Chapter 2 – Hiei's Sister
Kurama hesitated, looking up at the Kuwabara's house from his position still standing on the opposite side of the street. He had exams the next morning, it was past ten at night, he had been forced to climb out his bedroom window to avoid his mother noticing his inappropriately timed absence, but reason had long since been abandoned, as it appeared as though Hiei was visiting Kuwabara.
It was, of course, not unusual for Hiei to visit Yukina, but he usually only did so when she was at Genkai's temple, and even then only rarely. It had been some time since Hiei had last arrived in the living world and his arrivals were never announced or necessarily well-timed, but usually he at least arrived at a decent hour of the day, and he had never entered the Kuwabara's house without at least Kurama at his side.
Unable to resist his own curiosity any longer, Kurama crossed the street and knocked on the door. He heard heavy footsteps running through the house that could only belong to Kuwabara; though he seemed oddly enthusiastic considering that it was exam season.
"Oh hey, Kurama!" Kuwabara cheerfully greeted him as he opened the door.
"Kuwabara," Kurama said. "Is everything alright here?"
"Yeah, everything's great!"
Kurama's curiosity was rapidly turning into suspicion.
"Your timing's great too, Yukina's brother just got here!"
Kurama froze. How had Kuwabara found out that Hiei was Yukina's brother? And why was he so excited about it?
"Come on in and meet him!"
Kurama numbly entered the house, waiting for Kuwabara to close the door behind him before following him through to the living room, where he found Keiko and Shizuru sitting together and Yukina sitting opposite Hiei, who was telling a story the three girls all found simultaneously fascinating and humorous.
"Hey Inukasai, this is Kurama," Kuwabara said.
"Inuk…?" Kurama muttered.
"Hello there."
Kurama watched Hiei stand up and bow his head. He had apparently grown about seven inches taller, lost some muscle mass and had his jagan eye removed since they had last met – which had only been a week ago.
"You feeling okay, Kurama?" Kuwabara asked him.
"You've had a very busy week," Kurama numbly replied.
"Yeah, I've been studying like crazy," Kuwabara said.
Kurama glanced at Kuwabara, who looked so blissfully unaware of the situation, he quickly realised he was wasting his time trying to reason with him. He turned to Yukina – who he had always suspected knew, deep down, that Hiei was the brother she was looking for – but she too seemed to be caught up in the moment. He turned to Keiko, the most detail-oriented person present (after himself) in the hope that she might have noticed the hole in the logic: but, he remembered as he saw her smiling at Inukasai, Keiko had never known that Hiei was Yukina's brother and so probably saw no reason to doubt the imposter before her. He finally turned to Shizuru, who was giving him the sort of look he was sure he had been giving everyone else.
"Coffee?" she asked him.
"Tea would be fine," he replied.
She glanced at the teapot on the table and Kurama realised her meaning.
"Coffee would be better though," he corrected himself.
"It's in the kitchen," she said standing up.
"Let me help you with that."
"Sure."
Shizuru stood and moved as quickly from the room as she could without looking suspicious. Kurama followed her closely, feeling a little better when she closed them into the kitchen and promptly looked as perplexed as he felt.
"What the hell is that?" she asked him, pointing through the wall in the general direction of the living room.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Kurama honestly replied.
"I thought he was Hiei," Shizuru replied. "It felt like Hiei when he was coming here and he even looks kinda like Hiei."
"He's not pretending to be Hiei, however," Kurama said. "The name he gave is quite unusual."
"So… What is he?" Shizuru asked. "And how did he get here?"
"For all intents and purposes, he appears to be an emiko – a fire demon born of the ice village – just like Hiei," Kurama replied. "As for how he got here, I'm afraid I have no idea. How did you encounter him and how did he present himself?"
"He knocked on the front door and said he was Yukina's brother."
"I see… It is odd."
"Is it possible he is actually Yukina's brother?"
Kurama turned startled eyes to Shizuru.
"He knows a lot about where she came from," she explained. "He knows the names of her friends back in the ice village, he knows about the hiruiseki, he knows about their customs… And he does look like Hiei. Did somebody maybe get this wrong?"
"How so?" Kurama asked.
"Well, did somebody maybe mistake Hiei for Inukasai?"
Kurama shook his head, the almost sympathetic smile that appeared on Shizuru's face doing little to ease his concerns.
"Look, whatever the guy is, he's not an asshole," she said. "He's actually quite polite and well-spoken – like Yukina – and I don't sense that he's lying to us… I just don't get it. He's either a really convincing fake or you were all wrong about Hiei being Yukina's brother."
Kurama shook his head again.
"Hiei was told he was Yukina's brother by his mother's friend in the ice village," he explained.
"His mother's friend?" Shizuru asked. "You mean the girl called Rui?"
"Yes, that's correct," Kurama confirmed.
"Yeah, that chick maybe needs to check her facts," Shizuru bluntly replied. "She told Inukasai that he was Yukina's brother."
"No, that's not possible."
"Are you sure?"
Kurama frowned and Shizuru appeared to understand his meaning without the need for him to pull a more exaggerated face at her – a face that would better express exactly how he felt and what he was thinking.
"I know it sounds crazy, but the guy seems genuine," she said. "I like to think I'm pretty good at smelling out a rat and this guy's story – and everything else about him – just doesn't stink."
"It's not possible that Hiei is not Yukina's brother," Kurama insisted.
"Well, maybe it is," Shizuru said.
Kurama's face twisted a little further, threatening to warp into the expression of extreme displeasure and disbelief that he was actually feeling.
"Rui said to Inukasai that he was Yukina's brother," Shizuru continued, despite Kurama's increasingly obvious irritation. "She actually said to him "hey kid, my best friend Hina is your mother, I remember the day you were born, I remember Yukina was your sister, Hina is dead, but Yukina is still alive, she went out looking for you, I hope you find her". Did she say any of that to Hiei?"
"I wasn't there first-hand to witness the conversation between Hiei and Rui," Kurama began.
"Well…" Shizuru said.
"However, neither was I present to witness the alleged conversation between Inukasai and Rui," he continued. "And neither were you. I cannot take the word of a stranger over the word of a friend: and having seen the lengths Hiei has gone to to protect his sister, it's simply not possible that Yukina is not Hiei's sister."
"Did Rui actually say to Hiei that he was Yukina's brother? Did she actually tell him that Hina was his mother? Did he see any of it with his extra eye?"
Kurama opened his mouth to continue arguing but found himself struck by silence as a wave of doubt washed over him: Hiei had not discovered his relation to Yukina via his jagan eye. He had not even discovered his relation to his mother via his jagan eye. He had not even been able to locate his missing hirui stone with his jagan eye: in fact, all he had managed to achieve with his new ability had been to see through the fogs and deceptive energy signals and locate the ice village.
Kurama briefly entertained the idea that what Shizuru was saying might be true: Hiei may have been given false information or misunderstood what he was told when he visited the ice village. Maybe Yukina was not his sister.
"This is ridiculous," he concluded aloud.
"Well I'm not gonna be the one to tell Yukina that her "brother" is a liar," Shizuru replied.
Kurama looked over at her, the suddenly solemn look in her eyes raising another issue in his mind.
"I see," he said. "Yukina believes it to be so, and those immediately around her – with the exception of you, Shizuru – don't know otherwise, and so they believe it too."
"It's not my place to say anything," Shizuru pointed out.
"And nor is it mine," Kurama agreed. "Only Hiei can decide how to proceed with this matter. There is also the matter of who Inukasai actually is: where did he come from, how did he get past the border patrol and why did he come here now, of all times?"
"Yeah," Shizuru agreed. "So will you be going to get those answers after your exam tomorrow or would you like that coffee so you can stay up all night and sort it out right now?"
Kurama started to smile, but when he saw the look on Shizuru's face, he realised that she was serious.
"I'll go after my exam," he said. "And I should go for now. Please make an excuse to the others for me."
Shizuru nodded and Kurama quickly left the house, trying to ignore the sound of Kuwabara laughing and telling Inukasai what a "funny guy" he was as he went.
Hiei opened his eyes to thin slits, glowering up at the sky from his position curled around on the rock face. It was starting to rain, and if the deeply dark clouds on the distant horizon were any indication, the weather was only set to deteriorate as the day progressed. With a groan of reluctance, he pushed himself up onto one hip. He was still at the top of a stack of stones he had fled to the night before, in the isolated wilderness of land by the outer edge of Mukuro's former territory. It was the furthest point away from Mukuro's base he could have gone to without actually leaving the boundaries of Alaric, and it was a place he had been sure he would get a night's sleep in peace. Obviously his plans had not factored in unforeseen events like sudden inclement weather, and as he lacked the desire or motivation to build himself a shelter, he took a moment to consider whether he would remain where he was and tough out the storm or whether he should move on.
When he noticed a lizard watching him in a very patronising way, he got up, squashed the creature under the sole of his boot, and moved on.
Hiei moved away from the approaching storm, crossing into Tourin with no particular purpose in mind. Between the speed he ran at and the direction he took however, he shortly found himself near Yusuke's demon world home – what had formerly been Raizen's tower – and he decided that since he was coincidentally in the neighbourhood, he may as well pay the mazoku a visit.
It had been some time since Hiei had last spoken with Yusuke – as he moved closer to the tower, he tried to remember exactly how long it had been – but he had heard through Kurama that Yusuke was settling into life in demon world generally quite well. He hoped that the former spirit detective would indulge him in a quick sparring session to help him release some of the pent up energy his anger had manufactured, and maybe then he would be able to think a little clearer about what he should do next.
The very last thing he wanted to do was go back to Mukuro and endure more of her flippant insults or else have his concerns treated dismissively. At least he could count on Yusuke to take the time to listen to what he had to say and – after a few inevitable jokes and playful insults – Yusuke would side entirely with Hiei.
As he neared the entrance of the tower, Hiei noticed three of Yusuke's bald-headed companions approaching him. He decided to wait and let them reach him, though he did not especially like the way the strongest of them was looking at him.
"I've come to visit Yusuke," Hiei said to them. "It's not your concern why. Now get out of my way."
"No," the strongest one said, stepping into Hiei's path as he started to move towards the tower doors again.
Hiei stopped, his anger flaring and his eyes staring unblinkingly at the fool before him.
"Yusuke isn't here," the bald-headed demon explained. "You just missed him though, so you oughta be able to catch him if you leave now."
Hiei narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"He went to see his friends in the living world," the bald-headed demon continued. "Kurama came for him, they left together."
Hiei froze. It was unlike Kurama to visit demon world and collect Yusuke for anything, least of all a casual, social gathering. Something was obviously afoot. Something concerning him, he thought bitterly: why else had neither of them contacted him and invited him to join them?
With a growl of annoyance Hiei spun on his heels and took off in the direction of the nearest portal to the living world.
"I know you've got a really, really messed up sense of humour, but this is a joke, right?"
"I'm afraid not, no."
Yusuke stared at Kurama, but Kurama kept his head forward and kept walking.
"How the hell did it even happen?" Yusuke asked.
"I don't know," Kurama replied. "But I'd like you to meet him and to give me your opinion on the matter. And, once you've done so, I'd like your assistance in planning how we break the news to Hiei."
Yusuke slowly shook his head. Everything Kurama had just told him sounded so ridiculous, it just had to be a set-up of some kind. Yusuke decided to reserve judgement on the matter – but really only because Kurama was the least likely person he knew to set up such an elaborate hoax – until he had seen the situation for himself. Together they approached the front door of Kuwabara's house, and as Kurama reached out a hand to knock, the door swung open and Kuwabara appeared before them, grinning like an idiot.
"Urameshi!" he said. "Kurama!"
"Kuwabara…" Yusuke flatly replied. "How's it going?"
"Come on in, you guys!" Kuwabara said, stepping back and waving a hand for them to enter.
Yusuke looked over at Kurama, who merely raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression otherwise remaining as serious as it had been the entire time he had been talking about who was apparently at Kuwabara's house.
"Hey you guys, you'll never guess what happened last night," Kuwabara said as they made their way through the house.
"You grew your first hair down there?" Yusuke asked.
"Very funny, Urameshi," Kuwabara replied. "But not even your dumb jokes can spoil this: Yukina found her brother!"
Yusuke looked over at Kurama again, and again the fox demon held his solemn expression.
"Hey Inukasai, these are some buddies of mine."
Yusuke turned his attention back to Kuwabara at the sound of his voice, stepping into the living room and then stopping short as his eyes moved to what stood beyond Kuwabara.
"I don't know if you remember but this is Kurama: he was here last night, but he had to go early. And this punk right here is Yusuke Urameshi."
Yusuke could not stop his face from twisting as Hiei stood up and bowed to him, his expression oddly calm and amiable, his eyes not set in that near-permanent disapproving squint they usually were, his shoulders relaxed rather than squared.
"Hello there."
Even his voice was more relaxed and even-toned.
"Hey you," Yusuke said, running his eyes over Hiei curiously.
"Yusuke and I were just discussing your visit here before we arrived," Kurama said. "We both wondered how you managed to reach this realm from demon world: were you not detained at all by the border patrol?"
"What the hell are you talking about, fox boy?" Yusuke asked. "The border patrol wouldn't stop him, he is the border patrol!"
Yusuke silently wondered why Kurama was looking at him as though he was the one who had just said something ridiculous.
"I understand your concerns," Hiei said. "But I had to find a way to get here, a way to reach my sister, Yukina."
"Since the installation of the patrol, few demons have passed the borders," Kurama said. "And those who have, have always been swiftly apprehended on this side of the border. If it has not already happened, you ought to expect a patrol unit to come looking for you."
"Yes, I appreciate that," Hiei replied. "It was very fortunate for me that Mister Kuwabara allowed me to stay here last night, but I do understand that I must return to demon world, as my visit here is an unsanctioned one."
"Okay, what the hell are you talking about, Hiei?" Yusuke snapped.
The room fell silent in a way that even Yusuke thought was uncomfortable.
"Urameshi!" Kuwabara hissed, leaning closer to Yusuke. "That's not Hiei! His name's Inukasai!"
Yusuke wanted to tell Kuwabara he was being ridiculous, but when he saw the look of genuine confusion on Hiei's face – or rather the look of genuine confusion on Hiei's lookalike's face – Yusuke started to think that maybe, just maybe, everything Kurama had said on the way to Kuwabara's house was true. He took a moment to study the fake Hiei a little closer, seeing then that he was too tall to be the real Hiei, standing only a few inches shorter than Yusuke himself; he was too scrawny to be Hiei; his forehead was bare and bereft of a third eye; and his general demeanour was undeniably less tense and unapproachable than Hiei's.
"Hey man, how's it going?" he said, trying to force a smile as he looked at Inukasai.
"Very well thank you Mister Urameshi," Inukasai replied. "But I believe Mister Kurama is correct: I really should return to demon world before I bring any trouble to this household. My hosts here have been most generous and gracious, I wouldn't want to cause them any bother. If you don't mind, I would like a moment alone with my sister, so that we might make arrangements to meet again."
"Hey, you don't have to leave, buddy!" Kuwabara said to him. "Urameshi knows people in demon world who can fix this for you, right Urameshi? Can't you get Inukasai a pass to stay here or something?"
"What the hell do you think I am Kuwabara, a damn hall monitor?" Yusuke snapped. "And besides, it doesn't work that way. A demon can't just get a pass to live in the human world. It's way more complicated than that."
"It is a delicate matter, and for now, I believe Inukasai's suggestion would be the wisest approach," Kurama added. "You should return home as soon as you can, Inukasai. And for now, we will give you a moment alone with Yukina."
He started for the door and indicated for the others to follow him, leading them all to the kitchen. Once they were there, Kurama closed the door.
"Isn't Yukina's brother great?" Kuwabara said as the door closed.
Kurama glanced at Yusuke before turning to Shizuru, who gave a small nod of her head.
"Hey Kazuma, why don't you head down to the local shop and get some more of that soda your new friend liked so much," she said, retrieving her wallet from her pants' pocket.
"Yeah, okay," Kuwabara agreed, taking her wallet and leaving without hesitation or question.
After hearing the front door close behind Kuwabara, Yusuke turned to Shizuru.
"Okay, I know you know that guy isn't really Yukina's brother, so who the hell is he?" he asked.
Shizuru shrugged, but looked far too indifferent about the matter – even though she usually looked indifferent about most matters.
"He believes Yukina is his sister, and Yukina believes he is her brother," she said. "I don't know what else to tell you. He's been a really well-behaved house guest – even by human standards he's been really polite and humble."
"He does appear to be an emiko born of the ice village," Kurama added. "His resemblance to Hiei goes beyond the physical."
"Yeah, his energy even feels like Hiei's," Yusuke agreed.
"I don't get the feeling he's lying about anything he's told us," Shizuru said. "And Yukina adores him already."
"Yes, and no doubt Kuwabara is delighted at this outcome," Kurama said. "To find that Yukina's brother is someone he can share a pleasant conversation with is surely preferable to learning that he is in fact in love with Hiei's sister."
"Yeah, sure, it would be convenient for Kuwabara if that guy in there was Yukina's real brother," Yusuke said. "But the fact is, he's not. Yukina is Hiei's sister. Right?"
Yusuke glanced back and forth between Kurama and Shizuru, silently wondering why neither of them were agreeing with him and why they both looked slightly apprehensive.
"Right?" he pressed.
"Well…" Shizuru began.
"Well what?" Yusuke echoed. "Gees, what are you getting at? The guy is a fake! If Hiei finds out about any of this, he'll kill that guy and probably Kuwabara too for believing him!"
"Yeah, but that's not gonna happen, is it Yusuke?"
Yusuke paused, the look on Shizuru's face making him suddenly concerned.
"Look, Yukina has lived here with us for a while now, and I can tell you two things about that girl," she continued. "First of all, she hides a lot of sadness because she misses her family. Sure, she likes all of us, but when she lost her mother, she started out to find her brother, and finding him was the only thing that gave her hope and helped her deal with the loss of her mother. Finding her brother is the only thing that girl has ever wanted. And last night, she got that wish, and I've never seen her happier."
"Are you for real?" Yusuke asked.
"And second of all, Yukina has been relying on Hiei to help her find her brother, and instead of growing a pair, swallowing his pride and just telling the poor girl the truth, Hiei has messed her about," Shizuru said. "He rarely visits her, and when he does, he always tells her some depressing story about how her brother is probably dead and she's a fool for continuing to search for him or to wait for him. Every time he says things like that to Yukina, he upsets her. She pretends she's okay with it, you all see her smiling and thanking Hiei for his efforts, but I'm the one who has to lie awake at night listening to her cry herself to sleep afterwards."
"Okay, well, I didn't know about that part," Yusuke conceded.
"The arrival of Inukasai is convenient for more than just Kuwabara then," Kurama said.
"I'm just saying, we don't know for sure that he's not actually her brother," Shizuru said. "He makes her really happy, he's a nice guy, he gets along with my brother – which should really tell you how patient he is – and he came here with the best of intentions. Unless Hiei shows up and comes clean, I don't really know what else we can do."
Yusuke glanced at Kurama, finding that the fox demon looked unaffected by Shizuru's last remark.
"Are you saying we should all just pretend that guy is really Yukina's brother?" Yusuke asked her.
When she did not answer, Yusuke turned to Kurama.
"Kurama?" he said.
Kurama gave a slight shake of his head.
"I don't know what to tell you, Yusuke," he said. "It's not our place to interfere – and don't see how we even could without admitting to knowing the true identity of Yukina's brother, which would then oblige us to reveal Hiei's secret. I don't agree with Shizuru that Inukasai is actually Yukina's brother, but likewise I don't intend to tell anyone else otherwise."
"But if we don't do something, that guy is gonna move right in on Hiei's territory," Yusuke said. "Don't we have a duty, as Hiei's friends, to get rid of this asshole?"
"He's really not an asshole, Yusuke," Shizuru said through a sigh.
"This whole situation would be so much easier if he were," Kurama commented.
"But… He's a…" Yusuke tried. "Come on! Shizuru, how would you feel if some girl who looked just like you showed up and told Kuwabara that she was his real sister?"
"Chance would be a fine thing," Shizuru said. "If you know anybody like that, get her to call me: she's welcome to Kazuma."
"This is serious," Yusuke said. "And for me to say that, you gotta know that it really is."
"Yes, and I think that now we have established that Inukasai is not a threat to Yukina or anyone else, we must ensure that he returns to demon world safely," Kurama said.
"What?" Yusuke echoed.
"Our next duty is to find and inform Hiei," Kurama finished.
"Oh great," Yusuke said with a sigh. "Exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday: playing bodyguard to a fake Hiei and telling the real Hiei just about the worst thing I possibly could. You do know Hiei's gonna flip out over this, right?"
"It's imperative that we inform Hiei as soon as possible," Kurama insisted. "How he reacts and how he chooses to deal with the situation will affect how the rest of us can process it. Bear in mind also that Hiei holds a position of authority within the border patrol, and as such, Inukasai's sentence for crossing the borderline will be at Hiei's discretion."
"I really wish you'd stop talking now, because you're making this sound even more depressing."
Kurama nodded as though he accepted Yusuke's statement.
"You're gonna check out whether this guy is actually Yukina's brother too though, right?" Shizuru asked.
Yusuke glanced back and forth between Shizuru and Kurama, surprised to see them both looking serious.
"We need to make contact with Hiei first and foremost," Kurama said. "After all, the decision as to how we deal with this is ultimately his."
Hiei was rapidly losing the ability to think coherently; or perhaps just to think at all. He had arrived in the living world and followed Yusuke's energy signal, not entirely surprised to find that it took him to the Kuwabara's house, and so he had run to his usual start point for approaching Kuwabara's house: standing on top of the streetlight outside the house that afforded him a good view into both the living room on the ground floor of the house and the bedroom above it where Yukina slept. At the time of day he had arrived, he was expecting to find Yukina at home alone; which had made Yusuke's presence there all the more suspicious. However, when he had arrived, the first thing he had noticed had made him forget all about the time of day or the fact that typical routines were not being followed.
He was already there, sitting in the living room, drinking tea and fraternising with Kuwabara, Yukina and Yusuke's girlfriend.
Of course, it was not actually him down there. Clearly it was the other emiko, the one from the video Mukuro had shown him, the one who looked just like him. Hiei's first reaction to seeing the imposter was confusion. In his ire at being falsely accused of having sabotaged an entire patrol unit and the ensuing reactions of those around him, Hiei had been so focused on how wronged he had been and how angry the wound to his pride had made him feel that he had not even considered the fact that the demon in the photographs and in the video was an actual physical being, still at large somewhere, walking around wearing his face and his clothes.
However, after a few short minutes or watching the faker schmoozing with Yukina and the two humans, Hiei's confusion very quickly gave way to anger. This emiko was a real being, who had very realistically sabotaged a patrol unit – of the border patrol that Hiei was primarily responsible for the operation of – he had gone to the living world and now, just to really add insult to injury, he was at Kuwabara's house and Yukina appeared to be fascinated by every word he uttered.
When Kuwabara's sister led Kurama and Yusuke into the room, the streetlight beneath Hiei's feet began to shudder as Hiei himself shook with rage. He watched through a pained sneer of blinding fury as all seven occupants of the room sat down together and drank tea, talking and laughing as though one of them was not the biggest phony ever to have existed.
It briefly occurred to Hiei that what he was witnessing was actually highly unusual – although he had heard that there were other emikos in demon world, Hiei had never before encountered one, and he had never even considered that another emiko would look so like he did – but before any sense of reasoning could really take hold in his mind, wrath once more took over common sense and Hiei launched himself off the streetlight, landing by the porch. He marched straight into the house, without knocking on the door or removing his boots, and continued into the living room where he drew out his sword and pointed it at the source of his anger.
"Whoa, hey, Hiei, when did you get here?" Yusuke said.
Hiei ignored him, his eyes focused on what almost felt like his own reflection. The emiko was on his feet and his hands were held up in surrender, the tip of Hiei's sword mere inches from his throat.
"Immediately explain to me why you attacked a border patrol unit and stole away to this world or I will not hesitate to kill you," Hiei warned him.
"Ah, you've come to arrest me because I attacked the guards, of course."
Hiei was mildly consoled to hear that the imposter sounded nothing like him. The resemblance between them, whilst startling, had at least not stretched as far as their voices.
"You can't arrest Inukasai, Hiei!" Kuwabara protested.
Hiei moved his eyes to the lumbering human fool.
"I'll deal with you later," he said.
He moved his eyes back to the emiko – apparently named Inukasai – and tensed himself in preparation of simply running his sword right through the idiot's throat. He had initially thought about getting some answers from him, about taking him back to demon world and handing him over to Mukuro as absolute proof of his own innocence: but the sight of Inukasai bonding with Yusuke, Kurama and Yukina was simply too much. He had to die.
"No, please!"
Despite still being almost literally blinded by rage, Hiei snatched his sword back, dropping his arm to his side, as Yukina leapt in front of Inukasai, holding her arms out at her sides and staring at Hiei with wide, frightened eyes.
"Please don't fight!" she said. "I know it's your duty as part of the border patrol to return demons to demon world, but Inukasai isn't a criminal! He's my brother."
Hiei's sword fell to the floor, disturbing Kuwabara's cat in the process, sending the startled feline fleeing from the room.
"After all this time I've been looking for him, he actually found me," Yukina continued. "Isn't it wonderful? And now you don't have to search any more."
Yukina had tears in her eyes and she was smiling – both expressions of her elation – but when she reached out an upturned palm towards Hiei the depth of his own emotions quickly overtook hers, his anger rapidly turning into unadulterated horror; before she even opened her mouth, Hiei already knew what his sister was going to say next.
"May I please have my hirui stone back, Mister Hiei?"
Something throbbed in Hiei's knees and he had to concentrate to keep himself upright.
"You have no more need for it now that I've found my brother. Thank you so much for all your help though."
Hiei stared blankly back at his sister. He did not even care that Inukasai had caused him so much bother just so that he could get to Yukina to tell her he was her brother, he only cared that Yukina had believed him. And, by the look on her face, it was abundantly clear that she did believe him. She was still holding out her hand expectantly, but the look on her face was starting to change from the joyful expression of her declaration to a look of increasing confusion laced with just the faintest hint of irritation, as though Hiei's delay in returning her hiruiseki to her was something that seemed nonsensical to her.
"C'mon Hiei," Kuwabara said. "You can't arrest Inukasai now. And besides, how many times have you done things Yusuke should have arrested you for?"
Hiei found the strength to blink. He tried to make himself talk – even if only just to issue Kuwabara with a biting insult – he tried to make himself move – even if just to retrieve his sword – but with every passing second, Yukina's expression was becoming more and more confused and the hint of irritation was turning into something more palpable, and the sight of such emotions on his sister's face, and the knowledge that he had inspired them, was making it harder and harder to even think let alone act.
"This is a delicate matter," Kurama said, stepping forwards to stand alongside Yukina. "Perhaps Yusuke and I should discuss this with Hiei first and then we can all reconvene and decide what to do next."
"I understand that I should return to demon world, Mister Kurama," Inukasai said. "I certainly didn't mean to bring trouble like this to my dear sister's door: if my departure will mend this fiasco, than I shall go immediately."
"You don't have to go anywhere, Inukasai," Kuwabara said. "You only just got here, and you're still catching up with Yukina."
"Okay, let's take this outside," Yusuke said, slipping past Kurama.
From the corner of his eye Hiei saw Yusuke pick up his dropped sword and wave for Kurama to follow him.
"Let's discuss this," Kurama said quietly, stepping towards Hiei.
Hiei looked up at Kurama, over at Inukasai, around at Kuwabara and then finally returned his gaze to Yukina. When he saw that she was still holding out her hand, he finally regained a little of his senses.
"Fine," he said, turning to Kurama again.
He turned and left the room with Kurama following closely behind. On instinct he followed the route Yusuke was taking, eventually finding himself in the kitchen. Yusuke began helping himself to a bottle of soda from the fridge and Kurama loitered by the door, only closing it after they had been joined by one other person.
"What's she doing here?" Hiei asked, pointing at Kuwabara's sister.
"Shizuru was here when Inukasai arrived," Kurama explained as he secured the door. "She's the person best placed to give an objective opinion on him."
"Objective opinion?" Hiei spat, his anger quickly returning with the sight of Yukina's expectant frustration gone from his field of vision. "That bastard nearly got me thrown out of my job and arrested and now he's here nesting with Yukina and Kuwabara!"
"Hiei, we're as shocked as you are, I assure you," Kurama said, sounding far too calm to possibly be even a fraction as shocked as Hiei felt. "But we must address the facts here: have you come here on behalf of the border patrol to apprehend Inukasai?"
"No, I just came here to kill him!" Hiei shot back.
"Right, but you knew about him?" Yusuke asked. "You knew he was here? Mukuro sent you because the border patrol reported he'd got through to the living world?"
Hiei faltered slightly as memories of his discussion with Mukuro about Inukasai's assault of the patrol unit flitted through his mind.
"You weren't ordered to come here and arrest him?" Kurama asked.
"No, but I ought to!" Hiei recovered.
"Did you come here because you sensed his approach then?" Kurama asked, ignoring Hiei's threat. "I must confess, it was his energy signal that drew me here last night."
Hiei glared at Kurama, his fists clenching at his sides.
"Last night?" he ground out. "That bastard has been here, at this house, since last night?"
"He slept in my brother's room," Shizuru offered. "We couldn't just turn him away, he told us he was Yukina's brother, and she and Kazuma both believed him."
Hiei turned his attention to Shizuru.
"This isn't any of your concern and I advise you to stay the hell out of it," he warned her in a low growl.
"Hiei, the problem is, Inukasai does genuinely appear to believe that Yukina is his sister," Kurama said. "And Yukina is already very fond of him – as you no doubt just saw – and Kuwabara has befriended him with ease. This situation will be beyond salvation if you do not act quickly."
Hiei slowly rounded on Kurama, stalking towards him. Kurama did not retreat and so Hiei was forced to stop when he was standing immediately in front of the fox demon.
"What are you implying, Kurama?" he asked through tightly clenched teeth. "Because I really don't like it when you skirt around the subject. Be direct or keep your asinine opinions to yourself."
"Hiei, if you don't tell Yukina the truth today, you will lose her forever."
Next Chapter: Hiei's dilemma hits fever pitch, but, just as it seems nobody is willing to accommodate his point of view, he finds an unexpected ally in the form of a certain ferry girl. After a confrontation between Inukasai and Botan turns nasty, Hiei is confused by what follows, but believes the answers to his problems may be just around the corner (too bad for him they're not, otherwise this would just be a 4-chapter fic). Chapter 3: Dog in the Manger