Sorry this took so long, I've been struck with the plague (okay, it might just be the common cold :P) the new laptop is on the way so I should be back up and running in around a week!

I also had a question sent to me via PM I thought I would share with you all because I felt this was a great question!

-B.J.

Chapter 17: Up All Night

Kirazuki stretched out in her bed with a large yawn, burying her face in her blanket in an attempt to hide from the looming sun. She had to admit, she had wanted to spend her nights here outside, but these beds were nothing like the cots they had in the Reikai. It was no longer a wonder to her why humans slept in them instead of outdoors. She sat up and began to massage her leg (which had become part of her morning routine; whether it helped or not she was unsure), thinking about the previous day. A large part of her still didn't believe she had done right, killing a man she grew up with who had begged for his life, but who was to say he wouldn't have done the same to her? If he could've, at least. She gave a heavy sigh before grudgingly removing herself from the warmth of her bed, limping (although now minimally) her way over to her small 3-drawer dresser.

As she finished tugging on a pair of plain black shhorts, reaching for her shirt drawer, there was a faint knock on her door, "Come in!" The door creaked open and Kurama poked his head in, only to sigh heavily and sweatdrop as Kira tugged her head, one ear at a time, through her white cropped t-shirt, "Good morning fox," She smiled faintly.

He had yet to cover the indecency topic, but let it be once again for another day, "Yukina wished me to inform you breakfast is ready,"

Kira nodded, she did love Yukina's breakfasts, "Thank you," She slyly slipped out the door around Kurama, who followed her silently with a mysterious smile through the many hallways of the temple. When they finally came upon the dining area Keiko, Yukina, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Botan, Kanami and Taryuu were standing around the table smiling at the two, while Hiei stood leaning against the wall with a scowl. There were a few shiny boxes sitting on the table, as well as a massive array of food.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all (except Hiei, of course, who looked as if he has been dragged there) shouted in unison, Taryuu's tail giving a large excited twitch which sent a frail wooden chair flying from the dining table.

Kira blinked in confusion, looking towards Kurama; perhaps they had been yelling at him? But Kurama had the same ridiculous smile on his face as everyone else, "What is a 'birthday'?" She whispered, her ears folding back.

Taryuu's booming laughter filled the room, "Hey, I didn't know until yesterday either,"

Keiko sighed heavily, stepping forward slightly, "Your birthday is the exact day you were born of every year," She explained timidly, "Today is exactly 105 years since.. Well, Koenma made you."

"I had to do a little digging to find out exactly when," Botan winked, placing a thoughtful finger on her cheek, "Although I wasn't sure exactly what your birth would have been so we just went with the day you were removed from your.. tube,"

Kira's eyebrow raised skeptically, "So I get breakfast just for being alive?"

"And presents!" Botan squealed, clapping her hands together; but she quickly raised her finger up again, "But not until after we eat!"

"Mine first!" Yelled Botan, shoving a rectangular package towards Kira, who had just taken her last bite less than .5 seconds ago, "I cannot disclose why just yet, but you will need this very soon,"

Kira looked at it quizzically, almost paranoid of this 'present', "Why can't I know now?"

Botan gave a heavy sigh, "Koenma has strictly forbidden me from telling any of you anything about the mission. But I do promise you'll need it!

What did the toddler have planned for them? She began to remove the shimmering paper from the box before wearily peeking it open a fraction to peer at its contents. To her surprise, it appeared to be a.. Dress? She pulled the silk-like dress from the box; it was strikingly beautiful, greatly resembling a Chinese Cheongsam, made of black fabric with an almost filigree looking silver to white pattern spanning the entire dress, she imagined it would reach slightly above her knees. She was also positive she would accidentally mangle the gorgeous garment.

"As I said," Botan interrupted her thoughts, worried the small ice demoness didn't like her gift, "You'll need it in just a few short days,"

Kira gently folded it, placing it delicately back into the box, "It's breathtaking, thank you," She confirmed with a smile.

Kanami had coordinated with Botan, getting her a pair of black high heels which laced up to underneath her knee in twisted silver metal (which she had vowed she'd practice walking in, since she was used to boots or barefoot). Keiko and Yusuke, although Yusuke had tried to steal all the credit even though the majority was probably Keiko, had gotten her a 'charm bracelet', it had 5 charms: a small silver wolf, a brilliant little crystal the color of ice, and the symbols for strength, courage, and friendship. Keiko had also promised she'd have another charm each time Kira would visit, for incentive of course. Kurama had, naturally, gone with a bouquet of de-thorned roses.

Yukina was last, handing over a very small, almost delicate little box. Kira opened it to reveal a small silver necklace, with two little gems dangling from it. Yukina smiled, "When my people shed tears, they turn into these stones," She explained quietly, "They're very valuable, but I thought maybe they'd make a good reminder of your time here."

Kira looked momentarily mortified, "But you had to cry for these," She protested, holding them gently in her hand.

Yukina simply continued to smile, "Happy tears, I promise,"

Kira smiled in return, slowly clasping the necklace around her neck, "Thank you all, very much," They never had things like this in the Reikai, it was all training, fights, simulations, reading, learning; anything but celebrations of life.

Keiko spoke from the other side of the table, "I didn't know when the next time we'd be able to see you for another birthday would be, so we wanted to celebrate at least one with you,"

Kira stood now, "Thank you, it means.. A lot. I'll have to integrate birthday celebrations into the Reikai," She laughed lightly, "I have to find Hiei now," Yes, she did still need to train today. Disregarding Kuwabara and Yusuke yelling about drinks later, she began to make her way through the temple, knowing more than likely the fire demon was outside of the dojo.

"Done with the festivities?" Hiei spoke snidely from the porch railing, just as Kira had suspected. He momentarily fixated on the necklace she had presumably just received, although the small gesture went unnoticed as she nodded in response. He stepped down from the rail, "Don't think it will be an easy day just because the humans think it's your birthday," He smirked, tucking his hands in his pockets and beginning to walk down the porch stairs.

"I would expect no less," Kira grinned, trailing behind him a few feet.

"No brace?" He asked mindlessly, leading the way to a nearby clearing.

Kira shrugged lightly, "I can't wear it forever," She halted as they reached a small clearing, while Hiei walked to the other side, removing his cloak.

"Good luck then," He smirked as he unsheathed his glinting blade.

"You still exhaust too much energy far too quickly," Hiei criticized, appearing behind a panting Kira and swiftly bringing his blade down, but she extending her own down her back, effectively blocking the blow; Hiei followed up with a kick to the small of her back which sent her flying.

Kira caught herself on her free hand, springing herself up into a nearby tree, "I could still do this all day," Truth be told, they already had been doing this for the majority of the day, but it was beginning to look like another draw despite her lame leg. Admittedly, she was on the defensive for most of this spar; as she jumped from tree to tree blocking and dodging.

"If you say so, Mutt," Hiei smirked, appearing on the branch above Kira and bringing his blade down, but she flipped herself onto the ground to avoid it. Hiei followed it flawlessly, landing crouched on the ground in front of Kira, but she quickly began hopping her way branch by branch up the same tree, waiting each time for Hiei to appear on the one under it.

Kira waited until her opportunity, until he grew used to the pattern, landing on the same branch as her and instead of hopping up, she grabbed onto the branch above and swung herself forward, hitting him square in the chest with her knees and launching him backwards.

"Finally," She followed with remarkable fluidity, landing atop the fire demon as his back skidded across the grass and digging her free palm into the ground to halt the two, her sword of ice pointed at the side of his neck, "Got ya," She breathed with relief, but yelped in sudden surprise as her head was pushed down, feeling the cold steel against the back of her neck (luckily the blunt side, or she'd be missing some hair).

"Not quite," Hiei smirked cockily, the tip of his nose just a few millimeters from Kira's.

She narrowed her eyes an annoyance, she had definitely thought this spar was finally something other than a draw, "I hate you." But that foreign stomach knot was working its way back up her throat as she grew ever more aware of the heat spreading around her.

"Good," Hiei retorted in a low purr that sent a stray shiver down Kira's spine.

"WHERE ARE YA, YOU MANGEY DOG?! IT'S TIME TO DRINK!" Yusuke voice cut through the forest, followed by Kuwabara's mindless laughter.

That damn Spirit Detective.

Kira stumbled onto the porch, accidentally slamming the sliding door behind her, momentarily refreshed by the sudden rush of cool air as she leaned against the railing. Yes, she would definitely regret tonight in the morning, but it was her 'birthday' for now, so why not. The moon was full tonight, illuminating everything so brilliantly she wished she could reach out and touch it; perhaps it was just her inner wolf.

"Enjoying yourself?" Hiei's voice pierced her thoughts, dripping with mock humor. Kira looked away from the moon to see him leaning against the outside wall of the temple.

"You seem to appear out of no where a lot," Kira grinned, hopping clumsily to sit on the railing, "It's a talent really,"

"Years of practice," He replied sarcastically, making his way over to lean on the railing.

"Oh, I'm sure," Kira smiled, enjoying the rare banter, "I can only imagine a tiny toddler Hiei scampering around in the shadows attempting to surprise his next unwilling victim,"

Hiei shook his head, closing his eyes with the faintest trace of a smile. Truth be told, it may have been an accurate thought from his childhood with the bandits; he did need to learn how to be stealthy somehow, "Hours on end,"

"I knew it," Kira countered airily, tipping her head back to gaze at the stars with mismatched eyes.

Hiei simply smirked, pushing himself from the rail and beginning to walk down the stairs to the pairs side, but he stopped briefly with a sigh, "Care for a 'birthday' adventure?"

Kira's ears instantly perked as 'adventure', "Why of course," She hopped down from the railing, wincing as she realized she was still fairly drunk.

"If you can keep up," Hiei shot back, disappearing into the trees.

Kira huffed to herself, taking off after the fire demon despite her balance, which left much to be desired. She was determined to stay with him, but tree by tree she could feel her momentum starting to get ahead of her feet. As soon as they started following alongside a river, vertigo began to set in until she finally tripped over her own foot.

Kira let out an odd squeal, closing her eyes and expecting to hit the ground - hard; but instead the momentum continued. She peeked one eye open to see the ground flying beneath her, "I didn't expect you to keep up," Hiei smirked, a steady arm wrapped around her torso.

"Perhaps before the drinks would've been a better choi-," Kira was cut off as they came to a halting sudden stop on the ground.

Hiei released the tiny wolf demoness from his grasp, simply watching as her eyes widened with childlike wonder, muttering something incoherently to herself as she began to wander. They had followed the river all the way to the end of a large cliff, where it dumped over the edge in a brilliant waterfall, into a small lake at the bottom, the lake itself surrounded by various wildflowers; all highlighted by the full Moon. It must be quite a blessing, Hiei thought at least, to hold such an innocent fascination with simple sights, something many may just pass by.

"How did you find it?" Kira breathed, standing by the edge of the cliff, her eyes slowly scanning the entire area.

"Chance," Hiei spoke from a few feet behind her. He supposed that wasn't a complete lie, he had found it during his brief absence after 'the incident'; he had felt he needed to distance himself but this place had just made it worse.

The two spent hours there, sitting at the edge of the cliff. There was silence, there was story telling (although mostly from Kira), exchanges of banter, talk of the upcoming battle they would all face; until the very first golden Ray of sunrise began to peek its way above the tree line.

Kira arose from the cliff's ledge quickly, making her way over to the river's edge, a few feet away from where it dumped over into the fall. She was gone in a flash, and there was a sudden, large splash of water; Hiei almost panicked momentarily from the sudden noise. She had frozen over in a pillar of water into ice, directly in front of the waterfall all the way through the sandy bottom, standing on a frozen disc only slightly above the now parted water to watch the sun rise.

"I could exist here," She smiled, never taking her eyes away from the horizon.

Hiei smirked in response, leaning back from where he was sitting to relax on his palms, "Wait until you see the Makai before making such a proclamation."

Although he would never admit it out loud, this might be something he could get used to.