And here we are, chapter two of... well, you'll have to stick with me and find that out, now, won't you? If you like what you've read so far, write the title down, don't forget it!
* * * * *
Cold as Fire
by Grace Musica
Chapter Two
A Lot Can Happen in Seven Years...
* * * * *
"So? I've got plenty of time," Yusuke said, leaning back. Kuwabara nodded silently, agreeing.
Kurama sighed and picked up his drink. How much should I tell? Hiei's going to kill me... However, he DID bring it on himself, making such a scene. And these two are going to know if I'm lying... Oh, Tensi, what should I do? He put his drink back down and continued.
"Well, Hiei, as you know, is also a fire demon. And, as you know, he was born of ice demons. So, to protect both Hiei and themselves, and amid much heartbreak, his family was forced to... Not abandon him, but, you know, send him away."
"Yeah, yeah, we know, we know. And Yukina's his little sister," Kuwabara put in.
"So, he wandered around, basically looking for someone to take him in and hone his skills. And he ran across Onizuka. Or, more precisely, his granddaughter..."
* * * * *
If Hiei couldn't tell Spirit Energy, he never would have seen the girl. A tiny thing, unusually small for her age, was standing in a clearing, whirling a large blade around her head, eyes blindfolded, all alone in the deep of the forest. A child like that, all alone in a forest like this? What the hell?
Quite suddently, Hiei found himself on his butt, staring down the wrong end of a sword. Well, the wrong end, if the point end is pointed at you. Shit, I didn't even see her move!
Tensi reached up behind her head and ripped the blindfold off, her brilliant green eyes staring him down. "I should take your head off, sneaking up behind me like that."
"I didn't mean to," Hiei replied, his voice going as cold as hers.
"I'm sure," she said sarcastically, making Hiei wonder just how such a small child could make her voice so hard. "Hands where I can see them."
"You haven't given me many other choices," Hiei replied coldly, complying with Tensi's command.
Tensi looked at him again, tapping the tip of the sword on the underside of Hiei's chin, making him raise it. "Hm... You look as if you've got demon blood in you. What's your name?"
"Hiei."
"Mine's Tensi. Was I right?"
Hiei barely inclined his head, signaling that she was right. Tensi grinned in triumph, removed the blade from Hiei's throat, stepped back a few steps, and rammed the end none to gently into the ground. "Hm, well... What should I do with you?" she asked herself walking back towards Hiei, who lowered his hands.
"Let me go?"
Tensi raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe... Or not."
Hiei's eyes darted towards the sword, then he took off trying to get it.
Unfortunately for him, Tensi got to it first.
Moving just as quick, maybe even a bit quicker than, Hiei, Tensi bolted for the sword, yanked it out of the ground, turned on her heel and swung the sword. Hiei tried to duck, but Tensi managed to catch the side of his face with the flat of her broadsword, knocking Hiei off his feet and onto his side. He knelt back on his heels, put a hand to his mouth and came back with blood on his fingertips. He looked up just in time to see Tensi bring the hilt of the sword down on top of his head.
Tensi sighed and blew a stray strand of her short hair out of her face as Hiei fell to the ground, unconcious. "Demons. Think they can do anything. Well, I'd better take him back to Grandpa Onizuka."
* * * * *
Kuwabara and Yusuke were rolling. "Hiei got his ass kicked by a seven-year-old? Priceless!" Yusuke managed to spit out, wiping tears from his eyes.
Kurama chuckled himself at the mental image of the Hiei he knew now getting a beat down from a child. "Well, you must remember, Hiei was younger then, too. Not too terribly older than Tensi, maybe six, seven years her senior."
"But still!"
"I know, I know. Also, Tensi had a horrid temper. She could go from sweet to bitch and right back in no time flat."
At that, the boys just started laughing even harder. "Of course! Hiei picked her out!"
Finally, Yusuke and Kuwabara got ahold of themselves--well, enough to let Kurama contiune.
"So, Tensi dragged an unconcious Hiei home--" Here, he was interrupted by Yusuke and Kuwabara's snickers. He paused, but the boys managed to control themselves and let him keep going. "--And he was taken in as Master Onizuka's pupil.
"Now Tensi had an appropriate sparring partner."
* * * * *
An older pair faced each other. Tensi, now taller at the age of ten-and-a-half, was still weilding her broadsword, now not as huge to her. Hiei, at her opposite, has his own sword. Both were poised to fly at one another, each watching their fellow for some type of signal only they would be able to see.
As if a bell went off that only they could hear, they rushed each other, blades swinging. Duck block, jab, the two weaved an intricate dance, trying both to and not kill one another.
Five minutes, ten minutes--time stopped as their movements sped to such a pace that they became blurred. Tensi swung her blade, to find that Hiei, who had been in front of her just a few seconds before, was gone.
--And found herself flat on her back, Hiei pinning her down with his own weight. She thrashed and discovered what it was like to be looking down the wrong end of a sword. DAMNIT! He's gotten ALOT faster than me!
Hiei watched as first surprise then anger flashed in the half-demon's pretty green eyes. He felt her push her Spirit Energy up, and brought the blade down to a hair's-breath away from her neck. "Nope, think again."
She did, and Hiei found a broadsword blade flat against the bare skin of his stomach. "You push down, and I push up."
"You push up, and I push down."
Tensi's eyes darkened with anger again, knowing that the match was his.
"Okay, you two, that's enough!" Master Onizuka called from the sidelines. "Don't kill each other off yet!"
* * * * *
"Okay, so what happened after Hiei was taken in?" Kuwabara asked, still chuckling over Tensi knocking Hiei out.
"When she was thirteen, Tensi's father died quite suddently of a heart attack. The entire family took it hard, but Tensi's mother took it the hardest, really. She killed herself within a week after her husband died. Tensi didn't take either death very well..."
* * * * *
It was pouring. Hiei felt like he was trying to walk though a waterfall. Logic was screaming at him to turn around, to go home, but he knew he had to find Tensi. He really had wished she hadn't ran out into the storm.
He wandered the forest for his fellow student, occassionally calling out her name. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them in a futal attempt to warm them. Tensi would freeze if he didn't find her soon. And, considering the state of mind she had been in lately... She wouldn't care if she lived or died.
He would, however.
Finally, he found her. She was curled up in a ball under a bush in an attempt to get out of the rain, her wet, dark red hair plastered against her forehead. He knelt down and shook her gently, waking her. She opened the bright green eyes she and all her brothers had inherited from the mother, stared at him, trying to make her sluggish mind remember, then recognition flashed in her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck. "I'm s-so c-c-cold, Hiei. S-so c-cold."
He knew it. He could feel her chilled skin through his cape, saw her blue lips chattering. He opened the front of his cape and wrapped her up in it, pressing her chilled flesh to his own, trying to warm her with his own body heat. She didn't protest, instead she put her head on his shoulder and started sobbing. Hiei surprised himself by rocking her back and forth and stroking her wet hair. "It'll be all right, Ten, shh, don't cry."
Eventually, Hiei realized that she wasn't strong enough to walk back. So he surprised himself again by picking her up in his arms and beginning the long trek back.
* * * * *
"Now, Master Onizuka ws the sole guardian of his six grandchildren. He promptly semi-panicked and hired this old lady to watch Tensi, a lady by the name of Akuma. And she was horrible to Tensi, just horrible..."
* * * * *
"GIRLS DON'T FIGHT!"
An elderly woman had Tensi by the shoulders and was shaking her violently. She raised a hand and slapped the child across the face. Tensi let her do it, bitting her lip against the pain.
This act angered Akuma. She began slapping Tensi over and over and over. "Cry, damn you! CRY!"
But Tensi just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had always been taught not to cry, not to show any weakness to anyone considered an enemy, and especially to never hit anyone who was weaker than herself. Akuma, fed up, threw the child onto the floor, turned and left the room.
She came back with a wooden staff...
* * * * *
* * * * *
Cold as Fire
by Grace Musica
Chapter Two
A Lot Can Happen in Seven Years...
* * * * *
"So? I've got plenty of time," Yusuke said, leaning back. Kuwabara nodded silently, agreeing.
Kurama sighed and picked up his drink. How much should I tell? Hiei's going to kill me... However, he DID bring it on himself, making such a scene. And these two are going to know if I'm lying... Oh, Tensi, what should I do? He put his drink back down and continued.
"Well, Hiei, as you know, is also a fire demon. And, as you know, he was born of ice demons. So, to protect both Hiei and themselves, and amid much heartbreak, his family was forced to... Not abandon him, but, you know, send him away."
"Yeah, yeah, we know, we know. And Yukina's his little sister," Kuwabara put in.
"So, he wandered around, basically looking for someone to take him in and hone his skills. And he ran across Onizuka. Or, more precisely, his granddaughter..."
* * * * *
If Hiei couldn't tell Spirit Energy, he never would have seen the girl. A tiny thing, unusually small for her age, was standing in a clearing, whirling a large blade around her head, eyes blindfolded, all alone in the deep of the forest. A child like that, all alone in a forest like this? What the hell?
Quite suddently, Hiei found himself on his butt, staring down the wrong end of a sword. Well, the wrong end, if the point end is pointed at you. Shit, I didn't even see her move!
Tensi reached up behind her head and ripped the blindfold off, her brilliant green eyes staring him down. "I should take your head off, sneaking up behind me like that."
"I didn't mean to," Hiei replied, his voice going as cold as hers.
"I'm sure," she said sarcastically, making Hiei wonder just how such a small child could make her voice so hard. "Hands where I can see them."
"You haven't given me many other choices," Hiei replied coldly, complying with Tensi's command.
Tensi looked at him again, tapping the tip of the sword on the underside of Hiei's chin, making him raise it. "Hm... You look as if you've got demon blood in you. What's your name?"
"Hiei."
"Mine's Tensi. Was I right?"
Hiei barely inclined his head, signaling that she was right. Tensi grinned in triumph, removed the blade from Hiei's throat, stepped back a few steps, and rammed the end none to gently into the ground. "Hm, well... What should I do with you?" she asked herself walking back towards Hiei, who lowered his hands.
"Let me go?"
Tensi raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe... Or not."
Hiei's eyes darted towards the sword, then he took off trying to get it.
Unfortunately for him, Tensi got to it first.
Moving just as quick, maybe even a bit quicker than, Hiei, Tensi bolted for the sword, yanked it out of the ground, turned on her heel and swung the sword. Hiei tried to duck, but Tensi managed to catch the side of his face with the flat of her broadsword, knocking Hiei off his feet and onto his side. He knelt back on his heels, put a hand to his mouth and came back with blood on his fingertips. He looked up just in time to see Tensi bring the hilt of the sword down on top of his head.
Tensi sighed and blew a stray strand of her short hair out of her face as Hiei fell to the ground, unconcious. "Demons. Think they can do anything. Well, I'd better take him back to Grandpa Onizuka."
* * * * *
Kuwabara and Yusuke were rolling. "Hiei got his ass kicked by a seven-year-old? Priceless!" Yusuke managed to spit out, wiping tears from his eyes.
Kurama chuckled himself at the mental image of the Hiei he knew now getting a beat down from a child. "Well, you must remember, Hiei was younger then, too. Not too terribly older than Tensi, maybe six, seven years her senior."
"But still!"
"I know, I know. Also, Tensi had a horrid temper. She could go from sweet to bitch and right back in no time flat."
At that, the boys just started laughing even harder. "Of course! Hiei picked her out!"
Finally, Yusuke and Kuwabara got ahold of themselves--well, enough to let Kurama contiune.
"So, Tensi dragged an unconcious Hiei home--" Here, he was interrupted by Yusuke and Kuwabara's snickers. He paused, but the boys managed to control themselves and let him keep going. "--And he was taken in as Master Onizuka's pupil.
"Now Tensi had an appropriate sparring partner."
* * * * *
An older pair faced each other. Tensi, now taller at the age of ten-and-a-half, was still weilding her broadsword, now not as huge to her. Hiei, at her opposite, has his own sword. Both were poised to fly at one another, each watching their fellow for some type of signal only they would be able to see.
As if a bell went off that only they could hear, they rushed each other, blades swinging. Duck block, jab, the two weaved an intricate dance, trying both to and not kill one another.
Five minutes, ten minutes--time stopped as their movements sped to such a pace that they became blurred. Tensi swung her blade, to find that Hiei, who had been in front of her just a few seconds before, was gone.
--And found herself flat on her back, Hiei pinning her down with his own weight. She thrashed and discovered what it was like to be looking down the wrong end of a sword. DAMNIT! He's gotten ALOT faster than me!
Hiei watched as first surprise then anger flashed in the half-demon's pretty green eyes. He felt her push her Spirit Energy up, and brought the blade down to a hair's-breath away from her neck. "Nope, think again."
She did, and Hiei found a broadsword blade flat against the bare skin of his stomach. "You push down, and I push up."
"You push up, and I push down."
Tensi's eyes darkened with anger again, knowing that the match was his.
"Okay, you two, that's enough!" Master Onizuka called from the sidelines. "Don't kill each other off yet!"
* * * * *
"Okay, so what happened after Hiei was taken in?" Kuwabara asked, still chuckling over Tensi knocking Hiei out.
"When she was thirteen, Tensi's father died quite suddently of a heart attack. The entire family took it hard, but Tensi's mother took it the hardest, really. She killed herself within a week after her husband died. Tensi didn't take either death very well..."
* * * * *
It was pouring. Hiei felt like he was trying to walk though a waterfall. Logic was screaming at him to turn around, to go home, but he knew he had to find Tensi. He really had wished she hadn't ran out into the storm.
He wandered the forest for his fellow student, occassionally calling out her name. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them in a futal attempt to warm them. Tensi would freeze if he didn't find her soon. And, considering the state of mind she had been in lately... She wouldn't care if she lived or died.
He would, however.
Finally, he found her. She was curled up in a ball under a bush in an attempt to get out of the rain, her wet, dark red hair plastered against her forehead. He knelt down and shook her gently, waking her. She opened the bright green eyes she and all her brothers had inherited from the mother, stared at him, trying to make her sluggish mind remember, then recognition flashed in her eyes and she threw her arms around his neck. "I'm s-so c-c-cold, Hiei. S-so c-cold."
He knew it. He could feel her chilled skin through his cape, saw her blue lips chattering. He opened the front of his cape and wrapped her up in it, pressing her chilled flesh to his own, trying to warm her with his own body heat. She didn't protest, instead she put her head on his shoulder and started sobbing. Hiei surprised himself by rocking her back and forth and stroking her wet hair. "It'll be all right, Ten, shh, don't cry."
Eventually, Hiei realized that she wasn't strong enough to walk back. So he surprised himself again by picking her up in his arms and beginning the long trek back.
* * * * *
"Now, Master Onizuka ws the sole guardian of his six grandchildren. He promptly semi-panicked and hired this old lady to watch Tensi, a lady by the name of Akuma. And she was horrible to Tensi, just horrible..."
* * * * *
"GIRLS DON'T FIGHT!"
An elderly woman had Tensi by the shoulders and was shaking her violently. She raised a hand and slapped the child across the face. Tensi let her do it, bitting her lip against the pain.
This act angered Akuma. She began slapping Tensi over and over and over. "Cry, damn you! CRY!"
But Tensi just couldn't bring herself to do it. She had always been taught not to cry, not to show any weakness to anyone considered an enemy, and especially to never hit anyone who was weaker than herself. Akuma, fed up, threw the child onto the floor, turned and left the room.
She came back with a wooden staff...
* * * * *