This had to be the last chapter – I ran out of ideas for "TN" chapter titles and any appropriate alternatives.

Though, I'm going to say the same thing I always do – a lot of my work is best read twice. (I'm not forcing anyone to do that, just advising it. I've had a lot of people comment that after multiple readings they realise points in the plot that they either skipped over or didn't really get the first time around. And yes, those are deliberate on my part!)

Chapter 35: Thirteenth Night

Yukina had no intention of sitting down and watching like a helpless bystander as Fumio delayed Kurama from stopping the demon plant that was creating a path from spirit world to living world and into demon world, directing all manners of evil into places they would never normally have access to: but the sight of a rough-coated fox with glowing red eyes and unnaturally large teeth leaping at Kurama's chest was enough of a shock to take her from her feet. Yukina landed on her rear-end with a thump and a small noise escaped her throat, but she otherwise was still and silent as Fumio – now in his most primal form – closed his jaws, blood welling up around his lips. He had been aiming for Kurama's shoulder, but a last minute attempt to block the attack meant that Fumio's teeth had sunk into the flesh of Kurama's forearm. Yukina was not sure at first if the point of attack had been significant, but when she considered that a bite to the shoulder could have severed a major artery to the heart or head, she concluded that, although Kurama had probably intended to avoid the bite altogether, his defence had still been reasonably successful.

However, he looked a little surprised, which was not a look Yukina was accustomed to seeing on his face. Fumio, in his fox form, was little bigger than a regular fox, and so, with his mouth clamped onto Kurama's arm, when gravity caught up to him, his weight slumped downwards from the point of contact. The fox tightened his bite as his weight caught against his jaws – Yukina was not sure if he had done so to reaffirm his grip or simply to worsen his attack – and a sickening cracking sound followed. Kurama winced slightly, but quickly recovered, poking Fumio in the eyes, the shock making him open his jaws enough for Kurama to wrestle his arm free. They separated for a brief moment before lunging at each other again, and in a brief flurry of movement, they both suddenly vanished.

Yukina awkwardly got to her feet again, glancing about herself in confusion. The only clue that remained to indicate that the two fox demons had ever been there was the slight swaying of the undergrowth they had just passed by and the few small droplets of blood on the ground and tree root by where they had collided. She stumbled forwards a few steps, then realising that she had apparently lost her shoes during her struggle with Fumio, looking down to see that one of her socks was still intact, pulled up to her knee, but the elastic had snapped in the other, which was bunched around her ankle and bagging loose about her toes. Her socks offered little protection to her skin, and she could feel every stone and thorn on the ground; but she pressed through the discomfort and forced herself to run up the slight slope ahead of her to the forest path.

The sun had almost completely set and the forest was growing darker by the minute, the view only slightly better on the forest path than it was in the thick of the trees. Luckily for Yukina, she knew the forest path well enough to not need the assistance of daylight to recognise which direction led back to the temple. She was almost certain that she had been running away from the temple when she had fled Fumio, and so she went back towards the temple in the hope of finding the three-way portal he had created. Kurama had already said that she would not be able to destroy the plant or undo what it had done, but he had said that she could stop it spreading, and she was determined to at least do that. She was not really sure where Kurama and Fumio had gone or why, but she was confident that Kurama could handle Fumio in one-on-one combat. Turning into a fox had seemed to her like a desperation tactic on Fumio's part, and she assumed that was a sign that even Fumio knew he was out-matched. A small part of her was a little disappointed that she had lost sight of the fight, as she had always enjoyed watching Kurama fight due to his intelligent and inventive methods, but a larger part of her just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, heal her own injuries and sleep.

After a few minutes of running Yukina started to feel and see the disturbance on the path up ahead where Fumio's plant had somehow opened two portals, connecting all three realms. As it was so dark it was difficult to clearly make out, but the stench of demon world and the amber glow of spirit world were unmistakable. And the creaking, hissing, splashing sound was probably a sign of the problem up ahead too.

On an instinct she was sure she must have learnt working with Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama, Yukina launched herself into the air, diving off the path and landing in the undergrowth by the base of a tree. She quickly looked over her shoulder, clearly seeing her attacker despite the darkness: and it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She could not tell what sort of creature it was, only that it was a bright red colour – like freshly spilled blood – it had a long, ridged, tubular body, and its head was merely an enormous mouth framed by slimy pinkish feelers. It had apparently been attempting to eat her, as its head had crashed into the forest path where she had been running only a second earlier, and the impact of the collision had left a small crater in the ground. Yukina carefully and quietly stood up again, her eyes widening and a small gasp of alarm escaping her as she noticed the vegetation around the crater was blackened and sizzling. She took a few wary steps back before the sound of something crashing through the trees at her side had her running and diving for cover again as another monster the same as the first one came flying at her. She hit the ground a second earlier than her first evasive attempt, and looked back in time to see that the monster's mouth was filled with vicious fangs. It hit the ground mere inches behind her, and she was on her feet again in an instant as the earth and plants around it dissolved in a cloud of steam.

Yukina started to run but was forced to change direction twice as the monsters recovered lifted their heads again and both started after her. When a third monster appeared she spun around in a complete circle to search for a place to run, finding only the narrowest of gaps to escape through; but the sickening smell the creatures' saliva told her she would not be fast enough to escape them a third time. A shadow fell over her and she tried to once more dive out of harm's way, colliding with something she had not seen when she had left her feet, the impact forcing her to fall at a different angle. She heard something sizzling by her ear, but before she could figure out what it was, hands were pulling her to her feet again. She did not resist, as she was being pulled away from the monsters chasing her, but she quickly sought out the person touching her, relief washing over her as she saw that it was Kurama.

"What are those things?" she asked him.

"Branches of a death tree," he replied.

"A tree?" Yukina echoed. "But..."

"Don't you recognise it?" Kurama asked her. "It's the same plant I used in the Dark Tournament against Ura Urimisha."

"Who?"

"Move!"

Yukina yelped as he pushed her down again and then promptly hoisted her to her feet again as another branch hit the ground behind them.

"It kills anything that moves," Kurama explained. "And it's an incredibly powerful plant, too powerful for a fool like Fumio to control – he's become desperate."

"How do we stop it?" Yukina asked.

""We" don't," he replied. "You need to get out of range. I can try to take control of the plant myself, but I can't guarantee it won't hurt you while I do that. We're going to dodge once more, and this time don't move after we land – it's the only way now for it to stop chasing you. Even if you are injured in the fall or burned by the acid from its mouth, you cannot move, understand?"

"O-okay," she reluctantly agreed.

She screamed involuntarily as Kurama once more pushed her down to the ground, but this time he leapt back from her immediately, and from the corner of her eye she could see that he had drawn the branches of the death tree towards himself. His head was engulfed in smoke, a hissing sound filling the air and then his entire body disappeared from sight when more branches surrounded him entirely. Yukina had to fight the instinct to shout out in alarm or move from her position, the only thing keeping her still being the single, smaller branch that was hovering in the air around her tentatively, as though it was daring her to move so that it could strike. She was not even sure that the plant could see her when she was motionless, but it remained close by regardless, the occasional splat of its saliva blackening and dissolving the vegetation mere inches from her face.

Yukina forgot her bid to stay still when she noticed the source of the plant flying into view, her eyes moving towards it and even her head twitching slightly. The branch loitering at her side flinched as though it would pounce, but stopped again when she did; though she barely noticed its reaction, her attention still focused on the fox demon jumping down towards her, his right arm encased in the root of the death tree. As he spotted Yukina, Fumio gave her a dark grin, and suddenly a powerful and unexpected thought flared to the forefront of Yukina's mind.

If he kills Kurama, I will kill him.

Yukina stopped breathing. She had never considered such logic to be correct or acceptable, despite her own people having employed it as one of their laws, and, in the past, she had condoned Hiei for applying that rule in his own battles: but in that moment, Hiei's logic seemed to make incredibly good sense to her. And it was not the first time in the last few days that she had found herself sympathising with the fire demon she now knew was her brother. Maybe Botan was right: maybe she was just as stubborn and headstrong as Hiei.

Fumio landed gracefully, but before his hair had even settled around his shoulders the smirk had vanished from his face. His eyes moved from Yukina to the cluster of branches around where Kurama had been standing, and he looked confused and mildly alarmed; and it did not take Yukina long to see why. The branches surrounding Kurama were starting to separate, seemingly against Fumio's will. Yukina audibly sighed out a breath of air in relief when they eased back far enough to reveal Kurama still standing, but as they drew back further she gasped the air back in: although he had somehow escaped slaughter from the death tree, he had not escaped harm. But he appeared unhindered by his injuries, fighting through them to press the advantage he had somehow managed to gain. Despite the odds, despite being in a human body, Kurama had somehow managed to inject his own spirit energy into the death tree and he was gradually taking control of it.

Fumio took on a strained look as he tried to maintain control of the plant that was rooted on his own arm, and, for a brief moment, the branches of the death tree loitered in the air halfway between the two fox demons, apparently undecided about who their master was; but the demon plant did not linger for long before turning its fanged mouths towards the younger fox and slowly closing in on him. Yukina finally let out the breath she had been holding when every one of the death trees branches surrounded Fumio, and she closed her eyes as he let out a sickening yelp when the plant got close enough to burn him. When she opened her eyes again the death tree had collapsed in a pile on the forest floor and was turning grey as though the life energy was draining out of it.

"Are you alright?"

Yukina moved her eyes to the source of the voice, seeing a breathless Kurama standing over her.

"It's safe to move now," he added, as though understanding her unspoken concern. "Neither the death tree nor Fumio will be bothering us again."

Yukina carefully lifted herself up onto one hip, pausing there as her eyes roved over the small but vicious burns Kurama had suffered over his arms, shoulders and upper chest, and, perhaps most upsettingly to her, the death tree had burnt off a lengthy chunk of hair from one side of Kurama's head. He looked back over his shoulder and she hurriedly got to her feet, reaching her hands out towards his hair; but before she could reach her goal he turned back and caught her wrists in his hands.

"Please, don't waste your energy healing me," he said. "I have to go to spirit world to uproot that plant, and whilst I am gone I need you to use your powers to stop the plant from spreading any further until I have finished uprooting it."

Yukina, still dumbfounded by everything she had just witnessed, simply nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on," Kurama said.

She made to agree with him but her voice was swallowed in a gasp or surprise as he took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers through hers the same way he had done the day they had leapt through the portal from demon world to spirit world. She stumbled a little as he started to move and she took a moment to recover her senses and remember what they were supposed to be doing. She shook off her daze and hurried along with him; but she found herself clutching his hand tightly, a small concern lingering in her mind that she might not get another chance to hold his hand again.

"If any demons start climbing the vines, come into spirit world immediately and let me know," Kurama instructed as they neared the pulsing mass of vines maintaining the two portals.

Yukina nodded, but as she was a step behind Kurama he did not see her gesture.

"Okay?" he pressed, stopping by the demon plant.

"Yes," she quickly replied when she found him looking at her with a sense of urgency flashing in his eyes.

He nodded and then leapt through the portal to spirit world, leaving Yukina alone. She hesitated where he had left her, feeling a little concerned and disappointed that, in jumping through the portal and down to the roots of the plant, he had disappeared from her line of sight. Again she forced herself to focus on the task at hand and dropped to her knees, placing her hands on the vines. The plant felt no less slimy or sickening to touch, but Yukina ignored her repulsion and pressed her hands firmly against the top vine before shooting out a charge of ice-powered energy. Typically, that exact move was enough to kill a plant – though not always immediately – but apparently the plant Fumio had used was unlike most others, as the damage she was causing only seemed to be affecting the vine she was touching and not the rest of the plant. Yukina tried to stay calm, tried to tell herself that the damage she was causing would soon spread to the rest of the plant, tried to make herself believe that as soon as she had frozen the particular vine she was touching the frost damage would reach the heart of the plant and begin affecting the other vines.

When Yukina started to break a sweat, the vine she was touching thoroughly frozen but the others still pulsing and growing without hesitation despite her efforts, she began to panic. Panic was an emotion Yukina had never really been accustomed to in her life, having only experienced it when Tarukane kidnapped her and then again when she had witnessed her friends in dire straits in a tough battle: but in the last twelve days, Yukina had experienced panic so often, she was starting to hate herself for feeling it. Her panic right at that moment, combined with her inability to stop the plant, was like yet another bitter reminder of why she was not in the same league as Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and especially Kurama. Not only were they more resourceful and able to turn their fears into strength, they had the added sensibility to never give in when a strategy failed. Or, in Kurama's case, had the presence of mind to thoroughly and correctly assess the situation whilst remaining calm and then swiftly and effectively take the correct action to remedy the problem.

Maybe Fumio had been right after all: maybe Yusuke had just been humouring Yukina when he had suggested that she could join him on a mission and stand alongside him as a valuable asset to the team.

Yukina made a small noise of frustration but fought through the urge to give in to her own self-pity. The elders of the ice village had always tried to tell her that letting her emotions show and cloud her judgement were bad things, and, in this instance, it seemed that they were right; though thinking that way only turned frustration into anger. Yukina released the vine she had frozen and grabbed another, quickly rendering it as lifeless as she had the first. The damage was still only restricted to the vine she was touching, but she did not give up, moving her attention onto two vines at once, putting a hand on each and concentrating harder to still them as quickly as she had the others.

After several minutes of straining to the limits of her strength, Yukina had successfully stopped the plant from growing any further, but, just as Kurama had predicted, the plant was not breaking apart nor were the portals it had torn open reducing any. She dragged the back of one hand across her brow to clear the sweat that had gathered there before rising to her feet and leaning forwards to peer into the portal to spirit world. She could not see or hear anything beyond the clump of vines and the yellow skies behind them, and so she tried to edge closer, only to scream in alarm and leap back when the vines suddenly lurched towards her. In a brief moment in panic she thought that the plant had somehow recovered from the damage she had caused it, and she started to feel light-headed, the idea that the plant was invincible plaguing her thoughts: but her concerns were short-lived as the vines collapsed on the forest floor and Kurama landed on top of them a split second ahead of the portal to spirit world shrinking out of sight.

He looked about himself at the deadened vines, nodding as though in approval as he pushed his hair back from his face with one hand. His gesture once more brought Yukina's attention to his burnt hair and the scorches on his skin – a few of which had started to weep.

"You've done well here, but I still need to close this last portal," he said, his eyes still on the vines.

"Can I help you with that?" she asked.

To her surprise he nodded, though he still did not look directly at her. She was a little concerned about why he would not look at her, but again she suppressed her worries and moved closer to the vines again.

"The easiest way to finish this is to put all of the plant into one realm," Kurama said, wrapping his arms around one of the thick vine roots. "And since most of the plant is in demon world, that's where I'm putting the rest of it."

He threw the end through the portal, and Yukina watched as it fell through the air to the ground far below. She turned back to Kurama to see him gathering up another vine and she quickly moved over to the vine root closest to her. She crouched down and began trying to pick up the vine, but found that the vines were infinitely heavier than Kurama made them appear, as she unable to lift it even slightly from the ground. She wrapped both arms around it and tried leaning back, using the weight of her body to lever it up, but to no avail. She struggled on until she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Kurama standing over her.

"Allow me," he said quietly.

"I-I'm sorry," she said, standing up and stumbling back from the vine. "I tried to move it, but it's much heavier than I thought it would be."

Kurama lifted up the vine without hesitation or any apparent strain and threw it through the portal, which then shrank out of sight behind it.

"You did them all by yourself…" Yukina muttered. "I couldn't even help with that…"

She felt Kurama's hand on her shoulder again, but this time she did not respond, her eyes remaining on the point where the portal to demon world had been.

"There is one thing you could help me with now," he said. "Destroying that plant has left me drained of energy, I don't think I can make it back to the temple without your assistance."

Yukina snorted, assuming that he was humouring her, just as Fumio had said he would: but when Kurama's hand slid from her shoulder and she heard him hit the ground she spun around, her eyes wide as she found him lying on his back on the ground, looking as exhausted as he had claimed to be. She cried out his name and dropped to her knees at his side, her hands hovering over the various wounds he had. His eyes fluttered open long enough to look directly at her, a hint of an ironic smile gracing his lips.

"It doesn't really matter where you start," he said quietly. "Quite ridiculous really, isn't it? Before I merged my soul with Shuichi, a miserable kit like Fumio wouldn't have stood a chance against me."

"But you defeated him!" Yukina pointed out.

"It was a desperate and crude victory, barely achieved," he replied, his eyes drifting closed again.

"No!"

Yukina waited for Kurama to say something more, but his eyes remained closed, his lips slightly parted, and his breathing became slower and shallower. She was not sure if he was falling asleep or losing consciousness, but either way she did not want it to happen, and so she touched each of her hands to the worst of the burns he had suffered, and began healing the damage.

But Yukina, just like Kurama, had expended more physical and spiritual energy than she had bargained on already, and, as she continued her work, her vision began to blur. She managed to cure the worst of his injuries and begin work on some of the more minor wounds before she started to slump forwards; and barely a few seconds later she collapsed completely, the top half of her body resting on Kurama's bared chest.

Yukina awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly and only realising that she had cried out Kurama's name when her mind started to calm and her eyes began flicking about herself, taking stock of exactly where she was. Her last clear memory was of straining with what little energy she had left to heal Kurama of his battle wounds in the middle of the forest around Genkai's temple in the dark of night, but now she was suddenly in her own bed, inside the temple, and even through the curtains she could see the glare of a late afternoon sunshine illuminating the sky outside. She sat for a few seconds longer, looking about herself as she warred with the idea that the last twelve days had perhaps all been a detailed dream, as she had apparently over-slept, and an epic dream was a likely consequence: but reaching a hand over one shoulder told her the events of the last twelve days had definitely not been a dream, as her hair was still in the choppy short style she had been forced to cut it into in order to effectively visually disguise herself as Hiei.

She sighed and pushed aside her covers, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed before stopping again as she noticed the red poloneck Kurama had given her to wear draped over the back of the chair at her desk, and then looked down to see that she was in her sleeping yukata. She inwardly cringed as she imagined who might have changed her clothing for her. Kurama, who had been injured and had fought bravely and then had to work hard destroying and disposing of Fumio's plant, had probably been then forced to carry her back to the temple after she had swooned like a pitiful little girl, she thought bitterly. He had probably taken her to Botan, who had probably changed Yukina's clothes like she was some sort of child unable to do so herself.

Yukina growled and got out of bed, stretching and wincing as she felt a few aches and pains that were still niggling her from the physical traumas she had endured lately. She crossed the room and opened her wardrobe doors, sighing as she saw her neat rows of clothing. Her choices were still limited to her handmade kimonos and the children's clothing Botan and Keiko had convinced her to buy for when she wanted to visit the city. Sick of dressing and being treated like a child, Yukina chose the original blue kimono she had worn when she had left the ice village.

Once she was dressed and had brushed her hair and realised she could not do anything with it other than to leave it loose, she left her room, pausing long enough to notice that the sword she had been using had been returned to its display before continuing out of the temple to grounds outside, where she set about her usual routine: because apparently, even though the last twelve days had not been a dream, they might as well have been, as it seemed as though everything had just gone back to the way it had been before, with the exception that now everyone around her thought she was a foolish, thoughtless child with a ridiculous crush on Kurama.

Yukina visited Puu, who was as happy to see her as he always was. She fed him, changed his water and brushed him – and she apologised to him for hurting him and using him as a taxi. Yusuke had said that he disliked people using Puu as a taxi, and so Yukina assumed that Puu did not like it either. Puu remained cheerful throughout, leaving her wondering it he had even understood her. Even if he had not though, she felt a little better within herself, and so she supposed that she had probably mostly made the effort for her own sake. She then moved on and fed the Koi in the ponds and plucked up a few weeds she noticed growing in the flower gardens. It was a mild day and as quiet as ever, and, once again, she was completely alone.

And it was all incredibly boring.

It always had been boring, but it felt infinitely more so after being involved in such an adventure. Yukina wondered how long it would take for her to adjust back to her old ways, she wondered if Yusuke would remember his promise, if Kuwabara would still be her friend, if Hiei would ever stop treating her like a helpless charge, if Botan would ever stop treating her like a clueless child and if Kurama would ever speak to her again.

Yukina made her way back indoors, stopping as the door closed behind her, her eyes growing large as she heard two voices talking in a room further down the hall. She paused long enough to recognise that one voice was agitated and bossy, issuing orders, and the other was meek and gentle, humbly accepting the commands being issued before starting towards their source. Halfway to her destination, Yukina began to move faster, running the last few steps as she realised that one of the voices belonged to Botan, who she had not expected to be there, and the other belonged to Rui, who, in the chaos of the last day, Yukina had almost forgotten all about.

"It has to be perfect!" Botan insisted.

"I understand," Rui replied.

"Do you?" Botan snapped.

"Of course I do," Rui answered.

Yukina skidded to a halt, momentarily stunned into silence as she found Rui diligently sewing a silk dress and Botan pacing back and forth in front of her impatiently.

"Do you know what time is it?" Botan said.

"No," Rui replied, without stopping her work or looking up.

"We don't have long!" Botan said, looking up at the clock on the wall nervously.

"This won't take me very long," Rui said, still focussing on her work.

"Well it had better not!"

"It would take me even less time if you would stop interrupting me hysterically."

"What was that?"

"What are you two doing?"

Rui stopped working, her head snapping up at the sound of Yukina's voice. Botan yelped and darted across the room, looking panicked at first; but as she caught Yukina looking at her she hid her concern behind a brilliant grin.

"Oh Yukina, we thought you were still asleep!" she said. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough to be up and about already?"

Yukina looked at the clock on the wall before looking up at Botan who had stopped in front of her, grinning almost maniacally.

"It's almost dinner time, Botan," she said.

"Is it?" Botan said, looking over at the clock as though it was the first time she had done so in some time. "Goodness, so it is! You should have a bath."

Botan put her hands one Yukina's shoulders and turned her around before pushing her towards the door.

"But what about Miss Rui?" Yukina asked, looking back over one shoulder at her old friend.

"She's very busy, we're just distracting her in here," Botan said, pushing harder as Yukina tried to resist.

Yukina stumbled onwards, allowing Botan to push her all the way into the bathroom before questioning her further.

"What is Miss Rui doing anyway?" she asked as Botan finally released her.

"Oh, she's making a dress," Botan replied as she began running the water in the bath.

"Miss Rui is making a dress for you?" Yukina asked.

"Yes, that's right," Botan replied with a nod of her head. "I brought the silk and we spoke about what sort of design would look best, and now she's making the dress. Isn't that so sweet of her?"

Yukina started to tell Botan that Rui had not been rescued just to become everyone's maid, but she stopped halfway through her tirade as she noticed the items Botan was removing from the cupboards.

"These are all my favourite bath products, you can use any of them you like," Botan said as she caught Yukian watching her.

Yukina was unable to stop her eyebrows from leaping upwards in surprise.

"Really?" she asked. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not, sweetie!" Botan replied, again grinning that slightly disturbing grin.

"Well that does sound nice…"

"Then get to it!"

"Can I maybe have some breakfast first?"

"No."

"But I'm hungry."

"Good, it's always better that way."

"What?"

"Enjoy your bath, sweetie!"

Yukina tilted her head in confusion, but Botan had already disappeared from her line of sight, and so, again, she resigned to do as she had been ordered. Yukina decided to purposefully take advantage of the overly generous offer Botan had made and she selected the finest of Botan's body washes, shampoos and conditioners. It had been a long time since she had been able to have such a luxurious bathing experience, and she allowed herself to indulge in it, telling herself that she had earned it after several days in demon world with a group of boys whose favourite odour was that of their own farts.

Yukina's moment of bliss only ended when she stepped out of the bath again some time later and caught sight of her reflection and remembered that her hair looked quite silly. Sitting flat – and no longer being swept up like Hiei's – it was luckily a feminine enough style, despite being short: but it was the sort of haircut a little girl had, and it made her look and feel even more immature and pathetic. She sighed and turned towards the door to leave the bathroom, yelping in shock as she found herself face-to-face with Botan.

"Let's do something with your hair," the ferry girl greeted her, ignoring her alarm. "It's a little tomboyish when you leave it loose, but if we just put some pretty clips in at the sides it would look so cute."

"Maybe I don't want to look cute," Yukina moodily replied, pushing away Botan's hand as she reached for her.

"Oh don't be so stubborn Miss Twin Hiei!" Botan said dismissively.

"I just want to start on dinner, I'm very hungry, and–ow!"

Yukina tried to pull away from the brush Botan had just raked through her still tangled hair, but Botan had a hold of her by the collar of her towel robe, and held her in place.

"Trust me Yukina, I can fix this," Botan insisted.

Yukina sighed and gave in to Botan's demands. She did not want pity, least of all from the woman Kurama had been so enraptured with, but, once Botan had finished, Yukina had to admit that her hair did look a lot less childish and a lot more likeable the way she had styled it.

"Thank you Botan," she said meekly as she checked her reflection. "I'm going to eat something now."

"Rui is already making dinner for us," Botan quickly replied. "Why don't you go into the living room and wait by the fire for a bit?"

Yukina opened her mouth to argue, but Botan still had a slightly disturbing, slightly suspicious look on her face, and so Yukina once more complied with her friend's demands, and made her way to the living room. Instead of sitting by the unlit fire however, Yukina went and sat by the large window that overlooked the incline of forest close by one side of the temple. She was still wearing nothing more than the towel bathrobe she had donned upon leaving the bath, but she felt no need to dress again, as her clothes only depressed her, and the robe was nicely comfortable. She cuddled into it and started to relax, watching the wind in the trees: but after only a few seconds she tensed again as she noticed a car on the road that led up to the temple. As the road only led to the temple, the only cars that ever ventured up it were the cars driven by people actually visiting the temple, which made the sight all the more unusual. After a few seconds more, Yukina realised that the car was familiar. Dumfounded into silence and stillness, she remained perfectly still, her eyes glued to the car climbing up the steep road towards the temple. As it drew closer still, she could see the driver, and all doubt left her mind.

Yukina sprang to her feet and sprinted across the temple to the front door, yanking it open and running out onto the porch. Rather than running down the steps to the garden beyond she ran to the end of the porch and leaned over the railing, watching as the car drove past her, finally coming to a halt at the end of the road. She started to smile as Kurama stepped out of his car, but her smile vanished when she saw how he looked and a sickening thought occurred to her: he was dressed in a shirt and tie like he always did when he had just come from a day at work, but his hair was suddenly cut short at the back and sides, only the front still at its original length – presumably because of the damage he had suffered from the death tree – and he was looking at Yukina in a strange way that suddenly left her thinking that he was actually there to see Botan.

He hesitated for a moment before walking over to stand beneath her, on the other side of the railing. As he looked up at her she distinctly saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before, and she was not sure how to interpret it.

"Hello Yukina," he said, nodding his head politely.

"…Your hair…!" she whispered.

He smiled, touching a hand to the back of his head.

"Yes, it would have looked rather foolish had I left it as it was," he explained.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to…" Yukina began, silently berating herself for greeting him so stupidly. "It was just a surprise to see you… Like that."

"My mother is certainly a lot happier," Kurama replied, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "She never did approve of my wearing it long."

"I think you look… Um… It looks nice."

"Thank you. I see you're adjusting to your forced new hairstyle too."

Yukina subconsciously touched a hand to one of the pins Botan had put in her hair, trying to smile through her embarrassment.

"Uh, Botan's inside," she said.

Kurama gave her a slightly odd look and so she continued.

"And Miss Rui also. Though nobody else is here. A-are the others visiting here this evening?"

"No, just me," Kurama said gently, his face changing again. "I didn't come here to see the others – I think I endured enough teasing last night from Yusuke and Kuwabara about my hair. I came here to see you Yukina. I wondered if you might like to join me for dinner this evening."

Yukina blinked and opened her mouth but words failed her.

"I know a very nice restaurant near here, the cuisine is a quite exotic, and more to demon tastes," he continued, as though sensing her desire that one of them ought to be speaking to avoid an awkward silence. "I'd like very much to take you there this evening, but unfortunately they do have a rather unusual dress code."

"A d-dress code?" Yukina echoed.

"Yes," Kurama replied, smiling warmly. "No bathrobes allowed."

Yukina gasped and clutched at the robe by her chest and knees as Kurama ran his eyes over her.

"So will you join me?" he asked as his eyes reached her face again.

"O-okay," she replied. "But I just… I have to…"

"Put on some clothes," Kurama finished for her.

She nodded mechanically and turned around, hurrying back indoors, trying to control her racing heart and keep her senses about her. Her head was flooding with delighted ideas of sharing the romantic evening she had always dreamed of with Kurama, but the thoughts drained away as quickly as they had surfaced when she entered her bedroom and her eyes landed on her wardrobe: her wardrobe that was home only to a few plain, slightly out-dated kimonos and some children's clothes. She began wringing her hands together, frowning and chewing at her lip. She needed to find something to wear, and she was going to have to face up to the contents of the wardrobe eventually. She steeled her nerves and reached a hand towards one door of the wardrobe, but before she reached the handle the door burst open and Botan leapt out at her.

"Ta-da!" she yelled, the combination of her sudden action and the volume of her voice leaving Yukina stumbling back until she fell onto her bed.

"Botan, what are… You…?"

Yukina's rebuttal faded as she realised that Botan was holding up the dress Rui had been working hard on.

"It's for you, Yukina!" Botan said. "Surprise! Do you like it? I knew you would need something elegant to wear tonight, so while you were sleeping I checked your measurements and Rui and I made this just for you!"

Yukina crawled to the end of her bed, looking first at the dress and then at Botan.

"It's beautiful Botan," she said softly. "But how did you know?"

"Oh, silly! Kurama told Hiei he intended to take you out for dinner tonight and I knew you would need something new to wear," Botan replied.

Yukina stepped off of her bed and started to move towards Botan intent on thanking her, but instead found herself yelping and leaping back onto her bed again as the other door of her wardrobe burst open and Rui appeared.

"We got you new shoes too," she said.

Botan winked at Rui appreciatively.

"You're getting very good at this espionage business, Rui," she said. "Keep up the good work, and one day you might even be as sneaky as me!"

Rui gave Botan a flat look before turning to Yukina and rolling her eyes.

"You did all this for me?" Yukina asked, crawling to the end of her bed again.

"Of course we did!" Botan replied.

"It was all Botan's idea, Yukina," Rui added.

"But why?" Yukina asked, climbing off her bed again.

"Because we're friends, silly!" Botan replied. "Now you must also take this with you."

Botan retrieved a spirit world communicator from a hidden pocket.

"And if Kurama starts getting foxy with you, you just kick him in crotch and call me, you hear?"

Yukina smiled, accepting the device from Botan.

"Thank you Botan," Yukina replied.

"It's alright, but you have to hurry to get ready now," Botan replied.

"Oh, Mister Kurama is still waiting for me!"

"…That's not why you have to hurry. I just want to see you in the dress. Make Kurama wait. Making men wait for no reason is one of the greatest joys of being a woman."

Yukina and Rui gave Botan critical looks but she appeared not to notice, and so Yukina dismissed them from her room and hurriedly put on the dress and the shoes, spending as long watching herself in the mirror afterwards as she had getting dressed. For the first time in her life, she actually thought that she looked like a woman and not a little girl: and her first date with Kurama was the absolute best time for that to have happened.

Yukina left her room, enduring Botan primping her hair and Rui cooing at her as she made her way back through the temple. As the front door came into her sight she almost as nervous as she had storming the auction in Illyria. And oddly, the situation did not seem so dissimilar: she was once more facing something unknown and frightening. In Illyria she had kept control of herself because she had known that she was fighting for something she knew was right, but this time she had no idea what she was getting herself into, only an optimistic hope that it might be the romantic evening she had always hoped for to spur her on.

As she stepped outside Yukina found Kurama waiting at the end of the porch steps, and she saw his smile grow as he saw her, his eyes briefly and subtly running over her in a way that did not make her feel self-conscious but let her know that he was admiring how she looked: it was a wonderful feeling, and it was one she was never sure she would ever get used to.

"You look lovely," he said. "I don't think we'll have any trouble getting a prime table now."

Yukina sensed that he may have been making a joke of some sort, but she was too nervous to notice, and so she simply continued to the top of the steps, taking his hand as he offered it to her, allowing him to guide her down the steps. Once she was on the garden path at his side his moved his fingers over hers until he was holding her hand that way she enjoyed so much. She looked up at him at his gesture and he smiled down at her in a way that made her blush. She lowered her head in the hope that he would not notice, and followed him to his car, where he opened the door for her. She sat into the car, smiling at him as he closed the door behind her. She looked out the window, lifting a hand to wave goodbye to Botan and Rui, but stopped short, her face twisting at what she saw.

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked as he started the engine.

"I'm sure that's not the same outfit Botan was wearing a minute ago," Yukina replied.

"Probably not," Kurama said. "Botan is… A little eccentric in that way."

Yukina smiled and when she saw Kurama smiling too she allowed herself to laugh at the thought of Botan's ever-changing outfits. The amusement was a welcome distraction, as Yukina was as apprehensive as she was delighted about the fact that she was actually going on a date with Kurama. The journey in the car was relatively short, and Kurama seemed to again understand her nervousness as he helped pass the time by making idle conversation about things they passed on the road. Their destination was a stone building with ivy growing up the wall and fairy lights adoring the windows. It looked almost magical, and the inside of the restaurant was an equally attractive sight. Yukina found herself looking about at her surroundings so much that she became reliant on Kurama leading her by the hand through the tables to a set of glass doors that led out onto a balcony, lit by hanging lanterns. They sat down at a table for two overlooking a garden and Yukina entrusted Kurama to order for her as she was not really sure what most of the items on the menu were.

"This is surely better than the campfire meals we survived on during our last mission," Kurama said as they were served their first course.

"Is it always like that on a mission?" Yukina asked.

"Pretty much," Kurama replied. "Hiei usually sleeps through the worst of it, and I balance my time between finding food and playing referee to Yusuke and Kuwabara."

Yukina smiled.

"You haven't eaten much, don't you like your order?" Kurama asked her.

She looked down at her plate, feeling a little guilty then. The truth was, she was so nervous she had lost her appetite – something that had repeatedly happened to her when she had been pretending to be Hiei and found herself in life or death situations and surrounded by Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara at their most candid.

"Do you want this?" Kurama asked, pointing at a crusty bread roll on her side plate.

"Oh, no, if you want it, please take it," she replied.

Kurama nodded, picking up the roll. He gripped it a little too firmly for comfort before hurling it out over the balcony. Yukina gasped, turning her head and leaning towards the railings as she heard the roll thump into something that grunted on the impact.

"We're flattered," Kurama said, his voice suddenly louder. "But we really don't require a chaperone, Hiei."

"Hn, that's debatable."

Yukina gasped as Hiei leapt up onto the railings at their side, a slight pink mark on one side of his face where the roll had presumably hit him. Once her initial shock had passed, she realised that he must have been following her on her date with Kurama, and anger overtook concern. She opened her mouth to berate her brother for his behaviour, but she stopped short as something hit the table at her side, causing all the crockery and cutlery to bounce.

"Hiei, how could you?"

"Botan?" Kurama muttered, eying over the moustached waiter with a flowing blue ponytail standing by their table.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Botan continued. "If you can't even trust your best friend and your own sister, you have some serious issues!"

Hiei muttered a derogatory comment about Botan's outfit and her hobby of sneaking about in disguises, but she either did not hear him or chose to ignore him.

"Hiei, I appreciate that you care about my safety, but I don't need you to watch over me every minute of every day," Yukina said.

Hiei gave her a blank look before baring his teeth in a mildly threatening gesture at Kurama. He then turned and leapt down to the garden path.

"There we are!" Botan said to Yukina and Kurama. "Please, continue!"

Yukina and Kurama glared back at her, but she seemed unable to understand their ire.

"You have to leave too, idiot!" Hiei shouted up at her.

Botan began admonishing him for miscalling her, climbing over the railing and down a drainpipe awkwardly as Hiei argued back. By the time Botan had joined Hiei, the two had dissolved into criticising each other without listening to each other. They continued for some time before both stopping at exactly the same moment, pausing long enough to give each other strange looks before leaping at each other and engaging in a kiss that bordered on animalistic in its intensity. Yukina's jaw dropped, and she was glad when Kurama took her hand and began quietly guiding her away from the table.

He led her back through the restaurant and out of the front door, continuing until he had reached the other side of his car.

"That was weird," Yukina said as they stopped.

"I'll say," Kurama replied with a smile.

Yukina looked back at the building they had left, smiling at the thought that Kurama had thought to take her there. When she looked up at Kurama again she saw something different in his eyes and she instinctively took a step closer to him. He put his hands on her shoulders, but she could not help but notice the way he pressed the heels of his hands into her as though keeping her at arm's length.

"Let's take this slowly," he said. "I don't want to rush you into anything."

"I'd like that, Mister Kurama," she replied.

"And I think you can stop calling my Mister Kurama now," Kurama added.

"Okay," she said. "Kurama."

Yukina smiled and he slid his hands up to her face, gently tilting her head back and leaning over her to kiss her. It was nothing like the kiss they had shared in the cave in spirit world: it was simple, warm and sweet and everything she had always hoped for.

"I love you," he whispered as they pulled back from each other.

"I love you too," she replied, before sinking into his embrace.

The End

At last.