Tori No Uta
They were at the beach. Why? Because she had never been and he wanted to make her happy. He loved seeing her smile.
"I live so close to the ocean and yet I've never been. Sure I've seen the bay before but it's not the same thing." She had said. Seated on the piano bench in her living room. Lightly sliding her fingers over the keys. He had decided to walk her home and when they got there they went inside and she decided to play a song. Tori no Uta.
She played it perfectly and when she was done, "This song reminds me of the ocean." she said.
"Do you like the ocean?" He'd asked.
She smiled. "I like what I think it's like. I don't actually know because I've never been." She told him.
He looked suprised at her. He had seen the ocean many times and so had all the people he knew. He'd never met anyone who hadn't seen it before. And he'd known Molly for almost a year now. This was the first he'd heard of her never seeing the ocean.
He composed himself, "Would you like to go?" He asked. She looked up quickly, brown eyes locking onto red ones.
"You would take me?" She asked lightly, as if she wasn't quite sure he'd really asked her that. The fire demon nodded. Her eyes widened, "Will you really? Oh, will you please?" She pleaded hopefully.
He looked at her, "Yes, right now if you want." He responded. She tackled him with a hug.
"Yes, let's go now, right now!" She laughed and hugged him tighter. He blushed but she didn't notice.
"Then we better get going." He told her, turning around and walking over to the door. They went outside, locked the door behind them and he picked her up. She made a small squeek in surprise at being lifted off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he smirked.
"Hold on." He told her. And then they were off.
He flitted across town. Faster than anyone could see. He was heading for Imperial Beach. He knew the beach would be almost completely deserted on a Monday because no one had time to go. The two would have the beach all to themselves. He stopped a good half mile away from the beach itself. He wanted to save that for last and show her around the town first. He'd been down there many times before, so he knew the shops and restraurants well. They walked around for hours. Looking at gift shops and seafood places. There were statues and murals that he showed her and everything they saw made her eyes widen in awe and admiration. She was smiling the entire time and he couldn't help but smile with her. He looked at the sky and noticed they had about 5 or 6 hours of daylight left. But that didn't bother him. It was going to be a full moon tonight and he figured that she'd want to stay to see the beach moonlit as well.
He led Molly towards the Pier and when they rounded the corner of the large assortment of food places and shops, there stretched before them was the pier and to the left, the beach. They stopped and Molly let out a yell.
"Oh WOW!" She then sped off across the stretch of cement to the sandy shore. He followed behind her, smiling to himself. When he caught up she had stopped and was standing a ways down the beach, about half way to the water. She stood spellbound. Staring wide eyed at the water. As he got closer to her she fell back and sat down hard on the sand. He sped to reach her, and kneeled down next to the girl.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, concerned. Then he gasped quietly. There were tears forming in her eyes, but she was smiling.
"Hiei," she wispered, "It's...so beautiful." The tears started streaming down her face, but she wiped them away. Hiei looked out at the water with her, the afternoon sunlight glinting off the water, the light crashing of waves on the white sanded shore. The wind and scent of the sea wafting around them. The navy blue of the water and the bubbling white wave crests. She was right, it was beautiful.
Hiei turned to Molly, lightly grasped her chin and turned it towards him.
"Not as beautiful at you." he whispered and kissed her on the forehead. They sat there staring at the water for a long while. Very close together.
They didn't notice the police car come up and park on the street behind them. They had been gone for seven hours and Molly's mother, having no idea where she was, called the police. They don't usually send out a missing person report until after three days but Molly's mother was so frantic and insistent they ordered officers to go out and look for her that day. One, Riza Hawkeye, was patroling for the missing girl in I.B. when she caught sight of her in the company of a suspicious young man. She followed them and when she parked her cruiser she saw the two pressed closely next to one another on the beach front. From where she was, she could see from the top of the beach to the water, so if the boy tried anything she'd know in an instant.
Molly leaned away from Hiei and slid her shoes off. Then she stood up.
"I'm going in." She said with a grin and then ran down to the water. She went about thigh deep in the gleaming water. She splashed around and ran through the waves, all the while Hiei just watched her, smiling at how silly and cute she was.
Officer Hawkeye watched too. Very closely. She did not radio her position or that she'd found the girl because she was still unsure of the situation. It wasn't fully clear what the relationship Molly had with the black clad boy and Riza didn't want to call for back up and have the newbees start firing their guns when there was no situation. Besides, the girl's mother didn't mention that she might be with somebody, so it was possible she didn't know about him or had forgotten to say anything about him.
After a few minutes, Molly came running up the beach towards Hiei.
"Come in, the water is so warm." She said, trying to pull her companion to his feet.
"No thanks." He said very defiantly. She stopped pulling on his arm and then smirked very deviously.
"Oh, alright. " She said slyly while slowly moving behind him. "Then I'll just have to...make you!" She jumped on him and managed to take his cloak and shoes off. Then she scampered off, cloak in hand, towards the water's edge. He leaped up and ran after her.
"Give that back!" He said angrily. Though from the tone in his voice Molly knew he wasn't really angry. She dropped the cloak just before she got to the water and ran in, the splashing of her partner sounded from behind her and when she turned around he tackled her. They both crashed into the thigh deep water just as a small wave was breaking and it crashed right onto them. The two teens surfaced and looked at eachother blankly. Then they broke out laughing at their own predicament. Here they were sitting in the water in their clothes, soaking wet. But at that moment they were free, without a care in the world. Two friends, two partners, two soul mates acting like lovestruck idiots and enjoying eachother's company. Neither had ever felt so carefree and peaceful.
"Ah-choo!" Molly sneezed and shivered. Hiei looked over at her and then stood up.
"We should go back to the beach." He said helping her up. "Before you get sick." They walked up to where they'd been sitting earlier. Hiei had since picked up his cloak and had wrapped it around Molly's shoulders. He didn't need it because he'd already dried himself off by using his fire abilities and converting his energy to dry heat. He was slowly doing the same to Molly. Helping her warm up so that she would dry off faster and she wouldn't catch cold.
They leaned closer together to get warm and they watched as the sun was setting on the horizon.
"It's like it's sinking into the sea." She said, sighing. He just nodded.
Officer Hawkeye was watching the couple and wondered if it was really as bad as the mother had made it seem. True Molly had left the house without telling her mother and didn't take her phone, but the mother had said, the young girl had a history of forgetting it. Plus, by the way she was acting it seemed as if Molly had never been to the beach. Which seemed strange but it was possible. The boy had probably offered to take her to see the ocean and she'd been so excited that she forgot to let her mom know she was going, and they both looked like they were having such a good time that they probably hadn't even thought about going back home. Riza smiled. She envied the two teens. Their freedom, their love. But it was nice too. She was happy for them.
The sun was down and it was quite dark when Molly was completely dry. The moon was already half way to it's peak behind them. It shone brilliantly across the dark water. There were no clouds, and stars glittered in the sky out above the water which was calm and peaceful. Molly looked to the right and saw the pier.
"Can we go?" She asked her companion pointing to the large wooden structure, protruding out into the water. He nodded.
"Of course." She smiled and they stood up, walking side by side down the pier.
The officer saw them get up and waited a bit before getting out of her cruiser and walking a ways on to the pier so she could see them.
They were at the end, Molly leaning up against the rail looking out at the water, and Hiei standing a few feet behind her just watching. They were together on a pier lit by the full moon light, and she was smiling, which made it all the better.
Riza, at the opposite end of the pier, was watching her quaries when she heard two cars pull up on the street behind her. It was the new detective and his three stooges. This was very bad. This little group of idiots were all about cop chases and pulling out their guns at anyone and anything for little or no reason at all. They were nothing but trigger happy morons with self-glorifing problems. They never took their job seriously and acted as if they were the stars in some stupid cop drama series. Riza stood straight at the entrance to the pier.
"What do you want?" She demanded firmly.
The detective, Guy Fatinato, walked up to her confidently with his three little shadows behind him.
"I'm on a case," he said proudly, "a missing person, a young girl by the name of Molly Woods, most likely a kidnapping." He stated very matter-o-factly. She narrowed her eyes.
"It's not kidnapping, Detective. I can assure you of that, and as far as said case goes I have it under control, so you can leave."
She hoped that her firm statement would be enough to get them to turn around and go. After all she did out rank them, but the big-headed detective never listened to athourity unless it was their police chief, Roy Mustang.
Detective Fatinato looked at her questioningly.
"What are you talking about, 'you have it under control'?" He asked leaning to the side to see what was behind her. That's when he saw Molly and Hiei at the end of the pier. His eyes widened.
"I found her!" He exclaimed. "And she's being held captive by a young man, he must be trying to force her over the edge of the pier!"
Riza looked over to the couple and they weren't in any kind of position where someone would get that impression. The detective started to walk to the end of the pier towards them, but Hawkeye stepped in front of him.
"There is no problem here, Fatinato, I've got it under control!" She said. He moved her aside.
"Obviously you don't, because it is apparent that, that boy kidnapped her, probably raped her, and is now trying to kill her, I must act. As a woman you should stay back, this is a man's job." He then proceeded to walk briskly but quietly down the pier. His three "servants" followed close behind him and their guns were already drawn.
Damn, sexist prick! Riza thought, but didn't let it bother her, they were probably going to shoot that boy if she didn't do something. She was about to run after them when,
"Lieutenant!" Sounded from behind her.
She turned to find her superior, Cheif Mustang speeding onto the cement and getting out of his car. She saluted,
"Sir! There is a situation." She reported. He came up to her,
"I'll say, that idiot team of detectives have been suspended from duty for the next three weeks, after what happened the last time they had a case. But they got wind of the missing girl and disobeyed direct orders to 'bring the girl's kidnapper to justice', the morons! There is no kidnapper!" He yelled. He was obviously angry.
"That's not all sir. There is a young man with the girl. They seem to be together, they're very close but he's no threat. I've been watching them for the past few hours and, apoligetically, did not radio my findings because I felt there was no problem and I had no duty other than to keep an eye on them. However, the detective and his group are approaching them now. They are under the impression the girl's companion has kidnapped her and is trying to throw her over the pier. Their guns are drawn sir, and I fear they may fire at the boy." She gave a quick report of what she'd been doing for the past 7 hours and Mustang's eyes widened.
"We have to stop them." He said.
"Sir!" Hawkeye responded, and they ran to catch up to the 4 idiots with guns. Molly and Hiei were both leaning against the railing looking out at the calm moonlit water.
"This has been the best day." She said dreamiliy. Then she turned to him,
"Thank you for bringing me here today." She told him.
"Anytime you want to come, I'll bring you." He said back. She smiled at him.
"I'd like that."
They stood silent for a moment. Then Molly broke the quiet,
"You know my mom will be furious when I get home, right?" She said, laughing half-heartedly. He looked out at the water,
"I had thought about it." He stated.
"She'll probably ground me for a week or two, but I want to come out here again this week." She smiled at him, pleadingly.
"What are you suggesting?" He asked her smiling back.
"You'll have to come and help me sneak out." She answered. "You're being more rebellious than usual, the Molly I know wouldn't dream of defying her mother and sneaking out, especially to see me." He responded, chuckling. She grinned,
"Of course I'd sneak out to see you. You're the only reason I would." She told him. He chuckled lightly again,
"I don't know if that's a good thing because you would do something like that for me, or a bad thing because I've influenced you to want to disobey your mother." He said honestly. She nudged him with her shoulder,
"That's terrible, undermining yourself and thinking you have some kind of bad influence on me." She said laughing. He was about to say something back to her when they heard,
"Put your hands in the air, criminal."
They turned around to see four men forming a half circle around them, with guns pointed right at Hiei. The fire demon moved Molly behind him in a protective stance. His hand placed firmly on her shoulder. She stayed close.
"Who are you?" He demanded.
"I'll ask the questions!" Yelled the Detective. "Just step away from the girl and surrender yourself or we will shoot you!" The man shouted his demands, but Hiei's protective grip on Molly only tightened.
"I don't care who you are, what you want or why, but I refuse to let you touch her." He spat. Venom dripping from his every word.
The detective fired and his minions followed suit. Hiei put his arm around Molly's shoulders and they ran. Speeding around the back of the small fish shack so they could escape. They ran down the pier but she tripped when a bullet got way too close to her foot. It shattered the wood and she fell hard on the deck.
"Molly!" Hiei shouted, spinning around and going back to help her up. But before he got to her a bullet was fired right between him and his partner. He recoiled and took a step back.
One of the detective's men came up to Molly and grabbed her. She fought him to get away.
"Let go of me!" She yelled, stepping on his foot causing him to let go of her. She tried running back to Hiei but she was blocked and held back by the other two men. She fought them as hard as she could but two grown men holding her down, she didn't make much progress.
Hiei tried reaching her, but every time he got too close the detective shot at him, keeping the boy away.
"Just give up, you've been caught and you have to pay for your crimes against this girl." He said.
"What are you talking about you fool?" Hiei asked.
"Don't play dumb." He hissed, "We know, your kidnapping days are over, this girl is your last victem you monster!" The detective was now advancing towards the boy, gun raised, finger on the trigger.
He's insane! The demon thought, backing away from the gun. He knew he could dodge it easily, but he was trying to get the man far enough away from Molly so that when he dodged the bullet he could get over to her.
He glanced at his companion, to her credit, still struggling with the two men holding her back. They were next to one of the fish cleaning stations, in a very precarious spot. Next to the station was a purposefully missing, part of the rail, used to dispose of unwanted fish parts more easily. If she pushed away from them at a certain angle then she would fall off the pier and into the black water below.
Thinking this he knew it was time to act, the man was far enough so Hiei lunged towards him. He pulled the trigger and Hiei flitted over to Molly.
He got behind the first man who turned around to face him and he knocked him out. Kicking him in the gut and then hitting the back of his neck. He turned to hear,
"Hiei, look out!" but it was too late.
When he faced around it was like slow motion. The sound of the gun firing echoed in his ears, as did Molly's scream. He felt the bullet pierce his abdomen and felt it lodge itself in his side. Then he was falling, right over the edge of the pier.
Mustang and Hawkeye arrived moments too late. Just in time to see what had happened.
"No." Riza whispered unbelivingly.
"Dammit!" Roy yelled.
It took everyone else a moment to recover from the suprise, but not Molly. She took the stunned silence to break free and she jumped off the pier after Hiei.
"No!"
"Stop!" Riza and Roy cried symultaniously. They heard the boy's splash and a second later, another followed. They all rushed to the rail to see if the teens would surface. They waited...
Molly opened her eyes. They stung in the salty water and it was blurry at first but the water was calm enough so that her vision cleared.
She saw Hiei, sinking in the dark water and she swam to him. Grabbing her companion tightly, she made her way back up. The light of the moon shining above the water's surface over her was her guide. Holding the unconscious fire demon up, they broke through the surface and she sucked in a deep breath. She started swimming backwards, pulling him with her, and made her way to the white moonlit shore. When she fell to her knees after dragging him to the beach, she heard footsteps approaching her.
They got closer, she grabbed a fistful of sand and threw it at the person behind her.
Roy Mustang recolied just in time to not get a face full of sand. He and Hawkeye had cuffed the four morons and had put them in their respectable cruisers. A nearby I.B. cop was watching them. He and Riza had then made their way down to the beach to meet the two teens.
Riza came up behind her superior. "Allow me, Cheif." She requested. And he looked at her, then at the wild eyed girl.
She looked like a frightened animal. Breathing heavily, eyes wide and the whites showing. He nodded to his leiutenant, and then she approached the girl.
"It's alright, my name is Riza Hawkeye, you can call me Riza. We're not here to hurt you we want to help." She spoke soft and soothingly, which seemed to calm the girl. Hawkeye continued.
"Your friend is injured, and he's wet, he could die if he isn't taken to a hospital, you know that don't you?" She asked.
Molly's eyes looked down at the sand, and she nodded.
"Let us help, you need to be looked at as well. He cares a lot about you and I'm sure he'd want you to be safe." Riza went on, trying to convince the frightened teen to let them examine the boy.
The young girl looked down and the look on her face suggested she was holding back tears. Roy came up to his leiutenant and kneeled down next to her.
"You care a lot about him, too, don't you?" He asked softly.
Molly looked up at him, then at Hiei and nodded her head.
"Umhm."
Roy stretched out his hand and placed it on the girl's head,
"We'll get you both to a hospital, we already called an ambulence. And you'll see, he'll be alright." The man told her giving a reassuring smile, and Molly wiped away the tears that had started falling from her eyes.
"O.k." She agreed.
A few minutes later the ambulence arrived and loaded Hiei into it. It appeared he needed immediate surgurey to stop his internal bleeding and remove the bullet. Molly stayed in the cruiser with Officer Hawkeye, while her and Mustang, in his own car, followed behind the ambulence.
Other officers were called in to bring the detective and his crew into the station to be detained. When they got to the hospital, nurses and doctors came out to meet the ambulence and as the officers were parking, the demon boy was being wheeled inside on the feild bed.
Molly tried to go after them, but she and the two officers were closed out and told to go around the front. They also told them that if they wanted to see the patient after surgurey they would have to wait outside emergency room number 6.
In the hospital foyer, Molly's mother was there.
She had been called by the police station and went to meet her daughter at the hospital, fearing the worst. But upon seeing her daughter unharmed she rushed to hug her.
"Oh God, Molly, I was so worried I thought something terrible had happened to you." She started to cry and held the girl tighter,
"If you'd been hurt I don't know what I would've done." Molly returned her mother's embrace tightly.
"Oh Mom." She was holding back tears as well. Then she moved away from her mother and said,
"I have to go, there's somewhere I need to be." Her voice was determined and her posture firm.
Anna, her mom, looked at her daughter,
"Honey it can wait-"
"No," Molly interruped,
"No it can't." Then she turned around and followed a nurse and the two officers to the emergency waiting room.
Her mother followed in stunned silence after them. They got to the E.R. and were told to wait outside until the surgurey was over and the doctor or nurses came out of the room. The group waited silently, well Molly was silent anyway.
Mustang and Hawkeye explained to the girl's mother what had happened and why they were were they were.
"Oh my God, if I had just know Hiei was with her from the start then I never would have worried. This never would have happened." She weeped, the guilt overwhelming.
The two officers gave her a strange look.
"You mean you know him?" Asked Roy, confused.
Anna nodded.
"A year ago, we had all gone down to Mexico for spring break. Molly found Hiei in the river near the bank, and they had to run away together because some people from the government were after him for something they had actually framed him for. The two of them were gone for about a month and a half. They were hiding in the delta so they'd lose them but they were found and taken hostage. The man in charge put my daughter under some kind of hypnosis and for a while she forgot who Hiei was, and the man tortured him for days, he almost died. But something brought Molly's memories back, I'm not sure what, she said she didn't remember, and she went and freed Hiei. The man tried to stop them but they broke into his lab and caused it to explode, he was caught in the explosion and died. Then they came back here, spent a few days in the hospital and they've been inseparable ever since." Anna finnished telling them the story, and then looked over to her daughter who was a few feet away with her legs pulled up against her chest, and her face buried in her knees.
"They love eachother, they really do. It's not just teen love, he's the most important thing to her and she's the most important thing to him. They would give up their lives for eachother. And not in the romeo and juliet way, but because they really know and love eachother." Said the woman.
After that no one spoke for a long time, it was six hours later when two male nurses came out of the E.R. with sullen looks on their faces. Molly stood up.
"Where is he?" She asked. The two men looked at her sadly.
"What? What is it? Tell me!" She demanded. They just looked away.
"Get out of my way!" She yelled and tried getting by them into the emergency room, but they held her back.
"No! Let me through, I won't believe it until I see him, it's not true, it CAN'T be true!" She fought to get by them and then a female nurse came out of the room and Molly stopped abruply.
There she saw, on the operating table a body covered with a white cloth. She stared wide eyed at it and then fell to her knees.
"No, no. This, this can't be it just can't." She whispered shakily,
"This can't be happening!" She yelled. Hot tears streaming down her face.
"What's all the fuss about?" Asked a familiar voice from behind her.
She looked up and slowly turned around. There, standing a few feet behind her, in pajama bottoms and covered in bandages, was Hiei.
The girl stood up and leaped at him. She wrapped her arms around him and he looked down at the girl, momentarily shocked.
"Hiei, I thought you'd died. I don't know what I would do if I lost you!" She cried.
He pulled her into a tight hug and petted her head.
"I'm sorry," he said,
"the doctor told me that someone was going to bring you to my room after the surgurey, but you didn't come, so I came looking for you. I wasn't aware that you hadn't been told, or that you'd still be here waiting for me." He told her and she nuzzled closer to him.
"I thought I lost you." She whispered to him.
"Shhh, it's alright. I promised you didn't I? I'll always be here to protect you." He said back to her comfortingly.
They stayed close together like that for a few minutes. Then Hiei picked Molly up and started walking away.
"Where are we going?" She asked quietly.
"Back to my hospital room," he responded.
"You're tired, and i'm not exactly brimming with energy either, we both need some sleep and the bed is big enough for us both." He explained smiling at the last part. Molly blushed.
"I don't know if my mom would be too happy about it." She murmured, glancing back at her mom who, was thankfully, occupied with talking to the two officers.
He turned a corner and went into a private room, one could only assume was his.
"Too bad." He said laying her down on the bed.
Then he walked around to the other side and settled in next to her, pulling the covers over them both. He rested his arm across her and she layed her hand over it. She was facing away from him, towards the door, and she could feel his breath, starting to slow down, on the back of her neck. She would fall asleep the minute she closed her eyes, that she knew.
Better to be asleep than awake when her mom came in. And with that, Molly backed up closer into her love's embrace and went to sleep.
The girl's mother did come in, moments later and was, needless to say flustered and then furious. But the two police officers and Hiei's doctor, come to check on him, managed to calm her down.
Ms. Woods tried to get them to wake up Molly when visiting hours were over, but the doctor said that technically, since Molly was somewhat injured and possibly in a light state of shock, that she was still a patient and the hospital's responsibility. Therefore she needed rest and would have to stay overnight.
Anna was unhappy about this but knew that she should stop worrying. She knew Hiei was a trustworthy person and knew he would look after Molly. But she was afraid of her little girl not being so little anymore. But she signed the papers and walked out to her truck in the parking lot.
She was happy for her daughter and knew that seeing children grow up was one of the facts of parenthood. As long as they don't grow up too fast. She thought.
Then the woman backed out of her space, out of the lot and drove home.
Hiei smirked. He had heard the last thought from Molly's mother. Knew that she trusted him with her daughter's safety and happiness and knew she didn't want them growing up too fast. Consider it done, Ms. Woods. We'll grow up when she wants to. He thought.
"She" referring to the girl sleeping next to him.
He craned his neck to look at her face. And knowing her, that's going to be quite a while. I'm in no rush, though. I like things the way they are. He continued to think to himself.
Then he leaned close to the human girl he loved so dearly and whispered,
"You are my love, Molly Woods." She stirred slightly and cuddled closer to him, holding tighter to his arm that was still layed across her. He picked up a sleep slurred,
"Love you Hiei." From the girl and he smiled. Then he settled back down to sleep.
The girl he loved up against him in his arms. Loving him just as much, even in her dreams.