Hello again and welcome back for chapter 3! As always I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and please comment and let me know your thoughts! I am certainly enjoying writing this story and I hope everyone enjoys reading it!

Happy Monday!

Chapter 3:

Hana's breath came out in little puffs of steam, almost like a dragon's breath. It was a thought that she often had as a child in the icy air of the rink, when the cold was a novelty instead of a dear friend. She was leaning heavily against the boards, oblivious to anyone else around her. Her legs trembled beneath her, sweat trickled off her face and landed in little plops on the surface of the ice. Qualifiers were in five days time, which meant that the Olympics themselves were only a month away.

She couldn't believe how the days had begun to blur together. When she wasn't at the rink or turning in make-up work for school, (forget going to classes, she had taken a leave of absence until after the games and was completing work when she could) she was learning to control these mysterious psychic powers she now possessed.

Luckily, all the training appeared to be paying off. She was no longer jolted awake in the middle of the night with visions or with the accompanying pain. She found that she was able to control-at least to a certain extent-when the visions hit her and when they didn't. With effort and self-control she could push off the feeling of a vision when she knew it was coming on to be experienced later. Usually at a more convenient time like when she wasn't trying to hurl herself into the air and rotate three or four times over hard ice and then land perfectly on one foot.

This ability had come just in time as she couldn't afford to be distracted more than she already was.

"Hana! Time to go again!" Said a voice from the sidelines and Hana looked up and saw the stern face of her couch, Mizuki.

"Yes, sir! From the top?"

Mizuki nodded and folded his arms across his chest like he always did when he was evaluating her.

Hana took a deep breath to steady herself and gently glided towards the center of the ice, taking a few extra seconds to continue to calm her accelerated heart rate. She stopped and assumed her starting position. She heard the opening bars of the music, this time her long program was accompanied by Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto Number Three, and she was off. She flowed through the music, making sure not to rush through the moves but to glide through them until she got to that sweet spot where she didn't even have to consciously think of what she would have to perform next.

That feeling that was so ingrained at this point that it was muscle memory.

She allowed her mind to go completely silent, just focusing on the sound of the music and the swishing of her blades as they cut through the ice. She went through several loops and axles during the routine, moves that had once seemed totally impossible for her to accomplish. However at this point, the challenge was not to be able to just do them, but to ensure that each was executed perfectly to achieve the maximum possible score.

She was utterly kinesthetic through the moves, barely noticing that the music was coming to an end and only really realizing the depth of her fatigue when she finally stopped moving, chest heaving and muscles once again trembling.

She stood in her final posture, arms spread wide as she gazed into the glaring lights of the rink. She heard solitary clapping and looked up to see Mizuki staring at her stoically, hands coming together slowly and deliberately.

"Amazing Hana. Just fantastic! I can't believe you gave me that performance after so many hours today. If you skate anywhere near that level you will not only qualify, but I think we stand a serious chance of placing on the podium." He called.

Hana was totally silent but for the ragged gasps she was making, allowing herself the luxury of not moving for several blissful seconds before her coach's words sank in.

"You really think so?" She was moving towards him slowly now, her body refusing to move with any more speed purely out of fatigue.

"Absolutely. I think it's time we took a good rest. You've been burning the candle at both ends. I think it would be best to stay away from the rink for the next three days and then only light practice up until qualifiers." He was nodding, his usually stoic face was pleasant and relaxed, two adjectives that were rarely applied to him.

"Are...are you sure?" Worry crept into her tone. "I don't want to lose my edge now, we're doing so well."

"You will lose your edge if you keep pushing yourself like this." His tone was insistent. "You need to give yourself a breather in order to perform at your best. I recommend light runs in the morning and the usual stretching routine three times a day. Then we will re-evaluate on Monday." Mizuki was nodding more vigorously now as if he was trying to talk himself into something. "Go on home for now and get some much-needed R and R!"

He guided her gently off the ice and the second she had her blade-protectors in place she was hobbling as fast as she could to the locker room. Some moments later she was exiting the rink, freshly showered and totally exhausted. So tired was she that she hadn't even gotten it together to blow-dry her hair even though the weather said that snow was due that night. The only thing she wanted to do was to sink into her bed and sleep for as long as she was able.

She was about to leave the building and begin the journey home when a male voice pulled Hana out of thoughts of her bed and forced her to focus on the person who had spoken.

"Rough session, eh, Saito? You look like you could blow over from a light breeze." She looked up to see that a male figure skater named Kyo was who had asked her the question. He looked like he was ready to head home as well, he was bundled up in a large puffy coat.

"Ah...yeah. Mizuki went a little harder than usual on me because of qualifiers. How about you?" She asked politely, she didn't know Kyo well, only that he was another Olympic hopeful for the men's team. She had seen him in and out of the rink over the past few months, getting in as much ice time as he could.

"Not too bad, I don't think that I'll need to stress out too much though. After all, the real competition will be on the Olympic ice." He shrugged and grinned at her in a lop-sided way that triggered something unexpected.

Suddenly Hana wasn't in the rink any more but was once again face-to-face with the small man with long grey hair who she had first seen in a dream several weeks ago.

He was speaking and Hana couldn't find it in her power not to listen. "What a sad life when your friends aren't even straight with you, but I will tell you everything about the frailty of your human kind. It's the story of a young, impressionable human girl named Genkai. She was the most beautiful girl in all the land. She was a fighter who wanted to be the very best in the world. Then she met a man named Toguro who also wanted to be the best, and he agreed to play with her. They did everything together. So much so that the man nearly forgot his own brother. The woman and the man were even in love. But then the woman became ugly like a prune and no one wanted to be around her."

The first man appeared to be speaking to someone else that Hana couldn't quite see, but she did know that she seemed to be standing with them in the middle of a forest clearing. However, it wasn't the unseen person who responded but a third man who was so large that Hana couldn't quite believe it.

"Brother…" The huge man replied with warning in his voice.

The smaller man continued speaking to the unseen person as if he hadn't heard his brother. "Oh, it's okay. He's just a little anxious because this next chapter is his favorite part in the story. You see, the man became a demon who had stayed strong and never became a prune. The ugly woman became extremely jealous of the handsome man and went to fight him, but she wasn't strong anymore, so the man was happy to murder her."

The small man gave a high-pitched laugh that rang through Hana's ears and trailed down the length of her spine. It made her want to run, to escape and get as far away from the source of the sound as she possibly could.

And just like that Hana was brought once again back to the reality of the bright fluorescent lights of the rink and the concerned face of her fellow skater.

"Hey Saito! Are you okay? Should I call Mizuki for you?" Kyo was clasping both of her upper arms with his, bracing her against him as it appeared that her knees were close to buckling.

"No, no. I'm fine. I just need some extra potassium or water or something." She moved back from Kyo, too disturbed by what she had seen and heard to really give more of an excuse than that.

"Well if you're sure you're-" but she didn't stay to hear the rest of his sentence. She pushed past him and out the doors into the frosty night air. She breathed deeply, relishing the bite of the air in her lungs. This was real, pain was real. Whatever she had seen in there wasn't real, it wasn't what was happening right now. Hana was finding it harder and harder to snap back into her present during the episodes, though the episodes themselves were getting easier to control. It was as if she could avoid them only so long before one would swallow her up like a monster. She shook her head, willing herself to come back totally into her own story. She would focus on getting home and getting to bed.

Then, she would figure out what the latest version might mean for her future.

Hiei wasn't exactly worried about Hana. Then again, he wasn't sure what word he would use in its place. Perhaps curious? Maybe cautious? Whatever it was he certainly wasn't worried. That would imply that he was becoming too attached to her. And he wasn't ready for that to be the case. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it to ever be the case, yet one more thing he needed to figure out. And he was getting tired of adding to the list.

While Hana trained for her ice skating during the day, Hiei had been doing a great deal of thinking about the bond he had inadvertently placed upon her. From what he could recall about psychic bonds their strength depended on the strength of those who were connected. He recalled that their power could wax and wane depending on a multitude of factors including physical health and strength of emotion either may be experiencing.

At that particular moment he could close his eyes and feel the tug of the bond. He could feel vague emotional states coming from Hana's end but nothing more as of yet. He was doing his best to keep his portion of the bond completely silent, especially when he accompanied her into her mind during their daily training sessions. He was pleased overall with her current level of control of her visions and with her grasp on the basics of grounding and psychic awareness; he had no desire for the presence of the bond to be introduced to her at such an early stage. It could cause complications that Hiei wasn't prepared for.

In addition to her foresight, Hana was also able to sense energy and see those who would otherwise be invisible to a typical human such as spirits and demons in their true form. The trick was getting her to be able to successfully dampen her immense powers without stopping them completely and thus triggering a psychic storm as she had the second time they had met. Hiei needed her to gain control over her powers without totally suppressing them.

Some of the...worry...that he felt for lack of a better word right at that moment, was due to how physically exhausted she was because of skating. Hana had taken the time to explain the prestige and importance of this competition she was obsessed with to Hiei. And he in turn could truly appreciate the idea that she was about to experience something she had worked for her entire life. He understood exactly what it felt like to be so close to achieving something of that magnitude.

Afterall, Hiei had been in similar situations. He understood her drive and the relentless need to pursue her goals. He didn't want to take that away from her. But he was concerned that the physical exhaustion would cause her energy to spike at a time that could cause other demons to become aware of her presence.

A time just like during these Olympic games.

Hiei knew that demons fed not just on human souls from time-to-time, but also their energy. Any large event that could cause excitement and the kind of crowd-mentality that she had described as being a large part of the Olympics would definitely draw demons and other rogue spirits in droves.

Hiei sighed heavily. It was a problem that they knew they would have to face when Hana first stood her ground in Koenma's office. He just wished that he had also realized the additional challenge that her physical training would cause.

But he was spared further lamentations as he spotted Hana coming with haste out of the rink.

"I'm going home, no practice tonight." She said it bluntly without looking at him as she breezed past.

Hiei was taken aback. She had never addressed him like that. He felt strangely...hurt. No, no. A human couldn't possibly hurt him. Must be that gods-forsaken bond again. He brushed the thought aside and quickly caught up with Hana's short strides, pointing out the obvious in response. "We had an agreement. One hour for our practice every day after your other practice."

Hana didn't answer.

Hiei growled in irritation (he wasn't hurt, dammit!) and sped up to block her way down the path. "What happened?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared down at her. He was only taller by about five inches, but it was enough to get his point across.

"I just...I just want to go home and go to bed, okay? Please Hiei." Her bright purple eyes gazed up at him and he was able to take in how exhausted she looked. She had dark circles under her eyes and he could see that she hadn't even bothered to dry her hair, the ends were already starting to freeze thanks to the low temperature of the evening air.

Hiei continued to look at her before coming to a decision, his emotions quickly shifting from irritation to that protective edge that was slowly becoming more familiar. "Fine. You can skip, but just for tonight. Tomorrow we continue where we left off." He dropped down and gathered her in his arms, much to Hana's surprise as she yelped. "Let's get you home before you collapse."

"Hiei, wait, I didn't mean-" but before she could finish he had already started to run and within minutes they were back at her house. He noted that again her father wasn't home, Hana had explained early on that he would be out much of the time working to support some of the costs associated with her skating.

He placed her down easily enough and without another word he began to make his way into her house. He glanced back after a few steps and saw that Hana wasn't following him. "...What?"

"I can't believe that you just carried me two miles in less than five minutes. How is that possible?" She blinked at him.

Hiei shrugged, "I've carried you that fast before." Then he stopped to consider that. "But you were unconscious so I guess you wouldn't remember." He shrugged again, not sure what else to say before settling on, "Demon, remember?" And waved her forward to unlock the door.

"I guess...you just don't look anything like what I think a demon would look like." She tiredly fished out her keys and let them into her house, flipping on the lights as she slid off her shoes. She winced as her tired feet padded through the house.

"What did you think a demon would look like?" Hiei asked, genuinely curious. He helped her unload her backpack from her shoulder and followed her into the living room where Hana collapsed directly onto the couch with a little sigh of relief.

"I don't know. Something with horns? Maybe fangs? Something scary."

"You don't think I look scary. Not even with my Jagan?" He was more amused now, but secretly glad that she didn't find him to be scary. Another thought he wouldn't dwell on for too long.

Hana shrugged. "I mean, it's different. You're different from anyone I've ever met. But I don't think you're scary." She frowned as though remembering something and shuddered. "I've seen scarier, that's for sure. Besides, I don't think it's someone's outer appearance that's scary, it's more of a feeling that you get when you're around them." She looked up at that moment, locking gazes with him, purple and red eyes mingling together in the quiet of the room.

Hiei found that his mouth was suddenly dry, his awareness of the bond suddenly at the forefront of his mind. The feeling was so clear that he felt like he could almost see it, the power that was connecting him to Hana. He was also very aware that they were seated within arms length on the couch.

He cleared his throat a little before asking, "And what feeling do you get when you're around me?"

Hana parted her lips for a moment, her eyes widened slightly as if she wasn't sure how to answer. Hiei leaned in towards her, his eyes never leaving hers during that moment. She breathed in slightly, about to answer. "...Hiei...you-"

"You're home early!"

Both Hiei and Hana froze before jumping back from each other and looking at the front entrance to the house, Hana with guilt painting her features while Hiei was simply furious at the interruption.

"Huh. Figures it would be the idiot." Hiei retorted, eyes narrowed as Kuwabara came totally into the living area of Hana's house.

"He, he, what's up guys?" Kuwabara asked. "How come you're here so early?"

"Well Hiei was nice enough to let me skip the mental practice, I'm totally beat from the rink today." Hana said mildly, stifling a yawn as she did so.

"Wait, did you say 'Hiei' and 'nice' in the same sentence? What planet are you on?" Kuwabara joked. "The shrimp isn't nice, he's downright mean." He grinned at Hana expecting her to agree.

She frowned at him, about to respond when Hiei cut in.

"Enough talk, moron. She said she's tired, you don't need to be here to watch her since we didn't end up doing the psychic training. I'll stay instead, so just leave." Hiei was pissed enough to want to punch Kuwabara in the face for the interruption and he wasn't even sure why. All he knew was that his instincts were screaming to get the ginger out of the vicinity.

"Uhh but what about the rotation?" Kuwabara blinked at him, then something like intelligence seemed to dawn in his beady eyes. "Ohh...I know what's going on, Botan was right."

Hiei clenched his jaw so hard that he heard the bones creak. He knew, just knew what Kuwabara was going to say next like he knew on instinct when someone was going to throw a punch his way.

"You do like Hana, isn't that right shrimp? Ha, ha, ha!"

"Kazuma, please stop being so mean to Hiei." Hana's tired voice cut into the conversation. "He doesn't like me, he's just doing his job."

Hiei swallowed down the cutting remark he had been about to make to train his eyes on Hana. He could see that the conversation had taken its toll on her. She had stood up from the couch but was swaying slightly, rubbing at her slightly red eyes, obviously fighting to stay awake.

"I'm the one being mean? I can't believe this-ah. Hey, Hana, you don't look so good. Maybe you should go to bed." Kuwabara said, cutting himself off once he turned to face her.

Hiei hissed. "That's what I said, idiot. She is going to bed so just leave."

"Hey, I'm just here to help!"

"Kazuma, thanks for coming, I appreciate it. But what Hiei said is correct. I'm just going to go to bed and see what time it is when I wake up. Coach Mizuki gave me the next three days to rest so I can regain some of my energy. Hiei, can we practice tomorrow before lunch?"

Hiei nodded and watched as Hana turned and padded her way towards her room before softly shutting the door. He had an indescribable urge to follow her, but he refrained.

"I still think you like her, shrimp."

Hiei gave in to his next impulse which was to punch Kuwabara swiftly in the gut. That at least, was one feeling he could understand.

Thankfully when Hana awoke the next day it was from a rest completely devoid of dreams. She was so used to dreaming at this point that the experience of simply falling asleep and then waking up with no memory of the in-between felt delightfully novel.

She took a few moments to luxuriate in the feeling of laying in her warm bed without having to actually get up for anything in particular. She let her mind wander, not paying attention before she was reminded of her interaction with Hiei on the couch the night before. She frowned, not quite sure what had made him ask her that question. How did Hiei make her feel? She had been so busy lately that she hadn't given it much thought.

She rolled over onto her side and considered the query. Hiei was certainly good-looking. She had thought so ever since she had first seen him in Suichi's living room weeks earlier. He was strong and intelligent and she quite liked the color of his eyes. In fact when she had first seen his eyes she felt something connect them together, like some kind of gravitational force. But maybe Hana was being dramatic or romantic which wasn't like her at all. She wasn't sure what exactly she felt with Hiei was around, only that it was a tugging sensation centered somewhere in her gut.

Something almost like electricity. And it wasn't a bad feeling.

Hana frowned. So she thought he was attractive and felt like there was some kind of connection between them. What else? She liked how patient he was with her and how helpful he was. Though according to Kuwabara that was some sort of fluke.

Hana tilted her head considering the possibility of what that meant. She did trust Hiei. He had never given her a reason not to. Certainly there had been enough situations where he could have hurt her if he had wanted to. Indeed, each time she let him into her mind during one of their lessons she supposed that he could have taken whatever he wanted from her. But, what did he want?

Hiei had told her during their first training session that he was helping her because he wanted to. Hana didn't have a great deal of experience with men, much less demons, but she did know that it wasn't typical for someone to be so kind-hearted that they helped others only out of the goodness of their souls (did demons even have souls?). So if not that, why was Hiei doing this?

Hana sighed, frustrated with getting herself worked up over nothing. So what if he was helping her? The simplest answer to the 'why' was because it was his job, though he had denied that. If his denial was the case, then the only other reason that Hana could think of was because Hiei liked her.

She grinned a little at the idea. It seemed too simple, too run-of-the-mill. Not that Hana thought that she was unattractive or unworthy of such interest, but surely Hiei who was a powerful demon wouldn't want to be with a human, would he? Even one who was supposedly a powerful psychic and seer? Hana shook her head and decided that all her lying around was contributing to these absurd thoughts. She was itching to move even after the brutal workout of the day before. She needed to complete a run anyway, so might as well do it now. She hoped it would help clear her head and she could put thoughts of romance-no matter how outlandish-out of her head.

That train of thought brought her out to the road and the feeling of pumping arms and legs. Just a leisurely run around the block and through some trails at her local park. The sun was out in full force that morning; though it was still frigid from the snow the night before. Since Hana had been able to sleep later than usual she was pleasantly surprised that some industrious soul had cleared the path of the ice and powered snow that had blanketed the landscape making it a smooth jog.

Her breath came in easy bursts, her goal for the run not to strain or push herself, only loosen and warm muscles that had become cramped during the night. Hana went through her body muscle by muscle checking for soreness and uncomfortable heat as she moved forward. She was focused on the task with her usual single-mindedness so it came as quite a shock when she ran into someone full-force.

"Ooof!" Hana gasped, arms flailing wildly in order to catch herself and avoid injury on the hard ground.

"Careful there, girlie. Don't want to get hurt...there will be plenty of time for that later."

She felt the hands of someone quite strong clamp themselves on her wrists which abruptly stopped her from hitting the concrete path. But that was when the good news about the incident stopped.

Hana looked up at the sound of the voice and found herself looking back at something that wasn't human.

Hiei was dosing in a tree when he felt a stab of fear course down the link he shared with Hana. The sensation caused him to jolt to attention and immediately he began to search for the source. With a grunt of frustration he realized that Hana was no longer inside of her house.

How had he missed her leaving?

Growling at himself in frustration, Hiei moved with haste towards his sense of her spirit energy. Since Hana was a psychic, she gave off waves of stronger than average energy-but it was something that she had learned to control and wouldn't appear to be different than any other human. However, Hiei was able to sense her signature more easily due to the bond they shared and because her energy was heightened by fear.

Hiei gritted his teeth as he followed the bond to a park less than a mile from Hana's house. He was able to quickly locate the Seer and when he did he happened upon a scene that he could have predicted-though he didn't have powers of foresight-but to emotions that were unpredictable.

Hana was being lifted off the ground by a demon; he appeared to be a low-class entity, not one that Hiei would ever pay attention to in a different circumstance. The demon was doing the lifting by Hana's wrists, her entire body hovering several inches off of the group and the effect was clearly causing her pain. But she was attempting to fight the beast. Her legs were swinging with some calculation to kick the creature squarely in the face. She must have already connected a few times because blood was beginning to leak out of the creature's nose and mouth.

"Get...off...of...me!" She shouted, kicking with each word in order to force him to let her go.

But despite all of her efforts the beast was holding on tight.

The entire sight caused Hiei to see red, his rage coursing through him like a blaze through dry kindling. In hindsight, he would struggle to remember the last time he had felt that impressive amount of feeling about anything, but at that moment the only thing he was interested in was killing the creature who was hurting Hana.

Hiei jumped forward so fast that the demon would never even sense his presence, drawing his sword and slicing through his opponent with such force that his blade cleaved the mass in two before becoming embedded into the ground.

The demon didn't realize that it had been killed for several seconds before it collapsed into a pile of goo, Hana then relinquished from its grip as it did so. Hiei darted forward, abandoning his sword momentarily to catch her before she hit the ground.

Hiei drew back from the mound of steaming meat and blood while also monitoring the rest of the surrounding area in case the ogre had brought friends.

"Hiei! How on earth did you find me? I can't believe you cut it in half, that was so freaky!" Hana blinked up with his with her amethyst eyes in wonder, but he didn't answer her, still too caught up in his rage and blood-lust.

"Hiei?" She asked again, uncertainty in her tone.

"Was this filth the only one to attack you?" He asked instead, his tone icy and cold with anger.

"I think so, I was really only focused on getting away from him, so I didn't think to look anywhere else. Hiei?"

"What?" He asked, still not looking at her in favor of scanning their surroundings.

"Can you put me down please? I'm okay."

He started and realized that he was indeed still clutching her tightly to his chest. He grunted and complied, setting her gently on the ground. "Are you hurt anywhere? Did he scratch you at all? Some of the inhabitants of Demon World can have poison naturally secrete from their claws." He was looking her over, raising her arms and examining her wrists now, satisfied that the creature had been on its own and there was no longer an immediate threat.

"I said I'm fine, luckily you came just at the right time. How were you able to do that? I thought I would have been too far away for anyone to sense me." She was looking at him intently, a small line appeared between her brows as she scrutinized him.

Hiei was beginning to calm down now and realizing that she may be onto something potentially problematic. Hiei hadn't yet informed her of the existence of the psychic bond between them and she was correct, she had been too far away for anyone else to sense. But the fire demon was nothing if not a quick thinker and luckily he had the perfect excuse.

"My Jagan eye is able to see over much further distances, remember? I was able to find you easily." He tapped the white bandana he used to cover the implant in emphasis. "Now, are you sure that thing didn't puncture your skin?"

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about your other eye. And yes I'm sure. My wrists are a little sore from his grip but I don't think that it'll cause any further problems, maybe some bruising." She rolled both of her wrists slowly and then faster to illustrate her point.

At the word 'bruising' Hiei felt the edges of his vision once more tinge scarlet and he ground his teeth in frustration. It took a great deal of self-control but he was able to walk away from Hana long enough to grab his sword and clean the blade of blood with some of the fallen snow. He shook his head to clear it.

Hiei had heard that a psychic bond could result in heightened emotions including protectiveness and aggression when triggered. But this he hadn't been expecting, he felt completely off-kilter by the strength of these feelings. He spared a glance at Hana who was still moving her wrists to ensure nothing was broken or damaged and he wondered, was he the only one of them that the bond was affecting?

Kurama was on his way to Hana's for his turn with the rotation when he noticed the unmistakable smell of blood outside of her house. Concerned, he burst through the front door to find...absolutely nothing amiss.

Hana was sitting quietly on the couch, book in her hand, while Hiei (of course he was there, he was always there) was sitting on the floor with a whetstone sharpening the blade of his sword.

Kurama stood there, blinking heavily as the sound of the blade sliding across the stone never wavered.

"Suichi, is everything alright?" Hana asked, looking shocked that he had come into the house without knocking.

"Yes...quite alright. Did something happen? I smelled the scent of blood outside just now."

"A low level demon attacked her while she was running. I took care of it." Hiei said shortly, eyes burning a hole in the steel of the sword with the intensity of his gaze.

"A demon? Hana, are you hurt? Are you alright?" Kurama went to sit by her on the couch failing to notice Hiei stand up abruptly as he did so.

"I said she's fine." The fire demon ground out. Hiei was standing now and Kurama observed that Hiei looked as though he would lunge at any second for Kurama's throat.

"Hiei, what's wrong? You were fine just a second ago, why are you so angry?" Hana frowned at him, irritation flickering across her face. "Suichi's asking a fair question."

Hiei stilled at her tone, relaxing with effort that shone through on his face. "It's nothing." He turned to grab his sword and the accompanying stone and moved towards the front door. "I'll be back later for your lesson." He said over his shoulder and left the house, the door swinging shut noiselessly behind him.

"What's gotten into him?" Hana wondered aloud. "He was perfectly fine until you came in and sat next to me. Did you two get into a fight or something?" She turned her eyes towards him at the last question.

Kurama stilled, taken aback at how close to the truth she was. However, that wasn't why Hiei had reacted that way and though Kurama had his own suspicions regarding the actions of his fellow demon, he wasn't going to share then presently with Hana.

"I have no idea, what happened earlier?"

So Hana told him about going for a jog through the local park and literally running into the demon. She described how Hiei had come to the rescue, quickly cutting the demon down and checking that she was alright.

While she talked, Kurama took in the information but only as an afterthought. The majority of his attention was focused on what Hiei had done only moments ago in the middle of Hana's living room. Kurama was fairly certain that the fire demon was experiencing aspects of the psychic bond which resulted in bursts of intense emotion such as territorial feelings and protective instincts. If that was the case, it was quite natural as the primary purpose of enacting a bond was to attempt to not only complete it but to ensure the safety of your partner. And vice versa.

Kurama had always thought of it as a kind of insurance policy. A demon would stake their claim by forming the bond and then using their own spirit energy they would nurture the connection while also determining if the connection would be mutually beneficial. Since part of that connection took energy and time, it was natural to want to protect it.

Ah. That made sense.

Kurama was fairly certain that at this point in the process, Hiei was fighting with himself due to the fact that it was a bond held-in part-by a human. Hana, having no idea that the bond existed wouldn't know to do her portion by contributing some of her spirit energy for it to strengthen and mature. And Hiei, as stubborn as usual, hadn't told her. Therefore he was stuck with forming the bond mostly on his own which would result in the illusion of one-way feelings and intentions.

Kurama chucked, no empathy present in the sound. The sly fox within was quite pleased with Hiei's predicament-especially since the fire demon had created it entirely on his own. Kurama had promised himself that he wouldn't interfere with the bond, but this...this wasn't helping or hurting exactly. He was simply choosing not to intervene at all. That, that he could live with.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Hana asked, her voice sounding exasperated.

"Yes, yes I heard you quite clearly. It sounds like you had a trying day." Kurama answered pleasantly, his mood lighter than it had been for some days.

"I mean, I guess if you want to call getting nearly killed a 'trying day' then, sure. But there's one more part I-" but Hana didn't finish.

Kurama had just enough time to grab her before Hana leaned dangerously side-ways, still seated on the couch, clutching her head with both hands and gasping noiselessly.

"Hana! What's wrong?" But even as he said the words, Kurama already knew. Though he had never seen the effects of Hana's powers in-person, Hiei had described the signs to the team so they would know what to look for quite well. Kurama could only wait, helpless as the psychic powers gripped Hana fiercely.

Slowly, after about a minute, Hana began to relax, gently pushing against Kurama in an effort to right herself. She was breathing slowly and deeply, a technique she had worked on with Hiei in an effort to control the powers and stay calm through the experience. Finally, he sensed that she would be fine on her own and moved away from her, searching her face for any sign that something was amiss.

"Kurama…,"

He started at the name. It was the first time she had called him anything but Suichi.

"Kurama...who's Taguro?"

The quote from the vision listed above was gotten off of 'Anime Quotes' but it didn't list the episode it was from. Does anyone know which episode?

Special shout out to RoyalBlueRoses for commenting on the last two chapters, thanks so much for your support, it means a lot!