A/N: This is the sequel to The Wreck of My Memories. It's another story from Hiei's POV. There is mild shounen-ai.

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and Shonen Jump. No infringement intended, etc etc all that jazz. I'm poor so don't sue.

Rating is M for language.

The Voice of Your Eyes

By Terri Botta 2005

Chapter Five

­When I wake my internal body clock tells me that it is the following day. Sunlight is filtering in from the holes in the ceiling and through the windows so I know the storm is over. I am alone in Uma's bed but I have a vague memory of being cradled through the night.

I frown. I rarely hibernate for more than a few hours. They must have done something to me to make me sleep. I dimly recall the scent of something soothing being placed over my nose and Kurama's voice whispering that I should rest. Damn crafty fox and herb witch. They drugged me to knock me out.

My hazy memory supplies faded images of the two of them flanking me, holding me between them as I drifted just on the edge of consciousness. They stayed with me the whole night, comforting me and easing me into restful sleep. My scalp tingles as I remember Kurama stroking my hair with his fingers as Uma hummed a tuneless lullaby in my head. I'll have to hit him for that later, just to maintain the status quo.

As I sit up, I realize that I do feel well rested and the wounds on my hands are completely healed. I unwrap the bandages and begin to leave them in a bloody heap on the floor, but I feel guilty about it so I pick them up and drape them neatly over one of the empty drying racks.

I take a good look around the empty hut. There isn't much here so I doubt it will take long for her to pack her things. I haven't told her that she's not staying yet, but if the only reason she stayed in this shack was because of me then she will have no objections to moving. Regardless of what she thinks, she can't stay here. This shelter is falling apart and I doubt it will last the winter. It's obvious that she hasn't regained even a fraction of the youki she lost and she can't fix the place up herself. I won't have her living in this hovel where the next blizzard could bury her alive again.

Bury her alive… I grimace.

Never again.

No matter what the circumstances, I would never do that to anyone, not even an enemy. The idea is unthinkable. I saw what it was like for her, trapped beneath the earth, unable to move; unable to get away from the things that crawled over her paralyzed body. She had to waste precious ki killing the boring worms and biting ants. A fate worse than death is what she suffered through, and I vow that I will never let her suffer like that again.

I lift the ward off my Jagan to See where they have gone and find them in a meadow not far away. In hindsight, I should have known that was where they would be. The site is where Uma always bred her herbs. It stands to reason that they would go there to fuss over the plants.

I take my time approaching, letting them feel my youki so they know to expect me. It also gives me time to collect myself and decide how I am going to handle this. When I clear the trees I find Uma sitting on a large boulder beside the stream that runs through the meadow while Kurama is comparing two seed pods in his hands.

'Good morning, ishka,' Uma's mind brushes against mine.

She adds a tender mental caress to the term of endearment and I stifle a shiver at hearing the nickname again. Uma once told me that it meant 'dear one' in her native tongue.

"Hn," I reply, coming to stand beside them.

I purposefully place myself in both of their personal spaces. I am not demonstrative or as Yuusuke says 'a touchy-feely kind of guy,' but I find comfort in being close.

You can always tell how I feel about someone by how close I will let them get to me. If the person is within my personal space, then you know I trust and care for them. When I am with Kurama, he is almost always right next to me, sometimes close enough for us to touch shoulders. I like to be where I can feel his ki and mine melding with each other. Our energies mingle and mix almost seamlessly because we know and trust each other so well. Not even Mukuro has my trust the way Kurama does.

"Hiei," the kitsune greets, smiling softly at me. "Did you get enough rest?"

His eyes are far too knowing for my taste and I scowl, but decide to hit him later. Normally I would now challenge him because he has seen me when I am weak and I need to reassert my power. But Uma is here and I do not want to take the time to spar with my kitsune. I want us to pack up Uma's things and go. The sooner we leave this place, the better in my opinion. Besides, I know the rest of the crew on the traveling fortress is waiting for me to return, and if I am gone much longer they will send someone up the mountain to look for me.

"We are leaving," I say without preamble.

They both give me surprised looks and I smirk. Take control. This is what I have learned about presumption of authority. Don't give them a choice. If you command them in the right way, no one will question you. It even works on the kitsune… most of the time.

Kurama looks disappointed but Uma just looks sad. Hn, perhaps my intentions have been misconstrued.

'Are you certain you want to leave so soon?' Kurama's thoughts ask me. 'I would have thought you would have liked to visit for a little while at least.'

I snort and roll my eyes at him. 'She's coming with us, you stupid kitsune.'

Kurama's eyes open wide, then he cracks a pleased smile. "Ah. Oh…"

'Did you think I was going to leave her here?' I chide then turn to Uma. "How long will it take you to pack your things?"

She cocks her head at me, her eyes curious. 'Why?'

"Because we'll go as soon as you're ready. You're coming with us."

One eyebrow raises and she gives me an incredulous look. 'Oh, I am, am I?'

"Yes," I insist and back it up by crossing my arms.

I am an adult now, not a child, and I am the most powerful demon here. It doesn't matter that she changed my diapers. She'll do what I want.

'Oh really?' she answers, folding her arms across her chest in a mimic of my own motion. The tone of her 'voice' is one that I recognize as usually preceding my being draped across her knee. Frankly, the thought amuses me. I'd like to see anyone try to do that to me now.

"Yes. You are not spending another night in that run-down shack," I say with conviction.

'Ah, Hiei, while I do wholeheartedly support your decision, I must question your methodology,' Kurama interjects, a nervous tone to his thoughts..

It's kitsune-speak for 'Hiei, you're being a dumbass.' I flick a glance at him. If he's calling me a dumbass, he's probably right. I hate it when he's right.

'Run-down shack… I'll have you know that I've been living in that so-called shack for more decades than you can count,' Uma tells me, her thoughts laced with anger.

I refuse to back down and glare at her. "It's a hovel and it's falling apart. It is not safe for you to stay there any longer," I counter, stating the obvious.

'It's my home and I have no desire to leave it. If you're so worried about me, then help me fix it.'

"I'll 'fix it' by burning it to the ground," I snarl, clenching my fists.

I can feel the fire building in my hand and the wards on my arm begin to sizzle. My dragon wants to be let out and I can think of a certain ramshackle hut that would make a very good target.

"Ah, Hiei!" Kurama interrupts, putting a restraining hand on my shoulder.

The touch brings me back to myself and cools my red fury. He always could do that to me.

"You still need to go on patrol, yes?"

I blink at him and scowl, and he takes that as a yes.

"Why don't you go on patrol and come back in a couple of days. I will stay here and protect Uma," he offers, speaking deliberately and succinctly.

I look into his eyes and see everything he really wishes to say. He is telling me 'Let me take care of this, Hiei. I'll get you what you want.' He's also telling me to get out of here before I do something really stupid like sling Uma over my shoulder and cart her down off this mountainside by force.

"Ch," I growl but give in. Kurama knows me best. He knows when I'm being stubborn and stupid, and he's not afraid to tell me so. If my emotions are getting the best of me, then I need to trust him.

"Very well. I'll be back in two days. But you'd better be ready to go!" I answer, pointing one finger at him.

I turn my back but Uma's voice cuts into my head, soft and imploring, 'Hiei…'

I look over my shoulder at her to see her reaching out with open arms. There is no anger or recrimination on her face or in her eyes. Whatever insults I have visited upon her, she has already forgiven me. A wave of love comes from her and flows into me as she gives me a sad smile.

'Be safe, Hiei. I love you.'

I nod and swallow the lump in my throat.

'I… I will see you soon… Haha-ue,' I send to her silently. 'Kurama will protect you.'

'I know,' she tells me with an understanding expression.

I raise my gaze to Kurama who meets my eyes with a steady, reassuring look.

'Don't worry. I'll take care of her and convince her to listen to you.' He smiles and preens a little in that fox way of his, raising his chin and looking at me through hooded eyes. 'After all, you know how persuasive I can be.'

Don't I know it.

I nod my thanks, then wrench myself away from the two of them and head for the trail that will lead me back down the mountain. If I don't go now, I might change my mind and do something rash. It's best to leave this in the hands of the kitsune. He is much better at things like this than I am.

I try not to feel the stab of pain and loneliness that my leaving them causes.

88888888

When I return the promised two days later, I do so en force. I order the fortress centipede to climb up the trail, all the way to the clearing where Uma has her little hut. The monstrous insect leaves a path of trampled trees in its wake, but it scaled the steep track without any troubles. As we come over the last rise and turn the last corner, I am pleasantly surprised to find both Uma and Kurama waiting for me.

"We heard the Mukade coming up the mountain and figured we'd better be ready to go just in case you decided to flatten the hut," Kurama tells me with a sheepish smile as I hop down from my perch on the centipede's head.

There are a number of packs all lined up by the front door of the hut and Uma is wearing her scarf, gloves and traveling cloak. She gives me a quiet smile but does not move to touch me and for this I am grateful. For her own safety, I didn't want her to show me affection in front of the crew. It is best if as few people as possible know about our connection and I do not trust the others in Mukuro's service. Any one of them might try to depose me as Mukuro's heir by coming at me through Yukina or Uma. I gave up worrying about someone trying to use Yuusuke or Kurama against me because neither of them are easy targets a cowardly blackmailer would choose to exploit.

As I move to pick up one of the packs, Kurama puts a hand on my arm and looks at me seriously.

'She's still not sure about all this so be on your best behavior. I have her convinced that she needs to do this for her own safety, but I believe she's just doing it because it'll make you happy,' he tells me.

"Hn," I acknowledge, flicking my eyes in the direction of two crew members who have come out of the fortress.

They're keeping their distance so far, but if they come any closer I might begin to feel a little threatened. My sword-hand twitches and I flex my fingers just in case I need to grab the hilt fast. Kurama sees this and puts himself in a defensive position where his body is subtly blocking a direct attack aimed at Uma. As always, he is reading my body language and providing exactly what I need in the situation.

'I've also told her that it's probably best if no one knows your true relationship. Truthfully, she'd already figured that out,' he continues as we both keep one eye on the other two. 'We decided that you should tell them that she is a colleague of mine whom I am bringing with me to the Ningenkai.'

I cast him a questioning glance, one eyebrow raised.

'We talked and we decided that she would come to live at Genkai's old temple. When the old woman died, she left it to us- you included, Hiei. No one is living there now. It is isolated and wild and she can continue to cross-breed her herbs in peace, and there will be someone to look after the grounds,' he explains.

Well, that is one problem solved. I hadn't really figured out where she was going to live once I took her away from this place. I knew that I was going to bring her to Mukuro to see if anything could be done for her leg and other injuries, but I hadn't thought beyond that. As always Kurama is five or six steps ahead of everyone else, and he's already found a solution. I give him a look that I hope conveys my gratitude for his forethought.

"Mukuro's first," I hiss under my breath.

He nods. "You think her cybernetics can…"

I shrug. "Dunno."

He smiles at my neutral answer. "But it can't hurt to try, ne?"

I nod and motion for the two crew members to come pick up Uma's packs. Giving them orders will put them off guard and keep them from getting any ideas. Kurama helps Uma to her feet and keeps himself between them and her as they approach me while he takes her over to the centipede.

"This is Lady Silence. She will be traveling with us back to Mukuro's then going with Kurama. Take her things and set her up in one of the guest chambers. She is under my and Kurama's protection. You will treat her with respect," I command.

"Yes, Hiei-sama," one of them says dutifully.

"Ch," I snort as they bow to me and do my bidding.

It isn't that I don't occasionally enjoy having someone obey me, but I know enough to be suspicious of simpering fools like this. They're hoping that fawning over me will gain them my trust so I'll let my guard down around them.

Hn, stupid idiots. I'll kill them later. Right now Kurama is helping Uma into the traveling fortress so I can take my adoptive mother to her new home.