A/N: Procrastination and laziness is my biggest enemy.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Hiei prepared to bring his sword down, when something caught his eye. Besides the human's pool of blood was a little shiny object. It was small and round. It almost looked like… a hiruiseki! Hiei forgot about killing the human and picked up the gem. Yes, it was a hiruiseki. But whose was it? The demon's or the human's?
He looked at the now unconscious human and decided that he would be better use to him alive than dead. He took off his cloak and put it around the naked body. Hiei carefully carried the body, but the boy still gave a pained moan. The fire demon decided that he would take him back to the abandoned city. There were abandoned houses and bandages there. He tried to get there before the human lost too much blood.
X X X X
By the time Hiei reached the empty city, Shuichi's blood had soaked Hiei's cloak and his breathing had become irregular.
Hiei entered a fairly decent house and set the human down on a bed. He then proceeded to rip his cloak into strips to bandage the wounds. When Shuichi was no longer bleeding so profusely, Hiei rampaged the house in search of medicine. He found bandages and antiseptic wipes. The jaganshi removed the crude bandages and replaced them with clean ones. When he saw that the injury on his chest was still bleeding, he opened his jagan and manipulated the skin so it would heal faster. It drained Hiei of most his energy and Shuichi's chest was still injured, but the bleeding stopped. Hiei collapsed on the bed next to him in exhaustion.
'Since when have I done this much for anyone else, much less a human?' Hiei asked himself. As sleep was overcoming the little demon, he told himself that it was because the human might have known who his attacker was.
X X X X
A few hours later, Hiei slowly opened his ruby eyes. His nose detected a potent smell. 'Blood?'
He sat up on the bed and saw the still unconscious human. The blood stopped flowing, but it was still drenched in the sheets. It had also started to dry and it was now sticking onto the fire demon.
Hiei moved closer to the youth to check his condition. His breathing was faint, but regular and his wounds have closed up. However, in the state he was in, it would probably take days until he woke up, and the little demon was too impatient to wait. The fire demon left the house and searched the city. He was sure he saw a human pharmacy when he was exploring earlier.
After a few minutes, Hiei located the store and went inside. 'Dammit, why'd I even come in? I can't read this shit.' Hiei thought. He browsed through the aisles, futilely looking at the different varieties of medicines. Giving up, he blew up the store in anger.
As he walked outside, a group of demons accosted him. It was obvious from their dress and posture that they were thieves and vagabonds. 'Weak thieves,' Hiei noted as they tried to intimidate him with poorly crafted weapons.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" one of them shouted. Ignoring them, Hiei turned away, but a knife whizzed by his hair. Irritated, Hiei turned around.
"He was talking to you, asshole!" another one cried.
"Medicine." Hiei simply said.
"Huh?" a particularly stupid looking one said.
"If you tell me where I can find strong Makai medicine, I'll let you live." Hiei said.
They all broke into a cacophony of laughter.
"Who do you think you're talking to, midget? This is our turf!" the first one said. Annoyed at the stinging remark, Hiei killed half the group with ease. When the others realized what he had done, they backed away.
"We-we were just joking," one said.
"Y-yeah, there's a market full of Makai goods three miles west of here," another said. Without a second glance, Hiei headed off to the west, opening his jagan to locate the market.
Hiei found the place with ease. When the demons saw him, most shrank back in fear when they saw the dried blood on him. His eyes found the stand for medicine and bought a potent mixture that healed wounds.
The jaganshi returned to the house, eager for the human to talk.
Hiei dropped the medicine on the floor and headed to the bathroom. He filled it up with warm water and then placed the human in it. The blood was washed away. Then he lifted the youth and placed him back on the bed, this time with new sheets. He applied the balm onto the wounds. The medicine was meant for demons, but putting them on human flesh would make the boy heal faster.
After waiting a few minutes, Shuichi still hadn't woken up. Agitated, Hiei went to take a shower.
The blood was now gone and Hiei felt refreshed. It had been a while since he cleaned himself. Once again, Hiei checked up on the human to see that he was still unconscious.
'ARGH! Is he dead? How long do humans take to heal?' Hiei angrily thought. He looked over the gashes, seeing that they were now all scabs. 'Why isn't he waking up?'
Hiei's eyes were now taking in his face. The human's lips were very dry.
'Maybe water will wake him up.' Hiei went into the kitchen and found a cup. He filled it up with water and brought it back to the bed. He poured the water into his mouth, but Shuichi wasn't swallowing it. He then took a mouthful of water and put his mouth over the human's. He used his tongue to move Shuichi's so the water would travel down his throat. Hiei was about to pull back when Shuichi suddenly moved his tongue against Hiei's. Surprised, he didn't move. Shuichi was greedily trying to drink up all the water from Hiei's mouth.
When Shuichi's brain registered that there was no more water, he opened his eyes, alarmed to see this other person on top of him. Scared, he pushed Hiei away from him. He looked down to see that he was naked. Embarrassed and infuriated, he pulled the sheets around him, glaring at Hiei.
"What were you doing to me?" Shuichi asked. Hiei had gotten back onto his feet and regained his thoughts.
"I was just giving you water." Hiei plainly said. Shuichi remembered the cool liquid going down his throat and was embarrassed that he was actually the one that started to kiss him.
"Why was I naked?" Shuichi asked.
Hiei glared at him. As if he would touch a human being… "You were hurt. I healed you so I could ask you some questions." Hiei explained rationally. The events started to surface in his head and Shuichi remembered what happened between him and that demon that was with Kurama. He unconsciously pulled the sheets tighter around his body, remembering what happened.
Hiei saw the dark look on his face and decided that he shouldn't ask why he was in that area.
"Human." Hiei tried to get his attention. Shuichi was snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes focused on Hiei. His eyes started to water, and he looked away.
"You saw me like that?" Shuichi asked softly. He was so ashamed.
"Hn. Who was he?" Hiei asked. Shocked at the lack of sympathy, Shuichi glared at him.
"Your attacker, who was he?" Hiei asked again, voice getting higher. He had just spent hours trying to heal him and now he won't even talk? Maybe a threat will get him to speak. Hiei approached him and Shuichi shrank back, trying to move away from him. Hiei was now next to him on the bed with arms on either side of Shuichi's head.
Shuichi remembered that the other demon had done the same thing. He started to breathe faster and his body trembled. Hiei saw the reaction and knew that if he hurt him, the stupid human would probably pass out. He backed off. Instead, he took out the hiruiseki that he found next to the human. Shuichi blankly looked at it.
"This isn't yours, right?" Hiei asked.
"No." Shuichi quietly answered.
"Then it probably belongs to the demon that attacked you. If you tell me who he is, I'll find that demon and kill him." Hiei said. Shuichi's eyes then stared into Hiei's.
"Why?" Shuichi asked. Hiei didn't feel like sharing his deepest secret about his long-lost sister.
"He stole something from me." Hiei lied. Shuichi tried to remember all that he could about his attacker…
"Karasu." Shuichi said. Hiei raised an eyebrow at him. "His name is Karasu. At least, that's what the other demon called him."
"Other demon?" Hiei asked.
"Yes. He had sunglasses and an olive coat." Shuichi said. This surprised Hiei. There was another demon, yet he couldn't sense his presence. He must be powerful. Satisfied with the information, he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Shuichi asked.
"To look for Karasu." Hiei said. Shuichi looked around the room.
"Where is my bag?"
"I don't know. I just carried you here." Hiei said. Then, he disappeared.
X X X X
Karasu followed Toguro, knowing that there was probably going to be punishment. They were at Tarukane's mansion, descending into the basement. Karasu knew it led to the torture chambers. Being sent to the dungeon just for being distracted? How unfair. Karasu wanted to ask why they were going down there, but knew Toguro wouldn't respond.
After what seemed like forever, Toguro stopped before a door and opened it so he could go in. He wasn't going in first, which meant he wasn't going in at all. Karasu gave him a questioning look, but Toguro avoided looking at him. Finally, he went inside.
Tarukane was waiting for him. In his hand, he held a little pouch. Karasu recognized the pouch; it was his. Inside of it were hiruiseki. He had been stealing a few so he could enter high-end clubs and meet virile creatures like Youko Kurama.
"You've been stealing from me. However, I've decided that instead of killing you, I'll have you work it back for me." Tarukane said. Then he stepped aside to reveal Yukina. She sat quietly in a chair, eyes staring off into space.
"This ice-maiden isn't crying. I've tried torture and beatings. Nothing works! If you get tear-gems from her, I'll let you go back to whatever you were doing." Tarukane said.
Behind his mask, Karasu licked his lips.
"However, if you don't get her to cry, I'll let the Toguro brothers deal with you." Tarukane said. Karasu glared at the toad and then moved closer to Yukina.
"I'll get you your tear-gems."
Tarukane smirked and then walked out of the dungeon. Toguro locked Karasu in.
X X X X
Hiei's was jumping from tree to tree, near where he found the human. Sensing danger, he changed direction and jumped off to the side. A huge axe was brought down where he was previously standing.
Hiei took in his attacker. He looked intimidating with heavy armor on. However, Hiei knew that the armor wasn't there to protect him; it was to conceal his youki. The other demon lifted his axe back with ease and looked at Hiei. The jaganshi knew that he was also trying to read his power. Suddenly, the demon dropped his axe.
"You are much stronger than you appear." He spoke. Hiei put his hand on his katana. To his surprise, his attacker removed all his armor. The demon looked like a fit fighter without his armor.
"Who are you?" Hiei asked. Demons have randomly attacked him before, but none like the one in front of him. This one was strong.
"I am Bui. I have nothing against you; it is just my job." He said. Then, he jumped and thrust his right fist into Hiei's face. Hiei barely dodged. The fire demon back-flipped and landed onto a tree branch, but Bui quickly caught up. He kneed Hiei right in the stomach, sending him flying back.
Hiei collected his thoughts and quickly moved to dodge Bui's attack. The forest was becoming less dense thanks to the duo's fight. Both were extremely quick with their attacks, each barely dodging the other's assault. Hiei tried to slice Bui when his back was turned, but he caught Hiei's katana and broke it in half.
Hiei retreated a few feet from him and looked at his sword. It had served him well for so long. It unnerved him that this demon was able to break it so easily. The jaganshi tossed the broken blade aside and removed his headband. Bui smirked when he saw the jagan. He had been holding back as well.
Both recognized the other's true power. Bui got into a meditative stance, and after a few seconds, waves of youki flared from his body. He was now quicker and stronger than before. Hiei released the bandages on his right arm and let the dark flames consume him. Bui, however, didn't wait for Hiei to complete his summoning and attacked him with merciless punches to his midsection. Hiei didn't block the attack. Bui then switched to throwing Hiei around and catching him with a kick to his head. He repeated this several times until Hiei went crashing to the ground.
Bui landed on the ground with grace and smirked at the fallen demon. He approached the motionless body. Bui was a little disappointed though; he was hoping for something more challenging. As he was about to bring his fist through Hiei's head, a huge burst of black flames sent Bui flying back. If Bui had been paying attention to Hiei's arm, he would have seen that the dragon was disappearing from his limb and absorbing Bui's attack.
Hiei was completely consumed by the dark flames and thrust his right arm forward, releasing the dragon. It roared as it went right for Bui and snatched him up with its teeth. The sky turned into a mixture of red and black swirls, reflecting the power and anger of the dragon.
Bui was still trying to hold the dragon back, barely able to keep it from consuming him. Hiei was surprised that he could resist the dragon's fury for so long. It had circled above Hiei and was returning to its master, with Bui still alive. Bui turned to see that the dragon was heading back to Hiei and when he was close enough to the fire demon, he pushed himself away from the dragon. The dark creature consumed Hiei.
After the smoke and wind died down, Bui saw that Hiei was no longer there. He thought he claimed victory, when he heard crackling behind him. He knew it was Hiei without even looking. He summoned the last of his strength into his fist and turned to punch Hiei, but it was too late. Hiei's blood red eyes were the last he saw before he felt a sharp heat in his chest.
X X X X
The next day, Shuichi had found his way back to where the trap log had lain. His bag was still there, but his eyes were looking somewhere else. A few feet from the burnt wood was a pool of dried blood, Shuichi's blood. His mind played back his assault and his body involuntarily shuddered. He felt so cold and dirty. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to feel warm.
As he clutched himself, he realized he had no scars. In fact, there was no pain at all. The strange demon that had found him healed him well.
Shuichi continued to stare at the blood, unable to move or speak. Never had he missed Kurama so much. However, as he thought about Kurama, he thought of Karasu, of them together. He felt sick again and wanted to puke.
However, Shuichi forced himself to turn around. He took deep breaths and finally retrieved his bag. He walked away and didn't turn back.
He kept walking until he cleared the forest, but walked into a dreary territory. It was foggy and the vegetation was dead. It occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. He set out to be individual and to find someone who loved him. Shuichi realized what a stupid mistake he had made. He felt lost and very afraid.
Shuichi heard a stream nearby. He walked toward it, hoping to take several gulps of water and wash his face. However, when he got to the stream, he saw that the water was muddy and not potable. He sighed in frustration and sat down by the stream. The youth tried to formulate a plan as to what to do next. But before he could clear his mind, something collapsed onto the stream. It startled Shuichi and he took out his whip.
The "thing" moaned and Shuichi could smell blood. Shuichi brought his whip up, in a defensive stance. He tried to get a closer look, but strident laughter caught his ears. Coming a few feet behind whatever collapsed was a group of thieves.
"I knew we'd get that bastard back!"
"Heh! I say we cut him up and set him on fire."
"No! Rip off his nails one by one and then break the bones in his body, one by one."
The others suggested other cruel methods of torture, but Shuichi ignored them and looked at what was lying in the stream. He summoned up his courage and carefully approached and saw that it was Hiei. He was beat up and it seemed he was now unconscious.
One of the thieves noticed Shuichi's presence.
"Hey! Fuck off. We got to him first," he shouted. When Shuichi looked up, the thieves cracked up in laughter.
"Hey human, get lost unless you want to become our dinner."
Shuichi surveyed the group and concluded that these bumbling morons couldn't have hurt Hiei that much. They definitely weren't strong. Shuichi ignored them and bent down to pick up the unconscious demon. He lifted him from the dirty water and set him down onto the ground.
"Human! What the fuck do you think you're doing? That's it, you're dinner tonight," the thief said. Shuichi shot him a dirty glare and brought his whip in front of him. The demons laughed at him. Shuichi wasn't intimidated. He had faced stronger opponents when traveling with Kurama.
With speed and grace, Shuichi swung the whip at the group. The leather was lined with sharp, strong metal thorns, so it cut some of them in half. They screamed in pain. The others tried to catch the human, but he easily escaped their clumsy grasp and proceeded to cut off more body parts. His skill with the whip surprised and scared the demons. The thieves that still had their bodies intact did the smart thing and ran away.
Shuichi remained alert for a few more minutes, making sure they weren't preparing a counterattack. After making sure they were gone, he coiled up the whip and tied it to his belt. He walked over to Hiei to quickly check his wounds. Surprisingly, they weren't so egregious. The thieves didn't seem able to maim Hiei that much. What worried Shuichi was the third eye in his forehead. It seemed glazed over.
The human shook Hiei gently to try to wake him up. When he didn't respond, Shuichi carried him back toward the forest. For some reason, he felt safer among live vegetation.
On the border between the forest and the dark, dreary land was a dried tree that had a huge hollow trunk. Shuichi decided they could stay there for that night. He put his bag and Hiei down and rolled out a sleeping bag. He wasn't used to sleeping out in the wild alone. Shuichi removed Hiei's clothes and checked him again for more wounds. There was nothing life threatening, but Hiei was still unconscious. Shuichi had a feeling it had something to do with the third eye. However, he was too tired to do anything else, so he decided he would check up on Hiei again in the morning. He pulled out his extra blanket and covered Hiei with it.
He took off his sweater and pants and crawled into the bag. Just as he was about to drift off into sleep, his stomach gave a loud grumble. He moaned at his hunger. He would have to find something to eat tomorrow morning.
X X X X
A cool gust of wind blew into the hollow trunk, causing the human to shrink back into his sleeping bag. The sun had started to rise, its dim light grazing Shuichi's eyes. He groaned and flipped over in the bag. He heard a moan by him and slowly opened his eyes. When Hiei's face came into focus, Shuichi panicked and jerked up. He quickly surveyed his environment and remembered that he had put Hiei next to him before he fell asleep. The demon was still sleeping. The fact that he had moaned before meant that the demon was still alive. This seemed to cheer the boy up. He got up, stretched, and put on more clothes. His stomach gave a loud rumble.
"Damn." Shuichi muttered and rubbed his stomach. He was unused to being hungry. The human dug through his traveling pack only to discover that he had no food left. He sighed and then grabbed his whip. He wanted to make sure he didn't end up being someone else's food. He glanced back at Hiei to see that he was still unconscious and then went off in search of food.
He hiked into the forest, finding edible berries and other fruits. After walking in a little deeper, he found a stream. Shuichi looked at the water to see that it was clear. He got on his knees and scooped up a few handfuls of water to his mouth and drank greedily. Next, he washed his face and then washed the fruits.
He felt refreshed and sat down for a few minutes to ponder what to do next. His mind went over what he went through the past few days and he felt depressed. He never expected living on his own would be so hard. Maybe he could run back to Kurama now and apologize…
No, he couldn't do that. His pride wouldn't let him. 'I'll prove to him that I don't need him… just like he doesn't need me,' Shuichi thought sadly. That last thought sent a sharp jab to his heart.
"Kurama," Shuichi whispered. He lay down on the grass, the smell sending waves of nostalgia through his body. He curled his fingers through the fresh vegetation, remembering how much he loved to lie in his guardian's arms on the open plains. He remembered chasing Kurama's soft, bushy tail as a child. The memories stung. He brought his hands to his eyes and tried to suppress the sobs coming from his heart.
"Kurama… I love you." His lone confession went unheard. A tear broke through his shaky façade.
X X X X
Hiei's jagan had healed itself by mid-morning. His body recovered enough youki so that his conscious mind alerted the rest of his body to wake up. Instantly, his hand went to his belt to reach for the hilt of his katana. When his rough fingers did not feel the familiar sword, his ruby eyes snapped open. He flitted to one side of the trunk and his eyes darted dangerously at his surroundings. When he perceived there was no danger, his body relaxed and he felt the wounds from his previous battle. His muscles were extremely sore and he felt pain all over his body. He grunted and fell onto the ground.
He hit a soft blanket and he then realized that there was a sleeping bag in the tree with him. He cautiously examined the bag and determined that someone had spent the night with him. But who? He felt no traces of demon energy and one sniff told him that it was a human. As he was pondering who it could be, he felt someone walking in his direction.
Hiei hid in the shadows and as the person walked into the trunk, Hiei tackled him to the ground, easily holding his arms behind his back. The person yelled and tried to shove Hiei off of him. Hiei instantly recognized Shuichi's bright red hair and loosened his hold on him, but still not letting go.
"Ow! Hey! Let go!" Shuichi yelled. He struggled again, but Hiei kept his hold on the boy.
"You! What are you doing here?" Hiei asked.
"Me? I carried you here! I fought off those low class demons. And I kept you warm at night!" Shuichi cried. 'How dare he!' Shuichi thought.
"Kept me warm…?" Hiei asked. Shuichi's firm, plump butt was rubbing against him in an erotic manner when he struggled. The fact that Hiei woke up naked led his thoughts in a perverted direction.
"Yeah! I gave you a blanket at night," Shuichi huffed. Not liking his body's reaction to the human, Hiei quickly let him go. He sat down and covered his lower body with the blanket. Shuichi was too angry to notice his effect on Hiei.
For a while, they just stared at each other. Shuichi calmed down and Hiei's body cooled down. Hiei was the first to break the silence.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"What was I supposed to do? Leave you there with those demons? I had to pay you back for saving me earlier," Shuichi said.
Hiei vaguely remembered running into the rogue demons after his fight with Bui.
"They were nothing," Hiei brushed off. "I would have killed them once I recovered."
"They could have killed you before then. It's not hard to kill a motionless doll." Instantly, Shuichi regretted saying that when Hiei fixed him with an evil glare.
"I don't need your help," Hiei said plainly. Shuichi could see that Hiei was very stubborn. He picked up the fruit he dropped when Hiei tackled him and tossed a few to Hiei. Hiei looked at it blankly and turned away. Shuichi was fuming over the arrogance of this demon, when his eyes noticed the wounds and bruises on the demon's back and arms. Shuichi took a few medicinal herbs from his bag and ground them into a cream. As he reached over to spread the medicine over Hiei's wounds, the fire demon caught his hand, shoved him to the ground, and straddled his waist.
"Stop attacking me!" Shuichi yelled.
"What are you doing?"
"Putting medicine on your wounds, what else?" Hiei's nose detected the herbs and let go of the youth's wrist.
"I told you, I don't need your help."
"If you don't treat them right away, they'll get infected and leave scars," Shuichi chastised.
"So what? What's a few more to those I already have?" Shuichi's eyes roamed over Hiei's body, noticing a large scar on his chest, and a few on his arms. He also noticed that Hiei was straddling him while he was naked. His face turned bright red and he averted his eyes to the side.
"P-put some clothes on!" Shuichi said. Hiei smirked at how easily he got embarrassed. He got off the human and found his pants. He put them on and was prepared to leave when he felt a cool, smooth sensation on his back. He turned around to see that the human once again had the medicine in his hands.
"Are you deaf? I don't –"
"Need my help. I know. But… scars are something that should always be avoided, right? Skin loses its elasticity and it makes it harder to fight." Shuichi repeated what Kurama had told him. Except in Kurama's case, it was because scars mar the beauty of the skin.
Hiei took the medicine from Shuichi and put it on his own wounds.
"I can put it on myself."
After Hiei applied the cream to all the wounds he could reach, he was amazed at how fast his wounds closed. While distracted by his wounds, Hiei didn't sense Shuichi behind him and applying the cream to the rest of his back.
Hiei knocked his hands away and glared at the human. It seemed he was just as stubborn as him.
"Human… aren't you scared of me?" Hiei asked.
Shuichi smirked and stood to his full height.
"Why should I be? I'm taller than you." He stood with his chest out and head high.
The slightest hint of a smile was etched on Hiei's face. This human was certainly different.
Shuichi looked at Hiei and smiled. He didn't know why he did it, he just felt happy. Then, he felt a little anxious as Hiei's eyes bore into his own. He didn't look away; he stared right back.
"Human, where are you headed?" Shuichi seemed to ask himself this question.
"I'm just a wanderer. I have nowhere in particular to go." Shuichi's eyes looked away from Hiei's. Even without the full use of his jagan, Hiei could tell Shuichi was lying. The human wasn't tough enough to survive on his own for this long, and his clothes were too fancy for traveling.
"I'm still looking for Karasu. Want to watch me kill him?" Hiei proposed.
At the mention of Karasu's name, Shuichi's body grew cold. He was suddenly reminded of everything that could go wrong if he were to continue to travel by himself. He didn't want to be alone anymore.
"Sure. And by the way, my name is Shuichi."
"Hn."
"What's your name?" Shuichi asked. It's been a while since someone didn't ask this disdainfully or just refer to him as the "Forbidden Child."
"Hiei."
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
A/N: Reviews make me write faster. Ok, I lied. I just like reviews. On another note, I've received criticisms that Shuichi is a little immature. Well, he's fifteen and had lived a pretty sheltered life with Kurama. Don't worry, he'll grow up and mature after spending a few weeks with Hiei.