Yeah!! One more chapter to go!!!! Since the summer holiday is almost over, and after I get into 10th grade, I'll have to prepare for provincial exam, and it sucks, so I have to slow down on my writings. I swear this is not my own choice, but mom forced me into it. Anyway, I will be working of Reflection of the Moon for a while before I start writing the squeal to One Last Wish. Just wait.

Seasons Autumn

September

The air was supposed to be cool and refreshing, with a hint of dryness that belonged only to the autumn, but now, under the still thick but red canopy of monstrously huge trees, the air was humid and almost suffocating. The smell of maple permeated through the atmosphere, more intoxicating than any perfume. Sunlight shone lazily through the crimson leaves and cast red shadows onto the ground.

Who could be in this atmosphere and not be drunk?

They ran through the woods so fast that their feet barely touched the thick layer of fallen leaves below. If they really were to come into contact with those leaves, they would probably be drowned in them.

There was no wind, but the leaves rustled and danced onto the red carpet below, as if a strong gale had just blown by. Everywhere was red, from vermilion to deep scarlet, as if the whole world only consisted of red.

"Ah! It feels so good to be back in Makai again!" Kurama exclaimed and took a deep breath. His crimson tresses seemed to have merged with the surroundings. "But Hiei, why are we here?"

"To see Mukuro." Kurama's heart tightened unconsciously at t he mention of her name. "Don't worry, fox. I am not interested in her, and never will be. She almost punched a hole through me the last time she got angry. Anyway, I just have something to talk to her about." His eyes glinted in a mysterious way Kurama could not decipher.

Soon they found Mukuro's moving fortress. Upon entering it, all the guards bowed until their heads almost reached the ground. Hiei just walked on as if they were transparent, and Kurama raised a brow.

"Hiei-sama, Mukuro-sama has been expecting you," one fo the gurards said and directed them through the fortress. Kurama's brow rose even more as he heard the "expecting you".

Finally, they came to a room with tall ebony doors. Hiei ushered Kurama into a room beside it and said, "Wait here for me." He left the room and closed ht door behind him before Kurama could retaliate.

Frustrated beyond belief with huge portions of suspicion and jealousy, Kurama paced around the room in circles. The door wasn't locked, but he couldn't eavesdrop. There were too many guards. After what seemed like an eternity, Kurama calmed down a bit and took a look at the room. It was nicely furnished and new, and the style had a touch of classic to it which was much to Kurama's taste. A king-sized bed stood at the center with thick mahogany bedposts, and it seemed so soft and fluffy . . . A huge closet was beside it, and out of curiosity, Kurama opened it.

The wardrobe was incredible with all the clothes arranged according to their colors. Kurama took out one, and found that it was exactly his size, and so were all the others. The wardrobe seemed to be made for him.

Having nothing better to do, he changed into a Chinese style pale lavender tunic that reached a little past his knees. The buttons were delicate Chinese knots made with thick burgundy strings. Below he wore a nicely fitting with dress pants. Bother articles were made of heave silk, comfortable and draping down, showing the smooth curves of Kurama's slightly feminine body. He nodded in satisfaction and was just wondering who knew his figure what well when the door opened.

"Please come this way, Kurama-sama," a guard bowed and held open the door.

They walked along endless hallways and finally reached a room. Hiei was already inside, waiting for him in the shadows like he often did. The guard bowed again then closed the door before the left. Kurama couldn't help but noticed that Hiei seemed rather nervous and fidgety, sort of like before he confessed to Yukina.

"What's wrong, Hiei?"

"Um . . . nothing. Well . . . there is something I would like to tell you. I . . ." he quickly stole a glance at Kurama, then lowered his head again, "Um . . . That is . . . Will you marry me?" He blurted out.

Kurama stood there, shocked, and was a whole minute later before he comprehended what Hiei had said. The fire demon was about to give up, taking the silence as rejection, when Kurama spoke, "D . . . Do you mean it?"

"Of course," Hiei looked up and gave a rare smile, "I would never lie to you, fox."

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground with Kurama on top of him, hugging him as tight as he could and tiny sobs escaped his throat. "Hiei . . . I . . . I'm so glad that . . . you asked."

Hiei gave a small smirk as he lifted Kurama off himself. "So are you marrying me or what?"

"Oh! Of course I do!" he beamed and it was the happiest smile Hiei had ever seen on him, and his heart melted at the sight. Kurama leaned down and gave Hiei a sweet kiss, but what was supposed to be innocent turned rather heated after a while, and either two minutes or two hours later, a voice behind them spoke, "You can do that after the ceremony, but now, break it up. People are waiting for you."

Kurama lifted his head and saw Mukuro standing by the door with a tiny smirk. Having forgotten completely about his discomfiture about her, Kurama blushed and followed meekly out of the room, Hiei right behind him. He silently wondered about the "ceremony" Mukuro mentioned, but all thoughts were blown away from his mind as another door opened and nearly hundreds of people (or demons) yelled, "Congratulations!"

Huge round dinner tables were placed in neat rows, and in the first table sat Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yukina, Keiko . . . The second table sat Yomi, Jin and all the opponents they'd met in the tournament. Koenma, Botan and almost all the workers from Reikai took over another four tables. As for the rest of the people, they had not even the slightest idea who they were, but they all seemed to know Kurama and Hiei.

Hiei cringed inwardly at the sight of Yomi, then took hold of Kurama's hand in a possessive grip.

"So this is what you and Mukuro were planning . . ." Kurama whispered to Hiei, "But what if I didn't agree? Then isn't it a big trouble to get theses people to go back?"

Hiei smirked his infamous smirk, then said, "I know you well enough to say that you won't disagree."

"Hmph!" Kurama snorted, "Next time I'll do things that will shock the daylights out of you."

A straight long aisle divided the dinner tables into two equal sections, and a bishop stood at the end of it. Wedding music suddenly ran out from nowhere, and they started walking down the aisle, are in arm.

All the people were so quiet that the music was the only sound in the room, echoing back and forth between the walls. Hiei tried to look nonchalant under the pressure, but his eyes betrayed hints of nervousness and excitement. It seemed as if none of his previous battles was half as nerve-wrecking as this. Kurama simply blushed again and lowered his head, wearing a sweet smile on his lips and a spark in his eyes.

The bishop was a little bewildered that both of them were men, but he continued when he saw the glint in Hiei's eyes. Finally, after the "I do"s, Yukina came up carrying a velvet cushion with two rings on it. The rings were made of white gold and the outside was plated with a layer of deep ruby that matched Kurama's hair and Hiei's irises.

After the ring was slipped onto his finger, Kurama could feel it tighten by a notch. "It's not as if I will take it off," he murmured.

"Now I announce you man and . . . um . . . man, whatever, and you may kiss your . . . husband."

Kurama grinned at the bishop's discomfiture, then deliberately gave Hiei a good long kiss which wasn't really suitable on a wedding. The crowd broke into cheers, and Kurama glanced up in time to see the bishop's face go green.

The newlyweds went to settle in the same table as Yusuke and Kuwabara, when Yomi approached them.

"Congratulations, Kurama, though I never thought that this day would come after Kuronue died. I'm glad that you've gotten over him. Although it is a rather pity."

"What is a pity?" Hiei shot back with a threatening tone.

"It is a pity that I never made good use of my chance when I still had it, but I guess it won't have worked anyway, I wish you two a happy married life." With that, he bowed and left.

Kurama's vision lingered on Yomi a while longer, then he whispered, "Thank you."

With a clap of Mukuro's hands, servants rushed in, carrying all sorts of food and lots of wine. Then the guests took turns toasting to the couple, and as good as they were with wine, both were a little tipsy when the feast was finally over. Even Hiei's pale face had a faint dusting of rose.

"Hey Keiko, when should we get married?" Yusuke suddenly piped out as he sprawled on the table, totally drunk. Needless to say, Keiko was angry like always and sent the teenager into unconsciousness with one punch.

"I think we should go now," Kuwabara said, not as drunk as Yusuke so as to keep up appearances in front of Yukina, "it's time to let them have some 'private time', isn't it, Yukina-san?"

With a chorus of agreement, the guests left, leaving only Mukuro, Kurama and Hiei.

"I'll see you back to your room. Have a good time, and as I said before, I've granted Hiei's honeymoon leave. That's the lest I can do to thank you guys for the present Hiei gave me last year. I knew that he got the plant form you, Kurama. Congratulations." And she left, leaving them the door of the room Kurama came from

Red could represent a lot of meanings and emotions. It could represent love; it could represent hate, maybe it was that these two were really the same thing. It could also represent any emotion that had burnt to its fullest intensity. But in the end, everything would be the same, buried in the soil, just like the fallen red maple leaves.

Kurama wrapped his arms around Hiei from behind, then nibbled his earlobe before whispering, "When did you have the idea of marrying me? I thought that you don't' like to be tied down."

"Well, that idea popped into my mind when Mukuro first mentioned about the honeymoon thing. You probably were too embarrassed to notice that, and I suppose that we can't really get married in Ningenkai, so that idea didn't occur to you. And yes, I do like freedom, but I don't' want you to be lonely, or to feel insecure again every time I have to come to Makai. Besides, you are a part of me, so why would I be tied down?" He reached back to put Kurama on the head, and found that the fox was crying. "Kurama, I've never seen you cry so m any times a day. Come on, there's nothing to cry about. I'm here with you, now and forever."

Kurama only cried even harder, but managed to sniff out, "No . . . I'm not crying . . . just . . . too happy."

"I'm glad that you are, fox."

The glorious sunset reflected on the surface of a river, making the water look like diluted red ink, shimmering under the waning sun. A few red leaves were carried by the wind into the water, and was swallowed into the murky crimson depth. At least this was more special than being buried in the soil.

"You look wonderful today, fox. Looks like the clothes I asked Mukuro to prepare aren't wasted. But too bad they are quite obstructive now . . ." He said in a husky voice and slipped his hand under Kurama's tunic.

Kurama breath caught in his throat, and he decided to ask one last question before his mind totally lost the ability to think. "Hiei . . . how are we going to explain this to my mother?"

Red gave up its dominance, as darkness took over and drowned everything.