Blood And Flowers

Chapter One

Bring me to life…

Frozen inside without your touch

Without your love, darling

Only you are the life among the dead

"Kneel." Mukuro commanded in her usual blunt way. Hiei did so, and dead silence fell over the room. The Koorime kept his eyes to the floor as was traditional for this type of ceremony. His brand new black robes swirled about him on the floor. Six silver stripes were on his left sleeve, symbolic of the new title he was receiving. His name, Flying Shadow, was emblazoned on his back. Soldiers and nobles alike stood on the sidelines, watching. Mukuro stepped in front of him and started to recite from memory. "Hiei Jaganshi, you have been my most trusted advisor and most skilled warrior through the past three years. You deserve a position befitting your rank and my trust in you." Hiei's face burned, the insinuation was not lost on him. He was glad his head was down. Mukuro and Hiei had been lovers this entire time, ever since their almost tender exchange on the battlefield three years before. And Mukuro, as was her way, saw no reason to keep it a secret. Hiei was mortified the first time he walked down the hallway and heard the snickers and whispers. He was struck dumb-and that didn't happen often.

He sighed silently and tried not to think of it. He felt the blade of a sword-his sword-cold against his shoulder and neck. Then it moved to his other shoulder. "Hiei Jaganshi…congratulations. You are now High General of my army. Stand and be recognized now." He did, standing eye to eye with Mukuro, and turned around to face them all.

No one clapped happily or shouted-it wasn't the youkai way. But slowly, one by one, they bowed ever so slightly to him, an expression of utmost respect. Hiei stood there watching them all. He was now second in command to Mukuro. The Koorime then walked down the long ceremonial hall, decorated with thousands of lit candles on the ornate chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. His boots echoed with every step. He had been slashing and hacking his way through the ranks, and now he answered to no one but the bionic bitch. But that was perfectly okay with him.

It was Mukuro, after all. In a way it was the perfect relationship. For one, Mukuro was unable to bear children, so that was never a worry. Hiei never wanted children. Snotty screaming smelly brats, he thought. As he continued his walk he reflected momentarily on how things would be different. He knew why Mukuro chose now to promote him. She wanted Enki's title of Ruler of Makai. There would be a massive war soon. Makai was split in half-one half sided with Mukuro, the other with Enki. The black dragon tattoo on Hiei's right arm itched at the prospect of it. For Hiei and Mukuro, who only knew how to express themselves through violence, this was a thrilling idea.

Not for the first time Hiei thought about the Ningenkai. He didn't care, particularly, about his ex teammates but every so often he wondered what they were doing. He wondered if Kuwabara had gotten any stupider (which would be quite a feat), if that insufferable fox of his had finally come out of the closet, or if Yusuke and his girl had gotten around to mating yet. And especially about Yukina. He knew she was safe, but she was his twin and he missed her terribly. But pride and his secret wouldn't let him go see her. He still hadn't told her. Part of him knew that she knew. After all, Yukina was far from stupid and would have figured it out by now.

'Imiko…' The name given to him by the other ice youkai resounded in his head. 'Her brother is the Imiko…no matter what she says about not caring what kind of person he is…she'd care if she knew it was me.'

Once he'd left the hall he turned right and headed up several flights of stairs, taking his time. Mukuro would be by later to congratulate him, and not with a handshake. He looked forward to it, but not just then. He wanted some time alone to think. He was so used to solitude that sometimes it seemed strange that he and Mukuro hit it off so well. And they did. They never cuddled at night whispering sweet nothings to each other. They both thought it was a waste of time. They had the sort of relationship where everything was unspoken between them. As both of them were psychics, there was no need for affection. Hiei knew that Mukuro loved him. Mukuro knew that her feelings were returned. There was no reason to say it constantly. Hiei had said it to her once, just to see how it felt on his lips.

Afterwards he felt silly. And of course Mukuro never said it back, just rested her head on Hiei's chest with a strange peaceful on her face. So it hadn't been said since. He got up to his room and reclined in his favorite spot-the windowsill. The bandits who raised him had lived in caves. The memory of this had always made him slightly claustrophobic. It was nighttime in Makai. The stars twinkled above. They made Hiei feel more cold watching them. Strange things in the sky for whom millennia were seconds in the grand scheme of time, and that had seen the birth and death of a thousand generations with perpetual detachment.

Again, the thought flitted across his mind if Kurama was sitting under these stars somewhere, gazing up at them like Hiei was…

As I've said before, this fic will be Hiei/Kurama eventually. I have the whole plot made out. I got the idea for this story from Cold's song "When Angels Fly Away". Its sort of a "Kurama's waiting at home while Hiei's at war wondering if he'll ever come back" thing later on. Tell me what you think! Sorry its so slow in coming and in starting, things will pick up next chap!!! Ja!