Title: Tie Me to the Future
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: Sorry, I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho people. I'm just a fan.

Chapter ten: Choke on Water

Hiei took a seat on the edge of her bed. He wasn't sure what had called him to her, but something made him sure of the fact that he could talk to her and she wouldn't repeat anything to a soul. Something inside him, some deep gut instinct told him that he could trust her. There weren't very many times that he felt that trust.

For a moment, he stared at her back, at the damp hair that soaked her aqua colored tee shirt. How could any being seem so nice? In a world filled with hate, distrust, and evil, she was like a spark of light. The previous Saturday when he had first seen her up on that roof, she'd been so mad at something that her fists just continued their barrage against the chimneystack. She hadn't caused any damage to the building, but she certainly managed to damage her hands.

Those hands were scabbed over now, but he'd taken off his bandana and tossed it down to her so she could stop the bleeding. Of course, nothing was completely pure. Even the most beautiful diamond would have flaws somewhere, even if they were naked to the visible eye. Hiei wondered what upset her and at the time, wondered if he could do anything to help her not be upset.

The second time he had met her on the roof, which was earlier that day, was when he had actually gone looking for her. He wanted to see if she would be there again. He wanted to see if the woman whose entire body language screamed "confidant" would still be there. She had been there.

The third time, just a few hours before, he had gone back, intent to wait until she returned the next day. It was to be a long wait, but he had been prepared for it. Waiting wasn't anything new for him. Instead, she had been there. She had been trying to do a back flip. He had almost lost his composure and just laughed when he saw her fail. It was an amusing sight.

Hiei wondered if she would mind listening to what he had to say. He just didn't know if it would be right to ask. In this world filled with distrust, it was hard to find the words, or to start speaking.

"I figure when you're ready to let me know your name, you will."

Her words left an imprint in his mind. She trusted him, even though he was a stranger. Even though she did not know his name, or who he was. She confused him, but he also understood that someone like her was important. She would be used, manipulated, beaten, bruised. There would be nothing she would be able to do about this, and he knew this too. But she wouldn't lose who she was. He was positive she wouldn't.

"My mother sent me here to live with my aunt, claiming that I was involved in a gang." He heard her say. "She wrote in her note to me, 'Kagome, you'll be staying here now. You'll go to school with your cousin.' The strangest part is, I couldn't imagine just the day before what my friend had gone through when his family was thrown out. Now, I sort of know. It hurts; it hurts a lot." Kagome stared down at her notebook where she had been writing notes. She began to doodle on it, drawing a vague picture of the Jewel of Four Souls on its original rosary.

Hiei wondered at her story. It was like his, in a way, he supposed. He, too, was cast out by his family. He spoke finally. Her speaking and admittance made him realize that perhaps it didn't matter what he said. If he said something, it would be a start. When he started, he was surprised to find his voice was very shaky. There was nothing he could do to strengthen it.

"I have a sister. She is my twin. I was born, and my mother abandoned me, basically. I didn't get that chance to meet my sister, but I almost feel connected to her and I finally found her just recently. I can't find the words to admit who I am, or to ask to be a part of her life." He wasn't sure what about her drew him to speaking openly, but there was something there. He wanted to know what, but figured even she probably didn't understand. Maybe it was the air of knowledge that seemed to be around her.

Kagome turned in the chair to look at him, her drawing only half finished. "You're confused? First you should identify what confuses you. What is there that you don't understand about her, or yourself, that stops you from speaking with her?"

He sighed. "I don't know. If I knew, I probably wouldn't be asking you." He began to shift uncomfortably. Her eyes seemed to be looking straight into his very soul. He wondered if that was how people felt when he put the force of his Jagan eye on them.

"I can't pretend to know. I wouldn't even if I could. The secret, the answer, lies within you and your sister. How honest you are to first yourself, and then to your sister will determine whether or not you're meant to know your sister in more than a passing glance relationship. If you don't want to be a passing glance, then it is up to you to make it that way." She smiled and stood, walking over to him.

She knelt by the bed and looked at him straight in the eyes. "You're the only one—the only one—who can find that answer, especially if she does not know who you are. There are those, such as myself, who might poke and prod you into the right direction, but the final decision remains yours, ultimately." She kissed his forehead, just as she had for Sesshoumaru, and felt the lid of his closed third eye. She realized it was there, but didn't let it show on her face or person. When he was ready to admit it was there, that was up to him.

Hiei was startled when she kissed his Jagan eye. She didn't act repulsed, so he guessed she didn't realize it was there. "Your help is appreciated." He said quietly, looking at anywhere but her face. He felt far more relaxed than he had ever expected to be around her or anyone. Confiding in her had actually taken out more from him than he had thought, and he felt tired.

"You can sleep here the rest of the night." Kagome told him. She grinned. "At least the sheets are black and red, instead of pink and baby blue." She was pleased to be able to get a small smile from him as she stood and went back to her desk, grabbing her books and heading out into the living room of the apartment. She closed the bedroom door and set her things up on the coffee table. She, instead of sleeping, stayed up the rest of the evening trying to make sense of the mathematics involved in being a priestess.

-Next day-

Kagome woke to the poking and prodding of someone waking her up. She sat up; groaning as her muscles protested the movement after a long night slouched over a coffee table and books, and an even longer evening before that practicing back flips. "Kags, wake up."

She looked at Yusuke with a sort of half-hearted groan. "You're really annoying." She informed him, to receive a grin from her cousin. Yusuke was older than her, but not by much. She was simply a few months younger. She was to be eighteen in quite literally a few days, and he had his birthday previously a few months.

"Yeah, I do try." He ran his hand through his hair. He hadn't slicked it back yet, but would get there. "Hey, what's all this stuff?" He peered at her books and the attempted notes and equations she was trying to commit to memory without success. "Math?"

"Something like that. Ugh, so sleepy." She leaned back against the couch and let her eyes droop. She heard her aunt Atsuko shuffling around in the kitchen and realized how late it was. She sat bolt upright and began to gather her things. If Atsuko was getting ready for work that meant it was noon already. She hurriedly got her things together. It hadn't taken very long to figure out Atsuko's schedule. She'd had it down already by Sunday.

She wasn't surprised to find the boy gone from her room when she entered it. She wondered if he found the answer he sought and if she would ever see him again, then threw that away. She probably wouldn't see him again considering the fact that when Inuyasha came to get her, she would be staying in the past. She had already made up her mind.

Yusuke was laughing at her as she stumbled around the apartment, hopping around as she tried to put on her socks and shoes and do her hair at the same time. When she fell over, she yelped and found the wound she'd given to herself when she bit her lip through cracked open again. It wasn't pleasant when her mouth filled with blood.

As hastily as she could she got a washcloth and put it to her lip to soak up the blood. Either way, she still would go to school. Perhaps she might be able to help some people clear up some issues before she disappeared all together from modern Japan to appear completely in the past. Finally Kagome had her broken backpack together books shoved inside it crudely, and was ready to go.

"Why'd you wait for me?" Kagome asked Yusuke in the elevator. The elder cousin just shrugged. "Don't worry, I won't be here long." Kagome assured him. "Then you won't have to baby sit me."

The elevator doors opened and two people entered, both elderly women. Yusuke looked at Kagome, confused slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Kagome ran a hand through her wet ponytail. Today, she had gone with a theme much like the day before, only instead this time she wore a gray under tank top and a red over tank. Her pants and shoes were the same. She wanted to prove to her mother that she wasn't just a mindless drone. She wouldn't just obey everything she said. She would make it to the past again! She would see Sesshoumaru become King.

The elevator doors opened again and another person entered, their black hair rather scraggly. Kagome almost smiled as she realized it was the boy she still didn't know the name of. The elevator doors closed and the descent began again, only to open a few floors down and the elderly ladies exited. The doors closed and Yusuke pushed the lock button on the door panel. He had apparently not noticed the red-eyed demon.

Yusuke turned to Kagome, blocking her against the wall. "Kagome," Yusuke's voice held a warning in it, but she just smiled at her cousin. The boy stood in the corner staring curiously from one cousin to the other, noticing the similarities in their appearance. "You're going to tell me exactly what you mean by that."

Kagome almost rolled her eyes but refrained from doing so. "Must I explain it as though I'm talking to a two year old? And here I thought you were the baby sitter." She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice and it surprised her. She was not acting at all like herself, but she couldn't make herself go back to her old ways either. "I'm going to disappear. You're going to go on with your life."

The boy stared at her for a moment, then at Yusuke. He didn't know what to say. He started the elevator back up. Living in a modern world, Hiei knew how to use the technology of the day and age. He didn't like it, but when he was tired, it was a must.

-At school-

Kagome almost wished she hadn't said that to Yusuke because he figured her to be suicidal now and practically clung to her like a leech. Kagome had the unfortunate opportunity to meet Keiko because of Yusuke being so clingy. Keiko set Kagome on edge. She was like a bat out of hell just waiting for her to screw up. Keiko shrieked at Kagome when they first met, which lowered Kagome's friendly meter when they first met.

The only chance Kagome had a break from Yusuke was last period. When she walked in, she was early for the class which was good considering she'd been late to all of her other ones and the teachers had nearly died when they saw Yusuke was actually there.

"Hey, Kagome!" Sheena called from the back of the room. "We were hoping you'd show." Kagome made her way to the back of the room, practically dragging her backpack behind her. She had a bottle of water in her hand and was near dying of thirst. She sat down in the desk behind Haru and the desk next to Sheena. "Where were you?" Sheena inquired.

"Sleeping." Kagome answered vaguely. Haru turned around in his seat. "Good to see you too." Kagome told him as positively as she could before he even had the chance to greet her.

He grinned, running his hands through his hair. "You're crazy, woman. Mr. Akira's here today though, which is really cool."

"Amazing." Kagome groaned and set her head down on her desk for a second, trying to moisten her tongue and prepare for a drink. She was so exhausted. Finally, she sat up, thinking repeatedly in her head about how there was only one more class before she could go to her aunts, which meant less time before she could go home to the feudal era.

Kagome opened her water as students began to file into the room. "Did'ja hear about the accident on Main Street?" Haru asked Kagome. "A semi and three cars crashed."

"No, I didn't." Kagome lifted her bottled water to her lips and took a big drink of it, only to gasp when she saw who had entered the room. Her eyes went wide and she began coughing. Some of that water went all over Haru's face but she was coughing so much she ended up having to leave the room.

The teacher blinked at his 'student' who had left. The student who had walked right by him. He followed her out of the room under the pretense that he was checking to see if she was alright and he couldn't believe it was really her.

That's just crazy. But sexy crazy. Haha!