Chapter Eighteen
Attempt Two
"What in the three worlds are you wearing?" It was abhorrent, the thing. It cloyed to her body, royal blue fabric tight with text littered over its folds.
"Oh," Ashley looked up with expectant happiness. "This? It's just my tardis dress!"
Hiei cocked one sly brow into the headband that hid his Jagan from view. Had Ashley just spoken a different language?
Her joyful expression faded, her jaw agape. "Wait, wait, wait. You mean you've never heard of the tardis? River Song? The Doctor? The sonic screwdriver? Wibbly wobbly timey wimey?" Her voice hitched on the last word, sending her tone up an octave.
When his expression took a worried turn for her mental state, she exclaimed, "Doctor Who!" Her hands grasped at air at her sides, as if she was trying to find something to grasp to drag her from this revelation that he had no idea what she was talking about.
Ashley heaved an exasperated sign, at a loss when faced with his lack of knowledge on the subject.
"Father would disown me if he knew," she muttered, smoothing a too-idle hand over the flounces of her blue dress. Hiei's arms remained crossed and he did not move from the doorway, waiting on her to pack up her supplies from the day.
"Are you finished?" he asked gruffly, not entirely sure how to comfort the woman so he remained awkwardly in the doorway.
"With my existential crisis?" Ashley whirled on him. "Not quite yet. I think I need to show you this for you to truly get it. It's not something I can just explain…" Indeed she was correct if the explanation involved more of that gibberish. Why this was such a big deal was beyond him, but could they at least get back to the flat before launching into a lesson?
But no, Ashley opened her laptop and turned it on once more, motioning to him to step closer. Fifteen minutes later, she'd given him a very thorough lesson in the dynamics on Doctor Who, and exactly what it was.
Hiei had come to stand behind her chair, arms still crossed in visible discomfort, but he was there. Ashley waited for his recognition, a breath suspended in her chest.
"It still doesn't make sense."
A frustrated cry slipped past her lips, head falling to her desk in defeat.
In the same beat, she shot back up in her seat and rounded on him. "But-But this is Doctor Who. Between the Doctor and Harry Potter I'd lose my status as British if I didn't like them. They're part of me! And you don't even know-"
"What on earth is wrong with you?" Hiei snipped, turning away and walking back to the door frame where he stuck his head out the door, glancing around. "It's like you're a different person."
Ashley motioned to the empty drink container on her desk. "Luis brought me a frappuccino today. I haven't had a frappuccino in forever!" She dragged out the last word, a goofy smile plastered on her face, her eyes alight. "You seem tense," she muttered, rising and closing the distance between them, but reaching for his hand anyway. "Stop worrying."
"How am I supposed to do that? Hell, I'm worrying enough for both of us." Hiei snatched his hand away quickly, not allowing Ashley to take hold. "She's been silent for long enough. This doesn't make sense."
Dion was all about the dramatic: all about the show of things. For as long as he'd been tracking the Legion, that fact was obvious. They should have seen her by now, at least watching in shadow of the trees if nothing else, but there'd been absolutely nothing. Even the Jagan hadn't picked up her energy at all. At least nowhere near Ashley, which had been a relief, yes, but it was suspicious that she'd been silent so long. Really, the last time he'd really heard from her was that night that he had found her in the trees outside Ashley's apartment after he'd gotten back from Sendai.
Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realize he'd snatched his hand away from Ashley until he saw the disappointment that etched on her face before she tried to hide it.
Immediately, the emotion disappeared beneath a look of helpful encouragement. He hesitated, unsure how to fix whatever it was he'd just done. Was she still upset? He was never any good at this couple stuff. Back in Demon World, yes, he'd laid with demonesses in the past when the interest came about him, but none of those interests had attributes he was looking in a partner, and after the night was over they parted, never to run across each other's paths again.
Not to say that he wanted to make Ashley his partner right then, but she'd caught his attention and his interest. And so far, that interest hadn't run out.
Chewing on her lip, and gazing at the seats lined up in rows in front of her desk, Ashley began, "It's not that I'm not worrying, but I'm trying not to focus on it. If I start to focus on it, my worry spirals into anxiety, and I find myself not focusing on everything else I should be, you know? I can't live in fear."
With a quick smirk, her hesitation turned to teasing. "Besides. I leave all the worrying to you. You worry enough for the both of us, anyway."
"We should probably have something a bit more even," Hiei muttered, but Ashley ignored him.
"Shall we get going?" She asked, turning to shut her computer down again and tossed the frappuccino in the trash.
"Um, Hiei?"
"Yes?"
"What did you do?"
The tiny stage was lit with a single light highlighting a piano. Around it clustered booths and chairs and stools all packed together. A bar was set up in a corner, but at the same time, the scent of coffee wafted through the air. The room wasn't near capacity. A group of what looked to be college students and a few lower-class demons had pulled some tables together and were lounging, their empty beer bottles already having an effect on them. And only three booths were taken. One held three older people, the second, a woman with silver hair, sipping on some sort of drink, and the third, a couple holding hands and leaning against each other.
"Kurama helped me with it." And it was true. Hiei had gone to Kurama after the dinner with Eckhart a week prior and told the fox demon what he wanted to do, but confessed he was at a loss as to how to do it. Or rather, Kurama pulled it out of him that Hiei wasn't sure exactly how to organize the information he had, but he knew he wanted to do something with it.
The joy that had been apparent the first time he'd seen her play had been beautiful, and he realized he wanted to re-create it. When Hiei had told Kurama of Ashley's dream, Kurama had been the one to suggest something along these lines, and then showed Hiei how to wipe the history on a computer.
After she'd gotten in the shower one morning, Hiei had sneakily borrowed Ashley's computer to research how to do what he wanted to do, shushing Knox when he caught the corgi staring at him.
If she'd noticed that her computer had suddenly forgotten all her auto-fill passwords, she didn't say anything.
"Kurama doesn't have enough information about me for something like this." Ashley muttered, sending a side-eye glance in Hiei's direction. He stood casually, hands shoved into his pockets, eyes scanning the crowd. No one in the room had any sort of threatening energy. Just people and demons enjoying music and having a good time. "A lot of this had to be you."
"You once said you wanted to be a concert pianist, and I looked it up," he admitted, his words muttered. It felt like all eyes were on him at that moment, like everyone in the room was watching him admit to her, "Concert pianists play for other people. I thought it fit."
After a moment where Ashley merely stared open-mouthed at him, she stood on her tip-toes and reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."
"Your time slot is at 9." With a quick glance at her phone, she realized she had approximately twenty minutes before she was supposed to go on. Still, Hiei didn't look directly at her.
"You want to get a drink?" He asked instead of acknowledging her very public display of affection. That was one thing he would have to ask her to stop, even as little as she did it. Still, it was one thing if they were completely alone or away from people. It was another if it was in front of anyone else: known or unknown.
With that, Ashley pulled Hiei over to the bar where he bought a bottle of sake after a quick jab of, "No frappuccinos for you."
Laughing, Ashley led the way to a table, just off to the side of the piano, where Hiei would be able to watch her as she played and wouldn't have to face her back. The person who was currently playing was a soft, lifting melody. As they sat, Hiei poured Ashley a cup before himself, then crossed his right leg at the ankle over his left knee, leaning back. Ashley grew quiet. Her sake forgotten, she stared at the piano before them, her right hand tapping something on the table that he couldn't hear. He suspected whatever she was tapping was in her head.
"Nervous?" He finally asked, pitching his voice low. Few people talked with actual volume in the room, and picking up on the pattern, he mimicked how they spoke. He leaned forward, uncrossing his leg and bracing his forearms on his knees. Ashley leaned back so he could hear her without her having to turn completely.
"Kind of?" She said it like it was a question, but Hiei heard it in her voice. She was definitely nervous; her voice held a vibrato that she rarely had. "It's been so long since I've actually played… Like, I have a lot in my head… muscle memory and all that, but I wish I could have polished something up."
Hiei knit his brows together. Had he fucked this up somehow?
He wasn't able to ponder it for too long, however, before there was light applause at the end of the boy's piece, and he stood to bow. "How long do I have?" Ashley quickly turned in her seat to face him.
The sight of her as she turned towards him caught him off-guard for a moment. The spotlight above her silhouetted her face. If he hadn't been sitting so close to her and if the room hadn't been in semi-darkness, she might have appeared completely in shadow. As it were, she appeared to have a halo behind her head, as her gaze, sharp with perception, caught his at just the right moment. In recent weeks the spiritual energy that he'd once sought for had been growing, infinitesimally slow, but it had been growing. He wasn't even sure if Ashley had any idea that it was there, but it had built up into something that was noticeable. Now, he gently pushed his own energy against hers, feeling the nervous excitement that filed her spiritual energy.
As meek as it was against his, she felt like a storm about to break.
However, he didn't voice any of this, or let the sudden surge of affection for this person reach his tone. "Half an hour," he said, leaning back. "Think that's enough time?"
She smirked. "Watch me."
Something in the pit of his stomach lit on fire at that.
He did watch her. He watched her as she rose from her seat, her sake completely untouched from anxious anticipation, and crossed between tables and stools to the stage where the host, some guy wearing jeans with a button-up tucked in and a blazer offered her a hand up to the stage. Hiei watched her settle onto the piano bench, test the pedals and a few of the keys. He watched her take a breath, and close her eyes to release it, as if she was calming herself the way he often did before a battle. Her hands settled on the keys.
Slowly, she drew the music out, forming crest, upon crest, upon crest. It was a slow piece, and she stumbled here and there, her brows knitting together in concentration as she tried to work out playing for the second time after such a long absence from the piano. It was still a beautiful sound, and he recognized it from the digital CD she had on her iPod, but this version was, if anything, lacking in the emotion that she was able to get across through the earpieces.
The piece came to an end with light applause, the occupants of the piano bar quickly going back to their individual conversations.
Ashley caught Hiei's gaze across the dark bar. He was certain she would have a hard time seeing out from the spotlight, but she managed a slight nod, pressing her lips into a line. Watch me. He did watch.
In an explosion of sound, her hands began flying across the piano keys, the melody lifting and powerful and hopeful. The raw emotion she was able to bring out from just a few notes was nearly astonishing, especially after the lack-luster performance she had just given; it was a power unto itself. Whereas the previous performer had chosen something more soft-spoken in it's tune, Ashley had thrown caution to the wind. As she moved from piece to piece, traveling from powerful and hopeful to forlorn and mourning, to determined, Hiei could see the emotion she was playing for with each note. It was clear as day to him, and apparently it was apparently to everyone else in the room. Nearly everyone had stilled their conversations and were now watching her performance.
This was the Ashley who pulled emotions tight and toyed with them through the earbuds she often lent him. Not the Ashley who had barely managed the piece at the beginning; it was like she had just been warming up.
And Ashley. Ashley was a sight to behold as she played. Pride rose in his chest. Now, two emotions had overcome him in such a brief amount of time that he rarely identified himself feeling apart from when Yukina was around. And still, this was a different sort of pride, and before it had been a different sort of affection. Something was different that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Ashley was just tipsy enough to be a little more touchy than she normally was. Honestly, Hiei had an idea that she usually was a touchy sort of person. She'd tried to take his hand earlier that day, even, when he was upset about Dion. She'd reached over to his thigh when they were in the middle of dinner with Eckhart. She usually shivered if he touched the small of her back. It was astonishing to him that she didn't try to touch him more often, like she was that night: she had intertwined her fingers through his as they walked through the darkened streets of Tokyo.
Hiei was not a touchy person. He liked his space and he liked being left alone. If anyone were to come within his space they would likely lose a limb. However, he hadn't said anything or pulled away as Ashley had intertwined her fingers through his as they walked. She needed the support more than anything, as she was relatively tipsy, which was what he told himself he was doing: providing her support.
"I want you to know," Ashley was saying as Hiei scanned the surrounding area. He didn't dare activate his Jagan. Even though it was late at night, people still milled about, and with it being dark the telltale glow of the Jagan would immediately catch the unnecessary attention of anyone nearby, including Ashley. He instead kept an ear out, constantly scanning any place a certain demoness could be hiding: in the fire escapes, in the trees, on the rooftops, in the alleyways. "I really enjoyed tonight. Thank you."
"But," she continued, "We've now done two things that I've wanted to do. Why don't we do something you you like to do next?"
The sentiment behind her words floored him. It was impossible to him that this woman in front of him would want to do anything that interested him.
Still, rather than letting that show, he went a different route. "This mess has been going on for so long I've nearly forgotten anything that I might have liked to do in the past. And at any rate," he said, smirking back at her. "I don't think you could keep up." His full intention was to allude to sparring and battle. However, the mischievous glint that formed in Ashley's eyes told a different story.
"Is that a challenge?" she toyed with him, clutching his black jacket and pulling him closer with a playful smirk.
The effect of her words on him was almost immediate, but before he could properly react, he pulled Ashley into a nearby alley way, just far enough back that no one who happened to look down the alley would notice them. They were away from prying eyes, and utterly and completely alone.
He cornered her against the wall, her back bouncing against it as she retreated into it, her eyes alight. "Why don't you show me exactly what you can do?" she asked provocatively, biting her bottom lip in a tease.
The fire that roared through him nearly drowned out all perceptible thought. He caught that lip between his teeth, pushing her up against the wall as she gasped. Quickly, he moved to capture her gasp between his lips and kissed her, hard. Hesitantly, her hand moved to the hem of his shirt and slowly crept underneath, her fingers skimming over his skin and raising the gooseflesh. Her soft body beneath his was everything he remembered her to be. Soft, pliant, forgiving, and he felt himself begin lose himself.
Hiei heard her before he saw her.
Immediately, he broke the kiss that he and Ashley shared, and she was behind him as he slipped into a crouch, readying himself for whatever Dion was going to try. Cursing, he wished he had his sword. He could take her hand to hand, but it would be easier with his weapon. He activated his Jagan immediately, it's power locking onto Dion's spiritual energy at once.
How had she found them? Had she been spying on them the entire time? How had he missed her? Even without the Jagan he was adept at locating demons.
"Well, I don't mean to interrupt," Dion purred from the shadows. Hiei could just barely make out her outline, the glint of her eyes sharp in the light that streamed in from the alley way opening. "Please, continue. I had forgotten you even knew what passion was, Hiei; it was quite a sight."
Behind him, Ashley stilled, her heart pounding beneath her skin.
"But really, I was just coming to check on you. Wanted to let you know we haven't forgotten, is all." She stalked from the shadows, the darkness circling about her feet like it was carried on a forgotten wind. "I would hate to think you forgot about me."
Hiei didn't dare lash out at the demoness and leave Ashley unprotected, but still, she taunted him, trying to draw him away from Ashley.
"Oh?" Dion caught on immediately, even though Hiei didn't deign her with words. "No love left for me? That's alright, then. I do enjoy our little game of cat and mouse. And it's gotten more interesting hasn't it?" Her eyes slid from Hiei's to Ashley's behind him. "You are prettier in person. I can see why he likes you."
"That's none of your business," Hiei snarled, one hand protectively pressed against Ashley's waist as he kept her behind him.
Dion turned her gaze back towards him, one delicate brow raised. Even in the darkness her hair glowed like a flame. "I think it is my business, Hiei. And our Great Mother agrees." She asked the last question to Ashley, who stood still as stone. A silent smirk spread over her features as she whispered, "Ciao," and disappeared.
Hiei continued to stand protectively in front of Ashley scanning the area with his Jagan, until he was confident she was actually somewhere in China. They were alone again. For now.
As much as he didn't want to show Ashley who he was in this way, there was no way he was comfortable with powering the Jagan down in case Dion decided to show up for act two.
Avoiding Ashley's gaze and scanning the area around them, Hiei said turned, saying, "I think it's best we avoid the subway tonight."
It took him longer than it should have to realize Ashley was shaking like a leaf. He'd removed his hand from her waist as he turned, which meant he had no way of knowing right away. As soon as he did though, he grit his teeth and stepped away. "You shouldn't have to deal with this."
Ashley closed the distance again, not quite touching. "I'm just glad you were here. I don't know what I would have done if I'd just been here with her and Kurama's seeds. Are you okay?"
For the first time since Dion had appeared, Hiei met Ashley's gaze and took her in. She was shaking, yes, but she was standing. And she wasn't staring at the dull glow of his Jagan as he had been worried she would be. She was staring up into his face, searching his eyes. For what? Reassurance? Advice? Neither of which he was good at.
He scoffed, taking a step back once more. "Why are you so worried about me when you're shaking!"
She looked away immediately, stepping back and interlacing her fingers in front of her. The area outside the alley way had grown quiet, the murmurs of passerby fading into the night. Lashing out seemed to be his specialty, no matter how much time passed. "I didn't mean to show you like this, but I think it would be better if I carried you."
Her eyes widened as she was rendered speechless. Hiei waited for her response.
Finally, "Carry me?"
The journey back from Tokyo to Sarayashiki passed much faster in Hiei's arms bridal style than riding the subway ever would. Hiei tried not to think of the way her body pressed up against his chest or how her arms wrapped securely around his neck. Their moment had passed when Dion had interrupted. They likely wouldn't get it back that night.
Not like Ashley seemed to be in the mood anyway. Her thoughts seemed far away as she gazed off into the distance as Hiei sprinted through the night over the buildings of Tokyo as they made their way to the outskirts.
They would have gone all the way out, too, all the way to her apartment building if the scent of blood hadn't caught his attention.
They were nearly home. Just a few minutes more and they would have reached their destination. But the scent of blood was too much to ignore.
Hiei paused on a building's edge, Ashley cradled in his arms as he sniffed the air, trying to determine where the scent came from.
"Hiei?" Ashley asked, his name small on the wind.
"I can smell blood, and," he trailed off, but he could see in Ashley's face when she filled in the blanks.
"Do what you need to do."
Her words were small, but there was no judgment behind them. Hiei shared a nod with Ashley and then dropped them to the street below, allowing Ashley to stand beside him. On shaky legs, she stepped away from him, almost too quickly, with a brief word of thanks.
Ignoring her for the moment and how that simple action threaded disappointment through him, he took her hand again - again for support, he convinced himself - and they made their way through the maze of streets to an alley way where trash and crates had been spilled and overturned.
The scent of blood got stronger the closer they got to the wreckage. In a heap beneath a crate, the demon Mako lay, golden eyes staring up at them as if he was anticipating them coming the entire time.
Ashley recognized him in an instant. "Mako!" she cried and tried to rush towards him, but Hiei held firm to her hand, holding her back and preventing her from taking another step toward the demon. She couldn't even hold a candle to his strength; he was completely in control. Confusion twisted with anger across her face as she looked back at him over her shoulder. She'd let go of his hand, but he held hers fast. "What are you doing, Hiei?"
Leveling his crimson gaze at her, he replied evenly, "It could be a trap. What do you know about him after all?" His gaze shot to Mako's, who still hadn't said a word. "Are you with the Legion, Oblivion?"
It looked like it took a great deal of effort, but Mako worked in a breath as his eyes narrowed. "Hell no." The wound at his stomach glistened with blood.
"What do you mean, Hiei? He's my student." Hurt colored her words, but Hiei didn't bother to apologize. Not yet. If he was Legion, she could thank him later.
"The Legion can hide anywhere and be anyone. Besides, he's an Oblivion. You can't trust their loyalty," Hiei sneered.
Ashley stopped pulling on his hand, standing up straighter and looking back down at Mako. Blood covered his body, staining the navy sweatshirt he wore and dried across his face. Biting her lip, she glanced back at Hiei and squeezed his hand. "Look, I don't know what an Oblivion is, or any stereotypes, but," and she turned back to Mako, whose gaze hadn't left hers. "He is my student. And I need to help him. If he attacks me or make any motion to harm me, you can step in. Is that reasonable?"
Hiei caught Mako's gaze again, the liquid gold pathetic in the position he was in. "You heard her: you hurt her, I'll gut you. And I'll do it better than the last guy did."
Mako merely nodded, shaking with the effort it took for the simple action. "Got it," he wheezed, and Hiei released Ashley's hand. Immediately she closed the distance between herself and Mako, and kneeling beside him only to fuss over him as she wasn't sure what to do.
"We need to get you to the hospital, I think," she said, her hands carefully lifting up the fabric of his sweatshirt. From where Hiei stood, it looked like something sharp had definitely entered his torso, but off to the side, like the Oblivion dodged before the object had hit home.
"No," Mako's response was swift. "No hospitals."
"But you need medical assistance," Ashley replied, her expression lost as to why he would refuse medical care when he could barely move. It was obvious to Hiei immediately, but he kept his mouth shut, and Mako shook his head, repeating, "No hospitals."
Sighing in exasperation, she looked back to Hiei for assistance, her expression pleading. "Help me?"
It was Hiei that got Mako back to the flat. He didn't carry him bridal style as he had with Ashley, but instead carried the demon on his back. Every so often Hiei would exchange a glance with the girl, only for her to grimace in apology. Why on earth she continued to make that ridiculous expression, though, was beyond him.
Once inside, Hiei deposited Mako at the kotatsu, leaning the navy-haired boy back against the table as he groaned in pain.
"End your act for sympathy, Oblivion. It's obvious it's just a flesh wound," Hiei growled under his breath as Ashley slipped away to the closet to retrieve the first aid kit.
Mako peeled one eyelid back as he griped his torso. "Not everyone has the S-class energy levels to make an impaling a flesh wound." He spat the words as if they were the most insulting words that could be uttered.
"Can you two please pause the sarcasm for a moment?" Ashley nearly growled as she slipped between the two and fell to her knees in front of Mako.
Hiei stepped back, letting Ashley strip the sweatshirt from Mako's body as he grit his teeth against a groan of pain. A fierce feeling of protection flooded his veins, and in that instant he wanted to step between Ashley and Mako and separate them at once.
It wasn't necessary; Ashley kept her hands busy with the materials needed to properly disinfect the wound and the gauze to wrap it. Mako wouldn't take his eyes off Hiei.
"How did you learn to do this?" Mako asked Ashley, trying to make conversation.
Hiei saw her hesitate for a split second, her hands stilling for a brief moment, before she continued to clean the wound.
"I'm not completely worthless. Believe it or not, I speak English, and I have survived 23 years." Her own sarcasm slipped out, helped along by the boys' inability to speak anything else to each other. Then, more seriously, she said, "My Father taught me a thing or two about surviving. Even if we're in the city, I can at least use the skills. And from what I can tell, you'll survive." A smile played on her lips as Mako returned the smile, his eyes crinkling. "And it's not an impaling," she tacked on in good humor.
Hiei lounged against the wall opposite them, next to Ashley's futon, arms crossed against his chest, looking every bit the intimidating demon that legend made him out to be. Every muscle was tense with agitation, and anticipation for the demon across from him to be out of the flat ate away at his nerves.
Mako caught his gaze.
"You still don't believe I'm not with the Legion," he uttered in disbelief as Ashley wrapped his torso with the gauze. That wasn't it at all. Hiei, just didn't like the demon, but he kept his mouth shut.
Ashley, however, shot Hiei a questioning glance before turning back to the task at hand. Before Hiei could cut him off, Mako crossed the invisible line by shooting at him, "If you don't believe me, just read my thoughts; take a look inside my brain. You'll find everything you're not looking for."
It was as if the air drained from the room.
A pin could have dropped. Hiei was very aware that Ashley tensed and was trying to remind herself to keep breathing. Hiei, on the other hand, could have plunged his hand into Mako's chest and stopped his heart right then if Ashley hadn't been in the room. Damned Oblivions always getting in the way. That was just like their kind. Always meddling in things they shouldn't.
"Oh," the word stretched out between the three of them as Mako put it all together. At least he wasn't as stupid as he was meddling. "You're keeping it from her, aren't you?"
Hiei stepped forward, every intention to threaten him until the sun rose the next morning, but Ashley moved instead, and Mako flinched, a small yelp emitting as he hunched over his wound.
"Oh, does that hurt? Right there?" She was so polite about it. Just a simple question, but the edge was evident in her words as she threatened, "Keep talking and it'll hurt worse."
Mako was nodding immediately, still hunkered over his wound.
"And Hiei," his name caught his attention immediately, soft between her lips. "Please don't agitate my patient."
He was expecting anything else from her. Anything. Frustration washed over him.
As he turned, he said curtly, "I'll take post outside. I'm not going to deal with this tonight." Not sparing a second glance toward Ashley or Mako, he unlatched the patio door and stepped outside, disappearing into the night.
- End of Chapter Eighteen -
Thank you to WistfulSin, and DizyWillow for your lovely comments on Chapter Seventeen!
Fun fact: The tardis scene was the first that I ever wrote between Ashley and Hiei. Originally… she wasn't on a sugar rush. That was just her personality. As I got to know her better, though, I realized, this is her on a sugar rush. But I'm really glad I got to include this scene.
So, I've been doing a lot of thinking this past month, and there's been some stuff going on in my personal life where I feel like I want to and I need to take a short hiatus. Not only do I want to get caught up writing chapters (I'd like to have another 10 in my bank), but I also really need to take care of a few personal things. So, I'm going to take a short hiatus to work on them and so I can have time to work on this fic. I'll be back either on March 10 or March 17; I'm not really sure... Check my tumblr, and I'll post it there as we get closer. Link is in my bio. The date I come back from hiatus will really depend a lot on where I am with those personal things by that time. And by then, I may decide to begin posting once every 10 days, or once every two weeks. I'm excited to see what these next few weeks are going to hold, but I need to take some time to make sure everything works out okay. I hope you guys understand.
*Great Mother = very similar to Graphospasm's "Grand Mother" in Future Talk. I've spoken to Graph since it's so similar, and she gave me the okay to use the term!
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.