Chapter Three: Reunion from Hell

"You better get out of the way for a second," suggested Yusuke. "If he sees any living thing, he'll try to kill it. He won't look to see who it is first."

"Ok, I'll hide in this bush here. Tell me when I can come out," I said and crawled into a bush and watched Yusuke through the gaps between the leaves. He brought the whistle to his mouth and blew hard into it. Strangely, I didn't hear a thing and for a few seconds, nothing at all happened.

"Something wrong with it?" I asked but Yusuke put a finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. When I did, there came a faint rustling sound. Yusuke blew the whistle one more time and a second later he was being attacked by a small, black body. After a brief struggle, Yusuke was able to identify the person as Hiei.

"Hiei! Hiei, it's me, Yusuke," he said looking in every direction because Hiei could be anywhere considering how fast he was. "Come out, Hiei. I've been trying to find you. I thought that maybe this tactic that we used that last time we needed you would work."

"I swear, detective, if you ever blow that wretched thing again, it'll be your head," said a gruff voice. I squinted my eyes in the direction of the noise and I felt a tingle go up my spine when he spoke. Then I saw him. He was standing in one of the trees looking as pissed off as ever. He looked almost exactly the same. The way he moved, the blank face, the piercing red eyes; that was all Hiei. He did look a little different though. He looked a little stronger and older considering he was eighteen.

"Hiei, I came across somebody the other day. Someone who might be of interest to you," Yusuke started and Hiei jumped down from his tree to ground level with Yusuke. I watched every purposeful move he made with awe. I was completely captivated.

"Such as?" Hiei asked with a bit of impatience in his voice.

"Some girl from my school. She's the talk of the school because she doesn't say a word," Yusuke said and Hiei gave him a questioning stare. "Her name is Kumiko something." I saw Hiei's eyes widen noticably.

"Kumiko Tohiji?" said a surprised Hiei.

"Yup. I found her at school and you'll never guess where.... in a tree. I guess you guys have a thing or two in common."

"What do you know about Kumiko Tohiji?"

"Just that you guys were sweethearts," said Yusuke with a smug look on his face. Hiei's face turned from questioning to defensive.And that stupid detective had to go and make it worse with little kissey noises. I was going to have to hit him after this.

"Hn. You know not what you speak of," he said crossing his arms.

"I talked to her today, Hiei. She actually said something for a change."

"That onna used to talk alot. Nothing new."

"Aparently you haven't seen her in a while."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she hardley says a word to anyone. People literally thought she didn't know how to talk. She hasn't said much of anything..... for three years."

"What has three years got to do with anything?"

"It was three years ago that you had to leave with the team to fight, remember?"

"So?" Hiei said getting defensive again. I wondered when Yusuke was going to pull me into this. I hoped not soon because I wanted to hear from Hiei if he still.... felt the same about me.

"She misses you, Hiei. She misses you a lot."

"Well if she wants to see me that bad then why didn't she come herself?" asked Hiei and at about the worst time, I felt a sneeze coming on. I prayed that I wouldn't sneeze but right after Hiei finished his sentence...

"Achoo!!" Hiei and Yusuke both looked in my direction and Hiei walked over to where I was hiding and looked down at me.

"What are you doing here, girl? Get out of there," Hiei demanded and I came out of my bush and stood up to face him. "What do you think you're doing here so late at night? You shouldn't be here." Hiei said barely glancing at me then walked over to Yusuke.

"Hiei," said Yusuke, "that's Kumiko." Hiei did a double take on me then stared. His eyes got huge. Then they changed to suspicious and he took a few steps closer to me.

"Come here into the light," he said and I did as I was told and he went all around me the look at me. I felt like I was in prison and they were inspecting me. When Hiei went around me once, he came back to my face and looked me straight in the eye. For a long time, no one said anything. The long pause became pretty awkward and Yusuke sensed this so he broke the silence.

"This is her, Hiei. I bet you guys might want to be alone right now so I'll leave for a few minutes. I'll be back in half an hour," muttered Yusuke before starting to walk away. I gave him a pleading look. I wanted him to stay but he gave me a reassuring smile and continued on. I looked back to Hiei and for a minute, we just stood there again.

"Kumiko," Hiei said and I nodded when he said my name. "So you're really her." I nodded again. My eyes looked down to the ground. Hiei was silent for a few more seonds then said, "Well, say something!"

"H-hello, Hiei. It's been a long time."

"Hn."

".........Why didn't you come back?"

"What do you mean?"

"You promised me that you'd come back to see me........ but it's been three years. I had to find you myself."

"Hn. You didn't need me in your life and I didn't need you in mine."

"You're wrong, Hiei. I wished everyday that you were with me."

"I didn't come back becuase you were a weakness for me. If enemies found out about your connection to Reikai then you'd be done for."

"So I was just a burden to you? Just something holding you back like some twisted ankle or something?!"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly but close, i bet."

"Not quite."

"Then what is it like, Hiei? Did you not come back because you never wanted to see me again? Tell me the truth!" I said. I was angry with him for not being happy to see me even though I should have been rejoicing his appearance.

"You weren't something holding me back but if someone knew.... about us, then they'd take that opportunity to seize you and make me give into them."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that Hiei?"

"I thought if you never saw me again then you'd forget about me and get on with life," he said with a sigh.

"Forget you? How could I forget you?? You were everything me, Hiei. I had that stripped away from me that one day when you announced that you had to go. Everything good in my life was ripped out of my grasp and because I thought I'd get it back, I held onto you. hoping."

"Is that why you don't talk?" he asked and I paused for a moment. I didn't know how to answer that one.

"I guess so. Some of it is that you... you made me happy. I don't feel happy with anyone but you. And some of it is that I didn't want anyone to get that close to me again so they could be taken away too," said I and Hiei stood staring at the ground for a moment. He then looked up at me.

"You've changed," he said. He was refering to the black hair, dark fingernails, and eyeliner.

"So have you."

"When did you get rid of your blonde hair?"

"About last year. I wanted it black," I said and he took a few steps closer and reached out. At first, I didn't know quite what he was doing until he held a few dark strands between his fingers.

"You never used to wear eyeliner before," he added as he looked around my eyes at the black eyeliner surounding them. "Why do you wear it?"

".......................A lot of things have changed since you left. My life has been very different without you."

"Kumiko," he started and looked like he was about to say something when he let out a sigh and shook his head. "Nevermind." He let his hand fall back to his side and started to walk away.

"Where are you going."

"I have to go."

"Please don't leave," I whispered with sadness evident in my voice. "Don't go yet." He turned his head and looked at me. "You've been away for so long that I haven't talked to you in years."

"It seems you haven't talked to anyone in years."

"Please stay here," I begged again and he turned back around and stayed. He sat down and leaned up against a tree with his arms folded as usual. I sat down in the dirt where I stood.

"Why did you want to see me, Kumiko?"

"Because it has been so long. I was beginning to worry about you. I didn't know if you were dead, alive, or hurt. I think about you a lot. I wish I could have see you more often."

"It wouldn't have benefited you in the long run. Demons would have learned of our connection and murdered you."

"It could have been worse."

"How?"

"A few months ago, I thought you were dead. I had convinced myself that the only reason you wouldn't come back was because you were dead and I almost...... I almost killed myself."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because..... I wanted to be with you so badley that I'd kill my self if that was what it took."

"You're feelings will bring you down someday," he said looking off into the forest. I got up and walked over to him. Right in front of him, I sat down.

"Tell me the truth, Hiei, did you miss me at all? Did you even care about me? How much did you think about me when you were gone."

"I got over it."

"You got over it? You didn't even care that I was waiting for you? You didn't even care that everynight I thought of you and cried about how I'd never see you again? You didn't think that maybe I wanted you to come back?" I said first as an annoyed remark that then escalated into a yell.

"You would have gotten over it too if you hadn't let your emotions rule you."

"I ALMOST COIMMITED SUICIDE OVER YOU!! I thought about you every moment of everyday. I wouldn't speak to a soul because I missed you so much!! And all you can say is I would have gotten over it?!?!"

"Don't start getting hysterical, onna. You put yourself through this misery by letting yourself care. Had you wanted to be done with me, then your heart would not have held on."

"You are such a damn bastard! I hope you die and burn in Hell someday," I growled and he growled back at me. He took this as a challenge and even though I knew he wouldn't hurt me, he'd try.

"Don't fool yourself into ever thinking that I had feelings for you!! I pitied you so I went along with it!"

"I HATE YOU, HIEI!! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE EVER AGAIN!!" I screamed and ran as fast as I could away. I past Yusuke and he grabbed my arm to stop me but I ripped it away and got on my bike before speeding off to my home.

I got to my house and threw my bike on the ground angrily as I thought about how much I wished I HAD brought a weapon with me. I wanted him to hurt like I did. I wanted him to feel as miserable as I did. I fell to my knees right by my front door and starting crying hard.

"I thought you loved me, Hiei. I thought you wanted to be with me," I said between sobs. I tried as hard as I could to keep them in but I was far beyond that. "I loved you so much. You kissed me. You PROMISED me that you'd return but I wish I had never seen you again." I got up and went into my house quietly. I snuck upstairs to my room and closed the door. When I was inside, I opened up the window to get some cool air in my room and took a deep breath. I wanted to sleep. I was completely drained physically and emotionally. I needed some rest from all the haywire emotions. I took off my shoes but didn't bother to change my clothes before I crawled into my bed and got under the covers. I closed my eyes and my breathing eventually evened out but my mind was so clouded with anger that I just couldn't settle down enough to fall asleep. For about three hours, I tried to fall asleep but something just kept me up. Suddenly, I noticed that some of the breeze coming through my window was being blocked and then I heard a light pitter-patter of footsteps. I thought it was just my sister getting up from the couch and going to her room but I saw a shadow lean over me through my eyelids and decided to keep them closed, afriad of what I might see. For all I knew, it might be a murderer or a burgler or something like that. But when the person crawled into the bed, I tried so hard not to scream. I thought it was someone coming to kill me but for a minute, they just laid beside me in the bed. I opened my eyes just a crack and tried to identify the figure but it was just too dark. There was a little moonlight coming through my window but their back was to it and all I saw was a shadow. I closed my eyes completely again and hoped they'd leave but instead of leaving, the person scooched closer to me on the bed and put an arm around me.

"I'm so sorry, Kumiko," said the shadow and I recognized the voice as Hiei's! What did he want? "I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't want you to be troubled with me. I wish you could forget about me even though I could never forget about you. I.... I still love you. I haven't ever stopped. I just wanted you to think that I didn't so you could get over me and live a normal life. I don't want things to be so complicated but with my job with Reikai, you'd be in constant danger and you can't protect yourself. I wish I could always be with you so I could do that for you but I can't. But please don't think I hate you. I thought about you everyday and I missed you terribly." He sighed and gave me a kiss on the forehead before pulling me closer to him. After a few minutes of silence, he started whispering again. "I loved the way you smile. I loved how much and how fast you talk. I loved the way your eyes light up when you laugh. I loved the face you would make when you do something clumsy or stupid. I loved the way you could make me smile. I loved your voice. I loved the enthusiam you used to have on life. I loved the way you used to be afraid of the dark. I loved when you would tease me. I hope your can keep eing the Kumiko I fell in love with. And I hope you can forgive me someday."

'He was lying that whole time. He did miss me. And he still loves me,' I thought as I felt tears of joy trickle down my face. I tried to act like I was asleep so he wouldn't leave and he held me closer. I smiled as the tears kept coming. I had never felt more content or safe in my entire life.

"I wish things could be different. I wish more than anything that I could be with you," he whispered. I sighed and gave into the most restful and lovely sleep of my life.

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A/N: Well, that turned from a crappy situation to a very sweet reunion. I wanted to make it so that Hiei found out that Kumiko was awake and they talked for a bit but that'd end the story too soon!! More to come in the next chapter, "How to Catch a Hiei." And once again..... REVIEW!!!