The next day it snowed.

Not right away. It was later in the day. Not right away. It wasn't until Kurama had made his choice.

Again.

He lingered at school that day. He knew that although Hiei might watch him through the windows, he wouldn't enter the school.

Kurama looked up and down the long empty hallway. There was no sound save for him, the sound of his locker opening, the sound of books.

Maybe that's why his thoughts were so loud.

He paused and brought a hand up to his mouth.

"You've been very quiet, today, Minamino." the sensei had said in the last class. "Is something wrong?"

Kurama had smiled.

He really hadn't said much today, had he? He had never even answered his sensei. Maybe he was worried that were he to open his mouth he'd say everything. Wouldn't that be funny? What would the sensei say to that?

Kurama shut the locker and sighed. It didn't matter.

The bell rang and the annoucement sounded. "The school will be locking. Please gather your belongings. We will see you tomorrow." it said.

Kurama looked down the hall.

Now where would he go?

He looked out the window and saw the branches of the tree move. He didn't see Hiei. He closed his eyes. He didn't feel Hiei's youki.

Did that make him feel better?

The answer made him lower his head. No. It didn't. He peered out the window again and wished against all the logic he knew he possessed that he saw the Jiganshi there.

He left the school and that's when the snow began.

It was the early snow-just a drizzle, a fine mist, a preview. Kurama paused outside the school doors and wrapped his scarf around his neck and peered up into it.

He closed his eyes and for a moment, the briefest of seconds, everything went still.

Then the moment was gone.

He held out his hand and caught a snow-flake.

It was just an addiction, his mind was saying. He closed his hand on the snow-flake and opened it. All that remained was water.

Kurama sighed then sat down.

He reached out towards the grass between the cracks of the sidewalk and dropped a seed into it. For a moment, he hesitated. There was another way. There had to be another way. But there wasn't. Was there? Could Genkai have been wrong? Kurama opened his hand and from the seed sprouted a tiny flower.

Delicate as silk, the petals moved in the wake of the movement of his hand. It was a white flower. It wouldn't do anything now. It would just bend in the wind and look pretty. Kurama watched it. Oh, but in the end, this little flower would be his undoing, wouldn't it?

"Is it the only way?" he asked himself. He looked at the flower, but it had no answers for him.

Kurama reached for it and hesitated again.

The snow had started to fall once more.

He reached for the flower again, but couldn't make himself take it in hand.

He stared at his hand, disbelieving.

Abruptly, he stood, shaking, thinking of snow and a girl he had never meant, but knew meant more to Hiei than anything else. Including himself.

Why couldn't he do it? Not even to help Hiei?

"There must be another way!" he whispered to himself.

...to be continued...