DISCLAIMER.
I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

xdXbx

I watch him as he sleeps, so peacefully, so calmly, and about him that undeniably beautiful rose-scented aura floats, a romantic cloud of flowers. The decidedly unwavering flame of serenity he carries on his chest during the daytime hours vanishes the moment he falls victim to the desire to sleep each night. I am the only person that knows how truly turbulent his emotions are. Gradually simmering up in the heat produced by his show of false feelings, a hellish inferno is threatening to break through and crush all in its path. I know this, because I can feel his dreams.

Anyone reading my mind right now would wonder why I am watching him sleep. I am watching him sleep because we've been assigned a mission, just the two of us, and we are currently staying in a hotel room "comfortably equipped" (for a change) with a bathroom, a desk, a television, and two beds, though the little mints they've placed on the pillows only serve to annoy me. He shares my views on this. We had a great deal of fun experimenting with the many ways we could obliterate the things, until there were none left (yet quite a lot of little opalescent shavings peppering all the coverings in the room). With many bits of them sprinkled through his scarlet hair, he yawned quietly, and sighed one of his small sighs.

"It looks as if you'll never beat me to sleep, Hiei."

His pacific, drifting voice filled the space that he left as he shuffled quietly to the bathroom to change in preparation to go to bed.

Maybe he felt my eyes on his back as he walked. For a split second he stopped, and I felt a suffocating tension envelope my body. Then it was gone, leaving me to pant in its wake. Or maybe the whole thing was in my head.

He fascinates me, to put it plainly. He really, truly, perfectly fascinates me. He fascinates me in how soft, how very gentle his movements are, in how naturally a kind smile will always find a way onto his face, in how beautifully he sleeps. Even with dreams as unpleasant as I know his are, despite the nightly torture session he goes through, his body as he sleeps is an image of only grace in my mind.

Now he is writhing slightly about, and his face appears the slightest bit panicked. I can only wonder what it is that causes him pain; I know of nothing. Before he went to bed, though, he spent an unbelievable amount of time with his nose stuck in a notebook labeled 'Pre-Algebra.' When I asked him what he was doing, he replied, "emotional outlet," and kept writing.

Usually we talk until he falls asleep, just talk, with the falling darkness creating a comfortable bond between us. But tonight was different; tonight, something told me he just might get vicious if not left alone. It is not pleasant when he gets angry. I've seen it. I muttered, "I'll be back," leaving the room to take a walk.

We are staying on the east coast of Kyushu, with a beach located at the back of the hotel. It's been a WHILE since we've stayed somewhere this nice, somewhere this normal. I stood at the water's edge, taking it all in, careful not to let it touch me. I do not like to get wet. Water puts out fire. I do not like water.

But as I was there, something nagged at the back of my thoughts. The sparkling evening sea vanished, a pair of equally twinkling green eyes taking its place, and the bloody sunset transformed into a silkily flowing mane of soft cardinal hair. His face and figure appeared solidly in my mind. Why, though, was I thinking of him? The very thing that could kill me is what has kept him alive up to this point. Without water, his poison plants wilt to death, his biting plants wilt to death, his exploding plants wilt to death. Without water, his rose whip is a chain of shriveled thorns.

But fire can tear up flowers in an instant, so I guess that would make us even. My only concern is as to just how long two such forces can exist in harmony without completely destroying each other.

"Hiei."

I whirled around at the sound of a feminine voice stating my name, to be approached by a black-clad figure a bit taller than myself. I can say that right then, I thought I had been stalked.

"Who are you?" I demanded, preparing to draw my sword.

She giggled, and pulled off her hood. Lazy-blue hair pooled down about her shoulders, the only blue hair I've ever seen.

"I'm insulted you didn't recognize me, Hiei."

"Botan," I grunted. I generally don't talk to stalkers, and though she wasn't a stalker... I just didn't feel like talking. The image of his face was still plaguing me.

"Geez, nice to see you, too!"

"Hmph."

She rolled her eyes, "So you two made it here without a problem?"

I nodded.

"All right then, that's all I need to know." She paused. "You should get back to him."

And she disappeared.

Her actions confused me beyond all necessary means. It was nearly as if the drift of a repressed implication hung on her words, though I immediately dismissed the idea of such an impossible thing. That girl... so weird.

But I did go back to see him. Not immediately, but I went back. I took my time, watching the waves as they pounded and foamed in a content, comforting circle.

And again, thoughts of him filled my mind; his eyes, his smile, his heart, the type of heart I can never have. Though my physical element is a warm flame, I'm known as ice. Ironic that I should have a sister so precisely opposite. While she ties herself to people with many strong bonds, I creep further away, continuously backing into my own private shadowy corner. The only such bonds I have are a one-sided one to her... and one with him.

I don't regret it. Attachment is a weakness. Attached to something or someone, you are vulnerable. You can be easily provoked, easily toyed with, easily ripped apart, danced around like a flimsy wooden marionette.

As I entered our room, this is why I began to feel as if I was on strings, as if whatever he did directly influenced what I felt.

As I entered, it was really all I could do to stay calm through those first few seconds after seeing the state he was in.

He was face-down on his bed, clothes rumpled, hair tangled, punching his pillow helplessly. Over and over. His eyes and cheeks were as red as his hair—and wet. This scared me out of my mind. I spend precious little of my time with humans; even so, I do know that the only normal times for bodily substances to actually leave the body are few. Water coming out of your eyes is not normal. It's not right.

I ran to him and grabbed his fists, wrestling them to his sides, yelling at him, asking what was wrong. He faced me with a horrified expression, stuttering uncontrollably. His chest heaved up and down far too rapidly.

"Hiei...! Hiei... help... I need... help..."

No shit.

He fell back on the bed, muscles convulsing, his body completely out of his control. I was now petrified. I forcefully pulled him to sit up, pressing him to me. I ordered him to stop; I ordered him to breathe. He tried; he couldn't.

I saw why.

One of his deadly vines must have grown from the salty liquid seeping from his eyes and sideways into his hair, because it was twisted about his thin neck. I told him not to move. He obeyed.

I drew my sword, and had in an instant freed him of the makeshift hangman's rope. He remained silent, traumatized, trying to breathe as I held him tightly. I was afraid to let go. I gripped one of his hands. I was just as scared as he was.

After a while, he regained the ability to breathe, and I regained the ability to think, and we each pulled away. We said nothing. We didn't need to. He thanked me with one brimming glance that shot straight through my eyes and pooled in the heating within my chest. I told him never to do that again with a light grunt and a nod. I usually don't bother with both.

He fell asleep.

He sleeps peacefully now. But the nightmares will start soon.

xdXbx

x Azalee -COOL PEN NAME. I'm glad you liked the part with the singing and the garden; that was the first scene that came to my head for this, and then I went, "Hey, I could write a fic centering on their interaction!" Then... I decided to make it dark... with tragedy... xSWEATDROPx Thanks!

x lil-inu - You think he wouldn't? I see Kurama as a soft and compassionate character, very emotional. You'll have to explain his 'not giving a shit' to me. At any rate, I'm glad you're at least enjoying it.

x T.K. Yurikoto - Wow... You actually like... went back and made sure you reviewed... and you put it on your alert list! Arigatou!

x arisu16 - Aw, thanks! I hope I updated soon enough; it was kind of a while...

x Serenader - You also have a COOL PEN NAME. Where do you people come up with this stuff? Non-religious God? Cool by me, dude. lol. Nope, not a one-shot. I'm glad you liked it so much!

x Electric Fire - xGLOMPS ELECTRIC-FIRE-KUN OF THE LONG REVIEWx Long reviews make me so happy. Haha, it seems that a lot of people liked the singing scene. Yay. And here we have someone that likes MY pen name. Heh. YAY for pen names. And YAY for pop-up ads that inspire our pen names, LOL. Yours is oober-cool, dude, oober-cool. A handsome young bishounen, asking me to dance, eh? ANY bishounen? xPUNCHES AIR IN VICTORYx "Oh Satoshiii! You know you love meee!" Satoshi: "Hell no..." OMG the fifth D.N.Angel DVD case is just so... I can't describe it. Here, see for yourself. Take out the spaces - http/ images. amazon. com/images/P/B00092A1LM. 01. LZZZZZZZ. jpg - xDROOLSx That picture currently resides in the center of my Satoshi shrine...

x silveryoukoshinomori - I know... it gets crueler. I like it too, lol. Cruelness, I mean. I LOVE tragedy. Haha, peace.

x mycatcoco7 - Haha, yes, though you don't have to be concerned about your prowling mom for this one. That's Dusk Dancing's territory, if anything. Good luck with your new account!

That's all for now!
Peace-ouT