What can I do to make you love me? -a work of YYH fan fiction --------------------------------------- *************************************** I haven't slept at all in days It's been so long since we have talked. *************************************** [We see Kurama in his room, sitting at a desk near the window. He props his chin on his hand, staring outside with a sad look on his face. Remembering a certain fire demon's decision to remain in the Makai brings him perilously close to tears. The loneliness he feels nearly overwhelms him. There are dark smudges under his eyes, seeming to emphasize the pain hidden within their emerald depths.] *************************************** And I have been here many times I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. *************************************** [Kurama remembers all the times he's tried to talk to the little youkai, to express all that he feels for him. Each time, Hiei just gives him a cold, uncomprehending look and flickers away, leaving Kurama struggling to surpress tears. Sometimes, like now, he fails, and a few manage to escape, trickling slowly down his cheeks.] *************************************** What can I do to make you love me? What can I do to make you care? What can I say to make you feel this? What can I do to get you there? *************************************** [Kurama buries his head in his arms, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Scenes appear, superimposed on the weeping figure. One shows Kurama smiling at Hiei and handing him an ice cream cone. Hiei looks at it suspiciously before reluctantly taking it. Another shows Kurama placing a comforting hand gently on Hiei's shoulder as the youkai watches his sister with smothered longing in his eyes. Hiei quickly knocks his hand away and runs off, leaving a very hurt Kurama behind. The last one shows Kurama taking care of Hiei after a battle where he'd used the Kokuryuuha. Kurama bandages the unconscious youkai's arm, and tenderly strokes his hair.] *************************************** There's only so much I can take And I just gotta let it go *************************************** [Kurama slowly lifts his head, swiping at his tears with the back of his hand. A resigned expression dulls the youko's eyes. With a final longing glance out the window, he gets up and leaves the room.] *************************************** And who knows I might feel better, yeah... If I don't try and I don't hope. *************************************** [The next few scenes show Kurama trying gamely to get on with his life, going to a picnic with his friends, gardening with his mother, going off to work for his stepfather. Unbeknownst to him, a three-eyed fire demon watches, an unidentifiable expression bringing life to his cold red eyes.] *************************************** What can I do to make you love me? What can I do to make you care? What can I say to make you feel this? What can I do to get you there? *************************************** [Hiei stares at Kurama, making certain to smother all traces of his youki. Warmth pools into his chest as he takes in the graceful movements of the young redhead. After weeks of trying to deny himself, memories of Kurama had finally sent him back to the Ningenkai. The reincarnated youko had somehow managed to worm his way underneath all of Hiei's guards, and the youkai had found himself unable to forget a pair of expressive green eyes. For a moment, naked yearning crosses his face before he firmly tamps it down. Reminding himself never to forget that he was a Forbidden Child, unwanted and unloved, he flits off, not noticing the startled lifting of Kurama's head as he briefly feels a familiar presence. Kurama scans the area, searching vainly for the fire demon he has been longing to see. Finding nothing, he bends his head and continues towards the office.] *************************************** No more waiting, no more aching *************************************** [Hiei stands by a still pond, eyeing his reflection with contempt. Running away from Kurama again...when had he become such a coward? This had to stop. Hiei straightens up his shoulders, and we are given the dubious priviledge of seeing one of his infamous scowls as he psyches himself up to face the redhead. No matter what might happen, the little youkai knew that they couldn't go on like this. The situation between him and the youko HAD to be resolved.] *************************************** No more fighting, no more trying *************************************** [In another part of the Ningenkai, Kurama trudges home, his very posture proclaiming to those with the vision to see that he was coming close to giving up on his unrequited love. The pain of waiting for something, ANYTHING, to come through Hiei's stony visage has almost broken him. Moments later, a flash of the painfully familiar youki nearly sends him to his knees.] *************************************** Maybe there's nothing more to say *************************************** [Kurama stares in silent, pained astonishment as Hiei approaches him.] *************************************** And in a funny way I'm calm *************************************** [Dragging his feet, Hiei slowly comes to a stop before Kurama. He forces himself to look up at the redhead, and in that brief second, Kurama sees everything that has remained unspoken in Hiei's heart. As his eyes widen in surprise, Hiei suddenly loses his resolve and bolts. Kurama stares after him for one moment, blinking, before he lets out a muttered curse and gives chase.] *************************************** Because the power is not mine I'm just gonna let it fly *************************************** [Kurama sends out his youki, and the tree Hiei has landed on drops him to the ground. Before he can recover, vines shoot up and hold him down. Kurama stops before the fallen youkai, breathing heavily, and drops to his knees. Reaching out, he clasps Hiei's face between both hands and forces the other to see into his own heart. Whispering, "Aishiteru", Kurama presses a kiss to Hiei's lips, before releasing the stunned youkai, letting him choose to go or stay as he wished.] *************************************** What can I do to make you love me? What can I do to make you care? What can I say to make you feel this? What can I do to get you there? *************************************** [Hiei stares up at Kurama in shock. Even though he'd been certain the redhead would reject him, he'd forced himself to tell Kurama how he felt, knowing he had to clear things up between them. He knew the youko thought of him as his best friend, and he'd been steeling himself to accept it if friendship was all Kurama wanted from him. However, it appeared that Kurama had felt more, just as he had. Suddenly, all the little things that Kurama had done for him began to take on new meaning. He saw them now as expressions of the love the youko professed to feel for him, and he felt ashamed that he'd never once shown his appreciation for them. Kurama sees the guilt in Hiei's eyes and mistakenly assumes the worst. Shoulders sagging he turns to go, forcing a strangled apology from a tear-choked throat.] *************************************** What can I do to make you love me? What can I do to make you care? What can I change to make you feel this? What can I do to get you there? *************************************** [Hiei snaps out of his stupor and lunges after Kurama, sending them both crashing to the ground. As Kurama struggles to get up, he grabs the redhead's sidelocks and pulls his face nearer. He sees the tears in Kurama's eyes, and feels a pain stabbing in his chest. How could he have hurt the one he loved like this? Murmuring apologies, he slowly kisses the tears from Kurama's lashes. As the youko's eyes began to brighten with incredulous joy, Hiei brings his lips down on his.] *************************************** And love me... *************************************** [The two youkai give each other a long, lingering kiss. As they pull apart, they smile. Kurama touches Hiei's cheek tenderly, and repeats his declaration of love. Hiei places his hand on top of Kurama's and brings it to his lips. As the scene fades, we hear his own whispered declaration, "Aishiteru, Kurama, zutto aishiteru..."]