Disclaimer: I do not own YuYu Hakusho or any of its characters. But Evelyn Sairi is my own original character.

Hello everyone! So excited to have this chapter written. It was a challenging but fun installment to write. Special thanks to my partner for enduring the challenges of being my lead editor, and thanks to my little lion for his help in reviewing as well!

So, just as heads up for those that are following, there will be a bit of delay with getting Ch 4 posted. I've got to switch focus and work on other projects, but I intend to see this to the finish. Thank you for sticking with me.

Much love to KyoHana for the review and follow! Thank you 18Hiei18 for the follow as well. And thanks to Lionitis as well for your comment! It's all very much appreciated TTwTT *happy tears*

In this chapter, Hiei is in a lot of denial. He's too proud for his own good. This is how I've come to interpret him, and I hope I still kept his character in tact. As always, hoping you enjoy!

What is it that you need?

The doctor's question stuck and left an odd, sour taste at the back of Hiei's throat. In his opinion, there was nothing he needed other than a good fight once in a while to keep himself in shape and a secluded perch to sleep on. Everything else was simply frivolity. Regardless of what the lady said, she and her enchantment were wrong. There was nothing she could offer him. End of discussion. And yet, strangely enough, Hiei couldn't bring himself to tell her so.

She can't be right, muttered a voice at the back of his head, immediately followed by a slightly more jeering voice that added in obnoxious sing-song, but she isn't wrong.

Hiei turned his head to the side and scowled, unable to glare at the lady eye to eye, and unable to come to grips with the fact that, despite how much he wished it, that blasted little imp had a point. The images from earlier began to play again, and once again Hiei had to shift himself in the wake of that perplexing rise of tingling heat, all the while trying (and failing) to ignore the elfin grin that was curling over Evelyn's face like a vine.

"Oh, dearie me," she purred, "my client can't tell me what he needs." The deeper timbre of her voice gave Hiei the impression that she had expected as much.

"Guess I won't be requiring you or your services after all." Hiei let his eyes drift back to her. Perhaps she would give up. After all, he didn't need anything. Everything he needed, everything he wanted he already had.

Almost everything. The jeering imp in his head casually reminded him.

Evelyn leaned her head back as she laughed. "You're going to be a challenge, aren't you?" Hiei blinked, caught by surprise. Most normal people loathed Hiei for being so bull-headed. Why was it then that this woman was grinning at him as if she had just found herself a black pearl?

"Truth be told, my dear, hardly anyone can articulate what they truly need when they come to my door," She said, laughter still in her eyes, "and what sort of doctor would I be if I couldn't diagnose my patients?" Evelyn stood- or rather, glided- from her seat.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To fetch my tools." Long, thin fingers directed Hiei's attention to the platter of treats on the table. "Help yourself while you wait. You must be hungry."

"I am not." He snapped, immediately aware of the taste of bitters the lie left on his tongue. Evelyn only smiled again.

"At least have some tea then." She insisted with the gentility of a nun. "It'll warm your bones." With that Evelyn turned and left the room. Hiei watched until she turned the corner and was out of sight before he returned his eyes to the table.

Initially, Hiei had been far too occupied with his peculiar hostess to give any thought or attention to the spread laid out for him. But now he was alone with the growling of a stomach that protested his skipping of dinner. As hunger gripped at him the demon eyed the platter of nibbles. Tiny round biscuits, powdered cakes, and scones sat neatly arranged on a decorated china plate. Hiei stared, his stomach complained, and still he stubbornly abstained, bristling like a cornered hound.

At least have some tea, the doctor's voice echoed in his head drawing Hiei's attention to the cup of sweetened beige liquid Evelyn had offered him. Red eyes cast a sideways glance at the doorway, half expecting that woman to be watching him. But she wasn't there. With a huff to himself the demon snapped up the cup.

I'm sure it's cold by now. Thought Hiei as he sniffed at the contents. He could smell the steeped black tea leaves, the milk, the sugar, and the faintest trace of a floral aroma. Nothing out of the ordinary, he decided. Once more Hiei cast his eye to the door to be sure no one was there before he brought the brew to his lips.

Much to his surprise, the tea was quite warm as it splashed over his tongue. And it was perfectly sweet, he noted with the slightest hint of pleasure. Hiei swallowed and savored the sensation of that warmth filling his belly. Oddly enough, however, that warmth did not stop at his stomach. It felt as if the heat was trickling down, flowing down pathways of blood and bones until finally it settled in his legs. Where it pooled Hiei got the sensation that his muscles were melting, as if his feet and calves were heaving a collective sigh of relief.

Another sip warmed his thighs, and another went up into the base of his spine. Hiei continued to drink one comforting drop after another until that calm had filled him up to the very tops of his ears. Feeling as if he was floating in tepid bathwater the demon was left to glower in disappointment at the bottom of his teacup. Gradually his ruby eyes drifted back to the plate of treats that taunted him like a proverbial forbidden fruit pastry. With the aftertaste of sugar still on his tongue Hiei conceded and gave in to the pleadings of his grumbling belly.

Just one wouldn't hurt. The thought hadn't even finished crossing Hiei's mind before his hand had shot across the table and lobbed one of the biscuits into his open mouth.

If Evelyn noticed the tray of crumbs on the table when she returned to the sitting room she made no mention of it. She carried with her a small rectangular parcel wrapped in a cloth of purple silk and Hiei quirked an eyebrow inquisitively. He wasn't sure what he had expected. Maybe a black doctor's bag or a surgical tray full of picks and blades ready to tear him apart to find an answer. The last thing he had expected the doctor to produce from the cloth was small stones and a deck of cards.

"You can't be serious." he sneered as Evelyn laid out the cloth and stones. "All that power and you resort to using a cheap old carnival trick?"

"Old tricks are best tricks if they still yield positive results." She said calmly, returning his glare with a smile. "For ages cards have been used to divine for answers. You'd be surprised what they will reveal in the hands of one who knows how to use them." Deft hands worked the deck, shuffling them with the ease of someone who had been performing the action for years. All the while Hiei scrutinized, watching for any sleight of hand that would give up her illusion.

Six cards were laid down on the cloth- one at the center, four surrounding the first like a wheel, and one placed off to the right hand side.

"Now, let's see what brought you here." said Evelyn in a down-to-business tone as she turned over the center card. In the firelight Hiei saw a woman perched upon a pillar. Arms outspread she looked ready to fly... or plummet to her death. At the bottom of the card Hiei could make out two words- the Fool.

"Tsk, I knew it." Hiei said smugly. "For all that boasting and bluster, your tools are still wrong. I am many things, lady, but a fool is not one." His arrogance spiked like a heatwave in August, but the cold stare from across the table promptly dampened that fire.

"Do not be so proud as to think you can mock a language you do not know." Evelyn warned, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward, her chin resting on bridged fingers. Hiei's lip curled up in a growl, but recalling her earlier request he didn't snap back.

"What makes a fool?" she asked rhetorically, her eyes fixed on Hiei. "Inexperience. Many things you are, my dear, and many things you know. But here at this table and before me now you stand facing the new." A fingernail tapped the card. "Spread out before you is a brand new realm that is yours to experience and conquer," the second card was flipped over- Hiei read 'Three of Staves' clearly as the card was turned upside-down, "but you hesitate. You're holding back, unwilling or unable to take that leap of faith. Why is that I wonder?"

Hiei didn't answer. He didn't want to, nor, he surmised, did he have to. His narrowed eyes glared at Evelyn, and she in turn stared right back. She watched unblinking as the hearth fire danced in her crystal iris'. Vaguely Hiei thought of Kurama. The fox always had the same look in his eyes when he was reading a person, plotting, planning, and analyzing. When Hiei remained silent, Evelyn continued, turning over the third card.

"The Tower is catastrophe. Every foundation in your world brought to ruin." The fire that engulfed the Tower seemed to laugh at Hiei as it ate away at the once mighty structure; it mocked and jeered, and Hiei burned with anger as old as he was.

"Goodness me," she said, "it's no wonder you're caught at an impasse. It was just the beginning and you had suffered the cold slap of reality. The world has given you little reason to trust. So where does this leave you now?"

Evelyn turned over the fourth card for Hiei to see. A painted woman stood in a clearing beneath the crescent Moon. It was smiling down upon her-

No. Not smiling. Thought Hiei. It looked as if the Moon was wickedly cackling, rows of shining fangs ready to lunge down and take that innocent woman's head. All at once two feelings erupted inside the demon so infrequent he had forgotten their names. Or at least he had, until Evelyn spoke them.

"Fear. Anxiety. You're riddled with it," She said, adding sharply before Hiei could retort, "and don't bother telling me it's a lie." As her eyes drilled into him, Hiei got the feeling that he was being picked apart, layer by jagged layer.

"The weight you carry has you paralyzed in the face of what you do not know." Evelyn traced the faery ring of mushrooms at the woman's feet. "You stand on the threshold but you won't go forward if you don't know the way in spite of how much you want to." Her eyes narrowed further, as if she was struggling to read something written in fine print across Hiei's forehead. "And you very much want to. There is a wish and a want that is buried so deep even you can't see it there. Why now is this want surfacing? What has come along that is driving you to brave the unknown?"

The final card of the wheel was overturned.

"Oh ho ho!" Evelyn's eyes went alight and she grinned at Hiei like the Cheshire cat. Depicted in the Two of Chalices a pair of dryads- one light as a birch and one dark as ebony- entwined with one another. Their bodies each upheld the other and eye to eye they melded together to form a massive flowering tree.

"You've found someone who has broken the mold; someone you have deemed worthy enough to stand beside you. They have caught your eye, as well as certain… curiosities." A whirlwind of heat flared and shot from Hiei's lap to his head as his stomach simultaneously bottomed out.

"Kurama." The name broke his lips before his brain could even register its formation. Across from him Evelyn was smiling in delighted satisfaction.

How could she possibly know all this? No one knows anything about me.

"What the hell are you?"

"What I am is of no consequence." Evelyn said tersely. "Who I am is a more appropriate question, and the answer depends on my client."

"Then who are you to me?"

Evelyn's lip curled up so high Hiei could have sworn the corners touched her ears. In the firelight her eyes grew bright as she flipped over the final card.

"Exactly what you need." She said. "A teacher."

Hiei read the name at the bottom- the Hermit- and eyed the man on a lonely mountaintop holding a lantern as bright as a star. He held it high against the night, brandishing the light of his wisdom and introspection to guide the way for those with enough courage to follow.

"A teacher?" Hiei couldn't help but roll his eyes indignantly. "So you think you can train me like some dog? Good luck with that."

"I have my methods," She said, "so long as you can bring me what I need."

Hiei snorted. Of course this crazy doctor would demand payment. No one offered anything for free.

"Just what are you expecting me to give you?" He asked with a scowl.

"Proof." Was her answer. Hiei blinked and arched his brow inquisitively.

"Proof?" he parroted in a want for clarification.

"This task requires dedication of my time and energy." She said. "What I want is proof of your dedication to your treatment. This is a quest, if you will. Complete your first challenge and bring me the artifact I seek."

"And what would that be?"

The Woman reached out and reversed one of the cards- the Two of Chalices- for Hiei to see. A long fingernail tapped the image, indicating the lighter of the two spirits. "I need him; the one you call 'Kurama'."

Hiei felt his stomach bubble and twist angrily.

"You may have given an impressive display, lady, but you're mad." Ignoring the warning glare his tone earned him, Hiei crossed his arms. "Are you expecting his head on a silver platter? Kurama is not a piece of meat, nor is he a bargaining chip, and you're a bigger fool than I thought if you think I'm just going to offer that man up like a sacrifice." Strangely enough, Evelyn didn't berate him for his bark. Instead, her voice was low and full of patience when she spoke.

"You hold this man in high regard, and only wish to protect him." She said softly as if calming a nervous animal. "You may be a brat, but you're a noble man, and this is a respectable quality." Folding her hands, Evelyn rested them on her knee lending her air a sense of professional neutrality.

"Do take heart, my dear. I'm not in the habit of accepting human sacrifices. He is, however, a key component of your treatment plan."

"How so?"

"That is for me to know." Evelyn said succinctly. "Besides," she added, "you forget that this is a safe house. Anyone within these walls has sanctuary."

Hiei scoffed. "Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"I am not asking for Kurama in bits and pieces. Bring him to me whole and unscathed, and he will leave this house just the same." She said in reassurance. "Invite him to your next appointment. Be as open as you care to be. You require his aide. All you need do is ask. It is a simple enough task, and being your friend I am sure he would delight in the opportunity to lend a helping hand."

Almond eyes narrowed and with his bark ready to shift into a bite Hiei stared down the doctor. In the face of her gentle reassurance the youkai had up just about every wall he could muster, and from behind those defenses the demon searched those violet eyes for any hints of a lie. In the course of the hour, Evelyn had shown him patience and power, two rarities in Hiei's world. But that wasn't good enough for him.

"Why don't you ask for something else? Perhaps more coin for your coffers."

Once more, the Woman was patient with his tone. "Supply and demand, my dear. I cannot make bricks without clay. Kurama is what we both need if you wish me to guide your way. He is what I will accept. Nothing more and nothing less."

Hiei glared. "And what if I refuse?" Evelyn, apparently, was done with the niceties if her patient wasn't willing to reciprocate. His chances were up, and as her gaze turned cold the fire demon felt a twinge of something that might have resembled regret buried deep within his gut.

"Then you relinquish my services, and that is that." Her reply was curt as she gathered up the laid out cards. "If you cannot swallow your pride and ask for help, then you've obviously no use of me and can figure it out on your own." With a kiss to the deck in reverent ritual the doctor wrapped it in its cloth while Hiei stewed in his bitterness. A snarky comment and livid denial danced on the tip of his tongue, but his better judgement (or perhaps it was the calming tea) eased his ferocious ire. She had backed him into a corner with his only option being acquiescence.

"You've got some balls, lady." He growled as he shoved back his chair and stood, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

Evelyn smirked. "Thank you." She said, rising as well. "I'm sure that is the closest to a compliment I will ever hear coming from you." Well, that wasn't the answer Hiei expected. Clenching his teeth he felt his irritation burning in his cheeks.

Out in the hall the clock chimed ten as Hiei went to the door with Evelyn in tow. Shoulders hunched and irritation etched into his expression, Hiei purposely kept his eyes trained to the floor. This doctor, or whatever she really was, had read him like an open book. But that wasn't the worst of it. What perturbed him was the fact that Hiei couldn't decide if he felt impressed or threatened.

"Two weeks from today at nine o'clock in the evening." Evelyn said as Hiei stepped onto the porch. "That is your next appointment date. I do wish you luck on your trail, Jaganshi, and I look forward to meeting your friend." Turning his face aside, Hiei made a dramatic show of turning his nose up at her well-wishes.

"I don't need your luck, lady." He snapped gruffly. "You put on one hell of a show, but nothing has changed. I don't need help, and I don't need you. So unless you enjoy wasting your time, I wouldn't advise counting on me ever coming back." Evelyn only grinned- or was it a smirk? Hiei honestly couldn't tell.

"My door will be open." said the doctor. "Please, don't be late." One more obstinate huff from Hiei and he turned on his heel, his coat fluttering behind him.

In the hour the storm had stilled. Past the drifting layer of clouds Hiei could spot a few stars blinking in the night. The empty street was quiet and in a restful still. On the outside it seemed like just another night. But the world had been rattled to its core for Hiei. Within an hour this stranger had unearthed every guarded secret Hiei ever held and thrown it all into the light.

"Damn that woman." He cursed under his breath because try as he might he couldn't help but realize that Evelyn was right. She was right about everything. She was right about him. And all he had to do was ask for help from Kurama and maybe, just maybe, that foolish fox's wish could come true. Maybe Hiei could learn. Red eyes stole a glance over his shoulder. The Woman was no longer in the doorway watching him. All he saw was the façade of an ordinary Japanese house on an ordinary suburban street smiling at him in the night as its barrier and porch light pulsed comfortingly.

"Two weeks…" he muttered as he walked alongside the puddled street. Two weeks was plenty of time. And all he had to do was make Kurama tag along?

"Tsk. If she considers this a challenge, she's got another thing coming." Hiei declared confidently to the silent city. "How difficult could that possibly be?"

Author's Note: To give artistic credit where it's due the deck that is described during Hiei's reading is the Shadowscapes tarot deck with art by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law