I DO NOT OWN YYH, I DO OWN YUKI. HER FULL NAME MEANS SNOW-FLAKE. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS…ARIGATO!
When Fire and Ice Collide
Ch. 2 Fear
Yuki screamed out in fear as the tall demon approached her. His fangs sharp and stained with blood. His claws wanting more, flexing as those cold black beady eyes stared at her. "What a fine pet…" he growled and smirked seductively. She was so scared. He stood at least 10 feet high with hair covering him. He looked like a wolf, to be blunt…a werewolf.
She edged back against a tree and let out a terrified yip as he took her by the arm and brought her closer. She waited for him to do as he would, didn't know what was going to happen but was too afraid to keep her eyes open. She squeezed them shut and waited for the worst.
Something splattered on her and she peeked out of her lowered lids to see a shadow move so fast, she wouldn't have known who it was unless she knew him…Hiei.
After he landed and the demon literally fell into little chunks, she fell to the ground and shook. He looked over to her and was shocked, why she was trembling, he didn't know. Maybe it was him…it always had been to everyone else. But somehow, she was different. He slowly sheathed his sword and knelt by her, with a TEENY TINY hint of concern that she didn't notice.
He noticed a tear slide from her eye and fall in front of him with a tiny sound. He picked the gem up and she stared at the ground, not wanting to see anyone's face. She was so ashamed. She didn't want to feel weak, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was. She never fought in a fight and never thought of even killing another. She believed that no one had the right to take another's life but who was she kidding? She couldn't stop the fact that some beings had to die for their causes of pain and anguish. She gasped in her thoughts, 'Have I really become that cruel? I never thought of anything so…terrible…' another tear slid and Hiei caught it, tucking it into his cloak.
'This makes 4 that she's cried since she was here…is she really so sad?' his mind raced, 'Maybe she wants to go home…' he growled at the thought of 'home.' Koorime was not his home, he wouldn't go back again. Not after the fear he had seen in Rui's eyes. She tried to hide it, but like everything, Hiei 'saw' it. He didn't need to have her edge away, his Jagan Eye had shown him everything.
He looked at the ice maiden again and tried to figure out what he could do to help. 'Why should I help her?' he growled at his thoughts. 'Because, you've got no reason not to…' his conscious answered. 'So what?! It never stopped me before!' He almost got into a death match with his wit, and dare he say heart? 'Ah, but it is now. She came all this way just to find YOU.' the nice part of his mind said, 'she is too curious for her own good!' His nice conscious shut up. But somehow, deep down, he knew it was all a lie. How had he treated her so badly? Why was she still willing to at least be his friend? What is motivating her to do so?
"Thank…thank you." she whispered and he looked at her once more after his mere fight with his mind. He saw the blood splatters on her cream kimono. He smirked.
"I admit I went a little overboard…" he said, nodding to the stains. She looked at him with a strange look.
'why is he so nice now?' she wouldn't ask that. This was the first time they had actually been civil…well, she always was…mostly, but he never took the time to even glance at her. It hurt…more than not knowing him at all.
"It's alright." she mumbled and stood up, him rising with her, "You saved my life and probably a lot of pain that I'd have to go through." she replied innocently and looked at his cold emotionless red eyes. "I am forever in your debt." she curtly bowed and headed towards the river to try and wash out the stains.
He hit himself in the head, muttering, "Why does this always happen to me?" he thought for a moment, 'is there a stamp on my bandanna that says, 'ice maidens, I'll help if your in trouble'?' he almost laughed at the thought, keeping an eye on her and undoing his bandanna to check. He didn't see the letters unless they were invisible. He started to put the bandanna back on and spotted her sitting down, with her legs in the cool water.
She looked over and quirked her head to the side, 'what is he doing? I've never seen him without that bandanna…' he had it over his forehead before she could see the eye.
He figured she'd be more frightened of him had she seen it. It wasn't everyday that someone had a Jagan Eye implanted in their forehead. He didn't want to explain that he got it to find his sister. He walked over and stood about 10 feet away from her.
"Why have you stopped washing your kimono?" he snarled.
"It's blood…it will smear and you have to wash it out a lot. I will just say that I was attacked and I ran." she shrugged and looked back at the water.
"But where would you have gotten the blood?" he lifted a brow and saw her shrug and shake her head. Her ice blue hair swaying as it blew in a calm breeze.
"I hadn't thought about that." she said innocently.
He rolled his eyes and thought, 'naïve.' He didn't want to do it but he supposed he had no choice. He undid his cloak, walked up silently and placed it on her shoulders.
She shrunk down by his touch. She looked up at him then the cloak. And for a moment, he thought she might cry again. He didn't know why, she just had that look over her and her eyes were misty. Then, despite what he may have been thinking, she smiled.
"Thank you Hiei. But you didn't have to…" she was cut short by him turning and walking off.
"I know." he sneered and summoned her with his hand, "Coming or staying?" he growled and she got up quickly, pulling the cloak more over her and walked with him.
"Hiei…" she began and got a hard glare from him, "Never mind…"
"Hn." he muttered. 'What was she going to ask?' he forgot how sensitive she was. Almost like his sister, he tried to be patient, but sometimes it was unbearable. And yet, he liked her innocent posture. The way she always saw the good things. Such an optimistic girl that it almost made him want to be less of a pessimist. Almost. He looked out at the temple and glared. Of course Kurama would be there with Kitzuu in the garden. It didn't surprise him. Maybe they wouldn't notice-
"Yuki!?!" Kitzuu ran over to Yuki and gasped, "What are you doing in Hiei's cloak!"
"I…it's a long story-"
"It does not concern you." Hiei hissed and walked off.
"Touchy, isn't he." Kurama smirked at Yuki who looked at him strange. 'Naïve' Kurama thought to himself. 'Just like Yukina…young and happy, but terribly naïve.'
"I have to change, excuse me." Yuki mumbled and walked rather fast into the temple and her room where she changed into a light blue kimono. She glanced out the window to see Hiei sitting on a tree, looking away from her at the stars that began to appear as the sun set behind him. She went outside and looked up, looking around and started to climb the tree. She was determined to talk with him until the branch under her broke and she fell backwards.
A hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. She saw his muscles tense as he set her on branch and growled. She sat there a few moments before she recollected herself and handed him the cloak.
"My apologies, Hiei." she mumbled and winced as he took the cloak away from her quickly. Before he put it on, she saw his taut muscles in his chest and abdomen. The way his muscles flexed when he knew she was watching her. She turned away, waiting for him to finish getting his cloak on. She cleared her throat and peeked at him. He was looking at the stars again. "I did not know you liked the stars, Hiei." she said softly and he tensed a bit.
"I don't." he bit.
"But…why are you looking out there?" she looked to see if there was any real reason and he growled.
"Because I feel like it."
"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry." she bowed her head and stood up on the branch. His attention went straight to her.
"Are you mad?! What the hell are you doing!" he growled and stood up, the branch bending under his weight. He knew it would not hold for long.
"I'm going to try to get-" she didn't finish her sentence. He had grabbed her and jumped to a higher branch as the one broke like a twig. She gasped and watched it plummet to the ground, noticing that he had protected her again. She sat up and sighed, "It seems I am causing you nothing but trouble." she admitted and got up again.
His hands, still wrapped around her, help her still. "What do you think you are doing!"
"I'm trying to get down…" she said quietly enough to send a tremor through him.
"You couldn't climb up, what makes you think you could climb down!" he let her go, she wobbled a bit and held onto the branch for support.
"I tried to get up here but that branch broke and…"
"You don't know how to test a branch's strength, let alone climb a tree!" he grunted and crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry, but on Koorime, there really aren't trees to climb…just mountains. I climbed this mountain before and I thought it was a tad difficult but how hard could a tree be?"
"A lot harder than you think, Curious!" he growled and she squinted at the name.
"I'm sorry that you feel that I am weak. I assure you, I try my hardest not to be." she stiffened her chin and met his gaze head-on.
'She may be naïve, but she's rebellious…' he smirked at it. The night sky turning to a dark blue, she lit up a bit around her eyes again. He saw the mist in them glowing in an ice-blue color. Her pupils growing larger with the loss of light. She looked like a rare treasure and that she was…but he didn't want to admit it.
He was Hiei! Strong, rebellious, able-to-take-care-of-himself-since-day-one-Hiei! He didn't need someone to tell him that he should be careful. He didn't want someone in his life. But he did want a true friend. But he couldn't soil her sweet pureness with his hate. He shooed the thought quickly away.
She watched his red eyes glow a bit, she knew he was watching her, intent on figuring out what she was up to. She wanted to tell him that it would be alright. She wanted to comfort him and say that she's there. But she knew him too well. She may have only met him yesterday, but she KNEW that he was not the type to want sympathy.
He was prideful, a bit egotistical, and definitely arrogant! But deep inside, he was like her. He was sensitive of things. Not many, but he didn't want to discuss his fears. His childhood memories. He was much like her. But her reason for not discussing her memories and childhood with ANYONE else was completely different than his. She didn't want to remember the beatings and the males that thought she was a 'rare jewel' the same as her tears. She looked at him with a sad face.
He didn't like that look. A look of despair. Of hurt. Of loneliness. He knew those emotions first hand. He didn't like them and he didn't want to see it scar her beauty. He didn't want her to hurt. She reminded him too much of Yukina. He didn't want to see it on her, and he didn't want to see it on Yukina.
He didn't admit to having feelings for Yuki. He wasn't about to admit it either. But he knew somehow, in some odd way, he wanted to protect her. Just like he had Yukina. He smirked as she got a bit closer to examine his features.
She didn't like his looks he was giving her. Hate, strangeness and could it be…? She didn't think he would even get close to her at all. Let alone, his features said that it was totally different.
She was more afraid of falling for him than the demon earlier, or the fall of the branch. She was falling…fast and she knew after it was all said and done, she'd be left hurt. She would cry until she had no more tears. She was terrified of the fact that she could love and the one she did love would not love her back.
She was scared of what had happened to him. He was abandoned as a child. Would he do the same to her? If they got that close, would he discard her as he was? She didn't want to believe it, but she had no way of being sure.
She finally decided, that she would look after him. She would try to unravel the secrets buried beneath his skin. Under his past. Under his hard face and glaring eyes, she knew there was a Hiei no one else knew. She wanted to be the one he opened to, but would he? She sighed and sat back again. She thought for a moment, could he be as mean and cruel as everyone says he is. Then, a most surprising question blurted from her mouth.
"Why do they call you the forbidden one?!" she gasped and pulled her hands to her mouth as she saw the hurt in his eyes. There wasn't much, but she knew his eyes would hold as much back as he could. "I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me…" she bowed her head and looked at the stars, the ground, the tree, anywhere but him.
'Where had that come in?' he was shocked that she had the nerve to ask him that, and a bit…relieved. She wouldn't back down from a challenge, and for some odd reason, the challenge was to know HIM!
He shook his head and looked to the stars.
"They look so far away…" she broke the long, awkward silence that drifted between them.
He stared at them, not daring to look at her. He was afraid, he was actually afraid to see her. "Hn." he muttered.
"It seems as though it would take a lifetime to get to something so beautiful…" she muttered unconsciously.
He turned to face her and her eyes were twinkling as she looked on at the stars. "Hn…" he shook his head and looked back up to the stars in silence.
"Hiei…" she said and he tensed.
'Not another question…' he pleaded and then replied, "What?" he said a bit too irritated to his liking, but it was his usual response.
"Why do you sleep on a tree?" she asked and smiled a bit at him.
He looked at her and looked shocked. "Because I do." he said affirmatively.
"Oh…I was just wondering." she looked up at the stars, breaking their eye contact again.
"Why?" he asked with a smirk.
"I don't know…I was just asking." she shrugged, it was clear she was getting tired and she didn't want Hiei to know. He noticed and grumbled.
'This night had to be ruined by her sleeping habits…' he got up, picked her up in his arms and jumped to the ground as she yipped and clung to his neck, burying her face in it as well.
He gave off a slight groan as he set her down in her room and watched her lie down. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes, "Hiei…" she whispered and it sent shivers up his spine.
"Are you expecting me to read you a bedtime story, Curious?" he jested.
"No…" she said and laid her head down, "I was just going to say that if you want, you can sleep here too. That branch seemed very uncomfortable." she drifted to sleep with those words and he hardened.
He couldn't do that. He couldn't lay in the same bed with her and not 'react' to her touch. Whether it was her hands or a strand of her hair, he would 'react' the same way. He groaned again and jumped out the window and up in his tree.
He stayed awake and looked at the stars again, 'they look so far…away.' he fell asleep with that thought that she had earlier said and the night went by slowly. The wolves howling a bit and the breeze blowing as Yuki woke up and was saddened that Hiei slept out there again. She looked up and saw him sleeping. She got the nerve to bring a blanket out there with her and climb that blasted tree again! She climbed without much trouble besides the fact that a squirrel all but attacked her! She laid the cover on his and he shifted a bit and she almost fell.
She got down and into her window again and laid down, drifting to sleep again until the morning dew moistened the air. Hiei woke up to the sunrise and looked down as he saw a blanket over him. He sighed and looked down at her room. The rays of the sun just began to hit her face as he jumped down and laid the blanket on the window sill and walked off somewhere in the woods as she slept peacefully.
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kage1586
