Once Upon a Dream-Time
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, and I don't know how original this storyline is so I'm not even going to say I own it just in case I don't. I do own my original character. That's all.
CHAPTER TWO
Hiei set himself to training again the next day. He knew from experience that if he got focused enough, he could go for days without sleeping. For hours he perfected his form, practiced new techniques, and went through all the basics, anything to keep him focused and awake. But the moment the moon appeared he could feel himself beginning to drowse off. When he stumbled and nearly sliced his toes off with his katana, Hiei decided it was best to give in and just sleep.
He managed to find a suitable tree and climb into it, situating himself on a branch where he wouldn't fall. It was more difficult than usual, but he managed to stay awake. As soon as he was safely on his branch, though, he fell into a deep sleep.
--Dream-Time--
Hiei found himself propped up on a purple couch in a space full of nothingness. He thought it was strange place to find a purple silk sofa, but he soon discovered something else far more disturbing: he was wearing nothing but pink silk boxers. PINK! Dear God!
He whirled around upon hearing feminine laughter behind him. It was that Koneko girl, and SHE was fully clothed in blue jeans and an oversized rainbow tie-dye t-shirt. "So you don't like it?" she asked coyly.
"NO, I do NOT," Hiei seethed. "What is the meaning of this, Koneko?!"
She laughed again. "I'm in charge, that's the meaning. The fierce fire demon wearing pink silk boxers! What a kick!" But with a wave of her hand he was wearing a black t-shirt and black denim jeans. The sofa also disappeared, and the nothingness turned into a cozy little living room with blue upholstery, pale blue carpeting, and plain white walls. Windows on one side looked over a home-style flower garden. The opposite side had a door that led to a little porch with a few steps down to the front walk.
"Having fun recreating the scene of your death?" Hiei asked sarcastically. He had recognized it as her old living room in an instant. It had been in his dreams for years, after all. But this room had no blood stain near the door.
A flick of a wrist and Hiei was wearing a pink and yellow sundress. "Don't be such a bastard. This used to be my favorite room, when I was alive that is. I'm not that morbid." The fire demon didn't seem to be listening, though, since he was focused on the fact that he was wearing a dress. He was livid, his fists clenched so tight that the knuckles were white. Koneko giggled and put him back in the jeans and t-shirt before repeating herself. This time he merely "hn"-ed and plopped down on an armchair.
Koneko stretched out on the sofa on her stomach, those grey eyes focused on him. "So I'm guessing you talked to Koenma since you know my name. He didn't say anything about me, did he?"
"Only that you died before your time, and that haunting my dreams was YOUR idea," Hiei grunted.
"Did he tell you that I am all-powerful in your dream state?" Koneko asked, not bothering to hide the fact that she was gloating. "But maybe you've already noticed that. If not, I can demonstrate again. You looked awfully cute in that sundress."
"Don't bother. I get the point. So why did you decide to haunt my dreams?" Hiei hadn't gotten the answer from Koenma, so he wasn't going to waste any time asking the girl. When she merely grinned wickedly, saying nothing, Hiei continued on. "Why did you bring me to this place? You could torture me if you wanted. So why bother with here?"
"This is just to get to know you. I'm not interested in causing you pain, just driving you crazy. And that's easier to do when you actually know someone." She hopped up from her sofa and walked over to a television that Hiei hadn't noticed before- or maybe it had just appeared. "I love this thing. I have access to your memories this way. It's great!" A huge overstuffed armchair appeared in front of the TV, and Koneko sat down in it. A remote appeared in her hand and she began flipping through. Hiei became curious after a moment and walked over.
There were memories of his early life, when he had been banished from Ice World and separated forever from his family. His many years as a criminal. His first meeting with Urameshi. The Saint Beasts. The Dark Tournament. But she kept coming back to his memory of her death. "Why don't I have a face?" she finally asked, pausing the picture and staring at the mannequin with her hair.
"Because I never got a good look at your face. I couldn't remember it, so of course it isn't recorded in my memory." After about the fourth or fifth time of playing that memory, the fire demon had gone back to the couch and was stretched out with his eyes closed.
His eyes shot open to find Koneko straddling him on her hands and knees, her face directly over his. A piece of her hair fell off her shoulder and tickled his cheek. Hiei twitched; he didn't like the girl so close. "What the hell are you doing?" he growled.
"Ready for our first adventure?" she asked mischievously. He didn't get any time to answer before his surroundings began to swirl and dissolve.
)()()()()()(
When the scenery stopped swirling, Hiei was in different clothes. Black leather seemed to be the main theme. His boots, pants, and vest were all made of the stuff. He had a plain white t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off underneath the leather vest, a red bandana tied around his head that effectively covered his Jagan eye, and several chains hanging on his person. He was in what appeared to be a bar surrounded by man men dressed similarly to him. They were mostly taller and more obviously muscled, although several were just plain fat. A few women were hanging on some of the greasy, disgusting men. These women were dressed in leather like the men, although their outfits were far more revealing. One of the women was Koneko.
She was wearing black leather short shorts and a cropped-off white tank top, revealing an easy six or seven inches of midriff. A black leather vest was worn over the tank top, and black leather boots came up to her knees. Her hair was tied back with a blue bandana. Currently, Koneko was draped on a large, well-built man just three seats down the bar. She saw that he had noticed her and winked before detaching herself from the man and walking over. "So what do you think of the motorcycle gang?" she asked, taking up an empty stool next to the fire demon.
"So that's what this is. Bunch of slobs if you ask me. And why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes? You look like a whore." Hiei noticed that there was a glass in front of him. He sniffed the contents and found it contained beer. He didn't especially care for the stuff most of the time, but for some reason he felt thirsty. He swallowed a couple of mouthfuls and set the glass back on the bar.
"Just trying to blend in. At least I'm not having to act like a whore." To illustrate her point, Koneko jerked her thumb towards another woman sitting on a man's lap. They looked like they were trying to choke each other with their tongues.
"Why don't you make them stop? This is your world." Hiei chugged another mouthful of the beer, and decided he was growing tired of it. A mere flick of his finger and the glass crashed into the wall on the other side of the bar.
"I don't control every tiny aspect of the world. That would be too much for me to handle. I'm only human, after all. The background is mostly constructs of my memory and subconscious thoughts of how things should be. I only control the things that I have time to pay attention to." She called up the barkeep, a bald, swarthy man dressed in a grungy t-shirt and worn jeans. He slid a glass down the bar and Koneko caught it expertly, sipping the contents with a smile.
"You don't look like the type who enjoys alcohol," Hiei observed dryly.
"I don't. This is fake. Tastes like strawberry soda." She sipped the drink again, seeming to lord her powers over the fire demon as she did with her silent, smug nature.
"So let's get this over with, whatever you have planned. I'm already bored." Now he regretted getting rid of that glass of beer. He was thirsty again.
"Don't worry. It won't be long." As if that was the cue (and it probably was), the burly man who Koneko had been draped all over earlier walked up behind Hiei.
"What are you doing with my broad?" the large man asked, prodding Hiei in the shoulder with a thick finger. His voice was slurred with drunkenness, but his movements didn't seem to be affected yet. The fire demon turned to look at his offender with his infinitely cold red glare.
"'Your broad' came to talk to me," he answered. "And frankly, I would rather you take the bitch back. She is a thorn in my side." He thought this would make the man leave. He forgot that Koneko was in charge. Nothing would go his way.
"No one insults my Koneko!" the brute growled, grabbing the smaller fire demon by the shoulder. He pulled Hiei from the barstool with ease, knocking him onto the ground. Now Hiei was angry. He jumped to his feet and instinctively reached for his katana which was, of course, not there. He decided to throw a punch instead. The man was easily twice his size, but with Hiei's demon strength, it didn't matter.
The punch landed solidly on the brawny biker's solar plexus. It should have hurt; no, it should have crippled the man with the force Hiei used. The biker grunted slightly, but there was no other reaction. There was a short moment where no one moved. Then Koneko began to giggle. "Damn you, bitch, what did you do to my powers?" Hiei seethed.
"Removed them. Now you're no stronger than any normal human with your stature and muscle mass." Koneko giggled again and began to twirl around on the barstool, which suddenly had a revolving seat. "This is great fun."
"I thought you didn't want to cause me pain?" The huge biker was now in motion again, and Hiei was busily trying to dodge fists the size of baked hams.
"If you get hit, it won't hurt much. But there is no way you'll be able to beat him. I know that'll be a blow to your pride. You don't like being defeated, do you?" Hiei merely grunted before he was slammed in the face by a massive fist. The girl was right; it didn't hurt much. But it sure as hell was annoying.
The biker was huge, and he was much stronger than the power-crippled demon. But Hiei quickly noticed that he knew very little about fighting tactics. Well, he WAS being controlled by the girl, and she didn't seem like the type to study hand-to-hand combat; it made sense if you thought about it. Hiei knew he had an advantage here, and he was going to use it.
They had turned so that the man's back was to the bar. Hiei jumped forward, sliding on the floor between the man's beefy legs. Once on the other side, he jumped up onto the bar and from there executed a flying kick that landed at the base of the biker's skull. Even though he was a fictional character in a dream, the man fell forward with a soft, pained groan. It seemed that even though Koneko was all-powerful, her characters still had human weaknesses. The man was out cold. "I win, bitch."
"Wha-what? No fair!" Koneko whined, kicking her feet. As she spoke, the bar scene dissolved around them, and they were back in her old living room. She was in her former outfit of jeans and tie-dyed t-shirt; he was in a pink bunny rabbit suit, feet and hood with ears included. "You weren't supposed to win! I took your powers away!"
Hiei tried to push off the hood of the bunny suit, but it was very well stuck. Koneko had done her job thoroughly. "I would suggest you not challenge me to any more fights until you learn to fist fight. Brute strength is not the only important factor in a battle. That man you set on me was a lumbering idiot."
"Fine. I get the point," she pouted, flopping onto the couch. She seemed in a sullen mood now that her clever adventure had failed. "I'll just have to think of something better, then. You can go away now. But first, hop around like a bunny." She grinned, looking at the pink bunny suit she had placed the fire demon in.
"Go to hell, bitch," was Hiei's reply.
"I had that choice, but I'm here instead. If you're not going to be a bunny rabbit, then get out." Koneko snapped her fingers.
--End Dream--
Hiei lurched awake to find that it was morning. "I am going to kill that bitch," was his automatic reaction. Then he remembered that he already had, and that was why he was in this situation. Damn the irony.
)()()()()()(
Amai: Okay, so I don't have any reviews yet. I don't care. I like this story, and I think it's fun!
Kebabooru: I don't blame you. I like it too.
Amai: Oh yeah, I have a new muse. I got him out of a McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal. He's one of those Neopets toys, an Orange Jubjub. His name's Kebabooru (That's "fuzzball" in Japanese). But right now, he's only working on this story, so this is the only story he'll be commenting on.
Kebabooru: She lets me sit on her head while she writes. It's fun.
Amai: Um... okay... that's all, people! Go away now! Don't come back until I have a new chapter up!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, and I don't know how original this storyline is so I'm not even going to say I own it just in case I don't. I do own my original character. That's all.
CHAPTER TWO
Hiei set himself to training again the next day. He knew from experience that if he got focused enough, he could go for days without sleeping. For hours he perfected his form, practiced new techniques, and went through all the basics, anything to keep him focused and awake. But the moment the moon appeared he could feel himself beginning to drowse off. When he stumbled and nearly sliced his toes off with his katana, Hiei decided it was best to give in and just sleep.
He managed to find a suitable tree and climb into it, situating himself on a branch where he wouldn't fall. It was more difficult than usual, but he managed to stay awake. As soon as he was safely on his branch, though, he fell into a deep sleep.
--Dream-Time--
Hiei found himself propped up on a purple couch in a space full of nothingness. He thought it was strange place to find a purple silk sofa, but he soon discovered something else far more disturbing: he was wearing nothing but pink silk boxers. PINK! Dear God!
He whirled around upon hearing feminine laughter behind him. It was that Koneko girl, and SHE was fully clothed in blue jeans and an oversized rainbow tie-dye t-shirt. "So you don't like it?" she asked coyly.
"NO, I do NOT," Hiei seethed. "What is the meaning of this, Koneko?!"
She laughed again. "I'm in charge, that's the meaning. The fierce fire demon wearing pink silk boxers! What a kick!" But with a wave of her hand he was wearing a black t-shirt and black denim jeans. The sofa also disappeared, and the nothingness turned into a cozy little living room with blue upholstery, pale blue carpeting, and plain white walls. Windows on one side looked over a home-style flower garden. The opposite side had a door that led to a little porch with a few steps down to the front walk.
"Having fun recreating the scene of your death?" Hiei asked sarcastically. He had recognized it as her old living room in an instant. It had been in his dreams for years, after all. But this room had no blood stain near the door.
A flick of a wrist and Hiei was wearing a pink and yellow sundress. "Don't be such a bastard. This used to be my favorite room, when I was alive that is. I'm not that morbid." The fire demon didn't seem to be listening, though, since he was focused on the fact that he was wearing a dress. He was livid, his fists clenched so tight that the knuckles were white. Koneko giggled and put him back in the jeans and t-shirt before repeating herself. This time he merely "hn"-ed and plopped down on an armchair.
Koneko stretched out on the sofa on her stomach, those grey eyes focused on him. "So I'm guessing you talked to Koenma since you know my name. He didn't say anything about me, did he?"
"Only that you died before your time, and that haunting my dreams was YOUR idea," Hiei grunted.
"Did he tell you that I am all-powerful in your dream state?" Koneko asked, not bothering to hide the fact that she was gloating. "But maybe you've already noticed that. If not, I can demonstrate again. You looked awfully cute in that sundress."
"Don't bother. I get the point. So why did you decide to haunt my dreams?" Hiei hadn't gotten the answer from Koenma, so he wasn't going to waste any time asking the girl. When she merely grinned wickedly, saying nothing, Hiei continued on. "Why did you bring me to this place? You could torture me if you wanted. So why bother with here?"
"This is just to get to know you. I'm not interested in causing you pain, just driving you crazy. And that's easier to do when you actually know someone." She hopped up from her sofa and walked over to a television that Hiei hadn't noticed before- or maybe it had just appeared. "I love this thing. I have access to your memories this way. It's great!" A huge overstuffed armchair appeared in front of the TV, and Koneko sat down in it. A remote appeared in her hand and she began flipping through. Hiei became curious after a moment and walked over.
There were memories of his early life, when he had been banished from Ice World and separated forever from his family. His many years as a criminal. His first meeting with Urameshi. The Saint Beasts. The Dark Tournament. But she kept coming back to his memory of her death. "Why don't I have a face?" she finally asked, pausing the picture and staring at the mannequin with her hair.
"Because I never got a good look at your face. I couldn't remember it, so of course it isn't recorded in my memory." After about the fourth or fifth time of playing that memory, the fire demon had gone back to the couch and was stretched out with his eyes closed.
His eyes shot open to find Koneko straddling him on her hands and knees, her face directly over his. A piece of her hair fell off her shoulder and tickled his cheek. Hiei twitched; he didn't like the girl so close. "What the hell are you doing?" he growled.
"Ready for our first adventure?" she asked mischievously. He didn't get any time to answer before his surroundings began to swirl and dissolve.
)()()()()()(
When the scenery stopped swirling, Hiei was in different clothes. Black leather seemed to be the main theme. His boots, pants, and vest were all made of the stuff. He had a plain white t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off underneath the leather vest, a red bandana tied around his head that effectively covered his Jagan eye, and several chains hanging on his person. He was in what appeared to be a bar surrounded by man men dressed similarly to him. They were mostly taller and more obviously muscled, although several were just plain fat. A few women were hanging on some of the greasy, disgusting men. These women were dressed in leather like the men, although their outfits were far more revealing. One of the women was Koneko.
She was wearing black leather short shorts and a cropped-off white tank top, revealing an easy six or seven inches of midriff. A black leather vest was worn over the tank top, and black leather boots came up to her knees. Her hair was tied back with a blue bandana. Currently, Koneko was draped on a large, well-built man just three seats down the bar. She saw that he had noticed her and winked before detaching herself from the man and walking over. "So what do you think of the motorcycle gang?" she asked, taking up an empty stool next to the fire demon.
"So that's what this is. Bunch of slobs if you ask me. And why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes? You look like a whore." Hiei noticed that there was a glass in front of him. He sniffed the contents and found it contained beer. He didn't especially care for the stuff most of the time, but for some reason he felt thirsty. He swallowed a couple of mouthfuls and set the glass back on the bar.
"Just trying to blend in. At least I'm not having to act like a whore." To illustrate her point, Koneko jerked her thumb towards another woman sitting on a man's lap. They looked like they were trying to choke each other with their tongues.
"Why don't you make them stop? This is your world." Hiei chugged another mouthful of the beer, and decided he was growing tired of it. A mere flick of his finger and the glass crashed into the wall on the other side of the bar.
"I don't control every tiny aspect of the world. That would be too much for me to handle. I'm only human, after all. The background is mostly constructs of my memory and subconscious thoughts of how things should be. I only control the things that I have time to pay attention to." She called up the barkeep, a bald, swarthy man dressed in a grungy t-shirt and worn jeans. He slid a glass down the bar and Koneko caught it expertly, sipping the contents with a smile.
"You don't look like the type who enjoys alcohol," Hiei observed dryly.
"I don't. This is fake. Tastes like strawberry soda." She sipped the drink again, seeming to lord her powers over the fire demon as she did with her silent, smug nature.
"So let's get this over with, whatever you have planned. I'm already bored." Now he regretted getting rid of that glass of beer. He was thirsty again.
"Don't worry. It won't be long." As if that was the cue (and it probably was), the burly man who Koneko had been draped all over earlier walked up behind Hiei.
"What are you doing with my broad?" the large man asked, prodding Hiei in the shoulder with a thick finger. His voice was slurred with drunkenness, but his movements didn't seem to be affected yet. The fire demon turned to look at his offender with his infinitely cold red glare.
"'Your broad' came to talk to me," he answered. "And frankly, I would rather you take the bitch back. She is a thorn in my side." He thought this would make the man leave. He forgot that Koneko was in charge. Nothing would go his way.
"No one insults my Koneko!" the brute growled, grabbing the smaller fire demon by the shoulder. He pulled Hiei from the barstool with ease, knocking him onto the ground. Now Hiei was angry. He jumped to his feet and instinctively reached for his katana which was, of course, not there. He decided to throw a punch instead. The man was easily twice his size, but with Hiei's demon strength, it didn't matter.
The punch landed solidly on the brawny biker's solar plexus. It should have hurt; no, it should have crippled the man with the force Hiei used. The biker grunted slightly, but there was no other reaction. There was a short moment where no one moved. Then Koneko began to giggle. "Damn you, bitch, what did you do to my powers?" Hiei seethed.
"Removed them. Now you're no stronger than any normal human with your stature and muscle mass." Koneko giggled again and began to twirl around on the barstool, which suddenly had a revolving seat. "This is great fun."
"I thought you didn't want to cause me pain?" The huge biker was now in motion again, and Hiei was busily trying to dodge fists the size of baked hams.
"If you get hit, it won't hurt much. But there is no way you'll be able to beat him. I know that'll be a blow to your pride. You don't like being defeated, do you?" Hiei merely grunted before he was slammed in the face by a massive fist. The girl was right; it didn't hurt much. But it sure as hell was annoying.
The biker was huge, and he was much stronger than the power-crippled demon. But Hiei quickly noticed that he knew very little about fighting tactics. Well, he WAS being controlled by the girl, and she didn't seem like the type to study hand-to-hand combat; it made sense if you thought about it. Hiei knew he had an advantage here, and he was going to use it.
They had turned so that the man's back was to the bar. Hiei jumped forward, sliding on the floor between the man's beefy legs. Once on the other side, he jumped up onto the bar and from there executed a flying kick that landed at the base of the biker's skull. Even though he was a fictional character in a dream, the man fell forward with a soft, pained groan. It seemed that even though Koneko was all-powerful, her characters still had human weaknesses. The man was out cold. "I win, bitch."
"Wha-what? No fair!" Koneko whined, kicking her feet. As she spoke, the bar scene dissolved around them, and they were back in her old living room. She was in her former outfit of jeans and tie-dyed t-shirt; he was in a pink bunny rabbit suit, feet and hood with ears included. "You weren't supposed to win! I took your powers away!"
Hiei tried to push off the hood of the bunny suit, but it was very well stuck. Koneko had done her job thoroughly. "I would suggest you not challenge me to any more fights until you learn to fist fight. Brute strength is not the only important factor in a battle. That man you set on me was a lumbering idiot."
"Fine. I get the point," she pouted, flopping onto the couch. She seemed in a sullen mood now that her clever adventure had failed. "I'll just have to think of something better, then. You can go away now. But first, hop around like a bunny." She grinned, looking at the pink bunny suit she had placed the fire demon in.
"Go to hell, bitch," was Hiei's reply.
"I had that choice, but I'm here instead. If you're not going to be a bunny rabbit, then get out." Koneko snapped her fingers.
--End Dream--
Hiei lurched awake to find that it was morning. "I am going to kill that bitch," was his automatic reaction. Then he remembered that he already had, and that was why he was in this situation. Damn the irony.
)()()()()()(
Amai: Okay, so I don't have any reviews yet. I don't care. I like this story, and I think it's fun!
Kebabooru: I don't blame you. I like it too.
Amai: Oh yeah, I have a new muse. I got him out of a McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal. He's one of those Neopets toys, an Orange Jubjub. His name's Kebabooru (That's "fuzzball" in Japanese). But right now, he's only working on this story, so this is the only story he'll be commenting on.
Kebabooru: She lets me sit on her head while she writes. It's fun.
Amai: Um... okay... that's all, people! Go away now! Don't come back until I have a new chapter up!