Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho's not miiiine, la la la la-la la la la! I own nothing, it's nooothing neeeew, la la la la la la-la la!

Kit: …you are such a freak.

Notes: Don't you love Winter break? It means more time to write!

Aaaaaaaand that has basically nothing to do with this story so…why is it under Notes?

-o-o-o-o-

Embrace the Winter Snow

Chapter 9

-o-o-o-o-

Hiei was sitting quietly in the garden of the temple, the snow having built around him a bit in the night's fall. He had remained stoic, sword against his chest, for the last nine hours, facing Kurama's window. There had been no movement within for hours.

The fire demon was about to give up when he saw Kurama move before the window, rubbing his eyes and pushing his ruffled hair out of his face. Hiei was surprised at how late the fox had slept; it was almost ten, judging by the sun.

As soon as the fox had left his room, however, Hiei found himself sitting in front of a rather annoyed Yusuke. The detective had appeared in front of Hiei with his demonic speed, looking rather angry and had his arms crossed over his chest.

"I thought I told you to find your information somewhere else, Hiei," Yusuke began in a taut voice. The fire demon looked up at him.

"You did."

Yusuke growled at the reply, as it did nothing but provoke his anger. "Hiei, I don't want you constantly around Kurama. From what you said yesterday, you mean him no harm, but he doesn't know that. You're causing him constant worry. He. Can't. Sense. You. What part of that do you not understand? It's making him so unsettled that he's losing sleep!"

Yusuke didn't stop once to think that he shouldn't probably be saying any of that to the fire demon, or that Kurama might not want it known. He simply wanted to make it obvious to the fire demon that his presence was a nuisance.

It was one of his bigger slip-ups.

Hiei locked the information away for later even as he raised an eyebrow. "Why should I make him nervous? I already told you I am not here to do anything to him."

Yusuke, who had now noticed his slip-up and closed his eyes in irritation, gave an exasperated sigh. "Kurama doesn't know that and, despite what I've tried to tell him, he no longer trusts you. Why? I can't imagine." Hiei ignored the sarcasm dripping off the last sentence. "But I don't want you around here if it's going to hurt him so much."

Hiei stared for a long time at Yusuke before he stood up and vanished in the blink of an eye. Yusuke gave a long sigh before he turned and started towards the temple stairs. No matter what he did, he always seemed to upset one of his friends.

And he failed to notice that Hiei had relocated not ten feet away on the roof.

-o-o-o-o-

Genkai and Tekara were silently sipping at their tea when Kurama came into the room, a blanket wrapped around his lithe, clothed form. The sun was gaining on the sky as it neared noon. Both woman looked up, Tekara setting down her cup with a loud clink.

"You're up, sleepyhead!" she cried happily, climbing to her feet. Kurama spared a small smile for her as she grabbed the teakettle and ran into the other hallway, obviously going to make more tea.

He gave an amused raise of his eyebrow towards Genkai as he slid down to the knee high table. Genkai only snorted as she took another long sip of her tea. After the long silence, broken only by the slight slurp in Genkai's drinking and the occasional crash or yelp from the kitchen, Kurama raised his hands slowly.

'Where's Yusuke?' Genkai set her cup down gently after she had watched his gestures over the rim.

"He left for something or another at his house. Until he gets back, you're stuck with me as a bodyguard. Now aren't you a lucky fox?" she replied and Kurama gave a partial, mischievous smirk.

Another crash resounded from the kitchen, followed by a yelp, and finally a frantically yelled, "I'm all right!"

"She's a handful," the old master breathed out in a sigh as the din died down, her voice dancing with amusement. Kurama glanced towards the door where Tekara had disappeared. Raising an eyebrow once more, he looked back to the aged master.

Genkai gave a light smirk. "I wanted laughter to once more fill the temple. What I got was a five year old."

Kurama gave a gentle smile and lifted his hands. Genkai watched over the rim of her glass once more before she nodded, lowering the glass.

"Yes, yes, I did invite her. Keep laughing, Fox-boy, and I'll send her to live with you." Genkai finished off what was left of her tea.

The fox couldn't help the smile at that but his light chuckled ceased. The two were content to furthermore sit in silence until Tekara returned with a cup for Kurama and another kettle of steaming water.

As the demon sat down, pouring all three of them tea, Genkai glanced at Kurama. His hair, as she had earlier noticed, was neatly combed and held back in a loose ponytail, though it seemed awfully dull and its sheen was gone. His bright green eyes seemed a little duller and there were circles forming under them.

"Nightmares?"

Kurama dropped his cup, though his quick reflexes stopped it from tipping when it hit the table. Genkai noted that his hand shook as he released it, white knuckled.

"Do you want drugs to help you sleep?" Kurama's eyes were locked on the tea that sat on the table and he did not answer for some time. After several minutes, he slowly shook his head.

He would not run away any longer.

Tekara, who seemed oblivious of that entire conversation, looked up and blinked. "Kurama, you look tired. You should go back to sleep!"

Kurama looked at her, surprised but used to her obliviousness on previous subjects of discussion, and gave a weak smile. With a shake of his head, he glanced away.

The young demon, however, didn't seem to notice his attempt to end the conversation. "You'll feel better if you sleep some more…Besides," her voice lowered, becoming little more than a whisper, "the nightmares only come at night."

Kurama's eyes widened and he whipped his head to look at the demon, but Tekara was humming to herself and pouring more tea for herself and Genkai. The old master was acting as calm as always, sipping her tea.

Kurama had to pause to wonder if he had heard her at all, or if it was his mere imagination in overdrive due to his lack of sleep.

He did not know much of the healer before him. She came from the eastern mountains where she had grown up a basically wretched life, though he didn't know the details and what he did know, he had learned from Genkai.

Apparently she had been sold to the demon slave market as a child when her parents were killed (though he didn't know how.) While in the custody of her first two masters as well as the slave caravans, she had learned the art of healing through necessity and none too correctly, finding her own ways of healing with whatever was available.

In the household of her third master, who eventually set her free, she was taught the norm for her healing, but never converted, choosing instead to mix the correct way and her spontaneous ability to use whatever was on hand.

And how, through all that, she had maintained a child like outlook on the world was beyond anyone to figure out.

The biggest rumor at the moment, though there really wasn't a rumor mill and more like a lack of information mill, was that she had become schizophrenic through necessity and had coined a childish conscience to counter the realities of her imprisonment.

Of course, that was completely unlikely as no one had ever seen this "true side" of her. Hence the rumor component attached. And that was about all he knew, which was little for the fact that he had known her closely now for five years.

The fox glanced once more towards the healer. Tekara was still humming happily to herself.

-o-o-o-o-

Kurama had quietly snuck out of the temple, his white lie of wanting to take a nap the only thing that got Tekara away from him. As he climbed out of his window, he jumped quietly to the white floor beneath him and took off towards the woods, slipping easily into them.

He gave a relieved sigh as he took to the back of a tree, out of the line of sight from the temple. Away from his prison and security guard, he relished in the freedom of the forest and he pressed the back of his head against the bark of the tree.

With glee in his eye and a childish smile, he pushed off the tree and began running and leaping further into the forest. Through the beautiful scenery of snowy greens, he jumped over logs and dodged trees and ducked branches.

He was a fox free in the woods.

His Youko self warned him long before the trees did and all of what he already knew and he slowed down as he neared a large oak tree that reached high into the sky. He turned and leaned against it, looking into the surrounding forest with scanning, knowledgeable eyes.

"Come, Hiei," he called suddenly into the woods, his mental voice much deeper than normal. "I believe my death is in your eyes, so come."

The fire demon stepped forward from the trees he had been hiding behind. He came only a few steps, the minimal amount necessary to clear the tree and become visible to the fox's eyes.

Kurama smiled, the gesture triumphant but cold, and very much a youko attribute. Hiei shivered slightly at that look, perhaps because he had never truly had something so…sadomasochistic aimed at him from the legendary kitsune.

"Come, Hiei, that is not nearly close enough to exact you revenge. After all, aren't you here for that 'last round'?" The kitsune's voice was icy as he said the last two words and his smile had dropped to a menacing scowl.

Hiei, however, did not respond like one normally wound when someone is trying to get a rise out of them. He raised an eyebrow to demonstrate his lack of interest and something else…confusion? When Kurama's expression did not change, the fire demon frowned in obvious perplexity.

"Kurama, I do not know what you speak of, so if you expect an answer you will want to explain you words," he said in an uncharacteristic way for him. His voice was slightly agitated at not knowing what he was supposedly supposed to know but it was otherwise soft and surprisingly quiet.

Kurama had been expecting anger or leering.

The fox's scowl became deeper and it grew in anger and malice. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and had lost all of its human attribute. The fox was no longer Kurama, but solely Youko, Shuichi was now buried deep inside.

"We are alone, Hiei. Did you think I spent what little energy I have left sneaking out of that prison just for someone to follow me? You think I came out here for my health?" By now, Kurama's eyes were ablaze with unspoken anger and Hiei found fighting off the mental headache that came with it a more difficult challenge. But keeping up with what the fox was saying was proving even harder, as Hiei found himself bewildered at what the kitsune was pertaining to.

"Kurama, I-" but the fire demon was cut off as Kurama stood before him, in all his glorious anger, with fire blaring in his emerald eyes, soaked through with flakes of gold.

"I came out here, Hiei, to finish this. I warned you not to come around again, that I would not stand for it any longer." The youko raised a hand to his chest, signifying himself. "I will stay quite no more, fire demon. Shuichi has done as you ordered; he has not breathed a word to any living soul. He has suffered in silence and yet you came back to do more pain unto him and me.

"And so, here we stand, hiyoukai. I will not watch him get hurt again and I will not stand by and listen to his pain, but do nothing under his pleading. He may still love you, fire demon, but my feelings diminish each day. Whatever love I once felt is all but gone, replaced with my anger and his pain.

"So come, Hiei, and let us finish it. I will see us both dead before you lay another finger on Shuichi." Youko dropped to a defensive stance, his hands out before him.

This was actually amusing to the fire demon for a dull moment. Kurama did not fight hand to hand; it was practically unheard of.

Hiei, whose expression did not alter any despite the humor he saw in the fox's stance, gave an annoyed scowl. His voice, when he spoke, was almost exasperated, "What do you plan to do, Kurama, fight me with no energy?"

"I have no other weapon, fire demon, so come." Hiei frowned at these words. The fox was not joking, nor did his voice hold any significance of his lack of seriousness. The kitsune was ready to fight to the death and, with no energy, that would not take very long.

"Stop this foolishness, Kurama. You can not fight me and you know it," Hiei replied angrily, his own patience wearing out on the fox's ridiculous proposal. "And besides, even if you could fight properly, I wouldn't take your challenge."

"Oh?" Youko sneered, remaining in his fighting stance. "That's right, hiyoukai, you'd rather take me lying down."

"Wh-what?" Hiei had completely frozen at these words.

They couldn't mean what he thought they meant, could they? When had he- no, never! He hadn't - wouldn't! Yes, he had once loved Kurama (still did, as he admitted to himself that long night in the woods after Yusuke had left) but he never would have... and those words certainly did not pertain to what the two had so often partaken in.

"Kurama, what are you talking about!" he shouted out in a defensive voice. Had the kitsune lost his mind!

"God fucking damn it, Hiei!" the youko shouted only, this time, Hiei could hear traces of Shuichi's human voice barely audible among the tones; he had once more awoken. "We are alone, completely surrounded by nothing more than trees. Do you still seek to torment me with your lies?"

Hiei frowned, but not in anger or defense. He was growing even more confused; what did having to be alone do with what the fox was accusing him of? "Kurama, I do not under-"

"Give it up, Hiei!" The shout echoed through the entire woods, the anger surrounding and repeating all around them. The fire demon actually flinched as he stood before that rage. Youko stood tall, arms at his sides clenched in fists. "Quit your innocent act! Stop hiding from your own crimes! Do you honestly think I would forget, or convince myself that it wasn't you!"

"What?" Hiei asked, his voice suddenly shaking. The fox shook his head and blinked his eyes. Shuichi was coming back to the surface, Hiei could tell as Kurama found himself trying to blink back tears.

None fell as they stood in the snow.

"I honestly can't believe you," the voice was much softer now and held more pain and sorrow than anger. And…there was something else in that voice. It sounded as if Kurama had given up, but what, Hiei didn't know.

And then it was gone. When next he spoke, Kurama's words were icier than Hiei had ever heard. Youko was in full control and, this time, it looked like it was voluntarily. Shuichi was gone for good now, burrowing himself deeper within his subconscious until Youko would once more summon him.

"If you will not fight me on your own, I will make you," the youko started coldly, his fists shaking at his sides. Hiei had to resist the urge to snort; he would not attack Kurama, no matter what the fox did.

"After all," the youko began again, his voice sly and painfully sharp, "you fought me that morning. Of course, you used Shuichi's weakness in the pain that you caused him to turn it more into a beating. So why not take up what you started, hiyoukai? If you are going to blame us for your own crime, why not finish what you started?"

Hiei had remained frozen, his body going tense under the words. The crime that…he did? The fire demon's eyes widened angrily at this.

But Youko was not finished. "Blaming us for her death wasn't enough, was it? It just doesn't suit your hunger, does it? Why not have at it, fire demon? I am all but defenseless and can do so little against you. Come, kill me." Hiei's ears were ringing with all the accusations bouncing around in the Youko's words and he felt himself drowning in a mix of anger at the fox's voice.

"After all, fire demon, killing me would only finish the chore, wouldn't it? First your sister, than your enemy…Aren't I next on your li-"

Youko never finished his sentence as a punch sent him tumbling to the snowy forest floor some ten feet away. His lowest abdominal wound tore open at the impact sending blood spattering against his clothing, but he only smiled. Climbing to his feet with his hand over his abdomen, he grinned at Hiei, looking much like one who had lost their mind.

Hiei stood, anger blaring in his eyes and fist outstretched where he stood. His jaw was clamped tight and his mind lost to its red fog of anger and hate. Kurama walked back over to him slowly, a bruise already beginning to form along his jaw and cheekbone, a small slit underneath his eye already bleeding.

"Oooh," he bantered in a sneering tone as he leered at the fire demon before him, watching him with blood-thirsty eyes. "That was good, hiyoukai, but you can do better. Wouldn't you like to use that sword of yours?"

Hiei suddenly blinked, staring at the youko. His sword? He glanced down at the offending metal and all the haze that had previously blocked his judgment disappeared.

He had lost it; just as he did the morning after Yukina died. He had lost his control over his own anger and had attacked the person closest to him in both the physical sense and the emotional sense.

Hiei stumbled back, away from the youko as he shook his head clear. "No…no! I'm not going to attack you, Kurama. Why are you trying so hard to get me to kill you?"

Kurama's expression had gone lax, and he stood, staring at the fire demon with a blankness that scared the youkai. It was as if his face had lost all emotion and turned as white as a television when it is no longer in service.

There was nothing there; no spark, no emotion, no life.

"Because you have already raped me, Hiei. What more is there for you to give me but death?"

The sentence hit Hiei like a slap to the face and the only thing he could think to do was act on instinct, and his forbidden-born instinct was telling him to run.

Run as far away as he could from those empty green eyes.

-o-o-o-o-

Yusuke was quickly packing an assortment of clothing into his duffle bag, anxious to get back to the temple. Something wasn't right; he could feel it in his heart.

He shoved the things he needed (shirts, pants, underwear, so on and so forth) into the bag in great haste until it was, for the most part, full. He only needed a few more things to grab and shove in.

As he did so, he felt an energy drawing near: a familiar energy. With an annoyed growl, he zipped the bag closed even as soft footfalls sounded by his window.

However, as Yusuke turned around for an angry growl to get his information elsewhere, the detective was met with the very sharp end of a sword, placed at the soft flesh of his neck.

"Hiei…"

-o-o-o-o-

Mwahahahahahahahaha—cough- haha—choke—ha-h-help—choke-!

Weeee, that was soooo much fun!

Yep, Hiei is the KILLER!

ducks from pots and pans and…a chicken? Who the hell threw the chicken!

Now hold on, hold on! That is NOT the twist! You might think that is, but it really isn't a twist at all, that would just be a mystery.

The twist should be somewhat easier to see now, though not really, so…yeah.

Mwuahaha-choke- okay, enough of that already!

So, you have ONE MORE CHANCE to guess the twist! And KyoHana, your guess doesn't count!

8D

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I personally hate this chapter, but, hey! Who knows?

(P.S. If you didn't notice: no author notes this time; too lazy!)

Kurama warns Hiei (fully Youko) to kill him now because he won't hesitate to do it first, Hiei's confused and finds out that Kurama thinks he raped him.

Yusuke at house, finds sword at his neck, turns and says "hiei"