Rain and Fire

Chapter 9: Fireside Chat And A Priestess

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Huo managed to save Kuronue's wing, which was a big relief to Aura and Youko. It took the horse demon a lot of energy to fix it, so when he was done, he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

The others decided that that was a good idea, as it was already starting to get rather dark.

So, everyone found a place to bunk at around a little fire that Hiei had built earlier.

Hiei was the only one who stayed awake, gazing into the flames.

He thought about that strange girl. Who she was, what she was talking about, and why the hell she kissed him. He thought about Sesshoumaru, Rin, Kouga and Rydia, and wondered where they were.

"Hey…you alright, Hiei?"

He looked over at Rain, who had sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What? I'm fine. Get back to bed, onna." he snapped.

She glared, then crawled over to him. She sat down beside him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Look, buddy, I've got a name. Use it. And don't boss me around like you own me or something."

He smirked. "Oh, so sorry. I forgot. Yakumo owns you."

Pure anger flashed across her face. "That…that…pig…does NOT own me!! I belong to no one!!"

He chuckled, and looked back into the fire.

"Sure he doesn't. That means you were just visiting." he said.

She growled at him. "Hiei, don't ever mention him in front of me again, got it?"

"Why not? Why do you hate him so much?"

That was it. He had her cornered. He had been wondering about that ever since he met her. Sure, he and Sesshoumaru had speculated what might have made her hate him so much, but that was just guessing based on Yakumo's personality.

She sighed, and pulled her knees to her chest. She buried her face in her knees before answering.

"It's…nothing."

That was not the answer that he had wanted. He wanted to know why, not 'it's nothing'.

She peeked out at him. "Why do you care?"

"I don't." he said quickly. "I was just…just curious."

She shrugged. "Curiosity killed the cat."

He didn't reply, and she laid back down again. He looked won at her.

"What are you doing?"

She opened one eye to glare at him. "What does it look like? I'm going to sleep."

"Right next to me?"

"So? If you've got a problem with me, I'll move. It's just warmer when you're closer to someone."

He opened his mouth to say that he did have a problem with it, but then thought better of it. What did he care? She wasn't touching him or anything. Just…laying next to him.

"It's…fine."

She nodded, and closed her eyes.

Neither ever noticed a pair of crimson eyes watching them.

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The next morning, Rain was the last one up. When she awoke, Huo was crouching in front of her.

"Morning, sleepy head." he said, grinning.

"Morning, Huo…" she replied, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

The others were already by the river, and Kuronue was up as well.

"So, looks like Kuronue is up and about already." She said.

Huo nodded. He then leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "The stupid bat's been doing nothing but whining and complaining! I'm about ready to smack him upside the head!"

Rain giggled, and he pulled back, grinning from ear to ear as well.

He stood, and helped her up too, and they walked over to the others. Rain smiled at everyone except for Youko.

"So, everyone up for traveling today?" she asked, before sending a smirk over at Huo. "No falling down the sides of mountains?"

He laughed, though the others looked confused.

"We're going to head down to a village near here." Youko said, pointing down the river. "I know some people there, and I'm sure Sesshoumaru and the others will go there as well. It's on the way to Yakumo's."

Rain flinched at the name, but smiled at Huo when he gave her a concerned glance.

"Let's go then." Aura said, latching onto Kuronue's arm as they started to move once more.

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Sesshoumaru sighed, and stopped walking, allowing for Rin to catch up. He knew the girl was tired, but as a lord, it would be rather…awkward for him to carry her on his back while in human form.

He looked back at her, as she climbed over the thick tree roots to reach him.

They were getting nowhere with this.

"Rin, I want you to stay there." he said.

She gave him a confused look. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I'm going to transform."

"Oh!" Her eyes lit up, and she grinned.

He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to transform back into his original form. When he opened his eyes, he looked back down at Rin, who was still grinning from ear to ear.

He knew that he would regret this later, but he got down so that she could climb up onto his back.

She did so, and almost immediately buried her face into his snowy white fur.

"Oooh, Sesshoumaru-sama! You're always so soft and fluffy!"

He groaned inwardly, but took off towards the river, and the village on the other side.

He knew Rin loved it on the rare occasions that he allowed her to sit on his back while in dog form, and he could practically see her while she spread out her arms and pretended to be a bird.

He nearly chuckled, and kept going - he could see the river ahead.

He sent her a telepathic message to hang on tight, and she gripped his fur. He easily cleared the river, and when he landed on the other side, he felt something familiar.

He suddenly transformed back into his human form, realizing as soon as he did, that Rin was still on his 'back'.

She fell down, and he quickly caught her. She grinned.

"Thanks, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Rydia came running out from the trees, and froze.

"Sesshoumaru-chan!!" she shrieked. "What are you doing with that-that…human!!"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean? I just caught her."

He set Rin down, and Rydia looked like she was going to cry.

"Are you…are you…cheating on me?!"

He rolled his eyes, and opened his mouth to say that they weren't even together in the first place, but Rin spoke first.

"Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't cheat!!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on her hip and stomping a foot. "Don't accuse him of ever doing something so dishonorable!"

Kouga and Jaken came out then, the former blinking in surprise.

"Rain?"

Rin turned around. "Eh? Not Rain, Rin!!"

He sighed. "Damn…I thought you were Rain…"

Rin grinned. "Nee-chan and I look a lot alike, ne?"

Rydia jumped on Sesshoumaru, hugging him tightly. He growled, but she still wouldn't let go.

"Sesshoumaru-chan, I'm just so glad that you aren't cheating!"

Jaken ran over and smacked Rydia with the Staff of Heads. She yelped and quickly let go of the dog demon, rubbing her bottom.

"Owie…what was that for, ya stupid toad?!"

He snorted. "Leave Sesshoumaru-sama alone, onna."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up, toad!!"

"We need to get to that village." Sesshoumaru said, interrupting the argument between his retainer and the Seer.

"What village? We need to find Rain!" Kouga exclaimed.

"If I know Hiei, he'll have found them all by now. And I'm sure that Youko will go there as well."

When Kouga gave him a blank look, Sesshoumaru said, "That means Rain will be there."

"Well, then it's settled! Let's head out to this village!" Kouga said.

Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly, and they started out towards the village that Sesshoumaru was talking about.

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Rain walked ahead of the others, eager to reach the village that Youko was talking about - solely for the purpose of taking a well-deserved bath.

After traveling through mountains for a few days, she knew she needed one badly.

She saw a large forest before them, and ran ahead into it. She and Rin loved to play in forests, even as children. So, Rain always found them comforting.

She grinned, and kept walking, taking in the beautiful greenery around her.

"Hey, wait up!"

She stopped, and smiled at Huo, who caught up with her. He grinned as well.

"You like forests too, Rain-chan?"

She nodded. "Yeah!"

They both went along, grinning like children, and talking idly about various things. Hiei watched them, a small frown on his face.

However, Youko noticed this, and walked beside his rival with a smirk.

"Hiei, do I sense jealousy?" he asked covertly.

Hiei growled. "Hell no! I don't care about the damn woman!"

Youko's smirk nearly turned into a grin. "Who ever said I was talking about Rain?"

Hiei snapped his mouth shut, and sped up, wanting to get away from the kitsune. Youko just laughed.

Rain suddenly stopped, and Huo stopped as well, giving her a peculiar glance.

"Rain?"

"I thought I-"

A demon suddenly burst through the line of trees, and Rain jumped back.

He looked oddly like Sesshoumaru, only he had tiny little dog ears on top of his head, and wore red clothes. He growled at them, and pulled out a rather large sword.

"Who the hell are you people, and what are you doing here?!" he demanded.

Youko snorted. "Sure isn't anything like his brother."

At this, the silver-haired demon blinked. "Brother? You mean Sesshoumaru?"

Rain smiled. "Yeah."

He growled again, and got back into a fighting stance.

"What the hell do you want?! A friend of my brother sure as hell ain't a friend of mine."

"Inu-Yasha!"

The boy yelped and turned around to face a woman who had just come out from the trees.

She was tall, a bit taller than Rain, with long black hair secured in a loose and low ponytail. She had chocolate brown eyes, and they hardened as she glared at him. She wore the traditional miko's outfit, and had a bow across her chest and a quiver on her back. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips.

"Inu-Yasha, are you bothering these people?" she asked, her voice calm, yet showing that she meant business.

"Kikyo! They're friends with Sesshoumaru!" the demon protested.

She seemed slightly surprised, but then shook her head.

"Inu-Yasha, with the barriers that I've set up, it would be impossible for anyone with wicked intentions to enter the village. If they're really bad, then they'll be repelled." the priestess said, sighing.

He snorted, but seemed to believe her.

"If you say so, Kikyo…"

Rain smiled. "So, you're the priestess Kikyo that I've been hearing so much of, aren't you?"

Kikyo returned the gesture. "Hai, hai. My name is indeed Kikyo, and I am the protector of this village. Though I'm sure you've heard of me because of my position as protectress of the Shikon No Tama."

Rain nodded, and gave a bow. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kikyo-san."

Kikyo bowed as well, and Rain smiled at her. "My name is Rain, and this," she motioned to everyone as she named them, "is Hiei, Aura, Kuronue, Youko and Huo. We're traveling together, looking for our friends."

Kikyo nodded, and smiled kindly. "You should come stay in the village."

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to protest, but one look from her made him put his ears back in submission.

She looked back at Rain, and motioned for her to follow.

"Come, I'll show you there."

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Author's Notes: Well, how was that? Sorry about this chapter being kinda boring…it'll start picking up again soon, don't worry!! I've got a lot planned for poor little Rain… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!

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Oh, and out of curiosity, who is your favorite character? I think a vote of the fav. character would be awesome!!

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Also, I've added LOTS to the website. You can find it in my profile . I've added a place where you can ask the Rain and Fire characters questions (or the Kokoro No Kaitou characters). It's pretty cool, and StoryWeaver1 (huggles!) has asked the first question. Check it out when you're done with this chapter, and submit a question!

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Story Weaver1: Unfortunately, we probably won't find out more about Rain being a murderer until later chapters.

sungoddessYouko: Actually, this is the first time.

miyako14: LOL. Okies.

Chibi Lady: Well, we'll find out who she killed in later chapters. As for Huo.......MWAHAHAAHAHAHAAA!! Queen of Suspense!!

Sei-san: LOL. Could you imagine what Hiei's face would look like if she said that the 'person' she killed was a little bug? Everyone there would facefault and fall over anime-style.

slave2anime: Yup! Blue is female, and in her human form, she looks like Hige in a mini-skirt. LOL. I like Kiba too, but Hige's still my favorite.

TPM-girl: I think it's funny that when Huo was first introduced, nobody really cared. Now, he seems to be everyone's favorite character!!

Psychocatgal: Lots of people seem to like Huo.

Riyo-Hikaru: Yes, it's a MAJOR part of the plot. LOL...everyone wants to strangle her!

Wolf-black-flame: I love Wolf's Rain!! Hige is my favorite character!!