Rain and Fire
Chapter 19: Looking For Survivors
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There were birds, twittering overhead, happily singing. Sesshoumaru paid them no mind as he glanced back at the ruins of Yakumo's castle. There was no way that Hiei or Mizu, or anyone else could have survived if the entire castle came falling down on their heads. Well, Mizu, maybe, because he had no idea what her powers were, but certainly Hiei and Yakumo would have been killed.
He looked back over at Huo, whose face was completely unreadable. He just stared at the rubble, almost...glaring?
"Huo." he said, his voice cutting through the silence.
Huo narrowed his eyes, and looked over at the silver lord. "What?"
"Come on. There's no way that...that they could have survived. Let's go back to the village."
Huo looked back to the rubble, and something changed in his appearance - he seemed...different.
"Damn you, Yakumo!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I hope you rot in hell for what you did!"
His voice echoed around the fallen walls of the castle, and he spun on his heel, walking back towards the village. Sesshoumaru stared after him, shocked. He'd never seen Huo look so...angry. It was like he'd been an entirely different person just then.
And had he seen tears in his eyes?
He shook it off, and walked after the horse demon. He wouldn't ask, because it wasn't his business. Not only that, but he didn't really care at the moment. Hiei, possibly his best and only real friend in the world, was dead.
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The sun shone brightly on his face, and he slowly opened his eyes, squinting against it. What happened...? Where was he...? Was he...dead...?
He suddenlt sat straight up, looking around. He was laying on the side of a grass-covered hill, overlooking the demon slayer village. But that was all that he saw. No Rain, no Mizu, no Izumi, no whoever the hell she was.
So that meant that she had...
He growled, clenching his fists tightly. Why hadn't she just killed Yakumo before he had gotten there? Then she wouldn't have had to have been...he wouldn't have had to...she's looked so pained...yet she'd smiled at him...
Why did he have to end it that way?
He shook his head, not noticing as his nails bit into the flesh of his palms, thin ribbons of blood trickling down his hands onto the grass. Why was he getting so soft? Why did he care whether or not he'd killed her? She would have destroyed the world...
But...Rain...
"Hiei?"
He closed his eyes. She'd sounded just like that. His mind must have been playing tricks on him.
"Hiei, your hand is bleeding..."
His crimson eyes snapped open, and he turned to see Rain kneeling beside him. She took his hand, and he immediately realized that he was still clenching his fist. She gently unfurled his fingers, looking at the little crescent cuts left there. She frowned, and looked up at him, not noticing the look of pure shock and surprise on his face.
"Hiei, why'd you do that?" she asked. He just stared at her, and she frowned even more. "Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"
"He's probably wondering if you're a figment of his tiny little imagination," came Izumi's voice. "You know, men often fantasize about the women they like. But seeing as how you're not dancing around naked or anything like that, he's probably wondering why his imagination seems to be just a little messed up."
Rain frowned over at the blue-haired girl, who was standing behind she and the fire demon. "Ha ha, Izumi. Very funny."
Hiei snapped out of his daze, growling at the blue-haired girl as well. "Baka. I'm no Youko, so don't expect me to fantasize about women like he does."
Izumi grinned. "Oh, then what were you thinking, eh, Hi-chan?"
He chose not to reply to her, and instead looked at Rain. "So, what exactly happened? I'd like to know how you survived a katana to the heart."
She smiled. "Well, you hit the Shikon right down the middle, and it broke in half. We summoned enough strength to seperate ourselves, and we teleported out of the castle right before it collapsed. You've been sleeping ever since."
He nodded, but didn't say anything.
Her smile faded slightly. "But, how are you feeling? You jumped into the barrier like that...it must have taken a lot of your energy."
"I'm fine." He knew he was lying, but he wasn't about to admit that he was feeling slightly weak. "You forget that I'm a demon. It'll take more than that to bring me down."
"Of course he's fine, Rain. How could you possibly think there was anything wrong with him, after he fainted on us?" Izumi said, pretending to look scolding.
Hiei growled at her, and Rain frowned. "Oh, Izumi, don't be so cruel. He did a very brave thing, and he was trying to save the world, you know."
Izumi gave Hiei a sly smirk. "Oh, was that what you were trying to do, Hi-chan?"
He glared at her. "Shut up."
Rain smiled at him. "Well, because of how you split the jewel, now we can become our own, seperate beings, capable of supposting ourselves."
"Well, shall we go make our grand re-entrance into the village, then? They pobably think we're dead, ne?" Izumi said, standing and putting her hands on her hips.
Rain scrambled to her feet. "Oh, are we close then, Izumi?"
Hiei stood as well, dusting himself off. Izumi looked around. "Hm...we're pretty close. Enough for a human to walk there and not collapse, that is. It'll take an hour with you, though."
Rain frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Hey, that isn't very nice! I can hold my own more than your average human, in case you haven't noticed."
"Stop fighting. It's getting on my nerves." Hiei said, glaring at them. "If need be, I'll carry her."
Izumi and Rain stared at him, then suddenly, Rain blushed and smacked Izumi on the arm. "How can you say something like that!"
Hiei rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to know what Izumi had said. "Come on, let's just go. Knowing them, they're probably worried."
Izumi nodded. "Okay. Grab your girlfriend, Hi-chan, and we'll get going."
He sent her a glare, but picked up Rain anyways. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he took off, after Izumi. He knew this was going to get an interesting reaction from the others...
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Sesshoumaru glanced over at Rin, who was uncannily quiet, staring at the ground. He knew she was hurt, inside, because of the fact that her sister was dead. He wanted to comfort her, but she also needed some time on her own. He, too, had lost a friend, and needed the same kind of time to himself.
He couldn't believe that they were both really gone...
"Don't look so sad. I'm not that easy to kill."
Sesshoumaru's head snapped up to the entrance of the hut, and widened at the sight of Hiei there, an arrogant smirk on his face.
"Hiei!"
Rin scrambled to her feet, and Sesshoumaru rose gracefully to his. "How did you survive, Hiei?"
"Is my sister with you?!"
Rain came out from behind Hiei, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm here, Rin-chan."
"Rain!" The younger girl jumped onto her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Oh, I thought I'd never see you again!"
Rain grinned. "Oh, please! You can't get rid of me that easily!"
Sesshoumaru allowed himself to smile at his friend. "It's good to see that you're unharmed."
"Yes, well, apparently they teleported me out." he said, smiling slightly himself.
Huo grinned at them. "I knew you guys would find a way out!"
"What happened, exactly?" Sesshoumaru asked.
The three exchanged glances, and told their parts of the story, the others listening intently.
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It took a good half an hour to get through the entire story, but when they were done, it was worth it. Hiei glanced over at Rain, and she grinned at him.
"Well, now that Yakumo's dead, what do you all plan to do?" Huo asked.
"Rin and I will be heading back to my castle, and from there, I'll be trying to get my inheritance." Sesshoumaru said.
"Inheritance?" Huo repeated.
"A sword made from the fang of my father, called the Tetsusaiga." he replied.
"But...didn't your brother, Inu-Yasha, have it?" Huo asked, furrowing his brows.
"Ah, but where else would I be getting it?" Sesshoumaru said.
Huo shook his head, then looked to Izumi and Rain. "And what about you two ladies?"
Izumi smirked at him. "Well, I'll be hanging around, just going with the flow."
"And me..." Rain drifted off. "I don't know what I'll be doing."
"I'll probably try to get stronger, and I'll be keeping watch over my sister, Yukina." Hiei said. He didn't look at Rain as he said this, but his words were directed at her. "And I wouldn't mind a little company."
She looked over at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Unless you don't want to..."
"I'd love to!" she exclaimed, grinning.
"Then Rain and I will be watching over Yukina, and training." Hiei said to Huo.
The fire horse nodded. Izumi looked over at him. "Huo-kun, what will you be doing?"
"Ah, I was thinking of traveling a bit." he said, smiling. "Nothing as exciting as what the rest of you will be doing."
Hiei stood. "We'll be leaving now, so maybe we'll see you later."
Rain stood as well, and gave everyone a cheerful goodbye, promising to visit. She followed Hiei out the door, sliding it shut after them. She smiled at him, the reddish-gold light of the setting sun shining on them.
He allowed himself to smile slightly back, and she stepped forward, taking his hand in her own.
"Hiei, I want to thank you for everything you've done to help me."
He gave her a confused look. "What?"
"You've done more for me than you realize. I wanted to say thank you, and..." She gave his hand a slight squeeze. "And that I love you."
His eyes widened in surprise for a second, before nodding slightly. He didn't really know what else he could have possibly done.
However, Rain was a step ahead of him, and she leaned up, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. He tensed for a second, then cupped her face with his hands, returning the gesture.
I love you too, Rain.
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Author's Notes: Well, that's the end of the story! cries LOL. Well, there will also be an epilogue after this, as well as a mini-story dealing with Huo's past that should explain all of his strange little comments and actions during this story. Look forward to seeing that pop up pretty soon, after this and Houki no Majo are complete!
I NEED A VOTE!!!! Who is your favorite character of this entire story, big or small part? You MUST, I repeat, MUST let me know in your review!!
Coodle: Yeah, I'm so sorry if he seems OOC!!
Chibi Lady: I thought about killing them for good, but no, I'm not THAT evil. LOL. Besides, I'm a diehard romantic, so I couldn't just let them die without points up something like that happening first.
Kaze Tsukai: YAAAAAAAYY!!! KAZE-CHAN!!! LONG TIME NO CHAT!!! I'm so glad you're writing again!! I hope to see more of I Will Not Chase Boys!! You'd better right more, or else........or else........or else.........I'LL GIVE JIN BACK HIS SHIRT!!! SO THERE!! LOL.
Story Weaver1: You think it was? I thought it made him sound a little OOC........ Well, I'm glad you liked it!
WindyRen: If you're a Huo fan, then you have his story to look forward to!!
Riyo-Hikaru: Well, here's the next chappie for you!!
Miyako14: It'll be called Shards of Shadowed Darkness, and you can see a summary for it at the end of the chapter.
Kagome0102: You asked about Kokoro no Kaitou, and I said yes, and if you'd like, you can post this story as well, as long as you give me credit for both. And I'd be INCREDIBLY appreciative if you added a link to my site, which you can find on my profile. The quickedit won't let me type it the right way. Grrrrrr........stupid QuickEdit.
slave2anime: I suppose so. But I really do like this one, and I'm proud of how well it's come out.
SarnaKiro: Be happy, because they've gotten together!
Psychocatgal: Yeah, and I'm posting more!! Woohoo! You can see the summary for my newest one at the end of this chapter.
Tears of a Dragon: It is cool. It's the first story I've done centered around Hiei. Normally I do Kurama stories, and I must say I'm proud of how this came out. I apologize if Hiei seems out of character.
Kagomewannabe-2008: LOL, here's your update!
TPM-girl: Well, they're all alive now! Mizu is still sorta alive.......LOL.
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Shards of Shadowed Darkness
This story is the newest series I've done, and it's yet to be posted. It'll be under the pen name Kitsune In A Bubble, so you can expect to see it there...oh...after this and Houki no Majo are finished.
Shards of Shadowed Darkness is about a girl named Shadow (at first - another main character is introduced later), who has strange abilities as well as amnesia. Hiei knows her and doesn't trust her, but she seems completely innocent. But, if she's really so innocent, then how is it that she seems to be involved with the Reikai Tantei's enemy? There's more to Shadow than meets the eye, and Hiei is determined to expose her as the horrible traitor that he sees her as.
Okay....that summary sucked. But the story rocks!! It's really good!! I swear! At least give it a chance when I post it, okies?
