A.N.: Me sooooo sorry for lack of updates!!!! Chemistry is murder, I tell you! Death hath a name, and it be Chemistry. I'm hoping to give you a lovely bit of Fluff for your Christmas present! Enjoy!!! Anywayz.... a big thank you to

Kristina- Glad you like it! Suspense and Excitement, along with completely random encounters!!!!! Fwee!

HieiFan666: I hope to please your high fluff expectations in this chapter!

morgan: I know that I take so terribly long to update, gomen, and I'm not baby-sitting for you! I will kidnap Hiei's children! (At least, the ones that look like Hiei) maybe... keehee! And then I will ransom them back to you! Price? Hiei! muwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Me no own Yu Yu Hakusho. 8y73 m3.

Chapter 20!!!!! (woohoo! 20 Chapters! Go me!!!!)

Where we left off, Lani had just scared off some big gang leader guy with a Joey-esque accent by glaring at him, and the group is leaving the mall.

Summing up the rest of the night:

Yusuke attempted to cook dinner in order to impress Keiko, but she choked on his burnt pizza rolls© (how in hell can you burn Pizza Rolls©?????), and when Lani got home soon after, she quickly cooked some Ramen (not the Cup ramen, real Japanese ramen), and Botan healed Keiko. Hiei fell asleep again outside of Shuurin's window, contemplating the events of that day, and the fact that Lani was moving away from him and his tree the very next morning...........

The next day.... (boy, we're skipping around here, aren't we?)

Hiei got up early, very early in fact... 5:15, or, simply, right at the beginning of his sunrise. He hadn't slept well at all that night, his mind was still racing at midnight and later. He hopped down from his tree and made his way to the kitchen, slower than usual. For once, Lani wasn't already in there. Hiei shuffled over to the refrigerator, opened it, glared at the light that popped on, and grabbed an apple, and half-slammed the fridge shut. He plopped down on one of the stools and stared absentmindedly out of the window, while slowly eating his apple. He eventually finished with it, and tossed it into the garbage can, slowly beginning to wake up a bit.

After a little bit more of Hiei simply staring out of the window at nothing, Shuurin came shuffling in, dragging a small, brown teddy bear in her tiny right hand. She sleepily looked up at Hiei, who looked questioningly down at her, and she started grinning.

Shuurin- "Hiei-Onii-tan couldn't sleep neither?"

Hiei- "No, not really..."

Shuurin- "Does Onii-tan not like to talk much?"

Hiei- "Not really..."

Shuurin- "Teehee! Well, Shuu guesses that that's what Onee-tan likes about you!"

Hiei- "What?"

Shuurin- "Teeheehee! You not know? Lani-Onee-tan likes Hiei-Onii-tan lots! She says you saved her! And that you cares about me, and her, and everybody, but you aren't all... all.... gushy abouts it! You're quiet, but good understanding! You no ask lotsa questions for Onee-tan! She also likes your eyes, cuz they're like hers, and she really likes your hair!"

Hiei- "My hair?"

He glanced quickly upwards at the small fringe of black hair that his crimson eyes could see, and quickly brushed a few of the strands out of his face, of course they quickly fell back.

Shuurin- "Heehee! Yeah! She says that it's cute and it feels soft, not sharp and spiky like it would if you had.... had... gel in it!"

Hiei- "And she told you all this?" 'Lani really likes me?'

Shuurin- "NO! Lani wouldn't tell me all that!"

Hiei- Then how did you find out, Shuurin?"

Shuurin- "Call me Shuu! And I read her diary!"

Hiei raised a fine black eyebrow.

Hiei- "Lanecia keeps a diary?"

Shuurin- "No! She has a journal!!! Heehee! She hides it."

Hiei- "And you can find it?"

Shuurin- "Every-time! Jus' pwease don't tell Onee-tan? Than she'll really hide it good!"

Hiei- "Promise. Where is it now?"

Shuurin- "Can't tell ya that! But Shuu'll tell ya where it was three times ago!" She held up three tiny fingers and grinned like the Cheshire cat. "It was hidden inside her blanket!"

Hiei- "Under her blanket?"

Shuurin- "No! Inside her blanket! She sewed it in there! It was inside! That one took me a while to find! Ya see, Onii-tan, that's my skill! I can find stuff! Easy Easy!"

Hiei- "Yeah, erm.... interesting." 'Lani likes my hair?'

Shuurin- "Yeah!

Lani- "Hey! Shuurin!!!!"

Shuurin- "In here, Onee-tan!!!!"

Lani popped her white-haired head into the kitchen and saw Shuurin sitting with her teddy bear, in her pajamas, talking with Hiei, who was wearing his usual black, and she sighed.

Lani- "Shuu! We're supposed to have left already! We're moving, remember? You're supposed to be packed, dressed, and in Kurama's car!"

Shuurin- "Gomen, Onee-tan, but I was talking with Onii-tan!"

Lani- "I know you were, but it's time to go see our new house, so let's go! I'll even help you pack after I get my stuff into the car, okay?"

Hiei- "Don't worry about it, Lani... I'll help her. You go and get your stuff packed up."

Lani gave him a soft, tired, and thankful smile.

Lani- "Thanks a lot, Hiei... Hey, I was wondering.... if, maybe, if you don't have anything else to do, you could come and help us unpack and move in properly?"

Hiei- "Sure. I never seem to have anything else to do."

Lani- "Thanks, Hiei! I've got to go, though, Shuurin! Hurry up! I want to get fully moved in by dinner!"

Shuurin- "Okay Onee-tan! C'mon Hiei-tan!"

Shuurin thus dragged Hiei out of the kitchen and down the hall to her room, where Shuurin made a game of packing by pointing of what she wanted to go into the suitcase, and Hiei zipping over to wherever she pointed and neatly throwing perfectly folded clothes into the appointed suitcases. Lani looked quietly into the room where this festivity was being held, and smiled softly to herself, and then began laughing quietly as she dragged her suitcase down the hall and out to Kurama's red car.

Ten minutes later, Shuurin and Hiei came walking out of Genkai's temple, Hiei, of course, dragging two suitcases behind him and one bright pink backpack slung over his shoulder. He was now, decidedly, thoroughly embarrassed. He threw the two normal suitcases in the trunk, and then tossed in the pink backpack, absolutely pleased to be rid of it. Then he slammed the trunk shut and hopped in the back seat with Shuurin, while Lani slid into the front seat. (A/N I dunno what kinda car Kurama has, but it's red, convertable (top down right now) and shiny. Kurama's in the driver's seat (duh), with his hair in a ponytail so it doesn't blow around too much (heaven forbid Kurama have bad hair), with Shuurin behind him in the back seat. Then Lani's in the passenger's seat with her hair in a loose ponytail, with Hiei behind her.)

Kurama- "Okay? Everybody ready to go? No one's forgotten anything?"

Shuurin- "Oh no! I forgot Teddy!"

Hiei- "No you didn't."

Hiei pulled out the small stuffed animal from one of his numerous cloak pockets and handed it to Shuurin.

Kurama- "Aww, Hiei, I didn't think that you had a thing for stuffed animals...."

Hiei glared fiercely at his "best friend".

Hiei- "Yeah, Kurama. I love Teddy bears as much as you love to wear women's clothing."

Kurama- "I can toss you out of this car right now, Hiei."

Hiei- "Go ahead. I can run faster than this stupid ningen contraption."

Lani- "Excuse me, but may I remind you that you are arguing over a stuffed bear. Oh, and Shuu? Keep a tight hold on Teddy, or he'll fly away."

Shuurin- "NOOO! Teddy can't fly!!!! He's gotta stay here with Shuu!"

Lani- "Then either you hold on tight or you let Hiei-onii-tan hold him."

Shuurin shoved her toy back into Hiei's hands and stared quietly at it for a moment, and then faced forward.

Shuurin- "Shuu's ready to go!"

Kurama- "Okay then. Does everyone have their seat-belts buckled? Ok, then."

Kurama started his car and soon enough, the group was speeding off towards Tokyo...

And yet, still unbeknownst to the group... a dark shadow was leering at Lani as she was whisked off in the red car...

Eventually, the bright red convertable stopped in front of a fair-sized off-white house in the outside (or suburbs...) of Tokyo. It had a small backyard, and seemingly two floors. There was a small willow tree in the back yard, next to a small, man-made, picturesque pond. Soft-green window shutters accented the off-white house paint, and the door, also a soft-green, stood firm yet somewhat inviting as four travelers appeared on the its doorstep.

Lanecia looked hesitant at the sight of this human-built home, which strangely resembled her old house in Verferen... She heaved a sigh of anticipation and anxiety, and then opened that door into her new home.

The inside of the house was astounding. Lani was holding tight onto Shuurin's hand so that the girl wouldn't slip away and go dashing through the house right away and attempt to claim someone else's (Lani's ) room for herself. The entryway was simplistic, and yet fairly elegant. The walls were a dark green color, which faded into a cream when one entered the living room. A large, poofy beige couch sat against one wall, while a love seat of the same kind and color was next to a cherry-wood coffee table and there was a large, wide-screen television against the other wall, with a large collection of DVDs in a cherry-wood cabinet next to it. A soft, brown, plush carpet covered the floor, simply enticing any who may enter to simply seat themselves on the carpet, and ignore the couches altogether. Which is exactly what Shuurin did. After half a minute of trying to pull the little girl off of the floor, Lani quickly gave up and continued her own inspection of the house. Hiei followed her, while Kurama went back out to his car to drag all of the two girls' stuff inside, because as soon as he was done with that, he could leave and go have lunch with his mother.

Lanecia and Hiei walked down a darker cream, almost beige, hallway, which had several doorways coming off of it. One of which was the kitchen, which was fairly simple, but still nice. The countertops were tiled, and there were several barstools on the side of one countertop, obviously meant for informal meals. The next doorway lead to the dining room, which was the same, calming dark green as the entryway. There was a large cherry-wood dining table with matching chairs in the center of the room, and a beautiful window with dark curtains covered one wall. A small, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, sending tiny shards of light to scatter about the room.

After leaving the dining room, Hiei and Lani continued down the hall. One doorway (with a door, thank god) was a bathroom, while the last hole in the wall led to a staircase. Going upstairs, the two encountered another hallway, going back along the house, and lined with doors. The first led to a soft pastel pink and blue room, with miniature furniture, presumably Shuurin sized. The next door led to a larger bathroom, with a Jacuzzi (A/N: I don't own it!)...... (A/N... I want that house, dammit!). The next door was a guest bedroom, painted a very dark blue color, with black furniture and a small window facing the backyard that was covered with a dark curtain. You may think of it was dark, creepy, and confining, but instead it ended up giving off the feeling of night and sleep.

The last room of the hall was Lani's room. Everything was a dark burgundy color, with mahogany trim. The bed was a queen-sized canopy bed with a burgundy down comforter with gold accents, and pillows matching the comforter. The room came complete with a walk-in closet, and it's own small bathroom with a shower. The closet was partially full with a fairly random assortment of human clothing, with a few of Lani's old tunics hidden in the back. The main bedroom also contained a mahogany chest of drawers and a mahogany vanity as well. Resting on the wall behind the vanity was a beautiful mirror with a mahogany frame, and soft gold inlaid leaves.

Two windows lined the wall facing the backyard, looking directly over the small pond with the willow tree. Lani stared quietly out one of the windows, and gazed quietly at the sky.

Lani- "You don't see that color of blue in the Makai."

Hiei- "Hn..."

Lani- "Thank you for helping us move, Hiei. Would you like to stay for dinner?" She turned to face him with a quiet smile.

Hiei- "Who's cooking?"

Lani- "Me. Who else would? You?"

Hiei- "Roast demon?"

Lani- "........" The look of pure disgust on her face was an answer in and of itself. "I'm cooking."

Hiei- "Then I'm staying."

Lani- "Good, then you can take all of our clothing and other items up from the living room upstairs."

Later.... 8 o'clock, finishing dinner....

Shuu- "Yumm!!!!!! Good food, Onee-tan!"

Lani- "Why thank you, Shuu. Now, go get ready for bed."

Shuu- "Now??? Do I have to?"

Lani- "Yes. Get your pajamas on, brush your teeth, and go to bed."

Shuu- "Teeth?"

Lani- "Yes, teeth. Humans have teeth. Not fangs, teeth."

Shuu- "hmm..... okay! Ni-Night, Onii-tan!!!"

Hiei- "Hn. 'Night."

Lani- "Thanks for helping today, Hiei."

Hiei- "Hn." He took another tiny sip of his coffee (black).

Lani- "Now what?"

Hiei arched one eyebrow, forming an unasked question.

Lani- "Well, I mean... What are you going to do now? Run all the way back to Genkai's house? Just to sleep in that tree? I'm just waiting for some tiny animal to try to build a nest in your hair."

Hiei- "Any pathetic mammal stupid enough to try would be diced into unrecognizable pieces."

Lani- "I'm sure. Anyway, what I'm really getting at is... well... If your just going back to that tree, you might as well stay here."

Hiei nearly choked on his coffee.

Lani- "Well, we have an extra room here, and it's got a window, so if you absolutely have to sleep in a tree, it's open. That, and Shuurin likes you."

Hiei- "Alright."

Lani- "What?"

Hiei- "I said 'alright'."

Lani- "I know... I just thought that you'd need more convincing than that..."

Hiei- "Hn... Koenma needs someone to watch you."

Lani- "Oh, is that it?"

She looked away from him, her eyes containing a swirl of emotion, emotions like disappointment, embarrassment, and hurt. Hiei felt a sharp pang of guilt at what he had done, words spoken only to help his pride, had hurt her. Suddenly, Hiei got a rather odd thought...

He quickly closed the small space between them in the kitchen, and leaned in quietly. His small, yet sword-calloused hand slipped under her chin, to let his thumb and forefinger gently move her chin in his direction, pulling her face towards him, and also to look him in the eye, crimson to crimson.

Hiei- "No, that's not it."

He leaned in further, if that was possible, and gently brushed his lips against hers. His crimson eyes were gently closed for that two seconds. The wonderful two seconds that were eternally precious to him. He quietly moved away from Lani and silently observed her face.

Strands of Lani's white hair was falling out of her ponytail, and framing her pale face. Her eyes were open, and in a state of shocked serenity. Small earrings hung from her pointed ears. Her small mouth was slightly open, and her breathing was a bit faster than usual.

Lani- "what... why did you... Hiei?"

Hiei- "Gomen. "

He turned around to leave the house, and was halfway down the entryway, when a small hand caught his arm. He spun around just as Lani tripped over Shuurin's stray pink backpack. He immediately caught her, and she fell into his chest as his arms steadied her. Her breathing was still a tad heavy as she began to talk to him.

Lani- "Please, Hiei... Please don't leave... You don't have to leave... please... Hiei?"

Hiei- "Okay, alright... I won't leave... "

Lani- "Promise me."

Hiei- "I promise you, I won't leave you. I'll be here. And I'll always catch you. I promise......" 'I'll always protect you....'

They just stood there for a while, quietly and softly. Hiei held Lani in his black-clad arms, as he rested his chin on top of her pure white hair, silently thanking that obnoxious pink backpack. Lani absentmindedly ran her long, pale fingers through his gravity-defying black hair. This action, unbeknownst to Lani, was softly lulling Hiei into a waking slumber. He noticed, and picked her up, bridal style, and slowly carried her upstairs.

Hiei- "Which room is yours, again? The pink one?"

Lani- "Never. You know which one's mine."

Hiei- "Hn. And which room's mine?"

Lani- "The blue one."

Hiei- "Hn. Okay."

Hiei walked up to the door at the end of the upstairs hall, and nudged it open with his boot-clad foot. He carried the nearly asleep Lani over to her mahogany canopy bed, and attempted to move the comforter in order to slip her under it. Unfortunately, this is a bit awkward, considering that Hiei's arms are full of a demon girl, and he needs his feet to stand. Lani snickered a bit at his predicament, and then slid out of his grasp and moved the covers herself. Then, instead of getting in, she turned and looked back at Hiei, who seemed a bit peeved at the loss Lani from his grasp. She giggled softly to herself, while Hiei looked at her in a confused fashion at her silent mirth.

Lani- "Well? Do expect me to sleep in my day clothes? O rare you expecting me to change while you're in here? Because, if that's the case, you are sadly mistaken, baka youkai."

Hiei blushed a little bit, and then turned for the door.

Hiei- "Gomen."

Lani- "Don't worry about it." Lani's voice sounded from behind him.

Hiei turned around to find Lani right next to him. She timidly brushed her lips against his for a split second.

Lani- "Thank you, Hiei. For everything that you've done for me. Me and Shuu."

Hiei- "Hn..." He turned away a little, somewhat embarrassed. "You're... welcome... G'night, Lani."

Lani- "Hai, Oyasumi, Hiei.... Oyasumi."

And with that, Hiei exited Lani's room and opened the next door and entered his new bedroom.

WOOT!!!!!! CHAPTER END!!!!!!!!!! You people have no idea how long this has taken me! This evil chapter! But I love it sooooo much! Consider it a (day late) Christmas present to all of my readers and reviewers who constantly demand fluff!!! I pray that I have properly delivered a helpful taste of things to come (maybe, hopefully, hm... review and maybe.... (hint, hint) ::grin::) PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! r3v13w, f00lz! ! l0v3 j00 4ll, my r3/13rz!!! 8wu4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4h4!!!!!!! (I love l337, even if I'm not too good at it. ::bigger grin::) Once again, PLEASE, OH PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankee for reading!

Until next time,

Au revoir,

Bai, bai,

Ja ne,

Yuffie Kisaragi, materiathief06,