Torn Two Ways
What Lies Within
Memories. Sometimes we regret them, sometimes we savor them. In a Forbidden Child's point of view, memories result in haunting nightmares. Their past is filled to the brim with wretchedness, pain, desperation, hatred, and… betrayal.
Forbidden Children love no one, are loved by no one, trust no one, are trusted by no one.
There are only two Forbidden Children in existence.
One… a male.
A crossbreed between a powerful Fire Apparition and the legendary race of the Koorimes, or ice maidens.
The other… a female.
A cross between… an Ice Angel, and the Devil himself. She is the mirror image of the male... except one difference.
Her eyes………Both have unimaginable abilities. And both are loners, drifting along the path of a void humans call life.
Alone they pose vast threats… but together…
They are unstoppable
A young teenager walked through the crowded hallway of a local mall. He was short, but stocky. Packed abs leisurely shone through the thin black shirt he was wearing. His hair was peculiar, spiked like flames. His eyes were the flame itself. Ruby red and filled with defiance, cruelty, and most of all, stubbornness and knowledge. They glimmered underneath a plain white bandanna, wrapped nearly around his forehead. He wore all black, with a scarf like garment tossed around his shoulders. His feet made no noise against the tiled floor, as they were booted in a leathery material.
"Where the hell are those are those bakas!" Hiei hissed under his breath, looking around feverishly as he trotted up the brass staircase presented in the middle of the lower floor.
He spotted a clear bench and smirked, his eyes focusing in on the glazed wood that connected to the metal arm posts. "Oh, well…they can find me for all I care. I'm taking a nap." With that put defiantly, he made his way over to the bench, ignoring the persistent stares of female passerby.
Seconds before Hiei placed himself conveniently on the seat; a large-set football jockey and two grinning pals flopped down, giggling like mad girls.
"…And did you hear what Ray, that geek said to me! She's such a-" The conversation ended abruptly when the jock noticed Hiei's fuming form, glaring up at them. Muttering incoherent syllables to his two friends, the jock laughed haughtily as he got to his feet.
"Oh, did I take your seat little boy?" He cooned as he towered over the short demon, eyes holding a mocking gleam.
"For someone with an I.Q of lower than 20, you sure have a big mouth." Hiei responded coolly; he never backed away from a challenge.
The jockey blushed a bright crimson and lunged for Hiei.
"Why you little-" Hiei rolled his eyes, an irritated air about him. "Baka ningen…" He muttered, and sidestepped the attack, causing the jock to go stumbling past him.
"O-lay…. Big fat bull." Hiei smirked at the jock over his shoulder.
The jock growled in anger, balling his fists in front of his face, and raced at Hiei. "You should be talking, short stuff!" The jock said, throwing his fist at Hiei's cheekbone.
Hiei let off an arrogant sigh and yet again stepped out of the blow's range. Dang… how can he be so fast! Hiei apparently heard this small thought, as he snickered in amusement. "Hn. Or maybe you're just slow?"
The jock's eyes widen at that comment. "How…!" This gave the fire youkai the perfect opening. In a matter of seconds, the jock finds himself flat on his back, heavily bruised and battered.
"Next time, pick your own fights. Size and age doesn't matter, so don't mess with me, baka." Hiei snarls down at the trembling human, eyes narrowed with menace.
"Come on Brad! Let's get out of here!" One of the jock's friends yelled, and Brad jumped up and darted out of the mall after his friends.
Hiei glared at the retreating figures and shook his head with disappointment, "And come to think I almost thought that was going to be amusing." Sighing, he flopped onto the bench, closing his eyes.
Just as he was starting to drift off, a spark went off in his head, and his eyes snapped open. As his ruby orbs darted around the main floor searching for the immense power he was sensing, his eyes locked with another's. The girl was staring straight at him, face blank and emotionless.
Her hair was glossy black, and magnificently long. It was fashioned in a variety of spiked hairstyles. The spikes were too long to stick straight up, so they were pulled back into a long tail that tapered into a tail all the way to her thighs. Two purple dyed locks framed her heart shaped face and serene, almond eyes perfectly. She wore baggy black cargoes, a cut off tank top with a large lip print on the stomach and beaten up black tennis shoes. Her hair was held up against the nape of her neck with a curly red ribbon. Large amounts of chi emanated in spikes from this girl. And surprisingly to Hiei… she seemed vaguely familiar…
"Nene you baka! Give me back my cape!" A young boy yelled, chasing after the girl who clutched at his black cape. "Nope! Come an' get it!" The girl responded over her shoulder…
Hiei rubbed his head as the image flashed across his vision. "Ugh…" He growled, and stood up. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious yell.
"Aye, Hiei! What ya doing here? You were supposed to meet us and the girls an hour ago!" Yusuke exclaimed, a punk fighter from Sarayashiki High, also gifted with Rekai abilities. Hiei sighed and sent the girl a short look of dread before allowing himself to be scolded.
"Are you done yet?" Hiei asked, irritated, after a good thirty minutes of yelling. Yusuke shut his mouth and visibly glared at the short demon. "Aw, if you weren't my friend, I'd pop you one…" Hiei smirked, "I've never considered myself your "friend", so you're free to. Go ahead, I'm in need of amusement." Yusuke lifted his balled fist, but appeared to change his mind and smiled cheerily. "Nah, we need you for the Dark Tournament. And who's this? I never knew you to date, but hey…" Hiei shot a quick glare at Yusuke.
"I'm not dating Hiei. In fact, we only met a few seconds ago." Hiei finally heard the voice of the mysterious girl. Hiei found himself staring at the girl's face, completely lost in thought. He knew her from somewhere… but his memories were fazy, as were all Forbidden Children's… but this was ridiculous. The girl smiled at Yusuke, her whole face lighting up. Her voice sounded like bells… clear and gentle. "My name is Yukimi Noh Daimoru, but you may call me Nene." The name immediately clicked. Another Forbidden Child.
Hiei's eyes widened, and he turned to Nene. "Um, can you excuse us?" Yusuke stared at Hiei, he instantly knew something was up, Hiei was never polite. Yusuke quickly followed Hiei through the crowds of people and to a pillar to the side. "What's up, Hiei?" Hiei grasped Yusuke's shoulder, and turned him so that he could spot Nene out of the corner of his eye. "Look, Detective, she's from my past. That's why she looks exactly like me besides her eyes. She's another Forbidden Child, the only other Forbidden Child in existence!" Yusuke's eyebrows shot up into the depths of his hair. "Really? No wonder… are you related…?" Hiei shook his head no. "Iie. No. But she was a childhood friend… and she's the most rarest of the both of us." Yusuke looked confused, "How so? I mean you're a fire apparition and Koorime, what could be more rare than that?" Hiei snorted, "Try being a cross between an angel and a devil." Yusuke nearly fell over from shock. "I thought that was only from myths! There's actually a demon like that?" Hiei sighed, "Hm… try demoness. And she's standing not fifteen feet from us." The Spirit Detective glanced at Nene, trying not to make himself noticeable. "You mean, that scrawny little thing? She is built up like an athlete, but she's so skinny! Where's her wings? Tail? I've heard that the soul animal is added onto the demonic characteristics when you're an angel! So where's the awesomness of a mere human girl who could envy Keiko for all we know?" Hiei paid a –yeah right-- glance at Yusuke, and turned away from him.
"I don't know. I just know if turned in the wrong direction, she could become our greatest enemy." Yusuke gulped. "I never did like fighting girls…" Hiei rolled his eyes, "You've never fought a girl." Yusuke scratched the back of his head, "Oh, yeah… huh?" If Hiei was more of an expressive guy, he would've shed an anime sweatdrop, but he stayed emotionless and calmly walked back towards Nene.
"Is there a reason you were staring at me?" Nene stated, a crisp tone to her voice. Yusuke shook his hands in front of his face and grinned goofily. "Nah… of course not! It's just that… you look exactly like Hiei!" Her lavender eyes sharpened for a mere second, before becoming blank. "Hiei… that means 'Flying Shadow', doesn't it?" Hiei nodded promptly before starting to walk away.
"Hey! Hiei! What are you doing!" Yusuke called after him as Hiei gained distance from the two of them. "Leaving." He called over his shoulder.
'Detective, try to get her to tell you more about her past… Ask her if she's had any weird experiences, such as lapse of time recognition, things like that. I think she remembers me, but I can't be sure. I'd read her mind, but all Forbidden Children had a promise, a promise that could never be broken, and it was that they would never try to read another Forbidden One's thoughts. If I break that promise, I'll instantly be killed. Not by people though, by guilt.' Yusuke gave an involuntary gasp, causing Nene to shoot him a look of concern. "Are you all right?" He nodded cheekily and held out his hand, "Sorry, I'm Yusuke, Nene." She smiled and nodded, shaking his hand gently. "So, where are you from?" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Mushiyori City, why?" He inwardly cursed. 'Damn! She's on to me!'
"Oh, that's cool. I'm from a place called… er, the Makai." Her eyes widened for only a second. "Oh… I've never heard of it, what's it like there?" A bead of sweat rolls down Yusuke's cheek. He had never seen the Makai, nevertheless been there. "It's, uh, foresty and, um, large and…er, widely populated!"
Nene cocked an eyebrow, "So you're a demon?"
That hit Yusuke hard, and caught him completely off guard.
"You know about the demon race!" He exclaimed, eyes widened with stamina boosted adolescence. She smirked, "Hai. You were trying to get me to tell you all about my past and things like that… I am a telepath you know." She tapped a warded cloth that was wrapped around her forehead, which neither Yusuke or Hiei noticed before, as it was so blended in with her beautiful hair.
Yusuke laughed nervously, "Oh… eh, um, cool…" She smiled, "Oh, you don't have to worry. I will share my past with you. If Hiei is your friend, you must be a good person."
Yusuke was confused, but he shrugged it off as he followed her to a pretzel shop. "All right. What I tell you must never leave this bar." Nene said with ultimate seriousness. Yusuke started fidgeting; feeling anxious on what could be so private.
"Hiei and I…" Nene started, closing her eyes and leaning back on her chair, " Hiei and I were very close friends…we had both been banished from our homelands, and ended up becoming thieves. The Osaki clan was a very vicious gang of thieves. They gave no mercy, and killed with no forgiveness. I was the newbie, alone and afraid, and Hiei had been there for a good three years longer than I had. He pitied me and taught me all he knew, from how to get the best of the daily meal, or where the greatest bathing area was, to how to block a uppercut-side slash combo. We became very good friends, but… then he began to change… he became cold, and was summoned every evening by the thief king. I had seen all sorts of kind smiles from him, but then I only got the cold shoulder. After a while, people began to fear Hiei, for he had become the strongest and agile of the thieves. He even killed our thief king without breaking a sweat. By then, I had become a skilled thief/ fighter, and could survive on my own. Hiei murdered basically half the thieving clan, and they abandoned him as well. I tried to go with him… but he sort of rejected me harshly. I haven't seen him since… we didn't end on a good note…"
Yusuke cocked an eyebrow. "What happened to you?" Nene sighed, "My brother, Akira, was killed, and I lost control of my powers. I wiped out the whole clan, and became one of the most wanted in Makai. After a few years I crossed through into the Ningenkai and bought a apartment in Mushiyori City… and that's where I've been since." Yusuke nodded, "So you were hurt by Hiei's disappearance?" Nene nodded, a distraught look written plainly across her features. "And now that we've met for the first time in six years… I can immediately sense his discomfort around me."
Yusuke laughed, "Oh, he was afraid you'd kill him!" Nene shot him a withering look, and the Detective immediately sensed there was something more between Nene and Hiei. "So…exactly how did you feel about him then?" Nene's head shot up and she stared at him fearfully, "What?" He smirked, "You heard me." She grunted, but gave in. "I'm not sure what he felt towards me, but I… was… madly in love with him. Not because he was awesome at fighting, and vastly feared, but because of those smiles I saw when he was genuinely happy with me. The smiles that revealed his inner self. And he had such a high reputation that I didn't dare try to win his heart." She sighed, looking away sadly. Yusuke snickered, "I doubt he doesn't. You're a great girl, and Hiei would be an idiot not to fall for one such as yourself." Nene smiled, "Thanks Yusuke. You're a good friend… I think I'll try to see what he feels for me first." Yusuke looked thoughtful, "I would suggest going to Kurama for help on that topic… he's the one that can read our fire demon the best…" Nene's eyes narrowed, "Who is this Kurama gal?" Yusuke nearly fell over from laughter, "Gal? Kurama's a guy, Nene." She seemed to take a quick breath of relief before becoming uptight again. "Is Kurama gay?" Yusuke snorted, "Some think he is. But in my perspective, he's as straight as straight comes." She nodded, and slumped back against the chair. "But then again, there is Yukina…" Her eyes snapped open, "Who's Yukina!" Yusuke raised his hands in defense, "His sister. But she doesn't know it, and she's very kind, so don't worry about it." Nene looked thoughtful, "He told me about his sister once…" Yusuke nodded, "He's kept it a secret from her for seven years."
Nene looked surprised, "But why?" Yusuke shrugged, "You'd have to ask Kurama about that one," He said. Nene nodded, "May I meet him?" Yusuke perked up, "'Course! You can also meet Keiko, Shizuru, Kuwabara, Botan… and everyone else!" Nene looked a bit suspicious about all of the female names, but Yusuke winked at her, "Hiei despises all of them, don't worry." She nodded, ignoring the persistent worried feeling in her gut.
"You guys, I'm home!" Yusuke called into the threshold of a large white house. Nene followed nervously, smoothing back her pulled back hair every five seconds. She had changed into a clean white Japanese style dress, with red designs at the sleeves and skirt edges. There was the sound of running, then a chocolate haired teen jumped into Yusuke's arms. "Oh, Yusuke, you're home!" She cried, genuinely happy. At the sight of Nene, her eyes immediately narrowed, and she glanced from Yusuke to her. "Yusuke… who's this?" She asked, her voice layered with irritation. Yusuke snickered, "Oh… just a friend of Hiei's…"
The girl's eyes shot wide open. "Of Hiei's?" Yusuke nodded his head once, and her eyes softened gradually. "Oh, I'm sorry about my rashness, I thought my boyfriend Yusuke here was cheating on me…Come in, come in… what's your name?" Nene's cheeks turned a bit pink, before she began to fiddle with one lavender lock. "Yukimi, but you may call me Nene." The girl's lips formed a smile, "Come and meet the girls, we have lots to talk about…" Yusuke sighed, "Keiko, don't pester her about her er, relationship with Hiei." Nene glared a death penalty at Yusuke, before smiling at Keiko, "All right… arigato."
Keiko shrugged Nene's thanks off, "Aw, don't thank me for it. You're a guest, it's what you deserve." Nene smiled, and followed her upstairs. Yusuke watched, a smug expression on his face.
"So, Keiko, what's going on between you and Yusuke?" Nene asked a little timidly, but there was a hint of teasing in her voice. Keiko turned pink, "Ah, nothing… why? We're only friends you know! I was only kidding about the girlfriend thing." Nene cocked an eyebrow, "So why'd you throw your arms around him screaming his name?" She scoffed at the thought, "Oh that? That was nothing! I did CPR to him when he was hit by a car in 9th grade." Nene's eyes went wide. "Hit by a car…? Just like the Spirit…" "Detective?" Keiko interrupted, and Nene nodded. "Yep. That's him all right. Idiotic guy he was." Nene chuckled slightly as they walked through a door to their right. "This level is only for the girls. The boys live downstairs." Nene's heart skipped a beat, "Even Hiei?" Keiko shot her a mischievous look, "Hai, even Hiei."
A large cry in unison got both girls' attention. Three girls sat on futons surrounding a glass table. "Hello, Keiko-chan!" A sweet looking girl says with a smile. Nene gazed at this girl closely. Ruby eyes…? Why were they so familiar? Her mint blue hair rang no bell… but that smile did. A smile so familiar, she had to conceal a sudden gasp from Keiko.
"Hello Yukina, how are you feeling?" Keiko said kindly, and Nene realized that that was Hiei's sister. The two others, a mature looking teen with shoulder length copper hair and golden eyes, and a perky girl with pinned blue hair and purple eyes, smile greatly at her. "Botan, Yukina, Shizuru this is Nene, a friend of Hiei's." All girls' eyebrows raised, except for Yukina, who just smiled knowingly.
"What did you mean when you asked how Yukina was feeling?" Nene questioned, uncomfortable with all of the attention. "Yukina was wounded by this man, his name was Hayabusa." Nene's stomach tightened, and she paled.
"Nene, are you all right?" All the girls asked, and she nodded, "Hai, but I must go see someone. It was very nice meeting all of you." With a curt nod, she left in a flurry of white flower petals.
At the boy's hallway, Nene looked around with anxiety, "Where is his room?" Nene growled, and sighed. "I guess this causes for some measures…" With that said, she closed her eyes and unbound her chi that was straining to flare around her. She instantly knew all four boys were aware of her presence, and one she knew recognized it and was now drawing further away from her. "Dammit, Hiei. Why do you run!" Nene hissed, showing two small but sharp feline teeth. She peeled back the headband on her head and swiftly ripped away its compartments. There she laid it one the balcony, facing upwards. Two gems were hidden in the sockets, as well as a small vial. She carefully unsnarled a blue gem from the headband, sealed it with a jolt of fire from her fingertip, then placed it back on her head.
Her thumb searched the gem's curves, shining brashly in the dim light. Her thumb hooked on a secret button, and a sharp blade jutted out from one side. A small smirk played across her face, and she almost joyfully leaped out of a nearby window, disappearing into the night sky with a sheer hope of sorting out her one huge fear………………… love.