Flames of Deceit-Chapter 8

Okay so I'm not good at updating very often….heh…but I'm out of school now…so maybe that'll help some…

So lets do a recap….last chapter…yusuke was supposed to go on another date with Keiko, which didn't work out because Sadiron interfered. Hiei and Neko were along for the ride…Kurama has been issued by Koenma to watch Neko…and he himself has met the new enemy. Neko was possessed by an ancient being known as Miayumi…she has connections to Hiei's apparently murdered father. Wonderful yes?

Chapter 8-Frozen

Hiei stared out of the window which had now become his sanctuary…He was actually grateful that Kurama had allowed that to him…However at the moment, he was very deep in thought...His father, he had not even had thoughts about the history of his father for so long now. It had been years, then this girl fell into his lap and held the key to everything that he had ever wanted to know. She was a reincarnate...she was two people, well a human and a youkai all in one. Strange that a youkai would choose a human as a host, but than again this was not the first time something like this had happened...It had happened with Kurama. And yet this Miayumi did not quite have a hold over her host just yet. There was still Neko there.

He felt a chill run down his spine...they had shared a kiss the last time they had encountered each other...and it had been Neko, not Miayumi that had initiated it. He hated to admit it, but he feared that he would lose the girl to the ancient power that was trying to gain control over her. Even if she had known his father or not. He wanted to learn of her past, not the one who knew his father. Well, actually he wanted to learn both...yet he was torn between the two...Strange how him of all youkai would find a way to fall for a human. He was still upset with himself for it, but not was upset as he had been at first. He was beginning to see it as a weakness, a hindrance. This feeling was unwelcome to him. She wasn't a hindrance, she was...something...but he could not place what.

He did not turn as Kurama entered the room. "You're still thinking about it aren't you?" If he had not known any better, he would have thought that he meant the kiss, but he had not told anyone of it.

"I am curious...that is all" Kurama nodded, understanding. That was his way of saying that he could not stop thinking about what was going to happen. He had no idea of what he was going to learn, and that made him want to know all the more.

"I think we may have found the reason as to why they are after our "gifted" friend." Hiei turned to look at him, a curious look barely visible in his eyes.

"gifted?" Gifted? You make it sound as if she has a disease...like something is wrong with her...Fox, if you only knew what feelings I am harboring towards this human...If you only knew what this was doing to my insides...if you knew that this was shredding my insides. I fear this emotion. I fear losing this human...what is wrong with me?

"Gifted as in she holds a youkai within her mind." The fire apparition shrugged. This was all things that he had already gone over in his head...along with some thoughts that he could not keep from entering his head...The kiss had helped to ignite those.

"I think it would be safe to bring her here" A stare was the return... "Only as a precaution...now that we know that the youkai are indeed after her, we should keep a watch on her. Especially if Miayumi decides to enter her body again."

"You want her to stay here? In your house?" Kurama now chose to sit in a chair not far from him.

"I have convinced my family to stay on their vacation...they believe that there is bad weather that is not lifting, that is also my excuse for not being able to leave the house. Not only that, but we would have full surveillance over her. If she was attacked, or if she changed...we would be able to protect her from either herself or Sadiron." The red head paused for a moment to let that sink in... He did not say the rest of what he had been thinking, but then again he didn't have too. Not only that, but you wouldn't mind having her around for company.

Hiei raised his eyes to him, "She wouldn't agree. You have seen it for yourself, she doesn't want protection. She wants to feel independent." That was true...she seemed to be hiding from everyone...He had not heard from her since the last time...it had been a couple of days now. Kurama started to speak, but was interrupted. "I don't care if you are placed under assignment by Koenma to watch her, she will not hear of it. And neither will I. This is none of my concern." He had lied. He wanted her near, to watch her...to learn anything of his father. But it seemed wrong. She needed to be left alone. I saw emotional distress in her eyes the last time. She felt drawn to me, yet she wanted to push away. She was scared. Scared of the thing that was taking over her slowly. That had hurt him, seeing the look in her eyes that wanted to run from him.

"You care." This was not a question, a statement. Rage suddenly seethed forth. How dare he say that?

"HOW COULD I CARE? SHE'S A HUMAN AND NOTHING MORE TO ME!" How dare Kurama read him so accurately?

Kurama frowned, then turned and left the room leaving Hiei to his thoughts.

"Okay...so we have gathered that the youkai are indeed after the girl, and also Hiei." Koenma slammed his head down on his desk, papers flying in every direction.

"I already knew that! Tell me something I don't know!"

" The youkai know of Hiei's father" Botan turned to the youth that had entered.

"Kurama? Aren't you on assignment?" He shrugged.

"I don't think it matters much now. She doesn't pose a threat, at least not yet." Koenma raised an eyebrow.

"Yet?" Receiving a nod in return he urged the Kitsune to go on with the story.

It had taken several knocks at the door before Neko finally decided she would answer it. Not to her surprise she found Yusuke and Kuwabara asking for entry. She stood to the side and let them pass into the threshold. She smiled dimly and looked away. She was much more inverted than when they had first met her. It was sad.

For the first time Yusuke got a good look at where she was living. It was beautiful, or it would have been if she had been taking better care of it. It was big too, yet somehow he had the feeling that she was living all on her own. That was strange. The rooms were sparsely occupied, except for what little furniture she owned. None of the lights were lit...odd. He could smell the faint aroma of candles. Such a gloomy atmosphere...He felt sorry for her.

Kuwabara seemed to be keeping his distance from her. He probably had detected a slight power increase since the last time they had encountered each other. That wouldn't be surprising seeing as how her body was harboring a youkai.

She offered them seats out of politeness. She was oddly quiet, even for herself.

It was the spirit detective who finally broke the sad silence. "Has she appeared since the last time?" A wary glance was sent in the other teenagers direction...He shifted uncomfortably. Urameshi had told him everything. And he had finally recognized the feeling that he got whenever he was around her. Just like Kurama, he could sense two entities in one body. "He knows." Slowly, she shook her head.

"No, but that doesn't mean that I can't sense her. It feels like there is something far greater than my understanding going on right now."

"You don't remember much do you?" Her eyes lowered to the floor. He now knew what she had meant when she asked if he had ever felt like he had been controlled. A twinge of contrite ran through him. He would probably never understand what exactly this girl was going through.

"It seems I hold the key to Hiei's past." Her voice had startled them. Yusuke nodded.

"Yeah, it kinda seems that way." Jeez, I don't know what to say to her to make it better. Silence loomed between them. If she could have done anything right now, Neko would have run. She just wanted to get away from this all.

"Where did you come from?" It just kind of blurted out of Kuwabara's mouth. "It's just, you've never mentioned you're parents, never mentioned your past, you just kinda appeared out of thin air." She smirked at him.

"I suppose this was going to happen sooner or later" She sighed heavily. "I'm not really sure how to begin, I've never really had to tell this story to anyone."

Yusuke for once being helpful, placed a hand on her shoulder, "Take your time if you need to." Nodding, she searched for the words to say.

"Well I...I had a father and mother once. But after we lost my little brother...my mother went...insane." She looked at the ground staring at it intensely...fighting back tears. She was not going to cry. "My dad loved her so much, he stayed by her side. He tended to everything. But he didn't see what she did to me." Clenching her fists, she continued, "She took everything out on me. She told me it was my fault that my brother wasn't alive...I was so young, I didn't even grasp the concept of death. She used to hit me. Yell at me, constantly. I didn't know any other life. Then...then my father fell ill." Nervously, she began to fidget with the fire pendant that was around her neck.

"He died not long afterwards. I was six. I still didn't know what death was. Mom always told me it was my fault that dad died too. She said I failed him as his child and he died because of that. She refused to believe I was even her's."

Yusuke was giving the wall a blank look, which was being returned back. He had no idea that her past was like this.

"I was thrown out of my house...I had nowhere to go...It's amazing that I even survived. That's when Akashi found me. I had attacked him, trying to get money so I could eat something. He ended up bringing me home with him that night. He showed me kindness that I had never seen in my life. He fed me and clothed me...I guess he kind of became my second father. That was three years ago...that he took me off of the streets. He made a deal with me recently, if I go to school and prove that I can make it on my own, he wouldn't turn me over to any agencies." A grim smile spread across her lips. "Akashi is leasing this house for me...He's my guardian...my savior if you want to believe that or not." Emerald eyes had dulled, they were full of despair. Despair that no one should ever have to go through.

"Now, I'm here. And now...I have demons attacking me, saying I'm part of someone else's past." She neglected to mention the dreams that she had been having lately.

"You're not alone." Yusuke had stood now. "You have people to help you. Me and Kuwabara, and I know that Kurama and Hiei are willing to help too." He caught her flinch at the mention of Hiei. Odd, but he was sure that she had some reason for it.

"thank you." It was sincere. One of the only things she had ever said that had meaning behind it.

okay...there you go...hopefully I will have time to write some more tomorrow.