A LITTLE DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters appearing in this fic are the property of Yoshihiro 
                     Togashi, Studio Pierrot, Fuji TV, and Shonen Jump Weekly. 

	Kurama is in love.

	He has always been very sweet, very polite, kind to everyone he meets; but there has 
also been an underlying sadness to his demeanour. That sadness has been conspicuously absent 
lately, and I cannot trace the exact time it vanished.

	Sometimes I catch him smiling for no apparent reason, his eyes misted over, lost in 
his own thoughts. Then one of the other boys will snap him out of it with a comment or a 
question, and he will turn those beautiful bright eyes -- the envy of any girl -- to the 
speaker, and reply in his gentle tones, and the mistiness will disappear for a while.

	I determine to find out the object of his affections.

	I turn first to the one with whom he spends so much time -- but Hiei is not one to 
wax eloquent, and he stares at me for several uncomfortable moments when I ask him if he has 
noticed any difference in Kurama's recent behaviour.

	"No," he tells me, finally, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, wishing 
he were anywhere but alone with me. I wait. He says no more.
	"Has he been -- spending time with other people?" I wonder. "Someone you don't know, 
maybe?"
	"No," he replies again, frowning slightly. "Why?"
	"No reason," I tell him quickly, and back away. He stares after me.

	I turn next to Yuusuke, catching him in a quiet moment when the others are not around. 
He laughs at me, slipping his arms around my waist, teasing.  "There's dozens of girls at his
school," he says, "in love with him. But I don't think he's in love with anyone."

	Boys are idiots, I decide, and hope to get more insight from Shizuru.

	We walk down a busy street, stop in front of a shop window and admire a dress. Shizuru
lights a cigarette. I look up at her. "I think Kurama-kun is in love," I say quickly. She 
inhales slowly, exhales from the side of her mouth, blowing her smoke away from me.
	"Why would you think he's in love?" she asks me quietly.
	"He just -- looks the way I feel when I am," I tell her, blushing. "He seems happier." 
She puts her free hand in her pocket, stands hipshot, watching me.
	"Well," she says, "I know it's not me. It's not you. It's certainly not Botan, or 
Yukina." She narrows her eyes at me. I frown, wondering if she's trying to tell me something. 
I decide it is my imagination, and sigh.
	"Well," I tell her, suddenly fidgety, "it's someone."
	"Ah," she replies, and says no more. We continue down the street.

	I realise am getting nowhere with the others, and steel my resolve; I have to ask him
directly.

	We are all outside, when I find a perfect opportunity. I discover a pretty little 
flower, and call him over to identify it for me. He crouches next to me, touching the flower 
gently with his fingertips. He looks up at me and smiles sweetly and tells me the name of it, 
and tells me that it's rare in these parts. My pulse is pounding in my ears, and I forget the 
flower's name instantly.

	"Kurama-kun," I say quietly, feeling my palms grow clammy, "who is it?"
	"Who is what?" he asks me, curious, keeping his voice low.
	"That's making you so happy lately," I finish quickly. His smile broadens, and his 
eyes brighten.
	"Keiko-chan," he says with a little laugh, "you were right the first time, you know." 
I stare at him, uncomprehending. "Here," he says. "A clue." He reaches behind him, pulls a 
rose out of his hair. I hesitate to touch it.
	"It's just a rose," he assures me, drawing its petals across his own skin to prove it. 
I take it, lift it to my face to breathe its scent.
	"How is this a clue?" I wonder.
	"You'll see," he assures me, and gets to his feet as his name is called.

	The other boys want to play some rough game, and Hiei will not be coaxed to join them; 
they want Kurama to lend his persuasion to the argument.

	I wander to join Botan and Yukina, who both sit properly on the grass. I sit with 
them. Shizuru joins the game.

	"That's a beautiful rose," Yukina says softly.
	"Kurama-kun gave it to me," I tell her absently, examining the flower for some hint of
the clue he mentioned. Its petals are velvet, a deep red, almost the colour of blood. I frown, 
and sniff indelicately at it; its odour is sweet, but not extraordinary.
	Botan leans toward me, teasing. "To be honest," she confides, in a loud whisper, "I'd 
rather have him for a boyfriend than Yuusuke, any day. You could have fresh flowers, every 
morning."
	"Right," I agree. "And they'd bite my fingers off when I tried to water them." We 
laugh, and suddenly notice that the game has moved too close to us. Before we can get to our 
feet, the five of them tumble over us, and a body slams into me, knocking me over; two hands 
hit the grass on either side of my head and I look up into Hiei's face. He stares down at me.

	He is there for only a second, before leaping to his feet and racing off with the 
others; but that second was all I needed.

	I sit up, barely hear Yukina and Botan asking me if I am all right. I lift the rose, 
which has escaped undamaged, and touch its petals, the deep dark colour of blood.

	The colour of Hiei's eyes.

	I look after the others, note that their game has been suddenly called off; they trot 
back toward us, apologising. Shizuru throws herself to the grass beside Yukina and pulls out 
a cigarette. The four boys stand and discuss the game's rules; apparently Hiei's falling on me 
has disrupted something.

	I look up at the four of them; Kurama is watching me, a half-smile on his face. He 
drapes an arm over Hiei's shoulder, affectionately -- to me, I suppose, it seems affectionate, 
because now I know. To the others, it is merely an act of friendship, something boys do, when 
they feel comfortable with one another. Yuusuke and Kazuma seem to think nothing of it, and 
make no comment.

	"He pushed me," Hiei growls.
	"Doesn't matter," Yuusuke shakes his head. "You fell -- "
	"I didn't fall" Hiei snaps. "I was pushed."
	"Why would I push you?" Kurama asks, amused.
	"I don't have the faintest idea why," Hiei informs him. "But you did."
	"Getting a little paranoid?" Kazuma wonders. Hiei jumps toward him.
	"I'll show you paranoid," he threatens. Yuusuke moves between them, soothing Kurama 
tucks his hands into his pockets and smiles at them, then turns once more to look at me.

	I lift the rose in silent acknowledgement. He winks, playfully, and watches the other 
three squabbling.



~~The End~~