I Got a Demon and an Angel by My Side- I Don't Like Which One Has Control

By: Alicia Maxwell

            "Hm?" Alicia wearily opened her eyes.  She looked about, finding herself in the unfamiliar location of Spirit World treatment center.  Searching her mind for any faint clues as to her whereabouts, Alicia became quite nervous when she discovered her last memory to be when she had left with Kurama and Hiei.

            "You okay, 'Licia?" Yusuke asked, entering the room.

            "Yusuke! What happened to the others?" Alicia demanded of him instantly.  "I can't remember a single thing after our departure!"

            "I should have expected that to be the first thing out of your mouth…  You always put others first, don't you?" he chuckled.

            "I'd rather die then see one good life ended," she frowned.  "They are alright, aren't they, Yusuke?"

            "A little battered but they'll be fine," Yusuke assured her.

            "What happened?"

            "You encountered the enemy… then yada yada yada… and finally Hiei called for medical assistance."

            "You must think I'm stupid to try the 'yada yada yada' thing on me," Alicia looked at him crossly.  "You're hiding something from me and I wanna know what it is!"

            "I think I'll let Hiei tell you that when he recovers if it's all the same to you," Yusuke frowned.

            "Dammit, Yusuke, you coward, tell--!" Alicia shouted as her hand shot forward and grabbed Yusuke's collar.  That's when she noticed the burns along her arm.  "Oh God!" she cried.  "What did I do, Yusuke!?"

            "Well…" Yusuke fidgeted a bit, trying to find a way to explain without telling her that she had an evil demon eating away at her mind for over ten years.

            "I hurt them didn't I?"  Hiruseiki stones fell on the bedspread and rolled down onto the floor.  "I hurt them both didn't I?"

            "Yeah," Yusuke admitted with a sigh.

            "How bad is it?" she demanded.

            "Well… you certainly… showed that you weren't yourself," he frowned.  "You turned into a cold-blooded killing machine."

            "How bad is it?" she asked again.

            "Yukina healed most of Hiei's injuries so he's fine now but Kurama… just got out of the ICU[1]…"

            "Dear God…"

            "Don't worry.  They'll be fine, Alicia.  Hiei will give you the details of what happened later, okay?"

            "Okay," she sniffled.

            "And try and cheer up will ya?" Yusuke smiled.  "You're gonna make the value of Hiruseiki stones decrease to the value of a soda can if you keep crying them at this rate."

            "Yusuke, I'm always mocking you and arguing with you," Alicia said.  "Why on Earth do you turn the other cheek?"

            "Ah, I know you don't mean it when you tease me, Lici.  You just have a hard time treating me like a friend cause… well… I'm a real jerk to you sometimes."

            "You're a real jerk?" Alicia stared at him.  "Which one of us made the other roll around in the snow in their underwear and stuff ice in their boxers?"

            "Seeing as you don't wear boxers, I'll have to answer 'you'," he laughed.

            "And which one of us bound the other's hands and feet and tied him to a tree in the middle of the Makai?"

            "You did."

            "And who told Keiko that---?"

            "Please, I don't want to remember that incident," Yusuke shuddered.

            "Then you finally agree I'm the real jerk?"

            "I agree but on one condition," he smirked.

            "What's that?"

            "That you agree that I gave you reason to be a jerk."

            "Fine," Alicia chuckled, "but you still deserve an apology for that whole Keiko incident."

            "It's okay.  I already told her that I'm not gay."

            "I'm still surprised she believed me when I told her that you were sleeping with Karasu throughout the entire Dark Tournament," she laughed uncontrollably.

            "You told her I was what!?"

            "Sorry… she was just so gullible I couldn't resist."

            "You're really one twisted freak, you know that?"

            "I know," Alicia smiled.  "It's the only reason I trust my friends so much- no one who would deceive and hurt me would bother putting up with me."

            "How is she, Yusuke?" Hiei pushed open the door, his eyes instantly falling on Alicia in surprise.  He hadn't expected her to be awake so soon.

            "She's fine, as I'm sure you can see.  I think I'll leave you two alone now," Yusuke headed for the door.  Before he left, he whispered to Hiei, "She doesn't remember a thing and I told her nothing."

            "So… what did I do out there, Hiei?" Alicia asked calmly.


[1] For anyone who does not know what ICU means… It stands for Intensive Care Unit