Chapter Twelve
Borderline Stalkerish
Ashley was the most uninteresting person alive.
That was to say that the last couple of weeks had been incredibly boring. Ashley would wake, walk the dog, head to work, and then go back home. Once a week, usually on Mondays, she would stop at the store and pick up food after work to last for the rest of the week. Then she would go home, read for a bit, sometimes go for a run, and finally tuck in for the night.
As previously mentioned: incredibly boring.
It was only in small moments that Hiei watched her with curiosity. She checked her phone a thousand times in a day because, he realized, three days after he first noticed her doing it, she didn't wear a watch. She rarely went out after work, and if she did it was to a little British-style tea shop a few blocks over where she would order mint tea - always mint tea - and read for hours on end. Sometimes she would take Knox with her, and he would sit there and watch Hiei. Somehow the dog never missed his presence. Even when Hiei would take up residence in the tree just outside her apartment and watch her daily life through the sliding glass door, the dog would always watch him back, ears up and head cocked slightly to the side, tongue lolling.
Only a handful of times did Ashley ever notice Hiei's presence, which didn't make sense in the slightest. That day back at Nikko he had purposefully let his demonic aura grow, trying to intimidate her, but she never reacted, even instinctively. Now, only weeks later, she was showing signs of spiritual awareness. Generally a person, if they did not have any spiritual awareness to speak of in the beginning, would not spontaneously develop spiritual awareness. It would only occur if someone who was strongly connected to the spiritual or psychic realm spent a great deal of time around another person who had a major spiritual aura or demonic aura.
She had once mentioned her family had a house with spirits, but that didn't seem to be compelling evidence to suggest she might also have an impressive buried spiritual awareness. She might have some power that would come out, but nothing too great.
For now, at least, having that house in her family would explain her seemingly sudden awareness of him, even if she was only acting instinctively. Truthfully, it had probably been growing in her long before he ended things between them.
Besides, most humans knew something was different about him, after all. Maybe she wasn't so oblivious as he originally thought.
Still, that little growth spurt in talent was the most interesting thing about her.
For the last two weeks he'd had little sleep, catching up only while she was in her late class, or pulling light naps while she was in public spaces. While Dion was sneaky, she wouldn't dare try to harm Ashley where other people could see. And as far as the late class went, while knowing that Ren and Tetsuya had made their way into this world illegally put him on edge, both demons were skilled A-class warriors, and both had a tendency to protect those weaker than themselves. Exactly how deep the Legion's anger at him for killing Shono was, he wasn't sure. Still, Shono had been their leader, and if Dion's threat held any weight, Hiei would pay. Even if Ashley was nothing more to him but a mere human who happened to stumble into this mess, she didn't deserve to die. Even if Tetsuya hadn't made it to class since the incident, Ren would protect Ashley if something happened. For now, at least until he could figure out a better plan, he would have to put Ren and Tetsuya's extraction on hold.
It was early in the days after Hiei ended things with Ashley, and early in his protective role of keeping an eye on her every day that he'd received a call about a missing demon, somewhere in the region to the north.
There was no one else to take the call. No one with his particular set of abilities, at least. He had to go.
Locating the demon was the easy part.
Finding the demon's dismembered body was the hard part.
The media had gotten hold of the story nearly as quickly as it happened and before he could stop it the story was plastered all over the Internet.
First Demon Death In Months.
Demon Found Mangled on the Streets of Sendai. Could This Be A New Trend In Violence?
Of course, the article came with theories of who did it, if it was connected to the Guardians of the Blue that had been created back when Shono first let the barrier fall without vetting of demons, or if it was a rogue attack. The Guardians were a group of humans staunchly against letting demons remain in Human World. They had risen quickly and gained traction when problems first began appearing. After the Human and Demon Peace Treaty was put in place, they died down with threats from their governments, but in recent months they were back on the rise, recruiting members across the nations. Between the Legion and the Guardians, it had been difficult keeping everyone level-headed on all sides and figuring out whose loyalty resided with whom.
The Guardians wanted demons gone, and were not above harming demons in order to get what they wanted. This incident could be tied back to them, or it could be a separate incident altogether.
Still, the entrails that were pulled across the pavement would not let their owner speak to whose crime this fell back to.
By the time he returned to the tree outside Ashley's apartment that night, he was not alone.
Dion lounged in the branches above him.
Immediately, he blurred from view, sprinting up to where Dion perched. She didn't move, even as Hiei found a branch to support his weight in a tree across from her. The scabbard in his hand gleamed as he clutched his sword's hilt beneath the full moon, ready to draw the weapon in an instant.
To his left, where Ashley's apartment sat, the lights were on and she was dancing to an unheard beat while making food.
"Don't worry, Jaganashi," Dion's words came to him like silk. Her eyes never moved from Ashley's form. "I'm just watching her."
He lunged, using his speed to his advantage, and sliced through the air where Dion once was.
Right before he cut her, she allowed the shadows to swallow her body, and she disappeared, using her newfound ability to teleport away. Using the Jagan, he was able to track her energy signature. The next time she appeared she was in the next town over, far from where he stood.
After dealing with the remains of the unknown demon all day, he was mentally drained. Now, after his confrontation with Dion, he was wide awake, adrenaline roaring in his ears.
Glancing over to where Ashley was, safe in her flat, oblivious to the danger that had been so close, he nearly envied her.
Nearly.
That was the last time he'd left her alone for so long.
If something came up, the baby king could call on one of the other Detectives, retired or not, or any one of the other demons who had signed up as a mediator.
He had more important things to worry with.
One Friday, two weeks into his watching of her, Ashley decided to search out the music hall on campus.
She'd been a little jumpy all morning, and more than a little distracted. Usually while she was in class he would choose a tree outside and keep his Jagan scanning for any of the Legion or any other dangers that might present themselves. He wasn't so close-minded to think the Legion would only think to send one of their own members to come after her. There was talk of a demon who was able to get into the minds of his enemies and twist their thoughts to his bidding. If that was true, anyone could be a danger.
Human world magick made everything more difficult.
That day, however, rather than turning left and heading back out to the train to take home, Ashley turned right, hesitantly, and began walking at a brisk pace. Following her, it didn't take him long to realize where she was headed.
She paused outside the building, a little pile of nerves, before visibly steeling herself and pulling the door open.
If his curiosity hadn't been piqued when she changed her schedule, it was certainly piqued then. No one noticed him follow her into the building.
She found a room towards the end of a long hall, all the lights shut off in the hall except a few here and there.
Stealth had always been a strong suit of his, so when she approached the instrument in the middle of the room, he silently slipped in behind her and hid in the rafters above the lecture hall, still watching her.
Ashley paused, her breath caught, not daring to touch the instrument. It seemed like an intimate moment he was witnessing, but he found himself unable to tear his eyes away.
Maybe she wasn't the most uninteresting person alive.
The moment ended rather abruptly as the door opposite Ashley banged open. Hiei's adrenaline spiked, and he immediately griped the hilt of his sword. The patter of her footsteps quickly fading away told him she was out of the room.
Although he was expecting a member of the Legion to step through the door, it was a surprise when it wasn't Dion or one of her counterparts.
Keeping his expression neutral, Hiei dropped to the ground in front of Mako, whose golden eyes glinted in the dim light of the room.
For a long moment, the two regarded one another. Mako nearly stood at Hiei's height, and although Hiei hadn't seen the B-class demon in years, that didn't make his sudden presence any more welcome. In his hands he clutched sheets of paper, stacked neatly together. His posture wasn't threatening or on defense. If not for the hard glint in his eye, Hiei might say he'd caught the Oblivion off-guard.
"Hiei Jaganashi," Mako's smooth tenor greeted the fellow demon. "Ren had mentioned she'd run into you, but I didn't believe it."
"Didn't believe it until you saw it for yourself?"
"Naturally."
The atmosphere between the two demons was not welcoming at all. If anyone else had been in the room at that exact time they would have noted that it felt like the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees. The level of hostility between the two was palpable.
Hiei definitely didn't trust the Oblivion. Oblivions were usually dangerous demons, especially where their allegiance was concerned. It often shifted to whomever could pay them the largest sum for the use of their natural abilities.
It was why no Oblivions, no matter how weak, had ever made it to Human World when traveling permits were being granted. Hiei immediately put together that Mako must have slipped through when the barrier was down back when Shono was king.
"Let's stop wasting time. Are you Legion?"
Mako snorted and replied, "What, align myself with those imbeciles? No, I prefer to spend my time around the fine arts these days." Hiei could tell in the way that Mako didn't ease the tension in his body that he knew Hiei didn't believe a word he said. Continuing, Mako said, "Believe it or not, I don't enjoy my natural abilities at all. There are those of us who hate who we are, you know."
Hiei didn't rise to the possible bait. "Just don't harm the girl."
Mako nodded to where Ashley had disappeared through the opposite door. "Who, Ashley Wright? Never. Or at least, I won't as long as you won't, Jaganashi." His voice hardened, along with his gaze. "I give no promises to you."
As threatening as Mako's words were to Hiei, Hiei did recognize that Mako was offering them to Hiei and left Ashley out of the threat entirely. If harm befell Ashley, Hiei believed it would not come from Mako.
Using his speed, Hiei blurred out of sight, following Ashley back out of the building and leaving Mako to whatever it was that occupied his time.
Ashley didn't go straight home; not that day. Instead, she slipped away to her usual tea shop, plugged her earbuds in her ears, and listened to something on her phone while she drank her tea. Even from his vantage point he could see dismay and embarrassment etched into her expression and slouched body posture. While humans were barely interesting, they had little sense of self-preservation, letting any passerby see their emotions plain as day. And Ashley was especially bad at it, he had noted over the weeks. By the time she left the teahouse it was night and the streetlights were coming on. She seemed thoroughly distracted, but not so much that she left her earbuds in her ears. Thankfully, she was smart enough to take them out.
Still, Hiei watched as she glanced over her shoulder every few minutes as she walked at a brisk pace. Nervousness spilled off her in waves.
About halfway home she skidded to a stop and turned suddenly, standing with her feet spread apart. Into the void she called, "Whomever is following me, come out now! I've had enough of your games."
Her display of confidence wasn't that impressive. With her feet at that width he could easily knock her over. Her balance was all wrong. Did she want to die?
Still, her defiance was amusing.
Then the question came to him of what he should do in this situation. Should he allow her to see that it had been him following her for the last fortnight? Or should he stick to the shadows in the trees, and allow her confidence to wane? If he did stay within the trees, however, and she took another opportunity such as this to confront her follower and he wasn't around, it could be one of the Legion to step out from the shadows to harm her.
The decision was easy. Silently, he dropped to the pavement, quick as a shadow.
Ashley was obviously not expecting to get an answer because she stumbled backwards at the sight of him, nearly tripping on a trashcan that had been left out.
"Hiei," she muttered, all confidence gone from her voice. "What are you doing following me?" A blush rose to her cheeks, followed by a thinly-veiled panic as her eyes searched for someone else in the dark corners of the streets.
Not relaying any emotion across his face, he merely responded a curt, "Follow me," and began walking back in the direction they had come. There was no place to talk quietly ahead of them, and he sorely doubted she would be willing to invite him home for tea now that she knew he'd been following her.
He half expected her to disobey his command. Her stubbornness had proved more than once that when she decided to plant her feet and not move on her point, she would do so.
He was almost surprised when she followed him, the quick pace of her footsteps against the cement all the knowledge he needed that she was following him.
He took her to a cafe styled like an American diner. Chrome covered almost every surface and red pleather booths lined a wall with windows every few feet. It was cheap, and a place that Kuwabara sometimes insisted they go. He tended to enjoy American food. Hiei didn't know of any place that served British food, so he assumed this would work. American and British people were connected somehow, weren't they?
Knowing she hadn't eaten all day, Hiei fully expected her to actually order food. Instead, all she ordered was some sort of soda, which surprised him, but he refrained from actually commenting on the lack of sustenance. What she did was up to her. His job was just to make sure she didn't perish from his actions.
The soda was out in minutes, but even as they waited Ashley didn't say a word to him. She sat with her back against the booth, her arms crossed over her chest. Booths were awkward things, which Hiei had nearly always disliked. Their tables were too far away from the seats themselves, often causing their occupants to sit on the edge of the seat in order to reach their food, or stretch to reach it if they sat with their backs against the poofy seats.
He, personally, hated booths. But it was the only private seating available in the diner. So booth it was.
She watched him. He watched her watch him. He also watched a group of four older people enter the diner and sit, a waitress calling out that she would be with them soon. He watched a lone man sitting at the bar, iPad propped up on something beside him, scrolling through the New York Times, fork dangling over a stack of pancakes soaked in syrup. A young boy and girl sat at a booth three tables away with milkshakes in front of them. The girl kept blushing and not looking directly at the boy.
He and Ashley were in the far corner away from everyone else, even though no one else had even a smidge of energy; spiritual or demonic. Better to be safe in this situation.
The soda was placed in front of Ashley. Without speaking, she picked up the straw wrapped in paper, slowly tore the paper off, placed the straw in her drink, and took a large gulp before she sat back, took a deep breath, and finally asked, "Why were you following me? Normal people who say that they don't want contact from another person do not then follow the person around afterward. How long have you been following me?"
"About two weeks."
Hiei watched as the color drained from her face. "Hiei, that's stalkerish. Why?"
He could tell she was trying to mask the panic that was plainly growing behind her eyes. But a thought occurred to him: how could he possibly tell her what was going on without giving everything away? Without putting that power in her hands? Could he trust her with such a secret?
"I know that you're a demon, Hiei."
There were few times that his stomach dropped. This was one of those times. His gaze caught hers, briefly, before movement over her shoulder stole his attention. It was nothing; just the waitress arriving with drinks for the party of four. Carefully, he kept his panic masked. "Is this connected to Demon World in any way?" She asked.
So she knew. How she knew was a mystery, but she knew.
"How long have you known?"
"A week… maybe a week and a half," she admitted. He finally flicked his eyes back to her, only to see that she wasn't looking at him at all. Her gaze was on the back of her hand which was splayed out against the top of the table as she studied it carefully. Her lips were pressed together in a fine line. She was interesting to study, the way she worried over saying what she was thinking before she eventually did. "I should have guessed at the signs before then, but I sometimes miss the obvious."
Obvious. Just how obvious had he been, really? He usually tried to blend in with the humans. Among crowds, he would keep his pace the same even when he wanted to feel the wind rushing past as he ran. He kept special attention to the weather to not dress in such a way to make the humans think he might run several degrees warmer than the average human. He kept his eyes downcast when he knew people were watching. He tried not to draw attention to himself in any way. One wrong move could be the end. And while he could take any mere human without even trying, there was a strenuous balance that needed to be kept.
And Ashley said there had been obvious signs. How many signs had been out there that he was lax in preventing?
He didn't respond to her words right away. Under normal circumstances he would never reveal what was going on quite so easily. This situation, however, that had started because of his actions years ago and he had allowed Ashley to stumble into, seemed like extenuating circumstances. She at least had a right to know, especially where her safety was concerned.
"Yes," It was a short word, but difficult to say when he'd been trying to blend in for so long among the humans.
Taking a breath, he explained to her the details of what had happened. Once he told her of what had transpired at the German castle with Dion and his cell phone, Ashley next tugged out information about the Legion, too. As much as her questions irked Hiei, those details came out as well. He could at least see how and why this information was useful to her, but it still annoyed him.
By the time he finished, her soda was gone and she was staring at him in frozen horror.
"I had no idea," she whispered.
"Obviously you wouldn't," he snipped, crossing his arms across his chest. Kurama's "human lessons" came back to him quickly enough. For the two weeks he hadn't been trying to be in a relationship with the girl the little nagging voice that belonged to the Kurama in his brain had left him alone. Barely an hour with the girl, though, and it was back, nagging him to be nice.
He nearly rolled his eyes in response, but Ashley might think he was crazy if he did it without prompting.
One of the few details that Hiei had left out was that Dion had guessed Ashley was important to him, but if she was smart enough, Ashley could infer that herself.
Still, he told her more than he would have if she didn't know he was a demon. That changed things. And while a part of him wished she had been forthright with the knowledge as soon as she had received it, the other half of him was at least a small bit pleased that she hadn't said anything to begin with. She had known it wasn't hers to share.
What was more, was that she was completely at-ease with the knowledge. Of course, she was still ignorant as to exactly how strong he was, but that could come later, if at all. Here was a human girl sitting across from him at some random diner as if they were just two people. As if the world wasn't threatening to collapse on itself.
For a moment, it gave him hope as to what the world could look like with some work. But that was never going to happen, he knew.
"What can I do to help?"
The question sharpened his gaze back to her, taking her in: Ashley and her confidence; Ashley and her stubbornness.
She wasn't strong, but she pretended to be. He could almost believe the glint in her eye was determination. The first crossing with a demon of considerable strength, however, and he was sure she'd be running in the opposite direction. Any human or demon alike with any shred of self-preservation would run, not fight, if a confrontation like that crossed their path.
She had no idea what she was asking.
"You can't," he dismissed her immediately, scoffing at the fact that she was even entertaining the possibility of helping him. When she didn't back down, Hiei's gaze hardened on hers. Ashley and her stupid defiance. Again, he reiterated, "You can't. These people would tear you apart as soon as they got the chance. They're trying to now."
"Okay," she snapped back. "But first, you don't have to be mean to me about this, alright? It's not my fault you lost your damn cell phone." Hiei was about to retort, anger flashing in his eyes, but Ashley cut him off. "And second, I just want to make this easier on you. I must be stupid, but that's what I want. If I can do that, tell me how and I'll do it immediately because, as you say, this'll all go a whole lot easier if we're both on the same page about it."
He couldn't fight her there. It was almost like talking to the fox. Kurama always picked up on things and pieced events together that Hiei hadn't even noticed were connected until he pointed them out.
Still, her stubbornness was annoying.
Hiei huffed a sigh but refused to sit up any straighter. Glancing out the window was pointless, as the bright fluorescents inside the diner reflected back on the dark glass. "I've got your schedule down pretty well. You wake up, walk the dog, go to work, sometimes run errands after work, or go to the tea house. Then you go home, maybe read for a bit, and then go to bed. It's the same day every day."
He ignored her muttered comment of, "That's creepy that you know my schedule." Instead, he pressed on. "What I need to know is if you change your schedule at all. If you do and I'm not aware of it, the Legion could use it against you or me and slip in."
"So you mean I need to tell you where I'm going, how long I'm going to be there, and who I'll be with?" Ashley summarized.
It was a good summary, truth be told. "Yes."
"Absolutely not."
His anger flared. Was this girl determined to die?
"If I don't know this information I might not be able to protect you as I would otherwise be able to," he hissed.
"Well then, fucking figure it out," Ashley hissed back. Hiei was vaguely aware of the wait staff eyeing their table with concern. "But that, that right there is abusive and stalking. I'll give you information I think you can use to keep an eye out, but no more than that. My business is my business, and if you think about that starting that whole creepy stalking thing again I'll ask Yukina and Kuwabara for help. Maybe even Minamino. He seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders."
She paused. They glared daggers at each other across the table, neither moving but both impassive on their points. "You have your own life, Hiei, you shouldn't worry about me. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and die. Life happens."
He rolled his eyes; humans were so fragile.
"You can keep me safe, fine, sure, whatever, and I'll give you information when I think you need it, but no more."
Hiei was not one to accept surrender easily or quickly. In front of this bulldozer in human form, however, he could at least see her point.
Begrudgingly, he complied.
- End of Chapter Twelve -
Well, we've finally gotten to see things from Hiei's perspective, and see what he's been up to, after two chapters of barely anything with him at all. That scene of him watching Ashley in the music hall and running into Mako has been in my head for what seems like forever. I'm glad to finally get to share it with you. And I finally got to write an actual scene with Mako. FINALLY.
I'm in central time and it's technically Saturday the 23rd. Later today, when it's actually daylight, I'll be cleaning and cooking and doing Christmas things because I'm hosting Christmas with my Dad and sister on Christmas Eve. No, I'm not panicking at all. (Secretly panicking.)
And we've reached 50,000 words on this story! It seems incredible, honestly, and a little unbelievable, too. Thank you to WistfulSin and Oddity Empress for reviewing on chapter eleven! If you like what you read, please review! I always enjoy seeing what you guys think of the story.
I know I haven't mentioned this in awhile, but if you have a tumblr, follow me there! o-dragon05.
I do not own, in any way, the characters, places, or ideas of the Yu Yu Hakusho universe created by Yoshihiro Togashi. I only own my own characters and plot.