Kore wa daisuki wo benkyoushimasu, ne?

A/N: None at this time.

Disclaimer: Don’t own Inu or Yuyu. *the tears! They fall so hard!!* :: sob ::

Lesson 3: Friends are Never ending--Didn’t you know that?

A bloodied claw glistened in the moonlight as a demon with deathly dark violet eyes raised it to his lips, taking a small taste of the brick red liquid before spitting it back out. “Wench…” his cold voice hissed out, a glare of animosity etched on his ghostly pale face. “You dare to assume that I would even consider bedding with you…that was your downfall.” he looked down to the cut up demon female with viscous looking orange eyes. He raised another claw and sliced at her throat, earning another intense scream from the leopard creature. The demon smirked, flicking his claws to the side to fling off the blood now attempting to cake on his hands.

‘A woman’s scream is the most satisfying…’ he thought, before finally being done with her. “You no longer entertain me, bitch.” he hissed into her ear before completely dislodging her head from the rest of her body as he tossed it into the River Styx, knowing that eventually the dismembered body parts would end up in the Spirit Realm. “Lord Enma…know that I am coming for you, next. You and the rest of your people who dare to stand in my way…” he stopped, an extremely familiar aura just barely registering in his senses. Immediately, his father’s voice spoke up.

‘That’s her! That’s that miko bitch from 500 years ago! She’s the one who killed me and Kagura!’

The black haired demon raised his eyebrow in surprise. ‘So, she’s finally made herself known. This is beginning to become interesting. Very interesting.’ he thought, disposing of the rest of the blood caked on his hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome sighed. After the fireworks show her and Souta had headed back home, both of them thoroughly worn out. Kagome’s head hit her pillow, but she couldn’t seem to fall asleep. The events days played out in her mind over and over, like a movie. ‘Hiei and Kurama…’ she thought to herself. Both of them were demon, but they didn’t seem like it. Of course she felt their energies and knew it to be true, but they didn’t act like any demons she knew. “Oh, what am I kidding myself for? Hiei reminds me of Inuyasha and Kurama…well, Kurama is just unusual. Even for a demon.” she said aloud, arguing with herself.

She tossed and turned a couple of moments before she finally got comfortable. ‘Will they keep their promise? Will I ever get to see them again?’ she questioned, the sadness threatening to overtake her again.

“It’s a promise…” Kurama had said. She pictured him at that moment in time and allowed herself a small smile. She could trust him. He wouldn’t fail her. ‘But…’ she thought quickly, ‘…what about Hiei? Will he come back to see me?’ Kagome remembered the way he rebelled against her spirit, becoming angry at its touch.

Kagome sighed. It was proving to be another long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurama smiled gently as he tended to his garden in his apartment. They seemed to perk up as he watered them, showing them some much needed attention. The summer months were getting hotter and drier, and his plants were suffering slightly. He noticed Hiei sitting behind him, watching his movements. ‘So, Hiei. What are you doing now?’ he asked, watering his Venus’ Fly Traps and looking over his cacti carefully. ‘Hn. Nothing at the moment, Fox.’ he replied, indifference in his voice, but the strange miko girl on his mind. Suddenly, a soft girl’s voice entered his mind, slowly speaking.

‘Hiei and Kurama…’

He silently cursed his Jagan for ever setting up that permanent link with the girl from earlier today. He had a hard enough time trying to keep Kurama and Youko out of his mind without a human interfering in his thoughts.

‘Oh, what am I kidding myself for? Hiei reminds me of Inuyasha and Kurama…well, Kurama is just unusual. Even for a demon.’ the miko’s voice shouted out softly, confusion in her thoughts. Hiei grew slightly angry for being compared to another demon, but there wasn’t anything he could really do about it where he was right now.

‘Will they keep their promise? Will I ever get to see them again?’ she invaded his mind again, completely unaware that every thought she had was also known to the Fire Apparition. Hiei stopped, listening to her voice echo in his mind.

Suddenly, he was bombarded by an image of Kurama just before he stepped in to the time portal Botan had set up. ‘It’s a promise…’
The girl was recalling his words. Kurama’s words. His promise to see her again. Hiei glared slightly at the Kitsune. ‘Damn that Fox for ever trying to find her again.’ he thought quickly.

‘I heard that Hiei. If I remember correctly, you were quite interested in the girl’s powers, as well, so don’t pin this one on me.’ Youko smirked.

Kurama sighed. ‘It’s no use, Youko. He won’t let it go.’ The avatars red locks flowed swiftly around as he shook his head before he added, ‘It’s not like we wouldn’t have met her eventually anyway, right Hiei?’

Hiei scowled even deeper before replying in his monotone voice, ‘Whatever, Fox.’

Suddenly, a sad streak ran through his mind. He listened closely, as did Youko and Kurama. They didn’t care if they were spying, and Kagome’s next thoughts impacted Hiei like nothing else had that day.

‘But…what about Hiei? Will he come back to see me?’ Another image flashed in his mind. The image of him flinching at her aura. He remembered the feel of her pure ki infusing in his body, calming the raging conflict within. It was an uneasy feeling at first, and then nothingness. He didn’t feel any pain, only the small bit of comfort the girl had sent to him by way of her energy.

Hiei sighed, getting Kurama’s attention.

‘That’s the most action Hiei has ever showed in a long time…’ Kurama observed, his brows coming together in thought. ‘Of course, you notice he’s deep in thought right now. That priestess has given our dear Hiei a good puzzle to work on.’ Kurama frowned. ‘But I thought you were the one into puzzles?’

Youko sighed. ‘I am. But the girl has pointed out something to Hiei that he may have not had an opportunity to think about before.’ he said, relaxing a bit. ‘Such as?’ Kurama questioned, confusion in his voice. ‘The fact that he’s actually wanting that human girl to touch him. Do you feel the tension coming from his body, Red? He’s not in his youkai heat, so that’s not the reason. He’s not deep in battle, so you can rule that out too. Can you see why he’s in such distress?’ the Youko almost laughed, finding the situation entirely too funny now. Kurama’s eyes went slightly wide before he shook his head. ‘Whatever you say, Youko.’

Hiei and Kurama sighed in unison. It was proving to be another long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome stretched, having finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the next day, and surprisingly getting a good nights sleep. Even stranger, was the fact that Kurama and Hiei were in her dreams, sitting beside her and giving her an unusual amount of comfort.

She got to her feet and pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt. Today was promising to already be another blistering day.

~*~

Kagome headed downstairs and went into the kitchen, slowly becoming aware of how quiet the house was. She looked on the fridge to see a note telling her that her mom and Souta went out to the grocery store, and that her grandfather would be working at the festival again. She sighed, placing the note on the table, as she looked in the fridge for something to sate her deep hunger. The Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream seemed like ages ago.

Nothing caught her interest, and she sighed again. ‘What I wouldn’t give for some ramen right now…’ she thought, her mind flashing back to a time when she would eat anything EXCEPT ramen, thanks to Inuyasha’s fandom of the food. At that thought she raced back upstairs and retrieved her big yellow backpack from the back of her closet and began digging in it. She smiled, retrieving a cup of ramen from the bottom.

She went back downstairs and added boiling water to the cup and within moments she exclaimed happily, “Breakfast is served!” She began to eat, slowly making the pain in her stomach go away, and she sighed again. Ramen was no cure for heartache and loneliness.

She finished the cup, not moving from her seat at the kitchen table. The heat swirled around her and the nothingness made her feel even more isolated. Suddenly, her miko powers went into overdrive, a huge smile coming to her face, as well as a little surprise. Her friends were here, along with two other people that seemed strangely familiar to her. She hopped up from the kitchen table and ran through the front door towards the steps, anticipation running high at seeing her friends again.

~*~

“This is it.” Yusuke said, nodding to the shrine steps. “Damn the girls got about as many steps as Genkai’s!” he complained, grumbling. Kurama chuckled while Kuwabara laughed out loud. “What’s wrong, Urameshi? Afraid of a few steps?” he said loudly, annoying Hiei. He jumped up the steps, getting far ahead of the rest of them, his Jagan and dragon reacting to the happiness radiating from the miko’s power.

‘Wonder why she’s so happy?’ he thought quickly, getting to the top in a flash.

~*~

Kagome ran in a full sprint to the other side of the shrine, before she gave a running hug to the first person who came above the steps. Hiei froze at her sudden contact, a small growl erupting from his throat. Kagome just smiled at him, and still didn’t let him go. Hiei’s dragon broke free from his arm, making pain shoot down the right side of his body as the creature wrapped around the miko girl.

Kagome’s smile left in a hurry as she felt the pain radiating off of the Fire Apparition. She felt a presence on her shoulders and she looked over to come face to face with a dragon spirit. She slowly surrounded it with her ki, seeing if it was going to hurt her or not. Seeing it posed no threat, she quickly infused her calming energy into the raging demon.

‘I’m sorry, Hiei. I didn’t mean to hurt you.’ her thoughts invaded his mind, stilling him from throwing her off of him. He looked down only to see a couple of tears leak down her face. The look she was sporting was breaking down every defense he could ever think of having. His eyes were wide and the expression he had was mixed with so many emotions, that Kagome couldn’t help but try and calm him down.

She got a better hold on him as she kept her arms slowly squeezing around his tormented body. She surrounded the both of them with her soft spirit, calming his inner turmoil again. His hand rested on her back, unsure of what he was doing, but knowing that it felt right. Kagome smiled, and slowly pulled away. She let the dragon spirit rest on her arm for a moment before she coaxed it back to Hiei. The spirit reattached to his arm, and with Kagome’s soft aura, it caused him no pain. She gave him another soft smile, before turning to face Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke, as they had finally made it up the steps.


“Kurama!” she shouted happily, running and grabbing onto him in almost the same fashion as Hiei. The apparition scowled softly as she flashed the red head a bright smile.

A small laugh emitted itself from Kurama’s lips as he smiled back at the girl hugging him. “It’s good to see you too, Kagome chan.” Normally, contact like this irritated him. It reminded him too much of his fan club, but at the look on Hiei’s face, he realized that the Fire apparition must have gotten the same treatment from the girl. He had to admit, he didn’t mind it so much.

‘Of course you don’t, Red. Don’t you feel that? All that happiness coming from her? You know who made her that happy?’ Youko grinned. Kurama blushed slightly at the images Youko was forcing upon him. ‘Youko…’ he threatened slightly. Just because he made her smile, didn’t mean he was ready to take her to the sack. Youko threw out another freshly conjured image, and Kurama choose to ignore him.

He hugged her back slightly before she broke away, twirling in place. Happiness radiated from her, the first happiness that she had shown since she was forced to come back. Hiei picked up her stray thoughts and held a small internal smile that he was one of the people responsible for her current joy.

Kagome looked to the boy with the flaming orange hair and the boy with the scowl on his face. Her eyes perked up in confusion as she asked softly, “Are you lost?” Yusuke’s scowl went down even further and Kuwabara looked at her moment before blurting out, “Look girl. We were sent here to protect you from some demon.”

Everyone looked at him and Yusuke voiced everyone’s opinion when he shouted, “BAKA!!” Kagome’s smile faltered. ‘They…they only came because they had to?’ she looked quietly down to the ground, and her sadness swept through Hiei making him force himself to suppress a growl. His dragon spirit was thrashing about, wanting to come out to comfort the girl. Unfortunately for Kurama, so was Youko. ‘Let me out! You see what that dumb ass’s words have done?! She needs someone to hold her! She thinks we were forced to come to see her!’ Kurama agreed but he couldn’t reply anything as he struggled to control Youko and keep him contained.

Kagome looked up and noticed the immense distress that was befalling Hiei and Kurama. She frowned, her energy encouraging to help them, even if they were forced to come to her side. She sent her calming ki out, slowly stroking the dragon spirit, calming him enough so that he wasn’t inflicting pain on Hiei, and gently squeezing the kitsune spirit, letting him feel her touch.

‘Youko? Are you okay?’ Kurama asked hesitantly at his sudden calm. ‘Fine, Red.’ he got out, his voice sounding out of breath. The girls power made him feel a million things at once, and one thing that he’d never felt in his entire lifetime--love. True, pure, compassionate, untainted love. He sat back in Kurama’s mind, getting his emotions back under control. He wondered just who this girl really was, and why did she feel the need to latch onto them so. Not that he minded, it was just that the girl seemed so very alone. Even when her thoughts took a turn for the worst, she was still willing to help them. That alone showed her character to be one that you could count on, and Youko wasn’t about to let Kurama forget it anytime soon.

Kagome stored her sadness away, shielding it from them. Midoriko said she wouldn’t be alone for very much longer, apparently, she still had a little ways to go before she would find companionship.

Yusuke looked angrily at her. The girl hadn’t said anything since Kuwabara’s outburst. “So? Do you know the situation you’re in, wench?” he shouted, making Kagome frown angrily back at him before a low growl emitted itself from the back of her throat. She had just broken Inuyasha of that habit when she was forced to come back. Hiei gave a look to Yusuke that would have made the fiercest demons cringe, but before he could do anything to act on it, Kagome’s harsh voice rang loud and clear. “First of all, buddy…” she spat, “…my name is Kagome, not ‘wench’. Second of all, you came here to my house, not the other way around, and third of all, I am not completely in the dark as to my situation, seeing as I have been the guardian of the Shikon jewel longer than you most likely have known about it, so shut up about something that you don’t understand!”

Hiei couldn’t stop the stunned look on his face from quickly turning into a smirk. The girl had fire, he could give her that much. Yusuke emitted a growl of his own before he yelled back at her, “You’re lucky you’re a human and a girl for that matter, or I would have no reservations of beating you into the ground!”

Kuwabara looked aghast at his team mate. Youko flared up inside of Kurama again. ‘That’s the last time he insults her!’ Youko shouted, his anger coming off in waves. Kagome’s own anger slightly dissipated as she felt the intense emotion building back up in Youko. She frowned and sent out her energy to him, calming him again. At that moment, Youko acted, holding onto her link. She looked confused at him a moment before she heard him in her mind.

‘Kagome…you don’t have to take this…he’s an impudent fool…’ he said softly, making Kagome giggle. ‘Don’t worry so much, Youko. Watch this…’ she grinned mischievously at him before breaking off their connection. Her voice got their attention again as she shouted, “And you’re lucky you’re a human and a girl or I would have to beat YOU into the ground!”

Yusuke growled and lunged, getting Hiei’s and Kurama’s instant attention, but before either of them could get near her a barrier sprang up, forcing Yusuke back a good 12 to 15 feet in the yard. “Take it to heart next time you attempt to attack me. I showed no hostility to you, yet you deemed it necessary to do so to me. Next time, I won’t be so gentle.” she said softly, the malice in her voice toned down quite a bit from before. Kuwabara’s eyes were the size of golf balls as was Kurama and Hiei. Youko smirked while Hiei thought yet again, ‘The girls got fire…I’ll give her that…’

~*~

Kagome’s sadness was repressed, and Youko could feel the tension pouring off of her. Hiei felt some sort of distress coming from her, but he couldn’t pin it down. Kuwabara just felt her massive energy, and Yusuke was busy picking himself off of the ground. As he did, Kuwabara couldn’t help but laugh, “Beaten by a girl, eh, Urameshi?” Kagome glared slightly at the orange haired boy. The lesson was not meant to entertain, but she shrugged it off. The boy deserved every bit of that. She gave everyone a smile and asked, “Well, do you guys want to come inside? I know we don’t have much to eat…” she paused. “Come to think of it, we don’t have much to drink either.” She blushed sheepishly. “Today’s shopping day. Mom and my little brother went out and they haven’t come back yet.” she explained.

Her face lit up as an idea came to her head. “We could order pizza! And you guys can tell me why you were sent here to protect me, and by whom. I want to know everything.” she said seriously, nodding to Hiei and Kurama in particular. The switch was almost instantaneous, confusing them slightly. ‘She can be very serious when she wants to be, ne, Youko?’ Kurama observed, quickly following her to the house with Hiei and Kuwabara, while Yusuke led the rear.

‘Ne, Red.’ he nodded.

Kagome retrieved the last $40 of the money her mom had given her last night and called up the nearest pizza delivery. “What do you guys like on your pizza?” she asked into the living room, where Hiei was leaning up against the wall and the other guys were just standing, unsure of where to sit.

“Everything but little fishies!” Kuwabara shouted. “Plain cheese for me, Kagome chan.” Kurama said next. Yusuke was still sulking but answered, “No onion or green peppers on mine.” Kagome smiled and got everything wrote down. ‘Hiei…have you ever had pizza before?’ she asked, knowing he could hear her voice. Anger radiated off of him again, but he toned it down quickly. He still wasn’t used to her being in his mind.

“No.” he voiced, making Kagome jump.

Kurama had noticed him heading for the kitchen, and didn’t do anything to stop him. Youko was flipping slightly though. ‘He’s going to talk to our future mate! Don’t let him go in there alone!’ he shouted, making Kurama almost fall over from shock. ‘MATE?! Since when?!’ he shouted, adrenaline rushing through his body. Youko grinned, he would know sooner or later that she was just right for the both of them. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.

Hiei looked slightly guilty at scaring her, but put back on his façade quickly. “That’s okay.” she said, giving him a smile and a soft brush of her aura. “What kind of things do you like to eat? Do you like cheese? Or how about mushrooms or peppers?” she asked.

“Cheese. Cheese is good. And…maybe black olives. Mushrooms.” he slowly put together, hating the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. Kagome just gave him the same smile she always did and wrote it down. After putting in their order, she gave the address and hung up the phone.

She sighed and sat down at the table. It was going to be about 45 minutes until the pizza got there. Kagome could smell it now. She rotated her neck slowly, cracking it. Man, she felt stiff. Maybe she slept on her neck wrong or something. Hiei continued to look at her, wondering what she was thinking. So far, nothing was filtering through their link.

Kagome raised her head to look into his eyes. “Have a seat, Hiei.” she offered, patting a chair next to her. He looked warily at it a moment before sitting down. She leaned down to rest her head in her arms, slowly closing her eyes and relaxing them for a moment. It had only been about 3 hours since she got up and she already felt exhausted. ‘Maybe I overdid it with the barrier thing…’ she thought quickly, frowning at the force she had to use on the boy. ‘What’s his name?’ she asked, knowing Hiei would know the answer.

‘Yusuke Urameshi. He’s a spirit detective for Koenma.’ he informed her, also resting his arms on the table next to her, letting his body relax for once.

Kagome nodded before asking, ‘Who’s Koenma?’

‘He’s ruler of the spirit world.’ he said simply, not knowing the effect of his words. ‘Koenma is leader of the spirit world?! Is he a child?’ she asked frantically, Midoriko’s words coming back to her.

‘Yeah, why?’ he looked up quickly, only to have Kurama standing over them. Youko felt her slight energy spike and came to investigate. Kagome didn’t seem to be in any trouble, so they took a seat, acting as if nothing happened.

Kagome’s voice finally came to her as she said, “The miko who used her soul to destroy countless demons and in essence creating the Shikon no Tama came to visit me yesterday. She said that the fool child leader of the spirit world let it slip that I’m the miko in possession of the jewel. She sounded kind of pissed at him, to be honest.” Kagome said honestly, working to calm her spirit back down.

Kurama held back a laugh while Hiei smirked. ‘Even the great Midoriko thinks he’s doing a piss poor job of taking care of the Spirit Realm.’ Youko laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

Kagome let a smile slip. Even if they were forced to be with her, she would still try and be friends with them. Her instincts would allow her to do no less. She folded her hands within one another, pulling back tight reigns on the sadness threatening to spill over. ‘But I’d still like them to want to stay with me. I guess it’s to be expected…Inuyasha thought of me as a jewel detector…maybe I really am as worthless as he kept telling me. Kikyou be damned…I was never good enough to be her…I was only good enough to be me…’ Kagome thought softly, unintentionally making public the source of her sadness to Hiei. His anger spiked, but he quickly forced it down. He didn’t want her to worry again. Youko frowned, taking a link and poking it softly at her own energy. It wove around her, giving her an unknown comfort.

‘Red…I’m worried. The sadness is deeply laced into her heart…into her spirit.’ he voiced, making Kurama look closer at the girl. She flashed them all a smile before the doorbell rang, giving her a chance to get up and get out of the thickly auraed room. After paying the pizza guy, she called Kuwabara and Yusuke into the kitchen (as they were currently wrestling on Souta’s PS2) and handed out plates to everyone. “Time to eat!” she smiled again, making Hiei sigh. The girl wanted to work out the feelings on her own…trouble is, he wanted to help her. This left him with a thought that troubled him. ‘When have I ever wanted to help a human?’

A/N: Yeah! Another one done! =) Hope you like. Much -nearly- -almost- pointless banter, but next lesson will be one none of them will forget. Stay tuned! :]

A/N #2: Ryukotsusei--All in good time, my good Watson! =) Yeah, Hiei is starting to get *slightly* accustomed to her now being in his mind. After the dragon and Jagan got involved. Right now she’s just very confused. She wants a friend. She’s felt so alone this past month that in this chapter she got kind of Out of character, but its to be expected. She lost her friends in the Feudal Era, so she naturally wanting to hold onto any piece of comfort she finds. But with the new twist, she’s plunged back into slight depression. Hiei and Kurama kun will have to work out her troubles with her. It’s interesting how even I get wrapped up in my story. =^_^= Hiei is starting to have some unusual feelings, and these may, or may not be, for the greater good.

SaKag26: Happiness! An update! =)
Animeluva: ^_^ I’m lovin’ it too!
Iamreven: Arigatou! I love to hear my work is appreciated. =)
A/N #3: Lesson #4: I’ll Protect You With My Life!