-Telepathy-
(Thoughts)
Chapter 9
Being home was strange for Hikori. During the time he had been in Chimera's clutches, he had gotten used to sleeping in a cold cell and working himself to the bone everyday with meager meals and random beatings.
Now he was back in his own room, lying in his bed and submitting to his aunt's treatment. Yukina didn't spend as much time with him as she did Shiroi, but Shiroi needed the extra care and attention, which Hikori knew. For the most part, he lay around in his room and endured the summer heat.
One day, about a week after they had gotten home, Hikori realized something. He and his mother had been captured at the end of October, and now it was only the middle of June. They had really only been gone for eight months, not closer to a year. "But if Chimera thought that Mom was really at the end..." Hikori said allowed, and then it hit him.
He lurched to his feet and stumbled to the door. He yanked it opened and stumbled out. He was still weak, and once he had succumbed to his condition, he hadn't been able to walk very well on his own. He made it to the end of the hall when he nearly ran into his aunt.
"You shouldn't be up," Yukina said when she saw him.
Hikori grabbed her hand, "Come here," he said as he headed back for his room. "I need to show you something." They went back into his room and Hikori grabbed his calendar that hung on the wall. He sat down on his blankets to make his aunt happy, and showed her the calendar. "I counted how many months we were gone," he explained. "We were captured in late October, and now it's only the middle of June. We were only gone for eight months."
"What is it you're trying to explain to me Hikori?" Yukina asked.
"Mom's nine months pregnant right?" Hikori asked.
"Yes," Yukina answered, "She could go into labor any day now." Something about what she had just said surprised her. "But you're telling me if that were really Chimera's child, then Shiroi wouldn't be due for another month."
Hikori nodded, "Looks like we all screwed up our math."
Yukina smiled, "You know what this means don't you?"
"Why do you think I came out of my room the way I did?" Hikori replied with a grin.
Yukina giggled and hugged her nephew. "Come on, let's go tell them." She helped Hikori to his feet and the left his room.
ooo
Hiei watched as Shiroi slept. He had hardly left her side since they had gotten home. It hadn't been long since Yukina had left, when suddenly the ice apparition returned with Hikori. He looked at them questioningly when he noticed them grinning.
"You two seem rather happy," he whispered.
Yukina nodded, "And we have good reason to be," she whispered back. The two sat down on the opposite side of Shiroi.
"I'm waiting," Hiei said.
"Hikori should explain it," Yukina said, "Since he is the one that figured it out."
Hiei turned to his son, "Well?"
Hiei gulped, now a little nervous. He looked to his aunt for some reassurance. She smiled at him encouragingly, and Hikori relaxed a little. He took a deep breath, and said, "It's not Chimera's."
Hiei blinked, "What?"
Yukina thought it would be better if she explained, "Hikori did a little math a few minutes ago. He and Shiroi were captured at the end of October, correct?" Hiei nodded, "Now it's only the middle of June. Shiroi is nine months pregnant, but the time span she and Hikori were gone only adds up to eight months, which means..." She waited to see if Hiei would get the concept without her having to tell him.
Hiei absorbed that information and let it sink in. (Only eight months? That doesn't make any sense, since Shiroi in nine months pregnant. The only way Shiroi could be nine months would be if the child she were carrying wasn't really Chimera's...) He remembered what Hikori had said first. (It's not Chimera's, which means...) His heart raced at the thought. "How can we be sure though?" he asked, wanting it so badly to be true, and half expecting to wake up from a dream.
"The math is all we have," Yukina answered. "But it's true though, it has to be."
"Not unless time passes differently in demon world," Hikori said. "Which I don't think is true."
Hiei closed his eyes, "No, time passes the same way." As the full reality of it all set in, the moment was broken by a knock on the door. Hiei stared at the door, not noticing that the sound had woken Shiroi. He slowly got to his feet, summoning a handful of flames as he rose. He silently made his way to the door, listening as the one outside knocked again. He reached the door, and standing just to the side of it, he used his foot to slide the door open just a crack. He looked through crack, and then extinguished the flames.
"Who is it?" Hikori asked.
"Koenma," Hiei answered as he opened the door. "Yes?"
"Took you long enough to open the door," Koenma said. Hiei ignored Hiei's glare. "I came by with some help. I know that Chimera's still in search of Shiroi, and the demon's level is around the same area that Raimeihi's."
"Must you bring that bastard up?" Hiei asked.
Koenma sighed, "Yes I do. Now, to the help I brought you. I've brought you an extra guard and healer, both of whom you know."
"We do, do we," Hiei said. "The who are they?"
"I will show you the guard first," Koenma answered. "But I will warn you first, this is not a person you would expect to offer you protection."
"I make my own judgments," Hiei said.
"Right," Koenma mumbled, "Well, this is your guard." He stepped aside and a person walked into view.
Hiei reached for a sword he no longer had, Hikori lurched to his feet, and Yukina went to Shiroi, whom had seen who was in the doorway and now was struggling to out from her bed and hide herself in the darkest place she could find. She had good reason to fear, as did everyone else with the reactions they had. Koenma's warning was true, they would not have expected help from this person, nor expected to see him in the living world again.
Standing in the doorway, was Raimeihi.
ooo
(I thought this guy was dead!) Hikori thought. (Both Mom and Dad killed him. Why is he here now?) He noticed Yukina trying to keep Shiroi still as the woman tried to get as far away from the man as she physically could. He went to them, keeping his eyes on Raimeihi. He reached out and took Shiroi's hand, wanting to calm her down.
"Stop!" Koenma shouted. All movement froze. "The only reason I allowed Raimeihi to do this was because of two things. His reason, which I will explain in a minute, and the fact that the healer I brought along is the only person that I know that can truly prevent Raimeihi from doing anything to Shiroi if he chose to." He nodded to an un-seeable person. Raimeihi moved aside and allowed the other person into view. It was Naoru.
"Naoru," Hiei said. He understood Koenma's intent, but he could not trust Raimeihi. "How can we be so sure about him?"
"I'll explain," Koenma answered. He opened his mouth, but suddenly Raimeihi shoved him and Naoru inside the room. He then dodged as a blast of spirit energy came at him.
"Uh-oh," Koenma said as he peered out the door. Yuseke, Kurama, and Kuwabara raced past him weapons out and heading for Raimeihi. "This isn't what I had planned."
"What should we do?" Naoru asked. "If they kill him then everything will be ruined."
"Do you want to go in there and stop them?" Koenma asked her. Naoru glared at him. Koenma sighed and turned to Hiei, "It's your choice Hiei. Should we intervene, or let them kill him?"
Hiei hated making decisions like this so fast. He looked over at Shiroi, whom seemed to have relaxed a little at the sight of Naoru. He then turned to Naoru. She seemed torn, wanting desperately to look at her daughter, but also wanting to help the man she loved. Hiei sighed, "I'll see what I can do." He went outside.
He watched them fight for a moment. Raimeihi had not been injured at all, his powers hadn't changed. He did not wield the long sword, he was virtually weaponless. He wasn't quite sure how to stop them. He took a deep breath, preparing to yell, when suddenly a strong burst of wind came. All fighting in the group stopped, and they all floated several inches off the ground. Hiei whipped around to see Shiroi standing there, her eyes glowing and her hand raised, controlling the wind that held the others restrained.
"Why'd you stop us?" Kuwabara yelled. "And why the hell are you standing?"
Shiroi lowered her hand, and they landed on their feet. Her eyes stopped glowing. "Don't fight him, Koenma will explain." She began to fall to her knees, and Hiei caught her before she made any impact.
"How'd she do that?" Koenma asked as he came out of the room. "One second she was in the room, and the next she's out here."
"She said you would explain Koenma!" Yuseke yelled, "Start talking."
Koenma made a face, "Lets all go inside so everyone can hear this. Shiroi can't stay out here."
ooo Author's Note: Cool, I got another chapter done. I just keep on twisting this thing don't I? Hope I don't twist it to a point where you guys start hating it. I'm just happy to be able to write this thing again. That last bought of writer's block was the worst. Review me and tell me what you think.