PPF is now available in Portuguese! Thanks to Rebeka who translated it and
it's now on her page --- http://members.xoom.com/silveryouko 

Thanks and a huge hug to Rebeka. =) 

Siew Lee 
[wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 

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		~~~The Past, The Present And The Future~~~ 

			~~~The Future - Dreams~~~ 

			Chapter 1 - Reminiscences 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	One day. 

	Two days. 

	Three days. 

	Time flew by without even looking back. One whole week had 
passed since the awful tournament. It was a week full of celebration, 
yet it wasn't quite what it seemed from its cover. 

	Slowly, dark emotions swirled within them, finally swallowing 
all the miserable hearts into it, finally marking that it was a new 
beginning for everyone in the three worlds - Reikai, Makai and 
Ningenkai. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama... Open the door please... Open the 
door," banged Yusuke weakly on the huge wooden doors leading to the 
Reikai Imperial Palace. An owl hooted in the dark, its sorrowful 
voice burrowing deep into the minds of the Reikai tantei team. Mist 
drifted past them, forcing a chill down into their bodies. 

	Kurama glanced observantly around him, his arms aching from 
carrying Arisa's entire body weight. The moon was high in the sky as 
clouds flew past it slowly, occasionally blocking out the silver 
rays. 

	"Kurama... Kurama... I'm very cold," shivered Arisa and held on 
to Kurama for more warmth. Her body felt so surprisingly numb and 
cold, and her long black hair flew together with the soft wind. 

	"Hold on... Hold on, Arisa. I'm here," assured Kurama and 
placed her down on the steps of the palace door. Her fingers felt so 
cold to him... Kurama rubbed him palms against them, trying to warm 
Arisa. She opened her eyes a little, peering at Kurama's worried 
face. 

	"Kurama, am I going to die?" asked Arisa softly, her other hand 
reaching up to clutch at Kurama's arm. The entire team had hurried 
back to Reikai, rushing along the way. Walking past the barren lands 
and bare hills, they made their way to Reikai without stopping for 
rest or for food. It was just barely a day since they had finally 
finished off Yamaro and Murashi... 

	"No, no, you are not going to die! No!" Kurama hugged her and 
kissed her softly on her cheek, ignoring the rest of his onlooking 
friends. 

	"Stupid Koenma... Open the door quick!" shouted Yusuke loudly 
at the double lions resting by the side of the doors. "People are 
dying here!" continued Yusuke and kicked the door repeatedly. 

	Hiei sat by the side, holding Botan's still body. No more 
pulse, no more life in her body. He sat by the steps, angry. Angry at 
himself for not appreciating her when she was still alive. 

	He hugged the still body close to him. It was all his fault. He 
should have not stopped channeling youki into her body or she might 
still be alive now. He glanced up stonily, his bloodshot eyes dry. He 
looked at the door murderously and stepped right in front it. 

	"Niisan... What are you doing?" asked Yukina weakly in 
Kuwabara's arm. Her blood stained one side of the kimono and her 
voice was soft, barely audible. 

	Hiei didn't answer her. Instead, he brought his fist forward 
and punched. The panel of the wooden door cracked under the extreme 
pressure that Hiei exerted. A hole was created in the door, large 
enough for all of them to squeeze through. 

	"Yo Hiei..." mumbled Kuwabara as he saw the fire youkai 
punching a hole through the wood. He sighed softly and cradled 
Yukina's slender frame close to him. *Hiei must have received a very 
hard slap together with Botan's death. That shrimp... He can be so 
stupid yet so loyal at times.* 

	The entire courtroom of Reikai was silent with only the 
breathing sound of the Reikai tantei team audible. A mouse scurried 
past hurriedly. After that, the entire space was stiflingly quiet 
again. 

	"Where the hell is everyone?" demanded Yusuke angrily. 

	"Yusuke-san... Koenma-sama must be in my cousin's room..." 
whispered Arisa and coughed twice weakly. 

	"Yes! Let's go, quick!" ordered Yusuke and all of them rushed 
into the palace building. 

	Time was precious. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama! We need help at once!" Yusuke 
shouted and banged with his bare fists at the wooden door of the 
room. 

	He tapped his foot impatiently on the carpeted floor and waited 
for half a minute before resuming the banging. 

	"Yusuke, why don't you try the next door? He might be there as 
that is his own room!" suggested Kurama quickly as Arisa was slowly 
losing consciousness. Her body temperature was dropping slightly and 
it scared him to realize that Arisa might be dying too. 

	"Koenma! Get your head out here at once! We need help!" shouted 
Yusuke and kicked at the door of Koenma's room. A click was heard at 
last and a sleepy-looking face peeked out from the door. 

	"What is i...?!" asked Koenma before seeing the battered team 
and he stopped when he saw Yusuke's torn shirt. "Misuko! Get all of 
them a drink quick!" shouted Koenma into the room and they heard a 
female voice acknowledge him. Misuko emerged quickly, wearing only a 
white slip and balancing glasses of water on the tray. Carefully, she 
gave out the glasses to each and everyone of them. 

	"Where's Botan? She told me that you all might be going for a 
holiday after the tournament!" exclaimed Koenma and quickly ushered 
them into his room. He hurried inside also and pressed a button at 
his intercom, demanding for Imperial doctor. 

	"Where's Botan?" asked Koenma again as he switched off the 
dial. Hearing no answer from all of them, he took up the task of 
inspecting the team. 

	Botan was in Hiei's arms. A not-breathing Botan. 

	Koenma's eyes instantly widened in shock as he noticed Botan's 
lifeless body. "What happened to Botan?!" screamed Koenma and grabbed 
Hiei's tank top. 

	"She is dead. Botan is dead," replied Hiei softly, his face 
remaining expressionless, his eyes staring at her sweet face 
endlessly. 

	"What? Why is she dead? Hiei! Why?! Answer me!" screamed Koenma 
and took Hiei by the collar of his shirt, dragging him up. 

	"Shut up! She is dead because you ordered her to go! If she 
didn't go to the tournament, she might still be living here happily!" 
snarled back Hiei and threw Koenma off easily. He sat back on the 
carpeted floor and held Botan's body closer to him. He glared at 
Koenma but the angry expression on his face slowly softened. 

	"Sorry Botan..." whispered Koenma softly and forced himself to 
pry his eyes away from Botan's still body. Hiei looked at the dead 
ferry girl. *So sweet, as if she was just sleeping. Her cheeks are 
still rosy... Sorry Botan... It isn't Koenma's fault. It is mine... 
I shouldn't have let you go,* whispered Hiei soberly to her and held 
back the catch in his throat that was threatening to escape. 

	"Kurama! Why are you hugging a vixen in your arms? Where's 
Arisa?" asked Misuko quickly, seeing how intimate Kurama was with the 
female fox in his arms. "Where is Arisa-chan?" asked Misuko again 
upon hearing no answer from Kurama. 

	"She's your cousin, Misuko-san," answered Kurama coldly and 
resumed hugging the vixen. "She is nearly dead from the cold!" 

	"What happened to her? Why is she a youko? What happened to her 
Chinese tunic?" gasped Misuko and took Arisa's arm. 

	"She is the Music Protector. No time to explain more, where's 
the damned doctor?" replied Kurama irritably. "Get him here quickly!" 

	"Arisa! Arisa-chan!" called out Misuko as she shook her cousin 
by the shoulders. Arisa was slowly blacking out with Kurama trying 
his best to keep her warm with his own body heat. Misuko turned to 
face Kurama angrily. "You know Arisa is pregnant and why didn't you 
keep her well and healthy?" 

	"Misuko-san, stop blaming Kurama for everything. He even ran 
out just to help her when all of us were half dead! Besides, Arisa-
san was already lacking youki when we formed the Ring of Power..." 
retorted Kuwabara and he kept quiet after that. Misuko stroked 
Arisa's hair gently, feeling the silky softness that was so different 
from her human counterpart. "Arisa... Why are you a youko, not a 
human?" asked Misuko softly, tears brimming at the corner of her 
eyes. Until now, she couldn't bring herself to believe that the youko 
lying in Kurama's arms was her cousin. 

	"Alright, so what happened?" asked Koenma and leaned against 
the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't got the 
time to dress properly since he was rudely awakened by the loud 
banging and shouting outside his door. Misuko donned a bathrobe 
over her white slip quickly and threw a woolen blanket over Kurama 
and Arisa to keep them warm. Koenma looked at himself for a while 
before shivering at the uncanny coldness of the air around him, 
grumbling a little about how thin his shirt was. 

	"Well, we won. Reikai won..." answered Yusuke slowly before a 
figure rushed into the room with a small black briefcase. 
"Koenma-sama, it is already midnight..." began the doctor. 

	"I don't care what time is it now because there are people 
here on the verge of dying!" shouted Koenma and pointed at the 
battered team. 

	"What happened?" asked the doctor anxiously as he realized how 
much of an emergency it was. He knelt down beside Arisa and checked 
her heartbeat. "What happened? She seems to have a certain type of 
medicine in her bloodstream stimulating her body system to function 
strangely..." 

	"I don't know. All of us were injured that time and when I got 
up, she was there, playing that lute of hers'. In other words, Arisa 
changed into her youko form without us knowing anything," answered 
Kurama and released Arisa for the doctor to examine. 

	"Well, I'll give her a certain herb to change her back into her 
original form but I'm afraid that it might give her unborn child 
unwanted side-effects," began the doctor slowly and dug in his bag 
for the correct medication. 

	"No! Don't!" protested Kurama quickly and reached out a hand to 
stop the man from injecting the clear liquid into the vixen. 

	"I guess this is the best way now as I can't heal her without 
her reverting into her original form..." replied the doctor and 
pushed Kurama's opened palm away. 

	"Why? Why can't you? She is still breathing, right?" asked 
Kurama and refused to budge. 

	"She is beginning to suffer from hypothermia now!" argued the 
doctor back and tried to pierce the hollow needle into her arm. 

	"No... I can't let you harm my child... No!" protested Kurama 
and resumed hugging the cold body. "I have a way to conserve her body 
heat..." explained the youko and he sat down face to face with the 
girl. "Yusuke, please maintain her in a sitting position." Yusuke 
nodded and supported Arisa on her back. 

	Kurama breathed in sharply and slowly brought his opened palms 
forward. His opened hands began shining a pale golden shade as he 
placed his palms against her collarbone and he began sending energy to 
her limp body. 

	"Don't, Kurama! You are already exhausted and you'll suffer 
from the lack of energy after this!" warned Yusuke and tried to stop 
Kurama. Kurama ignored Yusuke's warning and continued channeling more 
life into her body. 

	Kurama gazed at Arisa's face anxiously, waiting for any sign of 
recovery. He swallowed back the awful feeling of witnessing Arisa's 
lips in a slightly bluish shade. *Arisa... Please Arisa... Please 
don't die...* Kurama fought away all his yearning for Hiei in his 
heart and concentrated on warming Arisa internally. Hiei's sullen 
face kept appearing before him, but he shoved it away quickly. He 
had Arisa now... Hiei was once important to him and he still held a 
place in his heart. One half wanted him to stop saving Arisa. Once 
Arisa was dead, Hiei could have his heart entirely... 

	Entirely. 

	No... He still had a child. He mustn't let it die just because 
of his own selfish intentions. Biting his lower lip, he centralized 
the remainder of his leftover youki and sent it across to Arisa.  

	"Kurama! She's awake! She's awake!" half shouted Yusuke behind 
Arisa. 

	Kurama blinked once. The rosy color on her cheeks was 
returning! "Kurama," she smiled weakly at him and disconnected the 
youki link between them. "Thank you." 

	Kurama smiled back and tried to stand up. Feeling his knees 
buckle beneath him, he slumped back onto the floor. Arisa's face was 
going hazy and colors swirled before his eyes. 

	With a soft gasp, he fell back with a thud on the floor, losing 
consciousness slowly. He relaxed himself, letting his body fall into 
total darkness. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Alright, all of you just need a lot of rest and all your 
external injuries will heal in a few days. Other than that, try not 
to think more, especially you," announced the doctor and pointed at 
Hiei. "You must accept the reality." 

	"Botan-san... We have been such good friends... From now 
onwards, Reikai will miss you as one of our most efficient ferry 
girls," whispered Misuko softly and bowed at Botan's dead body 
slightly. 

	"Reikai, Reikai. Wait, if Botan's really dead, why hasn't her 
spirit come to Reikai? That's why I thought everybody was well and 
alive!" exclaimed Koenma suddenly and grabbed Botan's cold hand. 

	Hiei looked up instantly and glared at Koenma. In a low growl, 
"Where is Botan's soul?" 

	"I don't know," replied Koenma slowly and looked away. The loss 
of Botan was tough on him as he would have to hire another suitable 
worker in place of Botan; not to mention that she had loyally served 
him for so many years now... Botan - she was a good girl. 

	"She is unwilling to leave you, Hiei-san," guessed Misuko 
softly by the way Hiei reacted to her death. His slender fingers 
clutched at Botan's kimono and he looked broken. 

	Slowly, he stood up, holding her body in a lying position. 
Putting his right foot forward, he strode outside and walked down the 
hallway monotonously. 

	"Hi..." voiced out Yusuke but was quickly stopped by Kuwabara. 
"Let that shrimp figure out things by himself." 

	Yusuke sat back and Arisa knelt down beside Kurama, stroking 
his silver hair gently. "I'll get him back into our bedroom..." said 
Arisa before lifting up Kurama with Kuwabara's help. 

	Koenma sighed. 

	Yes, Reikai won, but the price to pay was too costly. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	A lithe figure flitted to crouch under a giant tree. In his 
arms, there was a female figure. He sat down with a stony expression 
on his face. 

	Hiei looked at the sweet face before him. *So beautiful yet so 
pale...* murmured Hiei and drew his index finger across her cheek. 
Her body was growing stiffer and stiffer as minutes ticked by, but he 
was reluctant to release her. 

	He was afraid. Very afraid of losing her once his hands let go. 

	Hiei closed his ruby red eyes slowly, detaching himself from 
the outer world around him. He began imagining his life, reminiscing 
on those moments; sad or happy. 

	He was Hiei, the Forbidden Child of Makai. He knew he had led a 
life filled with blood and gore, yet he was already used to them. He 
sighed softly in the dark and asked himself a question that he had 
thought of again and again for uncountable times. If he was destined 
to kill and slay his way, why did his parents ever give life to him? 

	If Hiei didn't exist, Botan wouldn't have died, Yukina needn't 
have been so depressed over her *missing* brother before he confessed 
to her. Even that stupid moron Kuwabara could finally move on and 
continue his life in peace. 

	Those terrified screams of youkai that he had ruthlessly slain 
over these years still sneaked into his thoughts every now and then. 
He had always thought that no one loved him, cared for him so he need 
not care for others too. 

	He was wrong. His friends had proved him wrong. 

	First, it was Yusuke Urameshi. Hiei smiled a wry smile as he 
formed an image of the boy in his mind. He had no comments further 
about his team leader. 

	Kazuma Kuwabara. He hated this name, but he knew deep inside 
that this *total jerk* cared about him too. Yes, he used to irritate 
him a lot but he could be trusted in a way other than gambling... 

	Kurama. That youko had been his friend the longest of all 
three. It had been so many years now since he had first met the 
youko. Shuichi Minamino was his human counterpart which Hiei had seen 
so often all over this few years. He liked him from many aspects; but 
that very name also brought him a heartache every time he mouthed it. 
He had been his friend and partner. He knew that fox liked him but he 
wasn't sure of receiving whatever Kurama had to give him. He wasn't 
sure if he had the ability to accept that love. 

	He might even have accepted him if he didn't have Botan at that 
time. Until now, he still felt the guilt of rejecting Kurama that 
night. Arisa had told him everything. Kurama desired him. 

	But Botan loved him also and he couldn't bear to break her 
heart. Since when he had became so soft and easily affected by those 
Ningen feelings? He didn't know why but deep inside his heart was the 
answer. The answer that he refused to face. 

	Botan again. Kurama again. 

	Maybe she wasn't that suitable for him. A tear rolled down the 
bridge of his nose and dropped onto the green grass shadowed by the 
leaves of the tree. He quickly wiped away the trail it left. 

	No one must ever see him shedding tears. 

	Botan had given him so many priceless things. Things that 
couldn't be bought by money or gold. Love, feelings, humane 
emotions... Now he had failed to protect her. He left her to die in 
Makai... 

	Sighing again, he leaned against the tree trunks and held her 
in his arms for one last time. Without him noticing, he slowly nodded 
off to sleep. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hiei. Hiei. Do you hear me?" asked a faraway voice. Distant 
and cold, the fire youkai found himself looking up into a face. 

	A face that he knew so well. 

	"Botan," he whispered softly into the mist. She looked so pale 
to him; her lips were a slight peach color and her cheeks had lost 
all their rosy luster. Only her pink eyes remained the same, that 
cheerful light in them. 

	Only her eyes. 

	"Hello, Hiei," greeted Botan, smiling dimly through the mist. 
It was misty all around her and her blue hair wasn't tied up in a 
ponytail anymore. Her hair was scattered around her shoulders and she 
was only wearing her white slip and long white linen pants. 

	"Botan..." voiced out Hiei louder this time. He reached out a 
hand to grasp hers, but only succeeded in taking a strangely cold 
limb. 

	"Hiei, I'm so happy to meet you although this may but the last 
time we might ever see each other again. Although life and death 
separate us now, you must forget about me in time... Move on... Hiei, 
I'll miss you," whispered Botan, smiling faintly. 

	Hiei kept quiet and his eyes stared into her pink ones. He 
opened his mouth and tried to say something be held it back. Botan 
smiled again, this time her body growing more and more transparent as 
minutes passed. 

	"Remember, move on..." 

	"Ai... Ai shiteru," struggled Hiei and he whispered hoarsely. 
He had never said these two words to her before, but if he didn't say 
it now, he would never have the chance ever again. He tried to reach 
out to catch her hand again, but he only managed to grasp the thin 
air. 

	"Ai shiteru, Hiei. May Fate let us meet again one day..." 
whispered back Botan and kissed him lightly on his cheek. Hiei 
breathed in deeply and took in the light scent of peonies she had on 
her body. He took one last look at her face before it faded finally 
into the mist. 

	"Sayonara..." 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Botan!" screamed Hiei and woke himself up in the process. 
"Botan..." called Hiei weakly this time and brought his hand up to 
his face, burying it and sobbing weakly. 

	Her body was gone. 

	Gone with her soul. 

	"Botan..." mumbled Hiei again. Perhaps this was a dream... 

	Drying his tears with his cloak, he looked down at his lap. 
There was a pink peony there, its gentle scent floating up to his 
senses. Such a beautiful flower. Even after she left, she still gave 
him presents. *Botan, you are named after a flower - peony...* 
whispered Hiei softly in the semi-darkness. 

	A single pink peony. Its delicate petals bloomed fully under 
the crescent moon as a dew rolled off it slowly like a tear. Hiei 
brought the flower up to his lips and caressed it gently. 

	"Botan, I promise you that I'll live on with my life.. I 
promise I'll move on..." With a flick of his wrist, he threw the 
flower up in the air and watched its pretty petals floated down 
slowly. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	A figure sat by the bedside, framed by the silver moonlight. 
A man lay on the bed, sleeping soundly. The figure brushed aside 
wisps of silver hair from his forehead gently, drinking in the sight 
of his handsome features silhouetted by the gentle rays. 

	"Kurama, you have proven yourself worthy to me... I won't let 
Inari-sama punish you for what you have done in the past," whispered 
Arisa softly and kissed his cheek gently. 

	"Arisa?" asked Kurama, awoken by the warm sensation on his 
cheek. He winced at the uncomfortable itch on his skin caused by the 
dressing applied on his neck. 

	"Yeah... I'm here," answered Arisa in a low whisper and wiped 
away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead with the 
sleeve of her white robe. Her right hand was bandaged also because of 
the injury that she had to inflict on herself to break the sixth 
string of her lute. 

	"Are you okay?" asked Kurama, quickly sitting up. He grasped 
her bandaged hand and looked at it worriedly. 

	"Well, I look pretty okay for a pregnant fox, don't you think
so?" smiled Arisa and looked down at the floor. "Anyway, how do I 
turn back into Arisa Kino?" 

	"I prefer you in this form," teased Kurama and looked deeply 
into her eyes. Arisa broke the eye contact and walked over to the 
windowsill, leaning against it heavily. 

	"I still have to go back to Ningenkai somehow, kitsune," 
chided Arisa and folded her arms over her chest. "Just imagine, how 
would my kaasan react if she were to see me like this?" 

	"You can stay in this form until it is time to go back to 
Ningenkai then," laughed Kurama and flicked his hair over his 
shoulder. "By the way, where's Hiei?" Kurama bit back the painful 
feeling that materialized in his heart as a image of the stubborn 
fire youkai conjured in his mind. 

	*Let's face it. You still love Hiei deeply,* a voice said at 
the back of his thoughts. Kurama sighed dejectedly and tried to 
focus his attention at Arisa. Hiei was a part of his past. He 
shouldn't be thinking of anyone else besides Arisa but he couldn't 
help it. 

	"Hiei... Poor thing... Botan's dead," answered Arisa softly and 
turned to gaze out of the window. She felt an ache in the pit of her 
stomach. *I still can't bond to him after so long...* The vixen 
fought back the sorrow that was welling up inside her painfully and 
flashed a half smile at Kurama to conceal her true feelings. 

	"Hiei could be so sentimental at times," sighed Kurama and 
leaned against the windowsill too. 

	"Go. Go and see him..." urged Arisa sadly and quickly blinked 
back the tears that were starting to brim in her pale golden eyes. 
Sad, not for the sake of Botan's death, but for the sake of herself 
and Kurama's love. Kurama would never be truly hers for Hiei still 
had a place in his heart. He was never truly hers, and would never 
be. 

	Kurama gave her a confused look but it was quickly replaced 
with understanding. Heaving himself up, he walked out of the door. 

	Arisa gazed at his dark shadow, admiring Hiei. 

	Admiring Hiei that Kurama was his. Forever his. 

	Slowly, a tear rolled down from her eyes and blotched a small 
spot on the body of the red phoenix that was embroidered onto the 
sleeve of her white robe. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hiei," called a voice softly in the dark. Hiei looked up, his 
eyes bloodshot. No, he wasn't shedding tears anymore. The grief and 
sorrow were gone, replaced by emptiness. There was nothing in his 
soul worthy enough to weep anymore. All his tears had dried up 
forever, dried up with her death. 

	Botan was gone, and no one could change that fact. 

	"Hiei, I'm here for you," said Kurama softly and took his seat 
beside the fire youkai. His slender and small frame was so fragile 
that Kurama was almost afraid to touch for fear of injuring him. One 
half of Hiei's face was shadowed by the darkness, leaving only one 
part visible by the dim moonlight. 

	"Hn," growled Hiei and looked away. Kurama was here, he knew 
that he needed him... but what about Arisa? Hiei heaved an internal 
sigh and refused to say anything else. 

	"She's gone," whispered Kurama, gently placing a hand on Hiei's 
shoulder. Kurama concentrated for a while before changing back into 
Shuichi Minamino. His long red locks were ruffled slightly by the 
gentle breeze that blew through, but his eyes remained thoughtful. 

	"Kurama, go away," snarled Hiei softly, not wanting Kurama to 
see his miserable looks. He knew he must be in a terrible state now 
for not sleeping for two days and two nights, and crying over Botan 
like that. He had never wept before, this was his first time. 

	"Hiei, listen to me..." coaxed Kurama and put an arm around the 
fire youkai's shoulders, his voice sounding a lot higher than youko 
Kurama. 

	"Go away!" repeated Hiei and closed his eyes bitterly. 

	"Hiei, let's go back to the palace building. It's cold out 
here," suggested Kurama and squeezed Hiei's arm gently. 

	"Botan... She asked me to move on, forget about her," croaked 
out Hiei hoarsely at last. He looked into Kurama's brilliant green 
eyes and searched his face for answers and explanations. 

	"You must accept the reality..." consoled Kurama and hugged the 
fire youkai. "Hiei, if you treat me as your friend, get some rest 
first," whispered Kurama into Hiei's ear. 

	"You would never understand how painful it is to lose someone 
that had cared about you..." choked out Hiei slowly, tears beginning 
to flow down his cheeks and wetting Kurama's Chinese tunic. 

	"I understand. I understand because I have experienced this 
before..." said Kurama calmly and released Hiei. "I know, Hiei. I 
know." 

	The two trails of saltwater that Hiei's tears left behind 
sparkled with the reflection of the crescent moon in the dark skies. 
"Kurama, I'm sorry..." apologized Hiei softly. "Arisa told me 
everything..." 

	"That makes two of us..." smiled Kurama faintly but deep inside 
his thoughts, he was busy racking his brains - why did Arisa tell 
Hiei all these things? He pushed the question aside first and resumed 
hugging the small youkai. 

	He was so delicate and fragile under his touch... Kurama 
brushed the minute streams of tears away with his index finger, 
feeling the silky touch of Hiei's smooth skin. He looked into his 
ruby red eyes tenderly. Slowly, he bent down to kiss the fire youkai 
on his cheek. 

	Hiei's almond-shaped eyes gazed back at him in shock as 
Kurama's soft lips sealed themselves on his cheek. He raised his 
hands to push away the strange sensation but quickly restrained 
himself. 

	"What about Arisa?" asked Hiei slowly and swallowed. 

	"She asked me to come here..." replied Kurama as his fingers 
trailed down the other side of his face down to Hiei's cracked lips. 
His lips also followed suit, kissing a trail down. 

	Hiei gasped as Kurama's lips pressed against his; kissing him 
deeply, kissing away all his grief, all his guilt for once shoving 
him away that night. 

	"Kurama..." mumbled Hiei softly and his slender fingers reached 
up to stroke Kurama's soft red hair. 

	Kurama gently broke the kiss and cupped Hiei's face with his 
hands. "You are the prettiest youkai I have ever seen..." smiled 
Kurama dreamily and hugged him again, feeling his small frame beneath 
his clothes. Hiei closed his eyes and hugged Kurama back. He knew 
Kurama liked him, loved him, but he couldn't bring himself to take 
away him. What about Arisa? Although he had assured him of that 
problem, but he knew what Arisa wanted all along - Kurama's true 
love. 

	He wanted to accept Kurama, but his conscience wouldn't let him 
do what he wanted. He desired Kurama, but a voice in his head would 
constantly remind him of Arisa. His arms encircled Kurama in a even 
tighter hug as he felt the sorrow that welled up in him every second 
that ticked by. He had learned to care about others in spite of his 
dark past and also tried to understand human emotions; and he 
succeeded so far. 

	He understood this point. Under all those shadows and memories,  
he knew that he loved Kurama deep inside; but destiny played a huge 
joke on them. A very big joke. 

	Slowly, he released Kurama. 

	"It's cold here," said Hiei softly and walked back to the 
Reikai Palace, his footsteps echoing through the night. "Kurama, you 
still have Arisa..." continued Hiei without looking back at Kurama. 
"She needs you more than I do." 

	*Hiei, ai shiteru...* whispered Kurama gently to the cool 
midnight air as he gazed at the disappearing shadow.  

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Copyright reserved 1998 W. Siew Lee 

All standard Yu Yu Hakusho disclaimers apply to this fanfic. 

E-mail: Siew Lee [wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 
URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei 
UIN: #14025577 

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