Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of it's characters. But I can dream.
Note: Read and enjoy!
Coco was exhausted, but could not sleep. The kind young man had walked her home and left hours before. She now sat in her bed, her blanket wrapped round her shoulders, reading her old journal in the dim light of the outside street lamp. Her roommate snored softly in her sleep, oblivious to the other girl's turmoil.
August 20th
Dear Diary,
I went to the park everyday, but I didn't see him. Where'd he go? I miss him. He's my only friend. Everyone else is mean to me. They say I look funny.
Tears pooled in her eyes. The memory of being teased and taunted still hurt after all those years. Her lips were too big, her nose was flat, and her hair was wild and curly. As she grew older, her differences became more noticeable, but because of Roka's acceptance of her, she survived the cruel jokes and the cold stares, critical and unforgiving. She wasn't sure if she could have been happy with her body, or herself, had she not met him. A tear slid down her cheek and dropped to the paper, smearing the ink there.
When the sun rose Coco finally sank into sleep, the tears drying on her face.
"What's wrong with you?" her roommate asked her, making a face at the other girl.
Coco shrugged from her spot on the bed. "Nothing's wrong." she said distantly, eyes sliding away to stare into space.
"Whatever." her roommate, a thin Asian girl named Hana, plopped onto her bed and listened to her CD player. Coco could hear the loud, pounding music of drums clashing with guitar. She sighed and turned away, looking out the window behind her.
Coco eventually pulled out her notebook. She needed to clear her head of the thousands of questions that ran through it. After seeing Roka's body, she knew for certain that he wasn't human. So was he a demon, like he had claimed? She rapidly tapped her pencil against the paper.
"I assume that you've seen a demon before." he had said.
That brought her to even more questions. How did he know about these creatures? Were there more? How many? Where?
Coco groaned and rubbed her temples. She suddenly threw aside the notebook and quickly dressed, paying little attention to what she pulled on. She waved good-bye to her roommate, who continued to nod her head to the deafening music.
Outside it was surprisingly cold, and she instantly regretted pulling on a summer dress. She was too stubborn to go back inside, so she folded her arms for warmth and began to cross the street. A young man was on the other side, his red hair long and thick, and his eyes a mysterious green. Coco barely glanced at him.
"Hello Coco-san." he said just as she was about to pass him by. She halted and looked at him in surprise.
"Do I know you?" his voice sounded familiar...
He smiled. "It's Minamino, remember?"
Her eyes widened with recognition. "Oh, right, sorry. I didn't really see your face before."
"It's all right." he said. She took a second look at him; he was unnaturally pretty, and his hair almost made him look like a girl. His green eyes were like glass and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't see through them.
"Are you human?" she asked him, her voice lowering.
He looked surprised for a moment. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
Coco carefully studied his face. "Because of last night."
Comprehension dawned on him. "You're still wondering why I wasn't surprised by the demon."
Demon. The word didn't suit Roka. It brought up the image of some savage monster, its face twisting horribly as it snarled, not the image of her old friend.
"I have questions for you as well." he said. "But we shouldn't talk here. Follow me please."
Coco raised a brow at the world please, but said nothing, letting him lead her away from the apartment. They walked until the sounds of the city were muffled by trees spreading their branches wide and far, their leaves draping over them like a canopy. The sun blasted through a hole in the leaves and Coco stood in that spot, letting the rays warm her skin.
They faced each other. The wind was still, tense, and then it blew, ruffling the curls on Coco's head.
"May I ask how you knew him?" said the redhead.
"I met him when I was little." she began. "Back then I didn't know what he was, I was just glad for a friend. Then he left for Japan, so I came here, hoping I could find him."
"You two must have been very close." his green eyes were penetrating.
"Not exactly. I mean, I was only eight when I met him." she said, shrugging. "I was mostly curious about him." she looked at him, her eyes burning with questions.
"You shouldn't be." he said, slowly approaching her. "I think it's best if you forget all about Roka."
She backed away from him. "What? No – I refuse to forget! How can I, especially now?" she screeched. "I still have questions."
"Believe me, you won't after today." his eyes were hard and opaque. It made her nervous and she stepped back, suddenly afraid.
Coco felt something cold and wet sliding across her ankle. She looked down to see a green vine sliding up her leg. Her gasp was silenced by another vine covering her mouth. The vines kept her still and held her a few feet above the ground, wrapping round her like a giant snake. She struggled against them, but could barely move.
"Please calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." said the redhead, his voice as calm as ever. He turned to look at a nearby tree. "Hiei, I'll let you take over."
Coco's eyes widened and she fought harder. A man in black suddenly dropped to the ground, his eyes an eerie red. He tugged off the white bandana round his forehead and Coco screamed in her throat at the sight of a third eye there.
She sank her teeth into the vine. It slipped off her, hissing like a snake. "Don't come near me!" she shouted.
The stranger smirked. "I don't think you're in any position to make demands, human."
"Hiei," said the redhead in warning.
"Don't worry fox, I'll erase the girl's memory." the other assured him.
"What? No! No!" Coco panicked, struggling even harder against the vines. "You can't do that!"
"And why not?" asked Hiei, sounding amused. He watched her twist and turn against her constraints as if watching a bug struggling against the binding threads of a web.
"They're my memories! I deserve to keep them!" she shouted. She looked at the redhead, her eyes pleading, but his were closed.
"Sorry, we can't have you knowing the truth." he moved toward her until she could see nothing but black. The eye of his forehead began to pulse. Coco shut her eyes as if that would protect her from his invasion. Don't, don't, don't. She felt cold, numb, and with each passing moment she grew tired. Her body was still but tense, still desperate to escape.
Hiei suddenly stopped. The redhead looked up at him in confusion. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"For some reason, it's not working." Hiei frowned. "I'll just try harder then." he narrowed his eyes.
"Wait, don't!"
Their voices suddenly fell away, fading into incoherent sounds as she slipped into darkness.
Author's Note: Ugh, I always feel as this one was written badly, but I really wanted to get it over with. The next chapter should be better. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!
