I don't own any YYH characters or concepts. Hope you like it!

Warm…

Hiei was floating in the cold darkness, but something warm reached him. The warmth he felt wasn't painful like his fire. It was… comforting. A pinprick of light appeared in the haze. He felt compelled to seek the light, thought the darkness threatened to swallow him any second. He was tempted to stay, to slip into the cold once more.

No... he wanted... needed, to find the light. The light was the source of the comfort he felt.

Keeping his sight focused on the small point of white in the blackness, he fought out of the icy grip that pulled him back. The light grew, and he stubbornly reached for it.

His mind slowly surfaced from the deep. Everything was blurry and shadowed. He blinked his eyes heavily. He couldn't really see much at first, other than dark shapes. Then he saw the light again- It was beside him, a bright beacon.

He blinked again, his surroundings coming into focus.

No, not light... Silver hair…

The girl was sleeping by his bedside, a blanket draped across her shoulders. Her cheek was pressed against his palm. One hand rested on his arm, and the other on the comforter supporting most of the weight of her head. He felt sluggish, and trying to move, realized he was covered in heavy blankets. His arm was warm where she rested.

What happened?

Slowly, bits and pieces of his last waking moments came back to him. The stupid illusion, falling with the girl into the snow, her sweet laughter, and the look in her eyes as he leaned closer before collapsing.

"Good morning," Kurama said softly from the corner, startling Hiei. The girl gave a soft sigh in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"How long was I out?" He murmured, trying not to wake her, as Kurama came closer.

"Not long, only about 12 hours."

"What was it? A curse?"

"No, a viral attack. Strange as it is, it's lucky you were so sleep deprived. It made the symptoms present more quickly than if the virus had been left unchecked. By then, it would have completely invaded your system."

Hiei hmphed. It appeared that his unexplainable fascination with the girl and her power had come in handy.

Hiei noticed the tear tracks on her face. Had she been crying for him? Or were these tears from her laughter last night? He blushed a little as he remembered how her laughter sounded.

"Were they after her or us?"

"Likely her. They could have just released a poison to kill us immediately, rather than making us too weak to fight back. I think they wanted to avoid a direct confrontation, instead planning to smuggle her out while the others were distracted with trying to cure us."

"Did you find the rat?"

"If you mean the staff member who helped them sneak it in, yes."

"And?"

"She told us everything she knew, I made sure of it. She's since been dealt with properly."

Hiei smirked. There was that vicious side Kurama liked to hide behind manners. Hiei wondered what the poor staff member had done to piss off Kurama enough to get to that point.

He and Kurama were more alike than the others realized, at least when it came to their bloodlust. He frowned, looking at the girl. He had known all along that someone would be likely to go after her, given her previous injuries and mysterious power. Knowing for sure that someone or something meant to do her harm, though… Well, he felt somewhat irritated at the thought.

"So now we just have to find and kill them."

"Heh. Yusuke made a similar statement."

A little while later, Hiei seemed better, though drowsy. His temperature was still higher than usual, but Kurama had assured me that he was out of danger for now. He kept shooting me looks, which I returned with a questioning stare. Oh well, I was just glad Mr. Pricklepants was going to be ok. Everyone was gathered in the Kitchen of Hiei's room while Kurama had his room "cleansed," whatever that meant.

Anyways, something was pressing on my mind…

"Hey, guys?" I asked, clearing my throat nervously. The chatter of the others died away quickly.

I felt awkward under all their stares, but I swallowed hard and put on a determined face.

"I wanted to ask you… Could you all help me pick a name?" Oops, that last part was practically a shout.

Everyone blinked.

"I mean, I still can't remember my name, but it would be nice to actually have one. It's been kind of weird not knowing if you guys are trying to get my attention, or what to even call myself…" I rambled on.

God, this is awkward...

"Oh my gosh!" Keiko said, hand at her mouth. "I can't believe we were so rude! We really should find something proper to call you."

The others apologized to me sheepishly, except for Hiei, but I waved them away. They had nothing to apologize for- after all, I didn't even know my own damn name. Still, though, it would be nice to have one in the meantime until I did find out my identity.

The chatter picked up again, this time about naming possibilities.

"We should go with something having to do with snow… Yuki?"

"No, that's too close to Yukina's name!"

"Maybe Shiro? She does have silver hair."

"That's cute! Add it to the list of possibilities."

"Something with Fuyu?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure I like that…"

They continued to debate, with occasional glances at me for opinions. This was kind of fun. Most names suggested by Yusuke, Atsuko, and Kuwabara were stupid. Keiko and Botan had placed themselves in charge of the final list of possibilities. So far, they had contributed the cutest names. Yukina put forth one or two I liked. Kurama and Hiei hadn't said anything yet.

I turned to the silent two. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Hiei just scoffed and closed his eyes. Kurama just looked thoughtful.

I'll take that as a no then…

"Maybe something to do with the white fire?" Yusuke asked, and that caught my ear.

"White fire?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, I guess Hiei and Kurama didn't tell you about that." Yusuke leaned back. "Yusuke!" Kurama said sharply, but Yusuke didn't stop. "The power that we told you about- it manifested as white fire. It was like the entire room was on fire with white flames-" Yusuke stopped when he saw my expression.

I was horrified. This supposed power had burned them?! That was terrible! I knew what it was to be burned, scorched beyond recognition…

Wait, I do?

Yusuke quickly turned the conversation to lighter topics for names, but I was no longer listening.

Hiei and Kurama were watching me cautiously.

My heart began to beat faster. Something was right at the edge, just out of my grasp. A sharp throbbing picked up in my temple. I felt like my heartbeat was echoing in my skull.

I looked down at my hands. Maybe I really was a monster, after all. A bead of sweat slid down my chin. My heart now felt like it was pounding out of my chest. It hurt.

I could feel myself slipping, spiraling down, but was powerless to stop the descent. Wait, it was happening too fast.

I don't want to go back there. It's too painful, too scary!

It burns.

A hand on my shoulder snapped me back to reality.

Heart still beating too fast, I was surprised to see Hiei's hand on my shoulder.

"Breathe." He murmured quietly, too quiet for the others to hear. Kurama was eyeing me carefully from his peripheral, his hand tight on his cup. The women hadn't noticed, but Yusuke and Kuwabara had tensed, also watching while remaining in the conversation. They didn't want to alert anyone.

I knew the girls were talking, but I couldn't understand a word they were saying. They felt so far away. I realized my vision had tunneled. I sucked in a breath, only just then recognizing I hadn't been breathing. I kept my gaze focused on Hiei as my heartbeat slowed. I continued to try and take even breaths.

Hiei met Kurama's eyes and then glanced back to me. I was finally breathing normally, but the painful ball of anxiety in my chest was heavy.

"Hikari." Hiei suggested at normal volume. My heart fluttered, but not in a painful way. His eyes were intense, gazing deep into my own.

The others once again fell silent, looking at Hiei.

"Hikari… That's cute! And it's totally fitting. She's certainly very spirited. And it kind of matches her hair and eyes…" Botan continued to talk, and the men seemed to relax a little.

Hiei was still staring at me. I felt a blush beginning to spread as I wondered why he was looking at me that way, with such intensity. He leaned in a little closer, and my heart fluttered again, just as it had when he said that name, and when he had looked at me in the snow… Finally, he removed his hand from my shoulder, taking a moment to trail his fingers through my silver hair.

I wondered what he was thinking, as his crimson eyes revealed nothing.

Hikari…Light.

It suited her.

The first time Hiei met her, the white light of her power had been blinding. It wasn't any of his concern what her name was, but when she had asked them all to come up with potential names, it had come to mind.

It really suited her, in more ways than one...

He had noticed her distress after Yusuke's revelation of the white fire. He had reached out to her without thinking. Maybe it was instinct? To prevent her power from going nuclear? He wasn't sure. She had calmed at his touch, seeming to take comfort in the contact. Her mind had been jumbled, darkened with fear during her spiral.

He had studied her strange silver eyes that had sent the jolt of electricity through him that first day. He wanted any sort of clue, but they looked different now than they did in previous times when her power had erupted. Then, her eyes had been that of a beast, intense and wild. The white fire had danced in them then. Now a different light shone in the pools of silver. But, he found he didn't dislike the look her eyes held now.

As he had removed his hand from her shoulder, he hadn't been able to resist trailing his fingers through her soft hair thoughtfully. It had been stringy and unkempt while she had remained unconscious, but now it was full of gentle waves.

She was blushing a little under his scrutiny, and he realized how strange it must be for him to be staring at her like that. He looked away.

Botan got everyone's attention.

"All right, here are the finalists!" Botan passed the paper to the girl with a flourish. "Do you like any of these?"

The girl didn't even glance at the list.

"Hikari." Her eyes met Hiei's. "It feels right."

The women expressed excitement and wasted no time trying out her new name.

He found himself pleased she had gone with his suggestion.