A/N: Hey we're approaching the one year anniversary of when I started this fic! Wow... I need to update more frequently...
Dedications to my faithful reviewers: Thanks everyone! (Special thanks to FortySeventhLight for recommending me on her bio section. I should really get around to reading her one-shots). Also, this chapter is especially dedicated to Imabubble because she requested (for a few weeks) that I put in some Sensui-Itsuki yaoi. Mm…yaoi… Unfortunately, it won't be extreme yaoi, simply because one, I'm really bad at writing and two, it wouldn't fit into my story (I had to work really hard to figure out how I'd put this pairing in without totally screwing up the plot, and somehow, I promise it will fit in).
And because I haven't updated for what feels to be an eternity, let me just recap so no one is lost (humor me if you remember):
Hiei agrees to help Koenma to stop the fires because of the reward: his freedom (i.e. no more community service with Yusuke) and because he has a vision concerning Yukina's safety. When he finds and rescues her, she admits that she has a crush on him, and she takes his resulting statements the wrong way. So now, they're heading back to Koenma's place so Hiei can debrief him about what he's figured out, and get some information on Phennix (the person who appears to be behind the fires…or so Kurama thinks after researching a book about phoenixes and their odd powers), and to put Yukina in safe hands. His sister meanwhile, is suspicious of Hiei (about what she's not sure) so she has decided to ask Botan when they arrive at Koenma's place.
Oh and on a final note, I'm making this twice as long as my average chapters simply to avenge my short pathetic ones.
Eep, long author's note! Gomenesai.
Chapter 12: Complications
Hiei trudged through the long hallways, red curtains hovering around him. Light filtered through the ceiling. Darkness suited his shady personality, so he avoided the brightness, hands in his pockets. The demon stared at the tiles ahead of him, so strongly he could see beyond the polished gray and into the abyss below it.
"…Hiei?" A soft voice called out.
He stopped abruptly, and then smiled weakly (if one could consider the twitch of a mouth to be a smile), seeing it belonged to Yukina. Exhaling, the demon scolded himself for thinking in circles, nearly forgetting his sister's presence entirely.
"Hm?"
She blushed briefly, "Oh, nothing. Do you know you're way around here?"
He shrugged. Of course he did. He stole items from the palace's vault dozens of times. Layouts, hidden passageways, codes and locks, everything and anything a thief would need to know for a heist.
"Not very well," he lied. Guiltily his eyes fell to the floor. He never realized that he twisted the truth so often. "I just know the way from last time is all."
"Oh, well hehe… you must have a good memory then?"
"More than you can imagine." The words slipped out of his mouth before the fire demon could snatch them back. Panic raged in his lungs. She wouldn't know he was referring to his childhood memories of her, would she?
The ice maiden laughed uneasily, as though releasing slight nervousness. "That's really good though. You don't need to look so sad about it."
She began to walk forwards, gaining unusual confidence despite being a stranger in too grand an environment.
Her brother followed, somewhat intrigued. This felt alien to him. Confused, he listened patiently.
"I think a memory of the past… or a person is a terrible thing to lose," she paused nervously but added, seeing Hiei's obvious interest, "I wish I remembered my brother. Or knew what he looked like."
His sister was conversing with him. The demon blinked, awe-stricken by such opportunity. Other than the common courtesies, he rarely spoke two worthwhile words to her or anyone else.
"Why do you say that?"
"He's my brother."
"Yes, but you've never seen him before. Do you even know if he cares about you? What if… he was a crook or a murderer?" He looked at her indifferently so that she would not suspect him, and after swallowing silently, he asked, "…or a liar?"
Hiei gazed at her face as they, now, strolled through the less menacingly elegant hall. Her eyes were glazed with sadness, but before he could apologize she responded.
"But I don't need to see him to know what he looks like on the inside." She turned to look at him, lovingly, "Have you ever felt connected to someone before? You don't need to see them to know what they look like or how they feel."
"What about the---"
"Being a crook or murderer or liar? I… I'm not sure." The demon, disheartened, needed an answer.
"Would you hate him?"
Her eyes wavered, as she gnawed at one of her fingernails absentmindedly. "I don't like fighting. Or war. Or crime…Or lying. But I've never met him before. I may feel a connection to him, but that doesn't mean I know whether or not he is any of those things."
"But if he WAS?" Hiei was desperately trying to avoid speaking directly to her as a brother, but was not entirely certain if he was doing it successfully.
"I'd only know that he was one of those things if I ever met him. Then I could tell you."
The demon gazed ahead at the floor. He could sense it in her voice. He could sense that she would hate him if she ever found out their real relationship. That he was her brother and not her potential lover.
If only he could explain it to her. Yukina was not in love with him, but confused. And all because of him, because he lied to her.
"Aren't you going to say something?" she asked earnestly.
He failed to look at her face, the guilt rising steadily. What could he possibly tell her? Any possible action he thought of would hurt her in one way or another. "We're almost there."
The ice maiden stared at him, confused. They were conversing, and he suddenly halted it without any real reason. Was she trying to hard? Was this her fault? She gazed into his eyes, innocently, afraid as to what she might find. To her surprise and distant relief, they were not glazed with boredom or hatred or disgust, but with faint sadness.
She felt the urge to hug him, to tell him that whatever concerned him she would be more than willing to listen. That she loved him with all her heart and soul, but doubt stopped her. Yukina was a frail little girl; how could she aide him?
Though, as she looked at him, the ice maiden observed he appeared even more so. A lost, frail, little boy.
Of course, she knew that neither of them were children. Not to mention, Hiei was not lost, little maybe, but certainly not frail.
If only she could assure him that she was right beside him….
"It's quite safe here," he turned to face her, his visage: returned to indifference. "I need to speak to Koenma, so wander wherever you want. Just don't leave, and I'll find you. All right?"
"Right," she nodded to his back, for he had already turned around, walking through a large doorway.
Alone, Yukina wandered from hall to hall, room to room. As she walked deeper and deeper into the palace, she found more people. Ogres and demons were all in a tizzy. Running to and fro, they frantically searched for the correct filing cabinet for the oversized weight of papers they carried. Some stamped the papers, while others wrote them out. Even more were yelling at each other.
She had never seen so many people all at once (for the exception of the dark tournament). The ice maiden wondered how often they were allowed breaks, how much they were paid, if given any reward at all. Maybe all of them owed a great debt one way or another and were forced to work in the palace. Or, of course, they could just be working with an hourly wage and possessing no grandeur life.
Sighing, she walked around the ogres, ever deeper into the palace. Slowly, as the more rooms she entered and left, the less people there were. Absent-mindedly, Yukina wondered why, but the concern vanished quickly from her.
Somehow she wanted to be alone; alone with her thoughts to guide her through the growing darkness. The thoughts were, to no one's surprise, of Hiei. They were hazy, for she could not pinpoint what it was she was thinking about. His peculiar habits, their conversation, his eyes?
Yukina only saw his face in her mind, but no words came to aide her. Though one thing she did wonder was whether or not he was thinking about her.
Constantly walking, she accidentally approached a dead end. She could easily turn left of right down this new corridor, but not straight, as she had done for nearly an hour or so. Her first logical action was to turn around and return to where she came. There was no need to become hopelessly lost. Though, as she did, her ears picked up a faint noise.
Curiosity overwhelmed her. She had not seen anyone for the longest time. Who could be here?
Cautiously, Yukina turned left down the lightless hallway. She breathed softly, treaded quietly, and dared not to make a sound. Soon fiery yellow light crawled along the walls.
Arriving at an abrupt turn in the corridor, she peaked around it to find two young men. One tan with dark hair and the other peculiarly pale with sea green locks. One carried a black tape in his hands, while the other held the torch.
Not entirely sure how, she knew they were leaving the corridor and would soon find her spying on them. Frightened, she wanted to flee, but her body did not. Without knowing why, Yukina knew Hiei would come to help her if she was in trouble. He always did.
Much to her relief, they stopped unwittingly approaching her. One of them, the pale one, held back the other by the wrist.
"Sensui…" he smiled. "There's no hurry."
At first the man opened his mouth to argue, but slowly returned the smile. "I suppose not. They're too stupid to find us here anyway."
Yukina, greatly confused by the situation, watched intently.
"Though, Itsuki, I'm not sure if now's the time…" Sensui teased slightly, as the man with sea green hair pulled him closer. Releasing his grip on Sensui's wrist, Itsuki rested his arms on his lover's shoulders. The tanned man, still holding his precious black tape, pinned Itsuki to a nearby wall, and passionately kissed him.
At this point, Yukina was greatly intrigued and utterly terrified simultaneously. Her mind told her to turn away, but her eyes were locked in place.
They embraced tightly for what appeared to an eternity, with Itsuki twirling Sensui's incredibly short, dark hair. He smiled and whispered, "Too bad there's no corn around."
Sensui laughed heartily at that but replied, "You wish."
The ice maiden, however, had no idea what they were talking about. Some kind of inside joke, perhaps? Not knowing why, she was slightly disappointed when the dark haired man positioned himself in front of Itsuki at an angle such that she could not see anything.
Inside Koenma's oversized room, Hiei stood silently, waiting for the little child to finish stamping his papers. He was tired of acting obedient. He just wanted to get out of there.
"Are you done yet?" the demon snapped with apparent irritation.
Raising his head with annoyance, Koenma's face suddenly (and surprisingly) lit up. "Hiei! I didn't realize you were here. Please tell me you have good news."
Hiei grimaced. Botan had directed him in and even told Koenma that he was here. He waited for what felt like hours, and the child did not recognize his presence until now?
"No, I don't," he snarled, a little too harshly.
"Well, then what do you want?" Koenma sighed, used to the demon's charismatic charm.
"I may have found a lead, but it's an impractical one. Kurama would know the details…."
"And here I am," replied the voice from behind the demon, as Hiei felt a hand on his shoulder. "I decided to come over after last speaking to you."
"And how did you get here?"
"Botan. But we have more important things to discuss…"
A/N: Hah, 2000 words (exluding author's notes)! That's twice my usual. I am now content. So yeah, the next chapter is definitely going to be an important one. What's going to happen to Yukina? What course of action are they going to take concerning the fires? And most importantly, who is going to find out about, Yukina x Hiei? WHY am I asking you all these question?