by Queen Yokozuna
 
 

Part 3: The Revelation
 

It was the last thing he had expected to feel today, but Hiei is really enjoying himself right now. Each and every caged creature that he and Yukina see in the zoo doesn't fail to fascinate him, especially since he's seeing most of them for the first time. He nearly even laughed himself to death when he saw the gorillas, since they reminded him so much of Kuwabara.

But perhaps the biggest reason why Hiei doesn't regret going here is because he's witnessing how this place is making his sister so happy right now. He can't help but smile on the inside when he sees Yukina's face beam while looking at the different animals they stop at. It's more than enough reason for him to not want to leave yet.

"Hiei, do you mind if we sit over there for awhile?" Yukina asks, pointing an empty bench by a tree.

"No," Hiei replies.

The two quietly walk over to the bench and sit themselves down side-by-side.

Even their closeness to each other right now doesn't seem to bother Hiei. He just hopes Yukina'll rest fast so they can still roam the rest of the zoo until sundown.

"Do you like it here?" Yukina asks Hiei, after a few minutes of shared silence.

"Yes. Definitely."

Yukina smiles. "I'm glad to hear that."

Hiei turns to her and shows something resembling a smile.

"Do you like being with me?"

"Sure," Hiei responds, although a bit apprehensively, because he can't see why she had to ask him that.

Another smile. "I like being with you, too, Hiei," she admits to him.

"Uh, that's nice," is his tentative reply.

"It wasn't until you've gone back to the demon world that I realized that I like you, because I missed you so much. That's why I was so glad to see you yesterday at Master Genkai's party."

"Huh?"

"And I can't help recalling again and again that time at the stadium, after the tournament, when you brought me to safety just as this wall was going to crash down on me. It was so...so...sweet of you to do that."

Hiei seems to be quivering right there in his seat. 'Just what is she trying to get at?'

Both fall silent for about a minute, until:

"Please wait awhile before you go back there again," Yukina softly pleads him.

"Why?" asks the still-clueless Hiei.

"I don't want to miss you badly again." With that, she touches Hiei's hand lying on top of his thigh, and then warmly holds it. She looks at him tenderly and says, "I want to be near you from now on. Please, don't leave."

Hiei is honestly at a loss as to how to react to Yukina's words, much less what to think of them, but for now, all he's concerned about is how to keep her happy and contented. So although he doesn't really want to say them, the words automatically leave his lips: "Don't worry, I won't leave you."

Yukina sighs, and contentedly rests the side of her head on Hiei's shoulder.

Hiei decides to just ponder the matter later.
 
 
 

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