All credit goes to Yoshihiro Togashi for creating such wonderful characters. (disclaimer)


Dawn's Reckoning

Chapter One- The Beginning

The surroundings settled smoothly into clarity. The location was not in a city, but rather in the wilderness, immersed in the sounds of animal chittering and insect buzzing and the feel of sunlight filtered through the trees. The transitional feeling that accompanied travel between the worlds was always to be expected. The body, if not the mind, would recognize the somewhat abrupt change and had to adapt to the difference in metaphysical energy of the environment. It signified to even the most clueless of travelers that somehow they were no longer treading in the same world as they were but moments ago. Kurama himself was used to these sensations and didn't notice them anymore.

This time, Kurama judged, he had ended up in a relatively uninhabited area that he knew to be north of the plateaus. The new travel regulators following the dismantled kekkai was based on a system of probability, and while better than dropping beings off randomly in the vast makai, gave only a general range of the destination one would arrive at. There had yet to be a way to travel to a precise location, but certainly it would be developed over time. Similar musings wandered in and out of Kurama's mind as he walked.

After going some distance, as the sky grew purplish with dusk, Kurama had settled upon a flat stone, prodding the base of a crackling fire with a long stick. Longer flames occasionally darted out and illuminated the area with a flickering glow. A while later, a figure emerged from the trees, his own shadow cast behind him.

"Bored with the humans, already?"

Kurama cast his eyes up, though he knew who it was. "Hiei."

Hiei stepped out. For a while, he didn't speak and studied the surroundings.

Earlier in the day, Hiei was contemplating, for the first time after almost two and a half years, the exact amount of skill required of a demon to be able to find a misplaced human, pick it up, and dump it back into the ningenkai. While flitting through the trees in his normal fashion, he thought about this because… there wasn't much else to be thinking about. The sense of purpose that his job once gave had all but run for the hills. Some part of him knew that it would be the inevitable outcome, but it was the choice he made to stick around. Now Hiei was beginning to wonder if he regretted that decision. Before he could fully wonder about it, however, Hiei had shoved the uncertainties aside. They would bring him dangerously close to consuming memories that would propel him back to a time he did not want to revisit.

Instead, he focused on making one last check through the jagan eye. The scan was supposed to be brief, and Hiei expected to find nothing, so it was with a jolt of surprise that Hiei pinned Kurama's location.

Kurama was simply sitting there in the little clearing of maroon and green tinted trees, staring meditatively into the fire with the gentle sadness that Kurama always seemed to exude, even while looking cheerful. With such a relaxed manner, the way he sat, the way his hair hung over his lidded eyes, Kurama looked to be in his element. Hiei observed it all with discomfort once the curiosity of why he was there wore off.

Hiei wanted to leave and pretend he didn't see anything. At the same time, he could not deny that his mind was practically screaming for him to go and investigate. It won out in the end.

After all, it would be his obligation to find out what was going on.

"I didn't know that camping was a hobby of yours."

Kurama doubted that Hiei wanted talking about the various human leisure activities Kurama had once explained to him.

"Nor did I."

Hiei sat down on the stone opposite from Kurama. Contrary to the finality of Kurama's decision to remain in the human world, his stay in the makai up until the previous tournament was not his last, and two or three trips to the makai were made since then. Some part of Hiei might have been glad for that, but he would continue on, fulfilling duties and continuing to ignore the lingering unease that constantly hovered over him.

Kurama asked, "Has there been any news of Yusuke?"

Hiei snorted his opinion of that.

Kurama sighed. "It certainly makes my position pleasant. I'm finding it hard to face Kuwabara these days. And Keiko. And Yukina. But the last one isn't Yusuke fault."

Hiei somehow ignored the look that was intended to inspire guilt. "Apparently Yusuke doesn't know where he belongs anymore. Why isn't he talking to you about this?"

"The world would be such a better place if only Yusuke could sit down and talk about his feelings." He pondered it. "Or, everything would have died a horrible death. I'm not sure."

In recent times, there seemed to be more that Kurama was unsure about, and chiefly among those uncertainties was Hiei. Long ago wasn't the last they had seen of each other, and a distance was established. Being busy came far too easily to Kurama for him to have a clear conscience. But then again, there was always some council to advise, document to sign, or even borders to help refigure if a group of demons found themselves on the wrong side of a province after changes took place.

After being informed that Kurama really didn't have business to attend to in the makai, Hiei promptly told Kurama he was being stupid for taking a pointless sojourn, and convinced him to stay at Mukuro's compound, if he hated Yomi's fortress that much (because the place held memories of threats to Kurama's family and… too much haiku).

It was peculiar. As they started walking, and the farther they went, to Kurama, it seemed like that distance was diminishing, and maybe on account of the fact that Hiei actually approached him in the first place. The familiarity was coming back, as if being rebuilt. Even if it wasn't, Kurama was happy to pretend, anything to experience the peace that he felt with Hiei that had been sorely missing from his life. He wasn't disappointed.

Kurama then got to tease Hiei for being worried, so Hiei had to instead convince Kurama that he wasn't trying to convince him of anything.

"…it's completely up to you." Hiei was saying. "I couldn't care less whether or not you want to stay out here all night to be attacked,"

"I'd deal with it."

"or buried under a rockslide, or eaten by hell knows what—"

"Eaten? Hiei, you give me too little credit."

"I just don't want to hear about it afterwards when I offered a completely rational..."

But Hiei trailed off, feeling incredibly foolish, because it had just dawned on him that he was babbling. Not only that, but the subject happened to be about danger. He was babbling about danger to Kurama, which was just plain ridiculous because to say that Kurama was intelligent and more than capable of taking care of himself would be a huge understatement. Had he somehow forgotten all the battles they had fought, together, and with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and just how dangerous Kurama himself could very well be? Kurama's thought process was strange at times, in Hiei's opinion, but his instincts were sharp and served him well, so what business did Hiei have, carrying on like he was talking to someone who never...

"But you're right." Kurama said quietly and fell into step with Hiei. "I guess I've been feeling… off, lately."

Leave it to Kurama to make Hiei rethink his statements and then throw off the whole process by agreeing. But while Hiei made a customary show of smugness, there were other things he was thinking about. More importantly was all the lightness prescribed into Kurama's words and actions. It was as if they hadn't been avoiding each other in the first place.


 All righty, my first fic with a plot! Dedicated to all writers who haven't been uploading sue romances.

Feedback would be awesome.