Something soft was tickling her nose. She twitched a little, opening her brown eyes to see what exactly was bothering her. A pair of silver fox ears greeted her, and soon her body felt other things. Strong arms were wrapped around her, a muscular and warm body lay beside her, and something soft and furry was on her leg. Hana's eyes dimmed, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Yoko was here with her.

He was still sleeping, his breaths even and smooth. Slowly, she lifted her fingers to his cheek and brushed over them lightly, causing him to wake up. The demon stared at her for a moment before moving himself upwards. Flexing his ears and setting himself back down upon the pillow he breathed, his eyes glued to her.

"How do you feel?"

"Much better thank you." The girl's reply made him smile for only a second, those arms coming around her again and pressing her head into his chest. He murmured quietly.

"I'm glad… that you are okay. I don't…" his words died as his eyes flashed with worry. Luckily, Hana caught on only slightly before his usual demeanor returned. Sitting up with her in his arms he sighed, brushing through his hair.

"I think it's raining outside."

The two of them gazed out the window to see dewdrops stuck to the glass, little rain splatters heard from above. Hana yawned, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes. "I love the rain… it's so peaceful, you know?"

The demon turned back to her and nodded, gazing outside. For a moment though, Hana turned her eyes to the demon who sat next to her. His body was chiseled, soft and warm. He was topless, his abs nice and clean cut while his arms seemed to be smooth graceful muscles. He had on of course white boxers, but even his legs were silky. There was something graceful about him, about the way he moved, about the way he spoke, that made her want to claim him as her own. They had only known each other for a certain amount of days, but it seemed like she had known him all her life.

Yoko turned back to her, red erupting from his cheeks. "What is it?" he asked, looking at his body. "Is there something on me?"

Hana smiled and shook her head, getting up from her seated position and heading towards the bathroom. "It's nothing, trust me."

He watched as she exited the room, Hana closing the door behind her softly. After a few seconds Yoko got up and shook off his tail, brushing it with his claws and fixing the fur. He twitched his tail back and forth a few times before finally walking over to Hana's hanging mirror to gaze at himself.

He was still the same Yoko, the same person he had remembered ever since he was a child. Now however, there were new feelings surfacing and making him think. Who was it that had feelings for this girl? Was it Kurama the half breed? Shuuichi the human? Or perhaps it really was Yoko the bandit himself. His eyes dimmed as he ran a nail across the smooth surface, thinking to himself.

What are these feelings? I know I love and miss my mother but… there's something about her… that I absolutely adore. No one has made me smile like Hana does. No one has ever made my heart feel so… so…

Light.

I feel so light and happy when I'm around her… what am I feeling? What are these strange thoughts I have? Why do I feel the need to protect her? Maybe my actions are subconscious… I'm repaying her for all of her kindness… but still.

I can't deny the fact that she is a human… and I am a demon. I am not… I am not the best person to be around… am I even a person? Who am I really?

The room began to twist around him, vertigo seeping into his brain. His thoughts were clouding his mind, forcing him to put his hands on his head.

What do I feel? What are these strange feelings? I have never felt this unsure about myself before… I used to be certain of what I wanted but now… now I just don't know what to think…

Yusuke… Hiei… Kuwabara… all of my friends… have they gone through the same thing? What would they say? Could they even help me when I don't understand what is happening myself?

Hana… Hana… what are you to me? When I look into your eyes, I want to see my reflection in them. That is all I want. I want to see you smile. I want to hear you laugh.

I want to make you mine.

"Yoko?"

He jerked up, nearly tripping over his own two feet. Hana stood before him rather baffled by his reaction. She tilted her head to the side, partially smiling at him. "Are you alright?"

The demon breathed out for a second, regaining his composure. "Yes… Yes I'm all right." Righting himself he gazed at her for a moment before turning around and gathering his clothing. "I'm going… to take a shower. If it's alright with you, I want to… get a little cleaned up."

Hana agreed and let him pass by her on his way to the bathroom. He walked by softly, her heart thumping with every footstep that he took. By the time he closed the bathroom door behind him her heart was nearly out of her chest. She breathed in as she turned away, putting a hand upon her head. "Man… I have to stop thinking about things like that so much!"

"You think they'd put in some decorations or something."

"This isn't a visit you know. We're here on a mission."

"We rescue Kurama's body and we get the hell out of here! Simple as that."

Footsteps echoed through the castle walls, the staircase almost reaching up to the heavens. They had gotten past the two sad excuses for guards and proceeded up the never ending staircase. When they had first gotten to the castle, there was a small barrier around the vicinity to help keep the lesser demons out. However, as luck would have it the barrier also kept them out, resulting in Hiei having to slice a few throats. The demons who were not killed however told them that the king of the castle was waiting for them at the very top of the tower, aware of their arrival.

The three of them had been in Demon World for quite some time now, the days seeming to melt together into weeks and the group unable to keep a tally on how long they had been there. Yusuke was the first to point out that they had not run into any other defense other than the occasional guard here and a lower level demon there. What kept them on their toes was exactly this, as the element of surprise was always something one had to keep a lookout for.

Climbing the steps was the easy part of getting Kurama's body back, and on the way there, all the three of them could think about was who could have stolen Kurama's human form. This evildoer had to have some incentive; after all, he did end up calling Yusuke to the castle, and to call Yusuke meant that he had a bone to pick with the boy.

Hiei lowered his eyes to the ground, stopping in his tracks. One foot was on the top stair, another on the bottom stair. Yusuke was the first to turn around.

"Hiei? What's up?"

The demon paused, unsure of how to answer. There was a premonition inside of him; he didn't know how to explain what he was feeling. The eyes turned to his friends as he sighed, something in his mind telling him that when they returned, the task of getting Kurama back wasn't going to be easy.

"I have a feeling… and I seldom have things like this."

"You're just really heartless is all." Kuwabara commented, scratching the side of his head. Yusuke growled at him, ignoring him after the growl.

"What are you thinking Hiei?"

"What I'm thinking is this…" he paused for a moment, licking his lips. "What if Kurama… doesn't want to go back to his human form?"

"Whaddya mean?" Yusuke shouted, holding up his hands. "Of course Kurama wants to go back to his human form! Otherwise we wouldn't have come all this way!"

"What if Yoko has found something worth staying for?" the others paused, pursing their lips. Hiei gazed at them in thought. "What if the bandit has found something he truly desires? Is that not what happened before?"

"What happened before was Kurama having identity issues!" Kuwabara retorted, snorting. "But we can't hold that on him! I mean, he's just a guy, like any one of us. He's trying to find himself… even if he is… uh…" his fingers came up as he began to count. The others waited for a moment.

"He's like nine thousand years old!"

"We don't know Kurama's true age, as he exceeds us all in lifespan." Hiei replied, shaking his head. "But in all of his years… and even as his friend… I have never seen him going for another person like himself."

"Now I'm lost." Yusuke said, scratching his cheek. "Another person like him? You mean like a clone?"

"What I mean is this idiot." The demon held up a finger. "If Yoko were to say… find a Keiko, would that not make him want to stay as Yoko for eternity?"

"Why would he find Keiko?" Yusuke asked.

"You really ARE dense, aren't you?" Hiei face palmed himself, shaking his head more. He sighed, restraining himself from hitting Yusuke over the head with his sword.

"In any case, we must get going. We have already wasted enough time and I'm sure that Kurama's body is almost completely engulfed."

"Engulfed by what?" Kuwabara's voice rang in Hiei's ears and the demon grit his teeth. They were his friends, but that didn't mean they didn't piss him off to some extent.