A/N:

I feel sluggish with my stories lately… and it doesn't help when I keep starting new ones…

So, I think, for now, I'm going to strictly write THIS story only and finish it once and for all. It's taken too long and the inspiration is slowly dwindling.

I noticed that one thing that helps is support from my readers. It makes me happy and the urge to write is once again renewed! So, please continue to support me and reviewing!

And now, I bring you: Hiei! (and also guest-starring is Unolai's "Jaiden"!)

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Chapter 9: Jaiden and Her Blue Moon

She'd asked me to keep watching her, but what was her relationship with that Falcon?

It had frightened me when she caught on fire and didn't seem to notice.

She'd been miraculously unharmed. Although, I had to agree with that male Falcon in that there had to be more to it than it just being a miracle.

I couldn't think of anything to explain the strange phenomenon.

Various explanations came to mind as I set out early the next morning, but none of them fit right.

I made a quick check-up on Astrid, but she was still asleep, so I kept moving.

The next five days brought me to a town just ten miles from my destination. I figured it would be okay to stop for a short break and a warm meal.

I arrived at high noon and I was feeling famished. Moving at such speeds increased my metabolism, so I felt as though I hadn't eaten for days. Maybe I hadn't. I couldn't tell.

I entered the first inn I came upon that didn't look too run down and sat down at the nearest table.

A waitress took my order and brought out a glass of water.

As I sipped at the water, I noticed some sort of disturbance at the other end of the inn.

A group of people were gathered around a table chanting, "Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!"

Annoying.

The waitress brought out my food, and, as I ate, I had half a mind to bring them to order. However, one of the people moved and the girl who sat at the table, stuffing her face, caught my eye.

She looked familiar, but I couldn't be too sure.

Somehow, she also managed to look up at the same time. She spotted me and I watched recognition light up her face.

Why did I have a bad feeling about this?

I averted my eyes and put out a hostile aura, hoping to deter her from talking to me. I ate at a quicker pace.

She was either clueless or she wasn't afraid because she walked right up to me.

"Hiei-san!" her violet hair framed her face.

I turned a hard flare on her, but she didn't flinch.

"Still as unsociable as ever, I see! Where's Astrid?" she looked around back and forth with her hand over her eyes.

My eyes widened. She knew Astrid? I searched my memory for this woman that seemed so familiar.

"Oh." I said, "Now I recognize you."

"Hm?" She turned her gaze back on me and smiled.

"You're that human girl that Astrid made friends with."

Her smile widened, "Yup! That would be me!"

"I don't recall your name."

She huffed, "You're not very polite, are you? My name is Jaiden Sterling. Remember, now?"

I squinted at her, "I remember something about cheese."

Her smile returned, "Cottage cheese, actually! Speaking of cheese, where's Astrid?"

She asked it again. I didn't want to answer that question.

Jaiden might get angry with me. I didn't need Maykuh happening all over again.

So, I dodged, "How did you get to the Demon World?"

She leaned in close with a hand cupped to her mouth, "I'm a witch." Jaiden straightened quickly, "Don't tell anyone, 'kay?" She winked, then sat across from me at my table.

"Does Astrid know?" I silently cursed myself for bringing her up. I quickly shoveled more food in my mouth.

"Hmmmm…" Jaiden merely stared at me lazily for a while before answering quietly, "Yeah. She knows."

Silence.

I swallowed and wondered hopefully if she'd given up asking for Astrid.

"Well," I nearly jumped at the break in silence, "I've narrowed it down to two options."

I turned to her, "Excuse me?"

Jaiden's eyes glittered in anticipation, "I've decided why you keep avoiding my question."

"Was I?" I asked innocently, motioning to the waitress for my check.

She put her hands on her hips, "Of course you were! You knew exactly who I was, but you asked anyway to avoid saying anything about Astrid. You also knew exactly what I was, but, again, you wished not to go into any details about Astrid."

I stared, wide-eyed, as she continued on the same breath.

"So, you either don't know where Astrid is, but don't want to admit it, or you know exactly where she is, but you don't want any help saving her. And in both cases, whichever one it may be, you don't like it. So, cottage cheese to you, Hiei!"

I chuckled, "You're only right on two counts."

"Oh?" she smiled and scooted to the edge of her seat.

"I don't want help and I don't like it." I looked up to set a hard glare on her only to find she had careened off of the chair and onto the floor in defeat.

She jumped back up so fast, I nearly fell off of my own chair.

"Aw, c'mon, Hiei! You either know where she is or not!" Jaiden seemed to be angry now. Or perhaps just desperate to know about her friend.

I settled back onto my chair with a sigh and paid my bill.

She gasped, "Don't tell me she's dead! I couldn't possibly live knowing she's gone!"

I felt my mouth drop open as she really revved up the theatrics. I stared until it got too embarrassing to watch anymore and her voice had raised well above indoor standards.

"Shut up," I growled at her, "She's not dead."

Jaiden froze, "She's not? Then why do you seem so depressed?"

I lifted an eyebrow at her, "I'm not depressed."

"You're unwilling to tell me."

I rolled my eyes and stood from my chair, "Then catch the hint and leave me alone." I turned to leave.

Jaiden stood in my way with a hard glare, "I'm not moving until you tell me about Astrid."

I matched her glare and got in her face. I growled, "You will move."

She stuck out her tongue, "Make me."

I smirked, "Big mistake." I hooked my foot around her ankle and pulled her foot out from under her, throwing her off balance.

Her face barely had time to show the appropriate shock before I flipped her out of my way.

With the doorway cleared of the annoyance, I strode outside.

I barely made it ten yards when I was tackled from behind.

"She is dead, isn't she?" Jaiden yelled from my back, "Why else wouldn't you talk about it!"

A growl ripped from my throat as I struggled to remove my piggy-backer.

"Damn woman! Get the hell off of me!" I yelled and finally got a grip on her.

"Ow ow ow ow ow OW!" she yelled in my ear as I pulled her over my shoulder.

Jaiden landed on her back with a thud.

I bared my fangs, "I said she's not dead, so she's not dead."

She narrowed her eyes at me from the ground, "Why are you so defensive about this?"

I held my ground, my glare fixated on her and unwavering.

Her eyes suddenly widened, "Oh my disgusting, fuzzy, green balls of cheese."

I flinched back uncontrollably.

Jaiden sat up and turned to face me, "You two got in a fight?"

My glare dropped into disbelief, "How in the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

Jaiden stood, "Well, you keep denying, quite aggressively, that she's not dead. She's not with you and you don't want to talk about her. If it was a kidnapping matter, there would be no reason to hide that."

I felt the muscles in my shoulders bunch up as I gripped the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. Jaiden was sharper than she looked. Certainly smarter than she acted.

"I'm right, aren't i?" she asked, her voice brimming with excitement.

I cursed and dropped my hand and turned from her.

Jaiden's voice was soft, "How bad was it?"

I felt a low growl rumble in my throat.

"Hiei…" she lightly touched my arm so that I would face her. I did.

My lips pressed tightly together as I stared into Jaiden's violet gaze.

Whatever she saw in my eyes must have scared her because she cursed, "You're really upset about this."

I couldn't explain it, but I felt like it would be easier to talk to Jaiden than to Maykuh.

As dramatic as Jaiden was, I sensed she would make less of a deal out of what had happened.

I let my breath out on another growl and gave in, "Fine. I'll tell you."

"Holy cheese on a cracker!" Jaiden yelled when I'd finished telling her everything.

I winced. I had been way wrong.

"I've never heard you talk so much! Of course, I haven't really known you very long. Oh, but I never heard Astrid talk that much either because…" Jaiden's sentences streamed together until I was surprised she wasn't blue in the face.

"Jaiden…" I tried to get her attention.

"…that was when I met you –" she took a deep breath.

"Jaiden!" I yelled.

She stopped, "Yes?"

Thank the gods.

"Now that you know what happened, I've wasted enough time. I have to go." I turned to walk away.

"Wait!" I heard her yell.

Before I could make it two more steps, Jaiden was tugging at my arm.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Let me help!"

I shook her off, "No. What help could you possibly be to me?"

She huffed and pointed at her face, "Witch. Duh. Remember?"

I lifted an eyebrow, "I don't see how that helps me."

"Alright! Fine! So, I'm not the greatest witch. So, what? I'm good at riddles and I bet you still don't know what Blue Moon means, do you?"

Disbelief crowded my thoughts. There was no way she knew the meaning of the fortune.

Smirking, I humored her, "Alright, Jaiden. I'll let you help -,"

"Yay!" She jumped up and down.

"Only," I shouted and Jaiden halted, "Only if you are right about Blue Moon."

Jaiden grinned, "Oh, sure! That's easy. Blue Moon is a type of beer. Whoever you're looking for must like to drink it."

"Really?" It seemed too simple, but maybe she was right? I had nothing to lose. Except time.

I looked Jaiden over, "How fast are you able to travel?"

The last ten miles to my destination had been excruciating.

Jaiden had an illness, as far as I was concerned, called 'diarrhea of the mouth'.

Normally, I wouldn't use such vulgar terms, but that's the best way I could describe it.

Not only that, but most of it was nonsense. She made no sense to me.

"Well, we're going to have fun," Jaiden said as she scanned the town.

"Hn. We'll have to split up. This place is too big." I held my breath, hoping she'd take the bait.

Jaiden stared at me.

"What?" I growled at her after a while.

She blinked as though surprised, "Oh. I was waiting for you to tell me who we're looking for."

"I know about as much as you do. The only thing I do know is that this guy is a transporter."

Jaiden frowned, "So, I have to ask every guy I see drinking a Blue Moon if he's a transporter?"

I shook my head, "It's not that easy. This guy is pretty secretive about his ability and doesn't like to be known, so be discreet. If you can."

She saluted, "You got it!" and she ran off.

I sighed. Finally. That girl was way too much of a handful. I hated babysitting.

I headed for the first bar in the opposite direction Jaiden had gone in.

Upon entering, I noticed the place looked rather, well… seedy.

Many half shielded eyes locked on my back as I headed towards the bartender.

As I sat down, I was asked, "What can I get for you to drink, my man?"

I leaned forward subtly and lowered my voice, "Actually, I'm looking for someone."

The bartender growled, "Thanks a lot, my man."

He shook his head and turned to ignore me.

I suddenly noticed just how quiet it had become. Turning to face the rest of the bar, I found it to be uninhabited. The only ones left were the bartender, one guy finishing up a beer, and myself.

I checked out the guy's beer bottle. Not a Blue Moon.

"People who come to this bar don't want to be found. That's why everyone left." The drinking man said.

"Nice to know," I mumbled. As I turned to leave, one of the drinking man's tattoos caught my eye.

"Do you mind if I ask you about your tattoo?"

The man smirked up at me, flashing a pair of fangs and slitted, gold eyes.

His eyes startled me the most. I'd never seen such a shade of gold in someone's eyes. They might as well have been made of the stuff.

"Depends on which one." He answered.

"The one on the back of your neck. That style of writing looks very familiar."

The guy lifted an eyebrow and shook his head, "Not possible, dude. They don't like visitors where I got this lovely piece of work."

I frowned, "Is it in Bulian?"

His frown deepened, "The Butterflies was a good guess, but no. that breed is far too timid to let someone such as I into their domain. Don't tell me you have?"

I shook my head, "No, but I know one of them."

Golden boy's eyebrows raised, "That's impressive in itself. Butterflies don't often stray away from home."

He looked me over shortly before putting a hand out to me, "The name's Rogan. Yours?"

I took his hand, "Hiei."

Rogan nodded, "The tattoo is in Falccian. I got it done by one of them after I helped them win the war."

I sat on the stool next to him, "What war? I've never heard of them being in a war."

He laughed, "Well, frankly, you wouldn't. You're not a Falcon. Then again, the war probably happened centuries before your time."

Rogan stared at his hands silently for a long time and I waited patiently for him to continue.

Finally, he sighed, "I don't think I've ever talked to anyone about this," he paused, "Probably because I'm the only one on the outside that knows."

When he was silent again, I prompted, "Know what?"

Rogan laughed humorlessly, "Those Falcons… if you tell them what I tell you and they come to silence me? Well, I'll know who to haunt for eternity."

I nodded, "Fair enough."

He grew grave, "Even though they were cousin races, the Falcons had it out for the Phoenix. You see, the Phoenix race used to be part of the Falcon race, but the gods offered power to the Phoenix clan as a gift." Rogan lifted his eyebrows at me, "Can you guess what powers they were given?"

I shrugged, "Sure, manipulation over fire and heat."

He wagged a finger at me, "Yes, but that wasn't the most important part."

When I didn't guess, he continued.

"Immortality through self-reincarnation. When a Phoenix is ready to pass on, rather than dying, they turn into a pile of ash. Spontaneous combustion: what a way to go. Anyway, they then emerge from the ashes anew as children. New mind, new personality, new everything. Neat, huh? They never truly died and reproduction was a rare thing among them. Why have children in an undying race?

There was, however, one way for a Phoenix to truly die. Murder. Kill a Phoenix before their time, and no emerging from the ashes.

The Falcons were very jealous of this. Rightfully so, I guess, but the gods don't mess up. They do things for reasons we can't possibly begin to understand. It's not our place to question. The Falcons, in all their worshipping of their gods, did not see it that way.

War broke out with the Falcons demanding that the Phoenix share their power. Now, any outsider would see the impossibility of this request. The Phoenix clan was not made up of gods. They could no more share their power than you could, say, share your fingernails.

I was a selfish SOB in those days and the Falcons offered me a lot to aid them on their side of the battle. When I look back on what I did, I never should have agreed."

I was stunned. I'd never imagined I'd meet someone like this. Someone who'd been to the Falcon's domain.

Rogan drew deep from his beer, "Because of my aid, the Phoenix clan is now entirely extinct. The Falcons have covered it up nicely, but the fact remains that their jealousy and greed killed an entire race. In fact, only a few Falcons still live that even know of the true reason the Phoenix clan is gone. They've even hidden it from their own people. Let the new generations be innocent, is what they think," he sighed and pointed to his tattoo, "I had one of them give me this tattoo so that I would never forget the night my actions turned the cruel hands of fate on the Phoenix clan."

"What does it say?"

Rogan's mournful gaze turned on me, eyes flashing almost dangerously, "Blue Moon."

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A/N:

How's that for a twist!

XD

Terrible story, huh? Yeah, I know, genocide is a pretty depressing twist, but that's how it is…

Anywaaaaaaays, please review. Send cookies. Something other than chocolate chip, please – I have received WAY too many of those. I'm craving something different! ^^-

Thank you, as always, and I'll see you next time with Astrid!