Crimson: Isn't it funny how I always update so slow? I really am sorry about that, but my school is still not out, and exams are starting. So this chapter toke me awhile to write.
Yumiko's POV
It turned out I was lucky, and all the green hair dye came out of Hiei's hair, so I didn't have to worry about him completely mauling me to death. Yippee. But that didn't mean that I wasn't worried. I mean, come on. Training with Hiei? Was Kurama trying to get me killed? I wasn't a fighter; if I was I would have kicked those demons butts a long time ago. I was a runner. You know the whole wind in your face type of girl.
But it turned out that I had absolutely no say in it, and I was forced to follow Hiei down the temple steps and out to the backyard. His hair was still wet, and his usually spiky hair was plastered to his forehead and only spiked up in certain areas. It made him look more tangible somehow, more ordinary. I actually liked it. Okay, that's not true. I loved it. It was truly adorable.
I sighed wistfully, not really caring if he heard me. Was it possible to fall in love in a little over a day? I was never one who believed in love at first sight, but he comes pretty close. I really had no plans to take it fast either. Maybe after a month or so. I was pretty sure it would be me admitting that I liked him first. Excuse me if I act like I know him after a day, but he really doesn't seem the type to admit undying love to anyone.
He stopped suddenly and turned around to face me, his eyes flaming in unspoken anger. I deserved it really. I'd be angry too if someone dyed my hair green. Still you got to admit that that was a good trick. Absolutely priceless. I still didn't want him to be mad at me. Especially not when he probably has Kami knows what up his sleeve for revenge. Oh yeah, I was going to do a little groveling.
"I'm sorry Hiei. I really am. I didn't really think that you'd fall for it." I said. And it was true. I was so sure that he would walk right over the wire and embarrass the hell out of me.
And then I went around and slammed that door in his face. I can't tell you how scared I really was during that incident. I only realized how evil it was of me to bring Kurama in until after the event. It was low, even for me.
"Of course." He hissed sarcastically. I went from feeling bad to feeling absolutely horrible.
"I'm sorry Hiei. What do I have to do to prove it to you?" I felt like crying. He continued to glare at me, and suddenly threw something in my direction. Being the klutzy, slow person that I was, I failed to catch it, and it smacked me full force in the face. I fell over and landed not so nicely on the ground.
Ouch
"Get up. We're going to try that again and again until you get it." He said emotionlessly. I looked down and saw that he had thrown a blade at me. Well, at least it was sheathed. Now, I understood why he did this. But he had NO right to do it. Okay, maybe he did.
I picked up the blade and stood up, now angry at myself more than Hiei. He shook his head, and I wanted to kill him. His hair was starting to dry and stick up again, and I knew it would, but why did he have to help it out? I know it's bad when I obsess over his hair instead of being angry at him. I mean he threw a sword at me!
"Look," I began. "I understand that you're angry at me, and I deserved it. But you don't have to go around trying to kill me by throwing a blade at me!" I stomped for extra emphasis. I was going for…elegantly distraught and chic. I think I failed miserably. Why?
Because he just smirked at me.
"That was going to be part of your training even before you decided to pull that stunt." He replied. What? You've got to be kidding me.
"Why do I have to do this?" I complained. It was kinda obvious who won that fight. And it wasn't me.
"You're the one who's got a problem with demons. None of us are going to play babysitter for you. You can't fight, but you sure as hell are going to learn how to run away and dodge." You know I think that was the longest thing he's said to me for the entire time I've been here. It's nice to know that he cares. Note the sarcasm here.
"Then why the sword?" I asked. He stepped closer and snatched the sword out of my hand. Yea. He was angry.
"Weren't you listening to me? " He countered, and he threw the sword at me again. I almost had it, really I did. Okay, maybe not almost. Alright. Alright. I was a mile off. I became reacquainted with the sweet, sweet Earth.
"Ouch," I mumbled. "Couldn't you have warned me first?" He blinked at me, and shook his head.
"The demons won't warn you, and I won't either." I glared up at him. He matched my look with his own dark, heartless one.
"Couldn't you just go a little bit easier? At this rate you'll kill me before those freaks do." I complained. His face suddenly burned with rage.
"You don't get it do you?" he shouted. I recoiled slightly, but he kept on going.
"These people are going to kill you. There will be no mercy. If you get caught start praying for a swift death, because if you truly think that I will risk the others lives to save you, you are sorely wrong." He toke a step back, and punched one of the many trees nearby. It cracked and split nearly in two. My eyes widened.
"That's what they could do to you." He stated coldly, turning around to face me. He seemed to have calmed himself down a little. "One punch is all they need Yumiko."
"One punch," he said it softly, almost like he was talking to the wind. But his speech did his job. I stood up without another argument and held out the sword for him. He took it, stepped back a few paces, and then threw it back at me hard.
I braced myself and tried to catch it with both hands, but I wasn't able to get a solid grip on it, and was forced to stumble backwards before catching myself. I sighed, picked up the sword, and gave it to him again.
"Relax your position a little. You'll never catch anything being stiff as a board." He remarked.
I looked at him surprised and tried to do as he suggested. He just stood there for a second, and I began wondering if he had gone mental on me. Maybe he had. Of course, since I wasn't paying attention, he decided to throw it at me at that time.
Whack!
"Ouch!" I yelped, and began rubbing my forehead. This is absolutely NO fun. But I'll be damned if I don't try this until I succeed. I gave him the sword again, got into position, only this time I took a few deep breaths. It helped a little.
He threw it at me again, and suddenly I saw it as if it was in slow motion. Seeing it like this made it seem almost too easy. I reached out with my good hand and grabbed the handle. It was as simple as that. I gawked at it before glancing up at Hiei.
"I caught it…" I began. I felt almost giddy. "I caught it." I repeated. Hiei raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't comment. I began laughing, and twirled around.
"I actually caught it," I looked down at the sword as I said it. It was obviously well made and well cared for. It was nothing fancy; no gold or silver that I could see at least. The black handle was almost too big for my small hands to grip around, but it was surprisingly lighter than it looked. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty heavy, just not excruciatingly heavy.
"About time," Hiei grunted. I glared at him, but he ignored me and walked past me, walking back up the stairs to the temple.
"What?" I asked confused. "That's it?" I began to run in order to catch up with him.
"For now," He replied shortly. "I believe Lord Koenma wishes to see you."
I froze, feeling a sudden weight of dread. What could he possibly want with me? What was he going to tell me? I toke a deep breath and made up my mind.
No matter what information I receive in there, I would not cry.
I looked up to the blue sky, covered with wispy, white clouds, and prayed.
Kami-sama don't let me cry. Please, please Kami don't let me fail them.
It was only after I prayed that I realized that Hiei had used my name.
Crimson: Sorry this is so short, but look at the bright side. With school ending soon, I will be bored more often, and therefore more encouraged to write, and you'll finally find out Yumiko's significance. Thanks to all my reviewers. I hope I get you all.
Brezzybrez: Well here's the next chapter. I bet you were expecting Hiei to do something to her, eh? Well believe it or not he said two things that were very important to the story in this chapter. I only mentioned one.
Neolannia: Yeah, sorry I haven't hurried to update very often, but I was kinda struggling through this chapter. I'm going to have problems with the next one too, mainly because it is so crucial and I want it to come out right.
ShadowDragon: I like your name and your idea. Only I think I'll make it neon yellow. What do you think of that?
SarnaKiro: I guess I live to amuse people. I enjoy laughing in real life too, so I try to make sure my writing makes me smile before I post it.
Icy AngelWings: Sorry I haven't reviewed for your stories, but I haven't reviewed pretty much anybody since forever, so you're not alone. I just haven't had enough time to read chapters, write my own, and review people. It's completely okay if you forget to review any of my chapters. I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't say that.
Nekosune: Clever. I noticed the cat part, but I honestly didn't connect the sune with kitsune. I commend you on your sly name.
Hiei-Touya-icedemon: Long name. I bet it would kill you if you had to use your username to sign up. Sorry for no revenge, but I believe you'll notice later on that just the fact that he didn't pose revenge on Yumiko is going to make her like and respect him even more. Remember, she knows she likes him a lot, but she's not entirely sure she's in love with him. By the way, I think Touya's cute too.
Trickstersthiefgirl: Lol. You remind me of my friend Steph. She's more partial to blue hair though.
KayHiei: Yeah, I guess it was pretty amazing that she proved to be so devious. But notice that she's only really that way around Hiei. She doesn't quite trust the others as much as she does him, even if it's only by a little bit.
ShadowRenaman: What word? Oh you must mean….IT. I thought you'd like my witty statements there. And the whole "Oh no, I killed you" thing was probably my favorite part of the whole chapter because, as you witnessed in this chapter, she really meant it.
HieiFan666: You know I just realized this, but you have three 6's in your name. Doesn't that represent the devil or something? I'm not religious, just curious. I think it's kinda neat if you did it on purpose, but if not, sorry for mentioning it. I put subtle romance hints in this chapter, such as the fact that he didn't pull revenge on her like he planed to, or the fact that he even cared enough about her to MAKE her train.
LonelyInDarkness: I'm afraid of the dark personally; or rather, I'm afraid of what's IN the dark. I don't really feel sorry for Hiei though; I mean it came out, right? Lol.
gothic-ember: You were afraid the squirrels kidnapped me? I'd be more afraid that my siblings mauled me to death if I were you. Hehehe.
slancaster113: Glad that I could put you on the floor with laughter. I read your idea, and actually find that I like it. I have a really cool idea for it later on. Hiei'll be really pissed off at the time.
Chayru: Thank you. I don't think I recognize your name as somebody who's reviewed me before, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
AnimeFreaks13: Hehehe. You missed spelled "cannibal." She got high off pizza crust eh? Well that's interesting. Luckily for both Hiei and Yumiko the dye came out, so no worries there. But I'm going to point out something of significance to you and your sister. Believe it or not, the fact that Yumiko likes Hiei's hair wet is going to have a slight impact later on.
Jessica: Yes kool-aid and caramel. I heard about the whole pizza crust and water thing. Maybe I'll use that fact in the story. I know you're not a drug addict, and if you were, I'd have to be eternally angry at you. Hehehe. No worries eh?