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I'm back in my usual territory now (angst and romance) so I feel more comfortable doing first person POV's again.

Part 2 Chapter One: Waiting for words

POV: Hiei

I sat perched on Yusuke's desk while he did his homework just inches away from where I sat. The quiet scratching of his pencil on paper was all the sound we needed for the moment.

I leaned over to read what he was writing. Alas, it was in English. I sighed.

"Something the matter, Hiei?' Yusuke asked, looking up from his paper.

"No," I replied.

"Well, there's something up with me, I'll tell you that."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm worried about Kurama. He still hasn't woken up and it's been like three days." He started tapping his pencil on his desk.

"I don't know what to tell you. You told me he was going to be just fine three days ago."

"Yeah, but I don't know that for sure. I thought he would only be out for maybe a day."

"If something were wrong with him, Kuwabara would have alerted us to it. As it stands, I trust Kuwabara's oppinion that Kurama will be alright. You would do well to do the same."

"Since when does anything Kuwabara says mean anything to you?"

"It's better than worrying about something I have no control over."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"We wait."

Yusuke sighed and started writing again. "You know, you don't have to be here if I'm bugging you."

"Why would you think you are bothering me?"

"Because my energy is all wonky. I'm being moody and anxious. I've written the same sentence six times and erased it all six times. I'm an idiot."

I touched the back of his neck and rubbed his shoulders gently. "No, you have good reason to be worried. An idiot is one thing you are not."

I reached over and took hold of his right arm. "It's one hell of a weird-looking scar…" Yusuke muttered.

"It isn't a scar. It's a tattoo. In a few more days, I believe it will be a pheonix."

"Why do you say that?"

I ran my hand up the length of his arm and traced the wings on his shoulder. "This is how my dragon tattoo looked a few days before it looked as it does know. Like a pale scar. I wonder what color it will be."

"Probably blue."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, coz Puu is a big blue pheonix-looking thing. Maybe because that's what my soul looks like. Speaking of which, I should probably go visit the poor guy. He must be a wreck if I feel this way."

I let go of Yusuke's arm. "Would you like me to go with you?"

"I would like that very much."

I pulled on the jacket I was borrowing from Yusuke and we walked through his neighborhood toward the train station. I hated taking the train but I was looking forward to checking on Yukina.

We sat near the back of the train; away from other people.

"Are you going to come into the temple this time?" asked Yusuke. "I've noticed that whenever you go to the temple, you never go inside."

"I will go in. It is about time I gave Yukina her gem back," I replied.

"So, you're gonna tell her who you are?"

"She already knows."

"Really? I didn't know that. How did she find out?"

"I wrote to her while I was in the Makai several months ago. She wrote back that she wasn't surprised and had suspected for a long time that I was her brother."

"Oh, wow."

I touched Yusuke's right arm again and tried to focus some ki into it to see if I could make the tattoo appear. It worked.

"Cool…" said Yusuke as he looked down at the pheonix tattooed into his skin. It was blue, as he suspected with a two tails that wound down his arm to his wrist. The wings on his shoulder were the most prominent features. When I removed my hand, the tattoo disappeared.

"Give it time and I know it will be permanent," I said.

"How have you been sleeping?" Yusuke asked suddenly.

"Fine. Why?"

"Well, you spend the whole day with me and then you go away for the night. I was wondeirng if you were sleeping or not."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Where are you sleeping then?"

"In the tree outside Kurama's bedroom window. I want to be there when he wakes up."

"Kuwabara still there?"

"All the time."

"He'll tell us as soon as Kurama comes to. You don't have to wait outside his window. It's getting colder now. It's almost winter."

"Where do you suggest I sleep?"

"I don't know. You could stay with me if you like."

I looked away, remembering the day we took a nap cuddled together on Kurama's couch. It had been nice but awkward when I woke up in his arms. I hadn't known what to do so I just lay there waiting for him to wake up and let me go.

"I'll think about it," I replied. I wondered how it would feel to go to sleep in his arms every night and wake up with him every morning. The thought sent shivers down my spine which wasn't entirely unpleasent.

"Good."

I stared out the window and watched as we blazed past the trees. "I don't see why we couldn't just sprint there…" I muttered.

"The train is easier," said Yusuke. "I hate hiking through nature for six hours just to get to Genkai's. As it is, we have to hike for an hour to get there from the train station."

"If we sprinted, it would take less than two hours to get there from your house."

"Yeah, but I didn't feel like running today." Yusuke shrugged and pulled a box out of his jacket pocket. "Pocky?' he said, offering the treat to me.

I took a piece and nibbled on it. Yusuke stuck one in his mouth and played with it with his tongue. It was intriguing. It made me wonder what else he could do with his tongue. Then I scolded myself for being so crude. It wasn't polite to wonder about such things regarding your friends. Which inevitably brought me back to the thought that had been crossing my mind every day since he told me that he loved me. What kind of love was his?

Platonic, that was the word that seemed the most likely. Afterall, if he had other intentions, he would have made them clear by now, wouldn't he?

Next chapter will be from Yusuke's POV. It'll switch every chapter.