A/N: Thank you everyone for your amazing reviews, hope you enjoy the chapter.

A light breeze woke Hiei, cherry blossom petals brushing over his naked skin as they scattered in the wind. The demon shivered before slowly raising himself into a crouching position. With a yawn he stretched himself out, cringing at the sudden pain that shot up from his backside. Memories of the night before made him lick his lips fondly. Kuwabara lay in the grass beside him, still sleeping after their long night. Hiei sighed before smiling in contentment.

He crawled over to the hot spring, slipping under the water surface and let it soothe his sore muscles. His heat was over, finally allowing him to relax. After washing the evidence of the night before away he dressed in his usual attire and hunted through the bushes for breakfast. He didn't find much, only a few eatable roots along with a small pheasant that had been nesting on freshly laid eggs. It wasn't long before he had the pheasant roasting on a fire, the roots stuffed inside, and the eggs frying on a smooth flat rock he had placed near the flames. The demon then stretched out his arms before turning his attention back to the slumbering human.

Kuwabara shivered in his sleep making Hiei frown before draping the human's jacket over his pale shoulders. The shivering stopped and the demon smiled before lightly running his fingers through the human's un-gelled hair. It had been a long time since Hiei had felt so at peace. He only hoped that the human didn't feel too rushed into a relationship. A sudden yawn broke Hiei from his thoughts. Kuwabara rubbed the sleep from his eyes before jolting upright, a dark blush coating his face.

"Sleep well?" Hiei asked in a teasing tone, amused at the human's antics.

"Y-yeah," He managed to stutter out before clearing his throat "So… your heats finally gone?"

"Yes." Hiei answered slowly, wondering why that was the human's first question.

"Good… sorry 'bout last night, I-I mean, well I had to help you some how ya know?"

Hiei felt his stomach fall as realization dawned on him. The human had only acted out of fear for the demons health, not out of any deeper emotions. A sad sigh escaped his lips as the familiar feeling of sorrow washed away the contentment he had felt moments before, leaving the demon to feel empty and alone once more.

"You have no need to apologize, bathe before you dress yourself or the others will be able to smell last night on you."

Kuwabara rushed over to the hot spring and Hiei slumped down in front of the fire, making sure that the food didn't scorch. He then swore, angry at himself for ever thinking that the night before would mean something. It had been to rushed, he hadn't spent the necessary time to make his intentions clear, nor had he even let his feelings for the human be known. In essence, Hiei had messed up, and it was his own damn fault. He ground his teeth together in frustration as he felt his eyes sting with tears and despite his efforts, a few still fell, solidifying into ruby red gems before hitting the ground. The demon angrily rubbed his eyes dry with his sleeve before hiding the red tear gems inside his scarf.

As soon as Kuwabara finished bathing Hiei served breakfast, slicing the pheasant in half before placing it into the bowls he had previously washed clean in a stream. They ate in silence, neither of them bothering with conversation. Once they finished, Hiei doused the fire and cleaned the bowls while Kuwabara dressed himself. The human worried slightly about why the demon was being so quiet but decided not to pry as they walked back towards the others. Kurama and Yukina were ready to leave while Yusuke still slept. Both demons looked up as they heard their companion's footsteps.

"Brother!" Instantly Hiei froze, had he heard Yukina right?

"Now Hiei I can explain!" Kurama tried in a calm voice, though some of the panic etched into his voice as Yukina wrapped her arms tightly around the fire demon.

"Y-Yusuke said you were," a small hiccup escaped her and she looked at Hiei with hopeful, tear filled eyes.

Despite the rage that boiled inside him, Hiei managed to calmly pull their Mother's tear gems off his neck before draping them over Yukina's, he would have his revenge on Yusuke later. The ice maiden grew silent before slapping Hiei across his face. The fire demon stood there in shock, frozen in place by Yukina's icy glare. She then turned and walked away from him, heading towards Yenen Mountain, and towards the ice maiden's floating island.

Hiei let a shaky sigh pass his lips before he covered his emotions up with his usual mask of indifference to the world around him. The only part of him that betrayed any emotion was his eyes. The vibrant red seemed to dull, leaving them to look empty and lifeless.

Kuwabara moved to rest a hand on Hiei's shoulder but the demon pulled away, walking forward in the same direction as his sister. Though a part of Hiei yearned to turn around and run back into Kuwabara's gentle arms he continued forward; convincing himself that if he turned back it would only bring more of the painful regret that had settled in his chest. His sister now hated him, something he had always expected from her if she learned that they were siblings. It only confirmed his suspicions that his existence was meant to be a lonesome one. Free of any companionship aside from his own shadow.

The others followed quietly, no one daring to speak after such a scene. They passed several small villages but paid them no mind. Only low class demons lived on the mountain, gentle creatures who feared any outside contact and thus resulted their fear of the unknown. It was no wonder as to why the ice maidens chose trade with them, there was little difference in their cultures.

Hiei tried his best not to think about the ice maiden's, he knew his arrival would be an unwelcome one and it wasn't something he was looking forward to.

An icy wind blew from the glacier like island as they walked towards it's barren plain. Yusuke and Kuwabara shivered, neither of them had felt such a bitter cold. Yukina did not shiver, she kept her head held high and walked forward with her face frozen as a mask of indifference, much like her brother. The ice maidens scurried into their houses as soon as they saw the group. Harsh whispers and suspicious murmurs could be heard as they walked past locked doors. The boys paid no attention to the women, instead they focused on following Yukina as she walked towards a white temple set on top of a tall cliff overlooking the village

The temple was small but decorative. Hiei could not help but admire the pearls that had been set into the stone wall, or the silver that framed the walls and roof. Two marble statues of ice maidens stood at either side of the door. Sapphires were set from their eyes down to their hands, like tear gems were cascading down their faces. Hiei rolled his eyes, he would never understand why the ice maidens insisted on being such a miserable bunch.

Yukina lead them inside to the main room. An elder sat in the middle of the room, sitting calmly while younger ice maidens served her. Their was no furniture in the room, simple bamboo mats were laid out on the floor for sitting while silver kettles were hung over small blue fires for tea. All was calm until the younger ice maiden's noticed the new arrivals and rushed out of the room through two side doors. The elder stayed calm, simply sipping her tea before gesturing for the others to sit down in front of her. Once they did the elder took another drink of tea before setting the cup down on the floor in front of her.

"So then Yukina you have finally returned?" The old woman rasped with contempt.

"Yes," Yukina hissed, having no desire to continue the conversation for much longer. "I have found my brother as well as friends, I will be returning to my home and they are welcome to stay as long as they like."

The elder glared down at Yukina before nodding her head, shocking all of them.

"Normally men would not even be allowed to set foot into our village but I will make an exception this time, but there is a condition. One of the beasts from the mountain has found its way onto our island, have your…friends get rid of it and they may stay."

There was a long silence, suspicion hung heavy in the air.

"We except." Hiei broke in, surprising everyone. "Just tell me where the creature is and I'll dispose of it."

The old woman frowned in distaste before giving the directions to one of the many small lakes on the edge of the Ice Maiden's island. As soon as the she had finished speaking Hiei took off, leaving the rest of the gang far behind him.

As a child Hiei often found himself immersed in the heat of battle. The rush of adrenaline and blood running through his veins as he slashed through an enemy, in those moments he would think of nothing else but defeating his opponent. He had been craving a moment such as that; where he could simply clear his mind of any worries.

The lake sat in the middle of steeply sloping hillsides. Its surface had frozen over, shining silver in the evening light. The fire demon scanned his eyes across the landscape; all he saw was a barren wasteland of snow. Cold wind blew through the hills, stirring the snow into the air until a blizzard was swirling around the lake. A sudden chill ran down Hiei's spine, he could sense another demon's energy manipulating the wind and snow, but with the blizzard he could barely see two meters from where he was standing. A high pitched growl echoed its way through the howling wind and Hiei took his stance. The clean hiss from Hiei unsheathing his sword answered the growl and the fire demon smirked in anticipation. Then he saw it, a large spider demon, it's blade like legs slicing through the snow banks as it ran towards him. It was rare for arachnids to make their way into winter climate; only the venomous ones could survive for long. Hiei frowned but didn't let his stance falter. That is, he didn't falter until he saw the young ice maiden child trapped in the spider's web, wrapped around the spider's left horn. She didn't look a day over seven.

Swiftly Hiei charged at the beast, it's shriek ringing out loudly as he slashed one of it's ankles. Unfortunately the small demon was caught off guard as the spider swung one of it's bladed legs into the back of his head. Hiei sailed through the air before crashing into a snow bank. The spider chased after the fallen demon and he growled at the eight legged demons speed. He spat out the blood from his split lip before standing. Then he froze, his sword was missing from his hand. A glint of silver caught his attention and he looked to see his blade lying in the snow some distance away. Just as the spider snapped its jaws at him, Hiei dove to the side, catching the handle of his sword just before his feet touched the snowy ground. The spider was right behind him, slashing with its bladed legs. He avoided most of the swipes but many cut through his skins. Blood ran down his face from a cut under his eye as he glared up at the arachnid.

The ice maiden was unconscious and by the greenish pallor of her skin Hiei knew the child had been poisoned. If he didn't act quickly, she would die. Just as the spider was about to make another swipe Hiei threw his blade towards its head. It skimmed the creatures face before slicing through the webbing on its horns. Hiei caught the ice maiden just as deafening wail left the spider, thick black inky blood oozed from its open wounds. He hid behind a large chunk of ice before taking off his cloak and wrapping it around the child. Under usual conditions Ice Maidens thrived in the cold but once poisoned they needed to keep their body temperature steady. Hiei only hoped that the others arrived soon.

Another howl left the spider's throat and Hiei growled. His power hadn't fully recovered from his heat making it next to impossible to kill such a creature. Still, he had to try. As soon as he leaped out from behind the ice he looked for his sword. It lay beneath the spider demons feet. A frustrated sigh left Hiei's lips, he would have only one chance, and even then that chance was slim. He dove towards his blade just as he heard the voices of his approaching comrades. The spider shrieked with rage and trampled the ground, trying to trample the small demon. A terrible scream left him as one of the spiders legs pierced through his side. Blood spilled from the wound and Hiei was barely able to hold the sword in his hands. He rolled onto his back, just as the others came into view.

Hiei could see each of their faces. Yusuke and Kurama's faces were both frozen in shock; Yukina was crying again, fearing the worst; and lastly Hiei's eyes fell on Kuwabara. Hiei wished that he could have seen the human's gentle smile, instead of a face full of fear. It was then that he turned away from them and gripped the blade tightly before plunging it deep into the spider's abdomen. It gave one last howl of pain before it collapsed onto the ground, with Hiei trapped underneath its corpse.

A/N: No it wasn't a happy chapter, and some things were rushed through but I wanted to get to the main plot of the story, though the next chapter may slow down a bit depending on where the story takes it to. To be honest I'm feeling really down right now since my family's dog passed on just two days ago and I haven't been able to sleep.