Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Never have, never will.

I trudged up Genkai's stairs tiredly. Kurama and Hiei were walking ahead of me. I knew that they could have both run up the stairs in a few seconds flat and were only walking in order to make sure I had company, but I didn't really care.

It was late, incredibly late, and I had every intention of going to sleep as soon as we reached the temple. Too bad it felt like we would never get to the top of the stairs. Who the hell had the idea to build never ending stairs? The idiot needed some sense knocked into him.

Shoving a hand through my hair, I glanced up the staircase, trying to see the top. "Do these stairs ever end?" I mumbled.

I hadn't meant for the guys to hear me, but they did. Cursing their demon hearing, I glared at their backs as they laughed. Smirking, Hiei glanced over his shoulder at me. "That was a ridiculous question, woman."

"Yeah, well…" I trailed off unable to come up with a comeback. "Never mind." Not only was I tired, but I was rather amazed that Hiei had showed his amusement at my question. Together the two made it almost impossible for me to think straight.

We walked for a few seconds longer before I let out an exhausted sigh. "You guys can run to the top if you want to, you don't have to wait for me."

Kurama chuckled. "Shyle, it would be ungentlemanly of us to leave you here alone."

"Hiei isn't a gentleman," I muttered.

"Excuse me, woman," Hiei snapped, stopping and turning around to glare at me.

"Just making an observation is all, no need to get offended. Don't worry, being a gentleman is boring."

Hiei continued to glare at me and I skirted his immobile form, moving past him up the stairs. Why I felt the need to pick a fight with him, I wasn't sure. What I did know was that it probably wasn't smart.

But Hiei didn't say anything else, opting to instead blow past me in a black blur. He came to a halt at the top of the stairs. Glaring at me once more, he said, "Seeing as I'm not a gentleman, I feel no need to waste my time here. Goodnight, Kurama." He turned on his heel and started toward the shrine.

"Guess I pissed him off," I sighed.

"Yes, I would say that you did," Kurama answered. "Did you think you were going to accomplish something?"

"No, not really. I'm tired, which makes me do stupid things. How long do you think he'll stay mad?"

"He probably won't," Kurama said.

"What?"

"It isn't as though you told him something he doesn't already know. In fact, I think he might have been more offended if you had told him he was a gentleman."

"So you're saying all of that was for show?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow. At Kurama's nod, I added, "That's weird."

"Actually, I think you caught him off guard again, like when you asked him to stay out of your mind."

"He deals with surprise by getting angry? Someone may want to tell him that that isn't the best way of expressing himself."

"I don't think it's surprise that makes him rude to you. He simply doesn't know how to react to the things you say and do. Hiei is used to understanding those he interacts with, that he can't understand you unsettles him," Kurama explained.

We had reached the top of the stairs and started down the path to the shrine. "Why doesn't he understand me?"

"You would have to ask him. Although, how you would go about asking him I'm not sure."

I smiled faintly. I knew how to ask Hiei. Our morning conversations provided me with the perfect way.

I was surprised that Kurama didn't know about our question and answer sessions. I hadn't told Keiko because I didn't want to deal with how she would react, but I had assumed Hiei would tell Kurama. Apparently he hadn't.

We entered the shrine and I headed immediately for my bedroom. After changing quickly into my pajamas, I slipped into the bathroom. I emerged ten minutes later ready to go to bed.

I was flipping back the covers on my bed when I glanced at the clock. It was nearing one-thirty in the morning. There was no way in hell I was getting up early to go running. Sighing, I turned away from my bed and returned to the hallway.

I made my way to Hiei's door and paused before it. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. "Hiei? It's Shy. Could you open the door?"

The seconds ticked past and I began to think Kurama was wrong, Hiei was truly mad at me. I was getting ready to apologize to the fire demon when the door swung open.

Hiei stood in the open doorway, his shirt distractingly absent. "What do you want?" He spat the question at me and I realized that Kurama really had been wrong. My comment earlier had gotten under Hiei's skin.

"I just wanted to tell you that I won't be running tomorrow, so you don't have to watch out for me. I'm going to sleep in since it's so late."

"Hn." He seemed ready to close the door and I reached out, pressing my hand against the wood.

"Look, I'm sorry if what I said earlier bothered you. I'm exhausted and I didn't mean to be hurtful or whatever. I'm bitchy when I'm tired. Please don't take what I said seriously. Besides gentlemanly is boring. The whole Prince Charming bit is kind of overused." I was rambling and I knew it, but I was desperately trying to keep him from being mad at me. "Apology accepted?" I asked hopefully.

"I care very little for your opinion of me, woman."

I felt myself flinch and prayed that he hadn't noticed. "Oh, well, sure… I understand." I turned away, suddenly eager to get away from him. Since when did how he felt about me matter so much? "Goodnight, Hiei."

I didn't receive a response and a second later I heard his door click closed. Climbing into bed a few minutes later, I was glad I was tired. I wouldn't have been able to fall asleep otherwise.

I slept late, allowing myself the novelty of getting up after noon. When I finally made an appearance in the kitchen, it was to find Keiko and Yukina sitting down to eat lunch.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head," Keiko said.

Grinning, I replied, "Actually, it's afternoon."

"True."

I nodded sagely and began to prepare myself a sandwich. "Where are the guys?"

"Outside training," Yukina answered.

"Yusuke has it in his head that Mecca may be a dangerous threat, a threat that they may have difficulty beating," Keiko murmured, after chewing a bite of her own sandwich.

"There are demons that can give the four of them trouble?" I asked, shivering at the thought.

"Scary, isn't it?" Keiko shook her head and frowned. "I can't help but think they may be worrying over nothing. Mecca hasn't done a thing since he attacked you. Maybe he realized it would be stupid to attack once of us."

"I have a feeling that that is a lot of wishful thinking," I replied, taking a seat at the table. "Mecca is probably just biding his time. He'll make an appearance when we least expect it and it's going to suck ass when he does."

"You're a really positive person," Keiko observed.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "It went well with my parents, in case you were wondering."

"Yeah, Kurama said that this morning."

"They took it a lot better than I ever would have thought possible."

"I'm so impressed that you had the guts to go tell them everything," Keiko murmured, her eyes on her sandwich. "I wish I was brave enough to tell my parents everything."

"You still could, you know."

Keiko laughed humorlessly. "I'm sure Kurama told you why he didn't want to tell his mother, that he waited too long. I'm afraid that I've wasted too much time as well. Telling them now would undermine all their trust in me. My window of opportunity has long since passed."

I debated the point in arguing with her and decided to let the matter drop. It wasn't really my place to tell her to explain anything. Kurama had barely convinced me. Plus my involvement with demons was far more limited than Keiko's. I had a feeling it would be much harder for Keiko's parents to accept the truth than it was for mine.

Finishing my sandwich a few minutes later, I excused myself and headed off to take my shower.

And so began one of the most boring days of my life.

After the stressful morning and afternoon of the day before, I couldn't help but feel that the day was relatively anticlimactic. The only notable occurrence was when Yusuke and Kuwabara got in a tussle over who got the bathroom first, which all things considered isn't particularly out of the ordinary.

Despite the mundane day, or maybe because of it, I climbed into bed that night feeling like something was missing. It took hours of tossing and turning for me to realize just what it was that was absent.

My morning interactions with Hiei had become such a staple in my days that their absence was disconcerting. I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, vowing that I would fix things with Hiei so that our conversations could continue.

I lengthened my stride, leaping a root as I ran. Adrenaline rushed through my veins, causing me to run faster than I had since cross country races in high school. No one runs practices at their race pace, but my nerves about talking to Hiei had me so pumped up on adrenaline that I was running much faster than normal.

I wasn't even sure if Hiei was going to be waiting for me at the end of my run. The idea that I may have ruined our growing friendship was freaking me out.

I hadn't meant to piss him off by saying he wasn't a gentlemen. I wouldn't have said anything if I had know how he would react. Which raised the question: why did he react the way he had?

He claimed by opinion of him didn't matter, but he was clearly bothered. I hadn't realized it was possible to hurt him. He always acted like nothing could affect him. And just like that another question had been raised. Why did my comment bother him?

Was it as simple as me underestimating his sensitivity? I didn't think so.

So it had to be something else. But what?

I turned a corner in the path and the edge of the trees came into view. Slowing my pace, I came to a halt below the tree Hiei always perched in and glance up. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he was sitting on the branch just like always.

Without thinking, I said, "I was scared you wouldn't be out here this morning." Immediately a blush spread across my cheeks and I turned away, moving to take a seat against the tree opposite Hiei's.

"Why wouldn't I be out here?"

"I don't know. You were mad at me before and I thought you may still be."

Hiei didn't respond and I wondered if maybe I was wrong, maybe he was still angry with me. I glanced down at my hands and twined my fingers together uneasily. Why did Hiei make me so nervous?

"Um, are you still mad?" I asked. Yet again I didn't receive a response. Deciding to let it go, I said, "It's your turn to ask questions."

"Hn."

I'd really screwed up. Hiei wasn't even going to talk to me anymore. I glanced up at him and my eyes widened.

He was watching me intently, leaning forward, his crimson eyes narrowed. "Why did you tell your mother you wouldn't date me?"

Startled, I stared at him, another blush spreading across my cheeks. I'd been expecting him to blindside me with a hard question, but that?

"I, uh, just didn't want her to start interrogating me," I mumbled. "Plus, I'm obviously not your type. There's no point in me wasting my time pining after you or something."

Holy shit, why the hell did I say that? I was struck by the sudden urge to bolt back to the shrine so that I'd never have to see Hiei again.

Hiei continued to watch me, his eyes calculating. "Are you saying you would be interested if you thought you had a chance?"

"What?" I stiffened, my hands clenching in my lap. Was he hinting that I was his type? As soon as the idea entered my mind, I banished it. Of course Hiei wasn't attracted to me. He'd never given any sign that he was and thinking that he might be would just be wishful thinking.

"It was a straightforward question."

"Yeah, I guess I would be," I murmured, staring at my hands and fighting a blush. "But I'd be interested in any guy who was interested back," I added hastily.

He leaned back against the tree trunk with a confident smirk. "Shoot," he said

If I wasn't so mortified by our conversation, I would have laughed at him. Ever since I'd explained what 'shoot' meant, he'd been using it frequently. It was cute, like he was a little kid who had learned something new.

I tried desperately to gather my thoughts and asked the first thing that came to mind. "Are you interested in me?"

He looked startled and I realized that he hadn't thought I'd be bold enough to ask him about his feelings. Come to think of it, I hadn't thought I'd be bold enough. I swallowed hard and waited for his answer.

"Hn."

When it became apparent that he wasn't going to say anything else, I allowed myself a frown. "That wasn't really an answer."

He didn't say anything in response and I sighed. What the hell did 'hn' mean? Was it a yes or a no? He was infuriating. Why couldn't he give me a straight answer?

"Are you going to ask anything else or are you done?" he asked.

Hiei appeared ready to ask another question, but I shook my head. "I'm going to ask something else, just give me a second." I glared at my hands, trying to think of something to ask. Since we were talking about relationships anyway, I settled on a question about dating. "Have you ever seriously dated anyone?"

"Dated?"

"Yeah, like having a girlfriend. I think demons call it courting," I explained.

"So you mean have I courted anyone with the intention of mating them?" he asked. I blushed, but nodded. Smirking, he continued, "Yes, I have."

"Would you tell me who? What was her name?"

"Why do you assume it was a woman? And only one at that."

My eyes widened. "You've courted men?" The idea was a strange one. I'd never realized Hiei might be gay. This whole conversation had just gotten even stranger.

"I've only dated one man with the intention of mating him. You know him."

"I know him?" I stammered, completely surprised. "Who is he?"

"Kurama," Hiei stated calmly.

"Kurama?"

"Are you going to repeat everything I say in question form?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to." Studying my hands, I asked, "Why did you two break up? You did break up, right?"

"Yes, we courted each other at one time, but have since ended things. We decided to do so on mutual terms. We have different goals in life."

"Have you ever dated, sorry courted, a woman?"

"Two." So he was bisexual, rather than gay? Interesting development.

"Who?"

"A woman you wouldn't know named Nanami. We broke it off decades ago, over what I no longer remember." Decades ago? I always forgot just how old Hiei was.

"And the other one?"

"Lord Mukuro of Alaric."

"Mukuro?" I spluttered.

"Did I stutter?"

"No, I just didn't realize that you were involved with her."

"I no longer am," he said, a strange note in his voice, as though he was trying to assure me that he was single.

"Why did you two break up?"

"I want children. Mukuro does not."

My gaze darted from my hands to his face. He wanted children? I guess that shouldn't surprise me. He was allowed to want children, but I'd never thought of him as the family type. Would he be good with kids? Would he know how to be a good father? Would he be too strict? The idea of Hiei being a father raised so many questions.

My eyes widened when I realized why he had broken up with Kurama. "You ended things with Kurama because two men can't have children."

"Hn."

There was a long pause and I realized that he was waiting for me to ask another question. "I'm done, you can ask questions now."

He wasted no time. "Have you ever seriously dated anyone?"

I should have seen that coming, what with the way my luck had been going so far. If there was an uncomfortable question to be asked, Hiei had asked it. "With the intention of getting married? No," I grumbled, "I haven't."

"You've never dated anyone?"

"Well, I've dated guys, just not with the intention of making things permanent."

"How many guys?"

Taking a deep breath, I answered, "Three. The first two ended immediately. My last boyfriend, Hideki Okajima, broke up with me and I haven't dated since." I felt like I was talking about Hideki all the time recently. It was starting to get annoying.

"Why didn't any of them work out?"

"I don't know. Maybe guys just don't want to have a real relationship with me," I said, glaring at my hands.

"Would you be willing to…" Hiei seemed to struggle for words, "get married if the right guy came along?"

"Yeah, of course. Every girl, no matter what they say, wants to get married. It's how we're made."

"Hn." Hiei jumped down from his perch, landing easily in the grass. It seemed that he had decided we were done for the day. "Let's go in."

"Oh, uh, sure," I said. I scrambled to my feet and brushed off my butt. Walking beside him toward the shrine, I couldn't shake the feeling that our relationship had just changed somehow.

I just wished I could be sure if it was for the better or worse.

AN: Shy/Hiei interaction! What did you think of it? Hiei was acting somewhat odd. Any guesses why?

Yeah, so the chapter title kind of sucks, but it's late and I don't have time to think of a better one. I may change it at a later date.

I probably won't be able to update until next weekend. It's the last week of school and I have finals so I'm going to be pretty busy. (My AP U.S. History final is to make a history game and my group is making a really intense one. Sadly, that means it is going to take a lot of time and work.) I'll do my best to update during the week, but I make no gaurantees.

Thanks to those of you that reviewed. Can everybody else drop me a review? You'd rock if you did.