Challenge of the Fox

By

Naoko Youko

Naoko was suspicious. She had known him too long not to be suspicious, and he was starting to act strangely when he was near her. As she brushed a few apple green strands of hair out of her face, cinnamon eyes glanced over at the black haired teenager beside her.

A light fall breeze blew his raven black hair out of his hawklike raspberry eyes as he walked next to her. The light red school uniform, despite being absolutely awful looking, somehow looked good on him. How that was possible, Naoko would never know. His name? Kaname 'Sniper' Hagiri, the psychic sharpshooter.

Now that you've had the distinct pleasure of meeting the two main characters, let's fill you in on a bit of their background. The green-haired girl wearing a Meiou High school uniform is Naoko Youko, an earth demon/ fox spirit hybrid. For a former thief like her, masquerading as a human named Chitose Kinomoto is not a fun thing, but it is necessary. Naoko is the half sister of the most famous fox bandit of all time, and was 'married' to a bat demon thief by the name of Kuronue.

She doesn't talk about him much.

Now, however, she's 'remarried' to a fire demon named Jaganshi Hiei.

An incredibly protective, easily angered fire demon.

Her companion is, as previously stated, Kaname 'Sniper' Hagiri. Unlike Naoko, he's just a normal human…for the most part. They don't call him 'Sniper' for nothing. This apparently normal seventeen year old has a special ability. By channeling his spirit energy into any random object, he is able to fire that object with pinpoint accuracy.
And if that impresses you, you should see him play Halo 3.

On that specific day, though, the two of them were walking together after your usual Friday in high school.

"Kaname?" Naoko broke the silence between them, referring to Sniper by his first name. She was one of only three people that were close enough to Sniper for him to let them use his real name. Another was Sniper's own sister, Tsuya. The other—well, you'll meet her later.

"Yeah, Midori?" 'Midori' was Sniper's nickname for the green haired former bandit.

"What do you want to do after college?" The question came out of absolutely nowhere, but her tone was casual, like she had meant to ask him the whole time.

"Huh? I…guess I never really thought about it," He replied, caught a little off guard by her curiosity. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Just wondering." the demon with a humanlike appearance responded. "I guess I'm just…fascinated by things like that." A famous playwright once wrote 'All the world's a stage.' Kaname couldn't help but think that line described Naoko perfectly. She played her part as a seventeen-year-old human girl so well; he forgot sometimes that she was an immortal demon.

"I guess college isn't high on your list of priorities." His joking remark elicited a laugh from the green haired girl beside him.

"Kaname, my 'list of priorities', as you call it, includes defeating the lower class demons that all want to be known as 'the bandit that caught Naoko Youko'. That, and living to be six hundred and thirty-eight." He snickered.

"You're lucky. Tsuya really wants me to get into the same college she's in."

"Yeah?" she responded, listening.

"Yeah. Hey, do you think you can help me?"

"I can get Hiei-sama to control a few people's minds and 'convince' them to get you a scholarship." Naoko said with a smile. That was her kind of solution: use the demonic powers of herself and her friends to manipulate those weaker than her so she could get what she needed. That was the way everything worked in Makai, and it's hard to break centuries-old habits. Sniper sighed in mock exasperation.

"I meant in an academic sense, Midori."

"Oh. I guess so." She answered, casually raising and lowering one shoulder. A playful smirk spread across her face. Sniper remained silent, not answering. "…Kaname? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine." the raspberry-eyed teenager stammered. Naoko could tell he was lying, but decided not to push the issue.

Later, though…she would wish she had.

Later, Naoko walked in the door of her forest green, oceanside home and hung her black shoulder bag on the back of a chair as she walked into her room. She stretched out on her bed, not even bothering to change out of her Meiou High uniform.

"Naoko?" he voice from the next room was as familiar to Naoko's as her own voice was—it was the voice of Jaganshi Hiei, master of the black fire of the demon world and her life partner. Demons, you see, don't get married in the sense that humans do. They take a life partner for all eternity or until one of them dies, if that ever happens.

"Yeah, Hiei-sama?" she answered, using an honorific expressing extreme respect. The one she was addressing walked in without so much as the slightest sound. A few strands of his spiky, dual colored hair fell in his face Most of it was black, but there was a starburst of a few seemingly random white strands just above the white headband he wore over his third eye, normally referred to as a Jagan eye, (which, obviously, gave him the title of 'Jaganshi'). He wore a white scarf and raven black cloak, and, in fact, the only splash of color about him was his crimson eyes.

"I'm surprised, Naoko." he said in a tone with the slightest hint of coldness in it—he wasn't trying to sound emotionless; it was just the way his voice was. "You almost never decide to go to school with Kurama."

"Yeah, well…I was bored." It was true; 'Chitose' was very rarely seen at school.

"We've known each other too long for me to believe that. I can tell just by looking at you that you had some sort of ulterior motive for going today. So why don't you tell me and spare me the trouble of reading your mind?" he said with a playful smirk. Naoko and Hiei, like most of the other demons they knew, were telepaths.

"…Well…I just thought it would be nice, since I haven't seen a few of my friends in a while." She chose her words very carefully.

" By 'a few of my friends', you wouldn't happen to mean Sniper, would you?" Ouch…he saw straight through her verbal evasions and cut right to the point like his favorite weapon, a razor-sharp katana.

"Er…well…" She laughed nervously, like she did sometimes when she didn't want to discuss something. Unlike what Naoko did earlier, Hiei decided to press the subject.

" 'Well' what?"

"Well…so what if I did go because Kaname was going to be there? I mean, it's not like there's anything going on. He's more like a younger brother to me than anything." Naoko stammered, blushing slightly.

"I know that, foxgirl. Besides, I think he knows I'd try to kill him again if I suspected your relationship of anything more than that…and this time, I'd finish what I started." the fire demon said with a playfully evil smirk. Sniper had once been an enemy of theirs, and Hiei had tried to kill him. Luckily for the trigger-happy human, Naoko felt sorry for him and used white magic to save him.

"Very funny, Hiei-sama." Naoko replied with the slightest hint of a smile.

"I thought it was."

"Oh, shut up." she said playfully.

That night, Naoko seemed to be suffering from insomnia of some sort. She couldn't fall asleep, no matter what. Nightmares still plagued her each and every time she closed her eyes: nightmares of Youko, her fully demonic former alternate personality who used to control her left hand and left scars on her right arm that looked like they were from a razorblade… nightmares of her former life as a bandit… One in particular kept her up all night and made her afraid to close her eyes. A dark, warm night in Makai…in the middle of a bamboo forest…with a palace straight ahead, a palace rumored to hold a priceless treasure-

SHUT UP! Naoko's mind screamed to no one, trying to keep the images of that night from her mind. She turned over and stared at the ceiling, arms folded behind her head as she tried to think of something else. The first thing that came to her mind was Sniper, and his state of seemingly constant hesitation. It was almost like…he was perpetually about to tell her something that he wasn't sure he wanted to say.

"I wonder why he won't talk to me…" she said under her breath. "I hope everything's alright." Then, a thought occurred to her, almost a mixture of the thought she had now and the memory she had tried to block out. She had seen that look before…only once, centuries before.

flashback

A sliver of a crescent moon can be seen in the midnight blue sky hanging above the demon realm. The peaceful calm of the forest below is disturbed as three figures race through it like a gale wind. The first one is a girl that looks no older than twelve with short, pale green hair, jade green fox ears and tail, and ice cold scarlet, catlike eyes. This girl is none other than a younger Naoko Youko. Running shortly after her is another figure with the ears and tail of a fox. His, however, are silver, as is his almost waist length shining silver hair. His cold amber eyes pierce the darkness like knives made of ice. He is none other than the most famous fox bandit of all time: Naoko's half brother, Youko Kurama. A third demon is with them: a taller one with ash-pale skin and batlike wings with a six-foot wingspan. He glances over at Kurama and smirks arrogantly, revealing inch long vampiric fangs. His raven black hair is tied in a high ponytail that almost reaches his waist. His name is Kuronue, the last surviving member of the legendary Koumori clan, a family of bat demon thieves. The three bandits finally stop running when they reach a clearing in the dark forest.

"That was easy." Kurama says with a smirk, referring to the gemstones they just stole from a less than well-guarded fortress.

"No kidding, Kura-sama." Naoko responds with a smirk revealing fangs slightly shorter than Kuronue's. The dark haired bat demon glances at Naoko, the youngest of the three bandits. Her scarlet eyes look back at him questioningly.

"What's wrong, Kuronue?"

"Huh? Oh, uh…it's nothing, kid. Don't worry about it." A bit later, after Kurama falls asleep, Kuronue's standing on the tallest branch of a nearby tree, silent as a slight breeze blows a few strands of jet black hair into his indigo blue eyes. Casually, he replaces his favorite torn midnight blue hat that acts as a makeshift headband, smirking. Why? There's a lot to smirk about when you're not only one of the greatest bandits in Makai, you're also just plain awesome. After a moment, he hears the leaves in the tree he's standing in rustling, followed by a branch cracking and a girl's familiar voice saying:

"Ouch! Damn it…" Kuronue glances over to the source of that voice to see Naoko on the ground with half of a broken branch next to her. The black-haired demon calmly teleports out of the tree and right next to her.

"Pretty clumsy, kid. That's unlike you." She looks up at the playfully smirking demon and quickly stands up, dusting herself off.

"I'm not clumsy, Kuronue." He snickered softly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. There a reason you tried to sneak up on me, or d'you just want to be annoying?"

"Very funny…" she replies sarcastically. "For your information, I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"Well, I'm flattered, foxgirl." He says in a voice full of mock arrogance, leaning against the tree that the young fox fell out of a moment before. "As you can see, I'm not really doing much of anything."

"Yes, I can see that, Kuronue."

"So…you wanted to talk to me about something?" Right to the point…typical of Kuronue.

"Yes, I did, for your information."

"Well…I have something I'd like to tell you, too." The kitsune bandit was caught off guard by this statement.

"…What?" Her bat demon companion hesitated, an action that was very unlike him. There was a strange look in his indigo eyes, a look that Naoko would be given again centuries later by a raspberry-eyed sharpshooter.

"…It's nothing, kid. Forget I said anything." Kuronue replied after a moment. "What were you going to tell me?" The desire to tell him the three simple words in her head had suddenly left.

"Nothing important." Naoko answered, playing with a few strands of her pale green hair.

"Oh…Well, if you decide to tell me anyway, go ahead."

"Yeah…sure, Kuronue." Once he had walked off, she said in a whispered tone, "…I love you…I just wish I could tell you."

end flashback

The numbers on Naoko's alarm clock glowed scarlet, '12:45 AM' making itself clear in the dark room. Her cinnamon colored eyes held traces of crystalline tears that she refused to let fall. Outside, a late-night thunderstorm raged. It was then that the realization occurred to her. She knew what Kuronue wanted to tell her that night—it was the same thing she had wanted to tell him, those three words that were exchanged between them a few years later. At the same time, she remembered seeing that exact same hesitant look in Sniper's eyes. Realization struck the fox spirit like a cinderblock falling from the sky.

…Kaname wanted to tell her he loved her.

With a quiet laugh, Naoko decided she would have a little fun with her human friend… The mischievous fox within her was already planning.

Early the next morning, Naoko was darting around her house, wearing her Meiou High uniform. Hiei walked into the room to find the green-haired woman dart past him to retrieve some random forgotten object—in this case, her psychology textbook.

"Naoko? What're you doing?" he asked, confused. It was rare for 'Chitose' to arrive at school at all, but two days in a row? THAT was a miracle.

"What's it look like?" she asked with a smirk, "I'm leaving."

"Two days in succession? That's new for you."

"Very funny."

"What're you planning?" he asked point-blank.

"P-planning, Hiei-sama?" she stammered. "Nothing, really!" she stammered with a nervous laugh.

"You're lying," replied the fire youkai in a tone that, in the same situation, probably would've matched Kuronue's. Naoko, however, was too busy to notice this as she sprinted out the door.

"ByeHiei-samaI'llseeyoulatersayonara!" came a jumbled sentence as she started to run out the door.

"Naoko?"

"What?" she asked, stopping short on her way out the door.

"Do you really have to rush? You could just teleport most of the way there."

"…Oh." She said after a moment of considering this statement. Then, in a lightning fast motion, she vanished, using her skill of teleportation.

A split second later, Naoko reappeared in a dark alleyway not far from Meiou High. She couldn't teleport straight there, because people tend to get suspicious when other people appear out of thin air in front of them. Calmly, acting like she had walked the whole way, Naoko approached her school, the details of her 'evil plan' being worked out in the back of her mind.

After school had ended, Naoko waited for Sniper outside the front door like she always did, leaning against a brick wall.

"Hey, Midori!" came the familiar voice of the psychic sharpshooter.

"Hi, Kaname." She replied with a smile. "Hey, can we walk home together? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Uh…Sure, Midori." The two of them walked side-by-side down the street, leaves falling around them. "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd be interested in having some fun over the next few weeks."

"Naoko, 'fun' to you can mean 'mass genocide' to me."

"Well, this is true." The demon replied with a smirk. "But that's not what I had in mind."

"It wasn't, huh?" he responded. "Then what did you have in mind, Midori?"

"Everyone at school thinks you're going out with me, right?"

"Yes…and your point would be…?" Adjusting her glasses, Naoko smirked.

"Well, I say we give them something to talk about."

"Midori, you're making me a little concerned about your sanity." The green-haired demon laughed.

"Sanity? Oh, I'm one of the more sane demons, Kaname. You should know that by now. Anyway, what I'm proposing is a…game of sorts."

"Okay…" Sniper replied, listening.

"As you know, I'm sort of living a double life—here, I'm Chitose, and anywhere else, I'm Naoko."

"Yeah, I know that."

"So, my game…my 'challenge', I suppose you could call it, is this. Whenever I am acting as Chitose Kinomoto, the two of us will act like we are dating. None of our friends are to know about this."

"Sounds fun, Midori. For how long are we planning on doing this?" The earth demon shrugged her shoulders casually.

"A few weeks, I guess. So, are you interested?" With his trademark arrogant smirk, Kaname answered Naoko's question with,

"You know I've never turned down a challenge before in my life, Midori."

The next day…

The next day was, thankfully, a Saturday, which gave Naoko time to plan just what kind of stuff she had in store for her only human friend. She was walking outside in the chilly, early November air, when a familiar midnight blue blur raced past her, blasting through the air like a gale force wind.

"Hm," she said to herself, "Silrowen must be a bit hyper today." With flawless timing, the blur stopped short, alighting on the ground. 'Silrowen' was a tall young woman with ash-pale skin. As she landed, her high-heeled leather boots clacked softly against the concrete. With one hand, she brushed a few strands of jet-black hair from her indigo eyes and folded her leather-like bat wings.

"Hi, Naoko-sama."

"Hey, Silrowen." She answered with a smile. Silrowen was a bat demon…or part bat demon, at least. She was Naoko's thirty-seven year old daughter. Remember Kuronue, her former life partner that was mentioned earlier?

That's her father.

Silrowen is known throughout the demon plane as a kunoichi with the power over darkness…the only kunoichi in a small, elite group of demon shinobi.

Despite her covert-sounding title, she's just as hyper as your typical sixteen-year-old.

Silrowen adjusted her midnight blue hat, an exact replica of the one her father always wore, and smirked, her long, pointed ears twitching.

"What's up?" Naoko asked of her mischievous-looking daughter.

"I could ask you the same thing, Naoko-sama. You look like you're hiding something."

"Hm?" she responded, not letting Silrowen see the secret she was concealing.

"You heard me, Naoko-sama."

"Well, Silrowen, you look like there's something you want to say, as well." Her pale face instantly flushed a light red. The young demon wasn't as adept as hiding secrets as the more experienced Naoko was.

"Well…um…er…" the former assassin stammered hopelessly. Naoko knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the bat/fox/earth demon hybrid was trying to hide something from her, but she decided not to press the subject.

"Whatever," the former bandit said with a dismissive wave of her hand, starting to walk home. Silrowen walked next to her, and Naoko continued, "So, is Touya planning anything for your birthday?"

"Not that I've been able to figure out. If he is—and I'm sure he is—he's doing a great job of keeping it a secret." They were referring to Touya Kori; another in the small group of demon shinobi Silrowen was a part of. Touya was the shinobi of ice, and unparalleled in his mastery of the element. In addition to that, he was also Silrowen's life partner, just as Hiei was Naoko's. Silrowen smiled, as did Naoko.

"Well, whatever he's planning, I'm sure you'll love it."

"I know I will." The kunoichi answered with a smirk. "Y'know, I've noticed lately that shinobi can hide secrets from everyone except fellow shinobi."

"Too true, Silrowen-chan."

"So, Naoko-sama. How's Hiei-kun?"

"Oh, he's fine." The earth demon smiled and looked at the blue October sky. "What else is there you wish to tell me about? It's clear there's something else."

"Huh? Er…nothing, really." the bat demon said, a light blush crossing her ash-pale face. "Have you seen Sniper lately?" she continued, trying to change the subject. Naoko blinked and stared at her shinobi daughter for a moment, slightly afraid that somehow, she knew of Naoko's plan. However, the experienced thief remained calm.

"I just saw him yesterday. Why?"

"No reason. Well, I have to go. I'll see you later." Silrowen took off at supersonic speed, so fast that she apparently vanished into thin air.

"She is most definitely up to something." Naoko said under her breath.

When Naoko got home, she found herself alone. 'Alone', of course, meaning Hiei wasn't there. However, she wasn't really alone. She was never truly alone.

"Kuronue?" she called out in a quiet voice.

"Over here, Naoko." Her cinnamon eyes darted over to the source of that ever-so-familiar voice. Slightly to her left, standing near the wall, was someone that knew Naoko better than she knew herself.

He was wearing basically the exact same outfit Silrowen had been wearing when Naoko had spoken to her moments ago, even including the torn dark blue hat. His raven black hair was tied back in a high ponytail that nearly reached his waist, contrasting his ashen skin. His indigo eyes locked onto Naoko with the sort of slight coldness that had the potential to look extremely threatening. One of his pointed ears twitched as there was a slight flicker of motion from his batlike wings. Naoko could make out every small detail of his appearance, right down to the few dark strands of hair hanging in his face, although he wasn't really there. Yet, at the same time, he was.

Confused yet?

Yes, this is the one and only Kuronue that Naoko was reminiscing about a couple nights beforehand. And about that 'not really here' statement?

The strange thing about Kuronue's appearance as Naoko was looking at him, ((aside from the pointed ears, inch long fangs, and bat wings)) was that the fox could see straight through him, and not in the figurative sense. She could literally see straight through him to the wall he was standing in front of. Why, you may ask?

Naoko doesn't really like talking about the exact reason. However, she was more than used to seeing him that way, and she smiled like everything was normal. Why not? To her, everything was normal.

"Hey. Where's Hiei-sama?" The bat youkai shrugged casually.

"No idea. You know how he is, he's always leaving and coming back with little to no explanation." Naoko smirked.

"Yeah, you're right." She walked into her room and came back carrying her laptop computer.

"Hmm? Am I looking at the beginning of the next Chitose Kinomoto novel?" Kuronue asked with a playful snicker. Chitose, Naoko's alter ego, was a moderately successful romance novelist.

"Yeah, you are. I got some unexpected inspiration from Kaname yesterday."

" 'Kaname'? You mean Sniper?" Kuronue didn't particularly like Sniper, ((to say the least)) for reasons Naoko didn't know.

"Yeah, whatever you wanna call him." Naoko said without really paying attention. She adjusted her glasses and starting to type rapidly, her pale hands and long fingers ending in black nails darting across the keyboard.

Meanwhile, halfway across Mushiyori City, a cobalt blue motorcycle swerved haphazardly, coming to an abrupt halt outside a small, quiet house. Kaname Hagiri stood up and glanced at the darkening sky.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" he said with a smirk and a slightly exasperated sigh. "I must have a death wish." The psychic sharpshooter smirked as he thought about Hiei…or, rather, thought about what Hiei's reaction would be if he ever found out about Naoko's little 'game'. Let's just say the visualization wasn't pleasant.

Two days later…

Naoko was walking home from school with a forlorn look on her face. It was November fourth, her six hundred and thirty-eighth birthday, and Sniper had given absolutely no sign that he had even remembered. Her birthday was painful enough with the bad memories it had left behind, but the fact that her best friend had forgotten only hurt her more.

"Hey, Midori!" Speak of the devil. Before Naoko got a chance to look over, Sniper handed her a crimson rose. "I bet you thought I forgot, huh? Happy birthday, foxgirl." Naoko stared at the flower for a moment before looking at the psychic sharpshooter who was smiling like an idiot.

"You…didn't forget?" Naoko asked, looking surprised.

"How could I forget the birthday of the best person I know?"

"Oh, now you're just trying to flatter me." Naoko said, a slight blush crossing her face.

"Well," he said with a smirk, "is it working?" The green-haired woman smiled almost shyly.

"Yeah, kind of."

"Excellent." Naoko laughed quietly.

"Seriously, Kaname, you're definitely one in a million."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment, Midori?"

"Take it however you want." she replied cryptically.

"Oh, so it's like that, huh?"

"Yeah…" Naoko said quietly, a strange look in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Midori?" Sniper asked, looking concerned.

"It's…nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Naoko said with a smile. "Just…old memories that I can't seem to let go of."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No, not really." She spoke in an almost toneless voice.

"Well…okay…" he answered quietly.

"…Kaname?" Naoko asked after a short silence.

"Yeah, Midori?"

"Thanks…for everything. You probably don't know this, but you're the first real friend I've ever had—one of the only people I can really trust."

"What?" Sniper asked in near disbelief. "What about Hiei and Kurama? Or Silrowen?"

"That's different," she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand, "they're all family. I mean, like…I guess it's hard to explain." Sniper was silent for a moment, watching her.

"No, I think I get it." Naoko glanced over at him.

"You think so? Well, that's good, because I'm not even entirely sure what I'm trying to say." Sniper couldn't help but laugh.

"That's okay. Happens to the best of us, right?"

"Yeah."

Meanwhile…

Neither of them realized they were being watched at that very moment. Sitting on a branch of one of the few trees with a few remaining leaves was a young looking woman with shoulder length black hair, deathly pale skin, and sharp sighted violet eyes wearing a black shirt along with jeans and sneakers of the same jet black. She had just one companion: a raven perched on her shoulder. The woman sighed and said quietly to the raven:

"It's sad, isn't it, Lenore? He's still trying to win her heart, even when he knows there's no hope, even though he knows her heart is devoted to another. Although I suppose, in essence, I am doing the same thing to him that he's doing to Naoko. The only real difference is that he doesn't know the motivation behind my actions. That young girl, however, knows exactly what he thinks of her." The raven tilted its head in what seemed like an expression of interest. This woman's name was Yamisukino, and she was, among other things, a demon like Naoko and one of the only three that referred to Sniper as 'Kaname'. "You see, Lenore," she continued, speaking to the crow on her shoulder, "he fell for that girl quite a while before I first met him. It's unfortunate…unrequited love can certainly hurt." The raven blinked and ruffled her feathers.

Yamisukino was a demon, as previously stated, and despite the black-haired girl's looking younger than Naoko, the fox spirit was over three hundred years her junior. Not only that, but a year or two before that, Yamisukino had a younger brother named Karasu who sparked a sort of feud with Naoko's elder brother, Kurama. Kurama was forced to destroy Karasu, leaving Yamisukino with an incredible hatred for them. Slightly more recently, she had tried to kill Naoko in order to exact revenge on Kurama. Since the brown-eyed geomancer was standing right there, it's clear she failed. And as to why Yamisukino showed no homicidal tendency towards Naoko at that moment? To make a long story short, a one-on-one fight with your hated rival that results in a solid hit on the head with a concrete wall can apparently knock out vengeful desires in a second. However, Naoko still carried a serious grudge against the dark-haired demon.

"However, I can't help but wonder if someday he'll just get over the fact that she cares about someone else… What do you think, Lenore?" she asked with a smile, looking at the raven that had moved to a perch on her arm. 'Lenore' cawed, and Yamisukino sighed. She and her brother had always had a curious affinity with ravens and crows, ever since they were little kids.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll be anytime soon, either. But I think can wait, Lenore. Patience, as most humans say, is a virtue."

The next afternoon, right after Naoko and Sniper walked out of the prison known as high school, they were almost immediately approached by two girls: a brunette and a blond. Naoko recognized them as two of the many teenage girls that almost constantly followed her brother around school. They were in their freshman year, she believed.

That figures.

"Um…" the brunette said, clearly not sure what to say. The blond, however, was less subtle and blurted out:

"Sniper, Chitose, we wanna know if the rumors about you two are true."

"Rumors?" Naoko asked, genuinely having no idea what she was taking about.

"Oh, you know. The rumors about the two of you dating? It's all over school." Sniper and Naoko blinked and looked at each other. This wasn't what they had been expecting.

"Well…" Sniper was clearly unsure of what to say, so Naoko cut in.

"Let's put it this way: If the rumors weren't true, would I do this?"

"Wait, do wh-!" Sniper never got a chance to finish his sentence. Naoko grabbed his shirt collar and yanked the slightly taller teenager down a few inches to her level, kissing him. Sniper's entire mind froze as solid as a block of ice in the back of a deep freezer in the middle of northern Canada. The only coherent thought that managed to break through to the surface was: No. Way. There is no way this is happening…When Naoko says she's going to act a part, she really gets into it… Naoko broke it off, let go of his shirt collar, and looked back at the two shocked girls.

"Satisfied?" she asked.

At the same time…

Yamisukino was standing behind a nearby tree, staring in shock. That couldn't have just happened…Naoko would never have…she thought. There's no way in hell she feels the same about him as he does about her…there can't be. Lenore flew down from a tree branch and landed on her distressed master's shoulder, cawing softly as though in concern.

"Lenore…what the hell is going on between them?" The question was more to herself than to Lenore, but she needed to vocalize it nonetheless. "…Come on, I'm starting to think we should tell Hiei about this." The eight hundred and twenty-seven year old demon turned and sprinted off at a speed no human eyes could possibly detect, leaving her precious Lenore with no perch and slightly disgruntled.

Within minutes, she had found Hiei not far from Meiou High and explained everything she had seen.

"I don't believe you." the crimson-eyed demon replied in a voice that held an edge of coldness. "Naoko would never do that."

"I'm telling you what I saw. Whether you choose to believe it or not is none of my business."

"Look, Yamisukino, I know what you think you saw, but I know Naoko better than that! She wouldn't even dare to think about doing something like that! Not to mention: Sniper's so damn afraid of how easily I could kill him in about seven different ways without even picking up a sword if he so much as looks at her wrong, so I'm fairly sure he's not exactly going to encourage Naoko to do anything!"

"There's no need to get upset with me, Hiei." Yamisukino answered in a voice that remained totally calm even as Hiei was shooting his crimson death glare in her direction. "And apparently you don't know Naoko as well as you think you do."

"Don't say that." the black haired pyrokinetic shot back. "You have no idea about how well I know her, so don't even think you do."

"I can see why you would be upset with me, but there's no reason to overreact."

"Overreact? Overreact! Oh, of course not! You're only coming over here and insinuating that Naoko's cheating on me or whatever you think she's doing! Why on earth should I overreact!"

"Because I feel the same way you do, and I've remained calm and rational this whole time."

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean you 'feel the same way'?" Her impassive tone and expression was only irritating him more. "Naoko hates you with a passion, and-"

"This has nothing to do with Naoko!" Yamisukino suddenly burst out angrily, her calm demeanor shattered like a thin sheet of glass. She took a deep breath and tried desperately to calm down as Hiei stared at her in surprise and tried to figure out what the hell she was taking about.

"Wait…" he said quietly, the realization hitting him like a brick to the head. "Are you saying that you…"

"Yes, you idiot." Yamisukino interrupted, regaining her calm tone and appearance. "I love him, not that it's any problem of yours." Hiei was silent for a moment. Maybe Yamisukino wasn't as crazy as Naoko thought she was. Maybe she wasn't making this story up…after all; it had nearly the same effect on her as it did on him.

"You're…you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Well, now you finally get it…" she said under her breath in a slightly exasperated voice.

A few blocks away, Naoko and Kaname were walking as always, like nothing unusual had happened. Naoko seemed totally casual, like today was just another day. Sniper, on the other hand, was still totally in shock.

"M-Midori…" he said after a moment, breaking the silence. Naoko, walking a step or two ahead of him, glanced over her shoulder.

"Hmm? What is it, Kaname?"

"Er…it's nothing." His hands were shaking slightly. How can she act so normal! Well, to her this is all just a game, right? But…how the hell can she just shrug it off like that was nothing! Sniper thought, trying not to break out into an all-out argument with himself.

"Okay, if you're sure." Naoko replied with a smile. Her total calm attitude was driving him insane. How can she do that! I can't believe how relaxed she looks—like absolutely everything's normal! Everything is so not normal. It stopped being 'normal' as soon as she took me totally by surprise back there…

"…Midori, I…" In a moment of shock, Sniper could tell he was mere seconds away from saying the three words he had been both dying to tell her and at the same time mortified of having her listen to.

"What's wrong, Kaname?" she asked, looking over her shoulder again.

"I, uh…er…Well…" Naoko kept looking over her shoulder at him, even as they were walking.

"I'm listening, Kaname." she said, subtly hinting he should try a coherent, understandable sentence.

"J-just forget it…" he said in a slightly self-conscious tone, staring at the ground. Naoko stopped walking and turned around fully, staring at him.

"No, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me, so why won't you?"

"I, er…I'm not sure you'd like what I have to say." he admitted with a quiet laugh and an embarrassed smile.

"It's okay, Kaname. Honestly, it can't be all that horrible."

"Y-yeah, it could." Sniper replied, thinking, especially if Hiei ever finds out…

"Then just tell me anyway. It doesn't matter how awful it is, you know I'm not afraid of anything." she finished with a playfully arrogant smile.

"…N-Naoko…" Sniper started to say, absolutely petrified of what he was about to say. The earth demon just stood there, staring at him and waiting for whatever he was about to say. "Naoko…"

"Yes, Kaname?" Sniper took a deep breath and finally said the three simple words he had been agonizing over since the day he first met her.

At that moment, Hiei and Yamisukino were watching from a nearby rooftop.

"I…" they both heard Sniper say, "I…love you." Hiei's hand twitched almost like he wanted to reach for the sword on his belt, and Yamisukino fell to her knees, looking almost heartbroken. Hiei glanced over at her for a moment, silent.

"Maybe I was just being idiotic…" she said under her breath as Lenore alighted beside her. "Maybe I should have realized…that I never had a chance…" Hiei didn't say anything, watching her. "Come on, Lenore. We're leaving." She stood up and walked off, her jet-black flyaway hair brushing against her pale face in a slight breeze. Lenore flew over and perched on her master's shoulder. Hiei almost said something to her, but stopped himself, turning back to Naoko and Sniper.

"Kaname…" she said, trying to keep a smile on her face. "I'm sorry…really, I am. But you know as well as I do that nothing can ever happen…"

"Yeah, I do." Sniper answered. "But…I'm sorry, I just…I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not hurting me, Kaname…but I don't want you to…I mean, I just…I don't even know…" Naoko averted her eyes, staring at the ground. "You…don't know how unlucky I've been with my relationships."

"What? What's that supposed to mean? You get along great with Hiei, how is that unlucky-?"

"I'm…not talking about Hiei-sama." Naoko said, and at that moment she felt the barrier of ice she locked her darkest secrets and fears behind melting slowly. "You…know Silrowen, right?"

"Yeah, what's she got to do with this?"

"I'm not sure if you know this or not…Silrowen's my daughter. I was married once before…"

"Huh? But I thought…and she looks nothing like you…" A serene smile crossed Naoko's face as she replied,

"Yeah…she looks just like her father." She sighed and kept speaking. "His name was Kuronue, and he was the legendary bandit partner of Youko Kurama and Youko Naoko." Sniper was silent, watching her and listening. "One night, when Silrowen was about fifteen, the three of us were escaping from this castle after stealing a priceless mirror. Kuronue…always wore this crimson pendant. I don't know why it was so important to him; I felt it wasn't my place to ask. All I know is the fact that his pendant was really important. That night…I don't know how, but the chain on his pendant suddenly broke. For some reason…I stopped and turned around to get it back. The next thing I knew, Kuronue had suddenly pushed me out of the way of something. When I turned around to ask just what the hell he thought he was doing…" Naoko's voice cracked, and Sniper put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Kuronue was trapped, and already badly injured…He snapped at both of us to get the hell out of there and forget about trying to save him, but…I froze. I just couldn't…I couldn't abandon him like that. But he told me to stop being an idiot and leave. I told him how much I loved him and…I just left."

"Naoko…"

"It was all my fault. I've never stopped blaming myself once in eighteen years…" The cinnamon-eyed woman was shaking and looked like she was about to cry.

"Listen, Naoko. I don't know anything aside from what you told me, but I do know that it wasn't your fault."

"H-how can you be so sure?"

"Because I just know it wasn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"…Kaname…" His name was all Naoko managed to say before she burst out crying on his shoulder. He had always thought she was unshakable, an unstoppable power with absolute emotional invulnerability.

Apparently, he hadn't known her as well as he thought.

"Th-thanks, Kaname…" The seventeen-year-old human wrapped his arms around her shoulders protectively.

"Anytime, Naoko." Meanwhile, Jaganshi Hiei kept watching from that same rooftop in silence.

"Hn. I guess everything just might work out after all." he said to himself.

Epilogue

Naoko and Hiei were walking together down the snowy December street in silence. It was peaceful and serene, and neither of them wanted to break that serenity any sooner than they needed to.

"Hey, guys!" came an ever-so-familiar voice from nearby. Naoko glanced over her shoulder, not that that action was necessary for her to know who was speaking to them.

"Hey, Kaname." She replied with a smile. Sniper and Yamisukino were walking side by side, with Lenore resting on Yamisukino's shoulder. "Oh…hey, Yamisukino." Naoko added, trying to be somewhat pleasant to the dark-haired woman.

"Where are you two going?" Yamisukino asked.

"Well, we did have one destination in mind." Hiei responded, glancing at Naoko. "Or rather, she had a destination in mind and just dragged me along with her."

"Oh yeah?" Sniper asked. "Where's that?"

"Right here." Naoko pulled a raspberry-colored rose out of seemingly nowhere and handed it to him. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Kaname." He looked stunned for a moment as he took it from her.

"Th-thanks, Midori."

"You didn't forget my birthday last month, so I wasn't about to forget yours." Naoko replied with a smile. "Come on, Hiei-sama, let's go." The two of them turned and started walking away, talking and laughing like any other couple. Anyone who didn't know them would probably perceive them as the last thing they were—normal.

"She really is a nice person at heart, isn't she, Kaname?" Yamisukino said thoughtfully with a smile on her face.

"Yeah…she really is." Sniper smiled at her. "Hey, do you want to get lunch somewhere, Yami?" he asked, using his shortened nickname for her.

"Yeah, Kaname…I'd like that." She said with a sincere smile and a slight blush crossing her ashen face.

/owari/