I fiddled with my bracelet, now properly soldered and safely returned to my wrist. It had appeared on my pillow two days after we got back from the tournament... which was also ten days ago. And twelve days since I kissed a certain red eyed demon.

I let my head fall back against the wall and let out a heavy sigh. Twelve days and I hadn't heard a single thing from Hiei. Oh, I knew he was around. He was there so sporadically, watching me go to school or observing my dance practices. Always looking, and never coming out where I could see him.

It was frustrating.

"Ella?"

I looked up to see my favorite redhead staring at me in confusion.

"Hey K-Shuichi." I caught myself, offering him a smile and letting my legs slip from their position on the railing, twisting myself and landing (to my great pleasure) fairly gracefully on my feet. "I'm sorry for bothering you at school; I just needed to get your opinion on something."

"It's no trouble." He waved it off, looking back to where I had been and reaching up to grab my backpack. I blushed, taking it and tossing it over my shoulder. "What were you doing?"

"Crunches." I cocked my head at him, trying not to grin. "How do you do them?"

He shook his head, smiling despite himself, and motioned for me to come with him. I moved ahead of him, turning around so I could face him.

"How were your classes?"

"Fine. I stayed behind to do my chemistry homework in advance so I can focus on my upcoming essays."

"So you have, like, perfect grades is what you're telling me."

"I wouldn't say perfect. There is always room for improvement."

I rolled my eyes at him and zipped up my sweater when we got outside of the school, staring up at the sky. "It's strange being back."

"There does seem to be something lacking in daily life since we came back from the tournament." Kurama agreed. "I suppose that's normal, given the level of stress we were all under during such a short amount of time."

"I can't shake this feeling like something is going to happen, like all of this is just the calm before the storm." I sighed. "My house is literally a psychic hurricane right now, what with Kazuma's power going dormant, and Shizuru's 'feelings' becoming more and more frequent. It feels like our energy is clashing constantly."

"Has there been any clarity with these feelings?"

"No. Just a lot of confusion and unnecessary irritation."

He gave a thoughtful, noncommittal hum and gestured for me to turn, holding open the door to a small cafe. I blushed at the jealous looks I was getting by some of the girls wearing the female versions of Kurama's uniform, sitting down and ordering a tea. Kurama asked for an order of umeboshi onigri and coffee, folding his hands on the table and leaning toward me, concern written on his face.

"What's really bothering you right now, Ella?"

I sighed, fiddling with my bracelet again. "Even with all of these strange things happening, and the fact that I can't shake these feelings, I'm worried about the possibility that I may have really messed things up with Hiei, and that makes me feel like a stupid teenager."

"It doesn't make you stupid to have emotions. You're sixteen; you're allowed to fixate on a relationship."

"He seemed like he was interested in me while we were on that island. I understand that he's not going to suddenly become a knight in shining armor and whisk me off my feet, but he hasn't even tried to talk to me and it's been almost two weeks. Did I read everything wrong and scare him off?"

"You told him you had feelings for him?"

"... well... not exactly." I blushed, not able to help the smile at the memory of his face when I kissed him, and how obnoxiously warm his mouth was. Kurama lifted a brow at me, taking in my red face and my fidgeting, and giving me that fucking knowing smile that sent me straight to the defensive. "Okay, so I was forward. Sue me."

He chuckled, nodding as we received our tea and onigri like the polite young man he was, and immediately pushing the triangular rice to me. "Eat, your blood sugar is low."

"And you know this how?" I took one regardless, the salted plum shocking my tastebuds in an oddly pleasing way.

"Apart from the fact that you have a tremor in your right hand, your heart is palpitating, and you haven't stopped sweating since we started walking?"

"You don't have to be a brat." I muttered, taking another bite.

"Honestly though, I don't think our mutual friend understands his own emotions." He pushed our topic back on track without missing a beat. "I do believe he cares for you, and much more deeply than he realizes, but he's been isolated for so long that I don't think he truly understands how to connect with you on the level that you need."

I nodded, sipping my tea for something to occupy my hands while my mind wrapped around this fact.

"You may need to help him along on this path, talk to him in a way that he understands."

I snorted. "How do I turn 'I want to be with you romantically' into a fight? That seems to be the only language he's fluent in, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly equipped for combat on Hiei's level."

"This is true, but physical strength is not the only thing that matters to him. Your will to stand up to him despite that you can't beat him is something that he's always admired, albeit begrudgingly at times and never out loud."

I knawed at my bottom lip, mulling this information over. Kurama took pity on the fact that I wasn't fully in a conversational mood any longer and began a bout of small talk, telling me about his schooling and asking me about mine. I latched onto the pleasantries, grateful as ever for his keen ability to deflect situations into a lighter mood. He walked me as far as the bus stop, where I politely declined his offer to continue walking me home.

I knew what I needed to do, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to accomplish it in any sort of realistic fashion.

Hiei's energy was familiar to me by now, and it was easy enough to follow him through the woods despite the masking he had put over himself. I followed it across the small stream and over into the the dense tree covering. The sound of metal sliding against stone immediately gave me a headache, and my chest constricted at the sight of the demon who had been avoiding me up until now. He was sitting casually against a thick tree trunk, his focus on sharpening his sword.

I took a deep breath, every clever quip and meaningful explanation I had thought up on the way over flying out of my grasp the closer I got to him. He finally glanced up at me when I was two yards from him, that eternally bored expression plastered on his face. Only a month ago I would have missed the uncertainty that he hid so incredibly well. It was now or never.

"You know, it's rude to leave a girl waiting like this."

He quirked a brow at me, and disappeared when I lifted my hand and flung out a string of water at him, the liquid impacting where he had just been, exactly like I thought it would.

I turned to see him scowling at me from one of the branches in the trees across the opening.

"It's not like you to run away from a fight, Hiei. Scared of little old me?" I taunted, flinging another string at him and bringing my arm up automatically to block the incredibly slowed down swing he made at my head. "Come on, hit me!"

I swung out at him, missing him by a mile as he moved gracefully off to the side, slow enough that I could see him, confusion dancing in his eyes now. I followed up with a sweep, which he simply side stepped as well. Irritation heightened my adrenaline, and I brought up a thin barrier around my body, something I had been practicing since we had gotten back from the island, and he just stared. I could feel the tension radiating off of him, the uncertainty. Well, now he knew how I felt.

"I'll make a deal with you; I win, I kiss you. You win, you kiss me. Deal?"

Hiei's face suddenly couldn't cooperate with itself, and pride swelled along with my adrenaline. His mouth gaped open, no words escaping as he tried to formulate something to say, and his eyes got so wide I could see my reflection in them. His body tensed, but all of his defenses dropped. And hell if I didn't take advantage of that. Putting all of my energy behind my barrier, I launched out and landed one solid punch across his jaw. His head snapped to the side, and I let out a breath, bouncing back and taking a defensive position, for as much good as that would do me in the next few minutes. When he looked back at me, I couldn't quite make out the emotions he was feeling. It seemed somewhere between amusement and terror, which was a fascinating combination to see on someone. He didn't move, just stared.

I threw a saucy smirk at him, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet. "Is it really so easy to hit you, Hiei? Easier than I thought."

His pupils dilated, fury building from the embers in his soul. A tremor ran through his arms. Before I could think, he offered me the most terrifying smirk I had ever seen in my life. His body stance changed, amusement shining in his eyes, making the fire blaze. I swallowed, faltering, and he took advantage.

I grunted at the impact to my stomach, straight through my barriers. I whipped my arm out to the side to bring up a stream and he hit my tricep, stunning me enough so when he hit two on my chest I couldn't block them. I kicked out at him, mustering up my strength and he pushed my leg past him, grabbing my arm and twisting me down into a perfect hold, his foot pressing into the back of my shoulder and his hand holding my wrist up behind me, twisted enough to make it uncomfortable. I hissed, squirming and quickly figuring out that this was a very bad idea. When he deemed me compliant enough, he released me, and I threw another punch at him. He tossed me down again, this time tweaking my elbow and pushing on it to strain my shoulder once again. I cried out, digging my nails into the ground and bringing up a bubble of water around us out of panic. He gave me one single warning push, and I dropped it immediately.

I tried one last time when he let me go again, determined to show him I was serious, and I found myself flat on my back, my arms pinned above my head and his legs straddling my hips to keep me down. I tried to buck him off of me, and he just smirked down at me, his eyes alight with humor. I growled, struggling to try and escape his grip, before I sighed and let my head collide with the ground. My heart was pounding; he was so close to me, pressed against me, and I needed him to come closer.

"If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask." I murmured. "I've done my part; it's your turn to make a move."

He hesitated, searching my face for an answer, and I thought I would die when he leaned down and pressed his mouth to mine, heat engulfing me, his hands moving from my wrists to let me cup his face. I couldn't think, couldn't move; I just wanted this moment to last forever.