Left in the Shadows
Chapter 11: Friend in Need
Danielle: Wow, I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter! I'm so happy!
Ed: okay, good. Can I leave now?
Danielle: No! Hiei is being nice to everyone but me T.T (namely the reviewers ) so now, you're my new fave bishie! (not)
Ed: Huh!
Danielle: Yes! (hug)
Ed: okay…
Yusuke: Wow, it sure is getting hot in here! (pulls at his collar)
-few seconds latah-
Yusuke: ooogh…
Ed: Wow that was refreshing!
Danielle: (grins) I know!
Ed: I could get used to you.
Danielle: I don't know if that was an insult or a compliment…but oh well!(the two leave)
Al: Um…guys? Are you just gonna leave him here?
Amanda: Don't worry, he'll be fine in a few days. (nudges with foot)
Yusuke: Oooogh…Keiko, help me…
(A/n: My fave bishie differs in each fanfic, so in my FMA fic, I shall love Hiei again. Don't ask me why, it's just one of the weird things I do. (But I like Hiei more! )
Labyrinth (my best friend): My god, you should see the stuff she does at school and when I'm at her house!
Me: Shut up, Tabby.)
Chapter 11: Friend in Need
"Come out, Forbidden Child!" came the malicious deep voice from the demon. Hiei didn't need to be told twice; he leapt out from behind the tree and in front of Akuma.
"Let. Her. Go." He growled. Akuma merely smirked and looked down at the struggling Amanda in his grasp.
"Why should you care, Jaganshi?" he asked in a voice that sounded sincerely curious, although Hiei knew he was taunting him. "She's just a weak little human girl with links to your past." Hiei looked surprised, causing Akuma to chuckle. "Oh don't give me that look. I know all about you two. But wouldn't you want to erase one of the last things that remind you of all those painful memories?" he asked. Hiei growled through clenched teeth, but before he had a chance to answer, Amanda broke free from a startled Akuma.
"I…am NOT weak!" she snarled as she unsheathed her sais in a surprise attack. With he weapons charged with the wind, it almost caught him off guard. Almost.
He simply faded from her vision and reappeared next to her. She ducked his swift punch and swung her sais towards his chest. He disappeared once more and aimed a punch to her gut. Hiei stepped forward to help but a shout in his mind held him back.
/Hiei, don't! Let me see how strong I am/ she yelled, barely dodging Akuma's lightning-fast punches. He was toying with her.
/This isn't the time for that/ Hiei yelled back. /He's much stronger than you, Amanda/
She paused for a split second, surprised that he had actually called her by name. She barely managed to dodge another kick meant to swipe her of her feet, but she landed off-balance. Akuma took that second of hesitation and a solid punch connected with her stomach, causing her to choke and fall to her knees.
"…Shit." She muttered, struggling to stand once more. Akuma smirked and stepped until he was behind her, dodging the sais that she threw at him in a last effort.
A dark shadow-like dagger appeared in his had and he thrust it down towards Amanda's exposed back. Amanda gasped but to her surprise, he disappeared again with a small frown. The reason for this was soon apparent, for she saw Hiei with his sword drawn, pointing exactly where Akuma had been only moments before.
"Damn…" he hissed when he saw that his sword had not met its intended target. He handed Amanda back her weapon and swiftly positioned himself back-to-back with her, his crimson eyes scanning the area.
Heh heh… Akuma's clear, deep voice drifted through the clearing. How sweet. The mighty Hiei Jaganshi is here before me, protecting a ningen girl. Wasn't it you who said that humans were merely the steps for your own ambitions? Ah well… it doesn't really matter. All koorimes are the same. They shall all meet the same fate.
"Hn, what fate is that, Akuma?" Hiei sneered, gripping his katana tightly and looking for any signs of movement. Behind him, he felt Amanda shift her weight, looking around for the enemy. Akuma didn't answer. But a few seconds later, he got his answer. The stench of blood hit his nose and a small whimper met his ears, causing him to snap around. What he saw made his blood run cold.
He saw Akuma, his –what some would call handsome– face twisted into a wildly pleased expression, and Amanda slumped over his arm. The blood he smelled was dripping from a deep dagger wound in her stomach, staining the white snow crimson. "Death." Akuma said simply, the deranged grin still plastered on his face and his midnight blue eyes gleaming with delight. In one swift motion, he ripped his shadow dagger from her and it dematerialized. With his other hand, he held the barely conscious Amanda by her shirt collar, the grin turning into a small frown. "What a pity. She was so weak, it almost wasn't even worth the kill. I want a real fight. And don't even think you're a match for me now, Jaganshi." He added, seeing Hiei's murderous expression. "I'll give you some time. But how long depends on me." He threw Amanda to him. "I shall see you then, Forbidden Child." His grinned once more before he melted into the new shadows of the setting sun.
"DAMMIT!" Hiei shouted. He sheathed his sword and quickly set Amanda down on her back. Seeing the wound bleeding profusely, he took off his cloak and pressed it to her stomach. She gave a small whimper and her body gave a small shudder.
"H-Hiei…" she whispered.
"Don't talk." He said in a gentle voice that he only used with Yukina. But even though it sounded reassuring, he couldn't keep the not of anxiousness from creeping in.
"But…if I'm half d-demon…why does it affect me l-like-" she was cut off.
"Because, baka onna, your demonic powers still haven't fully manifested. It's a miracle that you're even alive." Hiei told her impatiently, not wanting her to expend all of her energy on talking.
/Fox, come now! The onna's hurt/ Hiei yelled mentally to Kurama, who flinched at the "volume" of his "voice."
/ We're coming./ he replied after alerting the others. / But Hiei, I sense trace amounts of strong demonic aura. Did it have anything to do with the demon we're after, Tora Akuma/ he asked.
/WHAT DO YOU THINK/ Hiei yelled. Kurama was shocked. He didn't think he had ever heard Hiei yell like that before.
Back in the clearing, -although he wouldn't admit it to anyone- Hiei was now becoming truly worried. His cloak was soaked with her blood and she had fallen back unconscious. 'When is the detective going to get here!' he thought angrily. 'I can't move her like this…' he looked down at her pale face and gritted his teeth. 'Damn that Akuma…' he cursed viciously. But his expression softened when Amanda let out another small, almost inaudible, whimper. He brushed a few strands of hair from her damp forehead. He knew what he was doing, but made no move to stop himself.
"She does mean something to me…" he murmured.
"We've managed to repair all the critical damage done to her organs, but she's lost an extreme amount of blood. I think the fact that she's part demon was the only thing keeping her alive." Botan told the anxiously awaiting boys. It had been about an hour since they had managed to carry Amanda to back to the temple. "The weird thing was that my own healing powers weren't working properly…" she bit her lip.
"Reikai Tatakau." Genkai spoke up, walking up to them.
"Huh?" Yusuke asked, "What are you talking about, old hag?"
"Reikai Tatakau." She repeated. "It's a high-level demonic technique that only the most skilled demons can use. It literally fights any Reiki healing done to a wound infected with it." She explained.
"I've heard of it." Kurama said.
"So, can you heal her with your plants?" Kuwabara asked. Kurama shook his head.
"I've done all I can." He replied. "I can only guarantee that the wound won't get infected or get any worse than it already is."
"A small measure of comfort." Genkai commented quietly. Just then, the door opened and Yukina came out with a small smile on her face.
"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest." She told them. Yusuke and Kuwabara let out huge sighs of relief.
"So, this is all we have on that Tora Akuma bastard!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"I'm afraid so." Botan sighed. The file on him was nothing more than a blurry picture and one paper.
"So much for Reikai's investigation department…" he muttered.
"Koenma told you that we didn't have much on him!" Botan replied angrily.
"Yeah, but you'd think they'd get a decent picture at least." Yusuke retorted.
"Well every time people tried to-"
"Shut up, you bakas." Hiei snapped. He was extremely testy and the two of them fighting wasn't doing one bit to improve his mood.
"Back on the subject…" Kurama began, trying to avoid a world war, "Hiei, how long did Akuma say he was going to give us before he came back?"
"He said it depended on him." He answered.
"So we must be on guard until then." Kurama sighed.
"Some way to spend Christmas…" Yusuke muttered.
At the midnight hour the moon bathed the forest in silver, illuminating the one person still awake. Hiei. After what had happened, he felt it was his duty–and his duty alone–to protect Amanda. But he sensed he was not alone. A small smirk crossed his features when he figured out who it was.
"Ah, I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Rinae." He murmured from his place on Amanda's windowsill, not looking at her.
"Nor did I." Came a feminine voice. The girl who Kurama had met before came out of the shadows created by the trees.
"Working for the toddler, huh? I remember you saying that you would rather spend a thousand years in Reikai jail before you would do that." Hiei commented, raising an eyebrow, his gaze still transfixed on the sleeping girl.
"You shouldn't talk, Jaganshi." Rinae retorted.
"Hn. Still the same as ever, huh Inu?" Hiei smirked. "Thought you would close up after you found out what happened to Kurama." Rinae froze.
"What do you know?" she hissed.
"That he's still alive." He replied calmly. "He is in a body known as Shuichi Minamino. You may have seen him already." Rinae thought back to the boy she had seen earlier that day. She decided to change the subject.
"So who's she?" she asked, coming to the windowsill and nodding toward Amanda.
"Charge. I have to protect her." Hiei replied tonelessly, but Rinae could pick up trace amounts of gentleness.
"Never thought you would have feelings for a ningen." She commented calmly, leaning against the sill. Hiei turned the faintest shade of pink.
"I do not have feelings for her." He replied heatedly. Rinae rolled her eyes.
"Come on, spikey, you know I can tell when you're lying and this time definitely qualifies." She responded. "Anyway, what happened?" her voice grew soft, for fear of waking up the sleeping girl. Hiei didn't respond. "…Hiei?"
"Demon." He said at last, his voice quiet and simmering with controlled rage. "I was too weak. She was right behind me and I couldn't…" his voice trailed off. Rinae gave a small, rare smile.
"If that isn't considered caring for someone, then what is?" she asked quietly. "You need to get your emotions in check, Hiei."
"…Hn."
"Think about it, Hiei." She said, disappearing into the night and leaving Hiei with his mixed up thoughts and emotions. (End chapter 11)
Me: okay, How's that? Please don't kill me, I will tell more about Rinae's past in later chapters. (mutters) Especially sine she has yet to tell me everything herself… (normal voice) But for now, I will just delightfully leave you hanging.
Al: That's kinda mean…
Ed: C'mon, Al, let them dangle!
Me: See? Edo understands me!
Ed: Don't call me Edo!
Me: Why! It's cute!
Ed: I don't want to be cute!
Al: Brother, don't let it get to you…
Yusuke: Okay, now lets go to the reviews!
Yami no Tenshi the Dark Angel: You will see who Rinae is in later chapters. She's being really sneaky, so I don't know everything yet.
Rinae: I just don't feel like telling you guys yet.
Prismdragon: Hey, I don't think you've reviewed before! Yay a new reviewer! Did you like this chapters action? I think it could be worked on a bit…
Amanda: I'm glad you find my heritage interesting! (smiles)
Falling past the veils: Um…wow very choppy writing, were you on a sugar high?
Hiei: Hn, the onna made me go shopping. I would have never gone on my own free will.
Amanda: Come on, you came because you wanted to!
Hiei: Hn.
wingsofheart: Hey, Sarah! glad you could find the time to read this! (even if you did stay up to midnight to do so ) i'll read your fics the second i get the chance! by the way, ephraimisugly
Yusuke? Who is Ephraim? He sounds like a dork.
Koorimechick: wow that is alot of questions! some of them were answered in this chapter, some of them will be answered in the next.
Hiei: i don't care what i get for Christmas.
Amanda: Oh, you know you wanna know.
4-is-lovely: Sorry if you hate cliffies but…
Yusuke: She just feels like being evil.
Luothen: Glad you liked the chapters! I'll keep going because of all you guys!
Yusuke: Since you were one of the three reviewers, she got up off her lazy butt and began writing again!
Hiei's Shadow Tenshi: I'm sorry that you think that all cliffies are evil but that's the way I am!
Ed: Yup! Ahhh! (falls to the ground) Get off of me! Heeeeeelp!
Me: EDO-KUN!
Yusuke: okay, (Edo screaming in the background) Thanks for reviewing, and please wait patiently for the next chapter of Left in the Shadows!
Keiko: hey, you said that nice!
Yusuke: (looks up from paper) Huh?