• 1-Selfish Desire
• 2-Chapter 2
• 3-Chapter 3
• 4-Chapter 4
• 5-Chapter 5
• 6-Chapter 6
• 7-Chapter 7
• 8-Chapter 8
• 9-Chapter 9
• 10-Chapter 10
• 11-Note
• 12-Last Chapter
• 13-Epilogue
• 14-Yukina and Kuwabara, a Romantic Night

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based upon the manga/anime
characters of Yu Yu Hakusho. This story was written for entertainment only
and may be freely shared as long as the disclaimer and the author's name are
intact and none of the contents of the story are altered.

No matter how fast or far Kurama ran, the fog appeared to be without
end. His feet pounded the ground, and his arms were in front of him,
hoping to lessen the pain of impact should he meet an obstacle.

There was no obstacle to speak of, or to harm him, because the moment the
fog thinned, the fox sprinted over the edge of a chasm. None of his agility
or speed could save him as he tumbled and fell, screaming out as his mind
raced with worry for the ones he loved.

The descent came faster, and he knew not how long he fell before he met
the ground. It was almost painless, and he jerked up in surprise into a
sitting position, emerald eyes wide open and unsteady, vision blurred, body
aching and sore in many different places. He was vaguely aware of an arm
behind him, supporting him gently, the light touch of spread fingers and a
palm against the small of his back.

The fox's vision cleared, and he found concerned ruby orbs staring into
his own, set within an expression worried and frightened, a countenance that
was rather awkward on the jaganshi's face. "Hiei."

There were no words that could have expressed the feelings both felt at
that moment. Kurama found himself captured within a tight hug, Hiei's face
resting against the crook of his neck. For once, the well-spoken kitsune
was tongue-tied, and chose to remain silent, rather than ruining the moment
that both had shared since their eyes made contact.

He raised his own limbs, slipping them around his lover's petite body,
returning the hug with every ounce of emotion that he felt. His sacrifice
had been worth it, and he would never regret a nanosecond of the time he
spent subjected to taganagan's power. He would do it all again, if just for
one more hug like this one.

***

Yukina absently tossed down another handful of birdseed, watching the
small-winged creatures swoop down to take their fill of what she
offered. Neither her brother, nor his mate appeared as if they would emerge
from their comatose forms any time soon. If what Botan and Koenma said was
completely correct, another day in that state would render him braindead,
and a spirit guide would be forced to collect his soul, lest he become a
wandering ghoul, or by more devious methods, possess and steal another human
fetus.

She worried about her brother. It seemed like only yesterday that the
secret had been revealed and put out into the open. She could never thank
Kazuma-san enough for what he had done. Finding out who her brother was had
been as if a weight were lifted from her heart. So much gratitude for one
person shouldn't even be possible...yet she had chosen a poor way of
returning the kindness by turning him down, and sending him away to his
death.

Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, and she hastily wiped them before
they could trickle to the end of her long lashes, where they would fall and
crystallize into hiruiseki before hitting the ground.

Makoto and Noobutsu had disappeared into the forest, promising Yukina to
go no further than necessary in the search for lost demons. Left alone,
Yukina had found herself going crazy staring at her brother's prone form,
wondering if he would ever awaken from his self-induced sleep. Despite her
faith in his abilities and strength, it was impossible to not worry about
him.

The ice maiden sighed, gently tossing another handful of seed when the
previous scattering of birdfeed was removed from the ground. "Sweet birds,
what would I do without your company...will I always lose those I care about?"
she whispered softly, staring forlornly at the ground as they hopped to and
fro, frantically chirping and pecking the seed-covered earth.

"Perhaps we can offer better company than the birds," a soft-spoken voice
called from behind her.

Yukina whirled around, dropping the container of birdfeedeed eed
scattered across the ground, long forgotten as a pair of ruby eyes took in
the sight of two figures side by side at the shrine entrance. The taller
one smiled weakly at her, supported by the shorter youkai at his side.
"Oniisan! Kurama-san, you're both alright!" she cried, running towards her
older brother and his lover. She threw herself into Hiei's arms with such
force the demon nearly stumbled backwards in surprise.

"I was only gone for a day, Imoto," Hiei spoke softly, gently rubbing her
back. Hiei and Kurama exchanged glances, both hesitant to bring up the
lingering presence of a disturbance that they felt while passing the main
room.

"Were there any problems while we were both unconscious, Yukina-chan?"
Kurama asked, beating Hiei to the punch.

The Koorime appeared slightly startled. Were she to tell the two about
the encounter with the two demons, Hiei would most likely go on a murderous
spree in the Makai to find out who put the duo up to it when he should
be preparing to be with Kurama, making up for time lost between them.

Yukina smiled, then slowly shook her head before
replying, "Nothing that I couldn't handle, Kurama-san."

***

[That Evening}

"How much further will we have to walk?" Keiko asked, reaching up to wipe
her damp forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. If she'd known that the
journey would require her to walk foveraveral hours in the burning sun of
the Makai desert, she may have been a lot less eager to return with Yusuke
to his real home.

"It's a four day run." Yusuke murmured, glancing over at his woman, fully
expecting a slap for not warning her ahead of time. "We've been walking for
five hours...maybe."

Keiko was too exhausted to pummel him, despite how much he may have
deserved it. He may be a demon, but she was only a simple human without
his endless stamina and endurance. She felt as if she were going to
collapse right then, and was thankful she didn't try to take many of
her belongings with her to Makai. Carrying more than a change of clothes
would have been a poor choice indeed. "Yusuke...you jerk. I should kill
you," she complained, desiring nothing more than to collapse head first into
a pool of cold water.

Yusuke glanced over at her and smirked. "Are you positive you want to
come to Toranin to live with me? No cars."

"You aren't talking me out of it," Keiko wheezed. "I'm coming with you
this time, and that's that."

Yusuke nodded, and slipped his arm around her, giving as much support as
she would accept. "I wasn't going to say this, because you would have
wanted to stop and wait, but Puu is on the way."

-Slap-

Yusuke rubbed his face. "I deserved that," he admitted. The young
Toranin Lord slipped his arm around her again, and the slow walk continued,
until the loud flapping of feathery wings announced the approach of his blue
spirit phoenix Puu. With a screech, the giant bird landed and folded its
wings, lowering to its belly and dipping forward gracefully for both hanyou
and human to climb onto its back. "You knew the moment I returned to Makai,
didn't you, buddy?" Yusuke said with a grin, ruffling the beast's feathers.

Keiko gave a shrill scream as the bird lifted off into the sky, massive
wings flapping to keep itself and its passengers aloft. Once, she had flown
on an airplane, strapped into a seat, protected by windows, a locked
door...but there were walls to keep the wind from hitting her in the
face or flowing through her hair. This was nothing like that. It was better than an
amusement park ride, better than a plane flight, better than joyriding in a
convertible on a summer afternoon.

"Like it?" Yusuke called over his shoulder, as Keiko held tightly to him
from behind, slender arms wrapped around his waist, fingers interlaced in
front of his firm abs.

"Yes!" she cried, pressing her cheek against the back of his shoulder.
She hardly dared to open her eyes, frightened of discovering just how high
up they were.

"Take a look!"

"I can't!"

"I won't let you fall! No matter how high up we are, Keiko!'

The frightened girl forced her eyes to open, staring down at the blend of
colors that made up the Makai landscape. She could hardly see the end of
the desert, but beyond it were beautiful greenery and mountains, illuminated
by a gorgeous setting crimson sun. Pink and orange clouds covered the
ruby-tinted sky, stretching on for hundreds of miles. "Gorgeous," she
breathed, never seeing anything like it before. Enraptured by the view,
Keiko silenced and spoke no more, until a breathy little whisper found its
way to Yusuke's ear. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For sharing this with me."

In front of her, Yusuke smiled. Things would turn out right after all.

***

[The Next Morning]

Kurama and Hiei waited patiently on the steps of the Minamino-Hatanaka
residence. Only minutes ago, a blue Subaru had pulled out of the driveway
and down the street, signaling the departure of his stepfather until the
evening. Despite the fact that the sun had barely rose more than a half
hour ago, both knew that Shiori would be awake.

His mother had never been able to rest or sleep well when she knew her
son was ill. Although he had called from the shrine the previous evening to
let her know he had awakened, she had insisted he remain in bed one more
night to regain his strength before venturing out to see her.

The door opened before Kurama's fist could even raise to knock on it.
Shiori stood framed in the door, all signs of exhaustion seemed to melt from
her features as she took in the sight of her son alive and well. The mother
stepped out onto the porch and embraced her only child tightly, tears of joy
springing to her eyes. "You're alright, you're really alright."

"Mother, I told you last night that I was alright," Kurama reminded her,
shooting the jaganshi a suspicious look. Hiei's innocent countenance could
not fool a fox that spent hundreds of years making deception an art. Damn
the jaganshi and his telepathic messages.

"I know you did, Shuichi. But a mother never stops worrying until she
sees with her own eyes. Come inside, both of you. I want to know
everything."

"Everything?" Kurama echoed inelegantly, unable to hide the discomfort of
revealing too much to his mother, like the fact that they had really
spent very little time 'resting' the previous night as she had ordered.

"Yes. Everything" Shiori stated firmly. " Such as where you will live; have you
two made up; will you quit that ridiculous overseas job and move home to be
near your family again?"

Hiei couldn't help it. He chuckled out loud at Shiori's motherly attack.
The fox shot him a glare, more playful than it was serious, and both
demons entered the house, removing their shoes and following the dark-haired
human into the kitchen.

Apparently, Hiei's message had been sent some time before they arrived,
because a kettle of water was already boiling on the stove. "I'll make the
tMothMother." And he would have, had she not swatted him into a chair
before he could even make it to the stove.

"Absolutely not. Now one of you will tell me what's happening. I don't
care who."

Kurama knew what Shiori wanted to hear, so he wasted no time in telling
her, reassuring his mother and lover at the same time. "I will not be
returning to America, Mother. I've run away and remained hidden too long."

"And what about Hiei? Surely, you will not stay here and leave that poor
young man alone in your homeworld again?" Shiori asked, setting a steaming
mug in front of each.

Kurama blinked, his emerald eyes shifting from his mother, to his fire
demon, then back to the woman who bore him. If he didn't know better,
they were teaming up against him. He could almost hear them
conversing mentally to one another, the way he and Hiei often did.

Kurama phrased his words carefully, fully avoiding chance of
disappointing anyone by asking a simple question. "You do not want me to
remain near you, Mother?"

Shiori sat at the table with her own tea, a smile resting on her lips as
she watched Hiei topple several spoonfuls of sugar into his tea before
allowing Kurama to take the sugar bowl. "I want you to go where you will be
happy. I want both of you to be happy. I won't say that I haven't
always wanted a grandchild, or a daughter-in-law to bond with. I always
expected you to marry some meek and demure girl from a good family."

Hiei pretended to be fascinated with the steaming surface of his sugary
twhilwhile Kurama found difficulty in meeting her gaze.

"I suppose I forgot that I wanted your happiness first and
foremost. None of those other things matter if you aren't happy...Kurama."

The fox jerked his head up, wide eyes staring at his mother. Had she
used his true name, and not the one she had given him at his birth?

"Both of you belong together, and nothing I want for you should
ever destroy that." Shiori smiled and took a sip of her tea, feigning an
innocent look. "I only hope that my son doesn't forget to visit his mother
and send her letters," she teased.

"As many letters as you desire, Mother."

***

[That Night]

Yukina stared up at the blue moon of the Reikai, a sad smile on her face
as she held a letter in her small hands. When it had arrived, written in a
familiar, nearly illegible script, she had barely been able to believe her
eyes. She had almost been willing to dismiss it, believing it to be nothing
more than a trick of some evil youkai, maybe even a demon affiliated with
the pair that tried to ransack the shrine.

If she'd told her brother, he would have insisted on coming with her,
wasting precious time to be shared between he and Kurama. By now, both of
them should be in the Makai, traveling towards Alaric to enjoy a lifetime
together.

She had left Noobutsu and Makoto to care for the shrine, trusting the cat
and monkey youkai enough after they had proved themselves time and time
again since their arrival. Not only had they rescued three stragglers for
her from the clutches of evil tree demons she hadn't even known existed
(Imagine her embarrassment, to discover her little white lie to Hiei hadn't
been so much of a lie after all), but they had also dispatched a few
dangerous apparitions hiding in the forest. They returned a little worse
for wear, but it was nothing her healing magic couldn't repair.

Several hours later, a little before sun set, a letter arrived, carried
by their red-haired spirit guide friend, Hinageshi.

Meet me near the Reikai palace after full moonrise.

So maybe she should have been suspicious of it. It would have been smart
to alert her brother immediately of the letter, so that they could check it
out together, but somng ing in her heart told her the writer of the message
meant her no harm.

It couldn't be him. Kazuma-san is gone, she thought sadly. If
he were not in the afterlife, that would mean he was a wandering ghost, or
ghoul...and Koenma-sama would never allow that.

The ice princess raised her chin and squared her shoulders, determined to
be brave and strong. She needed no one to escort her.

Yukina had never been to the gardens of the Reikai Palace before. She
was able to walk the palace perimeter unmolested, and ignored by all.
Either they expected her arrival, or no one cared that a little ice princess
was walking the property.

The gardens came into view, beautiful flower beds stretching for yards
and yards in either direction, separated by narrow stone walk ways. In the
distance, beneath a tree, she could see a tall figure bathed by the
moonlight, hands shoved deeply in its pockets.

It can't be.

But it was. She knew in her heart that it was. The little Koorime ran
as fast as her sandaled feet would allow, unable to believe the sight before
her eyes as the tall figure of her deceased human friend stepped out from
beneath the tree the moment he spotted her, jogging towards her to meet halfway.

There was no excited 'YuKIIIIIna-chan' followed by a klutzy dash.
Kuwabara stopped in front of her, taking one of her small hands between both
palms and lowering to a knee. "I didn't think you would come."

"Ka...Kazuma-san, it's really you," Yukina whispered, placing the palm of
her free hand against his cheek. "I don't understand how you can be here
right now."

"It's a long story, but I've been given a second chance, Yukina. I'm a
guardian angel now. I can watch over everyone I care about and keep them
safe."

"Kazuma-san...tell me what the purpof mof marriage is."

"Well, you marry someone when you love them, and then you have kids."

"I don't need a man to have children, Kazuma-san. I'm sorry. I don't feel
the same way. I think fondly of you but--"

"But you won't marry me."

"I'm sorry. I can't accept your lovely gift."

Pain filled the ice apparition's crimson eyes. She had turned him down
and coldly broken his heart. She may as well have been the one to take his
life, taking his friendship and loyalty for granted, never even taking the
time to consider what he asked and give it serious thought.

"Yukina?" Kuwabara asked, voice filled with uncertainty. Her eyes had
moistened, now filled with unshed tears. He wondered if perhaps he had said
the wrong thing to her, and that she would turn him away again.

"Kazuma-san...when those apparitions attacked...were you there with me?"

"Yes," he admitted with a heavy heart, expecting her to admonish him.

"I don't deserve your kindness," she whispered. Her tears overflowed, a
single droplet falling to the ground, where it formed into a crystalline
white stone, shining and glistening in the blue moonlight. "How could you
do this for me, after I refused your offer of companionship?"

Kuwabara sighed heavily. "Because I love you, Yukina-chan. And nothing
you could ever say will change that. I want to protect you."

Yukina was silent, and gently removed her hand from his grip. "I don't
need your protection, Kazuma-san."

She was breaking his heart a second time.

"I don't need you to watch over me."

He couldn't bear to look at her. Twice, he had attempted to find a place
in her heart, and twice he had been burned.

Yukina picked up the glistening orb of the tear gem that had fallen, and
gently pressed it into Kuwabara's palm. "But I want you to. I feel safe
knowing that you watch over me." She closed his fingers gently over the
gem, then leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "I understand now, Kazuma-san.
But now that I do, it's too late."

"It's not too late," Kuwabara responded, his voice raw with emotion. For
nearly eight years, he had waited to hear those words from her, and it
seemed like a cruel joke that he was a spirit, confined to a different
world, only able to watch over her in an ethereal form in the next. "But I
don't know if you want to wait."

Yukina wasted no time in asking. "How?"

"I may be given a human form like Botan's if I work hard over the next
hundred years. Until then, I can only have a physical form here...like this.
If I do good, it might be a little sooner."

"I'll wait."

"I understand if you--" He blinked. "You will
<

"I'll wait as long as I have to, Kazuma. A century is nothing to a
Koorime. I could wait two hundred years for you to rejoin me in Ningenkai.
Until then, I'll visit you as often as allowed here."

The speechless spirit was embraced gently, and he relished the feeling of
her small body against his torso. Raising his brawny arms to slip them
around her, he held the Koorime tight, feeling blessed twice over that he
had been given this second chance with her.

***

[Morning]

After the blood red moon that dominated the Makai nights had risen to
full glory, Keiko had steadily begun to find her enthusiasm replaced by
exhaustion. Despite attempts of remaining awake, the human girl had
steadily began to doze off, which meant she could no longer ride behind
Yusuke on Puu's back without risk of accident.

Sacrificing his own sleep, since it was rather unnecessary to sleep every
night when the blood of demons raced through his veins, Yusuke remained
awake, Keiko cradled against his chest.

The moon had not quite faded entirely from the sky, despite the tinges of
red and orange at the edge of the horizon, where the sun was just beginning
to climb in the sky.

"Yuuu...suke."

Yusuke glanced down to find Keiko lazily peering up through heavy-lidded
eyes, lashes lowered and nearly obscuring view of her hazel irises. "Awake
finally."

"Are we almost there?"

"Almost," he told her, glancing at the familiar scenery. She'd see it
soon enough.

Five minutes later, Keiko picked out the shape of a huge tower in the
distance, and leaned forward a little, peering over Puu's head for a better
look. "Are most of the buildings in Makai that large?" she asked curiously.
"That's the first one we've seen in a while."

"Only the palaces." he replied.

The brunette's mouth nearly fell open. "That's where we'll..."

"Our new home," Yusuke confirmed.

Seeing the home where she would live out the rest of her life and raise
their children only made the promise of his devotion more real. Keiko
blinked back tears, and held on as Puu soared towards Raizen's old palace,
the tower of Toranin where the new ruler and his queen would reside.

***

The redhead gazed out in silence at the red-hued sun of the Makai,
watching its steady ascent above the horizon, where it glowed brightly
behind pink-outlined clouds.

"Beautiful."

"You've seen it thousands of times, kitsune," Hiei remarked after a yawn,
his eyes still closed. "What was the point to dragging me out there?"

"I may have seen it a thousand times, but none of them compare to the time I share with you,
firefly," Kurama answered honestly, drawing Hiei against his side.

It had been years since the two had made love in the grass and fallen
asleep beneath the stars, totally at ease and content. Both were without a
single worry in the world to ruin the joy of their reunion. The return to
Makai had renewed feelings Kurama had long forgotten, feelings that had been
buried by concern for his mother and her well-being.

"I don't think I need to ask if you're glad that you returned."

"You don't need to ask." The fox gave his lover a grin, running his
fingers through the spilacklack locks of Hiei's gravity-defying hair. "But
I am very glad to have returned, not only became I missed Makai, but because
I am no longer separated from you." The fox leaned down to press a gentle
kiss against his lover's lips before withdrawing to resume their observation
of the dawn sky.

Hiei had witnessed a thousand years of his fox's memories, and now, he
would be there to help him make a thousand year's more.

What do you know, I made it a happy story after all. Hope the end
didn't disappoint. Depending on the desire for it, an epilogue may or may
not come.