To Forgive
written by NemKess

The quiet figure stood in the shadows watching the small fire demon.

He's at it again, Mukuro thought. Anytime he wasn't out patrolling or killing the random youkais that crossed his path, he was here, brooding and glaring at the trees that grew outside the fortress walls.

He'd been doing it the same way every day since Kurama had taken it upon himself to disappear in the Ningenkai with no word to anyone other than that human mother of his.

Not that she could fault the half Youko for what he'd done. Hiei had crossed a line that should never have even been neared. The Kurama that she'd met was no masochist that was going to hang around and let anyone tear his heart into shreds all for the sake of love. Hiei was lucky that he hadn't found himself on the wrong end of a handful of youkai eating plants.

And her heir hadn't even realized the enormity of what he'd done and what he'd given up until he could no longer find Kurama. Until he'd gone straight to Minnamino Shiori and heard it from her that her son had not only left rather than deal with it anymore, but that he'd also been so upset that he'd broken down and told her everything, including who and what he had been. And although the human woman had been sympathetic to Hiei's plight, she'd refused to divulge Kurama's whereabouts. She'd given him a letter that had been entrusted to her for him and a promise to pass along a message, but that was it.

Mukuro knew that the youkai still had the letter; she'd seen him reading it on several occasions. Usually while he was brooding.

Well, she was tired of it.

Five years was more than long enough for anyone to brood.

And besides, as of today there wasn't a single person in her employ that was willing to work with the demon until he snapped out of it. Too many of them bore the scars of his shorter than normal temper.

With a purposeful stride, she moved over to him and tossed the folder she'd been carrying into his lap. She batted away the katana that was whirled at her head.

"You're slipping, Hiei. I've been standing here for nearly a half hour."

He just growled and settled back down into the window frame. Although he gripped the folder in one hand, he made no move to look at it.

"You're on indefinite leave. At the very least, I don't want to see you near my property for the next month, after that, if you've found something worthwhile to occupy your time with, we can talk about it."

Sparing a glare at her, he turned his attention to the folder. He almost dropped it once he got a good look at the photo that had been tacked to the cover and Mukuro had to fight back a grin. It was a recent picture of the redheaded half-human; a polite, if somewhat distant, smile on his face as he stood in front of a black board.

"How-"

She dropped to her knees beside him. "Go to him, Hiei." Her flesh hand caressed his cheek. "I can't stand to see you so miserable anymore."

"Hn. He's the one who left, not me."

It was a struggle not to grit her teeth. "Don't give me that load of bull," she snapped. "We both know you were the one who drove him away. He stayed with you even after he found out that you shared my bed when in the Makai. Despite how much it pained him, he stayed because he loved you so much. What you did was wrong and you know it. He would have forgiven anything else."

Her gaze softened again as the fight went out of him and Hiei slumped against her. "It doesn't matter anymore, Mukuro. Even if I went to him, he still wouldn't forgive me. He left rather than see me again."

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she comforted him as best she could. "He wasn't really that hard to find Hiei. Had you opened your jagan and looked, you'd have known where he was from the first. Perhaps he hoped that you'd follow."

Hiei looked up again, the barest hint of hope warring with the sadness in his eyes. "Do you think so?"

"Go to him, Hiei," she repeated. "You'll never know if you don't try. You always say actions speak louder than words. So go show him some action. Make him realize that you love him and that you refuse to give up."

"But-"

She cut him off before he could voice any doubts. "And you can tell him that he doesn't have to worry about me anymore because I've taken a companion of my own. I'm no longer allowing irritable, brooding fire demons in my bed." She smiled fondly to take the sting out of her words and ruffled his hair, drawing a growl of annoyance from him as he shook off her hand.

He stared down at the picture for a few more moments before he seemed to come to a decision with himself. Nodding his head with resoluteness, he stood. There was a feather light touch of lips on her cheek before he turned to walk away. She was almost certain that she heard a whisper of thanks as he disappeared into the shadows.

Hiei sat on the windowsill of his room as he went over the information Mukuro had given him. Every detail of Kurama's life for the last five years was there, outlined in black and white. There were also a number of pictures taken in various places. He looked basically the same in all of them. Polite, friendly enough, but distant... Untouchable. It was the same look the redhead had worn for so long among the other ningens that he'd gone to school with, not the warm and open one that Hiei had come to associate with his former lover.

Former lover.

He winced at that thought. Mukuro was right, he had driven Kurama away. Not only from himself, but from their friends. He still didn't know what had possessed him to do that.

He sighed and stroked one finger over the paper image.

Even as a Youko, Kurama was known to have been fiercely possessive of that which he considered his own.

It had been more than most could expect that he'd turned a blind eye to the intimate relationship between Hiei and Mukuro.

Would Kurama forgive him? The youkai could only hope.

"Minnamino-sensei! Minnamino-sensei!"

Minnamino Shuuchi, Kurama to a rare few, looked up from his seat to see a pair of his students rushing up to his desk. He waited until they'd stopped and caught their breath. "Can I help you, Matsui-kun?"

The taller of the two boys handed him a piece of paper. "We just finished with a meeting for the spring dance committee and everyone was wondering if you'd consent to being one of the chaperones. Sanada-sensei has already agreed to be the other."

Kurama fought down the urge to sigh. He had no desire to go to the spring dance for any reason, not even as chaperone, but he could understand the request. He and Sanada were the only sensei's in the school below middle age. As such, they were the only two who were likely to turn a blind eye to some of the less than innocent things a large group of juveniles could do at such an event.

"Of course, Matsui-kun. Just let me know once all the details are settled."

"Thank you, Minnamino-sensei!" Wrapping one hand around his companion's arm, Matsui took off once again.

"Don't get caught running in the buildings!" Kurama called after them.

"Hai, hai!"

"And don't forget tomorrow's test!" They were out the door by then, but he still heard their affirmative. He smiled softly to himself. To be 16 again.

He shuffled the papers on his desk until they were all in a nice stack, then eased them into his bag. The day had been long and tiring; all he wanted now was to go home, take a nice long bath and sleep. His mother would probably call, it was his birthday after all.

The walk home was quiet and uneventful. The small town he'd chosen to live in was just that sort of place- a far cry from Tokyo.

He let himself into the small cottage and slipped off his shoes.

Anyone visiting would have been struck by the sheer sparseness of it. The only picture of any kind was of his mother and himself taken many years before she had remarried. A few school papers and books sat on the desk and a newspaper lay on a chair. The kitchenette was equally empty. The refrigerator held the barest of necessities to supply the sensei with a week's worth nutritional needs but nothing else. A person could walk through the entire house and find only a handful of personal belongings, most of which were his clothes hanging in the closet. It looked exactly like what it was- a temporary residence.

Kurama tossed his bag onto the desk and trudged up stairs, rubbing one stiff shoulder. A good soak was his first order of business.

Adding a few special herbals to the filling tub, he slipped out of his school suit and slid down into the water. Leaning back against the edge, he let his mind wander back to it's early thoughts. Sixteen had been a happy age for him. That had been before everything had gone so very wrong between himself and Hiei.

A wince crossed his features.

Hiei.

No matter how hard he tried to suppress them, the memories seemed to be waiting in the shadows of his mind for any off guard moment and then swamped him with visions of what used to be and what might have been.

Breathing deeply, he stared up at the ceiling.

Intellectually, he knew that few youkai truly understood the concept of fidelity. As a Youko, he'd had no problems accepting that. And although he and Kuronue had been exclusive, there'd been an understanding that both were still free to do as they wished. Having no other lovers had just been what they each wished. It helped that chimera's were one of those few clans that tended to mate with only one partner and that Kurama himself had been barely more than a cub when they'd met. It was unfair of him to try to hold Hiei up to the standards of human morality just because so much of humanity had rubbed off onto a displaced kitsune.

And yet, when he and Hiei had finally admitted their feelings and taken that final step, it had never occurred to him that the fire demon would want anything more. Since he'd been content with just Hiei, he'd just taken it for granted that his feelings on the matter were reciprocated.

Finding out about Mukuro had been a blow to his human heart and his Youko pride. But he'd dealt with it. In his mind, he'd rationalized that his lover was making the best he could out of a bad situation. He'd swallowed his pride and decided that what Hiei did in the Makai was his business.

It hadn't been easy, but he'd done it.

If only the little fire demon had left it at that. Kurama could have lived with it. Inari knew, he'd had more than one sleepless night wondering if Hiei preferred Mukuro and had been plagued with dreams of the two of them laughing at him, but he could have lived with it. His love had been great enough to make him put forth the effort.

With an almost savage growl, he pushed the memories back and got out of the now-cold water.

He had school work to grade.

Happy Birthday to me, he thought darkly.

~*~*~

Hiei growled in annoyance as he followed behind the secretary. The silly ningen had been giggling and chattering away ever since he'd told her who he wanted to see. Apparently Kurama was as popular as ever even if he did keep his distance from everyone else. The news that he'd had a visitor was going to be all over the school before lunch break.

He hoped it didn't get the fox into trouble. It was a calculated risk, showing up at the school.

Every scenario he'd pictured ended with himself as plant food or having to hurt the one he loved in self-defense. Neither was a pleasant thought.

He needed a place where Kurama would be forced to listen without attacking. That meant a place filled with ningens.

The ningen woman stopped in front of a door and Hiei shifted from one foot to the other, trying to stifle the surge of nervousness that hit him as he felt Kurama's unique ki for the first time in five years. It still had it's old soothing appeal, but it had also surged briefly, probably as the other had registered his own. Did that mean that the fox was still angry? Or, dare he hope, that Kurama was happy that he'd come?

Either way, Hiei was shocked into silence as his old friend stepped out of the classroom. Although he'd thought that he'd had every detail of the pictures memorized, apparently he'd missed the most glaring difference. His lips parted in a small 'o' of distress and, mindless of the ningen woman who was still watching them, he closed the distance and raised trembling hands to the short red locks of hair that curled around Kurama's ears.

"You cut it," he mumbled, feeling the loss deeper than he would have expected. It was, after all, only hair and would, given time, grow back. But somehow it struck him as much more significant. He considered for a moment, and an even worse pain ripped through him as understanding hit him. He had never made it any secret that he loved Kurama's hair. Once upon a time, he'd sat for hours at a time stroking the crimson mass. That simple act had given him comfort no matter how upset he became. Only Yukina's smile had ever been able to come even close to helping him achieve the same inner peace.

And now it was gone.

"Of course I cut it, Hiei. High school teachers do not have long hair," voice sounding cold, the fox frowned and moved away from the fingers that still stroked his hair. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

All the long thought out speeches and apologies had flown his mind the second he'd felt Kurama's ki. What was left was love and regret, in equal and amble measures. "I needed.. I needed to see you. To know if you've forgiven me." He stared up at his friend, willing the other to see the emotions that he couldn't put into words.

Forest green looked positively glacial as the taller man glared at the secretary who was standing behind Hiei. "Don't you have better things to do than gawk?"

"Ah... G-gomen nasai, Minnamino-san!" she stuttered, bowing quickly and scurrying back down the hall.

Once she was out of earshot, that glare returned to Hiei. "I know Kassan gave you my letter. All I had to say was in it."

The fire demon caught a slender arm as Kurama turned to head back into his classroom. "Please, Kurama-"

"Dammit, Hiei," he hissed. "Go away. Go bother someone else." Emotions fluttered across his face too quickly for Hiei to make heads or tails of them, and then...

Then the door was being shut squarely in his face and on the other side, he could hear Kurama calling the class to order. He barely managed to refrain from pounding his fist against the door and demanding that the fox listen to him. Only the knowledge that force of any kind would not win him any points stayed his hand.

Glaring baleful at the closed door, he turned and left. Both hands were tucked into his cloak as he mulled over his options. Now that he was here, now that he'd seen Kurama again, he knew there was no way he could go back to the way things had been before. Five years was hardly a drop in the puddle in comparison to a youkai's overall life, and yet, without Kurama, those five years had been nearly unbearable. Perhaps he had borne it more easily before a silly kitsune had taught him what it was to love and be loved. Indeed, before Kurama, Hiei hadn't' even believed such an emotion truly existed. He'd known physical pleasure, but not love.

Only Kurama had ever given him that. Well, and Mukuro, but her love didn't even compare.

He'd nearly managed to convince himself that his memories of those years spent with his redhead had been exaggerated. Nothing could be that good. And he certainly didn't need anyone that much.

But now...

Kurama was his, as he was Kurama's. It had taken him a long time to realize that, he'd had to lose that love to see it's true value.

Now he just had to remind his fox.

~*~*~

Kurama shuddered and hugged his arms around himself as he closed the door to his small home.

It had been a long stressful day.

Why had Hiei come back?

A tear slipped past clenched eyelids as he recalled the longing and regret that had shone so brightly in the ruby depths of his old lover's gaze. He brushed it away angrily.

Who the hell did Hiei think he was? Where did he get off showing up at the school?

By the end of the day, Kurama had been fielding off questions from students and staff alike. The secretary had wasted little time in spreading the news. He wondered idly what Hiei would say if he knew that several of the other sensei's were convinced that the small youkai was his 'love child'. Near hysterical snickers escaped. Did the fire demon really look that young? Or maybe he looked that old...

It doesn't really matter, he decided as he sat at the dining table and laid his weary head down on his crossed arms.

With any luck, Hiei had taken the hint and left for good. There was no way Kurama was going to put himself back into the position he'd been in before and no amount of pleading would change that. It had hurt too badly. It had cost too much.

"Why, Hiei?" he asked the empty house mournfully. "Why couldn't I have been enough?"

Silence was his only answer.

~*~*~

The next morning, Kurama arrived at the school to find that Hiei had not gone away.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes as he picked up the note card that was attached to a small stuffed silver fox and a single purple hyacinth wrapped in white ivy tendrils.

'Forgive me.

-Hiei'

Another sigh escaped as the classroom began to fill with students. Each had to come forth and coo over the gifts their aloof sensei had received. Some were bold enough to actually inquire after the giver.

He said nothing about it. He prayed that once Hiei left they'd all forget, but he doubted it.

Once the bell rang, he called the class to order and scooped the offerings into his hands. For a minute, he held them over the garbage pail, undecided. He knew, despite the slight mistakes Hiei had made with the arranging, what the little fire demon had been trying to say. Please forgive me, Fox, and accept my affection and fidelity. He was proving that he had paid attention to the plant lover's ramblings.

Hesitantly, Kurama stuffed them into his desk drawer.

He simply couldn't bring himself to throw away anything that his old lover had given him. But he did hope Hiei would go away soon. He had no idea how long his pride would act as a buffer against his own love and a fire demon intent on wooing him.

~*~*~

Outside, perched on a tree limb and masking his ki as tightly as he knew how, Hiei let out the breath of air that he hadn't even realized he was holding.

He'd feared that Kurama would simply throw the gifts out. It was, in fact, what he'd expected considering the stilted conversation of the day before. The fact that they'd been accepted, no matter how grudgingly, gave him new hope.

Perhaps all wasn't lost after all.

The corners of his mouth tipped up into what some might have called a smile. He would wear the fox down, one flower at a time.

~*~*~

In the days that followed, Kurama found himself besieged, much to the amusement of his students.

On the second morning of the siege, there was a potted veronica anagallis-aquatica perched in the center of his desk with layer of hazelnuts littering the planting soil. He sighed, stroking the delicate lavender petals, taking a moment to admire the deeper purple veins that rain through them. The pot itself was a work of art depicting a small dragon and a six-tailed kitsune frolicking in a field of flowers.

Ignoring his trepidation, he pulled open the folded note attached to the intricately painted pot. The message confirmed what he'd already understood from the arrangement and held a short poem as well.

'Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I know I screwed up,
but forgive me and I'll always be true

-Hiei'

Kurama looked back to the flowers and hazelnuts. Fidelity and reconciliation. He couldn't help but smile a little. Hiei would never be a poet, but the sentiments were heartfelt. Sighing, he folded his arms on the top of his desk and rested his head on them. The little fire demon wasn't going to make this easy, and the redhead could already feel himself wavering. If Hiei was really ready to be faithful....

He shook off the hopeful thought and cursed himself for his foolishness. There was no way he was going to go through that pain again. Not even for Hiei.

Thus resolved, he turned back to his lesson plans and prepared for class.

Despite that resolve, he didn't even consider throwing away the plant.

Students and staff alike grew more and more curious, but he ignored them best he could.

The following several mornings were filled with flowers, messages, and gifts- all of which Kurama kept.

The second morning of the second week brought a bouquet of bright red zinnia's sprinkled liberally with stalks of blue salvia. Perhaps not the most attractive combination he'd ever seen, but as before, the sentiments were right on and this time it came with a CD single to match. He frowned lightly as he looked it over. Kurama had never known that Hiei could even speak English, never mind actually read it. He himself had never bothered with learning it until he'd had to take it in school.

The note was the same as the song title.

'I Miss My Friend

-Hiei'

He dug around his desk looking for the CD walkman he'd confiscated before class a few weeks before. Finding it, he popped in the disc and listened to the song.

// I miss the look of surrender in your eyes... The way your soft brown hair would fall...
I miss the power of your kiss when we made love... But baby most of all //

Kurama paid no mind to the few students who arrived in class early- most of them just to see if their sensei had received something new. Instead, he just closed his eyes and concentrated on the lyrics of the haunting, heartfelt song.

// I miss my friend.. The one my heart and soul confided in.. The one I felt the safest with..
The one who knew just what to say to make me laugh again... And let the light back in
I miss my friend //

There was no way he could have stopped the warmth that spread through his chest. Not once in the whole time that they'd been together had Hiei opened up to him about how the shorter demon felt about him. It had always been 'baka kitsune' this and 'ningen wannabe' that. He had no idea where Hiei had overheard the expression 'wannabe' from, but it had certainly hurt to hear.

To know that there had honestly been more to it, that Hiei had valued him above everyone else... That meant more than Kurama would have imagined.

// I miss the colors that you brought into my life.. Your golden smile, those blue-green eyes.. I miss your gentle voice in lonely times like now... Saying it'll be alright //

// I miss my friend... The one my heart and soul confided in.. The one I felt the safest with..
The one who knew just what to say to make me laugh again... And let the light back in..
I miss my friend//

// I miss those times... I miss those nights... I even miss the silly fights... The making up..
The morning talks.. And those late afternoon walks.....

I miss my friend... The one my heart and soul confided in... The one I felt the safest with. The one who knew just what to say to make me laugh again and let the light back in I miss my friend. //

He missed the concerned looks he was receiving as tears began to flow, unchecked down his face.

// I miss my friend.//

The song reverberated through his mind and heart.

// I miss my friend.//

Because, Dammit, he missed his friend too. Missed all of them. It had been so long since he'd allowed anyone even remotely close to him. The prospect of dealing with the raw pain of that sort of betrayal again had terrified the normally unshakeable man.

He'd pulled himself in so tightly, cut himself off from everyone but his dearly loved mother. And even then, he'd moved away from her.

And he'd almost managed to convince himself that he liked it that way.

// I miss my friend..//

He'd never liked being alone, not even as a Youko. He needed to be surrounded by people, friends, even if he never shared very much of himself with any of them.

Only twice over the span of both his lifetimes, had he given all of himself to anyone. Once had been to Kuronue and the bond between them had lasted until the day the chimera had died- a day that still haunted his nightmares. The other had been Hiei.

Kurama had never felt happier or more alive than during those times and he wanted them back.

Still..

Could he ever trust Hiei enough to open up that much again?

Sighing, he wiped his face and put the headset back into his desk.

That, he thought to himself, is the 64,000 dollar question.

~*~*~

Hiei looked at the small figurine one of Mukuro's imps had brought him. He'd had it commissioned before he'd left her kingdom and she'd promised to send it as soon as it was ready.

Trailing his fingers over the precise lines, he smiled in satisfaction.

The artist, one of the most sought after in all of the three-worlds, had taken the small stuffed ningen toy he'd been given as a model and turned it into a masterpiece of fine obsidian and silver.

The oriental styled dragon was about a foot long. It's carefully crafted scales were jet black with a faint outlining of silver. The eyes were a deep ruddy red and topped by a brilliant starburst of silver that matched his own hair. In it's mouth it held a delicate rose made from the finest of the Makai's precious metals. The petals were stained to match Kurama's hair, the leaves his eyes.

Between the materials, the artist, and the rush he'd in which he'd asked for it, it had been the very expensive. He'd used his own teargems as payment and even then, without Mukuro's backing it probably would have taken longer.

He didn't care. As long as his fox liked it, it was worth it.

A faint smile graced his lips as he thought about Kurama. The courting had progressed much more quickly than he'd expected. Youko or human, the man wasn't exactly known for his bountiful forgiveness. Bountiful looks, maybe. Forgiveness, definitely not. Especially not when he'd been betrayed.

Hiei sat the dragon back into it's velvet lined box and dug the flyer out of his coat pocket. The school where Kurama taught was hosting a spring dance for the students one Friday night and the sensei was listed as being one of the chaperones.

He planned to give Kurama the dragon that morning along with a final note asking for a dance. Something else he owed Mukuro for. She'd made him learn various formal dances for the occasional diplomatic function. Smiling faintly, he tucked the flyer back into his pocket and set about arranging the flowers he was giving his kitsune the next morning and mentally going over the next message.

So far, Kurama hadn't thrown away any of the gifts that Hiei had so dedicatedly left on the desk. It was shamefully easy to sneak in and out of the school. He hadn't even needed to use his speed yet.

He smirked. Baka ningens.

Thankfully, their stupidity was to his gain. Looking over the few items left on his list, Hiei had to fight the urge to whistle.

Three more days.

After that, he was reasonably confident the fox would be his again.

~*~*~

Sighing, a bemused expression settled on Kurama's face as he looked around his cottage.

Gone was the cold sterility that had so severely occupied the place before. In it's place was a mini-florist shop. Vases and pots covered the room with greenery and the bright splashes from flowers. Fleur-de-Luce, Daffodil's, lilacs, dozens of rose bushes of varying types and colors, coreopsis Arkansas, a flowering almond tree, and a baby dogwood tree were just a handful.

The flowers sat on tables and counters while he'd consigned the trees to the floor. And then of course, there was the stuffed silver fox and purple dragon on his bed, and the finely embroidered tunic depicting a black dragon surrounded by flames hanging in his closet.

Today's gift had left him with warm fuzzies in his heart and a reminder of an old understanding about his fire demon. He scowled faintly, but didn't correct himself as he noticed he'd been calling Hiei his more and more frequently in the past two weeks. Pulling himself back to attention, Kurama stroked over the silky white rosebud and reread the note that had accompanied it that morning.

'What does a Forbidden Child know of love?
Nothing.
It took a reborn kitsune to teach a frozen
heart the wonders it was capable of.

-Hiei'

He sighed again and leaned back in his chair. In the last two weeks, he'd seen plenty of evidence that Hiei was still around, but he hadn't seen the little devil even once. It was obvious though, that he wasn't going to give up. He'd keep right on sending things until he bore his way through every defense Kurama created.

Kurama was lost and he knew it. He was willing to give in gracefully, but only if Hiei understood that things would be different this time around.

If he was betrayed again, nothing and no one in the three worlds would save his betrayers from his wrath.

~*~*~

"Sensei! Sensei! Do you think your secret admirer will be at the dance?"

"Do you know who it is?"

"Sensei? Are you going to give us homework?"

Kurama smiled faintly as he let their questions wash over him. There was little doubt in his mind that Hiei would be there tonight and after the dance, he had every intention of confronting the man.

He had forgiven Hiei, but knew he'd never forget.

The students that had gathered around his desk scattered when he approached, clearing the way for Kurama to see what they'd all been gawking at.

An ornate box sat there, dead center, and they'd apparently been speculating as to it's contents. Laid across it's lid was a Makai plant he recognized as one of his own breeding programs from his previous life. Hiei must have either found his former lair or else gone to Yomi and asked for the handful that the blind youkai had kept. He held them to his nose, sniffing the fragrant scent.

"What kind of flower is that, Minnamino-sensei?" Matsui asked. Though he hid it well from the class Kurama had noticed that Matsui-kun was an avid botanist. The boy probably knew more about plants than anyone else in the school besides the half-human.

Smiling, the redhead promised himself that he'd save a seedling for him. Koemna wouldn't be happy about it, but Kurama didn't particularly care. "It's a special breed, Matsui-kun. One of only a handful of it's kind on the planet."

All the students looked suitably awed at the difficulty his admirer must have gone through to get the rare flower.

"What's in the box, sensei?" Two weeks before, none of the students would have dared to approach him about such a thing. That had changed, thanks to Hiei, and he wasn't entirely sure he liked it.

Nonetheless, he put the flowers aside and lifted the lid off the box.

"Oh!"

"How beautiful!"

The girls were all agog at the sight of the black dragon that rested inside on it's velvet bed.

He wondered if anyone else had noticed the physical characteristics that the small beast shared with his equally small visitor from two weeks past. Kurama had been amazed that, thus far, no one seemed to link Hiei's appearance with the arrival of his gift giver.

Picking the dragon up carefully, he traced the small starburst on it's forehead before moving his finger down it's jaw to the rose clutched there.

Oh, Hiei. I never would have pegged you for such a romantic.

A piece of folded paper was thrust in his face. "Here's the note, Minnamino-sensei!"

Kurama smiled politely as he put the dragon back into it's resting place. Sitting down, he took the paper and shooed the kids away.

His stomach seemed to fill with fluttering butterflies as he opened the note and read Hiei's words.

'Itooshi,
Please do me the honor of a dance tonight.

-Hiei'

He folded it and slipped it into his pocket. Apparently he wasn't the only one ready for a little face to face.

~*~*~

Despite his nervousness, Hiei's hands were steady as he fastened up the buttons on his black and silver tunic and smoothed down the black silk pants that went with it. Made as part of a set with the ones he'd given Kurama, the top bore a silver fox surrounded by rose vines. He'd thought that it was far too mushy- still did really- but Mukuro had insisted it was 'romantic' and that the fox would like the message the tunics sent.

Personally, he thought Kurama was more likely to laugh in his face over it, but he'd gotten them anyways. Even a laugh was better than the cold shoulder he'd been getting for five years.

Looking at his reflection in the small hand mirror, he pushed one hand through his hair to fluff it. He was pleased to see that the tunic made him seem older (though he had no idea how he could look so young usually considering he carried a sword and killed demons). He'd overheard some of the comments made after his first appearance and didn't want the fox to get the reputation of a pedophile when he showed up for his dance.

Hiei wasn't sure yet, if Kurama would want to continue living and teaching here, but he didn't want to accidentally burn any of the other man's bridges. He'd done enough of that before, in Tokyo.

Ready as he'd ever be, Hiei put his things up and called an imp to take them away.

Then he picked up the single red rose and flitted off to join his fox.

~*~*~

"That's a very beautiful outfit, Minnamino-san," Kurama turned to see his fellow chaperone approach with a pretty, if somewhat scholarly looking woman on his arm that the redhead vaguely remembered as Sanada's wife.

Though he faced the woman since she'd been the one to pose the compliment, he directed his answer to both. "Thank you, Sanada-san. But please, call me Shuichi."

"Then you should call me Ryo. I'm pretty sure you've already met my wife, Mia?" There was a questioning note in his voice. Minnamino Shuichi didn't often come to the school's social events and when he was there, he usually held himself apart from everyone else until he could politely excuse himself.

"I have indeed. You're looking as lovely as ever."

''Kimi ni aitai yukitai Ikareteru BRAKE... wa tomaranai mou dare ga tometemo...''

Kurama and Mia both winced as another loud j-pop song blared over the speakers. Ryo just grinned at them. "Don't worry, guys. I'm sure they'll play something more your speed sometime tonight."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Nah, my old roommates, Touma and Shu, played stuff a lot worse than this. Bad Luck is actually pretty good."

Mia smiled. "It is better than some of the things I've heard."

The trio stood next to the refreshment table talking through the first set of faster music. As chaperones, one of their main responsibilities was to make sure none of the more unruly students spiked the punch.

"Dance with me?"

He stilled at the familiar voice behind him. Turning, Kurama couldn't help but smile a little at Hiei's outfit. His companions both looked a little wide-eyed at the sight of his suitor and he knew they were finally making the connection between the little fire demons previous visit and all the gifts he'd been getting.

The redhead listened to the beat of the song that had just started. It was a little faster than he'd have liked, but he knew the song and knew how well it fit them.

"Hai."

'kaze ga hashiru ore wo yobu mugon no HARIKE-N. (The wind races, a silent hurricane calling me)
 are wa SAIN kessen no aizu darou' (It's probably a sign, a signal of the decisive battle)

Peripherally, he was aware of the speculative glances that were sent their way as he followed Hiei out to the dancing area. Honestly, though, he couldn't really care less as he was much more interested in seeing if the fire demon actually knew how to dance.

'Sou kono inochi yori aa omoi yume wo (Yes, the day has come for)
kanaeru tame no hi ga kita saa .... (the dream that's more important than my life to be fulfilled)

kokoro no mama ni tada (With my heart like this, I'm just)
Fighting to dream.
dare ni mo jama sasenai. (I won't let anyone get in my way.)
unmei nado jibun de kimete yaru. (We can decide things like fate for ourselves.)
kaze no you ni tada (Like the wind, we're just)
Shooting to dream..
kako no itami tachikitte.. (Cutting off the pain of the past)
kono te de ima mirai mo kimete yaru.. (we now decide the future with our own hands.)
Getta chance!!'

Before the end of the first chorus, Kurama had to admit that he was impressed. It appeared that Hiei had been holding out on him. Though by no means the best dancer in the crowd (it really was a little hard to compete with energetic teenagers in that regard) the smaller man wasn't too shabby.

..kizudarake no yume ga ore wo karitate'ta...(The painful dream spurs me on)
hieta mune ni nokoru hi wo aoru you ni ..... (as if to fan the fire left in my cold heart.)

sou atsui omoi ga aa mune wo tataku . (Yes, burning emotions resound in my heart,)
maru de kienai arashi no you ni.... (like an unending storm.)

yasei no mama de ima (Like the wilderness, we're now)
Fighting to dream.
zetsubou nado houmutte.. (Burying despair and such,)
kemono michi wo hageshiku hitabashiru.. (we run fiercely, swiftly down the path of the beast.)
kaze ni natte ima (Becoming the wind, we're now)
Shooting to dream..
hoshii mono wa jiyuu sa.. (Our desire is freedom.)
oretachi kono kokoro wa damasenai (We can't deceive our own hearts.)
It's truth!!!

No words passed between the pair as they enjoyed being together, truly together, for the first time in years. Kurama didn't want to mess it up with words and he could tell that Hiei felt the same.

kokoro no mama ni tada (With my heart like this, I'm just)
Fighting to dream.
dare ni mo jama sasenai. (I won't let anyone get in my way.)
unmei nado jibun de kimete yaru. (We can decide things like fate for ourselves.)
kaze no you ni tada (Like the wind, we're just)
Shooting to dream..
kako no itami tachikitte.. (Cutting off the pain of the past)
kono te de ima mirai mo kimete yaru.. (we now decide the future with our own hands.)
Getta chance!!' (that's the end of Wild Wind)

Instead, they danced on. Through the first song and into the next. Still wasn't really meant for slow dancing, but it was slower than the one before and they drew together.

Kurayami no naka demo kikari wa aru hazuto (Even in the darkness there is light)
Soo kimi wa oshiete kureta ne (That's what you taught me)

The worldview had narrowed down until it excluded everything and everyone but themselves.

Furikaeru to tooi kako no yoo ni (Turning around like times long past)
Sugoshita hibi kiekaketeiku (The days we spend start to disappear)
Taisetsu na koto wakaranai mama (Not knowing what is important)
Saki mo miezu ni tachidomatta mama (Not seeing what's ahead, standing still)

Kurama was falling into the deep red sea of Hiei's eyes. For five years he'd kept himself away from this man. For five years he'd tried to protect himself, tried to ensure that no one would ever hurt or betray him again.

Kagami no naka no kage ga itsuwari no maborashi (The shadow in the mirror is the phantom of deceit)
Te ni dekinai shiroi akshi da ne (The white proof that we can't touch)

Looking back, he could see that all he'd done was hurt them both. Up and disappearing as he had hadn't solved anything.

At the time, he hadn't been able to think past his pain and injured pride.

Perhaps, Kurama thought, I should have sat on him and explained my feelings on certain issues. Without proper communication, we both went into the relationship with completely different expectations. I looked at our partnership and saw my best friend and soulmate. He looked at it and saw his best friend and main bedmate. Neither of us considered that the other thought any differently.

Nani ga akitemo kimi o hakashi wa shinai kara (No matter what happens, I will never let you go)
Owari no nai tabi ni mukaoo (Let's start the endless journey)

As the final notes of the song ended, a silence fell over the room and all eyes were focused on the odd pair in the center.

But Kurama and Hiei only had eyes for each other.

"Give me another chance, Itooshi?"

There was no way the fox could mistake the sincerity and love in that red gaze. He didn't think Hiei had ever looked at him with so much feeling.

It was beyond him to crush the hope he saw there.

"Hai."

"Uh, Shuichi-kun?" The spell between them was finally broken by the insistent voice of his fellow sensei. "Perhaps you and your friend would like a little more privacy for this conversation, ne?" There was no condemnation in Sanada-san's voice, only the desire to keep a friend from possible embarrassment or harassment. "Mia and I can handle the rest of the dance."

Though part of his attention was fascinated by the delicate blush that was working it's way up the fire demon's cheeks, he was still in enough control of his facilities to nod graciously to the Sanada's. "Arigatou, Ryo-kun, Mia-san. I will see you in school on Monday."

"Hai, go. See you later."

Kurama grabbed Hiei's small hand and tugged him away from the dance.

They needed to sit down and have a serious conversation and they couldn't do that at the school. Also, if he remembered rightly, they were never able to be together for long without the whole spontaneous combustion of emotions and actions a hell of a lot hotter than any of his students should be exposed to.

No, they'd work out all their issues (or at least discuss them) as soon as they got to his cottage.

~*~*~

"Would you care for a cup of tea?"

Hiei wrinkled his nose at the question. He'd never been overly fond of the bitter tea most of the ningens he knew drank.

"It's sweet," the fox tempted.

Well in that case... "Hn... Hai." He shifted awkwardly before adding, "Arigatou."

It was worth the discomfort to see Kurama's shock at his polite response. He really had paid attention all those years that he'd spent in the human world. His manners could be as impeccable as the next person's. He just didn't find much use for it.

A tea cup was placed in his hands and he sniffed it carefully before taking a hesitant sip. His eyes widened at the pleasantly sweet taste. Kurama chuckled at his expression and moved to sit across from him in the other chair.

They sat in silence for a moment, both knowing they had to deal with things but neither knowing quite where to start.

Hiei was about to start when the fox beat him to it.

"Why, Hiei?" Although the question could have meant a hundred other things, Hiei knew what Kurama was asking. The fox confirmed it by continuing. "Why did you betray me in such a manner?"

Shifting uneasily, the youkai stared into his cup. How could he explain to Kurama something he didn't even understand himself?

"Do you have any idea how I felt that day? First to walk in on the two of you and then to find out about the others?" The questions were asked in the same calm alto he had always loved, but the tone was angrier than any his friend had ever leveled at him. The deep emerald eyes flickered back and forth with the colder gold of Kurama's alter ego. "Well, let me tell you how I felt. I was humiliated and I was hurt. In one fell swoop, you managed to wound me more deeply than anyone else has in all my hundreds of years and sweep away the only support group that I had in the Ningenkai besides my mother."

"I can't change what I've done in the past, Kurama, no matter how much I might wish it."

****Five years before****

"So, have you decided which school you want to teach at? They all accepted you, right?" The tall redhead swept his long locks out of his face as he followed his friend, Keiko up the stairs. Lagging behind them were several of their other friends- Kuwabara Kazuma and his sister Shizuru as well Yukina, Botan, and the teenage form of Koemna. The group was heading for another friend, Yusuke Urameshi's apartment to surprise him for his birthday.

"Well, I was invited back to Meiou and it is my preference as well, but it would be quite a commute from the apartment I lease now. I'll have to look into finding a new place, closer to the school if I'm to accept the position."

Keiko smiled as they finally made it all the way up to Urameshi's floor. He still lived with his mother for the moment though both he and Keiko were saving their money so that they could get a place together. "When you're ready to move, you should call us. We'll all be happy to help."

"Hey," They looked back towards their entourage. "That's right, Kurama. Just say the word and I, the Mighty Kazuma Kuwabara, will be there in a flash."

Beside the tall carrot topped man, the two women laughed but agreed.

Kurama smiled at his friends before something flickered in the corner of his mind and his expression grew curious.

"What is it, Kurama?"

Turning to Keiko, he shrugged. "I feel Hiei's ki."

"Maybe the shrimp just came to wish Urameshi a happy birthday. Nothing to worry about."

"I suppose so. It's just that he's been in the Makai for the last month or so and I hadn't had a chance to tell him about the surprise party yet."

"Perhaps Hiei-san remembered the day on his own and wished to stop in for a moment."

The fox smiled softly at Yukina. The red eyes, so like his lover's, stared up at him so earnestly.

"Perhaps."

There was no more time fro conversation as they arrived at the correct door and waited for Keiko to unlock it. Though he could feel the presence of both his friends, neither of them greeted the group at the door.

Strange, Kurama thought. You'd think they'd have noticed we were here before we even got all the way up the stairwell.

He followed Keiko as the girl headed towards the bedroom while the others set about unburdening themselves from the party supplies and gifts they'd brought up.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted his eyes when Keiko threw open the door. There, tangled together in the bed sheets, lay Yusuke and Hiei in an extremely compromising position. It left no doubt to exactly what the pair had been doing.

"Keiko!" "Kurama!"

In the most perverse example of reverse blame he'd ever experienced, the small brunette spitfire who'd opened the door turned around and slapped him, as if it was all his fault. "Damn you, Kurama! Why the hell can't you keep control of that pervert you call a boyfriend!"

Stunned, Kurama's gaze flittered between the pair desperately throwing their clothes on to the enraged woman in front of him. When she raised her hand to strike him again, he was ready and caught her wrist.

By this time, they'd gathered a crowd as the rest of the group came to investigate the disturbance.

Kurama battled with his emotions for a moment before he finally gave in and allowed his rage some reign. "First Mukuro, now Yusuke. Tell me, Hiei," he ground out, his hands wrapped around Keiko's wrist in what must have been a painful grip for the human girl. "is there anyone else you've fucked recently that I should know about?"

Somehow, he wasn't expecting the blushing and shamed averted gazes from any of the others.

It was a well known fact that the more enraged Kurama became, the quieter, calmer, and all around colder he was. There was a definite chill in his voice when he turned his full attention back to Hiei. "Were you trying to humiliate me, Hiei?"

"Shizuru wasn't my fault!" Faster than Yusuke, of course, the fire demon was fully dressed as he approached his best friend and lover. "She seduced me!"

"And Botan?"

Only absolute idiocy could have been Botan's excuse as she actually called Kurama's attention to herself by answering. "Well, you know, Kurama... That was New Year's and we were both awfully drunk. I mean, sure we woke up together. And okay, so we were both naked, but it's entirely possible that it was just someone's idea of a joke!"

"Shut up, baka. You're not helping," Hiei growled.

"And Yusuke? You're not drunk now and somehow I can't see Urameshi seducing you." With a cold smile, Kurama let go of Keiko and snapped his fingers. "I know, it's your birthday gift to him. When exactly did you become a whore, Hiei?"

That pissed the fire demon off. "You're a fine one to talk, Youko!"

"Youko Kurama was only ever in one serious relationship, Jaganeshi. And I was faithful from the beginning of it right up until the day Kuronue died. I've never committed myself so deeply since. Until you."

Hiei flinched but said nothing.

"Somehow I thought you were different." Kurama turned and walked back towards the door. "Tell me, would you have fucked all our friends eventually? Well, they're welcome to you. You all deserve each other."

And with that, he left. The entire way home was a haze, as if his mind had shut down in Yusuke's apartment. When he finally came to a stop, he found himself not at his own home, but at his mother's. His feet had taken him to the one place left in the Ningenkai where he felt safe and loved.

It was kind of silly really. There wasn't much that Shiori could do, but he knew she'd welcome him in and give him a shoulder to cry on with no questions. And right then, he needed that. He needed the unconditional love and support his human mother had always given him.

Somewhere in that long night, as she'd held him, he'd confessed. Told her about everything. His past, Hiei, what had happened earlier. He left nothing out and still she'd held him and comforted him. Knowing hadn't made her turn from him.

He'd packed the next morning. One of his possible teaching positions had been for a small town a long way from Tokyo. Leaving a note for Hiei with his mother, he'd promised to call and then he'd left without ever looking back.

**** Back in the Present****

"I can't deal with that again, Hiei. If we're to be together again, in any sort of meaningful relationship, I won't share again. Not even with Mukuro."

Hiei shrugged before downing his remaining tea. "It's not an issue. Mukuro has long since given up any patience she had with what she calls my endless brooding."

"And others?" Kurama's tone was neutral, but the fire demon knew it was important.

"There are none. There won't be any." As long as the redhead promised the same, Hiei had no problem with that particular issue. Despite accusation's otherwise, sex really wasn't that big of a thing for him and no one had been quite as good at it as the man in front of him. Of course, hundreds of years as a promiscuous Youko probably had something to do with that. Who could really compete with that kind of expertise? And then there was the small fact that he actually loved Kurama.

Nodding, Kurama watched him over the edge of his teacup. "There are other things between us."

He acknowledged that and voiced one of the problems he saw. "Where would we live? Koemna won't be happy with the idea of me running back and forth between the Makai and the Ningenkai again. He'll want us to either both live here until you decide to give up your human aspect or for us to both move back to the Makai."

"Hiei-" there was some warning in the name. It was an old argument between them. Hiei had never made a secret of the fact that he thought they'd both be better off in the Makai while Kurama had been just as adamant that he wouldn't even consider leaving the Ningenkai until his human mother had passed away.

But the smaller demon held up a hand, asking for the chance to finish undisturbed. "Recent shifts in politics don't make that the best option any more."

"Huh?" He could understand the confusion he heard and smiled grimly.

"Let's just say that having Yomi's heir apparent in the Makai right now could be very hazardous to your health. He's ill and could be dying anytime now. Mukuro suspects that he was poisoned or cursed with some spell or another. Attempts have been made on that little clone of his, which is why suspicions run that direction. Either way, Shura is in protective custody for the moment."

"So what? You'll move to the Ningenkai? Live out a ningen life? Hiei, even if Mukuro or Koemna were to allow you to-"

"They have agreed to it."

"Even then, you'd be miserable spending the next forty or so years here waiting for my human body to die. We both know it."

Kurama's expression was inscrutable and Hiei had to shake off the uneasy thought that perhaps he'd misread the fox. Perhaps Kurama didn't want to work things out after all. Despite that, he pushed on gamely. "Your human mother isn't young." He shrugged diffidently. "I'm sure if we only stayed until her passing, then I could find something to occupy my time with."

Sighing, the fox moved to sit next to him. With an earnest expression, he caught up Hiei's hands in his own and used the leverage to shift both their bodies further onto the couch so that they faced one another.

"Are you sure, Hiei? Are you one hundred percent, absolutely sure that you could do that- give up the Makai, live here as if you were a human, work a normal human job, and be with only me, even once my human attractiveness fades?"

Hiei allowed himself a frown. He wasn't overly fond of voicing his feelings- not even to his fox. He'd already spoken more emotionally than he ever had in the past, but he'd only done so because it was so very vital. He wasn't the poet Kurama could be and the smaller youkai didn't know how to convey those feelings in a way that their depth could be understood. He could think it, but the words got all twisted up once they got out. Writing them down had been a lot easier- written words could be erased when they betrayed him while spoken ones were irrevocable.

He decided that simple statements of fact were the best way to go.

"Kurama-kitsune... I need you. If that means being here, in the Ningenkai, so be it. If it gets to be too much, I can just return to the Makai to wait for you there."

The hesitation in his love's eyes lifted and he found himself on the receiving end of a very enthusiastic kiss.

That first kiss was like water on dry sand and they both soaked the reality of the other in after their five year drought. There was too much need for there to be any finesse. The first kiss sparked something inside them and it didn't take long for an absolute wildfire to start as clothes were frantically pushed aside.

In some distant corner of his mind, Hiei had enough rational thought left to hope they didn't tear the tunics. He'd had the damnedest time making the weaver of the clothe understand exactly what he envisioned and he hoped all that effort wouldn't' be put shredded in their frenzy.

Most of his focus though, was completely on what he was doing.

It was fast and it was messy.

To Hiei, as he drifted off- sated and happy for the first time in five years- it was beautiful.

~*~*~

Kurama didn't even try to stifle the grin that broke out over his face as he shifted the unconscious Hiei into his arms and carried him to the bedroom.

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or worried, koi."

He laid the fire demon out on the bed and disrobed him. He sat the clothes aside to be cleaned before moving to retrieve a wash cloth from the bathroom and wiping away the mess they'd made on each other.

Finished, he sat next to his lover and looked his fill. The years might have been hard on the other man emotionally, but they'd been fabulous to him physically. From the tip of his two-toned hair to the delicate arch of his feet, Hiei was definitely one gorgeous youkai.

Even if he stayed in the Ningenkai, Hiei was a fire demon and his heritage would keep him looking like this long after Shuichi Minnamino grew old and gray. Would he really be able to handle having a lover who looked and moved like an old man?

Being brutally honest with himself, Kurama had to admit that he wasn't entirely sure that he could handle being an old man with a lover who had the face of an angelic child, never mind that the same lover possessed the well-toned body of a man and the fighting spirit of a demon. How many times over the years, would they have to fend off the viciousness that humans would show towards their relationship?

He supposed it was something they'd have to deal with when it came up.

For the moment, he didn't care.

They were together again. They had committed to each other.

Forgiveness had been asked for and absolution received.

They had love.

The rest was just details.

~*~*~ Author's Story Notes ~*~*~

I'm considering writing a sequel where they deal with the other issues (namely the rest of the gang and the disturbance in the Makai) Please let me know if you think I should.
Thanx!
NemKess

Flower language info came from:
The Victorian Language of Flowers @ http://www.apocalypse.org/pub/u/hilda/flang.html
descriptions came from pictures I managed to find.

Here's what I used for the story.
purple hyacinth (forgive me)
Ivy tendrils- white (affection and fidelity)
bag of hazelnuts (reconciliation)
Veronica anagallis-aquatica (fidelity) small pale purple w/deeper purple veins, dark green foliage
red zinnia- (thoughts of an absent friend) short plant, bright red with roundish petals
blue salvia (thinking of you) delicate blue/violet bell shaped petals, long slender stalks with pale green leaves on the lower halves. kinda furry looking.
white rose bud (heart ignorant of love)
red rose (true love)

The songs used are
'I Miss My Friend' sang by Daryl Worley on his 'Hard Rain Don't Last' Album
'Breaking Through' sang by Bad Luck on the Gravitation Musical Story Album
'Wild Wind' sang by Hiyama Nobuyuki and Oogata Megumi on the Yu Yu Hakusho Dance Mix Album
'Within Time' sang by Masha on the New A.D. Police DVD collection (it's the ending theme song)
More YYH and Gravitation lyrics can be found @ http://www.animelyrics.com/

The designs for the tunics aren't really anything I've ever seen on those particular types of outfits. They're actually from 2 odd shirt-like outfits I snagged out of my brothers closet. The rose vine one had a dragon on it too, but I changed it for the purposes of the story. Thanks bro for allowing me access to your clothes! ^_~

I actually own the stuffed fox and the stuffed/statue dragon came from a Wiccan catalogue.

Yes- Ryo and Mia Sanada, Shu, and Touma are all from Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) and the band Bad Luck mentioned is the one from Gravitation

Japanese Language info came from friends on the web.

Translations: (note, these probably aren't anywhere near exact)
sensei- teacher
ningen- human
Makai- the Demon World
Ningenkai- the Human World
Rekai- the Spirit World
Youko- this is a human like fox spirit (there's a lot more to it, but that would take forever to explain)
kitsune- fox spirit, fox
baka- idiot, stupid
youkai- demon
Itooshi- beloved
arigatou- thank you
moshi moshi- no idea really, it's what's said when answering the telephone