Now that I feel closure with PD I feel that it is time for another story. I want to do a Kurama one but Hiei always seems to come more natural to me...for some reason...but I do have some that I am working on for him. One of them is it's only wrong when you got caught, and you may have noticed that I removed it. It needs work. But anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy this one. Review and let me know what you think of it. I don't think I have seen any other stories like this so I'm a little uneasy about posting it. I have most of the chapters done already though. Oh, and grammar and other things of that nature should be TONS better. Just saying.

Reviewwwwwwww! .

I never would have thought that I would find love. Not in him, not in life, not in anything. I was 22, had friends and what I thought was a decent life, but I was not nearly as magnificent as him. He was strong, fast, beautifully exotic and me? I'm boring, plain and hardly worth a second glance. I was a petty child and often found myself alone because of my attitude towards life and the people in it.

How I captured his attention, I will never know but perhaps I should explain why I am writing in this worn journal.

It's been many years since I had met him. No matter how many years passed his memory never faded a tiny bit. His intense crimson eyes, hard body, deep voice, and the way it felt to have him pressed against me, inside of me; it was all preserved in the back of my mind even as I made a normal life for myself. Certain things always seem to pull me back into time and when that happens I find it hard to live normally. I have so very much to keep inside but I don't regret the past.

I am now an old, shriveled woman, my humanity drawing me closer to death but his very memory seems to still haunt me. At times I find myself looking up towards the trees and wondering if he was somewhere, watching me the way he used to because I swear at times it feels like he is. The wind in those moments will blow and the smell of fire smoke will be faintly in the air. That is how deep he made his way into my very being.

My three children are grown, my husband gone and I find that I cannot keep him a secret any longer.

My children and husband had no idea about that part of my life. No one but the people involved had any clue. I know that my time is coming soon for I am bed ridden in my oldest daughters home, so allow me to start at the most significant point in time and if you don't believe me by the end of this than I understand. However, I am not writing this so that you believe me. I simply want to keep his memory alive, even if I am not. I want him to forever be portrayed in the way that I see him.

Not as the monster that he will surly forever be known as, but instead as the man who protected me in a way that no one else had, and the man that showed me love in the most…unorthodox way.

How it all began:

"It's so hot!"

It was mid-summer and one of the hottest summers I had ever experienced. My friend Keiko, a brown-haired brown-eyed girl that I had met at our high school was waving her hands, trying to cool off as we walked. It truly was a pointless thing to do but Keiko was a bit of drama queen though I didn't dare say that out loud.

Keiko was a sweet, nurturing person but damn did she have a temper.

"Quit being a drama queen," her boyfriend said from her other side, echoing my thoughts but obviously not my common sense.

I rolled my eyes, amused as Keiko turned towards him with fire in her eyes. Yusuke was why Keiko had a temper. It was the only way she could handle the loud mouthed male. They were truly a unique couple.

Yusuke was rash, Keiko was calm, Yusuke was impatient, Keiko had the patience of a saint, and for the longest time I wondered how two opposites could come together so fully -at least without murdering each other in the process.

"Seriously Yusuke, why do you even open your mouth?" I teased as I pulled my dark auburn hair into a sloppy bun. It truly was hot and my thick hair was not helping.

Yusuke turned towards me, his brown eyes narrowed playfully as I flashed him a quick smile. He knew that I was only antagonizing him because he told Keiko that I said her chicken tasted dry and that I didn't like it. He was truly a jerk though I still liked him. Yusuke had more elements to him than you would originally think.

He had a heart of gold and was someone who you could trust once you earned his.

"Yeah Yusuke, Lily has a point. The only time you talk is when you're saying something hurtful or rude. Sometimes I wish you lost your ability to speak when you got hit by that car all of those years ago."

I snorted, amused as Yusuke stared at his fiancé in horror. They began to bicker like usual but silently I listened, a soft smile on my face though I was sure there was a hint of sadness. Of course they never noticed my slight reaction. They were always too wrapped up in one another to see that watching them only made me wish to have someone like that.

-Someone to depend on when I needed them or in this case, someone to help me pass the time when I was bored.

"Guys," I said calmly, "we're almost there so shut up."

I flinched when they both turned towards me, their brown eyes narrowed dangerously since I interrupted their odd "flirting" session. I smiled innocently as I pointed at the long staircase.

"Crap," Keiko mumbled as she and I both stopped walking as we looked up in dread.

Yusuke laughed, making me and Keiko turn towards him in anger. We knew him too well to not be alarmed.

"Don't you dare!" we both yelled, but of course he didn't listen. He raced up the stairs and before we could even blink he was out of sight.

"Please Keiko, don't marry that jackass. I can't murder him if you do."

Keiko laughed before we began to slowly climb the stairs. We took our time, admiring the scene as we walked. Everyone was still going to be there, even if we took all damn day. And whoever complained, well between the two of us we were sure that we could give them enough hell to shut up.

"Lily, I can't believe that we have been friends for seven years. Ever since the whole thing with Yusuke happened I have had a hard time making friends. It's nice to have someone from the outside world that I don't have to lie to."

When Keiko and I met we were only fifteen years-old. Every day I would see her sitting alone, at times crying and at other times faking happiness. One day I approached her and we seemed to instantly connect. At the time she told me that her best friend was no longer near her and that she couldn't contact him. Of course I knew that it was a love interest (her eyes would always go glossy) but I kept my observations to myself. It was obvious that Yusuke meant the world to her and the fact that he wasn't there hurt her immensely.

It wasn't until he came back two years later that she told me the truth.

"Yusuke is a demon," she had said calmly and for a moment I thought she was joking.

"Please Lily. I need someone to believe me. I…can't bare this secret alone anyone. It kills me that I always have to lie. I want us to remain friends and this is the only way that we can do so."

I would be lying if I said that I believed her. It took time for me to be convinced but I saw more than enough proof as the years wore on. Now I know for sure that she was telling the truth, Yusuke not even bothering to hide it since he felt that I was trust worthy enough.

Still, despite my friendship with the both of them the concept of demons was not something that comforted me. I didn't want any part of it but they had assured me that I wouldn't be involved in any trouble that would happen. Of course, you can never promise something like that and I never told them my feelings on the matter.

Yusuke was a demon and my friend. I knew that he would never harm me but that didn't mean that I wanted to get involved with the fighting and the killing.

It was truly an amazing story but I find that this book only has so many pages so I cannot go into depth. From what I was told Yusuke had demon blood in him all along and when he died (the second time. The first time he was hit by a car. That is also too long of a tale) his demon blood was awakened.

I may have been a skeptic at first, but when I looked at Yusuke, I mean REALLY looked at him I could see that he was different. His eyes held a secret so dark that I couldn't help but come to terms with it. Of course, when they introduced me to Kurama, Genkia, and Yukina and told our friend Kuwabara that I knew, I soon had more than enough proof. It was like I jumped into a different universe. Suddenly I saw everything with new eyes, but I don't know if that was a good or bad thing. It made me distant from the outside world.

"I know. It feels like we have known each other forever," I said softly as I tried to catch my breath. We weren't even in the middle of the staircase. I hate even thinking of those cursive things.

"Remind me to kick the crap out of your hunny muffin." I'm sure my bitterness seeped through every word.

Keiko snorted, "How about when we make it to the top we gang up on him. Kuwabara will no doubt join."

I laughed. "You have yourself a deal my friend."

Keiko only remained silent for another five minutes. She was always so talkative much to my displeasure…

"So…Brandon huh? He is the cutest American I have ever seen."

I know that the very mention of the tall brown-haired, blue-eyed man had me blushing despite how cool I tried to play it. "He grew up here."

"Ah, but he wasn't born here."

I sighed, "There is nothing between us Keiko. Please stop randomly bringing him up."

But no matter how many times I asked she never stopped. I was never one for dating and Keiko could never understand that, which I though was odd considering she also wasn't one for dating. Now after all of these years I think she just wanted me to find happiness. Perhaps Keiko saw how alone I felt.

"It's obvious that he likes you. He's just as bad as Kuwabara though he is much smoother about it. He is always so sweet and kind."

I rolled my eyes, "He is nothing like Kuwabara."

Kuwabara was the sweetest guy I had ever met. He was always honest with me from the very first day I met him, though he went about it nicely. From the moment I came into my own as a young adult I have always been vulgar at times. Truly my sense of humor is just misunderstood and even though I am pushing 85 I still tend to be quite vulgar. Kuwabara never seemed to mind and I loved that I could say anything when around him and he would simply laugh or add on.

That was also why I became so close with Yusuke despite him being my best friend's boyfriend. I was always feeling like an outcast and it was only natural that I befriended people weirder than I could ever be. Kuwabara was human, like me and Keiko, but unlike us he had high spiritual awareness and could turn his energy into weapons.

Keiko and I were the only "normal" ones and I believe, in our own way, it made us just as different. We could pretend but we could never fit in with the world. To find our place we had to be surrounded by powerful humans and demons alike, and though the term demon made me uncomfortable I just didn't feel the same around a normal human. I always felt fake and smothered by what I have to pretend to be.

That was the problem with Brandon. I didn't feel like I could connect with him. I wasn't sure if it was him, or if it was me but I knew that a relationship would be futile.

"Perhaps not exactly like him, but he does worship the ground you walk on. Come on Lily, when you got fired Brandon begged you to accept a job at his parents business and you make a decent living. I think he…"

"Stop it Keiko. I know what you're going to say so just stop it."

Keiko sighed, her brown eyes sad as she glanced at me. I could see her expression through the corner of my eye but I was looking up, watching as the top of the stairs came closer into my view-point. We were almost there but the remaining few still gave Keiko more than enough time to drill me on my problems with believing that Brandon could ever love me.

To my ears it sounded unlikely and very unwanted but to my heart it sounded like heaven, though I never spoke a word of my feelings to anyone. I was the master at denial when it came to Love. Keiko knew that better than anyone who spent their time in my presence.

"Oh Lily, someday you're going to see that it is possible for a good, hard-working man to love you. Just because your father cheated on your mother and turned her into a drunk does not mean that it will happen to you. Brandon is so good Lily, why can't you see that he is crazy about you?"

Humans do nothing but hurt each other no matter how "good" they are; I had thought to myself and there laid my problem. I didn't want to give Brandon the chance to hurt me and the fact that he was just an average human bothered me. I looked at Yusuke and prick he may have been; he was still so true to Keiko. He protected her and loved her just like Kuwabara loved Yukina despite her being a demon.

It was unconditional and I just didn't see someone loving me like that when they didn't know the things that I did. Outside of the group I had no one to lean on and inside of the group I had no one to love. The only single male was Kurama and despite how handsome he was we just didn't see each other like that. Kurama felt more like a mentor than anything. After all, he was a 3000 year-old fox demon residing inside of a human's body. (I find that I also don't have enough pages in this book to explain how that came to be)

They were all larger than life and Brandon just wasn't. We would be living a lie and I didn't want that. I wanted something true and someone to protect me no matter the cost. I couldn't see a normal human jumping in front of a bullet for me or protecting me if I get robbed. I saw them falling to their knees, begging for mercy with a gun pointed to their heads, the holder of their life chuckling at how weak they were right before they took it without mercy.

Perhaps in my youth I had developed some bad feelings towards humans. Keiko was the only one I trusted in that point in time in my life, and even her I didn't share everything with. Even now I am not too sure as to why I felt the way that I did.

We both stopped walking as a huge explosion was heard at the top of the stairs. I remember feeling a bit relieved despite how selfish it may have been. I desperately wanted to end the conversation and lucky for me, Keiko seemed to have forgotten about it as we raced to the top.

"Oh no!" she whined as we moved faster than we did in PE back in high school.

Considering that Keiko and I were both wearing light dresses it was truly a feat that we were able to move the way that we did. It also made me glad that I had decided to wear flats and not the high heels that you would normally wear for a wedding.

"What's wrong?" I huffed from beside her, my long thick hair falling out of its bun due to my harsh bouncing.

"Hiei, I just knew he would ruin it!"

Hiei was a name that I heard every now and again though no one ever said too much. From what I had picked up over the years I knew was that he was a demon who used to help them protect the world from other demons, though I got the feeling that he did it because he had to. Keiko also told me that he was Yukina's brother though she didn't know that he was. I didn't really ask questions because truly it seemed unimportant -though at that moment it seemed to me that I really should have asked more questions.

If the screaming, fighting and loud smashing meant anything, than it meant that this Hiei fellow was angry and dangerous.

When we finally made it to the top Keiko and I froze in our places. Where there used to be a set-up of chairs for a small group was now a small crater with chair pieces scattered around it.

"Something tells me that this was the explosion we heard." And I was sure that my shock was very apparent. Up until then I had only seen Yusuke and Kuwabara fight and they were always semi friendly. This though, this was done out of pure malevolent rage and it sent fear racing through me.

"Come on," Keiko said and as fast as we could we ran to where the screaming was now being heard from.

It appeared to me that someone had skillfully moved away from where the wedding was to take place because the only thing damaged were the seats. The altar that was delicately made of pink flowers was still standing tall and waiting to be used.

I was saddened that the wedding was going to have to be postponed. I knew sweet Yukina was going to be devastated.

"Hiei, you need to calm down. You're not thinking logically!" we heard Kurama yell as their figures began to take shape the closer we got.

"Seriously man, just take a breather. The old hag would never forgive me if I had to use my Spirit Gun on you and ended up taking out half of her forest."

Despite Yusuke's typical way of saying things even he seemed strained. I couldn't have imagined why since Kurama and Yusuke were both dealing with the stranger, but once I was close enough to see what was going on I was dumbstruck.

Yusuke and Kurama were both being attacked by what appeared to be a shadowed blur and from here it looked as though they were struggling. The blur was fast, so fast that watching it made me start to get a serious headache. I could hardly even see the blur, only every now again it would show only to disappear again. It seemed as if it was just a breeze with the way it was everywhere at once.

"That's enough dammit!" Yusuke roared and suddenly his fist swung out, connecting with a part of the air that soon turned into a solid figure that was flying backwards at a dangerous speed.

I heard Keiko gasp from beside me but I think I was too stunned to even do that. This was the very first time I had ever seen Yusuke get so angry that he lashed out like that. I was confused and a little nauseated by all the movement but I could think clearly enough to decide that I didn't like the person who caused all of this.

I watched in amazement as Kurama demonstrated his gift right in front of me. I always knew that he could manipulate plants but actually watching him do it was pure magic. The forest which the figure was flying towards seemed to move towards him, the branches reaching outwards and wrapping around him before he crashed violently to the ground.

An object dropped from his hand, something I quickly recognized as a sword as the branches slowly lowered him down. His head was bent, his chest heaving up and down and despite my better judgment I began to move forward, wanting a better look.

Keiko followed behind me, her hand still over her mouth but I wasn't paying her much mind. Instead I was examining the tan man that was now luckily restrained. All I could see was his tall black hair, tall body and the muscular chest that for some reason was bare. I had never seen anyone like him before and without even seeing his face I knew that he was going to be beautiful –just not in a conventional since.

"I know that you don't like Kuwabara Hiei but this shit needs to stop. You lost all right to interfere with Yukina's life the moment you decided to not tell her that you're her brother. No one has heard from you in over five years and then suddenly you appear, trying to kill Kuwabara for something he doesn't even know!"

"That is because he is a fool."

I could feel my heart speed up over that dark, baritone voice of his and despite my earlier feelings of not liking him I was finding it to be extremely difficult to not fall at his feet.

His voice was cold and had a hint of malice but he spoke calmly, and hearing this Kurama allowed the tree branches to return to their rightful places.

"Are you alright Hiei?" Kurama asked kindly but he did not move to help the man get on his feet.

"Hn," was his reply and I would have rolled my eyes at the lack of words if he didn't begin to stand up.

Even after all of these years I can remember this moment in time crystal clear. The wind was blowing, his hair swaying with it as he lifted his head to look at the two men standing a few feet from him. Keiko and I were standing behind Yusuke and Kurama who were no doubt the ones responsible for steering the fighting away from where the wedding was to take place.

As he stood the muscles in his body rippled beneath his sweaty skin. It was a sight that I had never seen before because human men were not built the way he was. No, he was a sculpture, every flaw put there specifically to make him that much more exotic. He was tall, somewhere around 6 feet and his body was pure muscle. He was, shall I say, every female's wet dream.

"Oh my," I heard Keiko mutter beside me. Even she was taken back by his appearance.

It was then that he opened his eyes. For a moment it was as if I was staring into a puddle of blood but oddly enough it didn't frighten me. There was something about his eyes that had my insides turning. I believe most people call it butterflies. I simply called in an annoyance.

They were hard in emotion but obviously very displeased with what was happening. I could never forget the sharp lines that created his bone structure and gave him a very stern look. His nose was pointed, his jaw strong and clenched in restraint. He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing slightly as he waited for the men to speak because it was apparent that he had no intention to explain his own intentions.

"Hiei, you grew!"

Despite myself I snorted, Yusuke's random comment amusing me as it always did though now I realize that it wasn't the time and that it would have been wise to continue being unnoticed.

The three men turned their attention to me, all of their eyes ignoring Keiko and instead focusing on my frozen figure. Yusuke and Kurama looked mildly shocked that we were standing there without their notice.

"What? Hasn't anyone ever told you that staring is rude? Please, don't stop fighting on my account. I was actually going to kick Yusuke's ass anyway. It would be much easier if he was tired…" Oh how I wish that my mouth had a pair of breaks at times. It would have saved me a lot of trouble…

Yusuke began to laugh and I'm sure that my eye twitched as it always does when I am annoyed. As much as I liked Yusuke it seemed like my eye was constantly twitching when I was around him.

"Keiko, Lily, how long have you two been standing there?" Kurama scolded lightly. For whatever reason he was unhappy that we were there, that much was obvious.

"Oh we weren't here long," Keiko said smoothly, obviously used to being around this sort of thing unexpectedly.

I simply shrugged at Kurama's searching gaze and looked passed him towards who I now knew was Hiei. I was surprised to see that he was still there and watching me despite Keiko taking over the conversation. Even now I wish I knew what he was thinking in that moment. I remember feeling rather dull and gross in my pretty blue dress. Compared to him I was dull and gross even though he was the one covered in grime.

Maybe it was because he had an air of superiority and was obviously a very strong demon. What could I, a 22 year-old human look like to him?

At my young age my confidence in myself was strained and at times very easily shattered though I never allowed it to show -like in this moment of time when I had an exotic, beautiful demon standing across from me for the very first time. He was the first pure demon that I had ever met besides Yukina.

His gaze was one of indifference but it was me that had his attention. I'm sure that he saw every emotion that I was feeling because standing before him I felt very vulnerable. Still, It was me that he was paying attention to and under his gaze I felt…so, so small. The fact that I was 5 foot 5 which is somewhat an average height didn't matter. He could have been an ant and it wouldn't have made any difference to me.

His gaze was all that was needed to make me feel like a puddle.

Suddenly his lips upturned to what seemed to be a mocking smirk before he began to approach us, or should I say me. My heart sputtered but I did not budge.

I'm not intimidated, I told myself repeatedly despite the frantic beating of my heart, and I watched in confusion as his eyes flashed with dark amusement and suddenly he was gone. I looked around, my expression no doubt surprised by the fact that he disappeared right along with his sword. It was like he was never even there to begin with.

"Lily, are you okay?" I heard Keiko question as she grabbed my arm.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I mumbled as I began to walk backwards, my eyes flickering every which way though I knew deep down that I wasn't going to see him -Perhaps never again.

"Don't worry about Hiei. He is no doubt going to brood over his sister marrying Kuwabara. Don't be surprised if he doesn't make another appearance."

At the time I didn't catch the look in Kurama's green, all-knowing eyes, but now I see what I couldn't see then. Kurama knew that I was intrigued by the rough demon and he was trying to tell me in his own dismissive way to let it go. He believed that my interest in Hiei would be a waste of time. That it would never be returned.

That funny thing is that those were my thoughts exactly. We were both wrong.

The wedding was only postponed for a couple of hours which consisted of every one (minus the bride and groom) moving the altar to a new location. It was pure chaos as we all tried to hurry. Keiko and I took the liberty to finding more seats and after an hour of searching to no prevail I had enough of it. Sometimes when I think back I can't help but laugh at myself.

"That's it," I yelled as I stomped my foot. I was somewhat of a child back then when I got frustrated… "We're laying down a sheet, getting some pillows and we can all sit on the damn ground! Screw chairs, who needs them?"

Keiko turned towards me before shrugging. Despite her calmness I know Keiko must have been getting irritated. She was a perfectionist and though Yukina didn't know much about human rituals Keiko had wanted it to be perfect and ever female's fantasy.

"I guess that will have to do. Come on." And after that things began to calm down.

"We're outside sitting on pillows," a woman named Shizuru said coolly as we all waited for the ceremony to start.

Shizuru was Kuwabara's older sister and she was the toughest woman I had ever known. None of the men dared to go up against her and I, as smart mouthed as I was, had too much respect for her and her fist. It didn't matter that she was much sweeter towards the females of the group. Shizuru was a good ally to have when the boys pranked us which they did often. The woman should have been the leader of an army because she sure did know how to bring the enemy down.

And make them cry like little babies…

Needless to say I truly looked up to Shizuru and not because she was much taller than me. She was confident, fearless and saw the world for what it really was. I wanted to be like that instead of being an indecisive, sheltered, weak little girl. I never realized the things that I would have to go through in order to achieve that wish.

"Hey, that guy destroyed everything so this was all we could do. Talk about a temper tantrum." I told her which earned me a good snort of amusement.

"Hiei really is something else," she mused to herself, her mind obviously going back to before I was ever known about.

"Okay, Yukina is ready!" Keiko shouted before running out of the temple, her curly hair trailing frantically behind her as she ran.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her as she took her seat between me and Yusuke. Since it was a small, personal wedding we only had one row. It went Kurama, Shizuru, me, Keiko and then Yusuke. Kuwabara was standing in his rightful spot with a black eye and a slight hunch. Even then he was smiling as wide as he could.

Genkia, a short woman with stern eyes that I swear can see through walls (let's just say I never got away with a prank when she was around), was standing next to him under the altar with her hands behind her back. To me she seemed a bit tired but she had been tending to Kuwabara after Hiei attacked him.

I didn't know that much about Genkia. She didn't talk much and when I was at the temple she was always somewhere unknown. All she wanted was peace and seclusion though I think that she rather liked it when we came over -Sometimes.

Yusuke turned towards the small boom-box beside him and hit play. Everything went silent, even the birds holding their breath as the wedding music sang out and Yukina made her appearance. For a moment I was confused as to who it was in the white dress.

Her aqua hair was let down and fell in curls around her face. Keiko had lightly put some makeup around her eyes which made her eyes bright and clear and even more defined. She was smiling, excitement clear on her face as she slowly walked down the white flower made path.

I felt my heart aching throughout the whole ceremony. Kuwabara, despite his wounds, stood there proudly and happily while Yukina did her best to not cry. Genkia unionized them together, her voice calm and oddly soft as she spoke. To me it felt like the whole world went silent. I could see mouths moving, could feel Keiko grabbing my arm, but I was lost in the moment. I know it was wrong of me to be hurting when it was day of happiness but I couldn't help but feel bitter.

Why couldn't I find love like that? What was stopping me? Was I not good enough to deserve happiness? What was wrong with me?

"That was so beautiful," Keiko cried and I felt myself jump in surprise.

I put my hand on my heart as I tried to calm the ache. I recognized that I was being self-centered and it was unnecessary for me to be jealous, but since when did jealousy have any common sense? It didn't matter what I told myself, the feeling was still bubbling under my skin. Even when I smiled, laughed, and went with my friends inside of the temple to eat, I still felt it moving around aggressively. It was trying its hardest to wear me down so that I would surrender to its vehement hold but I refused and compressed it as far down as I could.

"So, when are you finally going to tie the knot Urameshi?" I heard Kuwabara say and slowly I dulled the pain until I barely felt it at all.

"Keiko wants to have it in a couple of months. We have been planning the damn thing for over a year."

"Only because you keep disappearing every time she asks for your opinion." Taunting Yusuke always made me feel better, if only for a little while. Anything that brought relief was welcomed. Even if it meant that I had to pick a fight with my demon friend.

Yusuke whirled on me, his eyes wide and a noddle hanging out of his mouth before he slurped it up. I had a look of disgust on my face as I waited for him to get his barring's. I had been quiet almost the whole time so his surprise was in way understandable.

"Damn Lily, I thought you became a mute. I was actually getting excited."

I narrowed my eyes before picking up a piece of chicken off of my plate and letting it loose. I watched as it flew through the air right before connecting with Yusuke's stunned face. He could have moved out-of-the-way but I guess he was astounded. I don't see how since I was always lashing out at him.

"Great," I heard Keiko mumble but my eyes were trained on Yusuke as I awaited his next move. He simply stared at me, his face blank and comical. I was beginning to think that I had finally made the world's biggest smart ass speechless.

I should have known better.

I screamed in surprise as something wet, slimy and warm landed on the top of my head. I was still as a statue as noodles slid down my face but my shock didn't last long. I grabbed a hand full of the noodles and swung around, releasing it on the unexpected Kuwabara who had snuck up behind me during me and Yusuke's stare down.

"Food fight!" Yusuke yelled before food began to fly in a mad furry. Needless to say my pretty blue dress ended up getting ruined.

Yukina and Kuwabara went off into a hidden cabin that Genkia had created in her forest at some point in her life. They left the moment they cleaned themselves up and that meant that it was left to me and Yusuke to clean up the huge mess we made (the others yelled at us for about 30 minutes beforehand).

I didn't mind though. It was exactly what I needed. I got to release a little steam and cleaning always puts me in a calm state of mind. I don't think that will ever change, no matter how old I get and how much more difficult it becomes to clean the bathtub. I refuse to let my children help because that is the moment when I am letting out all of my thoughts and feelings through scrubbing like a mad woman.

"Let's get going Lily. I have to wake up early tomorrow," I heard Keiko call out from behind me but I was staring out of the window and into the dark that surround the temple at night.

My mind had wandered back over to Hiei, the mysterious demon man who was as fast as lightning and just as dangerous. Did he truly leave? Will I never see him again like Kurama seems to think? I believe the biggest question was his behavior towards me. Why would he stare at me, smirk at me, walk towards me and then disappear? Even now I find his actions to be odd.

I blinked a few times as something red suddenly appeared in one of the trees. I squinted my eyes, trying my hardest to see through the dim lighting.

"Lily."

Like a scared kitten I jumped, my head turning around to find Keiko. Her eyes were holding her confusion but once I calmed I turned back towards the window. The faint red orbs were no longer there.

"What's wrong?" Keiko asked as she to looked out of the window.

"Nothing's wrong, I just thought I saw something."

To this day I still don't know for sure just what those red orbs were. However, I think I have a pretty good idea.