Jessie smiled at Gaara and Elise, then nodded to the other girls. "Go ahead and lead the others back, okay? Hiei and I'll clean up here…" Christine, Jamie, and Kassie all looked at her, then nodded and led everyone away, leaving Hiei and Jessie behind, alone.

As Hiei began burning the non-liquid remains (of which there were very few, indeed) of the water demon, Jessie worked on freezing the liquid solid. After a bit…

"Oi, Jessie…" Jessie turned towards Hiei when he spoke, flipping now slightly fire-colored hair over her shoulder. "Hm?" He clenched his fist, cutting off his flames, then approached her, his blood-red eyes slightly averted. "Why the hell did you put yourself in such danger, onna?" he demanded, and she shrugged. "Eh, I kinda knew it'd work…" she said, then sucked in a startled breath when she felt strong arms encircle her and yank her close against a hard, muscular chest. "Baka onna…" she heard Hiei growl, and looked up at him curiously. As soon as her purplish-silver eyes met his crimson ones, she found herself completely unable to look away. Hiei cupped her cheek gently in one calloused palm as he leaned closer, ever so slowly. Their eyes closed as their lips finally met. Kami… Jessie thought vaguely. I love him… I really do… Hiei suddenly stiffened slightly and broke the kiss to stare down at her. Not giving her a chance to protest at the breaking of the kiss, he leaned down once more and lightly rested his forehead against hers, gripping her shoulders as he gently probed into her mind. "…You… Jessie, you can love me? Me… the Forbidden Child??" he breathed, his crimson eyes wide, and Jessie nodded slightly.

"Hai… After all, I guess you could call me a bit of a "forbidden child," myself… I'm a koorime, yes, but… Hiei, I think I also have some fire youkai in my blood…" she said softly. At that, Hiei's pale lips parted in a faint grin, revealing that his canines had lengthened into sharp fangs. "Well, then…" he whispered huskily as he allowed his mouth to trail along her neck. Shoving her hoari enough out of the way to press her lips against the crook of her neck, he continued, "…Shall I mark you as mine, Jessie…?" At that, she tilted her head further to the side to give him better access, whispering a breathy "Yes!" He smirked slightly against her skin, then opened his jaws. Pressing the tips of his fangs lightly against his chosen spot, he then bit down, hard, his razor-sharp fangs easily piercing her flesh. He held her trembling body gently against his, his mouth still latched onto her neck, suckling, as her back arched and she flung her head back. As a cry of mixed pain and ecstasy escaping her lips, she felt her own canines sharpen and lengthen into fangs as a single tear rolled down her cheek. The tear dropped from her chin, crystallizing in midair and landing in Hiei's palm.

Hiei pocketed the tear gem and chuckled as Jessie slumped, her face pressing against his neck. "I guess you do have some fire youkai blood…" he whispered, having gently cleaned the neat puncture wounds from his fangs with his tongue. "I can taste it…" She smiled slightly against his neck, then lifted her head. "Yeah, well… Since you've marked me… I guess it's my turn now, ne?" she murmured, and when Hiei nodded, his fiery crimson gaze never leaving hers, she wasted no time in selecting a spot and sinking her new fangs into his skin. He shuddered, clutching her shoulders as his eyes involuntarily closed. When she had finished suckling and cleaned the mark, he opened his eyes and smirked down at her.

Hiei leaned down and pressed his warm lips against Jessie's once more in a relatively chaste kiss, then pulled away with a wink. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for tonight, koi… his cool voice said teasingly in her head, then he chuckled and took off for the hideout, the koorime/fire youkai hybrid leader of G5 chasing him the whole way…

END CHAPTER

Aww... Hiei Jaganshi, the Forbidden Child, has finally found love... X3 So cute!

Hiei:(twitch) If you give me sweet snow, I'll let you continue this...

Jenna:Hmmm... (ponders) Okay! - (hands over bucket of sweet snow) Enjoy!

Hiei:(sparkly eyes) Wai! (pounces bucket of sweet snow) Arigatou, Jenna! (hugs author before chowing down on the sweet snow)

Jenna:O.o (mutters) Whoa... I definitely need to give him sweet snow more often... (laughs) Till next time, folks! Ja ne!

Hiei:(looks up from his sweet snow and waves) Don't forget to review or message Jenna with any ideas on what should happen next! Kya! (returns to sweet snow, humming happily under his breath)

Jenna:O.o; Ookay... Well, you guys heard the fire koorime! Rate and Review, and help me out, please! (waves)