"It was wonderful," Naomi replied. She grinned. "Yukina showed me around, and I got to play in the snow." She paused for a moment. "Did you enjoy being there at all?"

Kurama followed at a more sedate pace, nodding in greeting to Hiei when he saw his friend.

Hiei nodded, but he didn't say anything more as Osanna bounced over to them. He inclined his head a little to Kurama as well.

Have a good time? Osanna asked, grinning briefly. She was clearly more relaxed than she had been when the two had left.

"I feel a lot better now," Naomi replied, nodding. She glanced from Osanna to Kurama and back again, raising an eyebrow at her friend but not saying anything. She knew Osa would get the hint.

"I'm surprised," Kurama said softly to Hiei. "You've never taken anyone there before." He knew his friend would understand the intentionally vague comment.

Osanna just shrugged. We had a nice chat, she said, perhaps a bit defensively. She liked spending time with the other fox.

Hiei snorted. "Hn." He looked at Osanna and gave Kurama a look. Like Kurama was one to talk.

"I didn't say anything," Naomi replied innocently.

"There's a difference between my telling Osanna about myself, and you taking Naomi to the island," Kurama pointed out. He knew very well that Hiei had done it on his own. There was no way for Naomi to have really known about the island beforehand, even if Yukina had mentioned it.

Osanna just snorted and rolled her eyes. They could always talk more later.

Hiei just rolled his eyes and moved over to his tree again, settling in a branch there.

Osanna watched him go before she blinked. He got surly again real quick.

Naomi glanced up at the tree, and then back at Osanna.

He took me to see Yukina on that island she lives on, she signed. To be honest, I think there's a bit more ice in him than he cares to admit. He honestly relaxed while we were there, not just comfortable.

Osanna smiled a little. Well, as long as he's comfortable somewhere. She paused for a few moments before continuing. You know, we could show them our houses sometime...

"Yeah, there really wasn't much time for that last time, was there?" Naomi mused. She grinned and nudged her friend. "Planning on showing off your garden, then?"

Osanna stuck out her tongue. Only a little. Besides, I have cool new plants. Which was always fun to show off. Especially around someone else who would appreciate them.

"You mean the ones you collected the first time around," Naomi said. "You still need to work on the see-through flowers, though. I did bring those back for you." She grinned. "I fully expect you to make them colorful eventually."

Osanna grinned. Oh, don't worry. I'm working on it. It'll take some time, but I'm working on it. Even though she wasn't in her garden she could still think of things to do to make the flowers colored.

Naomi grinned.

"Why don't you ask your friend if he has any ideas for it?" she suggested teasingly, nudging Osanna.

Osanna rolled her eyes but smiled a little. She didn't mind the teasing, after all.

A few weeks later (during which the girls had gotten used to bouncing around and visiting people) Yukina went to go visit them at Genkai's temple. It was cooler again, still not comfortable for the ice-dwellers, but cooler. She'd gone straight to Hiei when she got there, pulling him aside and talking to him quietly.

Naomi was lounging the the shade of the temple for the time being, in just a thin tank and some shorts. This time, she'd been prepared for warm weather. It wasn't quite as hot as it had been before, but it was still more than warm enough for her tastes. She did make sure to bring some slightly warmer clothes this time, though... She expected her human night to roll around while they were visiting. She perked up when she sensed Yukina arriving, but paused when she didn't see her friend anywhere. That was odd.

Yukina came back before Hiei did, and she went over to find Naomi.

"Hello. It's good to see you again," she greeted quietly.

"You're back early," Naomi commented as she got up. "I thought it would still be too warm around here. But it's good to see you too." She glanced around, but didn't see Hiei. That was also strange, since he tended to never let Yukina out of his sight if she was around. "Is there something going on I'm not aware of?"

Yukina was quiet for a moment. "I talked to Hiei," she said slowly. "Your hint was enlightening. I'd thought about it before, but..." She looked at Naomi. "I don't know if he's very happy now that I know."

Naomi blinked. She hadn't thought that the hint would actually be enough, it was just so vague at the time.

"You were bound to figure it out sooner or later," she said after a moment. "I kept telling him to say something."

Yukina nodded. "I thought you might have. But he didn't seem very pleased when I told him, either." She frowned a little, clearly worried. "Maybe I should have not said anything?"

"I'm of the very firm opinion that you deserved to know," Naomi said. "Not that I was the only one. I won't claim to know why he didn't say anything, but personally, I think it's better that you know." She cracked a bit of a grin. "Although I did offer up my own sisters to be ignored. And my brother, too. They ignore me, so it's only fair."

Yukina frowned. "I can't imagine why. I'm glad to know you." Because yes, she was that innocent that she just didn't get things like politics and hanyou policies.

Naomi waved a hand. She knew exactly why.

"It's because I'm a half-breed," she replied. "Even better, I'm half human. My brother and sisters are all full-bloods, and my father and stepmother are expecting another child, I think, so that'll make another full-blood half-sibling. But that's why." And really, she was grateful that ignoring her was all they did. She managed to crack a grin. "Hang around tonight, I'll be full human once the sun goes down." She ran her fingers through the blue in her hair. "No more of this till morning."

"Oh." Yukina blinked. "What's that like?" She tilted her head to the side, curious. Yusuke was the closest person she knew to a half-breed, but he was something else, which meant she didn't have anyone else to ask. And she was rather curious.

"It's..." Naomi trailed off, thinking. She'd never had to explain it before. "It's kind of like all the cold just bleeds away, and leaves regular human in its place. Everything suddenly feels colder because I get warmer, and I bruise easily, something I apparently inherited from my mother." She shrugged. "I'm used to it, it's happened once a month since I was born."