A/N: Hiya people! So I hope you've enjoyed chappie 2. I didn't get any reviews on it…T_T. But still, I've got to finish what I started, so I'm here to deliver chappie 3. I think the story will develop from here.
Disclaimer: Look, I don't own YYH, okay?
"…" talk
[…] thoughts
//...// telepathic communication
Italics dreaming or emphasis
* * * * * * change of scene/time
Chapter 3: Namida: Tears
"MIZUKO-CHAN!" Hiei would've liked to slash Botan's throat to stop her high-pitched shrieks, but his hands were currently full with an unconscious Mizuko. Once Genkai had made sure that she was alright and resting, everyone else turned to Hiei. "What happened?" Kuwabara had this suspicious look on his face as he said that. Hiei noticed that Yusuke and Kurama were looking at him intensely as well. "Hn. I did not attack her. She just fell unconscious all of a sudden." "Ah." Yusuke was relieved to hear that. Kuwabara left with Kurama, still unbelieving of Hiei's answer. Yusuke turned to leave too, but, "I sensed some sort of energy wave from her before she fainted." "Aa. I'll check with Koenma."
* * * * * *
She was swinging on the swing, her father pushing her from behind. She recognized these as memories from her childhood. A 6-year-old Mizuko ran out of the car and into the kitchen. Her mother embraced her and made her wash up before serving her lunch. It was strange. This was her dreaming and yet she was a spectator to this. It's like she wasn't in her body. She continued to dream about her life, moments flashing through her mind. "Mizuko. Mizuko." She turned. Her parents were calling her. She must go to them. She ran towards them and embraced her parents. "Oh, kaasan, tousan! Ai ta katta! I thought you were dead!" They remained silent and smiling. She smiled too, but it faltered as her parents pried out of the hug and moved further away. "Kaasan? Tousan? Doushite?" She tried to follow but her legs won't move. Suddenly, she caught sight of a woman standing at one side. The woman had long hair that was cobalt in colour. Mizuko looked at her curiously. She looked somewhat forlorn and there was a sad air about her. "Anou, anata wa dare desu ka?" The woman didn't answer but she looked even sadder. Strange, she felt familiar. Suddenly, she melted into the darkness and her parents appeared. They looked terrified. Running towards them, she felt despair fill her. Just when she was almost there, a shadow ripped them apart and Mizuko watched as her parents became a few pieces. And now the shadow lunged at her cackling maliciously.
"IYAAA!!" Mizuko screamed as she sat up from the bed. She was panting, shaking from witnessing her parents' gruesome death again. Tears surged to her eyes and Mizuko felt a lump in her throat. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold them back. She hugged her knees close to her body, but she was still shaking like a leaf. Regardless of her efforts to not to cry, tears were rolling down her cheeks.
* * * * * *
Hiei was sitting in a perch on a tree. Now normally, he would be there to rest and get away from all the annoying things in this ningen world. But tonight, his mind was not at rest. Instead, it was filled with thoughts of the new ningen onna he met today. She was, in Hiei's eyes, very much like any other ningens. Weak. But there's something that didn't quite meet the eye. [What was that strange energy wave I sensed from her? It was weak, faint, but I can't place my finger on it. Hn, it not my business anyway.] He cleared his head of these thoughts and stared into the night sky.
Slowly, however, Mizuko's image floated back into his mind. Hiei was soon thinking of how she looked like before he realized it. There was nothing about Mizuko that was remotely seductive or sexy. She was pretty but not the gorgeous, knock-you-of-your-feet type. But her eyes were different. Hiei remembered the golden orbs that stood out from everything else. He remembered being drawn in those eyes. He remembered how he had wanted to keep looking into them. [Why do I get this weird, warm sensation when I look into her eyes? It's like something is trying to get out of my stomach, and I feel lost. When I did look into her eyes, it felt like I'm going to lose myself and never return. Wait, why am I even thinking of a baka ningen?] He snapped out of his thoughts, trying to rid the feeling of confusion.
Suddenly, he heard a scream issue from a room that was slightly below his tree. He sat up, alert, and decided to check. He jumped down a few branches and peered into the dark room. For a while, all seemed silent, but soon Hiei heard choking sounds then sobs. Surprised, he went nearer to get a better look at the source of these sounds. "!!" Mizuko was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her body. Tears were streaming down her face, glistening in the dim moonlight. For a long moment, Hiei was torn between being his usual cold self who would leave her alone, and going in there to comfort her. Why he'd got the last idea was incomprehensible even to him. While trying to sort out his thoughts, Hiei noticed that Mizuko had quietened down and was curling in her bed, trembling violently.
* * * * * *
Mizuko couldn't stop shaking. The dam that had held back her tears was broken and she let out all her suppressed emotions. She curled into a tight ball, trying to will herself to stop crying, to stop shaking. Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder. She instantly stopped shaking, half fearful that this would be another demon. But she felt that this presence meant no harm. In fact, it was comforting to have it around. Soon, her tears dried and she fell into a deep, undisturbed sleep. After a while, when Mizuko's breathing steadied, Hiei removed his hand and went back to his perch. He, too, gradually fell asleep.
* * * * * *
Mizuko splashed cold water on her face to wake up properly. [Ah…That's much better.] She walked slowly down the hallway (A/N: Is that what you call those corridor thingies in Japanese temples?) Botan came in this morning to tell her to gather in the living room. On the way, she met Hiei heading the same way. At the sight of him, Mizuko remembered the comforting presence last night. [Was it you, Hiei? I have a feeling it was.] As they both neared Genkai's living room, Mizuko mentally thanked Hiei. //Thanks for last night, Hiei.// Hiei snapped to attention. [I thought I just heard Mizuko thanking me, but she wasn't saying anything. Hn.] He ignored it and they entered the room.
Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Botan and Genkai gathered in the room, with Kurama leaning against the wall and the rest sitting around the table. "Ohayou, Mizuko-chan." Botan greeted her cheerfully. "Ohayou, minna." Mizuko replied, bowing slightly. She then sat down with them. Hiei took his usual spot on the windowsill. It was Genkai who spoke first. "Mizuko, I would like to know why you fainted yesterday." Mizuko proceeded to explain about her neck and the strange dream she had about the two voices. Genkai looked serious. "May I see this mark on your neck?" Mizuko nodded and began to remove her bandages. "Here's the mark. It looked like a swollen patch a couple of days ago." She said as she tilted her head slightly to show them. Botan gasped while the others looked shocked. Surprised by their reactions, Mizuko went to the nearest reflective surface and concentrated on her reflection.
"What the…" The swell wasn't there anymore. Instead, in its place was a six-point scar. A David star. She ran her fingers tentatively on it and felt slight dents on her skin. No wonder they were shocked. Suddenly, a burning pain shot through her and she dropped to her knees, clutching her neck. An image appeared in front of her. A dark image with two blood red eyes. Its piercing gaze sent cold shivers down her spine. Suddenly, Mizuko was scared. She felt a fear like never before seep into her soul. She wanted to push it away, get away from it at any rate. She was trembling again, but this time it was out of fear. Botan quickly approached her but stopped short. Things in the room began to shake, first vibrating mildly and then shaking hard. Yusuke and the others were shocked at what was happening. "W-What's this feeling? It's like something's restless and scared." Kuwabara stammered. CRANG!! Genkai's teacup shattered. Immediately, she got up and moved towards Mizuko.
"Calm down!" she said as she shook her gently. Soon, things returned to normal and Mizuko looked a little shaken. Genkai, however, looked deadly serious. "What kind of demon are you?" "What?" Kuwabara and Botan asked simultaneously. "Saki wa…" Kurama started. Hiei said, looking at Mizuko strangely, "Aa, machigainai." "What is it?" Kuwabara, confused, asked them. Yusuke turned to him, face serious. "She released youki just now."
Kaasan-Mother
Tousan-Father
Ai ta katta-(I) missed you (I'm not sure about the placing of words, maybe they're one word.)
Doushite-What's wrong/why
Anou, anata wa dare desu ka?-Um/Excuse me, who are you?
Baka-Stupid
Ningen-Human
Onna-Girl/Woman
Ohayou-Good morning
Minna-Everyone
Saki wa-Just now
Machigainai-There's no mistake/That's for sure (Is the arrangement right?)
A/N: I hope this chapter's more interesting. And I inserted the meaning of the Japanese words I used. Please take note that I'm not educated in the language therefore I'm not sure if the arrangement of words are right. Please correct me if I'm wrong. And lastly, please review, ne? Arigatou! ^_^
