

It was snowing now. Snowing out there, outside of these four flimsy walls, and he had forgotten how much he loathed the feeling it gave him, even behind a small barrier such as this. He sat against the walls, having no real seat to lounge on, and half-consciously drew circles in the dirt with the tip of his sword.

Along with snow, Hiei had entirely no patience for waiting, and right now he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Go outside (in the snow, mind you) and find something to do, or stay here and continue to do absolutely nothing? He chose to stay, because although he could still feel the effects of his condition in a weak little shack like this, it would be far worse being hit by the monstrous little flakes. Besides, it should be ending soon. Kurama would eventually find his way here, and the neck-breaking burden that had been dumped on him would soon be over.

Being stranded in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the snow with someone to 'take care of' wasn't Hiei's idea of a fun time.

As if the idea had just now come to him, he stood up from his crouching position on the floor and stared across the room at the heap of cloth on the only known furniture in the shack. She was still alive, if just barely, and it was probably the fire he lit in the center of the room that was keeping her breathing. It kept most of the dampness out, which meant a blessing for each of them.

He strode across the room to check on her as Kurama had instructed him to, looking for any symptom he could find. The girl's face was flushed pink, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. One hand was pressed against her vulnerable stomach (which was sporting old bandages that needed to be reaffixed) while her other was clutching at the comforters around her.

Lovely. A fever to go along with a stomach wound. Hiei tapped one foot impatiently, wondering where that goddamned fox was. They were running out of time.

"H…" A wheezing sound was emitted from her heaving body. "Hello?"

Hiei silently debated with himself whether or not to respond. Before she hurt herself more, he decided to at least let her know he was there. "What?"

"Can you… make the fire bigger?"

He grunted and grudgingly brought himself around to do her bidding. After all, he didn't mind a bigger fire. Anything to keep that grinding wetness out of his bones. In the back of his mind, he wondered if maybe she had the same affliction.

Hours later, he was still in the same predicament. Kurama had still not come, and he was growing more and more restless (or was he weary?) by the hour. Any firewood he had on hand was running out, and therefore so was the fire. His mind, active though he himself wasn't, had made the necessary plans, and done the necessary mechanics for leaving. Waiting wasn't going to do anything.

So he stood, overlooking the sick and sleeping girl, regarding her form, making notations as to how much she would weigh. That kind of thing.

"Bo-tan." He pronounced the separate syllables of her name apart, each character bursting out of his mouth with a visible rush of air. "You had better not die. I will lose all respect I have ever had for you if you do."

Of course, she said nothing back at him. She was sleeping.

When the fire finally ran out of fuel and the shack in the woods started getting that snow-feeling, Hiei lifted her from the bed and prepared to step out into the wilderness. As he hefted her onto his back, he started running in the direction he knew was east.

He runs because it is the morning. He runs because she needs help. He runs because he has always ran, because he is more like the migrating flocks of birds rather than the dragon he has tamed with his mind.

And it was promised to him that it would all be okay.