Inside The Fire

Chapter 02:

"Crash Landing"

Dieing was a lot like being set free. I felt safe here in the black abyss where I was floating aimlessly. I felt clean of the world I left behind. Being dead felt like going back to the beginning where I was still a part of my mother, curled up snugly in her womb, warm and protected.

The blackness surrounding me was neither smothering nor flimsily holding me. I could almost imagine death holding me like a baby in his arms, curled up against his chest and sleeping soundly. There were no others here. I wasn't in heaven where people depicted angels sleeping on clouds and watching over their human pets below. I wasn't in hell either, there was no fire or brimstone here. There was nothing here, and that suited me just fine.

I couldn't remember how I ended up here, and I didn't remember who I was. I had no memory of my appearance, or friends. Had I died in a miscarriage? Maybe an old woman asleep in her bed? I flipped in the vast abyss, or I thought I did. Here, in the ocean of darkness, even I was colorless.

I felt as though I didn't exist as my own entity anymore. I was one with the darkness, a new and growing part of the ever-growing bleakness. If I could have smiled, I would. This is where peace resided. This was serenity's dwelling. Eternal sleep was granted to me, and I felt entirely grateful.

I wasn't aware of it at first. Then sensation was minimal and hardly recognizable, but over whatever amount of time it had been, it had grown. A feeling of being pulled made itself known to my senses. I was unsure of the direction. This feeling lasted for what I assumed a long while, though it could have been mere seconds here in my void.

All of a sudden, I felt whole. The feeling was unmistakable and I wanted to cry out. The safety net I felt around me before had left me, and I was rushing down. I would like to hope I fought, but I'll never be sure. Wind was whipping me, and I felt cold.

Next, my eyes opened, and I quickly shut them to the harsh light. I opened my mouth again to scream, and I heard a voice, my voice. The pitch was high and rang out in agony as I continued to plummet. I vaguely wondered if it would ever end.

I got my answer when I slammed into the ground and my thoughts ceased as I blacked out.

I could hear the faint sounds of birds chirping, and then I felt the ache of my back and head. I opened my eyes and blinked away the cloudiness. The ceiling was made up of wood panels and I let my head fall to the right. A small elderly woman sat there Indian style with her arms crossed. Her hair was a grayish...pink? That's weird. I thought, watching her look back at me.

I tried pushing myself into a sitting position and found the pain to be too great. I grunted and let myself fall back. "You took a pretty big fall." She said in a hoarse voice that fit her. I blinked at her, I hadn't heard Japanese since I had last spoken to my father.

"Fall? No, I died." I felt my brow scrunch in confusion. When did I fall?

"Apparently not if you're here talking to me." I turned my head away from her. This makes no sense. I remember Sean shooting me, then the pain.. I closed my eyes tightly and grit my teeth.

I pushed myself upright with one forward lunge and ripped open the front of the white robe I was wrapped in. There was no bandaging, or hole in my chest. Heck, there wasn't even a scar or any sort of mark that should have been there.

I turned back to face the old woman, "What was that?"

"What's your name?" She repeated.

"Devin." I answered, looking back down to my bare and unmarred chest. This was crazy. I died.

"What day is it?" She asked, I could see her outline watching me carefully

"February eighteenth, two-thousand two-hundred and sixty." I answered, still wrapped up with not being wounded.

So am I in Japan? Why am I here? How did I get here? What does she mean I fell? My mind buzzed with too many questions and I reached up to rub my temple, when a lock of bright purple hair fell into my face. I stared at it with wide eyes and reached back to grab more of the same color hair.

"What happened to my hair?" I just about yelled when I twisted back to look at the old lady. "What have you done to me?" I eyed her wearily as my chest heaved. What's happened to me?

"Follow me." She said as she stood and opened the shoji door behind her. I stood on shaking legs wearily after closing and retying my robe. I stumbled after her and into a deep maze of halls until we came to a large empty room with traditional style mats. She took a seat on one across the room and I stood in the doorway. A few men sat in the room, one with orange hair, another with brown, and the last with black. I felt panic run through me and I stepped back to bump into something. I whipped around and a redhead towered over me. I'm trapped! I cried out in my mind as I slipped back away from him.

I looked around wildly for a route of escape. There was nowhere to go unless I tackled the man in front of me. I threw myself at him and he caught me easily, restraining my thrashing form. My yells of, "Let go!" and "Put me down!" went ignored as he shut the door behind him and sat me down on a mat next to the old woman. I went to run and he pushed me back into my seat once more.

My throat felt painfully dry when I swallowed. I sat there quietly, fear keeping me painfully still, my eyes on the red-head as he took his seat across from me. "Devin," the old woman spoke to me and I looked at her, "can you tell me what year it is again?"

I nodded, not seeing any reason to fight anymore. I was surrounded by four rather buff looking boys and an elderly woman, my chance for escape was minimal. The black-haired one spoke from his corner of the room, "Try it and I'll kill you," he said while glaring.

I glared right on back, "Been there done that," I sneered.

"The year, Devin." The woman repeated, annoyed.

"February eighteenth, two-thousand two-hundred and sixty." I answered, looking back at her with a blank face.

"Why does your hair surprise you?" She continued the questioning.

"Because before I died, it was dark brown, not florescent purple." Was my deadpan reply.

"What color were your eyes?" I felt my stomach drop. Oh god, not my eyes too.

"Gray." I said tentatively, hoping to whatever god could hear me, that they weren't some freaky neon color too.

"Where are you from?" She seemed to ignore my dread and plowed right through the interrogation.

"America." I answered truthfully, finding no reason to lie to these people. I mean, I was dead, it's not like any of this mattered, right? Right?

"Who is Hisato to you?" She took a sip from a cup I just noticed in her hands.

"I don't know anyone by that name." I replied, confused.

"What type of demon are you?" She continued easily, as though she was asking about the weather.

I sputtered and my eyes went wide, "Demon? I'm human!" I insisted.

She ignored my outburst and moved on to a new question, "How did you die?"

I felt myself frown as my eyes drooped, my right hand instinctively moved over the space where my heart would lay. " I was shot in the heart after refusing to behave while my ex-boyfriend tried to rape me." I felt the rush of the bullet through my skin for a split second and my hand clenched at the fabric of my robe before relaxing.

The woman nodded, though I paid no mind. I looked up when I heard boots scuff the wood floor and felt the wind of someone moving around me. I looked up to see the black-haired boy sitting in front of me on the floor. His legs were crossed and I caught sight of the color of his eyes in the light. His iris' were as red as a strawberry Twizzler, and brighter still. I felt my own eyes go wide as I straightened my back.

He reached behind his head, "Close your eyes," he instructed in a gruff voice. I complied and his arm moved or at least that's what I assumed when I heard a ruffling of cloth, my eyes popped open and he growled at me, "Keep them closed!" he said quickly, his hand covering his forehead.

I shut my eyes tight and nodded. I thought about random things, like grass, or rain on a window pane before my thoughts drifted to the enveloping darkness of death. My mind wandered to Sean, his indigo eyes wide and crazed. I forced myself to go back to thinking about blades of grass flowing as wind twisted them in a quiet dance.

I focused on the feeling of the warm breeze on my face when I felt something odd. It moved like a fleeting feather touch, careful in its movements, before diving down into old memories.

I watched as a smaller normal looking me played with a girl with blond hair. I quickly recognized her with her large grin and determined green eyes. She chased a laughing gray eyed me across plush grass in a game of tag.

I smiled fondly, Morgan. I said mentally as I watched the girl with long bouncing pigtails and creamy skin.

The tingle left the memory and shuffled through to a few years later in life. It was a still picture of an eight year old me with my dads large hand on my head and a toy car by my feet. The large remote with its long antenna crowded my small hands. The two were both smiling, my dad's crooked grin made me smile fondly as it faded away.

More scenes played for me as the tingle wandered through my previous life. I watched myself go crabbing with my parents on a small pier. The sun shone brightly as large puffy white clouds rolled by and played shadows over the marsh water. The reeds and cattails swayed in the breeze and I could smell the salt water like I was there. My thirteen year old self snatched a string that was tied to the pier and pulled the trap up with haste to find a large grab fumbling around. She smiled brightly and passed the cage to her father while her mother smiled and patted the girl on the back, saying encouraging things I couldn't hear.

I felt my throat become thick, Mom, dad... I miss you. I thought sadly.

The next thing, and the last thing my memory came to was my birthday. I watched my normal looking former self in all her glory, singing and dancing around in the driver seat of her old red Jeep. The windows up and the skies shining brightly as she drove on.

Then the door that smashed into me and sent me falling to the floor as I relived the ambush. I watched the no longer handsome face of Sean come into view as he locked the door and ripped me up from the floor, a glimpse of my living-room could be seen when I turned to back to the couch. I felt the fear, anger and disgust well up in my gut as he attacked me to the floor and pinned me. I could taste his blood in my mouth, his arm between my teeth as I bit down. I saw black and felt the pain in my temple from being pistol whipped. I once again stared down the barrel of his pistol. Then his words in my ear. The warm tears that soaked my face, and the ring of the gunshot and the pain before it all faded away and I opened my eyes again.

I felt my stomach twist, and I held down the bile rising in my gut with sheer will alone. I'm not letting that bastard get to me, not now, not ever. I growled in my mind as my knuckles went white in my lap.

"Well, Hiei?" The pink haired woman asked.

"Hn. The onna's been truthful." I looked to him and eyed the slit marring his forehead before he re-covered it with his bandana. He regarded me with eyes I couldn't read before standing and moving back to his seat against the wall away from all of us.

"I dunno, Grandma, do you really think we can trust her?" This was the first time I had heard the brunette speak. Is he her grandson? I wondered.

"She doesn't feel evil, Urameshi. Give her a break, she just fell out of the sky into a time that isn't even hers and she's scared. Relax man." The voice of the orange haired one cut in and I reminded myself to thank him later. That explains where I fell from at least. I grimaced at a bolt of pain that crossed the bridge of my spine and hunched forward. So much for the adrenaline blocking the pain.

"If she was the enemy, they must have discarded her." I saw the redhead across from me take in my appearance with cool, calculating eyes. The deep forest green color brought Morgan's face to my mind and I quickly looked away from him and back down into my lap.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." She smirked at me and I caught the look from the corner of my eye. The rest seemed to nod in agreement.

"I have a few questions." I stated after a few moments of silence, I looked the woman in the eye.

"You may ask them after you answer a few more of ours." I nodded and shifted to become more comfortable on my mat.

"What's your full name?" She asked once I was settled.

"Devin Cyla Ohayashi." I replied.

"Was your father Japanese?" The red-head asked, seemingly curious.

"Yes, my father was Japanese and my mother was Romanian-American." I answered him calmly.

"An odd mix," he nodded, "What part of America did you reside in?"

"Denver, Colorado." I felt a smile pull at the edge of my lips as I thought of the beautiful mountains.

"How old are you?" The one who was called Urameshi spoke up.

"I turned nineteen today, well, if it's February eighteenth still."

"It is," he nodded, "but the year is two-thousand and one."

I felt numb for a several minutes. Not only had I come back to life, but I was in the past. What the heck kind of joke is this? Is this guy really fucking serious? The stare I directed toward the boy could have been described as 'panicked' or possibly even 'surprised'.

"What is the future like?" The orange top blurted out excitedly.

I turned my gaze to the orange top, my confusion edging away but still nagging at the edge of my thoughts, "Well, in America a lot of natural land is still there, but the towns have modernized. Cigarette's became outlawed in two-thousand one-hundred some time and they put the drinking age back down to eighteen somewhere before that. Medicine has advanced greatly from this time to mine. They discovered a cure for cancer after pushing through with stem cell research and they created healing tanks for the severely injured. Cars have also all been upgraded to run on vegetable oil. They decided that after the last oil spill wiped out the last of the wild Blue-fin Tuna." I counted off as many things as I could think of, most was common knowledge or what I learned from a history book.

When no one else asked me anything, I spoke, taking it as a sign as a change of turns, "Why did you ask if I was a demon?"

"Because you have demon energy, and no normal human has bright purple hair." Urameshi countered.

I frowned, it was impossible. I died a human, did I transform when I moved into the past? "Is it possible that my move through time could have caused my change in," I paused looking for the right word, "species?"

"Anything's possible." Green eyes answered my question and I sighed.

"Are you all demons, or?" I trailed off to let them fill in the blanks.

"Hiei, the one behind you, is completely. Yusuke, the brunette, is a half demon. And I am a spirit fox demon, a Yoko. My name is Kurama by the way." I nodded, putting their names in my memory bank.

I pointed to the old woman and carrot top. "And you two?"

"Human. And I'm Genkai, master and owner of this temple." She grunted. I blinked and nodded again.

"I'm human too, the name's Kazuma Kuwabara, but you can just call me Kuwabara." He grinned at me. I smiled slightly at him and prayed it didn't look like a grimace.

"Nice to meet you all, I suppose." I replied, and then, "So, if you're a spirit fox, that means there's more then one type of demon?" I asked Kurama when I turned back to him.

"Yes, though we are unsure of what you are. Hiei is a fire demon while Yusuke is a human and Mazoku mix." I looked between the two and then to Genkai.

"What happens now?" I asked her, awkwardly. I sure as hell don't know what to do. I sighed mentally.

"You will be staying here. We can't completely out rule you as a threat, but like I said, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' For now you will stay here with us and we'll let Koenma know you're here and see what he can find out about you." She took a long sip of her tea.

"Who's Koenma?" I asked, confusion showing.

"Koenma is the Prince of the Spirit World. You'll meet him later." She said simply and sat her cup on the floor before her mat. "Now, we have some business to discuss. Yukina will show you to the bath and supply you with some clothing."

I stood and turned to leave, murmuring a quiet thank you before walking out the shoji door. I came face to face with a mint haired girl. Her eyes reminded me of coagulated blood. She smiled at me and her eyes shimmered with happiness. "Hello, I'm Yukina. I hope you're feeling better, you gave me a scare earlier." She took my hand and patted it.

I appreciated the kind gesture and felt my lips turn up in the barest of smiles, "Hello, Yukina, I'm Devin. I'm sorry about earlier," I frowned a little, "do you mind telling me what happened?"

"Oh! You fell from the sky right into my garden. I'm glad though, if it had been anywhere else you would have been hurt worse than what you had been."

I blinked at her and I felt my face heat up, I bowed slightly, "I'm sorry for destroying your garden, Yukina-san." I apologized and re-erected myself, "What injuries are you speaking of?" I asked her politely as she began to lead me away from the door and back through the maze of halls.

"You had a cracked skull and your thoracic section of vertebrae were misaligned and crushed." I winced, How am I not brain-dead? Or paralyzed? They couldn't have the healing tanks here.

Yukina must have seen my facial expression because she smiled reassuringly, "Not to worry, I healed you with my demon powers, though you may be sore for a little while. You see, I'm an Ice Maiden." I smiled at her softly and we stopped when we were in front of the bath. I noticed we had passed my room that was just down the hall after turning the last corner.

I bowed lowly to her after she handed me a stack of clothes and a large fluffy towel. She was smiling at me when I stood and she pointed into the bathroom, "I gathered you a bath kit, it's sitting on the stool near the faucet. With Japanese baths you wash first, then soak if you wish. I've already prepared the tub for you to soak in." I thanked her and shut myself into the steamy room.

I heard a faint, "I'll be out here when you're done," through the door and sat my things down on the small metal rack. I tore off the robe and threw it near the door. I caught sight of myself in a mirror as I passed by the sink and back tracked to see what else was different about my appearance.

Florescent purple hair shone brightly under the artificial light. The style was still my own with shaggy bangs that fell into my no longer gray eyes. I frowned as I stared into my bright sky blue eyes. They were wide an innocent with long dark lashes. My eyebrows matched my hair color and were sculpted to perfection to match my face. My nose was still small and 'button' like and my lips still 'pout-y', as Morgan liked to say. I rested my palms on my cheeks to make sure I was actually real, that this was me. My heart shaped face rested easily in my petite hands. God, I look like a preteen! My lips thinned into a line with my displeasure,

My skin was milky white, and looked close to being sickly. Nothing wrong there. I turned and moved my waist length hair over my shoulder to get a view of my back. There wasn't a single scratch or bruise from my fall, the skin however, was slightly red like someone had rubbed or scratched it. I let go of my hair to feel the back of my head, it was tender, but whole. I assumed myself to be the same height and cup size. Though a lot of my appearance was the same, I looked like I had turned back the clock with my age. With the iris color change, my eyes seemed wider and more child-like, where as before the dark gray color had given me a darker more thoughtful look. The hair color was no help as well. I reminded myself of a cartoon character, and my frown deepened. I had never really dyed my hair like most people my age. I turned to my collection of bath supplies.

Lavender. The shampoo bottle read when I picked it up from the plastic bin. The conditioner bottle said the same thing. The soap from the small box was a plain white bar that just smelled clean, it held no perfumes. I turned the water on and moved the box to the side where I could avoid wetting it, but still reach it. I dropped my cloth down next to it.

I hosed myself down with hot water that eased my sore, aching muscles. With a sigh I drenched my hair and hung up the wand on its hook. Picking up the shampoo, I worked a good amount into my hair, making sure it was thoroughly lathered before rinsing the suds out. Grabbing the bar of soap, I wet a washcloth before rubbing it over the bar of soap. I put the soap back into the plastic box it came in and sat it in its case before scrubbing every inch of my new body until my skin was raw.

My mind wandered to home, and if Sean was caught. I wondered how Morgan would take the news and I frowned. Tears threatened to fall when I thought of my parents planning my funeral, but I pushed them back and let myself grieve silently. I would never see any of them again, and it hurt. It hurt a lot more than dieing did.

I rinsed everything, my skin, hair, the lot. I hung the sprayer once more and sat on the stool once my hair was filled with conditioner. I found a disposable razor and removed the plastic guard. I shaved what needed to be and rinsed the blade before recapping it and tossing it in my bin. I rinsed one more time, rinsing any removed hair away that may have clung to me and the product from my changed hair.

The soaking tub was quite big. You could easily fit three men in here, or four small women. I stepped in and immediately sunk under the surface completely. I let myself float back to the top and I laid there, my arms spread over the surface. I watched the steam waft up into the air. They think I'm the leftovers of some enemy. I closed my eyes and drifted back under the water. But who's the enemy anyway? Is some civil war going on? I tried to remember anything I learned from world history, and came up short. Nothing was relevant when it came to demons.

I pushed up from the bottom of the tub and broke the surface. I look like me, minus the hair and eye color. So this must be my body. Or maybe I had an ancestor I never knew about. I yawned and stood in the pool of water. I wrung out my hair and drained the water when I got out of the bath. The white towel felt good against my skin as I dried off and rubbed my hair semi-dry. I found a comb in my bath kit and ran it through my locks, untangling any knots. I left my hair down and picked up the first piece of clothing I had in my pile.

I pulled on the large white button up, it hung loosely to my shoulders and the cuffs fell past my hands. I pushed them up so I could use my hands to pull on the oversized navy boxers. I folded the elastic waist band down multiple times until they fit snugly over my hips, the ends coming to my mid-thigh. I gathered my plastic basket by the center handle and gathered my towel and old robe in my arms. I spotted a hamper and dumped both items into it before opening the door.

True to her word, Yukina was standing next to the door and she smiled at me when I walked out. I smiled back at her slightly and she led me back to my room around the corner. She opened the door for me, "You can leave your bath things here, we'll be having dinner soon so I'll show you to the kitchen." She smiled prettily at me.

I frowned a little at the thought of food, I wasn't hungry at all, "Would it be alright if I skipped dinner? I'm feeling drowsy after that bath."

She nodded in understanding and I bowed to her, "Thank you Yukina-san, for everything."

"Just Yukina is fine, and you're welcome." She giggled and bowed back to me.

I nodded and left her in the hall, closing my door behind me. The bin of bath products was easily forgotten by the door when I caught sight of my disheveled futon. A singular thick blue blanket was the only protection I had against the cool winter air that seeped into the room. I snuggled deep into its warm embrace and watched the hall light leek under the door.

My thoughts roamed over my home and those I left behind. The only movement that came from my form was the gentle rise and fall of my chest and the periodical blinking of my eyes as I reminisced. Shock of all that I had lost, gained, and the changes I had been slammed into quite not registering yet. I blamed it on the speediness of it all; my revived brain couldn't process the information. The closest example I could possibly give to describe the feeling is jet-lag. When I finally fell asleep, it was a heavy one where any incoming dreams wouldn't be remembered. I hadn't truly realized how tired I really was.

Disclaimer & Author Notes:

Here's the re-written version of chapter two. This one I kept very much the same. I did change how Hiei acted in this one, since in the previous version he seemed.. just not how I feel he should act. Ya know? I know this chapter sort of drags on with all the introductions and meeting's, but they had to happen eventually. Better to get them over now so we can get on with everything.

With Devin there's a lot to pay attention to, she's gone through quite a bit so far and we don't even know how she lived previously. Her change in appearance and species will be explained in due time, of course.

Devin, Morgan, Koiji, Sean and Hisato are of my creation and belong to me.

The characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho cannon belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.