Left in the Shadows
Chapter 6: Feelings
Danielle: Hey Guys!
Everyone: What?
Danielle: I brought someone to see you! I would like you to meet my best friend, Tabitha!
Tabby: hi everyone! Labyrinth: leave me the hell alone.
Yusuke: O.O Okay…
Kurama: um… split personalities?
Kuwabara: oh no… it's Sensui all over again.
Danielle: Oh I forgot about that…Don't be afraid of Labyrinth. She won't hurt you too much.
Everyone (except Hiei)::sweatdrop:
Labyrinth: Labyrinth is most dominant because Tabby is a giggling air-headed twit.
Botan: how can you talk about yourself like that?
Labyrinth: my mistake I'll talk about you…
Botan: hey!
Kuwabara: wow she's just like the shrimp.
Hiei: Shut up you baka.
Labyrinth: yes shut up, I'm nothing like the shrimp.
Yusuke: Are you backing up Hiei, or Kuwabara?
Danielle::sigh: she's just like this. It's okay though, she'll get better when she gets to know you.
Yusuke: how 'bout we speed things up a bit::puts arm around:
Labyrinth: How 'bout you never have children::touches sword:
Everyone (except Hiei): 0.0
Danielle: Okay… back to the fanfiction! Um… Labyrinth, put the sword down…
Tabby: A sword? Sharp pointy objects? How horrible of me! Please Yusuke forgive me!
Yusuke: 0.0 um… what happened here?
Danielle: split personalities. She's Tabby now.
Yusuke: :being squeeze hugged by Tabby: Uh… I think… I… like it better… when she was trying …to kill me!
Danielle: :sweatdrop:
Tabby: Please Yusuke, FORGIVE ME!
Kurama: Um… to the fanfiction?
(A/n: yes my best friend actually does act this way, just not so much to the extreme lol. The truth is, she has a fetish with sharp pointy objects. And she is the hugest Kurama fan I have ever seen lol. She also likes Yusuke somewhat. You'll probably see more of her in later disclaimers. Oh yeah… I didn't even do the disclaimer… I do not own YYH but it's a nice thought… I would own Hiei…
Hiei::looks over: what nonsense are you mumbling about, onna?
Me: heh heh… nothing Hiei-kun!)
Chapter 6: Feelings
(A/n: yes… time for another author's note… I just wanted to say that Hiei might get kinda (not very, considering it IS Hiei we're talking about after all…) mean in this chapter so…yeah. Anyways, enjoy!)
Amanda awakened to see the stars shining brightly outside and the moon high in the sky. Recollections of the previous night came to her and she let out a small gasp. She looked around the room frantically and soon spied Hiei in a corner. He was grasping his right arm with his eyes closed, seemingly in a light sleep. The slight discoloration on his cloak where his hand was and the small puddle on the floor indicated that he had been wounded in the attack. She slowly crawled out from under her blankets and made her way to the jaganshi's side.
"Hiei." She said softly, placing a hand on his good arm. As an automatic reaction, his hand caught hers and swiftly bent it back, causing her to gasp. "It's only me!" she said through gritted teeth.
When he realized it was her, he quickly released her hand, "Hn." He grunted, letting out an almost nonexistent sigh of relief that she was awake.
"It's a natural reaction when someone touches you, huh? Sorry." She said quietly. Looking around a bit, she noticed a small basin of water next to him along with a few washcloths. "Why didn't you get your wounds treated?" she asked.
"Didn't need it." Hiei snapped.
"Yes you do. Don't be stubborn." She said sternly.
"Hn. It's none of your concern." He said, turning his face away.
"Then whose is it?" Amanda replied, soaking one of the rags in a small basin of water. You'll have to take off your cloak…" she added softly, wringing it out a little.
Hiei, once again, lost his temper a bit by being ordered around by a human girl. He grabbed her shirtfront and lifted her up. "I don't need your help." He hissed before shoving her away. Amanda got up, still a little sore from earlier, and proceeded to dip the rag into the water again.
"Are you done?" she asked, her emerald eyes shining through the darkness; she wasn't really afraid of him anymore. She understood that it was just his personality. "Will you let me help you now?"
"I don't need your help, dammit!" he snarled, raising his voice to a yell.
"Shhh," Amanda whispered, placing two fingers on his lips, " You don't need to yell. I'm right here."
Hiei froze, surprised. Her eyes showed no sign of fear, unlike the previous night. They were slightly worried, yet full of determination. He finally gave in and allowed her to remove his cloak and shirt, causing her to blush slightly when his toned torso was exposed.
However, Amanda wasted no time in cleaning his wounds. Taking the cloth, she gently washed away the new and old blood from his wounds and when she was done, she grabbed the gauze nearby.
"I'm sorry." She said suddenly.
"Hn?" Hiei was taken aback at the sudden apology.
"For slapping you the other night." She explained, wrapping the wound in gauze.
"You had a good reason to." He replied simply.
"But…" her voice trailed off as she looked around for the bandages. "Sorry, I'll go get some bandages, I think I know where they are. Just stay put or you'll open the wound again" she told him before leaving the room.
(Hiei POV)
Hn. Stupid onna. She thinks she can order me around like that… Yet…she doesn't seem to be afraid. It's like…she can read me. Hmph. She doesn't even know me. I shouldn't be worrying about a baka onna. Hn, here she comes now.
"Here are the bandages." She said quietly, bending down in front of me. Just that simple action caused my face to heat up. Dammit, why am I acting this way?
"I'm going to have to wrap it rather tight to stem the bleeding a bit." She explained before bringing her hand to my shoulder. I twitched a bit when I felt how cold she was. The temple was exposed to the winter air but, being a fire youkai, I could not feel it. I MUST have been possessed at the moment, for when she finished and turned to leave, I grabbed her wrist and drew her close. In the moonlight, I could see that her face had turned a dark shade of red.
"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked. I could find nothing to answer her so I merely pulled her closer until I felt her relax. I didn't know what the hell got into me, but at the time, it felt right.
(End Hiei POV)
After a few minutes of silence, Amanda looked up at Hiei only to find, with some surprise, that he was fast asleep. A small smile made its way to her lips when she saw that the usual scowl that was on his face during the day was gone, and now that she had had a good look at him, she realized that he looked…handsome. A blush immediately covered her face when that last thought crossed her mind. She gave a small sigh and decided to resign to her fate. Thinking of all the horrible remarks that Yusuke was going to make if he saw in the morning, she fell, rather surprisingly, into a peaceful sleep.
When Amanda awoke the next morning, she wondered why she felt so warm in the temple when it was so close to Christmas. She blushed furiously when she realized that she was wrapped in Hiei's tight embrace. His face was dangerously close to hers, which caused her heart to pound in her chest. As carefully as she could, Amanda dislodged the fire youkai's arms from around her and she stood up with a small shiver. Hiei's high body heat had shielded her from the cold throughout the night. She quickly and quietly crept to her bag and took out a change of clothes. Deciding that she could trust him, Amanda went over to the stall in the corner to change. When she emerged, she was wearing a pair of slightly faded jean shorts along with a pale green shirt with a picture of a beach and the words 'Southern California' on it; where she used to live. She also carried a pair of slip-on shoes, having discovered that they were more comfortable than sneakers or school shoes.
Amanda pulled her hair into a loose bun with a few of her ebony locks left to frame her face, for they were too short to tie back. As she looked around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything, her eyes fell onto the sleeping Hiei. Her thoughts wandered to last night, and the longer she looked at him, the more handsome she thought he was. When she realized this, a blush spread across her face and with a quick shake of her head, she grabbed her jacket and quietly slipped out of the room, leaving a small note behind.
A while later, Hiei opened his eyes, groggily. He was slightly surprised that he had slept for more than three hours. His eyes widened slightly when he realized that Amanda wasn't in the room and the others weren't back yet. He spied a note lying on the small bedside table moved into a corner. He quickly stood up and strode over to grab it. As he read it, his eyebrows slowly furrowed in frustration. Crumpling it in his hand, he grabbed his cloak and strode out of the room. 'Baka onna.' He thought. 'She could get herself killed… Wait. Why do I even care? …I don't have any feelings for her. She's just a stupid ningen girl. She's my mission. Yes, just a stupid babysitting job from the toddler-brat.' Satisfied with this answer, he picked up his pace to the outskirts of the Dark Forest.
Amanda stuffed the napkin in her pocket as she finished the hot rolls she had been eating and stood up, stretching her arms. She came outside to clear her thoughts and to do a little bit of exploring. She figured that if she at least kept the temple in her sights, then she wouldn't have to worry about encountering any of those demons like the other night. By now, she figured that those monsters were in fact demons, just like in the stories her parents used to tell her when she was younger. But now she realized that the stories weren't just to entertain her. They were stories about their pasts. Her heritage.
A gut feeling in her stomach told her that she was not alone. Looking around several times, she saw nothing to give the person's location away. But then hearing slight rustling behind her, she turned sharply only to take a step back from the familiar figure before her.
"You weren't supposed to leave the temple without supervision, onna." Hiei said, his voice even with controlled anger. He took a few steps forward, backing the girl against a tree just out of sight from the temple, and gripped her shoulders none too gently.
"Hey, you can still see me from the temple. I wouldn't think that those demons would be stupid enough to get so close to people." Amanda retorted.
"Hn. With someone as pathetic as you, they'll come no matter what, especially if you're alone." He responded.
"Well I don't see why you care." She shot at him. " It doesn't look like you like this babysitting job too much."
"Hn. If you die, it's my ass that gets hauled, by both Koenma and the detective. If it were up to me, you could go to Makai for all I care." He spat, despite himself. He didn't really intend for it to come out that way. But Amanda was unfazed and didn't hesitate to shoot back.
"Then would you kindly explain your actions last night?" she asked, causing the Jaganshi to blush. He opened his mouth in reply but before he could answer, a voice echoed through the clearing.
"YOOHOO! HIEI! AMANDA!" They recognized it to be Botan's. Hiei let go of Amanda before Kurama and Yusuke walked up.
"Ah, here you are." Kurama smiled.
"Wow, you were a lot closer than we thought." Yusuke said, surprised. "Anyway, we got somethin' to show ya." With that, he grabbed her hand and dragged her off towards the temple, leaving the other two behind.
"So… what do you think, Hiei?" Kurama asked, looking at the fire youkai.
"Hn. She's just a ningen onna. What am I supposed to think?" he snapped.
"…I think she likes you."
Hiei let out a snort. "And you think that's supposed to change my answer?"
"No… I just thought you should know." Kurama said, beginning to walk towards the temple.
"Hn. If you think I'm going to believe it, then you're wrong, fox." He said, jumping into the trees. Kurama merely smiled and changed his direction to a different entrance of the temple.
Amanda was growing impatient as she continued to wait at the back entrance. It led into the main room and Yusuke had gone in about ten minutes earlier, telling her to wait outside. '…It's going to rain soon.' She thought. Finally fed up and not wanting to be caught in the rain, she walked to the sliding door and threw it open, only to find it unusually dark. 'They must have all the blinds closed or something.' She thought. But no one was to be seen. "Hey guys?" she called out, "C'mon. Where are you? I'm tired of waiting!" Suddenly, she was bowled over in a tackle hug, courtesy of Botan.
"Happy Birthday!" she yelled.
"Ow…" was the only intelligible thing that came out of Amanda's mouth.
"Jeez, it took you long enough to come inside." Yusuke whined, coming out from under a small side table. "My butt was falling asleep."
"Well excuse me for waiting for you to come back out. You said to wait." She retorted. Yusuke was about to reply when Kuwabara's voice rang through the room.
"I, the Great Kazuma Kuwabara have taken the great responsibility of bringing this to you!" he came out of the kitchen with a huge cake in one hand with an extremely worried Kurama beside him.
"Don't screw up my carpet, Kuwabara." Genkai warned from her seat in an armchair.
"Be careful, Kazuma!" Yukina voiced worriedly.
"Don't worry, my love!" Kuwabara responded gallantly, bowing down and sweeping his free hand in front of him. But as he said that, he began to lose his balance and stumbled forward, tripping over a rug on the floor. He let out a yell and it seemed as if everything began to happen in slow motion. (lol) Yusuke jumped over the couch in an attempt to save the cake but his feet didn't clear the top, causing him to crash forward into Kuwabara. He in turn bumped into Kurama, who had taken the precious cake from him before he dropped it. Well, you know how things go, they all fell down and the cake splattered all over. Genkai let out a snort but quickly began screaming at the three for dirtying her hardwood floor and precious rug. Amanda was leaning on Keiko and Botan on Yukina in laughter, for the boys were smothered in cake.
"Mmm… chocolate…" Yusuke said, licking his lips. "Hey, Keiko, you want some?" his whole front was covered in the stuff, as was the other two. Kuwabara had an unlit candle stuck to his shirt (lol) while Kurama's hair was covered with white icing.
"Well… so much for the cake…" he sighed.
"Hey! Get to cleaning my floor! Now!" Genkai yelled. Everybody scrambled to the job and in about a half-hours time, the floor was spotless although the boys still smelled like cake.
"Okay… now what?" Yusuke asked.
"A game?" Yukina suggested.
"What a wonderful idea, my love!" Kuwabara said with hearts in his eyes.
"I know! Truth or Dare!" Yusuke said mischievously. (lol it seems like everybody's playing this game, desu ne?) Everybody nodded and sat on the couches, but there was one person missing.
"Is Hiei-kun going to play?" Yukina asked.
"Hey Hiei!" Yusuke called to the fire demon who was sitting on a windowsill, "C'mon and play! It's Mandy's birthday!"
"Hn. What makes you think I care?" he responded.
/Oh, come on, Hiei. It wouldn't hurt./ Kurama told him mentally. Hiei merely let out another one of his grunts but also went to sit with the others.
"Okay then, I go first!" Botan declared. "I choose… Yusuke!"
"Wait! That's not fair." He whined, thinking of all the horrible things that she could make him do. "Let's use this bottle!" he held up an empty water bottle. Everyone agreed and Botan spun it, which miraculously landed on the detective again.
"Okay, Yusuke, Truth or Dare?" she asked, grinning slyly. He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat on the couch as he pondered the question.
"Uh… Dare." He said finally. Botan giggled.
"I was kinda hoping you would say truth, so I'll give you an easy one." She smiled. "You have to take Keiko on a date for at least three hours." She told him simply. Keiko turned a light pink while Yusuke merely smirked.
"Okay then. Easy." he said. He then grabbed the bottle and spun it, hoping to get her back. But sadly, it landed on Kurama.
"Dare." The kitsune said, not liking the Truth option.
"Okay then…" Yusuke pondered his options until his face lit up. "Okay, kiss Mandy." Amanda blushed; she had never been kissed before. But Kurama leaned over and gave her a small peck on the lips. He spun the bottle and it somehow landed on her.
"Uh… Truth I guess." She said, uncertainly.
"Hm…" Kurama racked his head for a question. 'I guess now is the best time to ask' He thought. "Do you like Hiei?" he asked, causing Amanda to turn scarlet.
"I've only known him for a few days." She protested.
"That doesn't necessarily matter." He replied.
"Well?" Yusuke asked, wanting to hear her answer. She let out an indiscernible mumble, her head facing towards the ground. "Can't hear you!" he smirked. Hiei was looking at her intently also, for he was wondering if Kurama's words were true. 'Hn. It's not as if it matters.' He told himself sternly.
"…Yes." She finally spoke loud enough for all to hear. Hiei's eyes widened ever so slightly at her "confession."
"Wow! So you finally got over that guy, Chr-OW! THAT HURT!" Yusuke yelled, holding his shin where Amanda had kicked him.
"Shut it, Yusuke." She snapped. Yusuke looked as if he was going to say something, but he shut his mouth, deciding she was right and it was her birthday after all. Amanda spun the bottle, hoping to get Yusuke in revenge. But to her surprise, it landed on Hiei.
"Hiei, Truth or Dare?" she asked.
"Hn. Truth I suppose. I don't feel like doing anything stupid." He replied without thinking.
Amanda pondered what question she could ask the jaganshi. Almost immediately, the thought of Yukina crossed her mind. 'What harm could it do?' she thought to herself. 'It's just a simple question.'
"Are you Yukina's brother?" she asked curiously. The whole room fell silent and Hiei's eyes grew wide, as did his sister's. Amanda tilted her head slightly to one side, confused that a simple question could have such an impact. Unless…
Hiei meanwhile, was staring fixedly at the ground, hands clutching his knees. Although he did not speak, Yukina knew the truth. A small gasp escaped her lips and she brought a hand to her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. But unfortunately, Hiei took the tears the wrong way and he quickly stood up.
"Come with me, onna." He said so coldly, it caused Amanda to flinch. She stood up uncertainly, taking a few steps toward him. "Hiei I…" she began. He merely grabbed her forearm and led her roughly outside. Just as Amanda had predicted earlier, rain began to fall on the frozen ground as Hiei shut the door behind him.
"Hiei… I-I'm sorry… I didn't know." She said, anxiously. "If I knew it was a secret, I would have never-" She was silenced by a swift slap with the back of Hiei's hand, sending her to the ground.
"I've kept it a secret all my life to protect her!" he hissed as she rose unsteadily to her feet, tears falling from her eyes and turning into the precious gems.
"How the hell was I supposed to know!" she whispered, holding her smarting cheek. When she received no reply, she turned on her heel and ran out into the forest. No sooner then she had escaped from his sight, the rest of the Reikai Tantei burst through the door that Hiei had shut to keep them from listening. But as they always do, they were all eavesdropping, standing a few feet from the door.
Yusuke walked up and I one fluid motion punched the unsuspecting youkai on the cheek. Hiei stumbled back a bit, blood welling up on his lower lip. Yusuke had to be held back form doing further damage to him by both Kuwabara and Kurama.
"Why the hell did ya do that for!" he snarled to the fire youkai.
"Hn. You heard, detective. She had no right to say anything." He said as he spat some blood on the ground.
"She didn't even frickin' know, Hiei!" he yelled, struggling against the two boys holding him back. "Let me go guys!" he added harshly to them. After a little debate, they finally released him.
"You need to apologize to her, Hiei." Kurama told him sternly.
"You had no right to hit her!" Kuwabara said angrily.
"Stop making such a fuss, you fool. I had my reasons." Hiei replied, wiping away a bit of blood still welling from his lip. This time it was Kuwabara who had to be held back for a bit. No one hurt any of their friends, no matter who it was. "She's just a ningen onna. Why should I care about her?" 'There. She's not making me grow soft. I'm still the same.' He thought. Yusuke let out a growl but seeing a small figure step forward, he and the rest of the group slowly and reluctantly went back inside.
"Hiei." Came a soft voice a few minutes later. No response. "…Nii-san." Hiei finally turned around and came face-to-face with his sister. His eyes softened, still seeing the tears in her eyes and a few pearls on the ground. "Why?" she asked simply. "Why did you not tell me?" Hiei turned away.
"You… didn't need to know." He spoke softly. "I didn't want you to be hurt."
"How would I be hurt? Do you think that finding out that you're my brother would hurt me?"
"I didn't want you to learn that your brother is a killer, whose hands are stained with so much blood…"
"But that's in the past, is it not?" she asked him. "For a long time now, I have wished that you were actually the brother I have been searching for. I thought that it was impossible, and I hoped that he would have at least half of your kindness… but now my wish has come true." She stepped forward to embrace her brother, her eyes full of happiness. After a few seconds, she stepped back. "Kurama is right you know." She said. "You need to apologize to Mandy-san." She looked down deliberately and Hiei followed her gaze. What he saw were pale blue-green gems mixed with his sister's pearls. With nothing left to say, Yukina went back inside the temple, leaving Hiei with his thoughts for a few moments.
'She's just a ningen onna.' One side of him seemed to say. 'But she's different than other ningens…' another spoke. 'You're a killer. You don't fall in love with weak humans. If you stay alone, everything will be alright. No one will be there to distract you. To make you weak.' Poor Hiei seemed to have an angel and a devil sitting on his shoulders, with the devil seeming to have the upper hand. 'I don't love her. It's my job to protect her.' Once again satisfied with this answer and not really solving his dilemma, he took off after Amanda, only becoming a blur in the rain-soaked night. (End Chapter Six)
Me: Wow… poor Hiei, I'm putting him in a lot of crap, huh? He has such a self-doubt complex… I just hope he doesn't read this…
Hiei: I DO NOT have a self-doubt complex, onna. :snatches fanfic: Hm…
Me: Uh oh…
Hiei: …
Me: :backs away:
Hiei!!! Why you…
Me::Runs:
Hiei: GET BACK HERE, ONNA!
Me: Like hell I will! Help me, Labyrinth!
Labyrinth::asleep:
Hiei: ONNA!
Me: Meep, I'm screwed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chappie out before he kills me.
Kurama: Review please!