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Bright blood-colored eyes scanned the skies as the young Koorime made their way down the steps. It was summer in the Ningenkai, and life was sprouting everywhere. Animals and their offspring seemed to crowd the area, and this made life at the temple all the more serene. Yukina pushed back a lock of her mint-green hair and giggled as she stuck out her finger in the warm breeze, catching a butterfly on her soft flesh.
Staying with Genkai was a real treat for Yukina. She was able to see her friends because school was out for a brief time, and things weren't so lonely with the old master. Yukina gladly helped her around the house and occasionally, she would be visited by a certain someone. His name was Hiei, and who was extremely protective of dear, sweet, little Yukina.
He's like a brother to me, she remembered thinking to herself one day. Lately Hiei had been coming daily, checking up on her whether he wanted to be seen or not.
It seemed like a normal day for Yukina. She was hurriedly cleaning the bottom of the steps when the birds stopped chirping. A low humming filled the air and when she finally lifted her head, she was graced with a sight to see.
A brown and black blur spiraled down from the sky and tumbled down onto the hard concrete with a harsh crack.
"Oh!" Yukina gasped, dropping her broom. She ran over to see what it was that had fallen, and her face paled when she realized what it was: a demon.
It was a young girl, with a dark brown T-shirt, black pants, light brown hair cut right at the collar of her shirt, and broad birdlike wings attached to her back. The girl seemed to be burning up because of the sun's harmful rays, and had cuts and bruises all over her body. Yukina's eyes filled with tears as she rested her permanently cool hands on the girl's forehead.
"Hn."
Yukina whipped around to spot Hiei. "Oh! Hiei-san! Th-this demon fell from the sky, a-and..." Her meek voice quivering from the excitement, she turned her gaze towards the boy. He seemed to stiffen, but bent down to examine the demon. Yukina asked him quietly if he could help wake her up.
After quite some time, the girl finally stirred. She sat up groggily and then screamed in pain, clutching her left leg, which was soaked in blood. Her wings were both broken, as Yukina could see. She wanted so badly to heal the poor girl, but she shrunk away from Yukina's touch as soon as she came close.
Thankfully she was cooperative. She stood up and as soon as they got her to a bed inside Genkai's, she collapsed and shut her eyes tightly. Yukina was beginning to heal her arm when there was a commotion outside.
"Yukina-chan! I'm here to take you to the Reikai for your meeting with Koenma-sama!" Botan's cheery voice rang through the air as Yukina turned her sorrowful eyes towards her brother.
Voice softer than the most expensive silk, she bowed her head. "Gomen nasai, Hiei-san. Do you think you could take care of her while I am gone? I will be in the Reikai with Koenma-sama and I might not be back afterwards because I will be in the Makai."
How could he refuse? Hiei's mouth seemed to twitch, but he gave a slight nod. Yukina was overjoyed and hugged him before rushing out to meet with Botan. He stared after her and then soon realized what he was getting himself into. He couldn't just dump the stupid creature with Genkai – he had promised his sister he would do it himself. Snarling inside at his stupidity, he leaned against the wall and watched the bird coldly.
Four days passed when she finally stirred again. Her goldish-brownish eyes seemed dull because of the pain and she curled when she moved. Hiei took a few steps forward and then cast a look down at her. She realized where she was and looked up slowly, a bit shy because of the sudden meeting. She stared at him for a few moments.
"Who are you?" she asked slowly when some time had passed. "And just where am I?"
"You should know," Hiei sneered. "You're the one who fell from the sky."
Sensing his strong presence, she nervously began to tug onto the dog tags that were strung around her neck. "Erm...well that's the thing, I don't really...remember..." Her eyes glazed and she shook her head. "No, I don't. The last thing I can remember was..." Not likely to spill her thoughts aloud, she finished it in her head. I was taking off from home, and then...
An awkward silence pursued, so the girl decided to break the silence, seeing as how the man's cold gaze was piercing right through her.
"I heard voices before...a girl's voice. She said that you would take care of me...in my dreams, at least. Is this...true?"
Hiei only stared at her as an answer. The girl was going to get up when he growled darkly. "Lay back down, suzume. You need your rest."
Her eyes flashed up at him, clearly looking insulted. "My name is Kishin, oh great protector. Oujotacci Kishin, not Suzume."
"Hn." Hiei grabbed her shoulder painfully and sat her back down on the bed. "Then listen to me, Kishin. Stay where you are and rest or I'll gladly make you."
Annoyed, she tried to get up, being as stubborn as she was. Hiei glared down at her. She tried many ways to get out of bed and escape, or even get up. However, his sharp stare would always turn to hers and capture her, and she would freeze up for a moment. The feeling was strange...despite the heavy heat of the summer (which was a drag for her), she felt a brisk chill just by looking into his fiery eyes.
Genkai arrived back at the shrine not moments afterwards. She came in and stared at the two with her hands behind her back. Not even acknowledging the fidgeting youkai, she simply smirked and averted her eyes towards Hiei.
"Take care of her, won't you? I'm not going to waste my time on a baby bird. Maybe by this you'll learn something."
Snickering, the old master exited the room. Hiei frowned deeply and stood there, unsure of what to do next.
So began a rough start to the new relationship thrust upon them.
The next day, Hiei came to check on Kishin's wounds. Apparently, her wings would take some time to heal even though she was a youkai. The injury on her leg was already halfway done, so Kishin was able to limp. As soon as he stepped back from her bed, she awoke.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked suspiciously. Receiving no answer, she slowly sat up and grunted in pain. The wound in her leg tore open as she started to soak the bandages with blood, but she didn't care. She hated to be cooped up somewhere, as all birds did. Her wings stretched slowly and she shut her eyes tightly while trying to ignore the sharp stab that rocked her back.
A faint jingle sounded in the air, and Kishin slowly raised her hand to the dog tags that were strung around her neck. She tugged on them while making her way past Hiei and out the sliding doors. He didn't stop her, but simply observed her actions as she continued onwards.
After making her way around the property, she turned towards the dark figure behind her. "Do you have any books?" she asked warily. She was still distrustful of the strange and his demonic aura. Why would a demon help another? "I'd like something to read."
She received no answer. Kishin rolled her eyes, but stubbornly repeated the question. "Did you hear me? I asked if you had any books—"
"I'm not deaf," came the chilly retaliation. "I chose to ignore such a request."
Her face tinted a bit at the embarrassing comment. If there was something Oujotacci Kishin hated, it was to be embarrassed. She began to nibble on the nails on her forefinger and thumb. Walking to the soft green grass, she took a seat and sat comfortably. The summer breeze seemed to lure her, calling her softly. Her wings almost fluttered in excitement, but then she winced and decided not to do so.
In her beaten black pants was a bulge that Hiei didn't notice before. She dug her hand inside the pocket and drew out a small book that seemed to be locked up. With a sigh, she opened it up by pressing her finger on the lock and slowly letting her spirit energy flow from her fingertips. The lock clicked open and the pages came to life.
Hiei observed the book and recalled that those were a rarity among demons. This little sparrow must've stolen it from someone or she was extremely important. The contraption, which humans had yet to think of, was a book that wrote out the owner's dreams and innermost fantasies.
When Kishin had nothing to read, she would open up the book and discover a part of herself that she might not have even known about. She was constantly contemplating the power of such an item, and mostly kept to herself when she was occupied with it.
No longer amused by the bird, Hiei left. He didn't have time to waste on her when he could be training. Her wounds were bleeding, but as long as she was well enough to fly and leave, his job would be done. Hiei smirked to himself and exited the area, leaving Kishin wincing but reading her book contently.
It was around lunchtime when Kishin felt her stomach grumble. It had been awhile since she had taken a meal because of the traveling she was doing before being attacked. Sighing, she put her finger on the paragraph and tapped it, the book jotting down where she had left off. Kishin closed it carefully and looked around.
The blood had dried and thankfully, she wasn't bleeding anymore. Kishin shifted and was about to stand up when she heard the low thud of feet landing on the grass. Ah. The demon was here. Kishin watched him with her sharp eyes and kept him in her range of sight. She was still distrustful of him, after all.
Stretching his arm out to her, Hiei simply dropped the items in her lap. She stared up at him, confused, as he began to walk away. Her eyes tore from his strange appearance and she instead glanced down at what he had given her. Her face wrenched up in disgust and she cleared her throat.
"I'm not going to eat this."
Hiei stopped walking immediately and turned to her slowly. She was frowning and looking incredibly peeved. His low voice coming out in a dark tremble, he scoffed. "Why not?"
"I don't like tomatoes. In fact, I hate them. You can have it back...Hiei," she muttered after quite some hesitation. When she was still semi-conscious, she heard a sweet and soothing voice call him that. Of course, that was why she didn't ask him for his name. Not that it made a difference.
There was a tense silence between the two. Hiei couldn't help but feel appalled by this demon's behavior. Here he was going out of his way to make sure she was cared for, and she dare to refuse the food? A growl formed in his throat and he turned back to the direction he was going in.
"Fine, starve. I don't care. Either eat the tomato and live, or suffer without its nutrition and die."
After that exchange, he disappeared once again. Kishin shrugged and stuffed the tomatoes in her pocket. She would find a way for them not to go to waste, but she sure as hell wasn't going to eat them. She stretched and even though her wounds burned, decided to take a walk to cool down. It was unbearably hot outside and she couldn't stand the heat.
As she went around the premises, she wondered where the other girl had gone. Oh, well. It didn't matter now. She was stuck with that Hiei character, whether she liked it or not. Kishin sighed and let her hand rest on the book that was placed safely in her pocket. She would go into the forest and lounge under the trees. They would help with the heat considering the amount of shade they provided.
When she found herself a comfortable spot, Kishin closed her eyes and smiled. It was relaxing, though her body was sore from being overworked. She decided to take a quick afternoon nap, and drifted off.
Once her eyes fluttered back open, a sinking feeling washed over her. She was all alone and it was pitch-black outside. It was no longer hot, but instead, extremely chilly. Kishin shivered and got up, beginning to walk back towards the house she was staying in. Her bandages were starting to smell repulsive and she noted to herself that she would have to change them soon.
After walking for about five minutes, she thought to herself. This was strange...usually her sense of direction was dead on. Why wasn't she back by now? She peered through the darkness, or at least tried to, and decided to keep walking. She was sure that the house would be right up ahead....
Fifteen more minutes passed and she came to the chilling conclusion. She was lost. Oh, great. She had stumbled into a forest outside of the estate that was probably filled with demons, she had no food, no water, and to top it all off, she was wounded. Her wings weren't even completely healed yet. If they were, then she could've just flown up and seen where the house was located.
That's right. If my wings were healed, then I wouldn't be trying to get back to that place, anyway. She sighed and pouted at the conundrum. Kishin decided she would sit and wait for Hiei to find her. It was no use wasting energy looking when he was sure to notice she was gone. Besides, though the sleep helped, her strength wasn't all the way up. She hadn't eaten in awhile...
She decided to read her book, and reached down in her pant's pocket. But when she thumbed through the other items, she realized that it wasn't there. A panicky feeling rose up inside of her and she desperately tried to look into the other pocket. It only contained the tomatoes that Hiei had given her earlier.
Were there any holes in her pockets? She didn't think so, though her clothes were tattered. Kishin reached in and to her dismay, she found one. Her lip quivered and she took a seat, defeated. This was just her luck. The one treasure she risked her life for was somewhere out in the forest. Her story was still programmed into it...what if someone else found it? All her dreams, desires, and weaknesses would be revealed.
"It's not fair," she grumbled.
"What are you whining about now?"
Almost jumping from his sudden appearance, Kishin's face lit up. "Ah, it's you! Hiei! I knew you would come and find me. I wandered in here for a nap and well, I got lost." She smiled sheepishly and Hiei crossed his arms, snickering.
"I thought you had escaped. I was just coming in here to fetch some things for myself and perhaps kill a few demons. I wouldn't have cared if you managed to find a way out of here."
The blissful feelings she had immediately withered away, and they were soon replaced with anger. Embarrassed tremendously, she stood up painfully. "Let's just go." Her face was heating up and she was blushing. As she began to follow Hiei solemnly, a sudden pain in her foot sliced through her.
"Ow," she muttered, eyesight suddenly focusing and going blurry. She stumbled and bumped into Hiei, who looked like he wanted to strike her. But he paused when he saw that she wasn't well at all. With a sigh and an utterance of her being so troublesome, he sat her down.
The cut on her foot was bleeding, and black ooze began to leak from the cut. Hiei shook his head distastefully. This woman really had no idea what she was doing. From fighting for her life, ending up in Genkai's yard, refusing to eat when she was weak, to being poisoned by a stray plant. He wondered why she didn't just wear shoes to prevent this.
Though the girl was annoying, Hiei couldn't help but find her amusing. She was so stubborn, and even though she was facing all of these dangers, she relied on him. Whether she liked it or not, he was the one who was keeping her captive. He could tell she was slipping in and out of consciousness because of the poison, so decided to get her to Genkai. He wasn't skilled in healing.
As he scooped her up and began to sprint for Genkai's with his amazing speed, he glanced down once. The sight of her naturally dismissive and thoughtful face relaxed and in a moment of peace struck him with a strange feeling. He shook it off just as quickly as it had come and made it to the estate with no problem.
Genkai was having a cigarette sitting outside on her porch when Hiei appeared in front of her. She smirked and shook her head, standing.
"I didn't think you would be able to take care of her yourself. Let's take her inside so we can get rid of the poison." Though she was human, she wasn't stupid like most. Genkai put her hands behind her back and led Hiei inside. He followed her reluctantly, not used to being ordered around.
As Genkai went on with her work, she had to remove Kishin's clothes to unwrap most of the cloth that was on her wounds. Her clothes were lying in a heap and Hiei heard something bounce against the wooden floor. His blood-red eyes turned and fixated themselves on the swirling tomatoes, which had been stuffed in Kishin's pocket.
Unable to contain his laughter, Hiei let out a small chuckle and turned away. After all that time, she could have saved her strength and eaten the tomatoes for some energy. Instead, she chose to push them away. Well, at least the girl did have some dignity.
When he eyed the clothes again, he noticed that the bulge where the book had been was gone. Hiei thought for a moment, and then realized that she had probably dropped it somewhere. It was too bad she couldn't have dropped the tomatoes and kept the book. He knew that it was worth a lot, and whoever got their hands on it was a lucky man.
Night faded back into day, and when Kishin woke up, she was fully cured. It seemed as though Genkai was tired of the bird moping around the house, even though she was only there for a short period of time. Kishin flexed her wings and to her delight, they moved pain free. It was time to leave, she thought to herself happily. She could finally exit this blasted place and return to her home.
As she got dressed and fixed herself, Kishin couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not only because of the loss of her notebook, but because she had to leave Hiei. He was fascinating, no matter how much she told herself that he wasn't. He seemed so distant, so cold, and hateful towards everyone but that girl Yukina. Too bad Kishin couldn't meet her.
Turning her eyes towards the sky, she felt her pocket with those cursed tomatoes. Kishin sighed and took out her flute. She might as well play while she made her way back home. She was going to take off when a figure slowly made its way up the path.
She blinked and stood there, the flute still pressed to her lips. Hiei didn't seem to notice it, but kept his distance. There was a moment between them when she could've sworn he moved closer to her. But when she blinked, he was still in his old position. She ignored him, and with one last look, began to play. Her wings fluttered and she shot off into the sky.
Hiei resisted the urge to stare after her as she began her majestic flight. His thoughts were soon overridden by the feeling in his stomach, and he finally lifted his head. He could see her figure soaring through the air as the heavenly music spread out across the sky. Smirking and keeping on his way, he clutched the object in his hand.
"You got your souvenir, and I received mine," he finally stated in a hushed tone. He glanced down at one of the dog tags that had been around Kishin's neck not a minute earlier.
As Kishin kept her wings flapping, she suddenly realized that her pants felt heavier than they had been. She reached into her pocket, ceasing the flute music for a split second, and brought the object out. Her eyebrows rose in sheer amusement as a grin slipped upon her face.
"Well, well, well...seems like that Hiei is nicer than he looks." She opened it up and peered inside, only to find a nicely illustrated picture of the fire demon. Underneath it were the words:
Her heart will always remain in his captivity, though she may flee from his clutches.
Kishin's own "love" organ pounded relentlessly in her chest. That wasn't the place where she left off, and since when did the book ever have Hiei placed in its contents? She really hoped that he hadn't seen this. A pink tinge crossed her face and she swore to herself slightly. She hated to be embarrassed...she constantly reminded herself that.
Stuffing the book back inside her pocket and feeling slightly miserable from knowing Hiei had peeked inside, she sighed and wrapped her hand around the tomato in her pocket. Was she really free?
