Left in the Shadows
Chapter 12: A Christmas Recovery
Me: Well…I have decided to write again. Sorry it took so long, please don't send any pillow minions, my reviewers! I hate stale cookies!
Yusuke: Finally you've decided to update!
Me: Shut up! I was taking a mental break! And looking up new Japanese words to use in my fic!
Yusuke: If you say that playing videogames and reading your Imadoki mangas a "mental break" then sure. And you only found, like, two words, and both of them from different fanfictions.
Me: BE QUIET! MY COMPUTER WAS BEING A BI-
(Few seconds latah)
Ed: Wow…that's anger.
Me: Okay, now for the disclaimer! I've been doing all this for the past three or four chapters and no disclaimer!
Kuwabara: What's up with that? (bum, bum ching!)
(Everybody's quiet)
Me: Ahem…anyway…I realized one thing.
Al: What?
Me: Whenever there was a "scene change" or when time goes by in the story, I marked it with the little stars on the keyboard. But when I put it on my site…
Ed/Al: ?
Me: THE STARS ARE GONE, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S NO CHANGE!
Ed: So?
Me: IT BUGS ME!
Ed: Whatever. Someone needs to say the disclaimer.
Al: I'll say it! Kit-chan does not own anything except the plot and her Oc's.
Me: Thanks Al!
Ed: Now on with the fic!
(Kurama: I suppose neither Hiei nor I were needed…
Hiei: Hn. Neither was the baka.)
(WOW THAT WAS LONG! Sorry if It bugged any of you.)
Chapter 12: A Christmas Recovery
"HEY, SHE'S AWAKE!" Kuwabara's voice rang through the temple. Within minutes, everybody was at Amanda's bedside.
"Hey guys, you're acting as if I died and came back." She smiled a bit weakly.
"Hey, you don't have to talk." Yusuke said gently.
"I'm not a helpless invalid." She replied. "I feel almost as good as new!"
"The keyword is almost, baka onna." Hiei said from the corner of the room.
"You be quiet." She retorted, wincing a bit as she sat up. "Hey, what day is it anyway?" she asked.
"The 26th." Kurama replied. "It's Sunday. You've been out for three days."
"…Crap…"
"Hey, you didn't miss out on anything!" Kuwabara said, grinning. "We were gonna wait until you got up."
"…Thanks." She replied softly.
"Hey, just don't push yourself, got it?" Yusuke pointed one finger at her, frowning. Amanda smiled.
"Yes, Daddy." She said, rolling her eyes.
--------------------
"Hey, this is awesome!" Yusuke cheered. He had received a DVD of a huge martial arts match at the Tokyo Dome from Amanda. "It's like being in the front seats except you can see the violence in slow-mo!" he grinned.
"YEAH! MEGALLICA CDs!" Kuwabara yelled loudly.
"Pop band…" Yusuke coughed, causing Kuwabara to leap on him and beginning a brawl.
(Ed: this is where you got your writer's block, right?
Me: Yup! And the winner is… 4-IS-LOVELY! YAY!)
"Um…Hiei?" Amanda began tentatively as everyone else was watching the one-sided fight, "Here's your present…I wasn't sure what exactly to get you so…" she handed him a small box covered with red foil wrapping. "I think…this is yours." Hiei opened the package and his eyes widened. Inside was a small clear sea-green gem threaded onto a white chain as a necklace.
"Where…did you get this?" his voice was a strained whisper.
"In…the forest. A demon gave it…to…me…" she trailed off, a bit uneasy at the look he was giving her. Total astonishment. "He said it was yours…"
"When did this happen?"
"Before…Tora Akuma attacked." She replied.
----------Flashback----------
(Amanda's POV)
Damn, all that shopping was hell. I vow never to put it all of until the last minute again. Oh well, at least there's training to make me feel better… I'm surprised that Hiei actually decided to stay with me. I think he's changed in the past week. Even Kurama's commented about it.
"He's become more easy going lately." Kurama said one afternoon after training. "I think that you've been a good influence on him. He's not nearly as closed up as he was before."
"Oh please. He's still probably the same as ever."
"No." He shook his head. "He cares about you, whether he admits it or not. He's protective of you."
I guess that's true. When we were at the stores, he gave this one guy the evil eye (A/n: no pun intended) when he looked at me…
"Help me…" huh? Who the… "Help me…" I turned to where the voice was coming from.
It was a demon. It had a huge gash in one side and blood was flowing steadily from the wound. He looked very old, and his clothes were tattered. He took a few unsteady steps forward and fell to the ground. I don't know what it was, perhaps the fact that he was wounded but something made me step forward and I crouched in front of the demon. He sniffed the air and looked up at me.
"You…you're part human?" he asked in a low, raspy voice. "Wait…" he sniffed some more. "That…That scent! You know the Forbidden child! The Imiko!"
"Hiei?" I asked. "What about him?" I was choosing my words carefully. I didn't know if this demon had buddies, or was just pretending. But I felt sorry for him.
"This…" he pulled out a small, clear, sea-green gem. "This…" he was grasping for words. "I found it along the river…when hunting with my clan…" he rasped. "Take…it…" he handed it to me.
"Where's it from? Do you know?" I asked, curiosity overtaking me.
"The elders of my clan…I took it to them…it's his." He put emphasis on the pronoun.
"His? Do you mean Hiei's?" the demon nodded.
"It's a memento from his birth…" he whispered. "One of the Elders used to be…in the group of thieves…that took him in…that's how he know…"
"Thieves?" okay, this was new. "Can you tell me more? Wait. I know some people that can heal you. Then you can tell me." The demon shook his head.
"It's what I deserve for getting careless…Just…be sure you…give it to him…" he took one last rattling breath and his entire body slumped to the ground, leaving me with the tear gem.
----------End Flashback----------
(Normal POV)
"Those words were the last he said before he died." Amanda said. "I told him that I knew people that could heal him, but he refused." Hiei was quiet.
"Did he say anything about where exactly it came from?" he asked at last. Amanda bit her lip. That was the only part she had left out. Hiei noticed the way she was avoiding his eyes. "Onna…"
"He said it was a memento of your birth and that one of the elders of his clan used to be part of a group of thieves that…took you in. That's all." She replied uneasily. "No details whatsoever." Hiei opened his mouth to speak, but the Yusuke/Kuwabara fight had just ended with Yusuke (of course) being the winner.
"Hey, Mandy! Got somethin' for ya!" he handed her a box nicely wrapped in green with a red bow on top. "Heh, Keiko wrapped it up. But I picked out the present!" he added. Amanda shook it, but nothing was heard. She opened it and saw…
…Tissue paper. Red tissue paper.
She rummaged around and found…more paper. Lots more. When she finally managed to sift through all of it, she saw a card. "I didn't know what to get you…" Yusuke rubbed that back of his head. "But I know you like that sushi place."
"You idiot!" Kuwabara yelled, finally regaining full consciousness, "You're supposed to get somethin' that means somethin'!"
"Oh yeah, that's very descriptive." Yusuke replied sarcastically. "Somethin' that means somethin'." He mocked.
"Shut up, Urameshi! I got her somethin' better than your crappy gift certificate!"
Hiei, by now, had already tuned out of the conversation. It all seemed…unreal. How the thing he had been searching for all his life, besides his sister, had suddenly showed up. But as he stared at his tear gem, he knew that this was for real. And he now knew how he felt about Amanda. Exactly how he felt. He turned his gaze upwards, but saw that Amanda was no longer with him. She was with Yusuke, inspecting the so-called apple cider he was about to drink.
"Trying to spike your cider, eh?" she said accusingly after the inspection. "…Don't whine to Keiko when you wake up with a hangover."
"Fine then. I'll just whine to you." He answered. Amanda gave him a look, but all he did in response was to down the whole drink in one gulp. She sighed in exasperation and took a sip of her own alcohol-free glass.
"So are you feeling better, Mandy-chan?" Yukina asked, worry evident in her voice. Amanda nodded.
"Yeah, so far so good."
"You sound like Urameshi…"Kuwabara muttered from behind his paper cup.
"Do not!" she protested.
"Actually, you seem to be picking up his habits, including speech." Kurama commented. (so, so true, I've noticed…)
"Ugh, no one is on my side today!" Amanda threw her hands up in the air.
---
"Hiei." Kurama took the kajihenge aside and out if the room.
"What, fox?" was the reply, even though he knew damn well what this was about.
"You've seen her, haven't you?" the tone was slightly accusing.
Hiei knew he couldn't lie. "Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?" Accusation became even more evident.
"Rinae knows now that you are alive. She's trying to find a way to confront you." Hiei replied, crimson eyes meeting emerald ones with a look of seriousness. "The onna will come to you in time." Kurama was surprised that words such as these were coming from Hiei, but he knew that he was right. He just had to be patient.
He now felt that it as high-time to change the subject, so he did. "Have you finally been honest with yourself, Hiei?"
"What do you mean?" he snapped in reply.
"About Amanda." The answer was simple.
"I…" Hiei began angrily, but he soon deflated. "…don't know…"
"Well, I suppose you have to think of something." Kurama smiled. Hiei glared at him, but both he and the fox turned when they heard questioning voices from the room they left. "But for now, we should get going." He added.
-----
The rest of the night passed without incident, besides the fact that Hiei almost exploded from Kuwabara almost kissing Yukina. In the end, it took both his sister and Amanda to calm him down and even then, he didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the night. Everyone stayed up until almost two in the morning and in the end, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan were drunk on exhaustion and were giggling at every little thing.
"Ugh, I'm bushed…" Amanda was one of the people to actually stay sober. But nonetheless, she had a hard time walking in a relatively straight line and had to be helped to her room by none other than Hiei himself. This was the only time he had been with her all night.
"Baka onna, you're still healing." He scolded.
"I feel fine now! Thanks to the healing skills of Yukina and Botan." She grinned. Hiei rolled his eyes. "Hey, you aren't still mad that Kuwabara almost kissed her, are you?"
"Hn."
"Aw, c'mon, volcano-head." She teased. "Kuwabara's actually really sweet. He's not a baka." She paused before quickly correcting herself. "Well he is, but not as much as you think."
"Hn." He turned to leave, but a tugging on his cloak held him back.
"…Hiei?" he turned around.
"What?"
"…Why have you been avoiding me?" she asked quietly. "All night, you always seem to be somewhere else." She paused. "Did I do something wrong?" her voice had hints of exasperation.
"No…It's what I didn't do." Hiei replied softly.
"…"
"I…couldn't protect you from Akuma. I should have been able to!" he growled. " You were right behind me, yet you were still injured! I-" He was cut off by two fingers that were placed on his lips.
"Hiei, it wasn't your fault." Amanda told him sternly. "We were both caught off guard. Don't you dare blame yourself for what couldn't be helped." He just gave a tiny growl.
"But-"
"I mean it." She cut him off. Hiei sighed.
"That's why I love you…" he murmured. It was true. Even though she was so different from him, she always seemed to say the right things at the right time for him. She knew when to comfort him; she knew when to knock him down a few pegs.
Amanda blinked. "What?" she thought she was hearing things.
"I said…" Hiei decided that the time was now. "That's why I love you." Amanda looked shocked for a minute, but she turned her head away.
"That's not nice." She whispered. "Did Yusuke blackmail you into this? If he did, I'm gonna kick his-"
"No one could've made me say this if I didn't mean it, onna." He told her. "And no one could have made me do this either…" Amanda looked up slightly.
"…What?" her voice was barely audible. Hiei didn't respond. He merely tilted her head further up and leaned forward…
…And kissed her.
(End Chapter 12)
Me: Awww…I liked this chappie! I think I could've done a bit better, but I liked the way it turned out. My reviewers are gonna kill me for the way I ended it… (shiver)
Ed: …it was too mushy. Hiei's gonna murder you.
Me: Oh, Shut up.
Yusuke: So, can you update more now?
Me: Yeah…finally, the computer is up and running.
Yusuke: So no more reading Fushugi Yugi. And Imadoki. And Dragon Knights. And…
Me: Shhhh! The readers don't need to know all that!
Kurama: Shall we answer the reviews?
Me: Sure! THANK YOU, ALL MY REVIEWERS FOR STICKING WITH ME!
Luthoen: It's okay! Sometimes I forget to review on stories too. But when you do, I really appreciate it! You were the first reviewer for this chapter! And thanxies for the gift suggestion!
Yusuke: You're one of her fave reviewers!
Prismdragon: Rinae's background will be explained soon enough…please be patient, I'm trying to work it in, since she's a new addition and not in my written version. (Actually, I'm not sticking to my written version at all, heh) As for Akuma, his will be explained later. I already have it all in my head. (For that, I will stick to my written one ) lol he does fight like a street fighter, huh? And thanks for the compliments; they make me feel loved! I really tried in the fight scene.
Neko no koi: Hey, Allishiddi! You should know who the "Inu" is! And for the record, my fic is muc more interesting as Yusuke, heh.
Yusuke: HEY!
Icedragongurl16: The "random chick" will play a big part in my story, especially in my sequel. Sorry for not updating sooner, please don't send pillow minions after me! Edo, protect me!
Ed: Uh?
Anonymouse: I like your penname lol. Yeah, Hiei really is torn up about that…He'll like the sweet snow, though. Weee! Reviews!
Hiei: My sweet snow. (holds it possessively)
Hiei's Shadow Tenshi: lol I like your penname too, btw. Um…I think it was actually safer not to glomp Hiei but…oh well. Hiei, please don't kill my reviewer… (pssst! thanks for your suggestion!)
Hiei!…..!…ONNA!
4-is-lovely: Yes! the show is BACK ON DA AIR! i watch it every Saturday (actually i record it) And what do you think of this cliffie! Mwahahaha! And thank you for your gift suggestion!
wingsofheart: Yay a review from Sarah! Ahem...Edo, remind me to kill Azure please.
Ed: okay...
MM-Sweet-Snow: ...uh...thanks for reviewing! And for the suggestion!
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Me: Well, that's it, and remember my three review limit! And thanks for everybody who posted in suggestions for my writers block! I really appreciate it! hte ones not mentioned were:
Yami no Tenshi the Dark Angel
Emily H.
Nekoofdeath
Thanks! Sorry i didnt use them, but they really did help! And please check out my forums! you can find the link on my page!
Ed/Yus: See you in the next chapter!