Chapter 4

Genkai sat on the porch with Yusuke and Keiko, watching Yukina play amongst the blue jays and sparrows in the grass. It was such a cheerful morning, she mused, rain would be unearthly. The old woman sighed in content, sitting back in her rocker and cradling her tea in her lap. It was definitely quieter around the temple without Hiei around, it was almost unnerving. The Koorime was always silent, and kept to himself, but one would know of his absence immediately, and as much as she hated to admit it, home wasn't home without Yukina's grouchy brother, or any of the Tentai for that matter.

"Speak of the devil." Genkai mumbled. She gazed out into the distance, and instantly knew the red headed being approaching was Kurama. Her eyes narrowed in worry at Kurama's desperate pace. Something was dreadfully wrong, and she had a feeling...

"Yukina!" The kitsune called, frightening the birds into the trees. He saw her ruby eyes widen just before he fell into her lap crying. Yukina was shocked beyond words. All she could do was sit there with her mouth slightly open, her small hands resting in the kitsune's flaming red locks. The detective and his girlfriend were just as astonished, gapping openly at the sight before them.

"Y-Yukina, please..." Kurama choke out, fisting her kimono tightly. "Where is he? Where is my Hiei..."

Yukina's eyes softened and she bowed her head. With every sob, she could feel her heart breaking for Kurama. How was she to tell him he was too late? Slowly, the ice maiden reached into her pocket, and pulled from it a piece of paper. She placed it in his trembling hand. She knew what the letter enclosed, and with tear-filled eyes, she watched the kitsune sit up and slowly open it.

Everyone watched on, silently, holding back their own tears. To see the thousand year old, almighty youko break down and bear his very soul to the world, was the most tragic occurrence any of them could imagine. Even the wise, unmovable Genkai could not suppress the turmoil stirring in the pit of her stomach as she watched the redhead read the note.

A heartrending cry escaped the soft lips of the youko merely moments after he studied the letter thoroughly. The tears then fell, from everyone's eyes. They weren't stupid; they knew the reason of that cry. Pain, loss, defeat, and deception, all voiced within a single wail.

I try to go in like I never knew you.

I'm awake, but my world is half asleep.

I pray for this heart to be unbroken,

but without you all I'm goin' to be is,

incomplete.

He was nearly a quarter mile away from the temple. Striding slowly along the path etched through the weaving trees. He glanced around the area with vague interest, his observing mood lost with the night's calmness. He wanted gravely to run back to the Makai and never return to the world that brought so many painful memories, but for some reason, his heart refused to let him.

It was then that he heard the anguished cry echo through the forest. That cry... That unmistakable scream of pure suffering sounded almost like... Hiei's eyes widened drastically and he ran in the direction of that cry, faster than any eye could follow.

As he reached the clearing of the temple, he stopped dead in his tracks. His gaze fell on the redheaded kitsune on his knees, bent over, his head against the ground with his hands clutched at his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Yukina was rested beside him, her gentle arms wrapped around his back, holding the trembling youko. The tears were evidently shed, ice blue hiruseki surrounded both beings crumpled on the ground.

Hiei's heart sank. What had happened? Why was Kurama here? Why was he crying like that? Why was everyone crying? What was Kurama holding in his hands?... Oh...

"Oh no... Kurama." Hiei whispered and took a hurried step forward. Yukina was the first to see this, and in surprise, she pulled away from Kurama, leaving one hand resting on his shoulder. She watched the pained expression on her twin brother's features sharpen with each step he took. All of a sudden, Hiei didn't look like the coldhearted demon everyone thought he was.

Yukina was about to speak, but with a finger against his lips and a shake of his head, her voice was hushed at once. She simply moved away from the sobbing kitsune and stood at a distance. Her garnet eyes closed, and her small hands folded in front of her kimono.

When he was finally within reach, Hiei soundlessly slid to his knees before the youko, close to his side. Was it the truth, or was his mind just conjuring up more lies? Was Kurama really there, crying because of him? Suddenly, it didn't matter anymore. His fox was in pain... His fox.

Incomplete.

Hiei reached out tentative, trembling hands. He stopped as he felt his heart throbbing in his chest, his hands pausing mere inches away. Biting his lip to cease it's quivering, his hands began their pursuit again. Calloused fingers wove though flaming red locks covering the kitsune's face, settling on cold, soaked cheeks, just in time to feel another tremor envelop Kurama's body. Carefully, he lifted the boy's head, smoothing back the hair from his face. The tears still fell uncontrollably from emerald eyes, and were threatening to break from Hiei's.

"H-Hiei?" The voice was barely a disbelieving whisper. Hiei cringed.

"Kurama..." He had to stop. The feelings within him were threatening to engulf him. It was painful. To see those eyes turn to him and look right through his very soul, yet not believe it to be real.

Kurama fell into Hiei's chest, burying his face in the deep black fabric of the youkai's cloak, wrapping his arms around him in a desperate hold. Hiei clenched his eyes tightly closed as little beads trailed down his cheeks and landed on the earth, solidified into dark red orbs. His breath hitched and he snaked his arms around Kurama's neck, holding him just as close. He thought then, of how much he cherished his relationship with the human-youko. How much pain and suffering he had brought to his kitsune over the past few years. It was overwhelming.

A forbidden friendship had blossomed into the deepest and rarest kind of love between the two of them, and against all odds, it only grew stronger by the minute. He cared very little, if any, of what others thought of them. Obstacles and walls threatened to tear them apart constantly, but their unspoken love for each other always carried them through.

"I love you so much..."

If he had ever wondered why he fell in love with Hiei in the first place, it was all made crystal clear on this day. Never before had Hiei been so open with him, showed him the full face of his heart. Though cold, and distant most of the time, Hiei cared for him more deeply than anyone had ever cared about him. He had taught the disgruntled little Koorime how to love over time, taught him that love gave him strength and something worth living for.

"I thought I lost you..."

"You will never lose me, Kurama; I am yours forever." Hiei lifted his beloved's face up to gaze into his emerald green eyes. Cupping the porcelain-like face in his hands, he caressed Kurama's cheeks, and placed a sweet kiss upon his lover's lips, silencing his whispers and sobs.

"Hiei..." The name rolled off his tongue like the sweetest of wine, a whisper of a thousand 'I love you's', and a promise to never let go. They gazed into each other's eyes for the longest time, admiring their features, passionate affection clouding all pain, and extinguishing all doubt, leaving them with nothing but the warmth and love they felt while in the other's arms.

"I love you... Kurama."

...

Stars littered the peaceful midnight sky, and the crickets chirped merrily in the distance. The warm air was just as soothing as it was relaxing. The park was deserted, as it usually was at this hour. Nothing could seemingly break the calmness of the darkness that surrounded them like a blanket.

"Keru?" A soft voice rose along with the waves of water rolling onto the bank. "How do you think Shuichi is?" Smiling lips met his in a tender lip lock, followed by a gentle hug as both gazed out into the abyss.

"I'd like to think his heart isn't so incomplete anymore..."

Complete