DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own any of the characters in this story. NONE. Do you understand that? I don't make any money off of this, either, I just find pleasure in writing fan fictions. Thank you.

~Chapter Five: Affection~

Hotaru wanted to talk with Hiei, but she knew that her chances of finding him were low. Unless, maybe...

"Bye, I'm going to the park!" Hotaru said.

"Bye, Hotaru, have fun." Amara and Michelle both said in unison.

"Bye." Trista said.

Hotaru left. She remembered that Hiei had said that the tree that he had taken her to was his favorite place. Maybe if she stayed there for a while, he'd eventually show up.

When she got there, she was disappointed to find that Hiei wasn't there. She climbed the tree, just to make sure he wasn't there, and he wasn't. She sat in the same spot that she had before.

"I love it here." She said to herself, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze gently blow through her hair, "It's so peaceful."

"But it's my spot." Said a voice. Hotaru looked next to her and nearly fell off of the branch in surprise. Hiei had suddenly appeared next to her. He smirked and helped her keep her balance.

"Surprised to see me?" He asked.

"No, I expected that you would show up here, I just didn't expect you to be here so soon." Hotaru answered, and then said playfully, "Don't scare me like that!"

"But its fun."

There was a silence, and the two of them stared at each other for a long while. Hiei was the one who broke the silence.

"Why is it so important that no one knows that you're Sailor Saturn?" He asked.

"Because..." Hotaru thought for a moment, and then continued, "It's just supposed to be a secret, I really can't explain why. Let's put it this way though: how many people know what you are?"

"Not many." Hiei answered.

"Exactly." Hotaru paused for a moment, and then giggled. "You know, I don't even know what you are!"

"I'm a fire apparition." Hiei told her, "Well, actually, I'm only half fire apparition. I'm also half ice apparition."

"Really? What are you doing in the human world?"

"I joined with a team of Spirit Detectives. We keep the human world safe."

"Oh. Well, that's a good job for you, you're a really good fighter."

"I'm better when I'm not just playing. Our last fight was just to see what you could do."

"You never saw what I could really do, either."

Hiei looked at her and smirked. Hotaru knew what he was thinking.

"All right." She said, "I will if you will."

Hiei answered her by jumping out of the tree and drawing his sword. Hotaru did the same, and transformed into Sailor Saturn.

"But, let's establish the rules first." Sailor Saturn said, "I'm assuming you have powers, right?"

Hiei nodded, and Hotaru continued.

"Then neither of us can use our powers, only our weapons, and if we lose our weapons then we can fight physically. That way, we won't cause too much damage to the park. And another thing: don't go easy on me, and I won't go easy on you. This time our fight is for real. No killing either. I can heal any of our injuries, though. So, are you okay with that?"

"That's fine with me, I'll still win." Hiei said confidently.

"We'll just see about that."

*

Kurama stood nervously outside the door, waiting for it to be answered. Michelle opened the door.

"Oh, hello, Kurama." Michelle said, "What brings you here?"

"Hello Michelle." Kurama greeted warmly, "Is Trista home?"

"Yes, just a minute. Come in."

"Thank you."

Kurama waited in the living room while Michelle went to get Trista. Trista came in shortly, and smiled when she saw Kurama.

"Hi, Kurama." She said, "Nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too, Trista." Kurama said politely, "I'm here because I wanted to ask you something. There's a place that I've heard about, and I've always wanted to go there, but I haven't gone yet. It's called Celestial Gardens; it's a botanical garden. I was wondering... if maybe... would you like to go there with me?"

"It sounds wonderful! I'd love to!"

"Really? You would? That's great!"

"So when are we leaving?"

"Would you like to go now? Of course, if you're busy..."

"No, no, I'm not busy. Let's go."

Kurama smiled and they left for Celestial Gardens.

*

The fight between Hiei and Sailor Saturn raged on, and both of them were doing excellently. Hiei had a definite advantage because of his speed, but that wasn't going to stop Sailor Saturn.

He was suddenly coming toward her from ahead. Fast. She quickly blocked his attack with her glaive, and tried to twist her glaive to make him lose his sword. But He moved before she really had a chance to.

'And I thought he was fast before!' Sailor Saturn thought, 'He really was just playing last time!'

'You thought that I was kidding?'

Sailor Saturn gasped. Hiei had just spoken to her through her mind!

He attacked her from behind, but she moved away to the side.

"You're a telepath?" She asked, "If you are, then why didn't you just read my mind to find out that I was Sailor Saturn?"

"That wouldn't have been any fun." Hiei answered, and then vanished again.

"Alright, but remember, you can't use your powers, so reading my mind would be cheating."

"Fine. I won't."

The fight continued. Sailor Saturn stood still, concentrating, trying to figure out where Hiei was. He was coming up on her from the side, so she attacked with her glaive. But he had moved again. There was no way that she was ever going to be able to hit him!

Hiei stopped in front of her and smirked.

"By the look on your face," he said, "I'd say that you've had enough."

"Not a chance!"

"Suit yourself." He disappeared again. Sailor Saturn was losing. She had to think of a way to turn this fight around... And then it came to her. She took a few blows from Hiei before she finally got her chance. She finally caught sight of him, and he was coming along side her. Quickly, she put her foot in his way, and he instantly fell flat on his face, his sword being tossed out of his hand in the process. He turned over and was about to get up, but Sailor Saturn had her glaive aimed for his chest.

"You're too fast for your own good, Hiei." She stated, smiling, "Surrender?"

Hiei frowned, and opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, as if he was wondering if he should give up or not. He was about to talk again, but a voice stopped him.

"HOLD IT!" Shouted the voice. Both Hiei and Sailor Saturn looked up to see that Yusuke and Kuwabarra were nearby, and Yusuke had his index finger pointed at Sailor Saturn like it was a gun.

"It looks like you could use some help, Hiei." Yusuke said.

"I bet you're glad we showed up!" Kuwabarra said, "If we didn't this woman would have probably killed you!"

"Shut up you idiots!" Hiei snapped, "She isn't an enemy! She and I are having a little contest, that's all, and she wasn't anywhere near defeating me."

"Oh, really?" Sailor Saturn said, "Are you sure we're on the same page, Hiei, because it looks like I was about to win. You were going to surrender, weren't you? After all, I have you pinned to the ground, what else could you possibly do?"

"This." Hiei said with a smirk, moving his leg swiftly and knocking her feet from beneath her. He got up and retrieved his sword in a flash. "You trip me, I trip you." He said. Saturn got up and the fight continued.

"Okay..." Kuwabarra said, "I'm lost. What the heck is going on here?"

"Exactly what Hiei said, I guess..." Yusuke replied, staring at the two fighters, "A contest... it looked like she was ready to kill him, but look at them, both of them are smiling! I never thought I'd live to see Hiei smile. But it looks like they're actually doing this for fun."

So Yusuke and Kuwabarra watched as the fight between Hiei and Sailor Saturn continued.

*

(Kurama's point of view)

We were on the train on our way to Celestial Gardens. I couldn't think of anything to say to Trista- unlike the other times I've been with her. She and I usually had a lot of things to say, but today was different for some reason. Finally, however, she spoke.

"So how did you hear of Celestial Gardens?" She asked.

"I just caught wind of it, that's all." I told her, "I love plants, and I thought that a place like Celestial Gardens would be a wonderful place to visit. I decided that I should bring a friend along, and well, Hiei wouldn't have wanted to."

"Thank you for inviting me."

"You're very welcome."

Soon, we made it to Celestial Gardens. Together we explored the enormous place and I could tell that Trista was having as much fun here as I.

"This place is beautiful, Kurama!" Trista said with a sigh, "It's so relaxing."

"I'm glad you like it." Kurama answered. The two of them were in an area near a small pond, and no one else was in sight. They were alone, and except for the buzzing of bees or the sweet songs of the birds, it was silent.

They both stared into the water, and said nothing to each other for quite some time. Neither of them realized it, but they were suddenly holding each other's hands. The silence remained, until at the same moment they became aware of what was going on. They both let go and pulled away.

"I'm sorry." Kurama said, and at the same time, Trista had said "Sorry," as well.

"Shall we move on?" Kurama suggested.

"Yes, let's." Trista answered.

*

(Hiei's point of view)

If Yusuke and that idiot hadn't shown up, this fight would've been over by now. I couldn't believe that I nearly surrendered to her. I knew that I could've easily gotten away from her (which I did), but I was actually going to lose on purpose. Why? Why was I willing to do that? Was it so that I could make Hotaru feel like she was strong? What am I thinking? She is strong! But not stronger than me! So why was I going to surrender? Whatever the reason, I was glad that the two of them had shown up. If they hadn't, the fun would've ended.

I had to hand it to Hotaru: she was incredibly skilled. But I was still planning on defeating her. If she won it would most definitely be by luck. Like the little stunt she pulled earlier. She somehow was lucky enough to make me fall.

I was attacking her from behind. Again. But she blocked my attack with her glaive.

'HOW IS SHE DOING THAT!?' I thought furiously.

Ever since I had fallen, I hadn't been able to hit her at all. She has either blocked or dodged every one of my attacks. The only two who have ever been able to defeat me were Kurama and Yusuke (Yusuke only got lucky, I SWEAR it!), and now, this girl, who has had me perplexed since I met her, was able to find a way to defend herself against me! And my speed, too! How was she able to keep her eyes on me? After all, she is only a human, no matter how long she's been able to use a glaive, she's still human! How was she doing this? Maybe... just maybe I've underestimated her. It seems like she's been in very near as many battles as I! She couldn't have gained these skills otherwise.

Again, I attacked, and again, she evaded it.

'How can her eyes keep up with my movements!? HOW IS SHE ABLE TO DO THIS!?'

She was impressive- very impressive. But if she didn't find a way to actually attack rather than defend, there was no way that she could win.

I moved in for another attack...

*

(Sailor Saturn's point of view)

I was wondering when he was going to attack from that direction! He was a really good fighter, but he obviously couldn't see my strategy. His sword came down, and I blocked it with my glaive, but this time, I used the pole of my glaive to toss the sword out of his un-expecting hands. His sword was flung far from the both of us, and again I had my chance. I moved toward him for an attack, and managed to hit him before he vanished again. In a mere moment he had his sword in his hands again. He had such incredible agility!

Even though I had to continuously block his attacks, I had (slowly) moved near a large tree. It wasn't as large as the one that he and I had been in before, but it was going to work perfectly, if Hiei did what I was hoping he would.

I had noticed that he would use the nearby trees to jump off of for an aerial attack or two, so I was hoping that he would do it here, too.

I was right.

He jumped into the tree and was immediately jumping back down, his sword in a position to strike me. But I stepped backwards swiftly, and he landed in front of me. I used this opportunity to take care of what I had planned.

Again, I caused him to lose his hold on his sword (it was a little harder this time, he must have been somewhat anticipating it), and in a moment, I had pinned him to the tree by his cloak with my glaive. He was completely at my mercy now, unless he saw a way out of it.

*

(Kuwabarra's point of view)

This girl meant business! She was really tough, and it looked like Hiei might actually lose a fight for once. I could barely see what was going on, because Hiei was moving so fast, and every time something would happen he'd move again. But all of a sudden that girl had him stuck to the tree, and he lost his sword. And that would really be a bad situation if Hiei didn't have those butt-kicking darkness flame techniques. But I couldn't understand why he wasn't using them, I mean, what? Is he holding back because she's a girl? I'M the one with an honor code- not him! I have a reason not to fight with girls. But he doesn't. So why wasn't he fighting back with his powers?

The two of them stood there for a really long time, just staring at each other in a really weird way. I wonder what they were thinking? Anyway, they both looked like they were enjoying the fight, and the look on the girl's face made it seem like she was convinced she had won. To be honest, I thought the same thing. But were they ever going to stop staring at each other? Was this fight ever going to stop? Why weren't they SAYING anything?

...

Was that an ice cream truck I just heard?

*

(Yusuke's point of view)

This fight was intense. I could hardly keep up with it all. Now Hiei and this mystery girl (who actually looked incredibly familiar, by the way) were just staring at each other. Neither of them were moving. Neither of them were making a sound. What were they doing? Was this a staring contest or something? Or maybe they were just trying to see who could go the longest pretending to be a statue. Whatever it was, it was really annoying, just sitting here, wondering, while they just stood there doing nothing at all.

*

(Normal point of view)

"Now do you surrender?" Sailor Saturn asked.

Yusuke and Kuwabarra were relieved that one of them finally spoke. They were both beginning to wonder if the two of them had somehow gotten stuck that way.

"I'm not going to surrender." Hiei answered stubbornly.

"I'm willing to call it a tie if you'd like. We are obviously very evenly matched. We could keep this up for hours, you know, or we could consider it a draw for now. That doesn't mean that we can't do this again though, it was really fun."

Hiei thought about this offer for a moment.

"Fine, it's a draw." He finally said, "You did well, I'm impressed."

"So did you, I have to admit."

Sailor Saturn released Hiei, who picked up his sword and put it away. During the fight, both of them had gotten slight injuries, so Saturn took Hiei's hands in her own.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked.

"Exactly what I said I would. I'm going to heal us now."

Both of them started glowing in a soft purple light, and within only moments, all of their wounds were completely healed.

"So?" Sailor Saturn asked, letting go of Hiei.

"You're good." Hiei answered, looking himself over. "Very good."

"Thank you."

Sailor Saturn then realized that the two of them were standing very close to each other. Sheepishly, she stepped back. She lost her footing because she stepped on a small rock, and she fell backwards. Before she actually fell onto the ground though, Hiei reached for her hand to help her keep her balance, but this made things worse. They both collapsed in a puddle of mud, which must have been left over from the last rainfall. Hiei quickly got up, as did she.

"Sorry." They said in unison, and then looked at each other. Saturn burst out laughing when she saw Hiei.

"What?" Hiei asked.

"You should see your face!" She answered, laughing, "It's covered in mud!"

*

(Hiei's point of view)

She was laughing at me? If only she could see herself!

"You've got mud all over you, too." I pointed out, wondering why she found such amusement in something as simple as this. Trying to contain her laughter, she said,

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just can't help it! You look so funny!"

Come to think of it, this was pretty funny. Suddenly, I started laughing too. I couldn't help it.

"You think I look funny," I told her through my laughter, which, oddly, I couldn't stop, "Look in a mirror!"

*

(Normal point of view)

As Hiei and Saturn laughed at each other, Yusuke and Kuwabarra approached them, wide-eyed and open mouthed.

"Am I actually seeing this?" Yusuke asked, "Is Hiei really laughing?"

"It looks like it..." Kuwabarra answered, equally stunned, "Wow, Hiei, what did she do to you?"

"Shut up!" Hiei snapped fiercely. Or, he had intended to be fierce, but since his laughter was out of control, it didn't sound that way.

*

(While the fight was still going on...)

After spending hours together at Celestial Gardens, Kurama, and Trista thought that it was time to leave. On the train, they both talked to each other nonstop. The subject changed repeatedly, but their conversation eventually came to be about flowers.

"Kurama, what's your favorite kind of flower?" Trista asked.

"Roses." Kurama answered, "Not only are they beautiful, but they can be used in so many things. Rose oil is good for your skin, for example. And you can also use them in foods. Some people use rose stuffing for turkeys on Thanksgiving, and some will use them in baking, for muffins or cake."

"Really? That's interesting. I never knew that. You can eat roses?"

"Yes, but not white ones. The best part about cooking roses is that they taste exactly like they smell, too."

"How come you can't use white ones?"

"They're not good for you."

"Oh, I see."

"So what is your favorite flower?"

"I think that carnations are my favorite. They come in so many colors, and they look beautiful."

"Yes, carnations are lovely." Kurama agreed.

When they got off of the train, they decided that they'd go to the park for a little while. As they approached the park, they heard laughter. Kurama was the first to notice Yusuke, Kuwabarra, Hotaru (as Sailor Saturn), and Hiei standing by a tree. Both Sailor Saturn and Hiei were covered in mud, and both were laughing. Hiei? Laughing?

Trista and Kurama walked over to them to see what was happening.

"Hiei?" Kurama asked, surprised to see his friend laughing so hard, let alone smiling. "You're... laughing?"

Sailor Saturn got control of herself and looked up, still smiling, and on the verge of bursting out into laughter again. Hiei finally stopped laughing as well, but was still smiling.

"What happened to you two?" Trista asked.

Sailor Saturn and Hiei looked at each other, and nearly started laughing again. Fighting the urge to laugh, Sailor Saturn spoke.

"Hi Kurama, hi Trista. Nothing happened, really, we just fell into some mud. It's no big deal."

"What's going on, Saturn?" Trista asked.

"Oh, just a little contest between Hiei and I."

"Speaking of which, why were you two having a competition anyway?" Yusuke asked.

"For some fun." Sailor Saturn answered.

"It looked like you guys were trying to kill each other!" Kuwabarra stated.

"Good." Hiei said, glancing at Sailor Saturn with a smile, "That means neither of us were holding back."

After a brief conversation, they all decided to head home. Yusuke was going to go home too, and Kuwabarra decided he'd try to find the ice-cream truck that he had heard earlier. Kurama and Hiei walked Trista and Sailor Saturn home, and Trista, Kurama and Hiei were all surprised when Sailor Saturn changed back into Hotaru.

"What are you doing!?" They all shouted.

"I thought no one was supposed to know who you are!" Hiei said.

"Trista already knows." Hotaru said.

"Hotaru!" Trista said a little angrily, "You know this is supposed to be a secret! Why did you show them?"

"Trista, I'm sorry! They found out. Kurama and Hiei won't tell anyone. Right?" Hotaru asked, glancing at both of them.

"No." They answered together.

"How did they find out?" Trista asked, still staring at Hotaru.

"I thought I was being attacked." Hotaru answered, "So I transformed and it turns out that the one who was attacking me was Hiei, and he wasn't really attacking me, he was just having fun. Kurama showed up right after that."

"I see."

"How did you know, Trista, if you don't mind my asking?" Kurama questioned.

Trista thought for a moment. She wasn't sure if she should tell Kurama the truth or give a convincing lie. She looked at Hotaru.

"Should I tell them?" She asked her.

"Go ahead, Trista." Hotaru responded, "We can trust them. You and I both know we can."

"It's because, like Hotaru, I too have another name." Trista answered, "I am Sailor Pluto. She and I share similar secrets."

After a while, they reached Trista and Hotaru's house. Trista invited Kurama inside, and he accepted the invitation. Hotaru also invited Hiei in, but he said that he'd prefer to stay outside.

"Are you sure you weren't going easy on me?" Hotaru asked.

"Of course not!" Hiei answered, "I was really trying you know. But I'm sure that you only did so well because you were lucky."

"That wasn't luck. That was skill and a lot of practice."

"Hn. We'll see who wins next time. Then we'll know who has skill." Hiei smirked.

"Yeah, next time." Hotaru agreed.

After a slight pause, Hiei spoke.

"You are unlike any human I have ever met before." Hiei said, "You're strong, and although you've seen my true form, you aren't afraid of me. You still wanted to be friends with me, even after I attacked you. Why is it that you trust me so much?"

"What do you mean?" Hotaru replied, "It's because that's what friends do, they trust each other. And we are friends, aren't we?"

"I suppose we are, but all the same, why would a human want to befriend an apparition? I don't understand why you still trust me after I tricked you into showing me your identity."

"I told you my reason before. You said yourself that you wouldn't have killed me, and I trust you. Not only that, but friends forgive each other. So I forgive you for what you did. I don't care what you are or what you've done. We're friends."

*

(Hiei's point of view)

This is the very reason why I can't stand humans. They're so soft. It's pathetic. But Hotaru is different than most humans. Normally, if someone had seen me in my true form they would have ran away like a child. But she didn't. She still insisted on befriending me. Not that I'm complaining... I really do like spending time with her. But what is it about her that makes me feel like that? I've never been able to stand humans- until now. Was it because... was I maybe... feeling the human emotion 'love'? NO! That's impossible! That can't be true! How could I even think that? I AM NOT IN LOVE!!

...

Am I?

...

No! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!

...

But she IS different than any other human I've met before...

...

Who cares! The fact is: she is still a human!

...

Even though she is an incredible fighter. And she's obviously trusting, and honest, too...

...

This isn't happening!! I do NOT have feelings for a human girl! It can't be true! I've stayed in the human world for too long! I beginning to act like one!

*

(Normal point of view)

Hiei was completely silent as he continued to argue with himself. Hotaru noticed that it was getting colder, and, realizing that Hiei wasn't planning on saying anything more, decided to go inside.

"Goodnight, Hiei." Hotaru said sweetly, "See you again." She went inside, and Kurama came out.

"Hiei," Kurama said, staring at Hiei, "Is something wrong? It looks like something is bothering you."

Hiei looked away and replied, "I can't stay in this world anymore. It has changed me for the worst, so I'm leaving!"

"Hiei, wait...!"

But it was too late. Hiei had already vanished.

"He'll be back." Kurama sighed, "He'll be back."

(A/N: I am sorry for not updating in so long, I've just been so busy with school! Anyway, I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Goddess of Jupiter, I LOVED the idea of a pairing with Kurama and Lita. But I had already been aiming in the direction of a Kurama/Trista fic, so I decided to leave it at that. But here's the deal: since I liked the idea so much, I'll TRY to start a story and pair those two together as soon as I get a plot for it. And as for your idea of a Hiei/Serena fic, Starlight, that sounds like it would be a VERY interesting pair, indeed! I think that it would be fun to try it, so I'll try it out and see if I can go anywhere with it. It isn't definite that I'll do either of these stories, but if I actually get somewhere with them, I WILL put them up, you can be sure of that! Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, and all of your compliments, corrections, and criticism! All of it helps! ~Starflash)