Authoress's Notes: WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I HAVE A COMPUTER AGAIN!! I am sad to announce that, though I have a
computer again, all of my half-typed stories were lost. I'm starting from scratch. Thank Fanfiction.net for backup copies of
my fics. And it's become apparent that NONE OF YOU READ MY BIO!! Everybody's been asking for MORE. Did I tell you I didn't
have a computer? YES!! I DID!! Read my bio once in a while, ya? And Sunday, January 11, is my birthday!! Then I will be
officially FOURTEEN!! WOOOOOO!! I got my computer back three days before my birthday!! The greatest present of all.
I just want to let everybody know how much I missed you all! *hugs reviewers*
On with the fic!!
------------------------------------------------------------
~A Red Rose in the Darkness~
Chapter Eighteen
------------------------------------------------------------
A blue Thursday. Foggy, misty, and rainy. Kurama stood leaned against a tree which protected him from the rainfall. The
funeral was on this cold Thursday. He felt out of place, though he was wearing the same kind of velvet black suit as all
the other men. There were people from his step-father's job. Hiei concealed himself in the tree.
"How cliché," Kurama said, waving his hand.
"What?" Hiei responded.
"The raining at a funeral. As though we are simply on a television show or in a story written by some sick person." (Little
do they know...)
"Who knows? We could be."
Kurama shook his head. "Don't you feel out of place, Hiei?"
There was silence a moment. "Why, do you?"
"Yes..." Kurama said, staring at his brown-haired step-brother who was hiding under a black umbrella. "I don't really have
a right to be here, do I?"
"You do," Hiei said after some thought. "You never break your promises."
"Is that my only reason?"
"No."
"Why are you here, Hiei?" Kurama asked, looking up to see a shadow in the branches.
"With you." Ah, a man of few words. "And to honor that in which we have destroyed."
And to honor that in which we have destroyed. Those words would stay with Kurama in his heart forever. He hadn't thought
about it that way. But, Hiei, in his own way, was brutally right. They had destroyed him, his life, his wife's heart. And,
though Kurama couldn't say it like it was destroy or be destroyed, he knew that's how it was.
"It is survival of the fittest," Hiei said quietly.
"Can you not regard it as though he was an animal?" Kurama said, slightly irritable.
"But he was. We all are, in a way."
"Hiei, please," Kurama said, massaging his temples.
"...you need to face the reality someday, Kurama."
With that, there was a simple "flitz", and the remaints of Hiei was a fading flare of ki. Few leaves fell to the ground
from the disturbance, and Kurama caught one in the palm of his hand. Staring at it, he noticed a raindrop fall from the tip.
Tears were rolling down his cheek before the raindrop hit the ground.
Shuiichi walked up to him. "You came..."
Kurama whisked his tears away onto his sleeve. With a small smile on his face, he turned and looked at his stepbrother.
"Of course I came. I never to break my promises."
"Hey, feelin' any better?" Jin's all-too-cheery voice asked Touya after a boom of thunder.
The ice demon stood, albeit shakily. "Yes. Thanks to this...human medicine."
"Snipe's sleepin'?" Jin asked, sitting on the windowsill lit up by the moonlight.
"...yes. It has been long since he last got a decent night of rest. I don't wish to be a burden to him..." Touya said, eyes
cast downward.
"Yeah, an' I know that, an' he knows that. You can't help it anyway, trouble's your middle name," Jin said with a grin. "It
comes to you like a magnet!"
"Magnet?"
"Nevermind, there."
"Thank you, Jin."
"Hm?" The wind master said with an arched brow.
"For helping Hagiri to take care of me. I've been such a nuisance, to everyone..." Touya looked up at Jin, who threw his arm
around the small demon's shoulders. Touya tensed a moment, but let it slide.
"Don' belittle yerself! You're much cooler than you think you are!" Jin winked.
Touya was surprised. He didn't know Jin knew a word like belittle.
"Anyway, bud, I'm leavin' ya, now that you're all feelin' good-like," Jin said, releasing Touya from his death hold.
Touya looked at him with surprised eyes. "You're leaving? Already? Does this have to do with Shishiwakamaru?"
Jin shrugged. "Well, yeah...but we're fighters, ya know? We belong in the Demon World!"
"I know...when are you leaving?"
"Right now."
"You're kidding!" Touya said, unable to believe Jin.
Jin laughed at him. "I gotcha! You slipped! You should more often, it'll make ya sound more human! Anyway, gotta go now!
Shishi might be waitin' fer some puppy love or somethin'."
Touya made a face that wasn't quite hidden in the dark.
Jin laughed again. "I'll check up on ya, to see if you're getting kidnapped anytime soon, 'kay?"
Touya smirked, nodding.
"Farewell, Jin..."
"What's all this 'farewell' crap? Try, 'see ya later, Jin!' or 'next time, homey!'"
Touya arched an eyebrow. "'See you later, Jin.'"
Climbing out the window into the rain, Jin poked his head back in. "Good enough! Bye, Toy!"
The window slammed shut.
Touya stared for a second. Homey?
It was late when Kurama stepped into the apartment bedroom. He didn't even notice the red stares, and he closed the bathroom
door behind him.
After he was done, he climbed into the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was exhausted, yet he was wide awake at the same
time.
You need to face the reality someday, Kurama...
That phrase rung in his mind, he couldn't destroy it. The more he wanted it gone, the stronger it became embedded in his
mind.
He turned his head to gaze upon the one who slept peacefully beside him. The one who's words stuck with you forever. The
fox sighed, brushing those black, white, and indigo bangs from all three of Hiei's eyes. The third, uncovered on his fore-
head remained open to stay alert for any danger. The fox sighed once again.
What did Hiei think of all this?
The beauty that slept by his side, so innocent in slumber. Kurama realised that he never once asked what Hiei's thoughts
were on anything they did. Hiei remained loyal to him, never questioning his actions. It was about time Kurama talked to
him about it.
Hiei turned over in his sleep, his bare back facing Kurama.
"What are your thoughts on this, Hiei...?" The fox whispered.
Crimson eyes bore into the wall as the fire demon lay awake, unbeknownst to his lover beside him.
Hieica: Well? Yeah, I thought it was cruddy too. First of all, NO WAY IN HELL would I EVER kill off Touya. Don't WORRY,
peeps! Second of all, it wasn't a very good comeback since my computer has been alive again, but it will have to do.
Third, we had to write this short story about a picture they showed us in school, so I did and handed it in. Then, the
next day, my teacher came up to me and told me I should seriously consider becoming an author!! WEEEEEEEEEEE!!! That made
me feel very special.
Swissy: *yawns* Hey there, I'm back for reviewer-threatening deeds!! *grins evilly* REVIEW, or I'll butt-slap you, ass
cakes!!
Hieica: *sweatdrops*
Yeah....
computer again, all of my half-typed stories were lost. I'm starting from scratch. Thank Fanfiction.net for backup copies of
my fics. And it's become apparent that NONE OF YOU READ MY BIO!! Everybody's been asking for MORE. Did I tell you I didn't
have a computer? YES!! I DID!! Read my bio once in a while, ya? And Sunday, January 11, is my birthday!! Then I will be
officially FOURTEEN!! WOOOOOO!! I got my computer back three days before my birthday!! The greatest present of all.
I just want to let everybody know how much I missed you all! *hugs reviewers*
On with the fic!!
------------------------------------------------------------
~A Red Rose in the Darkness~
Chapter Eighteen
------------------------------------------------------------
A blue Thursday. Foggy, misty, and rainy. Kurama stood leaned against a tree which protected him from the rainfall. The
funeral was on this cold Thursday. He felt out of place, though he was wearing the same kind of velvet black suit as all
the other men. There were people from his step-father's job. Hiei concealed himself in the tree.
"How cliché," Kurama said, waving his hand.
"What?" Hiei responded.
"The raining at a funeral. As though we are simply on a television show or in a story written by some sick person." (Little
do they know...)
"Who knows? We could be."
Kurama shook his head. "Don't you feel out of place, Hiei?"
There was silence a moment. "Why, do you?"
"Yes..." Kurama said, staring at his brown-haired step-brother who was hiding under a black umbrella. "I don't really have
a right to be here, do I?"
"You do," Hiei said after some thought. "You never break your promises."
"Is that my only reason?"
"No."
"Why are you here, Hiei?" Kurama asked, looking up to see a shadow in the branches.
"With you." Ah, a man of few words. "And to honor that in which we have destroyed."
And to honor that in which we have destroyed. Those words would stay with Kurama in his heart forever. He hadn't thought
about it that way. But, Hiei, in his own way, was brutally right. They had destroyed him, his life, his wife's heart. And,
though Kurama couldn't say it like it was destroy or be destroyed, he knew that's how it was.
"It is survival of the fittest," Hiei said quietly.
"Can you not regard it as though he was an animal?" Kurama said, slightly irritable.
"But he was. We all are, in a way."
"Hiei, please," Kurama said, massaging his temples.
"...you need to face the reality someday, Kurama."
With that, there was a simple "flitz", and the remaints of Hiei was a fading flare of ki. Few leaves fell to the ground
from the disturbance, and Kurama caught one in the palm of his hand. Staring at it, he noticed a raindrop fall from the tip.
Tears were rolling down his cheek before the raindrop hit the ground.
Shuiichi walked up to him. "You came..."
Kurama whisked his tears away onto his sleeve. With a small smile on his face, he turned and looked at his stepbrother.
"Of course I came. I never to break my promises."
"Hey, feelin' any better?" Jin's all-too-cheery voice asked Touya after a boom of thunder.
The ice demon stood, albeit shakily. "Yes. Thanks to this...human medicine."
"Snipe's sleepin'?" Jin asked, sitting on the windowsill lit up by the moonlight.
"...yes. It has been long since he last got a decent night of rest. I don't wish to be a burden to him..." Touya said, eyes
cast downward.
"Yeah, an' I know that, an' he knows that. You can't help it anyway, trouble's your middle name," Jin said with a grin. "It
comes to you like a magnet!"
"Magnet?"
"Nevermind, there."
"Thank you, Jin."
"Hm?" The wind master said with an arched brow.
"For helping Hagiri to take care of me. I've been such a nuisance, to everyone..." Touya looked up at Jin, who threw his arm
around the small demon's shoulders. Touya tensed a moment, but let it slide.
"Don' belittle yerself! You're much cooler than you think you are!" Jin winked.
Touya was surprised. He didn't know Jin knew a word like belittle.
"Anyway, bud, I'm leavin' ya, now that you're all feelin' good-like," Jin said, releasing Touya from his death hold.
Touya looked at him with surprised eyes. "You're leaving? Already? Does this have to do with Shishiwakamaru?"
Jin shrugged. "Well, yeah...but we're fighters, ya know? We belong in the Demon World!"
"I know...when are you leaving?"
"Right now."
"You're kidding!" Touya said, unable to believe Jin.
Jin laughed at him. "I gotcha! You slipped! You should more often, it'll make ya sound more human! Anyway, gotta go now!
Shishi might be waitin' fer some puppy love or somethin'."
Touya made a face that wasn't quite hidden in the dark.
Jin laughed again. "I'll check up on ya, to see if you're getting kidnapped anytime soon, 'kay?"
Touya smirked, nodding.
"Farewell, Jin..."
"What's all this 'farewell' crap? Try, 'see ya later, Jin!' or 'next time, homey!'"
Touya arched an eyebrow. "'See you later, Jin.'"
Climbing out the window into the rain, Jin poked his head back in. "Good enough! Bye, Toy!"
The window slammed shut.
Touya stared for a second. Homey?
It was late when Kurama stepped into the apartment bedroom. He didn't even notice the red stares, and he closed the bathroom
door behind him.
After he was done, he climbed into the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was exhausted, yet he was wide awake at the same
time.
You need to face the reality someday, Kurama...
That phrase rung in his mind, he couldn't destroy it. The more he wanted it gone, the stronger it became embedded in his
mind.
He turned his head to gaze upon the one who slept peacefully beside him. The one who's words stuck with you forever. The
fox sighed, brushing those black, white, and indigo bangs from all three of Hiei's eyes. The third, uncovered on his fore-
head remained open to stay alert for any danger. The fox sighed once again.
What did Hiei think of all this?
The beauty that slept by his side, so innocent in slumber. Kurama realised that he never once asked what Hiei's thoughts
were on anything they did. Hiei remained loyal to him, never questioning his actions. It was about time Kurama talked to
him about it.
Hiei turned over in his sleep, his bare back facing Kurama.
"What are your thoughts on this, Hiei...?" The fox whispered.
Crimson eyes bore into the wall as the fire demon lay awake, unbeknownst to his lover beside him.
Hieica: Well? Yeah, I thought it was cruddy too. First of all, NO WAY IN HELL would I EVER kill off Touya. Don't WORRY,
peeps! Second of all, it wasn't a very good comeback since my computer has been alive again, but it will have to do.
Third, we had to write this short story about a picture they showed us in school, so I did and handed it in. Then, the
next day, my teacher came up to me and told me I should seriously consider becoming an author!! WEEEEEEEEEEE!!! That made
me feel very special.
Swissy: *yawns* Hey there, I'm back for reviewer-threatening deeds!! *grins evilly* REVIEW, or I'll butt-slap you, ass
cakes!!
Hieica: *sweatdrops*
Yeah....