Disclaimer: *Sigh* I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, but Hiei is MINE! MINE YOU
HEAR ME?! . . . Wow Mr. Lawyer person, that's a really big gun you have
there. You know what? I decided you can have Hiei back . . . for now.
To Midnight Lilly: They'll get together soon enough, don't worry!
To DeMoNic GigGleS: THANK YOU! And don't worry, something is going to happen soon enough . . .
To Kyra Windwood: ^___^ Glad you liked that chapter. As for the heart attack thingy, if it happens again, remember *not* to sue the authoress.
To asian princess 61: I'm so happy you love the story!
To Jen: Thank you! And as for Hiei, don't worry, it *will* drive him crazy!
To ShadowCat: Thanks and I'm doing the whole updating thing, of course.
To Dark Duelist: Thank you and I'M SO SORRY I GOT WRITER'S BLOCK! Can I keep Sesshomaru after he's done torturing me? For . . . uh . . . personal reasons?
To Black Gem: ^___^ Thank you! I am, in fact, trying to write my own stories and hope to put them on market when I finish them.
To FallenStardust: Sorry, but I'm updating so now you can know!
To Reno Spiegel: Well, it had to end at some time. Besides, more good stuff is on the way.
To lia-goddess: I am eagerly awaiting your update and thank you for the compliments!
To the darkness780: -^___^- I am honored to be on your favorites list. As for being Hiei's girlfriend, maybe we can share?
To rogue solus: Is this soon enough? Please forgive me!
To Dark Master Hiei: Oh, please don't cry! I don't know what to do with crying people! Okay, here's another chapter, happy? *Pats DMH's back*
To BioHazard 101: So many nice compliments, THANK YOU!
To keoke14: Aww, that's so sweet of you!
To Jokid: Ow. *Rubs head* All that will come in time, don't worry.
To Anonymous: ^___^ Thank you!
To Alex Warlorn: You have valid points I'm going to respond to and the rest of the stuff is just nit-picking criticism I don't have the time, nor the energy to bother with.
First off, Keiko's ability to mask her aura happened instantly because I needed it too. At some point in the story I'll mention that cobra demons have the ability to mask their aura for one reason or another, okay? Second, Keiko hasn't done anything at all. She wasn't even a demon two or three months ago. How can spirit world have a file on her? Or at least a file that will do them any good?
As for all you're other questions, they're either so insignificant to the story I don't want to waste time answering them or they're details that will be explained later on.
One last thing, just enjoy the story, point out anything big (like the masking aura thing, I'm going to fix that!) and try to forget the little stuff.
To mizustarangel: Oooh! You have the DVDs?! Me wants! And thanks for the compliments, ect!
To ChildofMidnight: You're totally welcome and thank you for the nice compliments!
To Lady.CaT-eyes/K: Thank you and as for the rest of your note, I'll consider it, but I'm not promising anything.
To LadyBlushaLot: Yes she has! Thanks for reviewing!
To Moon Assassin 13: Thanks!
To pixie-atme: Thanks, but as for Keiko . . . I wouldn't call her ugly. Her skin is a different color, she has claws and that's about it!
To Fluffywolfy: Okay, continuing onward! Thanks for the lovely compliments!
To bubbles6787: Keiko jump Hiei? O.O! That would have been funny! As for the cliffhangers, yep, we're definitely cruel.
To toko: :P Kidding! I was going to cut it off before the springs, so be grateful I didn't make it a completely evil cliffhanger.
To Kauilanifire: What's with Keiko falling in love with Hiei? Erm . . . the story? Thanks for reviewing!
To Star Wolf: ^___^ Thank you! I'm trying to update as fast as possible.
To hieitheone13: Thanks! So glad you like the story's mood!
To WolfOfDarkness: ^____^ Thanks!
To Melissa: Thanks! As for pixie-atme's story, I've got it covered.
To Ale-Bloody-Roses: O.O Oh Gods . . . ALE, YOU'RE ALIVE! I was *sniff* so sure *sniff* you died this time! As for the revolution, I'll help! Finals, tests, exams, quizzes and homework in general should be thrown into the most horrible of the seven hells. *Gets a laser gun and terminator outfit* Terminator Lady BDF and Rambo Ale to the rescue of all who suffer from evil teachers! Now for Kuwabara, well . . . I have to give the guy *some* credit for realism. Otherwise, I would have Keiko kick his ass into the first chapter and back. Maybe I can work that in anyway . . .
To soul: ^___^ Glad you love the story and as for Keiko's dreams . . . there is a reason for them.
To J-sama: Love your new e-mail! As for your ideas, how could I not use them?!
To AnimeBeauty: Hey thanks! As for the story, of course I'm going to continue! How could I let down all my adoring fans! Kidding, kidding.
To makulit: Not telling! As for the humanoid form thingy, you can read that out in chapter eight.
To kiss from a rose: Hey, thanks! I love it when people like my stories!
To An'ei no Tenshi: ^___^ I'm glad you like the masked girl, she's a card, isn't she?
To hi3iyamiInuyashagodess22: -^___^- THANK YOU!
To Youko Demon: Thanks for the compliments! As for La La La, well, she's troubled and I pity her for being so closed minded, that's why I apologized for whoever is the cause of that. The people she hangs out with must be a terrible influence on the poor girl. However, if you want a more fiery response, check out one of my reviews in the story 'Aurora Borealis'. It's another story she flamed, unfortunately.
To Naya: Yes, nano-seconds are real. Yes it is faster then a split. I've never heard of a giffy, a gamma yes, but a giffy no. Yes, they have been timed; scientists can do many amazing things nowadays. I don't think these questions are stupid. And it's ningen. Glad you like the story!
To Anonymous: B-B-But if you slice me in half, how will I continue?! Just to be safe, I will.
To Shadowfox: @_@ * Head spinning from being shaken so much* Read to find out, read to find out, read to find out, read to find, read to find, read to find out, read to find and read to find out. To Sheepchi: YAY! Good for you! Can't wait for some stories and I'll keep updating.
To yukina901: Umm . . . trying to make people more interested in the next chapter? Was that a rhetorical question? My brain hurts . . .
To Youko Demon: Okay! Okay! Yeesh, enough with the death threats . . .
To gandolegornliodorypinieieta: Thank you! -^___^-
To malikut: Thanks. The problem is, I just get *stuck* sometimes and there isn't a whole lot you can do when you're fresh out of ideas.
To asian princess 61: I'm writing!
To Tsunami: I'm so sorry! It's just that, I get stuck and/or write myself into a hole I can't get out of.
To Arriana: Continuing! Happy now? Good. I like it when my reviewers are happy! -^___^-
SECRETS IN MY BLOOD, CHAPTER 12
Keiko sprang out of the portal and landed a foot away from it. Instantly the noise of the city plagued her poor ears. She covered them and waited till they adjusted. When they did, the cobra demon looked around. The alleyway looked exactly like it did when she had first seen it. With slight confusion, she realized it was day time here in the human world.
"Must have separate times." Thought Keiko.
Looking down at herself, Keiko saw that she was nowhere near fit to be seen by humans. She hardly looked like a mortal in these clothes and the demonic attributes weren't helping. With a small sigh, Keiko stepped into the bright daylight. She did her best to go unnoticed by any humans while racing back to her human home. When the cobra demon reached her house, pulled the key out from its hiding place and opened the lock. Pausing, she took a deep breath and walked inside after taking off her worn boots. No one was home. That was fine; the demoness wanted to readjust alone, rather then in the company of others.
Walking to her room was an odd experience for Keiko. The walls never had seemed so constricting before, nor had the echo of her normally quite foot steps so loud. Simply being there made memory after forgotten memory resurface in her mind. These hallways that she had never really seen before now fascinated her to no end. The amazing straightness of the boards, the wires and pipes that were inside the walls. All of this was a marvel of human progress.
Finally, Keiko reached her room. Her mother and . . . her foster father had not disturbed it in any way. Everything, down to the smallest trinket was in the same place it had been when she had left. Looking at her bed, the cobra demon wanted to fall on it and go to sleep forever. She couldn't though; Gods only knew what sort of filth she had dragged in from the Makai.
Turning away from her room, Keiko walked to the bathroom. She was filled with marvel that rivaled her amazement with the hallways. The white tiles in particular fascinated her. Gingerly, she the shower on and watched the heated water come out of the shower head. After the cobra demon had seen her fill of that sight, she turned to the medicine cabinet and looked for her special shampoo she only used when an important event was coming up, like a school dance. With a wryly grin, Keiko wondered what Hiei would have done if she said she needed to go home first and wash her hair with the special shampoo before embarking on that major chapter in her life.
The demoness snapped out of her reverie as she felt the steam of the shower against her skin. Pulling out the shampoo and a new bar of her favorite soap, Keiko shut the medicine cabinet. Once again she paused to smile ruefully at her reflection in the mirror. It was so different from the old reflection her human body had. The blackish-purple hair, green eyes and fangs made her look so much more . . . demonic. She liked it.
Quickly the demoness took off her dirty clothes and made sure that the towels were the big white fluffy kind. Keiko removed the gem as well, but it felt as though she had just taken away a part of her herself. It didn't hurt; it simply felt as though she had taken a small reservoir of her own aura off. So, the cobra demon put it back on. She stepped in the water and waited for the slight burning sensation to stop. After being outside for a long period of time, pipe water always burned a little bit at first.
Then Keiko started to massage the water into her scalp, loving the way it felt when the grime hidden in her scalp was forced out of her hair. Despite her efforts in the Makai to stay as clean as possible, the water became discolored after being in contact with her body. After five minutes, the cobra demon decided the worst of the muck was off and she could now use the shampoo.
While humming a little made up tune, Keiko unscrewed the cap of her precious shampoo and sniffed its soft peach fragrance. It smelled much stronger and more artificial then when she was human, but its aroma was still a pleasant one. Once she had put a generous amount in her hand, Keiko rubbed the cool gel like substance into her hair and sighed softly as it turned into suds.
After what had to be the longest shower of her life by far, Keiko stepped out of the shower so clean, that if she had rubbed her arms together, they would have squeaked. She then treated herself to nice blow dry with the hair dryer. Afterwards the cobra demon waltzed down the hall to her room, wrapped in the biggest fluffiest towel she could find and with a huge smile on her face. Keiko then flopped onto her bed and simply stayed there, grinning like a manic. After a few minutes, she jumped up and opened her closet.
She pulled out a soft sun yellow dress and put it on. There was a problem. The dress was too tight around the chest, the arms, the shoulders and just about anywhere else she had gotten new growth or new muscles. Keiko pulled out a school uniform and put that on. With a grimace, the cobra demon noted that not only did it not fit, the coloration of her uniform clashed horribly with her neon green eyes and black-violet hair.
This meant that desperate measures had to be taken.
It was time to go shopping!
Keiko put on a sky blue skirt a friend had given her on a birthday, but had gotten it one size too large and a large sweater an aunt had hand-knitted for her in the wrong size. They fit now and she didn't look too bad, although her fingers were just itching to rip off, or melt off, the fuzzy pink bunnies on the purple sweater. Oh well, she'd just have to live with it for now.
Now that she was . . . dressed, Keiko pulled out her money box from under her bed. She took out all the money she had gotten last summer form working part time in the family restaurant and put it into her purse. Finally, she put on her Makai boots, because they were the only ones that fit, and headed out the door.
While she was walking to the shopping area, all Keiko could think of was how utterly ridiculous she looked and the best ways to avoid anyone's attention for the second time today. She managed to do this, but either blending into or avoiding large crowds. After ten minutes of wandering the sidewalks, the cobra demon found a store she liked.
If she had still been human, Keiko wouldn't have even considered going into this store. Many of the clothes were those people would wear to clubs or raves. The cobra demon liked them though; they were fresh, new and dark, just like her. Walking inside, she ignored the clerk's stares. After all, she was wearing a pink bunny sweater in a punk clothes store.
The cobra demon spent four hours in that store and others similar too it picking out a new wardrobe. It was dusk outside when she was finally ready to go home with her half a dozen shopping bags in her arms. When she stepped out of the last store, she looked like a completely different person.
Her hair was in a bun with small spikes of her black purple tinted hair sticking out here and there. All this was held together with neon green chopsticks. Next was her shirt. It was a tight violet tank top that had a black snake printed on it. It had white venom spurting out of its mouth in a spiral pattern that circled its body. After that there are the pants. They were dark demin jeans that flared out near the feet. The jeans had symbols and Japanese characters in bright green covering them in a confusing pattern. For shoes, she had high-heeled, black sandals with a single black, wide band of cloth to keep them on her feet. Over all of this she wore a black leather coat with slits in the sleeves that showed her creamy white arms. Also the jacket had a small, printed on green, serpent encircling the mid-arm area of the jacket. The coat was her favorite article of clothing, next to the gem of Caxix that she now proudly displayed above her shirt.
Today had been a grand day for Keiko. The only thing that could have made it better was if Hiei had been there. Then again, maybe it was better that she had gone shopping alone. The cobra demon could actually visualize Hiei turning the whole shopping area into a pile of ash. Still, she missed him, even if he would have ruined her shopping experience.
She shouldn't be thinking about Hiei though. What about school? What about Yusuke? What about her other friends? How long had she been gone? What were people going to say about her appearance? Would anyone guess the truth? Did she have a ton of school work to catch up on? How was her foster father going to take this? Had her mother told him anything? If she had not, how would he take it when Keiko told him? Should the demoness tell him anything? What about the gem of Caxix? What about other demons? When would she see Hiei again? Was the fire demon alright? Did he miss her? What had he been dreaming about? Why was she thinking about Hiei again? Life was so complicated . . .
The cobra demon stopped. She was in front of the entrance to her human domain. There were people inside. She could easily make out the silhouettes of her mother and the man she had thought to be her father at one point in time. Keiko's face went from worry to a cool mask of indifference. With all the time she had spent with the fire demon, she had learned that keeping a 'poker face' in battle gave you an edge, an advantage over your opponent. The same was true, if not more so, with verbal warfare. Seeing her parents again, Keiko knew she would need every advantage she could get.
It would be so easy just to turn away right now and never have to see them again. Just to leave this world and never deal with her façade happy family behind. She would never have to deal with this mess her mother had created. The demoness wouldn't have to go in there, smile and pretend everything was just perfect. No explaining her absences, no lying to her mother's husband, her step-father. Leaving right now and never coming back to the human world. Everyone would believe her dead and she would live peacefully in the Makai. Keiko would miss Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara, but if she had Hiei's companionship, it was an option to be considered.
There was just one, important, to her at least, down-side to this plan.
It was the coward's way out.
Despite her former human weakness, Keiko Ukimura has never been and never will be a coward. She was able to deal with emotional problems in a more then adequate manner. Sometimes she had simply needed help from someone who was more capable to deal with problems that involved physical strength.
The cobra demon had her own morals, values, and own code of honor. According to these unwritten documents that were stored away in her mind, that had been honed over the years, she had to face her 'family'. Once again taking the key from its hiding place, Keiko inserted it into the lock and opened the door.
"I'm home." Whispered Keiko quietly.
The two humans looked up at the demoness. Her mother smiled widely at her from the couch and got up to hug her daughter. Her father grinned over the top of his newspaper and also ran up to meet who he believed to be his child. It was a crushing family hug from the American sit-coms. Keiko could almost hear the badly made theme song music with the cooing and loving remarks of how they missed her and how different she looked from her parents that her brain barely registered.
Pulling away, Keiko smiled the face splitting fake smile, but had to stop and pull back to her mask of ice. The need to scream at them both to stop pretending was quickly overtaking her need to be rational, tactful and wait for the right moment to sort things out. She turned away from the humans and mumbled something about being tired and ran up to her room, so her parents would not see it.
Keiko kept her face in its mask while she put away her new clothes. Slowly she pulled off each tag and sticker before putting the new clothes away. After she had done that, the demoness sat and stared out her bedroom window. Her head rested on her crossed arms that leaned on the window sill. The stars were barely visible through the city smog. The moon was a sickly, lurid yellow, it resembled dirty glass, and the great sphere of light even seemed somewhat transparent. How ironic that this moon had so much poetry written about it, yet the Makai moon was more beautiful then it by ten- fold. Perhaps even more then that.
Closing her eyes, Keiko remembered one night when she had seen the Makai moon . . .
She had tried to sleep, but was restless despite the training she had undergone the preceding day. Keiko opened both eyes and gazed at the perfect scene before her. The sky had been velvet ebony, dotted with tiny circles of light that glowed with a pearly luminescence. The moon itself was full and round. It looked as though some God had taken a circle of pure ivory and hung it in the sky. Around the moon were three sapphire colored rings. Wisps of lavender clouds swirled near the edges of the elegant sphere. Sometimes a strand or two of the mist-like forms would enter the white light and the lilac would be infused with a glittery gold.
Then she saw something a darker black then the sky above her enter the path of the moon's glow. Crouching on a tree branch, with some kind of weapon in hand, the shape was still. The demoness was about to prepare hedditcaa and eliminate this intruder, but stopped as he stood up. The dark silhouette was about her height and even in the dim light you could see the taunt muscles on his form. His hair was in still in a flame-like shape, his cape fluttered in the slight breeze and his eyes were a deep ruby. In dim light, a demon's eyes would often glow a single color. However, it was not added to the list with the other three reasons. This was a result of poor lighting, not a reaction within a demon's body. Still, it gave this already surreal moment an even more dream-like quality.
Keiko watched the fire demon settle down for sleep. And then she too slipped into slumber. Her night was filled with pleasurable dreams of stars, moons, heat and 'fiery' passion.
The demon heard a creak in the hallway; it snatched her away from the memory. There was a creak in the hallway and a familiar aura. Even though Keiko had never been able to sense aura when she was human, she recognized this one. When she opened the door, Keiko knew her mother was there, but did not greet her. The cobra demon simply chose not to acknowledge her presence.
"Keiko?"
"Mother." Responded Keiko dryly.
The human stalled for a bit and then sat on her daughter's bed. Mrs. Ukimura flinched slightly when those acid green burned into her with their intense gaze.
"H-How was your trip?" Asked the woman.
"Long, hard, exhausting, I nearly died more then once." Answered Keiko in monotone.
"Oh, well, I guess you w-want to rest." Said Mrs. Ukimura, getting up so she could flee.
"Sit. Down. Now." Snapped Keiko, "I have some questions to ask . . . and you owe it to me to answer them."
Mrs. Ukimura hesitated and then sat down.
"Why did you do it? Why did you betray your husband?" Whispered Keiko.
The young demon had thought long and hard on what questions to ask, so there was no delay. The human next to her looked somewhat nervous.
"It really doesn't matter-"
"It does to me."
The woman closed her eyes and seemed to be reminiscing. Finally she reopened her eyes and in a hushed whispering voice, she answered her daughter's question.
"I-It was . . . I, I was . . . bored. Life was so, so ordinary and I was so young. I married . . . too soon; I met my husband too soon. Then on day, I went to this club . . . and met him." Answered Keiko's mother. "It happened like this . . ."
The young Mrs. Ukimura was in a dank, smoke-filled club. Music was loud and made the floor vibrate with its booming rhythm. This place was on the wrong side of town and known to be very dangerous. The only thing that separated this club from a rave was . . . nothing actually. It was a rave. Complete with drugs, alcohol and sex. The younger Mrs. Ukimura straightened out her tiny skirt in a nervous manner. She shouldn't be here. She should be home, with her husband.
The girl's eyes narrowed. Her husband. Her sweet, kind, caring, and sensitive husband, he was everything a girl wanted. But that got old fast. She was barely nineteen and already settled down. No excitement, no adventure, no traveling, no mystery. That was why she was at this party.
"Good girls are usually in bed by now." Said a voice behind her.
With a yelp, the girl turned around to see two acid green eyes. She backed up a step and tripped over her overly large high heeled boots. Two strong arms caught her and pulled her close. She found herself starring into the face of a young man that looked no more then twenty-two years old.
Looks can be deceiving.
He wasn't much taller then she was, especially with her boots. This man had short black hair that shone purple when the light hit it. He had a light build on his lithe form that she could see through his skin tight top. Over one eye he had a thin, jagged scar and a tattoo of a green snake with a chain of black skulls dangling from its mouth on his right arm. He smirked as the girl pushed herself away from him and almost fell to the floor.
"Wh-Who said I was a good girl?" Retorted the young Mrs. Ukimura weakly.
"No one." Said the man, slowly walking up to her.
The gleam in those eyes was that of a predator. He grabbed her and leaned down to her face. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. She was lost, swimming in the glittering neon green pools of his iris. He asked her to dance, she accepted. They danced twice. The first time was sensual and slightly erotic.
"Having fun?" Whispered this mysterious man as he caressed the small of her back.
The girl nodded and leaned closer against him.
With one hand, the man lifted her head and lowered his lips onto hers. He nipped at her bottom lip, seeking entry to her mouth. In response the girl moaned. Their tongues danced together when their feet stopped. Then there came the second dance. It was taken to a private room and lasted the entire night.
In the morning, the younger Mrs. Ukimura woke up, alone, except for the unborn baby inside her.
"So . . . that was my father. A magician, all smoke, magic and mystery. Even knows the disappearing act." Said Keiko bitterly.
"Yes . . . he was, but . . . he did leave one other thing." Said Mrs. Ukimura, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
Keiko took the paper and unfolded it, carefully. It was very old. Her eyes widened when she saw the contents the document held.
-- Mate
I would be lying if I said I loved you. I would also be lying if I said I was human. What I am is a member of a near extinct race of demon. Yes, demons are real. Endangered demons have . . . special instincts. So, I ask of you, for the sake of my kind, take care of our child.
Another thing. When the baby (it will be a she) comes of age she will begin to experience extreme pain. She might even come close to dieing. This is a reaction of mixed blood. The only thing you need do is tell her of her ancestry. She will be fine; a female cobra demon attracts male quite easily and can mask aura at birth (it is part of being a near dead species). Thusly, she will find help.
May the Gods watch over you.
--Daughter
I know you must hate me for all that I have put you through. In some ways I hate myself as well. However, I think you might know already why I spawned you. Demons are different from humans. The need for the species to survive is stronger in demons then in humans. Especially in a race such as ours.
I wasted my life denying my nature, simply for the reason of defiance. The need to reproduce finally consumed me before I could find my soul mate. Someone I truly cared for to complete both the ritual and the act of reproduction with. I wish you better luck in that matter daughter.
Good fortune, Gods protect you and try to stay out of trouble
-- Lluko Sticx (Toxic Skull in human dialect)
"My . . . my father wrote this?" Said Keiko after she had re-read it several times.
Mrs. Ukimura nodded slowly.
"Almost sounds like he cared for me." Said Keiko tonelessly.
"I think that's because he did care for you. You're his child, his only child. Every parent, demon or otherwise cares for their children in some way." Said Mrs. Ukimura, smiling slightly.
Mrs. Ukimura pulled her daughter into a hug. Keiko might never forgive her for betraying her husband, and maybe she didn't deserve to be forgiven, but they still loved each other.
"So . . . he doesn't know, does he?" Asked Keiko after they had separated.
"No." Answered Mrs. Ukimura, knowing the demoness meant her husband.
"Are you going to tell him? He deserves to know." Said Keiko.
"Someday I will." Sighed the woman.
"He will need to know." Insisted Keiko.
"I know, but-" Whispered Mrs. Ukimura.
"Quite!" Hissed Keiko.
"Dear?" Asked Mr. Ukimura, who had almost snuck in without them noticing. "Keiko, what are you still doing up? You have school in the morning."
"I what?!"
In the Makai . . .
The fire demon was in that limbo-like border between sleep and wakefulness. Similarities from this border to the one between life and death were shockingly close. More than anyone cares to admit actually. In both these planes everything was hazy and severely slow. However, with the jagan, the demon managed to retain most of his senses in the limbo and when he was slumbering.
With these slightly dulled senses, he realized something was not as it should be. The tree branch he had chosen to sleep on had rough bark on it. Yet, he was resting on silken pillows. Unless the tree had sprouted silk in his sleep, which was very unlikely, something was seriously fucked up here.
"Hello Hiei." Whispered the masked vixen.
That certainly answered his question.
Hiei's eyes snapped open and tried to push himself off the bedding, but was unable too. Those chains that connected his wrists to the incredibly sturdy wall were not giving away anytime soon. The same was true with those chains on his ankles that also connected to the wall. He also found out, with a considerably amount of masked panic, that he was gagged and his shirt had conspicuously gone missing, leaving him in a pair of simple crimson pants. Once again, he was without a weapon to define himself, and his jagan refused to do anything he wanted it to.
Looking around he saw that he was in a rather spacious, completely stone room. The rock was red sandstone. He was in the center of the room, lying on a huge pile of silk scarlet pillows. The place was dimly light with torches and had only one door. The door was made entirely out of a black metal, with huge locks and bars covering it.
In front of the door was the masked girl. She was dressed, if you could call it that, in a dark purple type 'bikini' with a near transparent dark green robe and black, lacy, high-heeled sandals. Her mask was rather simple. It was dark green with two violet snakes intertwined on it.
The girl's grin rivaled that of a shark's in terms of wanted to eat something up. On her right finger was a large black key, obviously the key to the door out of this room. She swung the key around in a circle on her finger. Then, a glowing green liquid sprang forth from her nails and dissolved it, thusly trapping the fire demon. In a room. With her. Alone.
She grinned even more as the fire demon's eyes widened. He looked so adorable when nervous. The temptress slipped off her robe. Then walked up to the pillows before getting on all fours and crawling over the soft bedding to the fire demon.
The girl positioned herself on top of Hiei and took off his gag. She grabbed a small box that materialized out of thin air. Before the fire demon could vocalize his outrage, the girl stuffed something in his mouth.
Something cold.
Something tasty.
Something that was . . . sweet snow?!
Yes, sweet snow, chocolate sweet snow with dark chocolate chunks.
"I'm not cruel you know." Said the girl, stuffing more of the ice cream in his mouth. "I just like messing with your head." And then ruffled his hair with her free hand.
"Hn. Aren't we in my head?" Said Hiei, who was looking away from the girl's poorly clad body, which was rather hard considering she was on top of him.
"Yes, no, maybe so. I believe this is somewhat like your subconscious only . . . warped." The girl sighed.
"Why am I here?" Asked Hiei.
As long as the girl was in a talkative, rather then 'playful' mood, Hiei wanted as many answers as he could get.
"Well I have to-Hey! I'm not going to do anything. I can't, sadly." Responded the girl to Hiei's private thoughts.
"How-"
"One of the perks of having a soul mate is that you can read their thoughts, if you or your lover has telekinetic abilities, that is." The girl chuckled, eating some of the ice cream herself.
The ground dropped out beneath the three eyed demon. Two words alone occupied his mind. Soul mate. What had she meant 'soul mate'?! Surely she was not suggesting that-that SHE was HIS soul mate!
The masked girl stared at the boy whose muscular body she was resting on. His eyes weren't bugging out, but it was hard to tell if he was breathing or not. A more tactful approach might have gone better then surprising him with that tid-bit of information. She better clear things up or he would probably end up with a heart attack.
"Relax! This isn't real remember? Well, actually that isn't right, this is more like a premonition, or a sort of message really. I'm not your soul mate in any case." Quickly explained the masked girl.
Hiei exhaled. The Gods didn't hate him.
"However, the girl I represent is your soul mate."
". . . What?" Questioned Hiei.
"You know how dreams sometimes mean things? With a jagan, the meaning of dreams become clearer, unfortunately, the blasted thing also blocks out things you don't want to accept. Hence the mask. That and this dream is a message of sorts. A result of fate's intervention, the ritual and many other things."
The fire demon let this sink in. Mulling it about in his mind, he came up with this conclusion:
The girl was either insane, a terrible liar, or both.
The girl's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Nonsense. This is just a crazy dream from that poison Keiko injected into me." Whispered Hiei, mainly to himself.
"You're partly right there. Some of this is the result of the poison. You see, unwittingly, unknowingly, you and Keiko started something very important to cobra demons when she saved you." Wickedly stated the girl. "It will make your body . . . react strangely when you're around her. Don't even think about avoiding her though because if you do, we get to have a slumber party every night. Also there is the part about your energy being drained because of a certain gem that could eventually kill you because of your link with Keiko, but that's just a minor complication."
"What gem? How do I destroy it?" Asked Hiei, narrowing his eyes, still not fully trusting the girl's sanity.
"You can't destroy it that would kill Keiko! Not to mention Koenma would be greatly displeased-Oh drat!" The girl said suddenly.
Hiei watched her gaze leave him and travel to the walls. Solid red stone was wavering as if it was shrouded in smoke. It seemed the dream was about to end.
"Now, pay attention, if you want to live, you need to take this gem from Keiko and return it to it's rightful place where it will no longer be able to hurt anyone, provided it doesn't get stolen again. You need to do this before the gem steals all your strength and without getting . . . distracted by anything you, um, want."
The sandstone liquefied and the world around him collapsed. It seemed this nightmare was now over, but a new one that took place in reality was about to unfold. If the girl was telling the truth, that is.
"One last thing." Whispered the girl into the three-eyed demon's ear. "This will tell you how much time is left."
She pressed her lips to the back of his left hand. Electric pain traveled through his entire body before coming back to that one spot. Then the girl too evaporated into thin air.
The fire demon woke up and looked around. He was in a tree, in a forest, in the Makai, it was almost twilight. Hiei wasn't dreaming anymore. The fire demon rubbed the bridge of his nose in the hopes that it would help rid him of those dreams. Opening his eyes, two more stared back at him.
On his hand was a bright emerald snake with silver eyes. The snake curled around a black 'K' that shone purple when the light hit it right.
"Damn it."
Lady BDF: I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG! I got a writer's block the size of Mt. Everest, an evil English project that took FOREVER to complete, loads of tests, mounds of homework and was slightly depressed.
But then . . .
I got all these GREAT reviews and death threats! Not only that, but it was my B-day (I'm officially 14 now!) sometime in these past few weeks and I got . . .
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'Rescue Yukina' DVD
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'Dark Tournament' DVD
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'The Movie' DVD
And all . . .
Unedited.
WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Suddenly I was inspired! So thank you, thank you everyone who made this chapter possible!
Bye! -^___^-
To Midnight Lilly: They'll get together soon enough, don't worry!
To DeMoNic GigGleS: THANK YOU! And don't worry, something is going to happen soon enough . . .
To Kyra Windwood: ^___^ Glad you liked that chapter. As for the heart attack thingy, if it happens again, remember *not* to sue the authoress.
To asian princess 61: I'm so happy you love the story!
To Jen: Thank you! And as for Hiei, don't worry, it *will* drive him crazy!
To ShadowCat: Thanks and I'm doing the whole updating thing, of course.
To Dark Duelist: Thank you and I'M SO SORRY I GOT WRITER'S BLOCK! Can I keep Sesshomaru after he's done torturing me? For . . . uh . . . personal reasons?
To Black Gem: ^___^ Thank you! I am, in fact, trying to write my own stories and hope to put them on market when I finish them.
To FallenStardust: Sorry, but I'm updating so now you can know!
To Reno Spiegel: Well, it had to end at some time. Besides, more good stuff is on the way.
To lia-goddess: I am eagerly awaiting your update and thank you for the compliments!
To the darkness780: -^___^- I am honored to be on your favorites list. As for being Hiei's girlfriend, maybe we can share?
To rogue solus: Is this soon enough? Please forgive me!
To Dark Master Hiei: Oh, please don't cry! I don't know what to do with crying people! Okay, here's another chapter, happy? *Pats DMH's back*
To BioHazard 101: So many nice compliments, THANK YOU!
To keoke14: Aww, that's so sweet of you!
To Jokid: Ow. *Rubs head* All that will come in time, don't worry.
To Anonymous: ^___^ Thank you!
To Alex Warlorn: You have valid points I'm going to respond to and the rest of the stuff is just nit-picking criticism I don't have the time, nor the energy to bother with.
First off, Keiko's ability to mask her aura happened instantly because I needed it too. At some point in the story I'll mention that cobra demons have the ability to mask their aura for one reason or another, okay? Second, Keiko hasn't done anything at all. She wasn't even a demon two or three months ago. How can spirit world have a file on her? Or at least a file that will do them any good?
As for all you're other questions, they're either so insignificant to the story I don't want to waste time answering them or they're details that will be explained later on.
One last thing, just enjoy the story, point out anything big (like the masking aura thing, I'm going to fix that!) and try to forget the little stuff.
To mizustarangel: Oooh! You have the DVDs?! Me wants! And thanks for the compliments, ect!
To ChildofMidnight: You're totally welcome and thank you for the nice compliments!
To Lady.CaT-eyes/K: Thank you and as for the rest of your note, I'll consider it, but I'm not promising anything.
To LadyBlushaLot: Yes she has! Thanks for reviewing!
To Moon Assassin 13: Thanks!
To pixie-atme: Thanks, but as for Keiko . . . I wouldn't call her ugly. Her skin is a different color, she has claws and that's about it!
To Fluffywolfy: Okay, continuing onward! Thanks for the lovely compliments!
To bubbles6787: Keiko jump Hiei? O.O! That would have been funny! As for the cliffhangers, yep, we're definitely cruel.
To toko: :P Kidding! I was going to cut it off before the springs, so be grateful I didn't make it a completely evil cliffhanger.
To Kauilanifire: What's with Keiko falling in love with Hiei? Erm . . . the story? Thanks for reviewing!
To Star Wolf: ^___^ Thank you! I'm trying to update as fast as possible.
To hieitheone13: Thanks! So glad you like the story's mood!
To WolfOfDarkness: ^____^ Thanks!
To Melissa: Thanks! As for pixie-atme's story, I've got it covered.
To Ale-Bloody-Roses: O.O Oh Gods . . . ALE, YOU'RE ALIVE! I was *sniff* so sure *sniff* you died this time! As for the revolution, I'll help! Finals, tests, exams, quizzes and homework in general should be thrown into the most horrible of the seven hells. *Gets a laser gun and terminator outfit* Terminator Lady BDF and Rambo Ale to the rescue of all who suffer from evil teachers! Now for Kuwabara, well . . . I have to give the guy *some* credit for realism. Otherwise, I would have Keiko kick his ass into the first chapter and back. Maybe I can work that in anyway . . .
To soul: ^___^ Glad you love the story and as for Keiko's dreams . . . there is a reason for them.
To J-sama: Love your new e-mail! As for your ideas, how could I not use them?!
To AnimeBeauty: Hey thanks! As for the story, of course I'm going to continue! How could I let down all my adoring fans! Kidding, kidding.
To makulit: Not telling! As for the humanoid form thingy, you can read that out in chapter eight.
To kiss from a rose: Hey, thanks! I love it when people like my stories!
To An'ei no Tenshi: ^___^ I'm glad you like the masked girl, she's a card, isn't she?
To hi3iyamiInuyashagodess22: -^___^- THANK YOU!
To Youko Demon: Thanks for the compliments! As for La La La, well, she's troubled and I pity her for being so closed minded, that's why I apologized for whoever is the cause of that. The people she hangs out with must be a terrible influence on the poor girl. However, if you want a more fiery response, check out one of my reviews in the story 'Aurora Borealis'. It's another story she flamed, unfortunately.
To Naya: Yes, nano-seconds are real. Yes it is faster then a split. I've never heard of a giffy, a gamma yes, but a giffy no. Yes, they have been timed; scientists can do many amazing things nowadays. I don't think these questions are stupid. And it's ningen. Glad you like the story!
To Anonymous: B-B-But if you slice me in half, how will I continue?! Just to be safe, I will.
To Shadowfox: @_@ * Head spinning from being shaken so much* Read to find out, read to find out, read to find out, read to find, read to find, read to find out, read to find and read to find out. To Sheepchi: YAY! Good for you! Can't wait for some stories and I'll keep updating.
To yukina901: Umm . . . trying to make people more interested in the next chapter? Was that a rhetorical question? My brain hurts . . .
To Youko Demon: Okay! Okay! Yeesh, enough with the death threats . . .
To gandolegornliodorypinieieta: Thank you! -^___^-
To malikut: Thanks. The problem is, I just get *stuck* sometimes and there isn't a whole lot you can do when you're fresh out of ideas.
To asian princess 61: I'm writing!
To Tsunami: I'm so sorry! It's just that, I get stuck and/or write myself into a hole I can't get out of.
To Arriana: Continuing! Happy now? Good. I like it when my reviewers are happy! -^___^-
SECRETS IN MY BLOOD, CHAPTER 12
Keiko sprang out of the portal and landed a foot away from it. Instantly the noise of the city plagued her poor ears. She covered them and waited till they adjusted. When they did, the cobra demon looked around. The alleyway looked exactly like it did when she had first seen it. With slight confusion, she realized it was day time here in the human world.
"Must have separate times." Thought Keiko.
Looking down at herself, Keiko saw that she was nowhere near fit to be seen by humans. She hardly looked like a mortal in these clothes and the demonic attributes weren't helping. With a small sigh, Keiko stepped into the bright daylight. She did her best to go unnoticed by any humans while racing back to her human home. When the cobra demon reached her house, pulled the key out from its hiding place and opened the lock. Pausing, she took a deep breath and walked inside after taking off her worn boots. No one was home. That was fine; the demoness wanted to readjust alone, rather then in the company of others.
Walking to her room was an odd experience for Keiko. The walls never had seemed so constricting before, nor had the echo of her normally quite foot steps so loud. Simply being there made memory after forgotten memory resurface in her mind. These hallways that she had never really seen before now fascinated her to no end. The amazing straightness of the boards, the wires and pipes that were inside the walls. All of this was a marvel of human progress.
Finally, Keiko reached her room. Her mother and . . . her foster father had not disturbed it in any way. Everything, down to the smallest trinket was in the same place it had been when she had left. Looking at her bed, the cobra demon wanted to fall on it and go to sleep forever. She couldn't though; Gods only knew what sort of filth she had dragged in from the Makai.
Turning away from her room, Keiko walked to the bathroom. She was filled with marvel that rivaled her amazement with the hallways. The white tiles in particular fascinated her. Gingerly, she the shower on and watched the heated water come out of the shower head. After the cobra demon had seen her fill of that sight, she turned to the medicine cabinet and looked for her special shampoo she only used when an important event was coming up, like a school dance. With a wryly grin, Keiko wondered what Hiei would have done if she said she needed to go home first and wash her hair with the special shampoo before embarking on that major chapter in her life.
The demoness snapped out of her reverie as she felt the steam of the shower against her skin. Pulling out the shampoo and a new bar of her favorite soap, Keiko shut the medicine cabinet. Once again she paused to smile ruefully at her reflection in the mirror. It was so different from the old reflection her human body had. The blackish-purple hair, green eyes and fangs made her look so much more . . . demonic. She liked it.
Quickly the demoness took off her dirty clothes and made sure that the towels were the big white fluffy kind. Keiko removed the gem as well, but it felt as though she had just taken away a part of her herself. It didn't hurt; it simply felt as though she had taken a small reservoir of her own aura off. So, the cobra demon put it back on. She stepped in the water and waited for the slight burning sensation to stop. After being outside for a long period of time, pipe water always burned a little bit at first.
Then Keiko started to massage the water into her scalp, loving the way it felt when the grime hidden in her scalp was forced out of her hair. Despite her efforts in the Makai to stay as clean as possible, the water became discolored after being in contact with her body. After five minutes, the cobra demon decided the worst of the muck was off and she could now use the shampoo.
While humming a little made up tune, Keiko unscrewed the cap of her precious shampoo and sniffed its soft peach fragrance. It smelled much stronger and more artificial then when she was human, but its aroma was still a pleasant one. Once she had put a generous amount in her hand, Keiko rubbed the cool gel like substance into her hair and sighed softly as it turned into suds.
After what had to be the longest shower of her life by far, Keiko stepped out of the shower so clean, that if she had rubbed her arms together, they would have squeaked. She then treated herself to nice blow dry with the hair dryer. Afterwards the cobra demon waltzed down the hall to her room, wrapped in the biggest fluffiest towel she could find and with a huge smile on her face. Keiko then flopped onto her bed and simply stayed there, grinning like a manic. After a few minutes, she jumped up and opened her closet.
She pulled out a soft sun yellow dress and put it on. There was a problem. The dress was too tight around the chest, the arms, the shoulders and just about anywhere else she had gotten new growth or new muscles. Keiko pulled out a school uniform and put that on. With a grimace, the cobra demon noted that not only did it not fit, the coloration of her uniform clashed horribly with her neon green eyes and black-violet hair.
This meant that desperate measures had to be taken.
It was time to go shopping!
Keiko put on a sky blue skirt a friend had given her on a birthday, but had gotten it one size too large and a large sweater an aunt had hand-knitted for her in the wrong size. They fit now and she didn't look too bad, although her fingers were just itching to rip off, or melt off, the fuzzy pink bunnies on the purple sweater. Oh well, she'd just have to live with it for now.
Now that she was . . . dressed, Keiko pulled out her money box from under her bed. She took out all the money she had gotten last summer form working part time in the family restaurant and put it into her purse. Finally, she put on her Makai boots, because they were the only ones that fit, and headed out the door.
While she was walking to the shopping area, all Keiko could think of was how utterly ridiculous she looked and the best ways to avoid anyone's attention for the second time today. She managed to do this, but either blending into or avoiding large crowds. After ten minutes of wandering the sidewalks, the cobra demon found a store she liked.
If she had still been human, Keiko wouldn't have even considered going into this store. Many of the clothes were those people would wear to clubs or raves. The cobra demon liked them though; they were fresh, new and dark, just like her. Walking inside, she ignored the clerk's stares. After all, she was wearing a pink bunny sweater in a punk clothes store.
The cobra demon spent four hours in that store and others similar too it picking out a new wardrobe. It was dusk outside when she was finally ready to go home with her half a dozen shopping bags in her arms. When she stepped out of the last store, she looked like a completely different person.
Her hair was in a bun with small spikes of her black purple tinted hair sticking out here and there. All this was held together with neon green chopsticks. Next was her shirt. It was a tight violet tank top that had a black snake printed on it. It had white venom spurting out of its mouth in a spiral pattern that circled its body. After that there are the pants. They were dark demin jeans that flared out near the feet. The jeans had symbols and Japanese characters in bright green covering them in a confusing pattern. For shoes, she had high-heeled, black sandals with a single black, wide band of cloth to keep them on her feet. Over all of this she wore a black leather coat with slits in the sleeves that showed her creamy white arms. Also the jacket had a small, printed on green, serpent encircling the mid-arm area of the jacket. The coat was her favorite article of clothing, next to the gem of Caxix that she now proudly displayed above her shirt.
Today had been a grand day for Keiko. The only thing that could have made it better was if Hiei had been there. Then again, maybe it was better that she had gone shopping alone. The cobra demon could actually visualize Hiei turning the whole shopping area into a pile of ash. Still, she missed him, even if he would have ruined her shopping experience.
She shouldn't be thinking about Hiei though. What about school? What about Yusuke? What about her other friends? How long had she been gone? What were people going to say about her appearance? Would anyone guess the truth? Did she have a ton of school work to catch up on? How was her foster father going to take this? Had her mother told him anything? If she had not, how would he take it when Keiko told him? Should the demoness tell him anything? What about the gem of Caxix? What about other demons? When would she see Hiei again? Was the fire demon alright? Did he miss her? What had he been dreaming about? Why was she thinking about Hiei again? Life was so complicated . . .
The cobra demon stopped. She was in front of the entrance to her human domain. There were people inside. She could easily make out the silhouettes of her mother and the man she had thought to be her father at one point in time. Keiko's face went from worry to a cool mask of indifference. With all the time she had spent with the fire demon, she had learned that keeping a 'poker face' in battle gave you an edge, an advantage over your opponent. The same was true, if not more so, with verbal warfare. Seeing her parents again, Keiko knew she would need every advantage she could get.
It would be so easy just to turn away right now and never have to see them again. Just to leave this world and never deal with her façade happy family behind. She would never have to deal with this mess her mother had created. The demoness wouldn't have to go in there, smile and pretend everything was just perfect. No explaining her absences, no lying to her mother's husband, her step-father. Leaving right now and never coming back to the human world. Everyone would believe her dead and she would live peacefully in the Makai. Keiko would miss Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara, but if she had Hiei's companionship, it was an option to be considered.
There was just one, important, to her at least, down-side to this plan.
It was the coward's way out.
Despite her former human weakness, Keiko Ukimura has never been and never will be a coward. She was able to deal with emotional problems in a more then adequate manner. Sometimes she had simply needed help from someone who was more capable to deal with problems that involved physical strength.
The cobra demon had her own morals, values, and own code of honor. According to these unwritten documents that were stored away in her mind, that had been honed over the years, she had to face her 'family'. Once again taking the key from its hiding place, Keiko inserted it into the lock and opened the door.
"I'm home." Whispered Keiko quietly.
The two humans looked up at the demoness. Her mother smiled widely at her from the couch and got up to hug her daughter. Her father grinned over the top of his newspaper and also ran up to meet who he believed to be his child. It was a crushing family hug from the American sit-coms. Keiko could almost hear the badly made theme song music with the cooing and loving remarks of how they missed her and how different she looked from her parents that her brain barely registered.
Pulling away, Keiko smiled the face splitting fake smile, but had to stop and pull back to her mask of ice. The need to scream at them both to stop pretending was quickly overtaking her need to be rational, tactful and wait for the right moment to sort things out. She turned away from the humans and mumbled something about being tired and ran up to her room, so her parents would not see it.
Keiko kept her face in its mask while she put away her new clothes. Slowly she pulled off each tag and sticker before putting the new clothes away. After she had done that, the demoness sat and stared out her bedroom window. Her head rested on her crossed arms that leaned on the window sill. The stars were barely visible through the city smog. The moon was a sickly, lurid yellow, it resembled dirty glass, and the great sphere of light even seemed somewhat transparent. How ironic that this moon had so much poetry written about it, yet the Makai moon was more beautiful then it by ten- fold. Perhaps even more then that.
Closing her eyes, Keiko remembered one night when she had seen the Makai moon . . .
She had tried to sleep, but was restless despite the training she had undergone the preceding day. Keiko opened both eyes and gazed at the perfect scene before her. The sky had been velvet ebony, dotted with tiny circles of light that glowed with a pearly luminescence. The moon itself was full and round. It looked as though some God had taken a circle of pure ivory and hung it in the sky. Around the moon were three sapphire colored rings. Wisps of lavender clouds swirled near the edges of the elegant sphere. Sometimes a strand or two of the mist-like forms would enter the white light and the lilac would be infused with a glittery gold.
Then she saw something a darker black then the sky above her enter the path of the moon's glow. Crouching on a tree branch, with some kind of weapon in hand, the shape was still. The demoness was about to prepare hedditcaa and eliminate this intruder, but stopped as he stood up. The dark silhouette was about her height and even in the dim light you could see the taunt muscles on his form. His hair was in still in a flame-like shape, his cape fluttered in the slight breeze and his eyes were a deep ruby. In dim light, a demon's eyes would often glow a single color. However, it was not added to the list with the other three reasons. This was a result of poor lighting, not a reaction within a demon's body. Still, it gave this already surreal moment an even more dream-like quality.
Keiko watched the fire demon settle down for sleep. And then she too slipped into slumber. Her night was filled with pleasurable dreams of stars, moons, heat and 'fiery' passion.
The demon heard a creak in the hallway; it snatched her away from the memory. There was a creak in the hallway and a familiar aura. Even though Keiko had never been able to sense aura when she was human, she recognized this one. When she opened the door, Keiko knew her mother was there, but did not greet her. The cobra demon simply chose not to acknowledge her presence.
"Keiko?"
"Mother." Responded Keiko dryly.
The human stalled for a bit and then sat on her daughter's bed. Mrs. Ukimura flinched slightly when those acid green burned into her with their intense gaze.
"H-How was your trip?" Asked the woman.
"Long, hard, exhausting, I nearly died more then once." Answered Keiko in monotone.
"Oh, well, I guess you w-want to rest." Said Mrs. Ukimura, getting up so she could flee.
"Sit. Down. Now." Snapped Keiko, "I have some questions to ask . . . and you owe it to me to answer them."
Mrs. Ukimura hesitated and then sat down.
"Why did you do it? Why did you betray your husband?" Whispered Keiko.
The young demon had thought long and hard on what questions to ask, so there was no delay. The human next to her looked somewhat nervous.
"It really doesn't matter-"
"It does to me."
The woman closed her eyes and seemed to be reminiscing. Finally she reopened her eyes and in a hushed whispering voice, she answered her daughter's question.
"I-It was . . . I, I was . . . bored. Life was so, so ordinary and I was so young. I married . . . too soon; I met my husband too soon. Then on day, I went to this club . . . and met him." Answered Keiko's mother. "It happened like this . . ."
The young Mrs. Ukimura was in a dank, smoke-filled club. Music was loud and made the floor vibrate with its booming rhythm. This place was on the wrong side of town and known to be very dangerous. The only thing that separated this club from a rave was . . . nothing actually. It was a rave. Complete with drugs, alcohol and sex. The younger Mrs. Ukimura straightened out her tiny skirt in a nervous manner. She shouldn't be here. She should be home, with her husband.
The girl's eyes narrowed. Her husband. Her sweet, kind, caring, and sensitive husband, he was everything a girl wanted. But that got old fast. She was barely nineteen and already settled down. No excitement, no adventure, no traveling, no mystery. That was why she was at this party.
"Good girls are usually in bed by now." Said a voice behind her.
With a yelp, the girl turned around to see two acid green eyes. She backed up a step and tripped over her overly large high heeled boots. Two strong arms caught her and pulled her close. She found herself starring into the face of a young man that looked no more then twenty-two years old.
Looks can be deceiving.
He wasn't much taller then she was, especially with her boots. This man had short black hair that shone purple when the light hit it. He had a light build on his lithe form that she could see through his skin tight top. Over one eye he had a thin, jagged scar and a tattoo of a green snake with a chain of black skulls dangling from its mouth on his right arm. He smirked as the girl pushed herself away from him and almost fell to the floor.
"Wh-Who said I was a good girl?" Retorted the young Mrs. Ukimura weakly.
"No one." Said the man, slowly walking up to her.
The gleam in those eyes was that of a predator. He grabbed her and leaned down to her face. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. She was lost, swimming in the glittering neon green pools of his iris. He asked her to dance, she accepted. They danced twice. The first time was sensual and slightly erotic.
"Having fun?" Whispered this mysterious man as he caressed the small of her back.
The girl nodded and leaned closer against him.
With one hand, the man lifted her head and lowered his lips onto hers. He nipped at her bottom lip, seeking entry to her mouth. In response the girl moaned. Their tongues danced together when their feet stopped. Then there came the second dance. It was taken to a private room and lasted the entire night.
In the morning, the younger Mrs. Ukimura woke up, alone, except for the unborn baby inside her.
"So . . . that was my father. A magician, all smoke, magic and mystery. Even knows the disappearing act." Said Keiko bitterly.
"Yes . . . he was, but . . . he did leave one other thing." Said Mrs. Ukimura, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.
Keiko took the paper and unfolded it, carefully. It was very old. Her eyes widened when she saw the contents the document held.
-- Mate
I would be lying if I said I loved you. I would also be lying if I said I was human. What I am is a member of a near extinct race of demon. Yes, demons are real. Endangered demons have . . . special instincts. So, I ask of you, for the sake of my kind, take care of our child.
Another thing. When the baby (it will be a she) comes of age she will begin to experience extreme pain. She might even come close to dieing. This is a reaction of mixed blood. The only thing you need do is tell her of her ancestry. She will be fine; a female cobra demon attracts male quite easily and can mask aura at birth (it is part of being a near dead species). Thusly, she will find help.
May the Gods watch over you.
--Daughter
I know you must hate me for all that I have put you through. In some ways I hate myself as well. However, I think you might know already why I spawned you. Demons are different from humans. The need for the species to survive is stronger in demons then in humans. Especially in a race such as ours.
I wasted my life denying my nature, simply for the reason of defiance. The need to reproduce finally consumed me before I could find my soul mate. Someone I truly cared for to complete both the ritual and the act of reproduction with. I wish you better luck in that matter daughter.
Good fortune, Gods protect you and try to stay out of trouble
-- Lluko Sticx (Toxic Skull in human dialect)
"My . . . my father wrote this?" Said Keiko after she had re-read it several times.
Mrs. Ukimura nodded slowly.
"Almost sounds like he cared for me." Said Keiko tonelessly.
"I think that's because he did care for you. You're his child, his only child. Every parent, demon or otherwise cares for their children in some way." Said Mrs. Ukimura, smiling slightly.
Mrs. Ukimura pulled her daughter into a hug. Keiko might never forgive her for betraying her husband, and maybe she didn't deserve to be forgiven, but they still loved each other.
"So . . . he doesn't know, does he?" Asked Keiko after they had separated.
"No." Answered Mrs. Ukimura, knowing the demoness meant her husband.
"Are you going to tell him? He deserves to know." Said Keiko.
"Someday I will." Sighed the woman.
"He will need to know." Insisted Keiko.
"I know, but-" Whispered Mrs. Ukimura.
"Quite!" Hissed Keiko.
"Dear?" Asked Mr. Ukimura, who had almost snuck in without them noticing. "Keiko, what are you still doing up? You have school in the morning."
"I what?!"
In the Makai . . .
The fire demon was in that limbo-like border between sleep and wakefulness. Similarities from this border to the one between life and death were shockingly close. More than anyone cares to admit actually. In both these planes everything was hazy and severely slow. However, with the jagan, the demon managed to retain most of his senses in the limbo and when he was slumbering.
With these slightly dulled senses, he realized something was not as it should be. The tree branch he had chosen to sleep on had rough bark on it. Yet, he was resting on silken pillows. Unless the tree had sprouted silk in his sleep, which was very unlikely, something was seriously fucked up here.
"Hello Hiei." Whispered the masked vixen.
That certainly answered his question.
Hiei's eyes snapped open and tried to push himself off the bedding, but was unable too. Those chains that connected his wrists to the incredibly sturdy wall were not giving away anytime soon. The same was true with those chains on his ankles that also connected to the wall. He also found out, with a considerably amount of masked panic, that he was gagged and his shirt had conspicuously gone missing, leaving him in a pair of simple crimson pants. Once again, he was without a weapon to define himself, and his jagan refused to do anything he wanted it to.
Looking around he saw that he was in a rather spacious, completely stone room. The rock was red sandstone. He was in the center of the room, lying on a huge pile of silk scarlet pillows. The place was dimly light with torches and had only one door. The door was made entirely out of a black metal, with huge locks and bars covering it.
In front of the door was the masked girl. She was dressed, if you could call it that, in a dark purple type 'bikini' with a near transparent dark green robe and black, lacy, high-heeled sandals. Her mask was rather simple. It was dark green with two violet snakes intertwined on it.
The girl's grin rivaled that of a shark's in terms of wanted to eat something up. On her right finger was a large black key, obviously the key to the door out of this room. She swung the key around in a circle on her finger. Then, a glowing green liquid sprang forth from her nails and dissolved it, thusly trapping the fire demon. In a room. With her. Alone.
She grinned even more as the fire demon's eyes widened. He looked so adorable when nervous. The temptress slipped off her robe. Then walked up to the pillows before getting on all fours and crawling over the soft bedding to the fire demon.
The girl positioned herself on top of Hiei and took off his gag. She grabbed a small box that materialized out of thin air. Before the fire demon could vocalize his outrage, the girl stuffed something in his mouth.
Something cold.
Something tasty.
Something that was . . . sweet snow?!
Yes, sweet snow, chocolate sweet snow with dark chocolate chunks.
"I'm not cruel you know." Said the girl, stuffing more of the ice cream in his mouth. "I just like messing with your head." And then ruffled his hair with her free hand.
"Hn. Aren't we in my head?" Said Hiei, who was looking away from the girl's poorly clad body, which was rather hard considering she was on top of him.
"Yes, no, maybe so. I believe this is somewhat like your subconscious only . . . warped." The girl sighed.
"Why am I here?" Asked Hiei.
As long as the girl was in a talkative, rather then 'playful' mood, Hiei wanted as many answers as he could get.
"Well I have to-Hey! I'm not going to do anything. I can't, sadly." Responded the girl to Hiei's private thoughts.
"How-"
"One of the perks of having a soul mate is that you can read their thoughts, if you or your lover has telekinetic abilities, that is." The girl chuckled, eating some of the ice cream herself.
The ground dropped out beneath the three eyed demon. Two words alone occupied his mind. Soul mate. What had she meant 'soul mate'?! Surely she was not suggesting that-that SHE was HIS soul mate!
The masked girl stared at the boy whose muscular body she was resting on. His eyes weren't bugging out, but it was hard to tell if he was breathing or not. A more tactful approach might have gone better then surprising him with that tid-bit of information. She better clear things up or he would probably end up with a heart attack.
"Relax! This isn't real remember? Well, actually that isn't right, this is more like a premonition, or a sort of message really. I'm not your soul mate in any case." Quickly explained the masked girl.
Hiei exhaled. The Gods didn't hate him.
"However, the girl I represent is your soul mate."
". . . What?" Questioned Hiei.
"You know how dreams sometimes mean things? With a jagan, the meaning of dreams become clearer, unfortunately, the blasted thing also blocks out things you don't want to accept. Hence the mask. That and this dream is a message of sorts. A result of fate's intervention, the ritual and many other things."
The fire demon let this sink in. Mulling it about in his mind, he came up with this conclusion:
The girl was either insane, a terrible liar, or both.
The girl's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Nonsense. This is just a crazy dream from that poison Keiko injected into me." Whispered Hiei, mainly to himself.
"You're partly right there. Some of this is the result of the poison. You see, unwittingly, unknowingly, you and Keiko started something very important to cobra demons when she saved you." Wickedly stated the girl. "It will make your body . . . react strangely when you're around her. Don't even think about avoiding her though because if you do, we get to have a slumber party every night. Also there is the part about your energy being drained because of a certain gem that could eventually kill you because of your link with Keiko, but that's just a minor complication."
"What gem? How do I destroy it?" Asked Hiei, narrowing his eyes, still not fully trusting the girl's sanity.
"You can't destroy it that would kill Keiko! Not to mention Koenma would be greatly displeased-Oh drat!" The girl said suddenly.
Hiei watched her gaze leave him and travel to the walls. Solid red stone was wavering as if it was shrouded in smoke. It seemed the dream was about to end.
"Now, pay attention, if you want to live, you need to take this gem from Keiko and return it to it's rightful place where it will no longer be able to hurt anyone, provided it doesn't get stolen again. You need to do this before the gem steals all your strength and without getting . . . distracted by anything you, um, want."
The sandstone liquefied and the world around him collapsed. It seemed this nightmare was now over, but a new one that took place in reality was about to unfold. If the girl was telling the truth, that is.
"One last thing." Whispered the girl into the three-eyed demon's ear. "This will tell you how much time is left."
She pressed her lips to the back of his left hand. Electric pain traveled through his entire body before coming back to that one spot. Then the girl too evaporated into thin air.
The fire demon woke up and looked around. He was in a tree, in a forest, in the Makai, it was almost twilight. Hiei wasn't dreaming anymore. The fire demon rubbed the bridge of his nose in the hopes that it would help rid him of those dreams. Opening his eyes, two more stared back at him.
On his hand was a bright emerald snake with silver eyes. The snake curled around a black 'K' that shone purple when the light hit it right.
"Damn it."
Lady BDF: I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG! I got a writer's block the size of Mt. Everest, an evil English project that took FOREVER to complete, loads of tests, mounds of homework and was slightly depressed.
But then . . .
I got all these GREAT reviews and death threats! Not only that, but it was my B-day (I'm officially 14 now!) sometime in these past few weeks and I got . . .
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'Rescue Yukina' DVD
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'Dark Tournament' DVD
The Yu Yu Hakusho 'The Movie' DVD
And all . . .
Unedited.
WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Suddenly I was inspired! So thank you, thank you everyone who made this chapter possible!
Bye! -^___^-