SUMMARY FOR THE FIRST ARC:

POST THREE ARTIFACTS SAGA: Youko Kurama betrays Hiei and Gouki during the three artifacts theft. Only Hiei gets caught by the new Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi, and ends up paying for all the consequences in the Spirit World. After escaping from the spiritual realm, Hiei lays low in the Human World and meets Shuichi Minamino: an ordinary yet mysterious human with the powers of a demon.

WARNINGS: This fiction contains shounen-ai, obvious hints of yaoi to read and het pairings.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuyu Hakusho.

Let's meet at the usual place in the Dark Woods tomorrow in the evening. I am completely sure you will like what I'm going to offer, especially to your heart's darkest desire. The demon named Gouki will be involved in the business as well- I met him the other day thanks to you. You better show up to the reunion or you are going to regret missing the tempting offer of your lifetime. Until then, I can't wait to see you again and "reminisce the past"...

Yours truly, Youko Kurama

Hiei had just read silently the message on paper that he had just received not too long ago from a random demon messenger. He began to ponder as he sat on a window shield in a small yet comfortable house on Koorime Island. 'So, he's back… What business Youko Kurama would want with me after all this time? I wonder...' he trailed off in his thoughts...

…It has been 15 years since his last encounter with Youko Kurama… Hiei's thinking features quickly displayed a frown at that realization.

'As he said in the message, he'll make me the tempting offer of a lifetime, and after making the deal with him, he'll probably want to have sex,' he said mentally as he tried to predict what was going to happen after the reunion, not including Gouki on the equation.

No matter how long they have not seemed each other, things always end up normal and predictable between him and Youko as if the amount of fleeting time never actually happened. The Silver Fox had a way to get away with things that it made Hiei forget his anger at him. It was part of the other's charm and charisma; Hiei could not accept nor deny this second realization that dawned on him.

"Hiei?" He looked up from the message that he held with one hand to see Yukina standing in front of him with a curious look on her face.

"Are you going off somewhere?" she asked without hesitation.

Hiei stared at Yukina for a moment with a blank expression. He was yet to inform her about his sudden departure. How did she know already about it? Anyhow: "Yes. I have a business to take care of," he replied nonchalantly to her.

"I see…" Yukina said in understanding as if she knew what his words meant. Business for Hiei was defined as fighting, killing, stealing, or a mix in between. She did not merely approve of his dangerous and violent lifestyle. She tried to convince him on countless occasions to change for good and to live with her a peaceful life on Koorime Island, protecting not only her but also the other ice maidens from any harm and danger. However, that was near impossible because Hiei was firmly stubborn as his rigid and hard past that he accepted to live on until death. That was what also ultimately made him the strong demon he was on the present.

Yukina sighed, letting out some of the anguish she had inside of her… She had no other choice but to let Hiei go as she usually does, "I'll walk you to the door," she said finally in resignation. She secretly hoped that one day someone could change Hiei's mind…That being would be someone who Hiei would care about deeply and grow to love.

Hiei did not say anything else because it was settled Yukina and he did not need to explain anything. He was able to carry on with what lied ahead of him. He was always secretly grateful to Yukina for that sole reason. He put the letter away inside his black cloak and stood up from his seat, walking directly to the door direction with Yukina following him from behind.

When Hiei reached the door, he opened it to then turn around and to face the ice maiden one more time before taking his departure. He couldn't help but notice her with a worried look on her expression. "Is something the matter?" he inquired.

"Well, it is just that I have a sudden feeling I won't be able to see you for a long time," her voice sounded exactly as the expression she'd portrayed at the moment.

"Yukina, you worry too much," Hiei said and he placed a hand on her shoulder as a sign of reassurance even if he wasn't much of the affectionate type of demon. "I promise I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Yes, of course, I know you always keep your promises. But before you leave, give your twin sister a hug," Yukina said as she extended her arms widely to hug her fraternal twin brother.

Instead of doing as requested, Hiei just stood there on his place frozen with a complaining look on his face that said: 'do I really have to?'

Being able to read perfectly his open facial expression, Yukina smiled at him and laughed a little. "What am I going to do with you, Hiei? Come here," she said a bit playful, closing the distance that was in between them.

Yukina proceeded to hug Hiei in a gentle manner so she wouldn't startle him more than he actually was. She carefully wrapped her arms nearly between his waist and his torso. Hiei didn't return the hug but he was at least being receptive by allowing her to embrace him with little to no interruptions. It was good enough for her. She loved her twin brother just as who he is no matter what others say about him. Also, she was completely sure that he felt the same way even if he was not the type to say it out loud. After the two hugged each other for a moment—well, more like one was doing most of the hugging than the other, she pulled away from the hug so he would be ready this time to walk out the still-open door.

"Take care," Hiei said quietly to Yukina. He would've chosen in the first place to go to the meeting place tomorrow at dawn. However, it was a long trip from Koorime Island to the meeting point. He had chosen to do the latter: take the long trip today so that he would arrive at his destination on the same day around evening. It was almost at the exact time when he would meet up with Youko Kurama, according to his mental calculations.

Yukina nodded to him, admitting that she was ready to let Hiei depart her side once again. "I'll pray for your safety and return. Until then, my brother," she said softly to him.

And with that confirmation that gave him a sense of peace on his mind, Hiei began to walk out the door to outside. He didn't pay attention to the current weather on Koorime Island. The island's weather was currently on a stable temperature, which in the case of Hiei, it was good enough for him to walk outside and leave without much difficulty.

Yukina quietly watched him leave from the open front door until his figure had completely faded with the distance. 'Perhaps Hiei is right, maybe I do worry a little too much. However, he's strong; he'll come back alive as usual,' she thought with faith and optimism.

…She slightly digressed from that thought. There were occasions when Hiei would come to visit her with wounds in his body that at times, it almost cost him his own life. Being the sweet, sensitive, and caring twin sister, she healed him right before lecturing him to be more careful, especially of not wanting to lose her only sibling with tears in her eyes.

Yukina smiled then at those memories… Especially at the memory that she would always cherish in her heart: when Hiei found her after his long, personal yet perilous journey, and the two reunites after being separated at birth.

…

Three months had already passed since Yukina had last seen Hiei. She hadn't received either any news about him during the fleeing time. The more time passed with no actual information of her beloved twin brother, the more the negative feelings like concern, fear and anguish grew heavily on her. In her selfish but concerned opinion, this was the first time Hiei was taking too long to come back to her… Nevertheless, she still managed to wait patiently for his awaited return.

As Yukina looked outside to the window, she hoped to find her twin brother out there. She held her hands together to her chest. She sighed deeply before closing her eyes to whisper in sorrow:

"Hiei…please be all right…"

THE HUMAN WORLD

Yusuke Urameshi, the new Spirit Detective that has been chosen by the Spirit World, was having a conversation with Botan, a ferry girl from the Spirit World, and pirate of the River Styx. They sat close to each other in the rooftop of Saruyaski Jr. High School. The conversation was nowhere near to be stimulating or dynamic on how teenagers usually talk to one another.

"So, today is Hiei's trial on Spirit World," Yusuke said as he sat with one had on his knee of one leg and his other leg laid down on the floor.

"...Yes..."

Yusuke looked at Botan. She sat on the floor with her knees together close to her chin. "What's wrong, Botan? Don't tell me you feel guilty for the little bastard," he said because she was not being her usual cheery self.

"No... Well, actually, a little," Botan admitted before she turned to look at the other this time. "Yusuke, how would you feel for someone who is going to be double charged for their alibis' crimes plus carrying their own charges on their shoulders?"

"Well, I guess I would have some sympathy for that someone cuz I know how that really feels."

"Are you talking from past personal experience?" Botan was glad she was making Yusuke these questions. In her opinion, he was the right person that could possibly relate to Hiei and the hardship that he was facing alone over at Spirit World. The two of them were of different personalities yet they had similar harsh life experiences while growing up in their respective worlds. This information was provided by their personal files that were located on Spirit World's Human and Demon Resource Department.

"Yeah, you can say that," Yusuke said calmly before his voice turned acid-like. "But in this case, we are talking about Hiei here! I can't have any sympathy for him. He had hurt Keiko with his own evil antics three months ago, remember? What he did was unforgivable."

Aside from hearing well the expressed opinion: 'So Yusuke does have feelings for Keiko. That's interesting...' Botan thought about the past actions that showed the detective to be passionate and protective of his childhood classmate. By that time, Hiei had held Keiko Yukimura hostage during his time of the crime. It was done to lure Yusuke into his trap so he would get the two artifacts that were retrieved from his former crime allies.

"So, what are you trying to say? Is Hiei somehow innocent after all the bad things he had done, isn't it?" Yusuke tried to see on beforehand where Botan was leading the conversation about the fire demon himself just by looking at her lavender orbs.

Botan looked at Yusuke again for a moment before giving him her answer, "Maybe… but not of everything though. I can probably prove it if we can find the main author of the crime and make him confess that he had involved Hiei in the game."

"Hmm…" Her words made Yusuke ponder deeply. Her point of view was, in fact, interesting.

SPIRIT WORLD'S GRAND COURTROOM:

Ogres from different colors, sizes, and shapes sat in every seat of the courtroom: first, the audience entered, followed by the jury.

Then a blue ogre in a police uniform appeared before the judge's stand to announce the following, capturing every ogre attention: "All hail… Judge Prince Koenma!"

With the announcement made, all of them stood up from their seats, in order to receive the judge. They started to cheer and whoop as none other than Prince Koenma, the Chief Administrator of Spirit World, came in before them wearing a black robe and a curly long white wig. He took his seat on the judge's seat afterward.

"You can all be seated now," Koenma ordered immediately, and everyone in the courtroom did as told.

"Okay, now bring on the culprit!" the blue ogre exclaimed.

At that moment, two ogres brought a handcuffed Hiei into the room as the audience made a fine mixture of booing, insulting, or wishing for the worse at him. With the impassive expression that he bore on his face, Hiei didn't seem to care or paid any attention to the audience or what they thought about him.

"Quiet all of you!" The blue ogre exclaimed once again and everyone in the audience did as told. He cleared his throat before speaking again, "Court's now in section."

"Thank you, George. What's the number of this case and its summary?" Koenma asked the blue ogre known as George Saotome.

"Very well, sir," George nodded before speaking anew, "This is case #567, 364,573,645,763, 746… Three months ago, Hiei was thrown in prison for major theft performance of the three artifacts from the King's Vault here in Spirit World, along with two allies. One of them has been killed by Yusuke Urameshi while the other went missing in action. Furthermore, they've committed assassination to some of our deceased ogre brothers, whom they may rest in peace, as they'd guarded the vault with their lives from them. Not to mention, Hiei had held hostage a human girl to lure the Spirit Detective, in order to regain the two artifacts that he'd managed to gain in his possession. This court run by the toddler is now in section!"

Koenma gave the blue ogre a dry look. "Again, thank you, and I might add: very funny, George. I'm assigning you to the cleaning toilet crew after the trial. But of the 'Judge Prince Koenma' title, you are only cleaning 473,467 out of 256,256,125,614 toilets with a toothbrush."

Hearing this punishment from him, George groaned as he wanted to complain badly.

'These two are like a mated couple or something…' Hiei thought as he watched the scene before him in annoyance.

Koenma cleared his throat and faced the accused fire demon that stood before him. "Hiei, how do you plea?"

Hiei glared at the demi-god before replying to him, "I would never in my remaining life plea to a squealy pacifier-sucking toddler, who still sits on their daddy's lap. Only your father knows if you are yet to surpass the diaper and potty era."

"Ack! How dare you!"

Everybody in the room busted out laughing at Hiei's response, except Koenma because he was currently busy fuming in anger in his seat due to being very offended.

"For your information, this thing between my teeth is a savior to the whole world, I don't sit on my daddy's lap and last I'm quite potty trained and I wear Fruit of the Lords, you know!" He exclaimed with his face red of embarrassment and his fists clenched.

The audience, the jury, and even George laughed harder at the explanation.

"QUIET OR THERE'S NO SPECIAL IN THE CAFETERIA!"

Everyone in the room did as screamed quickly.

Right after Koenma managed to calm himself down, he carried on with the trial. "Now, let's move on," he said as he faced Hiei once more with his collected temperament, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

Hiei looked at Koenma with a serious look, "...I have nothing to say," it was his curt reply. Everything had been said and done during the past events of the crime, so there wasn't really anything to clarify about to the judge, the audience, and the jury.

"All right, since you put it that way, the jury and I will now evaluate the facts of the felony and the testimonials; and not to mention the old crimes you've committed in the past in the Demon World. Maybe there's still hope for you, Godspeed…" And with that said, Koenma turned to reunite with the jury (that was composed of ten rightfully chosen ogres) in another room to examine many files and reports that were soon to be brought to them in the said location.

Thirsty minutes later, Koenma and the jury returned into the courtroom as silent as the room itself. When each of them made it back to the seats, the demi-god faced the Jaganshi with a serious look on his face: "I have come to a decision."

"Throw the culprit in jail for millenniums for killing our other ogres' brothers during the robbery, Lord Koenma!" A red ogre from the audience exclaimed from his seat with his fist up in the air.

The audience started to chant with a fist balled and raised high in the air because they fully agreed with the fellow red ogre: "JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL! JAIL!"

Koenma shot them The Omnipotent Look, and they went to immediate silence…When they settled down on their seats, Koenma looked at Hiei dead in the eyes. "As I was trying to say… Hiei, I for now declare you…guilty. Case dismissed until further notice."

On cue, the two ogres from before began to take away Hiei from the courtroom, all the way back to his prison cell. In the background, the audience cheered at the trial's conclusion like it was the best news they have never heard in centuries.

…

…A tall shadowy figure was observing Hiei and the two ogres from a corner of the Grand Halls. He would wait for the right opportunity in order to make his entry and proceed with his cold and calculating plan.

BACK IN THE HUMAN WORLD:

"Well? How did the trial go?" Yusuke asked Botan, who had just communicated with Koenma not too long ago to ask about the trial's conclusion.

"I'm afraid that Koenma found Hiei…guilty," Botan informed Yusuke: she hated to be the bearer of bad news. "Not only for what he had done here but also for his past accumulated criminal records in the demon realm."

Yusuke had this serious look. "I see…Hiei is going to be in jail for the rest of his life and death with no conditional liberty?" He somehow felt sympathy for the accused fire demon. Just a little, though.

"Well…At least until Youko Kurama is found and confesses that he arranged the felony. Perhaps Hiei's time in jail will be short, and he'll probably go out only in probation," Botan added that crucial piece of information that Koenma gave her while he explained the trial's verdict and possible solution to Hiei's predicament.

Yusuke shook his head and crossed his arms to his chest. "That's never gonna happen at this time around. From what I heard one time from Koenma, Youko Kurama is an exceptional criminal: a legendary bandit that no one has ever caught in his years of criminalization. And comparing those two, Youko Kurama makes Hiei as innocent as the purest saint."

"Why would Hiei get involved with someone perilous as that demon?" Botan asked in curiosity like she was interested to get to know more of the enigma that was the Jaganshi bearer.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders because he didn't have an answer to Botan's curiosity, "Beats me. He has his reasons, I guess…"

A beeping sound went off suddenly as a Morse code, coming from the inside of Botan's belongings. It alerted the two, and Botan proceeded to pick up the beeping contraption from her backpack. She began to decipher the sound's message. When she was finished, her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped from her mouth.

"What's up?" Yusuke noticed her reaction, which obviously it wasn't a good one.

"They need you on Spirit World, Yusuke! Hiei has escaped from his cell!" Botan explained the sound's message to him.

"WHAT!" Yusuke exclaimed in surprise. He could not believe it! He was going to capture Hiei all over anew and it was going to be harder than last time!

Not wasting any more of her time, Botan took her oar out of nowhere and hopped on it. She extended one of her hands to her friend: "Let's go, Koenma will give you the details."

Yusuke nodded in determination as he reached for her extending hand so they would fly together to the spiritual realm.

After reaching the Spirit World on the flying oar, Yusuke and Botan reached Koenma's office by walking down on their own foot down in haste through the large hallway. They have found the toddler pacing back and forward as he tried to maintain his cool during the hard situation.

"You wanted to see me?" Yusuke asked at Koenma, and he stopped his pacing the room to face him directly.

"Yes. As Botan had already informed you, Hiei escaped from his cell after the trial's declaration. We don't know how he did it but according to some of the ogres, there have been some carelessness from them while I and the majority of the staff went to celebrate on a banquet," Koenma explained to them as matter-of-factly. "And also, before getting to the portal, he was injured on his left arm by one of the ogres when they fought him, which he was unarmed and his energy had been neutralized after he was captured by you."

"SIR!" The three looked up to the door to see George rushing into the room with a videotape on one of his hands, as he interrupted the meeting at the same time. He stopped before them to announce with clarity the following: "Sir! You won't believe this but the secret camera had managed to catch how the prisoner really escaped from his cell!"

"Ah, that is excellent, George. Show me the video at once." Koenma commanded before following behind the blue ogre, leaving Yusuke and Botan alone in the room.

Thirty-five minutes had passed by Yusuke was the only one in the office waiting for Botan and Koenma. The ferry girl had left not too long ago when she was called out by the same blue ogre who had entered earlier the office. The detective paced back and forward with his hands in his pockets as he waited…He didn't like to wait on a regular basis, but it was for a serious cause like this one, he tried not to mind the prolonged waiting as much.

Finally, Koenma re-entered the room as the door opened, and Yusuke stopped his pacing to observe the expression of his employer. He looked as if he had discovered something really important to share: "Here's a new mission for you: find Hiei on the Human World at all costs. If you can also find Youko Kurama along the way, bring him in as well. If it is not possible to arrest him, I'll be at least satisfied with the new intel of his whereabouts or movements."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow at Koenma's new request as he was slowly digesting the mission itself and its briefing. "What makes you think a demon-like Hiei will go to a place such as the Human World?" he questioned.

"Well, according to the report by The Ogre Tracking Squad, they have managed to trace Hiei's faint energy by his footsteps from around all over the place, and the footsteps ended right in front of the Human World's Portal. I assume he had entered the portal as a last resort, thus escaping from the Spirit World."

"And it's because if Hiei returned to the demon realm, it will be much easier for the tracking squad to track him down in no time?"

Koenma nodded at Yusuke because he was right on track. The teenager was caught on rather quickly on his new given role in the spiritual realm. It was very favorable since he would be much needed for a heavy case such as this one and another type of mission in the future.

'Heh. Guess the Sherlock Holmes late-night reruns did really pay off or something,' Yusuke said mentally, almost gloating.

Just then, Botan re-entered the room to inform the following message: "Koenma, sir. The Ogre Tracking Squad will finish the technology that Yusuke will need for in a matter of two weeks. However, they will work as fast as they can to a time estimated as low as a week."

"It's all settled then." Koenma shifted his gaze from Botan to Yusuke, "Yusuke, you will carry out the mission after the technology is completed; it will become very handy for tracking down faint energy signals." He then turned to face the ferry girl, "And Botan, don't forget to inform Kuwabara about the situation: he is also joining in on the mission. You are going to assist the two of them in every way you can. With that being said, you two can leave now. Godspeed."

TIME SKIP: FIVE DAYS LATER

On a solitary park that was located on the human realm, Hiei stood within the entrance of a small cave. He watched the rain falling from the gray sky with a limping arm. He was contemplating as a memory came across in his mind:

Back in the Spirit World, Hiei was back in his cell after the demi-god declared him guilty in the trial, and perhaps for the rest of his life…

…He would never see his twin sister again. He was certain that she was deeply worried for him as she waited for his promised return on Koorime Island. This was the price for all those years of crimes and murders on the demon realm and the recent one in the human realm. It was time to pay for everything he had done in the spiritual realm, as so decided by the higher spiritual beings.

Suddenly, a grey mist covered entirely the area: "Halt! Who goes there!" one of the many ogre guards who had reclaimed fell to the floor into unconsciousness...then one after another…

Hiei alerted himself as he heard the falling sounds and prepared himself into a fighting stance. Anything could happen to him so he trusted on his instincts. He saw eventually a tall and remarkably familiar figure approaching slowly the way to his cell. The mist slightly faded into nothingness to reveal none other than Youko Kurama in the flesh.

"Hello there. Have you ever heard of the saying: 'don't drop the soap'?" Youko smirked at Hiei because of his naughty question. He expected a comeback: preferably a sarcastic reply.

Unfortunately, Hiei chose to be silent and glared at Kurama with his eyes for a moment. He turned around quickly and crossed his arms to his chest, not wanting to see him. It was the youko's fault that he was trapped here in the first place.

Everything started so well three months ago when the two of them and Gouki stole the three powerful artifacts from the King's Vault in the spiritual realm. Gouki took care of the imposing guards when the alarm came off and the trio managed to flee in success into the Human World. They arrived at a secluded forest in order to try out the power of the artifacts. The Forlorn Hope, the Orb of Baast, and the Shadow Sword: each artifact had its own extraordinary power. Hiei took possession of the Shadow Sword since he had sword expertise, Gouki took the Orb of Baast being interested with its power, and Youko took the Forlorn Hope for himself.

The mess started right when Youko literally walked out on Hiei and Gouki when they were expressing how their desire to take over the three worlds shall be fulfilled. Youko had all this time a hidden agenda that when he got the mirror-like artifact, he began to pursue whatever reason he had in his mind. That went beyond Hiei: he went after Youko to search for him so he was able to get an answer.

Hiei had decided against the idea by obtaining the three artifacts for himself. He realized he had the chance to finally be the strongest and the ruler of Human, Spirit, and Demon World. That's why he was able to care less about Youko Kurama and his act of selfishness or Gouki being killed afterward by the new Spirit Detective chosen by Koenma. The detective became another pain that added to Hiei's equation for the quest for power. That soon led to his downfall with the help of the ferry girl at the warehouse, where he held captive his classmate, Keiko Yukimura, and had an army of zombie-like humans under his command. Of course, that downfall was really brought by Youko by helping the detective to gain the upper hand in the heated battle.

"Hmph," Youko narrowed his golden eyes at Hiei. He hated the silence and especially being ignored at his own face. He proceeded to unlock and open the cell gate with the key that one of the ogre guards held. "I'll leave the gate open in case you decide to choose your freedom. Trust me: it will be much better than staying here rotting yourself until your death."

Still, there was no reply from Hiei.

Youko had enough of the ridiculous silent treatment. He was going to get what he wanted as of right now. He walked right behind Hiei and lowered down to his height. He began to wrap his arms around the smaller waist and pulled the small body close to his own taller body. He closed his eyes and hid his face on the crook of Hiei's neck as he inhaled slowly the fire demon's scent. He inhaled slowly the fire demon's scent. It was intoxicating and arousing for him.

Hiei still stood there, now trying to contain his emotions. He had the other very close to him...This could mean the slip of his control of actually giving in to the youko's wiles. Youko Kurama always got what he wanted, and Hiei was very clear of that strong aspect. He felt a hot breath on his right ear that he could feel himself shudder.

"Mark my words," Youko Kurama's deep sensual voice whispered at the ear. "After this, we will never see each other again. Who knows what fate has in store in our path…" He began to kiss, nip, and lick the ear as his expert hands started to roam with no restriction all over Hiei's body. He took a pause of caressing the ear with his lips, tongue, and fangs, "...Who knows what it'll be this time. We might meet again in another lifetime and under different circumstances. I'll leave that entirely up to you."

Hiei didn't know what the other was on about the nonsense he was whispering. The Silver Fox to him was mystical sometimes but he decided to pay no heed this time. "Did you actually come to fuck me one last time before your dramatic departure?" he said coldly and cynically because it was getting more obvious of what would come next between the two of them.

At last, Hiei was being responsive and slowly succumbing to submission to his charm and desire. Not only with the words said but his body was also reacting to the sensual touches. Youko smirked upon noticing those facts and tightened his hold over Hiei's body. "Let's just say it is for old time's sake...I'm going to miss you dearly, so I ask nothing more of you for a going-away present."

Hiei broke free from Youko's arms, and he turned around to scowl at him for that last comment. "Don't you always: help yourself while you are at it! Just get this over with, Fox." He didn't believe any of his words. He was certain that he was going to see Youko Kurama again just like every other time in the demon realm. He will find with his Jagan eye the new hiding place, and everything will be normal for them again in the demon realm: stealing, killing, training, and having sex, like it always has been ever since after they had met.

Youko gave out a small chuckle. He was amused for his lover's apparent eagerness and granted permission, which he didn't really need the latter to carry on his way. Hiei didn't understand his ulterior motive because of his stubbornness or simply being naive. Which was ever the case, it doesn't really matter. Things are not going to be the same for them again after this meeting... "That's the spirit, love," he said as he secretly hoped that Hiei would be able to decipher his words from earlier one day.

Then, Youko made a gesture for Hiei to lie down on the floor. Hiei obeyed because of the wanton, so he did exactly as gestured. Then, the fox demon was on top of the small fire demon with his face mere inches away from the other's face. Instead of carrying on with his lustful act, he pondered heavily as he stared at the red orbs with his golden ones.

"What is it?" Hiei asked, somewhat flushed. It was unlike Youko Kurama to stall or hesitate as soon as they begin with their act of intimacy.

Youko raised a hand to caress Hiei's left cheek softly as he still didn't stop staring him dead in the eyes. "I've decided to do things differently this time," he stated gently. "I'm going to take my sweet time devouring you senseless if you don't mind. I want to remember everything about you...Hiei."

This was one of the rarest times that Youko Kurama actually called the fire demon by his name. Hiei finally decided that something was wrong with him. He was being oddly mysterious with his choice of words. Hiei wanted to get the youkai off him so he could question him but unfortunately, he couldn't find the proper strength to do so. He was being carried away in the impromptu lustful and passionate kiss. He quickly closed his eyes to kiss Youko Kurama back in equal passion and wrapped his arms around his neck. As he continued kissing with now his tongue demanded permission to enter his mouth and Hiei allowed so, not by first battling his tongue with his…and things from there carried forward into much more…

After ending and recovering their breaths from their long but intense sexual activity, Hiei lied on top of the fox demon's body being very exhausted, sweaty, and fully undressed.

Youko wrapped his arms around Hiei as he was also lying on the floor on the same conditions as his lover and partner-in-crime. As he held Hiei, he tried to enjoy this moment in this time and space. Their time was set to run short: the effect of the powder mist might repel anytime now and the guards from Spirit World will soon regain their consciousness. Youko felt Hiei trying to get off his arms so he could get up and he let his arms aside. Hiei stood on his foot before him as he searched for his clothes in the pile of discarded clothes that was next to them. Eventually, Kurama also searched for his white tunic and his shoes. He began to put his clothes back on after he also stood on his feet.

The two dressed in their respective quietly and without looking at each other.

When Hiei had already finished putting his black cloak on as his last piece of garment, Youko grabbed his own right arm from behind. Hiei turned to look at the other, and couldn't believe what he saw. For the first time since they know each other, Youko Kurama displayed an unknown emotion to Hiei that was on his handsome features. Hiei was about to question for everything once more but Youko pulled him to his body again to give him one last deep kiss. This kiss was rather sweet, almost loving, and it longed for something that is unknown and beyond to Hiei.

When Youko pulled away from the kiss a brief moment, he spoke rather quickly before Hiei could finally question his behavior: "It's been a pleasure, Hiei. Take care of yourself."

And those were Youko Kurama's last words before going ahead to leave Spirit World... as well as Hiei's life for good.

Hiei decided to stop the memory to think about the present for a change. He wasn't in his homeland, and he ended up on the place he loathed: the Human World. If he knew another way to return to the Demon World, he would have done so long ago. However, the only way to return to the said realm was by entering through a portal that was only located in the Spirit World. It was a bad idea to go back there since he was running away as a fugitive. Evidently, that would be the first place that the Spirit Detective along with the ferry girl would go to look for him under Koenma's instructed orders.

In the meantime, Hiei was stuck in a rut…

"I hate this place…" Hiei said under his breath as the rain fell heavily from the gray sky.

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