May 15, 1895; Human Realm
Dearest Hiei,
Thank you for your supportive letter. It made dealing with my stupid older brother a hell of a lot easier.
I confronted him about the necklace. He lied and told me he had no idea what I was talking about. And he is such a convincing liar that I freaking believed him! But I do not trust him one little bit now that he is gone.
Sometimes I think I would like to side with Reikai. They want him dead, badly. But their stupid bounty hunters just cannot take him down. Unfortunately. And if I employed their help, I would forever become an outcast. A disgrace. A traitor. Besides they probably would not leave a scratch on him and he would turn right around and kill me.
I am very tired. I have been up for nearly seventy-two hours straight. I was drinking coffee again… I did not realize it could keep you from falling asleep.
Love you so much. I would love to keep writing, but I really need to sleep. Good luck finding Yukina.
Your exhausted forest child,
Moriko
By the end of the letter, Yusuke was at a loss for words. He still felt as if he was missing something. Something important. Something that was right under his nose. And he suspected it was the same something he knew Kurama wasn't telling him.
Eventually Kurama looked Yusuke in the eye and said, "If you haven't made the connection yet, I don't think you will. But if these letters go where I think they're going, you'll need an explanation for my reactions." He paused, then continued. "The pain will not be because of the pain Moriko caused Hiei, but the pain that I essentially caused him." Here Kurama stopped.
After a few minutes of tense silence, he went on. "Hiei is not the only one who has a sibling. A sibling that has been kept secret. The difference is, with Hiei, his sister is basically the only important party who doesn't know of their relationship. In my case, my sister was the only one who did know I had a sibling." And here, he finished, allowing what he said to sink into Yusuke's brain and connect to things he already knew.
Memories flashed through Yusuke's mind. The countless times he had seen Kurama fight using plants as weapons. The times he had seen Kurama as a fox, but the image of his long, silver hair is what stood out there. The first mission Koenma sent him on, to catch three thieves who had broken into the Reikai treasure vault. The first time he had a real conversation with Kurama, the one that revealed his demonic parentage and nature.
Then everything clicked. Yusuke suddenly realized that he did know a demonic thief. "Holy crap!" he shouted, standing up so quickly the chair he was sitting in fell over. He then tripped over it in his haste to get away from this unbelievable realization.
Kurama turned to look at Yusuke, who was now sprawled across the floor. He then whispered very softly, "Yes. You see it now. The plants. The hair. The thievery. The notoriety. Very similar. Too similar, in fact. Yes. The girl Hiei once loved, still loves if his keeping these letters and fear of caring for anyone else is any indication, Moriko." His eyes softened when he said the name. He said it again, "Moriko. My little sister."