(Thursday 3-3-05) I wanted to get this posted before I went to Eclipse's house... I started writing chapter seventeen at about 2:05 AM this morning... Teehee...
I discovered this awesome band called Nightwish... I found one of their CDs on BMG music's website... Guess what I'm gonna be buying as soon as I have money... After my birthday... My birthday is March 14th... Less than two weeks! Yay!
Thank you reviewers! 156 reviews at the moment, and I'm not even halfway through posting it! Yays!
Just to let you know, I hate this chapter. I think it's written badly... -sigh- Oh wells... Onward... -sigh...-
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Icky Romance Chapter...
The weeks passed without great amounts of important events. Shadow got home after her detentions in time to take a shower and make dinner (usually ramen) before settling down to watch TV until odd hours of the morning, instead of doing her homework. Eclipse missed an entire week of school because of the weasel attack. Everybody thought she was dead, since the previous Saturday a whole crapload of people had witnessed Hiei beat the shit out of her for losing the soccer game. Kurama... well, come on, this is Kurama we're talking about. Ryu Obake, the prankster, continued hanging around them in all the classes they shared. And Hiei continued beating up Hiroshi Nakada every time the fool started a fight with him or his friends. He needed it.
English was a favorite class of Shadow's. She liked the teacher, and she liked being able to compete with Kurama and the Miller girl. And she also liked tormenting Ayame and a few of Kurama's other fangirls in the class. Wait, no, everyone in the class but her and Eclipse was in one of the wannabe-official Shuuichi Minamino Fan Clubs...
Well anyway, since they were studying the English language, customs and other such stuff, when it came around to that season of Thanksgiving, Black-sensei made sure to inform them all of it. He also had a little activity.
"I would like you all to write something you are thankful for, and why it is important to you. In English. One paragraph, due at the end of class."
Everyone shuffled around for a paper. They still had a half an hour of class left, so it should have been no problem for anyone to finish. Shadow, finishing first in her group of friends, leaned back and watched Kurama write. Then she watched Eclipse write. The second the fox was done, Shadow snatched his paper off his desk.
"Hey!"
"You can read mine." She tossed hers at him and sat back to read his.
I am thankful for a lot of things, so it is hard to choose just one. I suppose what I'm most thankful for is my mother. At this point, Shadow made an 'awwww' noise and Kurama looked up.
"You're such a sweet little mommy's boy," she said, handing him back the paper without finishing it.
"And you're such a sweet little liar," he retorted quietly, grinning.
"Lie? I would never."
"'In all honesty I would have to say that what I am most thankful for is my friends. Without them, I would still be living with my foster parents in the Netherworld, A.K.A. a run-down apartment building on the worst side of an already bad town. However, a couple years ago I met the people I know now and managed to get taken into care by Shuuichi's mother after convincing authorities that my foster parents were abusive. When that didn't quite work out, Hiei invited me to live with him. I'm still living there to this day and very happily too, I might add.' You're full of crap, Shadow."
"At least the first sentence was true!" she said, grinning. Kurama read it again.
"Well I'm glad you appreciate us," he said.
"You know I appreciate you! If I didn't appreciate you guys, why would I be nice to you? You've done a lot for me!"
"Yeah, we have."
"And I'm grateful!"
"Good."
Shadow thought for a second. "I wanna go to gym."
Eclipse rolled her eyes. "I think you're a bit obsessed.
"Surgically attached," Kurama agreed.
"Do I look like I'm surgically attached to anyone?"
"No, you don't. You also look like you're talking while everyone else is working," Black-sensei said from behind them. Shadow's eyes widened a bit and she grinned.
"Gomen," she said. "We're done with our papers, though."
"Why do you want to go down to the gym?"
"Cuz Hiei's down there."
"Ah, yes. Hiei's quite an interesting character, don't you think?"
"Yeah, he's interesting," Kurama agreed, grinning and looking at Shadow. "Especially if you knew him before he met Shadow."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"He was a heartless bastard before he met her. Excuse my language."
"He wasn't entirely heartless," Shadow said defensively. "You guys managed to poke fun at him without being beheaded, so he obviously had something of a heart. But he's like the Grinch who stole Christmas! And he would steal Christmas, too, by the way, if you gave him the chance."
"You know that story?" Black said. Shadow nodded. "Hm."
"What is that story?" Eclipse asked.
"The Grinch lived up in the mountains and hated Christmas, but the people who lived below him loved it and were happy and sang a lot and were very Christmasy people, and he hated them, so he decided that if he stole all their presents and decorations and everything related to Christmas, Christmas wouldn't come, and they would be very sad," Shadow said, nodding. "He was mean. And green."
"That sounds exactly like Hiei. But how is that anything related to having a heart?"
"The Grinch realized Christmas was more than presents and his heart grew three times its normal size and he returned all the presents instead of throwing them over a cliff," Kurama told her dryly. "Shadow meant that when she met Hiei his heart grew."
Black-sensei laughed. "I'm giving the two of you bonus points for that. Just because I'm feeling generous."
"Awesome!" Shadow cheered. She snatched back her 'I am thankful' paper from Kurama and wrote in scribbley letters at the bottom, "I'm also thankful I have a totally awesome English teacher. He gives me bonus points, and my grade goes UP."
Black read it and laughed. "I can only assume you already knew all about Thanksgiving, too. What else do you guys know?"
"The entire English language," Shadow said. "A lot about most of their holidays and some history and... I know a bunch of swear words and insults in a lot of other languages, too. They're framed up on my wall alongside my photos of friends."
Black quirked an eyebrow. "Indeed."
"Yes indeed, sir! As a matter of fact, I was going to celebrate a traditional American Thanksgiving anyway." The man looked at her, seeming impressed.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really! Wasn't I, fox?"
"Oh, yeah, you were."
"You were?" Eclipse asked. Shadow flung her eraser at her friend.
"Yes!"
"Oh! Oh yeah, that's right! Having an eraser slammed into my nose suddenly helped me remember!"
Shadow sighed. However, the bell rang before Black could continue the discussion. The trio left the room, rather oblivious to the venomous glares shot at them by the Miller girl.
Shadow split off from the group to go to her locker, and the second Kurama had turned the corner, it seemed like every girl in the hallway converged on Shadow's locker. She stared at the mob of red-clad fangirls blocking her locker door.
"Move," she said flatly, returning their cold stare, "or die."
"Why don't you wear the school uniform, Jaganshi? Think you're too good for us?"
"Yes. Move."
The leader girl stuttered a bit before another girl spoke up. "We've noticed the way you fawn over Shuuichi! We suggest you leave him alone."
"We? I find it amusing how you act as if you're all a whole. With a collective mind."
"And the way you cling to Jaganshi-sensei. That's disrespectful, and besides, he wouldn't want somebody like you anyway!" another girl spoke up. At this, Shadow stared. Her slack jaw slowly lifted and she smiled, then burst into hysterics.
"Move," she ordered, now grinning. "I gotta get to my locker."
"No. You've got no business hanging on Shuuichi. We've known him longer. We have seniority. And Jaganshi-sensei, too. He's at least ten years older than you. It's just wrong for you to be"
"Yes, well, they're both mine. I'm surprised you even knew a word like 'seniority.' Does it make you feel smart? Because you aren't. Now move your dumb asses out of my way before I knock you all out and stuff you into a locker," Shadow said coldly.
"What do you mean they're both yours! You're just a disobedient, ugly, scrawny little girl!"
"Like you have room to talk! You think you're pretty or something? You have to cake on fifty pounds of make-up just to feel good about yourselves! And what do you mean 'scrawny'? You witches look like you're anorexic! You probably are! You just have to stay skinny in order to impress Shuuichi, don't you? Well let me tell you, I was closer to him the day we met than any of you ever have been or ever will be! And as for Hiei, we aren't even going there! Now GET OUT OF MY WAY," Shadow said. At that precise minute, the bell rang. The other girls scattered, running to their classes. Shadow opened her locker, grabbed her science book, and slammed her locker. She heard some stuff fall inside, but ignored it. Then she calmly walked towards the science room, where awaited her Tayama-sensei's sentencing to Detention of Death.
"WHY ARE YOU LATE?" he shouted the second she walked in the door.
"I was mugged by armed samurai warriors in the hallway. They stole my science book and I had to beat them down to get it back," she told him seriously. Then she added, a bit more cheerfully, "I have their heads in my locker if you'd like me to prove it."
"You have detention! Late for class, attitude with the teacher," he said as he wrote a detention slip. "Report back here after school today. I understand you have to stay every day anyway."
"Yes I do, because I'm a non-conformist," she said, taking the slip he handed her and sticking it in her pocket. She went and sat down. Kurama looked at her curiously.
"Fangirl encounter," she whispered. "First time this year. I'm surprised I went this long without one."
"Talking in class!" Tayama shouted. "I'll find a lot for you to do after school today, Jaganshi!"
"Yes sir," she said derisively. "I look forward to it."
Shadow's mood had not improved by their kokugo class. Sato-sensei cheerfully imformed them their essay for the day was, "What is your best quality?" The girl aggitatedly started her sarcastic response.
"My best quality is my eagerness to please, my decisiveness, my steel trap of a memory, my stunning looks, my amazing energy and go-get-'em attitude, and my abundance of love and acceptance for every pathetic little pion in this world...
Yeah, I think that's it. My best quality is my ability to tell a convincing lie... Either that or my ability to do things no other girl my age can do, for example, convince Shuuichi Minamino to go on a date with me. He'd do that. Do you have any idea how many fangirls he's acquired over the past 3 or 4 years? He's got millions! MILLIONS, I TELL YOU! They swarm around him like flies to a rotting carcass! Or a pile of fresh, steamy manure! It's sickening! However, since Hiei's arrival in Mieou High, their loyalties have been torn. Pity he hates them all... Know what I'd like to do with some of those girls? Put a hot fireplace poker through their eyes! Up their noses! No, it'd be even better to humiliate them... I can think of a few things."
"Miss Jaganshi!" Sato snapped, reading her response. "What is this!"
"My essay," she replied, picking at her pencil eraser with her fingernails. She pulled the entire thing off and looked bemusedly at the metal pencil end, then at the eraser itself, and flung the eraser towards the garbage can at the front of the room. Sort of. She missed intentionally and it went in the teacher's tea cup. (based on my accidental getting of glitter into my art teacher's tea cup... and not telling her... cuz I hate her... She drank it. I watched her.)
"What kind of a response is this? Do you really think like this?"
"When I'm in a bad mood. But thinking of what I could do to those girls with this pencil soothes me a bit," Shadow replied, making motions like she was carving out a pumpkin or something with the metal pencil end. Sato stared in absolute flustered horror.
"Go to the office, young lady! I don't want such violence in my class!"
"Okay. Can I have my essay back as evidence to show Yamashita?"
Sato thrust the paper towards Shadow as she got up. She took it and went to the door, opening it and flashing a grin at Kurama before slipping out into the hall and taking off running. She went to the office.
"Ohayou, Shadow," the secretary said, not seeming very surprised to see her.
"Ohayou. Is the principal in his office?"
"Not at the moment. Did you get in trouble again?"
Shadow handed the secretary her essay. The woman read it over and gave Shadow a "Sha-dow..." look. You know, that exasperated look... Like, 'WHY DID YOU DO THIS?'
"I ran into Shuuichi's fan club. They made me late for science and I have to go to Tayama's room for detention today. He hates me, so I'm sure I'll probably be slaving over something... He'll be standing behind me with a whip, hitting me every time I do something he sees as wrong."
The woman laughed a bit. "I don't think it'll be that bad."
"I'm sure you'll be hearing about it."
The office door opened and in walked Yamashita. He stopped before shutting the door and stared at Shadow.
"Jaganshi," he said dryly.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Yamashita-sensei!" Shadow said politely, bowing. "Sato-sensei got mad at me when I wrote threatening things and she sent me here. I was in a bad mood but my fiery spirit was satisfied when I accomplished my goal of trouble making. Can you reprimand me now?"
"Do you have any other detentions yet today?"
"Yes I do. I have to go to Tayama-sensei's room after school today."
"Then tomorrow you'll be cleaning bathrooms again for disrupting your class." He grabbed a detention slip and filled it out, handing it to Shadow as he walked to his office. She looked at it.
"Hey! This says I'll be cleaning bathrooms for the rest of the month!"
There was no response.
"How unfair," Shadow said. "I kind of like just going to the detention room and sitting there..."
"Well I'm sure the teacher on duty doesn't like that," the secretary said. Shadow shook her head.
"Yamashita knows I'm a little angel. He just leaves me there and comes in to check every twenty minutes. I timed it. He comes in every twenty minutes exactly. To the second."
"Yamashita-san is a very punctual man. He's strict even with himself."
"He's an asshole. Well I'm gonna go back to class now," Shadow said, taking back her essay. "Ja mata, Saki." She darted out the door.
Yes, she is in the office often enough to be on a casual first-name basis with all the secretaries.
She ran back to class, supressing her urge to take a 'wrong turn' and head for the gymnasium. Her cheerful mood was restored and she slid into the room with her hands above her head and did a cartwheel across the front of the room. Everyone stared.
"What are you doing!" Sato snapped. "Didn't you learn something after being sent to the office?"
"I learned that I have to scrub bathrooms for the rest of the month!" Shadow said. "And it doesn't bother me one bit." She skipped back to her seat and sat down.
"Are you going to write a more proper reply to the essay?"
"I rather like mine, actually. Do I have to?"
"You could take a zero."
"Okay. If you're gonna give me a bad grade for creative expression of my feelings, that's not my problem."
"Actually, it is," Sato said angrily. She picked up her mug of tea and started drinking. Suddenly, a disgusted look come over her face and she spit it out in the garbage.
"How's that tea, Sato-sensei?" Shadow asked devilishly, smirking.
"You had something to do with this, didn't you! I'm not in the mood for your behavior, young lady! Go out in the hall and stay there the rest of the period! I want you to write me a page-long apology by the end of class!"
"Rightio," Shadow said, grabbing her books and walking out of the room cheerfully. Everybody stared. Some people hated her (mostly female Shuuichi fans who realized he cared more about this arrogant, selfish bitch than any of them), but others respected her (mostly wannabe troublemakers who looked up to her. And people who thought she was hot).
Shadow sat in the hall and very quickly, in larger-than-normal handwriting, wrote out a sloppy, subliminally insulting apology in about three minutes and pushed it under the door. Then she took off to the gym.
Hiei met her at the door. "You know this isn't the first time you've skipped class. Remember last time?"
"Yes."
"Why do you always pick this class to get in trouble in, anyway?"
"I have detention with Tayama-sensei tonight, and then I'm scrubbing bathrooms for the rest of the month because Yamashita is tired giving me fair punishments. Okay?"
Hiei shrugged. "Whatever."
"So how's your day been?"
"Oh, just peachy."
Shadow peered past Hiei into the gym. "Pardon..." She slipped past him and darted over to Nakada. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What the hell are you doing?" he retorted, looking up from where he had one of the geeky kids in some wrestler's pin.
"Let go of that poor geek before I break your arms off."
"Shadow, it's not your place to break up the fights," Hiei said. She glared, and he smirked. "It's mine. And I'm a lot less lenient. Unfortunately... being a teacher, I'd get a nasty punishment for the punishment I'd like to inflict on him. So, Nakada, let's just put it this way: If you cause any more problems in my class, I swear to whatever Gods exist that I will search you out and hurt you, just for the pure hell of it. And I'm not kidding."
Nakada guffawed arrogantly. "Sure, Hiei. How will you find me?"
"I have my ways."
"You're full of it."
Shadow sighed. "Can I just deck him and save us the trouble?"
"Not now. I'm exercising authority right now," Hiei said with a smirk.
"You're exercising your ability to get yourself in a heap of trouble," Kurama said from behind him. Hiei lost the smirk and narrowed his eyes, but did not turn.
"Man, you're like an asshole magnet, Hiei!" Nakada snapped. "I'm leaving!" He got up and left the gym. Kurama grabbed Hiei's arm and dragged him away.
"You need to cool it, Hiei," he said. "Threatening him like that..."
"I need a break, fox. I hate ningens more than ever since I got this stupid job, and the only thing keeping me from packing up my very few belongings and vanishing back to Makai is that girl!" he snapped, pointing. Instantly, his eyes widened. Kurama smiled.
"Do you know what you just said?"
Hiei swore under his breath. "Forget you heard it."
"I won't mention it to a soul. Now about your anger management issues..."
The class, meanwhile, was trying to listen in on the conversation. Shadow saw the imminent danger of what unpleasant things would happen if the class heard whatever it was the demons were discussing. She put herself between the students and her friends and jumped around until she got their attention.
"Okay, kids! Let's sing a bit to keep our minds occupied! Do you know Jingle Bells? On three! One, two..."
Everybody instantly put their attentions back on Kurama and Hiei.
"Okay, you bastards," Shadow muttered thoughtfully. She jumped up and down screaming until she once again had their attentions. "We're going outside."
"You can't tell us what to do!"
Shadow glared. "Fine." She spun around and walked towards the pair conversing in the corner. Grabbing their sleeves, she dragged them into the boys locker room. The class stared in horror.
"She can't go in there," one boy said.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hiei snarled.
"See?" Kurama said. The fire demon glared.
"I'm not going to you damned ningen anger management."
"If you're going to be dealing with ningens, it's best you do everything like them. Shadow's massages only work so long, you know. Like, until she ticks you off again," Kurama pointed out.
"Me!" Shadow yelped. "Wait, anger management!"
"Ignore him," Hiei snarled.
"You're going," Kurama said.
"There is no way in the seven circles of Hell that I am going to go see some stupid ningen that has no more than a piece of paper saying they know what they're doing! Shadow's probably more educated than they are, and she's sixteen!"
"And a half," the girl added.
"I know how you feel, Hiei, but you can't keep threatening people. They could report you."
"I don't care, Kurama, don't you get it!"
"Yes. I understand it completely. But a certain girl does care, I believe, and you don't want to upset her, do you? That's why you got the job in the first place, isn't it?"
Hiei looked at Shadow's pleading face and Kurama smiled at the change only a trained eye would see.
"You'll go then?"
Hiei sighed, looking at his friend. "Once. Ningens can't help demons, though, you know that."
"Try it out. I'm not going to force you to go more than once. I'll set up the appointment."
After a second, Hiei blinked and looked at Shadow. "What the hell are you doing in the boy's locker room!"
"Convincing you to go to anger management, dear."
Hiei glared. "I don't like you, Shadow."
"What!" Tears welled up in her ruby red eyes. "All this time you've been lying to me!"
Meanwhile, out in the gym, only a small group of people were still holding any hope of the trio coming out of the room. Everybody else had adopted one boy's suggestion that they'd gone in there to have a threesome, and had gone off to play basketball.
Back in the locker room, Shadow was bawling fakely against Kurama and refusing to acknowledge Hiei.
"Come on, Shadow, I know you're not serious and you know I wasn't serious. Eclipse is going to be angry if she finds out you were hanging off Kurama like that."
"What!" Kurama yelped. Shadow stopped her fake bawling and looked at the redhead.
"You are in a relationship with her, aren't you?"
Kurama moved his mouth soundlessly, then replied, "Not exactly."
"But it fits! You two are the only ones single!"
"Wait, since when are we officially a couple!" Hiei said. "I know that's what you're implying by that, Shadow, and I didn't exactly agree to it."
"Of course you did, Hiei," she replied simply.
Kurama grinned at the annoyed look on his friend's face. "No need to hide it, Hiei. Everybody knows you have feelings for her."
"Hn."
"Don't revert back to your monosyllables, Hiei!" Shadow snapped.
"Leave me alone, woman! I already agreed to your stupid ningen anger management. I can speak in monosyllables if I want to."
"Whatever, we'll discuss it later. Back to you, Kurama, and your relationship with Eclipse."
"I don't have a relationship with Eclipse!"
"She'll be most displeased when I tell her that," Shadow said. She nodded and kissed Hiei's cheek before opening the door and walking casually out of the boy's locker room of Mieou High like it was nothing unusual. The class stared. It wasn't until she'd reached the door that she realized they were staring and turned.
"Can I help you fellows with something?"
"What the hell were you doing in the locker room?"
"Yeah, and where's Jaganshi-sensei?"
"And Minamino!"
"Yeah, really!"
Shadow groaned. "Damned immature high school boys... CAN'T FRIENDS HAVE A CIVILIZED CONVERSATION WITHOUT PEOPLE THINKING LEWD THINGS ABOUT IT! OBSCENE, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE! YOU'RE ALL SO IMMATURE!" She left.
"She sure told you, didn't she?" Hiei said, stepping out of the locker room with Kurama shortly behind him. "Keep your perverted minds to yourselves." He turned on Kurama. "And you, fox, should get back to class. What the hell are you doing down here anyway?"
"Sato-sensei sent me to find Shadow. I knew exactly where she'd be, but Sato doesn't know that. The time spent down here could just as easily have been time spent searching the halls for the elusive Mrs. Jaganshi. Ja mata." He walked away. It took Hiei a second to realize Shadow had just been called 'Mrs. Jaganshi' by the fox, and he knew exactly what that meant.
"HEY, YOU STUPID BOY!" Hiei yelled, tearing out the door before it had even closed behind Kurama. The class stared. In the hall, Kurama spun to fend against Hiei, a smile on his face. "Where do you get off calling her 'Mrs. Jaganshi'! Jaganshi isn't even a real name! It's just a title she has no right to bear, and technically doesn't, and she is not married to me, and we are not going to get married, or bonded in any way, and we are not going to mate, we have not mated, and I have no plans of mating with her! I wish you people would just drop your stupid hints right out the window, because I'm sick of you dropping them on me!"
Kurama snorted, highly amused, but quickly covered it up when Hiei glared. "Sorry, that just sounded really funny."
"I don't care."
"But Hiei, you can't get angry about it. You practically admitted you love her"
"I do not and I didn't."
"and denying it now will not make me forget it. I don't hold anything against you, you know. You might see it as your getting soft, but I think it's a step in the right direction for you. You need somebody to be close to."
"Shut the fuck up. If I wanted to be close to somebody, I would have found somebody a long time ago. There were certainly plenty willing to let me."
Kurama chuckled. "But they didn't manage. Shadow penetrated the defenses you've put around your heart."
Hiei clenched his teeth. "You know," he started, grabbing the front of Kurama's uniform and dragging him down to his level, "I would like to pummel you, fox." He let go. "The hallway outside a high school gymnasium is no place for the conversation we're havingif there is a place for it, which I don't think there isand if I wanted to hear about some half-ningen girl 'penetrating my heart' or whatever the fuck you said, I would just have to hang around Yusuke and the baka. They'd say the same thing in a much less poetic and much more comprehensible manner, and I'd find it far more easy to break their faces than yours."
Kurama had kept an unusual grin on his face the entire time, and it was starting to get on Hiei's nerves. He rather abruptly realized it reminded him of Yusuke.
"I think it's cute," the redhead said finally. "There's nothing wrong with it. Now if you don't mind, I have to return to my class."
"I hate you, Kurama. I really do," Hiei growled. Kurama just grinned over his shoulder and strolled down the hall. The fire demon watched him until he turned out of sight, then went back into the gym. Still so much time in class left, and he really didn't want to deal with these ningens at this moment. He went in the locker room and into his office, sat down, and put his head down on his arms on the desk. If the kids wanted to get into some big everyone-for-himself brawl, more power to 'em. They couldn't get into trouble once they were unconscious.
He ignored it when they all came in and changed, and he didn't move when the bell rang. Only when somebody came in after the late bell and stood in front of his desk for five minutes straight in total silence did he look up. It didn't startle him in the least to find Shadow standing in front of his desk, Kurama in the doorway, and Eclipse wandering around the locker room attempting to open the locks.
"Kurama says you're pissed at him," Shadow said plainly. No hello. No "are you okay?" Straight to the point. Nice.
"So?"
"He wouldn't tell me what he did, but when you weren't in the cafeteria, he admitted you'd seemed pretty mad at him."
"Oh. So he neglected to tell you what he did."
"Yes. But if you're pissed, he'll apologize."
Hiei gave the redhead a look that plainly said, "Well you heard her. I'm pissed. Apologize, bastard."
"I'm sorry, Hiei. I was just kidding."
"Better now?" Shadow asked.
"Not really, but it'll have to do."
"So what'd he do?"
"He can tell you."
"I was teasing him about you," Kurama admitted. "Well, about his feelings for you, and how well he's hiding them."
"That'd be 'not very well'!" Eclipse called from somewhere across the room.
"WHO ASKED YOU!"
"Nobody!"
"Exactly..."
"Okay, Kurama... So you know he's sensitive about emotions and yet you tease him about them anyway? You could damage his self-confidence, you know. I've been working at making him comfortable with his emotions and you could ruin all the work I've put into it! Hiei's really a very sensitive person," Shadow said, hugging Hiei close to her. "He's just afraid to show emotions for fear of rejection. Poor little guy's been rejected all his life... Don't you feel bad for him?"
"No!" Eclipse shouted.
"Eclipse!" Kurama reprimanded.
"Sorry!"
"Yes, I feel bad for him," the redhead said.
"I don't need your pity, fox," Hiei said. "I don't need yours, either, Shadow. And I'm not afraid to show emotions."
"You don't need my pity but you secretly want it, and you are afraid to show emotions. Don't try to fool me, Hiei, I see past your tough-guy exterior to the timid sweetheart within."
Hiei groaned. "Cut me a break, I'm not that soft. You make me sound like a little boy with a crush who doesn't know what to do. I know what to do, Shadow. I know perfectly well. It's just doing it that I refuse."
"Because...?"
"Are we turning this into a counseling session?" he asked. "Because I'm not in the mood, and this is not the place."
"Very well. What do you want for dinner tonight?" the girl asked, rather abrputly changing the subject.
"I don't know," Hiei sighed.
"Anything. I feel like making you something special."
"Why, because I'm a timid little boy who doesn't know what to do with his emotions so you'll fix me up a nice hot meal to help me forget?"
"No, because you're my friend and I owe you after Kurama pissed you off. Me apologizing for him."
"Don't apologize for me, Shadow, I can do that on my own," Kurama insisted.
"Shut up," she snapped. "Hiei's going through emotional trauma right now, can't you see? He has to be alone with me to sort out his feelings!"
"I think he's already got them pretty well sorted," Eclipse said, suddenly in the doorway next to Kurama. He jumped, Hiei glared, and Shadow stuck out her tongue.
"Why don't you go home and contemplate your feelings for the sexy fox, Eclipse. Leave me alone to contemplate my feelings for the sexy fire demon. Leave the sexy fire demon alone to contemplate his feelings for little ordinary boring and plain me, who is oh-so-pathetic and unworthy of his love."
"Shut up, Shadow," Hiei said. She stuck out her bottom lip in a pouty childlike way.
"Fine. Be that way," she said, finally letting go of him and stepping back.
"I just realized Shadow had her arms around him and he wasn't resisting it," Eclipse said. "What does that tell you?"
"That Hiei's cold and needed her warmth to keep from shivering," Kurama said. "Or at least, that's what he'll tell anyone who asks."
"Hiiiiiei, why didn't you push Shadow away when she engaged you in that emotional gesture?" Eclipse asked.
"Shut the fuck up, Eclipse."
"Or he could always say that..." Kurama muttered.
"Whatever floats your boat, kiddo," Eclipse said. She patted Hiei on the head like a dog and returned to her attempts of opening one of the many lockers.
"So let's go back over what we've learned here today," Shadow said. "Kurama and Eclipse have feelings for each other. They want to make mad passionate love in a janitor's closet. Eclipse wants to marry Kurama and bear his weirdo children."
"Replace those names with Hiei and Shadow and you're good to go," Eclipse said, flinging a lock at Shadow.
"But seriously, Kurama, you've been harassing Hiei about his feelings for me, now what did you learn from it? Did anyone benefit in any way?"
"We all benefitted. Hiei now knows that I think his relationship with you is perfectly fine. I now know that he's in major denial, but you realize that and are willing to help him past it, if you haven't already and it's not just a front. I suspect it is all just a front and he's really a very tender, caring person towards you when nobody's around."
"Well here's what I learned: Hiei doesn't need anger management, he needs RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING!" Eclipse said. She danced away before Hiei could tear her limb from limb.
"And I learned that whatever Hiei needs, he can get it from me. Take that however you like," Shadow said. "He knew that already, though."
"I learned that I hate every single last one of you, even Yusuke and Kuwabara, and I would much enjoy torturing you all to death. I would laugh," Hiei told them coldly. Shadow looked at him sadly.
"Even me? You'd kill me?"
"Hn."
"ANSWER ME WITH A YES OR A NO!"
"No, Shadow. I'll show favoritism and instead of torturing you physically I'll torture you sexually by refusing to fulfill your desires," Hiei retorted finally. Shadow blinked.
"Well I didn't see that coming..."
"And you'll eventually go mad and rape me," the fire demon said. "So in the end I would probably suffer most from it."
"I would never make you suffer, Hiei. I wouldn't rape you."
"You would if I kept you in the basement for years and taunted you and refused to give you what you begged for."
"Well, maybe, because I'd be driven mad."
"That's what I said."
"So you'd have Eclipse, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara tied up some place and you'd be whipping them and laughing at their pain, then when you were tired of hearing screams of pain and seeing blood, you'd..."
"Leave them hanging, come to you, and listen to your pleading screams of pleasure while"
"DUDE!" Eclipse snapped. "You are SICK! Fox! What the fuck were you saying about him not expressing himself or whatever! You're delusional! And you're sick! That's disgusting! You'd tie her up in the basement and make her your sex slave! You'd play creepy kinky bondage games and stuff, like with handcuffs? Would she be naked all the time? What would you feed her? How would you keep anyone from finding out!"
Hiei looked at the horrified girl, snorted back laughter, then buried his face against Shadow's shoulder and laughed hysterically. The black-haired girl joined him, her arms around him as she leaned on him helplessly. They laughed about everything that had happened since the second Kurama had entered the gymnasium in search of Shadow. It had taken a while, but the comedy of the situation finally sank in and they laughed until their eyes watered and they were kneeling on the floor in helpless fits, their diaphragms seizing up and no breath reaching their lungs.
"I don't get what's so funny," Kurama muttered. Eclipse blinked.
"Me neither. Think they're on something?"
"They're high on love."
Shadow slid onto her side and lay on the floor, her smile-muscles twitching as she gasped for breath, Hiei laid out across her looking equally as hysterical.
"I'm high..." Shadow panted, hiccupping, "on Freaky Makai Plants."
Hiei blinked, also hiccupped, then dragged himself to his feet with the corner of his desk. "I'm not high on anything." He hiccupped. Shadow looked at him, then snorted and burst into hysterical laughter again.
"What now?" Kurama asked.
"He looks so funny" Hic. "when he hiccups!"
"She's gonna need a hall pass, Hiei. She'll be late to math, no doubt, at this rate. I'm gonna go get some lunch while I still can. Sorry to have teased you." Kurama waved. "Don't do anything you shouldn't in here."
"Yeah. No sex slave things," Eclipse said, then hurried after Kurama as if she were afraid to be left alone near the couple for too long.
Shadow sat up and leaned against the wall, a genuinely joyful smile on her face. Hiei looked down at her, also smiling, but less widely. She patted the floor next to her.
"Come sit."
Hiei obeyed.
"Now, about dinner. I honestly want to make you something nice, Hiei. I promise I won't bail out on it like last time."
"Even though you've got a detention with Tayama?"
"I don't cHow'd you know?"
"A little bird told me?"
Shadow shrugged. "Whatever. If you don't tell me what you want, I'll make something and probably overwork myself. Then I won't move for the rest of the day."
"If that's what you want."
Shadow sighed. "Fine." She leaned over and hugged Hiei. "Y'know, I'm rather tired of school at this point. I just want to go home and curl up in bed..."
"Skip detention. I'll make an excuse for you."
"Would you? I would love you forever."
Hiei chuckled. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you!" She kissed his cheek.
"No problem." He stood. "C'mon. Locker Room Counseling is closed for the day."
Health class drove Shadow out of her mind. Eclipse kept shooting her looks that said, "You and Hiei would enjoy doing that, wouldn't you?" After about three times, Shadow waited until Etsuko-sensei said something very lewd before hissing, "Gee, Eclipse, sounds like fun. Why don't you and Kurama try it out and tell me how it goes. If it's worthwhile, tell me. I'd just love to try it out during my next feral sex session with Hiei."
Eclipse didn't shoot her any more suggestive looks. As a matter of fact, she was so disgusted, she didn't look at Shadow at all for the rest of the day. The fire demon girl wore a smirk as they walked into the gym.
Hiei was in plain view. He'd grown tired of waiting for his pathetic excuses for students to find him in his various perches around the gym after about a week. Shadow instantly went to him.
"Did you get me out of detention?"
"I got you out of Tayama's detention," he said.
"I don't like how you word that."
"Now you have detention with me. You'll serve Tayama's on Monday."
"Monday?"
"Well, you were such a disobedient child today, Shadow, that I have to have you clean the entire gymnasium and both locker rooms. That'll take a while, you know."
"Oh. Yes, of course."
"Even the ceiling."
"Yes."
"The basketball hoops."
"Naturally."
"The doorknobs and the hinges."
"Wouldn't dream of leaving those out."
"Then afterwards you can go home and sleep. I'll make dinner."
Shadow blinked. "You'll burn down the kitchen."
"Nonsense."
The girl didn't argue further. The class was coming in, and she didn't want to be overheard.
"We'll discuss it later."
"There is no discussion, Shadow. Now you're excused from activities today due to your injury. You'd damn well better heal quickly, 'cause you've got a gymnasium to scrub."
"Yes sir," Shadow replied, limping away. Kurama stared as she went over and plopped down in the corner.
"What was that all about?" he hissed to Hiei.
"She's suffering overload. She can live with it, but it's a lot easier for her to just get some time to relax, or not only will she need anger management, she'll need a lawyer and somebody to break her out of prison. That'd be you, Kurama."
"Why me!"
Hiei clapped his hands once as the late bell rang. "You've got free time today. I have some things I need to attend to." He went over to Shadow and sat next to her.
"I'm a thing now?"
"No, I just need to discuss some things with you and that's what I'd be attending to."
"I see."
Needless to say, Shadow didn't really scrub the gymnasium after school. After the last bell, after the school had settled down and everyone was gone, Shadow turned to Hiei.
"So what'd I do?" she asked.
"What?"
"To have such a terrible detention."
"Oh. You were threatening me."
"Threatening! I would never."
"I'm sure."
Shadow leaned against Hiei. "Wake me up when it's time to go."
"Right." He put his arm around her. She was shortly asleep. And about half an hour later, Yamashita entered the gym.
"What the hell is going on here!" he yelled. Hiei opened one eye and looked up at the man.
"She's not feeling well."
"Doesn't she have detention?"
"Yes. But she's not feeling well. And as far as I know, if you force her to do anything when she's not fit, it could be considered child abuse. It isn't against child labour laws, is it?"
"She's not a child!"
"She's sixteen. Adults are eighteen. Fuck off."
Yamashita glared. "I could fire you, Jaganshi."
"Nope. I'm off work."
The man fumed. "This is inexcuseable!" He stormed off. Hiei blinked.
"Well... Get up, Shadow," he said, jabbing her in the ribs. She grunted and wrapped her arms around him, refusing to wake up. With a sigh, he lifted her in his arms and carried her out the nearest door. Taking off running, he was home in no time. He stopped in front of the porch steps and blinked.
"What're you doing here!"
Ryu was sitting on the porch. He jumped. "Where'd you come from! You just appear like that all the time!"
"What are you doing here, Ryu?"
"Oh. Right." He looked at Hiei, then at Shadow. "Is this like, a bad time? What's with her?"
"She's asleep. Now if you don't answer me"
"Right, sorry. My parents majorly ticked me off and I was wondering if I could stay here for a while. Like, over night?" He grinned sheepishly, looking hopeful.
"Uh..." DAMN NINGENS! I HATE YOU ALL! "Your parents won't care?"
"No. They wouldn't care if I died."
"Do they even know where you are?"
"No, but they don't care, like I said."
Hiei sighed, walking up on the porch and pulling the house key out of his pocket, in the process practically dropping the girl in his arms, and opened the door. "Fine."
"Thanks, man. Really."
Hiei scooped Shadow up again and led the way inside. "Why'd you come here of all places?"
"I don't know. I just grabbed my bag and left the house, and next thing I knew, I was here. I wasn't even sure where 'here' was for a while."
"...Okay..." Weirdo.
"Then I remembered it. I don't know why I would have come here. I usually go to my sister's house when my parents bitch at me."
"Mm-hm," Hiei said, putting Shadow on the couch.
"Maybe I was drawn by some secret force within my soul."
Hiei snorted. "I doubt it, kid."
"Do you believe in all that? Souls and afterlife and all that?"
"You have no idea," the fire demon said. "If I didn't after what's happened to me, I'd be one stupid son of a bitch."
"Why? What's happened to you?"
"Near death experiences past counting." And I'm a demon, with a third eye and the ability to summon a dragon up from Hell. I've met the son of the God of Death, my friend is a silver kitsune spirit, and the girl laying on the couch is the product of a demon going soft and getting involved with ningens.
"Really? What happened?"
"I told you I'm a martial artist, right?"
"Yeah."
"I fought in tournaments."
"And you almost died?"
"Could have, a couple times. And I had issues as a child."
Shadow made a whimpery noise, yawned, and opened one eye. "Who're you talking to?"
"Your friend Ryu decided to drop by and spend the night," Hiei replied. The girl blinked, then looked across the room.
"Oh. Hey Ryu. Hiei, why am I home?"
"Yamashita got really pissed, said it was inexcuseable, and left, so I brought you home. You wouldn't wake up. I had to carry you."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Forget it."
"What about dinner?"
Hiei looked at Ryu. Shadow followed his gaze. Ryu wilted.
"I'm an inconvenience, aren't I."
"Not at all," Shadow said, getting up. "I've fixed dinner for ten people before, I can fix it for three." She planted a kiss on Hiei's cheek before going over the back of the couch and leaving the room.
"So... You two aren't together?"
"No," Hiei said, "we aren't."
"Are you sure? Because..."
"I'm sure."
"What exactly is your relationship again?"
"Friends."
"Ah... So... Where did you say you lived before coming here?"
Hiei thought for a second. Had he ever said? "It's not important."
"Oh-kay..." He paused. "Can you do a cool fighting demonstration? Like, with Shadow? Sparring or something? A real fight?"
"I would kill her in a real fight," Hiei said. I could, but I wouldn't. He mentally hit himself.
"Well, I mean, like..."
"I know what you mean. Maybe. If she's willing." You'd do some other stuff if she was willing, too, wouldn't you? If you had the balls to do it. "Excuse me. Stay here." He turned and went into the kitchen. Shadow looked up at him from where she was sitting on the floor in front of a cabinet.
"Hello. Something wrong?"
"Y'know what we were discussing today? Or rather, what Kurama was talking about?"
"Us loving each other? Yes."
"Well, I think we need to discuss that at a more appropriate time. Not now. But soon."
Shadow blinked. "Why?"
"Never mind. We'll discuss it later. Tomorrow."
"Okay... Are you feeling all right?"
"Not really."
"Go rest."
"I'm fine."
"You just said you weren't!"
"I lied."
"Shut up. Go to bed."
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "What about Ryu?"
"Who cares."
"You're very hospitable, Shadow," Eclipse said, appearing out of nowhere next to Hiei. He jumped.
"Jesus Christ, Eclipse!"
"Watch your language, Hiei."
"I'm not Christian, it's not bad."
"GO TO BED, HIEI!" Shadow shouted. "I'll drag you up there and tie you down if you don't."
"Oooh, sounds kinky," Eclipse said. Hiei glared.
"You're sick. I'm leaving." He wasn't kidding, either. He pushed past Eclipse and left the house. Shadow blinked as the front door slammed.
"Good one. Hiei's having some issues. I'm worried," Shadow said.
"Don't worry about him. He's just in love and doesn't know how to deal with it."
"What do you know about love!"
"More than you might think I do!"
"I'm sure you only know what Kurama has taught you," Shadow snapped. She got up and went after Hiei.
"Okay, now I'm worried," Eclipse said to nobody.
"Why?" Ryu asked.
"Hiei's being emotional. Maybe..." She blinked. "Wait, what the fuck are you doing here!"
Shadow darted out on the porch just as the small silhouette of her friend vanished into the forest. She ran after him and caught up easily. But she didn't touch him or speak to him. She followed a few steps behind him, matching his pace, staying silent. He knew she was there and if he felt like talking, he would. In the meantime, Shadow just wanted him to know she was there.
They walked for ten minutes before Shadow realized she knew where they were headed. Hiei was leading her to a pond in the forest. It was a very tranquil place, everything was pleasant there and nothing was wrong. She'd found him there several times, usually asleep. It was like an oasis in the desert.
"What about Eclipse?"
Shadow was startled. "What? Oh, just leaving her there like that?"
"Yeah."
"I don't care. She and Ryu can play poker or something."
Unseen to Shadow, Hiei smiled. "Thank you, Shadow."
The small smile was evident in his soft tone. "It's nothing."
They finished the trip in silence. Reaching the pond, Hiei stood on the shore and stared at the water. Shadow hung back, but he could see her reflection in the water.
"Relax, Shadow," he said. "I'm not about to explode or anything." There was a pause. "I know they were just teasing, but it made me think. About us."
"Is there an 'us,' Hiei?"
"I don't know." He turned to face her. "Do you want that?"
"Should I?"
"I am a Forbidden Child, Shadow."
"I don't care about that."
"You might not, but others do. They want me dead just because it was a sin for me to be born. They don't care what kind of life I've made for myself." A pause. "And besides, a Forbidden Child is not supposed to be loved, and he is not supposed to feel love towards others. He's useless."
"That's stupid. Who would believe that?"
"I did, for a large part of my life."
Shadow shut her mouth, eyes widening a bit. "Oops."
"I know better now, though. You've all changed me. Kurama was the first to show any sort of concern for my well-being. Yusuke and Kuwabara, Yukinaeveryone important in my lifethey all cared. But it wasn't love. And I did not love them. At least..." He looked down and his voice softened, "Not how I love you."
The girl stared, wide-eyed and totally speechless. That had to have been difficult for him. No wonder he'd been so stressed and acting all weird, with that stuff going through his mind.
"And you have nothing to say to that?" he said, looking a bit upset. Shadow shook off the paralysis and went to him, embracing him lovingly.
"I love you too. I have for quite some time. I don't know why I never told you."
He relaxed against her. His mind and emotions were already settling. She hadn't turned him away. For a fleeting second, when she hadn't responded, he'd thought he'd made a big mistake admitting how he felt for her. Perhaps she didn't feel the same way? He didn't think he'd react too well to being betrayed again. That's why he had stayed quiet for so long. That, and denial.
Now he knew that was foolish. She wouldn't reject him. It was stupid of him to even have thought that she might. He felt warm and loved in her arms, and it was something he had never felt before. Never like this. They'd slept in the same bed, in each others arms, but it had never felt like this. This was a very nice feeling.
Abruptly, he realized Shadow was trembling.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently, pulling back to look at her face. She looked on the verge of tears. His eyes widened. "Shadow?"
"I love you, Hiei. I'm happy. I think a part of me believed my feelings were some silly teenage crush, that maybe I'd get over it, because it wasn't like you'd ever return the emotions anyway... You have no idea how I feel right now."
"I'm not even sure how I feel. How could I know the first thing about you?"
Shadow put her arms around him again. "Hold me," she whispered. He put his arms around her and held her close.
This is all so sudden... Why the hell did my emotions pick today of all days to jump up and bite my ass? Hiei thought. It's okay, though. I'm happy they finally decided to. If it had been up to me, I would have been a dumbass and let this girl slip out of my reach...
I can't believe this. It was out of no where. If somebody had told me yesterday that I'd be here in his arms today like this, I would have laughed, Shadow mused, a whisper of a smile on her face. I'm glad he came forward, no matter how abrupt it was. She hugged him tighter.
Eventually, they parted, and Hiei sat on the edge of the clear pond, idly skipping stones across its still surface. Shadow sat next to him. They didn't need words. Both sat in silence, basking in the warm feelings that were new to them. Not long after, the girl fell asleep, her head resting on Hiei's leg. Hiei looked at her fondly, readjusting himself and laying down next to her.
That's how Kurama found them the next morning.
Eclipse woke up early, before dawn. She found herself showered, dressed, and pacing through the halls looking in every room of the house only half an hour later. When she'd gone through every room, discovered several interesting things she wished she hadn't, and found no sign of the fire demons who had left so abruptly the previous night, she went to the phone and called Kurama's cell phone to keep from waking his mother.
"What?" came the fox's groggy voice after several rings.
"Kurama, I'm worried."
"Eclipse?"
"I ticked off Hiei last night and he left, and Shadow went after him, and they didn't come back yet."
"What?"
"I don't know where they are."
"Mm-hm... How am I supposed to help?"
"Could you use your ki searchy things and whatever?"
The boy mouthed the words 'ki searchy things,' looking confused. "What the hell are you talking about, Eclipse?"
"HIEI AND SHADOW VANISHED AND THEY AREN'T BACK AND I'M WORRIED!"
"I got that much... Do you have any idea where they could be?"
"I think I saw Shadow go in the woods but who knows where they went after that... Could you just come over here? D'you think something might have happened?"
"What did you do to tick him off?"
"That doesn't matter!"
"Were you picking on them again?"
"Maybe..."
Kurama sighed, dragging himself out of bed, grabbing a clean uniform, and heading for the bathroom. "I'll be there in a little bit." He hung up without another word and got in the shower.
Eclipse hung up the phone and, for lack of anything better to do, checked every room again (except the ones she'd marked as having frightening things in them). Of course, her search was no more fruitful this time than the first, because we all know the fire demons were lying in the forest sleeping and therefore were not in any room of the house.
Kurama's car pulled up outside in under half an hour, and he got out, closed the door, and was instantly pinned to his car by a sobbing Eclipse.
"I BET THEY'RE DEAD AND IT'S MY FAULT!"
"They're not dead, Eclipse. But you will be if you ever call my house this early again to make me come out here and find some people who are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, purely for your peace of mind."
She backed off instantly. "But what if they're dead!"
"They aren't dead."
'Shuuichi, I think I'm more fit for search and rescue than you are, don't you?' Youko said in the back of his head. Kurama rolled his eyes.
'Whatever will get it done faster. Can I sleep?'
'Of course you can, Shuuichi.'
Youko pushed past the boy's defenses as he let them down, and Eclipse let out a screech and jumped back as the fox emerged. He looked around, reverted to his canine form, and darted into the forest, vanishing in the early morning mist.
He knew Hiei well enough that he could guess all the places the fire demon typically hung out. But Shadow was with him, and taking that into consideration, he narrowed their location down to one of three places in this quadrant of the forest. He just happened to check the right one first.
He knew he was right before he could even see into the clearing. Their unmistakeable scents mingled in the air ahead, and he stepped into the clearing as a humanoid. Sure enough, the two black-haired demons lay close to each other on the soft grass. Actually, close was an understatement. They were so close, Youko thought, that they could have been one person instead of two.
It only took Hiei a second to sense that they were no longer alone. His eyes flickered open and he groaned when he saw who it was.
"Let me guess," the fox started with dry sarcasm. "The birds ate your breadcrumbs?"
"What do you want?"
"Eclipse thinks you went and died. What happened here last night, Hiei?"
"Nothing."
"I know when you're lying."
"Nothing that concerns you, and that's not a lie."
Youko glared. True enough.
Shadow's eyes opened and she first looked at Hiei, then up at Youko. "What's the fox doing here?"
"Search and rescue, keeping Eclipse from hysterics," Youko replied. He sniffed the air and relaxed a little bit. Hiei sighed. Damned fox.
"We didn't do anything, Youko," he said. "Get lost."
"Don't you have a job to go to today?"
"Oh, cut me a break."
"What time is it?" Shadow asked, staring up at the stars.
"Very... very early," the fox growled, and both Hiei and Shadow could guess that Eclipse had probably woken Shuuichi up at home with a hysterical phone call.
Hiei sighed and sat up. Shadow followed suit, yawned, then stood.
"Did you have to look for long?" she asked.
"I came straight here," the fox replied. "You guys could have at least found a less obvious place to hide out."
"We weren't hiding from anything, fox," Hiei said bitterly. "Couldn't you have wandered around a bit more before waking us up?"
"Nope. I had to confirm something."
"That we weren't having sex?"
"Come on, Hiei. You can't blame me. I knew you were in the forest, and according to Eclipse, you were in a bad mood when you left. Shadow went after you to console you, I assume, and you don't come back."
"It is kinda suspicious, Hiei," Shadow said, grinning. "You can't deny it, with what he knew and how we act together all the time."
"How you act," Hiei amended.
"Anyway, lovebirds," the fox said in a raised voice. They both rounded on him, glaring.
"Lovebirds?"
"Thought so..."
"Huh?" Shadow said cluelessly.
"Don't worry, I won't tell if you don't."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play innocent. You're a couple now. Before, Shadow was too immature to embrace love and Hiei was... well, you get the picture. He's Hiei. But the way people were taunting you guys yesterday"
"People meaning your little girlfriend and you," Hiei muttered.
"It wasn't me, it was Shuuichi, and Eclipse is most definitely not my girlfriend. But that's not the point. You both finally decided to get over being pansies about your emotions... though really, Hiei... Out of hundreds of more suitable, beneficial possibilities, you pick Shadow?"
"Hey, shut the fuck up, fox," Hiei snapped. Youko sighed.
"I guess love truly is the most powerful force in the universe."
Shadow snorted. "No, that's me, Youko. And you are just jealous."
"I don't get jealous. I get what I want. And if I truly wanted you, I'd have taken you long ago."
"Except Hiei and Shuuichi wouldn't let you," she retorted. The fox narrowed his eyes.
"You know you have no official binding to Hiei until he marks you."
"Shut up while you're ahead, Youko," Hiei said. Shadow looked at Hiei with a thoughtful look on her face, then to Youko.
"Maybe you weren't after me. Maybe you were after HIEI!"
The fire demon's eyes widened and he looked with horror at Shadow. Then he saw a grin on her face and the bright humor in her eyes and he relaxed. She was kidding.
Youko, however, seemed a bit more pissed. "I want nothing to do with that little"
"She's joking, stupid," Hiei snapped. "Stop before you say something you'll regret."
Youko snorted, then turned. "I'm leaving," he said over his shoulder. "You can stay here and have sex for all I care, but if you're going home, brace yourself for Eclipse the second you leave the shelter of the trees." He darted off in a flash of silver. Hiei smirked.
"Man, he really is an asshole, isn't he?" Shadow said, staring into the forest in awe. Hiei shrugged.
"Yeah. Don't worry about it."
"I never really noticed before cuz he was always hitting on me. But he's really an asshole."
"Yeah, that's just how he is, I guess."
"Well people would have said the same about you a few years ago."
"Yes, well..." He shrugged. "I shunned companionship then. After being forced onto Yusuke's team, I've grown to rather like having a select few people around... A lot of people would probably still call me an asshole."
Shadow shrugged, then yawned. "I s'pose we should go home, then? If only to put Eclipse's mind at ease."
"Stupid Eclipse," Hiei muttered, moving closer to Shadow. "I'd really rather stay here." He closed the distance between himself and Shadow and kissed her. It was just a gentle little kiss to show his love, then he turned away. "Let's go, then."
A very short while later, when the two emerged from the trees, Shadow was instantly plowed onto her back by a screaming blur.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD OH MY GOD YOU WERE DEAD AND NO BUT YOU WERE HIDING FROM ME YOU BITCH HOW COULD YOU MAKE ME WORRY LIKE THAT AND HIEI YOU BASTARD I'M GONNA KILL YOU AND KURAMA SAYS YOU WERE JUST SLEEPING AND WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SLEEP IN A DIRTY FOREST INSTEAD OF IN A NICE BED I HATE YOU ALL SO MUCH!"
She got up and stormed into the house. Hiei blinked.
"Well that was... odd..."
"For sure," Shadow agreed. She got up and went inside, then looked at her watch. "Jeez! We've still got two hours before frikkin' school starts. Eclipse! I want to kill you!"
"Why did you wait until we got inside to look at your watch?" Hiei asked.
"Forgot I had it. My memory resides mostly in this house, you know. If I'm away, I forget things easier."
"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I'll take your word for it. Most of the stuff you say and do is pretty nonsensical if you ask me..."
"Quiet, Hiei!" Shadow snapped. Then she grinned. "I'm going back to bed."
Hiei watched her go. Youko came in the door a minute later, looking foul, and the fire demon decided that perhaps following Shadow was better than dealing with the annoyed fox. Decision made, he darted after her.
-wince- Go on... Hate me... -sigh-
But if you actually liked the chapter, please tell me. I'd like to know if anyone did. Cuz I didn't. It was not well-written. It sucks.
-Shadow Jaganshi-