A/N: *hands out MOUNDS & MOUNDS of candy to everyone* I love you all! *huggles everyone* X_x I feel like such a retard, I forgot to say what Shizuka ni shiro and Onegai mean! *smack's her forehead* Ahem! Well shizuka ni shiro mean's shut up..and Onegai mean's please..for those of you who didn' t know... Um..I'm sorry for having such short chapters...I'll try to make this one longer and all but with my mom breathing down my neck like a crazed dragon on drug's it's kinda hard to write...*eye twitches* not to mention I have a really gay job that's about 15 hour's long a day... -.-;; ANYWAY since I love you guy's SO much I'll continue!! even if I don't get any sleep.. ^^;; by the way..the flashback I make for Hiei IS TOTALLY OUT OF MY IMAGINATION!! (I had it as a dream and I felt so bad when I woke up ;.;) and another thing...I just relized that you say mother in Japanese as 'haha' and I find that kind of funny..so don't make fun of me!

Disclaimer: I don't own them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a Shadow

Yukina's intense stare was starting to make Hiei feel uncomftorble and he kept shifting his eye's back and forth, trying not to make eye contact with anyone...his eye's met Yuusuke's and they stared at each other, chestnut brown eye's locked with blood red one's.

"Hiei, I still don't understand.." Yuusuke said, blinking. "I wan't to know what's with you...you usally never sulk and stuff...even though your kinda overly abusive to yourself and all.."

"I don't wan't to hear it ningen." Hiei said coldy, death glaring the Spirit Detective. Yuusuke yawned, putting his hands behind his head, leaning agasint a nearby tree.

"You know, you don't scare me as much as you use to." Yuusuke said yawning once again and eyeing Hiei.

"Hn."

"Maybe it's because you've gotten all soft on us and stuff...Expecially with Yukina..." He winked at Kurama who fought giggles. "I wonder why.."

Hiei's eye twitched, and he bared the bottom of his fang's, a look on his face that could kill...

Keiko looked at Boton who looked away laughing nervessly. Keiko raised an eyebrow then looked at Yuusuke.

"There's something you know, that some of us don't..huh?" she asked, suspicious. Yuusuke grinned widly.

"What give you *that* idea, Keiko?"

"Well..Kurama's giggles.." she said, making the kitsune blush lightly, "Boton's random laughing...Hiei's uneasyness..and you..being so...."

"Perky?" Kuwabara offered, glaring at the Spirit Detective.

Hiei sighed mentally, looking up into the tree's, unintrested with the conversation going on. The same pair of blue jay's fluttered above the tree's chirping happily. Hiei stared at them, wondering how they could be so happy with all these moron's arguing below them.....

'No one care's about you Hiei..' he thought to himself with a mental sigh. 'Only...she did....'

Sudden memories flooded before his eye's....

~*~:...FlashBack...:~*~

He was only about nine, still young, still figuring out the meaning's of life...but all he could do right now was run, run for his life..run from the demon hunter's that screamed and hissed at him from behind...

Hiei ran threw the forest, gnarled limb's reaching out like crooked finger's trying to prevent his escape.

"Haha!" Hiei cried, a tree brach smacked him across the eye's and he was running, stumbling, blind for a few moments. (This would actully be funny hearing him scream 'haha' if the cercimstances wern't so sad..) Hiei continued to run, trying to free himself from the scream's that echoed behind him, threatening him. Hiei broke the forest, to see a women.

She had long red hair that cascaded down her body like a waterfall, and a black bandana held her bang's away from her blue eye's that held a deep concern. She wore a greyish white ankle long dress that swayed in the gentle breeze. She knelt, outstretching her arm's toward's Hiei, welcoming him for a embrace.

"What is it, Hiei?" she asked. Hiei threw himself in her arm's, burying his face in her shoulder, muffling his sobs.

"There after me, haha." he sobbed.

"Who is, sweetheart?" she asked gently.

Two large, muscular, men emerged from the brush, panting, sweat dripping down their thick face's. They were almost identical in height. The taller one had a small point-like yellow beard with thin blonde eyebrow's and short buzzed hair. The shorter one had a black blushy beard with brown- hateful eye's that glared down at them.

"Give us the boy." the blonde one commanded.

"Please don't let them hurt me." Hiei whispered to the auburn haired women. She lifted him in her arms, hugging him tighly towards herself.

"Ageru(1)." She whispered back, then more louldy she said, "He hasn't done anything! Leave him be!"

The men chuckled and the blonde said, "Your wrong lady, he was born." He pulled out a dagger and let it flash in the sun. The woman's eye's grew big and she gripped Hiei tighter, taking a step back. "Give us the Forbidden Child." he hissed.

"He's done nothing wrong!" she cried, fear filling her voice. Hiei only clung to her, sobbing softly.

The blonde man suddenly lunged forward, the dagger extended. The woman turned quickly, screaming in pain as the dagger ripped into her back, she slowly fell to her knee's, whipering to Hiei, "Run Hiei, run."

"But-" he whimpered back, clutching her hand tightly. The blonde man wrenched the dagger from the woman's back ready to strike again.

"Run." she whispered. Hiei tore himself from his 'mothers' side and ran, blinded by tears...

~*~:...End of FlashBack...:~*~

"Hiei you okay?" Yuusuke asked, probbing the Fire Demon in the chest with his finger. Hiei had been staring absently, his eye's glazed over slightly. "Maybe he's turning mental.." Yuusuke offered.

Hiei snapped back into reality and push Yuusuke away. "Hn, baka ningen, don't touch me!" he hissed.

"What you talking about, shirmp?" Kuwabara said, almost laughing. "He's been poking you for the past three minutes."

Hiei stared blankly at the big 'oaf', then looked at Yuusuke then back at Kuwabara. He turned his gaze straight ahead, glaring at nothing in perticular.

"Oooh come now Hiei, we human's arn't *that* bad.." Boton said cheefully. "We love you and I think your just too stubborn to relize it..."

Hiei blinked.

Maybe this once...Boton..the bubbly ferry girl who always looked at the up's of the worst situation's..could..possibly be right?

Hiei stared at her, suddenly filled with so many emotion's he felt sick. His face paled and he tired to move his hands to his face, but relized he couldnt. His right arm was being confinscated by Kurama who still wouldn't let him go, and the other arm was being clung to by Yukina.

"He dosn't look to good..." Keiko said suddenly.

"Reality has finally hit him!" Boton cheered, practilly leaping with joy.

Kurama stared worridly at the Fire Demon. "Hiei, are you feeling okay?"

Hiei looked at him giving him the 'do-I-look-okay-to-you-dumbass?' look. Kurama winced slightly then stood, pulling Hiei up with him. Hiei grumbled, almost falling flat on his face, he had been sitting cross-legged.

"We should go get something cold to drink.." Kurama said quietly.

"Vodka?" Hiei offered. Kurama stared at him, Kuwabara and Yuusuke snickered, Yukina looked almost terrifed, Keiko looked surprised, and Boton..oh well forget about her she was being to bubbly to notice Hiei had said anything.

Kurama cleared his throat, "I, and most of us, being and looking of the age's between 10 and 17 cannot drink alcohal, it's the law." Kurama informed.

"The law never seemed to bother you before.." Hiei said, staring lazily at the kitsune. Kurama tensed and forced a smile.

"Well..we arn't going to go get drunk." he said, slightly glaring.

"I was joking in the first place, baka." Hiei hissed back. Kurama smiled brightly then pulled Hiei after him.

"How about my house?" He offered. "Shori has some very nice NON-alcholic beverages there."

Hiei, having no choice, was dragged beind Kurama who marched sternly towards his house. Yukina and Keiko gave each other uneasy looks then followed. Boton followed them happily while Kuwabara and Yuusuke suddenly broke into a run, both betting they could get to Kurama's house first.

Hiei sighed once again, reseving a almost terrifed look from Kurama.

'He dosn't sigh very often..' Kurama thought, his emerald eye's studying Hiei's childish feature's. 'He must really be down...'

A/N: I THINK It was longer..^^..AHEM okay

Ageru mean's I'll protect you

Just to clear those thing's out..Ahem..ANYWAY...Flames are welcomed, they can keep me quite warm, I'm such a pyro! But good reveiw's are much loved! Anyone who reveiw's get's...*thinks* Pie!!