Winter followed, looking around.

"Definitely not what I'm used to," she commented. "I feel kind of cheated, I know next to nothing about this place."

Hiei snorted quietly. "Not much to know," he said. "It's the demon realm." He shrugged a bit.

"Says you," Winter said with the slightest grin. "The most I've seen is Hanging Neck Island, bits and pieces of the territory of the three kings, and a tiny sliver of an island of women seemingly nobody knows how to find."

Hiei snorted quietly. "You may get to see more than you want," he told her, glancing back at her. "Depending on how long this takes."

"Sounds good," Winter said, grinning a bit. "I'll follow you, then."

Hiei nodded and kept going, though he did keep an eye on her as well, just to make sure she didn't go wandering off.

They walked for a while in silence, and then Winter spoke up again.

"So, level with me, what's the deal with you and Yukina now?" she asked. "I can't imagine it's the same as it was ten years ago."

Hiei didn't actually stumble at that, but his step pattern faltered for a moment.

"She doesn't know," he answered, rather curt. "And she shouldn't ever know."

"You're still sticking with that?" Winter asked, glancing at him. "I mean, backing up a bit, there's supposedly a bit of canon I was never able to get my hands on that says she figured it out a while ago, but I was never able to confirm it for myself. But still, you're going to hold on to that one?"

"If she knows, she's never said," Hiei said after a moment. "And yes." He shot her a raised eyebrow.

Winter studied him for a moment.

"Okay," she said. "I might poke a bit next time I see her, just for my own curiosity, but if she doesn't know, I won't tell her."

Hiei eyed her for a moment but, oddly enough, found that he believed her. Even without using the Jagan. Instead he just nodded his acceptance of that and kept walking.

Winter studied him as they walked.

"So if I started asking questions about you," she said, "how likely would it be that I would get any answers?"

Hiei glanced back at her and shrugged. Which was fair, really, and a good indication. It all depended on what kind of questions she asked, after all.

"That's what I figured," Winter said. She stretched her arms over her head until her elbows popped. She was quiet for a moment. "So why swords? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would have gone the straight-up fire route instead, especially if they had your potential for sheer power. So why a weapon?"

Hiei considered that for a moment. "Swords are useful, people tend to underestimate me with a sword. With my speed, it can be a more useful tool than sheer power."

"Okay, that's fair," Winter said, nodding a bit. She couldn't help a small grin. "Though I did notice you have a bit of a habit of snapping them at inopportune moments."

Hiei snorted. "I've gone through a few," he said. "And I don't chose to snap them. They just snap."

"Whatever you say," Winter said, snickering a bit. "Though I'm a little bit surprised you never indulged in a flaming sword. Could be fun."

Hiei shrugged after a moment. "If I move too fast, the flames just go out," he pointed out. "Not to mention rapid heating and cooling weakens the metal." Befcause yes, clearly, this was something he'd tried before.

"Fair," Winter admitted. "I supposed physics is still a thing, even here. Too bad."

Hiei snorted quietly. "Indeed," he murmured. "Although physics can be a bit... Strange here."

Winter raised an eyebrow.

"Never would have guessed, with the floating island and all," she said, grinning a bit.

Hiei chuckled quietly and fell quiet again. She really wasn't bad for a human, and she didn't prattle on endlessly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Winter fell quiet again for a while as well. The companionship was really rather pleasant, she hadn't expected that. He wasn't as prickly as he tried to make people believe.