Chapter Two: No One Knows
Their screams tore through the air. The familiar sound of metal against bone; guttural, yet...refined. Warm liquid splashed against her face, adding another hue of red to the black and blues of her tan canvas. She felt the earth shake even before her would-be executioners fell to the floor.
She waited... for the death cries to evaporate in the wind. For the sounds of flesh being torn apart like paper to subside into sounds rushing blood. And then after, waited for the new intruders to make the presence known. Instead, silence. The hum of the distant fire fading. She slowly opened one eye- the one that cemented shut with a layer of human blood. Where the leader of the human murderers had once been with his sardonic eyes and index finger was a child. A child no older than the tiny girl in her arms with almond shaped eyes that matched the demon world sky. He stood over her, unflinching, holding a sword taller than he, covered in fresh kill. His cape moved violently against the wind. The dark circles under his red and small scowl clashed with the smooth, young lines of his face.
She was engrossed in his form- the confusion it brought- that she neglected the two men that stood just a few yards behind him, on either side, whose silver attire were free of blood despite the mangled corpses lying at their feet.
"How is she looking, Hiei?" The gentleman on the right of her asked. She darted her eyes to the new stranger. He stood firm like a young tree, with brown wild hair that almost swallowed two dog years. A tail whipping at flies and insects that dared get too close. He was lean, all muscle, like most of the canine demons. But his eyes...green, seemed to glow against the muted sun.
"They," the boy corrects, "there's two. One's a child."
The dog demon snaps his head to the other man, and she followed.
Her blood runs cold. A nightmare stands off to the side, towering over his kill like a giant. A cautionary bedtime story her father would tell the children over the fire. His long silver hair barely acknowledges the wind as if weighed down by its own length. Golden eyes permanently narrowed stare right into her very core igniting both fear…and comfort. She always thought this was how a natural death felt. Warm like an embrace and cold like hell. All at once.
"We have to take them," the dog demon declared.
"Do we now?" His voice was low, chilling.
"She has a child with her-"
"They brought humans too close," he finally moved his eyes to meet the dog, "are you suggesting we endanger the few numbers we have for a foolish wolf and her pup?"
"And are you suggesting we leave them here to die?"
"We could end their suffering."
The dog demon didn't seem shocked by this worrisome declaration. He shook his head, "You've grown cold in your old age, Youko-"
The silver haired demon snapped through clenched teeth, "what did I say-" He paused and moved his arms over his chest. Slowly. Regaining his emotionless composure.
Eclipsed by the infamous thief, Youko Kurama, she failed to notice the young boy moved closer, bending down to get a better look at the small pile of skin and bone in her arms. He reached to touch her inflamed arm that blistered and boiled before him but was snatched by her protector.
"What is she?" Hiei asked.
"E-e-excuse me?" She tripped over her own words, unable to bring them above a whisper.
"She is not one of you," he states flatly, pointing to her canine ears without looking away from the child's arm. "What is she?"
She sat up straight, trying to muffle a groan from her lips, and regained what little dignity she had left, "you're right, she is not a wolf, but she is my sister all the same."
"Hrm," Youko sighed, "Leave it to a wolf demon to adopt a human."
"She is not a human, either!" She attempted to muster some fire in her voice but settled for a whine as her vocal cords protested their use.
"We do not have the privilege of debating that at this location," the dog jumped in, now looking back towards the smoke, his hair bristling. "The screams have stopped- they could be on the move."
"Then let's make haste and dispose of them before we are discovered," Youko paused, "Jameson."
"So now we kill our own kind!" Jameson seethed.
"You spoke my name to her. Their blood can be on your hands now."
"Pathetic," Hiei's voice sounded like pebbles trying to be boulders, as he captured the two feuding demons wavering attention. He never pulled his gazed from the young girl, as he directed his impatience to the fox demon. He reached again for the girl, this time her sister didn't move. "I'll take her. You have a bone sticking out of your leg…" he stated matter-of-factly, "James will carry you."
"Will he now?" Youko betrays himself with a snicker, "Are our new guests blessed with names or shall we call them female and child?"
Hiei doesn't acknowledge the older man's taunt. "What's your name?"
She paused. Hiei, the small child with red eyes that smelled of fire and whose skin was ice, showed no fear of the seven-foot tall, 300 year old, bandit- whose mere name sent shivers down the spine of even the most battle hardened demon.
And with the captain words swimming through her head. Her packs blood still fresh upon her hands…
"Ophelia," she finally whispered, "My name is Kira."
"Hn," Hiei gathered the child into his arms, easily despite their similar size, "nice name."
She smiled as she let go.