Well, it's a LITTLE longer. Warning; this chapter is very angsty. No cliffhanger this time. I know I know, too bad. Hope you like it; this is the part where the romance comes in!!
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Hiei stared at the sleeping girl. What is she, narcoleptic?! He thought irritably. His mind told him to move her and leave, but his heart was warming up to her. As such, he couldn't help himself; he touched her hair, and then her cheek, and then her lips. She murmured and kissed his hand. A reluctant smile spread across the fire demon's face. He found himself leaning down so that his lips were a mere inch from hers. He moved closer...
"HEY HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI!" Yusuke came charging down the street, startling the black haired demon so much that he dropped Aura from the tree.
"YOU LITTLE FARTKNOCKER! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!" He jumped down and caught Aura before she hit the ground.
Yusuke wagged a finger. "You shouldn't drop girls, Hiei. Especially if you LIIIIIIIIIIKE them." He grinned from ear to ear. "And besides," he added, "I thought you didn't like Miss Sayaka. You should give him to Kuwabara; I don't think poor Yukina can take that idiot much longer."
"Yukina should just kill him and be done with it," Hiei said simply. He dropped Aura onto the ground beside the giant oak tree. "And Kuwabara can HAVE Sayaka if she wants her."
Yusuke looked confused. "But the way you were about to kiss her--"
"DON'T BE IDIOTIC!" He yelled. "I was just checking to see if she was breathing."
Yusuke sniggered. "That has got to be the LAMEST excuse I have ever heard in my entire LIFE."
"Oh get lost, bastard."
"Wanna fight this out?"
"Ladies first."
Hiei started to draw the katana that always remained by his side. But just then, Aura stirred. "He-man-chan, what's going on?"
"HE MAN CHAN??!!!" Yusuke just about died laughing. "What a name!" He clapped Hiei on the shoulder. "I guess you DO have a sensitive side, EH, HE MAN CHAN?!"
Hiei booted him over the horizon.
Aura looked at him sideways. "What's wrong with He-man-chan?" She asked.
"It's an idiotic nickname," he replied.
"Oh." She didn't say anything for a long time. "Then what should I call you?"
"Call me Hiei. JUST Hiei."
She giggled. "Ok, JUST Hiei."
"CUT IT OUT!!!" Hiei pounced on her, eyes burning rage. But when he landed on her, she just smiled up at him, extinguishing the flame of anger immediately.
She reached up and put her arms around his neck. "What now, Hiei?" She pulled him close. "Won't you hug me back? It shouldn't make any difference since you don't love me. It can be...I don't know...a friend type thing."
Hiei could feel her heart against his chest, and it was beating quite fast. However, his own just maintained its regular beat. His heart hadn't been long since frozen for nothing. "I don't know."
She was silent once again. Hiei didn't hug her back, just left his arms lying at his side. But he did not push her away either. Somehow the warmth of her embrace left him feeling safe and comforted.
All at once he noticed his shoulder was wet. He looked at her questioningly, and realized she was crying. "What's wrong, Aura?"
She shook her head violently. "Nothing...I've just been wanting to hold you for so long...and now that I can, you can't hug me back." She looked up into his eyes. "You're just as warm as I thought you would be," she murmured. "Except--except...for right here." She kissed his chest.
"You were crying there just a moment ago," he said. "Maybe the wind chilled the tears to being cold."
"No, Hiei. Your heart is nothing but ice. I was hoping warm tears might melt it. I am a spirit, and spirits can sense these things."
"I am confused."
She laughed. "It seems kind of backwards. Ice Apparitions have warm hearts, while fire demons have souls of the coldest ice."
"An icy heart cannot be broken," he said simply. "A forbidden child learns this early on."
"Well, I haven't looked for you for 19 years for nothing," she said determinedly. "If you could love me, would you?"
"The unloved cannot love..." He rested his head on her shoulder. "And I am unloved. I am someone the world has forgotten about, has turned its back on. Therefore, I must turn my back on the world and walk a lonely path. I walk a sharp line, Miss Aura. Any uncertainty would put me over the edge, and that is a risk I cannot take."
"What if I said that I loved you, Hiei?"
"You have. But I know you don't mean it. You've always enjoyed bugging me. You're just playing with my emotions, like every other being on this wretched planet."
"If I didn't love you, would I do this?" She yanked him close and pressed her lips to his. Her slender hands clung to his thin frame, afraid to let him go. But his heartbeat did not get any faster. His eyes were squeezed shut, his fists clenched. Suddenly, he just shoved her away and backed down the field. "Why must you torture me like this?!" He screamed. "I cannot love! I cannot BE loved! So don't try to melt this ice that has settled in around my heart, just leave me the hell alone!" And with that, he turned and bolted down the street, oblivious to the tears streaming down the girl's face.