Chapter Seven

The World Keeps Turning

Adrenaline hit her veins and the world sharpened into acute focus as Ashley lost her balance on the rocks. Immediately her stomach plummeted the five hundred meters down the cliff as she knew, just knew she was to follow it down.

But a hand wrapped itself around her forearm and pulled her back, stumbling, to the safety of the trees.

For a moment, all Ashley could do was focus on forcing the adrenaline back. Deep breaths, focus on what you hear - She could hear the chatter of people and the roaring of the waterfall. See - The backs of her eyelids and the explosion of colored stars as her eyes were firmly shut. Touch -

The adrenaline was slowly disappearing, leaving her feeling lightheaded and her legs shaking as she realized she was clutching Hiei's black robes, her face buried into his chest.

He had a very defined chest, and his pectorals were firm beneath her grip. It was in this moment of all moments that she was very aware that his hands rested rather awkwardly on her back, and although she had always been on the slimmer side, she realized she hadn't worked out in God knew how long and she was soft. Much softer than him.

She took another deep breath as she wrestled her sudden surprise and adrenaline-less haze back under control, and stepped backwards. Hiei's hands fell to his sides as she pulled away.

"Th-," she began, the words shaky form her tongue. "Thank you."

He watched her beneath an expression she didn't recognize, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "I'm alright," she said, more to herself than him as she glanced past him, back to Yukina and Kuwabara studying a map. They were oblivious at what almost happened; what could have happened.

Ignoring the tears she suddenly felt trying to clog her throat, she steadied herself and announced, more sure: "I'm alright," even though between the adrenaline haze, shaking legs, and overwhelming emotion she felt, she was sure she was anything but okay.

Hiei didn't comment on it, but she was sure he could see every small emotion playing out on her face.

He fell into step just behind her as she moved past him to rejoin Yukina and Kuwabara. If they saw anything in her expression, they didn't say anything as they greeted the two and voiced what they were thinking for lunch.

Walking back down the mountain, Ashley was careful with each step, trying to convince her legs, which now felt like noodles, to work properly. Whereas going up the mountain had been a fun experience with the monkeys and getting to spend a little time with Hiei, going down her mind was stuck in a cyclical rendition of the experience that was almost her last. If she focused on it completely and blocked out the sights and sounds of everything else, she could put herself back in that moment: stepping away from the cliff to follow Hiei back to Kuwabara and Yukina, and finding the stone she stepped on slick with water spray and mildew. Losing her balance, the world seemed to drop from under her -

No.

Ashley refused to fall into that mindset. She could focus on it later when she was alone, but for now she could feel Yukina's worried gaze on her back and paused in her trek down the path so Yukina could catch up. Lacing her arm through Yukina's, she fell into step next to the girl. Kuwabara moved aside to let her join them.

"Are you okay?" Yukina asked, worry seeping into her voice. "You seem distant."

Ashley nodded. "I'm just…" she tried to find the right Japanese words for the situation. If she could speak in English it would be easy to describe what she was feeling. "Remembering something I'd rather forget," she said in English, trying to express herself. Yukina lifted a delicate brow. Ashley tried to find the words that were on the tip of her tongue. What she found wasn't quite right, but they would have to do. "Caught up in my own head," she finally finished.

Yukina let out a sigh. "I've been there."

The rest of the day passed in a blur: one minute they were eating lunch, Ashley finding herself ravenous after the excitement of the morning, and the next they had spent the rest of the afternoon at the shrine. In no time at all it was closing time, and then they were back in Sarayashiki, the street lights painting yellow streaks across the pavement.

Yukina and Kuwabara said their goodbyes quickly, and headed home, both exhausted, but Ashley and Hiei remained in amiable silence.

Finally, Ashley spoke, "Thank you for saving me today."

Hiei merely snorted. "It was nothing. We can't have you dying, can we? What sort of boyfriend would I be?" He said the word as if he wasn't quite used to it yet.

Any other night his sarcasm would invite her to rile him up in return. That night, however, with how exhausted she was, was not the night that she would rise to his bait.

"I'll see you soon?"

Her question hung in the air between them. Hiei's hands were shoved in his pockets as they usually were, and his face held an expression that was guarded. Whatever he was thinking, he didn't want her to know.

For whatever reason, she was hoping that she would see him soon. Whenever "soon" might be.

She thought he would respond in his usually dismissive way, or that he would chide her for being so sentimental, but neither of those things he responded with.

"Don't get killed on your walk home. I didn't save you for nothing."

He disappeared into the night, blending in with the darkness rather eerily, before Ashley turned and headed home too.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, the deadbolt fastened in place, the stress of the day and the emotions that she'd tried to keep at bay since her near-miss on the cliff, hit her like the waterfall they'd seen that day. Everything tumbled out: her fear, the adrenaline, trying to forget the traumatic experience enough to still enjoy herself, trying to keep a brave face to stave off everyone's questions as to why she was so distant. The weight of it all forced Ashley to her knees as her legs finally gave out beneath her.

Knox was on her in a minute, sniffing her and licking up the the tears as they streamed down her face. It was disgusting and interrupted the stress-cry, inducing a fit of giggles while Knox had the audacity to lick into her mouth, which only made the stress-cry turn into a laugh-cry.

They stayed like that for several minutes, the tears continuing to fall as Knox plopped himself on top of Ashley and forced her to pay attention to him. He truly was a gift. There was no way that Oliver could have known what a treasure Knox would turn into during her short time in Sarayashiki, but the intent of his gift was special.

And she hadn't even called him once during her time there.

First, though, she owed Isla a call. Last time they spoke, approximately two weeks prior, Isla had mentioned something weird going on with the House. Not bothering to move from her place on the door jamb, she dug her phone out of her back pocket, found Isla's face in her favorites, and pressed "dial."

Three rings. Five rings. Seven rings. The eighth would send the call to voice mail.

Instead, a very harried Isla picked up the phone and forced out a breathless, "Hello?"

That was odd that she hadn't even checked the caller ID. "Isla?" Ashley said in English. "Are you alright?"

"Ashley!" Isla exclaimed, finally putting together who was calling her. "I'm alright, but a squirrel has managed to lay waste to my grandmother's birthday party, and she's having a conniption. Can I call you back?"

Ashley couldn't help but laugh, picturing the old woman throwing insults at the squirrel who was likely terrified. She was one of those old British ladies who was strict to the old ways of how things used to be: manners, proper etiquette, women wearing hats and dresses, which spoon to use at tea time, everything. "Yes, please, call me back. I don't want to get in the way of Charlotte the Tank."

Isla, breathless, replied, "Thank you! I'll call you tomorrow or sometime."

With that, the phone clicked off, leaving Ashley with a good laugh and a dial tone. Still, that picture of Charlotte fighting with a mere squirrel sent her back into a fit of giggles, which also chased away the tears she'd cried from her experience with the cliff. All that was left was the stiff feeling of dried tears on her face.

Finally peeling herself off the floor of her flat, Ashley shuffled to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. Once done, she fed Knox and settled onto her futon, phone in hand, to call Oliver.

Unlike Isla, Oliver picked up the line on the second ring, his tenor voice clear as a bell. "How's my favorite sister doing?"

Ashley nearly snorted. "Don't let Sophia hear that; she'll punch you in the face."

"Well, you're my favorite little-est sister. Does that count, then?" She could hear his smile through his voice. "Mother said you had a date today. How'd that go?"

Ashley heaved an exasperated sigh. "It wasn't a date," she countered quickly, trying to convince him. Once Oliver had an idea to use against her he'd run with it. All the teasing she endured by her brother during the past relationships of high school and college were proof of that. "I was just helping a friend."

"Uh-huh," Oliver drew out the word, like he didn't believe anything that Ashley said. She could bet money on that. She tried to hide the smile from her voice. She'd had a good time today, was all, but Oliver wouldn't believe that was why she was smiling for a second. "And you're being careful right? With your… friend?"

It didn't matter that Oliver didn't believe that she hadn't gone out on a date; they'd been so close growing up that he was her natural best friend, and blood besides that. He was the closest person to her in the world. Even before Isla and Sophia, who were closer in age. She had always had a bond with her brother. So what occurred to Ashley was what he asked of her. "What do you mean, 'am I being careful?' He's just a friend, Oll. It's not like we're having sex."

"No!" Oliver exclaimed, she knew he yanked the phone away from his ear with how far away his voice suddenly became. "That's not something you tell your brother. Tell Sophia if you want to tell anyone. I don't want to know. I'm talking about him. Himself." Ashley paused, trying to decipher where this was headed. Oliver picked up on her curiosity and continued, "Well, you can never be too sure these days, can you? Any ole' chap on the street could be one of them. You've got to be careful."

The only reason she picked up on the nearly imperceptible edge in his voice was because of how well she knew him. They'd shared everything growing up, except the intimate details of their respective relationships, of course. It turned her curiosity and set her on defense. "Careful of what?"

He asked his next question point-blank: "Is he a demon, Ashley?"

The question stole her breath and frazzled her mind. She stumbled over her words trying to get them out. "Why-? Why is that even a question?"

"You know it as well as I do, if you pay attention to the news anymore, or are you enjoying life over there so much that you've stopped noticing what's going on in the world?" Oliver's voice was clear and light over the phone as if they were discussing the weather, but her mind was spinning into overdrive. He sounded like he should be at the other end of a tunnel. "They're out to destroy us, Ashley, us and our very way of life. This isn't about "integration," or whatever they're calling it these days. It's a conquering, and we need to make sure we fix this and get things back to the way it was before them."

There was a long pause on the line.

"Ashley?"

What were words? How to force these feelings into words that would make sense?

"Ashley?"

"I'm here," she replied quickly, the words tumbling out. "I'm quite at a loss of words right now, Oliver. I can't believe the nonsense that's coming out of your mouth."

"It's not nonsense." His words bit back at her. "It's the truth."

"Have you taken a good look a us humans, then, too?" Her hands shook as she held the phone, trying to force out all the feelings that had coiled around her heart at his hateful speech. "Are you holding us in your judgment? Because we're definitely not blameless. Just open a history book."

"That's beside the point."

"Like hell it is." This was too much. She couldn't deal with this, especially after nearly falling off that damn cliff today. "You need to check yourself, Oll. Anyway, I cannot talk about this right now. I had a great day, thanks for asking." She angled her words sharply, effectively cutting off that line of conversation.

"Alright, I get it! I won't say another word. Just keep your eyes open for your brother's peace of mind, please?" Her frustration boiled in her chest but she didn't reply, letting him pick up the conversation. "Where did you go?"

After that their conversation turned away from demons and ulterior motives and personal opinions on such things, and back to what Ashley had gotten up to that day. She told him all the little details, leaving out that she nearly slipped and fell to her untimely death, and that Hiei had somehow saved her.

While Oliver told her about the company and how things were doing - something about tension existing between some of their employees - Ashley's mind wandered back to Hiei. It wasn't as if she was ignoring Oliver, but after voicing his distasteful opinions, she didn't much care to hear about his side of the world right then. So she continued the conversation, if only to offer the occasional, "Oh?" or "uh-huh," or "Really?"

Instead, her mind drifted back to Hiei when he grabbed her forearm. How had he had the quick thinking to pull her back away from the cliff? In that situation her mind had just focused on the fact that she knew she was about to die. But not only had he pulled her back from the cliff, but he had known she was falling. He hadn't even been looking at her when it had happened. He was in front of her, leading her back to the safety of the trees when she'd lost her footing.

In half of a second he had not only known what was happening, but had the quick thinking to pull her away.

The feat by itself was astonishing. If it wasn't for him, she would not be sitting in her flat at that moment, Knox finishing up his dinner, and talking to her brother. A swell of gratitude filled her chest.

"Ashley? Did you hear what I asked you?" Oliver's voice broke through her thoughts, and quickly she feigned a yawn.

"Sorry, no," Ashley said through the yawn. "I'm so sorry, Oll; I'm falling asleep."

"I'm sure you are," Oliver replied, his voice laced with concern. "I'll let you go, but I'm glad you called."

Ashley smiled. "Me, too," she replied, not counting their earlier conversation regarding his skewed opinions of demons. "Have a good day."

Oliver's voice was smiling through his words. "And you sleep well."

The bar was easy enough to find. It was tucked in between two storefronts, one selling women's fashion, and the other a batteries shop. Definitely not the place Ashley would pin for a bar being located, but there it was.

It was definitely the chilliest day on record, and likely would be the last chilly day of the season until fall began, and Ashley had taken full advantage of it, wearing her favorite skinny jeans, military style boots, light sweater, and a casual olive jacket with a beanie as she briskly walked the streets of Sarayashiki, earbuds jammed in her ears. Nothing was even playing in her earbuds; she just didn't want to talk to anyone she didn't have to. Honestly, if Yukina hadn't asked her out to catch up she likely wouldn't have left her home at all and instead would have opted to re-reading Wuthering Heights for the umpteenth time and lighting some candles.

As it was, she was forcing herself to be social.

She followed in behind another couple, catching the door as they handed it off to her. It was was wooden and wrought with iron, making it heavy, and she struggled to get on the other side before it tried to crush her beneath its weight.

Inside, the room was darkly lit with heavy wooden tables placed every few feet and plush armchairs scattered about where they could fit. It reminded her of some of the mock-English bars that people tried to create, and it was fairly packed, with everyone from obvious humans who eyed the demons next to them with everything from casual indifference to disgust. Ashley pushed past the obvious discomfort in the room and made her way to the bar to order.

Yukina was easy enough to spot, her bright teal hair drawing Ashley's eyes like a beacon. She was perched atop a high chair, almost as if she was overlooking the bar.

Ashley slid into the seat opposite Yukina with a smile, and the young woman returned Ashley's greeting with a pleasant hello. "Did you already order?" Ashley asked, wrapping her hands around her own cup of tea. It would likely be the last hot drink she had before summer came full force.

Yukina nodded again. "I just got here a few minutes ago myself, but it's some sort of coffee drink. Something with Irish coffee, but the bartender said it would be good."

Irish coffee was always good; the bartender was a smart man.

They dissolved into light chatter as they caught up for the first time in weeks, and continued talking even when an employee brought out Yukina's drink to her. It had been nearly two weeks since they had visited Nikko National Park, and Ashley hadn't seen or heard from Hiei in that time. She voiced as much to Yukina, wondering if the young woman knew what she should do since she had known Hiei for a longer time than Ashley had.

Yukina laughed, stirring her drink. "That's just Hiei, really. He doesn't ever reach out unless he needs something. If you want to see him, you'll have to be the one to reach out."

Well. That was slightly frustrating.

Still, Ashley couldn't help the small smile that was tugging at her lips. How very Hiei that was.

"You like him, don't you?"

The question whipped Ashley out of her thoughts and dropped her back in the present. Immediately, she started babbling, trying to get Yukina to believe the lie that was between them.

"I mean, he's great, don't get me wrong, and I do like him, but we're still early in our relationship-" The thought occurred to her then, that their relationship was a lie. Everything about it was just to get back at Kuwabara.

Ashley stopped short, and Yukina giggled, misreading her abruptness for contemplation.

She was contemplating things, but not what Yukina thought.

It was true; in the two weeks that it had been since she'd seen Hiei, she'd noticed a shift in herself. If her phone chimed she would secretly hope it was him, and she would often catch herself looking for his mass of black hair beyond the garden where she had stumbled upon him that day in the rain.

When Yukina asked that question, it was like the world stopped turning just a little. Their entire relationship was a prank. There was no way she could possibly be developing feelings for him. Especially after not having seen him for two weeks. That was ridiculous!

"It's okay," Yukina said, smiling into her drink, "You don't have to convince me. But if you want to see him again, try reaching out. It's the only way he'll act on any sort of feelings he has. He doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve."

Ashley took a sip on her now-cold tea to hide the smile on her face. What she wanted to do in that moment was reach for her phone and send him a text. She could imagine his annoyance if she caught him at an inopportune moment. Oh, it was fun to get him rilled up. She was sure Yukina wouldn't mind, but she stayed her hand. That could wait. For now, she and Yukina were still catching up.

"So have you kissed yet?"

Ashley just about spat out her drink in shock and embarrassment and instead ended up choking on it as it went down.

"Okay," Ashley began, when she finally collected herself again. "Enough about me. How are you and how's Kuwabara doing?"

They continued talking until all but a few patrons remained. By the time they next took a break in their conversation and Ashley checked her watch, it was nearly nine. It was then that Yukina realized she needed to be getting home, and they pulled on their coats to brace for the cold air outside.

"Don't say anything," Yukina's sudden words were like ice, stopping Ashley's hand from zipping up her jacket. Glancing over at the woman, Ashley had never seen her eyes quite so hard, or her posture so tense.

"Yukina, what?" But Yukina didn't need to answer. It was then that Ashley heard the words for herself.

"- Just pieces of shit; that's all you guys are!"

The bartender tried to calm down the commotion, but the guy at the back just talked over him, jabbing his finger into the personal space of another person: a demon with horns peeking out from beneath his navy hair with honey eyes and his nose like a snake.

The demon shook his head and looked back at his partner who sat with him, a young human woman by the looks of her: hair black as midnight, brown eyes, of medium height and build. She was most likely Ashley's age, and she glared at the human male who was hurtling insults at her partner with malice.

"Why don't you just mind your own business? We're just having a drink, same as you!"

Her navy-haired partner tried to calm her down as the human male laid into them again, the bartender finally having jumped the bar and grabbed him, struggling to push him away from the situation.

A slight pressure on Ashley's arm made her jump. Yukina had placed her hand on Ashley's arm to get her attention.

"Let's just go."

Once they were outside, Yukina breathing deeply, Ashley asked. "Are you okay?"

Yukina didn't meet her gaze, instead her eyes lost their focus as she remembered something from a time past. "I'm fine," she replied, her voice light again. Surely Ashley had not been imagining the ice that laced her words inside the bar. She looked conflicted, some concern playing across her face. "Are you okay?"

Well, that seemed like a loaded question if there ever was one. Why would Yukina feel the need to ask if Ashley was okay? She hadn't been nearly as affected by what went on inside the bar as Yukina seemed to have been.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied carefully, not sure where Yukina was leading with this, but Yukina's face cleared instantly. "Is Kuwabara going to come pick you up, or can I walk you home?"

"No, I'll walk by myself, thank you. The air is nice tonight, and I need some time to think anyway." There it was again, that concern that Yukina was trying so hard to hide from Ashley. She wanted to ask her friend what was going on, but it was late now, and they were parting ways. She made a note to ask her the next time she got her alone again. Ashley doubted Yukina would tell her now, even if she asked.

"Okay, but let me know when you get home, alright?" Yukina nodded, but before she could turn away, Ashley said, "I had fun; let's do this again some time."

Yukina agreed and parted ways from Ashley, walking in the opposite direction.

Ashley got two blocks down the street when she realized now was the perfect opportunity to text Hiei.

Her heart did back flips as she typed out her message, and she tried to convince herself that she was just curious as to what his answer would be. She hoped he would say yes, but he could always say no, too.

-Do you want to get dinner tomorrow?-

Still, her thumb hovered over the "send" button as she tried to gain the courage to press it.

As far as she knew they were still in this strange prank of a relationship and in whatever way they could get back at Kuwabara, she was sure Hiei would say yes.

Finally, she took a deep breath and pressed "send," clicking off her phone and pocketing it to avoid checking it every thirty seconds until he replied back.

Just as she was unlocking her front door, twenty minutes later, having come to the disappointing conclusion that she wouldn't hear back from Hiei that night, her phone chimed.

The deadbolt clicked into place as she checked her phone and read his response.

- End of Chapter Seven -

This has definitely been the easiest chapter to write, as I wrote about 3,500 words of it today, but I think it's getting easier because more of the main plot points are coming into play. I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Please let me know if you are!

Next update will be on October 29, and then on either October 30 or 31st I have a little Halloween-inspired drabble that I'll be publishing under a separate title, "We Are Gods." Then from November 1 through November 30 I will not be updating at all as I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month. I'll be focusing on that during the month of November so no updates will come, but in December I will be posting one chapter every Sunday to make up for my month-long absence. If you're planning on participating in NaNoWriMo as well, add me as a buddy and I'll add you back! My username is: Olivia_wat928.

Thank you to WistfulSin and ZeroDarkNex14 for your reviews and destinyswindow for your lovely comments.