I've decided to change this to not-on-shot-type of stories, since the first two chapters are connected, and this chapter is too. The new name is Freedom and Imprisonment, and in total, will have four chapters (one more chapter to go). Hope you like it.

Flying

Kurama's POV

"Do you want to fly, Kurama?"

I looked at him. I still couldn't believe that he was here with me. He came right after the sunset, out of the shadows and darkness, but bringing me light. Then he just sat on the windowsill, his back facing me, as if he would leave and sink into the night any moment. He didn't speak, and neither did I. I just wanted to look at him, enjoy his presence and memorize hi every detail, though I had long imprinted it in my mind. Finally he broke the silence.

I thought for a moment, then replied, "We cannot fly like the birds do, so we can only fly in our hearts."

"But you haven't answered my question. Do you want to fly?" he turned to look at me, his ruby orbs staring right into my eyes, and I felt a jolt of something. Electricity was cliché, but I couldn't find any other words. It drove all thoughts away from me, and I could only stare back blankly, not knowing the answer to such a simple question.

"I always wanted to fly," he continued, seeing that I wasn't going to reply, and I always thought that I was flying, but I recently felt that I was no longer able to do that."

He jumped down from the windowsill and came to sit by me on the bed. My heart skipped a beat.

"I envy the birds in the sky, able to go anywhere they want, no restriction, no one to bind them and having absolute freedom. I felt like I was so much like a bird, without anyone who is related to me, having so much freedom. I could do anything I want and take no commands. I never cared about what the world, the people saw me as. I just want to be me."

"But you can't do so now. Is that what you mean by you are unable to fly? Why?"

"Because I found that there can never by absolute freedom in this world. Even for the birds. They cannot fly over a certain height, limited by their own physical abilities and the atmospheric pressure. They can never reach the stars."

" I used to want to find Yukina, to tell her that she still has a brother, and maybe then I could do on and fly without anything to hold me down. But after I found her, I knew that by being the real person I am will shatter her fantasy she holds for a brother, so I chose not to tell her, and then she would not be hut, and I could keep on doing whatever I want. But I was wrong again. Now that I have found her, I couldn't let go anymore. I have to protect her. I have tied myself down."

"Yet I still long to fly. Can you understand this helpless feeling, Kurama?" He said and lifted his arm, gently cupping the side of my face. I didn't know why, but was somehow disappointed by what he said. I shouldn't be expecting anything more, just minutes ago I was in an endless waiting and a cold room, with only memories. Now I had what I wanted, yet was disappointed.

I smiled wistfully and took the hand he was resting by my cheek and briefly leaned into it, then took it down and held it with both of by hands. "I understand, Hiei. I will understand anything that you are willing to tell me." But what I want to understand was what you were not wiling or not able to tell me. When could I ever do that?

"The more I want to be free, the more I find myself tied down. At first it was only Yukina, but slowly . . ." He smiled bitterly and gazed up at me. His eyes seemed to have said everything, yet nothing at all. It made me so hopeful, my heart beating furiously in anticipation; it made me so doubtful, what if I deciphered the wrong meaning? I could only wait for him to go on.

"What ties me down isn't painful at all. In fact, it makes me happy, so full of emotions that I cannot bear to fly away anymore. I curse myself for my uselessness, and I give up on ever having to fly again."

"Hiei, you don't have to totally free of everything to be flying. Flying is supposed to make you happy, and so is freedom, but if you already have happiness, then is it really that important to by flying? Birds fly so that they can find a suitable place to live, or food to eat. They all will have a home someday, and won't be flying anymore. Sometimes, being tied down has its good things too, and these may fill up your heart a lot better than having freedom can. Maybe you should try to enjoy the feeling of being tied down."

He stood up and pulled me towards the window, then pointed at the endless stretch of sky above us and said, "Do you want to fly, Kurama? The world is so big out there, but you can only flap your wings helplessly in the metal cage."

"No, I don't want to fly. The people I love are here, and that's why I'm here. If they are going, then the whole world will mean nothing to me. I just want to be wherever they are. I do not want to leave them; I do not want to fly."

"Who are the people you love? Your mother? The people in this house?"

I nodded. "But some of the people I love cannot always stay be my side. For those people, I will always be here waiting for them, waiting form them to come after their flight."

"Will you always be here, just waiting?"

"Yes, as long as they will someday come to me, even if just for a short stay. I will always be here waiting, even if they would never come anymore. Since there are people flying, then there must be people on the ground waiting for them."

We continued in silence, and I never relinquished my hold of his hand, nor did he pull away. The silence was comfortable. All that had to be said for the day was done, but his words echoed in my mind, keeping me thinking about what he said, trying to find the true meaning he was trying to express. Maybe he wasn't trying to express anything. That was why my mind kept running in circles.

Unconsciously, the first rays of the sun broke through the clouds. A news day had begun. We were broken out of our dreams. I released my hold so naturally, before he could start to pull away. I knew it was time for him to go.

"Kurama, I will still be flying, but I will be flying around the ones I love. I may land someday, but for now, I want to experience flying before I totally cannot leave anymore. You won't leave here, right?"

"I promise." And he vanished in to the corners where the sun could not reach.

Flying.