Born of Blood: Epilogue
by: Kawaii Kitsune

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me, blah, blah, blah. You get the point. No money, don't sue, blah, blah, blah. Moving on.

Note: italics indicate thoughts.


The rain finally stopped.

Kurama opened his eyes and sat up from the bed. The sun began to shine through the temple windows into the guestroom, but Kurama was in no state to appreciate it. Memories from the previous night danced through his head.

By the time Yusuke and Kuwabara arrived to the collapsed fortress, both Hiei and Kurama were unconscious. After painstakingly calling back his dragon, his energy finally gave out. Kurama, ignoring the pain caused by his broken ribs, carefully wrapped wards around the black tattoo. The redhead looked one last time at the debris, praying that Evangeline survived that somehow, some way.

The fortress lay in ruins, fire burning everything: the paintings, the tapestries, the furniture, the corpses. The beautiful garden that Kurama and Evangeline loved so much was reduced to ashes, except for one solitary red rose. That rose did not burn like the others but burst into full bloom as if it was feeding off of the flames. It refused to die.

Kurama watched the flower in amazement, but his attention was quickly diverted when he heard two voices calling his name. The redhead, however, did not have the energy to respond to the call, and he soon joined his love in the realm of dreams.

Hiei's sudden appearance brought Kurama out of his thoughts and back to the present. The fire demon sat by the opened window, propped up on the ledge. He did not look at Kurama; in fact, he deliberately stared away from the redhead. The chirping of the birds were the only sounds in the otherwise quiet room.

"Did you mean it?" Kurama chose to break the silence.

Hiei said nothing, still avoiding his gaze.

"Did you mean it?" Kurama repeated the question, this time with a sterner voice. "Did you mean what you said? Or did you say it because you pitied me?"

No answer.

"Do you love me?" His voice started to crack. Kurama lowered his head and stared at his clenched hands. He waited.

"Hn. What do you think?" Hiei finally said.

"Don't toy with my emotions, Hiei!" The fox was angry now. "Give me a straight answer: yes or no? Tell me, no matter what it is. Just don't lie to me."

"And what if I say no?"

Kurama's heart contracted in his chest, tightening to the point that it hurt physically. His hands clutched helplessly at his sheets. "Then I'll let you go. I can't change my love for you but I will not force you into something you don't want. It wouldn't be fair to you... and it wouldn't be fair for me."

Another silence. The tension filled the room.

"Baka." Hiei smirked. "You should know me better by now, Kurama."

Kurama raised his head and turned to Hiei, who was now looking directly at the fox. The expression on the fire demon's face was unreadable, calm and collected. Kurama's heartbeat seemed to slow and stopped, waiting for the answer that he both anticipated and feared.

"I never say something I don't mean."

To prove it, Hiei flitted to Kurama's side and kissed him square on the lips. It felt like heaven. Kurama's hands caressed Hiei's cheek as the fire demon ran his fingers through the kitsune's silky tresses. The two lost themselves in the kiss, their emotions bursting free. Their youki poured out of their bodies and melded, combining into one. After what seemed like eternity, the two finally broke the kiss.

"This youki... it feels like..."

"It feels like Evangeline's." Hiei finished Kurama's thought.

The fox dropped his head again, this time in remembrance. "Do you think she could have made it out alive?"

"Why should I care whether she lived or died? She caused all this."

"If you didn't care about her, why did you free her?"

"Because you told me to."

"Liar. You saw what I saw: a lonely girl who needed love and guidance."

"Hn. She's better off dead."

"Hiei!" Kurama's head snapped up in surprise. I thought he understood...

"She won't have to suffer through life wondering why she's alive, why she was ever created," Hiei said as he turned and walked towards the window, "She won't have the opportunity to feel like a freak of nature, not belonging anywhere, an outcast from the world. A forbidden child."

"Hiei..." The redhead got out of the bed and walked up behind Hiei, wrapping him in a warm embrace. Kurama empathized with the fire demon as he had often questioned his own rebirth as Shuuichi.

"Even if she's our daughter, I'm glad she's dead. I'm glad." His eyes, however, spoke otherwise. At least she's free. Be happy, Evangeline...wherever you are.

"At least she accomplished one good thing before she died."

"And what's that?" asked Hiei.

"She brought us together." Kurama tilted Hiei's head up for another deep kiss: a kiss filled with promise and love.

A gentle gust of wind blew into the room.

It was the beginning.

End of Epilogue


Done! YAY!!! I hope the epilogue didn't disappoint too many people, being so short and sappy. I might write a sequel, if there's enough interest. What do you think?