~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Kurama's P.O.V)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had been traveling for almost a day now; tracking through the now very thick blanket of snow that covered the ground of Mt. Hiei. This morning, we reached the half way point to the peak of the mountain.
We decided long ago to take a break, so we were now snuggled up close by the small bon-fire, Kioko cradled in Hiei's arms as I hugged my self tightly to keep warm. Even with our thick coats and warm sweaters, it was freezing out here. Luckily Hiei had found some dry firewood, and I had made sure to pack plenty of food, which was sizzling joyfully among the flickering flames. "How long do you think it'll take before we get there?" I asked Hiei quietly. He looked up from the sleeping Kioko and turned his attention to me. "About another two days. Shouldn't be longer than that so long as nothing goes wrong." I nodded and turned back to the sizzling skillet that held our dinner. Vaguely I heard Kioko Yawn and whimper as she awakened from her nap, that she had been in for several hours now, probably from the lack of air as we got higher and higher on the mountain. I have to admit, I wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting Kita.
In fact, I was dreading it. Not for my own safety, but for Hiei and Kioko's. a small voice in the back of my head kept on telling me that something was going to happen to them, but I simply shook it off and told my self I was just being paranoid. I knew Hiei was nervous as well, as he wouldn't let Kioko out of his grasp. As I lied awake at night some times, I watched Hiei hug her to his chest protectively and murmur things in some way of reassurance that she'd be all right in his sleep. When I thought back on that, I felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders; knowing that Hiei felt the same way I did and would do any thing within his power to prevent something from happening. I was completely unaware of Hiei's eyes on me; watching as I stared off into space,
A dreamy smile plastered on my features. I didn't notice the small finger poking me in the shoulder, or the smell of burning flesh until Hiei finally spoke up. "Um, Kurama, I think the food's done..." I looked back at him with a small 'hmm?'
And yelped in surprise when I saw the char black fish completely up in flames. Quickly, I ran over to them and placed the small tin pot lid on the flames, letting them smother, and finally go out. I sighed as I noticed the fish were burnt to a crisp. "Well, there goes our dinner. I suppose we could just fill up on bread and cheese tonight." Hiei nodded, obviously not too concerned with our lack of food, as he was used to it after traveling so often. I sat back and leaned against the log I was resting on, gazing up at the clear night sky.
"I can't help but wonder what's going to happen once we reach the peak of the mountain." I thought aloud. Hiei scooted closer to me and placed the sleeping baby kit in my arms, watching as her ears twitched frantically, so to the sudden disruption of her sleep. "Simple. We find that witch, we thank her personally for the little 'gift' and we kick her ass and bring her back to the spirit realm." Hiei said, making me laugh at how he could make any thing sound like the simplest thing in the world. "It won't be that easy. She's obviously quite powerful." Hiei nodded, matching my gaze as he too looked up at the bright stars. "Yes, but we'll figure something out. She can't be nearly as powerful as
Genkai, and Genkai said she would defend her self, so who knows? Maybe she'll kill her off for us." I chuckled. "Right. You never know, it just may work out like that." I let out a sigh. "But I still can't help but think that something bad will happen." Hiei nodded in agreement, turning over on his side so his head was resting on my shoulder. "We can only hope that nothing happens and every thing turns out ok." I said, causing Hiei to smirk. "Hope is for the weak. You of all people should know that. Instead of hoping, we should get up there and kill Kita, as well as any one who gets in our way." Once again, I let out a sigh in defeat as well as a low chuckle. 'That's Hiei for ya. Nothing you can do about that.' The voice in the back of my head told me. 'Yes, but he really has changed. The old Hiei would've killed me on the spot if I told him he had to give up every thing he had to help me take care of a baby.' The voice in my head let out a sinister laugh. 'How do you know he won't do that now? Let's face it.
He said it him self. The only reason he chose you as a partner in the first place was to avoid fighting you himself. Now that you've gone soft, he can easily get rid of you. Hn. the only reason why he keeps the baby around is for her power. And once he gets that, he'll probably kill her too!' the voice wailed with laughter. 'You're wrong! Hiei loves me! And he loves Kioko! He would never do something like that!' I claimed, looking over at Hiei as he twisted a strand of Kioko's snowy white hair on his small finger, smiling absentmindedly.
'Ha! You fool! He doesn't love you or that brat, and he never will. Just do us both a favor and keep an eye on him. You never know when he could turn on you.' The voice made a slit-throat sound in my head, and I quickly covered my ears trying to block out the offensive sound. "Stop it! You're wrong!" I cried out, accidentally saying it out loud. Hiei nearly jumped 3 feet into the air as he heard me scream. "Stop What Kurama?" He asked, a confused look on his face. "Uh, nothing. Let's just go to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us." I said, curling up on the pile of blankets, Kioko wrapped protectively in my arms. Hiei looked at me questioningly, but after a moment of contemplation decided to let the matter drop and go to sleep. Once I was sure Hiei was sound asleep, I turned to look at his sleeping features. 'He wouldn't do that...would he?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(TBC)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had been traveling for almost a day now; tracking through the now very thick blanket of snow that covered the ground of Mt. Hiei. This morning, we reached the half way point to the peak of the mountain.
We decided long ago to take a break, so we were now snuggled up close by the small bon-fire, Kioko cradled in Hiei's arms as I hugged my self tightly to keep warm. Even with our thick coats and warm sweaters, it was freezing out here. Luckily Hiei had found some dry firewood, and I had made sure to pack plenty of food, which was sizzling joyfully among the flickering flames. "How long do you think it'll take before we get there?" I asked Hiei quietly. He looked up from the sleeping Kioko and turned his attention to me. "About another two days. Shouldn't be longer than that so long as nothing goes wrong." I nodded and turned back to the sizzling skillet that held our dinner. Vaguely I heard Kioko Yawn and whimper as she awakened from her nap, that she had been in for several hours now, probably from the lack of air as we got higher and higher on the mountain. I have to admit, I wasn't exactly looking forward to meeting Kita.
In fact, I was dreading it. Not for my own safety, but for Hiei and Kioko's. a small voice in the back of my head kept on telling me that something was going to happen to them, but I simply shook it off and told my self I was just being paranoid. I knew Hiei was nervous as well, as he wouldn't let Kioko out of his grasp. As I lied awake at night some times, I watched Hiei hug her to his chest protectively and murmur things in some way of reassurance that she'd be all right in his sleep. When I thought back on that, I felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders; knowing that Hiei felt the same way I did and would do any thing within his power to prevent something from happening. I was completely unaware of Hiei's eyes on me; watching as I stared off into space,
A dreamy smile plastered on my features. I didn't notice the small finger poking me in the shoulder, or the smell of burning flesh until Hiei finally spoke up. "Um, Kurama, I think the food's done..." I looked back at him with a small 'hmm?'
And yelped in surprise when I saw the char black fish completely up in flames. Quickly, I ran over to them and placed the small tin pot lid on the flames, letting them smother, and finally go out. I sighed as I noticed the fish were burnt to a crisp. "Well, there goes our dinner. I suppose we could just fill up on bread and cheese tonight." Hiei nodded, obviously not too concerned with our lack of food, as he was used to it after traveling so often. I sat back and leaned against the log I was resting on, gazing up at the clear night sky.
"I can't help but wonder what's going to happen once we reach the peak of the mountain." I thought aloud. Hiei scooted closer to me and placed the sleeping baby kit in my arms, watching as her ears twitched frantically, so to the sudden disruption of her sleep. "Simple. We find that witch, we thank her personally for the little 'gift' and we kick her ass and bring her back to the spirit realm." Hiei said, making me laugh at how he could make any thing sound like the simplest thing in the world. "It won't be that easy. She's obviously quite powerful." Hiei nodded, matching my gaze as he too looked up at the bright stars. "Yes, but we'll figure something out. She can't be nearly as powerful as
Genkai, and Genkai said she would defend her self, so who knows? Maybe she'll kill her off for us." I chuckled. "Right. You never know, it just may work out like that." I let out a sigh. "But I still can't help but think that something bad will happen." Hiei nodded in agreement, turning over on his side so his head was resting on my shoulder. "We can only hope that nothing happens and every thing turns out ok." I said, causing Hiei to smirk. "Hope is for the weak. You of all people should know that. Instead of hoping, we should get up there and kill Kita, as well as any one who gets in our way." Once again, I let out a sigh in defeat as well as a low chuckle. 'That's Hiei for ya. Nothing you can do about that.' The voice in the back of my head told me. 'Yes, but he really has changed. The old Hiei would've killed me on the spot if I told him he had to give up every thing he had to help me take care of a baby.' The voice in my head let out a sinister laugh. 'How do you know he won't do that now? Let's face it.
He said it him self. The only reason he chose you as a partner in the first place was to avoid fighting you himself. Now that you've gone soft, he can easily get rid of you. Hn. the only reason why he keeps the baby around is for her power. And once he gets that, he'll probably kill her too!' the voice wailed with laughter. 'You're wrong! Hiei loves me! And he loves Kioko! He would never do something like that!' I claimed, looking over at Hiei as he twisted a strand of Kioko's snowy white hair on his small finger, smiling absentmindedly.
'Ha! You fool! He doesn't love you or that brat, and he never will. Just do us both a favor and keep an eye on him. You never know when he could turn on you.' The voice made a slit-throat sound in my head, and I quickly covered my ears trying to block out the offensive sound. "Stop it! You're wrong!" I cried out, accidentally saying it out loud. Hiei nearly jumped 3 feet into the air as he heard me scream. "Stop What Kurama?" He asked, a confused look on his face. "Uh, nothing. Let's just go to sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us." I said, curling up on the pile of blankets, Kioko wrapped protectively in my arms. Hiei looked at me questioningly, but after a moment of contemplation decided to let the matter drop and go to sleep. Once I was sure Hiei was sound asleep, I turned to look at his sleeping features. 'He wouldn't do that...would he?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(TBC)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~