I was relieved later that night to find that whatever Hiei had done to the computer hadn't affected its performance in any way. I got back to my job, after having had a hiatus this last week. Whoa. My inbox was packed with requests. I pulled a cherry flavored lollipop out of its wrapper and set to work.

"Too slow!" Kurama yelled, as a thorn from his whip nick my shoulder. I twisted away to avoid the lash of the whip. A sharp pain across my back told me I had failed.

Four weeks had passed since Hiei had given me my chisakatana. Although I had been a bit shaky with them at first, now I had gotten close to perfecting my own certain fighting style with them. That is, only when battling opponents with similar weapons. I could whip Kuwabara, even when he used his two aura swords. I could hold my own against Hiei, but he was still better then me, even when he only had one sword. Those training sessions were the ones I lost and usually came home with a myriad of new battle scars from. But, even though Hiei was a better warrior than Kurama, I still struggled terribly against Kurama. It was hard to fight with two chisakatana against a rose whip master. He had been at this for centuries, after all. He controlled the range, while I was at a disadvantage with my short-range weapons.

Later that night, I was once again sitting on Kurama's bed in nothing but my skivvies and a hair ribbon, watching him tend to the lacerations he had caused.

"You are getting better," he praised, as he applied his special salve to a small scratch on my stomach. His touch gave me the chills. Even after a couple of months of going through this almost every night, I still wasn't used to it, or comfortable with it. But I still loved it.

"Better doesn't cut it," I sighed, "in a real battle, my opponent won't be trying to miss my vitals. I won't know what weapon I'll be up against, nor will I be given multiple chances to try and overcome it. I'd be dead in a matter of seconds.

Kurama stuck a finger under my chin to force me to look up.

"Well, you've certainly thought this through, I'll give you that. But don't give up on all hope. And actual fight is different. You…Think and act differently if you're up against someone you don't know, and if you're trying to seriously hurt them. Considering how well you are doing against Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara and me, I don't think you have much to worry about.

"Is that so, sir?" I said doubtfully. "But training is a lot different than real fighting. Most say it's a lot easier and safer."

"Well of course it's safer. Usually no chance of dying. But listen here," he gripped my chin tighter, staring fiercely into my eyes, "trust me and what I say, and not what everyone else says, okay?" With that, he gave me that sweet, beautiful smile. My worries melted away, leaving me with a feeling of peace. We stayed that way for a moment, just gazing at each other.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Hiei slurred from the doorway, watching us with un unreadable expression. Kurama shook his head and stood. He exited the room with a small smile at Hiei. I also stood, but instead of leaving, I began to dress. Dressing and undressing (as long as it was only down to my undergarments) around Hiei didn't bother me. Kurama was a bit of a different matter, of course. Hiei waited until I was buttoning the buttons on my sleeveless blouse before speaking.

"You love him, don't you?" I froze. My fingers were trembling on the buttons.

"Am…Am I that transparent, sir?" My voice shook with nervousness. If Hiei had noticed, did that mean Kurama had?

"No," Hiei replied casually. I frowned in confusion, refusing to meet Hiei's eyes. "You forget, I'm a telepath."

Oh. Right then. I sighed in relief. Perhaps Kurama still remained blissfully ignorant. "Well, Sir Mind Reader," I said quietly, as if there was a risk of Kurama overhearing, "you're right. I'm in love with Kurama." Admitting that to someone other than myself…Felt oddly liberating. I was glad to have someone I could perhaps talk with about this.

"Hn. You confessed easier than I thought. I figured you would put up a little bit of a fight. But Kurama?" Hiei scoffed quietly.

"You don't approve?" I felt a sting. Did he not think I deserved a man like Kurama?

"No, that's not it." Hiei crossed his arms and began to pace slowly about the room. "It's just that I want you to be happy, Aya."

I followed him with my eyes. "And you don't think Kurama can make me happy?" I appreciated him concern for me, but at the same time it was completely depressing to have whatever hope left crushed.

"I'm…Not sure if he can.. I just don't know."

Great. Hiei was making this a whole lot worse. I felt a sharp pain in my heart. What was I supposed to do now? "So…You're telling me to give up?" The words were hard for me to say. Hiei stopped his pacing and looked at me.

"I never said that. Love is complicated and always uncertain. Just be careful when you dabble in it, okay?"

I thought about his words for a moment. I considered what I was feeling for Kurama to be a little more profound than 'dabbling.' "Have you ever been in love, Hiei?"

Hiei closed his crimson eyes. "No. And I doubt I ever will be. My life is devoted to my two sisters. I don't have time for any other women."

What? That didn't make sense. "Huh? Two? I thought you said you only had one sister. Who's the other?"

Hiei crossed to the door and gave me a very pointed glare. He left the room.

I was surprised for a moment, but I knew very well what that look had meant. As I slowly followed Hiei out of the room, my demonic heart surged with love for my 'brother.' Now, if only Kurama were in love with me, I could consider myself the luckiest girl in all three worlds.

(^^) ( ^^ ) (^^)

"Kurama…" The redheaded fox demon turned to observe me. Oddly, his movements did not disturb the strange fog that covered the ground. He calmly watched me with his emerald eyes. But he wasn't wearing the kind, gentle expression he usually had when looking at me. He looked impatient, and slightly like he…Loathed me.

"I have something to say…" If I'd had any sense, I would have shut up by now. His eyes held no warmth as he regarded me. I foolishly ignored this, continuing to speak.

"I love you." Still Kurama did not move, speak, or react in any way. But he never lost that cold, hating expression.

I hesitated slightly at this. "Do…Do you feel anything for me?' I pressed. "Do you love me?"

This time, after a moment, Kurama opened his mouth to speak something that would either perfect my life or spell my doom. Then…

"No."

The word was so simple, yet it tore me apart in an instant. My legs grew too weak to support my light weight. I fell to my knees.

Without so much as a backward glance, Kurama turned and began to walk away. I reached out a hand towards him, even though I knew it was hopeless…

"Finally!" A loud shout woke my from my sleep. I groggily tried to get my bearings. Even through the just-awoken haze, I felt the overwhelming relief from being released from my nightmare as my noisy savior bounded into the room.

"Oh, sorry, Aya. I didn't know you weren't awake," Yusuke apologized quickly.

"No problem," I murmured as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, "I don't know mind." More than he could know.

"Say…" The black-haired detective said suspiciously, "what exactly are you doing asleep in the middle of the afternoon?"

"You savagely beat me into a pulp last night, remember, sir?" I glared at him accusingly.

"Oh yeah…" Yusuke said, slightly mollified. "But I didn't think it was that bad."

"Oh, it was that bad, sir. I needed about seventeen houses of sleep to heal my aura and my injuries…" I gestured to Yusuke to turn around and I slipped out from under the bedcovers.

Yusuke did as I had asked and I quickly dressed. I came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"So…What exactly is so exciting that you came busting into a lady's room for?" Yusuke snorted, presumably at the 'lady' part.

"Well," Yusuke began, excited yet again, "we got another assignment from the Spirit World. I was getting bored, waiting around for something to happen."

"Hold on," I said, scratching my head. From the stories about him that Kurama and Hiei had told me, his current excitement didn't coincide with his past disdains for the jobs. "I thought you hated these assignments the Spirit World dishes out."

Yusuke gave me a sheepish grin. "Yeah, usually…But it's been too quiet lately, and kicking demon butt is better than trouncing college punks any day. Besides, Botan bribed me with front row seats to the next martial arts tournament!" He winked at me. "So, you ready for your first job as an official Spirit Detective?"