The first part of this chapter was really fun to write! Kuronue is so angsty!

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Chapter 5: The Smile

Three weeks. It took three bloody weeks to kill every demon on that list.

By the end of it, I was very unnerved. Each victim behaved exactly in the manner of the first. They all seemed unsurprised and asked 'what did he ever do to you?'

At that point I was carrying a variety of hair, a horn, and two bloody heads. Wonderful. All I wanted to do was talk to Kurama and figure out what the hell was going on.

When I got back to the mansion, the youngest brother was there waiting. Why was it the creepy bat thing? I didn't feel like having it hit on me…

Unfortunately, he felt like doing just that. As soon as I handed over the 'souvenirs', he grabbed me. Is there protocol for that kind of situation?

"You're covered in blood!" he whispered directly into my ear. Hanging off of me in a manner reminiscent of Karasu with Yomi, he rested his head against my shoulder.

"Come with me to the baths Mr. Assassin," he murmured. "I'll wash you."

I was about to react when Yomi interrupted. "Kuronue!" he snapped. There, at the top of the stairs, Yomi and Karasu stood glaring at their little brother.

They stood there for a moment, and Kuronue clung to me tighter, sulking at them. Yomi looked to Karasu, then nodded towards the two of us. In an instant, Karasu was next to us, one hand resting on the bat's shoulder warningly.

For whatever reason, Kuronue tensed, as if something more than just a hand was threatening him. Eyes downcast, he backed away from me.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

He looked up at his brother, suddenly on the verge of tears. "Please." He whispered, reaching a hand to touch Karasu's hair then stopping halfway. "I'm sorry, just…"

Yomi watched coldly from where he stood as the crow reached out and pulled his brother into a tight embrace.

"Brother…" the bat sobbed, burying his face and wrapping himself securely around the crow.

Karasu made some sort of cooing noise and pet the little one's hair.

I had absolutely no idea what was going on. Then, I saw Karasu's expression. He and Yomi's gazes were locked, and he looked more annoyed that anything. Almost as if he was just humoring his unruly little brother, when really, something much deeper was passing between him and Yomi.

Did it have anything to do with Kurama? I couldn't help but wonder as I slipped out of the door and headed down towards the forest across the bridge.

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When I found him, it was late in the afternoon, not that you could tell with all of the trees in the way. He was sitting in a bed of leaves, rubbing his eyes as if he had just awakened.

He smiled as soon as he saw me. "Hello, Hiei." He greeted, stretching his arms up above his head.

Nobody I'd ever met looked as friendly as he did every time I saw him. Nor as welcoming.

Gazing down at him, I decided anew that I wanted to be near him. He had a very soothing influence on me. After the past three weeks, I needed that.

Accepting my voiceless greeting, he attempted to begin a conversation. This time, he started rambling about how refreshing his nap had been.

As fascinating as that was, I decided to butt in. "Kurama."

At the sound of his name, he fell silent, grinning sheepishly at me. He had a way of averting his eyes and pursing his lips when he was embarrassed, which made him appear somehow guilty and thoughtful at the same time.

I let him sit there in silence while I contemplated the best way to bring up the issue at hand. Seeing how awkward this was for him, I decided to go ahead and speak.

"So, about what happened," I began.

As soon as he heard those words, Kurama became solemn.

He took a deep breath and confirmed that he was, indeed, betrothed to the brothers. Apparently he had been promised to them for as long as he could remember, and he had tried to run away a few years ago.

Only, the brothers' territory was vast, and Karasu had come after him. Kurama proceeded to talk about Karasu's powers. Bombs, he said. Invisible, visible, moving, stationary, and more; they were incredibly destructive.

Thinking back to earlier, I realized that's why the bat seemed terrified at a touch from that crow.

"It was… painful." Kurama whispered, hugging himself with a shudder.

At the sight of that, I had to fight the urge to go comfort him. Kurama was strong; even I could see that. He didn't need my comfort.

He proceeded to tell me that he had blacked out. When he awoke, Kuronue was there. He acted if nothing had happened. Playing the part of an innocent companion, Kuronue had forced him to walk around and act as if nothing had happened.

His injuries were still there, and he was trapped alone in the woods with the bat. When he tried to resist, Kuronue became forceful.

This treatment went on for weeks, until he had finally healed, and Kuronue left him. But he was told to draw water at the river and walk along it every morning so that when one of the brothers came to make sure he was there, they could find him easily.

He fell silent, gazing forlornly at the soil

And I'd wanted to know the truth… Man, did I feel ashamed. I wasn't used to dealing with emotional affairs.

I'm an assassin; I kill for a living. This kind of thing, the complicated stuff, was not a part of my area of knowledge.

"Kurama," was all I managed to say before he looked up at me again.

Kurama was smiling.

It was a smile of forbearance; a smile that spoke more clearly that any words we could exchange.

He knew. Kurama knew everything that I was thinking, and he appreciated it. But, that smile also told me that he was resigned. Kurama had given up long ago, so now the only thing left to do was wait.

I could only imagine how painful that must be. In my case, there was always something I could do, someone I could kill.

But in his case, there was nothing to distract him from the inevitable. No matter what he did, or what he said, or who he met, nothing would change. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to feel so utterly powerless.

And yet, every time I saw Kurama, he forced himself to smile.

"After all, all we can hope for is to be left alone." He told me.

I understood his meaning. With the brothers' shadow looming over him, he couldn't hope for any good moments in his life. The best he could do was wait for the moments that aren't bad, and try to focus on that.

Well, my life certainly attested to that. I'd robbed others of life in order to maintain my own. Every moment of my life, it seemed that I was working for someone else. Plus, my life wasn't going anywhere. In short, I was living on borrowed time.

I was used to it, and I wasn't optimistic at all. But it seemed somehow unfair that Kurama should see things the same way. I felt as if it was wrong for him to suffer. That sort of cynicism didn't suit him at all.

I went over and sat in the leaves next to him. We both gazed up at the treetops, lost in thought. Sitting there, I realized that I wanted to give him as many of those 'not bad' moments as I could.

As we sat there pondering, a breeze picked up.

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So I've been thinking, how persistent should Kuronue be when it comes to Hiei?

I rather like this chapter; it's nice and depressing.