~High Voltage~
. . .
Chapter Ten: About Teilen
. . .



For the next few days afterwards, Teilen trained nonstop, whether it was with Kurama or by herself. She still hadn't had the chance to battle Yusuke yet, but figured she would challenge him soon enough. Right now they needed to focus on defeating Khewew Hem-teh. And for Teilen, the upcoming battle was to be a personal one...

It was four o'clock in the morning. Teilen was lying on her back on her double bed, staring up at the ceiling. She'd had no use for the blankets, so the bed looked as though it hadn't been used. The room was still very dark, but a few birds were chirping outside. Teilen had gotten about three or four hours of sleep. She knew that it was unhealthy for one to sleep as little as she did, however sleeping never came easy to her. When it did, it was full of dreams--reminders of a past that she would rather just forget.

Turning her head slightly to the left, she watched Botan sleeping in the other bed across from her. Botan, in Teilen's opinion, was quite possibly the most annoying one out of the whole bunch. She was always either nagging Teilen about trying out human things or attempting to get Teilen to have meaningless conversations with her.

Letting a small yawn escape her, Teilen moved her head back so that she was staring at the ceiling once again. At least now Kurama wouldn't be able to nag her about not sleeping. She had barely moved from her spot for almost seven hours. For most of the time, she'd been sleeping. During much of the time she'd been awake, she was in deep thought; she had a lot on her mind. Especially since the battle against Khewew Hem-teh was only a few days away. Teilen knew that she should tell the others everything she knew about him, but she was putting it off; it wasn't something she really wanted them to know, and depending on how things happened, she wouldn't have to tell them a thing. As far as she was concerned, the less they knew about her, the better.

Closing her eyes, Teilen was surprised to feel as tired as she suddenly did, and before long she had fallen asleep once again.

. . .



She had broken free again. Running down the halls, she was determined not to get caught again. This time she was three years older and that much stronger. Was she strong enough to get past them should they come after her? She didn't know, but she figured it was worth a try. It was always worth a try. She was never going to give up until she was free.

She turned the corner quickly, not seeing anybody patrolling the halls, and promptly flattened herself against the wall, hiding in the shadows. Over the years, she'd learned to hide like this. Since it was dark, it was fairly simple to do. Slinking along the wall, she tried to remember the way she thought would lead her to the exit. After years of imprisonment, was she finally going to break free? She suddenly froze as footsteps were heard a little ways down the hall. She waited, holding her breath, as the demon eventually passed her and continued on ahead.


After waiting a few seconds, she kept going in the same direction the demon had went. She realized that she could meet up with him further down, but if she was correct, that was the right way to go.

Five minutes later, she was still looking for the exit. Where was it? It had to be around here, she could have sworn it was nearby. But another five minutes passed, and still nothing. The situation was getting dangerous. By now the guards must have realized she was missing, and were looking for her. When--if--she was caught, the punishment would be harsh. The last time she had gotten off easy, but this time... She shook it from thought. There was no turning back now. The only thing to do was keep looking for a way out.

She turned down another corner, when suddenly she felt a hand clamp onto her shoulder. The hand squeezed hard, claws digging into her skin, giving her three or four small puncture wounds. She didn't utter a sound, only gazed up at her captor. It was one of the guards—a particularly ruthless-looking demon, massive in size and scale.

"Up to your old tricks, huh," he grunted in a deep, scratchy voice. He hauled her into the air, so that they could see eye-to-eye. "I don't care for brats like you. You don't seem to be learning; maybe the punishments aren't severe enough for you." He licked his lips, as if enjoying the images of increasing her torture in his mind.

"Wi ib ne sat tew,"[1] she spat at him. "One day, I will. Mark my words."

He didn't understand what she said. "Whatever that meant, I'm going to make sure you're tormented extra long for it!" He brought a fist down hard on top of her head, and she was knocked out.

When she woke up, she found herself in an odd position. Tied. Her wrists bound together, arms over her head, hanging from a wall by chains. She was at least ten feet off the ground. She was confused and disoriented from the recent event, but she knew that this wasn't the usual method of punishment. Something told her that this was to be much worse. Looking around, she spotted the guard who had knocked her out standing beside a large machine a few yards away. He noticed that she was awake, and grinned wickedly.

"Good. I wanted you to be wide awake for this..." He laughed and pulled one of the levers on the machine.

She wondered what was going on, and almost instantly she felt a burning, stinging pain rip through her entire body, causing her to spasm involuntarily. She couldn't help but cry out, instinctively trying to double over but couldn't because of the way she was tied down. The painful sensation lasted about ten seconds, and then it stopped. After a two second break, it began again. She screamed once more, spasming again, and through watery eyes noticed the demon laughing at her; taking pleasure in her pain. Gritting her teeth, she took the next wave without uttering a sound, keeping every muscle as stiff as possible. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of watching her screaming and writhing from the pain. But the longer this kept up, the more painful it got to endure, and she found herself wishing for a quick death to put her out of her misery. Anything would be better than this...

. . .



Teilen sat up fast, waking up instantly. She found herself in a cold sweat, and shivering slightly. Taking a few breaths, she tried to force the dream out of her mind. It wasn't important right now, anyway. Teilen noticed that the room was now considerably brighter than it was when she had fallen asleep. It must be close to eight o'clock. How could she have slept so late? She was wasting valuable training time!

Glancing sideways, she noticed that the bed beside her was empty. Even Botan was already up. Teilen jumped off the bed, listening for signs of life in the next room. She heard nothing. They must be out training. It looked like she was going to be on her own today, which was just fine with her. She didn't feel much like being nagged by Kurama some more anyway. She walked toward the door and was about to leave the room when suddenly a movement from behind made her whirl back around. "Ne-me?"[2] She gasped slightly in surprise when she saw who was standing in the middle of the room.

He was very tall in stature and muscular as well. His skin was dark blue in color, and his long, unkempt coarse hair bright white. He was clothed in a simple outfit colored silver. He stared at her with cold, intense eyes that matched the color of his clothing and implied thoughts of malevolence. Grinning rancorously, he displayed the many bright white fangs lining his mouth. One glance at him and Teilen knew that he was the dreaded demon, Khewew Hem-teh.

She immediately took on a fighting stance, and glared at the intruder. If it was a fight he wanted, then he would certainly get one! But then as she watched him, she noticed him flicker a couple times; much like a candle in the wind. She realized then that it was just an image—he was not fully restored to life and therefore not a threat to her just yet. He then surprised her by speaking. His voice was deep, bitter, and seemed to resonate throughout the room:

"Redi me ne a-ten sened, fen khered. Hesi. Ir tew ib ne re-a'-khet, tew ib ne me-te."[3] His evil grin turned into a scowl. So he did know that she and the Spirit Detectives were after him.

"Wi ne-sep ded ma-baja ne re-a'-khet,"[4] she was quick to respond, narrowing her eyes at the demon. "Ini set tep!"[5] Deep down, she knew exactly what she was getting herself into; but it didn't matter how strong Khewew Hem-teh was. He had to be defeated by any means necessary, Koenma had said, and Teilen had agreed to help out. She wasn't about to go back on her word.

Khewew Hem-teh smirked; amused. "Me ter,"[6] he replied. Seconds later, he vanished from the room as quickly as he had come, leaving no trace of ever having been there at all.

Teilen relaxed, but only for a second, because just then she noticed a certain vertically-challenged fire demon standing in the corner of the room. She guessed that was the reason Khewew Hem-teh had left so hastily; Hiei had seen him. "What are you doing here?" She spat.

He glowered at her and chose to ignore the question. "What the hell was that?"

Teilen had a smart remark all ready for him, but faltered, realizing that she didn't have much of a choice but to tell him. She would be looking pretty suspicious if she just told him to shove off and mind his own business. "Khewew Hem-teh," she reluctantly responded bitterly. When he continued to look at her expectantly, wanting a full explanation, she sighed impatiently and kept talking. "His life isn't fully restored yet. We still have a few days to prepare."

"Hn." Hiei didn't move from his spot.

"What do you want?" She snapped, becoming annoyed with the fact that he wouldn't leave.

"What were you talking about with him? And you'd better tell the truth; I'll know if you're lying to me." His Jagan glowed blue beneath the white bandana.

"Don't threaten me, Khewew Jeret! ...It was nothing important anyhow. The wexa just thought he would try and scare me out of killing him."

"Which brings me to the next question: how does he know you?"

Teilen growled, "I don't see why it's any of your business."

Hiei growled back, "I don't see why I should trust you. Maybe you're working with him against us."

"How dare you!" Teilen shouted. "I wouldn't lower myself to that level, and besides, I work alone."

Hiei smirked, having realized that he'd struck a nerve. "So start talking."

"Khewew Hem-teh knows me because he is my father!" Teilen angrily responded. "He's a lightning apparition, like me."

"No. You're different," Hiei said, recalling the image of Teilen in her demon form; she had been a much lighter blue than Khewew Hem-teh was. "You're half human, aren't you?" He inquired in a mocking tone.

Teilen closed the distance between the two of them so fast that it surprised even Hiei. Before he could react, she had him by the cloak and slammed him into the wall. "One more word about that and I'll make a lightning bolt split your head in half," she upbraided him, through clenched teeth. "You dare make a mockery out of me and it'll be the very last thing you ever do."

He grabbed her hands and ripped them off of him. It was a fairly effortless action, considering he had the advantage in strength. "Touch me again and consider yourself dead!" He retorted, just as the door connecting the two rooms opened.

"What's going on?" Kurama wondered, walking into the room. Teilen stepped away from Hiei, both of them glaring daggers at each other.

"Hn. Why don't you ask the daughter of Khewew Hem-teh?" Hiei remarked.

"What?" Kurama's surprised eyes shifted to Teilen.

Teilen shot a look of utter revulsion in Hiei's direction. "Wexa!" She snapped. She turned swiftly and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her, and for the second time in two days, it fell off its hinges seconds afterwards.

. . .

'That stupid, bastard, wexa fire demon!' She thought angrily. 'Just who does he think he is anyway? Asking me questions like I owe him something, and then blurting out my secret to Kurama...if I had wanted anyone else to know about that, I'd have told them myself. Damn it, I don't want them to know me!' She clenched her teeth and scowled at nobody in particular.

Life was so much easier for Teilen when nobody knew her. Since agreeing to help with this mission, she was expected to be social with those Spirit Detectives and share her knowledge with them...and now she would probably have to explain her past to them as well. She mentally cursed again, thinking that she should have never agreed to come in the first place. None of them were going leave her alone after that fight with Hiei, and why should they? Of course they would be curious, and even suspicious of her relation to Khewew Hem-teh. This was exactly the kind of situation that Teilen had been hoping she wouldn't have to be in, and now here she was. This was all Hiei's fault!

'If he'd just kept his damn mouth shut...'

Teilen shifted positions. She had been sitting on the edge of the hotel rooftop all day, cursing Hiei to Hell and fuming about the recent events, and now the sun was beginning to set. The horizon was a mix of oranges, yellows, and pinks. In the city below, shadows were taking the place of light. Humans were hurrying home from their jobs, stopping to shop for groceries or for other various errands, and the children gathered to play in the streets after a long, tedious day of school. Teilen pulled herself from her thoughts and watched them with interest for a while, being reminded once again of the fact that she was half human herself. She was often reminded of this, and was constantly bothered by it. She had always considered most humans to be weak and foolish. Ashamed of belonging to a race that she typically tended to shun, Teilen was inclined to look down upon those humans. She did have a little bit of respect for them, though—as much as she would insult them, she was still one of them after all.

Hiei had also found it necessary to poke fun at her lineage, which was another reason why she felt like she hated him.

She was still furious about what had happened a few days before, when he'd had the nerve to walk in on her while she was using the shower. Then he had actually dared to comment on her anatomy: "Well there was nothing worth seeing anyhow!" She knew that this little remark had been aimed at her rather flat chest, and only served to anger her further. Not that she cared about her size—that was least important as far as she was concerned--but the fact that he had tried to insult her in that manner was absolutely infuriating.

Hearing a slight noise that sounded much like footsteps behind her, Teilen turned around to see the ever-calm Kurama standing there; dressed in a blue denim jacket, a white polo shirt and khaki pants. His long red hair waved gently in the slight wind. Teilen gave him an 'oh-it's-just-you' look and turned back to stare at the scenery ahead of her.

"I noticed you have been up here all day," he commented, taking a few steps toward the edge of the roof where she sat.

"Cut the small talk, I know what you want. You—and everybody else—want to know about my relation to Khewew Hem-teh, am I right?" She continued to gaze straight ahead, fixing her eyes on a small human boy skipping down the sidewalk below.

"Yes, that is correct," Kurama admitted.

"Huh." She watched the little boy stumble and fall to the ground, scraping his knee in the process. He cried out to his mother, who immediately rushed to his side.

Kurama noticed her watching the little scene. "There is nothing wrong with being part human, Teilen. As you can see, it is what I am now, and I do not mind it at all."

She sighed, deciding that he was okay to talk to. Like she really had much of a choice anyway. "My mother was a human. She was born in this very city and so was I," she said, still not looking at him.

"Yes, I thought you were an Egyptian," Kurama replied, as if confirming a suspicion.

Teilen nodded slowly. "My father, Khewew Hem-teh, was a terrible demon who used to go by the name of Jaiyu. You have probably heard of him. He killed many demons and many more humans, simply because he enjoyed taking life. Power was the one thing he valued above all else, and he thrived on the people's fear of him. A long time ago he was destroyed by the Spirit Detective preceding your Yusuke Urameshi. He had escaped the Makai and ended up here, where he raped a young Egyptian woman—the pharaoh's daughter, to be precise. Before he was destroyed, some of the Egyptian people nicknamed him Khewew Hem-teh for 'evil slave', which was meant to be a great insult, and put a curse on him. Meanwhile the woman went through with the pregnancy and had the baby, but sensed evil in it. She unwillingly kept the child for three years, fearing what her people would think of her if she didn't. Finally, after realizing the destruction the child was capable of, she decided to get rid of it. She rode out into the desert one night with that child and abandoned it there, beside one of the pyramids, and never looked back. The child was left to die in that spot, and would have if a small band of demons hadn't come and taken it to the Makai a few nights later," she finished. That was all she was willing to share with him, and he didn't need to know the rest of her story anyway. She finally looked over to Kurama. "I understand that you have to tell the others about this, but make it brief. I don't want them to know any more than they need to."

Kurama folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, thoughtfully. "Of course. Strange, though..."

"Ne-me?" Teilen cocked an eyebrow in questioning. "What's strange?"

"You and Hiei seem to have a few things in common. He was also abandoned as a child; although in his case, his mother did not wish to give him up."

Upon hearing this, Teilen had to remind herself that she hated Hiei and could never feel sorry for him, though curiousity was nagging at her again. "What happened?" She asked anyway, before she could stop herself.

Kurama bowed his head, as if trying to hide his expression. "You will have to ask him, I'm afraid. He does not speak much of his past, even to me."

Teilen snorted, realizing what Kurama was up to. "Forget it. You're just trying to get me to like him, and it isn't going to work."

"I did not say you had to like him, Teilen. I only wish for you to get along with him. I'm certain we will have enough enemies to face outside our group without the two of you at each other's throats."

Teilen thought about this for a moment, and then smirked. "Well Kurama, if Hiei is willing to apologize, then I am willing to try to get along with him." She said this knowing full well that Hiei would not want to apologize. If Kurama could get him to do that, she would be quite impressed.

Kurama just nodded, accepting the challenge. "Very well," he said. He turned around, with the intention of going back to his room. "It would appear that I have some work to do. Please come inside soon, Teilen," he added before he disappeared down the stairs.

Teilen wondered why he cared so much, but she was also curious about whether or not Hiei would really apologize. She doubted that Kurama could get him to do it. That fire apparition was even more stubborn than she was. Still, it was an amusing thought.

. . .



"WHAT?" Hiei exploded, after having heard about Teilen's 'deal' from Kurama. They were alone in the guys' hotel room; Hiei sitting on the windowsill and Kurama standing a few feet away from him, looking sly as ever. "Kurama! Don't be a fool, there is no need for me to apologize to anyone!" He glared at his kitsune friend, who only stared back at him with an amused expression.

"Why Hiei, it is only for the good of our team. I think it would be a wise choice to apologize so that we may all get along with each other. The two of you are not expected to be friends, of course."

Hiei growled, "I see no reason why I should be the one to apologize when it's obvious that she started it."

"Don't you think that seems a bit childish?" Kurama questioned, earning himself a disgruntled scowl from his comrade.

"Hn."

"It is very important that everyone is on good terms with each other before we face this demon, Hiei, you know that. Besides," he added with a smirk, "if you talk with her, you might find that you both are very much alike. I just spoke with her a few minutes ago..."

"There is no need to explain," Hiei said, cutting him off. "I heard the whole conversation and her little story. She isn't going to recieve any sympathy from me, if that's what you're getting at."

"Not at all," Kurama answered, innocently. "I just thought that you might be able to relate to her. Please consider apologizing, Hiei. I know that you don't want to, but why not do it as a favor for the rest of us?"

Hiei didn't like the sound of that, either. "Why would I do that?"

Kurama just chuckled. "I thought you would say that. I suppose I could be more convincing if you like..."

"Is that a threat?"

"Absolutely not," he replied. "Just a thought, that's all." He turned around and exited the room, leaving Hiei all by himself to ponder the conversation.

Hiei scowled again. He had no desire to apologize to Teilen when she was just as much at fault as he. So what if he had walked in on her while she was in shower? She had gotten her revenge for that minor mistake when she deliberately walked in on him a few hours afterward. And he felt that his informing Kurama of her relation to Khewew Hem-teh was justified—she had no right to keep important information such as that to herself. How did she expect them to trust her if she was keeping things from them?

He had to admit, though, Kurama had a point. If he and Teilen were not going to get along, it would only serve to cause even more problems. But why did he have to apologize? He despised the thought. She probably only wanted him to apologize so that she could watch him suffer. He stubbornly wrestled with these thoughts for about an hour before finally coming to a decision.

Hiei growled in disgust and opened the window he sat next to, hating what he was actually about to do. He made a mental note to himself to kill Kurama for this later, and leapt out of the said window, shooting straight up and landing neatly on the roof of the hotel. The cloudless night sky was now a deep blue, and the moon clearly visible. Hiei could see Teilen on the opposite side, sitting on the edge and staring blankly ahead, seeming to be in deep thought. He was careful to make no sound as he approached her. When he was about five feet from her he cleared his throat loudly, and was pleased to see that he had startled her.

She whirled around and stood up, staring at him with a surprised expression on her face. He could tell that he was the last thing she had expected to see. She still wore the same low, baggy black pants from the day they'd fought, but had traded the black shirt for a white one that looked like it was just a long piece of cloth carelessly wrapped around her top half, exposing even more of her well-toned abdomen. Hiei did his best to ignore this and continued to stand there, hands shoved into his pockets, annoyed at what he had let Kurama talk him into.

"What do you want?" She finally asked, after a long pause while the two had stood and stared at each other.

"Hn," he grunted. "I..." He mumbled the other words, and she could barely hear him.

Amused, she smirked at him. "What did you say?"

"I said I APOLOGIZE, woman!" Hiei snapped back. He crossed his arms and glared at her.

She kept looking at him with the same amused expression, and suddenly she shocked him by smiling, of all things. It was a small one, but a definite smile nonetheless, and it made her deep blue eyes shine. Hiei then surprised himself by actually liking it...then he mentally slapped himself and became angry. How dare she find it funny! This was no laughing matter—he had been practically forced to apologize because of that stupid fox, and now she was smiling about it!

He scowled. "What's so funny?"

The smile was erased from her visage as quickly as it had appeared. "I just didn't think you would actually do this. Kurama must be a miracle-worker."

"Hn."

"You probably didn't mean it. I still hate you, Khewew Jeret." She smirked.

"And I return the sentiment," he replied.

"I know. But like Kurama said, we should put our differences aside for now. I can do that if you can," she said in a taunting tone.

"Of course I can," he scowled. Who did she think he was, a five year old?

"Good, because I want a re-match." She narrowed her eyes at him. "This time you're going to lose...it's just a shame that I won't be able to kill you."

"Hn," Hiei grunted in reply. "We'll see about that. Let's go—If you can keep up, that is." He instantly disappeared after the last word left his mouth, speeding off to a random place in the desert where the two of them could spar without interruption.

Teilen watched him go and hung back for a second longer. Maybe Kurama had been right about another thing—maybe she should consider giving Hiei another chance. The key word there was 'maybe'... Teilen leapt off the roof, following Hiei to wherever he was going.

. . .

Translations:

[6]Me ter -- "In time"

[5]Ini set tep -- "Bring it on"

[4]Wi ne-sep ded ma-baja ne re-a'-khet -- "I never say no to battle"

[3]Redi me ne a-ten sened, fen khered. Hesi. Ir tew ib ne re-a'-khet, tew ib ne me-te -- "Give in to your fear, weak child. Turn back. If you wish to battle, you wish to die."

[2]Ne-me? -- "What?"

[1]Wi ib ne sat tew -- "I wish to slaughter you"

. . .

AN: FINALLY! This chapter took me a while to write, and I'm sorry to those of you who were left hanging. Blame school—I do. Anyway, this chapter may be a little shorter than what I promised, but I just couldn't make it any longer. I thought of writing about Hiei and Teilen's training session, but there will be plenty of that in the next chapter. I love making those to bicker the way they do, I'm gonna be sad when they don't fight like that any more. Well anyway, review! I need to know what people think!

Next Chapter: Fully Restored