Author Notes: Hey! I really do apologize for my absence. I'm already being lazy on my first story! I'm not setting good habits…

A New Light

Ever felt an angel's breath in the gentle breeze? A teardrop in the
falling rain? Hear a whisper amongst the rustle of leaves? Or been
kissed by a lone snowflake? Nature is an angel's favorite hiding place.
~ Carrie Latet

Hiei crouched in anticipation and his eyes hungrily tracked the family of rabbits grazing in front of him. There had to be a dozen of them, hopping about and sunbathing as they ate. He silently unsheathed his sword and leaned forward. His muscles coiled and he sank lower behind the tall grass. He couldn't make a mistake now; he was so close. His breathing was slow and shallow, and he barely blinked. He slowly pushed his weight forward onto his toes, and raised his sword.

He was about to pounce when a loud crash had all of the rabbits on alert. He glared at the house before turning his attention back to the rabbits. He could already taste them, cooking over a blazing fire. He hid again and leaned forward, when a louder crash accompanied by Paige's puerile cursing sent the rabbits running. Hiei sighed before standing up and went to see what the commotion was about.

He slid open the back door and went to search for Paige. Before he got to the main hallway, the doorbell rang. Figuring that it was Yusuke and Kuwabara visiting again, he opened the door. He was nearly knocked over by a flurry of red and found himself glaring at the unwelcome visitor.

"Hey Hiei! The wind's real nice around here!" Jin said as he walked into the house. Seeing his confused expression, Touya explained.

"We were invited by Yuskue and were given this address." Hiei studied the card, and sure enough, the family's address was messily scribbled on the inside of the paper. He read the rest of the chicken-scratch on the card. The more he read, the more annoyed he felt. According to the detective, he was grumpy and Paige completely understood everything about demons. And Yusuke apparently got the human family's consent to party while the grandparents were away. He burned the card in his hand and glared at Touya, who led an already drunk Chu into the living room. Hiei sighed before following them. He was going to have a long day.

"What did you want to discuss with us, Koenma?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah!" Yusuke added. "Do you know how hard it was to create a distraction for Hiei and the kid? We're missing a killer party!"

"It's about Hiei." Koenma said.

"Did the shrimp steal something again?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, he himself hasn't done anything. Haven't you noticed the change in his behavior?" Koenma asked.

"I have, is this the topic of our discussion? Shouldn't we bring Hiei here to answer for his own actions?" Kurama asked.

"No, I would rather keep him in the dark. You saw what happened when he figured out about Yukina. It would be better if we didn't tell him. " Koenma said.

"In the dark? About what?" Yuskue asked. Koenma grabbed his remote and his TV screen flickered to life. He brought up a map of the three worlds and grabbed a pointer.

"Well, here in spirit world we noticed a very unusual energy coming from here, the angelic realm, and so when we investigated w-"

"Can you give us the short version?" Yusuke asked, receiving a glare from both Koenma and Kurama.

"Hiei's being controlled." Koenma said.

"He is?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, if Yuskue would have let me explain-"

"Fine! Give us the long version." Yusuke said.

"Actually, I'll give you the medium version. The angels and the demons have been bitter enemies long before my father was born. They have always tried to eliminate the other, and both have gotten close to extinction. The last war they had, The Angelic Demonic War 17, happened around three thousand years ago and ended in a draw; they always do. Recently, the angels found a way to dramatically increase their power, a human girl who was incredibly receptive to their powers. They decided the best way to get to the girl was-"

"You call this the medium version?" Yusuke asked.

"Stop interrupting Yuskue! Anyway you all know this girl, Paige."

"Paige is who they're after?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, anyway, angels have essentially the same powers and abilities as demons, and their egos are just as high."

"How does Hiei tie into this?" Kurama asked.

"Well, they needed to find a way to capture Paige to use her power, and they needed to do it in a way that wouldn't alert Demon World, so they-"

"Found a way to control Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Yes."

"I suppose that makes sense." Kuwabara said.

"It does?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah." Kuwabara said. "They couldn't use an angel because we and spirit world would notice a whole bunch of angel energy appearing all of a sudden. They knew we probably wouldn't suspect the shrimp going off on his own and since he's working for Spirit World, they wouldn't suspect him either. And Hiei is the only demon that would be able to tell Demon World about their plan, so they killed two birds with one stone."

"Oh."

"Precisely. It worked out quite well for us, since we now have a man inside." Koenma said.

"So why can't we tell him?" Yusuke asked.

"We need the information that tracking Hiei will provide." Kurama said. "If we tell him, we'll be breaking the angels' control over him, and it's possible that they will notice and stop giving him information. Even if that's not the case, Hiei won't be willing to go over to the angelic realm and pretend he's under their control for our sake." Kurama said.

"I agree." Koenma said. "It would be best to say nothing."

"But Kurama!" Kuwabara said. "Isn't he your best friend?"

"Can't we just convince him to pretend and infiltrate the base? Yusuke asked.

"I doubt he would agree to that. The most likely scenario is that he will go to the angelic realm and will attempt to kill every angel there. He won't listen to reason. If we keep him under the impression that everything is normal, we can tell him after the war is over." Kurama said.

"I don't like this." Kuwabara said. "What if I was being controlled? Would you hide it from me?"

"It depends on the scenario." Kurama said, earning a glare. "But you would probably take it better than Hiei would…"

"Enough." Koenma said. "The reason I called you here is because I wanted to discuss this situation with you. I want you to keep a close eye on both Hiei and Paige. Usually, we leave Demon World and the Angelic Realm to their own devices; we don't interfere with their wars. But the angels are involving Human World now, and then it becomes our problem. We're not taking sides, or at least I'm not. The second the angels withdraw from Human World, we withdraw too. The goal is not to destroy the angels, or to damage them in any way. All we are doing is saving Human World. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah." Yuskue said. "I got it."

"I understand." Kurama said.

"Let's go save the human world!" Kuwabara said.

"Wait before you go, be on the lookout for Yukina." Koenma said.

"What happened to Yukina?!" Kuwabara shouted.

"I don't know. Whenever I try to find her on the television screen, all I get it static. She disappeared."

"Oh my gosh!" Kuwabara said.

"I hardly doubt it has anything to do with this case. She probably went to demon world and didn't want to be disturbed."

"Don't worry Koenma I , the hero Kuwabara, will find Yukina!"

"Focus on the mission at hand, Kuwabara." Kurama said.

"Go higher! Go higher!" Paige yelled, as Jin carried her through the air. Hiei watched as they flew around, ready to catch Paige if Jin made a mistake.

"He's not going to drop her, mate." Chu said.

"Hn." Hiei said glaring at Chu.

"You need to lighten up. Want some?" Chu asked, shoving a bottle of beer in his face.

"No. I don't want any of whatever that is."

"Are you sure?"

"You're distracting me."

"Jin's not going to drop her." Touya said as he walked over. "And if he does, he'll just catch her. It's that simple. You're worrying over nothing."

"Nobody asked for your opinion." Hiei said. He started to walk away from the group and into the forest surrounding the house. He went deep enough in that he could punch a few trees and take a nap without being disturbed. Walking up to a small stream, he splashed some water on his face before walking further in. Other than the occasional animal scurrying about and the trees gently whispering, the forest was seemingly asleep. As he continued his walk, he heard something following him, and caught glimpses of a shadow when he turned, but he ignored it, figuring that a bird was watching him.

Why did he like that human family so much? It made no sense. Humans are food, there was no reason to befriend them. The only demon he knew who befriended humans was Kurama, and he only liked one human; his mother. And he liked an entire family of humans. Yusuke and Kuwabara could have slipped something in his drink, but he wasn't anywhere near them when he started going crazy. 'When did this start?' He asked himself.

He was deep in the forest when he started to think about when he met the family. He met the family when he saved them from the murderer. Why did he do that? Because he was at the old lady's house and saw them with his Jagan eye. Why was he helping humans in the first place? Because he was feeling depressed and wanted to take his mind off of it.

Hiei's eyes shot open in disbelief. He was depressed. Of course! The only logical explanation was that while he was feeling depressed, someone took advantage of that and was influencing him to help humans, stop the murderer, and help the human family. Hiei growled as he punched a tree, shattering it. When did he let himself become so weak? Which was the reason he was depressed in the first place.

Who was it? Was it the priest? No, he didn't the kind of spirit energy to influence him. No one else in the family had any powers either. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama? No, No, and maybe. But they would have had to override his Jagan eye, and he knew that they didn't have the capabilities to do so. Another Jaganshi master could have, but Lord Koenma would have told them if another demon had come into the demon world. Speaking of Koenma, he should know by now that he was being controlled. And the rest of the team was called away while he was left babysitting? The whole situation was fishy.

He punched another tree, and was about to punch another, when he felt a calm override his anger. He took off his bandana and opened his Jagan and looked for Kurama. His expression morphed into one of disgust when he saw him and the humans leaving Spirit World. 'They do know.' Hiei thought. 'And Koenma didn't bother to tell me there was an intruder in the Human World.'

"No, he didn't, and he wasn't going to tell you you were being controlled either. Although I am glad you figured it out. It makes things much more interesting."

Hiei calmly looked about, and when seeing no one, he growled at the area around him.

"Show yourself you coward." Hiei said.

"Now, now, There's no reason to get upset. We can be friends, you and I. Since it seems you were betrayed by your last ones."

"Go to h-"

"I am controlling you, keep that in mind before you say anything you might regret. Anyway, your friends are coming to see you, to see if you really are being controlled."

"And you want me to pretend like I'm not?"

"Quite the contrary, actually. Over exaggerate it, I'll help you."

"You want them to know?"

"They already do know, there's no reason to hide it. Besides, it's all part of the plan."

"What makes you think I'll cooperate with you?"

"We have your sister, Yukina. She really isn't important to the plan. That means that we can release her unharmed after the war is over, and that we can kill her without consequence. Keep that in mind."

"How did you find her?"

"We knew that you wouldn't cooperate if we didn't have a hostage. Before I took control of you, I searched through your mind to see who you valued the most. It was then the simple matter of taking her. That's all. Are you going to listen?"

Hiei growled before nodding in defeat.

"Good. Now, the reason I had you get close to Paige was so we could analyze her to see if she really is the one. We confirmed it, and now we need to take her as well. How pleasant it is for her depends on how much you cooperate."

"I got it."

"See? It isn't that hard. Now, I can see your every move, hear everything you say, and see every facial expression you make. I can tell if you're trying to communicate a secret message or not. So don't try anything. Your friends are almost here. They have already made it back to the house, and have checked on the girl. My colleagues are waiting for their chance to grab her. Your job is to distract your friends while they do so."

"Do you want me to fight them?"

"No, not yet. I already have a plan. It will both confirm to them that you are under someone's control and will distract them long enough for my friends to make their move. First, do you have any ponytail holders?"

"Ponytail holders?"

Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke scampered through the forest, trying to reach Hiei as fast as they could. Kurama was in front, removing the plants from the path with his demon energy. Kuwabara was behind him, slashing about with his spirit sword as plants sprung back at him when Kurama passed by. Yusuke was jogging behind him, watching the trees for any sign of life.

"Kurama, how long until we reach Hiei?" Kuwabara asked, huffing and puffing.

"It shouldn't be too long, he is stationary at the moment. About fifteen minutes, give or take a few." Kurama said with little difficulty.

"Can't you just whistle for him or something?" Yusuke asked.

"He's not a dog. I doubt he would come if I did." Kurama said.

"I think he means the demon whistle." Kuwabara said.

"We startled him, and he fell out of a tree near the park. Unless he is in a tree above our heads, he won't be coming near us. Besides, it would alert the angel to our presence." Kurama said.

"I think the angel already knows we're coming. We're not exactly light on our feet like twinkle toes over there."

"Uramesh-" Kuwabara growled.

"Be quiet! There he is!" Kurama said.

They had stumbled into a clearing in the middle of the forest, and they spotted Hiei, who was sitting on a pile of rocks in the center. Hiei had pulled his hair into a low ponytail, and was petting a rabbit sitting in his lap. Animals of all kinds were surrounding him, sunbathing on the rock or playfully tackling each other. Birds were sitting on his shoulders and on top of his head, and snakes were wrapped around his arms and the leg that was dangling from the rock. Seeing his friends entering the clearing, he waved to him, and smiled.

"He's long gone." Kuwabara whispered.

"Yes." Kurama agreed.

'I was hunting rabbits this morning, now I'm treating them like pets.' Hiei thought. 'How was I convinced to do this?'