The Scar: Part Two

"Fuck!" Hiei cursed for the umpteenth time as he avoided another blow from one of his opponents. He quickly positioned himself to the left, slightly bending to prevent himself from being hacked. He was just catching his breath when he felt the tip of a sword on his back, before it could penetrate his flesh - he quickly moved away. His sword slashing men attacking him from all sides.

He felt a slit of sword in his left arm, the pain made him twinge a little. Shit! Another bruise! He steered clear from four men attacking him. He jumped off the ground and into a pile of three or four dead men, his sword never stopped working its way through his opponents' bodies. He could hear the sound it made as it pierced through their skin and into their insides.

What did I get myself into? Hiei silently wondered. It has been hours since this fight started. He was just passing by this village when he was challenged into a duel by one of the villagers. Thinking it could do him no harm - he accepted. He won the fight. But instead of walking home smiling smugly - he was met by the rest of the villagers. Apparently, his challenger was a local hero, and probably everybody on that village was willing to sacrifice their life to avenge their idol.

Hiei squinted; the sun was finally getting into him. It was midday, the sun high and he was dead hungry. What a perfect condition to fight a hundred loyalists! Hiei could only grunt as he continued slashing the villagers with his sword. He was already exhausted. His whole body aching, his hands numb from all the slashing and he was bleeding from all sides.

When will this end? Hiei looked around him. He couldn't exactly tell how many bodies were already on the ground but he was quite certain that reinforcement was coming in on a steady flow. Too tired to fight, he thought of just running away from all these.

He quickly fled from tree to tree. To his dismay, his attackers kept following him. Oh, shit! He felt his knees threatening to give up but he kept on jumping from tree to tree, hoping that they'll lose site of him.

But they didn't. They kept on following him. Hiei's right knee gave up, but he forced it to go on. He felt a steady throbbing on his chest, his legs burning and his vision beginning to fade until it was totally black.

Then, he fell. He faintly heard the loud thump as his body landed flat on the ground. He tried to stand up but he no longer could. He heard voices surrounding him. Then after a while, he lost his consciousness.

Hiei slowly opened his eyes. That was probably the most refreshing sleep he had in his entire life. For a while, he couldn't remember anything. Then it came back to him. The village, the duel, the villagers, the chase and his losing consciousness. He cursed silently to himself as he recalled everything.

"Hey, you are awake!" Hiei snapped back to reality. He quickly looked up to look at who was talking. A blonde girl with red eyes greeted him with a smile. But before he could acknowledge her, his attention was caught by what he was wearing. Hiei looked horrified as he stared at his white overalls. In reflex, he reached up to tear the white shirt off his body. He let out a pained sound as his left shoulder ached.

"Now, don't try to do anything. You're still not alright. Just lie there and I'll get you something to eat." The girl said as she hurriedly went somewhere to get the food she was talking about.

Hiei tried to stand up, but to his disappointment, all he could do was raise his head a bit. His whole body felt sore, and his shoulder ached. He pushed himself to the limit, and its time he feel the consequences.

He heard the door opened and the room was filled with the smell of good food. The girl handed Hiei a bowl of soup. She assisted Hiei on bringing the bowl to his mouth to drink from it. He noted that the girl was wearing thick gloves made of some wool.

"You are probably wondering where you are right now and who the hell I am." The girl said, her tone bubbly and her eyes shining from excitement - as if talking to a stranger was all exciting for her. She comfortably sat herself on the floor beside Hiei.

Hiei didn't say anything. He silently half-listened to the girl talk while cursing the white overalls he was wearing under his breath.

"But before I tell all of that - I might as well tell you how you got here. Well you see, you trespassed. You landed right on my territory. The others who were chasing you quickly ran away as soon as they saw me. You didn't run away because you were unconscious so I have no choice but to bring you here. You have been sleeping for one day straight and I'm actually pretty surprised that you are awake now. But judging from your shoulder, you're still not okay. You can stay here for a while. I don't really bite - the rumors you probably heard about me are not true." Her hands making elaborate gestures as she told Hiei what happened to him, not minding if Hiei was listening or not.

Hiei frowned at her last remark. What was that she said again? Rumors? He never heard of this girl. And his attention was caught.

"Ahhh… So you're probably wondering what are the rumors about me. It's a good thing you didn't hear anything or else you might be running away from here like those guys who were chasing you. You should have seen how scared they were when they saw me. Nah… I don't think you'll run away. Maybe you'll fight me. You look like a fighter to me. But anyways, the rumors aren't really important. They are just rumors." The girl smiled widely.

He studied the girl mutely and thought that she doesn't look threatening to him. She was about the same height as he is, maybe an inch shorter. Her blond hair neatly tied in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. Her eyes are red, but not like the red of his eyes. Hers were so light that they were almost orange, they were big and expressive that seem to light up whenever she talks. She was slender, feminine with a touch of bubbliness. She was also wearing white, add that to the wide-eyed expression on her face, you'll get an impression of wholesomeness and innocence.

"Do you know that you are the first person I've talked to for months? It gets really boring out here with no one to talk to and no one to share dinner with. So, I'm actually glad you are here. That's why you are SOOO welcome here. I finally got someone to talk to. It gets really quiet here during the evenings. I really don't get it but people never get close to my place. Maybe it's because of those rumors. I hate those rumors. Do you know that they are really scared of me? Somebody started a rumor that I burn people up without a reason. I guess I'm a merciless murderer for them. But it's not true." The girl continued with her lively tone.

"Oh…excuse my mouth. I tend to babble a lot! Well, if you are always alone and you finally got a company, I bet you'll talk like I talk." She smiled again, flashing her perfect set of teeth.

Hiei said nothing.

"Gheez. I guess you are not a talker, but I'll get you talking soon. By the way, what's your name?" The girl asked.

Hiei couldn't decide if he will tell her his name. Actually he couldn't even decide if he's going to leave or not. He tried to move an arm, but the pain on his arm made the rest of his body ache. I guess I have no choice but to stay.

"Your name please?" The girl asked again.

"Hiei." Hiei answered. Oh well, it's just a name.

"Hiei. That's a really nice name." The girl said sweetly. She stood up and got the bowl from Hiei's hands. "I should get you more of that soup. I bet you are really hungry!" She said as she hurriedly went for the door.

"Oh, before I forget!" She stopped and faced Hiei, "My name is Rei and this is my home."