-1Hello! I, very sunburned and disheveled, would like to apologize to those of you (if there are more than one of you. I wouldn't know because NO ONE REVIEWS!) who wondered where the plot went last chapter. I know it got a bit mushy and all of that, but I did specify this story as a romance. I will try to remain on-topic this time (but if I don't, review anyway because you want me to eventually finish this story!)

I STILL don't own anything related with YYH, other than some comic books. Don't sue me, or steal Mae, Ruki, Kuri, or my talking trees, as they actually DO belong to me. Thank you.

The team set out once again after Ruki was healed and they had fed, heading for Lunar Rock, where Kuri was legend to hide in between his spurts of destruction.

Hiei was having great difficulty concentrating on where he was going, as his mind was still filled with images of Ruki topless. Such patterns had him all but salivating on the trail.

He wondered distantly why she had been so adamant earlier when Mae had teased them about cuddling, or snuggling, or whatever the girl had said. Did she find him repulsive? Or were her actions indicative of mutual feelings?

And when she had asked him what he was doing when he took off his cape; her eyes had grown so wide, and her face had drained of all color. What did she think he was going to do?

He looked up and saw Mae and Kurama immediately ahead of him, holding hands furtively, and he finally realized what had flashed through Ruki's mind when he had disrobed. She had thought he was going to…

He felt slightly faint. On his word, he'd never been so flustered as he was at that moment.

"Hiei?" an all-too familiar voice asked worriedly beside him, throwing him off guard.

He looked to her, still speechless.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good," Ruki asked, resting a hand on his arm gently.

He nodded only because he figured he had a fifty-fifty percent chance that it would be the right answer, not having heard a word of what she had said.

"Are you sure? You don't have to act all indestructible and all, you know," she whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

It took him a few seconds to register what she'd said, and when he did, he was less than happy. "I'm fine," he snapped, "If I wasn't, I would leave." His words came out too sharply, he realized, because she cringed.

"Sorry," she muttered, turning to walk a bit ahead.

On a heavy sigh, he captured her arm and shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong, fool."

She smiled sympathetically. "Then why are you so cross?"

"Oh, he's just like that. Don't worry, you get used to it," Kuwabara chipped in ahead of them.

She frowned. "Why do you think that?"

Kuwabara just sent her an incredulous look over his shoulder.

She shrugged and kept silent for the rest of the journey.

They arrived at the base of Lunar Rock two hours later, having met no opposition whatsoever. Eerily so.

"Is it like him to wish to deal with us personally?" Kurama asked softly.

"Very much so. He wants to be like you; or like you used to be…" Mae nodded.

"He knew about me?" Kurama asked, surprised.

Mae nodded once. "One day, out of the blue, he asked me who his father was, and I told him. Then he asked where you were, and I told him you were dead. As far as he knows, his father died sixteen years ago."

"So he won't recognize me?"

"Not unless your hair suddenly goes white and your eyes turn gold," Mae smiled.

"Did you tell him what I did for a living?" Kurama asked uneasily.

"He asked…" Mae winced. "Now that I think of it, that probably wasn't one of my better judgments…" she laughed.

Kurama looked tense, and didn't reply. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her he wasn't upset at her, and pressed on silently.

"What d'you think's goin' on with them?" Kuwabara asked in a whisper to Yusuke, noticing the small gesture of affection.

"They're going off to kill their son. I think they both need a little support," Yusuke guessed.

"Oh…" Kuwabara nodded.

Behind them, Hiei and Ruki both rolled their eyes in irritation.

All of a sudden, Mae stopped in her tracks and gasped.

"What is it, Mae?" Kurama asked quickly.

"I can sense his aura! He's close. Up the incline twenty paces more, and to the right!" Mae announced.

"He's trying to lure us to his den," Kurama guessed.

Mae looked momentarily impressed. "You know him already."

He shook his head grimly. "I know myself. This was a technique I used in my bandit days. Be on your guard. There will be a drop," he warned the others.

And right on cue, twenty paces up and to the right, Ruki stepped into a masked tunnel, crying out before sliding swiftly out of sight.

Hiei followed without hesitation, then Mae, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke.

The tunnel was dark and steep. None of them had any idea where it led, but Kurama guessed spikes. Or spears. Or a dungeon where they would starve.

The tunnel dipped severely down, and opened to a large open cave, free of spikes and spears, he was relieved to discover.

Ruki climbed to her feet and helped the others to do the same.

Mae's face abruptly turned sour when she straightened and glanced ahead of them. "Kuri."

The others looked to where she was glaring tight-lipped.

Kurama's heart dropped. For some reason, this entire time, some small part of him had thought that perhaps the child hadn't been his. But looking at the teenaged demon standing ahead of them, there was no room for doubt.

Kuri was tall, though not quite as tall as his father yet, with silvery hair that fell in his face and reached his chin. His eyes were almost identical to Youko's, only a slightly deeper shade of gold, like Mae's, and more rounded with youth. He was lean, not yet very muscular, but his confidence made one forget about that.

He smiled harshly, baring his fangs that would fall out when he came of age. "Mother." his voice was slick and spiteful. "How good of you to come. I wondered if you would ever arrive."

Mae glared.

"As you can see, I've brought you all to my lair to finish this little disagreement," he continued. "Which one of you would like to die first?"

"There are six of us against one of you, nephew. Resistance is futile," Ruki shook her head pleadingly. She didn't want to kill her nephew if Mae and Kurama couldn't.

"My father wouldn't think so," Kuri smiled proudly.

"You are nothing like your father," Mae spat.

"What was that?" Kuri asked in a dangerously calm voice.

"I said, you are nothing like your father!" Mae repeated.

Kuri looked livid. "Be quiet, you little harlot! What would father think if he knew you were running off with that boy?" he retorted.

"He wouldn't mind," Mae said with a sneer.

Kuri looked at her like she was insane. "I will not hear you babbling like a lunatic. I'm far too indebted to you to let you live as an invalid."

Mae realized that despite her son's obvious disdain, she still loved him. He was still her baby. She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill her own son.

But he could kill her, it seemed. She got an idea…