No More Words
By Shizuka
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. All rights belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi,
the original creator that is.
Chapter 2 - Meetings
"Hiei! Wait!"
Her feeble voice died out abruptly in the dense flock.
It was small and feminine, but he heard it. The uttering of his name, vibrating through the air, made its course to his sensible ears. Hiei stopped on his track and turned just as the young brunette was being capable of catching up with him. She hardly squeezed her way through the occupied Ningens. Hiei waited impatiently for the brunette to get a hold of her breath. When she finally quit gasping for oxygen, the brunette beamed at his being.
"Hello. I didn't know that you were coming back... Sumimasen for the misunderstanding earlier..."
Keiko bowed politely to the koorime, apologizing. However, Hiei, being irresponsive as always, said nothing of any sort. Tensed up by the stares she is obtaining from him, Keiko was slightly disappointed and anxious.
"Y-you are looking for Yusuke, right?"
Asked Keiko, trying the best not to stutter. Hiei bobbed his head as saying it "yes."
"He is at Genkai's right now, with Kuwabara. I was getting ready to go there myself. Would you like to..."
Immediately, Hiei took off without heeding about the rest of her sentence. Keiko was cut short as he vanished within a blur. It went unnoticed by the passing by humans. Sighing inwardly, Keiko just stood there, thinking to herself what would it be like if Hiei had accepted her request to accompany her over to Genkai's temple. It probably wouldn't be a joyful one...
It all seemed so peaceful...
On the green glade there stood the old temple, for many decades. Just like its owner, it wore out. But the spirits remained there undisturbed. Yusuke's mentor, Genkai, had passed away a few years ago. Everyone was ever so sorrowful on the day of her burial especially Yusuke. He mourned for her death the most. Hiei did not attend the funeral, but he knows. He watched how Yusuke reacted toward Genkai's tragic death during the Ankoku Bujutsukai. But she did come back to life afterwards. This time, it was different, but Yusuke accepted the event willingly. He finally understood what Genkai had taught him: everyone has to fight a battle with his/her inevitable death. Only the cowards run away. And now, the temple somehow became Yukina's current resident place on earth.
The trees rustled faintly as the wind breezed, making a joyful duet with the birds' cheerful chippers. Some leftover raindrops on the grass disintegrated quickly as the sunlight pierced through the leaves of the nearby forest. Constant laughter from the interior of the aged temple broke the silence.
Hiei landed on a close by branch. He observed every portion of the temple. His Jagan eye began to glow as he removed the bandana around his forehead. Hiei's lips formed into a smirk after a while. He placed his bandana back on when the eerie glow in his Jagan faded, and he jumped down from the tall branch without any difficulty. Approaching the entrance cautiously, Hiei masked his ki to minimum so he would not be discovered. He had finally reached his terminal. With no doubt, the former tantei is definitely inside.
"So, my sweet Yukina, you have any plans tomorrow? Maybe we can do something together."
"No, and I'd be glad spending some time with you, Kazuma."
"Alright!"
"See, Urameshi. Don't you think she sounds like an angel when she says by my first name?"
"Yeah, yeah. Angels or not, get your hands of me, will 'ya?!"
"You're just jealous, Urameshi."
"Oh, Please! Why would I be jealous of someone who is way much more stupid than me?"
"SAY WHAT?! Come here, I'll show you who is stupid!"
"Kazuma!"
Hiei listened quietly outside. He hesitated. He was unsure if he wants to go in or not. He had not seen Yusuke for years. A sudden appearance might not be a good idea. But then again, when did he care about how others think or feel of him. He shows up whenever he feels like it, and vanishes as quick as of a flying shadow when he does not want to be found. (It does make sense on his name.) Nonetheless, he must find out about something. With no further ado with his thoughts, Hiei stepped into the temple.
Complete silence...
"Hiei?"
"Shorty?!"
"Hey! It's my favorite three-eyed."
Indubitably, the group was surprised by Hiei's arrival. Yusuke ran toward Hiei with a goofy smile placed on his face.
"You know, Hiei. For a friend, you sure are cold-hearted. Where did you get all that patience for not even dropping by in six years?!"
"Hn."
After settling down with the group, Hiei sat by the door frame while Yukina ran off getting him some tea, and Kuwabara continued to stare at him disbelievingly and unhappy all at the same time. Yusuke just kept the goofy grin on for who knows how long. The blue phoenix Puu, known as Yusuke's spirit beast, was yapping jovially which reflected the emotion that's spreading over Yusuke's face. Hiei was not use to getting all of the attentions. He cleared his throat, preparing to speak. But nothing came out. If Kurama, the most intelligent one in the team, could not tell what he had been wanted to know all along, what makes him think that the simple-minded youth in front of him would be able to?
"So what are you up to? Hiei? I know you didn't just come here for a friendly visit."
"Well, detective, you're not as dense as I thought you would be."
"That's 'ex-detective' for you now. And what's that suppose to mean? I'm not dense like Kuwabara."
"I'm not dumb!"
"You're right. I don't just show up for no reasons."
"What is it?"
"... It's none of your business."
Didn't he want to know something? Then why didn't he just go ahead and ask?
"It's never any of my business to you."
"Hn."
"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, we'll talk about something else."
"..."
"How have you been for the past few years?"
"Fine..."
"That's it?"
"What else would you expect?"
"Geesh, you really should get a life, shorty. I bet you ate bugs everydayfor dinner."
Hiei just simply growled. The KuwaBAKA knows nothing of his past. A life? He did have one, except that it was shallow and dark. He was thrown away, unwanted. He had grown in the deepest depth of Makai and learned to depend on no one but himself. Maybe his opinion did change a little when he met Yusuke and gang, but that's about it.
"Okay... Don't feel bad. My life is a boring one too. My mother keeps nagging me everyday. 'Yusuke! Go to school! Blah, blah, blah... Yusuke! I'm not paying for you so that you can skip school! Blah, blah, blah...' I was the one who fought crime to save the earth, and nobody appreciates me. All they ever do is yelling at me. Speaking of which, I kinda missed those actions and adventures in the old days."
"Me too." Said Kuwabara in agreement.
"You humans and your pathetic memories."
"..."
"Anyway, why is it that you didn't show up on that reunion party? Everyone was there."
"It was pointless."
"I hope Botan didn't feel the same..."
"What do you mean?" Fortunately, his curious face went unnoticed by his company.
"She didn't show up either even though Koenma was there. Koenma just said she was busy. She never showed up anymore after we defeated Yakumo. I wonder if something had happened to her? I haven't seen her in ages."
Hiei listened to every word carefully. He yearned for Yusuke to speak more of Botan. Sadly, the conversation ceased just as soon as Yusuke sensed the uneasy feeling from him. Hiei wanted to inquire about her, but he only found himself left in speechless.
"Are you feeling okay? Hiei? 'Cause you seem a little bit down today."
"I..."
His was interrupted when all of them heard someone slid the wooden door of the room ajar and stepped in.
"Oi! Keiko! Look who else is here!" Yusuke stood up, greeted the brunette at the door. And he pointed to Hiei as he spoke.
Keiko faked a smile on her face, still remembering the little encounter she had with the koorime in front of her ramen shop. However, Hiei, remained as emotionless as ever, just sat there.
"Well, Yusuke, I've got good news!" said the brunette merrily.
"What good news?"
"I'm sorry that I couldn't get here earlier, because Kurama just called! He said that he will be back for vacation in less than a few days!"
"Really?! That's great!"
"Talk about great timing! Hiei! Everyone's back together again!"
"Except for one maybe..." Hiei murmured under his breath.
"Whom on earth are you talking about?"
"It's nothing..."
"Yusuke?"
"Yeah? What, Hiei?"
"Is there any possible way that I can reach Koenma?"
"Uhh... He did left me the communication mirror... Why? You need something from him?"
"I need... I need to ask him about... things..."
"Oh, I don't know if I still have the mirror... I can't remember where I put it..."
"Don't worry, I have it exactly here, safe and sound. See?" Keiko dug in her purse and pulled out a mirror looking like device.
"Keiko? You still have that old thing with you?!"
"I thought we might need it. So, I kept it since someone in our group is a total jerk who keeps losing stuffs."
"Hey!"
"It's the truth, Yusuke. I thought you would be a better, organized person now that you are in college. But no, Atsuko still yells at you about school all the time."
"Arrghh..."
"..."
"Thank you..." Said Hiei with a low voice, reaching out for the device while the couple were occupying themselves with arguments.
"Huh?"
Both Yusuke and Keiko said in union when they saw Hiei stood up and left with the communication mirror.
"Umm... did you know that Hiei could actually THANK somebody?"
"I think I need to clean out my ear wax."
"Hiei? Where are you going?" asked Yukina, returned with a tray.
"..."
No replies came back. Hiei walked out of the shrine, musing over himself.
Botan, where could you be?
He hated waiting, and that's what he has been doing for the past few minutes. Hiei leaned against the wall in the Underworld Palace, tapping his foot rapidly. He watched as some ferry girls and ogres of the Spirit World passed by with loads of paper works. He had contacted with Koenma just a while ago. Hiei was being able to arrive at Reikai through a portal than the usual route, which happened to be taken by flight. He felt amused when he saw a ferry girl tripped over herself and landed on the floor, making another fast–running ogre fell, and another, and another, like the dominoes. Papers were scattered unto to the floor in a mess. The accident had more likely caused chaos. Hiei wondered if he would have the chance of seeing a "blue-haired, pink eyed" ferry girl came running among them to fix the problem. But there was not even a sign from her so far. He rested his mind. He had to go through all these troubles to find her in one day. Usually, he could just have used his Jagan. But this time, her location was too far arranged for him to detect. He doubted that any of his other "so–called" friends would know about her welfare.
Hiei continued eyeing the clumsy workers of the Spirit World when there was suddenly a light tap on his shoulder.
"Hiei-sama?"
Turning his head to his left, he saw a red-head.
"Hiei-sama! It really is you!"
"Remember me? Hinageshi?"
"..."
"It's so nice to see you again, Hiei-sama! What might you be doing here in Reikai?"
"To see Koenma."
There came a few crashing sound and static noise, the speaker that is equipped in the room came on, booming with a baby voice.
"Hiei Jaganshi, the almighty ruler Koenma of the Spirit World, also known as the Prince of Wonders, is ready to see you now. Please step into my office."
Hiei coughed at Koenma's ridiculous addressing to himself and proceeded toward the huge door of the office.
The red haired ferry girl, Hinageshi, peered at Hiei's walking form, seemed to be in thoughts. She quickly sprinted away down to the hall, completely forgetting that she was ordered to be here to help clean up the mess the other girls and ogres had done.
Koenma sat in his chair as usual with the blue ogre accompanied by his side. Huge amounts of paper works stacked on his desk. Hiei advanced to the little prince. Koenma appeared to be pondering until he felt the koorime's ki. He looked at Hiei, determined.
"What can I help you with? Hiei?"
Hiei found himself in an awkward position. Should he ask the godling about the girl's whereabouts? He doesn't want others to see that he cared. He struggled against his own thoughts. He wouldn't have go through all this if he had just settled in Makai. Why did he come back?!
Seeing no respond, Koenma raised an eyebrow.
"Yes? Hiei?"
"I-I just wanted to know if my slate in Reikai is cleared." He lied to cover his bothered expression.
"Is it the only thing you came here for? Very well then, Jorge, get me Hiei's files."
"Yes sir!"
With that, the blue ogre ran out of the office.
"Hiei, is there anything else I can do for you? Or should I say, is there someone you would like to see?"
It's clear that the prince knows what the koorime is thinking of. Hiei growled. He sees no point of hiding his true intention and spoke up:
"Fine, I came here to find the blue-haired woman!"
"Which woman are you talking about?"
"Arrgh... Botan!"
The prince's eyes darkened.
"I'm sorry, Hiei, I can't tell you that. And don't bother using your Jagan, it won't work in a place like this."
"Don't toy with me!" Hiei hissed as he held the prince by his collar. He couldn't take it anymore. Koenma absolutely wanted to make every second miserable for him, making him swallow all his pride, and yet won't even give the answer he needed.
"Toy with you? Weren't you the one who abandoned her?"
"WHAT?! What do you know? I suggest you talk before I break your precious neck."
"I dare you..."
The two men stared at each other with hatred. Koenma clearly had the upper hand. He is the prince of Reikai after all, and Hiei can do nothing about it.
"Koenma, sir! I'm back with Hiei's files!"
The ogre shouted as he ran through the door. Hiei release Koenma, as furious as ever. Koenma posed himself back to his seat and took the file as if nothing happened.
"Hiei, it looks like that all your charge has been cleared. You're free to do whatever you want to do now. But you must know that if you ever... violate Reikai laws, you will surely be punished."
There was a hint of loath in Koenma's voice when he paused in his sentence. Hiei was already gone.
"What's wrong with him, Koenma sir?"
"I have no idea..."
To be continued...
A/N: I just downloaded Kurama's song, "A Goodbye is the Beginning of Tomorrow." It sounded so nice. I almost cried... Anyhow, does anybody know where I can find the Mp3 for Hiei's song, "Turn your back to the twilight"? If you can tell me, I'd be very much appreciated!
Sorry if I have confused some of you with the Japanese using, here is some translations:
Tantei – detective
Ningens – humans
Sumimasen – sorry
Ankoku Bujustukai – the Dark Tournament
Makai – Demon World
Reikai – Spirit World
Ningenkai – Human World
Ki – spirit energy
Koorime – ice demon (since Hiei is half ice demon, so we'll just address him by that.)
Spoilers in next chapter! Finally, Hiei might be able to see Botan. And there will also be a surprise! Now, just take a moment to review if you liked this chapter. Thanx!