Her golden goddess hair and coral lips brushed against me like the flutter of an angel's wings as I braced myself on a low rising rock, holding her against me in a state of pure, placid bliss.
"Hiei, my love," she asked in a voice smooth as honey as she looked up at me with a serious light in her glittering emerald eyes, "being down by the ocean with me…it hurts you…doesn't it?" She asked tentatively…quietly.
"Keou, the ocean reminds me of your presence and I can bear any pain for you," I told her, feeling mildly foolish, but then again – love is a fool's game.
"I don't want you to suffer," she whispered as she pulled herself onto the rock with me. Her long, flaxen hair was dotted with watery diamonds that shown in the rising sunlight as was the small shell comb that held back her side locks, her cream skin showed the grace and shape of a deity with only a combination of kelp and Jack's Knives shells covering her bosom, and her pale, aqua tail with its white and sea-foam swirls that ended in the delicate petals of a tiger lily felt as soft to my touch as downy feathers, "I have found a witch…she will give me legs…" she breathed, softer yet. Joy rose in my stomach and I felt as if I would burst; I could be with my love at all times. Only later, did I realize what she had given up for me.
I continued to gaze out the window; my cold stares softened by the memory.
"Anything interesting out the window today?" Kurama asked putting a hand on my shoulder as she entered the room. I whipped around to face her, tears threatened to fall at the sight of my friend's own eyes which so resembled those of my lost love. "Hiei, what has happened?" She asked, knowing that no one was around and we could speak openly.
"You want to know why I left the pool…" I half questioned, not wanting to be on the topic, but my voice held no such overtones.
"Talking about my problems always makes me feel better," the curious fox motioned, trying to get me to tell my story. Admittedly, I had never mentioned my precious mermaid to anyone since my heart iced over – after her death – so this may have been worth a shot.
"Alright, I'll tell you," I sighed, not able to look Kurama in his presently female face, "I haven't always been alone…I had a mate…" Kurama, being smart enough to put two and two together, realized what that statement meant.
"Oh, Hiei…" Kurama breathed as she came in and gave me a Mommy worthy hug.
"She died…because I wasn't strong enough to save her," I choked out. "Her or our child…" I mumbled as numerous clouded tear gems hit the floor around the floor where I had been sitting. I sat trying to catch my breath before continuing my story; the tears still fell. Kurama's hug tightened as though she was trying to squeeze every last drop of my sorrow out of me. "In the beginning," I started slowly, "I had watched her from the shadows as she swam around with either her friends or family in the most carefree and happy fashion I could imagine. Keou was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen…not because of her golden hair or smooth curves, but because she laughed so freely and always seemed to be helping the others. I was hooked," (Pardon the pun, people) I whispered firmly as I extracted a small comb from the breast pocked of the inside of his cloak. The ornate brush was made of a blushing Jack's Knife and dotted with small pearl at the end of each prong. My thumb ran over the piece as if it were a treasured worry stone while I continued with my story. "Eventually, I started to come out more openly, and, after a number of mishaps, I shared my feelings with her. She returned them and things went on in that fashion for some time before she surprised me with the news that she had found a sea witch who would give her legs…" I left off, feeling guilty when the memory had left me smiling.
"We marked each other and she soon became impregnated," I said slightly happy as I remembered the look on her face when she told me, "but before the child was born…we were attacked." Another tear fell and I rubbed the comb harder and faster as though it would take the horrible, stabbing pain away. "Keou wasn't a fighter per say, but fought as a siren would. She tried to help me in battle, but was caught and her throat was slit. By the time I had finished off the rest of the band, Keou had taken her last breath…" I finished in a barely audible voice before I hugged Kurama back - needing the support of my friend as the tears fell nearly as quickly as they had that day so long ago.
At this point, you're probably wondering: What has this monster of an author done to my precious, icy Hiei, why is she referring to Kurama as she, and if you missed something because a pool had never been mentioned before and why Hiei's atypical window sill is missing (A.K.A. why he's sitting on the floor). Well, all shall be explained shortly as I, the all powerful author, shall now go back to the beginning and fill you in on everything you've missed. (Don't worry. Although this chapter was fluff/angst the next chapter will either have you squirting Diet Coke out your nose or deciding that that way the story is written isn't for you so you'll write a review either way and go on to read chapter 3.