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

"She went outside to get me?" I barely whispered the words, struggling to comprehend that Keiko was outside. "But Mecca's out there."

"Mecca's here?" Botan asked.

"What do you mean? Who else could possibly be here?"

"There are a dozen demons out there. We didn't realize that Mecca was one of them. Are you sure he's outside?"

"Positive. I'd recognize his smell and voice anywhere," I explained. Frowning, I shook my head and joined Botan and Yukina at the window. "We don't have time for this. Where's Keiko?"

"We don't know. She followed Genkai and the guys outside, but I can't see her anymore."

I stood on tiptoe, looking out the window over Botan's shoulder. The backyard was utter chaos. It seemed to me that there were a lot more than twelve demons fighting my friends. I checked on Hiei without thinking, allowing myself a sigh of relief when I saw that he was untouched.

"Are they all raions?"

"I have no idea," Botan answered. "Do you know, Yukina?"

"With the exception of the one fighting Yusuke, I believe that they all are." The small apparition spoke quietly, her eyes locked worriedly on Kuwabara.

Glancing back out the window, I looked for Yusuke's opponent. He was a tall demon garbed in a gray cloak. His skin was pale and appeared to reflect the light of the setting sun. "What is he?" I asked.

"I am not positive, but I think he is a hebi, a snake demon." I shuddered when the tip of a tail flicked out from beneath the edge of the demon's cloak. Hoping that Yusuke would win, I tore my gaze away from the pair and glanced once more at Hiei. I watched as he cut down his opponent with an elegant stroke of his katana.

Turning away from the window, I started toward the kitchen door. "Try to get the attention of one of the guys. Tell them that Keiko followed them out there and I went to go get her."

"What? You can't go back outside, Shy," Botan said, alarm clear in her voice.

"I have to." I pushed the door open and darted out into the living room, returning to the backdoor. Keiko went outside to save me; I had to go outside to save her. Stopping at the door, I quickly peeked out the window beside it, looking for Keiko. I bit my lip when I caught sight of her.

She wasn't alone. Mecca was stalking toward her, his hands clenching and unclenching threateningly. It didn't take much thought to realize that he was going to hurt her, maybe even kill her. There was no way for Keiko to get back to the shrine, not with Mecca between her and the door, and I knew that I had to help her.

"You can do this, Iraheta," I told myself. Unlocking the door, I tugged it open and slipped out onto the deck. Praying that Keiko wouldn't see me and give away where I was, I darted down the stairs and headed toward Mecca. I moved as quietly as I could, trying to sneak up on the raion.

"Your friend went inside, girly. I'm afraid you're out here for nothing," Mecca taunted, chuckling as he advanced on Keiko. "If only Epsilon would be okay with me killing you now."

Epsilon? Was that his commander? Deciding to worry about that later, I took a deep breath and hurled myself at Mecca's unprotected back. I latched my arms around his neck, clasping my hands together, and wrapped my legs around him. "Run, Keiko. Get back inside."

Mecca reached up, grabbing my wrists and tugging. I held on as long as I could, digging my heels into Mecca's stomach. "You should have stayed inside, little girl. Unlike your friend, Epsilon could care less if you live," he snarled. With a powerful jerk, he forced my hands apart and flipped me up over his shoulders so that I was dangling before him.

"Keiko, go inside. Please," I begged. Thrashing, I tried to kick Mecca in the stomach.

Laughing humorously, Mecca shook me and glared over my shoulder at Keiko. "Listen to your friend, girly. Escape while you can."

"Shyle–" Keiko began.

"Just go!" I snapped. "Get one of the guys or something, but just get inside." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Keiko sprint past us, heading toward the shrine. "Now what, Mecca? Keiko's safe and you're stuck with little old me instead."

"I'm well aware, thank you," Mecca said, a vicious smirk spreading across his face. "We'll get you friend, but for now I'll play with you." I had a feeling his version of play was going to prove very painful.

"Have you ever flown, little girl?" the raion asked. Without giving me a chance to answer, Mecca swung me by my wrists, letting me go at the peak of the swing. I bit back a scream and curled in on myself, protecting my head with my arms. My breath whooshed out of my lungs when I collided painfully with a tree. Panting and trying to regain my breath, I remained motionless on the ground.

Mecca approached me, laughing heartily. "That looked fun. I apologize about throwing you into that tree. I hadn't meant to hurt you so early." He stopped before me, crouching down, his stench rolling over me. "Are you ready to continue, little girl?"

I tried to scramble up and get away from him, but he struck out at me, batting me down with his hand. "That was rude," he chided. I struggled to my feet once more and glanced around, attempting to find an escape route. Mecca stood in one smooth move and reached out, his hand curling around my neck.

I grabbed his wrist with both hands, digging my nails into the tender flesh of his underarm. He squeezed my throat, smiling maliciously. "Does this hurt?" I ignored him, moving my hands and struggling to pry his fingers off my neck. He shook my hard and snarled. "I asked you a question; you'd do well to answer me."

I opened my mouth and tried to speak, but found that I couldn't. Anger flashed through his eyes and he bared his fangs. "Answer me," he demanded. His hand clenched tighter and I closed my eyes, wondering where the hell the guys were. I'd asked Botan to get one of them. Had she not understood?

And then suddenly his grip loosened and the rage left his eyes. Smiling apologetically, he said, "I'm afraid my anger gets the better of me sometimes."

"What are you? Bipolar?" I asked, forgetting that he could easily kill me.

But he didn't get angry. In fact, he threw back his head and burst into laughter. "You're rather entertaining. It's such a shame I have to kill you." His grip tightened, though the smile never left his face. I renewed my struggle, kicking and thrashing as hard as I could.

"Release her." I recognized the voice as Kurama's and my eyes widened when his whip snaked out, striking Mecca across the back. Mecca snarled, tossing me away from him and whirling around to face Kurama. Coughing and gagging, I struggled into a sitting position and watched Kurama as he and Mecca fought.

My gaze jerked away from the kitsune when I saw a flash of black. Hiei was at my side before I'd fully realized what the flash signified. He dropped into a crouch beside me and drew me into his arms. "You're alright?"

I didn't answer, pressing my face into his shoulder. Finally managing to catch my breath, I asked, "Where are Yusuke and Kuwabara?"

"Finishing off the raions. The hebi fled." He pushed me away from him gently and waited until I looked him in the eyes. "You didn't answer me. Are you alright?"

"Not really," I murmured. I glanced over his shoulder and saw that Mecca had disappeared, leaving Kurama alone. Returning my gaze to Hiei, I added, "Kind of almost got killed."

He released me and stood up, turning away from me violently. "Get up and go inside," he snarled.

"Hiei?" Confused by his sudden change in behavior, I struggled to my feet and reached out, laying my hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Whirling back around, Hiei grabbed my upper arms and shook me. "What were you thinking, rushing out here?" he demanded. "You were right, you could have been killed. You have no training, no ability to defend yourself." His grip tightened on my arms and I squirmed uncomfortably. "You acted like an idiot."

"Hiei, let me go," I whispered, wincing as he squeezed my shoulders.

He didn't ever seem to hear me. Pulling me toward him, he shook me hard and snarled. "An idiot, you hear me?"

"Let her go, Hiei," Kurama interrupted, hurrying toward us. "You're hurting her."

The fire demon's eyes cleared and he finally appeared to realize what he was doing. His grip loosened and he stared at me. "Hiei?" I whispered. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't answer, pulling his hands away from me entirely and turning around. "Bring her inside," he said to Kurama. "Make sure she doesn't go into shock."

Kurama nodded and moved toward me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I believe Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Genkai are still out front. I suggest you go get them and tell them that Mecca has escaped."

"Hn."

Kurama steered me toward the shrine. "Are you alright, Shyle?"

"No! No, I'm freaking not!" As soon as I yelled at him, I knew I shouldn't have. "I'm sorry, Kurama. I'm just upset. Do you know what's wrong with Hiei?"

"I'm afraid not. He's been acting rather strange these last few days and he hasn't revealed why. Did something happen between the two of you?"

"Yeah," I answered. I made no move to explain further and Kurama didn't press me. Pausing when we stepped into the living room, I shrugged out from under Kurama's arm. "Is it alright if I go shower? I think it will help me unwind."

"Of course you can. If the others ask, I'll tell them where you are."

"Thanks," I murmured, moving toward the bedroom hallway. "And, Kurama," I said, pausing in the doorway, "thanks for saving me."

He smiled at me, but didn't reply and I turned, heading for my bedroom. After grabbing a change of clothes from my room, I ducked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I tossed my clothes onto the counter and tugged off my shirt.

Dropping my shirt onto the floor, I glanced in the mirror and froze, my eyes widening in shock. My neck was a vibrant red, already beginning to bruise slightly, and my upper arms were marred by handprints where Hiei had grabbed me. Bracing myself I turned around, glancing over my shoulder to see my back in the mirror. My breath left me in a whoosh and I felt the beginning of what promised to be a good cry approaching. My back was red and raw, oozing slightly where the skin had been torn away. I bent down and grabbed my shirt, checking the back to find that it was shredded and bloody.

I barely noticed the first tear as it rolled down my cheek. Sinking to the floor, I began to sob freely. I pressed the shirt to my face, trying desperately to slow my breathing. I drew my knees up to my chest and buried my fingers in my hair, crying for the first time about everything that had happened recently.

I'm not sure how long I sat there on the bathroom floor, but when I finally forced myself to move and get into the shower I was still crying softly. I took what may have been the longest shower of my life, using the time to get myself under control. When I finally emerged from the bathroom more than an hour had passed since I'd parted ways with Kurama.

Tossing my dirty clothes into my room, I headed toward the kitchen, hoping to find my friends. Passing through the living room, I came to the kitchen door and paused when I heard what sounded like arguing. It took me only a second to recognize the voices.

"What the hell do you think you've been doing, huh? Answer me, Hiei." Yusuke sounded pissed, though by what I wasn't sure.

"Yusuke, I suggest you calm down. I agreed we should talk to him, but not like this."

"Sit down and be quiet, Kurama. I think we all know that you're going to support Hiei and quite frankly that's not what we need right now. Do you remember what we agreed to talk to him about? No, clearly you don't," Yusuke snarled, anger radiating from his every word. "We're here to talk about the crap Hiei's been putting Shy through and you siding with him won't help us accomplish anything."

"What are you talking about?" Hiei's voice was low and threatening. "I've done nothing to her."

"Bullshit," Yusuke stated calmly. "That's absolute bullshit. I know you kissed her. Kissed her and then bolted like hell. And ever since you've been ignoring her, pretending she doesn't exist. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you need to fix it."

I'm sure Yusuke was planning to continue, but Hiei interrupted him. "How do you know I kissed her?"

"Kuwabara saw you guys. He was going to go running with her, but she made it clear she wanted to go alone." Kuwabara realized I was trying to keep him from running with me? Why didn't he say anything? "He didn't know why until he saw you two together. Are you toying with her, Hiei? Is she some kind of game to you?"

"Don't try to involve yourself in things you don't understand."

"We'd all understand if you'd stop trying to hide everything. Wise up, Hiei. We're all living in the same place; someone's going to notice that something is up. Did you think you could keep a relationship with Shy a secret?"

"I wanted to try."

"Why? What in the three worlds did you think that would accomplish?"

"You don't use your head very much, do you?" Hiei asked, his question dripping mockery. "Look how well your public relationship with Keiko has gone. Shyle could have been killed today and I'm not even courting her yet. If it is publicly know that I am in a relationship with her, she will become a target. Surely even you can understand that."

Hiei didn't want people to know about us because he thought it would keep me safe. Considering the fact that Mecca has literally held my life in his hands twice already, that was pretty ridiculous. Apparently Yusuke shared my opinion.

Snorting, Yusuke said, "Do I need to repeat myself? That's bullshit. Something scared you off and you're doing exactly what you do with Yukina. You're making up excuses, pretending that there's something preventing you from doing what you should. You claim your past would make Yukina hate you. Fine, hide behind that lie. But now you're hurting Shy and I won't put up with it. So what's got you running away with your tail between your legs, huh?"

When Hiei spoke his voice was low and even, each word carefully chosen. "I have no intentions of running."

"Oh, really? Then what do you call the two days that you just up and disappeared?"

"I was speaking with Mukuro, making arrangements for a prolonged stay in the Ningenkai. After what happened when I kissed Shyle, I realized that things would be more difficult than I once thought. We argued because she refuses to allow me to court her in secret. I cleared things with Mukuro so that I may be here to court and protect Shyle."

When Yusuke spoke next he seemed slightly deflated, as though he wasn't sure what else to say. "You're going to attempt to court Shy?"

"Hn."

"Yes or no, Hiei," Yusuke snapped, his irritation back full force.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Publicly?"

"Yes."

"Then why have you been letting things drag on? Why haven't you talked to her? Even I can see that you ignoring her is hurting her."

"I am not entirely sure how to proceed," Hiei answered, speaking so quietly I almost couldn't hear him.

Yusuke started laughing. "High and mighty Hiei doesn't know what to do? Never thought I'd hear that."

Speaking up for the first time since Yusuke told him to be quiet, Kurama added, "Hiei, I would suggest an apology, not only for running off, but also for what happened today."

"Wait. What?" Yusuke demanded. It seemed like Kurama hadn't told Yusuke what had happened after Mecca disappeared. I reached up to rub the marks on my arms, wondering how long it would take for the bruises to fade.

"Hiei reacted rather violently to Shyle's defense of Keiko."

"Care to explain what the hell that means?"

"She shouldn't have risked herself like that," Hiei growled. "That raion scum could have killed her."

"Regardless of how you felt about her actions you shouldn't have treated her as you did. You hurt her, Hiei. You're aware of that, aren't you?"

"Would one of you explain what happened?"

"Hiei grabbed Shyle and yelled at her. Called her an idiot."

"Damn it, Hiei. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I could have lost her."

"You talk like you think she's yours."

"She will be." I raised an eyebrow. Excuse me?

"Kind of confident with that one, Hiei," Yusuke observed, chuckling. "What happened to courting her?"

"I plan to court her and I plan to be successful."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Yusuke said. "But, Hiei, I was serious when I said I won't let you hurt Shy. If you're going to court her, then court her, but don't keep avoiding her. Do what Kurama said, apologize and get on with things. Are we on the same page?"

"Hn."

"Yes or no, Hiei."

"Yes."

"Good to hear," Yusuke said, sounding pleased with himself. "Well, I think my work's done here. Good day, gentleman."

My eyes widening, I pulled away from the door and darted back across the living room toward the bedroom hallway. I slipped into my room just as I heard the kitchen door opening. Closing my door behind me, I threw myself down on my bed and tried to sort through everything I had just overheard.

"You're going for a run? Even after what happened yesterday?"

I glanced at Genkai and shrugged. "The sooner things are normal, the better. Moping around here won't be good for me."

"So you're going to go for a run," Genkai said, shaking her head. "You've been hanging around the dimwit too much."

"Why do you say that? No, actually, don't answer that."

Ten minutes later, I was outside, setting off on an easy jog. My run was harder than normal thanks to my banged up body. The mess that was my back protested every step, but I did my best to ignore it, concentrating on keeping my pace steady. When I finally saw the shrine through the trees, I couldn't help but feel relieved.

I slowed my pace, allowing myself to begin walking.

"Shyle."

I froze where I was. My heart hammering in my chest, I turned and looked at Hiei. He was standing with his back to a tree, watching me. "Hi," I murmured, unsure of what to say to him.

"We need to talk."

Interrupting before he could continue, I said, "I heard you talking with Yusuke and Kurama last night." His jaw tightened and his back straightened, but he made no move to stop me from continuing. "You should have told me what you told them, about the secrecy being for my safety. Instead you just stormed off."

He looked away from me, glancing over my shoulder. "I apologize for my behavior."

"Don't. Please, don't apologize just because that's what Kurama told you to do. Instead of apologizing, give me an explanation. Okay?"

"Hn," he responded.

"Well, are you going to explain?"

"I was angry. The last thing I wanted was to say something that would hurt you."

I flinched, realizing that I had done exactly that. "I'm sorry, Hiei. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like I did. I know you weren't reading my mind." I hesitated, expecting him to say something. When he didn't, I continued. "I want this to work. I want to date you, court you, whatever you want to call it. Whether it's in secret or not doesn't matter."

He pushed away from the tree he was leaning on, moving toward me. "You understand the danger it will put you in?"

"Yep."

"You want to do this anyway?"

"Yep."

He smirked and stopped before me. "Good. That means I don't need to convince you."

Biting my lip, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his neck. When he kissed me, it was completely unlike the first kiss we had shared. He was in control, possessive in a way that I found incredibly attractive. Splaying one hand across the small of my back, he curled the other around my neck, using it to pull me to him. Just when it felt like I was going to suffocate, Hiei broke away from me.

"I intend to do this properly," he informed me.

"What does that mean?"

"Will you go out to dinner with me?"

I barely resisted the urge to break out laughing. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Hn."

Grinning, I stood up on tiptoe and pressed my lips to his quickly. "Sounds good."

AN: The amount of people who told me that they thought it would take another fifteen chapters for Hiei and Shy to make up kind of surprised me. So I hope this makes all of you happy.

I don't really have all that much to say, so I'll leave it at: Thanks to everyone who left me a review. You're all awesome.