Hello everyone. Do any of you still remember me? I don't blame you if you've forgotten. I'm so sorry for being away. Truly, I am. Life has been... difficult to deal with for the past few months. But things are getting much better, so hopefully my stories can resume where I left off. It may take a few chapters to get back into the flow again but please be patient. So, let's get on with it, shall we? Oh, and this chapter is entirely in Hiei's POV.
Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish it to be, I will never own YYH. I'll only ever own the DVDs. Oh well...
"Speech" ; Thoughts ; Actions
Booming thunder shook the entire temple that morning, efficiently waking the lost fire demon. He glared out his window at the dark grey sky and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He barely managed to get to sleep the previous night; if he wasn't using his Jagan to check on Ryann, he was thinking about the previous night on the roof. The entire scene kept replaying in his head. Something about it all seemed... strange.
First, Ryann was thinking about making some choice. What was it? Was that what she was talking to Koenma about? Why wouldn't she let him know about it? Second, she hugged and... kissed him. Hiei refused to spend time much thinking about that. But the real thing that seemed off to him was the last thing she said before she went to her room.
"Sayonara, Hiei."
She said goodbye. But the entire night, he felt her spirit energy in her room. It wasn't moving much, and it seemed as though she was sleeping. Hiei couldn't understand.
Then a thought hit him. He quickly sat up and pulled the bandanna off of his head. He checked her room. It was empty. He checked the kitchen. She wasn't there. Room by room he scanned for Ryann's or Ookami's spiritual signature. Nothing.
Chikushou (A/N: Damn it), not again!
He sprang from bed and bolted through his door to the kitchen. Genkai was sitting calmly at her tea table, drinking from her cup. She seemed to do that often.
"Where's Ryann?!" Hiei demanded. Did something happen after I fell asleep? Is she in danger again?
Genkai paused and looked up at the fire demon. She watched him fume as she hesitated from answering. Finally, she looked back down at her table. "Ryann left this morning."
"... Left?" Hiei echoed incredulously. "Where the hell did she go?"
"I can't say."
Genkai jumped out of the way and stood calmly on the other side of her now destroyed table. Hiei's arm was glowing black and there was a deadly look in his eyes. "Mind explaining to me why you can't say?" he asked in a dangerously calm voice.
"Ryann told me not to."
The flame died instantly. Nani? Why would she do that? What's going on here?!
"You're relieved of your assignment, Hiei. She's no longer under your protection. Be happy, you got the 'stupid onna' off of your back." Genkai stated without emotion and walked to another room in the temple silently.
Hiei remained frozen. It didn't make sense to him. None of it. So many questions were racing around his mind and none of them had answers. Two questions were nagging him, though. Why did she leave? Wherever she is, is she safe?
Desperate for answers, Hiei went to Ryann's room. Maybe there was some clue there. He opened her door and scanned the room. It looked so... empty. The last time he'd been in there, books were all over the desk, clothes and sheets were on the floor, random things were hanging from the walls. Now, everything was gone. The bed was even made. The only hint that she'd stayed in the room was her scent.
Hiei walked to the desk and began searching the drawers. Empty. Empty. Empty. Empty. Not a single thing was anywhere. He walked to her closet. Not a single piece of clothing was left. He looked through everything in the room that might have something she could've left behind, but came up empty. It was like she had never been there.
He left the room and walked out of the temple to the forest. Rain was still pouring from the sky with an occasional streak of lightening striking in the distance. His feet took him down a familiar path and he found himself looking at a clearing full of singed stumps and ashes. He watched the rain mix the ash and dirt into mud. The scorch marks were being washed away from the grass and trees nearby.
Everything is disappearing with the rain.
Later that afternoon, Kurama arrived at the temple with a small package under his arm and an umbrella over his head. The downpour had yet to stop. He ran quickly up the temple steps and into the dining room, looking for Genkai. She wasn't there.
Where could she have gone to? he asked himself. He gave it a bit of thought before a loud beeping noise broke his concentration. He smirked to himself and shook his head. Of course. He went down one of the many hallways and came to a rather large room. Inside were rows upon rows of different arcade games. Genkai was sitting in the middle. It seemed she was playing a game similar to Pac-Man.
"Sumimasen, Genkai, but have you seen Hiei around? I found something addressed to him at my house."
Genkai took a drag from her cigarette and turned her sharp pink eyes to the redhead. "He's been sulking in the forest all day."
"Sulking...?" Kurama asked, confused.
"Hai, he found out that Ryann left the hard way. Seems like she didn't tell him like she did all of us. A little after he woke up he ran into the forest and he hasn't been back since."
Kurama looked down sadly. Evidently Hiei wasn't taking it very well. "You don't think he would-"
"Iie, he's not going after her. He doesn't know where she is. She made sure to block her mind to him before she left, and she covered up her energy."
"Why would she do that if she told us where she'd be?"
Genkai looked at him blankly. "Baka. She did it to stop Hiei. He wouldn't act reasonably if he found out that she went to stay with Touya instead of staying here with him to watch over her."
Kurama smiled to himself and bowed to Genkai. "Arigatou, Genkai. I'll just go give this to Hiei and get back home. Ja ne!"
As he was leaving, Genkai yelled back, "Tell Hiei to stop destroying my forest!"
"Hiei?" a tentative voice called from below him. Hiei was sitting up in one of the unburned trees, taking refuge from the rain under some branches. He'd been there for four and a half hours, just watching the rain fall. I have nothing better to do, anyway. He didn't bother looking down; he knew instantly when Kurama arrived at the temple.
"What, fox?" he snapped.
"I have something for you."
Hiei rolled his eyes. "Whatever it is, I don't want it."
"... It's from Ryann."
His eyes widened slightly and he looked down at Kurama. Sure enough, a small box about the size of his fist was resting under his arm. Hiei could make out his name on the box. He hesitated for a second before jumping down in front of Kurama.
He took the package and held it loosely. Then his eyes flickered up to Kurama's. "You knew she was leaving, didn't you?" Kurama looked away and Hiei got his answer. "Who else knew?" Again, Kurama couldn't look at him.
Hiei growled to himself and hopped back up into his tree. Kurama looked up at him once before leaving. Hiei watched him leave before turning his eyes to the box. What the hell could this be? he thought. He opened the box, which seemed to contain only a piece of folded paper. It was a letter.
Hiei,
I know you're probably mad at me right now, but you have to understand why I left. I feel like something is about to happen, and whatever it is, it doesn't concern you or any of the other Spirit Detectives. This is between me and my parents' murderer. It would be useless to drag you guys into this as well. If I had it my way, Ookami would be safe with Genkai and I'd be living by myself somewhere, training for battle. I don't want anyone to get hurt in this if I can avoid it. That's why I didn't tell you anything. I don't think you'd actually care about me getting hurt, but I know that your sense of honor would make you interfere if you believe I'm still under your protection. The only way I knew of to keep you out of this was to keep you in the dark. I'm so sorry for doing this.
Genkai, Kurama, and the others know where I am in case of emergencies, so if I'm needed, I can help out. Please don't do anything to them, all of this was my idea. I'll be checking in with Genkai every week to assure that I'm safe. When my training is done, I'm going after this "Oonushi." Until then, I have to stay hidden. I think he knows that I care for you and the other Detectives, so please be careful. He took Ookami as a lure, it isn't beneath him to take someone else as well. Please be safe, and don't do anything stupid.
Believe me when I say that I don't doubt your abilities. I honestly think that you could protect me if it came to that, and I know that you can evade being captured if they were after you. I'm just asking for my own peace of mind that you listen to me.
I'm sorry for... what I did last night. I'm not going to pretend that I regret kissing you, but I doubt that you would have wanted me to do so. If that was the last time I'll see you, I wanted you to know how I felt about you. I knew you for about two weeks, and I couldn't have been happier. I enjoyed your company at my house, and I appreciate your dedication to the mission. Thank you for coming after Ookami and me. I owe a lot to you. Please be safe.
Ryann
P.S. I made a tear gem last night, and I put it in the box. It's for you. If you don't want it, please bury it somewhere. I don't need anyone else looking at my memories.
Hiei read over the letter a few times, taking in every word. His anger began to flare. Who was she to think that he couldn't handle himself? And the arrogance to believe that he might've come after her. She's not my problem anymore! His hands caught on fire, burning her letter. The still-falling rain washed the ashed away. He looked into the box and sure enough, a small tear gem was sitting in the bottom. A thin wire was fastened through a hole in it, forming a sort of necklace. Hiei pulled it out of the box and stared at it.
With all of the strength he had, he threw the gem as far away as possible. It soared up into the air through the trees and landed somewhere in the distance. Hiei glared at the box, setting it on fire as well, and jumped through the trees back to the temple.
If she wants to disappear, fine. Let the rain wash away all traces of her. It'll be as if she was never here. With this last thought, he stomped into the temple and into his room, not caring about the puddles of water he was tracking down the halls.She's not my problem anymore. he kept repeating to himself. So I'll just forget.
I don't think this chapter was very good, but I tried my best. It may take a few chapters to get back into writing. It's been a while. For now, though, this will do. I'm sorry that my stories were on hiatus for two months; I'll try my best to not let that happen again. I still know where my story is going, so don't worry about that. Thanks for reading!
To the great reviewers that are so amazing! I swear, you guys, you make writing so much more satisfying:
Rebel Reader Bitch: I'm sooo sorry for taking so long to update. I hope you'll still follow the story. I know some of my readers may have forgotten the plot line by now. I feel so bad for taking so long. Thank you for reading and reviewing, though. I really appreciate it!
KismetLovesYYHandDraco: Yep, Touya'll have a part now. Though he won't be a main character. He does have a purpose, though. I apologize for the wait on this chapter! I'll definitely be updating more often now, though. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
SilverRaindropsFall: "Sweet-snow-loving-cretin"? That works for me XD. I'm back! Did you miss me? I guess a better question would be, do you remember me, ne? Yeah, I brought Touya into the story. I'll try to keep you guessing! Thank you so much for reviewing and reading. Please keep reading!!
SongSiren: Thank you for messaging me, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to get writing again. I'll try my hardest not to do that again. I apologize, too, if you've forgotten the story line. I can write a summary for you up to this point if you'd like, to refresh your memory. Thank you for being a constant reviewer, and for sending me the message.
Hibiki-chan: I tried to make it sweet, without being too fluffy, you know? I wanted it to be a sad moment. Yeah, she left. But, as you can read up there, she had her reasons. I'm sorry for the delay, and I hope you'll still read my story. I enjoy your reviews!
Hells Twilight: Yay for Touya! I like him. He has his uses. Thanks for reviewing, please keep reading, and I'm sorry about my hiatus!
Diamonds of the Night: Please forgive my absence!! I'm back now, so the story will continue like before. I know it was a sad chapter, the story isn't exactly a happy one throughout. I still think my story isn't that great, but I'm working on it. Particularly since I haven't been writing recently. I think I got rusty. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope to hear from you soon!
TheSorrowfulVampress:I love Touya too, but this is a Hiei fic. Sorry. He'll be in it more in the next few chapters, though. Yeah, he'd be a cute boyfriend for Yukina. Never really thought about it, though. Ice and ice. Cool. Sure, I'd love to read your stories. As soon as I can, I'll read and review. It may take a few days though. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Thank you guys so much for reading! Until next time, ja ne!!