It took one falsified piece of evidence to convince her mom that while they had been away, I had thrown a party. Having washed out a plastic cup with one of dad's beers from the fridge and leaving it sitting under the couch until mom vacuumed the day after returning….

First lying that I bumped into her precious vase and then discovering I had a 'party'… Oh man, she had a fit. But covering one lie with another was something that made sure the actual truth never would come out. Even Hiei admitted he was impressed by my master plan.

The sad result is that I've prolonged being grounded for at least a month. Damn.

Luckily Hiei doesn't much care about breaking the rules and when leaving my window open, he will appear from time to time, just like now for instance.

The wind blows in his musky scent as he sits perched on the windowsill. I try not to let it distract me as I read over the material for the next history lesson, half lying in my pillow pile as I call it. It's a corner in my room filled with fluffy pillows and stuffed animals, a place I can relax in.

I yawn loudly all of a sudden and in the process loose my grip on the heavy book, making it a victim to gravity and smack me in the face.

I groan while I believe a snort comes from Hiei's direction. "Idiot." he mutters.

I glare in his direction before sighing and giving up on my homework. "I wish I could go outside. I always get so sluggish from staying indoors." I complain, making him raise a brow.

"Then go." he states, making me shake my head.

"Didn't you hear my mom yelling from your place? Outside is the fun zone, and I'm on maximum security right now. One step outside that door after school beside going for dinner and she'll have my head." I tell him as I motion to my door, which has been shut tight for the past three weeks.

"Then don't use the door." Hiei rebukes calmly.

I blink before laughing, but not too loudly for 'she' might hear. "What are you suggesting? That I jump out the window?" I snort in disbelief.

Hiei stays silent, only lifting his brow further in challenge. I nearly choke on my own saliva. "Y-you're serious! Hiei, In case you haven't noticed, I'm not particularly demonic. I'll be flattened like a pancake when I hit the ground. I'm sure there are better ways to die then that." I point out, quickly looking away when a bad memory invaded my thoughts.

I hear Hiei sigh in an exasperated way after a moment, making me look over to see he is standing in the middle of the room now.

"Come on." he orders, making me eye him with a mixture of confusion and weariness as he holds out his hand. "This is a one time offer girl, so I'm not saying it again." he adds seeing my hesitation.

I don't know what possesses me, but I clasp onto his hand, it instantly heating up mine. He has always radiated an unnatural heat off of him and I suppose that's part of him being a fire demon. Yeah, I managed to worm that piece of information from him.

"But my mom…" I say in realization, glancing back at the door.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be back before she will notice you're gone and you can continue your ridiculous punishment like nothing ever happened." he assures bluntly as he drags me towards the window and I believe him.

Reaching the window, I look down hesitantly. It's three floors down. One wrong move…

"S-so how are we going to do this?" I ask, almost afraid to find out as I keep my eyes on the street below.

"Hn. Don't scream." he warns before I feel my feet leaving the floor. I bite my tongue to keep from squealing at the sudden movement, only to feel my face grow hot as I find myself staring at the side of Hiei's face, me in his arms as if I weigh nothing to him. I probably don't.

I don't have long to mull over our position as the window is fast approaching and when Hiei jumps up on the sill, I can feel my stomach turn. My arms automatically fling themselves around his neck and I'm pretty sure I'm nearly choking him within my grip but he doesn't even hint at being bothered.

I feel my breath quicken while Hiei looks around for the proper spot make a jump for. "Oh my god!" I squeak. "Er…Hiei… maybe I shouldn't g-…."

My voice is cut off my by heart leaping in my throat. He told me not to scream, but I find I can't even though I want to. My throat just closed up the moment his feet left the windowsill.

I want to close my eyes, but I can't. They're wide open as they watch doom approaching in the form of the glittering asphalt below. Wow, my body doesn't do a lot of things I want it too. Traitor.

But the pain I subconsciously braced myself for doesn't come as Hiei nimbly lands below in a crouch. And before I can even release the breath I was holding he's on the move again.

Holy jeebies! He moves fast!

I think a minute must have passed, but when my feet touch the ground and soon my butt as well when I collapse from the rush of adrenaline leaving me, we're in the back of the park near the store. Hiei just turned a fifteen-minute journey to a minute long roller coaster ride.

Hiei eyes my pathetic form with no emotion visible on his face or in his eyes as I try to pull myself together. "T-that was…" his eyes widen slightly. "….Amazing!" I finish, making him flinch before rolling his eyes in apparent annoyance, though he doesn't look it. If anything he looks a bit pleased with himself.

"Can we do it again?!" I ask him excitedly, springing to my feet, my knees still wobbly.

"Hn. My powers are not solely for your entertainment girl." he scoffs, making me pout.

I turn around to face my freedom. "Reiji would have peed his pants." I mutter to myself if I imagine Hiei give him a similar demonstration.

"Hn." Hiei hums, showing he heard. "You have about thirty minutes before your mother finishes her cooking and retrieves you. Make the most of it." he tells me, making me look back over my shoulder in surprise.

"How do you know?" I wonder.

"She is making that cheese and potato dish." he explains, making me smile.

"Nice. Though it's a little weird you time her cooking and know exactly what she is making." I tell him honestly, making him look away with a shrug.

…

~Hiei

I have retreated into a tree while Yuko rages through the park like a hurricane, getting rid of her pent up energy. I honestly don't know what to make of it, but I guess it's better than to hear her sigh every five minutes.

Eventually she has run out of steam and perches herself at the edge of a large fountain, dipping her feet in to cool off like some other people do as well. Seeing that she is finally calm and relaxed, I close my eyes, satisfied.

Sadly my respite doesn't last long and I throw my eyes to the ground in annoyance at the interruption. "What do you want?"

Kurama's lips quirk into an annoying smile. "Good afternoon Hiei. How have you been?" the fox asks.

"Hn." is the only answer I give him. Why does he persist in trying to get small talk out of me?

He merely chuckles before glancing over his shoulder. "Who is your friend?" he questions, making my eyes narrow. So he has been watching hasn't he? Typical. "Is she the one for who's sake you requested the grounded roots of the memory tree?"

I glance towards Yuko who is now resting on her side, running her fingertips through the water absentmindedly. "What of it?" I reply, tearing my gaze away from her silhouette as the sunlight reflects off the water in front of her.

Kurama shrugs with a pleased smile, "It nice to see you care for someone." he states making me scoff.

"She's just my neighbor. That is all. Don't get any ideas fox." I warn him, making him chuckle again much to my annoyance.

"Alright. If you say so Hiei." he says with another shrug. "I'll see you around." he waves before casually striding off and just in time as Yuko comes running over soon after.

"Hiei, I think we have to go." she says checking her watch worriedly.

I jump down from my perch. "Fine." I huff before freezing over at a foreign sensation on my cheek. I look to Yuko startled to see her smiling brightly as she pulls back. The hell did she kiss me for?!

"Thanks for busting me out Hiei. I needed this." she tells me innocently, blissfully unaware at the turmoil she caused in my head.

My eyes widen even more when I see that Kurama has paused in his steps, looking back at us surprised before chuckling when I glare at him. I have half the mind to poke his eyes out. Damn it. He will never let me live this down.

"Hurry up." I growl at the girl, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away to a more secluded place so we can go.