*Author note: Contains spoilers! Light Kurama x Hiei. Set just before the Dark Tournament's final battle against Toguro.*

A Weakness That Brings Strength

It was different than Yukina- the way her shoulders would collapse and she'd shake her head to rid her mind of her sorrows. Her hands would clasp together tight in her last attempt to hold on to what little reality she had left, and her feet, so slender, would fight one another as she struggled for balance. A heavy gasp would escape her swollen lips as her dark eyes would force shut. We have all seen her cry, but this sight- her shivering brother in front of me- was something only I would ever live to see. That is. If I was to make it out alive.

"Hiei," I reached my hand to his shoulder but darkness instantly spiraled around his arm.

"Don't touch me!" He backed away, "I'll kill you! I must." Could it be? Was consuming the dragon of the darkness flame too much after all? I too, out of fear for us both, took a step back. He was no longer resting in the hotel room, though neither of us were concerned for his physical health. I came for fresh air, to leave him alone as he had demanded. Yet, he had followed me.

"Calm yourself, Hiei." Another jagged breath, but his communication was of a rational volume.

"Since when were you capable of making orders?" For a moment, the last bit of light from the setting sun touched upon his face. I saw his smirk, but it was only a memory. A thought that was taken by the wind.

"Was I at fault for not speaking clearly enough, or was it you? To stubborn to listen." My fists tightened as did his. The night growled for me as my frustration got the better of me. If only I was Yoko. Then I could, for the first time, make him listen. But even if he was to truly hear me, could I ever make him understand? It was then that I realized, I knew nothing of his stance. What was his motivation, why was he turning on me, the only person I thought would be safe from his wrath- no matter what.

"Why do you wish for my death?" It was asked so loudly that Hiei lowered his gaze.

"It's not a desire." Is all he said before he was gone. I knew where he was, but speed was not my specialty. I liked to slow things down, weigh my options. But Hiei was not giving me any. I felt his breath on my neck. "It's a need." I didn't have time to dodge as he pushed his fist into my back, but the blow was as weak as his words.

"Why do you need for me to die?" I readied the rose whip just to buy me some time.

"You heard her yourself, we must get stronger." Genkai's words. Her death has brought many things. Sadness, anger- and for Hiei, as I began to contemplate his resolve- a hopeless amount of desperation. He charged at me again, but the thorns were too slow to release. They didn't wrap around his wrist until the blood from the hit had already fell from my lips. With the restraint in place, I pulled him to me then, easily, as he was too unexpecting to put up a fight. His eyes landed in mind and he, though an apparition of fire, froze in his pursuit.

"Killing me will make you stronger?" Another silent tear fell from his cheek. He said nothing, but I finally understood. My hand reached for his hair, where it belonged, and I leaned, placing my lips on his that were moist with his cries.

"I make you weak?" I kissed him again, curling my tongue around his lip. He stood on his toes as his arms wrapped around me. His fingers dug in to my back and he refused to let go. Of course it was not simple for him when I told him my heart was his. The first thing he asked me when he woke was why I was always there beside him. He told me I was more predictable than his shadow, but he is predictable too. Yet still, after everything we've been through, I was too blind to see that telling him the truth would bring more hurt than comfort. He was precious to me, and perhaps, as he buried his head in my chest and wept, I was precious to him too. "Having a weakness is the only thing that will make you as strong as you wish to become. I learned that when I became Shuichi." My fingers found their way to his chin. I wanted to make him look at me, but even as a broken form, he was fixed on his own defiant will. Instead, I brought my hand to his hair as I lowered my head onto his. "First, I had my mother as motivation. Now, I have you."

I heard it then, the loud stomps that rattled the trees. Hiei was quick to back out of my hold, violently clawing at the liquid residing in the corners of the already bruised crimson. The new stadium was on its way. And no matter what happens next against Toguro. My own weakness will find me strength.