Author's Note:

Well hello again to everyone…  I MOST sincerely apologize for the uncalled for delay in the posting of this chapter.  As for why it has taken so long, I only have the fact that I was too bored to write it all out.  But in recent months, added stress, and a new love have revived my creative interests… I believe this chapter is rather long, and I hope it answers some of the questions you all have been asking.

Acknowledgements:

To Curry: I appreciated your review very much, and while many of the points I had planned to take care of, there were some that had not even occurred to me.  I always appreciate thoughtful criticisms, and am very grateful for the good review.

On the other hand, please, please understand that while I understand you want for me to update, use of the F-word does nothing to prompt me.  In fact, I have a deep dislike for that and I only use it when I loath someone to the point I'd find it funny if they choked on a chicken bone… I don't wish people to die very often mind you.

I will try from now on to update more frequently… but as I am looking forward to these last few chapters, I don't think that should be a problem.

Thank you all again, and as always please read and review.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters… though I do love it very much and would buy the rights if I could…

Perfect Strategies Gone Awry

            The sun had fallen well below the horizon, and rising in its place the moon kept the world under watchful eye.  The soft, pure white beams were bright enough to see by.  As the moon illuminated the open, shadows slinked away into alleyways, and gathered where the trees stood close together.  Few things ventured out into the light of the full moon.  More open and honest than even daylight, it was not fitting for the dark moods that accompanied those who were driven to wander at late hours.

            And so Kuwabara was no different.  Like the shadows that assembled in the wooded park, he too remained there bored.  He leaned back against one of the taller trees, completely shrouded in darkness.  One would not tell even his substantial bulk from the tree, except his narrow eyes glistened reflecting what little moonlight penetrated the shadow.  Kazuma looked out into the open spaces of the park, where the moonlight cast a surreal glow on all it touched.  It was early summer, but the night was unusually cool.  Kuwabara could smell crispness in the air, and some baser part of him remembered the smell of a heavy rainstorm.  His eyes flickered to the moon from time to time, and to the couples that strolled beneath it, bathed in it's untainted light.  Men and women, boys and girls, the end to nature's greatest design… the couple.  He felt himself frown, though he didn't mean to.  A part of him felt ashamed that he wanted to whitewash another's happiness.  A walk beneath the moonlight was as sweet and romantic gesture as love itself, and he might have thought that, if he didn't envy those couples so much.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

Reminders of my long lost past

Deep I've buried them

But it never seems to last

It starts with just a little sting

But poison memories will follow

I can't shake them; no matter how hard I try.  They are dead.  Both dead, but they haunt me… No, it would be easier if they haunted me, then I wouldn't have to be afraid of the dark anymore…

Hiei frowned slightly.  He didn't know what he had been expecting when he picked up the journals.  Kuwabara's vague description hadn't left him much to expect.  He really didn't fully understand the purpose of these things yet either.  Humans had such a short life span it hardly seemed necessary to jot down events.  Yet, this hadn't been the case thus far.  Kuwabara's 'entries' were mostly thoughts, and obscure references.  Not monosyllabic thoughts as Hiei would have assumed either.  Though not always legible, or correctly spelled, Kuwabara's writings were wildly different from his speech.  The writings were unclear, though deep, and sometimes rather fathomless unless you knew what he was talking about.  For once, Hiei found himself wishing he'd known the human a little better.  That would at least make this less confusing.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

            The tall fighter withdrew further into himself, half snarling as one of the couples drew nearer.  Whether they had heard him or not, the pair turned away, leaving him alone once more.  Kuwabara felt restless now, and began to pace in the little confined area of shade.  He didn't go too near the light, because inwardly he feared its accusatory glare.  It was welcoming to bright young couples full of love and romance yes, but for a lone man in the dead of night?  No, this was a night for love, unity, and all the dainty trappings that were customary to romance.  He had none of these things, and probably never would.  He looked out on the now empty clearing.  Benches abandoned, fountain bubbling crystal water without anyone to appreciate it.

            Setting his jaw he paced again, why did he have to be the way he was?  He had not only been robbed of those desires that would allow him to partake in normal society, but he had also been denied those attributes with which to fake his happiness.  There was no disguising the fact that he was aesthetically inferior.  His tall frame looked as though it had been chiseled from a large sturdy block of stone, while the fashion this lifetime was sculpted and willowy.  Small eyes, and pronounced cheeks sliced down into a long jaw.  Full lips and an upturned nose completed this strange ensemble.  His body was that of a fighter not a lover, and the latter was far more desirable in a mate as far as men were concerned.  It was hard to convince anyone, let alone another man that he was not as rough as he appeared.

            Kazuma turned his head slowly, as a soft sound brought his attention back to the previously empty clearing.  Another couple strolled slowly into view; their forms merely reverse shadows at first.  As they slowly drew closer, Kuwabara's eyes widened.  They were a pair of young men, not much older than he was.  They were not just friends, he could tell that right away.  Their gate was not the common foot-dragging amble of most young boys, but slow and deliberate steps as though they had all the time in the world.  They were parallel, and walked instep rather than one or the other competing to lead.  Neither smiled, but neither frowned and though it was silent it was not uncomfortable or awkward.

            The two might pause here and there to examine some small thing and brush lightly against one another.  When they started again, the shorter would lean, or rest his hand on the other's arm.  The lightest of touches, not really clinging, just letting the other know he was there.  This small gesture tugged at something in Kazuma, yet he wasn't sure what, or why.  All he could feel now, was emptiness where there shouldn't be one.  The space normally taken up by bubbling emotions and most private thoughts, felt so barren.  He could hardly remember what it was, though he had felt it sometimes before… many times before.  He thought he had filled his void long ago with friends, rivals, fighting, and school.  He had been too busy with other things until now, made himself too busy to feel the lonely pang within himself until now.  Seeing love in another where it should be in himself left him so hallow he could hardly stand it.  He did not notice the velvety presence of another until it was too late.

            "It is beautiful isn't it?"  A soft voice whispered in his ear.  Kuwabara felt all the hairs on the back of his neck rise at once, or they would have had they not been so effectively gelled in place.  A gentle hand to his right kept the teen from striking out in surprise, instead he jerked away reflexively whirling on his sudden assailant.  Though the darkness was such, that what little moonlight could only tell the barest outline of the figure before him, his spirit sense filled in the rest.  There was no mistaking the double ki of Kurama, no matter how well the demon hid within the human aura.  Since Kurama had turned fox demon in the dark tournament, Kuwabara had been able to distinguish the boy clearly from any other human.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

-Ties That Bind- Gold is for Love

Blue is for Sorrow

Grey is for Yesterday

Green's for Tomorrow

White means they're Gone

And will never return

But threads that go backwards

Are hard to Discern

Silver's for Siblings

But Teal's for Twins

Orange is for Vengeance

Purple for Sins

Red shall tie you

In destiny's Bind

But then all these Threads

Might one day Unwind

I get the feeling sometimes, that I've got things all wrong.  I can tell that the person I'm meant to be with is near; I can feel it in my bones.  But sometimes I'll be standing right next to her, and that feeling is gone.  And that feeling might come, and there's no one around… or worse when…they are around… and then it only feels stronger

             The first lines had intrigued Hiei.  Kuwabara had claimed to see the 'red thread' that actually did exist, though threads that bound people were very difficult to see.  Some could see the threads specifically, and even manipulate people's feelings with them.  Hiei read over the colors again, and his eyes lingered on teal.  If any of this was true at all, which Hiei had to question, did that mean that Kuwabara could see his connection to Yukina?  If so, then had he revealed that secret to her?

            Hiei shook the thought from his head.  For the most part the journal was gibberish, and perhaps the twin reference was merely a coincidence.  He couldn't assume that Kuwabara with his limited spirit sense could see the fine threads that held people and ultimately the universe together.  It was a pretty little poem, nothing more.  Hiei's eyes quickly registered the bottom paragraph, and he skipped ahead.  That was merely typical human indecision.  Kuwabara had plenty of little entries like that scattered though his books.

            'He never mentioned any real guesses though,' Hiei mused to himself.  Most of the night had gone this way.  Hiei read with an amazing speed, though he stumbled over some of the odd spelling and chopped logic the human used.  Skipping from entry to entry.  Nothing particularly stuck out as blackmail material, much to Hiei's disappointment.  Though he probably wouldn't use the information if he found it right away.  Kuwabara had plenty of physical and mental shortcomings, but it was difficult to pin the human in a tight situation.  Hiei always appreciated knowing any weaknesses that might one day be to his advantage, especially secret fears and desires.

            For good reasons, Hiei kept his own secrets and desires well concealed.  Someone like him couldn't afford to risk the little set backs that disclosing that information caused.  Last night was a good example of that.  Hiei wasn't weak by any measure, though the fire demon side of his nature tended to let emotions get out of hand.  His temper was deadly if it wasn't checked, and the most likely thing to set it off set around jealousy and humiliation.  Yuusuke and Kurama were lucky that Hiei had trained himself to retreat before reacting.

            Hiei was still angry, most certainly.  But the dark intentions that had once screamed at the back of his mind were now content to simply bark annoyingly.  Anger scraped over wounds hundreds of years old, revealing old grudges and hates as well as any current problems.  It was stressful to sort it all out, and he was grateful he had a place to hide.  Hiei was over the initial shock of betrayal, but loathing and jealousy stilled brewed beneath his calm exterior.  Perhaps the real reason for reading the human's journals was for a distraction.  Reading was a welcome escape from thinking about the things he wanted to do to certain people.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

            Kuwabara was instinctually a fighter, first and foremost.  However, he really didn't know what to do in this situation.  Fighting outright wouldn't solve this situation, however satisfying it might end up being.  Kuwabara had no information to go off of here either.  The reason for Kurama's presence, could be any number of motives, several he would probably not understand.  Luckily enough for Kuwabara though, Kurama never lacked something to say to get a conversation going.

            "It's awfully late to be out," the fox commented soothingly.  Kuwabara nodded mentally, so this was how it would be.

            "So it is," Kuwabara replied curtly, trying to quickly formulate some kind of plan.  Amazingly Kurama's presence was less intimidating in the dark, but perhaps only because those soul piercing green eyes were hidden.  He was about to say something when Kurama decided to continue.

            "It's not really a night to be out wandering alone," Kurama remarked silkily, "especially hiding out here in the shadows."  The 'tsk' was more implied than stated, but all the same Kuwabara felt he had just been reprimanded like some child.

            "That's true enough I guess," Kuwabara returned gruffly.  "So who are you with?"  Kurama looked slightly taken aback.  "Or are you just a well of random advice?"  Kurama looked less than amused.

            "I detect a tone that says I'm in disfavor with you," the foxes voice had a slight chuckle in it.  And even though the darkness shrouded his form, Kuwabara sensed there was a smirk on that perfect face.

            "It shouldn't surprise you," Kuwabara dared, "you seem to be in 'disfavor' with a lot of people lately."  Kurama took a step back, and Kuwabara had thought he'd one some ground, but the fox merely braced himself against a tree as he laughed.  Kuwabara's eye twitched involuntarily, and he was glad the darkness hid his face as well.  The fighter's lip was curled back in a slight snarl by the time Kurama had regained himself.

            "Kuwabara," the demon in human for straightened, addressing his friend, "it is good to talk to an honest, open person."  The taller was taken aback by the sincerity of those words, and let the fox make the next move.

            "You humans know so little about these things," Kurama sighed, more to himself than to Kuwabara.  That however didn't keep the fighter from becoming indignant.

            "And what are 'these things?'" Kuwabara practically spat the words, daring the fox to say what was implied.  Kurama just stood there for a while, the silence building between them.  Though Kuwabara could not see the demon's face, the head was tilted in such a way that it was obvious Kurama was staring at him.  And there was that tickling feeling running up and down his spine, telling him that he was being seen through.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

Hiei was beginning to find these entries increasingly frustrating.  Not only because they were sloppily written and poorly spelled, but also because he was getting a distinct feeling of empathy with Kuwabara.  He could stand Kuwabara as a human well enough, weak as he might be physically, and though Hiei would never admit out loud often useful and rather resourceful in a tight situation. 

Never at Peace

Blind to this feeling

This insignificant sentiment

Tugs maddeningly at the corners of my mind

Just beyond my reach, just out of sight

Hiei could not stand however, the strange feelings that fluttered to the surface when thinking of the human.  The neutral ground of mutual abhorrence had dissolved into a sort of shared, though unvoiced respect.  This was over the short term of a few years, what was it now?  Three?  Maybe four?

The demon shook his head as though to clear it.  He didn't like change, he didn't like surprises, life was so much simpler when all you have to do is run and survive.  It had sustained Hiei at one time, but it seemed it just wouldn't do it anymore.  He had fought it at first, but the group had become important to him.  He didn't want to leave it behind to be 'safe' again.  And then there was his sister…  The one thing he had always held precious to him.  The one thing he had kept furthest from him, for both their sakes, and now…

I know this feeling

I see the specter form,

I feel the phantom pass through me

I can taste the hallow pureness that should be

But all things are beyond my grasp

Beyond reality

            Hiei's world had tilted and spun, but it wasn't just recently that this all happened.  The fire demon's world started spinning the moment he was defeated by the human boy Hiei should have easily dispatched.  When he and Kurama were assigned to baby-sit the human and his friend, his life was set on edge.  Then the idiot saved his sister, and perhaps even the fire demon himself in a round-a-bout way.  It left Hiei in an odd feeling of debt, though he would have saved Yukina himself.

            Now, Hiei really didn't want to leave this world.  He had never really noticed how lonely his life had been or rather, he hadn't cared.  He had known nothing besides loneliness, thought he'd deserved it all his life.  Now the demon had people who valued him… for company of all things.  He had value beyond his killing ability, and he didn't want that to go away.  Even if it meant risk of pain, because pain was trivial compared to feeling nothing.  It might even be preferable.

This immense pressure, crushing me

All directions, and no escape

Two roads to choose

One of cold, darkness, oblivion

One of warm light

The darkness all too near

The light unattainable

            Which brought the demon back to his current situation.  The pain, the embarrassment and the strange and somewhat humbling experience of being harbored in a human's home.  Hiei was confounded by the dullness of the pain and embarrassment he felt.  It was more like a slap in the face… well maybe it was still a stab in the back, but not a twist of the knife at least.  Kurama had acted in self-interest, and since he and the fox were of like minds it shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

            Was that the humiliation?  The fact that Kurama's relationship with Yuusuke had eluded the fire demon, the source of the pain?  Hiei mulled the thought over, but he really didn't think so.  There was something greater, that caused real pain, and while unnamed his heart knew it.  But it's hard to get the heart and the head together to sort things out.

I stagger onward, upward

Following the bright warm light,

Shunning the cold, naturally

But as I dance between twilight and dawn

I become tired

The specter light seems farther off,

And the darkness comes too easily

Too real

So I walk on, but my pace slows

The darkness is catching up…

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

            "Your so called love," the fox replied casually.  Kazuma sputtered about to reply.  "I suppose I can't fault you for it though," Kurama contemplated coldly, "your transient existence lends to these little beliefs."

            "What did you just call me?" Kuwabara felt his blood heating up.  Pretty soon this would be a fight whether it was a good idea or not.

            "Transient, means brief, fleeting," Kurama, replied with the hint of amusement in his voice.  The taller boy felt his face go red, and the feeling he was in over his head was starting to surface.

            "So what?"  Kazuma tried desperately to get a hand on the situation again.  "How long we live has nothing to do with love!"

            "I disagree," Kurama replied politely, and again there was that 'tsk, tsk' tone to his voice.  "I assume that to you, love is everlasting," he began. 

            "Of course it is," Kuwabara barked, barely controlling his anger with the pretty redhead.

            "I would ask what you know of an everlasting existence," Kurama's tone had become accusatory.  Kuwabara felt himself taken off guard again.  His face fell, because he'd have to admit that Kurama had him there.

            "Fifty or sixty years is like a drop in the ocean to some one like me," Kurama began softly.  "A life time of love for you is nothing to me," his voice quavered slightly.  Kuwabara sensed a current of emotion running deeper than regret, and began to pick up what was left unsaid.

            "So," Kuwabara spoke softly, "You and Hiei were together at some point then?"

            Kurama scoffed at that, his body shaking slightly from his outburst.  "When I first met Hiei, the closest thing he had to a friend, was an enemy that wasn't dead yet."  The demon actually looked away for a moment, before emerald eyes burned through the darkness, "but I got through to him," he hissed. 

"I offered him love on so many levels, so many times.  I thought we might… I thought…"  Kurama's voice trailed off.  "I don't even remember what I thought anymore," He said at last with a chuckle that didn't disguise his real pain.

            Kuwabara's heart lurched.  He had recently thought of Kurama as too cold and calculating, and too damn sneaky.  He hadn't thought of the hundreds of years that the fox had to endure, and the bitterness it could leave in someone.  Despite his current situation, he reached out to lay a reassuring hand on Kurama's shoulder.  His protective nature getting the better of his common sense.  Kurama snapped to attention sharply, but the human still didn't realize he was in danger of losing a limb any second now.

            "Kuwabara…" Kurama felt something between resentment and gratitude for the show of affection, though he showed neither in his bland tone.  "I don't need your pity," the fox protested blatantly.

            "I don't pity you," Kuwabara stated truthfully, and the shorter redhead began to calm down a little.

            Kurama looked the human over skeptically.  Kuwabara could tell that even in the dark of night.  Those green eyes had a presence of their own when they looked through you, and it seemed to have gotten stronger since the conversation had started.

            "What do you mean?" Kurama asked softly.  There was something in the human's tone, a sort of 'but,' left unsaid as though it could be looked over at the last minute.

            "Why did you choose Yuusuke?" All of the anger Kazuma had felt toward the demon was temporarily subdued.

            "Yuusuke?" Kurama repeated a little confused.

            "Why did you choose him," Kuwabara insisted softly.  A feeling of elation began to surface; this was his chance.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

The writing's on the wall

I'm headed for a fall

In the mirror I can't see

The person looking back at me

What lies underneath this skin

Perhaps an enemy within

Feels like I've just been run over seven times… I'm never drinking with Yuusuke again, damn alcohol tolerance anyway….

Hiei felt a smirk tug lightly at the edge of his lips.  Some of the things Kuwabara wrote ended up being quite amusing.  The two seemingly unrelated texts complemented each other in a strangely Kuwabara fashion.  The fire demon rethought his last thought, let out a sigh.  Now there were things that he associated not just being human, but being Kuwabara.

It seemed appropriate though.  Kuwabara really wasn't human on many levels.  He seemed timeless, like the rest of them.  But a decade or so would tell the truth of that.  The human body would grow old at what would seem a rapid pace, deteriorate and betray him.  Kuwabara would return to the dust, and in time become insignificant to this world.

Hiei felt a deep sense of regret at the mental image.  It disturbed him that a comrade would be one of the first things he'd lose with time.  He'd never really thought on the human's death before, he seemed rather durable actually.  And it disturbed the demon deeply that he could be moved by such a universally small thing.  But so it was.

He had to admit now if ever that Kuwabara was less of a nuisance than a friend he liked to argue with.  Hiei's mood always improved, if even minutely after a good row.  Perhaps because the human was not afraid to give as well as he got, and Hiei had to admit the redhead was a quick learner if not particularly bright.  Which is why he probably their backbiting never got boring. 

Hiei thought about that for a moment, half-heartedly scanning the book for entries that caught his eye.  Inward thought was a gift of loneliness, though he wasn't used to thinking about other people so much.  Of all the creatures Hiei had ever come across, he'd never met someone as uniquely brave as Kuwabara.  While not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he was at least genuinely strong… for a human.  Through that forward attitude, and fearless nature the human had carved himself a place of value for Hiei, though the demon wasn't sure what place that was.  Since Kuwabara's character was so new to him, he didn't know where to place the new feelings he had.  Again Hiei had to rethink his last thought, and he shook his head.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

            "Yuusuke," Kurama whispered.  Kuwabara leaned in to hear, "Yuusuke was… was a means to an end!"  Kurama bit off the last words sharply, and Kuwabara's anger began to simmer again.

            "What?"  Kuwabara's horse voice rose a little, but matched Kurama's for coolness.  "You just…" 

            "Yes, I just thought I could use him for a little while," the fox seemed to gain composure with each cold word, "in order to get Hiei to take me more seriously."  Kuwabara rose a little, and regarded the shorter youth for a little while, not sure exactly what to say.

            "So I went to Hiei and offered to…" Kurama searched for the right translation, "It's like a commitment ceremony," the fox demon finished.

            "Of course he didn't say anything at first," Kurama continued, "he never does."  The fox leaned against a tree again, this time seeming to try and recall something or other.  "So naturally I proceeded and started making plans for meeting Yuusuke and so on."  There was a long pause, and Kuwabara wasn't sure what to do.

            "And Hiei…" Kuwabara began.  He was answered by silence, so he carefully concluded, "Didn't notice?"

            "I…" Kurama's voice was barely a whisper, "I didn't know he actually…"  Kuwabara waited patiently, watching the shorter form tilt his head to look out on the distance.  "I didn't think he would actually care."

            Kuwabara stood there a moment, openly confused.  "I thought that was the whole point," the taller fighter sighed.  Already this was getting a little too complex for him.  'Wants him to care, and at the same time doesn't want him to care,' Kuwabara wracked his brain.  It just didn't make any sense.

            "Yuusuke," Kurama continued, "was so different."

            The fox could tell even in the dark that the human was confused.  How could he explain to him what it was like?

            "He's so alive, so warm, so open."  Kurama continued to speak, regardless of Kuwabara's desperate attempts to call a timeout in the conversation.  "And I couldn't," he paused.  The demon really didn't want to say more than that, but somehow this was exactly what he wanted.  It felt as though all the pent up energy was pouring out of him as he spoke to Kuwabara. 

            Kuwabara was hit once again with realization, and it took all of his will power to hold back an 'oh.'  And again, Kuwabara didn't know what to say.  He couldn't blame Kurama for being pulled between opposites now, but he couldn't forgive it either.  He couldn't accept that Kurama had been willing to use his best friend as a lure for Hiei, only to leave him out in the cold.  Of course he then had to recognize that he had intended you use Yuusuke to get Kurama out of the picture.  The thought left him sick inside, and he listened sullenly as Kurama continued.

            "It felt so good just to talk to him," the fox spoke intensely, drawing Kuwabara in.  "To flirt, and in return be chased."  Kuwabara couldn't tell in the darkness whether the fox was trembling or not.  "You have no idea how important, how wanted that makes you feel."

            The fighter didn't say anything, feeling that the important part was just a little further.  "I…" Kurama stammered, "I didn't want it to stop. So," the demon turned his back to the human, "I hid it, from Hiei." 

Kuwabara felt genuine sympathy for the demon fox, in spite of himself.  He could relate to that better than Kurama could ever know.  The fighter sometimes just wished things would fall into place like fairy tales.  For all their sakes.

            "I figured I could break it off before it got to serious," Kurama shook his head, "It was never meant to get that serious."  Kuwabara could hear the distress in his friend's voice, and again it pulled him in spite of his previous anger.  "Things just got so out of hand."

            "Did you ever think," Kuwabara started for the first time in a while, "that they were supposed to?"  Kurama glared over in his direction.

            "Don't act like you know so much," Kurama sighed tiredly.  "I've already told you, destiny and love are just devices you humans made up to make your short lives a little more bearable."

            "I used to think you knew just about everything," said Kuwabara evenly, "but it jus' looks like you don't know a good thing when it bites you in the ass."  The fighter shrugged off the demon's glare.

            "Maybe fate doesn't set things out on a silver platter for us," Kuwabara conceded, "an' maybe it makes things hard sometimes."  He took a step back, ready now to leave the shadows, "but sometimes it takes a bad thing to make you realize a good thing when you have it."

            "It doesn't do any good when you have lost it already," Kurama replied.

            "I think your problem is, you give up way to easily," the taller waved off Kurama's shocked look.  "If something is precious to you, I'd think you'd work to get it back."  Kurama watched the retreating form with intensity, "And with Yuusuke, well… you just lucked out because he likes you that much.  You don't run into that everyday."

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

In this heart there is a room

A chamber hidden deep inside

A locket where my secrets hide

And if you asked me what I'd say

After I used the key

I'd say it's best to leave it be

Leave it be

For there are things too real to see

I think I figured it out… the answer to the puzzle of true love.  And I don't think I'm happy about that.  Ironic that I devote my life to love, and then don't like my answer…  But I feel really cheated right now… What's the use of knowing what you can never have?  I wish it were Yukina… But she has someone too; I can see the gold between them… why does it hurt?

There was a twinge of pity in the demon's heart for Kuwabara's belated realization.  Hiei had known that Yukina didn't love the fighter in the way he wanted, though she loved him very much.  He could always make her smile, and the feeling that the two shared some secret that he wasn't aware of surfaced, though he quickly pushed it aside.  As for the rest, Hiei could have told Kuwabara it would go like that though he doubted the human would have believed him.  The fighter sustained himself on Hollywood endings, yet… this was dated over a year ago.

He's on my mind and in my dreams

And all the hints have come together

And everything is what it seems

Though it doesn't seem quite right

After trying so hard to see the truth

Valuable lessons: Irony is a bitch

Hearts lie

The truth is not kind

But I love him anyway

A smile tugged at the corners of Hiei's mouth.  He was on the last two books so he was sure that very soon now, he would have the identity of Kuwabara's love and the key to his true weakness.  He flipped through the next few pages, and his eyes scanned for a name.  Near the end of the book he found one, and for the first time in many years Hiei's heart stopped in surprise.

~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~-~~~~~

            Kuwabara returned home a little after midnight, emotionally drained.  Those green eyes still burned in the back of his mind, even though now he was sure Kurama had better things to do than follow him.  The fox demon tended to leave an impression on him for days anyway though, which is probably why Kuwabara never really cared for conversations with him.

            As soon as he walked through the door Kuwabara could sense something was off, though he wasn't quite sure what.  'It's colder than it should be,' the redhead decided, and checked around for his sister.  In her absence he found a note saying she'd gone on a girls night out.  The note came complete with a poorly drawn Shizuru giving him a 'V' sign and a P.S. which read 'don't burn the house down.' 

            Kuwabara had often thought of telling Shizuru she wasn't as funny as she thought she was.  He sighed crumpling the note in his hand and turning the heat up.  The tall fighter dragged himself up the stars, sincerely hoping that Hiei was asleep, or gone, or something so he could just crash for the night.

            He swung the door to his room wide open to see that Hiei was neither asleep, nor gone.  The stoic little demon had however managed to find his own cloths Kuwabara noticed.  The fire demon was sitting in the middle of the bed looking out the window with an odd expression on his face.  Kuwabara got the feeling there was something amiss, and stood in the doorframe not sure whether to enter.

            "Hiei?"

            "When darkness falls, and true night calls?"  The demon began to recite without looking at the human. 'Oh… shit!' Kuwabara didn't need to hear the rest of that entry to know where it was from.  Hiei didn't bother to ramble off the rest, looking over to see the fighter's shocked expression.

            Kuwabara tore his eyes from Hiei to the nightstand where all his journals were stacked neatly in order of color.  His vision blurred, but whether from fear or anger he wasn't sure.  He had to focus though.  'Green, white, light blue…' the human scanned desperately.  'Red, yellow… thank gods.' 

            Relief flooded Kuwabara's being when he noticed the absence of that book. He hadn't noticed he'd been giving the door jam a death grip until he released his powerful hold and straightened himself.  Things looked pretty bad right now, but as long as that book remained unfound… there was a possibility of salvaging it.  Kuwabara dared to raise his dark eyes to Hiei's red for a moment and flinched under the accusing glare.

            Hiei rose, never taking his eyes from the human, and reached out pulling one of the books from the nightstand.  Kuwabara remained pinned under the fire demons' angry glare, his body refusing to move.

            Hiei brandished the book, and baring his sharp teeth has he spoke.  "How… dare you?"  Hiei's deadly tone sent an icy chill down Kuwabara's spine.  Every muscle in his body seemed to comprehend that extreme annihilation was at hand, and Kuwabara had to scrounge together the nerve not to bolt.

            "How dare you," He demon repeated, "keep such secrets?"  The world stopped spinning, the clocks stopped ticking, the universe itself was on hold.  All while Kazuma's mind raced to find an answer that would placate Hiei.  What could he say?

Author's note:

Yes, that's all for this chapter folks!  Even though the first reaction to this ending was less than positive… it was due solely to the fact that they wanted to know what happened next, which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.  Actually all of Asha's/Larania Drake's impute was a huge contributing factor to me getting this done.  So a thanks goes to her as well.

I hope you liked this chapter, and I thank you for reading this far everyone!