It was Minamino who woke Hiei the next morning. He was annoyingly cheerful as he pulled the curtains of Hiei's window aside.
"What time is it?" Hiei grumbled, trying to burrow under the covers.
Minamino opened the window and a chill breeze swept into the room.
"Six o'clock," he said. "Master Genkai wants you up."
"Can't she wait?" Hiei demanded, bravely sticking his nose out from under the covers. He wasn't a late sleeper but six o'clock sounded a little unreasonable to him.
"Afraid not," Minamino said, a note of sympathy entering his voice. "Actually, this is quite generous of her. When I was training with her, she had me up before daybreak."
"I've changed my mind. I don't want to do it," Hiei said, pulling the covers up to hide his face.
Minamino ruthlessly yanked the covers off. Hiei swore at him.
"Get dressed," Minamino said. "If you're quick, you'll have enough time to fortify yourself with a coffee before you see her."
With a resigned sigh, Hiei dragged himself out of bed. Minamino left the room and Hiei dressed in comfortable clothes. He hadn't brought much with him, just the basics. He wondered how he would buy more. Would the Syndicate be able to track him if he withdrew money from his bank account? Could he ask someone else to do it for him?
As he left the room he tucked his sister's gem under his shirt. It was small but it felt heavy around his neck. He didn't feel safe leaving it tucked away with the rest of his possessions in this strange place. He needed to keep it close.
He wondered what his sister would think of his situation if she saw him now. She had always been a gentle soul, despite everything that happened with the Syndicate. Her ability had been healing so she had never participated in the brutal physical training Hiei had endured. That was something that Hiei had always been grateful for.
Minamino was waiting for him in the kitchen with a cup of coffee ready for him. Hiei pounced on it as if he were a dying man in the desert, Minamino watching him with an amused expression.
"Is anyone else up?" Hiei asked, after several sips.
"Yusuke is still asleep. Short of an apocalypse, he usually isn't up earlier than nine," Minamino informed him. "Botan is up and in the shower. She will likely be some time."
A question occurred to Hiei as he observed Minamino's demeanour. "Have you spoken to your mother?" he asked, wondering how Minamino could be so calm and relaxed when his mother might be in danger.
"No, but Master Genkai did," Minamino said. "She believes that Master Genkai has injured herself and I am staying to help around here until she recovers. A friend will be keeping a watch on her while I am here."
"And the university?" Hiei asked.
Minamino smiled. "That was an easy one. I am unwell."
Of course. "You've got it all figured out, haven't you?" Hiei asked. "What if the university contacts your mother?"
"I will tell my mother that there was a miscommunication," Minamino said.
"You've done this before," Hiei observed.
Minamino's contented expression turned troubled. "I have," he admitted. "It is… necessary to maintain my normal life."
"Is it that important for you to have a normal life?" Hiei asked. "It must be pretty stressful."
"It is. But I feel it is worth it," Minamino said. "My mother has given me so much. I owe her this."
That puzzled Hiei, but he was given no chance to question Minamino further.
"Good. You're up."
Hiei turned to see Genkai glaring up at him. "I'm glad I don't have to drag your lazy ass out of bed like that other delinquent."
Hiei gave Minamino a questioning look.
"Yusuke," Minamino mouthed at him.
"If you aren't done with that, bring it," she pointed at the coffee cup in Hiei's hands. "Let's get started."
Hiei followed her out of the kitchen and into the courtyard, wondering what kind of hell she had planned for him.
-0-
Hiei sat in the lotus position across from the old psychic with a disgusted scowl on his face. "This is stupid," he complained.
"It's no wonder you don't have even the smallest amount of control over that thing," Genkai told him. "If you can't master your own mind, how do you think you can master the jagan, a creature with a mind of its own?"
"A mind of its own?" Hiei asked, disturbed. He had always assumed that the jagan was more of an extension of himself. But a mind of its own? A will that could actively work against him? That, he really did not like.
"Yes," Genkai said flatly. "And if you aren't careful, it will corrupt you."
Hiei's mind flashed to the ever-expanding tattoo on his arm and winced. Was that a sign of the jagan's attempt to corrupt him?
"Now, close your eyes and try again," Genkai ordered.
Sighing, Hiei did so. The complete blackness behind his eyes was unsettling. He kept his breaths even, as Genkai had instructed, but he still really didn't see how this would help him control the jagan.
He felt a mosquito alight on his cheek and raised his hand, slapping at it. He opened his eyes to meet Genkai's disapproving glare.
"what was I supposed to do?" he grumbled.
She sighed. "I can see that this is going to take some time."
-0-
Hiei and Genkai returned to the temple for lunch. Minamino had helped Botan prepare the meal. Yusuke joined them as well.
"So, Grandma, how's the shrimp doing?" Yusuke asked brightly. He had warmed a little to Hiei but he still didn't completely trust him.
"He's almost as difficult as you," she grumbled.
Minamino smiled sympathetically at Hiei. "I expect that you haven't made much progress yet," he said. "But how did it go?"
"It was just a whole lot of sitting around and doing nothing," Hiei complained. "I don't see how that's supposed to help."
"Meditation is a very useful skill," Minamino told him. "And not merely for controlling psychic abilities. It can benefit you in other areas of your life as well."
"And you're probably really good at it," Hiei mumbled.
"Actually, he is," Yusuke informed him. "So is Kuwabara, which is kind of surprising."
Kuwabara. Hiei had heard that name mentioned. He was sure that this Kuwabara was the person whom Minamino had keeping an eye on his mother. He hoped that Kuwabara was as skilled as Minamino at fighting because he doubted that the Syndicate would give up on getting Minamino.
And given that Minamino had essentially dropped off the face of the earth, as far as the Syndicate was concerned, they might well go after his mother in an attempt to flush him out of hiding. Hiei suppressed a shudder. The thought of sweet Ms. Minamino in harm's way didn't sit well with him.
"Please give it a chance, Hiei," Minamino told him. "You might be surprised by the results."
"Hah." Hiei personally doubted it. But he'd agreed to the training in the first place, so he felt that he ought to see it through. Either it helped or it didn't. Worst case scenario, he'd completely wasted his time.
And time was something that he had a lot of right now.
-0-
Hiei continued to try meditating with Genkai but he was growing frustrated with his lack of progress. Minamino and Yusuke seemed to have completely opposite views on the technique. Yusuke hated it while Minamino insisted that it would help him.
And Minamino was another problem. His manner seemed to be growing distant towards Hiei. He spent most of his time with Yusuke. He told Hiei that they were training. Which Hiei knew to be the truth, as the two of them were always sporting cuts and bruises, and more alarmingly, the occasional broken bone.
The first time this had happened, Hiei had been horrified. Yusuke had entered the temple, cradling his arm against his chest. It was bent at an unnatural angle. Minamino trailed him in, brushing dirt from his clothes.
Hiei had panicked. But a grinning Yusuke had told him that Botan would heal it just like new. And she had, right in front of Hiei's eyes. She was a healer, just like his sister had been.
Hiei had a lot of questions for Minamino but he was never able to get Minamino alone to ask them. The frustration he felt with Minamino was making meditation all the more difficult for him.
Finally Hiei had had enough. On the fourth evening at the temple, he cornered Minamino just as he was preparing for a shower. Hiei stood in front of the bathroom door, arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. Minamino stood in the hall before him with his arms full of clothes and looking confused.
"We need to talk," Hiei informed him.
"Here?" Minamino inquired, one red eyebrow raised. His tone hinted that he thought the idea was preposterous.
"I don't care where we do it," Hiei snapped, annoyed with him. "But I'm sick of you giving me the run-around."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Minamino told him. "Now, if you will excuse me-"
"No. We're going to talk now," Hiei insisted. He grabbed Minamino's arm and pulled him in the direction of his room. Minamino followed, his own expression displaying irritation now.
Hiei shut the door behind him after Minamino entered his room. He stood in the centre of the bare room, frowning at Hiei.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Hiei demanded.
"I am not-"
"Yes, you are." Hiei was thoroughly sick of Minamino's excuses and evasions. For once, he wanted straight answers from the redhead. "Over the last few days you've become distant. You won't talk to me. Why?"
"I have talked to you," Minamino protested.
"Not about anything that matters," Hiei pointed out.
Minamino's voice was quiet when he answered. "You lied to me. You pretended to be interested in me in order to kidnap me. How should I react to that?"
"But, I didn't," Hiei said helplessly. "I told you the truth."
"Eventually," Minamino conceded. "But now I am left wondering how much of our relationship is a lie and how much is genuine."
Hiei felt anger rise inside him. Heat began to pool in his hands and he clenched them into fists.
"You're a hypocrite," Hiei told him. "Your whole life is a lie."
Minamino flinched. His green eyes slid away from Hiei's. "That is none of your business," he said, his voice tight and raw.
Hiei was pleased that he'd managed to hit a nerve. "You've lied to your mother, probably for your entire life. How do you think she's going to feel when she finds out that her son has been leading a double life?"
"That is completely different," Minamino snapped.
"I don't think it is," Hiei retorted. "At least I'm trying to fix things."
"How?" Minamino inquired, bitterness in his voice. "The Syndicate is still after me."
"Your problem, not mine," Hiei pointed out. "I don't know what you did to make Yomi hate you so much but it had nothing to do with me. You only have yourself to blame for that one."
Minamino's eyes seemed to shift in the dim light of the room. For a moment, Hiei was sure that they were no longer green. They seemed to gleam with a malevolent golden hue. Minamino also seemed to be exuding a dangerous aura. His mouth was thinned and his fingers were clenched tightly in the fabric of the clothing he still held.
"You don't know anything," he snapped, and even his voice sounded different.
Hiei tried to step back but hit the door. His breath caught in his throat.
And then Minamino took a deep breath and the energy faded. His eyes were green again and his expression turned bland.
"It is late," he said. "Good night, Hiei."
Though they were polite, there was no warmth in his words. Minamino stepped forward and Hiei moved numbly out of his way. Minamino stepped past him and out of the room. His footsteps padded softly down the hall. Hiei stared after him, wondering what had just happened.
-0-
Kurama entered the bathroom and set his clothes down. He put his hands on the edge of the basin and rested his weight on them. His palms were sweaty.
He couldn't believe how close he had came to losing control. Hiei's accusations had hit far too close to home for comfort. Kurama knew that he had every right to be angry at Hiei for his deception and every right to question their relationship.
But he himself was not blameless in this either. His own actions had led to this. He had been stupid to think that he could bury his past.
And now the neat facade he'd built up over the last twenty years was beginning to crumble around him. And that was not Hiei's fault. If it hadn't been Hiei, then someone else would have come along to tear it down.
Kurama stared at his face in the mirror. The face of Minamino Shuichi was reflected there, but that wasn't the face that Kurama saw.
Instead of green, his irises were golden. And the hair was no longer blood red. Instead, the long strands were white as snow. And, most alarmingly, there were two pert fox ears sticking up from the mane of white hair.
This person was a stranger to almost everyone else in the temple, but Kurama knew him well. This was his original appearance. The monster that chased him in his nightmares wore this face.
Kurama turned away, breaths coming in short, panicked bursts. He squeezed his eyes shut but he could still feel those golden eyes boring into the back of his head. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself.
He needed to calm down. He needed to get a grip on things. He couldn't give in to his nightmares. He needed to find a way out of this situation. His mother didn't know it, but her life was dependant on the choices he made now. And he would not let her down. He wasn't the son she should have had. But he would do his best to be the son that she deserved.
He took several deep breaths and let his arms fall to his side. He slowly turned back to the mirror. He let out a relieved breath when he met his own green eyes.
He'd work this out. He would not accept failure.