Bad me! Stop reading fanfiction and write your own, damn it! There's just too many other good writers out there. After this, it should be much easier. A chunk of the next chapter is already written and the next few chapters are outlined. Enjoy and please review!

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

---------------------------------------------

Yukina paused as she swept the grounds of the shrine. She took a deep breath of the fresh, mountain air, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the place she had come to call home. A gentle breeze caressed her face, bringing with it memories of when she had first moved into the small shrine.

She had wanted to give up; after years of living with Genkai, she had wanted to move closer to Kuwabara. However, Reikai still wanted her to remain more isolated, fearing another Tarukane incident. After months of searching, they had found nothing, and then, Kuwabara found the shrine. It was old, abandoned and in disrepair, but the grounds were beautiful. High in the mountains, it looked over Kuwabara's hometown but was far enough away that she was allowed to live there.

A smile tugged at her lips remembering all the problems they had fixing it. He had come everyday to help her clean out all the junk, and then they discovered they would need to fix the floor when he fell through it. She remembered how one of the walls almost collapsed when she touched it lightly. Then there was also the leaky roof they discovered one night when it rained. She couldn't help but laugh, remembering how they had run around all night placing cups, buckets, anything to catch the water.

"Yukina!" a familiar voice called out. "Hey, Yukina!"

"Kuwabara," she answered happily, running out to greet him. She saw him waving at her with a large, silly grin on his face. "And hello to you to, Yusuke."

"Man, I hardly recognize the place," Yusuke said. "Last time I came here, this place was a dump."

"Well, a lot can change in three months," she said, smiling, and noticed a small, blue head that popped out from behind Kuwabara. Shocked, she shouted, "Rei!"

Rei struggled to get down from Kuwabara back, hitting him on the head a few times on the way down. "Yukina, you're alright," she said relieved. She tried to walk towards her, but cried out in pain and collapsed, hand over her injured leg.

"Rei," Yukina said, confused and worried. "Rei, what happened?" She pulled back Rei's hand and saw the wound. "Oh, my... help me get her inside."

Yukina quickly pulled out a spare futon and set her healing powers to work, and although she could heal, she couldn't heal it all. A faint trace of the attacker's demonic aura still festered in the wound. She sat next to her friend, disappointed in herself.

"It's alright," Kuwabara said, placing a comforting hand on her back. "Kurama said none of her injuries are serious, and she'd be up walking again in a week. Plus, with your healing, I'll bet she's up in a few days!"

She gave a weak smile, "Thank you, Kazuma." His only response was to blush deeply and give a silly grin.

"Hey, how do you two know each other anyway?" Yusuke asked.

"Duh, Urameshi, you were there. We got the mission..."

"Not you and Yukina, ya moron! Her and Yukina," he growled, pointing at Rei.

"That's just bad grammar."

"I don't need a Japanese lesson right now!"

"Well it's not like it'd hurt," Kuwabara retorted. The two boys butted heads, growling at each other.

"Sorry to interrupt the fun." Kurama chuckled as he walked in through the doorway.

"Hello, Kurama," Yukina beamed a greeting at him.

"So, how do you and Rei know each other, Yukina?" Kurama asked, intrigued by their relationship.

"When I lived in Ice World, Rui took care of me when my mother died. Rei is her little sister and we've been best friends for as long as I can remember."

"So, you go see Koenma?" Yusuke asked Kurama, changing the subject.

Kurama sat down before answering. "Yes, he's concerned about the safety of our two koorime. He wants at least one of us to check on them daily."

"I-is that really necessary?" Rei asked, not pleased by the news.

"Yeah, I mean, didn't Genkai put a bunch of spells on the place?" Yusuke asked and turned to Yukina for an answer. She nodded.

"Huh, you just wanna get outta doing a mission, doncha?" Kuwabara said accusingly.

"I'm just saying, why waste time doing something pointless? They're already protected!"

Kuwabara ignored him and puffed out his chest. "No need to fear, Yukina. I, Kuwabara Kazuma, will be here to protect you." He lost the manly demeanor, replaced by the normal silly attitude he had whenever around Yukina. "Ha, I'll bet I can get up here everyday!" He muttered to himself, quickly reviewing his schedule for the week. Kuwabara's face fell as realization hit him. "No... wait..." His eyes darted back and forth as if reading something only he could see. "Aw, dammit!"

"What's wrong, Kazuma?" Yukina asked, worried by his sudden outburst.

"I can't make it on Thursday. I got three tests and a couple projects I need to turn in," he said unhappily. "I mean, who's gonna protect you while I'm gone!?"

"Hmm, let me think," Yusuke said, thoroughly peeved, "uhh, maybe us?"

"Like I can count on you!"

"What, I ain't strong enough!?" The boys butted heads again, ready to go at each other.

"Now, now, let's not start that again," Kurama said from the sidelines, not wanting to get caught up in one of their squabbles.

"Um," Rei said softly. Only Kurama and Yukina could really hear her. "Do you know... when I'll be able to return home?"

Kurama shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry, but Lord Koenma didn't say."

"Oh," and she bowed her head in sorrow.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to go home soon." Kurama stood up, "and speaking of home, I should get going. My mother will be worried."

Yusuke followed suit, "Yeah, I guess I better get going, too. Keiko'll throw a fit if I'm not back soon. C'mon, Kuwabara."

"That's alright, I should probably stay with Yukina just to make sure -GACK!"

Yusuke held him in a headlock, "Oh no you don't! You're s'posed to tutor me tonight, remember."

"C'mon, can't Kurama tutor you this time?"

"He's busy, now let's go," Yusuke commanded, dragging Kuwabara towards the door.

"It's not like it helps. There's no way you'll get your dumb butt accepted into any college. Besides, you got your Spirit Detective job back, what d'you need a better job for?" Yusuke just tightened his grip on Kuwabara's neck. "Gurf!- Later, Yukina. See ya tomorrow."

Yukina laughed as they left, but was cut off as Rei asked, "You don't really trust them do you? They're men."

"Of course I do. I'd trust them with my life."

---------------------------------------------

Hiei sat in a tree, contemplating what he had just seen through his jagan, particularly enjoying the scene where Kuwabara had been dragged out of the temple. It didn't surprise him when the kitsune walked up to his tree.

"What do you want, fox?"

"How much were you watching?" Hiei didn't respond; he had only seen the two idiots squabble and then the three of them leave.

"Then you should know that Koenma wants one of us to check on them everyday."

"Hn. I have no interest in doing another one of Koenma's pointless missions. The three of you can handle do it." He turned his head slightly, watching as Kurama walked away.

"Well then, you wouldn't want to know that Kuwabara can't check on her on Thursday," Kurama said before walking away. Hiei made a mental note.

---------------------------------------------

The days passed quickly at the shrine as Kuwabara and either Kurama or Yusuke came to visit everyday. They chatted, helped with chores, and Kurama continued to treat Rei's wound. By Tuesday she could stand, and by Wednesday, she was able to walk around the temple grounds. Even Botan popped in to tell them that Koenma would have a portal ready by the end of the week. However, the ice maiden remained timid and quiet around the men during their visits. Before they left on Wednesday, Kurama assured Yusuke and Kuwabara that he would be able to handle the trip by himself on Thursday, secretly trying to keep it open for Hiei; he knew the fire apparition wouldn't come any other way.

Thursday came and so did Hiei.

Yukina and Rei were doing the laundry, hanging the clean sheets outside to dry in the afternoon breeze. Hiei walked onto the grounds as Rei went inside to grab another basket of wet linens. Pushing aside the sheets as he walked through, he finally caught sight of Yukina.

"Hello, Hiei, I haven't seen you in a long time," she said, smiling at him. He didn't respond; he only walked closer. Yukina's mood saddened, "Hiei, I wanted to thank you for searching for my brother, even though..."

"Don't worry about it," he said, remembering that he had finally told her himself that her brother was dead.

Yukina placed a hand over her returned hiruseki stone, "No, I'm truly grateful. At least... I know now." As she said this Rei walked out and the two turned to look at her.

"Yukina, where should I..." Rei dropped the basket she had been holding, spilling the contents everywhere, eyes wide in fear. She had only been six at the time, but she immediately recognized Hiei as the Imiko, the child her older sister Rui had thrown off Ice World. Those scarlet eyes had haunted her dreams, dreams in which he enacted revenge as the elders prophesized. Drenched in a cold sweat, she tried to back away from the approaching fire demon, only to be stopped by the wall behind her.

Yukina stared at her friend, confused and worried. "Rei..." She slumped against the wall, heart pounding in her chest. "Rei, what's the matter?" Yukina knelt beside her, holding her shoulders.

"What's wrong with her?" Hiei asked, trying to act uninterested in the koorime's behavior.

"S-stay away from me!" Rei shouted hysterically. "Don't come any closer!"

Yukina shook her slightly. "Rei, Rei, what's wrong?"

"Stay away from me!"

"No one's going to hurt you, Rei. Snap out of it!"

"No, NO! Go away!" she continued, scrambling to get away through the solid wall behind her.

"Hn," Hiei grunted as if disgusted by the ice maiden cowering before him. "I only came to make sure you were still here. My job's done; I'm leaving," and he flitted away.

With Hiei's departure, Rei calmed down considerably, although she was still shaking violently. Yukina asked again, "Rei, what's wrong?"

"H- he's the Imiko, the forbidden child." Yukina's eyes widened as she realized what it meant. "He's your brother."

---------------------------------------------

Woohoo! Another chapter posted, and the stupid beginning is out of the way. Did I mention I hate writing beginnings? Sorry if some parts were a little choppy; I really wanted to get this chapter out of the way. A quick side note, this is the first story I've ever written where I didn't have the end figured out by the middle of the first chapter. It came somewhere around the middle of this one, but it's still vague and undefined versus the other stories I have. Most of those already have the last scene written.