(Standard disclaimer: I don't own YYH or its characters; they are the sole property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shonen Jump Comics Weekly, Studio Pierrot and Fuji Television)

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A year…..

…..and in that time the pain had not lessened. It cut sharply through his heart, the wound still as raw, still as fresh as it had been that night…..

…..a year ago…..

…..a year ago this very day.

And if it was like that for him, how much worse was it for her, he wondered as he looked down from his perch, staring at the small house before him; his heart again warring with his head. He had no right to be here, he told himself, yet his heart yearned to see her again – to be with her – to give what comfort he could, and to have her comfort the lonely child hidden deep within himself as she had so many times before…..

…..before that night...

Stifling a sigh, he tore his eyes away from the house. No, he would leave her in peace, he decided. She deserved that much at least. He stood then, taking one last look at the house as if to memorize every detail of that which was already seared within his memory, but it seemed his heart would have its way this time, as he flitted nimbly from the tree on which he'd perched to the second-floor window. Had it been left open purposely?

"I'd hoped you might come today," the quiet voice spoke from the shadows. A barely audible click as she turned on the lamp, and the room was bathed in soft light, illuminating the small figure in black as he balanced upon the ledge.

Hiei looked around the room that had once belonged to the only person he'd evercalled 'friend'; his eyes taking in the small, evergreen bonsai sitting on the desk, the shelves holding Kurama's books, the framed photographs on the wall. It was all just as he'd remembered – she had changed nothing in the year that had passed since her son's death. Finally his eyes settled on the woman seated on the bed, her legs curled under her, her hands folded atop the closed book in her lap. Shiori returned his look, smiling a welcome that warmed the lonely little youkai's heart.

"I'm glad to see you, Hiei," she said, "it's been far too long since you've been here."

"I thought it best to stay away," he replied, his gaze sliding away from hers. "I didn't want to cause you more grief; to remind you that it was I….." his voice trailed off as he looked at her again…..

….."Kaasan," he breathed, a silent plea in the depths of his wine-colored eyes.

She saw him again then, as she had that first night. The night Shuiichi had brought the little fire demon to his room – sick with, of all things, a human flu! The night she'd learned her son's secret; his 'true nature' as he'd called it.