Fugen: Heh heh. Sorry. Was gonna update yesterday, but, well—

Hiei: She got lazy.

Fugen: NO I DIDN'T! Er, a-hem.

To jus Kita: Now, now. Nothing even close lime here. We've got the other reviewers to think about. That, and my imagination, over which I have NO control.

To Soul of Rain: Perfect together? Hot? Kawaii? Irresistible? Eek! Put down that knife! Put it down! Put it DOWN!

To KitsuneAkai13: But Hiei would NEVER harm his precious kitsune, even if—

Hiei: Think again (evil black aura surrounds him).

Kurama: Ah ha ha... (gulps)

To The Chaotic Ones: Oohhh. Nice name. Wait. There's more than one of you? O O. Heh heh. Will write more, promise!

Kurama: But Fugen-chan, this is the last chapter.

Fugen: Shut up! THEY don't know that!

To Ifurita the Black: Heh. Sorry about the 'owari' thing. I have absolutely no idea why I do that.

Hiei: You do that to torture—

Fugen: (glomps hand over Hiei's hand) Ah ha ha ha! The things hot fire demon say, eh?

To shan-chan: Not to worry. Rating won't change. As for the Yusuke-Kuwabara reaction, I didn't put it in 'cause I left it to my dear readers' imaginations.

To SeaHorse10: Really? I never thought of that. All I ever thought of was Hiei as a kitty! (grins)

To fox gal: At the baka. The second time he was just demonstrating. No ice cream involved in that one. At least, not until Kurama...

To Silothiel: He is a former great-and-ultra-hot-but-still-is-in-a-human-way thief, after all. It would be a insult to his skills if he did something less.

To Nite Nite: Three words, and that's all: Who the hell would complain? Huh? What? Oh. Five words...i hate math....

To Kumori Sakusha formerly Saelbu: I wish I had a real one too. (sob) I (sniff) really wish I (choke) had one (sob).

Fugen: Ah! The thank yous are done!

Chapter 5: What Are Fireworks?

Hiei's inner emotions were struggling with themselves.

Ding! Ding! Aaaand in THIS corner, weighing you-can-decide pounds, the negative, the fiery, ANG-ERRR! Aaaand in THAT corner, weighing who-wants-to-guess pounds, the positive, the shining, JOYYY! And Anger's all fired up but something that was good, yet embarrassing, for it was done (gasp) in public! And worst of all, in front of two people who will never let him live it down! But Joy's shinin' bright like a candlestick (What? Huh? Oh. They stopped making glow-in-the-dark candlesticks?). Er, a-hem, correction, the sun! For it has experienced what is perhaps one of the most delicious and wonderfully tantalizing things in the world from the hottest, handsomest, sauvest—Eh? Whaddaya mean I can't do advertisements? C'mon! There's rabid fangirls out there just DYING to buy them! What? Contract? Oh.... Well...LET THE FIGHT BEGIN! Ding! Ding!

"Hiei..."

"Hiei..."

"...Hiei-chan."

Automatically Hiei snarled, "Don't call me that!" 'But I always wanted to', Kurama thought. Holding up a bag, Kurama smiled, "I got the last part of our...date." In spite of himself Kurama flushed red. The fact that he and Hiei were on an actual date (although it was due mainly to Hiei's naiveté to such human things) still caused him to turn at least a dark shade of pink. The thought of it made him rather happy (of the date, not the pink).

Warily Hiei eyed the bag Kurama was carrying. It looked like it was carrying firewood or something. Mockingly Hiei asked, "What're we going to do? Make a bonfire?" "No, but close enough," Kurama said teasingly. Hiei frowned. "Just a regular fire?" " Nope." Kurama grinned. He loved playing the guessing game with Hiei, especially if Hiei was the one who was guessing.

"...A torch?"

"Hmm...something like a torch. It does light up the darkness."

"It's dark now."

"I know. But it's better if we do it at the beach."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Kurama..." Hiei growled.

"Patience, Hiei, patience. We're almost there, see?"

"Hn. I hate getting wet."

"Don't worry. We'll stop at those cement steps over there. See? If we stay on the steps, we won't even touch the sand, much less the water."

So they did. While Kurama rummaged around with the contents of his plastic bag, Hiei sat on the second bottom step (there's five), looking out at the ocean. It was a rather nice sight at this time, when there was no sun to light it up a cheerful blue or green (okay, so it's a nice sight for gloomy/angsty people).

The ocean was a deep midnight blue, almost black, but the moon created silver-white rims on even the tiniest waves so that they seemed to glow. Dark and lacking in any noticeable wave, the ocean was silent. It was as if it meant to say, "I am the Ocean. Unlike the polluted Earth, I am tranquil, undisturbed, at peace. Here within me the creatures that came before lie safely away from danger. Here within me the greatest secrets and mysterious are kept, and will be forever, for I shall never yield to man and his relentless ways. Come. Come to me, and tell me what lies in the very depths of your soul. Have no fear. I shall never yield whatever you tell me, for I am the Ocean. Unlike the Earth, I am a insurmountable sanctity."

"Hiei, look."

"Huh?"

Hiei blinked. On the end of a long, thin stick, sparks flew in a ceaseless spout, and what's more, they were colored! Okay, so the sparks were mostly gold, but still, Hiei was fascinated and awed. The sparks were so small, yet they glowed brighter than any torch. But it was neither the color nor the brightness that caught Hiei's attention (er, well, they did, just not a lot).

It was...pretty.

Centuries of darkness, blood and gore and never-ending death. Not a light to be had, for shadows seemed to dominate everything. No matter where you went, how far, how hard, how much you wanted to see the light, it was never there. At least, not until now. Some distance away from the city lights, and the moon now covered up by drifting clouds, it was pretty dark, making the fireworks even brighter.

Kurama smiled softly at the sight of Hiei's face. There was a mixture of surprise, awe/fascination, and pleasure. It was the look of a child who was seeing fireworks for the very first time. There was a pang in Kurama's heart. What kind of life did Hiei lead to have such a look on his face, as if he was seeing life for the very first time? Kurama knew, of course, but Hiei had never given out any details. He had always been very vague in his life description.

"...Do you like it, Hiei?"

At the sound of Kurama's soft voice, Hiei blinked. He glanced at Kurama and the gentle, loving look that lay there. Then, Hiei smiled. Actually, the corners of his mouth just took the slightest curve upward, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"...Hai."

Within the darkness

Hidden from us

Underneath our fears

Our weaknesses

There it lies

Waiting

Waiting to be found

Waiting to be unearthed

And to shine for us again

Covered by shadows

It waits so patiently

The last hope

The one love

The ties that bind us all.

Owari (for real this time)

Fugen: About the fireworks, I'm not really sure if they're called fireworks at all, or if they come in one color or multiple ones. All I know is that in manga sometimes they do that kinda stuff, usually at the beach, I think. So if you find anything wrong in that category, it's all my fault.

Hiei: For once, she accepts the consequences of her actions.

Fugen: I CLAIM WRITER'S RIGHTS! Er, okay...that sounded...

Hiei: Weird?

Kurama: Pathetic?

Hiei: Stupid?

Kurama: Rhyming?

Fugen: Shut up! Stop being mean! I hate being teased and made fun of! (sniff) Well, sayonara, people! Until my next story, bye-bye! And about the poem, couldn't resist! I just HAD to write one!