CHAPTER ONE

Her brow creasing in concentration, Yukina raked the leaves at Genkai's temple into a pile. A strange apparition in the corner of her eye caught the ice demon's attention. Turning, Yukina fixed her red eyes on the sky. Hanging in the heavens, different colored beams shimmered across the blue expanse.

"Wow," Yukina breathed, "a rainbow…" A slow, content smile grew on her face as her eyes became distant.

"What's so interesting about a rainbow?" a voice asked in a bored tone.

Jumping, Yukina turned, putting a hand on her chest. The rake tumbled to the ground. "Hiei-san!"

The fire demon lazily stared at her with the same red eyes Yukina had. "You've been staring at it for the past five minutes."

"Oh, have I? I'm sorry. I didn't realize." Yukina turned back to the rainbow in the sky, which was noticeably fainter than it had been five minutes prior. Yukina began to answer, "Well, it's just…" However, her words trailed off like the ocean receding at low tide. She watched the rainbow with a happy little smile on her face as though she hadn't been interrupted at all.

After a moment of silence, Hiei shook his head and began to turn away. Strangely, a ghost of a smile touched his face. He muttered, "So simple minded—"

"It reminds me of my home."

Hiei stiffened, before turning back to Yukina in surprise. "There were no rainbows in the land of the ice, of course," Yukina continued. "It only ever snowed. Or hailed. No rain. But at the northern most reaches of our land, another great big light show was in the sky: the aurora borealis." Yukina's eyes misted over in a haze of remembrance as she explained, "It stretched on for miles. Every shade of blue and green and purple hung over the barren icy wasteland. With just the right of amount of red highlights, the aurora borealis shimmered in the sky. I was always fascinated at how those rays could turn the darkness and coldness of the night into a beautiful display of light and hope."

Quieted, Hiei gazed down at the ground. After a moment, he asked, "Why did you go there?"

"Ah, I just went there to think, really. To think about my brother and if he ever saw the aurora borealis. If he was gazing up at it now as it danced before my eyes. To consider if my brother ever missed the aurora borealis." Yukina's smile turned bittersweet as she whispered softly "…or me."

Hiei seriously deliberated the question. Did I miss my sister? No, I didn't miss her; finding her was the only purpose I could think of for myself. Glancing sidelong at Yukina, Hiei wondered, If she knew that I was her brother, would she miss her imagined version of her brother? Or would she—

"Yukina-san, my love!"

"Kazuma-san?" Yukina's eyes widened at the sight of Kuwabara standing in the temple's doorway while Hiei scowled.

With a swiftness that rivaled Hiei's speed, Kuwabara appeared next to Yukina. He grasped Yukina's hands in his hands, cooing, "How are you?"

For a reason she didn't understand, Yukina's cheeks warmed. "I'm fine. It's good to see you."

Hiei fixed the happy duo with a sour frown. Yukina hadn't said that to him.

Kuwabara's eyes going mopey, he clutched Yukina's hands to his chest. "It's been too long, my sweet. But don't worry, I'm here now and—"

Putting himself in between the two, Hiei announced, "The others are here."

Her face lighting up, Yukina asked, "Really? How wonderful. Oh, I have to go greet our guests!" Yukina stepped back, breaking off hand contact with Kuwabara. She bowed, "Please excuse me." Without looking back, Yukina darted into the temple.

"Er, okay," Kuwabara stammered. No one answered.

Hiei smirked. Turning up his head, Hiei put his hands in the pockets of his black overcoat and strode into the temple. "Baka."

Gnashing his teeth together, Kuwabara fist trembled. "That stupid shrimp. I'll show him someday!" Kuwabara remained outside, building up his anger, until he realized that he was alone. He dashed towards the temple, crying, "Hey, wait for me!"


Laughter and the sound of clinking dishware filled Genkai's temple as a group of friends settled in to catch up on each other lives and drink tea.

"So you came, Hiei."

Hiei looked up to see Kurama sitting down across from him, a cup of tea in his hand. With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, Kurama added, "I guess the threat of Kuwabara-kun making a move on Yukina-san was too much for you—"

"Shut up," Hiei hissed. To Hiei's irritation, Kurama's smirk only grew bigger.

"Hello, guys!" Botan sat down next to Kurama, flashing him a bright smile. "Hello, Kurama. How is your family?"

"Ah, they're doing well. And you? How is ferrying souls? I hope Koenma hasn't been pushing you too hard."

Botan threw her hands up in the air. "All I hear all day is long is do this, do that, hurry up you're too slow, and I'm not getting any younger here! But at least I have a couple of days off coming up."

"That's good to hear," smiled Kurama. Botan returned his smile, her cheeks tinted red. Hiei rolled his eyes and tried not to gag.

To their right, Keiko, Yusuke, and Genkai were discussing Yusuke's hooky habits. "And he missed part of Thursday and Friday!" Keiko exclaimed to Genkai. Keiko narrowed her eyes at Yusuke. "The weekend does not start on Thursday!"

Yusuke shrugged, "It does for my mom."

Keiko protested, "Yeah, but—"

"No one wants a dumb husband," Genkai quipped as she sipped her tea.

"S-Shut up, hag!" Yusuke huffed. Keiko hid her embarrassment by drinking more of her tea. To Keiko, Yusuke countered, "Yeah, well, no one wants a wife who can't cook, neither!"

Smack!

"I can't believe you said that, Yusuke! That's so nasty!" Keiko cried.

Rubbing his red cheek, Yusuke glared at Keiko. "Well, you keep on badgering me about missing school. Why is it that you can nag me all you want, but the instant I open my mouth you smack me?"

"Because you're an idiot?" Genkai helpfully offered.

Keiko objected, "I'm just trying to help you!"

"So am I, you know! The first step to moving forward is admitting you have a problem, right? You can't cook. So I'll help you and—"

Smack!

"WOULD YOU LET ME FINISH, WOMAN?!"

"Why should I? All you're going to do is insult me!"

Shaking his head, Kurama commented, "We haven't even been here for five minutes."

Resting her head on a hand, Botan asked, "What are they even arguing about?"

Kurama shrugged. "I'm beginning to think what they argue about doesn't matter to them anymore. Bickering is just how they relate to each other."

Feeling uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere, Yukina stood up. "Where are you going, Yukina-san?" Kuwabara asked, distraught. When he saw Yukina turn to the exit, he reached out a hand to her. "I haven't finished telling you about the Megallica concert yet!"

Turning back to Kuwabara, Yukina gently grasped Kuwabara's hand in with both of her hands. Despite being an ice maiden, the light in Yukina's smile soothed Kuwabara like a toasty, relaxing fire after a day of playing in the snow. "Don't worry, Kazuma-san. I want to hear the rest of it. I'm going to make some more tea, so I'll be back in just a moment."

If Yukina's smile was a warm fireplace, Kuwabara's face turned into a fiery hot inferno. "A-Ah, okay." Giving Kuwabara's hands a squeeze, Yukina left the room. Shocked, Kuwabara gaped at her retreating figure. Then he exploded with the force of a volcano.

"Didja guys see that?"

Yusuke, who was across from Kuwabara, sat with his arms crossed and with his back towards Keiko. Keiko had adopted a similar pose. However, Yusuke broke off his silent standoff between him and Keiko to acknowledge Kuwabara. "See what?" he asked, annoyed.

His excitement building, Kuwabara stood up and pointed at the hallway Yukina had disappeared down. "Yukina-san! She, she held my hand!"

Yusuke made a circle in the air with his index finger. "Yippee. So what's next? Writing Yukina's name in sharpie all over you school notebooks?"

"Don't be stupid, Urameshi! I already have a notebook of places to go with Yukina-san and activities we can do together. Things like I teach her how to hold a billiards cue stick, or what slick thing I should say when she's upset, or our hands accidently brushing as we both go for the popcorn at a movie, or…"

Stunned, everyone stared at Kuwabara.

Kuwabara blinked. "What? What's wrong?"

Kurama coughed into a fist. Then he chuckled and smiled up at Kuwabara. "Wow, Kuwabara-kun. I didn't know you were that serious about Yukina-san."

Sucking in a deep breath though his nose, Kuwabara pounded his puffed out chest with a fist. "But of course! My happiness is Yukina-san's happiness!"

"You fool!"

Hiei stood up and threw his tea cup to the ground, causing it to smash in a thousand pieces. Everyone jumped. His fist trembling with restrained rage, Hiei bit out, "You don't know the first thing about making Yukina happy!"

Kuwabara leaned down towards Hiei, his hands on his hips. He sneered in Hiei's face, "Like you would know how to make anyone happy."

"Kisama…" Hiei snarled. The two growled in each other's faces until a voice cut through the tension like a knife.

"Well, there is one simple way that you can prove who can make Yukina-san happier."

Everyone turned to see the kitsune grin. "The both of you give her a gift. Whichever gift she likes more means that person can make Yukina-san happier than the other."

"What?" Hiei protested.

"That's perfect!" Kuwabara cheered. Leaning back, Kuwabara puts his hands on his hips and smirked. "There's no way you can get Yukina-san a better gift than me. Why you don't even know the first thing about Yukina-san!"

"Uh, Kuwabara-kun?" Kurama interrupted. "You shouldn't provoke—"

Hiei glared at Kuwabara with such intensity that steel would have melted. Then, to everyone's surprise, Hiei visibly calmed down. He leaned back and placed a hand on a hip. In a deceptively collected voice, Hiei asked, "So you want to have a little competition? I accept. If there's one thing I know it's that a worm is more desirable than you."

"Why you little runt!"

Confused, Yukina stood by the entrance to the foyer, overseeing everything that had occurred. "Kazuma-san and Hiei-san are getting me gifts?" Yukina murmured to herself. She stared down at the tea kettle in her hands. A surge of determination sweeping through her, Yukina gripped the kettle so tight it shook. "Then I'll have to get them presents, too!"


"Man, can you believe what happened back there? Pretty crazy," Yusuke stated, crossing his arms behind his head as he walked.

Kurama hummed his agreement. "I certainly didn't expect to spiral out of control."

"That's why…" Yusuke walked in front of Kurama and turned on his heel to face Kurama. In the light of the streetlamp, Yusuke grinned at Kurama and gave him a thumbs up. "We're going to step in and 'help' them!"

Kurama paused. Then he continued walking past Yusuke. "Oh, no, we're not."

"What?" Yusuke gasped, surprised. He chased after Kurama. "What do you mean we're not? You're the one who came up with the idea of getting presents for Yukina."

"Yes, but that is enough. Any more interference on our part could potentially ruin their relationship. Their relationships are very unsteady as it is."

Yusuke grabbed Kurama's shoulder and jerked him to face Yusuke. "That's exactly why we have to help! Didn't you hear what they threatened each other?"

Kurama frowned, and shifted his gaze to the sidewalk. "I… I did…" The memory of the argument washed over the two.

"So you want to have a little competition? I accept. If there's one thing I know it's that a worm is more desirable than you."

"Why you little runt!" Kuwabara shrieked, blowing his stack. "I'll prove to you and everyone that I can make Yukina-san happy! And when I beat you…" Kuwabara jabbed his finger into Hiei's chest. "You'll tell me what your relationship with Yukina-san is!"

Hiei's eyes widened momentarily. Then his carefully crafted neutral expression returned. "Fine. But if I win, you'll never see Yukina again."

"Fine! But there's no way I'm going to lose to a runt like you!"

Yusuke, Kurama, and Botan gasped, horrified by the wager. They turned to each other wide eyed and slack-jawed, all thinking the same thing: What are we going to do?

"Look, Kurama," Yusuke continued in a softer tone. "You saw how Kuwabara and Hiei bolted out of the temple after they made that bet. They're taking this seriously. And if either of them wins…"

Kurama inwardly sighed. Obviously Yusuke wasn't going to give up. He turned to face Yusuke head on and crossed his arms. "You have a plan?"

"You betcha I do!" Yusuke crowed, giving Kurama a thumbs up.

"Oh?" Kurama raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"We make 'em both look like fools by playing practical jokes on them!"

"What?!"

Yusuke nabbed Kurama's shoulders and pulled Kurama closer. Surprised, Kurama leaned back. "Think about it. If we make them look stupid and prove it, then we'll show themselves and everyone they can't make Yukina happy."

"…And you plan on doing by playing pranks on them."

"Yes!"

Kurama swatted off Yusuke's hands and continued walking down the sidewalk. "I'll pass, thanks."

"Argh! Kurama!" Cupping his hands around his mouth, Yusuke called, "You're just scared!"

Kurama stopped dead in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder, Kurama narrowed his eyes at Yusuke. "I'm not scared."

Barely suppressing his smirk, Yusuke crossed his arms. "You know you'll never be able to play a trick on Hiei. Especially not one that'll trump what I got in store for Kuwabara. And then what'll that do to your rep as a master thief?"

"If I ever got serious, I could get Hiei could do anything I wanted. At the very least, I could easily outdo whatever idea you cobbled together in that scatterbrained mind of yours."

Yusuke grit his teeth, but he swallowed the urge to defend his pride. Instead he pointed his index finger at Kurama. The point of his finger glowed slightly, casting strange shadows over Yusuke's face. "Then prove it."

Kurama silently stared at Yusuke for several moments. Then he smirked and turned around, the darkness of the night swallowing him whole. In his wake, several fall leaves scuttled across the sidewalk.

"You forget, Kurama. You may be a thief, but I'm…" Yusuke chuckled to himself. "A super delinquent!" Throwing his head back, Yusuke laughed into the night, "No one will know what'll hit them!"


Frowning, Kurama tapped his pencil against the worksheet lying on his desk. Try as he might, Kurama just couldn't concentrate on his homework. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurama spied a calendar hanging on the wall. "Two weeks…" Kurama muttered to himself.

Before Kuwabara and Hiei left Genkai's temple, they had proposed that they would return to Genkai's temple and present Yukina their gifts on the last day of the November, two weeks from now. Fourteen days until either Hiei told Kuwabara that Yukina was his sister or Kuwabara renounced seeing Yukina. Surely there was something Kurama could do to rectify this situation?

Leaning back in his chair, Kurama did what he did best: think. Yusuke's strategy of humiliating Hiei and Kuwabara-kun isn't bad in theory, but playing pranks on them is hardly the best or the easiest method of completing that objective. The simplest way would be to hide Hiei's and Kuwabara-kun's present at the last minute, but the two would probably guard their respective gifts with their lives. I should consider another angle…

Kurama smacked his fist into the palm of his other hand. Of course! All I have to do is convince Hiei to give Yukina-san a bad present! Something so horrible that he couldn't possibly win!

"What was that about a bad present?"

Surprised, Kurama whipped his head to the left, where Hiei stood by an open window. Hiei, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, smirked at Kurama. "You're losing your touch, kitsune. I barely had to extend any effort to sneak up on you and read your mind."

Deflecting the insult, Kurama parried with one of his own. "You're growing cold. I knew you had a short temper, but I hadn't known you to be so shallow. Making Kuwabara-kun promise to never see Yukina-san again, don't you think that's going a bit too far?"

Hiei cocked his head to the side and looked down at Kurama. "Hardly. This is the perfect opportunity to prove to the oaf that he can't make Yukina happy. And when he learns that, he'll be so brokenhearted he'll finally leave her alone."

Growing serious, Kurama whispered, "Is that what Yukina-san would want?"

Hiei stared off into the distance, silent. Sighing, Kurama turned back to his desk. "Well, it appears I am unable to convince you to leave this wager behind. What is it that you wanted?"

"I know what present I'm giving to Yukina."

Shocked, Kurama stammered, "Y-You do?!"

"Of course. I knew exactly what I was going to get her the instant we made the bet." Hiei snorted, "I doubt that moron knows what to give her."

Kurama stifled the urge to groan. So much for that idea. Aloud, he asked, "Then what are you doing here?"

Hiei pushed off the wall to fully face Kurama. Barely suppressed anger and furor rolled off of Hiei in waves.

"The present is most easily obtained in the Human Realm."


"No, no, no, no…" Kuwabara muttered, as he angrily flipped through the pages of a black book. When he accidentally nearly ripped a page, he froze. With extreme care he patted the page, removing its creases before moving on. "No, no, no—ugh!" Frustrated, Kuwabara plopped down on his bed, scowling at the ceiling.

"Fine. But if I win, you'll never see Yukina again."

After heaving a sigh, Kuwabara glanced at the half opened black book in his hand. Should I tell Yukina-san…? She has a right to know, but…

But Kuwabara wanted to know with the whole fiber of his being that he could make Yukina happier than Hiei could.

Yeah, but… all my old ideas are too generic or stupid to make Yukina-san happy!

"What in the world are you doing now?" Shizuru asked, opening up Kuwabara's bedroom door. Spying Kuwabara's book, Shizuru smirked, "Ah, so you're ditching Yukina-chan and looking up all your old girlfriends' numbers?"

Indignant, Kuwabara sat up and yelled, "I would never ditch Yukina-san!"

Pointing a lazy finger at the book, Shizuru drew Kuwabara's attention to the first couple of pages. Names and numbers were furiously scribbled out. "But that's your old contact book. Unless of course…" Shizuru retrieve a cigarette from her pocket and lit it. "You changed it into a Yukina-chan book chock full of all your fantasies about her."

"I do not have fantasies about Yukina-san, I have plans—! Onee-chan!" Kuwabara cried, going red.

Shizuru smirked and shook her head. That was her little brother. Stupid to a "T".

Glowering, Kuwabara began to rip out the pages at the beginning of the book. "I never had any girlfriend before."

"Because none of 'em liked your ugly mug."

Kuwabara stiffened, pausing mid-turn of a page. Shizuru frowned. He hadn't taken that last comment personally, did he? It was nothing special compared to their normal teasing. Taking a few steps into his bedroom, Shizuru asked, "Did something happen while you were at Genkai—" Shizuru froze, her brown eyes staring at out the window. "I sense something."

Immediately, Kuwabara's head snapped up, on high alert. Catching Kuwabara's eye, Shizuru tipped her head at him. "It seems you have a visitor."


Yukina clenched her hands so hard that her fingernails bit into her skin. With her goal in plain sight, she couldn't give up now. Not when she had been the source of so much contention. When she closed her eyes, she could still see the fury in Kuwabara's and Hiei's faces and the stricken expressions of her friends. Their angry shouts still clamored in her head. She may not have known what she could do to make her friends happy, but one thing was for sure.

She didn't have a lot of time.

Summoning her courage, Yukina raised a fist.

"Yukina-san!" A voice bellowed right in her face.

Kuwabara, at his sister's prompting, extended his senses to feel a certain familiar yoki. His heart leaping, Kuwabara bounded the stairs in one leap and opened the door. Sure enough, Yukina stood at the doorway. She stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you? I'm sorry, Yukina-san!"

Blinking, Yukina slowly lowered her hand. "I-It's all right."

His demeanor turning serious, Kuwabara pounded his chest with a fist. "No, it's not all right. It's never all right for Kuwabara the man to scare anyone, especially someone as delicate as you."

Warmth spread throughout Yukina eliciting a smile from her lips. "Thank you, Kazuma-san."

"Eh?" Kuwabara blinked. "What for?"

Yukina paused, surprised by Kuwabara's reaction. Then she giggled.

Scratching the back of his head, Kuwabara chuckled along with Yukina. He wasn't exactly sure of what they were laughing at, but he didn't want Yukina to be uncomfortable. Though he was outwardly confused, his heart soared on the inside. I did it! I made Yukina-san laugh! I don't know what I did, but I made her laugh!

When their moment of laughter ceased, the two stared at each other for a moment. Yukina lowered her gaze and shuffled her feet, a blush on her cheeks. Kuwabara nodded his head slightly, trying to think of something to say. At the same moment, they shouted,

"I have something very important to tell you!"

They both paused. Then, "You go ahead, Yukina-san."

"No, you can tell me, Ka—"

"No, I insist. Ladies first."

Yukina's protests died on her lips. There it was again. That fluttering feeling in her chest. But now wasn't the time to be pondering such mysteries. Making dual fists, Yukina leaned forward, her intense red eyes boring into Kuwabara.

"Will you take me out?"


Taking a long drag of her cigarette, Shizuru replayed her conversation with Kuwabara in her head. How he froze when she poked fun about his lack of appeal. Shizuru knew her brother; when someone insulted him and pushed him to the ground, he just got right back up again, swinging his fists. He didn't just freeze and accept the abuse. Something… something definitely happened while they were at Genkai's temple. But what?

"I'm sorry, Monica, but I have to tell you something. I'm in love with your sister."

"Ugh! How dare you!" The resounding bang of a gun filled the air.

Oh well. Shizuru laid her arm on the back of the couch and placed her feet on the table in front of her. Her TV show was just getting to the good part. Kazuma's a big boy. He can solve his own problems.

Just as Monica was getting her axe behind her bed, a blood curling scream echoed through the Kuwabara household.

"I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!"


No, Kuwabara does not automatically win the bet because he has Yukina asked him out-things are a little more complicated than that. Next chapter will include what exactly Yusuke had meant by playing pranks... Thanks for reading!