Disclaimer:

Kenta: I'll get straight to the point. FireStorm1991 doesn't own YYH or the characters or the song "Perhaps Love."

Dana: Kenta, what are you doing?

Kenta: The disclaimer?

Dana: Yes, but I think that's the kids' job.

Kiyoshi: Paper.

Emiko: Painting.

Makoto: Homework.

Hintai: Oral report.

Dana: Oh...

Kenta: School does come first.

Dana: Well in that case, we are all OCs of FireStorm1991 and there are way too many others that we have no idea how she keeps track of all of us. Enjoy.

Hiei and Kiyoshi ordered takeout and decided to watch and action thriller. Halfway through the movie, Kiyoshi passed out on Hiei. When the movie was over, Hiei managed to get up without waking Kiyoshi and covered him with a blanket.

Yoshezame then came downstairs. "I was wondering why you hadn't come down for dinner," he stated coldly attempting to hide his concern.

"I thought it would be best of I stayed away as much as possible until they adjust," Yoshezame replied.

Hiei took a seat next to her. She looked dead inside, like she wanted to give up but just couldn't bring herself to.

"I told Kiyoshi the truth," he told her. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "He'll still need time to process the new information and get over what you said, but he is a very forgiving person and will probably be able to get past this. If he can, Emiko will too." He didn't know why he was trying to reassure her, but he felt the need to.

"I'm beyond redemption, Hiei," Yoshezame stated. "I knew that coming here, but I can't go back without making things right."

"Why would you go back?" Hiei asked. Why anyone would want to go back to that place was beyond him. Even Yukina stopped returning to visit their mother's grave like she did ever year on the day she died.

She looked away from him and said, "It was my final request to be able to make things right with the children before I face my punishment."

"What punishment?" Hiei asked getting defensive.

"I…I was incarcerated for the last ten years after the village elders deemed me letting them go as a crime." Hiei was taken aback by this revelation. He was about to say something before she spoke again. "I needed to make things right for the kids before I accept the penalty. I only have a year left, Hiei."

She hadn't stayed away because she wanted to. Yoshezame had been imprisoned and would have come sooner. Proving her love for the twins was her final wish and then she would return to the glacial village to meet her death.

Hiei's mind was in a spin with emotions he couldn't understand. He needed to go talk to Yukina about this but he didn't want to leave Kiyoshi alone with Yoshezame yet after the last time.

There was a knock on the door. Kenta had decided to come over.

"Hey, Hiei, I felt your energy spike," Kenta explained. "You okay?"

"Fine," Hiei replied. "Do me a favor. I need to speak with Yukina. Let Kiyoshi know, if he wakes up, where I went."

"Sure thing," Kenta responded. With that, Hiei was out the door.

"Yukina," Hiei called out to his sister who was sitting on the porch.

"Hiei? What are you doing here so late?" Yukina asked.

"We need to talk."

Yukina couldn't believe the story. Sure, since that day that day fourteen years ago she hadn't been back to the ice world even to visit her mother's grave. She felt something keeping her away. Maybe their mother's spirit was trying to guide them away from that place.

"What about Rui?" Yukina asked.

"I'm not sure," Hiei replied. "This is all I know."

"Yoshe can't go back, Hiei."

He turned away from her. "I know," he said, "but I don't know how to stop her. She's determined to see her punishment through."

"Maybe we need to start forgiving her," Yukina suggested. Hiei looked at her like she was crazy but then he thought about her suggestion. Yoshezame had nothing left. She had sent her children away to keep them safe despite saying she didn't care about them, and her own people had imprisoned her for loving her children. Yukina was right that Yoshezame needed to be forgiven, but he would not put that task on the kids. He would have to find some way to look past what she did and show her that there was no need to go back to that vicious world. If he could convince her to stay, then the children could have more time to deal with the situation and, if those elders ever showed up, Hiei would make sure they didn't harm any of them.

Hiei nodded in understanding and said a quick, "Goodnight," before flitting off to his apartment.

Kiyoshi lay awake on the couch trying to process what he had just heard. He had hoped that once midnight had hit, Kenta would have left him alone, but because of his father's request, he didn't get that reprieve.

About a half an hour later, Kenta fell asleep on the other couch and Kiyoshi quietly snuck upstairs to his mother's room.

Since when did I start calling her that? he wondered realizing that part of him would always feel some type of love for the woman.

Yoshezame heard a soft knock on the door and just looked over to it. She assumed Hiei had returned and knew he didn't really care if she invited him in or not. If he wanted to talk to her, he would come in with or without her permission. The door was pushed open revealing Kiyoshi. Yoshezame tried to say his name but she couldn't find words. Hiei was right. Leave them alone and eventually they would come. She smiled realizing how well he knew them and how he has always and would always take good care of them.

"Mom?" he said unsure of his own voice.

"You can come in," Yoshezame told him.

Kiyoshi came into the room and sat in a chair across the room. The two stared at each other waiting to see who would speak first. When no one spoke for what seemed to them like an hour, Kiyoshi decided to break the silence.

"Is it true?" he asked.

"Is what true? That I never meant those things I said?"

"No," Kiyoshi stated. "Dad told me about that already and I'm still upset about that, but I sorta understand. I wanted to know if what you told my dad downstairs was true. Are they really going to…?" Kiyoshi could not bring himself to say the word "kill" at the moment.

Yoshezame frowned noticing how upset her son seemed about her punishment. "Yes, it's true. I'm only here to make things right with you and your sister before I die."

"That's stupid," he blatantly stated shocking Yoshezame. At her confusion, he explained himself. "Why would you come here to make things right with us if you were just going to leave and be taken away from us? Did you ever think how Emiko and I would feel about that? Do you really have to go back?"

"Well, I won't go back until either I make things right or the year is up. Whichever comes first."

"Then no," Kiyoshi said vaguely.

"No? Kiyoshi, I don't understand-"

"I said NO!" he exclaimed. "I won't forgive you if that means you leaving and getting murdered by your own people. Even if Emiko forgives you, I won't so you have to stay. And about the year…dad will figure something out. He always does."

Kiyoshi left the room before Yoshezame could debate with him. He ran into his room and closed the door. He had to find some way to convince his dad to help protect her. After all these year, Kiyoshi finally understood. His mother was not the one to blame for abandoning them. The ice maidens were.

Hiei returned home and found Yoshezame pacing through the apartment while Kenta was asleep on the couch and Kiyoshi was nowhere to be seen, although Hiei sensed him in his room.

"What happened?" he asked startling Yoshezame.

She turned to him and said, "He overheard me talking to you and he's refusing to even try to forgive me because he doesn't want me to be executed."

"Then stay," Hiei said. Yoshezame couldn't hide her confusion. She always thought he hated her and he knew it. He sighed and continued. "It doesn't make sense to get them to forgive you and build a relationship with you when you're just going to allow the elders to kill you. Do you not understand that?" Yoshezame looked down in shame. He could tell she understood perfectly. "Now here's what we're going to do. Yusuke and Kuwabara are meeting with Koenma tomorrow. He's the prince of Reikai and he owes me for something that happened a few years ago. We'll see what he can do to keep you here."

"And then what?" Yoshezame asked. "If I can't get them to forgive me, I have nothing anyway."

"Oh shut up," Hiei scolded causing Yoshezame to jump back a little bit. "It's obvious that you have a chance if Kiyoshi is 'refusing' to forgive you just to keep you safe. Both he and Emiko will forgive you eventually. He knows the truth and I'm sure by the end of the next few weeks, Emiko will know too. We try to keep things like this away from her as much as possible, but since it involves her this time we will have to tell her eventually."

"But they hate me," Yoshezame voiced her opinion. She truly believed she didn't have a shot with them.

"We don't hate you," Hiei told her.

"We?" Yoshezame caught his slip-up and Hiei slightly blushed.

"You're their mother; and yes, I'm still pissed at you for how you handled everything fourteen years ago, but with your recent confession, I think I'm willing to try and get along with you. For the children, of course."

Yoshezame truly smiled for the first time since she had arrived. It meant a lot to her that Hiei and her son were trying to protect her. She only hoped everything would work out. If she was to win over her children's affections, there was no way she would truly want to return to the glacial village. All she could do now was wait and believe what Kiyoshi had said. She needed to trust Hiei with her life.