It didn't take a lot of rutting around in the uncle's mind to figure out what the father had been like. Monstrous. Unhinged. Took joy out of manipulating and hurting others. Even just threatening them. The uncle had memories in abundance. The father's cruelty when he the two of them were alone. The uncle was so young and naive, but the father was old enough to know better. Saying things, making threats and picking fights and then saying the uncle made it up or misunderstood. The parents believed the father over the uncle as he was older and the intended heir and the uncle was bookish and timid. The thought that the book he read gave him ideas that led to no more than an overactive imagination.

The uncle felt trapped with parents who preferred the father and an older brother who threatened to kill his cat and mix its innards up in his food without him knowing about it. He had to rescue himself, to free himself from this imprisonment.

The uncle tricked the father into being caught at his games. The uncle lured the father to near the grandmother's office where she ran her castle as a high born lady. The uncle played a bit more victim than he felt, knowing it would tempt the father into to continuing his new taunts about hiding venomous spiders in his bedding.

Yet it was not the grandmother, but the grandfather who caught the father at his games. Angrily, he chastised and ordered the father away while the uncle hid behind the grandfather. It was the day that changed things. Not at first, taken only a few months. The grandfather's favor shifted to the uncle first. Either the grandfather or the grandfather's friends and servants spent more time around the uncle. It left the father to either risk being caught once more toying with the uncle or having to find more covert ways to taunt him.

The father had snuck one night into the uncle's bedroom soon after that, setting a pillow against the uncle's face until he awoke, scrambling. The father let the pillow off of the uncle's face, threatening to carry it out the next time if the uncle spent anymore time hovering around the grandfather and his like.

The uncle was less frightened now after feeling the peace under his father's protection. He went to the grandfather the next day, sharing with him and the grandmother what had happened the previous night. It did not take long for the father to be sent away to live with the king's family in the king's castle under the guise of fostering.

When the father was gone, it was like a whole new world for the uncle, no longer living in fear. He was able to move about the castle freer than he had ever been. He spent more time with the grandmother, learning things he never expected to learn. How to balance the castle's budget, how to run the household, going out to the people living in the town near the grandmother's castle and meeting with them, how to tax them, how to train with the soldiers, and how to protect them with loyalty and honor. He kept his mouth shut, but secretly dwelled in pride at what the grandfather and the grandmother were doing. They were training him to be the grandmother's heir instead of the father.

The father occasionally came back for brief visits home, but the uncle was kept at a distance from him and was moved to rooms closer to where the grandparents were, whereas the father was kept in a more distant room away from the rest of the family.

Then finally came the day the news that the father had attacked and raped one of the king's men and ran off before he could be forced to face justice. The same day the father was disowned by the grandparents and the uncle was named the grandmother's heir in his place. It was almost unheard of for a second child to inherit in place of a first child who was still alive. It filled the uncle with pride and arrogance.

Hiei had seen enough out of the uncle's memories to lack desire to look into other people's memories about the father. He kept away from the king's castle, not waiting those who had known the father to see if he cast himself a similar shadow. To see him as the son of a monster.

Over a week had passed as he hid away in the capital city from the king, the fox, the stranger, and even Nishi. Those looking for him were ridiculously easy to hide from. It made him re-eminence about his glory days as a bandit before being a pit fighter. Get the prize he wanted while avoiding any guards who could try to stop him.

He stayed near a certain person's home though: Yukina's. She lived in a well off suburb on the outskirts of the capital city with her odd human husband. He felt a certain jealousy and protectiveness over her. She was free from the knowledge of who the father was, what she was. He saw in her mind that she knew she was not a pure ice maiden, but had no clue that she was not wholly demon. She was free from the king's interests unlike he was. The king could never know about her, nor would she ever know who he was to her. She was going to stay in the dark about who he was, who the father was, and their connection with her as long as he could help it.

Watching over her was easy. Deciding what to next was harder. He missed the creature comforts of living in a castle, making him lack the desire to go back out into the wilderness like a bandit from his younger days. A soft bed, hot water, three meals a day, a training yard with able fighters to spar with. He missed Nishi, her beckoning him into her bed over and over again, hot with desire for him. That was before she knew what he was. Maybe now if he stayed away long enough, she would give in and wed the uncle.

In his watching, he saw a few kings guard come looking for him with the fox to Yukina's home. He growled at the sight of the fox stepping into his business. If the fox sensed him though, he did not give him away. Yukina and the oaf, her husband, were questioned, said they did not know where he was several times over, and finally the searchers left. Whether the fox knew or not if he had been nearby was uncertain. The fox did not reach out to him mentally and he did not reach out to the fox mentally.

Another evening of watching over Yukina had come. She was blissful in her ignorance, unfairly so. She deserved to be kept that way. Hiei watched her from the rooftop across the way in her apartment with the oaf that was in the middle of the building they lived in. He mused over the thought that perhaps he could one day have an apartment like that, in another city, or even another country like that. It was not as grand as living in the king's castle, but it was much more comfortable than sleeping on rooftops in the open air.

Hiei continued watching Yukina and the oaf, even as he sensed someone almost on par strength wise nearby on the ground below. He kept himself calm, trying to place the unknown's energy, knowing somewhere he had sensed it before. The unknown entered the building he was on top of, coming up the stairs. Who ever it was thought they were being so sneaky, making him want to laugh. With speed and grace, he made his way onto the roof's doorway's tiny rooftop, looming just above sight of the door when it would open. The unknown was about to be caught unawares instead.

Hiei hovered silently over the door, waiting for the unknown to open the door and come onto the rooftop. Yet the unknown stopped just beyond the closed door, not opening it. Hiei felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The air took on an electricity like the calm before a storm.

Then all hell seemed to break lose when an explosion ripped through the rooftop, destroying the door and the walls and tiny rooftop around it. The explosion was a split second from catching him off guard. He had just foresight to jump from his roost before the explosion violently threw him to the other side of the rooftop. He land on the ground hard, rolling uncontrollably until he hit the short wall that surrounded the edge of the rooftop with a resounding smack. He shook his head, trying to shake the dizziness and disorientation from it swiftly. His feet scrambled for purchase so that he could stand up and face the unknown, sword in hand.

He blinked, seeing the unknown that stood calmly before him was the bomber, blacked haired and face with a white mask. Even though the bomber stood calmly, Hiei could see several of the bombs of his own energy creation floated in the air around them both. Hiei stared forward, but watched out of the corners of his eyes at the bombs around him. Too many to evade properly, but possibly could be knocked into each other to with the proper footwork.

"You're still alive," the bomber commented.

"Could say the same of you," Hiei responded. The bombs floated listlessly in the air, but without any of them touching each other. So if they did come in contact, they could set each other off.

"I bombed the hell out the area around Younger Toguro, and then ran like hell away from him. So yes, I did survive," the bomber replied with a light tone. "I see your angel managed to get you back and keep you for a time safe under the king's protection." Hiei felt himself bristle internally at the mention of Nishi, but did not let his reaction show outwardly. "You ought to have stayed there." The bomber stepped closer. The bombs floated closer, but none of them came in contact with another. "Maybe I'll wait around for her, to repay her the favor for keeping you hidden away from me."

"What do you want?" Hiei asked in a dull, almost bored voice. Trigger a chain reaction, dodge the explosion, and cut the bomber down.

"I want your death," the bomber stated excitedly. "Sakyo didn't want it when his neglect of you as a prisoner nearly killed you. He pushed me to keep you alive, even though your death after keeping you alive for so long made it more desirable." He paused long enough to give a desirous sigh. "He had a displeasure watching death, even if he ordered it. He didn't want to see it, denied himself that pleasure. That connection. He did not understand that the bond between the murderer and the murdered is the strongest bond imaginable."

Hiei narrowed him eyes at the bomber, not letting the words shake him. "Certainly the bond between a mother and child is stronger," he scoffed.

"Maybe," the bomber replied, "if the mother were to kill the child."

Hiei was starting to think the father and the fake lord were a bit more decent than the bomber turned out to be. Hiei tightened his grip on his sword, ready to swing it. He charged forward at the nearest bomb floating in the air. He hit it with the flat edge of his sword, expecting a bat and ball reaction. He got it somewhat, but with a triggered reaction he had not anticipated. The bombs went off, exploding around him in vengeance. He still made the effort to cut down the bomber, but could not make it with the air around him smelling of gun powder and blood.

When the bombing finally paused, he stood shakily at the edge of what was left of the rooftop, back to Yukina's apartment. His clothes felt wet and sticky, but as far as he could tell, the wounds were not immediately fatal. It did make his stomach flip though to think this was not an opponent who could be taken down by sword alone.

The bomber stood in the center of the rooftop remains. "Still alive?" he asked, removing his mask. "Impressive. Most would be dead or dying by now." He sucked in air deeply, hair shifting from black to blonde as he did so. "Maybe another round will do?" he asked giddily.

Hiei gritted his teeth, debating how to best to manage that. Simply trying to dodge the bombs and set them off on each other did not work. He yanked his singed and bloodied cloak off, exposing his arms, right arm in particular. He needed more distance though. More distance and time for summoning.

The bomber did not give him more time though. The second rounds of bombs were up and coming. He jumped from the rooftop, hoping by the time he hit the ground and the bomber followed him would give him the few moments he needed.

Yet mid jump, at least one bomb caught him in the back, sending him from a downward trajectory to a sideways trajectory. He crashed through the window of the middle apartment, tumbling head over heels into its main room.

He grunted and groaned, struggling to right himself and get back on his feet. He right shin bulked at his weight, driving him back down to his knee. He heard two frightened voices, male and female behind him. He stared forward at the broken window, such a small hole to begin with. An explosion rocked the wall, rending the wall to make the hole bigger. It was big enough now for the bomber to comfortable jump from the previous rooftop to down into the middle apartment with them.

"Hiei, isn't that Hiei?" a mumble growl voice of a man echoed behind him. The oaf's voice. He was in Yukina's apartment, and so was the bomber.

"It is," Yukina's voice said. "But whose that?" Yukina came and knelt down beside him. "What's happened to you?"

"Keep your distance," Hiei growled at her, shoving her away from him. He felt the hellfire energy dance along his arm.

He kept his eyes trained on the bomber, keeping his face neutral so the bomber would not guess at Yukina's importance and connection to him.

The oaf's voice was incredulous. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but you've just destroyed out sitting room. You're going to pay for that!" He was flustered sounding, likely did not realize what the danger was with the bomber. More bombs floated in the air around the bomber.

Yukina seemed to pick up on it rather quickly though. "Kazuma," she said softly. "Can you see them?"

"See what?" the oaf asked.

Yukina told him, "back up. As far as you can."

"What, why?" he asked, but the sound of his feet scuffled back. Behind him, Hiei heard a crackle and then a flare of energy.

"And what are you going to do?" the bomber talked down to her.

Hiei felt her eyes weighing heavily on him, but he refused to even blink lest he stop looking over at the bomber. The bombs would rip her apart if the bomber willed it, rip all three of them apart. He shoved his sword down into the floor and pushed against it to help himself stand up. All his weight was on his left leg. He kept his left hand on his sword hilt to steady himself. He raised his right arm. Black hellfire danced along it, burning so good. Just a few more seconds.

He did not get them. A few bombs came at his sword, blasting along the blade and knocking it away from his grasp. It was a small wonder the blade was not destroyed in the process. The blasts drove him back down to his knee, smarting painfully as it made contact with the ground. His concentration had been broken in the process.

The bomber sauntered forward towards him. "You first. I've waited so long for it."

He tried again to concentrate, to force himself to get the dragon and kill the bomber before he could be killed. Rushing the process risked even his death though.

Then the temperature in the room plummeted. It went from cool and comfortable to beyond icy frozen in a second. Hiei took a deep breath at the shock of it. Being a fire demon-elf whose mother was an ice demoness made him impervious to the cold. He felt it, certainly, but was not hindered by it.

"Yuk- yu- Yukina," the oaf's voice rattled. He felt it and was certainly affected by it.

Yukina froze the room, even risking freezing her husband to death. Hiei risked a sideways glimpse at her. She stood, unblinking at the bomber. Her eyes glowed teal. Her face was set like a stone with a slight frown over it. She seemed frozen in time.

Hiei looked over at the bomber. The sudden cold was affecting him, worse than the oaf possibly being her target. He had his arms wrapped around his middle, shivering violently. His bombs even froze in mid air, covered in ice and floating listlessly around them. Two even bumped into each other, but nothing happened this time around.

Now was the time. Hiei redoubled his energy and concentration, feeling the hellfire blaze over his right arm. He had the dragon, ready to release it. "Black Dragon Hellfire!" he shouted from his knees.

Even on his knees, the attack was effective. The dragon went for the intended target and only the intended target: the bomber. All the bombs around him were set off around him by the sudden blast of heat. The dragon drove down on him, taking him with it out the gaping hole in the wall. They struck the wall of the opposite building, the same one with the destroyed rooftop. Flames and an explosion rocked the side of the building, but the dragon turned upwards at the last second to spare completely destroying it. When the dragon was gone, Hiei could see from his vantage point that all that remained of the bomber was a scorched shadow on the wall.

He sighed in relief, feeling his body quiver with exhaustion. The bomber was gone. The room was sudden a livable temperature again. He needed to get out of here now. He brought his hands down to the floor, pushing himself to get his left leg underneath him to support his weight. He stood up shakily, gnashing his teeth. He had to get out of here, even though he was not quite sure where. He started to move, dragging his right leg behind him as he made for where his sword lay abandoned.

He did not make it that far when he collapsed to the ground. He felt a strong hand come down on his shoulder, being the last thing he remembered.