AN: I am so sorry for the delay, but here's a long(Almost 3k words) chapter for you.


It wasn't long until they were back into the car, Ari in the back with Hiei as Kuwabara drove. There was still ice between the man and woman, but at least they'd ben civil about it. This ice lasted until they got to the theatre. Kuwabara had already bought the tickets, and soon they were whizzing through the line for a little popcorn and drinks and heading into the theatre. Despite what Ari suspected, Hiei remained close to her, not Yukina.

Finally, as Yukina and Kuwabara pulled ahead of them at the entrance to the movie room, Ari pulled Hiei to a stop and looked at him finally. "Why did you come Hiei?" She asked. Unlike before, her words weren't anger induced. While it had definitely changed the aspect of the night from date to babysitting for her, she still had to admit there was a small glimmer of hope in her heart as to why he was there. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't there for Yukina…

Hiei looked over at her, feeling the resignation, the disappointment, the smallest bit of hope. All strange emotions for someone who had been as angry and pissed off as Maribella had been back at the restaurant. What was he supposed to say? All of Jin's prepping for that night did not help Hiei in that moment. He could dress like a human man. He could eat without snapping the fork in half as Ari ignored him. He could come to this movie and try to pretend he was interested. But to answer that question it all left him. Why had he come?

As the silence drew on as Hiei seemed to try and come up with an answer, Maribella's hope faded. It shouldn't take him time to answer that simple question. At least not to Maribella's expectations. "Oh Hiei, it isn't that hard," she finally chided. "I'm not going to bite your head off for coming to watch over Yukina. She is your sister after all."

Hiei eyed her. "How do you know that?" he asked, sidetracked from the question.

"Kurama told me. And it's kind of obvious really once you see the two of you next to each other. You have the same eyes, sort of," Ari said, looking away. "Her eyes are kinder though."

Hiei stared at her, making a mental note to go have a practice bout with Kurama to pay him back for telling Ari about Yukina. "Is that why you think I really came tonight?" he asked.

Maribella met his gaze. "Isn't it?"

Hiei's lips turned into a line and he looked towards the entrance to the auditorium. He was on the verge of saying no, that he'd come to be her date that night when she gave a soft half-laugh. "Hiei it isn't that big of a deal," She said, even though he could feel the hope waver and then go out. "But I don't appreciate having my date hi-jacked just so you can be close to Yukina. She deserves to know why you wanted to come on this date. I don't want her getting the wrong idea about us. It'll just complicate things."

"You are not to tell her," He growled, again sidetracked by the idea of Yukina finding out he was her brother. He couldn't help it. He didn't want her to know.

Her gaze turned resigned and sad as she gave him a half-hearted smile. "She deserves to know Hiei. But I won't say anything that will reveal your big secret. After all… We are soulmates and soulmates should respect each other's wishes," She said before turning and walking into the theatre.

Hiei cursed softly as she left him there. Why did it seem like she was always the one leaving him and having the last word? It irked him but at the same time… It was almost endearing that she could holder own in a verbal argument with him. Not many could. But she had it wrong. Yukina was happier not knowing that Hiei was her brother. She would never have to face the shame of having a felon as a brother. She could keep the happy, strong picture she'd made herself of her brother. She deserved that happiness. And Ari… She deserved happiness as well, which she wouldn't get if they got involved further than soulmate-friends.

He growled and turned away from the door, pacing a bit. Why was he here damn it? She deserved to have a nice date with some demon who made her happy, just like she'd said. But the idea of her on a date with anyone bugged him. Okay, more than bugged. It pissed him off. If she was going to date anyone it should be him, or no one at all! That thought had him stop, staring unseeingly at a movie poster.

"Hiei, what have you gotten yourself into?" he growled at himself before turning and following Maribella into the movie. When he gained his seat, Ari was talking animatedly with Yukina, her emotions thoroughly masked by a sense of excitement for the movie to come. No more resignation, or disappointment, and still no hope. He'd killed that hope and it made him uncomfortable. What could he do to bring it back?

"Oh Hiei," Yukina said with a bright smile, "Ari was just telling me about a park near here. She suggested that we go after the movie is done. Will that be okay with you?"

"Oh, no, Yukina, it's fine, I was making the suggestion for you and Kuwabara," Ari said quickly with a smile. "You two should go. Hiei and I'll just go home after the movie. It won't be too hard to catch a ride back to the temple."

Yukina's eyes widened a bit and her cheeks lit up and she looked up at Kuwabara who was beaming, nodding his head. "Oh but Ari—" Yukina began to protest.

"I don't mind going to the park," Hiei said, gaining a variety of looks. Kuwabara's excited beam had morphed into an uncomfortable grimace. Yukina was smiling as if his readiness to go to the park was a good thing and that maybe he and Ari had made up. Ari was giving him a scowl, her thoughts for once screaming at him.

I wanted to give them time to themselves Hiei! We do not, will not go to the park with them, do you hear me?! No. NO! she ordered him silently. Hiei met Ari's gaze, answering her thoughts with a simple cool smile.

"That would be delightful," Yukina gushed. "Ari you were just saying how beautiful it was there supposedly. It'd be wonderful if you got to go with us."

Ari sent a mental growl at Hiei which made his smile grow a bit as he settled back. "I don't know Yukina," She finally said, smiling back over at her. "We'll see how I feel after the movie, all right? I'm still recovering, and get weak sometimes without warning."

"I could carry you if you do get weak." Ari sent Hiei a glare at the playful nature of the comment. His smile, when he opted to reveal it to anyone apparently, was way too charming for his own good damn him!

Yukina of course took the offer as a good sign that they were getting perhaps a bit closer, not having seen Ari's glare. "We won't stay long," Yukina promised.

Ari, after glowering at Hiei again, sighed and offered her friend a smile, "All right, all right, I can see when I'm beat," she said, raising her hands in defeat. It wasn't long after this that the movie began, leaving them in the darkness with no reason to talk.

The date might have gone nice from there, with nothing getting in the way of a nice walk in the park. Kuwabara and Yukina might have gone on to have their first good night kiss, Ari and Hiei sitting awkwardly in the car as it occurred. Hiei and Ari might have gone on to argue over what it all meant. All of this might have happened, if the movie hadn't included a scene where the main heroine was captured in a building that was on fire.

Ari managed to sit through half of the movie before this scene, and enjoy herself for the most part. But the moment the fire broke out, her heart leapt into her throat. Her pulse began to thread unevenly. A sweat broke out on her forehead as memories and movie HD circled around her. Finally, as a piece of the structure fell down next to the heroine, catching her pant leg on fire, Ari pushed herself up and fled the auditorium as discretely as she could. Once she was out of that room she bolted, running outside into the cool night air. Memories flooded her mind as she looked wildly around and took off towards the park she'd been talking about before. There was a lake there. If she could just make it to the lake, she'd be fine.

The smell of smoke lingered in her nose. Two figures stared at her with smug expressions. Her skin was sizzling, burning. Pain seared through her.

STOP! she screamed mentally as she ran, tears pricking her eyes. The pain wouldn't stop. Mental, physical; it all melted into the pain as she twisted her ankle. She skinned her palms as she caught herself and torn her dress. She found the lake and ran straight in as if she were really on fire and needed to put it out. She dove under, curling into a ball as water drenched her hair and her body. Safe. Water was safe.

And then arms were around her waist and dragged her to the surface. Strong arms, which caused her body to thrum. Hiei. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know that it was Hiei who was dragging her from the lake. She could feel the mental bubble he was pushing around her mind to ward off the panic, the pain. He was trying to keep her safe, and keep her from drowning herself.

The ground was soaked beneath her as Hiei finally pulled her ashore, hair matted down around his face as he looked down at her. For once there was emotion on his face. Worry being chief of those emotions. She met his gaze, her make-up sliding down her face in black and blue streaks. Her scars appeared, rippling over her skin as she finally let the barrier she'd build against him falter and fall.

What she remembered, those brief flashes of pain and two people flared between the soulmates. He took it in, listening as her soul cried for comfort but her mental voice cried for vengeance. That wasn't all that he received during the unrestricted melding of their minds. He also saw her life as she'd lived it so far—a child in the Makai, loving faithful parents who encouraged her to follow her dream of making a united Makai and human world possible, years of working with Koenma to do just that in Europe, the moments of fiery hell she'd lived through.

As he got a look at her, Maribella was receiving a similar kind of connection, seeing everything that Hiei had gone through—being abandoned as child, the bandits, the wolf hounds he'd talked about at dinner, finding his sister, getting the Jigan to watch over her, the tournament, the feeling of his arm dying after the Dragon had been summoned.

As the swarm of memories stopped, they found themselves staring at one another with a new understanding of one another. Hiei pulled Maribella into a hug. She clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder as she took comfort in the purr of their bond in her skin. They remained that way, her body pressed against his as they lay on the bank of the lake, his arms wrapped snuggly around her. After about fifteen minutes Hiei actually pulled back and helped her to her feet. Then, in silence, the two of them began to walk, not needing to speak for the moment. Maribella was still coming down from the fear; Hiei didn't want to start another argument, and he wasn't sure how what he'd seen would be taken.

Eventually they got back to a dark path and Hiei picked her up. As soon as the last human signature left their little area, Hiei disappeared, carrying Ari back to the dojo. He didn't, however, drop her off at her room. Instead, they arrived in a dark room. He set her down on a couch, ignoring the fact she was soaked, next to them and moved away, leaving her there to turn on the lights. When he did, she looked around, taking in what could only be one of the living areas of his. Despite his general non-human attitude, the room had been updated in some of the better styles, in Ari's opinion.

The walls had been done over with a dark wood that seemed to gleam with the low light from above at the same time as eat up the light in the corners. The couch was black, but not leather—some sort of synthetic she guessed, The table in front of her held a sword—no not just any sword, but the sword she'd gotten him that first day—on display as if it were a prized possession. A flat screen tv was on an entertainment center in front of the couch, but there seemed to be a limited amount of videos or utilities for the tv. Definitely no gaming systems that she could see.

It had a masculine feel to the room, that was also very calming for her as he came back with a towel. It was then that she got a good look at him standing there; rich red shirt plastered to his upper body, detailing every single inch of muscles, his pants equally tight and revealing. Damn…

She rose and accepted the towel, silently working it around her so she wasn't dripping any more. Thank you, she said softly through their connection.

"Do not thank me," Hiei said out loud, pulling the towel tight around her so she didn't catch a chill. "Will you be okay now?" A mute nod. She raised her gaze to meet his, surprised to find that while a few months before she had been an inch taller than him, now they stood eye to eye. He was growing taller apparently.

Hiei watched her, before taking the towel from her and began to ever so carefully—as if she were something fragile—began to wipe the make-up from her cheeks. She let him, knowing that her clothes and hair would be ruined by now. Who cared. The date had been a disaster.

"It wasn't a disaster," Hiei told her, making her frown a bit. "It just had some issues. It was… It could have been worst for a first date. I'll just have to try harder on the next one." She pulled back from his cleaning then and started towards the door.

"Don't joke about that," she told him.

"I wasn't joking."

She paused and looked back. He was following her to the door, towel still in hand. "Hiei—"

"I wasn't joking," he repeated. "Maybe something good will happen next time."

"Hiei, I—" Ari winced, hands running over their tattoos. "I don't know if that's a good idea. You aren't really interested in a relationship. I saw that. You don't trust me, you won't ever trust any woman completely."

"And you'll never trust fire demons completely," Hiei pointed out. "We both have things we have to deal with. We can't always run though." She stared at him and then turned, heading on towards her corner of the house. He was following her, she could feel it.

"Hiei, please," she said when they came to her door, turning to comfort the mini-stalker. Only she'd overestimated how far she had between herself and Hiei and as she turned she bumped right into him. His arm wrapped around her waist reflexively, holding her close this him to keep her from stumbling away.

"I believe, if Jin is to be believed, that a goodnight kiss is in order for the end of the date," Hiei said, not giving up it seemed. Her breath caught as she stared at him. And then, before she could even really form an argument as to why that was a very, very bad idea, his lips were on hers. The world melted, leaving just them as their lips met for the first time. She melted against him, the sensation of her lips pulsing with his nearness, the thrum of excitement. His arm grew more sure as he sensed the hope rekindled, and the fact that she greatly enjoyed the kiss even if after a few moments she tried to pull back.

He let her go finally, licking his lips like a dog who had just tasted his favorite bone, and stepped back. "Well, we'll discuss the date thing again later," Hiei announced before turning and heading back towards his room.

She stared after him, back leaning against the door. Oh boy, what a kiss for a man who had never kissed anyone before…