Chapter Nineteen
A Moment to Pause
There was no talking until the sun rose.
There was no trying to get to know Mako.
Once Ashley told him to take the futon and he refused, she pulled a pillow and blanket from her closet to at least give to him. They were the same pillow and blanket that Hiei had used during the typhoon.
And Mako, she learned as she rose for the day, had left without a word, leaving the pillow and blanket folded neatly on the kotatsu.
The patio door slid open on its greased track as Ashley stood over the two items.
She didn't even need to look at who it was who entered her home. If it had been Dion, she would already be dead. Kurama always used the front door. It could only be Hiei.
The room stilled between them as the door slid shut again.
Really, she wanted to ask about everything she'd learned the night before: Why had his forehead been glowing beneath his headband? What was his power? Why had he suddenly walked out of her flat the night before with barely a backwards glance? What, exactly, was an Oblivion? And more than anything, what did Mako mean when he said Hiei could read his mind?
Who exactly was she falling for?
Even though she wanted to ask question after question, she also knew that Hiei's impatience would likely get the better of him.
"I want to know you," Ashley said softly as she picked up the blanket and pillow, not daring to face him as she felt her face heat. "All of you. I know there's a lot you're not ready to share, but please know that when you are I will be ready to listen."
It was a soft promise, but it was one that she needed him to know. More than wanting to know about him, she needed to know about him. Because truly, it felt like she didn't know him at all. Especially after last night.
And the distance between them had never felt so great.
Ashley didn't think he would answer, which, when she turned away to put the pillow and blanket away, she barely caught the words, "I'll let you know." By the time she turned to meet his gaze, just a split second after he spoke, he was already gone, leaving the void in her chest open like a gaping wound.
Ashley didn't see Hiei for the next few days.
It was odd. Usually he spent his evenings at her flat, milling about, doing whatever, but just spending time with her. After the fifth time she cooked for him, he had insisted on doing the dishes afterward. But since her date with Hiei to the piano bar - the piano bar that had sent a tidal wave of deja vu to befall her as soon as she'd entered, and then again as she played - he'd been strangely absent from her life.
She knew it had something to do with how Dion had showed up unannounced and then Mako had joined them, but if only he would talk to her, maybe they could figure it out. Or heck, return her texts to tell her he was on a job or something. Just communicate!
It was their second date that had somehow gotten interrupted. If she believed in that sort of thing she might think that she was cursed and they would never go on an actual date that went well.
But it was also just date two, she had to remind herself.
Still, for the next few days she only received radio silence from Hiei. At first, she gave him space. He wasn't the type to openly talk about his feelings, she knew, but by day three with nothing from him, Ashley had started feeling worried. Finally drawing the nerve to text him a quick, -I miss you-, she sent the message, pocketed the phone, and headed straight for the music hall, knowing exactly what she needed to calm her nerves.
The piano in the large lecture hall was the only one she knew that existed in the building. Surely there were others, but where they were exactly in the building, she had yet to discover. As Ashley rounded the corner of the hallway, the sweet notes of a violin greeted her ears, the music growing louder as she walked through the hallways to find her piano.
The tune was familiar long before she reached the doorway, but by the time she was able to look into the room, she knew it by heart. It was a piece, Zenith, by Dirk Maassen that she had learned after she heard it for the first time, falling in love with it immediately. Of course, she had only heard it played on the piano. Now, it was breathed to life by the violin, and the young boy playing it; the young boy with the violet hair.
The emotion that he was able to pull from the instrument as he created the notes was mesmerizing. And Ashley would know her student from anywhere.
Mako's eyes were closed to the world, lost in the music he created. The piano sat next to him, waiting for someone to play it.
Quietly, carefully, Ashley crossed the room to sit at the piano. Still, Mako did not open his eyes.
Ashley listened for the right moment, and then entered the piece with the piano, the notes cascading through the air and waking Mako from his reverie abruptly. The violin screeched to a halt as he jumped backwards, taken by surprise.
Ashley, however, did not stop playing. She knew the notes by heart, not even needing to keep watch at where her fingers landed, but instead kept eye contact with Mako, encouraging him to keep playing.
After that initial shock of surprise, and Mako registering what was happening, he lifted the violin back to the crook of his neck, and played.
Back during her competition days, Ashley had been known as Ashley Lynn Wright, and was known especially for the way she could pull emotion from the lightest notes, moving the audience towards tears or joy effortlessly. When she played, she had control of the audience, even if creation was not her specialty. Whereas other musicians could take a piece and create something new from it immediately, Ashley could only read her sheet music and play what was there. Creation always seemed like a long-off dream. No matter how hard she focused, she could only ever seem to stick to what she knew, not having that instinctive ability to fit in new notes between those that were already there spontaneously.
Mako, however, seemed to be the type of musician she had always wanted to be. Even though Zenith was a fairly complete piece on it's own, he added notes that were not originally in the piece as if he were creating an entirely new piece of music from thin air. Even after playing the notes time and time again, Ashley was always stuck playing other people's music; never her own. And yet, Mako seemed to weave melodies and harmonies together as if it was breathing. His face wasn't even scrunched in concentration. It seemed effortless for him.
Together, they created a piece that was wholly unlike anything Ashley had ever played with another person, at least without some sort of sheet music. It was beautiful and moving and powerful, and they fed off each other, listened to each other, until the end, where Ashley's notes died away, and Mako pulled out a stunning melody, only to let it fade away.
What could they do, then, except stare at each other? Both flushed, both breathing hard from the excitement of playing dually.
"What on earth?"
Mako glanced down to the floor, a small smile playing on his lips. "It seems you know my secret."
"No wonder you're always so quiet in class; you keep this locked up!" Ashley motioned to him, all of him, as a laugh bubbled past his lips. "Do you study music? How…?"
"I do study music here. I'm on scholarship for a year."
Only a year. "And then what?"
"And then, I'll have to find some other way to play."
The look of lost desperation filled his gaze and fell off him in waves, even though he didn't look directly at her. Clenching her teeth, Ashley scooted over on the piano bench, and tapped it for him to sit.
Hesitantly, Mako placed the violin back in it's case with the bow, and moved across the room to sit next to his English teacher. His hand raked through his hair, nervously, but he sat awkwardly next to her anyway, favoring his right side, the same side that had sported his wound. It didn't seem possible that he was already moving again. Already back at school to learn, especially after finding him in the street just days prior.
Ashley watched him watch her, and finally started pulling a soft melody from the piano. Knowing Mako, and knowing how he acted in class, he wouldn't answer her directly if she asked. Hoping the music might pull him out of his shell, she asked, absently, "What do you mean?"
Tentatively, Mako took over the melody as Ashley's notes faded, and Mako created a melody. It was soft and easy. Nothing too fast or too carefully thought out. "When I came over from Demon World," he began, his words more carefully thought out than the notes he played. Good, the music coaxed it out of him. It still sounded like he left bits of his story out, but at least he was talking to her and not merely glaring at her like he did in class. "I was on the streets. It was one night when I spent the night in an alley beneath a window that I first heard a violin. After that, I was captivated…" he hesitated; Ashley could see the gears in his mind as he tried to tell her the story without giving too much away. Ever the silent one… much like another certain demon in her life. A smile found its way to Ashley's lips as he continued, "I found myself here, at the University, and they offered me the scholarship. For one year I'm able to take any class I want. After that I don't know what I'll do."
His melody faded, and Ashley picked it back up again, weaving it between them. He sounded so desolate. He was very aware, it seemed, of the time that had passed, and the time that was left. Which occurred to her, "So you've only been playing since April?"
He hummed in reply.
"So you're a natural, then," she mused.
Before she could ask anything else, Mako asked, "And how long have you been playing?"
A light laugh slipped from Ashley's lips as her student joined in the melody. She let her notes fade out. "Over a decade. I started taking when I was little. Had a short break, but I'm trying to get back into it again."
"How lucky you are," Mako breathed. "This is all I know. All I want to know." Yes, there was something he definitely wasn't saying. But, with as closed-off as he usually was, Ashley didn't dare press her luck. Yes, he was speaking now, and while that seemed to be with the aid of the piano, she didn't want to see just how lucky she was. As with Hiei, she figured Mako would open up in his own time.
Before she could come up with a response, however, he was already moving on to the next subject, "So, you're dating then?" the abrupt change causing her something akin to whiplash.
"I-I'm sorry?"
"Hiei. You're dating Hiei." He said it like a statement, not a question as he had the first time. "Ren and Tetsuya had said they thought you were, but I had to see it with my own eyes. I never thought he would ever open up to anyone." Not knowing how to respond, Mako took the opportunity away from her, "So you like him, then?"
He asked it like he was incredulous, like he was surprised.
A flame of immediate protection surged through her. As if Hiei would ever need protecting, came the immediate afterthought. "I do like him. A lot," she added.
"Does he feel the same about you?"
"I think so," she replied, taking the melody back from him. It was soothing on her nerves as she opened up to this stranger next to her.
"You need to know it, not think it." Mako said, his words encouraging. "If you care for him him, don't lose him." He spoke as if he knew the feeling, himself.
Glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes, wondering how on earth he could possibly know how she felt like she was losing him, she caught, again the black and blue bruises along his jaw.
This incredible person, with such incredible talent, beaten to near death. What could have possibly happened that this boy next to her was taken to death's doorstep? That night, nearly a week ago, he most likely would have died if she and Hiei hadn't stumbled upon him. She would never have heard him play. No one might have ever heard him play.
"Who did this to you?"
A beat of silence passed. Ashley realized she had stopped playing.
"Humans."
The single word wasn't as effective as it should have been. "Why? Did you get into a fight?" she asked, not quite catching on to his meaning.
"No," Mako lightly pressed a key, soft enough that it made a half-muted sound. "They noticed my eyes aren't the same color as everyone else's, and they assumed. They assumed correct, but their assumptions and their hatred led to a knife being shoved into my side."
Her mouth gaped like a fish, floundering, trying to find the questions she wanted to ask before deciding they wouldn't be polite.
Mako noticed. "Go ahead. Ask whatever it is you're thinking. I know a lot of demons have adopted Japanese customs, but most of our people are not governed by any specific rules."
"I thought you could pass?" Her words were small, lost in the memory of remembering the conversation she'd had with Ren and him all those weeks ago regarding Tetsuya.
As calmly as if he was talking about the weather, Mako replied, "I can pass as long as no one gets too close. Beyond that, stepping outside on any given day could mean death."
Silence pressed in between them. Then, "I had no idea."
He smiled a sad sort of smile. The kind that spoke volumes more than any words could. "Of course you wouldn't. You've never had to experience hatred of this sort, am I right? Never worried about your safety just to go outside? Most of your life has been peaceful? Your boyfriend goes through the same fears, I'm sure. None of us are safe, Ashley, especially if we show our power, no matter how benign it is."
A flash of deja vu slipped through at his words, taking her aback. What about what he said was giving her this sensation? Not knowing how to respond, and realizing too much time had passed between the end of his statement and now, she picked up a slow melody from the notes Mako had been pressing. "You should talk to him," he finally said.
He was right, of course, but rather than stay on that subject, she changed it again. She'd look back at those thoughts when she was alone that night, because surely, she would be alone in her flat as she had been for the last few days. Since the morning that Mako had left and Hiei had disappeared on the wind she'd spent every evening alone. For so many weeks she had had Hiei's company in the evenings, even if they didn't speak, it was a companionable silence.
And his absence was like a giant hole in her chest. Even breathing was difficult when she started to think about it too much.
She knew what he was doing, of course. It was what he always did when he got spooked.
"What is your dream?" Ashley asked instead, forcing those thoughts away for the time being, and finding herself in the room again with Mako next to her. Once more, she passed the melody back to Mako, letting him take it and create something from it.
He paused, simply letting the notes fill the room. "I want to study music long-term. I haven't really thought much past that. That and surviving. But I want to play."
"Funny; that's my dream, too."
"Then you should do it." The melody abruptly came to a halt and Mako turned to her, insistent. A light, a fervor had caught in his eyes. "If that is what you want to do, then you should go after it with everything you have in you. Life is too short."
Before coming to Japan, his sudden insistence might have alarmed her, but now? No, it only filled Ashley with a determination. Not only was Hiei encouraging her - when he was speaking to her - but Mako as well.
"I plan to."
"And with Hiei," Mako continued, glancing back at the piano as if only realizing he'd stopped playing. Ashley could almost see the shell stretching back over him. The brief half hour she'd gotten him to open up was almost over, like Cinderella and her pumpkin. "You should talk to him, too."
She was silent for a beat, and then picked the melody back up, hoping to keep the conversation going just a little longer. "Can I ask you something?"
He murmured in agreement, taking the melody from her.
"Stop me if - if I'm crossing a line, please. But, Hiei said something last night, about an Oblivion," she spoke the word carefully, not sure if she had it correct. "What is that?"
He scoffed. "He hasn't explained anything to you yet, has he?"
Ashley rolled her eyes with a light laugh. "You could say he's pretty quiet. Like another demon I know."
"He'll never admit it, but I think we're similar that way." Ashley wasn't sure what that meant at all, but Mako continued, "An Oblivion…" he began and trailed off, the melody stilling beneath his fingers. Ashley picked it up immediately.
Even after a handful of minutes, he never continued. "You don't have to-"
"No," he answered quickly. "You should know. Oblivions, like me, can destroy with a touch. We can create explosions using our demonic energy, that vary in intensity depending on the class of the demon."
Ashley tried not to let her playing falter. "Class?"
"Classes assign demons based on power level. E is the lowest. Likely can barely create a spark. D is next, and then C, B, A, and S, which is the strongest, but there are different levels within an S-class, too. For example, if an Oblivion is an S-class, even a low S-class, they can level a city with barely any effort. Your boyfriend is an S-class."
If that news was supposed to shock her, it didn't. Mostly because even though Mako said that S was the strongest, she had nothing to base that class on, especially since she knew that Hiei wasn't an Oblivion. What did being an S-class mean for him? Maybe Hiei would tell her one day. At this rate, however, it would be more likely that she would have to pull it out of him.
"And what are you?"
"I'm a B class. If I wanted to, I could turn an entire mountain into nothing but rubble." His expression became solemn. Quietly he added, "B classes aren't generally allowed in human world, especially Oblivions, for obvious reasons."
"But you choose to create music instead," Ashley said immediately, trying to pull his mood back.
A small smile cracked his mask. "Yes."
"Why don't you and Hiei like each other?" She wasn't sure how much time she had before Mako closed up completely - even now, minutes later from his earlier falter, he still didn't take the piano melody from her.
"You heard some of it last night," Mako replied, lost in something in his mind; his eyes unfocused. "Oblivions are mostly known for having their loyalty being bought."
"You're not like that," Ashley said immediately. Oblivion or not, this was her student next to her. Maybe he could even be a friend, too. "Your loyalty is visible."
He scoffed, but stayed silent for a moment. "Don't speak on something you have no knowledge of," he finally muttered.
The phone rang five times, and nearly cut to Hiei's usual clipped "Kurama, why do I have to set this up again?" voice mail message before it stopped ringing altogether, and a harried voice called to her through the receiver, "Ashley?"
"Yukina." Ashley stated, dumbfounded. Yukina's delicate voice was not the one that she expected to hear through the line. In fact, she hadn't even been expecting to hear Hiei's. He'd so far ignored her two calls and three texts. She wasn't trying to be annoying, but if history served, he was trying to disappear on her again, and like hell if that was going to happen. "Hi."
"You're looking for Hiei?" It shouldn't have been a question, really. It was his phone. Ashley could almost hear her sad smile through the receiver. "He left a few days ago; to go back to Demon World about something."
At this point, even though Yukina's words rocked through her, causing a fresh surge of pain, it was nothing new. After the first phone call that went to voice mail, Ashley had hung up the phone fighting back tears and trying not to think about the night before and the brief moment of passion they had tried to share in the alley. His hands roving over her body, the kiss that send chills straight to her belly, lighting her on fire. But after every text ignored and every call that she had to leave a voice mail for, the pain hit fresh.
Maybe she should just move on at this point, but even so, a stubborn little voice in the back of her mind wouldn't let her.
She knew she was falling for him. Hard. And she thought he liked her alright, too. She just needed to talk to him. If only he would answer his damned phone.
"He… didn't tell me," Ashley admitted, trying to hold back tears that threatened to clog her throat. Stupid emotions getting in the way of what she needed to do. She knew she was being ridiculous, but at the same time, Ashley couldn't deny what she felt, and the pain that slipped through her every time he tried to disappear. This needed to stop. One way or another.
"When I first got here," Ashley said, trying desperately to keep her voice steady. As she kept talking she found her strength. "You had mentioned that every once in a while you and everyone have a dinner to catch up. When's the next dinner?"
With Ashley's question, Yukina and Kuwabara had arranged another dinner for that Saturday, in hopes that it might pull Hiei from Demon World for her to catch him. Thus, Ashley was at Yukimura Ramen at six forty five, pacing in the corner as she tried to convince herself she was making the right decision.
Hiei wouldn't have any reason to suspect she was there. She'd stopped trying to contact him after talking with Yukina. Now all he had to do was walk through that…
Door.
It squeaked open on old hinges, and he took in the restaurant quickly, his eyes falling lastly on Ashley in the corner, whose heart stopped beating as he saw her.
It nearly shattered as his face contorted in anger, snapping, "Detective, this is none of your business!" at Yusuke, then raced as he left the building again.
"Hiei-"
She had to catch him. Leaving Yukina behind, she raced out the restaurant after him, nearly running into new patrons on her way out, but he hadn't blurred away as he usually did. He'd kept walking, and as Ashley apologized to the patrons, she realized he couldn't blur away; other people were around.
The conversation she'd had with Mako came back to her immediately.
"Hiei!"
She knew he heard her. His hearing was too good for him not to hear her. And from the way he slowed, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring up at the sky, painted in reds and purples and oranges as the sun set behind the neighborhood, he wanted her to catch him.
Still, once she reached him she grabbed his arm, and turned him to face her, desperate for him not to disappear on her again.
His crimson gaze fell to hers, and, breathless, she whispered, "Please talk to me."
"What do you want me to say?" His words cut through the silence between them. Since before the typhoon she hadn't felt so distant from him. They stood mere feet apart, but it felt as if a world stretched between them. He took her by the forearm, the touch warm with his heat, and steered her off to the side of the sidewalk, near some landscaping, and away from any prying eyes or ears. "That I was purposefully ignoring you? Hoping you'd take the hint? Obviously I left the bar too high."
That hurt. Ashley forced herself to take a shuddering breath to calm her emotions. Almost everything in her wanted to walk away from his biting remarks. But she instead stayed rooted in place. "Please, Hiei; don't lash out at me. I just want to talk to you. What's wrong? Why did you leave so suddenly?"
His hands were shoved in his pockets as usual, closed off, unapproachable, but Ashley didn't move.
Hiei pulled his right hand from his pocket and raked his fingers through his hair. He didn't return the hand to his pocket, but left it balled up at his side. Finally, he said, "This isn't your world," he ground out. "It's too dangerous."
That was it? "So?"
"So?" His tone was sharp with her again. "Ashley, you should never have been dragged into this to begin with. I was stupid to think everything would be normal."
He didn't look at her. In fact, he looked across the street to something that kept his gaze even as he acquired a far-off look, lost in whatever he was thinking about. Ashley forced herself not to cross her arms as she so wanted to do. They both needed to remain open. Instead, her fingers picked at the skin around her left thumb. Anything to take away the nervous energy.
"Look," she began. "I like you. A lot." Hiei's gaze slipped down to her, and immediately she felt a blush bloom across her cheeks. "Alright, a lot a lot, and I think you like me, too? I was talking with Mako and -" Immediately he rolled his eyes, grumbling, and started to step away, but Ashley closed the distance between them immediately, reaching out and grasping his forearm gently. "Hey, he's got some good viewpoints, okay? Ones I hadn't even thought about. But… I realized I was treating our relationship like something that's normal, not thinking about what dating a human might be like for you. Or what going through this crazy, messed-up world might be like for you, and I'm sorry. I should have seen it from your point of view earlier, but now your worries and problems have become mine, and even so, I want to give us a chance, if you do?"
The words had tumbled out on their own volition, and Hiei let lose a sigh, like a breath he'd been afraid to release. Ashley could see the gears and cogs turning in his mind. As he thought over everything. "What if I'm not there to protect you and they come? What if you're walking home from work and Dion shows up like she did the other night?"
"Well, honestly, I'm sick of you protecting me," came Ashley's quick reply. "I don't want you to be chained to me like some dog, and I've never been a very good damsel. Maybe I don't have powers and can't defend myself against the Legion like you can, but I can learn things to protect myself in case they do come calling. Oliver did teach me how to dish out a right hook when I was younger. And there's pepper spray. Is pepper spray effective?"
Her light suggestion earned a chuckle from the fire demon, but he didn't say anything. He barely even looked at her. His gaze stayed focused across the street. The nerves and anxiety played chase in her stomach, but she tried not to let her true emotions show. The sun had slipped behind the buildings around them, casting them in a darkness that barely held any light. She could still see Hiei, thinking in the way that he was, and wondered if she should let go of his forearm. "What are you thinking?"
Never in the months that she had known him had she ever known Hiei to tell her what was on his mind. It was a very human question, and she didn't expect an answer.
People passed by where they stood, oblivious to the discussion that was taking place. Oblivious to the relationship-changing conversation that was taking place.
He paused for a long time, just watching the sunset as it grew dark around them. Ashley tried not to fidget, or change the subject as she wanted to do. She wanted to tell him everything: every worry, every fear, and make him stay with her, but it had to be his decision, too.
Twilight was long passed when he finally answered, still not looking at her. And he spoke quietly. She wanted him to speak louder, but didn't dare interrupt him. She strained her ears to catch his words. "Back home, when I was growing up… I didn't have a childhood like anything that humans have."
He paused again, and as it had been with Mako, she recognized him skirting around details and figuring out which parts he wanted to leave out. But even as he left out pieces, it was heart-achingly honest, that much was obvious. "I used to seek out other demons… because I wanted to test my strength. And I wanted to kill them."
A chill rose through her, but she didn't move. "Not them, specifically, but killing gave me purpose and… satisfaction. If I could make it through one more battle, I would be stronger for it."
A part of her wondered idly if he could just watch the clouds of creamer in his coffee in the mornings to give him satisfaction, but she didn't dare speak it. Maybe later down the line when they had had many more honest conversations about themselves.
"I'm not right for you. You deserve someone good, like you."
Good. She picked out that word like it was a high-beam. He didn't think he was good enough. That, more than anything, broke her goddamn heart.
Fighting tears, she replied, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady. "I think you're very good." Her voice nearly broke on the word 'good.'
He started to open his mouth to argue, but she didn't let him continue. "You're kind - in your own way," she began with a soft smile. "You're loyal, and protective, and smart - so intelligent. You care, even if you don't show it the way most people do," she could tell her words were making him uncomfortable, but he needed to hear them. "You strive to be a better version of yourself, and you're a great friend. You have integrity, and confidence, and dependability, and honor, and passion," she blushed, knowing full-well he could still see her even in the low light. His face, she could see, but it was but a whisper in the darkness. The street lights had come on, but their meager light did little to illuminate the spot at which they stood.
Ashley realized she was rambling and looked away, a sad smile playing at the edges of her lips. "I can't believe you don't see that in yourself. Please tell me you don't believe that."
He skirted her question. Gruffly, he replied, "I can't give you a calm, normal human life. You know that, right? Even if we can figure all the rest out." It was obvious he was trying to deflect, and she let him. If he needed a reminder of how good he was later, she would tell him again. And again. And again, as many times as he needed it.
"What if I don't want normal?" she asked. "And as far as you killing others when you were younger, is that something you still do?" As much as the question was awkward, she needed to know.
His teeth clenched. "No," he replied. "Things have changed immensely since that period of my life. But I don't regret it."
That was a heavy revelation, but in the same breath, it was like a cool drink of water. "Do you still kill?"
He watched her intently. "Only when I need to," he said, as if he was a cat waiting to see if it needed to flee.
Ashley nodded, content. For now, that was enough. A part of her felt like a crazy person, but at this moment, she was okay with what he'd told her. "I'm still game for us if you are."
He was incredulous. "I just told you I used to kill people for sport."
She nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. Yeah, when he said it like that if sounded like she'd lost her damn mind. "You also said that you have changed," she replied, standing up for her decision. "And you only kill if you need to. I don't understand Demon World yet, or who you were then, but I think I understand who you are now. And I'm willing to give it a shot."
His brow creased, as he tried to understand, but as she spoke, it eased. Hiei shifted, but didn't move away from her touch. She still had her hand wrapped around his forearm.
"If we try this, can we keep the PDA to a minimum?" He asked, his words almost muttered in embarrassment.
Immediately, Ashley let go of his arm, understanding where he was coming from. Although, she missed his innate warmth immediately even though the air around them was hot and humid, even with the sun having set. Summer was in full-swing, but she still longed for Hiei's steady warmth next to her. "I can do that. If I cross a line or forget, will you tell me?"
He nodded, watching her with a careful gaze, and stayed silent for a long while before finally beginning, "I'm just wondering… If this all hadn't happened, and if I hadn't adopted this protector role around you, would you still be feeling this way about me? I don't want to trap you in something you have no choice in." His words had grown softer, almost fonder, if Ashley had to pinpoint an emotion.
"You know, I have thought about that: if I only feel this way for you because of our close proximity. But then there's the question of if that is how all relationships develop? You're interested enough in a person that you want to spend time with them, and then if the cards fall right, you fall for them. Like I'm falling for you," she murmured, glancing away briefly, unable to reciprocate his gaze when she just admitted something so personal. "Our beginning may have been unconventional, but I think we can make this work. I'd like to at least try," this was the fourth time she'd said those words. She prayed he would say yes. "What do you want to do?"
- End of Chapter Nineteen -
I'm excited about a couple of things regarding this chapter. First, I got to have Ashley actually play Zenith, which is her main character theme for part one. And second, we're finally getting to see more of Mako, who is a major player in this story!
Thank you so much for your patience as I worked to get this chapter out and took so long of a hiatus between February and March. Originally, I was going to have it out yesterday but things happened and that didn't work. Plus, I heard FFnet was down anyway. I wish I could say I won't put this story on another posting hiatus any time soon, but I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo during the month of April and the month of July, during which I'll take a posting hiatus. There's another story I'll be writing and posting during April and May, "The Devil of the Terasu Forest" for a character that will show up in later chapters here. Her name is Hana Hitomi, who I like a lot. If you're interested, definitely check that out!
But, I know you're interested, so here's the posting schedule for the next few weeks:
Chapter 20: Saturday, March 31
Hiatus, month of April
Chapter 21: Saturday, May 5
Chapter 22: Saturday, May 19
Chapter 23: Saturday, June 2
Chapter 24: Saturday, June 16
Chapter 25: Saturday, June 30
Hiatus, month of July
The next several month's schedule will be posted on my profile, including the dates for after the July Camp NaNo. If you want to join my cabin with Camp Nano, let me know!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who reviewed Chapter 18: WistfulSin, Ruler of the elements, lisaisfire619, GinaLiz, and one Guest. Ruler of the elements, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the chapter out on your birthday, but I hope you had a wonderful one, regardless. Happy Birthday!
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. I also do not own Zenith, by Dirk Maassen