WARNING: Not responsible for any cases of shortness of breath, constipation, heart attack, blindness, AIDS, cancer, deftness, ADD, ADHA, loss of erection, stunting of growth, broken bones, dry skin, water eyes, thinness of blood, dyslexia, loss of hair/baldness, death due to shock, loss of bladder control, premarital sex, an erection that lasts more then 4 to 7 hours, heat stroke, gas/flatulence, D.U.I, Murder, herpes, sleep deprivation, nausea, a sudden urge to dance like a white guy, heart burn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea, crabs, yeast infections, warts, acne, pimples, zits, puberty, unexpected pregnancies, and any other sexually transmitted diseases.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH characters mentioned here because they belong to Yoshihiro Togashi-sama.

I own nothing, but the non-YYH characters mentioned and the all around plot. Everything else is strictly borrowed for mere entertainment.

~Cue theme song!~

You are nearly blinded by the light. It takes time for your eyes to adjust, but when they do, you realize that there is nothing. The room is gone, Kurama is gone, and there is darkness with an eerie purple haze covering everything. You hear a noise and manage to stand on your legs. Calculating each step as you move, the sound gradually grows louder as you approach its source. Among the mist and haze, a flicker of pale light emerges. Kneeling closer, Hiei's crying face comes into view. You do not touch him but quietly sit there, contemplating what to do. Eventually, his cries soften.

"This is unfair! I have done nothing to deserve this damnation and yet no matter how I resist it, there is no escape! I would choose death than live any longer like this!" cried Hiei.

Awestruck, you stare in amazement that you could clearly understand everything that Hiei was saying.

"I hate all of this! And no one understands! I am a fool for thinking that this could all be resolved. It would be easier to just die! That way she and Kurama would no longer have to endure my presence as a burden any longer!"

"You shouldn't say such things…" you quietly respond.

Hiei's eyes dart to you, equally as surprised as you were of him.

"What…."

"I said, you shouldn't say such things when you clearly do not understand the situation." you reply.

"You can hear me?" inquired the stunned demon.

Ignoring the question, you continue with, "If that is how you truly feel, then perhaps you have lost all of your strength and it will never return, because the Hiei I know would by no means submit to anyone. Only a person who is weak would make such a cowardly decision because they are afraid of anything else."

Now Hiei was mad, "I am not weak and I am not afraid of anything! I'm just…"

"Well?"

Hiei looked away, "All of this is incredibly frustrating. Someone like you would never understand."

"And how is that, Hiei? I am not ignorant of your past and know well how you suffer, but apparently, you know not of my own. Have you already forgotten how I was born and grew in confinement out of fear of what I was and malice from my own kin? I was sealed away into darkness with no hope for years. Had the seal not been broken, I'd not have been here today. And even after that, I was received with pain and hatred. The abuse turned me into something worse than a demon or a human, and for that I have no place in this world or in death. How are we so different Hiei, because from my point of view, you are the closest like me out of everyone I have ever met."

Hiei was again silent. Taking a moment to reflect on his own past, he felt himself beginning to cry again. He leaned away from you as his body quietly shook. You pick the child up as he refused and held him to your body as you did the first time you had met him in this form. He resisted for only a little before giving in.

"Hiei, what I am trying to say is that you will always have a common alley in me and I have no reason to ever hurt you. What we have both survived in the past is more than what most people endure in a lifetime, so whatever may come; we will both become stronger from. There is no obstacle, however great, that can compare to our potential."

Looking down at Hiei, you notice that his size is changing. Little by little, he is becoming older, but does not seem to realize it himself as he continues to speak.

"And of tomorrow? How will I endure the shame then?" he asks in a teenage voice already deep with the sounds of maturity but still young as his tears continued.

"It will come and pass. Yes, it will be embarrassing, but without other people knowing the problem, we won't be able to find a solution. And even if it gets too out of control, I am always happy to find a reason to beat up Kuwabara anyway."

Hiei smirked. By now his body was that of the state he was usually in; his arms and legs firm with muscles, his skin bearing the scars of many a battle, and even his voice had its past qualities of being deep with a little raspiness when speaking in his characteristic tone. Still in this form, you clung to him as he was as a child, gently running your fingers through his hair. You held him and took in every detail of his presence as if you would never see or feel the mirage again.

"So this is your mind…"

"What is left of it," he responds.

"And do you plan to hold me here for eternity as your prisoner?" you question.

"Perhaps. I do believe that I am entitled to some revenge after what you and the fox put me through." he smirks.

"Kurama will not like that."

"To Hell with him then." scoffed Hiei before he returned to a more serious voice, "I have never brought someone into my own mind. I am more used to probing others."

"It isn't that bad." you comment.

"No, it is nice for once."

You look down at Hiei, who realizes that everything he thinks is now audible for you to hear.

"You should leave."

You nod in reply. Before being released, you realize that you were not just holding Hiei, he was also holding you.

The trance had been broken and the brightness of the room softly warmed your skin. Peeling your eyes open, you are greeted by a blur of red and green. Your eyes focused more and Kurama's worried face came into view.

"How are you feeling?" questioned Kurama as the cool compress on your forehead was removed.

You remained quiet as you tried to register everything that happened with those hours. Finally understanding, your face held the question for the fox to see.

"He is asleep as you were. What did he do to you? If he tried to harm you, you must be honest because it is a breech in his parole to ever attack an innocent without reason."

You shook your head, "no."

"So what happened then?"

"He tried to use his Jagan and it backfired. Instead of entering our minds, he took me into his without any control. He had no bad intentions, I think that he was just aggravated and wanted to talk."

Kurama eyed you suspiciously.

"I am fine, honestly." you fake a smile.

The good hearted fox believes you and allows you to get off the couch. You stand and found the energy to stretch a little, being stiff from not moving.

"They will be back at twelve tonight and wish to convene at Genkai's," Kurama states.

You look him in the eye, "You will go and gather information, and I will stay here with Hiei."

"You know that I cannot let you do that. If someone were to…"

"It was not a question or an option Kurama. I refuse to attend tonight." you say turning away, "Hiei is clearly not ready for it and if I can buy him only a night more of peace, then let me have that. It will not harm us in any way."

Kurama lets out a sigh and you take the silent victory.

"I am beginning to believe that you are becoming too attached to Hiei."

"Is that a bad thing?" you question

"Not necessarily, but…"

"Then I am not worried or concerned," you say as you walk into the bathroom and close the door behind you. A hot shower and brushing your hair out leave you feeling refreshed. With a towel tightly around your waist, you walk into you adjacent room and enter the closet. You pull out a light under kimono and a thicker top layer. They were dark neutral tones, with very little embroidery. After putting on the essentials, you slip into both kimonos, one after the other. After tying the first one closed, you fold the flaps of the top one over your chest and tie together the cords. Lastly, you wrap the corresponding obi around your waist twice before securing it loosely behind you. Leaving the closet, you walk into your bed room, where Kurama is waiting for you. In his hand is a piece of paper.

"I am going to go shopping now so that you will not run out of supplies tonight. Is there anything else, you need?" he asks.

"umm…. sake would be nice." you say as you cross the room to the bookcase where you store your money. Pulling out more than enough to cover the groceries, you hand the bills to Kurama, who after some argument finally takes them.

"You know you can't drink while you are…" he mentions.

"Yes, I figured that. The alcohol is for you..."

Smiling, he leaves after putting on his coat. Listening for any indication of movement, you make your way to the bedroom, where Hiei's crib is. Now fully in view, you can see that Kurama had laid him gently down and covered him up with a warm blanket, leaving only the demon's face exposed. Hiei, who was half awake, half asleep, laid there in a stupor, not making any effort to move or speak. Leaning over the bars, you comment on Hiei's state, "This is what you get for using you Jagan. You should be glad that you are not dead because of it. How do you feel?"

Hiei closes his eyes; rather, he lets them close, now irritated by your sight. You lift him out of the crib, still wrapped in the blanket left by Kurama. Taking him to the chair by the window, you sit and place him in your lap. For some time, you just sit there, quietly stroking his hair as you did when you were in his mind. Hiei was nearly asleep when you stir him back to consciousness. You pull down the loose side of your kimono, revealing your chest a little above Hiei's head. Hiei sees the breast and realizes that he is quite hungry and the only way to retain energy fast enough is though you. He decides to reposition himself so that his head is facing you. Lifting him a little higher, you feel him latch on greedily and nurse from you. Finally becoming accustomed to the feeling once again, you relax in the chair and let Hiei feed as he wishes. Your free hand strokes his back and Hiei does not seem to be irritated any more as he is now focused on filling himself. Resting your head back, you try your best to recall anything about the mission a few weeks earlier.

The night was a chill one and it was a minor, but significant burden on the three of you. Taking a final look on the map, the coordinates having been repositioned many times, you each prepared to enter the final building together, after each conquering a smaller fortress without aid. This final one was not expected to be here though. Entering it proved an easier task then expected. You had planned on doing it together considering that each of you was seriously injured while completing the solo parts of the mission. Hiei had forced you and Kurama to take the station to the north, instead of the west because if he had to share the one to the west, it would not be as, "entertaining." Now approaching this building in the east, unexpected, everyone was tired and only wanted to finish the mission as soon as they could, including the exhausted looking Hiei who managed to arrive before anyone else even though he had more of a challenge then you and Kurama. The fortress to the west had double the enemies stationed there, thus why you and Kurama were sent to destroy it, but Hiei had only little trouble wiping everyone out. Entering the building, you soon learned that no one was there. It contained blueprints and lots of experimental equipment with cryptic writing everywhere, but not a body in sight. It reeked of dead bodies, but none were found, and no dust or spider webs were found.

"Everything here was in use recently, these are still warm" spoke Kurama as he placed his hand onto some of the foreign machines and materials.

You nod in agreement, "So if there is no one here, do we treat this place the same way we have the others?"

"Just blow it up," spat Hiei turning around to exit the giant building.

Of course Hiei would leave the demeaning work to the two of you, but it was easier than fighting with him trying to force him into doing it. Shortly, you and Kurama finish and are able to exit to meet up with Hiei, who is resting against the building casually, cursing us for taking our times.

.you regain focus…

Seeing that Hiei was resting quietly, you let your own eyes close and tried not to think of how difficult things will become…

An hour or so later and you manage to peel your eyes open again.

Falling back into reality, you blink a few times, realizing that Hiei is starring at you in the eyes, a thing that in his older form may have killed you, but now seemed curious and inquisitive. He had stopped nursing and just lay there looking at you.

Finding words, "Are you alright Hiei?"

It seems that your words snapped him out of his daze and he first shook his head before he corrected himself by nodding. Even weakened by Hiei, you could still hear footsteps and rustling in the hall. Kurama was back. Seeing that Hiei was no longer interested in feeding, you manage to tie your obi tighter and close the open folds of material. He only drank from one breast, leaving the other one still very engorged. It made it feel like that side of your body was on fire. Picking Hiei up, you take him to the door and open it for Kurama, who steps in without his usual smile or façade.

"He is thinking about the meeting tonight. Someone contacted him." you decide mentally.

"How are you feeling?" he asks you.

"Fine."

"And Hiei?" he asks

Looking down, you can see that he is out of it again.

"Fine."

Kurama busies himself with unpacking everything purchased and you leave the room to put Hiei down. Instead of the crib, you lay out a blanket on the floor with some small toys on it and arrange Hiei in a more comfortable position. With a pet to the head, you stand up and return back to the room with Kurama.

"What has Koenma said? I know that you have spoken to him."

Letting out a sigh, Kurama puts down the items in his hands, "Yusuke and Kuwabara found tunnels, none of which lead to the two designated building at the south or north. They all lead east. The buildings that were taken out were decoys for whatever was in the third building. The trip wire had to have come from the fortress in the west because of how many people were there, plus a smaller tunnel stretches from the west all of the way to the east. No one was in the last building because they knew we were coming and left, taking whatever they had intended to hide. We fell right into their trap!"

Irritated, Kurama sat at the table with his head in his hands, "All of this could have been avoided had we thought everything out and if Hiei had just stuck to the plan. If I could have seen that building with my own eyes, I would have realized this sooner and Hiei would not be in his condition. I could have prevented all of this!"

"You're wrong. What happened was unavoidable. It is no coincidence that this has happened. If you had gone there, then what if whatever was done on Hiei was done to you?"

"Nothing. I would have just reverted into Yoko Kurama. This is my fault and I have jeopardized everything because of it," spoke Kurama coldly.

"It is not your fault, Kurama. What has been done is done and the only thing that we can do is focus on fixing it. We can't concentrate on the past." you say quietly sitting at the table as well.

"You're wrong." Kurama stood up.

You gave him a confused look.

"We had to empty out the buildings and set the detonators for the first three buildings so that when Yusuke was done all four could be taken down. That means I have nine hours until they demolish the buildings. That is just enough time for me to see what Hiei has seen and possibly figure out what has been done to him."

"But Koenma…."

"He does not need to know. He wouldn't allow any of us to return, so I must leave without him knowing." said Kurama.

"Then I'm coming with you!" you cry out.

"NO!" screamed Kurama, out of his usual tone," You must not. I have already asked too much of you and you have been greatly weakened by caring for Hiei. You make sure he is safe and protect him while I am gone."

"But…."

"Please, just do this for me."

You nod submissively.

Putting his jacket back on Kurama leaves just as you can here crying in the other room.

"Kurama!" you call out.

He turns to look at you.

"Please come back soon." you mumble.

He nods and fakes a smile before turning and running away.

Returning to the apartment, you go to see Hiei, who is hysterical now.

In between sentences of gibberish and tears you can make out, "Rama, Rama! Noah, Rama! No-ah!"

~Kurama, you fool! You can't go! Don't leave! It's not safe there! Kurama, Please!~

You pick up the crying child and do your best to comfort him, praying that this will all be over soon.

"C'mon Hiei. We're leaving too. I didn't want to do this, but now we have to."

Hiei continues his cries, but tries listens to you.

"I know you heard his plan, and I don't want him to go either, so we have to tell the others at that meeting tonight. I was planning on not going and having Kurama go instead, but now that he is determined to do it this way, we too must alter our plans. Koenma is going to destroy those buildings with Kurama inside if we don't find a way to tell them. Maybe someone could go with him or at least persuade him not to go."

Hiei, sniffling and crying, nods, understanding what is being asked of him.

"Hiei, I am sorry, really I am."

He again nods, but this time points to his clothes.

You were about to ask, when you figured that he was being asked to be changed. Putting him on your bed, you quickly change his dirty diaper and dress him in black pajamas. Grabbing your satchel, you fill it with supplies to last a few days. Not enough time for you to change your own clothing, but you decide to take a couple of weapons with you, in case you are asked to go too. You attach a few daggers to your thighs and let the fabric of your kimono cover them and place a few items into your sleeves. You manage to attach everything securely to your back and turn to Hiei. You wrap him up tightly before sliding him into the top fold of your kimono and tightening everything around him, that way you only needed one hand to support him if you need to attack or defend yourself. Closing your eyes, you tried to sense how far away Kurama was. It was hard, not having all of your energy, but you could at least tell that he was far enough to not notice you leaving the area. You locked the door from the inside and went to the window of your bedroom. Without looking behind you, you slipped out, and began running as fast as you could, leaping from tree to telephone pole, moving as fast as you could without being spotted by any onlookers. You could feel Hiei cling to you as your heartbeat increased with each step. Things were drastically different, without all of your energy, but you pushed on and made it to Genkai's faster than usual. Banging on the great doors, you gasped for air. Yukina answered, but you rushed in the second the door was opened and looked around for Genkai. You found her standing from her seat in the hall with the giant statue at the far end.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she screamed, immediately sensing the danger that you brought along.

~~cue end theme!~~