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. 

	I kneel down, holding my hand out, making soft, coaxing noises, smiling as the fat gray
bird hops towards me, cooing softly, his little head making sharp jabs at my open palm and the 
bread crumbs I hold. I laugh at his antics; he is so funny! He is like a fat little man in a 
suit, fat and proud of full of self-importance. He makes another soft, trilling sound, and eats 
a few more crumbs from my hand.

	There are footsteps behind me, quiet but still audible. It startles both the bird and 
I, and he flies away, leaving me with my palm still half-full, slightly disappointed he has 
left. Oh, well; I can always save these for the next time he appears. I turn around, closing my  
hand over the pile of crumbs, and smile at my visitor. He is dressed all in black, even in the
blazing heat of midday, and his stern face is calm and quiet, as usual.

	"Hiei-san!" I say happily, dropping the crumbs to the sidewalk, brushing my hand off on
my kimono. The ants will get what I had intended to feed the pigeon, but I don’t care. I run to 
him, happy, and stop a few feet away from him. "Have you found my brother yet?" I ask, part of 
me hoping he will say yes, the other part hoping he will say no.

	Does that sound odd? I’ve been searching for my brother for so long, but now that I am 
faced with the possibility that I could find him any day now... it’s a frightening thought, one 
that makes me feel dizzy with anticipation and worry, like the sake that I have been allowed to 
sip on a few occasions. I clasp my hands before my heart and stare into Hiei-san’s eyes; he is 
barely taller than I am, so alike and yet so different than I.  Always distant, colder than I 
could ever be, even with my powers of ice; Hiei-san is so frightening at times - like at the 
Ankoku Bujuutskai, when he used the Kokuryuuha - but he is always so gentle and kind with me. 
His presence always makes me feel safer, happier.

	He seems uncomfortable with my question, dropping his red eyes to stare at the ground, 
at our feet. "Gomen, Yukina," he tells me softly, sadly. "I still haven’t found your brother 
for you."

	Disappointment crashes through me like the wild waves on a beach, but I restrain my 
desire to cry. I drop my own eyes and sigh heavily. "Thank you, anyway, Hiei-san," I tell him 
quietly. "I know - I know you try." I feel my eyes sting, and take a deep breath, calming my 
nerves. When I look, he’s still there, which surprises me; usually, after giving me the news of 
any progress me might have made, he vanishes, quick and swift like wind-born shadows. He 
watches me with his sharp red eyes, cutting through me, looking into my soul.

	"Yukina ..." he turns away from me, but still does not leave. "What do you think your 
brother will be like, when you find him?"

	I smile at his choice of words, noticing he used ‘when’ instead of ‘if.’ That has 
always been the sort of thing that endeared Hiei-san to me; he can be so considerate and 
polite, when he wants to be. I ponder his question, wrinkle my brow in thought. I speak slowly, 
saying the words as the images come to mind. "I ... I’d imagine he would strong. He has to be; 
he’s a Forbidden Child. The only way he could survive this long is if he’s extremely strong."

	"How do you know your brother’s not dead?" he asks me, strangely gentle. The question 
drains blood from my face and heart; it is something I have wondered and worried about for a 
long time, mostly when I was under the ownership of that awful man, who made me cry and 
collected my tear-gems greedily, pawing me and stealing my tears. I shiver at the thought that 
my twin could be dead, then reach into my heart, finding that tiny, almost broken link that 
binds the two of us together.

	"I - I don’t know how I know ..." I say slowly, "but I ... I feel like I’d know if my 
brother died. He is a part of me; he is my twin. I’d ... I’d know, if he were dead. And he’s 
not. I can feel it in my heart - he’s still alive. He has to be." I close my fist, as if I were 
closing it over the memory of my brother. I didn’t think he believed anything I had said, but
he didn’t tell me so; another thing I liked about Hiei-san. He was always so considerate of my 
feelings!

	"What do you hope to find in your brother?" he asks me in a small voice, seemingly 
fascinated with one of the rose plants that Kurama-san planted a few months ago.

	I answer the question without thinking. "I hope I find someone like you, Hiei-san."

	He sputters, whirls to face me, eyes wide and incredulous. He advances, but I do not 
back down; I am utterly confident that he will not hurt me; I don’t think he could, even if he 
tried. His hands reach for my neck, but at the last moment, spread themselves wider, landing on 
my shoulders and gripping them with an almost painful tightness. His voice is thick as he 
speaks, shaking with some barely-supressed emotion. Worried, I touch his face, surprised when 
he flinches as if I had burned him. 
	
 	"Do you know," he asks me, practically growling the words at me, "what you wish? I’m a 
killer, Yukina. I’ve destroyed countless of lives to get something I want, and I feel no 
remorse over what I’ve done. I killed someone in front of his children; I watched him die, and 
I didn’t feel anything. No guilt, no regret, anything. You don’t know me, Yukina. You don’t 
know what you wish for."

	"But I do," I tell him earnestly. "I know you are an honest person; and I know you are 
capable of caring for someone, despite all your faults. I mean, you are always so quick to 
defend me, or Kurama-san, whenever we’re in trouble! You saved me from that slave merchant - 
does a heartless killer do that for a complete stranger?" I don’t raise my voice, but I do give 
him the closest I can to a glare, watching him wither under my gaze. "And Kurama-san! Can a 
killer feel love, Hiei-san? Can a killer care for someone as much as you care for Kurama-san?"

	"Nani?" The word bursts from him like a spark from a fire; he wrenches away from me, 
holding his hands out, as if trying to block me from getting any closer to him. His eyes 
narrow; he is definetely angry, but I am confident he will not raise a hand towards me. "What 
the hell do you mean by that?"

	I blink, confused. "You and Kurama-san," I tell him. "Aren’t you two...you know ... ?" 
I pose the question, let it hang. All this time, and I thought ...

	Hiei frowned, crossing his arms almost protectively across his chest. "Hn. Why the hell 
would I care for that stupid fox, anyway?" he asks me peevishly, the closest he has ever gotten 
to snapping at me. "He’s just a companion; a fellow warrior. If he dies, he dies. All that I 
will feel at his passing is regret for the loss of such strength." He seems confident that’s 
the case, but there’s one point that drives me to keep on talking...

	"So why did you help him, that day in the hospital?" I ask, confused. "If you didn’t 
care, why didn’t you let Kazuma-san or Yuusuke-san do it?"

	He blinks; obviously, my words have hit home. "Because ... just because!" he explodes, 
glaring at me. As I watch, he turns away from me and walks away, his footsteps hard, and sharp, 
his movements jerky, like those of a marionette. He vanishes in a blur of black, disappearing 
without a trace. I stand there, surprised, when a sparkle catches my eye.

	Lying on the ground, near the roots of the rose bush, is a single black gem. I kneel 
beside it and pick it up carefully, cradling it in my hands, staring at it in astonishment. 
It’s beautiful ... but where did it come from? It’s a Koorime tear-gem, I know...but how... ? 
Hiei-san ... ?

	I smile at the thought that perhaps this tear is from Hiei-san; if he was such a hard, 
ruthless killer, how come he wept when I confronted him? How come he was so uncomfortable, 
broaching the subject of Kurama-san? It couldn’t be ... could the fearless Hiei be afraid of a 
little Koorime girl?  The image makes me laugh, and I tuck the gem into a pocket of my kimono -
one that rests close to my heart. I press my palm flat against the area, feeling my heartbeat, 
and the hard bump that the gem creates through the cloth.

	Hiei-san, I think to him, wherever he may be lurking, looking around, you may be a 
worthless creature in your eyes, but I truly do think I want my brother to be like you, when 
he’s found. And I hope you find peace with your feelings about Kurama-san.

	I close my eyes enjoy the feel of warm sunlight on my face.

	Suki da, brother of my heart.

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* Next: Kurama's Snapshot: Black Rose