A voice in the crowd caused all heads to turn. It came from the girl with blonde hair and crimson eyes. The one Kurama had been fighting in the Semi-final rounds. "Wait, Hinoki! There is a way to bring him back! But we must hurry!" Aiichi shouted.
Hinoki stood, Hiei limp in her arms.
"Get in the arena!" Aiichi shouted hurriedly as she rushed down the mountain of stairs in the audience section of the arena.
She snatched the microphones from Juri and Koto, who huffily objected. The two Neon Demonesses ignored the two idiotic and slutty announcer girls.
"Lay him down on the ground." Aiichi ordered.
Hinoki had no choice but to obey, and hurriedly she did so.
Everyone in the arena was completely clueless as to what was going on, including everyone in Team Akumu.
"You have found your wings, right?" Aiichi asked.
Hinoki looked at her blankly and blinked, "You mean me?" she asked.
Aiichi nodded, "Yeah, you! Have you found your wings? Are they white or black?"
Hinoki tilted her head in confusion, "Huh?"
Aiichi sighed, "You need your wings in order to restore someone to life. It has to be within a certain time period, or else the soul will have gone too far away with the messanger. You need a Neon Demon with white and black wings. So do you have them or not?"
Hinoki looked at her for a moment and shook her head sadly.
"What!? You haven't found your wings? I can't believe I'm talking to a fledgling! I got my wings at the age of ten! But anyways... we need to sing an emotional song to bring out all the emotions from the past. Something that will link your emotions and the memories of the past with you and the deceased." Aiichi explained.
Hinoki had thought of a song in only a second. She whispered it into Aiichi's ear and she nodded.
Aiichi gave her the thumbs up, "No prob. I know that song by heart. You have to take lead, okay?"
Hinoki nodded.
She looked around and before her eyes as the entire family of Neon demons from the last fight. They had all spread their wings. A pattern of black and white wings, spread from tip to tip.
Aiichi was the only one without her wings spread.
Music began to pour out from the speakers in a touching wordless melody.
Both girls spoke the intro of the song.
"Even if we are torn apart, our feelings will unite us. That is what this song is about."
Thunder clapped and rain began to pour.
But still the music played.
Hinoki began to sing in the lead position.
"I know that you're hiding things. Using gentle words to shelter me. Your words were like a dream. But dreams could never fool me. Not that easily. I acted so distant then, didn't say goodbye before you left. But I was listening. Don't fight your battles far from me. Or too easily. Save your tears 'cause I've come back. I could here what you whispered as you walked through that door. But still I swore to hide the pain while I turned back the pages. It might not have been the answer. What if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to part? But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart."
The music continued to pour out as easy and carefree as the two girls danced to it.
With the next verse, they combined their voices to make a rich and lovely sound.
"'cause a thousand words, come out through the ages. They'll fly to you. Even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you. Suspended on Silver Wings! Oh, a thousand words. A thousand embraces will cradle you, even though you're weary. Even when you're far away, they'll hold you forever!"
As the guitar solo quickened with higher notes, the girls danced. Everyone including Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara watched the large screen behind Hinoki with mixed emotions. Hinoki whirled around just as it displayed Hiei's slaughter by Shoken and how Hinoki cradled his dead and bloody body in mourning.
Hinoki looked away as a loud clap of thunder echoed. Tears came to her eyes, but the rain made that hard to distinguish. Emotions fluttered. Happiness, pain, and love intertwined with anguish within her void.
Aiichi sang the bottom half and Hinoki sang after each line with all her heart. Pushing her emotions into each word.
(When I do parenthesis that means Hinoki is singing and when I do a double parenthesis that means that they are both singing.)
"Oh, a thousand words... (A thousand words.) Have never been spoken. They'll fly to you. They'll carry you- (Car-ry you home!) back into my arms. Suspended on silver wings! (On silver wings!) And a thousand words... (oh!) Cut through the ages. (Cut through the ages!) They'll cradle you... (Oh yeah!) Even though you're lonely. It's a holy day! (A Holy day!) ((Suspended on Silver wings!))
With those last powerful words from both of them, something glowing emerged from Hinoki's back as Aiichi's wings sprouted from her back professionally.
Hinoki's wings unfolded from her back like a butterfly's drying wings. The glowing light faded to reveal the color of the wings as Hinoki sang the last couple words gently, "A thousand words."
Aiichi's wings were a beautiful clean white, and Hinoki's were black. Much to everyone's relief.
Hinoki did the next thing that came natural to her.
Hinoki sat down and placed Hiei's limp and bloody body on her lap, wrapping her arms around him and placing his bandaged hand tightly within hers.
Aiichi knelt beside them and took Hiei's other limp and unbandaged hand.
Sacrificing their demonic and life energy to Hiei.
Demonic energy within the ring clashed and created an aura of glittering light.
An eerie green light surrounded the three demons with it's warm glow and engulfed them.
As the demonic energy and life force entered Hiei's body, his wounds began to close and his lungs began to take in oygen. His body was coming to life!
Hinoki prayed that Hiei would come back, squeezing his hand unconsciously.
Everyone in the arena watched in awe as the light faded into another color.
Just before it reached the next color a loud and familiar voice echoed throughout the stadium, interrupting the ceremony. The light had instantly vanished and both girls were broken free of their trance.
"Hinoki! If you continue with that ceremony, I'll fire you!" It was Koenma's voice. It came trembling through the loud speakers. He stumbled out of the overlooking glass cased balcony out to the stadium's arena.
"What the hell are you doing, Toddler Bitch!?!" Yusuke demanded.
Hinoki stood, handing Hiei over to Aiichi. Her wings folded back like a birds.
"Hinoki... " Aiichi whispered.
Hinoki turned her head so she could see Aiichi through the corner of her eye.
"I... I'm sorry, Hinoki. If we had been able to continue, we could have retrieved Hiei's sould with little difficulty. Now he is too far away for me or you to retrieve. I can't even feel his ghost anymore. He is an empty void." Aiichi said sadly.
Hinoki turned her head and bowed it so her hair shadowed her eyes.
"Do you understand what you have done... ?" Hinoki muttered.
Koenma stopped abruptly in the ring, looking at her quizzically.
Everyone within the stadium turned to Hinoki.
Hinoki raised her head, "DO YOU KNOW HOW YOUR INTERFERANCE HAS SHATTERED ALL HOPES OF HIEI RETURNING!? YOU FOOL! I TRUSTED YOU AND HERE I FIND THAT YOU TURN ON ME! YOU SELFISH, ARRAGANT, PREPUBESCENT PIECE OF ROYAL TRASH! IT WOULDN'T MATTER IF YOU FIRED ME! WITHOUT HIEI, I AM NOT EVER GOING TO SERVE YOU AGAIN!"
Koenma looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry, Hinoki. Hiei was supposed to die today. Resurrecting him now would result in a confusion in Spirit World."
"Wait... you knew about this?" Kuwabara asked.
"Naturally. Spirit World Intelligence actually did something right for a change. We knew Hiei would die in this tournament. I think Hiei knew it would happen too, he just didn't know how. To tell you the truth, we didn't either." Koenma explained.
Hinoki growled, her entire body shaking.
"So... you stopped the ceremony because you want him to stay dead? Is that it?" Hinoki demanded.
"Well... to be honest: yes. See, before we were concealing him to one city where he would stay out of trouble. Now, with him gone we don't have to worry about him reaking havoc." Koenma said proudly. That was a mistake.
In a flash Hinoki had grabbed Koenma by the front of his collar and lifted him high above her head. She pulled back a fist and held it there, "What should stop me from punching your lights out, Koenma? I wanted Hiei to come back, don't you understand? I love him. My life is incomplete without him. Before I knew him, you remember what I was like? I often had you right where you are now. After I met him, I lashed out less and less, didn't I?"
Koenma cleared his throat, "That won't matter. My father said that if anything like this should happen, I should fire you. And I'm afraid that if it comes down to it, I will. I can't have you and Hiei becoming the worst pair of criminals ever known to Spirit World."
Hinoki punched Koenma square in between the eyes. His vision was blurred and he was wobbly on his legs.
"It may have happened. If I had been able to join his band of thieves, I may have left the band to wander alone with him. We might have gone down that road together, then not even Yusuke could have defeated us at that time. But fate had decided I should take a different path. Instead I was found by Koenma as a child and Hiei went off to join a trio of thieves. I would have met him at that time, but I was away on a case and Yusuke was his last option. Again, fate decided against our meeting. It wasn't until the kidnapping that Shoken had plotted did fate shine upon me. I met Hiei for the second time in my life, years after our first encounter. It had been so long, I almost forgot that he was my childhood fantasy, my first love. Growing up, I'd often dreamed about him. Eventually, those dreams faded and I dismissed him as a dream and nothing more. Then I had forgotten, until recently." Hinoki explained sadly, tilting her head back and allowing the rain to cool her face.
Her hair was completely soaked by now.
Kurama watched her with sad eyes. He knew that not even the kindest word could ease her sadness.
So instead, he chose silence as a comfort.
Hinoki gathered Hiei into her arms and headed back to her hotel. She wasn't going to make a wish because even if she did they couldn't grant any of the three.
Instead, she walked to the hotel in silence, leaving the her dead memories behind and carrying her future in her arms. Even if it meant being alone with an empty void for the rest of her life.
Note: Yeah! I finished it! Yippeeee! The long and exhausting story has finally come to a close. So now I can catch up on some R&R for a while and in the meantime, i'll be awaiting your reviews. When I'm satisfied with the number of new reviews, I'll start on the next story. When that goes up, I'll notify you people in the next chapter thing as an author's announcement. That way the dimwits can find the third story without me getting bombed by the same e-mail from different people. I bet if you look back on the chapters, I'll bet you can see how much Hinoki and Hiei have progressed. Anyway, what was your favorite chapter and why? What was your favorite part of the story, and don't tell me the disclaimers. I know those are funny, I make myself laugh when I read them. So anyway, please R&R while I take a break for awhile. Okay? See you in the next story! Ja ne!
Kuwabara: So we're actually done with this story?
Kurama: (Stretches) Yes, we are. And it's a good thing because I don't know how much longer I could take that depression.
Hiei: (takes off his shirt) I thought the end would never come. So now I won't have to show up for rehearsals for awhile. I won't be showing up in the next story for awhile, Yume tells me.
Yusuke: You'll just be laying on a futon in a few scenes. Sucks to be you.
Hinoki: I can finally get time to enjoy peace and tranquility without losers coming up to me each day on set asking me to be their wife.
Shoken & Kuwabara: I can't help it!
Shoken: How dare you ask Hino-chan to marry you! You have Yukina, don't you?
Kuwabara: I need a backup chick. According to what I hear, Yukina never gets that I got a thing for her.
Yume: That's just sad.
Hiei: Yes... she didn't get the brains in the family, that's for sure.
Hinoki: I think the attitude runs in the family, though. Remember in the series when that fat crap lardo man came in and Yukina wouldn't flinch when Toguro hit her?
Yusuke: That was totally cool! I gotta watch that again! (grabs tub of popcorn and watches the entire YYH series)
Kuwabara: Popcorn!
Hiei: I can't remember the last time we had time to ourselves.
Yume: Me either. (looks at Kurama with rope in her hands. She threateningly snaps it in her hands like you would a whip in both hands.)
Hiei: (begins to untie the bandages from his hand)
Yusuke: (Grabs Kurama)
Kuwabara: (Gets off couch)
Kurama: Erm... guys... ? What's going on- aaaaah! Not this again! For the love of- aaah! Cheese! No! not that! Aaaah!
Specifically not for anyone's eyes. (Can still here words in the background)
"I didn't know that bent that way!"
"Ow! That looked like it hurt!"
"He'll feel that tomorrow!"
"Kyaaaaaah! Help meeee!"
; Ja ne!