a/n – Megumi, megumi, megumi! I love him, its fun to imagine what he'd be like a few years down the road. Naturally, he's bit protective of his big sister. I think he understands her a bit better then the rest of the world. Anyways, that's enough rambling for today. On with the story.

Special thanks to Shadow In Darkness and cheerful-pinkstar for the encouragement.

Last Time - "I'll find you in the morning. I expect an answer."

An instant later, he was gone, and Hana collapsed to her knees.

Wallflower

The next day, Hana woke before the sun, not that she had really slept much anyway. As she stretched her lithe body under the thick comforter, she found several stiff spots in her neck and back that she knew were going to bother her for the rest of the day.

She hadn't felt like this in years, not since before she met Tohru. It had been four years, to be exact, since her last nightmare. There was a time when her thoughts were so plagued that she could barely sleep.

Her dreams had always been a direct reflection of her self doubt. At her old school, she was treated like a time bomb. She was barely spoken to and avoided if at all possible. Not that she blamed her peers for their wariness, what with all the rumors going around about her. Hell, she even believed some of them.

One rumor, at least, she knew was true. As a child in the first or second grade, before she learned to control her electric waves, she attacked a classmate in fit of rage. It was so bad that they had to hospitalize him.

That was the beginning of the ostracization. It didn't matter that the victim had been beating up her little brother, Megumi. She was still the bad guy. That was the first turning point in Hanajima Saki's life, when she decided that the only person she could depend on was herself. The approval of others didn't matter. She didn't need friends, and so putting on a brave face, and a black cloak, she became more and more isolated.

That's when the nightmares started. Inside she wondered if maybe she was a monster, and so in her dreams she became one. She took many different forms, but there was one that was far more common than the rest. She became a timid flower, soft and beautiful, but far from normal. She had large petals, as black as the night, and when threatened sharp rows of teeth tore limbs from her enemies.

This is what disturbed her and stole her sleep away, the idea that there were two sides to her personality, calm, reserved and distant, yet powerfully confrontational when put to a pinch. Polar opposites. She was who she was, though. No one can change who they are. The only thing you can change is how you see yourself.

Or so she learned five years later when she met the ever plucky Tohru Honda. That was the second turning point in Hanajima Saki's life, the day she realized that nobody could get by in life alone. Even monsters need friends. By saying "I like you", Tohru allowed her to like herself, and she finally got some decent sleep.

Hana thought she was finished with sleepless nights. Then that crimson eyed stranger had to go and remind her that she was different. Not that she had ever really forgotten. She just didn't mind so much anymore.

Hana sat up from her bed. Her loose flannel pajamas bunched up around her knees and then fell back down to her ankles as her toes found the hard wood floor. She rested there for a moment with her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees, tilting her head from one side to the other, testing the status of her neck.

"Ooo," she moaned. Yep, still sore. Motion from her night stand vaguely caught her attention. Turning her head she peered out through splayed fingers. It was her wallflower doing it's goofy little sound prompted boogie. She'd kept that knick knack proudly displayed in her otherwise bare room for years now.

What had Tohru said the day she brought her gift to school?

"It symbolizes you the way you are now, see? It's a beautiful black flower, just like in your dreams, only it has big sunglasses and a smile instead of carnivorous teeth."

Raising an eyebrow, Hana gave her a somewhat confused if not entirely disbelieving look as she flipped on the 'on' switch. "Tohru…" Hana trailed off, slightly startled when the ridiculous little thing started dancing.

"You see, you used to worry that you might accidentally hurt someone. You had nightmares because you believed yourself to be dangerous, all full of sharp teeth and stuff. It's not like that now. Now you're in control." Tohru shoved the small novelty item into her friend's hands and, with a warm smile, she continued her explanation. "No more teeth. Plus, it thinks it funny to startle people, just like you."

Hana flopped backwards onto her bed again, her polished black tiptoes just barely reaching the floor. As she thought about it now, that conversation with Tohru made a lot more sense.

She knew now that she wasn't a monster anymore. More accurately, she knew that she never had been one. Thanks to Tohru, she saw herself differently now. What was once a liability was now an asset. Hana actually relished in the idea that she could zap anybody she pleased, and nothing pleased her more than zapping those who threatened her loved ones.

Then why had this been such a difficult decision? A horrible demon was threatening every single person who was important to her. On top of that, Koenma himself had personally invited her help fry the bastard. Yet she was hesitating. Doubt was once again plaguing her mind and robbing her sleep. Only this time instead of fretting that her God given abilities were too much, now she worried that they wouldn't be enough.

She knew that she had to at least try though. If she didn't she'd regret it, for lots of reasons, not the least of which being an unexplainable desire to prove herself to a certain arrogant fire demon. So with a determined sigh, Hana crawled out of bed, and trekked down stairs in search of breakfast.

Her brother was already sitting on a stool at the counter, eating his puffy o's.

"You're up early today." She was digging through the fridge as she addressed him.

"I wasn't going to let you up and leave without saying goodbye." His charcoal eyes looked intently at her back waiting for a reply.

A pang of guilt stabbed at her insides. She hadn't mentioned any of this to her family yet. She didn't really know what to say. She should have known though, her mother was a fortune teller after all, well to pay the bills anyway.

She walked over to park herself in the stool next to his. "You know I wouldn't have left without telling you. I just hadn't really decided to go until just a few minutes ago."

"I could have told you you were going. Should have asked mom."

"She wouldn't have told me anything, you know that."

Her fork morosely poked at her food. "Megumi, did Mom say anything about me ever coming back again?"

"No." The dark haired boy, now finished with his breakfast rose from his seat. He now stood behind his older sister, wrapping both arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on top of her head. "She didn't have to. I know you'll be back."

That was all she needed. Her brother's support eased her apprehensions. Losing the sad tone in her voice, she looked up at him.

"When did you get so tall?"

"It's a conspiracy sis, someday I'll be the one protecting you." He released her and went to set his bowl in the sink.

She set her plate on the floor allowing the dog to have her untouched breakfast. "Yes, well I do suppose it will be your turn. If you think you can handle it." She gave him a tired smirk and reached up to pat him on the head, before turning for the stairs. It was time for a shower.

A few minutes after Hana had retreated to the bath, Hiei was at the front door, but before he could knock he watched it slowly swing open. A tall and slightly muscular boy of about fourteen stood on the other side. His countenance had a familiar feel to it, especially with the poker face he was wearing, and Hiei hypothesized that this person must be some close relation to the girl that he had been up thinking about all night.

As the boy looked at him, Hiei got the sinking sensation that he was being sized up, judged in a way. Not that it really bothered him.

"You're here for my sister." It was more of a statement than a question and Hiei briefly felt more like a motorcycle riding punk here to pick up his prom date from a conservative overprotective father, than a demon on a mission to save the world.

Hiei looked confidently at his inquisitor. "Is she prepared?" He smirked and coolly smoothed his fingers through his wild hair, not bothering to hide his amusement.

As if he had been sent some sort of subliminal message, Megumi too ran his fingers through his hair. Feeling it standing in every which way as if he had just been hit by lightning, he instantly widened his eyes in surprise and his pale face became light pink in color as he thought back to his sister patting his head. She was always like that. You'd never know from looking at her that she was such a prankster. Her looks were deceptive in a lot of ways though, hiding many strengths and hidden personality quirks as well. All of which were surprising if nothing else.

He smiled as he stepped to the side, clearing a path for the fire demon in front of him. "I think the real question is 'are you prepared?'"

"Always," Hiei remarked without batting an eyelash as he strode inside.

Megumi led the way into the living area where he had been playing video games. "You may as well sit down; she takes forever in the shower." He offered, planting himself on the couch.

He wasn't one to let his guard down in strange places, and today was no exception. "I'll stand thanks." Hiei replied choosing to stroll around the room instead of sit. His gaze traveled around the room, and he was surprised to see that it looked almost normal. Aside from the vast quantity of books, it seemed just like any other human dwelling.

"I don't think I caught your name," the boy on the couch queried.

"It's Hiei, curse it and I'll kill you." He said with a glare, as he watched the boy suddenly become very interested in his video game.

The sun was beginning to rise, and pale shafts of light streamed through the windows. There really were a lot of books here. He casually ran his finger down one row of bindings, silently reading the titles as he went. Curse Seals for Kid; Portals: Secret Doors to the Netherworlds, and How to Find Them; Spirit World Etiquette; Japanese Folklore; Advanced Curse Seal Techniques that one had a bookmark in it ; Seeds of Death-Flora and Fauna of the Makai, and many more of the like. The list went on and on. Much of it was reference material, but there were also many other things, novels, poetry etc.

Not sure if the moving shafts of light were playing tricks on his eyes, Hiei leaned forward just a bit to study one that caught his eye. It was a slender volume bound in dark red leather and looked very old. On it in gilded letters was a text that he had not seem in centuries, and last he heard it spoken, it was not from the delicate lips of a human.

He gently slid the relic from its place on the shelf and ghosted his hand over the front cover, murmuring the title to himself.

"It says," the soft and steady voice behind him read along out loud. "'Ashact Ulle Snaga Fint.' It was a hard language suiting of the barbaric tribe that once spoke it, and the words sounded particularly harsh and starkly out of place when uttered from the mouth of a human girl. He turned to face her as she explained the meaning to him.

"It means, 'Life is a miserable end.'"

"That's a loose translation. Very loose." He tried his best not to look smug, though a trace slipped through. "Have even you read this book?"

"Mmm hmm," she nodded her head, her face troubled slightly by the memory. "Some of it. It's an epic poem right, considered a classic in the demon world? I couldn't finish though, it was too gruesome. Is war and death all that demons think about?"

He moved beside her, pointing to the symbols on the cover. "This symbol means 'Love' not 'Life.' They come from the same root word but the tails are different." His finger slid to the end of the phrase. "And this mark here applies to the last two words, it symbolizes reflexivity. It means that the title can be read two different ways. Either 'Love is a Miserable End' or 'Love is an End to Misery,' it's for the reader to decide which title is more appropriate.

"It's the graphic tale of a Demon who must choose whether or not to sacrifice his mate in order to deliver his tribe from the grips of a devastating war. Either he's miserable for the rest of his life, or his war torn people are."

"It's said to be based on a true story." He pulled the book back from her. "War influences humans and demons alike, but this was a particularly affected people."

"You speak as if you know them."

"There aren't any left to know." He stated matter of factly, sliding the book back into its place.

Pushing himself back to the matter at hand he took an assessing glace at the girl next to him. Her wet long hair was gathered into a tightly bound braid, and her lavender flannels with the black hearts looked just a bit too big for her. "Nice PJs."

There was an awkward silence as both debated on what to say next.

Losing his patience Hiei gave up and went straight to the point. "Have you decided?"

She walked over to the shelf pulling out another book and tossed it to her house guest. 'Annuals of the Clan Hanajima.' "That's the story of my people." Her eyes took on a distant look as she recounted the origins of her family tree.

"That book tells of how King Enma himself took pity on my Demon ancestor, saving his life by disguising him as a human to help him get away from the shinobi assassins that were after his life. That ancestor fell in love with a human woman, and they started a family. It wasn't long though, before he grew restless and bored with the mundane day to day life of a human and longed instead for the life he once had. So he plotted to sell King Enma's secrets to the lords of demon world in exchange for a place amongst them.

When his wife found out that he had been using her and their children to gain leverage amongst the demon lords, she didn't know what to do. In came down to betraying King Enma and his subjects to live a life of power plagued with guilt or betraying the one she loved to live a life of honor, bittersweet and lonely though it may be.

She chose to stand by her husband, and the information they smuggled to demon world did great damage to the Ruler of Spirits. A great war followed causing millions of humans, demons, and spirits to lose their lives. For many years the demons had the upper hand. The human woman couldn't bear to live with herself as things were and she soon realized the she would waste away and die of guilt if she didn't take a stand for what was right.

In the end she became a double agent of sorts, feeding the Spiritual Defense Force with information that eventually led to King Enma's victory.

The day after her husband's execution, she stood trial for her own crimes. For her crimes against humanity and for her treason against the Great King she was given the death penalty.

For her outstanding service to the SDF at the risk of great personal loss she was given a medal of honor. With that medal, came an official pardon and she was granted amnesty in all of spirit world.

So impressed with her courage, determination, and intelligence was King Enma that he offered our matriarch one wish in exchange for a simple promise. If she would vow to him that she and all of her descendants would remain in his service, he would grant her whatever she desired.

One tear ran down her cheek as she gave him her answer. 'For betraying you My Lord, promising the eternal loyalty of my family is a just penance, and I would have freely given it had you not offered anything in return, but since you have offered, I will ask for my execution which is a just penance for the treason of my heart against the one I loved.'

Though this request disturbed King Enma, he granted her wish. And so she was hung the next day, the Medal of Honor still around her neck.

Their two children, half breeds as you would call them, choose to abide by their mother's last wish and honored her promise by swearing their lives to the King.

Hana now came back to herself and looked at Hiei, who had been captivated by her story.

"Such is the irony of my family, demon instincts and human bodies. That book you hold tells many of their stories, the heroic deeds of this ancestor or the other down through the ages, maybe the next chapter will be mine."

Hiei studied her face now, and couldn't help but be a bit surprised. Below the fragile exterior was the face of a warrior.

"The truth is," she continued, "I'd go even if I wasn't obligated by ancient family values. If there's a chance that I can protect the ones I love, then I have to try." She smiled at her brother who was now openly staring at the pair.

As Hiei regained his composure he looked over her pajama clad body again, raising one cocky eyebrow. "Do you intend on wearing shoes?"


Well there you have it folks she's going. Wahoo! As if there was any doubt. Don't forget to hit that little review button and tell me what you thought. The biggest question in my mind that maybe you can answer for me is – was the whole family history thing a bit too much? It turned out a bit more in depth than I intended. Hopefully it didn't detract from the real story.

Also, I need a good title for a cheesy hentai romance story that Shigure might write. Hana's got have something to do while she's on her trip.