Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall...
Part IV

By Caithi'on

Standard Disclaimers

Knowing a secret gives one a sense of power, Hiei decided. And yet... and yet it wasn't a sensation he felt comfortable glorifying in. It seemed almost unclean.

He kept half an eye on his oldest partner-in-crime while he double-checked his wards. The familiar cave surrounded him, radiating warmth from its bare stone. He relaxed slightly, although his wiry frame never completely lost its tenseness.

For here was an intruder.

Foolish to bring him here. He will have marked it, even in his unconscious state. Now I'll have to find a new cave.

"Che."

And can I even be sure that this is Kurama?

The koorime racked his brain for any knowledge of youko. The results were distressingly sparse. For all their flamboyancy, the fox spirits were a highly private race.

Perhaps he was hit by a spell? No. Those creatures were too stupid for it. This has been going on a long time...

Definitely uncomfortable, this knowing. Even worse, however, the ignorance.

Hiei moved to crouch beside Kurama, placing a calloused hand on his shoulder to check the healing flow of ki. As expected, it was far advanced.

Good enough then.

A quick slap brought the kitsune to his senses. Hiei easily avoided the leaf blade that materialized. He settled against the opposite wall while waiting for Kurama's brain to catch up with his actions.

"Ahngh!" Kurama groaned, putting on a good show of bleary alertness. "What'd you do that for?"

Hiei wasn't fooled. "I want answers, Kurama."

Kurama dropped the pretense, instead staring about the cave curiously. "Sumimasen." A moment later: "Where are we?"

Crimson eyes narrowed. "You won't explain?"

Kurama sighed inaudibly. "I pose no new threat to you."

'No new threat.' He chooses his words carefully. Only a fool would try to tell me he posed no threat.

"Saa. We're in the Makai. Safe."

Kurama's eyes interrupted their catalogue of the cave to glance at him. 'Safe.' So sure? That's unlike Hiei.

"Saa..."

Hiei shrugged, smirking slightly. "No one can get through these wards."

The redhead ran a flat hand across the stone floor. His palm felt every imperfection, but there was no dirt — no loose rock. Strange... A twinge in his side persuaded him to lie prone again. Through it all the silence stretched; neither gave an inch.

Damn annoying runt. I must admit that sometimes I sympathize with Kuwabara. Still, he's changed. Sometimes... sometimes I almost feel I could trust him.

Dangerous, that — to trust another. A thousand years or more had burned the lesson clearly into the skull of this denizen of the Makai. Trust was a weakness. Friends were a weakness.

No, I'm not fool enough. Although Shuuichi may have been...

A small inner voice showed him the perfect fighting machine that was Urameshi and Kuwabara... that was Hiei and himself. He trusted him at his back, did he not?

Completely different! That's only in the heat of battle. We both know that any treachery on our part would be punished by Koenma — not to mention Urameshi and Kuwabara. A sudden though made his hands clench. There are no witnesses here. He watched Hiei neurotically, warily. I'm already weakened by my wound and—

"K'so!"

The exclamation caused Hiei's head to snap up from its bowed position on his chest as he woke from his half-sleep. He glared at Kurama from under the dark fringe of his bangs. A glint sparked as he observed Kurama's crossed arms.

"Why, kitsune, I didn't know you knew how to swear."

The odd attempt at humor had no impact on Kurama. "You know about the change."

Hiei shrugged. "To what purpose? I may be able to defeat you in that form; I may not. At the moment, a fight is the last thing I need."

"Even with the gains of defeating an older youkai?"

Hiei paused. "Another hour; then we'll get you back to your human mother."

What? Scruples, Hiei? They've changed you more than I thought. What would you do if I told you how much your spirit resembles that of Urameshi and Kuwabara? Sometimes I forget how young you are... how a mere three-hundred years of living in the Makai is no defense against naive humanity. They can live this way, but we can't afford to. After all, we will return to the Makai eventually, and different rules are supreme there.

Hiei watched the preoccupied youko through lidded eyes. He took in the delicate features, the luminescent beauty, and he cursed. He cursed the day this hybrid had been born. He cursed the day their paths had crossed. He cursed the day he met Urameshi Yuusuke. Most of all, he cursed the weaknesses he no longer had the will to destroy.