Chapter: I Could Never Hurt You
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters, except for Keiyma Suriei, Myrani Sakai, Etsu Nakamura, Itachi, and Zakoto.
Keiyma, deciding to stop dwelling on her peculiar dream and turned to get out of bed. She had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming in surprise when she found herself eye level to a grinning Itachi.
"Ahh. It's so very good to see you've awakened at last, miss. Were you comfortable?"
"Uhm, yes, it was fine, thanks."
She gawkily wondered just how long had he been standing there.
"His lordship requests your presence outside," He handed a gray box to Keiyma. "He provided some clean clothing for you to change into, miss."
"Oh. Thanks," she said, taking the box from him.
Keiyma watched uneasily as Itachi bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. She opened the box and pulled out a black dress and, embarrassingly enough, matching black undergarments.
She changed quickly and brought herself to the bureau, grabbing a hairbrush in an open drawer. She looked into the mirror as she brushed her hair, biting her lip at the sight.
The dress was pretty enough, but it didn't cover the marks on her arms, neck, and lower legs. She was thankful that it revealed none of the dreadful scarring on her thighs, but still wished that there had been something else. Remembering that she had no one to impress, she shrugged off her discomfort.
Keiyma turned to leave the room when, to her horror, she saw the wooden door slamming shut.
Someone had been watching her.
Hoping to catch the perpetrator, Keiyma jumped at the door, quickly pulling it open. But, the door didn't lead to the black room from earlier. Instead, it was covering Zakoto's swirling color portal, which she remembered led to the outside world.
With more ease than she had the previous times, she stepped through it.
With the soft landing of her bare feet, Keiyma landed in a dark hallway of a wooden cottage. She glanced through the windows around her, all of which were tinted, only to find no other signs of civilization nearby.
She turned when she heard a low voice humming a sweet song. Walking toward a doorway, she saw Zakoto sitting at a long table, reading a paper, while Itachi stood beside him. Cherry-wood cabinets lined the walls along with a sink and refrigerator, framing a screen door let led to the outdoors. It looked like a standard house kitchen, making Keiyma snort at the ridiculousness of Zakoto looking like an average man.
Listening intently, she was shocked to find the beautiful melody was coming from Zakoto. She was even more shocked at the wave of déjà vu that fell over her from the sight and sound in front her.
The humming stopped abruptly as Zakoto spoke, his eyes drifting from the paper to Keiyma's face.
"I trust you slept well, my dear?" He smiled pleasantly at her.
Keiyma nodded, suspicion rising at his gentleness.
He gestured for her to sit. She took the seat across from him, regretting it when she realized she was in his direct view. Zakoto's eyes ran over her scarred arms and she looked down, uncomfortable.
Zakoto cleared his throat. She looked back up.
"I wanted to speak with you concerning the spirit detectives."
'We're finished dealing with you.'
Her eyes drooped.
"What about them?"
"As you well know, they have the idea that they need to suppress my quest for power. They seem to think I'm evil."
He paused, waiting for a possible reaction. Keiyma made a small noise, whether it was a laugh or a scoff he wasn't sure. She said nothing further, so he continued.
"Their efforts are purely foolhardy. In their attempts to 'save the world', they only create unnecessary pain. Foolishly, they place their lives in jeopardy, simply because they can't accept change. They don't realize that I can better this world by bringing it supreme power." He stopped again.
Keiyma bit her lip. She had felt that Zakoto's rule was completely out of the question, and something that must be stopped. Yet, now that she heard his point of view, she couldn't help but to change her opinion somewhat. The pros and cons seemed to pile up in her brain, overwhelming and clouding her judgment.
"Regardless, a time may come when we will have to wage war against them. What I need to know is, are you able to fight against the spirit detectives? Will you be able to do your utmost in battle for the good of our cause?"
Dumbfounded, Keiyma felt as though a huge weight had fallen on her shoulders.
Images of her old friends on the ground, bruised and bleeding crossed her eyes. She had to choke back a sob when she pictured them dead, their blood dripping from her hands.
Even if they hated her, the spirit detectives had still been kinder than anyone else had ever been. Leaving them is one thing, but could she ever bring herself to cause them pain? Possibly even kill them?
"No." Her distressing eyes returned to Zakoto's calculating gaze as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I could never hurt them."
Noticing the miniature teardrop clinging to Keiyma's sad eyes, Zakoto realized that there was no changing her mind. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"Well, we'll just have to plan carefully so we can avoid that, my dear." He smiled reassuringly. "Why don't you go outside and train with your spirit weapon? After seeing the mark it made, I'm anxious to view it in action. You'll need practice before you can showcase your skills." He motioned toward the screen door behind him.
Keiyma wondered at his unusually easy reaction, but was grateful for the chance to go outside and relax her mind from the gory thoughts.
O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O
"You've got to be kidding me. You're all just going to stand here and leave her in the bastard's clutches?" Hiei growled.
"Hey, it's not like we could find her anyway. I doubt that after his last mistake he would use an old hideout. He could be anywhere," Yusuke said, trying to reason with the young fire demon.
"Besides, it's late at night and we're all tired," Kuwabara complained.
"So, you're not even willing to try?"
"Since when do you care so much about her, anyway?" Yusuke questioned. "You got a thing for her or somethin'?"
"Hn. Your job is to help the innocents, not busy yourself with mindless gossip, you brain-dead ningen."
"Hiei..." Kurama began softly. "I don't think it's wise to follow her. I believe the best thing is to wait for her. Do you really think she will turn against us?"
"I wouldn't put it past Zakoto."
"She's stronger than that, my friend."
"Even you are betraying me, Kurama?"
"No. I'm not betraying you, but I'm not going to help. I have a strong feeling that you should not go to her."
"I can't just leave her. I won't sit by as a coward would, while she may be in danger. Since none of you will help me, I'll go alone." Hiei said, and ran out the door before anyone could protest.
Hiei continued to run, racing across the land. He didn't know what exactly he was waiting for, or how exactly he could find it. He thought of some kind of signal she could possibly be giving off. A sound, smell, or feeling she could give off that would show him where she was.
He had been searching all night, and, as the sun rose, he was not even close to giving up.
A sudden feeling came over him.
He should try sensing her power.
It was masked by a spell from the old Jaganshi, but, if she did something that required a lot of energy, he would be able to feel it. So far, it had been no luck.
But the feeling insisted.
Hiei stopped running and jumped up atop a tree, clearing his mind. He focused his energy on reading the power levels near him. He could reach a wide area with his whole energy converged, but was still hesitant of whether he was close enough to be able to sense her.
For a full minute he felt the radiation of many different power levels, none high enough to be Keiyma's. He was about to leave and try another area, when an abrupt burst of power surfaced.
He jumped into a run in its direction.
O—o—O—o—O—o—O—o—O
Breathing in the cool, refreshing air, a sudden tingle slid across Keiyma's spine. She felt as though someone was watching her, coming toward her. Instead of a feeling of dread washing over her, she was surprised to find that she had instead felt calmer than she had before.
Warmth had suddenly surrounded Keiyma. She blinked, confused, until an incredible feeling washed over her, making her realize that she was being held in a tight embrace of a certain spiky-haired assailant.
"...Hiei" His name poured from her lips like hot chocolate, warming and calming her instantly.
She reabsorbed her spirit daggers and wrapped her arm around him, shyly stroking his back. She wanted to feel that he was really there.
They stood there in each other's arms, neither one wanting to let go of the other. Keiyma closed her eyes and rested against Hiei.
If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.
"I thought I had lost you." Hiei's voice was sad and mixed with anger.
"All those things you said... why-?" Keiyma asked, recalling the painful memory.
"That wasn't me. Zakoto disguised himself to trick you into going with him. Whatever he said to you isn't true."
"What?"
Hiei let go of her and stared straight into her eyes so she could tell he was being sincere.
"I would never do anything to hurt you, Keiyma."
Keiyma looked deeply at him, searching his face for deceit. There was none. No anger, mystery, nor sadistic humor upon his face. This was truly Hiei before her, and he was presenting his heart to her.
"I wanted so badly for it not to be you, for nothing you said to be real. It hurt so much to have you gone from my life." She smiled, suddenly growing hopeful. "And when you ran from me in the forest, that was just an illusion, too?"
"No… that was real."
Keiyma suddenly pulled back, afraid to touch him, not remembering that he was the one who ran up to hug her.
He grabbed her shoulders.
"It wasn't because of you. I was… afraid. I wasn't expecting to suddenly find my mate."
He had felt it.
"I didn't think that I was ready. I shouldn't have run from you, I'm sorry."
"Are you?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"I don't apologize often, and, on the rare chance that I do, I always mean it."
"That's not what I meant." She looked deeper into his crimson eyes. "Are you ready?" He looked at her skeptically. "To have a… a mate?"
"Yeah. I mean, we can get to know each other better, first. But, yeah, I'm ready."
Keiyma hugged him tightly.
"I always wanted someone to love me… I mean, to really love me. Not just to say it. I–" She bit her lip. "You do really care about me, don't you? It's not just because of the… the Ardention, is it?"
"Keiyma, when you touched me yesterday, I was still inside of your mind. The connection caused your very essence, your soul, to appear to me. I knew then that I was going to fall in love with you, because of who you are, not what you make me feel."
She smiled.
"You've never acted like this before. You're being so nice."
"I've never been in a situation quite like this before.
"Me neither," she whispered. "I shouldn't have joined with Zakoto, I'm sorry. I just–I thought that everyone hated me. It hurt so bad and I just– God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just want to leave. I want to go back, away from here, from all of Zakoto's lies." She was in tears.
"Don't cry." Hiei held her peacefully. "I'm here now. We can leave, together."
Keiyma smiled and stood in awe. She was so overwhelmed in sensation that it all felt unreal. She never wanted this feeling to end.
But it did.
It all disappeared, when a sudden, powerful explosion filled her ears and forced her backward.
Coughing up the smog-filled air, she looked up to see if Hiei was all right. She screamed when she saw him lying on the ground, completely still.
She tried to run up to him, to see if he was all right, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. Unwilling to give up, she pounded her fists upon it, screaming louder and louder, hoping it would somehow give in to her and open itself.
She couldn't tell if he was breathing. Panic set in. She began begging. Begging that he was okay, that he was alive.
"Please… I'll do anything"
A feeling of horror crawled up within Keiyma as a deep booming laughter surrounded her.