Kawaii Kit: WOW! I'm soooo sorry, people! It's been so long! Please don't hurt me!!!! Anyways, I'm back and ready to continue. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it might be a bit short. Enjoy!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7: Flowers, Stars, and Kissing

A while had gone by and Hiei was still on the run, holding a shaken-up Kagome in his strong arms. She had her eyes tightly closed since the wind from Hiei's exceedingly swift running caused the scenery to blend together in a nauseatingly colorful sight. When she felt him halt to an immediate stop, she slowly, cautiously opened her eyes, as if afraid of what horrors she would see when she opened them.

The sight that greeted her was a welcoming flower garden, filled with every color and species of plant life thinkable. Sakura, maple, apple, and every other tree you could imagine stood tall and proud scattered about. The grass was lush and a beautiful and a healthy green, dazzling in the warm, golden sunlight. Butterflies gracefully fluttered around the flowers as if dancing to the sweet tune of a bird's song. The garden gave the air a sweet aroma like perfume and reminded Hiei of Kagome's scent as he sniffed it.

Kagome's mouth hung open and her silvery-blue orbs widened in awe and amazement. Hiei set her down gently in the shade of a Sakura tree, also gazing at the ethereal garden that lay before them. Kagome looked up at the tree, watching as its silky petals descended and tickled her nose as they smoothly brushed up against her.

After a few minutes which seemed like days, Kagome spoke up in a soft, seemingly faraway voice as if she was in deep thought. "It really is lovely, isn't it?" Hiei looked over at her and immediately thought of how perfect she looked their with a multicolored butterfly fluttering on her head and pink petals of the Sakura tree woven into her hair. His reply was a stiff nod of the head. Kagome smiled up at him with sparkling eyes full of happiness. The serenity of the peaceful garden put her into a tranquil state of mind and left her feeling energized and blissful.

After a few moments of sitting in complete, yet comfortable silence, Kagome surprised Hiei by standing up. When she saw the confused look on his face she giggled softly, making his expression change back to his usual stoic mask. Kagome obviously didn't mind and began to skip around in the flower garden, frolicking and leaping, laughing and twirling. Soon after, the butterflies and birds joined in her fun, flying and fluttering around her, enjoying her purely innocent happiness from such a small, yet beautiful thing.

Kagome, as well as Hiei, loved the way the gentle wind blew her pink hair around her like a cape. They also loved the way the Sakura and flower petals swirled around her in a whirlwind of vibrant colors. Kagome loved it because of the way it felt, and Hiei because of the way it made her seem even more beautiful, yet like a child at the same time.

After she was out of breath, Kagome staggered tiredly back to Hiei, still in giggles. Her face was flushed pink and her hair tangled up in the colorful flower petals. All in all, as Hiei thought, she still looked gorgeous. She plopped down non-too gracefully next to Hiei and leaned against the tree's sturdy bark, panting.

They remained that way for a while, sitting there in the shade of the Sakura tree, each not speaking a word or voicing their opinions of the stunning sight in front of them. Time went by and the sky darkened as the sun set. As it did, the sky was filled with blues, purples, oranges, yellows, reds, and pinks overlapping one-another in an exotic way. Kagome leaned her head onto Hiei's strong shoulder, shocking him to say the least. He tried to act as if he didn't mind, yet stiffened slightly at her innocent touch.

Finally, the sun completely set and the sky was a dark blue. Stars began to fill the night sky, looking like tiny silver jewels scattered about. They shined and sparkled, somehow making it o they could not turn away. The moon was full, glowing proudly in the center of the sky. Kagome's eyes, like Hiei's, were unblinking, staring at the dazzling stars and moon.

"It really is lovely, isn't it?" Kagome asked again, repeating her last comment. Hiei nodded his head, this time not in a stiff way, but in a comfortable as if he was in a calm state of mind. "It is," he replied, surprising Kagome with his softly spoken answer. His voice was smooth and silky and reminded Kagome of velvet. 'Strange,' she thought, 'I've never felt this way about Hiei before. Or anyone else for that matter.'

Hiei glanced over at Kagome, in a similar state of confusion. 'I do not understand,' he thought, 'I feel so strange when I'm around Kagome. Like my stomach does back flips. I feel the peculiar need to protect her, hold her in my arms, and never let go. Could it b---NO! Never! It couldn't be…love?' In Hiei's uncertainty, he did not hear Kagome's soft comment, but he did feel her velvety hand brushing against his cheek.

He was so surprised that he couldn't even draw back. He just stiffened completely like a deer in headlights. After a lifetime, at least in Hiei's opinion, Kagome drew her hand back, holding something between the tips of her pale fingers. Hiei took a closer look and saw that it was a small, pink petal from the Sakura tree. Kagome giggled at the surprised look Hiei gave her, making his head snap up to look at her.

They were surprised to find their faces inches, no, millimeters away from one another and each other's eyes seemingly staring into the other's soul. Hiei felt a pang inside of him, as if he just had to kiss her. He stared at her lips, noticing how full and pink they were and how desirable they looked.

Kagome was stuck in that position. For some odd reason, she felt like she couldn't move away, like she was glued on the spot. She noticed that Hiei wasn't moving either and that his eyes held a glazed, lustful look about them.

Before she could react in any way possible, Hiei pushed his lips onto hers in a gentle yet red hot kiss full of passion. With her wide silvery blue orbs, she saw that his eyes were sealed shut in the heat of the kiss. Slowly, her eyes too closed and she began to respond to the kiss. She slid her arms around his neck and he snaked his around her slim waist. Leaning down, he trapped her beneath him without breaking the kiss. In a few minutes, they parted for air.

Kagome, to say the least, was absolutely speechless with shock. She always knew that she felt differently for Hiei than she did for any of the other men in the group, but love? Opening her eyes gradually, she saw his blood red gaze staring straight into her own eyes, almost in a loving way. That was it. Kagome knew her feelings.

"Hiei I---" He cut her off with another kiss, pulling Kagome onto his lap and tangling his hands through her silky hair. Kagome was swept off her feet by this gesture of love and practically fainted with happiness. They broke apart a while later, panting with flushed cheeks. "You were saying?" Hiei asked in a strangely husky voice, giving Kagome pleasurable shivers down her spine. "W-well…" she started, "I-I-I wanted t-to say th-th-th-that I-I, um, uh…"

Hiei saw that she wasn't going to finish any time soon and gently, yet firmly grabbed her chin so she was facing him. Kagome stopped stuttering and stared straight into his eyes, wondering what he was going to do. "I love you." he proclaimed to her, speaking almost in a whisper. Kagome smiled at him lovingly. "My thoughts exactly."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Next Morning:

Kagome's eyes fluttered open at the sound of birds tweeting. After her vision cleared, she was surprised to see all black and found it hard to breath. She finally discovered that her face was buried into Hiei's black jacket and she was lying on the grass in someone's arms. Looking up, she saw blood red eyes staring back at her and Hiei's attractive face looking quite relaxed and comfortable.

She smiled up at him and snuggled deeper into his warm embrace. "Good morning, Hiei!" she said cheerfully, receiving a rare smile back. She practically melted in his arms when she saw his unrivaled sexy smile and almost fainted at how it was directed to her. Hiei tightened his grip on her as he heard someone approaching. Kagome's fox ears twitched and swiveled to where the sound was coming from.

The couple relaxed when they saw Inuyasha, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara emerge from the forest and almost laughed at their bewildered expressions of the magnificent garden. Before anyone could see their compromising position, Kagome and Hiei scrambled to untangle themselves and stand up. Kagome ran over to the boys and Hiei leaned against the Sakura tree.

"Hi, guys! Are you alright? What happened to Yuki?" Kagome questioned, getting a little nervous at the sound of the evil demon's name. Inuyasha and the boys looked down, ashamed. Kurama was the one to speak up. "Well, we found out that his name is really Yukito, but he uses Yuki for short. He also…um…got away." Kagome looked absolutely terrified. Inuyasha looked up at her. "He said he'd be back, " he explained, "We'll get him then." Kagome nodded but didn't feel any better, or safer. She was surprised to find a strong arm go around her shoulder, as was everyone else. She looked up to see Hiei looking down at her worriedly. She smiled faintly up at him and leaned into his touch. Everyone else was just speechless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kawaii Kit: Well, that's Chapter seven! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll try to get new chapters in soon, but right now I have a splitting headache. Please review and tell me how you liked it!

Thankies,

~*Kawaii Silver Kitsune*~

^.~