Note from author: HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE :D I know this is a day too early, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to post it tomorrow. You might get another if I get enough creativity which, by the fact that I was able to post two chapters to my new fanfiction 'Time to Choose Draco' (A Draco Fanfiction about a young girl that gets blackmailed by Draco after he finds out something secret about her) and this in the last two days, I may just do. :D HAPPY NEW YEARS TO YOU ALL!~ ROSEY

Chapter 11

Hika walked slowly through the forest, her eyes searching the darkness around her. The rest of the night had gone quickly after Kuronue had found out about the relationship Charlie and Hika had managed to forge. Kuronue had left quickly after that and had not stayed for dinner which made Charlie's mother worry. Dinner started quickly and ended equally as quick, but the way that Kuronue had acted stayed with her.

First he had wanted to speak with her and then she couldn't get away quick enough. What was on his mind? She growled and spun to the east and began to run. She ran until she got tired and slowed. Her wings stretched out behind her and fluttered. They wanted to fly but she knew that it would not work. Closing her wings with a quick slap, she moved off again before stopping, her back going ridged.

Footsteps were behind her and heading her way. Because of this, she slid behind a tree and waited. What other human would go be out there at this late hour? When the footsteps stopped, she peaked out and froze.

Kuronue stood in the clearing to her left, illuminated greatly by the moon that was rising over them. He looked like a dark angel waiting for a dark god to come and take him from his earth. She caught her breath and then stepped out. She really was worried about the young man. Everything that had happened seemed to be destroying his safe life that he had had before she had shown up.

Kuronue turned and looked at her in surprise and then looked away back at the darkness. "You shouldn't be out here this late. The demon might attack, especially if you are alone," he told her as he waited.

"I have the earrings. He won't be able to control me," the young half-demon commented as she moved to stand next to him. She joined him in staring out into the darkness before she turned her gaze up to the sky.

"You were avoiding me at school, why?"

"You avoided me for three days. Inane and Charlie visited but you didn't," answered the young woman.

"I didn't want to bother you while you were training," he pointed out softly, joining her in looking up.

"Liar," she accused.

There was silence for several moments while they stared up at the sky, each with their own thoughts. When the silence grew too much for the young woman she turned and looked straight at Kuronue.

"You remembered it too, didn't you? How the old Kuronue gave the earrings to my grandmother? I wasn't the only one was I?" she whispered.

Her words reached Kuronue's ears easily but he didn't answer right away. He was still staring up at the sky like it might hold the truth to life. When he couldn't think of anything inspirational to say he only nodded. Hika turned to look back up at the sky, feeling her heart leap and calm with the change of focal point.

"That was a long time ago, don't you agree?" Kuronue finally asked.

"It was my past life and yours as well, so yes, it was a long time ago." She glanced over at him as she spoke before looking back up. Silence echoed out again, this time for a lot longer than the previous silence had taken.

"You do know that—"

"I don't want to sound rude—"

They both stopped and looked at each other and couldn't help but share a smile. Kuronue motioned for her to go first.

"I don't want to sound rude, but I didn't want to be here with you. I was perfectly happy back in demon world. I mean, I'm glad I'm here since I met Charlie and the rest of you, but," Hika hesitated looking back up. "I didn't know anything about you being there. It was all set up by Lord Koenma and my parents and Kurama. I had no choice here. I only found out that they had made plans like this the day before Inane got attack."

"I know. After you stormed out, Night gave your mother a rather long lecture on keeping it from you for so long. She had been under the impression that you knew all along what they were aiming for. The spider came out and terrorized your mother for a while I think," Kuronue said with a laugh as he remembered the scene—the normally stoic Tyali had jumped up on the couch and thrown anything she could get her hands on at the spider that darted in and out towards her until the lecture from Night had finished.

"I bet mother was ecstatic to have that happen," Hika joined him in laughter as she imagined a scene that was similar to what had happened. The uncomfortable air between the two seemed to be slowly evaporating as they spoke, and Hika liked that.

Kuronue coughed to clear his throat and looked down at the ground. "What I was going to say was that I hope you don't think that anything will happen because these memories are coming back to me. It is the past. One cannot relive life and believe that it will be a repeat of the last. There will never be the same situations that they had—Hiromi and Kuronue I mean," he explained as he frowned. "I don't want you to go and hope that just because I'm remembering things means that my feelings for Inane will change. I love Inane, and I don't feel like I could ever love you. You aren't the same as Hiromi was, from the little I remember. I don't want you to be though. I like you as a friend the way you are. I'm also glad that you helped Charlie remember that life can be full of love as well as knowledge. I haven't seen him as happy as he has been in the past few days in a long time."

Hika looked away from him and smiled before she felt herself start to tip backwards from all the staring at the stars. A hand placed itself on her back and she looked over at Kuronue. He held her so that she could still look up at the sky, a look she couldn't quiet identify in his eyes. Hika righted herself and then slipped down to lay and stare up so that she was at no danger of toppling over.

"That is kind of what I had been thinking Kuronue anyway. I mean, with me and Charlie. I'm not sure about love, but I really like him a lot. I don't think it was fair of my parents and Koenma to put us in this situation when we are our own people, not the people of our pasts," Hika agreed with a nod. Kuronue, feeling the fool for still standing, joined her to lie on the grass next to her, his hands supporting his head.

"Do you mind if we just forget the past?" Kuronue asked, getting a startled look from Hika. "I don't mean magically forget it, or really forget it either, because it shapes up and is a large part of why we are getting attacked right now. What I mean is, whatever we remember about the old Kuronue and Hiromi, and we won't act on it like it is a part of us. It's a story of people that we used to be that we should keep in mind,"

"But that's all it is. Any emotions that we felt back then are dead, as the bodies that held those emotions are?" Hika guessed, a smile forming on her lips. "I like your way of thinking Kuronue. I really like your way of thinking."

"I know," Kuronue said smugly only to get a hard elbow to the ribs which eventually got both of them to start laughing as he defended himself by elbowing her in return.

"So, starting tomorrow, if we remember anything at all, we keep it to ourselves and focus on the future so that we won't do anything to hurt Charlie and Inane?" Kuronue propositioned.

"Agreed, starting tomorrow, we will be Hika Shiroibara and Kuronue of the Future. There is no Hiromi and Kuronue the Bat Demon but in our memories," the girl said as she looked over at Kuronue who had turned to stare at her.

"Starting tomorrow," he muttered in an almost trance like way as he turned to his side and leaned in. Their eyes locked. They were both remembering the stable kiss and even though they wanted to remain just friends and 'forget', they couldn't forget the passion that kiss had held. Hika started to feel her heart pound in her chest as they neared. Kuronue stopped an inch from her and closed his eyes. Swallowing, he ducked his head and brushed his lips across hers.

Electricity shot through both of them and they stared at each other. They both knew the dangerous game they played for they saw the consequences clearly. If either of them slipped up at this point, all those promises to go their separate ways would mean nothing. This time when Kuronue leaned in, Hika turned her face away.

"We shouldn't have done that," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Kuronue rolled back over to where he had laid a moment before, a forearm going to lay across his eyes. "You are right. We shouldn't have."

"Starting tomorrow that will be part of the past lives," Hika said looking up at the sky as a tear leaked down the left side of her safe. Thankfully that was on the opposite side of her face that he couldn't see.

"Thank you for understanding Hika," Kuronue whispered.

"Thank you for not putting me in a situation that could have become nuclear," she replied and closed her eyes.

Both of them fell into their own thoughts and soon parted without a word of goodbye. That clearing would hold what they said within itself until the day they died. No one but the wind and the trees would know of what happened, and they were both determined to forget the kiss and how it had sent shivers up and down both of their bodies. It never happened.