He set each of the crystal balls on a separate stand. An evil smile appeared on his face. This was going to be very fun. He sat staring at the swirl of smoke in each crystal ball as he contemplated his plan. Every thing was set. "Well let's see what we can do here" he said looking into one of the crystals. He swept his hand over the crystal causing the smoke to freeze. "Ah…Hiei" he said smiling. "Let's see what it is you think." he said sweeping his hand across the crystal again causing the smoke to start moving, but in a different manner. He looked at the images as they came across the crystal. "You've done many things Hiei" he said to himself as he thought. "But you are not guilty about any of them. This will prove to be quiet challenging." he said as he continued to search through the smoke. "Let's try digging a bit deeper" he said pushing certain images away with his mind searching for one he could use. He stopped pushing the images away. "What was that?" he said curiously. He pulled up the previous image. "Ah…" a big grin appeared on his face. "So it appears you are not as cold as you would like everyone to think." he said. He continued looking into the image. "Tsk, tsk, tsk" he said as if disappointed. "I thought of you as being an honest man Hiei." he said to himself again. He smiled again holding back a laugh. "Didn't your mother ever tell you? You should never lie you'll just get caught up in it." He thought about what it was he said for a minute. "Well it appears mother was right."
The swirling thoughts in Hiei's mind started to slow. The images left and he felt himself walking. He looked at the ground, but couldn't feel it. His feet seemed to know exactly where they were going though. Down the road, around the corner, through an alley. He found himself in front of a building. He looked up and examined the familiar structure, then out of sheer instinct he jumped back numbly, just missing the arrow that had now taken the place he had just been standing.
"Ah, Hiei about time." came a voice from a rooftop. "You're expected."
The door in front of Hiei opened. He walked in slowly, almost in a daze. It had finally clicked; this was the place he had come many times before. When he was younger, he had been discovered by a demon lord, he was sent to work. Of course, he was paid, but it wasn't as if you had a choice. You did the job, or…well nobody really knew the or part. Hiei had been his favorite for many years. He did the job, did it right, and didn't take crap from anyone. As his mind wandered on, his feet held a mind of there own as they walked through the crowd of demons playing cards, through the halls, around corners. He stopped in front of the door. He had a bad feeling about this. He felt as if he was replaying this same scene over, as if it had already happened before. His body didn't hesitate however. It was as if his body wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what his mind was thinking. He pushed open the door, not bothering to knock.
"Ah, Hiei, I'm glad you could make it." said the demon lord from behind his desk. "And that lousy rat, I assume you took care of him." he demanded rather than asked.
Hiei instinctively reached into his pocket and threw a package onto his desk. The demon lord opened the package and looked at the vital organs of the demon Hiei had just recently killed.
"Ah, very good Hiei. I knew I could count on you."
Hiei remained in his place still standing their. He felt removed from his body, as if he was watching the scene take place below him. It was all to familiar. It was as if watching a movie you've seen before, but not remembering what was going to happen, but after you watched the scene you suddenly remember seeing it before.
"I have another job for you," said the demon lord. "It's different from the other jobs I've given you so listen carefully. You must complete this case it is extremely vital. Do you understand?"
Hiei stood there still unmoving and said nothing.
"There is some very important information that I must receive no matter how long it takes. This information is not in a simple file however. It is secure in the mind of an individual. Many others have tried to extract this information by means of torture, and believe me it is horrible torture, even in my book. So we will have to take a different approach."
There it was again, just like a movie. Hiei remembered hearing the exact words spoken before. He knew what was coming, but couldn't quiet remember what it was. He felt uneasy, but his body showed no affect as it stood their listening to every word that was spoken.
"You will make friends, or do whatever it takes to gain the confidence of this girl," he said handing Hiei a picture.
Hiei knew he shouldn't pick up the picture. If he did, he knew something bad was going to happen, but his body wasn't listening to him. He reached over and picked it up. As soon as his eyes caught sight of the person in the picture, the whole film clicked in place. He remembered the beginning, middle, and end. His mind screamed to drop the picture and run out of the office. Don't accept the job. He wanted to scream. He wanted to tear the picture up and yell at the demon lord. He wanted to get away. Ignoring the pleadings of his mind his hand slipped the picture into his pocket.
"It is very vital that you gain her confidence, no matter what it takes. I need that information. Do you understand?" with out waiting for a response he continued. "After you receive the information kill her"
Kill her. The words swirled around inside Hiei's mind as he cried out against being there. Despite what his mind was saying, he heard himself reply, "When do I start?"
"Now"
Hiei couldn't believe it. He found himself outside the building walking blindly. All the words were rushing through his mind. "Get the information. You must gain her confidence. Make her trust you. Get the infor..gain her confi…get…kill her." Hiei found himself walking behind a girl. He was walking up to her and was about to touch her shoulder when she turned around.
"What do you want?" she accused staring straight into Hiei's eyes.
Hiei jerked awake. His eyes opened he saw that he was on the ground. He stood up and fell back against the tree breathing heavily. The words still echoed in his mind. Gain her confidence. Get the information. Kill her. Ahh. He almost screamed out. He jumped into the trees and started running hoping beyond hope that he could some how outrun the voices in his head. "Kill her. Kill her. Kill her." The words soon became his own voice "You killed her. You killed her. You killed her." Hiei continued to run. He didn't know what else to do.
The demon smiled. This was working out quiet well so far. He turned to another orb. Kurama, let's see what it is you have done in your past. He looked through the smoke in the crystal once again, as if searching for certain memories. He found one he liked. "This shall do," he said aloud waving his hand over the crystal. Nothing happened at first. He did it again and this time the frozen image started playing itself out. Not just in front of him, but also in the mind of the sleeping Kurama.
"Hey Yoko" said one of Kurama's best friends walking up to him.
"Hey" said Kurama slightly confused about how he had gotten here. He accepted the drink Kuronaway had offered him.
"You ready for tonight" asked the demon taking a swig of his own drink.
Kurama felt excited. "You bet I am"
Kuronaway howled into the night air, obviously already drunk. He threw his arm over Kurama's shoulder. "Come on Yoko let's party"
Kurama started walking with Kuronaway and suddenly realized he'd been calling him Yoko. He looked around at his settings and he defiantly wasn't in the human world any more. A slight haze came over him as him and Kuronaway started hitting clubs and meeting girls. He quickly fell back into being Yoko. Images started swirling through his head however. He was meeting up with this guy. A pain struck Kurama in the gut. He knew what was happening. He suddenly remembered the night. No, this wasn't going to happen again. He tried to bring himself out of sleep. The images blurred through his head. No! No, not again. Stop, he pleaded with himself. Please stop. The images quickened and he began to moan. He didn't want to remember. Make it go away. The images started to slow. Then he saw it. The man, staring at him with lifeless eyes. "No!!" he yelled. He came out of the nightmare panting for breath.
"Kurama, are you alright?" asked his mother outside of his door.
Kurama did a quick check of his surroundings. "Yes, mother I'm fine" he said hoarsely. "Just fine"
"Alright dear, if you say so" she walked away leaving Kurama.
Kurama ran his fingers through his hair, and just sat their as images continued to spill through his mind.