Title: Legally Sane 2: Psychological Trauma

Pairings: HieixOC plus KuramaxBotan and YusukexKeiko and some unrequited KuwabaraxYukina

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho; I do own Lydia and the story...As well as any other OC's I manage to create.


-Last Time-

But…Nothing happened. Funny how that seems to be the case whenever I expect something horrific to happen to me.

Cautiously, I popped open an eye to see the cause of the hold-up, only for it to widen fractionally.

There, brandishing a katana that was pressed so tight against Mukuro's throat that it drew blood, was my fire apparition. Noticing my eyes on him, he glanced down at me, fury and relief warring in those crimson pools of his.

Emotion welled up in my throat, and my shaky smile took on a softer hint.

"Sure took ya time there, Sparky."

"Hn. I took a wrong turn."

And that was when everything became crystal clear to me. Hiei would always be there for me, come hell or high water. He would fight anything that came his way to protect me; and with that knowledge, I allowed the floodgates to open, and I wept openly with relief, fear and pain.

I was safe now.


Chapter Seven: What it all boils down to

Shock flickered briefly within blue irises, barely a millisecond before thin lips were drawn into a calm smile- Though I doubt the tightness at the corners went unnoticed by Hiei if I noticed them through my tears.

"Hello Hiei," Mukuro murmured quietly, a slight hint of humour in her voice.

"Release her." Hiei's own voice was quiet and strained, though his face was a picture of composure- Calm, cool and collect. Sometimes I envied him for it; unfortunately everyone could read me like a book and it was disconcerting at times.

Mukuro seemed to take in the entire situation, weighing up her options- And for once, I could see quite clearly what was going through her mind.

She could always snap my neck, eliminating the threat to her 'unhappiness' with Hiei- But then with the way Hiei was wound, she'd probably end up decapitated.

Maybe she could speedily dodge the blade and then snap my neck- But Hiei was just as fast, and would probably anticipate that move too.

Her one eye flashed with various ideas, some that I couldn't even think of let alone believe was possible; and then she did the unthinkable.

I fell forward with a gasp of surprise, but was immediately steadied by a familiar weight on my shoulder. A quick yet hesitant squeeze was offered to it, and I was able to sit there uncomfortably on my own.

Silence enshrouded the chamber; the air thick with tension and high strung instincts that I couldn't even be able to fathom due to the fact that I was human and therefore wasn't subjected to such 'emotions'. I felt penned in all of a sudden, claustrophobia which I don't ever remember suffering from choked my throat and my mouth went dry. I shot an inconspicuous look over my shoulder, and saw that Hiei had yet to remove his sword from where it rested against the paleness of his Lord's throat; Mukuro remained stock still, though a mirthless smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, her single eye brazenly staring her 'executioner' in the face.

"Hiei…Do you know what you do?" Mukuro queried archly, and looking all the more smug.

Hiei remained silent for a beat, his eyes narrowing a fraction.

"Do you know what you have done?" he countered, refusing to budge an inch.

"I believe I was eliminating a threat to the future of my territory;" she replied.

Hiei snorted disbelievingly. "How can a worthless ningen pose a threat to the future of your territory?"

'Worthless? Ohh…He definitely isn't getting any once we get out of here. Not that he's had more'n a kiss…But still.' I inwardly fumed, wounded and mentally flipping him the bird.

Mukuro regarded Hiei quietly, phrasing her thoughts in her mind before uttering them. Her eyes softened minutely, and so did her mouth- And it was then that I was struck with the obvious affection she felt for her diminutive heir.

"Have you not guessed yet? You are the future of my territory. My heir, my confidante, my right hand…The one who should be my mate."

I gaped at her then, my mind reeling at the information. Sure I knew of her feelings, and yeah…She and everyone else had confirmed it over and over again…But still. It was strange to hear her actually say the words, and in front of me no less!

That smug smile of hers broadened at the stunned expression on the fire apparition's face, and Hiei's grip on his katana loosened fractionally, giving her enough leeway to manoeuvre her neck out of the line of fire. And then she turned to me, the tilt of her mouth twisting into a condescending smile.

"A mere human girl…" she continued, "Cannot even begin to imagine the hardships that you have faced and overcome in your extensive time in the land of the living- Not like I can anyway."

By now, Hiei had regained control of himself, and he gazed up at his Master in silence, allowing her to have her say first. Out of common courtesy, I was sure.

"She cannot give you the mental, physical and emotional stability that I can. One that has not felt the loving touch of another- We are two halves of the same coin."

I listened with only half an ear to what she was saying, my eyes downcast and my mind rapidly trying to process her words. Hiei had yet to speak up in my defence, and with a sinking heart I wondered if he was being won over by her powerful little speech. I glanced at him, and noticed he wasn't holding himself as rigid as he had been before- His eyes weren't narrowed, and his mouth had softened into a normal line.

"How would her family take it? That their only daughter has fallen in love with a monster; and not only a monster, but one despised by his peers because he is lower than that of a normal monster. The bloodlust that writhes in your veins are mirrored in my own; the coldness of your heart echoes that of my own- The inferiority that consumes you despite your words to the contrary are only intensified in me. How can you expect her to understand? Isn't that a bit cruel on your part?"

'No.'

I started to shake my head slowly, staring down at the trembling mess of ligaments and bone in my lap- The digits massaging one an other in strong comforting strokes.

'No. That's not right at all…'

Mukuro continued her impassioned speech in a bored monotone, and I didn't even need to look up to know that her face was as dispassionate as always.

"And what about children? Humans aren't known for their ability to carry demonic children in their womb- And what if she does? She will grow to loathe it, just as she will grow to loathe you."

I closed my eyes, my head tossing vehemently from side to side- The pace increasing to a speed that caused my hair to fly about in a flurry around my head creating a dark halo of curls.

"No!"

My anguished shout seemed to pour unbidden from my lips, and I clapped a hasty hand over them to still the landslide that threatened to spill out after the first.

Mukuro paused and looked at me. My outburst prodded her along into another rant on my manners.

"See what I mean, Hiei? Humans have no manners- Why, earlier she even threw her plate at me, and when reprimanded, argued her side." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and I felt myself flinch.

Hiei gazed at me and I was able to see the indecision in his eyes. He looked so vulnerable at that moment, like he wasn't all that sure of the reason for his interference- Despite the fact that it was terribly uncharacteristic of him, I still felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. I needed to reassert my position; I didn't want to lose him this way. That was probably what gave me the courage to speak up for myself.

"You know nothing of my feelings or Hiei's for that matter;" I began, my tone icy and shaking with each word. Whether from anger or fatigue, I couldn't pinpoint. "And you can't be as close as you say if he never told you about me."

Every word infused me with a certain kind of confidence, and I slowly began to push myself to my feet; each movement painful.

"I might not know everything about him- And you're right, I probably couldn't even begin to imagine what he's been through; but whatever has happened has made him into the man I…" here I paused, not quite sure if this was the time to use the 'L' word- It could possibly turn this whole argument against me. "…That I admire, and that I wish to be with. If he wishes to talk to me of his past, then fine. Other than that, what concerns me is his future."

I could feel tears of exhaustion and emotional distress burn the back of my eyes, and I blinked them away hard.

"Y-you're being extremely selfish Mukuro- If you really did care as much for him as you say, then you'd place his happiness first instead of your own."

I frowned slightly at her, my words quiet and quickly lacking force and emotion. This whole event was taxing…

Hiei blinked, his lips parted in confusion as I continued to stand my ground. I was not going to lose over a few flowery words that lacked warmth and passion. They were as cold and dead as her heart was.

"I do care about his happiness," she defended after a moment of silence.

"Yeah? So if he said he was happier with me, would you let him go?"

This gave her pause, and her eyes darted back and forth between me and Hiei- But her hesitation spoke louder than the rest of her dialogue.

"See? You want him, and therefore you shall have him regardless of his feelings on the matter. You would have killed me and taken away his chance at being content just to sate your own needs," I accused softly.

"…And what makes you think he'd be happy with a pathetic human like you?" she hissed in return.

I merely offered up a weary smile, switching my gaze from the mechanical woman, to the short man standing adjacent to her. He returned my look steadily, and it looked as if he was holding his breath in anticipation of what I was to say next.

"Has he ever smiled at you?" I asked gently; "Not smirked, but smiled- Y'know, when your mouth curves slightly and the emotion reaches your eyes?"

The one that Hiei was currently bestowing upon me for the third time in my life- An almost shy upturn of his lips.

Mukuro kinda…Gaped at Hiei, and I fully expected the bionic woman to screech out something like…'Hiei…Smiling…Cannot compute!' and burst into a gazillion fragments from self-implosion.

Of course, she didn't. Unfortunately. She remained as she was, and Hiei disappeared from her side, only to reappear at mine- With an arm slung around my waist, and an eyebrow raised at Mukuro.

"And…Yeah." I ran out of steam at that point.

"…"

"What?! I don't pull these long as hell speeches outta my ass y'know! I have to think about what I say before I say it!"

Hiei merely grunted, and hefted me up into his arms.

"Wait! I haven't dismissed you yet, Jaganshi!"

I felt the muscles in Hiei's shoulders tense, and he spun around to face Mukuro, his impatience evident.

"Hn. What now?"

She remained silent, obviously trying to come up with a decent enough excuse to keep the both of us here for a while longer.

"You have duties and obligations to fulfil! I won't let you slack off."

I groaned at that. Way to pick on Hiei's weakness- Duty, and obligation. Damn woman.

I expected Hiei to drop me ass-up onto the floor and scurry off to do her bidding, but was pleasantly surprised when he huffed indignantly and began moving off to what I hoped was the exit.

He paused at the chamber doors, and snapped over his shoulder;

"Hn. Then consider this my resignation."

And we both disappeared in a blur of motion- With Mukuro's screams of frustration mixed in with various death threats ringing in our ears and safe in the knowledge that Hiei was truly mine.


Spirit: I am so sorry for the long-ass wait for the update! My writer's block was horrific, and it took alot of plot discussions with Bish and Blue to get me to finish the product today D I solemnly promise that the updates will be faster now, seeing as I've gotten over this partiuclarly difficult chapter. Thanks to all my fans who've stuck in there with me!