Forever or Never

Chapter I – Happenings

By Shadowed Replica

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue! (Megeara Li = Mine!!! =])

Regular Narration

"Speech."

'Thought.'

Dream/Song (You'll know the difference.)

Flashback

Change in time, etc.

(Interuption)

Full Summary
The night is always darkest just before the dawn. Hiei knew he'd never be happy and was content to remain alone for the rest of his immortal life so long as his sister could be happy; but even fate isn't that cruel. His world is turned upside down when he meets Megeara, a kind and innocent soul; a mortal girl that ensnares his heart. He knows that she will never be safe if anyone were to find out about her and so he must resist her; but how can one resist the other half of their soul? Hiei faces the greatest odds to protect the one he loves the most. He knows he can never have her but she will only ever be his.

'If I could choose one day to live over, it would be the day I met you...'

It was late at night when Hiei finally returned from his long journey. He had been sent to the Makai to retrieve a thief that had stolen from one of Prince Koenma's associates. He was tired and aggravated; all he wanted to do was go find his usual tree and take a long nap and refresh his body before the toddler prince found another thing for him to do.

As he streaked through the trees in Ningenkai, he envisioned his tree and himself asleep on the tallest branch hidden from the Sun's rays by the many leaves. He was nearing the usual clump of trees and grunted as he landed silently on the branch without so much as stirring a leaf. He sat down and laid his back against the tree trunk allowing one of his legs to dangle off the side. He fell asleep almost instantly into a state of semi-awareness; always alert to the slightest sound.

Almost an hour into his sleep, a twig snapped in the near distance; perhaps from beneath one of the other trees. He was awake instantly with his sword drawn and his body hidden in the crook of the branches. He waited for a moment, his body tense with adrenaline, ready to pounce on the invader. It didn't take long for him to see the intruder and he growled lowly to himself before settling back into the tree. It was a human girl wandering around beneath him along the little stream.

He waited for her to leave but was aggravated when she decided to stay. He immediately thought of Botan and her annoying, loud, hyperactive personality and mentally groaned. If the girl was anything like that infuriating wench, he just might commit suicide; or kill her if she disrupted his peace.

She didn't make much noise, in fact he only barely heard her breathing; in and out. It was quite soothing and Hiei found himself settling back down into a half-consciousness; though he never let his guard down. She sat down on the edge of the stream and pulled off her sandals allowing her naked feet to skim the top of the flowing water. The stream wasn't deep, just up to her knees with a very light current and a few fish here and there every now and then.

She wasn't bad to look at, Hiei thought, she wasn't the most beautiful thing but she wasn't ugly. So he allowed her to stay without scaring her off. She had long dark brown hair that hung in wispy waves down to her mid-back. He caught a glimpse of her eyes once when she turned her head into a gentle breeze; slightly golden with a hint of green around the pupils and flecks of it here and there. Her face was gentle with a small button nose and soft pink lips that made her look all the more pale. She was small of stature and was most likely Hiei's height if not shorter. She had nice legs that were slightly toned and her arms weren't muscular but didn't seem to be fat. She was a small girl with a thin frame that seemed very fragile; as all humans are. She looked gentle and she had a very peaceful aura about her lulling Hiei into a deep slumber.

His eyes closed of their own accord and, for once, Hiei slept a deep sleep that lasted until the sun had set low beneath the horizon. He woke to see the sun almost completely set in the far distance. He looked around sleepily for the girl but she was gone. He jolted awake and growled in anger and frustration; how could he have fallen asleep like that?

He berated himself for a short while before leaving his tree and the forest to find the fox, Kurama. He found his 'friend' on his way home from a charity event or something. Kurama greeted him where he stood in his hiding place and Hiei appeared beside the fox. "Hiei," Kurama said with a smile, "How are you?"

Hiei nodded in response not bothering to give a verbal reply, as always. They walked in silence until they reached Kurama's house where Hiei was invited in for dinner by Shiori, Kurama's human mother. Hiei accepted because he was very hungry and decided he liked her cooking for the night. As normal, they ate and chatted while Hiei remained silent. He finished his food and then excused himself and disappeared into the night after refusing Shiori's offer of sleeping in their spare bedroom for the night.

The fire youkai scaled the buildings of the city towards the forest. He was headed to an unknown destination –just wandering really –when he heard a slight commotion beneath him in the alleyway. He was thinking about leaving when a familiar aura hit him. He stopped dead and sensed fear rolling of someone in waves. He gazed over the side of the building to see a familiar set of honey emerald eyes. Her hair was slightly mussed and her shirt was torn slightly on the left shoulder as though it'd been almost yanked from her body.

Two burly men with wicked grins had cornered her in the alley and were slowly advancing on her as she backed up towards the dead end. She was very alert and her eyes were constantly darting around before settling on a fire escape that was now above their heads. She stopped her reversed movement and ran at them. The men, startled for a second, didn't move and provided the perfect spring board for her jump. Her hands landed on a metal crate a few feet in front of them and she pushed with her arms and shoulders off towards the men. Her feet landed directly on the one man's shoulders and she jumped off him to grab the sliding ladder of the fire escape.

Her fingers just barely grasped the lowest wrung of the metal ladder. She tried to do a pull-up to bring her up wards by kicking her feet to give herself momentum. But as she did so, she pulled the ladder down some and she almost lost her grip. She looked down just in time to see the taller of the two take a swipe at her leg. She pulled it up and the ladder slipped some more bringing her further downwards within their grasp.

One of the men's meaty hands grabbed her ankle and yanked on it. She slid and was holding on with one hand. She swung her free leg back and nailed the guy right in the throat sending him sprawling backwards. She didn't give them time to react as she scrambled up the ladder as fast as she could. She moved to pull it back up but the uninjured man was already climbing up so she darted up the steps. She just barely managed to stay above him and out of reach until she reached the roof.

She had to hide fast or he would find her and exact revenge for his friend. She hid behind some ventilation shafts that were slightly protruding out of the roof. With her body pressed tightly against the ground, she tried to keep her breaths quiet and shallow so he wouldn't find her.

Hiei watched the man swing himself up and look around for a minute before spotting the only hiding spot. He rolled his eyes and sighed as he pondered whether to just leave or help the hapless girl. He heard a light yelp of surprise and a growl of frustration as the girl ran over the thin ledge just out of reach. The man chased her towards the exit and laughed when she ran out of ledge. She jumped down onto the roof once more, stumbling slightly at first when she stood, before running blindly towards the roof ladder. She ran smack into the chest of the first man that she'd taken out. His brawny arms wrapped around her ensnaring her and he laughed darkly as she struggled against him.

Hiei rolled his eyes and fiddled with his sword lightly before easily jumping the lengthy distance between the rooftops. He set his sword down and removed the long cloak. When he finally made it over to them, she was pinned to the floor and his grubby hands were groping her body while the other held her down. She fought voraciously but they were too strong for her to get free.

"Let her go," Hiei ordered quietly.

The two men stopped for a moment and turned their heads to see Hiei's small form before they laughed. The taller one chuckled and spoke to Hiei condescendingly, "Why don't you run along home little boy and play with your PlayStation." He turned back to the girl and she spit in his face and kicked him with her free foot. He growled while grabbing her ankle and smashing it to the ground with all his strength. She cried out in pain as tears overflowed her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She tried to punch him, but he caught it and then head-butted her successfully knocking her out.

A growl was the only indication Hiei gave before he attacked. The taller man went flying and smacked into the side of a ventilation unit. The other man went to pull the girl in front of him for a shield but Hiei kicked him backwards. He was sent careening head over heel until the hit the roof wall and cracked it.

"Look out!" The girl shouted to Hiei.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the first man throw a punch; he side-stepped it, watching as the man continued forwards with momentum and fell over the ledge. His buddy grabbed him at the last second and kept him from splattering all over the ground.

He pulled them both up and knifed his hand to their weak spots knocking them out cold. He then turned to the girl and rolled his eyes before picking her up and jumping to the ground easily. He sensed some people coming and laid her on the ground before disappearing down the street at breakneck speeds.

A few minutes later, some people happened upon her and called an ambulance. Hiei watched from a distance as she was taken away to the hospital.

Hiei returned to the forest and his tree before settling down on his favorite branch. He stared at the horizon and the rising sun. With a sigh he ignored the strange ache in his chest and leaned back against the tree trunk falling into a light slumber.

Several days later, the girl still hadn't woken up and the doctors were worried that the skull fracture had pierced a vital part of the brain. They stuck a camera in her and saw that the skull had not harmed her brain and that everything seemed to be in working condition. They weren't sure what was wrong with her but they theorized that her body had shut itself down to conserve her energy and heal itself. They hoped she would wake once she had healed the internal bleeding.

Hiei had grown restless during the week and decided to pay his damsel in distress a visit around midnight when everyone was asleep. He appeared in through the window and stood at the base of her bed for over an hour just watching her and listening to the steady beep of her heart monitor.

It took him a while, but he finally moved closer and looked at the name on the clipboard. Her name was Megeara Li. He looked up at her sleeping face and moved closer to her and stood an arms length from her for another hour. His arm snaked out after a while and his hand hovered over her face for a few minutes before his fingertips gently traced over the skin of her cheek; it was soft and smooth. He did this a couple times every so often.

As time passed, he grew more comfortable with touching her and his hands moved up and brushed her hair; it was soft like silk sliding over his fingers. His right arm tingled slightly and he removed his hand to grasp his wrist. The sensation grew stronger and started a burning when he turned away from her. He turned back wincing and the pain lessened. Hiei raised an eyebrow and let his right hand and arm hover over her body. The sensation didn't stop burning but he felt a soothing tingling and boldly let his hand rest on her stomach. The sensation stopped altogether and he gave a sigh of relief.

For a while he stayed like that and moved the hand up toward her head and began to stroke her cheek again with the back of his hand and fingertips. The Sun was beginning to rise and Hiei was now sitting on the bed next to her with his hand trailing her face. He had now learned her facial features and looked at the sky. He blinked in surprise and looked back at the girl; he felt as though it'd been only a few minutes had passed instead of hours. Just as he moved his hand from her hair, his fingertips trailed over her forehead and an electric sensation racked his nerves and his Jagan snapped open of its own accord. A memory of hers flashed into his mind and he caught glimpses of her in a kimono as a younger girl.

She was dressed in a pale green kimono with Sakura blossoms embroidered onto the material elegantly. She had a small fan in her hands and she was dancing with it to a soft soothing lullaby. She was singing along with the song.

Bei fang you jai ren

Jue shi er du li

Yi gu qing ren cheng

Zai gu qing ren guo

Ning bu zhi

Qing cheng yu qing guo

Jai ren nan zai de

She smiled at someone in the far distance and grief struck at him along with an endless sorrow that filled his soul until he wrenched himself away from her. He stared at her and then the erratic beeping interrupted his reverie and his senses snapped back to him. He barely made it to the window in time to escape the view of the nurses and doctors.

Hiei didn't return that day or the next. But when he did she was gone. He searched for her medical charts or any sign of her but all traces of her stay in the hospital were gone. It was if she'd never been there at all. When Hiei left the sterile room, he felt a heaviness pressing on his chest. He ignored it and disappeared from the room thinking she had died and he had caused it. Another bitterness laid upon his heart to erect another barrier around his soul.

I know it's very short compared to what I normally write but the next chapter will be a lot better. This is kind of the introduction to the story.

So please review and tell me what you think, I promise the next one will be a lot better and more interesting.

Tell me if you think something doesn't make sense or if I misspelled something.

I appreciate constructive criticism and praise. As always, flames will be ignored.

Jan ne,

Shadowed Replica