AN: I know, it's been a while, like 3 weeks. We went back to Taiwan and I didn't take my laptop with me, so I didn't get to write or upload anything. Just got back, and I still haven't written anything new, but this was pretty much finished, so here's Chapter 9. Pardon any errors or anything, eheh, I edited while sleepy and jetlagged. ^^;

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.

Chapter 9

Returning to his room after showering, Kurama sat down on his bed and began to brush his hair. He made a mental note to trim it within a week. It had been a long day for everyone, what with Miyuki's painful transformation this morning, their encounter with Lucifer, and a long training and sparring session. Then Keiko and Botan had thrown a party for Misuzu and Miyuki's birthday. It would've run much later into the night with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan becoming ridiculously drunk, but the fact that Lucifer was returning in the morning made everyone realize that it was not the wisest idea. He glanced at the clock. 12:53. That was the shortest party he had ever seen them throw.

Kurama heard a knock on his door. The door opened and a quiet voice asked, "Kurama, may I come in?" "Sure. Do you need anything Misuzu? You should get some sleep." She stepped in and went to sit at his desk chair. "No, nothing in particular...I couldn't seem to fall asleep. Would you mind if we talked for a little?" "Not at all. I think you'll find that you can't sleep anymore in general. Elves and many youkai do not sleep; instead, they fall into a deeply relaxed state where they remain conscious at a minute level. Clear your mind and slow your breathing, like you would in meditation; if that doesn't help you fall right into it, I can give you something to help you sleep," he offered.

"Oh. Thank you." A faint blush tinted her cheeks and she seemed a little uncomfortable. He realized that it was because he was shirtless. He often slept without a shirt, but was almost always fully clothed outside of his room. Yusuke had once joked about how he never showed any skin. Walking over to his closet, he pulled out a sweater and asked her about how long she had been playing the piano and her favorite classical composers. It was something they both showed interest in, and he figured it would help make her feel more comfortable. It worked and he got to know a little more about her.

Suddenly, she asked, "Kurama, what does 'a thief on stolen time' mean?" He tensed, only for a second, but she noticed it. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just curious..that's all. I understand if you'd rather not discuss it though. There are times from my past I'd rather not relive as well." He had to admit that he was curious about her too, this girl that he had met only six days ago and kissed just yesterday. Misuzu and her sister were both different from the girls he had met and worked with in high school as well as his step-father's company which he had worked in for a couple of years once he had graduated.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara have told you about their lives. Hiei and I...our lives were very different. It's true that I am the 'thief on stolen time' and that he is the 'lost twin in company.'" "Yukina and Hiei are twins, aren't they?" Misuzu was a smart girl. "That is not my secret to tell. Hiei has his reasons." He saw her nod in understanding. He paused and thought for a moment, trying to decide how much to tell her.

"I am a thief living on stolen time in a stolen body... I was a notorious bandit in Makai. I was cruel, arrogant, proud, calculating, and cold. I had everything I wanted- wealth, luxury, and lovers. I'm somewhat...ashamed that my gift to you was something I had stolen from a treasury, and that I can even still remember that exact mission. It was one of my lasts with Kuronue." He sighed, "But that was how I lived my past life."

When he stopped to once again collect his thoughts, Misuzu commented, "Your past conduct is nothing to be ashamed of. We live in the present, not in the past nor the future. The Kurama that I know is an intelligent, modest, thoughtful, kind, and attractive man, and...and that's all that matters." Did she say attractive? He nodded and smiled. "I know, thank you."

"I was heavily injured by a hunter once," he continued. "I escaped into Ningenkai and my spirit entered and took over this body, the body of Shuichi Minamino, while he was still in the mother's womb. I had planned to return to Makai after a couple of years but... I became attached to my human mother." He smiled. "Call me weak if you will, but Shiori taught me what it meant to love and be loved."

"Thank you for telling me," he heard Misuzu say. She moved towards him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Love is not a weak, pitiful human emotion," she said before walking to the door. "It's really quite the opposite - it makes a man strong and gives him a reason to live and continue fighting." She paused for a moment with her hand on the doorknob. Without looking back, she whispered, "My sister thinks I trust men and fall far too easily. I'm sorry about the kiss earlier. I don't want to cause you trouble, so I'll try to end my affection before it begins. Goodnight, Kurama," and exited his room.

Kurama stared at his closed door for a few minutes after she left. She had admitted that she was beginning to like him in a way that was completely different from his past experiences. She did not wildly proclaim her love for him, nor was there any attempt at seduction involved. He did not know yet whether he could reciprocate that, whether he saw her as more than a friend or not. Only time would tell. But why was she apologizing? Why did she say she wanted to end her affection? It couldn't be because she didn't approve of his past – her words said otherwise. Thinking back to their shared conversations, he realized that she must have made a false assumption about his sexuality. He fell asleep pondering why he suddenly cared that Misuzu needed to know he was bisexual.

The next morning, Hiei found himself being yelled at by Miyuki. "Hiei, what are you doing sleeping outside my room like a stalker? Don't you have your own room? You have a bed, you know!" He blinked at her. Did it matter where he slept? It was his choice. Most parts of Makai did not have beds. He hadn't even known he was outside her room until she opened her curtains and started yelling.

"This tree happens to be right next to my room as well. And it does not concern you whether I chose a bed or a branch. Quit your screaming." He jumped down and stuck his hands in his pockets, turning to leave. "Hey! Where are you going?" she called after him. He sighed. Did he have to explain every little thing to her? "Twenty hours is in ten minutes," was all he gave her as an answer before he walked away.

He had not walked far when she appeared before him on her horse and blocked his path. Hiei thought the horse was intriguing; he had never seen a creature of the like in Makai. It was majestic and mysterious, and it carried itself with power, pride, and grace.

He wondered how the girl had gotten there so quickly for a brief moment before he realized that she know had wings and had probably flown. He looked up to stare at her and she gazed back. "Move." Her horse neighed, as if to say no in defiance. "Shh shh, it's okay Yumi... Hiei, you could just walk around."

It was like she was purposely aggravating him. He didn't appreciate being told what to do, but seeing that she was clearly stubborn and would not move, he did just that. He walked around just to receive a kick in the chest from her horse. She got down to offer him a hand, but he just ignored it, picked himself up, and continued walking. She came up to walk beside him, leading her horse by the reigns. She laughed and said, "Never approach a horse from behind."

Hiei kept up with Makai politics, as he often visited Mukuro. He didn't need the explanation like Yusuke or Kurama, who only received updates every once in a while, but Lucifer did offer him a new piece of knowledge. He hadn't known the reason behind the change of rules.

"In approximately seven weeks, it will once again be time for Makai's so called 'election tournament.' There has been a change of rules this year." He laughed. "It was quite simple, really. All I had to do was kill the tournament organizers and rewrite the rules." He paused. "I'm sure you are all familiar with the Dark Tournament. Teams of five. I've decided to be kind and spare you six the trouble of deciding who is left out. Who wishes to join me?" When no one responded, he said, "Oh, don't all come rushing at once. This tournament is all just a piece of entertainment before my real plans begin. It won't hurt to play along."

Yusuke growled. "We're not joining you, so you might as well just tell us your real plans. Actually, fuck that; screw Koenma. We can just take you out now." The detective was still visibly pissed. Upon his arrival, Lucifer presented them with a 'gift'. A servant of his placed in front of the group two dead bodies, a human man and woman. They had both been stripped naked and mutilated. It had disgusted and angered them all. The man's eyes had been gouged out, his fingers and toes chopped off, and his sex organ cut in half. The woman's throat was slit and she had whip lashes plastered all over her body. Even worse, it seemed that she had been pregnant and quite far along; her womb was cut open and the fetus was taken out, placed lying limp and bloody on her chest. Hiei agreed with Yusuke though - they should just attack him now and be done with it.

Both Hiei and Yusuke simultaneously charged towards Lucifer. They had not advanced more than a couple of steps when they were forced to the ground and their limbs were bound by an invisible force. Hiei struggled to stand, but was forced back down. It seemed like this Lucifer had powerful telekinetic abilities. Either that, or one of the cloaked figures behind him did. "Oh, the son of Raizen and the Forbidden Child have volunteered. I'm terribly sorry, but I can't take you both. Perhaps one of my daughters would like to spend some time with their father instead." By the same telekinetic powers, the two girls were pulled ahead of the group and forced onto their knees as well.

Miyuki looked up and spat out, "Go back to Hell and fuck yourself. Just let them go. I'm not going anywhere with you." Hiei watched Lucifer walk over to the two sisters. "Miyuki dear, defiance seems to suit you well. I like it. And what of you, Misuzu? I've hardly heard you speak since your father arrived." Misuzu only turned her head and whispered, "You are no father of mine." Lucifer laughed. "Wrong answer. You'll do." Within seconds, he grabbed her, put a knife to her throat, and vanished.

A week and a half had passed and they were still arguing. They may not have known each other for very long, but the group already considered Misuzu and Miyuki as a part of their family. And they were not taking to Misuzu's capture very well. Yusuke was bitching at everyone, Kuwabara was yelling back, and Kurama was blaming himself. As for Hiei, no one had seen him all week. Miyuki was pissed too, but screaming at each other was pointless. Her nerves were becoming frayed, her mood swings becoming more frequent and severe. Some of her friends in high school had once joked about how she might be mildly bipolar. Maybe she was.

She had put her whole self into training instead. Koenma had said the best chance they had of recovering her sister was at the tournament, so she completely devoted herself to getting stronger. Originally, she and Yusuke had tried to run off to Makai to track down Lucifer and her sister, but the Reikai prince stopped them. So she was currently working on perfecting her powers. It was already late at night and no one else was still outside with her.

She could control shadows and manipulate dark energy, so working at night actually made it easier for her. Miyuki discovered that she could impede a person's movement by stepping on their shadows. She could make minor shadow spirits work for her as well as bend some of them to create illusions. She found dark energy harder to work with, but easier when she was angry or frustrated. But when that happened, she really had to focus so as not to lose herself. At the moment, she was working with a sword she had created from dark energy. Unlike Kuwabara's energy swords, hers looked more refined and less edgy. She had been toying around with the shape and for the time being, decided on a sword that was much like a katana, except that it was double-edged and a couple centimeters shorter. Hiei had picked the perfect time to disappear. Even though she hated to admit it, she realized she needed to be trained by someone who was a sword master.

Frustrated, Miyuki dropped to her knees and drove her fist into the ring hard. She couldn't yet keep the energy in the form of a sword for much more than ten minutes straight. As she became more worn out, the time decreased even more still; this last time, she had only managed for a couple of seconds before it flickered and died out. She cursed loudly, winced at the pain, and pulled her arm out. Her hand was bleeding. Had she broken a knuckle or two? She began to trudge back towards the house. Eventually, she decided she could just sleep outside and collapsed onto the grass, laying on her back, gazing at the stars. It helped calm her down.

A few minutes later, Hiei's face came into her view. His eyes were dull and lifeless; dark bags hung under them. His clothing had been reduced to rags and there was a deep gash across his right shoulder that was bleeding moderately. He looked like he could drop dead anytime now. "Only fools would overexert themselves to the point that they cannot make it back to their rooms." Before she knew it, Hiei had picked her up, ran to his room, and dropped her on his bed. How did he still have the strength to do that?

He disappeared for a brief moment and returned with a first aid kit. "Like you're one to talk. We haven't seen you all week and you show up almost in the middle of the night like this. You look like shit. No. Don't. You should take care of yourself before me." She pulled her hand away, but silently, he grabbed it back. After bandaging her hand, he attempted to take care of his shoulder. She moved towards him and took over, talking while she worked. It was just like him to not even ask for help. At least the wound looked relatively fresh; that meant it probably didn't have time to get infected yet. She expected him to push her away. All he did was tense up a bit though. He must be too tired.

"Where have you been? What happened to you? Everyone's been screaming at each other all week, even though they try not to when Keiko or Yukina are around. I miss my sister and I'm worried about her. I was confused because you disappeared. I'm annoyed by the arguing, I'm angry at Lucifer or Akiyama or whatever the hell his name is. I've been training day in and day out. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted." She found herself ranting to him and tears began to fall quietly down her cheek. "See? I don't even know why the hell I'm crying." Finished, she lay back. Hiei would probably maim her for sleeping in his room, but she didn't care. He was still there, sitting on the edge of his bed. He hadn't said a word.

Miyuki felt much better when she woke up. She didn't know why. Was it because she had sort of ranted to Hiei last night? She froze when she remembered that she cried in front of him. She'd have to punch him for that later. She felt calm and content this morning though, so maybe she wouldn't. But she did need to talk to him. She needed to know why he had been gone all week and how he had ended up completely drained and heavily injured. She would track him down herself if he had disappeared again.

After searching for a few minutes, she found him in the tree outside her room. That idiot. He was hurt and he decided to sleep outside in a tree? "Hey shorty!" she teased. "Come down! I need some answers and I should probably change your bandages too!" she yelled up at him from below. He didn't respond. Figures. She summoned her wings and flew up to hover at his level. She had figured out how to detract her wings and bring them back out after a night or two of sleeping uncomfortably with them.

Miyuki grinned when she saw that Hiei's eyes were still closed in sleep. It seemed like the perfect chance to find out what he was always hiding behind that bandana. When she moved her hand to his head, his katana whipped out to lightly press against her throat. He was gazing at her weakly. "Don't touch me onna." She knew that his words were meant as a threat, only his voice lacked the edge. His sword wavered and fell from his hand, dropping to the ground. Something was wrong. She looked at his shoulder to find that the bandages had turned a purplish-black. "Hiei...I need to see your wound." Again, she received no response and she began to worry. His face was pale, his eyes were closed, and his breathing very shallow. Suddenly, he lost his balance on the branch and Miyuki took a dive, yelling out his name and racing to catch his body before it collided with the ground below.

Despite the fact that Hiei was injured and unconscious, or maybe because he had returned, just like her, everyone was in a better mood this morning. Miyuki hadn't been able to fly Hiei back to the house. She had to call over Yusuke to carry him and Yukina and Kurama were now tending to him in the living room. Yukina had wanted to look at her hand too, but she declined, saying that Hiei's condition was far worse. She and Yusuke went out to sit on the porch.

"Don't worry Miyu. Hiei'll be okay. He's a strong guy." "I'm not worried. He better be. I still want some answers," she huffed. "Ugh, I shouldn't have took his bed. Then maybe that idiot wouldn't have slept outside and maybe this wouldn't have happened." "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself, kay?" "Shut up Yusuke. That's what Kurama was doing all week while you were screaming at everyone." He chuckled nervously and she laughed. "Whatever, it's all over. I'm just looking forward to seeing Misuzu again in a couple of weeks. I know she's safe physically at least. I can feel it, like some weird twin connection, you know? Lucifer wouldn't dare kill his precious 'keys' anyway."

The two pushed their worries aside and turned the day into a fun one. Shizuru was working, Kuwabara was at school, and Yukina and Kurama stayed with Hiei, so it was just the two of them. Yusuke took her into town on his motorcycle. They got pizza, went to the arcade, and just hung out for a couple of hours. Miyuki was glad for this day after how stressful the past week had been. Yusuke seemed to be back to his usual self too. He really was a good friend.

They returned late in the afternoon and Kurama filled them in over steaming cups of tea. "Hiei had been poisoned by a heavy Makai toxin. If he were any other man, he'd likely be dead. Fortunately, Hiei is a fire youkai. His high body temperature combined with Yukina's healing abilities and the sap of a Makai plant were able to cleanse his body of the toxin. He regained consciousness about an hour and a half ago and aside from fatigue, is just fine." She let out a sigh in relief. Yusuke was more fun, Kuwabara goofier, and Kurama kinder, but Hiei was a part of her new family nonetheless. After Misuzu had been taken, she couldn't take losing another.

Kurama paused. "Hiei specifically told me not to tell you...However, Miyuki, in these circumstances, I think you have the right to know...We do not make much out of Hiei's absences; he often makes unannounced trips to visit Mukuro in Makai and returns several days or even a few weeks later. Hiei went to search for Misuzu. That was the reason for his disappearance. Lucifer's castle must be extremely well hidden; nothing came out of a five day search. The reason for his injury... Hiei became frustrated and merely sought to take it out on someone. He just happened to pick the wrong opponent."

"Hah!" Yusuke laughed. "He just wants to protect his reputation. See? What'd I tell ya Miyuki? Hiei's just fine." She smiled and nodded, thinking to herself. Why would he do that? Was he seriously just as worried as the rest of them had been for her sister? Maybe she was right in thinking that behind that cold, indifferent mask was a good heart.

[Hurr, random note. I adore KuramaxKuronue.]

Reviews, thoughts, and constructive criticism are very nice. Very nice indeed. :]