Focus: Hiei
POV: Kurama
Pairings: H/K

Title: 3 Haikus

So calm and distant,
Like an infinite sunset,
Are these eyes of yours;

Ageless and haunted,
These eyes never held true light
But are dim and cold.

Unlike the sunset,
Though possessing of its hues,
Your eyes . . . are just eyes.

Focus: Kurama
POV: Hiei
Pairings: H/K

Title: Of All Whys

Why did you have to be friendly?
Why did you have to be fair?
Why did you shadow my sorrows,
Consoling when no one was there?
Why did you have to be patient?
Why did you have to be dear?
Why did you promise your friendship,
And why, of all whys, aren’t you here?

Why did you have to believe me
When I said that I didn’t care?
Why did you have to be trusting,
And why did you my burdens bear?
Couldn’t you see through my falsehoods?
Didn’t my eyes let you know?
Why did you let me refuse you,
And why, of all whys, did you go?

Why do I still keep pretending?
Why can’t I admit that I’m wrong?
Why must your presence still linger,
And why can I still hear your song?
Why do my eyes still behold you
When I see a rose sweet and shy?
Why did I let myself love you,
And why, of all whys, did you die?

Focus: Hiei
POV: Kurama
Pairings: H/K

Title: Remember When

........The sight of you is like the finest whisper of silk on my bare skin, and I am entrapped, a plain-winged moth in ebony flame. I am surrounded by gardens of blood and onyx, never wishing to leave. When did you become my ancient sky?
........Shot through with verdant light is your scent, like sweet, hot sunshine, an emerald musk that slakes my heart’s thirst as the purest of waters. When was it that you breathed life into me with that heady vapor? I cannot recall.
........The sound of your voice is like the sharpest of pains in my breast, an icy dart that numbs my heart and renders me as a figure of stone, my own breath bated and weak. How long ago did you glide into my night, stealing all my will to go away from you?
........The taste of your skin is a mystery, a wonder I long to know and an honor far beyond what I can claim as my due. I live only for the memory of a time that has not yet come to pass. When did I begin to yearn for that future that shall go before?
........The touch of your hand upon mine is like the soft patter of rain on the roses, filling me with its rush, and it sighs through my being like the breath of a soul. When did that soft, melting ache sweep me to places dark and beautiful?
........When was it that I first loved you?

Focus: Kurama
POV: Hiei
Pairings: None (or is there?)

Title: Stubbornness

You dress like a schoolboy and lie like a youko
You smell like a ningen and act like a fool
You harbor affections both pointless and risky
And foster attachments you can't overrule

You seem to love helping out people with problems
Inari knows why, but you focus on me
You baka—go spend your time coddling your flowers
The only thing I need is my privacy

You’re always so patient and shelter my feelings
How else can I get it through your brainless head?
Emotions are weak, and they make you pathetic
You should be protecting your own self instead

You’re obviously just a stupid kitsune
Who doesn’t have anything better to do
You’re wasting your time and you don’t seem to get it
I've gotten through living for years without you

So next time you settle your hand on my shoulder
Don't be so surprised when I push it away
We're partners, not friends, and I can't make it clearer
Just teammates—and teammates is what we will stay

Focus: Hiei
POV: Hiei
Pairings: H/K

Title: When I’m Gone

What is there now where there once was a soul?
What pittance is left when the world takes its toll?
What chance have I to emerge from this whole?
Who will be here when I’m gone?

What can you do when you feel for a friend?
What then, when you know that you’ll lose in the end?
How do you live when you have to pretend?
Is this the lot that I’ve drawn?

Why is this secret so painful to bear?
What keeps me from saying what I’d never dare?
What do you do with a love you can’t share?
Who can restore what I’ve lost?

Why won’t they notice what I try to hide?
Where are all the tears that I still haven’t cried?
How many times have my distant eyes lied?
I forge my shell at what cost?

Is this a dream from which I cannot wake?
How long do I have now before I must break?
Do I dare gamble with what is at stake?
Who could love agony’s spawn?

Why does the darkness conceal what I seek?
Does there truly wait a reward for the meek?
Who will be strong now, when I am so weak?
Who will be here when I’m gone?