~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PART TWO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

******The Calm Before the Storm******

"Haven't you heard the forlorn look in his eyes,

The fear and feeling of lost hope?

And who in this crowd has helped this tortured soul?

No one... and that is why he kills."

********

Author's Notes: The quote's mine. MINE! Just as mine as the sunset quote. YOU NO STEAL! Oh yeah, and for each Part thingy, I'll add in a quick poem I think up. More of a quote, but whatever. I say poem. *shrugs* Anyhoo, if you bothered to check, the first chapter now also has a pretty poem thingy. A long one, at that. But anyhow... yeah! We're getting on with Part Two! Right now, you're just going to take it easy, but as we get on with it... hehe... *grins* Hiei is more psycho than ever!!! But... this chapter is all light and fluffyish... and filled with small talk... or at least in the beginning... don't kill me, it'll get angstier!

Hiei: Yeah, sure, don't update in weeks, then pour salt on their wounds by making this chapter not horrorish...

WHAT?! I WAS GROUNDED! I'm serious! I slept in on a school day. ^^;; My mom too away the laptop for a week T_T IT WAS TORTURE!

Anyhoo... reviewers...

Madame Arrow Foxfire: *grins* LONG REVIEWS!!! *huggles* I LOVE LONG REVIEWS!!! But anyhoo... that was VERY useful, to say the least.

Seremela Vardamir: *raises eyebrow* umm... Britt? The previous chapter wasn't really scary. *grumbles* And it was so much more convenient when you were just 'LadyFuzzy.'

Roxy-the-Wolf-Demon: ^_^ tee hee. *sticks out tongue and waves outline appetizingly in front of your face* nyah! It's been reviiiised! Oh, and by the way... *steals seyius*

Hiei Hotsause: *blinks* sorry, but no one else has said that... and besides, remember, the twins only belong to the Koorime, and all Koorime WERE female. His father was a fire demon, remember that. There ya go, his family tree. The Koorime 100-year-twin thingy must've been overruled by whatever the fire demon side's birth genetics were.

Sailor Millennium: *grins* see, when I tell you my fic is good, I mean it! ^_^ Hehe. Well, I'm glad you're gettin' the hang of it.

PsychoticLoverKitty: Papers?! .' .' b-b-b-but I disclaimed YYH!  *faints* *wakes up* oh wait, THOSE kinds of papers. Okay! *goes to write more*

Rachel Marianne: ...-_- *smacks you and takes away your Ryou plushie* like I said to Roxy earlier, cut down on sugar.

Sky-Pirate-Tat: It went there. *points at rainbow vortex into the future*

*trembles* e-e-e-eight r-reviews... I-I-I-I'M LOVED!

Oh yeah, and this will be the last chappie in a while, since I have three one-shots to do... one for a contest, one for the heck of it, and one for Christmas. But... the one I'm doing for the heck of it is called 'The Peony,' and it's a humor Kurama/Botan fic. ^^;; Don't kill me, it was a random idea while hyper. Umm... if it affects you at all, the contest fic is a YuGiOh one, it's horror, called 'Destiny: D-E-A-T-H' (inside symbolism for those who understand YGO) and the Christmas one is a fluffy fic called 'Snow of the Goddess,' and it's Saint Seiya fanfiction. But... *shrugs* anyhoo, I won't be updating for a while. [Reviewers: BOO!!!!] ^^;; Do you still love me?!

Umm.... Enjoy this for now!

*~*~*Serene*~*~*

Two weeks ago, King Enma was dethroned, and I accepted the hospitality of the Reikai Tantai.

The past is behind me. I don't plan on reviving those memories.

Once again, the sun is beating down on this world, bringing all the light and pure things in this realm to work. In my hand, I twirl a single Makai rose, a dangerous, yet attractive plant. Many have bloomed during this tranquil time. They're not quite my thing, but what else is there to look at? Evidently, Kurama flourishes during these times, as he flounces effeminately across the meadow.

I have no clue why I agreed to follow that baka kitsune here, anyhow.

Oh yeah. 'To take a break.' Not that I really wanted one here.

I really prefer a dark room with mirrors. I have no clue why... but it's just my type of mood. "Kitsune, if you do not get to the point of this 'break,' I will just go back to the palace on my own."

Kurama stops at this and sighs slightly, leaning against a tree and staring back at me. "You just can't lighten up, can you?" He doesn't seem to expect an answer and picks a peach from the branch over the top of his head, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. "I suppose the point of this," he says between bites, "is for you to get past your little drama streak." He swallows and tosses the seed on the ground, playfully growing a small tree.

"Past it? I've gone past many things by now," I mutter back.

"Cheer up!" he groans. "Catch!" As an instinct, I burn the projectile heading for me. I blink, realizing that it was one of the peaches off the aforementioned tree.[1] Kurama sighs, shaking his head. "You just can't let your guard down, can you?"

"After taking so long to build it? Not likely."

He sighs again, picking another fruit for himself. "If only that were one of things you left behind...."

"Believe me, kitsune, if I had, I wouldn't be here. Besides, I swear Keiko's out to poison me with her ningen food."

Kurama laughs and shakes his head. "It's not that bad... I personally like her snow peas...."

I grumble. "It's the only thing she can cook right." Carelessly, I toss the rose randomly and stretch. "So, are you done giving birth to peach trees, or are we going back?"

"Hiei-kun...."

"Since when was I your friend?" Coming to think of it, when was the last time I had a friend?

Kurama shrugs. "Ano... since you got drunk yesterday?"

**flashback**

"You're alllll sssuuuccchhh niiiiice friends!" I giggle, hugging Kurama from behind, wine bottle in hand. Kurama, in turn, gives a blinding grin and purrs. Yusuke grumbles and tosses his cigarette[2] into the trash can, and snatches the rest of the sake and putting it into the refrigerator.

"When Koenma said you guy were able to get wild about this, he didn't me THIS wild!!" he shouts, pissed.

"Oo, but I looooove yoooooou!" Kurama slurs, embracing Yusuke tightly.

"I LOVE YOU ALL!" I laugh, waving the empty bottle about. Yusuke's eyes are twitchy-pretty! They twitchy there... ooo... scarletish! WHEE!!! INIVISIBLE BUMPS ON THE FLOOR! Stumbling over my own feet is... FUN!

Blink, blink. Oo, pretty kitsune! PRETTY!

And to think they call me depressed.

**end flashback**

I growl, and my eye twitches. Oh. That. I thought the kitsune was too high on sake to remember... fortunately, he drops the subject and jumps on a nearby tree. "Hey, look!"

"Hn?" I climb up onto the tree with Kurama to see the sun dropping into the mountain range, scattered clouds a scarlet hue. "Another sunset." We both watch for a moment. Then there's a slight twinge in my throat as I remember... incidents. I jump down from the tree.

"Leaving?" the kitsune calls from above, brushing a branch aside.

"...Yes." With that, I turn my back to the sun and head back to the palace, not looking back, not waiting for Kurama, not waiting for the sunset's memories to catch up with me.

Distantly, I see Kurama hold a black gem cupped in his hands.

*~*~*

I close the curtains and turn off the artificial light. The room is dark. I face the mirror, catching the reflection of my third eye. Somehow, I feel at peace in this atmosphere... just like Kurama felt comforted at the meadow. I've always thought a favorite place for someone reflects their favorite mood.

But as I stand here, facing the mirror, haunting images scattered throughout... I know that this can't be my favorite mood. Maybe it's a personality. Yet Kurama isn't as simple as a joyful meadow. I know he's complicated. I've never asked, I don't even know him well, but I know he's not as simple as he appears to be.

But why the peach orchard?

And why the dark room with the mirror?[3]

The dark room that holds so many memories....

*~*~*

Kurama looks up from the table as I enter the room. "So you're back," he says flatly. I respond with a simple 'hn' and plop on a chair, watching Yusuke eat with all his might out of the corner of my eye. Eat, Yusuke, eat.[4] Yes, stuff yourself silly so I can kill you before you take a single pudgy step. Kuwa-baka seems to have joined an eating contest as well.

"I don't see how a Youkai could live with these ningens," I drawl with disgust.

Kurama shrugs. "You learn to cope with their... unruly ways. And in time, learn to accept them." He tosses a peach in the air, and Yusuke lurches forward to catch it with his teeth. Kurama sweatdrops, as this is obviously not what he expected.

I blink. "Like that?"

He chuckles. "Not that one yet."

Yusuke swallows a bite, and protests, "Kurama's peaches are the best!" Peaches are for dreams, so the saying goes. Dream on Kurama, these ningens I shall NEVER get used to. In fact, I'm resisting the urge to strangle him again.

"Yusuke-baka..." I mutter under my breath. "Kuwa-baka...." With these comments, I attract multiple glares. "Face it, it's just too true." I stand up, the chair screeching in protest, as I go to the dark room with the mirror.

*~*~*TBC

[1] *giggles* Peaches are for wishes and dreams!!! And I thought it was so kawaii that Kurama tossed him one! *stops and sighs* But grumpy ol' Hiei had to burn it.... Awwn....

[2] Yusuke smokes in the manga. Not the anime, though.

[3] Humhumhum... answer to this question in chapter 12! ^_^

[4] Inspired by Roxy's favorite saying, "BEND KURAMA, BEND!" For Inari's sake, (no, not his wine, the other saying) she even said that when they were eating ramen noodles! [Roxy: I WAS MISLED!!!]

*~*~*

Endnote: ...And here I'm thinking, the flashback is a good reason not to get drunk. ^^;; And as for the peaches dreams thingy... I kinda got that theme from Lady Yami Bakura's "Drawing Down the Moon," a REALLY good fic... but I don't expect many people around here to read it, it's from a different anime. On another note... I found out that Kurama saved a girl named Maya, and she looks strangely similar to my friend Maya, whenever she has her hair up. *odd glance at Maya Estrel, the friend Maya*

Maya: ...WHAT?! That's not me, okay?!

R Amythest: I also hear that Kurama had an 'affair' with her. *grins*

Maya: ...I dun want him.

R Amythest: *pokes* aww, you lucky, lucky girl...

Maya: -_-

R Amythest: *pokes some more*

Maya: -_-#

Hiei: SAAAAAAKE! *runs in making swordfighting noises* WHEE!!!!

R Amythest: @_@ What?!

Maya: God thank the drunken idiots.

Hiei: REEEEVIIIIEEEWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOING!!!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Currently searching for... hmm... the same things as last chapter.