Standard YYH disclaimer applies; and there's no point in suing me
because I don't have any money!


Raindrops and Feet
By Rhionae

Running... he had to keep running...

The rain pounded down on him as his feet pounded into the ground, each

blow driven into his mind, adding to the endless sea of pain that
threatened to drown him.  Not that it would matter very much if it
did.
No-one would care what happened to him now.  Not that anyone ever
had...

Green eyes watching over him...
Red hair framing green eyes...
Red eyes pleading...

He shied away from that thought, concentrating instead on the steady
rhythm of raindrops and feet.

Running... he had to keep running...

**********

"SHE SAID YES!!!"  The cry was enough to temporarily deafen all those
within a hundred metres.  Kuwabara burst into the room, dancing around

like a hyperactive  circus bear, accidently knocking  Yuusuke into
Keiko's
lap as he flung his arms up in victory.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing you oaf!"  Yuusuke complained as Keiko
helped him return to an upright position.

Hiei snorted in disgust.  "Baka."  The idiot was demonstrating his
idiocy
once more.

"Who said 'yes' to what?" Kurama asked, his smile suggesting he had a
fairly good idea... His gaze slid across to Hiei, one merry green eye
winking at the diminutive Koorime.

"Yukina!"  Kuwabara lowered his voice slightly, the result still
enough to
jar Hiei's nerves.  Stupid ningen.  But what was this about Yukina?
"She
agreed to marry me!"

Hiei froze.  She did *what*!?!

Congratulations were flying around the room, but they were unable to
penetrate the corner of the room where Hiei sat in shock.

He had known the baka was fond of her, and that she tolerated him...
But
to actually agree to *marry* him?  Could she possibly care for that...

baka... *that* much?

His eyes flicked over to where the giant ningen was being teased by
Yuusuke about getting engaged.  The idiot was grinning like the fool
he
was. She couldn't possibly... could she?

Kurama caught his gaze before he could cross the room and beat the
baka up
until he admitted that he was forcing her into the marriage.  Did she
even
realize what marriage was?  Calm green eyes bore into his own, hands
resting on his shoulders as lightly as the smile that touched Kurama's

lips.

"Can you at least be happy that she is happy?" He murmured softly.  "I

know you dislike him, but he does care about her, just as she cares
about
him.  She is happy with him, Hiei.  You wouldn't wish to destroy that
happiness, would you?"

Hiei blinked.  "Hnn."  He shot a dark glare at the idiot who wanted to

marry his innocent sister before flashing out the window.  Stupid fox.

What would he know?

He sped through the treetops towards Genkai's temple, pausing a moment
to
locate his sister.  There, in the gardens.  He chose a tree near where
she
knelt, and observed her silently as she fed the pigeons.  She was
smiling
her beautiful smile, the one filled with gentle joy.  He always loved
that
smile, especially when it chanced to be directed in his direction...

She looked up, suddenly aware that she was no longer alone.  Wide red
eyes
blinked once, then filled with joy as she noticed the dark shadow in
the
tree above her.

"Hiei-san!"  He flitted down to the ground to face her, then froze,
blinking in wide-eyed startlement as she flung her arms around him
enthusiastically. What was she...?

"Kazuma-san asked me to marry him!"  She was beaming at him.  "I'm so
happy!"

He blinked once more.  She... she really *was* happy...  She actually
wanted to marry that jerk...!

"I - I..." he stuttered.  He took a deep breath, and gazed into her
bright
eyes.  "I'm happy that you're happy, Yukina-chan."  Her eyes widened
once
more.

"Thankyou, Hiei-san!" She exclaimed in delight.  "If only my brother
could
be here, then everything would be perfect!"

Hiei barely managed to choke out his standard "Hn!" before flitting
off
into the trees.  He would be there, he promised her silently, gazing
back
at the gardens from a respectable distance.  But how could he tell
her...?
Slowly, he made his way back to the others.

Kurama raised one eyebrow at him and smiled as he appeared on the
windowsill.  He scowled back.

"Hey shrimp!  Where'd you go?"  The giant ningen's voiced boomed.  It
had
been loud before, but now laced with a good measure of sake it
achieved
new heights in volume.  He gritted his teeth, as the scowl deepened.
He
spent a moment consciously relaxing muscles that tightened in the mere

presence of that stupid oaf.  The he answered.

"I went to see my sister."  Kurama blinked.  Yuusuke's jaw dropped
open.
He was going to tell him.  And then he was going to make the fool
promise
never to hurt Yukina, or to let her get hurt in any way, on pain of
Kokuryuha!

"You have a sister, shrimp?"  The red-headed idiot asked in surprise.
Then he smirked.  "So is she as much of a bitch as you are a bastard?"

Yuusuke dropped his glass and made to grab his tall friend -

Kurama's mouth dropped open, before turning swiftly to restrain Hiei -

- whose katana had impaled the drunken Kuwabara.  They all stood in
frozen
tableau - until Keiko walked back in, with Yukina right behind her.

She screamed as Kuwabara's eyes started to glaze over, catching him
and
lowering him gently to the floor.  Arms wrapped around him, she turned
in
horror to Hiei, who stood motionless, staring at the slumped body of
the
man that his sister loved.

Her wide red eyes locked onto his own.  "Why?" She pleaded.

"Gomen nasai, Yukina-chan, gomen nasai..."

Then he was gone.

***********

He had always been proud of his speed, it was one of his strengths.
But
did he have enough speed to outrace the memories that threatened to
smother him?  Could anyone run from their own mind?  How long could he

continue to run ahead of his past?

He didn't know.  But he would find out.

Running... He had to keep running...

The sound of raindrops and feet echoed in his head...

*************
Rhionae
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3226/fanfics.htm