Kurama was eavesdropping. He knew he shouldn't be, but habits -- hell, survival instincts -- developed in over one thousand years of life as a youko were far more than sixteen years as a polite young ningen could overcome.

It was, in essence, Kurama who was eavesdropping, not Shuuichi, but it was because of the name 'Shuuichi' that his attention had first been captured.

It had been his stepfather's voice. His ears were more tuned to his mother's familiar, gentle tones, but Hatanaka Kazuya had the louder voice of the two, and when Kurama had heard his ningen name on his stepfather's lips, he couldn't help but pause in the hallway, on his way to the bathroom.

"She's a nice girl! I'm sure Shuuichi-kun would love her."

Kurama groaned silently and banged his head against the wall. When would people stop finding "nice girls" for him? His own family even! Well, at least his closest friends knew to leave well enough alone, but everyone else seemed to think....

He realized he'd missed hearing his mother's answer. Her soft voice was indistinct, obstructed by the wall between the hallway and the front room. Kurama's naturally enhanced hearing would still have been able to pick out her reply... if he hadn't been busy slamming his head around.

That was too bad, because he'd really like to know what she'd said.

He crept soundlessly toward the opening, using all the skills he'd developed in his centuries as a thief in the Makai. Not that that was necessary. He could have walked normally and still been unnoticed. But it never hurt to hone one's talents.

He really had to wonder *what* his mother had said, when his stepfather burst out, sounding slightly exasperated, "But he's sixteen, for God's sake! He ought to be dating!"

He pulled a face, sticking his tongue out in the direction of the man. Not particularly mature, and the wall between himself and Kazuya didn't seem to care, but it served to express his feelings on the matter.

"There are more important things," Shiori pointed out gently, the voice of reason.

"Like what? The boy gets good grades without even trying, so it can't be schoolwork."

Kurama blinked. Without trying?! He only wished! Just because he had several centuries of life as a youko to draw from didn't mean squat in high school. He'd never learned calculus or Japanese history in the Makai, and even if he was considerably more intelligent than most of his classmates, with a naturally retentive memory, the knowledge he was quizzed on every day did not come easily! True, he had several inbuild advantages over his classmates, but he certainly didn't get his flawless grades without *trying*!

"He doesn't participate in any sports," Kazuya continued. Kurama pulled another face, immature or not. Did chasing after renegade youkai and escaping certain death on a regular basis count as a sport? He was in better physical shape than any of the star athletes at his school -- he just chose not to show it off. And organized sports had never really captured his interest. All those rules just stifled his youko soul.

"There are friends," Shiori offered calmly.

"Bunch of delinquents," was the retort.

"Oh?" There was a wealth of meaning in that one word. Kurama grinned.

He knew full well that while Kazuya liked him all right, and was proud of his new stepson's academic achievements, he had also considered 'Shuuichi' to be something of a goodie-two-shoes. Until his first meeting with Yuusuke and Kuwabara. After running into those two brash youths in a nearby park, where they'd greeted Kurama enthusiastically, then had their unique version of a 'polite' conversation with Shiori and Kazuya, he'd evidently gained a more balanced idea of Shuuichi, albeit a confused one. On the one hand, his stepson was polite, thoughtful, and soft-spoken. Then, on the other, his friends were... well, the exact opposite. So Kazuya was stuck.

Overall, Kurama thought his stepfather had been more relieved than anything else to meet Yuusuke and Kuwabara, even though he complained about them every time they happened to cross his path. It proved to the man that his new stepson not only actually *had* friends, but that he had friends who were much closer to normal than Shuuichi was.

It was no great feat for Kurama to read Kazuya's mind, especially not with all his centuries of experience backing him up. He'd cracked many harder heads than that dark one. It had never been spoken aloud, because no one in their right mind would want to risk hurting Shiori, but Kurama was well aware that Kazuya had wondered about his sexual orientation from the first moment they had met. Kazuya deeply loved Shiori -- or else there would have been no way Kurama would have allowed their joining -- and so he had never mentioned his misgivings to his wife. Especially seeing the bond between she and her son. If it came to a choice between the two, Kurama and Kazuya both knew who she would choose. And so, for Shiori's sake and their own, they did their best to get along.

Kurama didn't think it would really destroy the household if it were to turn out he was 'gay', but it would certainly make things more uncomfortable. Kazuya was fairly open-minded, for a middle aged Japanese male, but it was always easier to condone things that did not relate directly to one's own family. And it would definitely place a strain on Shiori, being in the middle as she was.

At any rate, meeting Yuusuke and Kuwabara had eased Kazuya's mind a little. They were both so blatantly heterosexual, and were both such good friends to 'Shuuichi', that most of Kazuya's fears had been allayed.

Kurama wondered what he'd say if he knew about Hiei....

"Well, you have to admit, most boys his age are dating," Kazuya said, clearly ready to give in to his wife. They never had arguments, because nobody could ever antagonize Shiori. Not that anyone would ever wish to, least of all her doting husband.

"Yes, a new girl every week," Shiori said gently. "Shuuichi's not like that. He will find someone when he's ready, and he will be serious about that person. He's not the sort to be fickle."

Kurama was torn between loving his mother even more than usual, and laughing his head off. She'd just described him perfectly, and yet nothing could have been further from the youko he *had* been! It was moments like these that made him appreciate even more fully the gift she had given him, without even being aware of what she was doing.

"Hm...." Kazuya seemed to be mulling that one over. "Well, he's not going to find any girl unless he tries, is he?" It was a last ditch attempt, and he knew it.

Shiori laughed gently. "And how did we meet, anata? You weren't *looking* for a wife, were you?"

"Well, no...."

"When it's supposed to happen, it happens." Kurama could feel his mother's smile, feel it warm in his heart even if he couldn't see it. He slipped away to the bathroom, where he had been headed earlier. The conversation was over -- Shiori had won. As usual.

He pondered her words as he brushed his teeth. Had it just 'happened'? He'd had to work hard to get Hiei to admit to his feelings. Harder than he'd ever worked to get anything before, and it had hurt more than he'd ever been hurt before. But the prize had been worth it. He couldn't imagine life without Hiei; didn't *want* to imagine life without Hiei.

But he hadn't forced anything, hadn't forced the bond between them, hadn't done anything to *cause* the love to grow. All he'd done was get Hiei to admit to what he felt. That was enough of a battle in itself!

No, his mother was right -- when it was supposed to happen, it happened. And it had happened. Nothing could have kept he and Hiei apart. He had just stepped up the process by several years with his patient persistence. If he had not pushed, he and Hiei would not be together now, but there was a long future ahead of both of them, and eventually they would have intersected. There was no way it could have been otherwise.

Still, he was glad he had pushed.

Back in his bedroom once more, he let his mind wander as he brushed his thick scarlet hair, one of his only real reminders in this ningen body of the youko he was just seventeen years ago.

Sixteen years in this body....

That was such a short span of time in his youko existence, and yet they had been the most crucial years of his life. In them he had been born to the ningen woman he truly considered his mother... had been taught by her how to open his heart, to love... had met Hiei....

Shiori, his mother, the one who had given him a second life and had reawakened his dead heart....

Hiei, the other half of his soul, the only being he would ever, could ever, love with all the depths of that reawakened heart....

Coming to a sudden decision, he stood. Perhaps he would regret it later, but right now there was an urgency in him, telling him this was right, was only fitting.

Inari was kind. Shiori was just passing his room as he opened his door.

"'Kaasan...."

"Shuuichi." Just seeing him lit her face. Kurama felt his heart lurch. She was so radiant, so giving, so perfect.... She was so much Hiei's opposite, outwardly, and yet they both carried the same beauty in their souls. Hiei hid his away where no one could see, but Shiori literally glowed with it.

"'Kaasan, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, Shuuichi." She smiled softly, looking curious but not alarmed. Kurama knew that she was confident he would never say or do anything to harm her. He hoped to Inari he never would. It would just kill him inside. Once more he almost rethought his course of action, but it was too late, as he stood aside and she moved past him into his tidy room.

He watched as she settled herself gracefully on the edge of his bed, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She was as beautiful now as the day he had been born, he was certain of it. People always wondered at his own looks, but anyone who knew Shiori ought to have known better.

"'Kaasan...." He crossed and sat next to her, taking her warm hands in his own. The flesh was soft beneath his fingers, the bones fragile and slim. Even with his own delicate build, he knew he could break her hands without trying. Sometimes this vulnerability scared the hell out of him. When he had been his true youko self, he had done things like that, caused harm for the sake of a whim. To think of anyone, much less himself, ever hurting his mother....

"What's wrong, Shuuich-kun?" Shiori asked gently, freeing a hand and reaching up to brush his bangs from his eyes. The soothing hands of a mother. No one else could chase away fear and bad feelings like a mother could, and this was his mother sitting before him. No matter that he had lived for many centuries before she had even been born herself... Shiori *was* his mother!

And so she deserved to know....

"'Kaasan, there's someone."

She blinked a moment, deciphering this slightly cryptic statement, then a brilliant smile broke across her gentle face. "Shuuichi, that's wonderful."

"I...." Kurama suddenly lowered his head, unaccountably embarrassed. There wasn't anything in the whole of the Makai that could embarrass a youko, but he wasn't truly a youko any longer. He was still youko at the heart of the matter, yes, but thanks to Shiori, he was also more.

"Who is it?" Shiori asked gently, squeezing Kurama's hand, but not pressing him past what he was comfortable with.

Kurama could feel his cheeks flare. Could Shiori... could his mother... accept.... They'd always been completely open with each other, she'd always accepted him unconditionally, quirks and all, but this....

"Do I know this 'someone'?" Shiori asked, a hint of mischief in her voice. Kurama glanced up sharply, wondering at the way she had worded the question. Had a certain omission been deliberate... or not...?

"'Kaasan...."

"Ne, Shuuich-kun, don't keep me in the dark." Shiori smiled. "If this person is important to you, they're important to me."

It *had* to be deliberate! Perhaps she already accepted. "That's... that's why I have to tell you." He smiled, glad she understood.

"So who is it?" she asked again, shaking his hand slightly.

"It's...." Still he hesitated. She meant so much to him. If she didn't... if she couldn't.... "It's Hiei."

There, it was out, spoken, irretrievable. He turned his head away, suddenly scared out of his wits, unable to look into her dark, deep eyes and see.... What would he see? He was afraid....

"That's the short, dark boy who doesn't speak unless he has to?" Shiori questioned. Kurama's gaze snapped to her face. There was.... She was.... She was smiling happily, not looking shocked or appalled.... She had accepted....

"Ha." He nodded, barely able to get the word out through the lump in his throat.

"He must be special, Shuuichi." Shiori smiled placidly. "But I barely know him. Can you tell me what he's like? How you met? How long have you known each other, Shuuichi? How old is he? There's so much I don't know, but I would like to."

"You... you really...." He swallowed, unable to continue. He had hoped.... He knew his mother better than he knew anyone, and yet, still he had not expected this. This utter and complete acceptance.

"Shuuichi, I know you." He started a little as she echoed his thoughts so closely. "I know there is a lot you keep from me," he felt a knife twist in his chest, "But I also know you have your reasons, and that they must be good ones." She smiled and stroked his cheek. "You are my son, but you are more than that to this world and to yourself. I have to let you live your own life and make your own choices. But even if I can't always know what those choices are, at least I can support you in the ones I do know of. Hiei-kun must be very special to have captured your heart. I want to know why. I want to know as much as you are willing to tell me."

"I... I...." For once the fox was speechless. There was so much, and he didn't even know where to begin.

"But perhaps..." Shiori smiled and leaned forward to tweak his nose. "Perhaps we'd best not tell your stepfather just now."

Kurama laughed, the sound strangling into half a sob. "Probably a good idea." He reached forward and embraced his mother tightly. "'Kaasan, arigatou." His voice came out husky, choked with tears. He hadn't felt this much relief since that night with the Mirror of UtterDark, when he'd seen her lying in the hospital bed, smiling at him, still alive. Shiori was the only person in the three worlds who could drive former-youko Kurama this close to weeping... and he didn't regret it at all. This wasn't a weakness, it was the greatest kind of strength.

She held him back. "I love you, Shuuichi. That's all there is to it."

And that was all that needed to be said.

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