Love and War
By: Hieinokoishi
Kit (Me): Hey, Welcome to the sequel to Left in the Shadows! Okay, just a heads-up, I'm gonna need characters for…later. You'll find out at the end of the chapter. They HAVE to be fighters but if they're not, then I might use them for something else. Just check my forums and tell the name of your character, gender (I have to have both male and female characters please) weapons and/or powers, and class, and of course, physical description. Also, any other quirks or special qualities they might have. Just check my forums and your good to go!
Chapter 1: Another Year Gone…
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"Hurry up, Kazuma!"
"Wait, I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Said person hobbled down the stairs, trying desperately to get his socks on. "Geez, I don't know how you get ready so fast, Mandy."
The 16-year old girl crossed her arms. "It's because I don't spend so much time in the bathroom."
"But you're a girl!"
She opened the door. "That doesn't mean anything. Think of how much time Yusuke spends in front of the mirror with all that hairgel he uses."
"You know, you shouldn't talk about the person when he's right behind you." came a mischievous voice from behind her. Amanda jumped and turned to see her friend, Yusuke Urameshi, now 17 years old and—like the others—on his second year at Meiou High. "I got here before Kuwabara was ready so I don't really take that much time." He smirked.
"Hey, you guys better hurry up or you'll be late. Kurama's not gonna wait forever." Shizuru told them, watching her brother pull on his shoes.
"See ya!" Amanda called as she and Yusuke left, leaving Kuwabara behind momentarily.
About three minutes and half a block later, Kuwabara came racing up to them. "Oh, finally noticed that you didn't have your bag?"
"Shut up." He grumbled.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Mr. Urameshi, for the last time, that is not the school uniform. When school resumes, please wear the correct outfit and leave that green jumpsuit at home."
"C'mon, you know I look better in green." The infamous reply.
"Perhaps detention after school will make you learn a bit more respect." The teacher frowned. The only reason for this argument was because this teacher was subbing for the last day and wasn't used to Yusuke.
"Whatever." Yusuke rested his chin on his palm in a gesture of boredom. But a sharp stab in his back made him turn around. "What? Oh…" it was Amanda.
"Thank you, Miss Kazehito, maybe you can keep this troublemaker in line."
"No, that's Keiko's job." She muttered under her breath, out of earshot of the teacher but within Yusuke's hearing range. Yusuke just smirked, knowing it was all too true.
"Okay class, please open your books and turn to page seventy-two…"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Geez, Yusuke, it's the last day before break. You don't need to piss the teachers off now." Amanda sighed.
"Not my fault."
"Really, I'm surprised you don't get detention every day." Rinae rolled her eyes.
"You wear shorts under that skirt, Rinae." Yusuke protested.
"Wearing shorts under a skirt is one thing. Not wearing the uniform is another. The difference is, one gets caught and the other doesn't." she ended with an impish smirk causing Kurama to smile.
"Uh guys? Where are we going?" Kuwabara asked. He received double hits from both Yusuke and Rinae. "What!"
"To the cemetery." Amanda replied. Kuwabara swallowed and looked embarrassed.
"Oh." They made a right and to their destination. Slowly, they walked amongst the headstones until they found the right one. It was small and simple but the thing that caught Amanda's attention were several white orchids…but she hadn't placed them there. They were much like the ones she had placed there one year before…when she saw that boy. She couldn't get that boy out of her mind, she even saw him in her dreams.
"Mandy?" Yusuke asked softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him.
"Huh?"
"You okay?"
"Oh…yeah." She smiled. "…You know what? A year ago, I met someone here." She looked back at the headstone. "He looked to be about our age, and he was dressed all in black." She didn't notice her friends stiffen and exchange glances. "I don't know…he said he knew my mom…he seemed so sad. He left before you guys came." Her cheeks were suddenly stained a light pink at the thought of what happened right before he left.
"Did he say his name?" Kurama asked the question lightly but inside he was worried.
"Yeah, he said his name was Hiei."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"She's what?"
"She's remembering, Hiei." Kurama told him. "According to Kuwabara and Shizuru, she has recurring dreams." Kurama had persuaded Hiei to come, seeing as the fire apparition had completely cut off contact with anyone, save the small conversations he had every so often with Shizuru.
"Well, it's like I told you." Koenma said with a sigh. He had brought the Tantei in for another assignment, he said their biggest in almost two years. "I couldn't make her completely forget."
"And you still see her, even though she doesn't remember you." Kuwabara growled. He had spent the past five or so minutes yelling at Hiei, so now he was reduced to sullenness. For the past two years, he had come to think of her as his little sister (he was older than her by a few months…something he loved to point out on every occasion) so he was protective of her.
"Shut up you fool." Hiei snapped. "You act as if I meant for that to happen. It was pure coincidence and I would have avoided the whole situation if I had the choice."
"What was it you called us here for, Koenma?" Kurama asked, hoping to avoid another heated argument. But it was no surprise; they hadn't seen Hiei in over a year.
"Yes, well I do have another case for you. But it might come as a bit of a surprise, seeing as that all the members who organized it were killed…"
"Get to the point!" Yusuke interrupted. He too was grouchy, thanks to Kuwabara.
"The Dark Tournament." Complete silence, even Kuwabara and Hiei stopped their bickering.
"Say again?" this came from Yusuke. Koenma sighed and rubbed his temples.
"The Dark Tournament, Yusuke. For the past three years, the Committee has reformed and built another stadium on Hanging Neck Island. Since you're the defending champions, you are required to compete."
"How long do we have?" Kurama asked. He knew it was pointless to protest.
"Since I found out slightly ahead of time…you have three months. You need to find a fifth, perhaps Rinae can fill in." he paused. "Well…maybe if-"
"I suggest you don't finish that sentence, Koenma." Hiei snarled, knowing full well what he was going to suggest. Koenma wasn't fazed; he half expected that reaction.
"Well, the ship docks on April fifth. I expect you all to work hard until then." The toddler lord said in a final sort of way. The group took that as a hint to leave, Kuwabara still muttering darkly to himself. Hiei however, stayed behind.
"Koenma, if she's having dreams-" he began.
"I honestly don't know." Koenma replied wearily, lowering his head and resting it against his hand. "She could end up remembering on her own, or anything else linking to Spirit World could trigger it."
"What can I do to prevent it?" the toddler lord looked up.
"Hiei I don't know why you're so adamant about this. She can take care of herself." This unfortunately, set Hiei off. His crimson eyes flashed.
"She was killed in the last mission!" he snapped.
"She was protecting-" Koenma snapped his mouth shut.
The anger ebbed from the fire apparition's eyes. "…If I had been stronger that day then she wouldn't have been hurt." He murmured before turning on his heel and stalking out of the Reikai office.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
That night he sat in the same tree by Amanda's window, just as he did almost every night. Usually the window was open but since the weather was chillier in the winter, it was shut tight. Hiei watched her roll over to face him and saw that she was grasping something around her neck. The hiruiseki. Looking at her face, he didn't have to use his Jagan to know what she was dreaming about. She murmured something in her sleep, but the closed window made the words just out of his hearing range. A small growl bubbled past gritted teeth and in the next moment he was gone, the tree still shaking softly from the sudden displacement of weight. He needed to stay away. Anything to keep her from ultimately suffering the same fate again.
(end chapter 1)
Kit: Well, how'd you like it? I was strongly debating whether to add in the Dark Tournament, since that's a plot that's been run into the ground, but that's a HUGE part…especially since I already have the whole thing written down on paper. n.n
Yusuke: Yeah, it would be kinda hard to update if you totally scrapped your written story.
Kit: Yeah, I only went a little ways off last time. Took off details here, deleted a chapter there, rewrote parts…
Hiei: Hn. You call that "a little" onna?
Kit: Well, I basically kept the same storyline. ANYWAY, i would answer the reviews for the last chapter of Left in the Shadows, but there's too many... I'm feeling lazy…
Hiei: Not surprising.
Kit: Hey!
Yusuke: He does have a point.
Kit: I'm choosing to ignore that. Anyway, I hope you liked the first chapter, I don't know if I rushed into some parts…heh, I might rewrite it in the future, who knows? And some parts may have seemed a bit foggy, but they were explained in my songfic. n.n
Kurama: Be sure to review for this and her songfic, My Sacrifice.