The Forgotten Child
Chapter 17
written by Kat (Aubuchon) Mayes
edited by Windlily
For a fraction of a second Hiei alighted on a
precariously balanced piece of wall, then leapt to
an even more hazardously placed cross beam. His
slight weight made the iron work groan in protest,
but it unwillingly supported him. Hiei had paid
little attention to the perilously standing walls
and ceiling of the human hospital that had once
stood on this spot. He cared little that at any
moment the entire structure could collapse around
him like the playing card houses Koori was fond of
making. His only goal was to find Kitsuryuu...
and Kurama's brother if he could.
It had been easy for him to slip away from
Kurama in all the commotion the humans had been
making. Kurama had been convinced they needed to
find his brother first so that they could find out
what had happened to Kitsuryuu leading up to the
explosion. However, Hiei didn't want to waste
time waiting for some human to show up to help
them. He would much rather take the direct
approach and search for a ki signature to
follow... besides, it got him away form all the
damn noise the humans where making.
Hiei felt no guilt about leaving the three
humans that he could hear still trapped beneath
the charred rubble as he moved through the remains
of the hospital. He liked humans well enough, he
didn't kill them on sight, after all. He was
actually kind of fond of Shiori, and his nephew
Arashi. But these humans had no hold on his life,
no meaning to his heart, and if the rescuers that
were searching through the debris couldn't see the
bright red strips of material he had ripped from
his jacket and tied to the nearest piece of metal
piping, that was their own fault.
Hiei briefly looked down at what remained of
the jacket Kurama had given him. He gave a
dismissive shrug and continued on his way. He
knew Kurama would yell about ripping the silly
thing, but it was the Fox's own fault for giving
it to him in the first place. Kurama knew how
rough he was on his clothes... besides, it was
*red*. If the youko felt like he needed to mark
his territory, that was fine, but there were
better, more... pleasant... ways.
A small knot of dread settled in Hiei's
stomach as he approached the place where the blast
that leveled the building around him had
originated. He had been able to feel the youki
that now filled his senses a full mile away. It
had lain close to the ground like a fog and reeked
of primitive, basic animal thoughts and primal
fear. It was the smell of a hunted youkai that
was throwing out everything it had in a last ditch
effort to live.
Hiei knew that the youki had come from
Kitsuryuu, but the girl shouldn't have been able
to summon that kind of power. Both he and Kurama
had agreed that the youki they had felt was at
least A-class (if not higher) and Kitsuryuu
couldn't possibly be any higher than D, or C,
class.
What had happened to cause her to go beyond
her body's natural capabilities like this? How
could she have possibly survived channeling all
that raw power? What if the blast *was* too
strong? What if she was d...
Hiei clenched his hands at his sides and
pushed those thoughts aside, determined to bring
Kurama's daughter back, safe and alive, or not
come back at all. He knew that he would never be
able to face his lover again if he didn't. Hiei
couldn't stand the thought of failing Kurama, or
Kitsuryuu again.
With one more swift leap Hiei stood in the
exact center of where the explosion occurred. He
reached up with trembling hands and removed the
covering over his Jagan, almost afraid of what he
might find. He wasn't completely sure how his
third eye would react after the episode earlier
that evening in his room, but he had to try.
Hiei focused his thoughts on Kitsuryuu,
making sure that everything else was pushed to the
background, and closed his natural eyes. At first
nothing happened and Hiei started to worry. Then,
very slowly, sensations started to build at the
back of his neck and then spread to every part of
his body.
He was a little startled at the way his Jagan
seemed to react to Kitsuryuu. Never, in all the
times Hiei had used his third eye, had he had this
strong a connection to the subject he was
watching. Usually, it was similar to watching the
TV. Sometimes he could sense their feelings, but
he had never had an experience where he *was* the
other person.
Hiei became aware of a deep aching pain down
the left side of his body. The same pain he had
felt before. Suddenly his eyes were forced open
and a bright, blinding light was shone in making
his brain scream in stabbing pain. He could feel
hands all over his body, moving it... hurting
it... an overwhelming wave of panic hit him.
He had to get away, he had to run... oh gods,
they were *humans*! He struggled and fought, but
he couldn't move. Nothing moved! None of his
limbs would respond. He tried to forced his eyes
to open, but they refused to obey. He could sense
the humans around him... so many... too many...
all around him. The panic was suffocating, the
smell of humans was stifling, the scent of blood
permeated every other smell.
Then there was a touch... gentle... different
from the rest... on his cheek and with a laborious
effort he opened his eyes. There was another
human next to him, but his eyes were sad and
worried. It was very strange for him to see
compassion from a human. There was something about
this human that he knew he could trust. Hiei
latched onto those eyes with his own like a
drowning man as the human touched his hand. It
was a soft, gentle pressure, yet strengthening at
the same time and then he couldn't keep his eyes
open anymore.
Hysteria wrapped itself around his senses
when he felt that hand pull away from his. his mind
screamed. 'That' human was gone, leaving the
others to continue their painful work. Soon he
felt cold... so cold. He had never felt cold like
this before. Everything was slowing down. He
discovered that the pain was gone, the smells were
gone too, and all round him things disappeared
until he was all alone in the cold dark. He knew
what it was. It was death.
Then he became aware of a warmth seeping into
his body, spreading outward to every nerve and
becoming more and more intense with every beat of
his heart. His heart... he could feel his heart
and every other organ in his body begin to respond
to the warmth with an alarming clarity, but too
slowly... oh, so slowly. Then Hiei experienced a
push that forced him completely from Kitsuryuu's
mind and body.
Hiei found himself kneeling on the floor
trying to catch his breath. He looked up in time
to see a woman in a white uniform make her way to
him and then... moved straight through him. Hiei
blinked in confusion as he looked around the room.
There were several humans dressed in white
uniforms working around a metal bed with wheels,
looking curiously at whoever was on it.
Hiei came to his feet, bewildered by what was
happening to him. Just a second ago he was
experiencing Kitsuryuu's emotions, and then it
just stopped. He was no longer connected to her
mind, but he knew that he was still in her past,
in the same room she had been in.
He quickly made his way to the metal bed and
simply walked through the humans that were
hovering around it. Hiei paused at the side and
was frustrated that he was just barely tall enough
to see over the edge. Someone had his hands on
Kitsuryuu's face but Hiei could see the tangled
and bloodied hair that spilled across the white
sheets and knew it was Kurama's daughter.
Hiei took stock of the injuries he could see
from this vantage point. Her left arm was badly
broken and the leg on this same side was even
worse. The man beside Kitsuryuu finally removed
his hands and Hiei was treated with a perfect view
of the young girl's damaged face. Her skin looked
like torn tissue paper. There were deep and mild
cuts all along the one side of her face and
forehead, but what alarmed Hiei the most was the
paleness of her skin.
He looked at her leg again and studied the
amount of blood that stained the remains of her
clothing and bandages there. It didn't seem like
enough to cause the complete whiteness of her skin
that was only marred by the red of blood. That
meant internal injuries. Hiei unthinkingly tried
to place his hand on Kitsuryuu's stomach and
scowled when his arm passed straight through her.
Hiei had never felt more useless and
frustrated in his life. Here he was, less than a
foot away from Kitsuryuu, and he couldn't *do*
anything. He crossed his arms over his chest and
resigned himself to wait for something to happen.
He didn't have to wait long.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity
around the metal bed and the humans in white
started doing... things.... to Kitsuryuu. Hiei
was forced to stand back and watch because people
kept stepping through him to stand where he was
standing and he couldn't see. That was when he
realized he couldn't hear anything either. He
could see the man who seemed to be in charge yell
at the others and watched them respond, but all of
it was in silence.
Hiei had to watch closely to understand that
the man wanted one of the other people to put
something around the bags of red liquid on the
metal pole to the side. He observed one of the
women place a black band around the bags and then
inflate it with the little pump that was attached
to it. Hiei couldn't see how this was going to
help any, the only thing the bags where attached
to was Kitsuryuu's arm.
Then he felt it. A radiating heat from the
young youkai on the bed. The warmth grew and
pooled within Kitsuryuu as the color started to
return to her pasty, pale skin. It took a moment
for Hiei to realize what the humans were doing.
They were giving her blood, human blood.
Hiei started to panic. Didn't they know how
dangerous that was?! There was no way to know
how'd she'd react, and if past history could be
believed, fire demons never reacted well. No
wonder Kitsuryuu felt like she was powering up for
an attack. Couldn't the idiots feel it?! Hiei
could feel the power welling up inside her, being
held back by an unknown and unnatural force.
Movement brought Hiei's attention to the door
and he saw Shuuichi there. His face drained of
color when he saw the bags of blood being forced
into Kitsuryuu's body. Hiei could only watch as,
at first, nothing happened. Then her leg began to
heal and her arm to straighten. Her body was
throwing off massive amounts of youki heat that
seemed to go unnoticed by everyone in the room.
Hiei knew that the power was welling up
inside Kitsuryuu, forcing itself against the wall
within her. The youki was healing her body, using
a portion of the awesome power that was being
generated in her, but that small amount was only a
drop compared to the tidal wave behind it.
Suddenly the dam that had been holding back all of
Kitsuryuu's power was overwhelmed and the youki
rolled out in massive waves that began to tear her
young body apart.
Kitsuryuu grabbed the metal fence that was
around the bed when the power hit her. Shuuichi
had the rare, good human sense to get the hell out
of the room, and took the other two humans with
him. Hiei remained where he was and watched as
Kitsuryuu was being burned alive by her own youki.
The power was too much for her young body.
He knew that from experience. Even being
centuries old hadn't helped him when he first
called on the type of power Kitsuryuu was
displaying now. He had nearly lost his arm with
his first attempt at the tournament, but he had
been at least mentally, if not physically,
prepared for it. Kitsuryuu was already badly hurt
and nearly unconscious and was being consumed by
more youki than he had been able to muster that
first time.
A crimson glow seemed to float over her skin
as the youki that had escaped matched the
intensity of that still within her. Then Hiei
felt Kitsuryuu let go. The power had been too
much for her and she couldn't fight it any longer.
He knew his heart had stopped beating along with
hers and he didn't care. His mind tried to rebel.
She couldn't be gone. Not after he had just found
her. He couldn't let Kurama down again, he just
couldn't.
/You can stop with the melodramatics. She's
going to be fine./
Hiei very nearly jumped straight out of his
skin as the strong mental voice vibrated across
his thoughts. He was stunned to find a kitsune
made solely of Kitsuryuu's youki fire standing
next to him, regarding him coolly with solid ice
blue eyes.
/Who the hell are you!/ Hiei responded,
completely ignoring his daughter until she
manifested a kitsune identical to the one that was
in front of him now.
Hiei watched as the kitsune helped Kitsuryuu
release the excess youki that had been killing
her. The wave radiated outward from her in a
circle and as the front of it approached him, Hiei
put his arms up in front of his face in instinct.
But like everything else in this re-enacted world,
it passed through him and caused no damage as it
went on to level everything else.
/Kitsuryuu!/ Hiei screamed after her as
Kitsuryuu walked through the mortar dust and into
the other room with the kitsune at her feet.
/It's a little late for fatherly concern,
don't you think? About 17 years too late,
O-to-san,/ the kitsune mocked, stressing each
syllable with a sneer.
Hiei choose to follow his daughter and to
ignore the kitsune's taunts. He only took three
steps when the kitsune walked in front of him,
blocking his path. Hiei growled in warning as he
drew his sword.
/What do you think your doing?/ the kitsune
chuckled with an incline to his head, /All of this
isn't even real. It's all in your mind, created
by that damn Jagan of yours./
/Who the fuck *are* you?! What do you
want?!/ Hiei hissed, not letting down his guard.
/I don't have a name anymore, but that
doesn't matter. All I've come to tell you is to
give up looking for Kitsuryuu,/ the kitsune said
with a threat in his psionic voice.
/Who are you to tell me what to do about
Kitsuryuu?!/ Hiei yelled and wanted to do nothing
more than to hack the fire fox into tiny flames.
/Who am I... ? You're a fine one to question
my involvement in Kitsuryuu's life. Who are *you*
to even think you're good enough for *her*. You
think that just because you've found her wandering
around in the woods one day that you can be a part
of her life again?/ the kitsune jeered, his blue
eyes glowing hot.
The point of Hiei's sword slid to the ground
and his shoulders slumped. Hiei knew that the fox
was right. He had no business being in
Kitsuryuu's life. He had been the one to abandon
her, the one to leave her to die. He had no right
to even look at her.
/Were you there to watch when she took her
first step, make her first kill? Were you there
when she shed her silver baby coat and where were
you when she almost drowned in the river?/ the
kitsune laughed cruelly at Hiei's stricken look.
/What's the matter, Tochan, didn't know that
Kitsuryuu had such an eventful life? Well, let me
reassure you it doesn't stop there. You missed
everything, and who do you think was there to
watch her fail and triumph?/
/You... you were with her... I mean back
then,/ Hiei whispered as he gaze traveled to the
spot he had last seen Kitsuryuu before the dust
had swallowed her.
/Idiot! Do you think if I could have been
there I would have let all those things happen to
her? No, I had to sit passively by and watch it
all. Me and My Lord were forbidden from
interfering in her life until now. I had to watch
that first winter when she almost starved. Do you
realize that she was only two years old when that
fox that fostered her died and left her alone?
Her kitsune body may have been full grown but her
mind was still an infant's. But now she will come
with us and live the life she was meant for./
Hiei could tell the kitsune was sneering at
him with contempt, but it couldn't be any stronger
than what he felt towards himself. Hiei could
feel a pain in the center of his heart that he had
thought he had forgotten. The fear, the pain, the
loneliness of being abandoned. The emptiness you
knew wouldn't go away because your own mother
didn't want you, feeling you were less than
worthless. How many times had Kurama tried to
approach the subject with him and he had shrugged
it off, telling his lover and himself that he
didn't care, that it didn't matter?
Then something snapped inside of him. It
wasn't just Kurama he would be disappointing by
giving up; it was Koori, Maryoku, Kiseki, Arashi,
Fuyu, Mechiko and Kyuukai. All those that knew
her, all those that she had loved, those that had
come to love her in return and damn it he was one
of those people! He had never really touched her,
never held her, never been able to know her, but
he loved her. He knew it as surely as he had
known that Kurama was going to be the only person
capable of breaking through the wall he had built
around his heart. Now he didn't just have the Fox
invading his dark heart, making it streaked with
rainbow color, he had Kyuukai and Kitsuryuu.
Hiei thought
with an inner smirk, and for the first time since
he found out that Kitsuryuu was his lost little
girl it truely *felt* like she was his daughter.
/Just go home, Hiei. Go home and be with
your lover and your new child and forget Kitsuryuu
ever existed. Me and My Lord will raise her to be
who she's meant to be and she'll never have to
know she had you as a father./
Hiei had his sword to the fox's throat before
the kitsune could react. A cold grin graced his
deadly face as he watched the fox blink several
times in confusion, and then try and slink away.
His sword followed, inch for inch. He could feel
his Jagan working to warp this temporary reality
and hold the kitsune in place. The fire fox's
eyes widened with alarm at the force of this new
attack.
/You listen to me, bastard. Kitsuryuu is
*my* daughter. Mine and Kurama's. Do you
understand that? If you even *think* about taking
her away from me there won't be enough left of you
and your 'lord' for me to spit on,/ Hiei said
calmly as his eyes blazed and his ki flared out
like a monstrous black dragon ready to strike.
/So does this mean that you won't give up on
her, no matter what? That you'll do what ever it
takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/ the kitsune asked
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.
Hiei pressed the sword harder against the
kitsune's throat and the flames there split apart
slightly at the intrusion. His aura, which
previously had no firm shape, formed itself into
an obsidian dragon with forelegs the size of
trees. Its feet slammed down on the ground beside
where they stood and the dragon lowered its head
over Hiei's shoulder and blew a scalding huff of
brimstone tainted air through its nostrils.
/Whatever it takes./
Hiei could have sworn he saw the kitsune
smile just before he was hit in the chest by a
psionic wave that pushed him against his dragon's
chest. The dragon itself blinked in confusion,
but recovered to take a snap at the fox. With
just a narrowing of his eyes the kitsune banished
the dragon back into Hiei's mind and stood there
before the astonished fire demon.
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop
feeling sorry for yourself, get up off your ass
and be strong enough to be Kitsuryuu's father,/
the kitsune said with what sounded like... relief.
The kitsune turned itself around and started
to walk away into a red mist before Hiei had a
chance to recover from the words that hit harder
than the psychic wave.
/Things have already been set into motion
that even My Lord is powerless to stop. You're
going to have to be strong and remember your oath,
Hiei. It might be your only chance to save her.
You'll find her in the park with your friends, but
if you don't watch yourself and that lover of
yours, she might hurt herself trying to defend
that boy,/ the kitsune's voice floated back.
/Wait! Who are you?/ Hiei called one more
time as the scarlet mist enveloped the fox.
/I told you I don't have a name anymore. My
Lord allowed me to borrow this shape so that I
could speak with you here,/ the kitsune said as
his image melted away. /Tell Yukina that Hana no
Kokoro says not to worry so much, she's happy
now./
The red mist finally dissipated and Hiei was
left standing in the rubble of the human hospital,
staring at the spot where the kitsune had
disappeared. He heard the crunching of loose
concrete as Kurama and Shuuichi ran to him and he
turned to face them.
"We have to find Kitsuryuu, *now*!" Hiei and
Kurama said in unison, much to their amazement.
"Well, now that you two are in agreement,"
Shuuichi said with a chuckle, that Hiei glared at.
"I think that gir... I mean your daughter ran off
towards the park over there after she pulled that
wall off of me."
Both Hiei and Kurama nodded in agreement, but
Shuuichi grabbed his brother's arm before he could
run off.
"Remember what I said. She's frightened, and
doped up. So just be careful with her, OK."
"Don't worry so much, Shuuichi-kun. I'm sure
that we can handle her," Kurama said with a
disarming grin to relieve his brother's fears.
Hiei looked sideways at his lover and then
towards the park. He wasn't quite sure if
*anyone* was quite ready for their daughter after
what he had just seen. Suddenly there was a build
up of tightly controlled power of the same type
Kitsuryuu had leveled the hospital with, and then
a flash of Yuusuke's ki in the air, a blast strong
enough to do some heavy damage. Hiei and Kurama
looked at each other and without a sound they were
both gone.
Shuuichi reached into his burned and torn
jacket and pulled out his miraculously undamaged
cell phone and dialed. The phone on the other end
picked up on the first ring and a frantic hello
rang in his ears.
"Shiori, are you siting down, because I have
some really strange news for you, Grandma."
==========
end chapter 17
Chapter 17
written by Kat (Aubuchon) Mayes
edited by Windlily
For a fraction of a second Hiei alighted on a
precariously balanced piece of wall, then leapt to
an even more hazardously placed cross beam. His
slight weight made the iron work groan in protest,
but it unwillingly supported him. Hiei had paid
little attention to the perilously standing walls
and ceiling of the human hospital that had once
stood on this spot. He cared little that at any
moment the entire structure could collapse around
him like the playing card houses Koori was fond of
making. His only goal was to find Kitsuryuu...
and Kurama's brother if he could.
It had been easy for him to slip away from
Kurama in all the commotion the humans had been
making. Kurama had been convinced they needed to
find his brother first so that they could find out
what had happened to Kitsuryuu leading up to the
explosion. However, Hiei didn't want to waste
time waiting for some human to show up to help
them. He would much rather take the direct
approach and search for a ki signature to
follow... besides, it got him away form all the
damn noise the humans where making.
Hiei felt no guilt about leaving the three
humans that he could hear still trapped beneath
the charred rubble as he moved through the remains
of the hospital. He liked humans well enough, he
didn't kill them on sight, after all. He was
actually kind of fond of Shiori, and his nephew
Arashi. But these humans had no hold on his life,
no meaning to his heart, and if the rescuers that
were searching through the debris couldn't see the
bright red strips of material he had ripped from
his jacket and tied to the nearest piece of metal
piping, that was their own fault.
Hiei briefly looked down at what remained of
the jacket Kurama had given him. He gave a
dismissive shrug and continued on his way. He
knew Kurama would yell about ripping the silly
thing, but it was the Fox's own fault for giving
it to him in the first place. Kurama knew how
rough he was on his clothes... besides, it was
*red*. If the youko felt like he needed to mark
his territory, that was fine, but there were
better, more... pleasant... ways.
A small knot of dread settled in Hiei's
stomach as he approached the place where the blast
that leveled the building around him had
originated. He had been able to feel the youki
that now filled his senses a full mile away. It
had lain close to the ground like a fog and reeked
of primitive, basic animal thoughts and primal
fear. It was the smell of a hunted youkai that
was throwing out everything it had in a last ditch
effort to live.
Hiei knew that the youki had come from
Kitsuryuu, but the girl shouldn't have been able
to summon that kind of power. Both he and Kurama
had agreed that the youki they had felt was at
least A-class (if not higher) and Kitsuryuu
couldn't possibly be any higher than D, or C,
class.
What had happened to cause her to go beyond
her body's natural capabilities like this? How
could she have possibly survived channeling all
that raw power? What if the blast *was* too
strong? What if she was d...
Hiei clenched his hands at his sides and
pushed those thoughts aside, determined to bring
Kurama's daughter back, safe and alive, or not
come back at all. He knew that he would never be
able to face his lover again if he didn't. Hiei
couldn't stand the thought of failing Kurama, or
Kitsuryuu again.
With one more swift leap Hiei stood in the
exact center of where the explosion occurred. He
reached up with trembling hands and removed the
covering over his Jagan, almost afraid of what he
might find. He wasn't completely sure how his
third eye would react after the episode earlier
that evening in his room, but he had to try.
Hiei focused his thoughts on Kitsuryuu,
making sure that everything else was pushed to the
background, and closed his natural eyes. At first
nothing happened and Hiei started to worry. Then,
very slowly, sensations started to build at the
back of his neck and then spread to every part of
his body.
He was a little startled at the way his Jagan
seemed to react to Kitsuryuu. Never, in all the
times Hiei had used his third eye, had he had this
strong a connection to the subject he was
watching. Usually, it was similar to watching the
TV. Sometimes he could sense their feelings, but
he had never had an experience where he *was* the
other person.
Hiei became aware of a deep aching pain down
the left side of his body. The same pain he had
felt before. Suddenly his eyes were forced open
and a bright, blinding light was shone in making
his brain scream in stabbing pain. He could feel
hands all over his body, moving it... hurting
it... an overwhelming wave of panic hit him.
He had to get away, he had to run... oh gods,
they were *humans*! He struggled and fought, but
he couldn't move. Nothing moved! None of his
limbs would respond. He tried to forced his eyes
to open, but they refused to obey. He could sense
the humans around him... so many... too many...
all around him. The panic was suffocating, the
smell of humans was stifling, the scent of blood
permeated every other smell.
Then there was a touch... gentle... different
from the rest... on his cheek and with a laborious
effort he opened his eyes. There was another
human next to him, but his eyes were sad and
worried. It was very strange for him to see
compassion from a human. There was something about
this human that he knew he could trust. Hiei
latched onto those eyes with his own like a
drowning man as the human touched his hand. It
was a soft, gentle pressure, yet strengthening at
the same time and then he couldn't keep his eyes
open anymore.
Hysteria wrapped itself around his senses
when he felt that hand pull away from his. his mind
screamed. 'That' human was gone, leaving the
others to continue their painful work. Soon he
felt cold... so cold. He had never felt cold like
this before. Everything was slowing down. He
discovered that the pain was gone, the smells were
gone too, and all round him things disappeared
until he was all alone in the cold dark. He knew
what it was. It was death.
Then he became aware of a warmth seeping into
his body, spreading outward to every nerve and
becoming more and more intense with every beat of
his heart. His heart... he could feel his heart
and every other organ in his body begin to respond
to the warmth with an alarming clarity, but too
slowly... oh, so slowly. Then Hiei experienced a
push that forced him completely from Kitsuryuu's
mind and body.
Hiei found himself kneeling on the floor
trying to catch his breath. He looked up in time
to see a woman in a white uniform make her way to
him and then... moved straight through him. Hiei
blinked in confusion as he looked around the room.
There were several humans dressed in white
uniforms working around a metal bed with wheels,
looking curiously at whoever was on it.
Hiei came to his feet, bewildered by what was
happening to him. Just a second ago he was
experiencing Kitsuryuu's emotions, and then it
just stopped. He was no longer connected to her
mind, but he knew that he was still in her past,
in the same room she had been in.
He quickly made his way to the metal bed and
simply walked through the humans that were
hovering around it. Hiei paused at the side and
was frustrated that he was just barely tall enough
to see over the edge. Someone had his hands on
Kitsuryuu's face but Hiei could see the tangled
and bloodied hair that spilled across the white
sheets and knew it was Kurama's daughter.
Hiei took stock of the injuries he could see
from this vantage point. Her left arm was badly
broken and the leg on this same side was even
worse. The man beside Kitsuryuu finally removed
his hands and Hiei was treated with a perfect view
of the young girl's damaged face. Her skin looked
like torn tissue paper. There were deep and mild
cuts all along the one side of her face and
forehead, but what alarmed Hiei the most was the
paleness of her skin.
He looked at her leg again and studied the
amount of blood that stained the remains of her
clothing and bandages there. It didn't seem like
enough to cause the complete whiteness of her skin
that was only marred by the red of blood. That
meant internal injuries. Hiei unthinkingly tried
to place his hand on Kitsuryuu's stomach and
scowled when his arm passed straight through her.
Hiei had never felt more useless and
frustrated in his life. Here he was, less than a
foot away from Kitsuryuu, and he couldn't *do*
anything. He crossed his arms over his chest and
resigned himself to wait for something to happen.
He didn't have to wait long.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity
around the metal bed and the humans in white
started doing... things.... to Kitsuryuu. Hiei
was forced to stand back and watch because people
kept stepping through him to stand where he was
standing and he couldn't see. That was when he
realized he couldn't hear anything either. He
could see the man who seemed to be in charge yell
at the others and watched them respond, but all of
it was in silence.
Hiei had to watch closely to understand that
the man wanted one of the other people to put
something around the bags of red liquid on the
metal pole to the side. He observed one of the
women place a black band around the bags and then
inflate it with the little pump that was attached
to it. Hiei couldn't see how this was going to
help any, the only thing the bags where attached
to was Kitsuryuu's arm.
Then he felt it. A radiating heat from the
young youkai on the bed. The warmth grew and
pooled within Kitsuryuu as the color started to
return to her pasty, pale skin. It took a moment
for Hiei to realize what the humans were doing.
They were giving her blood, human blood.
Hiei started to panic. Didn't they know how
dangerous that was?! There was no way to know
how'd she'd react, and if past history could be
believed, fire demons never reacted well. No
wonder Kitsuryuu felt like she was powering up for
an attack. Couldn't the idiots feel it?! Hiei
could feel the power welling up inside her, being
held back by an unknown and unnatural force.
Movement brought Hiei's attention to the door
and he saw Shuuichi there. His face drained of
color when he saw the bags of blood being forced
into Kitsuryuu's body. Hiei could only watch as,
at first, nothing happened. Then her leg began to
heal and her arm to straighten. Her body was
throwing off massive amounts of youki heat that
seemed to go unnoticed by everyone in the room.
Hiei knew that the power was welling up
inside Kitsuryuu, forcing itself against the wall
within her. The youki was healing her body, using
a portion of the awesome power that was being
generated in her, but that small amount was only a
drop compared to the tidal wave behind it.
Suddenly the dam that had been holding back all of
Kitsuryuu's power was overwhelmed and the youki
rolled out in massive waves that began to tear her
young body apart.
Kitsuryuu grabbed the metal fence that was
around the bed when the power hit her. Shuuichi
had the rare, good human sense to get the hell out
of the room, and took the other two humans with
him. Hiei remained where he was and watched as
Kitsuryuu was being burned alive by her own youki.
The power was too much for her young body.
He knew that from experience. Even being
centuries old hadn't helped him when he first
called on the type of power Kitsuryuu was
displaying now. He had nearly lost his arm with
his first attempt at the tournament, but he had
been at least mentally, if not physically,
prepared for it. Kitsuryuu was already badly hurt
and nearly unconscious and was being consumed by
more youki than he had been able to muster that
first time.
A crimson glow seemed to float over her skin
as the youki that had escaped matched the
intensity of that still within her. Then Hiei
felt Kitsuryuu let go. The power had been too
much for her and she couldn't fight it any longer.
He knew his heart had stopped beating along with
hers and he didn't care. His mind tried to rebel.
She couldn't be gone. Not after he had just found
her. He couldn't let Kurama down again, he just
couldn't.
/You can stop with the melodramatics. She's
going to be fine./
Hiei very nearly jumped straight out of his
skin as the strong mental voice vibrated across
his thoughts. He was stunned to find a kitsune
made solely of Kitsuryuu's youki fire standing
next to him, regarding him coolly with solid ice
blue eyes.
/Who the hell are you!/ Hiei responded,
completely ignoring his daughter until she
manifested a kitsune identical to the one that was
in front of him now.
Hiei watched as the kitsune helped Kitsuryuu
release the excess youki that had been killing
her. The wave radiated outward from her in a
circle and as the front of it approached him, Hiei
put his arms up in front of his face in instinct.
But like everything else in this re-enacted world,
it passed through him and caused no damage as it
went on to level everything else.
/Kitsuryuu!/ Hiei screamed after her as
Kitsuryuu walked through the mortar dust and into
the other room with the kitsune at her feet.
/It's a little late for fatherly concern,
don't you think? About 17 years too late,
O-to-san,/ the kitsune mocked, stressing each
syllable with a sneer.
Hiei choose to follow his daughter and to
ignore the kitsune's taunts. He only took three
steps when the kitsune walked in front of him,
blocking his path. Hiei growled in warning as he
drew his sword.
/What do you think your doing?/ the kitsune
chuckled with an incline to his head, /All of this
isn't even real. It's all in your mind, created
by that damn Jagan of yours./
/Who the fuck *are* you?! What do you
want?!/ Hiei hissed, not letting down his guard.
/I don't have a name anymore, but that
doesn't matter. All I've come to tell you is to
give up looking for Kitsuryuu,/ the kitsune said
with a threat in his psionic voice.
/Who are you to tell me what to do about
Kitsuryuu?!/ Hiei yelled and wanted to do nothing
more than to hack the fire fox into tiny flames.
/Who am I... ? You're a fine one to question
my involvement in Kitsuryuu's life. Who are *you*
to even think you're good enough for *her*. You
think that just because you've found her wandering
around in the woods one day that you can be a part
of her life again?/ the kitsune jeered, his blue
eyes glowing hot.
The point of Hiei's sword slid to the ground
and his shoulders slumped. Hiei knew that the fox
was right. He had no business being in
Kitsuryuu's life. He had been the one to abandon
her, the one to leave her to die. He had no right
to even look at her.
/Were you there to watch when she took her
first step, make her first kill? Were you there
when she shed her silver baby coat and where were
you when she almost drowned in the river?/ the
kitsune laughed cruelly at Hiei's stricken look.
/What's the matter, Tochan, didn't know that
Kitsuryuu had such an eventful life? Well, let me
reassure you it doesn't stop there. You missed
everything, and who do you think was there to
watch her fail and triumph?/
/You... you were with her... I mean back
then,/ Hiei whispered as he gaze traveled to the
spot he had last seen Kitsuryuu before the dust
had swallowed her.
/Idiot! Do you think if I could have been
there I would have let all those things happen to
her? No, I had to sit passively by and watch it
all. Me and My Lord were forbidden from
interfering in her life until now. I had to watch
that first winter when she almost starved. Do you
realize that she was only two years old when that
fox that fostered her died and left her alone?
Her kitsune body may have been full grown but her
mind was still an infant's. But now she will come
with us and live the life she was meant for./
Hiei could tell the kitsune was sneering at
him with contempt, but it couldn't be any stronger
than what he felt towards himself. Hiei could
feel a pain in the center of his heart that he had
thought he had forgotten. The fear, the pain, the
loneliness of being abandoned. The emptiness you
knew wouldn't go away because your own mother
didn't want you, feeling you were less than
worthless. How many times had Kurama tried to
approach the subject with him and he had shrugged
it off, telling his lover and himself that he
didn't care, that it didn't matter?
Then something snapped inside of him. It
wasn't just Kurama he would be disappointing by
giving up; it was Koori, Maryoku, Kiseki, Arashi,
Fuyu, Mechiko and Kyuukai. All those that knew
her, all those that she had loved, those that had
come to love her in return and damn it he was one
of those people! He had never really touched her,
never held her, never been able to know her, but
he loved her. He knew it as surely as he had
known that Kurama was going to be the only person
capable of breaking through the wall he had built
around his heart. Now he didn't just have the Fox
invading his dark heart, making it streaked with
rainbow color, he had Kyuukai and Kitsuryuu.
Hiei thought
with an inner smirk, and for the first time since
he found out that Kitsuryuu was his lost little
girl it truely *felt* like she was his daughter.
/Just go home, Hiei. Go home and be with
your lover and your new child and forget Kitsuryuu
ever existed. Me and My Lord will raise her to be
who she's meant to be and she'll never have to
know she had you as a father./
Hiei had his sword to the fox's throat before
the kitsune could react. A cold grin graced his
deadly face as he watched the fox blink several
times in confusion, and then try and slink away.
His sword followed, inch for inch. He could feel
his Jagan working to warp this temporary reality
and hold the kitsune in place. The fire fox's
eyes widened with alarm at the force of this new
attack.
/You listen to me, bastard. Kitsuryuu is
*my* daughter. Mine and Kurama's. Do you
understand that? If you even *think* about taking
her away from me there won't be enough left of you
and your 'lord' for me to spit on,/ Hiei said
calmly as his eyes blazed and his ki flared out
like a monstrous black dragon ready to strike.
/So does this mean that you won't give up on
her, no matter what? That you'll do what ever it
takes to keep Kitsuryuu safe?/ the kitsune asked
with a hidden twinkle in his blue eyes.
Hiei pressed the sword harder against the
kitsune's throat and the flames there split apart
slightly at the intrusion. His aura, which
previously had no firm shape, formed itself into
an obsidian dragon with forelegs the size of
trees. Its feet slammed down on the ground beside
where they stood and the dragon lowered its head
over Hiei's shoulder and blew a scalding huff of
brimstone tainted air through its nostrils.
/Whatever it takes./
Hiei could have sworn he saw the kitsune
smile just before he was hit in the chest by a
psionic wave that pushed him against his dragon's
chest. The dragon itself blinked in confusion,
but recovered to take a snap at the fox. With
just a narrowing of his eyes the kitsune banished
the dragon back into Hiei's mind and stood there
before the astonished fire demon.
/Good, I was hoping you would finally stop
feeling sorry for yourself, get up off your ass
and be strong enough to be Kitsuryuu's father,/
the kitsune said with what sounded like... relief.
The kitsune turned itself around and started
to walk away into a red mist before Hiei had a
chance to recover from the words that hit harder
than the psychic wave.
/Things have already been set into motion
that even My Lord is powerless to stop. You're
going to have to be strong and remember your oath,
Hiei. It might be your only chance to save her.
You'll find her in the park with your friends, but
if you don't watch yourself and that lover of
yours, she might hurt herself trying to defend
that boy,/ the kitsune's voice floated back.
/Wait! Who are you?/ Hiei called one more
time as the scarlet mist enveloped the fox.
/I told you I don't have a name anymore. My
Lord allowed me to borrow this shape so that I
could speak with you here,/ the kitsune said as
his image melted away. /Tell Yukina that Hana no
Kokoro says not to worry so much, she's happy
now./
The red mist finally dissipated and Hiei was
left standing in the rubble of the human hospital,
staring at the spot where the kitsune had
disappeared. He heard the crunching of loose
concrete as Kurama and Shuuichi ran to him and he
turned to face them.
"We have to find Kitsuryuu, *now*!" Hiei and
Kurama said in unison, much to their amazement.
"Well, now that you two are in agreement,"
Shuuichi said with a chuckle, that Hiei glared at.
"I think that gir... I mean your daughter ran off
towards the park over there after she pulled that
wall off of me."
Both Hiei and Kurama nodded in agreement, but
Shuuichi grabbed his brother's arm before he could
run off.
"Remember what I said. She's frightened, and
doped up. So just be careful with her, OK."
"Don't worry so much, Shuuichi-kun. I'm sure
that we can handle her," Kurama said with a
disarming grin to relieve his brother's fears.
Hiei looked sideways at his lover and then
towards the park. He wasn't quite sure if
*anyone* was quite ready for their daughter after
what he had just seen. Suddenly there was a build
up of tightly controlled power of the same type
Kitsuryuu had leveled the hospital with, and then
a flash of Yuusuke's ki in the air, a blast strong
enough to do some heavy damage. Hiei and Kurama
looked at each other and without a sound they were
both gone.
Shuuichi reached into his burned and torn
jacket and pulled out his miraculously undamaged
cell phone and dialed. The phone on the other end
picked up on the first ring and a frantic hello
rang in his ears.
"Shiori, are you siting down, because I have
some really strange news for you, Grandma."
==========
end chapter 17