Seasons - Part 3/4: Summer

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May

The heat was enough to scorch the air. It was a miracle that flowers still bloomed in such a weather. But perhaps it was also because of the heat and the suffocating humidity in the air that caused the fragrance of the flowers to seemed especially intoxicating. It could make you drunk.

Heat and fragrance, didn't it sound like passion? Summer is indeed a season of passion.

"Hi, Yusuke." Kurama greeted the teenager on the line, "Do we have a new mission? Huh? Going to the beach?"

The vast stretch of the beach opened up in front of the view, yellow against the slightly greenish blue colour of the sea. The place was dotted with people, making the already hot day rise a few more degrees.

The sand could almost burn you, and the water was lukewarm, which didn't provide a good cooling spot. The scorching sunlight seemed to penetrate the umbrella and say sun block lotion you had on. Even so, lots of people still refused to leave. They were sure to get a sunburn the next day.

"But it is so hot today. Ok, fine, I'll go. What? Bring Hiei along? I don't' think he'll go though," Kurama talked thoughtfully, when all of a sudden, someone patted him on the back, making him jump and almost ripping the phone cord out of the wall. He turned and glared at Hiei, but the latter only smirked.

"Sorry, Yusuke. I'm fine," he narrowed his eyes, and said, "Hiei will go too. I'll make him go, even if it means dragging him along." Hiei stated, wide eyed, with an extremely bad feeling in his gut.

People now prayed for rain. Too bad it seemed that rain only fell on colder days.

Hiei folded his arms in front of his chest, VERY unhappy, because a) he was stuck in a car, b) he was stuck in a car with Kuwabara and Yusuke, and c) Kuwabara was fawning on Yukina. He must remember to never mess around with that fox again, who was now smiling rather smugly.

They were in a van, and Shizuru was being the driver. Aside form the people mentioned above, Keiko was also there. Hiei was silently glad that Botan was not there. The noise level was already beyond him.

Finally, he could get out of hell (according to Hiei, which was the car), only to find himself in a place even more crowed, noisy and filled with those simple-minded creatures called humans. This was going to be a long day. He fell backwards, right into the arms of Kurama.

"Look what you've got me into," he moaned in desperation.

"Don't say that as if I forced you here. I don't have so much power," Hiei only glared at him, and he pretended to be innocent and continued, "it's not that bad."

Unconsciously, Kurama's arms had closed around Hiei's waist, and although they didn't think of it was unnatural, they forgot that there were still five other people around, whom they had not said anything about their relationship to. But after a while, they noticed the stares cast onto them, and quickly separated.

"Umm . . .Kurama, are you and ---

"No, we're not!" Kurama out Yusuke off, a bit too abruptly, which aroused even more suspicions.

"Oh, ok," the teenager said, obviously unconvinced, but turned to Keiko. "Hey, they two aren't even together and Kurama's already wrapping his arms around Hiei, so I suggest that we do it too. You can't be that conservative!" Keiko tuned red and you could be sure that the bump on Yusuke's head won't go down soon.

Keiko was not the only one to blush, as Kurama averted his gaze to hide his face from everyone, only to stare into the wide eyes of Botan. Just when did she arrive?! Hiei silently cursed in his heart.

"Hey, Kurama, you got a fever" she asked curiously, and with her bright voice, attracting everyone's attentions back to the duo again. "N . . . nothing! I'm totally fine!" He stuttered out.

Hiei seemed to have muttered something like "stupid fox" under his breath.

"Are you really, REALLY fine? You look kinda flushed, though." Before Kurama could reply, Kuwabara had pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear. Judging from the surprised, excited and the look on a cat's face when it just caught a mouse, things were not good.

"Come on, let's go swim!" She suddenly changed the topic and practically dragged Kuwabara across the sand, hysterically shouting, and into the sea. Somehow her kimono changed automatically to a swimsuit.

Kurama had an extremely bad feeling, and Hiei just cast him a you-should-have-known look.

Amazingly, the next few hours passed rather uneventfully, except for when Yusuke tried making Hiei swim. Kurama, of course, came to the rescue, and made up a ton of excuses as to why Hiei couldn't swim on that day. After the drowning incident in March, Kurama vowed never to let Hiei touch water again.

At around 6 p.m. more and more people flocked in onto the beach, and Hiei could bear it no more. "Fox, do you know somewhere around here that's not so noisy, and less people will go?"

"What do you want to do there?" Kurama asked, voice dripping with mischief and seduction.

"NOT THAT!" Hiei shouted, the blushed spreading to his ears. It deepened when he found all the people around him staring. "Well, at least not today, not at this place," he added to himself.

"What 'that'?" Kurama asked, smirking, "Did I suggest something by accident?"

"Forget it!" Hiei said and buried his face in his hands.

And then, Kurama pulled him up and started squeezing through the crowd while keeping a firm grip on Hiei's hand, as if Hiei as a child who could get lost. It a way, it was true.

"Where are you going?"

"Didn't you say that you wanted to go to somewhere quiet?" Kurama turned and gave him a wink, then scanned the grounds to see if any of their companions had followed them. Luckily, they were all too busy splashing water at each other, and Yukina had better manners than to ask. (She wasn't playing, so she saw them leave)

Hiei sighed. It was sometimes so hard to understand how the mind of that fox worked.

They walked along the coastline fore almost half an hour, and finally reached a rocky cliff where the coastline ended. There were still some people spread out sparingly, so Kurama made his way up the cliff. Within minutes, they were already at the top.

Looking down, the sea stretched out into the horizon, meeting the sky. Both were blue, only that the water danced with sparkles, reflecting the light of the near setting sun. People seemed like ants, and being so high up gave them an overwhelming sense of power. Kurama sat down on the edgy, enjoying the cool breeze sifting through his hair. It was much cooler up there. Hiei took off his cloak and settled down beside Kurama, inhaling deeply, he finally allowed himself to relax. It had been a tiring day, even more tiring than after completing a mission.

They just sat there in a comfortable silence, slowly watching as the sun began sinking.

Hiei looked at Kurama, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be sensing and feeling everything around him. It didn't have the innocence of sleep, but the expression was peaceful in its own way, with tiny bits of pure enjoyment which sleep lacked. Hiei reached out and laid his hand on top of Kurama's.

A smile tugged at Kurama's lips, and he gave Hiei's and a little squeeze.

The sun was halfway down the horizon, dyeing the sea orange, the clouds vermilion. It was magnificent.

"Kurama, open you eyes. The sun is setting."

"It's fine. I can feel it setting. If I open my eyes, then all my focus would go to he sight before me, and I won't feel the touch of your hand anymore. That's more important than the sunset."

Surprised, Hiei tilted his head and looked at Kurama curiously. "You do have a weird perspective for things."

"I suppose I have, since I'm in love with such a weird person like you." He opened his eyes, and met Hiei's gaze, open and sincere, and said, "I love you, Hiei." And he closed his eyes again.

Hiei sat there, struck dumb for a second or two. He always knew that Kurama loved him, but having heard it spoken out still gave him a deep impact. After the wave of shock passed, he smiled, and gently caressed the side of Kurama's face with his free hand, bring it down until their foreheads met.

He could feel a slight quickening in Kurama's breathing, and he inched even closer. When their lips were barely grazing each other, he whispered, "I love you too, fox."

And then their lips met.

The glorious sunset entranced everyone, except for those who knew that the untouchable sun would never be as precious or as real as what they already have in their arms. For those type of person, the sun still shone, but not to attract their attentions, but to give silent blessings.

A sudden noise behind them made them break apart abruptly. "Who's there?" Hiei demanded.

A sheepish giggle, and Botan popped out from behind one of the rocks, followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko . . . Kurama felt like digging a hole to hide Hiei and himself in.

"Aww . . . You guys were so sweet!" Yusuke said and grinned cheekily. "Hey shrimp, count yourself lucky that someone still likes you!' Kuwabara boasted, but lost a bit of enthusiasm once he saw the look on Hiei's face.

"Don't you guys want to see how cute you were? I've got it all on video camera," Botan said as she lifted up her right hand, showing off the state-of-art technology. Hiei's eyes gleamed.

The heat of the day seemed to have gone with the sun, and although the humidity was still there, it only made people feel even cooler. The salty sea air gave an even more unique feeling.

People enjoyed the summer, especially the nights. Why was it that a summer night was so much more enjoyable than the nights of all other seasons? Because in the day, it was too hot, that people would pray for something cool. So the nights only became so unique because of its contrast with the day. Only when we have experienced something unbearable, then would we enjoy our peaceful everyday routine.

In a flash, the video camera was already in Hiei's hands, and by the looks of it, he was preparing to rip it apart. "Stop! Unless you want me to tell Koenma-sama about this!" Botan yelled in desperation.

"Andif I don't burn this thing, then you won't tell him?"

Botan hesitated. Hiei took out the film in the camera and tossed it to Kurama, then returned the camera to Botan. "Go ahead and tell. There's n o evidence, unless anyone of you," Hiei scanned the group, casing silent threats, "prepare to talk about this." Everyone shook his or her head. Botan was fuming, but took off on her oar, since she had no choice.

Hiei and Kurama waited until everyone had gone, before Kurama said, "I'll keep the film to see how cute you were, then if you have time, we'll continue from where we left off." He winked, and then walked down the cliff.

There are always good things happening on summer nights.

June

The long awaited rain had finally come, but only lasted for some twenty minutes, leaving people unsatisfied and hungry for more. At least the rain made the heat ebb down a bit. The ground was covered by puddles which reflected everything above them, creating a new world of illusions below our feet, shattering every so often, but coming together a few seconds later. Too bad they were quickly disappearing as the heat came back in full intensity.

The humidity in the air made everything smell and seem fresher. The unique scent of rain. A gently breeze blew by, cool and refreshing, breaking up the heat waves for just a few moments. It was no doubt an ideal day for outings.

"Hiei, you want to go out? There's a newly opened park nearby." Kurama suggested.

"Would you comply if I say no?"

Kurama gave a sheepish grin and pulled Hiei out of the door. "You understand me too well, Hiei."

Leaves gleamed under the sunlight, its surface looked as if a layer of wax was applied on it, and not even one streak of brown could be seen. The cleaning power of rain. Were humans also cleaned too? If only a shower of rain could clear away the sins on everyone, then the world would be a much prettier and simpler place.

"Ah! There it is," Kurama pointed as he dragged an unwilling Hiei along. Pretended dragging and unwillingness, so that their holding hands would seem much more natural and arouse less curious, encouraging, disapproving, suspicious and every kind of glance that you could think of. They didn't want to repeat the mistake they made last month, when Botan filmed them down. The videotape was rather cute, though, but that was not the point.

The park had opened recently, and had every kind of public entertainment device which was possible to fit into the park. But what attracted people most, was a giant maze built up of tall hedges, situated right in the center of the park.

So after some time of wandering (by wandering, it meant by strolling along, hand in hand, talking about nothing in particular, or just enjoying each other's company, etc. Get the idea?) they ended up beside the maze. It was a rather magnificent structure, with the walls as tall as five meters and the total width of the maze at eighty meters. A female staff stood by the entrance, explaining things to visitors, whom all didn't seem very eager to step into the maze. That was not surprising. The maze was a little intimidating while it was beautiful.

"Want to race to see who can reach the finish point first?" Kurama challenged.

"Fine, but be prepared to lose," Hiei smirked, and in a flash, he had already rushed into the entrance. Kurama followed.

"WAIT!" A girl yelled out, and they turned back. It was the female staff and she was staring at them reproachfully. "You shouldn't have just gone in like that! I haven't explained the rules yet, and also, you have to bring this along!" She scolded and handed them a walkie-talkie each. She was a rather lively girl with blond hair, and her eyes seemed awfully familiar. . .

"I don't need this, whatever it is," Hiei said and threw back the appliance. Kurama smiled politely and asked, "Why do we have to bring this?"

"Well, it really is big in the maze, so if you get lost, and prepare to give up, then just call us and we will send people to pick you up!" she chirped out and Hiei gave her a glare, making her wince. Kurama pocketed the walkie-talkie and said, "It's better to have a precaution, right, Hiei."

Hiei just snorted. "Can we go now?"

"Wait, wait. There's a saying about the maze. If two lovers go into it, one turning right and now turning left, then if they can meet up at the center of the maze, they will be blessed forever. But if you cannot meet up, then bad things will befall. It doesn't mean that you'll break up, but you will encounter great difficulties. Be warned that it is very hard to get to the center, so if you want to escape the bad luck and not want to take the risk, then don't go in."

"Done now?" With an impatient growl, Hiei went into the maze and turned right.

"Oh! And you cannot break through the walls, it's against the rules!"

"Don't worry, he won't do anything that despicable, unless the circumstances are even more unfair." Kurama smiled and went into the maze, turning left.

When they were totally out of sight, the girl gave a cryptical grin.

Kurama walked in the maze and came to a cross section. Using his natural instincts, he could sense a tiny bit of an unusual aura coming from the route on the left side, so he turned right, leaving a plant on the ground as a landmark. He walked and walked, every time he came to a cross section, he used the same method, but it seemed that he was nowhere near the center. There was a few times when he felt that he was treading on a path he had walked on before, but there was no plant to indicate that he had gone there before. Strange . . .

Hiei walked straight up all the way until he felt that it must have been some forty meters before he stopped and turned left. Since they were to reach the center, it was rather logical that he should reach the middle position of the maze then walk opposite the direction he first started from. The path seemed too straight, and he hadn't even met the single cross section yet. It couldn't be so simple. Strange . . .

Although he was a patient person, this was slowly getting him frustrated. Kurama was sure that he had been walking in this maze for about an hour and all he saw was endless green walls. A few times when he was walking on a straight path, he suddenly found himself facing a dead end. The path had been through just seconds ago! There must be someone with powers controlling this maze. He gave up on trying to find the way and started trying to track down Hiei's aura. He concentrated, but . . . he couldn't sense Hiei at all!

He walked on and on, but the path seemed endless. He had been walking on the same straight path for about an hour and it was impossible for the path to not end! "This maze is definitely not made by humans," Hiei said to himself, and suddenly, his aura flared and a ball of fire appeared in his hand. He thrust it at the tall plant wall, but instead of burning up, the wall seemed to have absorbed the flames and not even a scratch was made.

"Just as I thought, the fire of the human world doesn't work on things from Makai. Then, let's try this," Hiei said and smirked, "I don't have the mood to play hide and seek. Show me where Kurama is!" His katana was out of its sheath immediately and a greenish-black flame surrounded the blade. With one swift action, the wall was cut into two.

Kurama summoned much of his powers and watched as the plants which made up the walls react to his calling. Slowly, he directed them to all form one straight path, instead of twisting round and round to form the maze. Now that the whole maze was only one path, he must be able to find Hiei as long as he walked along that path.

Suddenly, the wall in front of him was cut open and Hiei appeared as the plants burnt to ashes form the greenish-black flame.

"Hiei! Where have you been!?" Kurama gushed out as he ran towards Hiei, then checking up and down for any injuries. Finally, after making sure that Hiei was not hurt, he gave him a tight hug. "I was so worried, I couldn't even sense you anywhere . . ."

"That's because I was in another dimension, if I'm not wrong. You get flustered too easily, Kurama."

"No, I do not! At least I didn't try to hurt or destroy any plants, unlike you!" Kurama held him at an arm's length and scolded, only to see Hiei still smirking. "Plants are living things too, and they have feelings, and you know it. It is not right to hurt something innocent! You should have more compassion towards things."

"If I have compassion, then I won't be living till now. And I if didn't cut up the plants, I would be stuck in the dimension forever. Your method can't really free me. Can't have you crying over me, can I?" Hiei smiled mockingly.

A peal of laughter came form above them, and they jerked their head up towards that sound. The girl whom they met at the entrance of the maze was sitting on an oar and floating around in the sky with a toddler clinging to the rear end of the oar. "Don't they fight like a married couple, Koenma-sama?" the girl asked an landed in front of Kurama and Hiei. Then with a "puff", her blond hair change to blue and her outfit to a kimono. She was Botan in disguise.

"Why did you do that?" Hiei asked menacingly.

"Well, I have to prove to Koenma-sama somehow that you two are a couple, since you took away the film of my video camera last time." She replied and stuck out her tongue, making a face.

"So this is for revenge?"

"Not totally, but part of it is. Anyway, why don't you want everyone to know your relationship?"

"Since you can have revenge, then I think I'll have some of mine." He said and drew out his katana.

Botan gave a tiny squeak and pulled the toddler prince in front of her, but the blade still managed to rest on her neck.

"Ahem . .. ." Koenma coughed, " I won't control you on the way you want to use your sword, but can you please explain why you and Kurama did not report to me about your relationship?" he arched an eyebrow and tired to look serious, but there was something in his eyes which gave away that he was laughing as loud as he could in his heart.

Hiei glared and inched the blade nearer to the flesh. ( "Eeek!! Koenma-sama, save me!!" )

"Koenma, please drop the subject before Hiei really cuts Botan's neck in his anger," Kurama said rather peacefully, " I won't and don't want to stop him. Hiei, please let her go if Koenma agrees to stop holding this matter above our heads for the rest of our lives, okay/" Hiei reluctantly nodded.

"Sure, I'll do that, now let Botan go." And Hiei really drew back his katana. Then Koenma grinned and said, "but I'm warning you, Botan and I are not the only ones who saw what happened, and I can't guarantee that person won't do what I can't . . ."

"Who?" Hiei shot out.

"The person who made this maze, of course," and he disappeared with Botan.

The sun had swept away any residue of the rain that could be found. Was that good or bad? According to an old saying, the skies clearing up after a rain is a joyful thing, but in the summer, people all hope for more rain under ht sunny sky. Things and circumstances change all the time, affecting our definition of happiness, thus, some people would never by happy.

"Who do you think that person is?" Kurama asked, as the tall green walls sank into the ground and they were returned to the park as if nothing ever happened and the maze had never been there.

Hiei tensed for a second or two, then suddenly shouted, "Mukuro! Come out, wherever you are!"

But some other people would be always happy. It depends on how you look. The same world created so many different people. So are we really all that different? We see the same summer, witness the same rain, and fell the same heat. But the summer, rain and heat taken on different forms in the eyes of different people. Nothing is definite.

Hiei's shadow changed, and the silhouette now seemed like Mukuro. "Looks like you found me, Hiei," her voice sounded in their minds, "so this is why you applied for a year of holiday. Having fun?"

Kurama frowned. "What do you want? Just say it," Hiei demanded.

Mukuro continued, "I actually wanted you to come back to later, but it seems that it's quiet impossible now. There is a new job, and it's rather challenging, and I'm not willing to let the other fools do it, so please come back as soon as you can. Sorry, Kurama, I have to take hi away from you for a while. But as compensation, I've granted Hiei's leave for his honeymoon."

"Fine. I'll be there tomorrow." With that, the shadow went back to normal.

A sudden clap of thunder, and it began to rain again. Just moments ago, it brought relief form the heat, but now . . .?

They walked back in silence, the rain fell on them without receiving any reaction.

No matter people liked it or not, the rain continued falling.

July

The last month of summer was spent almost entirely in the rain. Now it was near autumn, but the rain still refused to let go, its stubbornness startling even the best meteorologist. Everywhere was near flooding, but he rain continued pouring down regardless to all others. It seemed that it was trying to express something, to let at least someone understand its feelings.

Too bad nobody ever paid attention. So it continued to fall.

The tears from heaven fell onto everywhere and everyone, but nobody noticed that the sky was crying. Why were people often most oblivious to the things right in front of their eyes?

Perhaps because they were afraid. Wasn't denial always the simplest method to escape a problem?

He stood in the rain. Maybe that was the only way that people would not see his tears. But they still did exist.

The sky was hidden well behind the curtain of grey, murky clouds. There always seemed to be lacking something in the rain. There never was thunder or lightning. Not thrill or excitement. Just a steady and constant flow of tears that never seemed to be going away. A dull aching pain that would never fade. There was nothing else more.

Wasn't grey a colour of nothingness?

It was the first time Kurama had felt insecure in his left. His powers were always enough to deal with most of the things, and with those that could not be dealt with, he never feared them. He had nothing to lose.

But now he had. Or at least he thought that he had something - Hiei's love. It certainly did bring him good memories, but now the aftermath was evident. He could not even get by without Hiei anymore, and he had been gone for over six weeks.

The more you have, the more you would be afraid of losing, and the more likely you would lose.

The rain increased in velocity, lashing out at anything, as if screaming on the top of its lungs for someone to acknowledge it, to understand it. The attempt was still futile, like all the other ones before.

He was almost sure that he had lost Hiei already. Why would Hiei still stay with a half human, half demon person like himself, when he could choose the freedom of Makai, the power that Mukuro would give him, but most of all, just Mukuro? It wasn't as if he didn't like her. Hiei was someone who rarely shows emotions, and he gave her a birthday gift last time.

He stared at the small tree, which was originally a seed given to him by Hiei, bending at the force of the rain, withering.

Just then, he heard footsteps, and then Hiei was already standing in front of him. He didn't fell any happiness. Instead, he felt his long bottled up anger closing to the surface, just moments from bursting out. Then he saw Hiei drenched all over, and he knew just how much Hiei hated the water, and a twinge of concern flashed through, but was soon covered by the raging anger.

"Kurama, I -" But Kurama cut him off and said coldly, "Let's go to my room. If you still want to stay here to enjoy the rain, it's fine by me." With that, he leapt onto a tree, then into the open windows of his room. Hiei followed suit.

"I know that you are able to keep your clothes dry, but I can't, so pardon me. I have to get cleaned up before the whole carpet is soiled." Kurama said without looking at Hiei was stepped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Hiei frowned. He could not picture why the fax was acting so indifferently, but the obediently dried all his clothes with a flare of his body temperature. Then he closed the windows to keep the rain out. Kurama did said that he didn't want the carpet dirtied.

About half an hour later, Kurama came out of the bathroom, hair dripping wet from a shower, wearing a clean white robe. They stared at each other, neither one speaking. The tension was thick in the air.

Finally, Hiei broke the silence by saying, "I came back once the job was over. Sorry it took so long."

"Oh, then why don't you stay long?" Kurama said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Mukuro would be very glad."

Hiei stared at him. "What's wrong, Kurama?"

"What's wrong?" Kurama said incredulously with a sharp laugh, "There's absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing wrong if you never came back form Makai, if you never even came at all in the first place. Then maybe I could find something to do with my life, instead of waiting here, letting the insecure feeling gnaw my heart out. Everything's because of you, so of course there's nothing wrong. You have never done anything wrong in your life, have you? These are all my own fault, my own problems, because I am stupid enough to fall in love with someone who can leave me without even feeling one tiny bit of pain."

By now, Kurama was practically shouting, and he was surprised to find tears stinging at the back of his eyes.

"Kurama, you're being impractical. Calm down." Hiei grabbed his arms forcefully, pulling him down to sit on the bed. Kurama jerked his arm away as if burnt. "So what if I'm being impractical? It's not as if anyone cares." He said bitterly.

"Kurama, look, I know that you are mad at me for staying in Makai for so long, but I came back as soon as I could. I'm sorry, but I really couldn't' find any way to contact you."

The tears now rushed forward, spilling down as much as he wanted to stop them. He fell into Hiei's arms, hands clutching at Hiei's back cloak, afraid that he would lose what he had again. Maybe he never did lose it, but fear could spin illusions, capturing you in its web. Kurama cried and cried, the anger flowing away with tears. Hiei just held him, running his hand through the long red silken strands in a soothing manner. Tears stopped at last, but they didn't move.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you without a reason," Kurama whispered, "I don't even know hwy I was angry. You would certainly come back, no matter how long it took, yet still, I was scared . . ."

"Shh . . . It's fine now," Hiei said and lifted up Kurama's face, using his thumb to wipe away the tear stains. "I am back now, there's no need to be afraid anymore." He ran his thumb over Kurama's lips, giving a warning, before leaning down for a kiss. Kurama melted at the touch, responding eagerly while his hands tightened even more clutching down on Hiei's cloak. Was it form fear of losing, or the excitement of having, no one knew. But if you never lose, you will never have.

Either two minutes or two hours later, they had to part for air.

"Kurama . . ." Hiei whispered through ragged breathing, "this won't be the last time I have to leave for Makai in an emergency. I hope that you can understand that I cannot be by your side all the time. Would you still love me?"

"As I said, I am stupid enough to fall for you, so I don't rally have a choice, do I?" Kurama grinned and tweaked Hiei's nose, earning a surprised expression. "Now, just kiss me already."

Hiei obeyed, and gently used his tongue to coax Kurmaa to open his lips. In the mean time, his hand traveled down to Kurama's chest, parting open the robe. The normally cold hands of Hiei were no longer icy anymore. In fact, Kurama honestly thought that they were hot enough to set his skin on fire. Maybe it already was.

His lips wandered across his face, to his ear, and down to his neck. Kurama's crimson hair pooled around like liquid fire, not creating any obstacles. While his lips went lower, his hands followed and they soon rested by Kurama's hip, toying with the sash that held the robe together, as if indecisive about whether or not to untie it. It annoyed Kurama somewhat that Hiei was being such a tease, but all thoughts were lost as Hiei's hand pressed lightly against his erection. His hands clenched down on Hiei's hair.

Suddenly, Hiei stopped and tossed his cloak over his head. "Impatient, aren't you, fox?" he asked smirking while taking off his pants.

Kurama glared. "Shut up and continue, or you'll be on the bottom."

Hiei chucked, then without warning, he leaned down and took one of Kurama's nipples in his mouth. Kurama bit back a scream, but it still escaped his lips as a whispery moan. The heated hips went down, leaving a moist trail, until they met the material of the robe that still kept the most important parts hidden. Hiei bit the end of the sash and with a pull, the robe slip open. He gave Kurama an appraising glance, then darted a kiss on what was revealed to him. Kurama took a sharp intake of breath and thrust his hips up. Hiei too his erection into his mouth, and adrenalin pumped through his body, driving away all sensible thoughts.

Heat radiated out from their bodies, making the air around them hand heavily with passion, which was thick enough to drown them. With each movement of Hiei's mouth, Kurama's face flushed red and low moan emitted form his lips, which though illegible, was easy enough to interpret. He wanted more.

They were burning in the fames of love, lust, passion and need, which made them forget even where they were and who they were. All that matted was the other person right next to them, whom they shared every of their secret with, who was the other half of themselves, whom they could never go on living without. They continued burning.

"Hiei . . ." Kurama protested as Hiei's mouth left him. The latter part of the protest was still stuck somewhere in the back o f his lungs, if he still knew he had them. He felt his legs being spread apart, and his heartbeat accelerated even more. Was it form anticipation or nervousness? He didn't know, but he wanted to continue.

A shattered gasp escaped his throat when he felt Hiei enter him, excruciatingly slow. His hands clenched down on the sheets. It hurt, but it made him feel, make him aware of what was happening, thus the pain turned intro pleasure, excitement, aroused and a dozen other emotions all mixed together and felt at the same time.

He closed his eyes, wanting to concentrate on this moment. He didn't need his eyes to feel, nor to see that it was Hiei. Who else would it be, anyway?

The thunder clashed, and for a split second, lightning lit up the sky. It was like a symphony reaching its climax, and it caught people's attention, like deer caught in the headlight. People were frightened, startled, but at least the rain had finally got itself acknowledged. Hard, wasn't' it? Why could we only listen when shouted at?

Hiei drove into him, harder and harder, and their bodies moved in a rhythm neither of them was capable of controlling. Kurama arched his back up, pressing himself further against Hiei, and he heard himself moaning with a voice he was totally foreign to. Their breathing was shallow and harsh, as if there wasn't even time for breathing anymore.

Skin against skin, sending a current of warm electricity through the air, and as the tension grew stronger, the electricity almost crackled with excitement. With a single touch, it may explode any second.

The rain poured down as much as it could, almost flooding everything and every surface. The intensity of the raindrops was so huge that it was even hard to see that was one meter away form you.

With another clap of thunder, the wind joined in, howling as it swept up the raindrops still in the air and brutally slamming them on the surfaces still shaded from rain. Trees trembled, and grassed were drowning. The storm shook everything within its capability, as the tension was brought up a notch too high. When would it crash down?

"HIEI!" Kurama shouted as he came, and mere seconds later he felt Hiei doing the same. Although his eyes were shut tight, the darkness seemed to have shattered, filled by a bright burst of stars which too, shattered a while later and faded to the back of his mind with the debris of the former void of darkness. Then, there was nothing.

The cyclone brought up the water flooded all over the ground and crashed in at the side of a tall wall, like waves hitting against rocks. The howls of the wind seemed like ghosts crying, mourning over something. And suddenly with the loudest clash of thunder, and a flash of lightning which was bright enough to compete with the sun, everything stopped.

So abrupt that the sudden silence sent chills in people's hearts, and the air became still. As still as death. The flooded water drained away, and a gust of faint breeze blew the grey clouds apart. The sun was shining beneath.

They collapsed into each other's arms, too tired to even more a muscle more. They let ht first ray of sunlight enter their eyes, and it even remained in them as their eyelids dropped, lulling them to a sweet slumber.

Everything went back to normal, as if nothing ever happened. But the memories would always be so clear and vivid.