I only own Moriko and her kids (although they disappeared several chapters back and even I don't know what happened to them). The part about Kurama's earring is merely a reason behind why she wouldn't run away with Hiei (remember, Kurama had the means of finding her no matter where she was). Nothing else is important. Please R&R

And indeed, things did get more interesting. Someone was at the door, and Kurama answered it, saying in a voice very audible to anyone with hypersensitive hearing (so, everyone but Shiori), "Yukina, what a pleasant surprise."

Moriko looked first surprised, then delighted. "You will not need to leave me anymore!" she whispered to Hiei excitedly. Then, before Hiei had had time to realize what she meant, Moriko rushed over and hugged Yukina. Then she said, "He found you then! I know we have never met but I still feel like I know you. I have heard so much about you; you are all Hiei ever talked about."

After getting over the shock of having a cat demon she'd never met before hug her and address her as an old friend, Yukina said, "What do you mean, he found me?" Behind Moriko, Hiei slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead, before running his hand through his hair.

Unaware of this, Moriko replied, "Back in the 1890's here, when Hiei and I were very close, he rarely spoke of anything other than his sister. He was desperate to find you and I am very happy he did!" Moriko continued, not registering the look of shock on everyone's face, "I am partially happy for him, but partly happy for myself. I do not know if he told you or not, but h kept leaving me alone in this wretched realm in order to search for his sister, an ice maiden named Yukina! And between you and me," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I am glad you are his sister. If not, I would be afraid he would fall in love with you because you are so beautiful." She said this all quickly, grinning until she saw Yukina's face. The smile vanished and she said, her voice dead, "You had not told her yet, had you."

Since Hiei had been struck dumb by how thoroughly and quickly his secret had been revealed, Kurama answered for him, "Nope."

"Oops." She said, "Oh, well. We cannot undo what has already been done. Will you be my maid of honor?" Then, in a mutinous voice she whispered, "If he does not ask me to marry him soon, I am going to ask him."

"Sure," Yukina said, once she had recovered from shock. She didn't know why Hiei hadn't told her but she was happy all the same. Happy because this girl's joy was contagious. Happy because she finally knew whom her brother was. Happy for him, Hiei. Happy for her… "Just one thing. What's your name?"

"Moriko," Moriko laughed, "Or Forest Child, whichever."

And so the wedding was planned and took place. Yukina was her maid of honor, Kurama stood in as his best man.

When the time came, Hiei slipped a ring on her finger. It was nothing more than a small silver band, set with six small black stones. He then leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "I obtained this the day after I left you so many years ago, before I had received that letter you wrote. It was the ring I was going to give you when I returned again. The stones are from the demon plane. They are of a variety that can be very useful or very dangerous, depending on how they are used. You can have people up to six people who are close to you imbue a stone with their aura. Then if you are looking for one of them, the ring can lead you to them. Whether they are hiding their aura, in a different realm, or just down the street, you will be able to find them." He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Thank you so much. Now I will never lose you again. Will you be the first to put part of your aura in my ring?"

He touched one of the stones and released a small amount of his aura into it. It glowed red, then gold, then blue. Finally it settled down as a reddish gold that seemed to dance, as if the stone itself was on fire. It radiated a soft warmth that did not fade. Hiei said quietly, "The stones will only turn black again if they have been drained of aura. The only way for that to happen is for the person who the aura belongs to, to die or if you or that person personally remove the aura."

She said to him, "Thank you. There is nothing better you could have given me." And it was true. She had been given what she had wanted—longed for—for the past century—a way to find Hiei. "What color would it turn for me?"

"Probably a shade of green. Although smooth, it would probably appear to have some sort of plant-like texture."

Moriko smiled. Then something occurred to her and she turned to look at her brother. "That miniscule green stud earring you always wore in you left ear," she breathed, "the one nobody ever saw because it was hidden in your hair. That is how you always tracked me down when I would try to escape."

Kurama nodded, not denying anything, "Yes, but we can save the rest of this conversation for later. You two have a wedding that needs to be finished."

Moriko giggled and Hiei rolled his eyes, but they did as Kurama had suggested.

When that was done, Hiei swept Moriko off her feet and whisked her away so quickly that nobody else could follow him—on foot or with their eyes—and they were gone, off to do who knew what.