Remembering it all now, so long after the event, I see it clearly. Clearly and painfully. The memories of that fateful day flooding my memories with tears. Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of the fear of it all. I wish it had happened differently, but...things very rarely go as planned. Especially when an imiko is involved. It was many years ago and I was only 14...

The sun was shining bright as a young girl dressed in black pants and a black tube top, and despite the heat; she was wearing black sleeve-like gloves. Her hair was down to her waist and it was the brightest orange it could be without being unnatural, much unlike the silver streaks that ran through her hair. No matter what color she dyed it, she couldn't seem to get rid of them, until finally she gave up and stuck with the orange-silver combo. Her friends called her Kitsune-chan, because of the hair, Kitsune, meaning "shape-shifting fox", also known as a yoko. Her real name of course, was Kea Utashi. Her family name suited her well, due to her love of music. She also loved a manga named Yu Yu Hakusho, she had this knack for applying quotes by the characters to her daily life. Her favorite being:

"There is no man without scars upon his heart. And if there were someone like that...he would be a foolish bastard..."

-Hiei-sama

She lived by that quote. And another being:

"It is one man's strength against another man's weakness. You must decide which man you are.."

-Mukuro-sama.

She smiled. Oh how she loved early summer, energy so heavy in the air you can almost taste it. And yet she felt as if something powerful was lingering in her town. Kea had the strange ability to feel if there's someone in the area with strong feelings. If the emotion is strong enough, Kea can sometimes take on that person's emotions, whether she wants them or not. She was so happy despite the feelings of sadness she was receiving that she began to skip down the multicolored brick sidewalk that lined the old-fashion styled shops and houses.

I wonder whose feelings these are... She smiled as she thought about all the people it could be. Although when she found out, it was not who she had expected. Wrapped up in her thoughts, Kea stumbled on an uneven piece of sidewalk and began to fall. She let out a shriek and shut her eyes tightly waiting for the impact that never came. Half out of shock and half out of fear she gasped and looked up to see the man who had caught her, the man who's feelings she had felt, the man she'd been waiting for for so long.

"H-...Hiei-sama?" She stared at the man who had caught her. He had spiky black hair with a white starburst in the center, with the outside outlined in dark blue. His eyes were of blood red and he wore black pants with small belts on the bottom strapping them to his ankles. His pants were obviously too big for him, so he kept them on with four smaller belts. His shirt was a sky blue short-sleeve, which was slightly tattered and worn from battle. He smirked and put her down.

"You should be more careful...ningen..." He said rudely. She stared at him. There he was, the man she'd admired from animated pictures and almost worshipped, standing right there, right in front of her.

"You...are Hiei-sama...right?" Her voice came out much unlike any version she'd heard before, small and quiet, some would even call it shy. He nodded.

" Thank you Hiei-sama...Can I... do anything to repay you?" He smirked again.

"Hn... You can show me some decent food around here..." He studied her. He was only maybe an inch or two shorter than her. She smiled joyfully at him.

"Ok then! Have you had lunch yet?" he nodded his head, "Ok, then let's just go for ice cream, there's a Woody's just up here..." She smiled at him and they began walking the same way Kea was already headed.

"So, Mr. Hiei...What kind of ice cream do you prefer?" He studied her face for a moment. Turning his head to face forward again with the same emotionless expression he said, " vanilla..." After walking for about 3 minutes, they arrived.

After ordering Hiei's vanilla cone, and Kea's mint and coffee mixture, they took it to the tables outside. They ate in silence for almost 5 minutes until Kea broke out laughing. Hiei stared at her like she was insane.

" HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Hiei, your face! HAHAHA! It's covered in ice cream!" She almost fell out of her chair she was laughing so hard. Underneath the yellow-ish cream that covered his face, he began to turn a slight pink color.

"HN!" he took her napkin and began to wipe off his face. By the time he was done, Kea's laughter had died down to a few giggles.

"Hee hee...Hiei...You missed a spot..." She took his napkin and gently wiped it off his face, although when the napkin made contact, her heart began to pound. They ate the rest of their ice cream in silence. When they were done, Hiei got up and began to walk away.

"Uhm, Hiei!" He turned around, "Will I see you again?" He smirked.

"Only time will tell..." and with that he took off. Kea smiled and began to walk home, as the glare from the setting sun silhouetted her face.

A week later...

"Kitsune-chaaaaaaaaaaan!" Kea snapped back to reality as her hyperactive best friend bounced up and down the hall of her high school rambling about some TV show, "So, and then he says to her, 'How dare you betray my confidence!' and theeeeen--"

"Ichigo, could you please talk about something a little more amusing?" Kea said blandly. Ichigo looked hurt, "Oh Ichigo! Calm down, it's just I have a lot on my mind right now and listening to something that dramatic…it just…(sigh) I just can't handle that too, okay?" Ichigo nodded. Kea opened her locker and took out all the stuff she'd need for the walk home: her little jacket, her books for the homework she didn't do anyways, and her CD player. She waved to Ichigo as they parted by the park.

Hmmm…pretty day! I think I'll do my homework for once, but here, at the park! She smiled and sat down underneath a large tree. She took out her science and began to think.

"Hn. Questions 5 and 7 are wrong. Photosynthesis isn't the art of making photos! Its how plants make their food! Your in 9th grade, you should know that, what's on your mind?" Hiei jumped down from the tree above her. She smiled," I missed you Hiei-sama! Uhm…please don't worry yourself over my problems…" Hiei glared at her.

"If it was a bother hearing your issues I wouldn't be asking now would I?" Kea nodded.

"Well…You see…My mom just got engaged and I don't really like the guy too well…and well…I've had some issues in the past with my mothers husbands…when I was young, I was kidnapped…and my mother's last husband had threatened to have one of his friends kidnap me again, therefore implying that he was friends with the guy that kidnapped me the first time. He was abusive to me too. Then there was my father, who is simply crazy and he was always drunk…and my first boyfriend, he was abusive to me…heh, I had a horrible childhood, but I guess its nothing compared to yours…" Hiei nodded. Hiei helped her with the rest of her homework and they had some small talk about the trees. Finally, after being there for 2 hours, Kea smiled and stood up.

"(giggles) Well Hiei-sama, I must be on my way! My mother might be worried…okay, she probably is worried!" She kneeled down and gave Hiei a hug, "thank you for your company, Hiei, I hope to see you again…." She picked up her stuff and skipped on home.

Smiling she opened the door to her house, hoping to see her mother's smiling face, but she saw nothing but the inside of her eye-lids as she got punched across the face.

"WHO THE HELL WAS THAT? WHO WAS HE!" her stepfather screamed at her, his face turning a bright shade of purple.

"He was a friend! Just a friend!" She began to cry, and he punched her again. The beer bottle was attached to his hand.

The next morning Kea was a mess. She had bandages and bruises everywhere, and a broken finger. Ichigo ran up to her.

"Kea! Oh my gosh, Kea! Are you ok! You're a mess! What happened!" Ichigo bounced around.

"Oh, I'm fine, it was just a skiing accident! Hee hee!"

Kea was asked the same question by all the school councilors and teachers, and every time she gave the same lie, a skiing accident. The lie was working great until the end of the day as she was walking out of the school.

"(gasp) Hiei! You have to go, I'm so so so sorry, Hiei-sama, you're a great friend, you really are, but I can't see you anymore…" Kea began to cry.

"Kea. Your…wounds….Who did it?"

"It….it was….a skiing….accident…" she said nervously.

"Liar! You were punched in the face, that's the only way you'd get a bruise like that!" she began to sob, "Kea…" Hiei took her hand, "come on Kea, I'm taking you somewhere you'll be safe," Kea shook her head, "Just for a night. End of subject." She sighed.

"fine…" she said quietly, "but if something happens when I get back-"

"I'll kill them." Kea smiled and he picked her up bridal style and took off.

Chapter two: What is this feeling?

It seemed to Kea that they were flying through the air. According to her research, having total control of the flaming fist of the overlord, or dragon of the darkness flame, gives you the ability to fly. It could also just be his amazing speed. She smiled and began to drift of to sleep in his arms. When she awoke she was in a bed of blankets with the most comfortable pillow, and no mattress to speak of. She smiled and sat up, only to realize how cold it was, and that she was in a cave, alone.

"Hiei?" There was no answer. "Hiei!" still no answer. She threw off her blankets and shoved aside a blanket covering what she thought was the cave opening, only to realize that there was one more piece of cave, which had nothing covering the final opening. There was a fire burning in the center of the floor and Hiei's coat, shirt, and pants. Kea gasped, "He's running around in his UNDERWEAR? Oh dear god..." She blushed and continued to look for him, preparing herself for the worst...actually finding him. Finally she came across a lake, and Hiei was out in the center, and seemed to be washing his hair. She quietly stepped back a ways, and screamed his name once more, like she was still looking for him, then stumbled into the clearing.

"(gasp) Oh Hiei-sama! (blush) I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to intrude on your bath..." She said sheepishly. He smirked.

"Hn. I'm not bathing, just washing my hair, if I was bathing I'd have left you a note. I'm clothed, trust me...Care to join me?" She gasped at this comment. She never would have guessed that he'd invite her in.

"In what? I have nothing to wear!" She panicked. He smirked and replied," You have underwear. Wear it."

"But then I wont have any to wear later!"

"Hn! Suit yourself!" She blushed and began to strip. leaving her underwear on, she nervously waded in. Hiei smirked and turned around. She began to wade out to him, when there was a sudden drop and she slipped, and screamed. Hiei turned around fast and swam to her.

"Kea! Kea!" He searched around the water for her but couldn't find her. Meanwhile Kea was stuck about three feet below him, unconscious, and her foot was caught on a branch. Hiei looked down and saw bubbles coming up.

"Shit! Kea…!" He dove down into the water and swam a ways down. The water grew dark as he descended. Finally he began to feel around. Hnnn… slimy….must be a rock…ouch! That was a fish….hnn…nothing….nothing…..nothing…dammit! where is she!….AHA! I found her! Hiei wrapped his arms around her and carried her up to the surface. He quickly swam back to the shore and laid her down. He put his ear close to her chest. No breath. He ripped off his bandage over his eye and it began to glow. Seconds later Kurama showed up.

"She needs CPR. Hiei, do you know how?" Kurama said after investigating her.

"Yes…but that's why I brought you here. She's a fan of mine and she might get the wrong idea if she wakes up and.." Hiei began to trail off. Kurama smiled and nodded. Then he bent over and began to give her CPR. After about five minutes of this, she began to breathe. Kurama then stood up and took off after bidding Hiei farewell. Hiei picked her up bridal style and carried her back to the cave. He laid her down in the bed and covered her up.

Approximately four hours later, Kea's brown eyes fluttered open.

"mmnngg…Where…?" She muttered.

"Ningen baka! You almost drowned! Baka anata! You scared me half out of my--….." Hiei stunned himself at the mere thought of what he was about to say.

"Hiei? What were you going to—"

"Nothing." Kea stared at him pointedly, as if she was trying to say 'nothing my ass…'.

Their wet clothes glistened from the light of the fire. The sky was so dark it seemed about 9 o'clock, when in all truth, it was only just dinnertime. Kea was sitting on a pile of blankets and Hiei was leaning against a wall. Hmm…I wonder what he's thinking, he's just standing there…Well, I suppose I'll head to bed…

"Hey Hiei? I'm going to bed, 'kay?" She smiled at him. He nodded and pointed to the room in which she awoke in. She smiled again and went to bed.

The next morning Kea woke to find that Hiei was still asleep, on the bare floor. Awww! He's so adorable when he sleeps! She smiled and grabbed a blanket from her room, and covered him up. She lit a fire and went out to search for something to eat.

Hiei suddenly felt a strong demonic presence, of course it was nothing compared to his aura and as long as Kea was there with him everything would be ok. He got up and went to check on Kea.

"SHIT! KEA!" he heard a painful cry coming from the woods. He sped towards the voice.