Yes, after about two months, it's here. Sorry for the delay, but I've got a ton of stuff I'm trying to do at the moment, plus writer's block...
....Too tired to write a proper author's note. Too tired to write a disclaimer.
Oh, you can live without one...
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Gigantic chunks of metal pieced together so unsteadily that it looked as though they would fall apart any minute.
Bright yellow and pink colors smeared all over the entrance booth, as well as the ride itself.
Thousands of screaming ningens, filling every inch of space with their rambunctious laughter and cheery dispositions. Not to mention their vomit, which was all over the cement floor.
It was Hiei's worst nightmare, by far.
"Come on, guys, we've gotta get in line!!" Yusuke cheered, sprinting straight towards the entrance area that would lead him and the rest of the gang to the 'Viper': The country's fastest, scariest, and most vomit-inducing rollercoaster.
Well...at least that was what the huge cardboard cut-out positioned next to the line of eager people said. Except for the part about throw-up, but Bronwyn could make that accusation just by smelling the air.
Oh, joy...
"Hey, you two coming, or are you just gonna let us have all the fun?" Aiku waved from the end of the long line leading up to the loading dock, along with the rest of the group, who were all eagerly waiting for the line to move forward.
"Are you ready, Hiei?" Bronwyn asked him curiously, glancing over at the fire demon, whose face remained emotionless as his crimson eyes flitted over the attraction, trying to decide whether he would go or not...his dilemma was quickly solved when the high-pitched screams emitting from the ecstatic people aboard the ride as it roared over the track right above their heads rang against his ears.
"You go." He finally spoke, taking a single step backwards.
"What?" The red-haired girl asked, who had averted her attention back to the brightly colored booth, turned her head to beside her, wearing a slightly surprised expression.
"I said you can go. I'll wait." Hiei repeated himself, leaning against the side of a bench situated next to the entrance booth.
Bronwyn remained quiet, only staring at the fire demon with a confused expression. Suddenly, though, a smirk flickered onto her face, and she nodded in a knowing sort of way, much to Hiei's confusion.
"You're scared." It wasn't a question, but rather a blunt statement. Hiei abruptly raised his gaze from the cement ground over to Bronwyn, his eyes suddenly holding an angry glaze.
"I'm not scared." He spoke sternly.
The red-head only shook her head playfully at his words, raising her arm up only to allow her fingers to dance playfully across Hiei's shoulder. "Oh, Hiei, Hiei, Hiei...just let it go. Everyone's scared of something...you just happen to fear rollercoasters." She drawled, which only seemed to infuriate the fire demon even more.
"Like I just told you, I'm NOT scared. I don't want to go on some ningen machine." He retorted angrily, but this egged Bronwyn on even more.
"Chicken...bwack bwack bwack!!" She cried, starting to flap her arms in the fashion that a bird did, attracting the attention of several people in line, including the gang, who were wondering what the heck she was doing.
"....FINE!!!"
Bronwyn's chicken dance was suddenly interrupted by Hiei's firm grasp around her arm as he yanked her roughly behind him to the front of the long line, followed by many yells of protest from disgruntled people who were already waiting for their turn.
"Hey, buddy, you might be too stupid to notice, but the line starts BACK THERE!!!" One exceptionally loud male screamed at the fire demon. A glare of pure evil, courtesy of Hiei, though, caused him to immediately grow dead silent, along with everyone else in line who had been complaining.
Bronwyn only smirked at their childish behavior, averting her gaze to the silver-colored loading area just as the long connected row of cars practically flew down the track, screeching to an abrupt halt right beside the line of eager humans. The air was immediately filled to the brim with rambunctious screams of joy, emitting from the passengers aboard the coaster. As the ecstatic people filed out of the ride, the attendant gestured for Bronwyn and Hiei to step forward.
"Go on, Hiei..." Bronwyn whispered playfully, shoving him forward a few steps.
"I'm going." He sneered, though his steps did seem to hold a bit of cautiousness as he came to a stop right beside the empty car, his expression a tad blank. Bronwyn immediately took notice of his confusion, but only uttered a low chuckle as she jumped into the car and lowered herself into one of the small seats.
Hiei remained quiet for a moment, and then suddenly made a sharp u-turn, heading back towards the line.
"I think Yukina is calling for help..." He whispered, trying to make a break for the walkway outside the loading track, but his escape was foiled by Bronwyn as she grabbed his arm abruptly and pulled him into the car.
"Oh no, you don't! You're going on this even if I have to tie you down!" She smirked, pulling him into the seat next to hers. When he was situated correctly, she then proceeded to pull down the overhead safety bars down until they both fit into place with a satisfying click. She then turned towards Hiei, who looked more confused now than ever.
"All you have to do is pull it down until it clicks." She explained patiently, gesturing the motions in the way they needed to be done. As the fire demon followed suit, Bronwyn found herself smiling as her chocolate brown eyes caught on a similar scene a few cars behind their's, of a little boy being instructed by his mother on how to pull the bars down himself. The similarities of her's and their event amused her, and she allowed her gaze to return to Hiei, who was all strapped in finally.
"Are you ready?" She asked quietly, noticing his cautious expression as his crimson-tinted eyes traveled all around the loading track, the experience obviously a tad overwhelming. He's just like a little child....
"Hn." Was all he would mutter, both hands gripped tightly around the bars on each side of his head. Truth be told, the fire demon was actually, slightly, maybe-kind of-sorta....uptight. Not nervous, but uptight. And the deafening screams of "GO, HIEI!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!" From Yusuke and company were not really helping.
The cars suddenly lurched forward abruptly, causing him to cease his death glares on his so-called 'friends' and instead avert his gaze to in front of him, where he could see a dark tunnel approaching quickly.
"What's going on?" He questioned Bronwyn tentatively as the cars plunged into dark oblivion. Glancing behind him, he watched as the bright light from the loading area grew smaller and smaller as the cars rumbled through the tunnel, clicking and clacking noises abundant.
"The ride's starting." The red-head whispered in a 'you idiot' sort of tone. Hiei would of said something in retort, but the cars suddenly screeched out of the tunnel into the broad sunlight of the afternoon, causing him to go temporarily blind.
Blinking wildly, the first thing that caught the demon's gaze when he was able to see again was the ground..way down below him. The track was steadily situated in a diagonal position, and the cars were rising higher and higher with each passing moment. Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze back up and over to Bronwyn, who looked the farthest from being scared as was possible, as she fidgeted excitedly in her seat.
"Aren't you excited, Hiei??" She asked, her cheeks a bright red shade as she met his gaze.
"How could I get excited on something as idiotic as this?" He sneered, tilting his head so he could glance up at the clear blue sky. Anything that would keep his eyes from wondering down below him...
Too happy to counter his comment with her own, Bronwyn only continued to bounce around as much as she could as the cars kept slowly rolling higher and higher, and just as Hiei had thought that they would of had to enter heaven itself to go any further, the movements suddenly stopped, the cars reaching a standstill.
"Hey, we're about to go down!!" The red-head screeched, as various others did as well, raising their arms above their heads.
"Wait, what do you mean do-" It was the last thing that Hiei had been able to utter before the wind sucked his breath straight out of him as the coaster plunged...
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Screams of joy were quite evident as the cars finally screeched into the loading dock once again, coming to a halt right beside the long line once again. As the safety bars were released, everyone immediately shuffled out, chattering excitedly amongst themselves about how they had loved the ride.
Well, almost everyone....
"Hiei...?" Bronwyn had jumped out as well, wearing an unusually large grin. She had actually enjoyed the human ride very much, and was even thinking of getting back in line to experience it again...she had been turning to leave when she realized that she was by herself. Turning back towards the car she had just left, she was surprised to see Hiei still seated, crimson eyes wide.
"Are you okay?" She asked tentatively, reaching out her hand to him, as a mother would to her child. He stared at it for a moment before grabbing it tightly and allowing her to pull him up out of the ride.
"I'm fine..." He finally whispered, though 'fine' was probably the farthest from how he actually felt. There was a strange pain inside of him...he had no idea where it was coming from, but he was sure that he had never experienced it before...
"Sure?" Chocolate-colored eyes inspected the fire demon carefully, watching as he took a step forward, and then stumbled slightly before regaining his balance.
"I...I...it feels like something is trying to...break out of me..." He spoke slowly, confused. What had that ningen ride DONE to him?
Bronwyn only stared at him for a moment before a look of recognition flickered onto her face. "Uh, Hiei, come here..." Grabbing onto his arm, she pulled him over to the side of the exit, where a large trash can was located. "Just..stand here for a minute." She took a step back in a cautious fashion, seemingly waiting for something...
"What is this f-" The sentence was abruptly cut off as Hiei was unable to control the sensation any longer...
Meanwhile, back in line, Yusuke watched the spectacle curiously, and snickering quietly, shook his head.
"Guess the teachers were right 'bout you learn something new every day...never knew that demons could throw up..."
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"Guys, are you sure we were smart in leaving Hiei at the medical ward?"
"What else could we do, Bronwyn? The nurse insisted...and besides, he's too sick to fight them...who knew he had such a weak stomach?"
"I sure didn't..."
"Plus, it'll take forever to get all that stuff off his cloak...he kind of missed the trash can..."
After making the decision to turn Hiei over to the medical tent so they could give him some medicine and clean him off, the group had decided to split up and do what each wanted. Botan and Kurama had both been interested in seeing a special magic exhibit, while Yukina and Kuwabara had headed off to ride the ferris wheel. That had left Bronwyn, Yusuke, and Aiku to explore the remainder of the park.
"Hey, look...." Bronwyn raised a finger to point out a swinging ship a few yards away, as the ship portion rose high into the air for a moment before shooting back down out of the teenager's view. "That looks fun."
Both males shrugged, obviously not too interested in anything as they trodded along behind the female lazily.
Cocking her head to shoot them both a disgruntled look, she returned her gaze to the front just as they approached a large bridge, arched over quite a wide body of water, resembling some sort of lake.
"Get a load of this..." She chided, gesturing at a large metal sign right beside the bridge's beginning. It read in bold red print...'Water is deep; Be careful while crossing'
"Yeah, like someone's actually going to fall in..." Yusuke joked, as the trio strolled past the sign onto the bridge, not even giving it a second gaze.
Bronwyn nodded in agreement, smirking as she gazed over the side curiously. The water did look pretty deep, its surface a dark blue tint. "You practically would have to throw yourself in just to do so..." She added, averting her eyes back to the front.
"Hey, Wyn, I've got a dare for you..." Aiku turned towards the former assassin, wearing a small smirk as he fingered the bottom of his jacket disinterestedly. "I'd like to see you get up on the side here and walk all the way to the end..." He placed a hand on the narrow concrete slab.
Bronwyn only stared at the black-haired male for a moment before nodding, wearing a smug expression. "Sure, why not?" Without another word uttered, she had hopped up onto the surface, and taking a moment to situate her footing, rose to a standing position.
"Nothin' to it." She whispered, walking casually beside the two men, though she was a few feet higher off the ground than the both of them. Except for the occasional stumble, she managed to fulfill the dare with ease.
"You owe me something for this, Aiku..." She commented quietly, brushing a loose tendril of auburn hair away from her face. The three were about to reach the halfway mark of the bridge.
Meanwhile, Yusuke had been quiet for a while, the only noises emitting from him being the slurping sounds as he drank the soda he had bought back before they had started across the bridge. Walking ahead of Aiku, though only barely, he had been watching the swinging move up and down swiftly before a metal glint on the ground had caught his eye. Bending over to inspect the object, he cursed as he saw that it was only a bottlecap. "Was sure it was money..."
"How 'bout a soda?" Aiku offered, keeping his gaze on Bronwyn as he continued to walk forward. "After all, it's only-oof!!" Having not kept his eyes in front of him, the teenager had crashed straight into Yusuke, who, in shock, lost his grip on the soda. Trying to not let it drop, he swung it forward, causing quite a bit to splash onto Bronwyn's shirt.
Letting out a startled yelp, the female took a step back...only to find that no solid surface rested behind her.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion...she found herself in the air, her feet no longer on the concrete of the bridge...she was falling, falling fast...
Her body's harsh impact onto the frigid lake caused her to try and scream, but she only inhaled a considerable amount of water...what had happened to the air? Where was the surface?
It suddenly struck her.
She couldn't swim.
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"Sorry, Yusuke..." Aiku laughed jokingly, brushing off a few drops of soda that had gotten on the boy's shirt.
"Dun' worry about it..." The spirit detective mimicked Aiku's harmless chuckle, finally turning towards the side of the bridge once again. "I'm sorry I spilled soda on you, B-...Bronwyn?" The area where the red-head had just been standing was strangely empty now.
Before the two males had time to realize what had happened, a loud splash alerted both to the body of water directly below them, just in time to see a spray of water fly directly up, signaling that something or someone had just hit the surface.
"Bronwyn!!!"
Before Yusuke could even make a move of action, Aiku had already ripped his jacket off, thrusting it into the raven-haired teenager's arms, wearing a panicked expression.
"Aiku, what are you doing? It's only water!!!" He reminded his friend, wondering why the male was getting so worked up over a little fall into a lake...
"Wyn can't swim, you baka!!!!" Aiku snapped at him venomously. "You need to get help!!!" Before Yusuke could say anything in retort, the boy was already sprinting down the remainder of the bridge, and rounding the corner leading to the shoreline of the lake, practically dove right into the water.
"....right!!"
Snapping into action, the spirit detective started running towards the main area of the park, screaming for help the entire way...
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No...
Not here...
Not now...
Flailing her arms and legs wildly, Bronwyn cursed herself silently for never learning how to swim in her eighteen years of existence.
She tilted her head up towards the surface of the water in vain. She could see the rays of bright sunlight filtering down, splaying onto its blue tint. She wanted to reach it so badly, but...it was too far away...
I can't breathe...
I'm actually going to die...
Not being able to hold her breath any longer, she opened her mouth, allowing her lungs to open, only to have water flow straight into them.
Bright lights were beginning to flicker..
Her motions were growing less frequent...
It's over....
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt a tight grasp around her wrist. Without warning, her whole body was abruptly yanked upward by an unknown force...
Am I going to heaven? Even her thought was faint as she felt herself pulled, to where, she did not know...
Her head suddenly burst out into the surface unexpectedly, causing her to gasp for air....there was air, so much of it that it felt like she needed every bit of it in her lungs...
"Hold onto my shoulders."
A firm voice suddenly broke into her thoughts unexpectedly, scaring her for a few fleeting moments before her mind registered the identity of the person...
Aiku...wait a second..AIKU?!?!
"Bronwyn, I swam all the way out here to save you, now grab onto my shoulders and I'll swim you to shore!!" His voice was beginning to sound agitated. Her eyelids clamped shut, she groped forward, finally landing a wary hand on his drenched shirt. Slowly situating her hands around his neck so as to be secure, she stayed still as she felt him abruptly begin to swim forward, not uttering another word to the red-head.
"Aiku...why did you....?" Her voice was but a hoarse croak, her vocal cords unable to generate anything louder.
The black-haired adolescent remained silent for a second or so before uttering a small chuckle. "Did you really think that I was just gonna let you drown?" He laughed, continuing his heavy strokes, the extra weight appearing to be no problem for him.
Aiku....
"You've got a pretty big audience waiting..." He commented as an afterthought.
Still staring into the dark oblivion of her eyelids, Bronwyn finally persuaded herself to cautiously open them, only to be blinded by the sunlight temporarily. After the shock had worn down, she averted her gaze towards the shoreline, where she could see at least twenty people waiting eagerly for Aiku to reach them. She recognized Botan, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yukina, all wearing panicked expressions. Moving her gaze onward, she could see a whole group of park attendants, standing knee-deep in the water, their arms outstretched, as was Yusuke. The remainder seemed to only be visitors to the park, their interest caught by the incident.
The water eventually started to recede, and before Bronwyn knew it, she had been snatched from Aiku's back and was now being lead hurriedly up the shoreline, a large blanket having been wrapped around her.
Though she was practically surrounded by friends and strangers alike, all demanding to know what had happened, the red-head still managed to catch a glimpse of Aiku a yard or so behind her, trying to wring water out of his shirt, though the mission seemed to be in vain.
Thank-you...
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"Would you like something to drink, miss?" A kind male park attendant questioned the female who was seated on the small coat.
"No, thank-you."
Bronwyn watched with drooped brown-tinted eyes as the worker carefully exited the small room, leaving the girl to pure silence, save her own thoughts.
He saved me...
Sighing, she shook her head side to side roughly for a moment, casting soaking wet strands of auburn hair across her face, water droplets spraying in every direction...
"How did you manage to fall into the lake?"
The cold voice caused the female to abruptly cock her head towards the source of the voice, only to see Hiei, wearing his trademark smirk as his crimson eyes traveled up and down the girl's body, surveying the damage.
"How...how did you know I fell in the lake?" She questioned him warily, her voice only a whisper. She managed to take note of the fact that he wasn't wearing his cloak any longer, the sleeveless black shirt now the only thing on his back. He must of practically ruined that cloak...She thought to herself, managing to smile for the first time since the incident.
"I watched it happen." He stated, as if he was telling someone that he had seen a bird fly by.
The comment caught Bronwyn off-guard, to say the least. "You saw me fall and you didn't even think about helping me?!?!" She practically screamed at the fire demon, her cheeks bright red with anger. It hardly seemed to faze Hiei, though.
"I thought you could take care of yourself. I didn't know you couldn't swim." He said, turning to leave. Before Bronwyn could say something in return, the door had already swished shut behind him with a satisfying click.
He...he didn't even think about helping me...
She could only stare at the closed door blankly for a moment, not fully comprehending what she had just learned. She finally just shook her head, turning her attention towards the creme-colored wall situated in front of her as she sat on the small cot in the medical ward.
And Aiku did...
Sighing, she closed her eyes, unable to take in any more of what was going on around her. It was all just too much to think about at the moment...
All she wanted to do was sleep...
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Nine pages. It's a lot shorter than my last chapter, but let's face it, that thing was huge.
^^Some interesting things are taking place, alright...is there trouble in paradise??^^
And yes, I know this chapter was awful...I'm in the middle of a bout of writer's block, but managed to break through it temporarily to write this. And I couldn't think of a freaking ending...
Oh well...Please review!! Hopefully, I'll get over WB soon...^^