A/N: (taps foot) ok I'm not getting many reviews…aw c'mon is it that bad! (offended b/c no one is confirming or denying it in a review.) well whatever poor soul has been patient enough to stumble along far enough to this chapter, I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! Ahem. Read you fool.
"Hn. What do you want?" Hiei asked the demon that was attempting to hide itself.
"The Lord becomes impatient," hissed the demon jumping from its perch. "He suggests you hurry up or he will forced to believe you have stolen it for yourself and then you will have to die." The demon spoke faster and faster as he went along, as if the anticipation of even speaking of death got his heart rate up.
"And how did you get this word to me so swiftly?"
"The Lord has his ways."
"Then tell him if he'd be so kind as so lend one of his ways of such magnificent speed and then his item would be received." Hiei was very annoyed and wanted very much to disembowel this pathetic waste of flesh.
"He wants a progress report."
"His package is still in less than perfect condition but it shouldn't be long before the package is repaired and then if we go as fast as I plan to, the package should be there before the end of the year."
"The end of the year is in—." the demon began counting on his oddly shaped fingers.
"Three months, baka," snapped Hiei. "Now go before I become too impatient with you."
Not being too stupid to understand the threat, the demon saluted Hiei almost sarcastically and disappeared in a black flash.
Hiei sighed and went back to camp.
Hisha was fast asleep in front of the smoldering fire, her tail curled around her.
Truthfully, Hisha was fine. She was already very capable of being labeled as a B class demon. And Hiei suspected that wasn't the limits of her potential.
Suddenly, Hiei found that his hand was gently tracing her soft face. Hiei jumped back. He wanted as much distance as he dared between him and that woman.
"Hn, going soft?" he mocked himself.
Actually, he had found himself wishing she would come forth and say that she –loved him. Even in his head it sounded stupid. Hiei drifted off, those words being his last thoughts of the day.
"There it is," Hitaro pointed, pulling aside a clump of branches.
Hiei and Kurama knelt at his side. In the distance, a large castle with many towers and turrets rose high above everything around it. The bottom disappeared into a thick layer of fog. The sinking feeling in Hiei's heart went farther down than the depths of the castle though.
He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment.
"You all right?" Kurama asked his friend.
"Hn. This is going to be a difficult fight. Long, complicated, and difficult."
"That's never stopped you before."
"Don't talk about things you don't understand, fox."
Kurama knew when to back down and that was it so he stepped away from it and let it drop.
They began the precarious descent down the steep cliff. The descent took nearly two hours. Loose rocks and booby traps mined the way down. Hitaro took them along a relatively safe route, though, and everyone arrived in one piece.
Hiei scanned the area with his jagan and not to his surprise, found several hundred guards of decent strength patrolling their respective areas. One guard was a bit too close for comfort.
"Someone's coming," Hiei warned.
"Just a second," Hitaro replied quickly while digging through the brush and grass.
"How close, Hiei?"
"He should have sensed us by now…. Yes. He's coming faster now."
"Got it!" Hitaro shouted.
Kurama clapped a hand over his mouth while Hitaro frantically pointed to a small rusted ring. Hiei grabbed it and pulled. A narrow tunnel loomed coldly in front of them. Hiei and Kurama guessed with less enthusiasm than Hitaro at what that tunnel was for. They would have to crawl on their stomachs down the cold, dark, damp.
"Get in!" Kurama hissed.
Hitaro dove in first, followed by Kurama, then Hiei who eased the trap door shut behind him, enclosing them in utter darkness.
The tunnel was dank and musty. Roots poked out from the roof and brushed the tops of their heads unpleasantly. The crawl was irksome. For Hitaro, who was smaller than both Hiei and Kurama, it wasn't so bad. But for Hiei, and Kurama especially, it was difficult. Several hours of crawling in dirt do not make a person happy.
Hence, when the trio climbed out, they were all disgruntled and needless to say, very short tempered.
Kurama and Hiei began to realize that the dark room they were in was a cell. Shackles hung on the stained wall. The cold stone floor was sealed tightly, save one stone block that led to the tunnel. One small opening directly below the ceiling let in the slightest sliver of light between the steel bars. It was not a window, but the gap through which a prisoner was passed their daily items.
"What is this?" Kurama asked in a whisper.
"My home," Hitaro said darkly. "The place where my mother was forced to raise my sister and I."
"Hn."
"Forced?"
"My mother is a captive here."
"So, the heart wrenching tale of your dear mother's illness was a lie, then," Hiei said. "What do you really want from us then?"
Hitaro stared a bit guiltily at the stone floor.
"I want your help. You're both so strong that I thought…maybe you could… destroy Lord Taro and—!"
"It has already been attempted, Hitaro," Kurama broke in with a sigh. "We tried that with our other comrades not 14 years ago."
Hitaro looked crushed. His pale silver eyes stared sadly at the floor and Hiei had the impression that he was trying to hold back tears.
"You mean...you can't do…anything?" he choked. "Nothing at all?"
"We are very sorry," Kurama said hanging his head. And he meant every word.
Hiei didn't say anything. He just stared at the shaking shoulders of the young boy in front of him.
"But, what if I told you that…I know his…weakness?" Hitaro pleaded.
"Weakness!" Kurama and Hiei exclaimed together.
"Have you ever loved anyone, Hiei?" Hisha asked while stoking the fire.
"I don't want to have a weakness," he replied simply.
"Is that what you think other people are? A weakness?"
"Some people yes."
Hisha paused before persisting. "Do you think that I'm a weakness?"
Hiei was thrown back by her question. He hadn't expected her to ask that! Dammit! He decided to not say anything.
"I don't want to be your weakness, Hiei."
She scooted next to him and laid her head on his lap. Blood rushed into Hiei's face. 'What the hell!' screamed half of him, the reasonable half. But not the other half. That half…reached out and petted her velvety ears and ran its fingers through her beautiful hair.
"You are not a weakness," it spoke.
Hisha looked up at him, her silver eyes wide and full of love…for him….
The other half was disobeying Hiei's reason. It reached a hand under Hisha's chin, and brought her face close to his. It touched its lips against hers and caressed her soft body. It told her things Hiei didn't want her to know. Then she was crying. Dammit he had made her cry! But no, it wasn't him, it was the other half! A sly voice in the back of his mind told him that he couldn't keep making excuses.
"What the hell," he muttered aloud.
Besides, no one would ever find out. Most importantly, his employer wouldn't. This night would be a secret between them. A sweet secret that Hiei would never forget….
A/N: omg I loved writing this chapter! well I hoped you enjoyed reading it! REVIEW PLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
