As it is that Kikyoku is currently in its most depressing state, I shall avoid and it and scary reviewers and update Touketsu! Whoo for me! ^^ Thanks to Kota-chan for the…katana…that belongs to Hiei…*sweatdrop*

Hiei: Hn.

Heh…heh heh heh…and Lexi-chan, I'm glad you approved of my Chitsuko portrayal! I wasn't sure if I had her down the way you wanted her. Whew…Bara-chan, still amused by Chibi cookie-sheet bashing. May use that. O.o And to Rose Eternity, umm…I will wisely say nothing and thank you for reviewing. ^^ In the words of Shin-san, yay for comedy!

Last chapter, Kaeru met a strange man, who called himself her uncle! Hmmm…anyway, now we forget Hiken and move on to…Hiei! Poor Kaeru…

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Sunlight filtered through the verdant foliage of the woodland trees, creating dappled shadows on the grass. Hiei didn't pay attention to the quiet beauty of the forest, too caught up in darting about, katana ready to strike at anything that had the misfortune of blundering into his path.

If anyone ELSE had been training in the forest behind Genkai's temple, they wouldn't have detected the almost-silent footsteps as they treaded softly on the ground. But it wasn't anyone else. It was Hiei, and he heard it. Swiftly, he raced for the intruder, bringing his katana forward to spill blood--and stopped.

The tip of the blade rested against the throat of a very pale and frightened Ice Maiden. Her ruby eyes were wide with surprise and fear, but she didn't move. Either she was smart enough to realize that she probably shouldn't make any sudden movements, or terror had locked her feet to the ground.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Koorime." He let the katana drop to his side. "What are you doing here?"

Kaeru cleared her throat, feeling a little awkward. "Ano…" (Umm…) When the Jaganshi continued to stare at her coldly, she sighed. "Hiei-san, I need a favor…"

"A favor?" The stare became more suspicious. "Of what sort?" It was obvious that he wasn't going to make this very easy for the poor Koorime. They both knew it.

"Well…" Kaeru fidgeted. "If…if you don't mind…could you…train me?"

The question threw Hiei for a loop. Completely disconcerted, he looked more closely at her. Although still pale, her face showed determination and her mouth and chin were set in a posture that told him just how serious she was. "Why?" He asked finally.

The Ice Maiden frowned. "Zenkai almost killed Yukina-chan and Kuronue-san. He's still alive, which means that he might succeed this time. I don't want any of my friends to be in danger, and I want to learn how to fight!"

The Jaganshi had seen this side of Kaeru only once before. It had been when she had asked to help him fight against Zenkai. She now had the exact same stubborn look in her eyes that meant that she wasn't going to back down so easily.

"Hn." He turned away. "Get someone else to train you, Koorime. Someone with more patience, like Kurama."

"I don't WANT Kurama-san to train me!" She shook her head vehemently. "I want YOU to, Hiei-san! You'll be completely honest and you won't go easy on me!"

She had that right. "If you train with me, you're going to have to learn how to fence. And no complaining."

Kaeru nodded gamely. "I can do that."

Hiei heaved a sigh. He hoped he wasn't going to regret this…in fact, he didn't even know WHY he was doing this! It might have something to do with the fact that Kaeru resembled Yukina, and he couldn't seem to refuse the pleading expression on her face or the big ruby eyes fixed trustingly on his own.

"Fine, then. Come back here in an hour. Training will start when you arrive."

The Koorime bowed and hurried off. Hiei watched her go, slowly shaking his head. This was going to be interesting.

***An Hour later…***

When Kaeru returned, she wasn't alone. Kuronue, Kurama, Chitsuko, the Saint Beast Suzaku, and the two Mirror Holders, Kia and Kelsey accompanied her.

"Don't worry, Runt," Suzaku said lazily, stretching out under a shady tree. "We're just here to watch."

"And to make sure that you don't end up killing Kaeru," Kelsey added, in a quieter voice. Kia grinned slightly, and they sat under another tree with the two foxes and Kuronue.

"I'm not going to baby her," Hiei snapped. He led Kaeru over to a huge sword that lay on the ground, the hilt gleaming gold. "That is a broadsword. We're not going to go any further with your training until you pick it up."

The little Koorime eyed the sword warily. It looked bigger than she was! But training was training…so she bent down slightly, grasped the hilt, and pulled. Nothing happened. Vexed, she tried again, pulling harder. Still nothing. Sighing, Kaeru straightened up, dug her heels in, and tugged with all of her strength, gritting her teeth with the effort. It lifted slightly, but then her grip on the hilt slipped and the Ice Maiden stumbled back, managing to regain her balance before she fell over.

"Hn." The fire youkai approached the sword and picked it up, handling it as if it were no lighter than a feather. He handed it to Kaeru and walked away. He had hardly taken a step when he heard a startled yelp, followed by a thump as the Koorime fell backwards, unbalanced by the sword's weight.

"Ouch…" Chitsuko winced. Kia and Kelsey exchanged glances, feeling a bit sorry for poor Kaeru.

"I should have known…" Hiei shook his head in disgust. "The Koorime race is indeed truly pathetic. If you can't even lift THAT, how do you expect to be able to fight?" He lifted his katana and rushed at Kaeru, who was struggling to rise.

Kia gasped. "He's not going to ATTACK her, is he?!"

"Looks like it." Kelsey shrugged.

Kuronue was instantly on his feet as Kaeru was knocked off hers, striking the grassy ground with a low cry. Blood trickled from a small slash on her left cheek, which soon faded, thanks to the Koorime's fast-working healing abilities. She still kept one hand on the broadsword as Hiei approached.

"You're too slow," the Jaganshi calmly informed her. "Even the Mirror Holders could have blocked that."

Kelsey bristled. "What do you mean EVEN the Mirror--"

"It's not worth it," the brunette told her friend. Chitsuko nodded in agreement.

Kuronue, meanwhile, was ready to shed some blood. "Attack her ONE more time, Jaganshi, and I'll shove your face into the ground!"

Hiei wasn't listening, having already started another charge at his "student". "Fight like you mean it, Koorime! Fight like I'm Zenkai!"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR A WORD OF WHAT I JUST SAID??" The chimera bellowed, striding forward. Chitsuko, Kia, and Kelsey held him back.

"He knows what he's doing, Kuro!" Chitsuko admonished him in a harsh whisper. "She'll be fine!"

"It's not like you're WORRIED about her, now are you?" Kelsey smirked infuriatingly at him. "Never figured you for the type to fall in love with an Ice Maiden."

"I'm NOT--"

"I told him you'd be worse than me," Kia said, struggling to keep a straight face. "Guess he'll have to believe me now."

Kaeru was oblivious to the ongoing conversation concerning her. Hiei's words had struck something inside of her, and before she knew it, she was back on her feet, lifting the sword with a yell to meet Hiei's katana. The two blades met with a ringing of steel on steel and the two locked swords, pressed tightly against each other for a moment before the Jaganshi pushed his katana down in an arc and they jumped apart.

"…How long has she been able to do that?" Kurama looked over at Suzaku, blinking mildly.

The Saint Beast shrugged. "You get her mad enough, she can do pretty much anything. And she used to duel Seiryuu when she was younger. Fighting him toughened her up…they didn't really like each other, and he used to pound the crap out of her until she fought back. She's got amazing resilience."

"Nice," Kelsey remarked. "Is that why you stopped calling her 'Snowdrop'?" She glanced at Kaeru to see if she'd heard, but the Koorime was still engaged in the fight with Hiei.

Suzaku nodded. "Being frozen is NOT fun, believe me."

"We'll take your word for it," Chitsuko assured him solemnly.

The match abruptly ended as Hiei managed to knock Kaeru's sword aside, his katana slipping under her guard to touch her throat lightly. For a moment, the two Koorime stood there, the smaller one panting slightly. Then Hiei actually smiled.

"You've dueled before."

"Hai." Kaeru stepped away. "But I haven't done so in a long time."

"You haven't forgotten it."

"No." She smiled ruefully. "I haven't. It just took a little…encouragement…to help me remember."

"'Encouragement', she calls it." Kuronue rolled his eyes. "He tries to kill her and she calls it 'encouragement'. No matter WHO it is, she has to be polite."

"It's Kaeru," Suzaku said offhandedly. "It wouldn't be her if she wasn't."

Hiei sheathed his katana. "That's enough for one day, Koorime. I've judged your skills, and training will increase tomorrow."

Kaeru nodded, not surprised at all. "Hiei-san, I have a name."

"I know."

"So why don't you call me by it?"

He turned to her, his usual gruff façade back in place. "I hate the Koorime race. I will call you Koorime, so stop whining about it."

"H-hai, Hiei-san!" The Ice Maiden quickly bowed. Hiei walked past her, closing his eyes. Even so, he could feel her questioning gaze at his back.

"Does he really hate the Koorime race?" Kelsey blinked. "He seems to like Yukina well enough."

"I don't think he does," Kia said thoughtfully. "If he did, I don't think he would have agreed to train Kaeru."

"So he doesn't hate us?" Kaeru came over, drooping a little. The brief skirmish seemed to have exhausted her, and now she briskly rubbed her arms, wincing.

"C'mon, Kae-chan." Chitsuko took the little Koorime's hand. "Let's go back."

The girl nodded, yawning. She and the hanyou led the way, with the Mirror Holders, Kurama, Suzaku, and Kuronue following.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Kaeru?" Kurama gently questioned her. "Hiei's method of fighting is bound to wear you out, and you're going to get hurt."

"I know, Kurama-san." Kaeru smiled up at him. "That's why I want Hiei-san to train me! It's the only way I'll stand a chance against Zenkai!"

"If you say so…" he said doubtfully.

The Ice Maiden nodded, yawning again. She had a feeling that she'd sleep well tonight.

*OOC*

Well, Kaeru seems to have survived her first training session with Hiei! Now she can rest…HA. Yeah, right. It'll only get harder, I'm afraid. Please review! NEXT chapter!

* It's a visit to the amusement park! What excitements await them?

* DDR calls to the gang! It's a rumble in the arcade when Suzaku and Kuronue get competitive and the girls show off a few moves of their own!

* Well, besides Kia facing down a tiger and Chitsuko assisting a magic show, guess which two little Ice Maidens get stuck on the Ferris wheel?