Oooohhhhh, cute fluffiness in this chapter!!!! - Enjoy!! And the song is Flaw-Best I Am. Amazing. Download it and cry.
Blood And Flowers
Chapter Four
Hiei woke up and the sun was streaming in through the partially open window. He didn't want to move. He listened carefully and Kurama's deep, even breathing was behind him. He lay awake unmoving for a while, thinking. Strange that he should feel so safe with Kurama, yet so uncomfortable. Kurama's kind words and politeness always made everything Hiei said sound so barbaric. But at the same time Kurama's words could easily be a knife. He was the type who could give death threats with a pretty smile on his face. He was known for it, actually. Being around Kurama was somehow different that being with Mukuro. With Kurama it was like he could relax more, somehow. Hard to explain what he felt. And…this was the first time since he'd been in Ningenkai that Mukuro had even crossed his mind!!
Strange. "Mmf…" Kurama stirred, making a small noise of protest. Then he groaned and stretched. Hiei sat up, a tiny smirk on his face. Kurama was spread eagle on the bed. "That's the last time I eat Crab Rangoon before bed." He smacked his lips together and grimaced, presumably from a particularly bad case of morning breath. He looked over and smiled when he saw Hiei. "Well, good morning."
Hiei nodded in reply.
"What do you want for breakfast? I have cereal, but I can make some eggs and bacon if you want. I'm afraid that's about all I can do, though. I'm in dire need of some pancake mix." Kurama chuckled. Hiei didn't understand what a pancake was or why Kurama needed it direly.
Hiei got up to help himself to Kurama's kitchen, the thought still nagging at him in the back of his mind. Why couldn't he explain what it was when he was around the fox? What was it, dammit? Maybe it was just that he was so unused to friendship that the feelings he felt with Kurama were alien to him. But…if that were true…why did his feelings mask the feelings he had for Mukuro when he and Kurama were together? Why did what he felt for Kurama seem so much stronger than what he felt for Mukuro? Friendship wasn't as strong as love, right?
Hiei shook his head-he was tired of thinking about it. Just focus on the Captain Crunch.A moment later he heard the shower turn on. He tried not to think about Kurama naked and wet (Why the hell would he want to think about that?!) AN-Hee! Who wouldn't want to think about Kurama naked? and after eating he dumped the slightly yellow milk in the sink. He then sat on the countertop and looked around the kitchen. A moment later Kurama came in with a towel over his head, auburn locks showing here and there. The tall redhead fixed himself a glass of milk. "So what's on the agenda today?"
Kurama thought about it for a minute. "I have no idea. What do you want to do?" That caught Hiei off guard.
"You're always the one with the plan."
"Well, I was going to meet my other best friend for lunch, but I think I can squeeze you in." Emerald green eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Hn." Hiei couldn't resist a smirk. "Smartass."
"How about we go visit Yukina? I'm sure she'd like to see you again." Hiei nodded, an eager light in his bloodstone eyes. "To Genkai's it is! Normally I'd say drive, but seeing you again has made me feel refreshed. Let's run." Hiei nodded again. It was a beautiful day, one of those mixes between fall and winter where it was warm outside but the wind was cool. Winter was well on its way for Japan.
The twosome set out at about noon and immediately leaped up on light posts and rooftops. They raced across, not worrying about mortal eyes seeing them-they were too powerful for that. It seemed to Kurama at some times they were dancing, almost, because Hiei would zigzag to the left and Kurama would follow only to have Hiei break his path and appear in front of him to get a good look in his eyes, before the Koorime smirked and was gone again. This continued until they were well out of the city. Then they took to the trees. Then it became a challenge. Kurama was determined to catch up to the speeding youkai, but Hiei didn't want to be caught. Kurama chased Hiei for several miles, until the last vestiges of civilization were gone.
Kurama realized that he had a pattern of going left, left, right, left, right, right. So, carefully calculating, (as that was what he was good at), he waited until he knew exactly where Hiei was going to be.
A slender hand wrapped around Hiei's ankle as Kurama threw himself forward in a desperate attempt not to lose this battle. Hiei cursed, and both of them plummeted to the ground. They landed hard on grass, and once Kurama got his breath back he started laughing. "I never thought I'd be able to catch you!" He laughed even though he didn't have the breath for it. Hiei laughed aloud in response.
Wait a minute. Kurama rolled over onto his stomach and stared at Hiei, dumbstruck. Hiei, like he'd just realized what he'd done, wiped the amazingly gorgeous smile off his face and there was cold, standoffish Hiei again. "What."
Kurama felt like his heart would burst. "Hiei…why don't you ever smile or laugh? You look…" The fox blushed. Normally he was good at this…seeing as Yoko was such a whore in his younger years, one would think he wouldn't be so shy and preteen-ish. But gods when Hiei smiled! He couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "Beautiful!" Knowing about Hiei's past, sometimes the wall he put up was perfectly understandable. But Hiei propped up on his elbows, laughing! He looked so relaxed…so happy! And that almost broke Kurama's heart with the rush of emotion he suddenly felt at Hiei's happiness. No one deserved to go through what he had.
And what shocked Kurama even further was Hiei's response. He didn't hit the fox for being gay, he didn't take it as an insult to his manliness. He simply looked almost sad and asked the redhead, "What could you possibly find about me beautiful?" He was asking for an answer. Kurama could hear it in his voice.
"I…" Suddenly Kurama didn't know what to say! "…Everything…" He finally managed to say. Hiei looked down at the ground.
"How?"
"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Kurama tried to joke, but it only came out as a hushed whisper. Strangely enough Hiei looked even more morose.
"Let's go get this over with. I have to tell her, and I suppose I have to just weather the storm." Kurama didn't believe a word of that. If like Hiei feared Yukina despised him, (which was completely silly) then the youko knew that Hiei wouldn't just weather the storm-it would destroy him. But there was no worry about that.
"Hiei, what's wrong?"
"We're going to be late. Hurry up."
"They don't even know we're coming…" Kurama trailed off uncertainly. That was strange. Needless to say he had no choice but to follow his friend and head to Genkai's.
A few hours later they arrived at Genkai's palatial grounds. It was quiet as it always was, being untouched by civilization. By this time Kurama had caught up with Hiei and was standing beside him. Hiei looked unusually pale. The redheaded beauty wordlessly put a hand on Hiei's shoulder. Sure enough, the doors cracked open and a small, pretty face peeked out. The face instantly lit up in a wide smile.
"Kurama-san! And Hiei-san!" Yukina cried out and rushed to greet them. She looked stunning as always, in a little yellow sundress and sandals. There was dirt on her knees and gloved hands. She'd been gardening. "How have you two been? And you, Hiei, it's been so long!" She was very excited to see Hiei. It was written all over her face. She'd grown taller and filled out in all the right places, as she was also nearing her hundredth birthday. Hiei and Yukina's physical similarities were even more marked. What are the odds that two strangers would grow to the exact same height in the same amount of time? They had the same nose, same facial shape, and same eyes.
"I've been very well, Yukina, even better now that Hiei's come back." The fox subtlety tightened his grip on Hiei's shoulder. "However, I think that Hiei needs to speak to you privately, so I'll leave you two alone and go chat with Genkai for a while." And with that Kurama strolled off, waving. Hiei could have murdered him. Now he couldn't back out of it!
Long, I've been running away for far too long
Afraid of what, afraid of what I know is soon to come
I may not be much of an example right now
Yukina looked toward him expectantly. "You wanted to talk to me?" Her face suddenly lit up. "Oh, did you find him? Did you find my brother?"
"I did." Hiei's hands shook. "But first there's something you have to understand about him, Yukina." Yukina looked so happy, when he said that, she almost started crying.
But I can give you all of my knowledge on how
To get along in this place, right now all I can say
Is that I will do the best that I can
"Your brother is the Imiko. Surely you know that." Yukina nodded. "He's had a life full of pain and loneliness. Most of his life he didn't even know why he was alive. Most of the time, that reason was you. People always hated him; that was part of his curse as the Imiko. He grew up a murderer and a thief because for a while that was all he had to justify his existence."To be a good example of man
And I know that one day you'll understand
You deserve the best that I am
"Oh, I don't care about any of that! I want my brother with me!" Yukina protested desperately. "He is my twin, and no matter what, I love him! Did you tell him that?"
A small smirk. "He knows. And he's grateful to you."
It's so hard, so hard to think about when I was a child
So angry at life, I blamed the world for a long, long time
But things happened so quickly, some people just let go
"Did you tell him where I am? Did you give him my tear?" Yukina could hardly contain herself. "When can I see him? Can I see him?"
Hiei slowly put a hand to his chest and took out the two tear gems. He handed both of them to Yukina. Yukina's burgundy eyes flooded over when she realized the truth. She'd always known in her heart but had never dared to hope.
I needed answers to heal me, I wanted to know how to get by
And now it's my turn to say this is all for you
Everything in this world
Everything in my world
Everything in your world
"Of course you can see him. I'm right here, Yukina." Hiei said in a trembling voice. Suddenly a teal haired Koorime was in his arms, sobbing hysterically. Hiei didn't know what else to do, so he held his twin tightly. Without even realizing it a single tear had begun to trail down his face.
Things won't always go right in this life
There's always changes, we'll make it
That's why I gotta do the best that I can
"Oh, I always knew it was you…" Yukina could barely speak, she was so overcome. Hiei didn't trust himself with words, either. "I…I hoped…but I wondered why you didn't tell me…why you didn't just tell me…oh, my dear brother…"To be a good example of man
And I know that one day you'll understand
You deserve the best that I am…
(wipes tear away) I heard this song and I knew it was Hiei's song to Yukina. Plus I've been really depressed lately and I wanted to write it out. Tell me what you think. And word to the wise, don't listen to this song and read this chapter. You may start crying like I did lol. But thank you all so much for your great reviews!! Hope you like this one!