"Really? Isn't it difficult?" Yukina blinked.

Hiei sat far above them, keeping himself hidden in all ways as he listened.

"It's involuntary," Naomi corrected. "You'll see tonight, it'll be obvious when it happens. Besides, it's only one night a month. The rest of the time, I'm normal." She paused when she noticed a beautiful dark blue bead on a chain around Yukina's neck. "That's a gorgeous necklace," she commented. "Sorry, I get a bit distracted."

"That's okay." Yukina smiled a little and slipped the necklace off, handing it over to her to inspect. "It's called a tear gem."

Naomi blinked.

"A what?" she asked as she looked at the gem closely. "I've never seen anything like it, it must have cost a fortune."

"A tear gem." Yukina was quiet for a moment. "They are formed from the tears of Koormie. They are not very common. At least, not here."

That made Naomi pause.

"Wait a moment," she said, handing the gem back. "You can do that?" Hell, enough about half-breeds, this was way more interesting. She turned that over in her head for a moment. "If I could do that, I'd be a very rich woman. My mother would never have to work again."

Yukina nodded. "We don't often have interactions here, so our tear gems are often used as jewelry like this, or simply stored." Naomi's other words gave her an idea, one she planned to work on later.

"If I could do that, I wouldn't know what to do with them all," Naomi said. She looked a bit sheepish. "I'm a crier. Anything upsets me, and I'll burst into tears. I get angry, sad, anything like that, and I just dissolve."

Yukina couldn't help but smile a little at that description. "Hiei has one too, you know," she said, effectively side-tracking them both as she slipped her necklace back on.

Above them, Hiei stiffened. He was partially curious to see how this went, and partially about ready to beat the crap out of someone.

"...Really?" Naomi asked, curious now. Somehow, it didn't surprise her. It struck her as the sort of thing that nobody else would know, probably under penalty of death. She almost wanted to ask where it had come from, but wasn't sure how to phrase it tactfully.

Yukina nodded. "They were left by our mother," she said quietly. For a moment, she looked surprised. She'd never actually said that before. Their mother. Their shared mother, whom neither had really known. But somehow he'd gotten the short end of the stick.

"She must have been something," Naomi said. She grinned a bit. "After all, look at the two of you." It was cheesy, yes, but she did mean it. "My mother's human. She had to put up with me growing up."

"Neither of us really knew her," Yukina said quietly. "I've heard some stories from some of the others I live with, but they are not always complimentary." She was quiet for a few moments. "I would like to meet your mother someday. She seems like an incredible woman, and you speak very highly of her."

"I can take you home with me," Naomi offered. "The weather should still be cool enough, and I definitely keep my house cold enough." And she definitely wouldn't mind her friend visiting. They could even use it as an excuse for Osanna to show Kurama her garden.

Yukina smiled, pleased. "I'd like that. Thank you."

She glanced up when leaves above them rustled. "Hello, Hiei."

"Hn." Hiei snorted and settled himself on his normal branch for the moment.

Naomi glanced up when she heard the rustling leaves. From where she was standing, she couldn't see his expression, but she was pretty sure that he wasn't exactly pleased with her. Cautiously, she reached out with her youki to brush against his in greeting.

Hiei nudged back gently, but it wasn't normal. He wasn't pleased with her, but he wasn't trying to kill her either. And since those were the two normal settings, he was having trouble figuring out what to do about the not-quite aggression itching under his skin.

There was more power behind that nudge than he probably intended, and it made Naomi flinch a little and pull back her youki. Any more than a little and it burned a bit, although the sensation didn't last long.

Yukina frowned when she noticed the flinch before she looked towards the temple. "Shall we go inside?" she asked quietly. She wanted to see who else was around.

Naomi nodded, perhaps a bit too quickly. She didn't like it when people were upset at her, and this time it was even mostly her own fault.

"Sure," she said.

Yukina nodded and led the way back into the temple, passing Kurama with a little nod and a smile before she went to go make tea.

Osanna blinked when she noticed that Naomi wasn't feeling quite right. She immediately headed over to her friend, frowning a little.

What happened?

Couple things, Naomi replied, glancing back out towards the tree and then at her friend. He's mad at me. And it's kind of my fault.

Kurama nodded to Yukina in return before turning his attention to Naomi and Osanna. They were signing back and forth quickly, but he managed to follow easily enough that he became curious as to what was going on. Perhaps he would go outside and have a talk with Hiei.

Do do you say that? What happened? Osanna frowned, pulling Naomi aside. Now she was worried.

Hiei was still seated in the same tree, sitting there almost sulkily.

When Osanna pulled Naomi aside, Kurama took that as his cue to head outside.

"What's going on?" he asked once he saw Hiei sulking in the tree.

Yukina figured everything out, Naomi said. She put the pieces together when I mentioned last time that it seemed a bit strange that Hiei knew the way to the island. So it's my fault she figured it out. And he's mad at me for it.

"Yukina knows," Hiei said very quietly. He wasn't mad about that, but he wasn't quite sure what to do, either. He was so used to watching from a distance.

Oh, come on! That's not your fault. She would have figured it out eventually. She's not stupid. So you might have accelerated the process, but it is not your fault. Osanna glowered at her to emphasize her point.