Hiei looked at the object the red head just handed him. It was a hard backed book with a stylized hand with an eye in the palm of it. Above this image, the words "Eye See: A Cross Cultural Look at the Eye in Mythology and Society." Red eyes looked at Kurama in askance. "I thought you'd find it interesting while I was at school today," he said with a smile and a shrug.
"Hn," was the only comment the hiyouki made as he tossed the book on the desk. He wouldn't admit it, but the kitsune did have a point. Hiei preferred not to admit it, but he often read Kurama's books when he wasn't around.
"Well, I see you later, then." Kurama picked up his book bag and left the room with one more smile at the taciturn demon.
Waiting until he was sure the fox was gone for the day, Hiei picked up the book again and flipped to the table of contents.
Anatomy and Function of the Eye
Eyes as Windows to the Soul
Legends of the Evil Eye
Opening of the All-Seeing Eye
'Well, at least some of the chapters should be interesting,' he thought, turning to the first chapter. He read part of what was written on the pages and then decided just to look at the pictures. He really didn't care for the nonsense of anatomy if it didn't relate to where vital points were. The function section of the chapter mystified him. If the eyes saw things upside down, then why did the world look right side up? The parts about how the brain processed images were very confusing. Humans could make the simplest things extremely complicated.
The next chapter was a lot of poetry and nonsense about how the eyes display emotions and are believed to reveal information about the person's character. He paused a moment to consider the eyes of his associates. Yusuke's eyes were often darting around, looking for trouble. Kuwabara's eyes tended to be full of some sappy nonsense, though they often displayed pride and determination. He considered his friend's eyes. Kurama's eyes were gentle, full of mischief, but could be hard and calculating when needed. He shook himself from his reflections. The book was getting to him.
He moved on to the next chapter with interest. He wondered what ningens believed about his choice, his Jagan. He began actually reading the book, rather than skimming through it.
Belief in the power of the eyes to inflict curses, or even death, is held in many cultures. It is interesting to note, however, that until recently, Far East Asia did not hold this belief. Fear of the Evil Eye is perhaps strongest around the Mediterranean, where blue eyed people are thought to have the power to curse people even involuntarily. Many charms or wards are thought to hold power to block the harm inflicted by a malevolent gaze.
"Hn," Hiei grunted. There was no actual way to block his gaze once he decided to look at something or someone. He was curious about the inflicted curses and death humans thought the evil eye could cause, however and continued to read, a running commentary of "that's not true" running through his head. He did learn that the image on the cover was thought to ward off the evil eye, along with some hand gestures and other icons. The most amusing wards, to his mind, were those used by the Romans.
Ancient Romans believed that phallically shaped charms would distract the witch from casting the evil eye.
This almost elicited a chuckle from the petite demon. 'Humans and their hangs up about sex' he thought. He continued reading the book, though he would not admit to anyone he was enjoying it.
The next chapter was as interesting.
All cultures that hold a belief in the Evil Eye also hold to the All-Seeing Eye, or the Eye of God. The All-Seeing Eye is thought to be the sixth chakra, located in the center of the forehead. It is believed that opening of the third eye allows a person to become more aware of their surroundings, almost clairvoyant. Some also believe that the pineal gland is the seat or lens of the third eye.
Hiei snorted at this. Is there nothing humans wouldn't believe? He shook his head as he continued to read.
It is interesting to note that the Far Eastern Asian view on both the Evil Eye and All-Seeing Eye tends to be more unified than those of western cultures. In Japan, both are referred to as the "jagan," which is a corruption of "jigen" or "merciful eye"
'Merciful?' he thought, 'a corruption of mercy…' His thoughts continued to swirl as he continued to read.
Eastern Asians also believe that the jagan has the power to temporarily cause hallucinations or allow possessors of the jagan, jaganshi, to telepathically communicate with others.
This really got Hiei's attention. It was beginning to sound as if he were reading about his own jagan. He continued.
It is unknown, however, how deeply this belief affects the culture of the Far East, however, since it is a recent acquisition.
For an unknown reason, Hiei felt relief at this statement. It was almost as if he would prefer for his particular gift to remain unknown. He resumed reading, getting caught up in the last bit of the book, dropping his guard momentarily.
Kurama returned from school and walked quietly into his room, amused to find Hiei bend over the book he'd scoffed at that morning. Slowly, he slid across the floor, wrapping his arms around the koorime. Hiei started and then relaxed when he realized that it was just the fox. Nuzzling his neck, Kurama asked, "Did you enjoy yourself today?"
"Hn," Hiei answered, leaning back against the kitsune, "the book is full of nonsense."
"Yes," Kurama agreed easily, "but, I thought you'd find it amusing. And you did, didn't you?"
Red eyes glanced sidelong at green ones. "Hn."
A/N This was written for a one shot contest to write a story about Hiei's Jagan...almost all of the information is from research. The only thing I actually made up (other than the book and the plot...) is that jagan is a corruption of jigen...I looked up "jagan" in three different online Japanese-English dictionaries and couldn't find it...jigen does mean "merciful eye" and "gan" is one of the words for eye...shrug As Hiei would say "This story is full of nonsense" :D