AN: Got a few good reviews this time, as well as my first flame. Seems as though I haven't made some things clear, so I'm going to try to clear up some vague points of my story:

Dulcy: Your review, although slightly harsh, I don't consider a flame. It's criticism, and I do appreciate it. Kurama does have a reason for killing Shoyra. He was angry that a dragon would destroy an entire village, and was moved by the people's pleas for help. He thought dragons rare, so he didn't get a description. He assumed the first dragon he met would be the dragon that attacked the village. I should have also listed this story as an AU fic since I did cut out Mukuro. He was wandering to go around and catch up with old friends. Kurama's was the same reason. Hiei is not fully Koorime, which I took as making him not asexual. I tried to keep Shoyra from being a Mary Sue, but I guess that if you've written what you have, I failed that. I am going to take your advice and try to improve my writing. I am working on an Inu Yasha fan fiction and I am already trying to break up my paragraphs. My roommate is going to beta-read it for me, but I wouldn't mind another opinion. I would like to thank you for your valuable review, and I am going to try to improve my writing with your suggestions. Thank you!

Sunchaser: My first flame! *Dodges gigantic fire-ball flame review* I should have put that this fic is AU. Shoyra is an Original Character (I thought I stated that, but I guess I didn't…) and I personally like her name. I believe that Hiei IS capable of loving. I am a detail-oriented person. Sorry if that bores you. I never said Hiei WANTED the kids. He was asked by a dying mother to raise them. He did also have the choice of dropping the eggs off at the Catacomb Caves to be raised by the Clan. Also, the kids are not truly Hiei's. The father is unknown, mainly because dragon demon mating is pretty much a big group where you mate with whoever gets your attention. The fathers don't do anything to raise the kids, so they are not considered important to dragon demon females, thus the uniqueness of Shoyren and Tawna, the children. I try to title my stories as best I can, but if you can think of a better title, let me know. Since you reviewed on Chapter 1, did you even read what I've posted so far to be sure of what you thought to be true? When you review, please, try to be less flame and more constructive criticism. It helps me more to get review that say something like "A bit too detailed, try to put in more action" rather than "Details. Too long, too boring, too stupid. Your WHOLE STORY IS DETAIL! Whatever happened to action?" I'm sorry you think that my stories are more like profanities, but this is how I write and your comment hurt more than it helped. I appreciate the review anyway and I hope this clears up everything.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate all reviews, regardless of what they say. With the help of the reviewers, I hope that my next stories will be much better. I've managed to finish this story on my computer, so hopefully over the next few days I will post the rest of the chapters as-is and then repost it after I send it through a couple of betas. Any beta readers out there who want to help me out???

~ElvenDragonSorceress~

Chapter 11- Dealing With Old Pain

Hiei narrowed his eyes as he listened to the minion-demon. "Yusuke went to Kurama's home. I heard them talking. Yusuke knows. He told Kurama. Kurama is going to try to find you, but he won't let Yusuke come. He said he was going to talk to you. He seemed sad, but I dunno…" Hiei waved off the demon. "Keep an eye on Kurama." The demon flew off. Hiei cursed and went back inside the apartment. He looked over at the portrait of him, Shoyren, and Tawna. 'I promised Shoyra that I would kill Kurama and feed him to her children. Shoyren and Tawna are grown now, and I know they wouldn't want to eat Kurama now. When they were little they could have benefited from it, but not now. If I kill Kurama now, Yusuke will definitely come after me. Oh, Shoyra, if only you were still here…" Hiei was surprised when Shoyren suddenly contacted him using telepathy. "But she's not. Your rage may have subsided from all of these years, but ours have not! Tawna and I still want Kurama dead for murdering Mother. We might not have hatched yet, but we were connected to Mother while she was still alive. We felt her loss most likely harder than even you, because to us, Mother was everything." Hiei sighed and sat down. 'I guess you're right. I have let myself become soft in these past years. I've dealt with losing Shoyra, and I had forgotten that Kurama betrayed me. Hm. I should practice with my katana for a bit.' He felt Shoyren's mind end the connection with his. He sighed and pulled out a small picture he kept with him always. It was Shoyra's picture of her and Hiei. Hiei closed his eyes for a moment before getting up. He put the picture away and scribbled a quick note for Shoyren and Tawna:

"Went back to Spirit World to visit Shrine. Be back soon. On your own for dinner. I'll eat on the way back. Hiei"

Hiei approached Shoyra's Shrine slowly. He'd gotten used to constantly feeling Shoyra's presence because of the Amulet and her soul, so he'd forgotten that she was dead, and that should her soul leave him, he would lose her. He knelt in front of the Shrine and stared at the engraved image. 'Shoyra has become a part of me. I'd gotten so used to it, I forgot that she is only a spirit inhabiting my body in conjunction with my own soul. Now that I think of it, I do miss being able to hold her and kiss her. I'm with her in my dreams every night, but it's not truly real. She has helped me raise Shoyren and Tawna, but she can't actually be there for them. Because of Kurama she is nothing more than a dead soul. Ever since that minion demon informed me that Yusuke has seen through my ruse, she's been restless. I've ignored her need for vengeance." Hiei sighed as he let his eyes scan the entirety of the Shrine, taking in every part of its architecture. 'These sort of Shrines were built to attract the soul of a specific dead person, to prevent them from becoming a restless, drifting soul. By all accounts this should be where Shoyra's soul resides, watching over the Clan like she's always done. Why did she choose to come back to me? I never gave much thought to it before, perhaps…perhaps she is a restless soul, unable to rest properly because of Kurama. I am such a fool to not have seen it! As soon as Kurama is dead, and her murder avenged, she'll be free to go to wherever her soul will reside for the rest of eternity. Shoyren and Tawna also need some form of closure to their mother's death.' Hiei thought back to the battle where Shoyra had lost her life. He forced himself to remember how she had looked, how Kurama had refused to stop, and how he'd felt as he'd watched her body burn upon the funeral stone. Tears flowed anew and Hiei stood up. "I remember now why I vowed to carry out Kurama's death. He took my love from me, he took the life of Shoyren and Tawna's mother, and he betrayed me." Hiei bowed in respect to the Shrine, and then took off back home.

"Hello, Father. How was your trip to the Shrine?" Tawna asked as she heard Hiei come in. "Dinner's just about ready. I made spaghetti." Hiei smiled. "It was quite…well, let's just say it brought back a lot of old memories I'd left buried for far too long." Shoyren didn't look happy at all. He was sitting by the window, watching the birds fly by. Hiei knew what was wrong without asking. "I'm going to put in for some vacation days at the store. Maybe a week or two, for a trip back to Spirit World. I think that there is a matter there we must attend to." Shoyren looked up at Hiei. "A matter I've let slip for far too long." Both Shoyren and Tawna nodded in agreement. Over Tawna's spaghetti dinner, they plotted a trap for their mother's killer.