The moment slowed and came to a standstill.
The grass bending in the wind never made it up again.
The birds hovered below the grey clouds overhead.
Hiei stood and Kurama stared up at him.
Kurama saw Tohru's eyes suddenly look up at him and saw the other boy starting to raise his head.
That's when the moment, all at once, began to move again.
"Minamino?" Tohru said. "Minamino, who is that?"
Kurama stared at Hiei and one memory came so clear in his mind that it seemed to overlap with this moment. He suddenly remembered the time, not that long ago, that he had pretended to betray Hiei. The look Hiei was giving him now...it was the same as then....
"Hiei." Kurama whispered.
Hiei didn't reply. He didn't move. He seemed suddenly a detached shadow if it weren't for his two red eyes, or the emotion burning within them.
Gently, Kurama pulled away from Tohru. The warmth of that human body slipped away. The winter wind seemed so impossibly cold.
Could it possibly be so cold?
"Hiei?" Kurama said again and when Hiei didn't reply, Kurama took another step near him. "Hiei?"
Kurama reached out to Hiei and his fingertips brushed against his face. Hiei turned to him at that moment and their eyes locked, but it was a short moment.
Perhaps it was Kurama's imagination that it happened at all.
For, in the next moment, Kurama was pushed aside and by the time he managed to roll to a stop, Hiei already had Tohru in his hand.
...to be continued....