Disclaimer: Let's start with the important things. I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OF YU YU HAKUSHO OR ANYTHING RELATED TO THEM. I however own Erika, her parents and the PLOT OF THIS STORY. please do not use any of MY characters without asking first.
Author's Note: Now, on to the next things. I will not bother you with my rambling, too much. I just want to ask you to read and leave a review telling me if I should or should not update anymore. I just wanna know if it's worth anything.
Now, on with the story...
Different
Chapter 1: His mission, her question
He looked at her petite form. He had seen girls more beautiful than her, but there was something that she held in her eyes that made him stay in the tree where he was at the moment and not run to Reikai and give the toddler a piece of his mind, or in this case, a piece of his fist. He felt like he could watch her for years and years and never get bored. His eyes were glued on her. She was staying Indian style on the round creamy rug from her room, right in the middle of it. She kept her hands on the rug, in a line with her upper body, as if she wanted to keep herself steady, despite the fact that she was lazily rocking back and fort. Her eyes were glued on the wall in front of her and she didn't seem to have a care in the world. Her brown hair rested lazily on her shoulders and her rather long bangs rounded her face. Her lips were slightly parted and her breathes even.
He had no idea why she made him feel so at ease, so peaceful.
Flashback
A dark figure walked through the halls of Reikai's Palace. His three-colored, gravity-defying hair, his piercing, void of any emotion, dark crimson eyes and his black clothes made him seem the perfect killer. Maybe he was. No one really knew.
Two doors opened in front of him and he stepped inside the toddler ruler's office.
"Hello, Hiei" the prince, now in his teenager form, greeted the dark figure.
"Hn"
"I am glad you came. Please have a seat"
The man, now known as Hiei, ignored the Prince's request and simply stood in front of the desk, his hands in his pockets.
"I have a mission for you"
"Why didn't you call the Detective?" Hiei's voice was clear, deep and it didn't betray his feelings. At all.
"Yusuke wouldn't be able to fulfill it. You are the only one who can take this mission, Hiei" the Prince answered looking in a file.
"Hn"
"Very well. I want you to watch over this girl" the Prince said and a picture appeared out of nowhere, suspended in thin air. A girl, not older than 15, sitting Indian style on a creamy rug with her arms in her lap, reading a book and rocking her body back and fort. She had thick, chocolate brown hair that reached only to her shoulders, and slightly long bangs that rounded her face, ending a little below her chin. Her eyes weren't visible.
"Her name is Erika" the Prince explained.
"Who is she?" Hiei asked.
"A human"
Hiei almost rolled his eyes. Why would Koemna, the Prince, ask him to watch over a pathetic human girl?
"What's so special about her?" Hiei asked in a mocking voice. He really wasn't in the mood of taking care of human children.
"Nothing" the answer came as if it were the most obvious thing.
"Then why?"
"Because she is different"
Hiei wasn't satisfied. Why would Koemna want him to watch over a human that was only 'different'?
"Why?" Hiei repeated his question. He received the same answer before silence fell upon the two. Crimson eyes glared at brown orbs.
"I am not going to baby-sit a human" Hiei said gruffly.
"You are not baby-sitting her. She is not to know of your existence. My father sensed something different about her and he wanted me to find out what. We've been digging in her past and her family's past, but found nothing special. All her family is plainly normal, except for her. She's the one that's different. Call her their black sheep, but her parents think she's the apple of their eyes" Koemna detailed.
"Hn. Isn't every family supposed to have someone different in it?" Hiei asked.
"Yes, I agree with you, but my father wanted me to find out what is that he sensed at her, and all my other resources had been used. The only option left is for someone to watch her daily routines, see how she's like and what she does. Every week come and report back. Botan will show you where she lives"
As if on cue, said ferry girl appeared through the doors. She was wearing her usual pink kimono and her cerulean hair was up in its normal ponytail, while her amethyst eyes shined.
"Hello, Hiei, Koemna-sama" she greeted the two offering each a smile.
"Botan, show Hiei where Erika lives" Koemna instructed and as the two were about to leave through the door, the Prince called out to the fire demon. "I do believe you know you are NOT to lose sight of her, right?"
"Hn" was the answer and the fire demon vanished out the doors of Koemna's office.
End flashback
There had been a few weeks since he started watching over her. The first day he was really reluctant. He didn't like acting as if he was baby-sitting the goddamn human, but, in a few days he learnt a little about her.
Animals fascinated her and her room would always have some kind of music in the background. Some days it would be hard rock, other days, classic musicals.
He had seen her parents. Kind people that lived in their own little world. He had seen how much they loved her and he had seen how much she loved them. He hadn't seen her without a smile while she was nearby them. She'd always be happy for them, even if deep inside she wasn't.
There was, however, a moment in the day when, in a way, she'd disconnect with the world. And that moment was when she would stay on the creamy rug, fix a point on the wall, and let herself think of everything and also nothing at all. And Hiei, the boy in the tree, watched her disconnect from the world.
He heard the door to her room crack open, and her mother peeked in smiling. Instantly the girl smiled back, returning to this world.
"Honey? Dinner's ready" her mother announced and the girl nodded, getting up.
Weirdly enough, for her family, dinner was either at 8, in rare cases, or after 9. Right now it was half past nine.
He watched her follow her mother and close the door to her room. He vanished from the tree only to reappear in one right beside their kitchen. Luckily, outside was pitch-black darkness and no passer-bys that would randomly look at the 8th floor of an apartment building, could see him.
He saw her sit at the table with her parents and eating. She was eating green olives. In the first week he'd watch over her he had learned that those things were her favorite food, or at least what she ate most. Sometimes she'd eat green olives with cheese, but he'd never seen her eat anything else for dinner. It wasn't that she was obsessed with her weight. She just didn't like eating. He had no idea why.
He saw her lips moving and he strained his ears to hear what she was saying.
"So...can I go?" she asked her mother.
"Hm..." her mother seemed to think. Somehow, he knew she'd agree. Her mother usually agreed with things her daughter wanted.
"Please mom? I promise it'd be okay" the girl asked again.
"Where is it again?" her mother asked.
"It's at a cottage in the woods. We planned a sleepover there and some exploring" the girl explained.
"Sleepover?" her father asked, a smirk on his face and an eyebrow raised.
"Yes, dad, sleepover" she explained again, her voice jokingly annoyed. She had obviously understood what the man implied.
"Honey, I do hope you will only be sleeping, right?" her mother asked concerned. The girl almost choked with an olive.
"Of course! What'd you think we'd do?" she asked them.
"Nothing" her parents answered smiling.
"Jeez" she whined smiling. She was obviously joking around.
"Well, who'll be taking you there?" her father asked.
"We'll meet at the entrance in the forest. I suppose I could either walk until there, or mom could take me" the girl answered seriously.
"Hm, okay than. I'll take you there" the mother finally stated and the girl smiled broadly, obviously pleased. "But, I want you to have your phone turned on all the time" her mother added and the girl nodded, now grinning.
"And when we call you, you'd better hear the goddamn phone" her father threatened smiling as his daughter nodded, making a "Yes, Sir" sign.
As they ate her father switched the TV-program, making both his wife and daughter groan.
"What? You should learn to watch more movies at a time and catch the essential from all" he explained matter-of-factly making his daughter laugh. Hiei found out he liked the sound of her laugh. So carefree and happy. It sounded a little like the ferry girl's, but also different.
After eating, the family went into the living room and sat on the couch. The father turned the TV on, on an action movie.
"Daddy?" the girl asked as she and her mother cuddled next to the father.
"Hm?" her father said giving her his full attention as he placed his right arm around her shoulder and his left around his wife.
"What's the movie about?"
"That lady in blue wants to take over that ship and she kinda did so. See that man in a white shirt? And the woman in a crimson dress?" when his daughter nodded, the man went on, "They'll save the day"
"Oh, does anyone die?" the girl asked, slightly fearful.
"Only the bad guys"
As a gunfire was heard from the TV, Hiei heard the girl whimper. He saw her squirm into her father's side even more. Another thing Hiei had found out about her in the short time he had been watching her was that she was easily scared when it came to others but never frightened for herself. It was an odd thing if you'd ask him.
A character in the movie yelled "You demon" as some random guy shot another random guy. Hiei shook his head. He'd never understand movies. Then he heard the girl's voice.
"Dad? Mom?" two pairs of eyes went on her and, unknowingly to her, another pair gave her their full attention.
"Do you believe in demons?"
It was a simple question, with two simple answers: "yes" or "no" but Hiei felt there was something more behind the question. Being the not-so-patient person he was and having next-to-none means to find out from the girl herself, he opened his third eye and silently slipped into her mind.
He hadn't expected to find any problems. He'd just go in, get the answer, and get out. It seemed simple to him, but, there was one little problem. He couldn't find any thoughts inside the girl's head. He thought this weird thing happened only when she'd have her "disconnecting-from-the-world" moments, but it seemed he had been wrong.
The girl had asked a question and was momentarily thinking of, you guessed it, nothing. Hiei was, to say the least, surprised. He hadn't found in his entire life a demon, much less a human, with such an ability. He continued to search her mind but found nothing. He exited her mind as silently as he had entered it. He saw her wait for her parent's answers. They seemed in deep thought.
"Those kind of demons that come at night and scare little children?" her father asked jokingly.
"Not exactly..." the girl answered.
"Then how? Explain to us, Erika" her mother asked her kindly.
"Uhm...do you believe that somewhere...there is a world filled with demons? And absolutely no humans? Or with a very small population of humans?" she clarified her question and Hiei was stunned. Here she was, in the middle of watching a movie with her mom and dad, when she practically asks them if they believed Makai existed? He asked himself who and what this girl was more exactly, but he knew he couldn't find an answer. At least, not from her thoughts.
He saw her father's expression and he was almost sure the man would say that it was nonsense, when the girl's mother placed a hand on her husband's shoulder and answered her daughter:
"Who knows, honey...maybe they exist, maybe they don't"
"I wish I'd meet a demon" the 15 year old sighed resting her head on her father's shoulder. Her parents smiled at her and they continued watching the movie.
'She wishes what?' Hiei asked himself as he almost fell out of the tree. 'That onna...there's something about her'
He returned to see her raise from the couch and place a butterfly kiss on her father's cheek and a goodnight kiss on her mother's forehead. He watched her walk to her room and close the door. He saw her take some pajamas out of her wardrobe and he turned as she changed. Even if she had no idea he was there, he wasn't going to take advantage of that.
When he turned back he saw her dressed in some gray 3/4 pajama pants and a red pajama top with a sleeping teddy bear on the front. She was dancing. She was graceful, he had to give her credit for that. He watched her twirl and turn on the creamy rug that decorated the center of her room and suddenly, he felt the want to be there, next to her, and twirl her around. He shook his head. He wasn't supposed to think that, especially about her. He closed his eyes and let the sound of her steps fill his mind. The soft touch of her feet against the rug beneath them and the sound of her hands moving through the air seemed like a song for him.
Suddenly, he couldn't hear her soft steps on the rug anymore. He opened his eyes, looked at her and for a minute there he could swear she was looking him straight in the eyes. It was just then that he realized how her eyes really looked like. He thought they were just brown, but it was now that he realized he had been mistaken. Her iris was outlined in a soft, almost unnoticeable black line. The background color of the iris was a toffee brown, but it had stripes of green on it. He had noticed earlier how her eyes would change color depending on the outside light. If it were sunny her eyes would be a fading shade, but if it were cloudy they'd become pronounced and every color in them would darken. He found this interesting. And of course, at night her eyes would be the most mesmerizing he'd ever seen. The black outline of her iris would become the most pronounced color and the green stripes would easily fade into yellow-gold. Only the brown would stay the same. He'd have yet to see another human or demon with the same eyes. Another thing that confused him about her.
And then, just when he was about to declare himself 100 percent sure that she had seen him, she closed her eyes and sighed. She walked to the balcony. It seemed just her luck that the only door to the balcony was in her room.
She stepped outside on the cold concrete. Her feet were bear. The balcony railing was higher than normal, but it didn't seem to mind her. On the right side of the balcony there was a rocking chair with a blanket on it. Firstly the girl went to the railing and looked beneath.
"If I were to kill myself I'd better jump from here" Hiei heard her whisper softly before she laughed slightly. The crimson-eyed male thought she was too cheery to do such a thing. Even if it were for her to jump, he could bet that his conscience wouldn't let him let her fall.
Then he saw her walk to the swinging chair. She sat down on it, covered herself with the blanket and picked a book that was l. She seemed comfortable as she started rocking herself back and fort and humming softly. Her voice was down and sounded as if the song she was humming was a child's lullaby.
Soon her humming stopped and Hiei turned once more to look at her. She had fallen asleep. He sighed and slightly got up from his branch, but stopped when he heard her whisper: "...don't...". Again he could've sworn she knew he was there, but as he looked at her he realized she was deep sleeping. He got up from his branch and in one silent blur of shadow was in front of the swing. She didn't even stir as he picked her up as if he were carrying a child. She was still wrapped into the blanket.
He stepped into her room and was about to set her on her bed when he felt her snuggle into his chest. He couldn't help but look down at her. She looked peaceful and, in a way, angelic. When he tried to place her on her bed he noticed that she had grabbed a fistful of his black shirt. Now, that was a small problem. He placed his hand on hers and he was surprised to find that her skin was as cold as his. Moving his fingers gently, he easily unclenched her fingers from his cloth. He placed her hand on her pillow and smirked slightly as he pulled the covers over her.
When he turned around to walk away he heard her again whisper "...don't...". He looked over his shoulder at her. She was still sleeping, but, somehow, he felt as though she was watching him from behind her closed lashes. He shrugged the feeling off and disappeared from her room, leaving no evidence that he had ever been there.
Author's Note: well, this is it. this is the first chapter. please tell me if you want me to continue writing or if you think I should stop right here. This idea came to me as I was watching a movie, but I assure you, it has NOTHING to do with the movie. It just popped into my head, no idea why. Just tell me what you think, please. Ja ne
