Ch. 4:

Touya moved around the front yard with simple grace as he trained his ninjitsu with a sword; or more precisely a shinai.

Then he stopped in a middle of a simple move and almost sighed. The ex ice-demon was troubled by the thought that he no longer knew who he was supposed to be… or who Hiei was supposed to be to him.

It used to be so easy when they were demons… Touya was ice, and Hiei was fire. It was as simple as that, and only natural that they disliked each other. But now they were both humans. …Or as weak as humans anyway. So… how were they supposed to react to each other now?

Not long ago, Kenshin and Sanosuke had left to protect some old patriot named Tani, or something like that. Both Hiei and Touya had stayed behind, saying that it wasn't their fight, or problem in Hiei's case. Touya glanced at the fire-demon sitting in the three looking at the sunset, before he continued with his training, starting from the beginning.

- - -

There weren't many who knew about it… well none except for Kurama… but there was something Hiei did like in life. Hiei liked the sunset; the colors of fire red, brilliant orange and burning gold mixing together into perfect warmth.

Finally after the sun had set, both ex-demons went inside the dojo to sleep. It seemed like only a few moments later that Touya woke up by the soft footsteps of someone walking past his room. Knowing that there was an ex team mate, a kid and a woman living under the same roof he shrugged it off and continued his sleep.

- - -

It was past one o'clock and the battle was just beginning at Tani's mansion. A tall man looked at his opponents and laughed. His cold gaze seemed to penetrate the very soul of each and every one of them, making it impossible for anyone to move.

"You cannot run!" He said with a maniacal grin. "Once a sword is drawn, one will fight until one is dead! Nothing else will satisfy."

No one was able to move, except for one man who walked towards the murderer with heavy steps.

"What did you do!" Sanosuke asked. "My body suddenly got heavy!" Kurogasa turned and looked at him with slight surprise.

"Well. Moving despite the Shin no Ippô," he said, the slightest tone in his voice betraying his surprise. "You're no average bug."

"So you are Kurogasa after all," a new voice suddenly spoke. With his lightning speed, Kenshin jumped towards the man and drew his sakabatô.

No one even saw the impact, but as Kenshin landed on the other side of Kurogasa, there was a newly made wound evident on his left arm. Kenshin himself took no notice of it.

"To use Shin no Ippô as a weapon is not surprising," the redhead said. "But to trap men who've lost their will to fight and then slaughter them… That's cruelty unworthy of the lone hitokiri, Udô Jin-E."

Jin-E turned to look at Kenshin and captured the swordsman's gaze within his cold blue eyes.

"Uhu-hu-hu… A man with a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek," he said. "The legendary hitokiri, Himura Battôsai."

"Give up peacefully, Jin-E," Kenshin warned. "Or face this one."

"Battôsai as my opponent," Jin-E said. "What more could I ask? But first…

"I'll fulfill my promise!"

Jin-E ran towards Tani with the intention to kill. Kenshin stood too far away he would never reach them in time. The redhead tried to call for Tani to break the spell of fear that held him paralyzed, but years of living in welfare had softened the man too much.

However, Jin-E's sword was stopped... by Sanosuke. Laughing, Jin-E stabbed the sword Sanosuke had broken through the teen's wrist.

Something in Kenshin snapped at the sight of that.

He ran forward, and even though his first attack was blocked, he still managed to hit Jin-E in the jaw with the sakabatô with his next move. And as Jin-E's concentration broke, so broke also the "spell" holding everyone paralyzed. Jin-E only laughed again.

"I've changed my mind," he said. "My next target is you, Hitokiri Battôsai!"

With that said he jumped out through an open window and disappeared into the night.

Once the mist of the night had cleared, the morning sun shone brightly over a dark figure. Hiei had woken up early that morning, and unable to sleep, he had decided to go for a walk.

Hiei wasn't stupid. He knew about the sword banning law, so he had left his sword at the dojo. Still… he could not help but feel uneasy without the comfort of his trusted weapon.

After some hours of walking aimlessly, Hiei finally decided to head for the riverbank. That was where he and Touya had been found by Kenshin and Sanosuke, perhaps that was where he would find some long wanted answers.

The river was just within sight when Hiei thought he heard something from behind him. He was surprised that he didn't notice it sooner, but by now it was already too late. All he realized was a sharp pain at the back of his head. The last thing Hiei heard before falling into darkness was a laugh that sent chills down his spine.

"Uhu-hu-hu. Mwah-ha-hah!"

At the meantime, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sanosuke were at the front yard, discussing last nights fight. Touya opened the sliding door and looked at the small group. He had heard about the fight trough the door, but that was not what concerned him.

"Has any of you seen Hiei?" he asked, startling everyone. Apparently they hadn't heard him come.

"He's not inside?" Kaoru wondered. Touya shook his head. The four of them looked at each other for a while.

"I'm sure Hiei-san can take care of himself," Kaoru then said. The others had to agree.

"Anyway, I'm gonna take a nap," Sanosuke informed them and yawned. It was not until later that they found Hiei's sword in the dojo. Then, when neither he nor Kenshin had come back before nightfall, the four were starting to get really worried.

Down by the river, Kenshin sat on a log and waited for Jin-E to appear. He had for some time now thought about leaving Tokyo and start wandering again, becoming the rurouni he had gotten used to being. But now, there was a new factor keeping him at the Kamiya dojo. A factor with ruby red eyes…

The silent boy interested him. He admitted it. He did not know Hiei's age, or origins. Neither did he know by who or where Hiei had learned his fighting style. He knew nothing of the boy. Yet, it was so evident to him that the ruby-eyed young man had to have gone trough much pain and sorrow, why else would there be so many protection walls around his soul?

Kenshin shook his head. Here he was, getting ready to fight with one of his most formidable opponents in a long time, and yet his thoughts lingered at the silent mystery living with him under the same roof.

Lavender eyes looked at the wild river and he smiled softly. He was almost starting to feel like a poet… And then the moment was ruined by a shout.

"Battôsai!"

Kenshin looked up with a start and saw Jin-E speed past him in a small boat on the river. In his arms was the limp form of someone he recognized.

"Hiei-dono!" the rurouni shouted. He could see that Hiei had his eyes closed and didn't move. "Jin-E you monster!"

"I see you care for this boy!" Jin-E shouted back. "Get mad! Turn into yourself of ten years ago! If you don't, the boy will die! I'll wait at the shrine in the forest, tonight, at midnight, Battôsai!" Laughing, the crazed swordsman disappeared down the river, taking his hostage with him.

Hiei's life was now in Jin-E's hands.

At shore, Kenshin trembled with rage.

'Jin-E…!'

TBC…

Answers:

-Hiei has, by my knowledge, never been able to teleport… I always thought it was his great speed… And yes, he still has his speed.

Dragon Tamer103088: One step at a time…

-The issue of Hiei and Touya and the effects of the Meiji era will be discussed later in the story.