Chapter Ten- Sisters

The next day, Hiei and Yukina traveled into town, the former wearing a pair of black jeans with the tail tucked inside, a long-sleeved black shirt to conceal her bandages, her scarf concealing the lower half of her face, and a black beret on her head to hide the ears. Some people gave her curious looks but she was unconcerned. She didn't care about humans but had no desire to expose her unusual appearance to strangers.

"Let's start with where I bought those clothes you're wearing," Yukina said, nodding at Hiei's clothes.

"Good idea," she answered. She followed Yukina into the store and enjoyed choosing clothes and trying them on. There were smiles and laughs as they shopped and Hiei embraced the wash of emotions that came over her. It actually felt great to express emotions and was grateful that Blair cursed her, only she didn't see it as a curse anymore. It felt more like a gift and one she had come to like.

"That was fun," Yukina commented as they headed up the stairs.

"It was. Is that a girl thing?"

"Sort of. Most girls love to shop but some don't."

"I see. So, what else do you like to do?"

"Well, gardening, talking to friends, and having tea with those I love."

"I don't know about gardening. I don't mind talking and I do like having tea with you when I visit, only I won't be visiting. I'll live with you as I may not be welcome in Demon World as I am. The demons that live with us are a rather accepting group."

"They know it's you and what you're still capable of so they accept and respect you."

Hiei lowered her scarf and took off the hat to scratch behind her ears due to an itch. She kept her tail tucked so Yukina could modify it. "We can leave some of the pants as they are," she suggested. "I…wouldn't mind going into town now and then."

"And seeing Kurama, your boyfriend?" Yukina asked slyly.

"Wha-?" Hiei gasped. "Was it…that obvious?"

"No, but when you said you gave Kurama your first stone instead of keeping it…well, giving someone you love a jewel is a very thoughtful gift."

"Okay. Yeah, he's my boyfriend. We admitted love to each other once both of us were knocked out of the Demon World Tournament."

"That's rather recent."

"I felt attraction for him back during the Dark Tournament and Kurama confessed first."

"You didn't confess first as you only felt attraction."

"No. I was afraid to tell him because he might not have felt the same way. I did not want to face rejection. I'm not really in touch with my emotions or expressing them."

"You are now and it's nice to hear you opening up to me."

"It feels good to open up to you too."

"Would you like to learn the freezing technique still?" she asked later as they put away Hiei's clothes and shoes in her official bedroom.

"Yes, I do. I've already made ice daggers the day the curse activated."

"Ice daggers?" Yukina asked with interest. "I'd like to learn that."

"I'd be happy to teach you though I don't think it'll be hard."

Yukina giggled. "Honestly, it's not really teaching. We both have access to our energy and powers."

Hiei smirked and laughed. "You have a point. So, let's practice." She switched her pants to one with a tail hole before both headed out to practice.

Hiei felt the temperature around her drop and ice developing on the ground under her feet and around them. She opened her eyes to reveal them glowing white and the air got colder. A domed barrier of a light blue color flared into existence around her and she inwardly nodded in approval. She looked at Yukina who was gathering energy in her palms. She frowned in concentration as ice formed in her hand and grew into knife thin crystals. They became thicker and became long daggers with razor-thin edges. She looked at both crystals and a smile appeared at her success and she shared this smile with Hiei.

A deep gasp sounded and both looked to see Kuwabara at the gate, arms wrapped around himself and he was shivering. Hiei dispelled her technique and the temperature returned to normal. Yukina dissipated her ice and approached the human. "Kazuma," she said with a smile.

"Yukina," he said with clear affection.

Hiei silently watched the interaction. She never liked Kuwabara, hated him really. She had heard from Kurama that the tall teen was dedicated to his studies, fought less, and was admired by the girls in his school. It was a different Kuwabara she was seeing now and found that she wouldn't mind if Kuwabara dated or even married Yukina.

Kuwabara then noticed Hiei and Hiei could tell that he recognized her despite the gender and cat features. Considering that my eye color and hair hasn't changed, I guess I easy to recognize in any event. "Hiei!? What the heck happened to you? I mean, how did it happen?"

"Kurama and I saw a magic show at a carnival that was performed by a pre-teen girl who was a real witch. I doubted her powers and that she was a witch. I refused to retract my claims when she warned me to do so. She then permanently cursed me to be female and part cat. The idea was for me to be emotional and to respect her powers. It worked."

"Wow. A real witch," he said, impressed.

"And powerful as is evident by my appearance."

Kuwabara took another look and was struck by how similar she was to Yukina, gender-wise. The same red eyes, the same slender frames, and the same delicate facial features. "Man. You two could almost be twins."

The girls exchanged looks and Hiei nodded at her. Yukina said, "Kazuma, Hiei is my twin. I figured it out when I asked her to find my brother in Demon World. I wanted to hear Hiei admit the truth but that didn't happen. So when Kurama and Hiei came a couple of days ago for clothes for Hiei, I confronted her and she admitted she was afraid to tell me."

"Oh," he said in understanding. He then looked at Hiei's ears, whiskers, and tail before he said, "You look cool as a cat, Hiei."

Hiei smirked. "That's because you have a cat, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"That's okay and if you want to feel the ears, go ahead." Hiei began to purr as Kuwabara scratched and stroked the ears. Being a girl and a cat is not so bad. I really enjoy it, to be honest. She sighed and purred louder, feeling completely at peace with herself.

The End