Me and the Penguin Army
Disclaimers: What does it take to convince you people I don't own the show?
A/N: Since it was becoming boring and repetitive I'm not putting the symbol meaning things up, if you are really that confused then go back to another chapter to see, but by now I'm hoping you know what , "", mean.
Chapter 18 Birthdays
"Okay, I think I'll skip ahead about two months in the story 'cause nothing really happened, I started training with Hiei, I was averaging about every other week in school which was still better than Yusuke's current school attendance, anything was pretty much better than his attendance. And I saw glimpses of a cat that resembled Cricket every once and a while." I took a deep breath to take a short break from my story. "And I'll start it off when I was walking through Makai with Rikoh . . ."
I yawned and glanced over at Rikoh. His black and white coat was gleaming in the Makai sun as we leisurely walked through the demon world. Then, in the distance I could hear branches being hit and flinging back up. "He's late." Rikoh whispered as he acknowledged the sound as well. "Eh, doesn't matter much to me." I commented lightly as I unsheathed my katana I had been given. In less time then it took to blink I felt myself sliding back, my heels digging into the earth. I smirked and lunged forward, towards the oncoming assault. Easily dodging each katana strike I made my way close to the attacker. Some fancy footwork and a few reworkings in my original attack plan quick had my attacker under me. I knocked his katana from his hand and sat with one leg on each side of him to keep him pinned to the ground. "Now Hiei." I began in a mocking voice. "One of the first things you must know to be a skilled fighter is you must always, ALWAYS stay alert to the opponent," I took in a deep breath and began waving my katana around like a teacher's pointer as I recited the words I had heard only about fifty time while lying in the same position I had put Hiei in. I glanced down at him and saw a smirk across his face. "Since when did you become the teacher here?" he asked as I got off him and helped him up.
"Dunno, thought that was your job." Once he was back on his feet and dusted off I got ready for another round. Sunlight ran down the sharp edge of my blade as I glanced across it to see Hiei. He was in a fighting stance I had not seen him take yet so I prepared myself for anything. Hiei's face was serious for the few minutes we stood in perfect silence, but when his face broke into a smirk I knew he was up to something. I blinked and when my eyes were reopened he was gone. That's not good. I thought as I tried to sense his energy to pinpoint his location. I finally found him, but it was too late, I tensed as I felt the cool metal slip into place across my neck. I smiled as I darted away before I was caught. For about half an hour we exchanged sword strikes until we were exhausted.
I sprawled out on a large boulder that was near a river; Hiei was sitting on the ground with his back to the large rock. "Jeez Hiei, is there any part of me you didn't hit with your katana?" I teased. "Dunno, maybe we should go back and make sure I hit every possible-"No, no I'm fine!" I exclaimed and I heard Hiei chuckle slightly. I glanced over at Rikoh, he was knee deep in the stream, apparently looking for something. His sharp beak skimmed the surface of the water as his head moved from side to side. Then, faster than what I though he could move, Rikoh's head darted under the water and was back to the surface with a fish in the sharp eagle's beak. Rikoh trotted to the bank and dined on his meal. "Well at least I won't have to feed you for a while." I muttered and I swore Hiei laughed again. With a yawn I stretched out and sat up. "Anyone up for round two?" I mockingly asked as I leaned over and looked at Hiei. He appeared fast asleep, basking in the sun's warm rays. He really is cute when he is asleep. I whispered in my head as I slid down the rock to sit next to him. Within moments I too had fallen asleep, my head gently resting on Hiei's shoulder.
I opened my eyes a little while later and saw Hiei had wrapped his arms around my waist. I shifted slightly to look at him and saw he was smiling. A genuine smile, something I'm not sure I had ever seen on his face. Smiling to myself I settled back down into his arms and closed my eyes. Unfortunately I didn't fall back asleep. "Awe, look at the cute couple." Wait, Kuwabara? "Man, where's a camera when you need one?" Yusuke? "Shut up Yusuke." Keiko? What the? "Think we should wake them?" Kuwabara once again spoke. "Let them sleep, more than likely they just got done training." Kurama said and I heard something being set down near me. "Well good afternoon sleeping beauty." Mocked Kuwabara, so Hiei must have woken up. The warm pressure around my waist let up so Hiei must have let go. I shifted slightly before opening my eyes. No one had noticed I had woken up, except for Kurama, but he didn't say anything. In fact he was smiling as he gazed past me and it took me a second to realize what had happened. Hiei had gotten up and whacked Kuwabara. I put a hand over my mouth so no one would hear me laughing. I heard some stones crunching and I knew someone was coming over to me to sit down. "Hiei, I think you went overboard with Ixi's training." Botan's giggly voice commented. She must think I'm still asleep! "Hn." I heard the person next to me mutter.
I finally decided to be awake, so I stretched up while yawning and looked around. "Lo, elo." I mumbled as I leaned up against the large rock. Everybody was here. Yusuke, Keiko, Kurama, Botan, Kuwabara, Yukina, Genkai, Puu, even Koenma was here. "Why is everybody here?" I asked, slightly confused. "We're having a picnic!" Botan exclaimed as she hosted up a picnic basket. "Oh-kay?" I said, "any special occasion I should know about?" I glanced over at the faces and saw Yukina blushing slightly. "It's my birthday." She meekly said as she helped set up the blankets. "Oh . . ." Shoot, and I don't even have a present of anything. Last to know for everything. I could feel myself beginning to blush in embarrassment. "You didn't know?" Kurama asked as he noticed my flushed face and I shook my head no. "It's okay Ixi." Yukina said with a smile. "But still, I feel really bad for not knowing." "Hey, when is your birthday Ixi? I don't think you've ever told us." Kurama said to change the subject slightly. "Uh, what's today?" "June 18." "Really? Well, I will be turning a year older as of two days ago."
"What? Two days ago?" Everybody seemed to exclaim at the same time. With a sweatdrop I nodded with a sheepish smile. "So how old are you?" "Umm, good question, 1, 2, 3 . . ." "You don't know your own age!?" "Heh, heh. Well, I've never really cared at my birthday. It's just who I am I guess. Let's see now, I'm 17!" "And you're still in junior high?" I blushed at that remark. "Hey its not my fault, one of the psycho couples I was placed in with around 2nd grade thought I wasn't doing my best and got me sent back a couple grades." "Couples you were placed in with?" I froze when Yusuke asked that. Oh no! I never told them about being a foster kid! "You're a foster kid?" Kurama asked curiously and I found myself getting mad. "Yes, do you want to make something of it?" I snapped while glaring at the redhead. "No Ixi, that's not what I meant-Ixi wait! Where are you going?" I ignored him as I stormed off.
I broke into a run after trees hid me. I heard a soft rustle of wings and saw Rikoh soaring above me. He seemed to understand I wanted to be alone because he didn't land for a while. And when he did, he was not close. Before I knew where I was going I found myself at a sparkling stream. But that seemed the only thing sparkling because there were few trees that were alive around it. "Void river." I whispered as I neared its banks. I knelt down at its banks. Something had caught my attention. A small plant had begun to grow near the waters. "Well, maybe there is hope for this river after all." A snap of a twig startled me to turn around. Hiei was standing alone, higher on the bank's top. "So this is where you went." He whispered as he slowly slid down the bank to me.
"You know Ixi, everyone is really worried about you." Hiei started as he glanced to the plant I was still kneeling at. "Yeah right." I muttered as I stood up and started back up the bank. "They really are, you ran off all by yourself into a place that's overflowing with dangers." I snorted at his comment. "Why would they be worried about me?" I icily said as I sped up so Hiei couldn't follow me. "They are worried about you because they are your friends Ixi." I glanced over at Hiei; his eyes told me he was telling the truth. I stopped and hung my head. How could I have doubted they cared about me? I suddenly felt warm as Hiei drew me into his arms. "Shhhh, its okay." He brushed something away on my cheek and I realized I had started to cry. I couldn't take it anymore, I let everything go and the tears ran down my cheeks. My knees gave out and Hiei lowered me slowly to the ground as he began to gently rock me back and forth. I cried on his shoulder, everything that had weighed down on me over my life just seemed to vanish. "Why do I screw everything up Hiei? Why?" I choked through my tears. "You haven't screwed anything up, and don't let anyone tell you that you have." I smiled slightly as I let the warmth Hiei emitted wash over me. It was strange, no matter how hot or cold it was, whenever I got near Hiei I felt perfect.
With Rikoh's screeching cry Hiei and me were refocused. "What the?" I asked as we ran to the origin of the cry. "RIKOH!" I cried as I ran. The hippogriff screeched again and I could hear other footsteps joining ours. Everyone who had come to the picnic was running close to Hiei and me. We came to a clearing and saw Rikoh in an aggressive stance, bleeding from a few scrapes. I gazed around at the winds picked up, making the long grasses flow like water. Then, everything stopped. No wind, no sounds, no movement of any kind other than from the people in the clearing. This is when I knew something was wrong. "Something's coming." I whispered as I felt a strange force coming from all sides.
Ixi: Jeez, I'm back one second and gone the next. -- But writing as fast as possible. Okay goin' right into it cause I came back and there was a bunch of reviews. Review responses below.
To Phoenix-of-Fire: I'm glad you like it so much, and I remember your review from my newest story, and I'm typing as fast as I can don't worry. : )
To Miny Mars: Yep, Rikoh is pretty, Now stop reading my story and work on your own (What am I saying? O.O)
To both of QOL's reviews: (1) Yeah, I really got away from the humor in Ch. 17 so I made up for it. (2) And yes I am aware of the Neopet named Ixi, in fact I just created an Ixi a little while ago, if anyone cares my account is flaminkitsune, if anyone has an account on Neopets and you leave your account I'll put you as a neofriend. : )
Ixi: Chow for now!
Disclaimers: What does it take to convince you people I don't own the show?
A/N: Since it was becoming boring and repetitive I'm not putting the symbol meaning things up, if you are really that confused then go back to another chapter to see, but by now I'm hoping you know what , "", mean.
Chapter 18 Birthdays
"Okay, I think I'll skip ahead about two months in the story 'cause nothing really happened, I started training with Hiei, I was averaging about every other week in school which was still better than Yusuke's current school attendance, anything was pretty much better than his attendance. And I saw glimpses of a cat that resembled Cricket every once and a while." I took a deep breath to take a short break from my story. "And I'll start it off when I was walking through Makai with Rikoh . . ."
I yawned and glanced over at Rikoh. His black and white coat was gleaming in the Makai sun as we leisurely walked through the demon world. Then, in the distance I could hear branches being hit and flinging back up. "He's late." Rikoh whispered as he acknowledged the sound as well. "Eh, doesn't matter much to me." I commented lightly as I unsheathed my katana I had been given. In less time then it took to blink I felt myself sliding back, my heels digging into the earth. I smirked and lunged forward, towards the oncoming assault. Easily dodging each katana strike I made my way close to the attacker. Some fancy footwork and a few reworkings in my original attack plan quick had my attacker under me. I knocked his katana from his hand and sat with one leg on each side of him to keep him pinned to the ground. "Now Hiei." I began in a mocking voice. "One of the first things you must know to be a skilled fighter is you must always, ALWAYS stay alert to the opponent," I took in a deep breath and began waving my katana around like a teacher's pointer as I recited the words I had heard only about fifty time while lying in the same position I had put Hiei in. I glanced down at him and saw a smirk across his face. "Since when did you become the teacher here?" he asked as I got off him and helped him up.
"Dunno, thought that was your job." Once he was back on his feet and dusted off I got ready for another round. Sunlight ran down the sharp edge of my blade as I glanced across it to see Hiei. He was in a fighting stance I had not seen him take yet so I prepared myself for anything. Hiei's face was serious for the few minutes we stood in perfect silence, but when his face broke into a smirk I knew he was up to something. I blinked and when my eyes were reopened he was gone. That's not good. I thought as I tried to sense his energy to pinpoint his location. I finally found him, but it was too late, I tensed as I felt the cool metal slip into place across my neck. I smiled as I darted away before I was caught. For about half an hour we exchanged sword strikes until we were exhausted.
I sprawled out on a large boulder that was near a river; Hiei was sitting on the ground with his back to the large rock. "Jeez Hiei, is there any part of me you didn't hit with your katana?" I teased. "Dunno, maybe we should go back and make sure I hit every possible-"No, no I'm fine!" I exclaimed and I heard Hiei chuckle slightly. I glanced over at Rikoh, he was knee deep in the stream, apparently looking for something. His sharp beak skimmed the surface of the water as his head moved from side to side. Then, faster than what I though he could move, Rikoh's head darted under the water and was back to the surface with a fish in the sharp eagle's beak. Rikoh trotted to the bank and dined on his meal. "Well at least I won't have to feed you for a while." I muttered and I swore Hiei laughed again. With a yawn I stretched out and sat up. "Anyone up for round two?" I mockingly asked as I leaned over and looked at Hiei. He appeared fast asleep, basking in the sun's warm rays. He really is cute when he is asleep. I whispered in my head as I slid down the rock to sit next to him. Within moments I too had fallen asleep, my head gently resting on Hiei's shoulder.
I opened my eyes a little while later and saw Hiei had wrapped his arms around my waist. I shifted slightly to look at him and saw he was smiling. A genuine smile, something I'm not sure I had ever seen on his face. Smiling to myself I settled back down into his arms and closed my eyes. Unfortunately I didn't fall back asleep. "Awe, look at the cute couple." Wait, Kuwabara? "Man, where's a camera when you need one?" Yusuke? "Shut up Yusuke." Keiko? What the? "Think we should wake them?" Kuwabara once again spoke. "Let them sleep, more than likely they just got done training." Kurama said and I heard something being set down near me. "Well good afternoon sleeping beauty." Mocked Kuwabara, so Hiei must have woken up. The warm pressure around my waist let up so Hiei must have let go. I shifted slightly before opening my eyes. No one had noticed I had woken up, except for Kurama, but he didn't say anything. In fact he was smiling as he gazed past me and it took me a second to realize what had happened. Hiei had gotten up and whacked Kuwabara. I put a hand over my mouth so no one would hear me laughing. I heard some stones crunching and I knew someone was coming over to me to sit down. "Hiei, I think you went overboard with Ixi's training." Botan's giggly voice commented. She must think I'm still asleep! "Hn." I heard the person next to me mutter.
I finally decided to be awake, so I stretched up while yawning and looked around. "Lo, elo." I mumbled as I leaned up against the large rock. Everybody was here. Yusuke, Keiko, Kurama, Botan, Kuwabara, Yukina, Genkai, Puu, even Koenma was here. "Why is everybody here?" I asked, slightly confused. "We're having a picnic!" Botan exclaimed as she hosted up a picnic basket. "Oh-kay?" I said, "any special occasion I should know about?" I glanced over at the faces and saw Yukina blushing slightly. "It's my birthday." She meekly said as she helped set up the blankets. "Oh . . ." Shoot, and I don't even have a present of anything. Last to know for everything. I could feel myself beginning to blush in embarrassment. "You didn't know?" Kurama asked as he noticed my flushed face and I shook my head no. "It's okay Ixi." Yukina said with a smile. "But still, I feel really bad for not knowing." "Hey, when is your birthday Ixi? I don't think you've ever told us." Kurama said to change the subject slightly. "Uh, what's today?" "June 18." "Really? Well, I will be turning a year older as of two days ago."
"What? Two days ago?" Everybody seemed to exclaim at the same time. With a sweatdrop I nodded with a sheepish smile. "So how old are you?" "Umm, good question, 1, 2, 3 . . ." "You don't know your own age!?" "Heh, heh. Well, I've never really cared at my birthday. It's just who I am I guess. Let's see now, I'm 17!" "And you're still in junior high?" I blushed at that remark. "Hey its not my fault, one of the psycho couples I was placed in with around 2nd grade thought I wasn't doing my best and got me sent back a couple grades." "Couples you were placed in with?" I froze when Yusuke asked that. Oh no! I never told them about being a foster kid! "You're a foster kid?" Kurama asked curiously and I found myself getting mad. "Yes, do you want to make something of it?" I snapped while glaring at the redhead. "No Ixi, that's not what I meant-Ixi wait! Where are you going?" I ignored him as I stormed off.
I broke into a run after trees hid me. I heard a soft rustle of wings and saw Rikoh soaring above me. He seemed to understand I wanted to be alone because he didn't land for a while. And when he did, he was not close. Before I knew where I was going I found myself at a sparkling stream. But that seemed the only thing sparkling because there were few trees that were alive around it. "Void river." I whispered as I neared its banks. I knelt down at its banks. Something had caught my attention. A small plant had begun to grow near the waters. "Well, maybe there is hope for this river after all." A snap of a twig startled me to turn around. Hiei was standing alone, higher on the bank's top. "So this is where you went." He whispered as he slowly slid down the bank to me.
"You know Ixi, everyone is really worried about you." Hiei started as he glanced to the plant I was still kneeling at. "Yeah right." I muttered as I stood up and started back up the bank. "They really are, you ran off all by yourself into a place that's overflowing with dangers." I snorted at his comment. "Why would they be worried about me?" I icily said as I sped up so Hiei couldn't follow me. "They are worried about you because they are your friends Ixi." I glanced over at Hiei; his eyes told me he was telling the truth. I stopped and hung my head. How could I have doubted they cared about me? I suddenly felt warm as Hiei drew me into his arms. "Shhhh, its okay." He brushed something away on my cheek and I realized I had started to cry. I couldn't take it anymore, I let everything go and the tears ran down my cheeks. My knees gave out and Hiei lowered me slowly to the ground as he began to gently rock me back and forth. I cried on his shoulder, everything that had weighed down on me over my life just seemed to vanish. "Why do I screw everything up Hiei? Why?" I choked through my tears. "You haven't screwed anything up, and don't let anyone tell you that you have." I smiled slightly as I let the warmth Hiei emitted wash over me. It was strange, no matter how hot or cold it was, whenever I got near Hiei I felt perfect.
With Rikoh's screeching cry Hiei and me were refocused. "What the?" I asked as we ran to the origin of the cry. "RIKOH!" I cried as I ran. The hippogriff screeched again and I could hear other footsteps joining ours. Everyone who had come to the picnic was running close to Hiei and me. We came to a clearing and saw Rikoh in an aggressive stance, bleeding from a few scrapes. I gazed around at the winds picked up, making the long grasses flow like water. Then, everything stopped. No wind, no sounds, no movement of any kind other than from the people in the clearing. This is when I knew something was wrong. "Something's coming." I whispered as I felt a strange force coming from all sides.
Ixi: Jeez, I'm back one second and gone the next. -- But writing as fast as possible. Okay goin' right into it cause I came back and there was a bunch of reviews. Review responses below.
To Phoenix-of-Fire: I'm glad you like it so much, and I remember your review from my newest story, and I'm typing as fast as I can don't worry. : )
To Miny Mars: Yep, Rikoh is pretty, Now stop reading my story and work on your own (What am I saying? O.O)
To both of QOL's reviews: (1) Yeah, I really got away from the humor in Ch. 17 so I made up for it. (2) And yes I am aware of the Neopet named Ixi, in fact I just created an Ixi a little while ago, if anyone cares my account is flaminkitsune, if anyone has an account on Neopets and you leave your account I'll put you as a neofriend. : )
Ixi: Chow for now!