Disclaimer: I do not own Hiei, Kurama, Yukina, Genkai, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko or the arsonist. I also do not own anything else from Yu Yu Hakusho.

A/N: In which Hiei wakes. About time, too, lazy half-breed that he is.

Saving Private Yukina

Cold Determination

His eyes still stung. This he noted with a slight clench of his jaw as he drifted from deep slumber into wakefulness. Dimly, he recalled Genkai's probing fingers and their staggering passage back down the mountain toward the temple. Hiei opened his eyes.

He could tell he was in the dojo by its scent. Had he been relying on his eyes, he would have estimated that he was about four hundred feet beneath the surface of a slightly milky liquid, looking up at the sun. He curled over to his left side, and ahead of him he could scent... roses. Damn fox. He squinted and made out a white blur and six feet, as well as three heads of vibrant red hair. He frowned. Eventually, his vision resolved the six legs into just two. Then he sat up and they blurred out of focus again. He rubbed at his eyes fretfully with the heels of his hands.

Cool hands - Yukina - tugged them patiently away from his face. "Hiei-san, I'm glad you're awake. Please, try not to rub your eyes..."

The blur that was Kurama chuckled softly. "Your eyes are still bothering you... I'm very sorry about that. You'll need to wash them out properly to get rid of the shampoo. I can't say that the smoke was good for them, either."

Hiei squinted at him for a long time. Eventually he determined that the fox was dressed in a loose white outfit that looked like it would be more suitably put to use practicing kendo. "We are never having a 'shower' again." He wiped at his eyes again. Yukina took his hand from him again and held both the captured appendages in her lap with one hand. With the other she reached behind her and picked up a small basin full of cool water. She offered it to him with a hopeful expression.

"To wash out your eyes. Just cup a bit in your hand..." She trailed off as Hiei picked up the basin and just dunked his entire face in it, obviously determined to cure his vision. Kurama and Yukina exchanged helpless looks.

"Well, that's one way of doing it..." the redhead muttered. Hiei removed his face from the bowl of water and swiped his hands over his face rather than use his only partially replenished youki. He snorted. His vision was exactly the same as it had been thirty seconds ago, except that now the white blur was framed by the black blur of his wet, clumped-together eyelashes.

"What was that shampoo stuff?"

Kurama shrugged lightly. "A mixture of chemicals and plant extracts that humans use to keep their hair clean. Ordinarily it wouldn't have harmed you much, but that one also had a special wash to keep my seeds healthy."

Yukina sat patiently with her hands in her lap, trying not to fidget as Hiei glared at his friend. Kurama's eyes flicked between Hiei and Yukina uneasily. Then, as though just remembering, he let out a soft cry. "Oh! Yukina-san... Genkai-baba said to tell you that she would appreciate your help in the kitchen." Yukina glanced up at him in surprise and he gave her a gentle smile. "I forgot." He murmured apologetically, inclining his head and directing an almost ashamed look at her through his lashes. There was a pause, and then Yukina nodded.

"Thankyou, Kurama-san." She stood quietly and hastened from the room. Kurama let out a soft sigh of relief and immediately shifted closer to Hiei, wincing, but obviously urgently needing to speak to his friend in private. Hiei craned slightly closer, expression neutral.

"Hiei, we need to talk... Yukina-san found a hiruiseki in your hand, today." The fire demon stiffened, eyes widening slightly. He directed a look of forced calm at the fox, but – whether it was the fact that Hiei could not actually focus, or something else - Kurama could see how worried he was. Quickly, he added, "It's all right, Genkai and I came up with a plan. All you have to do is convince Yukina that her brother is watching her in secret." Quickly, he related the details to Hiei. The fire demon looked doubtful.

"It's too close..." he muttered morosely. Kurama shrugged.

"What else can you say?" He asked lightly.

And of course, there was nothing else he could tell her except the truth.

Shortly, Yukina and Genkai entered, bearing two large trays covered with rice and small dishes of meat and vegetables. Genkai put down the tray and smacked Kurama lightly over the head. "Forgot, eh?" She demanded, eyebrow raised. Kurama gave her a sheepish look.

"I blame it on the fire." He said. Genkai snorted.

"I had a feeling you would." She sat down and crossed her legs, then clapped her hands together. "Itadakimasu!" Kurama and Yukina followed her example. Hiei picked up a bowl of rice. Yukina cleared her throat softly and he froze.

"Hiei-san..." She brought her right hand to her obi and withdrew from beneath its lip a tiny black tear gem. "I... I found this hiruiseki in your hand, earlier..." Hiei stared at her for several seconds, frozen. For a moment, Kurama feared... but then the fire demon seemed to relax slightly.

"You found it." He said lightly, looking calmly back down at his rice. "I was concerned I'd dropped it on the way back." Yukina's pale pink lips opened and closed, and she looked down at her meal sadly. Hiei said, "He said to tell you not to worry. He has some things to take care of, but he's keeping an eye on you." Kurama stuffed a mouthful of rice between his lips to mask a smirk. He shouldn't have worried. Of course Hiei could make this sound sincere. "...He's very sorry for keeping his presence from you, but he wasn't sure if you would believe the stories the Koorime told of him."

Yukina nearly dropped her rice. "But-- you told him, didn't you-- Hiei-san--" Hiei held up his hand to quell her nervous outburst.

"I told him that you had been searching for him ever since you discovered that you had a brother, and he gave me that hiruiseki to give to you." He finished. Yukina was silent for a moment, but then she let out a relieved breath and beamed at him. Although he couldn't see her well enough to know this, Hiei sensed it anyway and allowed himself the very faintest of smiles.

Kurama found his inner self curled up in a ball inside his head, blushing and giggling like a school girl at the sheer cuteness of it all. (Youko prodded at this self cautiously with a long stick of some kind, unsure if its insanity was contagious.)

Yukina set down her bowl of rice. She stood and walked carefully to where Hiei sat, on the other side of Genkai. The fire demon watched her cautiously. What's she doing? Yukina knelt a little behind him and wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, much to Hiei's shock. Kurama and Genkai exchanged amused glances across the food as the fire demon froze in surprised horror and Yukina rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"Thankyou, Hiei-san!" Yukina murmured. Hiei blinked twice.

"...fine. It's fine." He said hoarsely. Yukina pulled back and directed a grateful smile at him before returning to her place. Hiei sat uncertainly for several minutes, silently staring blankly at his rice. Then he stood up and flickered outside. Yukina watched after him sadly and went back to eating her rice.

When they had finished eating and Yukina had helped Genkai tidy the kitchen, she came to sit by Kurama as she tended to his burns. Her eyes were downcast as she worked, thoughtful and sad. Kurama wished he could say something to reassure her. She rested her hands lightly on his forearm as she concentrated on soothing the burns. "Kurama-san..."

He waited.

"Would you... apologise to Hiei-san for me? I... I don't think he liked me hugging him very much." Her voice was so uncertain. Kurama sympathised. He'd been brushed aside by Hiei many times in the past, but knowing what he did of Hiei's past he could understand the Forbidden Child's instinct to keep his distance. Yukina didn't have that reasoning to fall back upon.

"Yukina-chan, don't worry. Hiei..." He searched for words. "He has not had an easy life. He's not used to being appreciated." That didn't sound right at all. Kurama abandoned all hope of remaining detached. "What I mean, Yukina-chan, is that he can't quite accept anyone would love him freely as a dear friend, without expecting anything more of him." Yukina's eyes widened slightly, sadly. Very quietly, she said, "Oh..."

She continued trying to draw the heat from his burns. As a Koorime, they were really the only sort of affliction she had any trouble with. Kurama appreciated the effort. "Thankyou for this, Yukina-chan." She smiled at him.

"Please, don't mention it." There was a long pause. "Kurama-san, do you think Hiei-san will ever let you or I hug him?" It was a carefully phrased question and Kurama wasn't entirely sure how to answer it. He chose the most obvious response, and sighed heavily.

"I don't know, Yukina-chan. I think the only person who can answer that is Hiei himself."

- - - - - - - - - -

Later, when Kurama had gone to telephone his mother to let her know where he was - and where he would be staying until 'the temple had been repaired' (his youki had recovered from the loss of so many trees) - Yukina walked hesitantly out into the darkened courtyard.

"Hiei-san?"

Her small voice echoed in the darkness. She waited patiently for a few seconds, and when nothing moved, she sighed slightly.

"Hiei-san, can I talk to you, please?"

Reluctantly, Hiei materialised out of the shadows. He hadn't been able to go very far – all he could see was slight differentiations in the colour of the darkness. She smiled at him gratefully as he edged closer, as though afraid she was going to leap on him and hug him again. (Which was ridiculous, because Yukina would never do such a thing.) She looked at him, feeling rather awkward, and opened her mouth to speak.

She didn't know what to say.

Hiei waited. Finally Yukina managed, "I want to go to him."

The fire demon very nearly swore out loud. "It's too dangerous. He'll come to you when his business is done."

Yukina's slender hands clenched. "No, I want to go to him. I've been waiting for so long for a sign of... and now I have one. Hiei-san, please..." She looked at him with pleading crimson eyes filled with tears. "You must understand how badly I want to find him."

The eyes were almost his undoing. He stared at her, slowly panicking, and said, hoarsely, "I can't." He shook his head fiercely. "I promised him that I wouldn't. He doesn't want to involve you with... what he's doing. He doesn't want to endanger you."

Yukina clasped both hands before her obi, looking down. "I don't care... I don't care if I'm in danger. I don't care what he's done, I don't care who he's dealing with. I only want to find him, Hiei-san." A lone hiruiseki clattered to the cobblestones.

Hiei tried desperately to think of some way out of this. With anyone else, even the fox, he would have disappeared in a shadowy gust of wind by now. He didn't know what to do with Yukina. Don't be stupid. The only problem is that you can't see. "I can't." He repeated. Inspiration struck him. "Even ignoring your brother's wishes, what about Kuwabaka? He would never forgive me for leading you into danger." Not that I care what the Idiot thinks of me...

Yukina shook her head slowly and looked up with a slight smile. "Kazuma-san would understand..." Her eyes went far away for a few moments, in which Hiei found himself getting extremely angry with the Idiot. How was it possible that he could bring such happiness to Yukina, when Hiei had only made her cry? He'd made her cry... For a few moments, Hiei felt like the single most wretched being in the three worlds. Then her focus was back. "Please, Hiei-san." She'd already given up, but one last plea couldn't hurt.

Hiei said, "Iie, Yukina-chan. I promised. I can't."

Yukina bowed her head miserably. Hiei disappeared into the darkness. If she listened very carefully, she could hear the unusually loud crunch of leaves beneath his weight as he passed further into darkness.

Kurama was waiting for her when she returned. He cocked his head curiously and she shook her head. He opened his mouth to sympathise, but she beat him to it.

"It's all right, Kurama-san. I'll find him myself."

Kurama hid a grimace. What had they done?

- - - - - - - - - -

It was very late when Hiei came back and his ascent up the dojo steps was hesitant and clumsy. Kurama was lying on his side, facing the doors, green eyes glittering blackly in the darkness. His voice was moss-soft. "She's going to find him herself." The shadow that was Hiei paused in the doorway and Kurama saw his shoulders stiffen.

"She'll find nothing. And then she'll come back."

"Hiei..."

"Shut up, fox." Hiei's voice was louder than he'd intended it to be. He lowered it as he walked to the bedroll he'd been given. "Just be quiet. I don't want to talk about it." He lay down, back to Kurama.

The fox's eyes darkened with sorrow and no small measure of hurt. He closed them. "Then sleep well, Hiei."

Hiei's sleep was plagued by an old nightmare. An old nightmare of falling... of running. In his dreams, he always ran.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: And that would be chapter four. Reviews are appreciated.