Rain and Fire

Chapter 13: Village of the Slayers

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Hiei slowly opened his eyes, and realized that he was in some kind of room. But where? The last thing he remembered…he squeezed his eyes tight, trying to fight his pounding headache.

The last thing he could remember was running behind the others, feeling weaker and weaker with each step. He remembered Sesshoumaru asking if he was alright, and then…had he blacked out?

He looked over to his right, and saw that strange blue-haired girl, sound asleep on the cot next to his.

He was too tired…he needed to sleep…

He closed his eyes, and drifted back into a deep slumber.

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He woke up some time later, to the sounds of birds tweeting outside whatever room he was in. He groaned as the first rays of the sun peered in through the open doorway.

Wait…open doorway?

He sat up, and looked over to the cot that the blue-haired girl had been in before. However, now it was empty, the covers thrown back.

He stood, and slowly walked outside. Where had she gone?

He blinked, and had his answer. She was standing in the middle of the village they were in, her arms spread out, soaking up the rays of the rising sun. The problem was, she was still the way that he had found her. Naked.

Another man was there, staring at her with widened eyes.

"Damn it! What the hell are you doing?!" Hiei exclaimed, running forward to her.

She turned and smiled at him. He blushed furiously and pulled of his cloak, throwing it over her. She blinked, and Hiei glared at the other man, who only now snapped out of his daze.

"I was just, uh, walking by, and she came stumbling out of that hut." He said, pointing to the one that Hiei had been in previously. He ran a hand through his black hair, and laughed nervously. "I wasn't staring, honest!"

"And who are you?" Hiei asked, stepping in front of the girl, who just kept smiling.

"Ah, my name is Miroku." the boy said, smiling. "I'm the village monk."

"More like the village pervert."

They both looked over at another girl, as she approached. She was clad in a fuchsia and white yukata, with a green skirt over it. Her long black hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and her chocolate eyes were narrowed at the suddenly-pale Miroku.

"S-Sango!" he exclaimed. "I didn't see you there!"

She rolled her eyes, then smiled kindly at Hiei. "I see you and your friend are finally awake. You've both been out for several days now."

"Where the hell are we?" Hiei snapped. He was in no mood to be polite, as usual.

"You're in the village of the Demon Slayers." she answered, not at all affected by his harshness. "My village, since my father is out right now."

He nodded slowly. "Right, but where are the others?"

"The ones who brought you two here? They're sleeping right now." Sango said. She glared at Miroku again. "As we all should be - not out wandering the streets, looking for women as I know some people are."

Miroku laughed nervously. "You misunderstood what I was doing, Sango!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Hiei looked back at the girl, and she smiled at him. He sighed, and looked back at the other two.

"I'm going to take her inside before she gets a cold or something. Do you..." Hiei tried to think of a way to phrase what he wanted to say. "have any, er, clothes that I could borrow? She needs them."

Sango blinked, and Miroku smiled.

"But she doesn't really need them, does sh-" he started, only to be cut off by Sango hitting him over the head with the over-sized boomerang strapped to her back.

"Hentai." she growled. She then smiled at the girl. "I believe you'd be able to fit in some of my clothes, though they may be a bit on the baggy side."

Hiei nodded. "Thanks."

"You go ahead and get her inside, while I go get her some clothes." Sango said. She grabbed Miroku by the ear, and started dragging him away.

Hiei grabbed the girl by her shoulders and led her back to the hut. He shut the door behind them, and turned to face her.

"What were you doing, going out naked like that?" he exclaimed.

She smiled at him, and he frowned.

"Aren't you going to answer me?" he asked.

She just kept smiling, and his frown deepened. "Can you talk at all?"

She stopped smiling, and held her stomach, which grumbled loudly. She gave Hiei a pleading look, and he sighed.

"Apparently not." he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

The door opened behind him, and Sango entered, a yukata in her hand. She held it out to the girl, who smiled again.

"Here, you can wear this!" Sango said, smiling.

The girl kept smiling, and pulled off Hiei's cloak.

Hiei quickly spun away from her, trying to hide his blush. "Damn it, can't you at least wait until I'm out of the room?!"

"Whoa…" Sango said. "This girl certainly isn't shy."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it."

After a minute, Sango said it was okay for him to turn around again, so he did. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, who for some reason, wouldn't stop smiling.

Sango smiled. "You look so cute! You make that yukata look very good, uh…"

"I don't think she has a name." Hiei said. "She hasn't said a word since we found her."

"Oh." Sango replied. "Well, would you two like some breakfast? I'm sure you're both hungry."

The girl looked confused, and looked over at Hiei, as though he would have the answer to whatever question it was that she had.

The demon slayer turned and opened the door for them. "Come on, the others will already be there by now."

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When they walked into the room where the table was set up, most of the others were already there, with the exception of Sesshoumaru, Rin and Huo.

Hiei sat down, and then looked back at the girl. She blinked, and then copied his movement exactly, sitting beside him.

"So, you're finally up." Rydia said with a grin. "It's about darn time."

Kouga frowned. "Hiei, who the hell is she, and what happened to Rain?"

"I'm not quite sure…" Hiei said. "Izumi and Rain were there, then there was a blinding light, and then she just appeared." He nodded his head in the girl's direction.

The girl smiled. She pointed at her stomach, and Kouga raised an eyebrow. "Can she talk?"

"I don't think she can." Hiei said.

A few women came out then, plates full of food in hand. The girl gasped excitedly, and smiled, clapping her hands. Everyone was served, and Youko took a bite of food before speaking.

"So, what happened to Huo?" he asked.

"He came in, said some stuff that confused me and started fighting Yakumo. He told me to grab the girl and run. Where is he?"

The others exchanged glances, and Hiei frowned. "Well?"

"He hasn't come back." Aura said. "Nobody's seen or heard from him since."

"You think he's dead?" Hiei asked calmly.

"Possibly." Youko answered.

The girl, who had been staring blankly at her plate, suddenly looked over at Hiei. He didn't seem to notice, so she tugged at his sleeve. She gave her a confused look.

"What?"

She made a strange noise, and pointed at her plate, still tugging on his sleeve.

"You don't know how to eat or what?" he asked.

"Hiei, I don't think she does." Kuronue said.

"Ooh!" Rydia exclaimed with a grin. "I'll feed her!!"

The hot-pink-haired demon suddenly jumped to her feet, and the girl let out a little scream, cowering behind Hiei. Rydia blinked. "What's wrong with her?"

"I think you scared her." Hiei said, calmly taking another bite of his food. The girl peeked out shyly at Rydia, who looked somewhat sad.

"I'm sorry."

The door slid open then, and Sesshoumaru walked in. He blinked at Hiei and the girl, then said, "You're finally awake?"

Hiei looked back at him. "Just where have you been?"

"Rin's been…a bit upset, ever since we came back without Rain. She refuses to leave her room. I'm bringing her some food." The lord replied, grabbing a plate and cramming it full of food. "Though I doubt she'll actually eat it." he muttered, just loud enough for Hiei to hear.

"Rin…?" the girl repeated.

Hiei looked down at her. "Oh, so you can speak?"

The girl looked expectantly at Sesshoumaru, who was ignoring her completely.

"Rin?" she repeated again, louder this time.

He looked over at her. "Yes."

She pointed at herself, and said, "Rin?"

Sesshoumaru stood and shook his head. "I have no idea who you are, but you're not Rin."

She stood, and shook her head. "Rin, Rin!"

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, and instead shook his head.

"Well, sounds to me like she just copies what she sees and hears from others." Kuronue said.

Sesshoumaru turned and walked out the door, and the girl jumped to her feet and ran to the door as well. She looked back at Hiei, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

She looked after Sesshoumaru, then back at Hiei, as though asking permission. He sighed, and set down his chopsticks.

"I'll be back soon. Make sure Youko doesn't steal any of my food, Rydia."

Rydia grinned. "Gotcha!"

"Hey! What makes you think I'll steal your food?!"

Hiei shrugged. "You're a thief."

The koorime stood, and the girl smiled again. He followed her outside, and she started to walk after Sesshoumaru. However, right before he entered the hut, he said that they couldn't come in, because it would only make Rin more upset to see the girl. Though she seemed disappointed at this, she obeyed him and didn't enter.

She turned and looked at Hiei, and he shoved his hands into his pocket.

She slowly walked back over to him, and sighed. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you mimicking me?"

She blinked, then smiled. "Are you mi..mi..mick…ing me?"

He didn't say anything, and instead turned back out towards the village.

She walked up beside him, copying his pose exactly.

"I wonder what happened to Huo?" he thought aloud.

"Huo." she repeated. She smiled. "Huo."

"I don't think he's dead. He seems much too powerful…but then again, so is Yakumo." he said.

The girl's expression suddenly changed. Her usual smile was replaced by a completely blank look. Her eyes seemed to go out of focus.

"Ya…kumo…?"

He looked over at her. "Do you recognize that name?"

Something flashed behind her eyes. "Yakumo…"

He sighed. This was certainly going to be a very, very long day.

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Author's Notes: Well, we know nothing about this new girl, nor what happened to Huo-kun. How many of you are ready to kill me?

Since I'm too lazy to reply to reviews........I WON'T!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAA!! Um....but if you had a question, please just....er, re-ask in your next review.