Sorry I haven't updated in so long!! T_T I've been so busy lately, and I was at a loss for the longest time. I'm also trying to keep up with my other fics, especially Such a Fooled Heart (my Labyrinth one; please read it too!). So thanks for your patience, and please R&R!

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Hiei battled the forest in his desperate search. The sun was setting lower on the horizon, practically counting down the minutes until Aura emerged. Branches and thorns whipped at his face as he pressed forward, leaving long bloody scrapes on his cheeks and any exposed flesh.
"Dammit!" He muttered to himself. "Youko is on our tails now...But how do I find Aura before he does? I don't have the excellent sense of smell that he has..." He ran his fingers through his hair, got to his bangs, then stopped. "AHA!" He tore the headband from his forehead. The Jagan eye flashed.
Slowly he scoped the woods. Youko was now heading due east. Hiei kept on scanning the forest. "There!" He breathed. Sayaka was stumbling blindly, the transformation taking place weakening her. Hiei took off at top speed and reached her in less than a minute.
"Aura!" He yelled. "That is...you ARE Aura, correct?"
She looked up at him, blue-green eyes glittering. "Of course it's me."
"You sound tired."
She laughed. "Well, of course. I only have the most dangerous kitsune in all of history chasing me."
"Wait, how did you know he was chasing you? You took off into the woods before he even emerged."
"I'm an Ice Apparition; I'm not a complete moron. I can sense his spirit energy a mile away."
"I guess I forgot about that little fact," he said sheepishly. Then he regained his composure. "Well this is no time for making small talk; Youko is out to kill you."
"I kinda figured that out." She rubbed her temple aggravatedly. "We can outrun him, yes, but can we outsmart him? Kitsune aren't idiots. He'll find me."
"Correction: I can outrun him. You don't really have any special powers."
"Oh, so? So if I freeze you to the spot right now, summon an ice shard and jam it through your nonexistent heart, you won't even feel it?"
"Nonexistent?!" He sputtered.
"Yes, nonexistent. There's nothing I can do to shatter that ice wall, so I might as well take your heart for nonexistent. You never hugged me back or returned any of my affections. So why should I keep trying?"
Hiei had nothing to say to that. After a time, he laughed softly. "So many people are leaving me speechless these days..."
"Well, it's about time." She turned and ran further into the woods.
His eyes followed her retreating form. He shook his head. "Aura, if only you knew what you're doing to me..." Then he followed her.

Youko stood at the top of a tree in the distance, watching the odd pair run. Silently, he jumped from tree to tree, never taking his eyes off his targets. Never once did a branch snap, nor did he ever make a sound. His steps were fast and practiced.
"Such easy prey," he murmured to himself. "Hiei's growing soft. I never expected to see him stoop to this level." Youko's eyes flamed with anger. "This wretch will PAY for what she's done to my best friend!
"And just what did she do to me?"
Youko whirled around. Standing behind him, hair blowing in the icy wind, was Hiei. His face was covered by a smug smile. "Surprised?" He asked tauntingly.
Youko mustered a smirk. "No, not at all."
Hiei inspected his right arm. "You were just saying you never thought I would stoop to this level. However, I seem to be a whole step above you in this situation." The Jagan flashed again.
"You still don't see, do you." Youko stared at Hiei, but his hand behind his back motioned to a few vines. The vines slithered down from their resting spot on the tree towards where Aura was waiting below.
"I see that you're a selfish bastard that never had a care for a single living thing in the world." He stroked the dragon encircling his arm. By now he had seen the vines creeping toward the one he was trying to protect, and he had no intention of letting them get to her. "And now it's time to end this." With a snap of his fingers, the vines burst into flames, melting the surrounding ice.

"NO!" Youko stepped back. "How did you see them?!" He demanded.

"Easy. You forget: I've known you for nearly 300 years. How could I NOT know of your power to control the forces of nature?"

The white fox demon growled. He had been outsmarted…for the time being. The he laughed. "You're getting good, my friend. I would have thought you too infatuated with that ice apparition to think clearly." Suddenly, the yellow eyes were serious. "But your mind seems transparent enough, in more ways than you think."

"Oh, so?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. That black dragon tattoo is the only power you have over me. If I were to destroy it, I could get at that ice girl with no interruptions. Then I shall make her PAY for what she's done to a once-proud demon." Youko summoned another vine, but not before making sure that it was covered with melting ice. It shot towards Hiei, crackling the air with its speed.

The fire demon jumped and avoided it easily. "You're losing your touch, aren't you, my "friend"?" It lanced at him from another direction, and again he evaded it with no trouble.

"All in due time, Hiei. All in due time." The kitsune carefully chose what he was aiming at, making sure to come within inches of the fire demon's throat.

Aura watched from below, blue-green eyes ablaze. "If this is what he does to a friend, I'd hate to see how he treats an enemy," she muttered. "But then again, kitsune aren't exactly the most pleasurable of company to keep yourself in. What does that fire demon think he's doing?"

She slid down from the branch she had been speculating from and tried to get within a good aiming distance of the fox demon. With a small cry, she tried to make her ice powers cooperate. Nothing came. "No good," she murmured. "I'm still not up to full power. I hope Hiei can last a little longer without me."

Dammit! He's herding me! Hiei dodged another blow from the vine. He couldn't set it ablaze because of the melting ice, nor could he touch it for fear of being caught. Youko kept well out of firing range of his black dragon.

"You coward!" Hiei yelled. "Come here and fight me like a man!"

"I could say the same to you," Youko said calmly. "You're the one running away here."

Hiei shut his mouth stubbornly and darted away from another vine whip.

"OOF!" He slammed into a rock wall. The fire demon scrambled to climb over it, but it was over 1000 yards high. He was caught.