Warnings: (yeah, I'm gunna start doing warnings now…) Hiei dreams and Thorn gets upset…

The Welder of BlackFire:

Thorn's New Life-The Legend Lives

Chapter Nineteen: Hiei's Dream and Thorn's Anger

Thorn knelt down on the porch, giving her dog a scratch along its back, making its tail wag furiously in glee. Hiei watched from the same tree he had waited in the evening before, watching them from the corner of his eye. Thorn gave the dog a big pat before speaking.

"Its going to rain again tonight, Hiei," she said, with no emotion hinting in her voice. Sometimes it confused the youkai, the way she acted. Not a few hours ago she was laughing buoyantly at pushing him into the water, swimming with evident exuberance, and then she turned serious as she sat on the shore, telling him about his weakness. Now she was as empty of feeling as a dried up river.

"Hn. What's your point?" he grumbled from the tree. His expression was bored, looking into the distance, his right wrist resting in his right knee.

"My point is that there is a chance of another storm. You should come inside tonight. I have to get some sleep if I'm going to school tomorrow and I wont be able to if I hear you jumping from tree to tree to avoid lightening bolts," she said, straightening. Her dog jumped up, placing its paws on her lap. She lowered her hand to scratch behind its ears.

"Hn," Hiei replied, looking to his right, into the west, where the sun was oozing behind the horizon in a red gush. Clouds were beginning to move in once again, quickly, wind ushering them on with encouraging whispers. His brow furrowed. "I'm surprised you sleep. I thought you might have been a zombie."

"Cut it out, Hiei. For a joke to be funny it has to sound witty. That just sounded corny," she snorted. "Well, c'mon. The light is fading. Hungry?" Hiei shook his head. "Me neither. Oh well. Come inside when you want. I'll be going to sleep in about an hour. I actually like to sleep. Using spirit energy tires me." She turned away, putting a hand to her mouth as she yawned. "The door's unlocked." And with that, the door shut.

Hiei looked to the clouds, which grumbled softly as they were herded over the valley. He watched for a long time. Twenty minutes. Then the rain would come, as well as the darkness. You could smell it in the air, thickening it to the point of a thin mist. There would be no storm though. Thunder might come about, but there would be no lightening. But in the house he could keep a closer eye on the girl. He hopped down from the tree and opened the door, stepping into the house. He took his place on the armrest of the futon. Darkness slide into the room slowly, like an advancing thief. Thorn opened her door and stepped into the room a moment later, rubbing her hair in a towel. When she saw him sitting to her right her lips flickered in a smirk as she straightened before walked toward her desk. She picked up some papers and placed them in a maroon backpack, zipping it closed and moving it to sit next to her desk. She yawned once more and took the towel from her shoulders, draping it on the chair. She wore normal, human bedclothes, Hiei noticed, colored a bloody red and made of a satiny textile. They rustled silken whispers as she moved. Without a word she left once more, the softest of paddings kissing the hardwood stairs as she swiftly bounded up them. She came down a moment later, a tall glass of water in one hand and a steaming mug in the other. She placed the mug in front of the fire youkai and carried the glass to a nightstand beside her bed, placing it on the wood behind a small box that held the time. She touched the box, pressing an unseen button. She then glanced up, Hiei noticed, at the painting on the wall. He looked at it as well, but it had not gained the life he had seen in it the night before. It was no more than a painting once again. She turned back, pulling the covers from her bed, she crawled in. Hiei put the mug to his lips, sipping quietly, watching her. He heard steady breaths about ten minutes later.

'How can she sleep when she knows I am so close? Hn. She is too trusting. But its not my style to go after her while she sleeps. Its too low for me,' Hiei thought to himself almost scoffingly. He looked around. Nothing was different from the night before. Yet he felt strange. Like something was not the same, as though something lingered in the air that put him on edge. Something he did not like. 'My imagination is running away from me. Not sleeping for four days is hard.' He sipped his coffee once again. His eyes were heavy and he failed when he tried to subdue a yawn. He placed the unfinished coffee on the table, one third of the liquid still in its bottom. He moved and sat down on the cushion of the futon, his moves slow and drunken. It began to become difficult to keep his eyes open.

'I suppose I could rest a little bit. She's not going anywhere anytime soon. I'll just sit here and rest. I wont fall asleep, just doze a little while. I wont fall asleep,' Hiei thought, burrowing deeper into the softness of the futon. Without conscience thought, he laid down, resting his head on a large, yet soft pillow that had not been there the night before. His eyes flickered closed, even though he strained to keep them open.

Twenty minutes after pretending to fall asleep the Thorn opened her eyes. She sat up on her bed and removed the covers. She got up from the bed and removed her pajamas, clothed in her normal leather garments. She placed them neatly beneath her pillow on her newly-made bed. She walked quietly over to Hiei, her steps nothing more than whispers on the thick carpet.

'You were tough, Hiei. Most would have passed out long before this. Your stubbornness is unreal,' Thorn thought to herself as she looked down on his sleeping form. 'I almost regret this. But I don't. Its for your own good. I don't want BlackFire to kill you and he can only do that if you try to fight him. And I know you would. Hn. Good-night, Hiei.' She pulled an afghan from the back of the futon and draped it carefully over his sleeping form. He growled in his sleep, but the words were lost in a sea of mumbles.

'Even his dreams must haunt him with his past. A shame, really. To be laden with such grief that began in the first few days of his life and continues to this day. But it could be the drug, although I doubt it. Well, its none of my business. Come, BlackFire. Hunting night is upon us,' Thorn thought, turning away from the youkai. There was a snap of ecstatic jaws in her mind. She crept silently up the stairs and opened the sliding glass door without a sound, closing it behind her just as carefully.

'And now I let you roam the human world just as you used to roam the demon world, BlackFire. Keep the killing to a minimum. The last thing we need is Koenma to somehow find out and pin it on us,' she thought as her shape changed, molding from her human form to her white wolf body before its coat blackened, the black scar blending white.

"Yes, Mistress. Don't worry, I know tonight's prey already, and Koenma will never know," whispered the black wolf, its lips pulled back in a devilish grin, its eyes a glittering demonic blue, a sliver of black pupils insuring that insanity raged within the creature. And when the black disappeared, so would the sanity that tied it to its residing place. But until that time, he was perfectly sane, his conscience in control of his mind instead of rage.

*****Meanwhile*****

Hiei dreamed. A rarity. He never dreamed. But he did now, with the rain tapping on the windows, in the girl's room. There were no pictures but for a fleeting glance, nothing that he could understand or hardly see. Just a recognizable blur that, no doubt, had been a scene in his painful past. He felt cold. Then sudden warmth. He was grateful for its comfort that surrounded him. But it did not soften the scenes, only the bitterness he felt when they flashed before his eyes. But the bitterness wasn't the only thing he felt when he dreamed this dream. No, he was full of emotions that had never brightened his face. It was also full of the need to kill. The sight and smell of blood. Its taste on his tongue and the feel of searing flesh beneath his katana's blade as the creature tried to flee, to fight back. But it was not his emotion. It was another's. Someone who was close. Who was killing. He wanted to wake, to know, but his mind refused the order, its cells boggled with some unknown drug. He twitched in anger, not understanding. More pictures sped before his vision, and he was drawn to watching them, although he could not see them, he could almost place them with the river of feelings that flowed with them. He felt guilt, responsibility, hope, anger, hate, pain, suffering. They were all there, as well as others that he could not place.

Suddenly, there was a scene that was so clear, he could sworn he had opened his eyes and seen it. But his mind was fuzzy and just told him that it had been part of the dream in its hazy tones. There, before him on the futon, had sat a large, black wolf. Its coat was slick with a wine-hued liquid that clung fiercely to its black rug. There was a marking on its forehead, between the eyes, which was stained such a bright cherry one could swear it was a gapping wound, spilling the blood that swam along the body. But it was the eyes that caught Hiei's attention the most. He recognized them. The clearest of ice-blue, with black stealing down the middle in a desperate attempt to keep the creature from the rage that threatened to overtake its mind. They glinting dangerously, evil glee burrowed deep within its rock crevice. And the grin that severed its maw. The large fangs flashed eagerly in front of his face, the creature's breath reeking of blood.

The image flashed away a moment later, but his dreams did not continue after it. He was blank, as if the adventure had been caused by the wolf. There was no more feeling, no more pictures. He slept as he usually did, in the darkness of his mind, for the rest of the night.

*

Hiei woke up with a start, his mind buzzing. He groaned and put a hand up to his head, sitting up on the futon, trying to shake the feeling of pounding from his temples. The afghan slid down to his waist, the giver of his warmth. He looked around with blurry eyes. There was... music. Soft, but persistent. He looked over toward where it sounded. Thorn sat up in her bed, her hand slamming down on the contraption harshly, stopping its tune. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, stretching. She looked up with eyes as sleepy as Hiei's, her eyes scanning over toward him directly. She removed the covers and stood. Hiei's vision cleared quickly, although the headache persisted stubbornly, and he realized that she wore her normal leather top and bottom, not the clothes she had been in the night before. She went over to her dresser, brushing her already straight brown hair until it shone, even in the darkness of dawn. Wait. Dawn? Hiei had never, in his life, slept until dawn. He had always awaken before the sun began its good-morning. His head jerked toward the door. Sure enough, outside the window the east was slowly branding the faraway fields golden, warm rays sparkling off raindrops that lay on the tall grass. He sighed and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the ever-stubborn pounding. It felt like he had drunk all last night like Yusuke's mother frequently did, and she always woke up with, what they called, a hangover. Agg. What an awful feeling.

Hiei looked up toward the girl, who suddenly paused in front of the mirror, her hands freezing as they ran through her silky hair. He tilted his head, wondering what she saw. Her eyes were bright, even though he only saw their corners. She turned around, her hands dropping to her sides. She turned, her back toward him, where, he noticed, BlackFire lay silent, not glowing nor humming.

'That's what I found strange last night. BlackFire wasn't on the chair,' Hiei thought, watching as the girl turned, her eyes burning bright as lamps. Angry. He had never seen anger in her eyes before. Not real anger. It was strange. But he followed her gaze. She was facing the painting. But somehow it looked different. The sun could not cast that reddish glow. What was it? Hiei strained his eyes harder to see into the darkness as Thorn approached it. The dragon, its claws were...red. Like they had been freshly painted. But the way the girl was acting, she had not done it. She looked up at it from not two feet away. Hiei stood up unsteadily and walked over as well, standing next to her without a sound. His eyes widened and he took a quick breath. It was not paint that stained the claws of the creature. It was blood. Fresh blood. It dripped down the wall slowly, reluctant to leave the silver. Thorn's hand reached up, but, it seemed, she could not touch what she wished to. Slowly, her arm rose higher, as did her head, until she was a good three inches taller than the youkai that stood beside her. Hiei was amazed, shocked really, but refrained from saying anything. The girl seemed to be in a very pissed-off daze. Her fingers brushed against the creature's jaws, which hung open in a frozen scream of anguish. She retreated them and her height returned to its normal standard. She brought her fingers in front of her, rubbing them together thoughtfully. Blood stuck to their tips.

"I see. You killed, but did not feed, although you tried. You are a dirty bastard," she said quietly. Hiei looked at her quizzically. She seemed to snap out of her trance and looked at him.

"My trainer, he insists upon continuing my training now. Even though he knows I have a battle soon to come," she explained, only to be met by curious and confused eyes. "Its a good thing I put off the last four days of training."

"I thought he was dead," Hiei said.

"He is. In a way. His body is gone, but his soul follows me and continues to train me. The voice in my head. He says that with the death of those of whom you used to care about comes the hardening of the mind. With a strong mind, you feel no pain and so can train harder, more efficiently. So he kills. He normally feeds as well, but it seems that this soul was strong." She paused a moment, thinking. "Oh shit," she gasped. "That bastard!" she hissed, turning and stalking from the room, she flung the plastic aside and walked down the hall. "You're going to kill her!"

Hiei followed her, passing a bathroom and entering, what looked like, an office. She went through the office, opening a door on its other wall. She quickly walked outside, letting the door slam behind her. Hiei followed from a safe distance, confused and bewildered, but masking it with his usual stoic grace. She walked for a long while, her long stride covering large fields and crossing roads quickly. Finally, they came upon a large barn. She did not pause, but her pace did not hasten as she walked straight past it into a large pasture. She hopped easily over the four foot fence and kept moving. She stopped in the middle of the field, looking around before continuing to her left. Hiei followed, unsure as to what was really happening.

She had stopped in front of something. He got closer. It was...a horse? This girl must have a big thing for animals, he noted. He looked around, no other horses were close, but he did see them on the other side of the pasture, heads up and wondering, frightened at the tinted scent of blood. He stopped at her side. The horse was brown, a plain and simple creature. But blood streaked down its flanks and neck, claws had ripped at the flesh. It was dead.

"She's in pain now. A shame, really. Causing her pain when its me that he's training," Thorn said aloud, scorn in her voice.

"Who is in pain?" Hiei asked, looking over at her.

"My twin. He's trying to kill her to make me....better. But killing the things she loved only angers me, it does not cause me pain. But he likes my anger. Although I don't understand why. It only makes me foolish." She knelt down. "Poor creature. She'll want me to keep you close. I have tried my best to keep you safe from him, but I have failed. She understands and her tears will water your grave." She grasped at the medallion at her throat. "Come, and you two will be together," she whispered. From the body sighed a small white cloud. It hovered a moment before rushing into the open mouth of the dragon around her neck. She smiled, but it was a sad, pitying smile. Hiei stayed silent. She had just taken and imprisoned the soul of the creature. She stood up.

"The only soul to ever survive his second stomach. The first time, friend, you survived him easily. But I guess your body wasn't as lucky this time." She turned to Hiei. "You must go back to Japan. It seems that school will have to wait today. I will bury the body and meet you there. He'll want me to start drawing blood, but with this death I will punish him by refusing. Get Kuwabara. He'll be my opponent."

"I am your opponent, no one else," Hiei said, his voice suddenly stern. She glared at him, her eyes a cold, hard blue.

"I do not mean to offend you when I say I'd rather fight Kuwabara. He'd fight with his fists if I asked to fight in such a way and put up more than a descent fight. And that is the way I want it now. No spirit energy, no outside weapons, just fists."

"Why?"

"Because he wants blood. And with a weapon I might become controlled by my sibling's rage and draw it. But that's not what I want. I want him to see that he cannot control me. Its the only way I can show him that I am not one to be ordered like a soldier," she explained, bite in her voice. "Now, please, Hiei, leave and tell Kuwabara I'll meet him...somewhere. He'll find me." Her voice had softened, as had her expression. Hiei backed away a step. He didn't know what he should do. She looked away.

"Please, Hiei. I wont let him kill me. I'm not that weak."

"I wont let him kill you," he said, making her look at him. "I reserve that right for myself." She nodded, turning back toward the body of the creature before them.

"Yes. You do," she said quietly. She straightened. "You'll need a portal. Koenma probably does not have one close, so I will have give you another secret." She pulled BlackFire from her back. "Wake up," she growled, her eyes hard and cruel in the morning light, bars of gold burning into them. The sword began to glow sleepily. "To Tokyo, Japan. Direct," she stated. The sword answered with a hum. She looked at the youkai beside her before giving one large slash with the sword. It was the first time she had used it and Hiei was impressed that she swung it so easily, although its weight was clearly oppressing. She made another strike into the air. The paths of both strikes began to glow bluish, their roads crossing in an 'x'. She replaced her sword.

"This portal will lead you to the outskirts of the city. Take it. I will follow in a few hours," she explained. Hiei gave her a quizzical look. "Trust, Hiei. If it fails then I will search for you. I want to fight you eventually with the prospect of no holds bards. I too, will not let you die. At least, not by anyone's hands but my own." Hiei grunted and stepped forward. He paused at the gate and glanced back just slightly. She was not watching him any longer. She was looking at the dead creature, contemplating something. He stepped through the portal.

Tokyo lay before him, dark before the dawn of morning. The time, he remembered, was different from the other parts of the world. He looked behind him, just in time to see the portal seal like a healed wound.

'Hn. So now her power of travel has been revealed. Well, I guess I should find Kurama and tell him as well as that idiot Kuwabara. They should be getting out of bed to go to school in a little while,' he thought, walking forward, toward the city.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Authoress' Note: yay! A chapter ON TIME! Whoot!

Kuwabara: took ya long enough.

ZIIMM!

Kuwabara: agg! I'm…. short! -chibi Kuwabra looks up at massively tall Hiei, who is standing beside him-

J: grr, that's what you get for annoying me, baka!

Hiei: -sadistic grin- Ha!

J: -realizes what Hiei's thinking- Hiei, you can't kill him, I need him for the next chapter.

Yusuke: -grin- haha! But at least we can torture him until then!

J: just don't kill him.

Kuwabara: -is scared-

Kurama: -chuckle- oh, and J-can, will I have a big part in the next chapter?

J: sorry, Kurama-kun, but you wont. Well, you'll talk a lot if that's what you mean..

Kurama: -proud- yeah. Awesome.

All: 0.0 he did NOT just say awesome…

Hiei: -stops trying to stomp on Kuwabara- Kurama?

Kurama: -giggle- yeah?

All: -everyone is freaked out-

J: oooookkay…. I think I should stop giving him all my Christmas candy… it's messing with his head… and hair… -looks wearily at Kurama's chocolate-infested hair-

All: agreed.

J: okay, here are Reviews. AND! I'm doing a teaser! Just because I'm evil…

Kuwabara: -grumbles- can say that again…

J: -glare- I think I'll let Thorn kill you….

Kuwabara: epp! -hides behind Yukina, who is sitting around innocently-

Reviews:

SilverKnight7: ^_^ yeah, well the next fight scene should sooth your excitement just a little. It should be pretty hot! Lol. Well, the major fight scene isn't until the end. I'm just a little way past the half-way mark here, so try to be patient! ^_^ I know, it's going to be hard, so just bare with me here! Thanks for the review!

Miyako14: Thanks for your review! ^_^

baka-chibi-puffs: yeah! Samurai X kicks major butt! I have director's cut too, and was hoping for Reflections for xmas, but it hasn't happened yet. U_U. But no worries, for I still have half my family left in Massachusetts! Maybe I'll get it from them. Let's hope! Thanks for your review!

Midnightdream51: thank you so so much for you're awesome review! Omgosh, I was so awed and inspired by it! I wanted to pump this chapter out ASAP because of it! And really, I am so undeserving of this holy praise! I have read much better work here. And yes, as I moved on in this story, I was going back to my more poetic state because of some Role Playing Games that I was going back and reading from about a year ago. So my old RPGing posts totally inspired me. And, I must say, that it only gets worse with the detail. -shrug- for the most part, the shadow thing, with all the different words was because I hate it when authors repeat the same damn thing over and over gain. 'he was hidden in the shadows. He was not visible because the shadows obscured him. The shadows cloaked him stiflingly.' get the point? I !HATE! That with a vengeance. And the thing is, a lot of authors do it too! Yes, well you've totally inspired me with your review, and I loved it a lot! Lol. But look at you! You only have three chapters up, whilst I have 18 and we have the same number of reviews! Don't ya think that tells ya something? -quirk- lol. But, I will let cha'll in on a little secret. This story is finished. As a fact, I've started on the sequel. I think it's going to be a trilogy in all fact! ^_^ but don't get excited! I don't know what's going to happen if I do write a third one. But, personally, the way the sequel is coming, it's a lot better than this one. Mostly because my writing style has been slightly altered. It's more 'poetic' I suppose. Now don't worry, I haven't finished it yet. But I think I'm going to up the update amount, because this is too slow! Lol. If I keep going at this pace, it wont be done being posted until NEXT new year. Lol. Well, thanks again.

J: oh, and I forgot to wish everyone a happy new-year! ^_^

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Teaser:

"C'mon, Kuwabara! Just give her a few good hits and it'll be over," Yusuke said.

"Shut-up, Urimeshi! I'm trying to concentrate!" the tall boy shouted. He blocked another hit. "Okay, fine." He gave a hesitating punch, Thorn took to the defense, blocking easily. She seemed to rely more on her defense than offence, and settled into an easy rhythm of blocks, taking to the offensive less and less often.

"C'mon, Kuwabara! Hit her!" Yusuke yelled after a long line of punches from his friend that never caught meaningful flesh. It had already been almost five minutes since they had started.

"Stay calm, Yusuke," Kurama said. "Look. She is defending herself, yet you would think that she was doing all the work. She grows weaker by the moment. There is something wrong here."

"Huh?" Yusuke asked, turning toward the kitsune. He looked again. He was right. Thorn's actions seemed to slow, her breath was heavier. Her eyes were bright blue, darting from one of the boy's hands to the other, yet always watching his entire body's movements. At times she took a half-hearted swing, only to have it blocked or dodged. But for the most part she took to the defensive with only her sheer determination. She would not draw blood.

After nearly twenty minutes of blocking, Thorn's body became languid. It was visible to even the most untrained of eyes. She was weakening quickly, although there was no reason for it.

+++

J: I know, I'm so evil! ^_^

Now press the pretty button…. It holds magic and beauty! Lol…