Rose amongst the thorns
Chapter Nine
Amaya opened her eyes and looked at the room around her. She was not in Kurama's apartment anymore. She got out of bed and looked out of the window, seeing the big lake she recognised instantly where she was. Right back where I started.
Suddenly there was a thud and a figure in front of the window, and Amaya fell back on the floor with a start. She saw Hiei on the other side, smirking down at her as he opened the window and climbed from the tree through the window. She got up cautiously as she looked at him, standing over her with his hands crossed over his chest.
"Follow me," he said simply and walked out of the bedroom door. She listened to his fading footsteps and frowned. She steadied herself and followed him nonetheless, following the trail of his scent down the stairs, through the living area and kitchen, until she reached the clearing outside. He looked at her with a bored expression on his face, as if she was wasting his time. Very precious time.
"Hn," he said simply. Amaya made special efforts to pull together her mental shields. He easily managed to get inside her head...too easily. He smirked at her and walked towards her, circling her like a predator, and a shiver ran up her spine, sending goose bumps all over her flesh. He suddenly lashed out at her, sending her skidding over the grass and dirt. She growled at him and got up quickly, charging at him, but he easily moved out of the way, leaving her in a cloud of dust as she turned to face him angrily.
"You're weak," he grunted, "and slow." He chuckled menacingly. "All those years of training are wasted if you do not apply it to your new body." He casually clasped his hands behind his back and she saw the gap, charging at him once more, wanting to catch him off guard. She at least got a punch to his rock-hard stomach this time, but he quickly regained his composure and pinned her hands behind her back, pushing her to the ground with his knee digging into her back. "That's right," he murmured threateningly into her ear. He picked her up seemingly effortlessly and she stumbled forward. "Again!" he ordered. And that's what they did the remainder of the morning. Lashing out at each other, attempting to pin each other down. He succeeded mostly, but she didn't make it easy for him. And he was right: she needed to become accustomed to this body. She never realised how vulnerable she was until that moment.
Amaya enjoyed the solace this place offered. She no longer missed the human world after having had a taste of it. It was no place for her. But she knew that this was a temporary haven. She was not sure what her purpose would be. But she knew that she was supposed to be here for some reason.
She sighed heavily, trying to refocus her attention to meditation, but to no avail. She recalled her interaction with Hiei the evening before, after her training.
"What happened to me?" she asked bluntly, not knowing how to introduce the topic lightly. She stared at him, guarding her emotions carefully and looking for a hint of anything on his face. He remained reserved, not giving anything away.
He did not look at her, but continued to untie the bandages from his knuckles, which were stained with the dry blood from their efforts that day. He glimpsed at her from the corner of her eye. "You truly are ignorant," he said simply and turned to walk away from her.
She followed him nonetheless, her limbs carrying her, apparently having a mind of its own. He sped up and started running at his demon speed, and she followed suit, but soon could not see him anymore, as she was clearly no match for his speed. She was left standing in the middle of the forest, panting heavily, looking at the final rays of the sun peeking through the trees.
"Amaya?" the voice snapped her out of her musings. She looked up at locked eyes with the blue-haired girl that she has been seeing more regularly since she returned from the human world. At least the girl did not convulse anymore every time she saw Amaya.
"Sorry to disturb you!" she said cheerily as Amaya looked at her impassively. "I am just letting you know that, you know, it's almost weekend, and Kurama is returning... Koenma asked me to talk to you." She sat down next to Amaya. Finally, some answers, Amaya thought. "We did not realise how little you actually knew about being a demon and so forth, so I guess I will just start from scratch–"
"Tell me about what happened to me," Amaya demanded, holding herself back when she saw the girl's shocked expression at her gruff interruption. "...please," Amaya added more politely.
Botan cleared her throat, "Uh, well... All demons go through different...cycles. Keiko told me she spoke about, uh..." she received a nod from Amaya and continued, "Well, there are also mating cycles. And we believe that that's what has occurred, since it affected both Yusuke and Kurama, that's why we thought it would be safer to have you here. You were giving off some addictive pheromone aura," she giggled. Amaya wondered why they would place her with Hiei, who was also a male demon, and she frowned. Botan, seemingly picking up on her train of thought, added, "And Hiei, well, he has the mental capacity like no other and, well, clearly things have been fine," she said, while eyeing the gash above Amaya's eye. Hiei has no patience for gradually easing into anything. "It's just about riding out the storm," she added, eyeing Amaya curiously. Something occurred to Amaya.
"Has he been subduing my...urges?" she asked, looking Botan in the eye. Botan cleared her throat, "Well...I wouldn't put it past him. It may be a necessary precaution, Amaya," she smiled at her.
Amaya recalled how she would be writhing in her sleep at nights, which is clearly the only place where this mating cycle was able to express itself. She felt anger grow in the pit of her stomach, thinking about how easily Hiei can subdue her feelings and then still kick her butt physically.
"Thank you," she told Botan, feeling a sense of relief mixed with the anger. At least she now knew what this was. She was not stupid, this had occurred to her, but now she knew for sure. She stood up without another word and made her way inside the house, to the big passage of unnamed doors, and walked into the library. She immediately searched for the relevant books which would inform her about what to expect of this cycle. She also stumbled across a book about mental barriers, and letting out an irritated snort aimed at Hiei, she added this to her collection as well.
Amaya leaned against a tree, holding onto it and panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. She heard twigs cracking behind her and sensed that the familiar presence had caught up with her. Not even out of breath, she noted annoyingly. She composed herself and turned to face him, holding her chin high, breathing shakily through her nose.
He was in front of her in a flash and caught her by her throat, pinning her against the tree, "You disappoint me!" Hiei growled at her. She felt a rush of anger radiating through her body and dug her nails into his skin of his hands, kicking him so that he stumbled back a few feet. They began to circle each other, eyeing each other viciously. She lashed out at him first, kicking his stomach and landing a blow to his chin. He seemed unfazed and used the opportunity to punch her in the stomach, knocking out the little hair she had left in her lungs. She fell to her hands and knees in front of him, utterly depleted by this battle that has been going on for hours. He smirked when he saw she was surrendering and wiped the blood trickling down the side of his mouth on the bandages covering his knuckles. She felt an inner sense of pleasure, knowing that she made him bleed. He scowled at her.
"Hn," he grumbled and grabbed her hair, forcing her to sit on her knees and make eye contact with him. "You lose, yet I sense you feeling pleased with yourself." Amaya was transfixed by his eyes, burning bright red with...something. Anger?
Amaya suddenly felt angry. No matter how hard she tried, he was mentally and physically superior to her. She returned his glare and suddenly made a decision. She completely lowered her mental barriers. She was pleased to see shock flash in his fiery eyes as he gained access to her conscious. She conjured up images of her vivid dreams. Hiei's naked back. Her nails moving over his back and skin. Her teeth sinking into the flesh of his shoulders and neck. Her hands moving over his chest as she pressed her chest against his back, her hands travelling down his stomach, lower...
Hiei suddenly let go of her hair and shoved her back, putting space in between them as he gripped his head. She did not relent, and continued thinking of the dream last night, him pushing her down on the hard surface of the floor, pushing her down with his whole weight, kissing her hungrily and desperately as he pinned her hands above her head. His kisses and teeth trailing down her throat and chest, rough and hungry.
"Stop!" he demanded, and Amaya was taken aback by the vehemence in his voice. She had crawled back and was bracing her back against the tree, pulling her knees up to her chest and she secured her mental barriers once more.
"Isn't that what you wanted?" she hissed at him, "Always pushing and looking for gaps in my mind's defences."
He took a few menacing steps towards her, eyes flashing, and then he was gone in a flash, leaving Amaya alone in the dark forest, still catching her breath.
Amaya was limping to the house, utterly exhausted, but not giving in to her bodily aches and pains. She was relieved to see the lights in the distance and continued forward. She heard Botan in the kitchen, happily chatting away with Kurama, Yusuke and Keiko as she prepared food. Amaya grunted and met Kurama's eyes through the window. He clearly could not see her in the dark, but sensed something. She quickly made her way to the back of the house and climbed up the tree outside her window, entering through the window despite her sore muscles. She headed for the bathroom and took a long and warm shower, feeling much better afterwards. She dried herself gingerly, observing the new cuts and bruises from today's strenuous efforts. It's like she never gets a chance to catch up to a level she feels comfortable with, but is always being pushed over the edge as soon as she found her feet. She knew that she would heal quickly, overnight even, but it didn't make her feel any better. She knew that she shocked Hiei today, and was not looking forward to whatever punishment he had planned for her in the morning. She sighed, put on her pyjamas, ignoring her grumbling stomach as she settled into bed, not wanting to interact with the others. She drifted into a deep sleep, shutting out the rest of the world completely.
Amaya woke with a start, her heart racing and the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she sensed immediate danger. She sat up on her elbows and gasped as she saw red eyes peering at her from the dark corner. Hiei pushed himself away from the wall and stepped into the light rays casted by the sun barely beginning to rise. His hands were fisted at his sides and his lips were set in a thin line. "Keep your thoughts to yourself!" he hissed through clenched teeth, and Amaya tried to comply through her foggy mind. "How do you do that?" he asked, clearly thinking she knew exactly what he spoke of.
A breath caught in her throat and she was unable to speak, or move, or think. She just looked at him. He let out a deep sigh and walked over to her, grabbing her chin, "Answer me!" he hissed softly. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and tried to pry his hand off of her face, but he did not budge. She put her hands on his chest, wanting to push him away, but he caught her hands and held it tightly, immobilising her with his glare and tight grasp.
"I...I don't know what you mean," she whispered and she saw him glance at her lips as she spoke. Suddenly she felt that familiar burning sensation radiating through her body. He sensed it too, and his grasp relaxed, obviously wanting to let her go and step away, but seemingly not being able to.
Suddenly she felt his lips against hers, and it was even better than the dreams. He pushed her hard into the bed and she gasped. "Quiet!" he whispered angrily and continued kissing her almost violently, unable to contain his need. He climbed on top of her and forced his way between her legs, not that Amaya was resisting. She fisted her hands in his hair and pulled hard, making him growl and biting her lip, kissing her even harder and more passionately.
She was lost. Lost in the sensation of him kissing her roughly, pinning her down and almost desperately shoving his hands underneath her shirt, moving his hands over her breast. Her lips were sore as he moved down her neck and started biting and kissing her there as he moved his hips, grinding himself against her. Amaya moaned again and she was met with his hand covering her mouth and he was taking laboured breaths, grinding his hips against hers, more urgency in his movements. Suddenly she felt his weight leave her for a second and she opened her eyes, only to gasp when he shoved his hand inside of her pyjama pants. His fingers touched her and she moaned loudly this time, and he tried to stifle his own moan as his fingers moved in between her wet lips. His other hand fisted in her hair and she moaned against his neck as he continued teasing and pleasuring her with his fingers that only a few hours ago caused her such immense pain.
Just as quickly as he was on top of her, he was off of her and out of the open window. She was dazed and confused, but heard a creaking noise outside the door and it opened slightly, Kurama peeking his head through. She quickly grabbed the blankets and pulled it over herself, all the way to her chin.
"Are you alright? I heard some noises..." he trailed off.
"I am alright, just...just cold..." Amaya replied quickly, hoping she is masking her anxiety. Kurama nodded and glanced at the open window, going to close the window firmly with a frown.
"Sorry, I won't disturb you any longer, it's still very early," he said apologetically and quietly made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Amaya lay back in bed, letting out a deep breath. She almost expected Hiei to return just as quickly as he had left, but after a few minutes she turned on her side and drifted into a restless sleep, feeling very confused.
