A/N: Sparkly showers of love to my reviewers. :P

jane: wow, for english being a second language you're speaking really well. After five years of French classes all I can do is introduce myself and ask what time it is. lol. And you're close, it means "Heart of Darkness." "no" in japanese usually means "of." And thanks for the reviews you gave all my other fics, too!

Anyway, here's the chapter you've been waiting for, Hiei fans. Sorry, it's a bit mean, but this is angst.

FYI:

/ - Thoughts through a mental connection

Chapter 6

By Yami no Kokoro

The competition was better than Kurama had expected. He'd never been one to enjoy watching violence, and despite his earlier words on the phone he wouldn't have bothered coming had Yusuke not accompanied him, but he soon discovered that watching some of the fighters was actually an enjoyable experience. Style matched itself against power, agility against strength, in battles that could rival a miniature ningen version of the Dark Tournament.

Yusuke was having the time of his life, though the kitsune was sure that he would rather have been in the ring than watching from the sidelines. He nearly did enter twice, screaming about unfair calls or stupid mistakes. Kurama had needed to hold him back, giving out quiet apologies to the other viewers, one of which happened to be the referee's mother.

At two-thirty, three hours in, a short break was called for the contestants, and lunch was being sold at quickly set up stands in the parking lot, giving out everything from ramen to ice-cream. The two wandered absently from stand to stand, chatting about the competitors and their favorites to win. Everything was going perfectly.

And that's when Kurama sensed it. The brush of a hauntingly familiar ki against the edge of his own, making every cell in his body tingle. The energy was obviously being masked, but it could never hide from him, not after all the times that this yoki and his had entwined in a beautiful dance of love and desire.

Yusuke sensed nothing, of course, and continued to chat away obliviously as Kurama's eyes frantically scanned the crowd.

Where was he? And what was he doing back in the Ningenkai?

Grabbing Yusuke's arm he pulled the detective to a stop, now looking beyond the parking lot they stood in and into the surrounding trees. It was pointless. The youkai was hidden from view and would remain that way until he wished it otherwise.

Why would he be back? If there was trouble he needed help with then he wouldn't bother hiding, and now that Kurama thought about it he wouldn't bother turning to the 'foolish ningen' for aid anyway. So what did he want?

"Kurama? Hey, kit, what's wrong?" His worried eyes calmed and turned to Yusuke, and shook his head. There was no reason to worry the other with this.

"Nothing."

His new koi leaned forward and brushed over his lips a gentle kiss that made butterflies appear in the once-Yoko's stomach for lying, before pulling back and smiling lazily at him.

"But you would tell me if something was?" Kurama smiled back, and leaned forward to pull the detective into another lip-lock, hoping that Yusuke wouldn't notice that he hadn't answered. It seemed that he hadn't as his hand moved up to pull Kurama closer.

Just then a harsh voice entered his mind, making him pull back quickly.

/Fox. Come into the woods, now./

So he was here to see him. Why now? Why today? He wished he could just go back into the school with Yusuke but knew better than to simply ignore the stubborn youkai's call. Stepping nervously away from his confused looking date he managed in a normal voice.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Yusuke. Could you get us some lunch?" He nodded, and Kurama stepped back, disappearing quickly into the crowd and towards the line of trees.

When they stood directly ahead the kitsune paused, not able to bring his feet to enter. Seven months and his life was just beginning to come back together. Today his old love decided to return and put everything that had been made into turmoil.

/Kurama./

Gritting his teeth, he stepped into the trees. Inari, he could sense the koorime clearly now, feel the remnants of the other's words tickling through his mind. Perhaps he should have brought Yusuke with him. He wasn't quite afraid of his old koi, but he was frightened of his feelings for him.

"You took long enough." The voice startled the edgy kitsune, and he spun quickly to its source. A black haired figure jumped lightly from the highest branch of a young pine, landing gracefully on the ground.

Garnet eyes moved to meet green, dark with anger and desire. His lithe form had grown another few inches in the past seven months, so that his forehead nearly reached the fox's chin. He was dressed in a white tank top that conformed to show muscled abs that could only result from months of constant training.

Both demons froze for a moment, and Kurama took in a sharp breath of much needed oxygen. A single thought took hold in his mind, pushing back all others and making him for a moment forget his koi waiting for him back in the parking lot.

'Gods, I love you, Hiei.'

.-

The half-koorime glowered up at his fox, not really understanding the rage and pain that had burned within him when he'd seen Kurama and the detective kiss.

Yusuke Urameshi. Every fiber of Hiei's being wanted to go and tear the Tantei's heart out for trying to take his love away but he resisted, barely. Of all the fools that Kurama could have turned to in the past months that ningen hadn't even entered his mind as a possibility. Wasn't he in love with that girl, the one who's life seemed to exist solely to worry about him? That's what everyone said, anyway.

Either way, he couldn't get Kurama.

Their pause seemed to go on for an eternity, during which his closed Jagan was hit with a powerful thought, a secret confession form the spirit fox slipping through their mental connection.

/Gods, I love you, Hiei./

The words, even spoken in the privacy of Kurama's mind, made the koorime's heart flutter in a pathetic way that he had learned to adore. He'd thought for sure he'd been over this sickness called love, but how could one possibly overcome this feeling, this feeling of fear and adoration, of wanting to spend every moment with the person, of constant heartache when you are apart? The youkai had almost made himself forget, but now he wasn't sure why he'd wanted to. He needed Kurama.

The fox's lips parted suddenly, to take in a small, delayed gasp, and then growled out a sentence that was quite different from what he was thinking.

"What are you doing here, Hiei?"

So cold he sounded. He'd never been this cold before.

But what to answer? Hiei could never come out and say that he'd missed him, that he'd wanted to see Kurama again.

"Hn." What should he say? Why was he suddenly so concerned with how he sounded? It was best to stick with his original purpose. "I had a dream, fox, and I needed to check if you were alright."

The kitsune's visible tension began to fade, and his perfectly sculpted brows creased in concern.

"You mean, from the Jagan?" Unlikely, but he wasn't planning on mentioning that.

"Hn."

.-

A flood of emotions washed through Kurama as his ex-koi revealed his purpose for coming. A warning from the Jagan. Of course, they were here on business, why else would he come? Hiei had Mukuro now, the fox could smell her on him.

"What was it about, Hiei? Is some kind of new enemy coming?"

The smaller youkai's eyes flashed in annoyance, and Kurama decided that the passion flickering erratically through them must have been part of his imagination. Yet the bitterness in his voice when he spoke could not be so easily dismissed.

"I probably shouldn't have bothered to come anyway. I'm sure that whatever it is, the detective can protect you."

A throbbing pain, like a dagger of ice hit Kurama's heart. Inari, he still cared . . . was it possible that he had been hurting as well?

No.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Why don't you go return to the Makai that you love so dearly? Mukuro must be eagerly awaiting your return." The words that came out were much harsher than those he'd intended, but he couldn't handle this right now. He needed to get back to Yusuke . . . but he wasn't moving. Instead he watched as Hiei's face registered shock, pain, and anger, before adding, 'her stench remains over you despite the hours since you've parted."

Hiei took a step forward, and though Kurama wanted desperately to increase the space between them he stubbornly held his ground.

"That woman means nothing to me, Kurama." Tears threatened to fill the fox's eyes. He would have given anything to hear Hiei say this all year, but now . . . now it was too late. Now there was Yusuke.

"Either way," he forced out slowly, "what she does or doesn't mean to you no longer concerns me. We're not together anymore, Hiei." Was it possible for one sentence to be so physically painful to utter? Before he'd become Shuichi he never would have believed so. Could a demon born and raised in the harsh Makai even understand what he was experiencing?

"That can easily be remedied."

Before Kurama even had time to understand the implications of that sentence he found them out first-hand. Suddenly Hiei was against him, crushing their lips together in a kiss that was hauntingly familiar and yet shockingly new. The fire youkai's tongue harshly entered his open mouth, dominating as always, ravaging it so thoroughly that Kurama could do nothing against the moan that escaped him unwillingly. His hands grabbed the koorime's shoulders, hesitating between pushing him away and pulling him closer.

Hiei seemed to immediately sense his indecision and chose to take it as consent, pulling him closer so that their bodies ground together, eliciting a sharp gasp from the redhead. It had been too long since they'd touched, far too long . . .

No, wait. Hiei had to stop . . . there was a reason they shouldn't be doing this . . . something he was sure he should be remembering . . .

The demanding mouth left his, moving to taste Kurama's jaw-line and trace down his throat. Their hips ground together, leaving the fox in a state of near euphoria.

Everything about Hiei's movements were so sure, they hardly gave Kurama time to doubt what was going on. It was so different than Yusuke, from whom each kiss was gentle, chaste, as though an act of worship.

Yusuke, who he was now quite obviously betraying, who was still waiting for him, who he cared for, and who had never abandoned him for a stupid job offer.

The battle Kurama had then was possibly the most difficult of any that he had ever been faced with. His body went at war with his mind, Yoko instinct and his wounded heart insisting that he finish what he had started here, while his common sense and his loyalty to his koi told him to stop. Pushing Hiei back proved to be nearly impossible, but he finally managed it, shoving the koorime away and stumbling backwards, their ragged breaths for a moment being the only noise in the otherwise silent woods. Then Kurama took another shaking step back, eyes narrowing as anger overtook his shock.

"What in Inari's name do you think you're doing?" Hiei glared.

"I would think, Kurama, that that was obvious." The fox shook his head, green eyes flashing violently.

"Well then you're mistaken. Seven months ago you left me for the Makai. You left me, Hiei, broken, as a rose that has been plucked of all of it's petals. And today you return with no explanation save a dream that you haven't even bothered to describe, and get jealous because just yesterday I managed to begin moving on. Do my feelings matter at all, Hiei, because to me it seems like you don't care how much your doing this to me rips me up inside, you just don't want to lose to Yusuke."

Hiei stood, stunned, but Kurama's rage continued to grow. Over half a year of pent up pain lashed out at the smaller youkai, though Kurama's voice remained frighteningly low and even.

"You are heir to a third of the Makai, Hiei, that's more than any youkai could hope for. So don't include me in your twisted power struggles."

Then, before his body could betray him once more and rush back into the koorime's arms he turned and walked quickly from the forest, leaving the two witnesses to his outburst frozen in shock.

TBC

A/N: Yup, you read right, people, I did write "two" witnesses. So who's the second . . . you'll find out next chapter! So please review and I'll update asap