The Welder of BlackFire:

Thorn's New Life-The Legend Lives

Chapter Fifteen: To Entice the Prey

Hiei lay calmly in a high branch of a tall tree, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed as he lay his back against the trunk. He listened extensively to the sounds around him, his hearing heightened with the closing of his eyes. He was trying to refrain from smiling as he listened, his chin tucked snug against his chest as he pretended to sleep on his perch.

Finally, he heard the sound he had been waiting for nearly a week. A nearly silent whoosh and a slight vibration on the branch Hiei was sitting on. He didn't look up. Nor did he open his eyes. His position suggested he was still deep in slumber, even though the day was growing older and was well past morning.

"Why are you ignoring me, Hiei?" came a growl from in front of the youkai. "I know that you knew I was there." Hiei said nothing.

"HIEI!" shouted the aggravated voice. Hiei opened his eyes and looked up. "Why were you ignoring me?" she persisted. Hiei uncrossed his arms, straightening his back against the trunk before recrossing them as well as his feet before looking at Thorn.

"I was listening. What made you think I was ignoring you?"

"I know damn well you were," she growled, crossing her own arms and sitting down on the tree branch before his feet sulkily, straddling the branch, her pant bottoms waving in the smallest of breezes.

"What do you want?" Hiei asked. Thorn looked up wearily. "You're wasting my time."

"Oh really? Well I suppose you have so many more amusing things to do, don't you? Well then, don't let me keep you from your duties," she said sarcastically in low tones. Hiei smirked.

"It aggravates you that I don't give chase like you want, doesn't it?" he asked. Thorn glared at him. "That's why I took the mission. I know that if anyone gave chase, you could easily run when they began to close in. And enjoy it."

"Hn, revealing your plan to the enemy? Don't you think that's dangerous?" she asked with a sad smirk.

"Its not. I have figured out why you let yourself get caught in such a trap, Thorn."

"Oh really, Hiei? So you have me all figured out, do you? Well then, tell me your ingenious idea," she scoffed.

"This power that you sto-have," he corrected himself as she glared at him fiercely. "You want to test its full extent. The easiest why to do that is to find the strongest opponents you could find and test it out on them." Thorn's expression was blank. She sat on the rough bark, looking at him, yet not really looking at him, but through him.

'I think I hit a chord,' he thought. 'She's not reading my mind, or I'd feel it, and she's not responding.'

"Am I right?" he asked.

"You expect an answer?" she asked sweetly, her eyes returning from their far-away place. He narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I do," he said, watching as she fingered her dragon medallion, looking down on the thick branches beneath them. She suddenly looked up, two strands of her amber hair falling over her bright topaz eyes.

"That's too bad," she said. "Because I cannot guarantee an answer for you." She twirled the medallion on its thin chain.

"Hn. Then I cannot guarantee that you will get to test your powers," he said. Thorn sat up straighter. "At least, not on us."

"And who is to say that I wont track you all down and force you to battle?" she inquired. Hiei almost smiled to himself.

'I was right when I said that she wanted to test her powers on us,' the fire demon thought. "Because its not your style," he said simply.

"Oh, and I suppose you know exactly what my style is, do you?" she asked, her voice sweet and cunning.

"I didn't say that."

"Well then, if you have figured me out so well, then what exactly is my style?" Hiei smirked.

"You know I can't tell you all that. If I did I would be telling you nearly everything I have found out about you," he said.

"Yes. That is true. But you forget, I have told, or shown you, everything you know about me," she quipped. There was a pause.

"You might track all of us down, but you would never battle any of us unless we agreed to it. You told us in Los Vegas that you wouldn't kill unless your opponent was at their best. So as long as none of us reveal our strongest attacks, you wont kill us," Hiei explained briefly.

"Yes, but I never said that I wouldn't harm any of you," she said with a small, innocent, smile.

"You wouldn't. At least, nothing that would kill us or make it so that we were forced to rest for more than a few days. You are too eager to understand the full extent of your power to keep your opponents in bed for more than that." She snorted and sat up even straighter.

"Don't underestimate me, Hiei. I am very unpredictable," she said quietly.

"I know what your thinking. Don't go after them. I am your opponent. No one else will get involved." Hiei glared at her. Her smile morphed into a smirk. "I will assure that they don't get in the way."

"Oh, but that wont stop me from interfering with them, Hiei."

"Don't," he growled. "I want you are your peak when we battle. Fighting you after you've already used energy just doesn't suit me."

"Oh, it doesn't suit you? But what's to stop me from doing it?" she asked with a flirtatious smile.

"You wont," he said, leaning his head against the tree's trunk and looking through the leafy branches. He could hear her mutterings at his answer.

"You shouldn't be so confident that you know what I will do," she said gravely. "I'm not as predictable as you think. I could turn my plans upside-down in an instant if I felt like it. Then I'd like to see you predict what I will do. And don't even think that I couldn't or I wont. My mind is like the wind, never traveling the same path the same way twice. And just when you think you have it figured out, and found a nice draft to settle on, it changes, keeping your flight unsteady and hazardous. Watch your step, Hiei, before the wind sweeps you off your feet," she growled, standing. He looked at her a moment before she jumped down from the branches, landing on the soft earth with the ease of a cat. She looked back up at him just for an instant, turning just enough for him to see that her pendant, the coiled, black dragon with the sapphire eyes, was emitting energy for just a second. Its eyes burned cold and icy near her throat. The throat he should have slit two weeks ago. She turned and walked away.

"Hn. But there are some that can fly in even the most extreme of winds," he said to himself, settling back comfortably against the tree and closing his eyes.

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Authoress' Note: Here's everyone's update! I'm thrilled to see new reviewers! -huggles new reviewers-

Yusuke: oh great -rolls eyes-

J: -eyebrow twitch- Yuuuusssssuuuukkkeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yusuke: eep! -hides-

Hiei: -smirk-

Kurama: -chuckle-

J:-grumble- baka boy.

Yukina: J-san, you received reviews.

J: aww! Thanks Yukina! So nice. Unlike SOME people. -clears throat-

Yusuke: -snorts from hiding place-

J:-glare- anyway, we have new, as well as old reviewers speaking of their opinions of the story! Let's reply!

All: -rolls eyes-

Hiei's1girl- thanks for your loyal review! I appreciate it!

Miyako14- Welcome! thanks! Hope to see you in future chapters!

SilverKnight7-welcome! Thanks for your review. I suppose it is interesting…err. Yeah. ^_^ thanks again!

the Duck(www.SparklyBear7777@hotmail.com)- welcome! Lol. Rose was acting innocent b/c she knew she would fail getting her life back if she didn't! hehe, just in case you're confused. ^_^. Thanks for the review!

J: well, that's a lot! Yukina, for being such a dear about the reviews, you receive the honor of the disclaimer!

Yukina: thank you J-san. J-san does not own us. She does, however own Thorn, Rose and BlackFire.

J: until next time! Tata!

The purple button is your friend….press it! ^_^