Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter! I'm so excited about the next few chapters to come. I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

Chapter 14 - Friends

Another month flew by & Jenny was finally beginning to feel more like her old self… well, the old self she knew, anyway. The pain of Jin's loss always hung in the back of her mind, though. Deep down she still felt guilty, still felt like it was her fault he was gone. But instead of letting it overwhelm her with grief, she began using her pain in her training. Hiei was right. She needed to focus her energy & anger over losing Jin to the one who'd ultimately caused it… Kai.

She'd made a promise to herself after that talk with Hiei. A promise to Jin. A promise that she'd push forward & live, for herself & their baby. She knew she had to find a way to stop Kai.

Thankfully, her training was going better than expected! Genaki (& even Hiei!) seemed impressed by her progress. She still wasn't anywhere near where she'd need to be to defeat someone like Kai & she probably never would be, but Jenny felt better knowing she was at least able to defend herself reasonably well now.

Being almost 4 months pregnant, the training had most certainly changed & wasn't as physical as it had been in the beginning. It now focused more on how to use her spirit energy. To her surprise, she discovered that being able to sense & (somewhat) use her spirit energy she could really feel the child growing inside her. She could sense the baby's presence all the time now, in a way she hadn't been able to before. It was an incredible feeling that she cherished. It was her connection to Jin.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Yukina & Kurama had also stuck around after the funeral. Sometimes the other guys would join in on the training. These were some of the best training sessions she'd had, honestly. They were by far the most entertaining. She loved getting to spar with Kurama, especially. Their sibling relationship had really taken a turn for the best in that month, with them joking around, picking on each other & generally acting like brother & sister for the first time.

Jenny, wearing her usual training outfit of black workout shorts & a black tank top, flopped down onto the ground, breathing heavily. "I need a break, Hiei," she panted. "This whole pregnancy thing is absolutely exhausting & this is the longest training session we've had in awhile." Hiei sat down next to her & passed her a water bottle, which she took gratefully. He hadn't even broken a sweat. Damn, demons, Jenny thought, annoyed.

"Humans really are a weak species," he said, smirking. "Carry a child & you act like you can't do anything anymore."

Jenny elbowed him in the side playfully. "It's not that I'm acting, jerk face. I can't. It's not safe for me or the baby. I have to take it easy." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just wait until after this baby's born & I get the okay from Yukina to really train… I'll whoop your ass!"

"Hn, I'd like to see you try…" Hiei chuckled. His voice suddenly took on a more serious tone. "I will admit, though, I am impressed with your abilities so far… for a human. Not that you'd do well in a real fight with a demon." He adjusted the bandages on his arm as he spoke. "Considering that you're pregnant & a mere human, you're doing okay."

"Gee, thanks, Hiei!" Jenny said sarcastically. "But in all seriousness, I do appreciate you & Genkai training me, especially considering the state I'm in right now. It means a lot."

"We can't let you die yet," Hiei stated calmly. "Not until I get the chance to really fight you after this whole pregnancy thing is over." Jenny laughed & elbowed him again. The pair sat in silence for a time, enjoying the early spring weather.

"I've been thinking…," Jenny said quietly.

"Uh-oh…"

"Shut up! I'm serious," Jenny groaned. "When I first met you guys the fact that I didn't know anything about my past really bothered me. It was kind of my mission to find out who I was. I know I've learned some of the "big stuff" about my past now & I can't say I'm excited about any of it. But I've been thinking & I've realized I don't really care about what else happened in my past." She stared out across the yard toward the forest, feeling Hiei's eyes watching her intently. Her hand rested habitually on her growing belly. "I feel really content with where I am." When Hiei snorted, she smiled & continued. "Other than fact that the father of my child died almost two months ago & the guy that killed him used to own me as a sex slave & wants to hurt me or get me back or whatever it is he wants to do."

"Hn." Hiei grunted.

"I'm just saying I don't feel the need to go out & learn more about my life before now. I want to focus on getting stronger & living the life I want from this point on. I want to be the person Jin would've wanted me to be. I need to move forward." Jenny sighed & turned her gaze to Hiei. "Is that selfish? Part of me feels…. Guilty, I guess… that I'm trying to, I dunno, "get on with my life" or whatever that saying is."

Hiei consider her for a few moments, watching her silently. " I don't think that's selfish at all. It's how you survive. Bad things happen, you deal with them, & you move on. There's nothing else to do."

"Yeah, I guess…," Jenny muttered. "I still feel guilty, though."

"Besides, you don't exactly have the luxury of locking yourself in your room & crying when Kai's out there somewhere," Hiei replied. "You never know when he could try something again. The fact that you're Kurama's sister really complicates things." He gave her a rare smile as he continued. "But like I said, I'm impressed with your abilities so far. And I suppose I have to admit that I'm impressed with how you've bounced back after everything that's happened."

Jenny was a bit taken aback. Hiei had never really given her a compliment like that before & it caught her off guard. She eyed him cautiously before she spoke. "Hiei, you know I consider you one of my best friends, right? We've been through alot together. You saved me from Jin the night of the party way back when, you found my real mom, & now you're helping me with my training… It really does mean a lot to me. I feel like I can talk to you about things," Jenny said quietly. "Thank you, Hiei… I know you're a big tough guy & don't like all this mushy human stuff, but I wanted you to know."

"Hn," Hiei turned his head away from her, but Jenny could see the hint of an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. "Don't mention it."

She broke into a grin & gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Aw, Hiei! You keep talking like that & I'm gonna think you actually care, friend!"

"You're still a weak human," Hiei said with a mocking grin on his face. "You should be more careful about who you punch."

In an instant he was gone. Jenny spun her head around, trying to find him. She finally caught sight of him behind her, standing smugly with his arms crossed. She grinned, quickly scrambled to her feet, then ran at him ready to punch. Hiei dodged her easily, as usual. This went on for a few minutes, with Hiei disappearing & reappearing randomly while Jenny tried to hit him, before Hiei finally appeared behind Jenny & kicked her feet out from under her. Jenny spun as she fell so she'd land on her back. As she landed, she felt Hiei powerfully pin her arms above her head. He had one leg placed on each side of her, holding her in place.

"See what I mean?" Hiei smirked.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jenny groaned, feeling a tree root jabbing hard into her back. "You win again. I can't wait to wipe that smug look off your face someday." She tried to pull a wrist free, but Hiei tightened his grip on her. Jenny watched him with an intense gaze as he stared back at her.

Hiei finally spoke up, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "You're not alone, you know." His voice was quieter than normal & his eyes held a look Jenny had never seen on him before.

Pity? No.. not quite.

Jenny suddenly became acutely aware of how close Hiei was to her, how their bodies were touching. She felt his strong grip around her wrists & his muscled thighs pressing against her side. Awkwardness crept in, along with something else that made her feel a little uncomfortable. What's going on? Why's he acting like this?

She was broken out of her thoughts by the realization that Hiei's face was closer to hers than it had been a moment earlier. She felt his breath on her lips & her heart began to race. He hovered there for a moment, seeming to be unsure of what to do next, before a voice broke the silence & shocked them both back into reality.

"Stop playing around, guys! It's time for dinner!" Kuwabara's voice boomed from the doorway. "You can go back to training later!"

He must not have seen….

Hiei abruptly shot to his feet & turned his back to Jenny. She pushed herself up onto her elbows & looked at him.

"Hiei-?"

"Go inside for dinner. You need to keep up your strength," Hiei interrupted. "I'm not hungry." He began walking towards the woods, hands in his pockets, purposely avoiding turning around to look at her.

Jenny watched him in confused silence as she stood up. What the hell was that? She put a finger to her lips, feeling where his breath had touched. That was so… unlike Hiei.

Kuwabara yelled to her again, breaking her from her thoughts. "Alright! I'm coming!" Jenny yelled back at the doorway. She brushed off the back of her shorts as she walked toward the house.

As she approached, Kuwabara asked, "Where's pipsqueak going?" He nodded his head in the direction Hiei had went.

"Who knows….," Jenny responded honestly. "Let's go eat. I'm starving!"

After dinner, Jenny had decided to go to bed early, telling the others she was exhausted from the day's training & wanted to get caught up on sleep. She changed into the new pajamas that Keiko had brought her as a surprise gift to cheer her up. A black, thin strapped tank top & black spandex shorts. They weren't much different than what she normally wore to bed, but the fabric was so much more comfortable.

She laid in bed for hours, thinking about everything from Kai, her training, & Jin. She'd been avoiding it, but finally her thoughts drifted to Hiei. What had he been thinking, holding me down like that, getting so close…? She was finally starting to feel like she had the slightest bit of control & he has to go make things confusing? Maybe it was nothing… He's a friend. He just wants to protect me. But it sure felt different….

She sat up & stretched her sore arms. She glanced over at the clock. Jeez, I didn't realize how late it was…. She stood up, moved to the door & slid it open. The house was quiet, meaning everyone had already gone to bed. She slipped out into the hallway & down to the kitchen. After grabbing a glass of water, she then moved outside. She stood sipping the water, enjoying the cool evening breeze in the yard.

A glimmer of red between the trees suddenly caught her eye. What the….? She stiffened, looking out into the forest to see if she could see it again. A few seconds later, she saw something that made her breath catch in her throat. She let the glass fall from her hand onto the soft grass below. Her eyes wide, she began moving slowly toward the forest, toward him.

Jin…?!

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She'd felt him die, saw them bury him right here in this yard. But there he was…. His red hair, his beautiful playful eyes staring back at her, the typical smirk playing across his lips. He stood in between two trees just a few steps away from the edge of the yard. He was silent, but as she moved closer, he reached a hand out to her, beckoning her to come to him. His smile grew wider & Jenny closed the distance between them as fast as she could. Hope washed over her.

When she reached him she threw her arms around his neck, tears already streaming down her face. She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist & pull her closer. She sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. It felt so good to have her arms around him, smell his familiar scent. She couldn't believe how much she'd missed it.

She moved back & looked into his eyes. "Jin… I've missed you so much! How-?"

Jin moved one of his hands to the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair like he always used to do, & pulled her into a passionate kiss that made Jenny weak in the knees. He slid his other hand down to her hip & pulled her closer with a roughness that Jenny knew meant he wanted to do more. She could feel him hard against her hips. She moaned against him, letting the wonderful feel of him wash over her.

Jin broke their kiss, but stayed close enough to let his lips brush hers as he spoke. "I've missed you, Jenny."

Jenny's heart stopped. She knew that voice. Her entire body began to tremble & she felt her legs give out beneath her, but strong arms held her up. A thousand emotions ran through her. Fear. Sadness. Pain. Despair. Jin hadn't come back. She wasn't back in his arms. Painful memories came flooding back all at once.

"Kai…," she whispered shakily.