This chapter is where it gets a little weird Hiei is defiantly different and he goes into recounting his past while he is deciding, oops shouldn't give it away. Hope you like it. -
Hiei awoke, and the sun was rising, nobody was in the room.
He sat up and his stomach protested the movement, he looked down to see white bandages covering his mid section.
"What?" he questioned coarsely.
The door suddenly opened and Aria walked in, "Hiei, your awake?" she asked stunned.
"What happened? How long have I been out?" he countered, he cautiously stood up from the support of the bed.
"For about five hours. You shouldn't get up." Aria muttered aloud.
Hiei ignored the comment and started toward the window something near it had caught his attention. The source of his curiosity was a small bed by the window.
He looked inside the bed and saw a tiny child.
The babe's hair was pure white and he too had a Jagan, though it was closed, a sign the small child was sleeping peacefully. His skin was a light tan color, and his body so small and fragile.
Hiei's curiosity only rose: he reached in the bed and took hold of the child's tiny hand.
"It's so tiny." Hiei murmured.
"And he came from you." Aria added watching carefully.
"Really." Hiei said emotionless. "So your theory was correct."
"Yeah." She said quietly.
Hiei just looked down at the child.
Aria smiled and left the room.
Just as Aria left Kurama walked in, he smiled at her as she walked by. He looked into the room and saw Hiei; he walked over and stood next to him.
"What will you name him?" Kurama asked holding out an apple to Hiei.
Hiei resisted the apple and then said, "Name him…I wont keep him."
Kurama looked at Hiei shocked then responded, "What will you do?"
"Leave him somewhere maybe you two can keep him, or I could simply kill him that would be the easiest thing for us all." Hiei said wandering over to the chair and retrieving his katana sword.
"Hiei you can't, it's just a baby!" Kurama exclaimed.
"Well what do I do with it?" Hiei asked emotionless, as he walked back over to the small bed by the window.
"Will you truly become that of which you despise so much?" Kurama asked his voice stern. "Your demonic race dropped you off the edge of your homeland, they wanted you dead." Kurama paused and Hiei finished:
"And so they sent me away, the cursed fire child of the ice land Koorime. They would have killed me but my mother saved me." Hiei's fist clenched the katana tighter, "I can't even remember her face."
"And you hate them for it…will you become as bad as they were?" Kurama asked walking closer to Hiei.
"I don't know how to love I've never been loved!!" Hiei yelled, he pulled the katana from its sheath and raised it above the bed.
The baby had been asleep but when Hiei yelled, the small child awoke and started to cry.
Something deep inside Hiei's mind clicked on, these feelings made him stop the sword's progress.
"I won't tell you what to do…or stop you. I just thought you should know." Kurama said.
The baby's crying had completely taken over Hiei's mind he was lost in his own thoughts and the child's crying echoed through his head. It rang in his ears and was slowly causing him to see something he had never seen before.
Something told him to take the child in his arms and quell it's crying. Without a second thought he dropped the sword and sheath it clanged as it hit the ground.
He reached for the child, and then stopped and thought to himself, 'What am I doing?' then his dream replayed itself through his head.
'Ice!' a voice demanded.
'No!' Hiei demanded back to the voice.
"Kobe." Hiei whispered.
Hiei's hands moved forward again, and this time reached the child. He took hold of the baby and pulled the tiny body close to his chest and felt the tiny heart beat against his own. The baby's crying slowed then ceased.
Aria had been watching from the doorway. She smiled and walked away. The rising sun behind Hiei lit up his silhouette.
Kurama smiled at his friend.
Hiei held the child as if it was the last tie to this world.
That night Hiei slept soundly, he was still exhausted from his earlier ordeal. While Hiei slept the child started to cry, craving for some attention.
Hiei awoke tiredly and climbed out of bed to the side of the crib and peered inside. The child cried as if something was wrong, but a sense told Hiei that the baby only wanted comfort. He reached inside and picked up the child, but he continued to cry. Hiei walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He spotted the cushioned chair in the corner and wandered over to it sitting down. He leaned back and held the bawling child at arms length.
"What do I do with you?" Hiei questioned as if the baby would answer. Instead the child continued to cry.
Hiei wanted the crying to stop and he tried few positions, some were uncomfortable to himself and the baby, but what ever he tried the child continued to cry.
A thought suddenly hit Hiei, when he had first picked up the child earlier he held him close to his chest and the baby's crying stopped then.
He thought about it a moment then laid the child on his chest and he felt comfortable but he questioned whether Kobe did, because he continued to cry. After a few moments Kobe's crying stopped as he fell back asleep.
"What am I going to do, I don't know how to love let alone be a parent." Hiei said as his mind ran through memories, "I know nothing about this, what happens if I were to lose you or something happens I don't know how to do this."
Hiei wondered, but he soon reached over to the bed and pulled off the blanket and wrapped it around himself and Kobe and he too fell asleep.
The next day Hiei awoke and Kobe was still sleeping soundly. Hiei looked over Kobe, his body seemed so small and fragile and his hair was an odd color, pure white.
"Why me of all people…why?" he whispered, the child stirred but didn't awaken.
It was nearly noon, and Aria wandered in the room she held in her hand some kind of object Hiei couldn't figure out what though.
"Hey good to see you're awake." Aria said she looked over at Hiei, he seemed so ragged.
Hiei said nothing but watched as Aria came closer.
"Well, let me see him for a moment, you can have him back in a minute." Aria said she held her arms for the child.
Hiei looked at her, then down at Kobe, who was in fact still sleeping. But he lifted the child off his chest and he handed him lightly to Aria, he wasn't to sure, but he convinced himself it was better this way because Aria was a female and she was likely the better person to handle the child.
Aria held the baby rocking back and forth.
"Hey little guy." Aria said when he awoke from being moved.
He looked up at Aria with amber eyes.
"Aww," Aria cooed, "He has your eyes Hiei." She held up the strange object and placed it near his mouth.
Hiei noticed the cup type thing she had was closed at the top by a tan rubber stop.
Aria held the bottle to the baby's mouth and he took it hungrily.
"What is that exactly?" Hiei couldn't help but ask.
"This?" Aria said motioning towards the bottle. "It's called a bottle, this is how you would feed a new born baby, because they can't just eat solid food on they're own they're too little."
Hiei stood up and wandered out of the room and down to the kitchen where he pulled out of the cabinet a glass and he filled it with water and looked out the kitchen window, he didn't even notice Kurama come in the room.
"Good afternoon, Hiei." Kurama said looking over his friend.
Hiei said nothing but nodded his acknowledgement to his friend.
"So you've decided you want to keep him?" Kurama asked.
Hiei thought about his answer, "Yes,"
"I'm glad you're not going to kill him." Kurama responded to his friend.
"I'm not going to be just like the people who hated me." Hiei retorted.
Kurama only nodded but he saw something click inside Hiei's head that day and he knew Hiei couldn't kill his own flesh and blood, or that's what Kurama wanted to believe.
Aria walked into the room empty bottle in hand.
"Hello boys." She said simply.
Kurama looked at the bottle in her hand and then started down the hallway, and Hiei followed him without really knowing he was doing so.
Aria turned to find the room empty of its former inhabitants.
Hiei wandered into the room to find Kurama looking down in the crib.
"He's so tiny." Kurama said.
Hiei walked over to stand next to his friend; he looked down at the sleeping child.
Aria stood silently in the doorway.
Kurama watched with an amused smile as Hiei reached down and lifted the child's tiny hand in his.
The months passed slowly for Hiei as Aria attempted to teach him how to care for a small child, but eventually one year passed, and sooner then Hiei had expected.
Aria told Hiei several times that parenting was a 'learn as you go' thing, though he didn't really understand at first. But he slowly got the idea that a parent does what ever feels right, though Aria did give him some of her own pointers.
"Why don't you and Kurama have any children?" Hiei asked one day, while Aria played with Kobe on the living room floor.
"I want to wait a while before we have any children. Our wedding is coming up soon, and I want the best for my children…so I want to make sure that we can support them." Aria said, "And also they would be half demon. I don't know what that would do to them. Kurama was able to live that way, and I didn't know, and when I did learn I was able to control my magic enough to help myself. But children that don't and wouldn't be able to use magic that's a different story," an almost pained look crossed her face.
Kobe crawled towards Aria and smiled and lifted him into her arms, pinching his nose, and kissed his forehead.
The oven dinged that it was done and Aria set Kobe down on the floor and went to get dinner.
Kobe watched her go then his gaze fell upon Hiei, who was sitting on the couch, he crawled over to his father, and used his leg as a support to stand on his own.
He laughed at Hiei, who could help but smile back, he'd never been able to stop himself when the child laughed.
The child bounced a few times still using Hiei's leg as a support then fell to the floor.
Hiei jerked forward, and saw as the child's face contorted, and he started to cry.
Hiei reached over and pulled him up into his lap.
"It's alright, you're okay." Hiei said wiping away the child's tears. "See."
Kobe looked at his father; his eyes still a little wet. He leaned against Hiei's chest, and rested his head in the crook of his neck.
Hiei wrapped an arm around the child, and used the other hand to flip to the news channel.
For some reason Hiei loved the news, and the newspaper.
Kobe changed as he grew his hair stayed the same color but his skin tone lightened and his eyes remained the same too, the same as his father's, but what puzzled Hiei the most was this child had a Jagan, a third eye that Hiei had to have implanted into his skull. But this child was born with it. Kobe's hair was short and spiked by itself, except for a piece in the front that was a little longer than the rest. It was Aria haircut job and she was quite proud of it.
"Dad?" Kobe questioned looking into his bowl of cereal.
"What?" Hiei didn't look up from the paper he was reading.
"When do you think you can take me to that place you called Makai?" Kobe was now over two years old and he was growing fast, but only because he was a demon.
Also Hiei usually had nothing better to do during the day, but teach the child to fight, and talk fluently.
"I don't know."
Kobe was used to the fact that his father said few words, and that he was very aloof but Kobe always wondered why.
Kurama walked in the door and was immediately met by Kobe.
"Uncle Kurama!" Kobe squealed and he jumped into Kurama's arms.
"Well, good morning." Kurama said he had just gotten back from his morning job.
Kurama walked towards the kitchen, and Kobe saw Hiei standing in the doorway, he transferred from Kurama's arms to Hiei's in a single jump.
Hiei looked at his son, then set him down on the floor, and ruffled his hair. Kobe smiled then ran into the living room to find his toys.
"Hiei don't you think it's time that you took him into Makai, you two have been here more then two years now, and I can tell that you don't want to spend too much longer here." Kurama said pouring a glass of water.
"This human world, it smells. But its safer then Makai there is relatively no danger that I couldn't handle here." Hiei said as Kobe came back with a soft doll of some kind.
"Here, dad." He said before going back into the living room.
Hiei watched his son wander back into the other room, "I just don't know what if something happens what do I do then?" Hiei asked, looking at the toy in his hand.
Kurama shrugged, "If something bad happens you can always bring him back here."
Hiei thought about it then he too shrugged.
Kurama and Hiei walked into the living room after Kobe who was sitting on the floor playing by himself as he done for two years.
Kurama wandered over and started to play with the child as well.
Hiei only watched from the doorway, he had played with his son so many times when Kurama and Aria were out; he had lost count long ago. He decided then that tonight he would take Kobe to the demon world and find a way to protect the child and in the midst train him.
Aria got home from work later on she played with Kobe a while then she started dinner when Hiei wandered into the room.
"Hey Hiei, how goes it?" She asked.
"I've decided I'm taking Kobe into Makai with me tonight." Hiei said simply.
Aria turned to look at him, "But he's still so little you don't wait until he's older?"
Hiei shook his head no; "It would be easier on us both to take him now because I can train him without much resistance,"
Aria thought about it, but she never could change Hiei's mind.
"Well you should know that our home is always open to you and Kobe, kay?" Aria said throwing some kind of noodles into a pot.
"We'll get going then." Hiei said.
"You're not staying for dinner?" Aria asked about to put some more noodles into the pot.
Hiei shook his head, "I think I want him to eat demon food."
Aria shrugged.
"Alright, I guess I'll see you around?" Aria questioned.
Hiei nodded slightly as he left the kitchen.
"Does she know?" Kurama asked as Hiei walked out.
Hiei nodded. "You ready to go Kobe?"
"But daddy, where are we going?" Kobe couldn't help but asked.
"You'll see when we get there." Hiei said going to the door.
"Good bye my friend." Kurama said quietly.
Hiei walked out without a word and lifted Kobe into his shoulders and jumped into the nearest tree to escape prying eyes. Kobe pulled close to his father's cape sure to not let go afraid to fall.
Hiei reached Koenma's castle without much difficulty and now it was just getting in to see Koenma so he could cross the spiritual barrier between the two worlds.
Boton was the first to greet him when he walked up to the gates.
"Hiei what are you doing here…"She laughed glad to see her old friend, "Hiei you've gotten taller."
Hiei had in fact gotten taller since the dark tournament; he now almost rivaled Kurama and was just as tall or taller than Yusuke.
She saw the tiny bundle sleeping in his arms. "Hiei did you rescue this child…Hiei I didn't know you had it in you."
"No, I would just like to see Koenma so I can get into the other realm." Hiei said annoyed.
"But what about the kid what are you going to do with him…you're not going to kill him are you…Hiei you can't do that!" Boton said getting frightened.
Kobe slowly stirred and awoke from the entire ruckus and looked at the lady Hiei was talking to.
"Dad, who's that?" Kobe asked.
Boton looked at the small child and then up at Hiei.
"Dad?" Boton questioned confused.
"Yes!" Hiei said annoyed.
Boton was still confused she didn't understand.
"When…how?" she asked.
"Two years ago and I don't know how." Hiei retorted. "Can I go now?!"
"Oh, yes come on I'll take you there." Boton said turning on her heels but glancing back at Hiei and Kobe at random.
"Who is that, Dad?" Kobe questioned softer this time.
Her name is Boton; she's the guardian of the river Styx and the guide to newly dead souls. Hiei said to his son through his Jagan.
Kobe nodded and only partially understanding what his father had just said.
After a few minutes Hiei placed Kobe on the ground so he could walk on his own, though Kobe clutched to his fathers sleeve tightly.
Boton waved off a few prying eyes who knew Hiei, including a band of demon thieves that Hiei had once worked with long ago.
Reaching Koenma's room Boton entered and bowed low but Hiei did not, which made Boton a little angry.
"Oh, hello, Hiei, what is it now?" Koenma asked he was still reading the long orders from his father but still somehow knew who was in the room.
"Koenma, we're trying to get to the demon realm, can you get us past the gate?" Hiei said monotone.
"What do you mean by us, I don't sense another presence?" Koenma said looking up from his paper work. "My, Hiei, you've gotten taller since the last time I saw you… it's odd and yet a good thing, but strange to look at." Koenma muttered.
Kobe ducked behind his father when Koenma's gaze fell upon him.
Koenma stood up and floated out from behind his desk and looked at the small boy behind Hiei.
Kobe thought it safe to peek around his father again but he found that the small man was now closer and looking at him.
"Hiei, who is this child why is he here?" Koenma asked following Kobe around Hiei's legs. Kobe ran around to the front of Hiei and buried his face into the front of Hiei's cape.
Hiei looked down at Kobe then at Koenma who had come back around and was looking at the child.
Kobe turned and saw the man once again staring at him, his eyes grew wide and he reached up for Hiei to pick him up and save him from the little man only about his same size.
Hiei rolled his eyes and reached down and lifted Kobe into his arms, when Kobe was up higher he felt a little safer.
"Hiei?" Koenma questioned again coming up to Hiei's level.
"…This is Kobe…" Hiei answered angrily.
"Kobe?" Koenma tested the name.
"He's Hiei's son." Said an unknown voice from the door.
All turned to find Yusuke standing in the door.
"Yusuke?" Koenma questioned, "Oh, right, your assignment…wait…son?"
Kobe saw Yusuke and smiled ear to ear, he leaped out of Hiei's arms and ran to Yusuke.
"Hey little man." Yusuke said picking up Kobe and ruffling the child's hair. Kobe giggled happily.
"Hello, spirit detective." Hiei said with a slight menacing smile. Hiei in a flash of movement pulled his sword and watched as Yusuke with Kobe still in his hands, dodged every attack then caught the sword with his fingers.
"Hello Hiei." Yusuke said.
Hiei stared at Yusuke then he smiled almost evilly.
"Stop!!" Koenma yelled at the top of his lungs, which made the room shudder. "Okay someone please explain to me who this child is and why are you all standing at my door?" Koenma asked the ogres that were standing in the doorframe watching the chaos.
They immediately dispersed.
"Okay…now tell me Hiei who is this child again?" Koenma asked again.
"This is Kobe, he's my…son." Hiei said.
Kobe was laughing at the faces Yusuke was making about Koenma; even Boton couldn't help but giggle.
"Yusuke, stop that." Koenma said calmly. "Now for that I'm sending you on your way."
Koenma explained to Yusuke his new assignment.
"You see, there's an evil demon scientist in Makai that I would like you to find, she hates men so be careful and she's turning them into god knows what, but she must be stopped. She's set her sights on humans and spirits now she wants to rid the world of the man and either kill them or make them into women themselves. Hiei, I want you to stay, I would like to talk to you."
"It's always a evil scientist or someone who wants to take over the world." Yusuke said.
Hiei had already thought about going with Yusuke it seemed like the perfect way to train Kobe and he didn't want to stay here and listen to a lecture.
"Now you may go, Yusuke." Koenma said looking down at his notes.
Hiei sighed angrily and followed Yusuke out the door.
"Now, Hiei, cou-…where did he go?"
Boton shrugged she had been fixing things in the room when they left.
Hiei walked along side Yusuke simply watching as he allowed the child to play around with his face.
They reached the gates to the demon realm and Yusuke held up a paper and the guards moved away, though Hiei recognized one as the guard he had knocked unconscious when he arrived to get into the human realm two years prior. They stepped out into the barrier and walked through it, they walked into the biggest city of Makai, Jahavo.
Demons were everywhere but they mostly minded their own business.
"You're really going to stick out here, detective," Hiei mumbled.
"Yeah, I know," Yusuke retorted.
Yusuke set Kobe on the ground and looked in every direction.
"Well, we better get out of here," Hiei said noticing the demons were taking noticed of Yusuke.
Yusuke hastily agreed and the three started for the forest.
When they reached the edge of the forest they looked into the deep darkness within.
"You ready for this detective?" Hiei asked.
"Well, whatever." Yusuke said walking into the forest. "Koenma said to get to the river and from there that the tracker should work."
Hiei said nothing but listened.
They walked through the forest occasionally seeing meager demons run for cover at the sight of anything in their forest.
Kobe was running around looking at everything in sight, at one point Hiei had grabbed the child and pulled him away from a poisonous biting plant.
'If Kurama was here he could make the dangerous plants die or disappear.' Hiei thought setting Kobe back on the ground.
Soon they came to the Said River and rested their tired feet while Yusuke looked over his tracking device.
Kobe ran into the water and splashed around happily.
Hiei had disappeared sometime ago and hadn't returned yet. But unknown to Yusuke and Kobe, Hiei was watching from the tree just above their heads. He watched as Kobe frolicked through the water attempting to catch some fish who were scared out of their minds, but not one succeeded, but that never made him frustrated either, he continued to try.
Hiei jumped to the ground silently and tossed into Yusuke's lap a piece of demonic fruit.
Yusuke jumped but settled quickly.
He looked at the fruit in his hand and then at Hiei who was now attempting to get Kobe to come out of the water and eat. He took a bite and found it to taste like an orange; he ate the rest of it happily.
Kobe saw Hiei standing at the edge of the water calling his name and he came to see what his father had.
Hiei looked at the soaked child and picked him up by the hood of his cape and set him on the ground. He handed the fruit to Kobe and then walked him over to a rock where Hiei could dry him off a little.
Yusuke watched as Hiei rung out the child's cape and at one point took the sleeve of his own cape and rubbed some of the water out of the child's hair. Yusuke said nothing but watched with interest, Hiei had never acted this way whenever he was at Aria's house with him. After an hour passed the three set out again.
Kobe was curious of everything and ran up to a flesh eating Venus Fly Trap, and Hiei had to grab Kobe before he was eaten.
Kobe, though, didn't know he was in danger, only that his father kept pulling him away from the fun things. This really made Hiei want to have Kurama around.
Kobe walked up Hiei and looked up him then tugged lightly on his father's sleeve.
"Dad." Kobe mumbled, "My feet hurt and I'm tired."
Hiei stopped for a moment and thought about what he should do, he came to an almost immediate conclusion. He lifted Kobe effortlessly onto his back where Kobe rode and eventually fell asleep.
Yusuke and Hiei walked for hours until the sun faded away and out of sight behind the mountains.
"We should rest somewhere for the night." Yusuke said.
Hiei stopped and looked around, the trees above them looked okay for the night.
"C'mon, detective, follow me…if you can," Hiei said with a slight smirk.
Hiei then jumped into the tree above them and was out of sight Yusuke attempted to follow, but found himself alone until he finished climbing to the top of the trees.
"Why come all the way up here?" Yusuke questioned breathlessly, he watched as Hiei settled the still sleeping child into a niche in the tree branches.
"Because there are things down there that are usually hungry at night. This isn't the Ningen world, here human meat is a delicacy, and even small demon children. You've been here before, detective, you should know this," Hiei said simply.
Yusuke felt like he had been hit with the 'Dumbass' brick and Hiei had been the one to throw it happily. But Hiei wasn't annoyed, and come to think of it Hiei had never really gotten annoyed at him or Kurama, or anybody for that matter, maybe Kuwabara once or twice, but that was a given, seeing as Kuwabara had an inflated head, but other than that no one else. Even Kobe hadn't annoyed him yet; Yusuke was starting to see how Hiei could have the patience of a saint. Though when Hiei did get angry, everyone was in danger.
Yusuke settled himself between two branches that seemed relatively safe; he fell asleep fast and without much problem.
Hiei watched for a while then looked up at the starry sky, he had missed being able to look up at the stars at night.
As he watched he found himself falling into the disadvantage of sleep.
Sometime during the night Kobe awoke cold and shivering. He glanced around and then at his father who was sleeping peacefully. He crawled silently over to Hiei and sat a foot away shivering himself senseless; he curled up into a ball. As he did a small branch broke and fell down into the abyss below.
Hiei awoke in an instant and looked around he noted that Yusuke was still sleeping and hanging half off his branch, but Kobe seemed to be missing from his assigned spot. Hiei glanced around quickly and saw the small bundle curled up next to him but not touching him, so as not to annoy his sleeping father. Hiei gazed down at the tiny child and carefully touched the cloak on his back.
Kobe started and glanced up at Hiei, tears were streaming down his face but he made no sound. Kobe saw it was only his father and leapt onto his arm.
Hiei could feel the child shivering, and pulled him off his arm and into his lap where Kobe dug his cold face into Hiei's black cloak. He simply sighed and shook his head all the while unwrapping his cloak and then wrapping them both in it. Even two years later he wasn't sure why he had kept the child, but in some ways he was glad he had.
Kobe continued to shiver until he fell asleep and then he snoozed happily. Hiei found he couldn't get back to sleep after that for an hour, so he watched the things around him.
The nocturnal animals and demons could be heard in the distance and the leaves swayed slightly in the silent breeze. He remembered the peace of Makai and for sometime he had missed the feeling of pure silence.
This chapter was a little weird it goes beyond Hiei's…oh I don't know…what's the word…compassion…? I guess…anyway…I changed Hiei's personality a little. O.o I know. Oh and for those that don't know Hiei is…22 at the moment which means when Kobe was born he was 19 and in the series he was 16. Ta da… isn't math fun?