I'M BAAACK! Sorry for the delays I've caused you all, what with some of you ready to chew my leg off! (I hope you people have had your shots!)

Anyways, I've decided to post up some more chapters, and here they are!

:suddenly Hiei comes walking in…..with a SMILE on his face:

HIEI: Hello, AnneMarieh! How have you been? Good?

:looking at Hiei like he just lost his marbles, which I seriously think he did:

ANNEMARIEH: Oh h-hi Hiei? Why are you so….cheerful? Are you feeling okay?

HIEI: Of course! Why wouldn't I be! You were right, you know, about me. How I was always so moody. So I went to the Doctor's with Kurama and then he gave me this!

:whips out a large bottle of extra-strength Prozac:

ANNEMARIEH: Oh, I get it now….. :evil thought forming in her head as to how she can take advantage of this: Hiei, will you do the disclaimer for me, please?

HIEI: Sure! Sure! AnneMarieh does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters for that matter! However, she does own this great story!

ANNEMARIEH: Thanks, uh, Hiei. Now, why don't you just let me tie you up to that tree outside, okay? It'll be a little game we can play…

HIEI: Okay! Let's go then! :grabs hold of a long rope and starts dragging me towards the tree.:

:But what I don't know is….Hiei didn't really take his medicine….:

I sighed contentedly as the water washed over my skin, relaxing any tension in my muscles as it slowly brought me back to 'life'. It was an unusual thing, this place I was staying at. Whenever I was conscious, an aura seemed to radiate from every room and corner of this temple. It was coming from somewhere, some source….but I could not put my finger on it. It was very puzzling, and it hurt my head just to even think about it.

I sighed and set to washing the remaining dirt and grime off my skin, running a finger down the ten-inch scar that snaked down my left shoulder to my waist. The wound my father had inflicted so many years ago…

Flashback

"Clean this mess up right now! Did you even hear me? I said NOW!"

A hand shot out and knocked me to the ground, as I glared up defiantly at my father with all the hate I could muster. Once again I was cleaning up a mess he himself had made with another one of his broken whiskey bottles. Gods, how I hated this chore. How I hated him. I continued to rake the larger pieces of glass in a pile, ignoring the occasional bite of a smaller piece tearing my fingers. I would've been done…if my father had been more patient with me.

"Bitch! Hurry up!" he shouted, kicking me roughly in the side with his boot. It was enough force to knock the air out of me and send me against the wall. I lay dazed and pained, catching my breath and blinking away the white dots before my eyes. Damn, that really hurt, and I hadn't even done anything to irritate him this time…

My eyes cleared and settled on the image of my father holding one of the carving knives in his hand like a dagger, and I didn't need to be told to know what he was going to do with it. The look in his eyes told me everything. Everything his twisted soul and ill will could represent.

A deep smirk spread across his lips, as he stepped closer, his eyes dancing with a mysterious light of promising pain and hurt. He wanted me to be afraid. He wanted me to fear him. He needn't worry. I was already scared enough. But I wasn't frightened by him at all. No, he wasn't the one who lit the fear inside me. It was that blade he continued to hold so lovingly; the innocent tool that he turned into a weapon of destruction and pain. It was how my father could manipulate the purest of things, and give them the darkest intention afterwards.

I whimpered and gazed up at him passively, hoping that if I showed him my fear and let him believe it was because of him and not the knife, it would be enough and he would back off. To my dismay, it only excited him further.

In seconds, he had driven the blade down and pierced the skin on my shoulder, before twisting the knife and dragging it down to my lower back, spilling my life upon the floor. My cries meant nothing to him except that they were sounds that he had triumphed, as he turned and left the blade embedded deeply in my back. He walked out the door and didn't glance back once, leaving me lying there cold and bleeding, as the darkness settled over my soul….

End of Flashback

I shivered and shook the violent memory away, and went back to cleaning my wounds, still completely oblivious to the being watching my every move, and recording my every thought.

Hiei's POV

I can not believe this woman. She is truly unique….for a woman. I never thought in a hundred years I would stumble upon a hanyou. They were said to be the rarest of creatures, and she certainly was one. Most half-breeds were discovered because of their demonic blood, and slaughtered by humans and demons alike because of it. Their power was more than that of any S-class youkai, because it was said their power was derived from their incredible physical strength, and emotions.

Tch. I didn't see how emotions gave strength. It was a weakness, in my opinion, just like this girl. Even if her scent told me she was a hanyou, I had yet to accept that truth. I could simply ignore it just like her, if I wished. She is nothing special. And there's no doubt the toddler will pop up later on today exclaiming she is to be a new asset to the team. Not that I really mind that or anything. She could be of some use and replace Kuwabara….

She'd have to improve on her abilities, however. Even now, as I stand no more than just outside the window watching her, she has yet to see or even sense me! She really is stupid, then. Even the walking idiot has a spirit sense higher than hers! But I could be wrong. Maybe she has it and is just too stupid to use it.

Then I notice the scar on her back, and I use the Jagan to discover exactly how she received such a wound. Not even Kuwabara gets injuries like that in battle, and I doubt that this girl know how to fight. I don't know what's wrong with the others. Lately all they've been doing snickering behind my back and getting on my nerves. They act as though I want this woman. As though I desire her.

I want no one. I need no one. So she is a woman, and I am a man; she is nothing to interest me. A body is just a body, and I could care less. It's what her soul is like that interests me. How it makes her act the ways she does. How it drives her to suddenly become daring and try to defy me, yet in the next instant, cower at my power and authority. I just don't understand this girl. I can't figure her out… yet.

But no matter. Maybe I could test her and see how she really is like in my presence. If she acts more like her human self, then she undoubtedly will not be able to resist me. Many women have already begged for me as their mate, but I am not so stupid. I need no one, and I have no interest in claiming a mate. They will only pull me down and get in the way, and I do not like that idea at all. A female as my mate would not be able to survive the encounter with me. I doubt anyone can, including this hanyou.

Yet… if she takes after her demonic heritage, then I will be in some serious trouble. Her powers would bleed through, and she could become even more lethal than any foe I had ever faced. Already, I can detect the anger and defiance in her aura, and if she discovers her powers… there's no doubt that she will constantly wish to fight with me to secure a rank higher than mine. And I absolutely refuse to be held below a female, even a rare one such as this.

No, I will make sure she takes after her human half. She will fall below me, one way or another. Even if I have to break her…..

I watch her for a minute longer before setting off towards the other side of the temple. I'll deal with this woman another time.

Original POV

I finish and turn the water off, stepping out and wrapping the towel around me tightly as I find a comb and brush the tangles out of my long dark hair. Ten minutes when I was dried and dressed, I left the safety of the bathroom, and went in search of the kitchen. Boy, was I hungry! I felt like I could eat a cow! Then I stop to consider it. Well, maybe not exactly something that big…

I gasped when I felt someone tap me lightly on the shoulder, and I spun around to see it was only Kurama. I sighed mentally and smiled up at him. He immediately returned the gesture with a smile of his own, and extended his hand to me. "Come Aki. I do believe that breakfast is ready, and that you are quite hungry, yes?" he asked, and I nodded. I took his hand as he led me down the hallway and to a large wooden door. I bit down the feeling of anxiousness as it bubbled in the pit of my stomach. Something was beyond these doors, and it wasn't just the kitchen either. It was a dark entity, one I seemed most familiar with.

I held my breath and waited for Kurama to open the door. It was time for me to brave the lion's den…..

Well, this is the end of this chapter, and I hope I didn't bore you that much! It's been a while since I updated, so I'll have to get back in the habitat of writing again. Don't worry, it shouldn't take long… hopefully. Please review, and if you can, tell others about my story, too! I need all the attention I can get so I can acquire enough motivation to continue! Ja ne.