What Happened To My Life?

by Icy Pheonix

This was really fun to write, and I hope it's just as fun to read.

51. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH, only the storyline.

Chapter 51: Bang-o, Change-o

I run quickly, keeping to the shadows the walls create. Man, things are actually looking up! I might even say I'm having fun.

And I don't even know why. There's really nothing funny about my situation.

COOL!

Oh well. I guess I'm perked because I actually got out of my predicament using BRAINS! And also, my size makes me almost undetectable. Though it was a stroke of luck that the demons didn't notice me against that white floor.

I hope that that closet had more than one bottle of the growth juice. Otherwise I might as well head home in shame, and try to explain to Mom why I have gone through such a rapid change. I think the result would really be very funny.

She'd probably make me live with my local rats.

Heheheheeee. Wait, what's that noise up ahead?

Okay, now which way is that closet? I've reached an unfriendly looking black, dusty intersection with tons of demons pushing carts on tracks. The very image of an out-of-ground coal mine. But instead of coal, the mines hold what looks to be guts. Intestines. They were probably rapidly reducted and had to amputated by demon doctors because the patient did what I did.

My nostril is already freezing up, damn it! Now I won't even be able toenter the Nose-Wiggling Contest! AND my right foot is bleeding!

I narrowly dodge a huge hairy foot and glance around worriedly. I certainly didn't come this way before. But how can I get back to any chemical closet when I'm in this mess?

Okay, okay. Calm down. Think. Where didI come from?

Let's see, I made a quick left in the lobby, where I got shrunk in the chemical closet, and then the guard caught me and carried me out, went to a right, then a left, then another right…then entered the mental room…

Which means I've gone in the exact opposite direction.

Damn!

How could this have happened? Why didn't I stop to consider which way to go before setting out? My god, even for me, I need to think more. One day, lack of brains will kill me. And I was just so impressed with my intelligence, too. Oh, irony.

But what can I do? If I go all the way back the way I came, I'd really kill my practical schedule. But I'll probably get run over here anyway, or at least stepped on. Damn, I HATE BEING SHORT!

Excuse me, did I say short? I meant midget-ized. Miniscule. Insignificant. Minimini.

Guess I know which way I'm going then.

I turn around and a bell rings. An intercom speaks: ALL STAFF REPORT FOR DUTY. ALL STAFF REPORT FOR DUTY.

What was that supposed to mean? Report to duty where?

I'm about to find out, I think with a groan, as I hear the thumping of hundreds of feet headed my way.

I jump up in my slowed reflexes, and fling myself with all of my strength to the side of the room. Less chance of me getting trampled there. I run to a nearby cart that's contents are covered and hide there.

I watch from under the cloth as thousands of a rainbow legion of demons charge through, and they immediately make a mad dash and grab one of the unoccupied carts behind the crowd. I see a demon step on right where I was. I think one of them saw me move in the shadow, but was too busy getting a cart. Once they are all in position, they start to run like hell, until no cart is left without a handler. A demon runs for my cart too. He apparently forgot it. Idiot. I jump out of the other side, accidentally banging my head on the cold steel, but as soon as I get off, the demon follows the others that were prepared. He kicks up a lot of dust onto me.

Well, I'm not any different, other than dirty. That was over really quick. I didn't even have to dodge or fight anyone.

Not that I'm complaining. I run back the way I came, trying to remember directions.

I don't get that far.

I run like all hell, but I trip over something like a hollow iridescent log. Glaring at it, I kick it, until I realize it is a medicine bottle. It rolls away. On it are the words GROWTH SERUM.

You must be kidding. That must be some sick joke. No way.

I can't believe it! God must not hate me after all! This is it! My ticket to eternal happiness. I'm really going to return to normal size! Time to say good bye to Polly forever!

But wait…maybe that isn't a good thing. I'll definitely stand out more at that size, and I need stealth desperately.

And isn't it a little weird that I suddenly find a bottle that is exactly what I need, and that I didn't see it here before? And wasn't the drink purple, not blue? And the label was definitely different...

This is a trap.

I feel its presence a scant second before I feel the whooshing movement behind me.

Morphing quickly, I jump out of the way. Whatever it is slashes again, very viciously. That's one swordsman.

But…I've seen that technique before…

Oh...

I dodge again, and again, repeatedly, trying to dodge against whatever it is that wants my life. I never get a good look at it, though. I only see flashes of green.

Finally, after several more dodges, it stops.

I turn my head and see the creature of nightmares. Worse than Genkai's brain defenses.

A small green thing with eyes all over its body, with parted blue-black hair. It is also holding Hiei's sword. I think the model is a sarayaku or something. Hiei used it occasionally. He used his other katana with me. How'd he get the sarayaku from Hiei? If it even is Hiei's.

The thing yanks off its white bandana, that is the twin of Hiei's. A crystal-blue Jagan glows.

No one else has a Jagan that menacing.

"Hiei," I whisper. "What happened to you?"

The once semi-kind eyes are filled with coldness and hate. "Don't speak to me, ningen."

That's old Hiei. Not the new one. "Hiei, what...?"

"I've reawoken. Now, I've relearned all I used to know."

"What did you used to know?" I ask, not really wanting to know.

"The true worthlessness of those who infest the living realm. Creatures like you. I was such a fool to let them cloud my Jagan."

"Hiei, you must be kidding." I almost feel like laughing.

"All right, it was a joke." He remorphs into his human form.

"Hiei!" I yell, trying tosound happy.

I start to walk toward him, in human form, but then I stop, and adopt a fighting stance. "Grow up." I hiss. Hiei glares.

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" I ask, highly offended. I'm not a Kurama, but I'm not exactly a Kuwabara either.

Hiei smirks, remorphs, draws his sarayaku, and runs for me.

I was somewhat prepared for this, because somewhere a nasty little part of my brain was asking whether he really meant it. I guess not. He must be under mind control. At least, that's what I hope. If he's acting of his own free will, there won't be much I can do. But I don't think Hiei would turn like that. He's an awful brat, sure, but not a traitor.

There is a speedy whistling noise, I double over as he gets me in the gut. I hate being short. For some reason, he isn't slashing hard at all. I tried to jump back to avoid it, but I just have no power at 3 inches height. The only reason he didn't slice me in half was because I was flying backwards anyway, but there as more. it looked like he only hit me with the dull edge of his sword.

I start morphing again, looking at Hiei towering above. I never thought I'd be smaller than him. The world is truly ending. I peel my hands away from my sides and notice they are red with my blood. Dull blade or not, he certainly is not kidding.

I lunge forward. Oddly, Hiei doesn't make any move to dodge. He just stands there, and I seize my opportunity. I land a huge scratch on his leg. It starts to bleed. Man, that's big.

Well, at least it's large from my point of view. Key phrase: my point of view.

I look him up and down, hating the laughter filling his face. He mutters something about didn't hurt a bit, and lunges again. I don't miss it by much because I'm in pain. I didn't know Hiei was such a spectacular fighter. I mean, I knew that he was an expert samurai, but this is a little extreme even for him. And he hasn't even got to the Dark Dragon Flame Thingamajigger!

"Hiei, I'm calling you back for the last time. Don't make me fight you!"

"I don't need to negotiate with you."

I race towards him again, and use every kind of martial art I can in my panther body. I land a few blows in his calfs.

Put it this way. It's not working.

But why? Even at this size, the force of my blows should at least trip him. But nothing! I've fought against enough demons to know that bit of physics.

But Hiei obviously isn't one of those mediocre demons. I knew how strong he was, or said he was, but fighting against him really cements it into my thick cranium. Is he sure he's only an Upper B Class?

Without even using his sword, he bats me out of the way like a rag doll with a green hand.

I hit the wall powerfully, and immediately counter-attack. I go back to my pointless game of whacking and scratching, wearing down his stamina little by little. But my stamina is getting worn down a lot faster.

Without fair warning, he grabs my scruff (that's right, so what if I still have a scruff?) and picks me up so I am eye-level with him. Knowing it's useless; I stop lashing and glare right back. If this is the end...

"You know, ningen, you could be one of us, being half demon as well. Your powers and skills are flawless, yet you cannot exercise them at this size. I can give you the real growth serum." As if to prove it, he pulls out of his pocket a real medicine. It is purple."All you need is to join us."

"And why would I do that? The whole lot of you are bent on killing and forging a path between the demon and the human world. That would mean the end of the human world."

"Exactly. Humans are pests. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be."

"You moron, Hiei. You're giving in so easily! You know which side you are on, right?"

One of his eyes twitches. "I know the truth now. A man can only depend on himself and his instinct to kill humans."

"Hiei, we're a team, remember? We work together."

His mouth tightens. "I never worked with you. I was brainwashed by you. I thought I liked you. You were always nice, for a ningen. That's what I can't forgive. You, loving the human scum, while you should be fighting as a demon. It disgusts me. We are not meant to 'work together.' It was not meant to be."

"You disgust me, jerk. I can't belive you fooled me! Why didn't I see who you really were? A selfish, conniving bastard!"

How could you? I hiss in my head.

I build up a bubble slowly.

For a while you made me believe you!

I turn hot, and he drops me. I roll toward the wall.

Stupid…why didn't I see right through him?

I roll toward the wall.

He'll see. Oh, he'll see how wrong he is.

I reach the wall. I allow my bubble to explode outwards so that it is about a foot in diameter.

As soon as I hit, I bounce back with the force of a rocket launcher. I did that to spite Genkai every now and then in lessons.

Out of surprise, he stands stock-still. I can't aim at this breakneck speed, so instead of hitting his head, I smack him really, really, really, really hard in the kidneys. His eyes widen slightly, and he inhales sharply.

I fall backwards, and when I hit, I bounce back up againby accident so that I am eye-level with him. As he sees me, he smiles, and keels right over backwards in a faint. Perfect.

No. Not perfect. Something's wrong here. There's no way only that knocked him out. I was prepared for a long fight. That was just getting hit hard with a soccer ball! A human could have easily withstood that!

I touch his scaly skin and wince. Yes, he's cold. Not dead, but unconscious.I look at his stomach area.

Not even a bruise.

If not me, than what really caused this?

But I hate him. Hate the way he's just laying there. Hate how he made me think that he was on our side. He was just waiting for his chance to reclaim his old ways, the bastard.

I astro-project, while leaving my slightly wounded body in that bubble. I'm gonna see what really knocked him out.

I forgot to demorph, cuz I can see clear through my paws, and can see my kitty body. Oh well. This will work just fine.

Before Hiei regains consciousness, I dive into his head.

It's much different in here than in Genkai's, which was the only other one I have ever tried. While hers had some light, kind of like the type given off by torches, she still wasn't completely dark as this one is.

I reach into my power and emit a blue light from my body, so bright that it takes me a while to get used to it myself. I move down a passage.

I'm planning on finding his memories. Maybe they will tell me something about his total change of attitude. I guess he met up with Sensu, who totally poisoned him. But, it certainly sounded like he was acting of his own free will. He still knew who I was and all. I hate him.

I don't have to look long, for there right before me I see many television screens, illuminating the depressing blackness. I inspect them one by one.

I see a small child, taking a beating from someone I recognize to be an ice demon, soundlessly. He isn't even screaming. Why wasn't Hiei screaming?

I can't watch anymore. I move onto the next one, and the next…all seem to feature a very tortured fire demon. Even though I have heard this story before, it's much more painful just watching it for real.

Then I see Hiei thrown before an ice priestess. She says many harsh words to Hiei, and takes off an amulet and throws it down to him. He picks it up with trembling hands. It's that blue oceanlike gem he showed me so long ago.

Then her voice softens. "Hiei…you don't belong here, and you never will,no matter what you try to do to change that. You will never fit in anywhere. We will end your painful,pathetic existence."

Two guards seize him from behind. They walk the screaming boy to a…cliff? They let him look down for a moment, then throw him off just as a pretty woman, with Hiei's black hair, makes a final grab for her son. A small girl child, who must be Yukina with that aqua hair, watches behind her.

"God that's horrible." I whisper to myself.

I move on to another. Hiei, alone in a desert, making a way of life, with real rage in his eyes.

In the next scene, I see something horrible. A grown but slightly younger Hiei's eyes…cold with hatred and a lust for blood. He slashes, a horrible grin on that face, mowing down what must be an ice demon.

I see him fighting Yusuke, torturing humans, killing demons in the dark tournament…

I turn away, unable to take it.

Hiei. That's not the Hiei I know.

But did he ever really reform? I mean, with a history like that, no wonder he became a serial killer.

I think he did reform, but...

But no. No he didn't. It was always bubbling below the surface, and I didn't see it. He always hated me. He thought he liked me, but he'll never change. Once a killer, always a killer.

I can't be the same as I used to anymore around him. Forget it. Any possible friendship ends today. I can't befriend such a cold person.

I trudge out of Memory Lane, never felling more sad in my life, and head for his controls to find his soul and find the reason that he conked out.

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A/N R&R! All right, this may have been a little too much like a soap opera, but it was just an experiment. That was how I always imagined Hiei. Dark and cold underneath it all.