It's been two years since the others and I went on our own seperate ways and went on with our lives. Yusuke kept his promise and married Keiko. Kurama worked in his father's company after finishing college. I think he's still having a hard time with Botan, but I'm trying to help him as hard as I could. And Kuwabara, that fucking, shit-headed, damn Kuwabara, proposed to my sister, Yukina. Much as I didn't expect, Yukina actually accepted him! I know my sister, she's the honest and innocent kind, which made me more furious to know that she got pregnant....with, with that...Kuwabara! Shit! *Sigh* I guess I'll just have to accept that son of a bitch as a brother, which may take, probably a youko-lifetime to happen. And as for me, I'm still a member of Mukuro's group. Hn... if only I won that Makai tournament, I might be the ruler of this endless world, not a member of a stupid group that helps dumb ningens that gets lost here.

Anyway, it was a nice day in Makai, it's windy, the clouds blocking the rays of the sun, it would be the perfect day for a youko who's like me. I looked around, just in case someone catches me snicking out. Good! There was no one in sight. I should be a little careful, though no one can see me if I would just used my youko speed, that is, no one except Mukuro. I've always wondered how in the world could she see clearly and sharply with her other eye...I don't know what happen to her other eye. Though half of her face was covered by scars she still looks beau---NO! What am I saying?! Hn, better get on with the story. I snicked out of Mukuro's place, feeling a bit confident with my self AND my speed when...

"HIEI!" a voice came from behind me.
I looked behind me, and.....speak of the devil. Mukuro was looking at me sharply. I groaned inwardly as she took a step towards me, and then another.

"What do you think you're doing, mister?!" Mukuro asked as she placed her hands on her waist. I stopped and looked at her.

"As usual" I shrugged. I can't think of any other reason, what am I supposed to do? Lie to her? She can sense it when I'm lying to her, you know.

"Ha! Good thing I caught you. Anyway, you ought to discipline yourself, Hiei. I just ranked you the new leader of the class-A group, you've got to stay put!" Mukuro scolded.
"Huh! I did not tell you to do so, didn't I?" I said coldly as I looked away from her, avoiding her gaze on me. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Well, just in case you wanted to know, you're the strongest of all the class-A youkos this group, and whether you like it or not, this is your penalty for losing the tournament" Mukuro reasoned out. I looked at her and saw her burning up inside, probably she got enough of me snicking out of the group.

I cleared my throat and tried to talk back but stopped myself as she straightened herself up and walked away. Is she letting me get away? And why? I watched her disappear in the dark hallway. I wonder, what is she thinking at the moment?

I was on a branch of a tree in Ningenkai, at the backyard of the Kazuma residence. I watched as Yukina carefully folded Kuwabara's, Shizuru's and her clothes and placed them in the closet. She walked out of the room and headed for the kitchen. She took a glass, filled it with water and drank it. I watched her closely as she lay down her bed to rest. She's been working the whole day, and I've been watching her since she woke up. Kuwabara left a while ago and went to work. Shizuru went to the market to fetch some things and Yukina did the housework. I was really curious how my sister was able to cope with ningen life. First she stayed with Genkai in her temple and now, she's really serving that air-headed Kuwabara as his wife! I watched, as usual, as Yukina closed her tired eyes and fell asleep.

I stood up on the tree and leaped off. I headed towards Yusuke and Keiko's ramen shop. As I got close, about two or three miles away, I'm already hearing Keiko's voice and some metal things crashing down to the ground. I stepped on a tree branch, then to a post until I reached the ramen shop.
"I HATE YOU YUSUKE!!!!!!!" I heard Keiko shouting as I got close, followed by some banging and crashing of plates and other utensils. I stood outside the place and saw Yusuke cautiosly closing the entrance door. I headed towards the place and stood there outside and caught a glance of the sign in front of the door that says, 'Closed'. They aren't supposed to close the shop until 9 in the evening, and it's only a bit late in the afternoon. I peeked inside and saw her holding up a bowl of sukiyaki, probably about to throw it to the ground. I also caught a glance of a guy under one of the tables. I narrowed my eyes and realized that the guy was Yusuke. I stood up, stunned and peeked again. Now, Keiko threw the bowl and grasped a plate this time. Yusuke held out his hand and mouthed some words, I can't figure out what he's saying because of the locked door between us. Whatever those two were doing, they probably meant business. Keiko was getting really furious and broke down crying. Yusuke stood there for a while, then tried to walk towards her. Keiko jerked away and headed to the kitchen. Yusuke followed. I stood up, sweatdropped and took a step back.

"Hey, sonny!" I heard a harsh voice from behind, "The store's closed, the owners are fighting again. Hey, aren't you supposed to be in school?"
I looked behind me and saw an elderly man with a cane.
"You cut classes didn't you? I remember as a child, hehe, I skipped class too" he said with a shaky voice, "I got caught by the principal and guess what, I ended up in detention, hehe, that was when I was in sixth grade.... ha! Sixth grade, that was when I met my Naru, she was tall and very cute, she has this really nice...."
I can't take his story any longer. I leaped off, disappearing from his sight. I grinned as he looked around, eyes widened, and then, just shrugged and continued to where he was going.

It was getting late, so I decided to stop by Kurama's house for a while. I stepped on the tree where the branch I usually use to enter his room was. I caught a glance of Shiori but no Kurama. He must be somewhere else. I got off the branch and went on the places where he usually goes. Just as I suspected, he was in the park...with Botan? Now I remember, it's her day off. You may not know, but Koenma finally agreed to give Botan a day off every week, Reikai time, which is probably once every five months in Ningenkai time. I stared at the two and eyed Kurama's face, a bit red, close to the color of his hair. I grinned as Botan asked him what's wrong, and Kurama just shook his head and smiled. I felt like laughing, but stopped myself. Kurama hasn't told Botan what he felt, but it's pretty obvious. Maybe Botan knows, but she may not, since she's the ditzy kind and all. Sometimes I wonder how in the world Kurama chose that ditz as his gi--- whatever you call them. I saw Botan's hand brush with Kurama's which made Kurama redder, his face almost invisible, camouflaging within his hair. I couldn't stop myself from laughing so I quickly headed towards Makai, laughing as I leaped from tree to tree, until I reached the barrier between the two worlds.

I stepped inside Mukuro's palace. The place was unusually quiet that night. I walked along the hallway, somehow, I felt uneasy, as if something has happened. Just then, I froze in place as I saw Mukuro's senshis lying dead on the floor, blood scattered along the way. As I gained my thoughts again, I quickly looked for some one who's alive. Something did happen! I looked around, then caught a glance of a senshi sitting up and placed his hand in his head. I walked up to him and helped him up.

"Are you alright?" I asked. He looked up at me, surprised.
"Master Hiei!" He exclaimed. He backed off a little, but fell down to his knees as he did so. I stepped towards him and helped him.
"What happened?" I asked, as I helped him stand up. I put his arm in my shoulder and helped him towards one of the senshi rooms. As we reached the place, I laid him in one of the beds. He's not badly injured, just in his left leg, which unabled him to walk. I asked him again,
"Please tell me, what happened?"
He opened his tightly closed eyes and muttered,
"Master Hiei, Master Mukuro was----" he wasn't able to finish. He coughed hardly, he probably can't talk at the moment. With the little things he said, I already knew Mukuro's in trouble. I put my hand in his eyes and closed them and let him sleep. Then I ran towards Mukuro's room.

"Aaahh!!! Let me go!" I heard Mukuro's voice as I ran. She was in pain, I was sure by the sound of her voice. I hurried my pace until I finally reached my destination. I opened the door to her room and in my surprise, saw her being held up by someone by her neck. Her hands were around the hands that held her up. Signs of pain was marked on her face. Somehow, I felt a strange feeling of thirst to kill the guy who's hurting her. I stepped closer, holding my sword just in case. Mukuro turned her head, I can plainly see that turning her head was much burden to her, the grasp on her was to tight, I don't think she can even breath.

"Hi....Hiei" she muttered in a low tone. She closed her eyes tightly as she uttered my name. The man look behind him and looked at me sharply.
"Do you want to die like those soldiers you saw outside?" he said, a bit laughing and a bit angrily. I remembered the senshis in the hallway... so he's the one responsible. I felt angrier inside, probably because of the dead senshis with only one left or probably because----he's hurting Mukuro so badly, probably both. I stared angrily at his face.
"Let her go" I ordered. He laughed and said,
"No one orders me around, especially not like a guy like you!" he said. He hardened his grasp on Mukuro. I heard Mukuro moan in pain.
"Uh! I-I c-can't b-breath" she said, her voice a bit smaller than usual.
"You want me to let her go? Ha! By the way, my name's Garuda," the guy said, " and do you have any idea what this woman did to me? I joined the tournament to win and be the ruler of this world, I was so close, until I faced this-this woman!" he said, his voice hightening its tone. He took out a small knife and pressed it on Mukuro's left arm. Mukuro cried in pain just when I realized blood coming out of her legs, her forehead, her fingers and now her left arm. Next, he stabbed it on her leg. I narrowd my eyes at the him.
"It's not her fault that you lost" I told him, taking out my sword and pointing it to him. He grinned an evil grin. He stabbed the knife on the cut that he just gave Mukuro's leg. Mukuro cried out in pain. After that, he took off the dagger and threw her on the corner. He aimed it on her and threw it. I quickly grasped one of Mukuro's pillows and threw it at the knife, just as it was about to hit her. A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

"Shoot! You're fast!" Garuda said as he reached out for his sword.
"Hn, wanna try me?" I asked as I ran towards him, my sword pointing at his chest. Just as my sword was just a few inches from his chest, the tip of his sword quickly stopped mine. I widened my eyes in surprise and saw him grin. He lifted his leg and kicked me right on a corner of the room.
"Good, but not good enough!" he said, laughing. He headed towards Mukuro again.
"Leave her alone!" I shouted. I wanted to stand up but he kicked me too hardly, I can't move my body.
"Hiei I----uuh!" I heard Mukuro say as Garuda grabbed her again and laid a punch right on her stomach. Mukuro coughed at the punch he gave her and curled up on the carpet of her room, coughing out a bit of blood.
"I would like to kill you with a single strike, but I think you deserve a painful death!" he said, slapping Mukuro on her face. Tears were beginning to fall from her eyes. She tried to stand and dodge Garuda's second attack on her. She leaped off as he hit his fist on the wall instead of her for she was able to dodge it. She landed close to me, but fell down on her knees, holding the wound from her left leg. The wound was bleeding real hard.

"So my worked paid off eh?!" Garuda laughed. He walked towards Mukuro again. I threw my sword on him and was able to hit him on his leg.
"Now you're even" I grinned.
"Why you little----" he said angrily heading towards me. He took another knife from his pocket
"Hiei, no!!!" Mukuro shouted as she blocked the knife that was about to stab me. The knife hit her other arm. Mukuro fell on the floor and landed on my lap.
"Stupid! Why did you get on the way?!" I asked her angrily, but a bit panicked. She looked up at me.
"Hi-Hiei I--- I don't want you t-to g-get hurt" she answered as she held her arm and closed her eyes and fainted. I tried to touch her face but Garuda grabbed before I did so.
"Hahaha! Finally!" he shouted as he held Mukuro's unconcious body up. He lifted his sword and..... "NOOOO!!!!" I shouted as the bandages from my arms and forehead automatically took off.
"JAOU ENSATSU KOKURYUUHA!!!!!!!!!!" my arms and mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. The next thing I knew, it's Garuda being carried away by my black flame, a big hole on the wall from where my dragon and Garuda broke through and Mukuro lying helplessly on the ground. Strange, my black flame seemed a lot stronger than before, maybe Mukuro's training finally paid off. I walked towards Mukuro's bleeding body and carried her to my room, since her bed is all dirty because of the fight.

I left Mukuro in my bed for a while and headed towards Ningenkai to fetch Kurama, since I don't know anything about healing any wounds except sleeping or taking a rest. I headed towards his house. I know it's very late, but it's an emergency, Kurama would understand. I opened his bedroom window and woke him up.
"Kurama! Kurama! BAKA, WAKE UP!" I shook him vigorously. He turned his head and looked at me with his eyes halfed closed.
"Hiei?" he asked sleepily.
"Kurama you've got to come with me and please don't ask why, we've got to hurry!" I told him. He nodded sleepily. He headed towards his closet to change. Then we both headed towards Makai.

"How's she?" I asked as Kurama came out of the door of my room.
"She'll be fine, the others will be fine too, I think, but they're still alive, just enough rest and sleep would do, now can I go to sleep?" he said straightly, not even asking what happened. Oh well, I guess he's too sleepy to do so. I smiled and nodded at him. Then watched him come back to Ningenkai. I returned to my room and sat down beside Mukuro. I looked at her closely just in case Kurama missed one of her wounds. Ha! I was right, he did miss one. I held up Mukuro's hand and looked closely at it. Her wounds are not bleeding hardly like before. I examined her hand closely, then I heard a low moan. I looked at Mukuro and saw her opened her eyes slowly. As she opened them completely, I smiled at her.

"Hiei..." she was able to say my name, but I know it was hard for her to speak, "what happened...a-and the man who---"
"He's gone" I said, cutting her off, "he won't bother you again" I comforted.
"But what about the senshis?" she asked worriedly. My smile faided.
"They're hurt real bad Mukuro, but Kurama said they're still alive" I answered. She laid down her head on my pillow and buried it there. Then, I realized that she was crying.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I was so stupid! I wasn't able to defend myself, and because of me, you're almost killed" she replied. She was right, I was so worried about her that I didn't realize my own body. Wait! What did I say? That I was worried about her? What am I saying? But somehow, I can't deny it, I was worried about her. But why? I've never been worried about anybody, well, nobody except Yukina and maybe Kurama, since his my best friend, but...what about Mukuro?

I looked at her again and realized why, and I don't need to mention it. I smiled at her. She was surprised when I did so, maybe because she hasn't seen me smiling before. She turned her head away, avoiding my gaze at her, but I knew she was blushing. I smiled and the picture of Kurama with Botan flashed on my head. I chuckled and shook my head. I turned back at her and smiled again. She was beautiful, I don't have to deny it. My face slowly moved towards her, not even minding that she gasped before my lips thoroughly touched hers. It was a strange feeling, I didn't know what I'm doing. It just came over me I guess. I closed my eyes as the taste of Mukuro's lips haunted my mind. She widened her eyes, I know. My jagan can still see her expression. My lips lasted for a few seconds on hers. I pulled away and saw her suprised expression. Before I knew it, she pulled me to her and hugged me, tightly. If she was another person, I probably would have killed her right on the spot, but somehow, she was different. It was exactly like the time during the tournament after we fought. But this time, her embrace was a bit tighter and a lot warmer.
"Hiei, thank you" she said. I heard her sigh calmly and closed her eyes. I looked away and then smiled, contented that she was safe. I sighed, proud that I was the one who saved her and gently, I closed my eyes.....

~owari~

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