Hello once again, my faithful readers. I have (finally) updated! This is dedicated to Demonphonix, a new user on this site, and to all those who have had a bad past. Don't let it eat away at you!
Once again, thank to my reveiwers (Even though I didn't HAVE any......That was my fault anyway... :/ ). Here's the new chapter, so....Yeah. Laters.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All that I own is Kai, the poor girl. I WANT Kurama!
Yin-Yang
Chapter Two: Unexpected Events
"Hey, shorty's finally getting up." said a slow voice as Hiei regained consciousness. He took a second to register the insult, but when he did, he sat bolt upright and socked Kuwabara in the face. "Ow..." muttered Kuwabara, clutching his badly-bleeding nose gently. He looked longingly at Yukina, as if asking her help, but she was already occupied and ignored his complaints, to Hiei's delight.
As Yusuke and Kurama walked over from a corner, Hiei looked around the gleaming white infirmary. He saw Koenma look worriedly at Kai, who was long since conscious and sitting in a dark corner of the room, looking at the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks for unknown reasons. Yukina and Keiko tried to comfort her, to no avail.
Hiei's Jagan burned painfully and the demon suddenly had a flash of something like a memory:
It was a dark night, and angry yells echoed throughout the street. A young girl, six by the look of her, stood out in torrential rain, allowing her two-toned hair to cover her oddly marked face as her tears blended with the consistent downpour. She wore only a nightgown, but showed no sign of being cold. Her glowing red eyes looked toward a small boy's corpse lying nearby, covered head-to-toe in fresh blood. Black smoke rose from him, as well as from her hands. A woman, looking about thirty, with silky black hair and white streaks cascading through it, tearfully yelled at the girl through a window screen, proclaiming her message through the darkness. "Stay out, demon bastard! You endanger people! No one is safe around you! My only son...is GONE!"
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the flash ended, leaving Hiei with a weird feeling inside of his chest. The woman's words echoed through his mind, oddly remniscent to him.
"It was my brother." Kai, suddenly beside him, supplied grimly, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away the tears which marred the markings on her face. She ignored the others' confused stares and, clutching her covered charm tightly, abruptly began to apologize, "I-I'm sorry you had to see that. I di-didn't mean for it to happen." She forced herself to look away from the floor and into his crimson eyes, willing him to understand. He returned the stare, looking shocked. How? How can she know...? What the hell is going on?!
Hiei looked away from her, slightly unnerved by her pupil-less eyes, and responded with his usual "Hn." She accepted that and walked away, staring at the floor, seeming to have even less self-esteem than before. Oh great, she thought sarcastically, hated by yet another person... Hiei, of course, couldn't hear her thoughts, and he wasn't keen to try again.
"You know, Hiei, you could have been a little nicer to her." commented Kurama quietly, walking closer to him, following Kai's path with his eyes.
"Yeah, Hiei. In case you couldn't tell, I think she's a little insecure. And by a little, I mean a lot." agreed Yusuke, also quiet.
Hiei simply said "Hn", while secretly regretting his actions. Why does she have to be so damn touchy? He thought to himself, although, in his heart, he knew the answer (Or at least part of it).
It's because she's been hurt, answered Kurama telepathically, confirming Hiei's guess.
What? What do you mean, Kurama?, he responded, trying to play dumb.
We need to be careful around her. We will undoubtedly be recruited for the new team. Kurama carefully avoided the question, not knowing the answer himself.
Why? Tell me, fox! Hiei shot at him, impatient with Kurama's mental process.
You could be nicer about it. He complained, but still answered, We are still criminals, Hiei. Besides, wouldn't you rather have a chance to do something, instead of sitting in your tree all day?
I don't sit in my tree all day, fox!
You know what I mean.
Hn. Fine.
"Hello? Anyone home? I thought he was conscious, Koenma, sir." said Botan, waving her hand in front of Hiei's eyes, annoying him greatly. Her hand caught fire and she yelped. "I'll take that as a yes." she snapped, then went off to join the girls, who were talking animatedly (Kai stayed quiet, afraid to say something stupid) in the shadowy corner. Koenma cleared his throat, drawing the attention away from Hiei and onto himself. He gulped from nervousness as all eyes were drawn to him.
"You should really break your habit of reading other people's minds, Hiei. See what it gets you?" He lectured. Kai looked down in the corner; Hiei didn't answer, only glared at him. "Fine, don't answer. Anyway, you have a choice. You can either be a member in my new Reikai Tentai" Koenma shot a dirty look at Yusuke, who shot a dirty look back, "or you can go to Reikai Prison."
"Hn. What did the fox chose?"
Koenma opened his mouth to respond when Kai, curiosity getting the better of her, interrupted, "Fox? Who's that?" She then seemed to realize that she had interrupted and added regretfully, "Never mind..." Koenma sighed.
"No, since you asked, Kurama" He pointed out Kurama, "is a fox spirit." Kurama nodded. Kai nodded as well, but as small as possible, as if a normal nod were to bring disastrous consequences. She looked around the room cautiously, as if scared of so many people.
"May I please use a restroom?" She asked Koenma politely. He nodded and gave her the directions. When she had exited the room, Yusuke spoke up.
"Toddler, what's her deal? Is she paranoid or something?" Koenma didn't bother to tell Yusuke off for calling him 'toddler', since, technically, Yusuke didn't work for him anymore.
"She had a disturbing childhood, Yusuke." Koenma paused, sighing. Hiei once again felt that odd feeling. Pity, he thought, eyes glassy as he recalled the women's words. Koenma continued, "It's made her very insecure and shy." he finished resentfully. "But she was the only other option, aside from Kuwabara. The choice is obvious." Kuwabara looked from Koenma to Yusuke, and then back to Koenma, trying to figure out what he meant. After a while of him doing this, Hiei got fed up.
"It means that you were too stupid to do the job, baka." He spat, disgust evident with his every word.
"At least I'm not short." The human retorted stupidly, sticking his tongue out at the fire demon.
"Can't you think of anything else to insult me with?"
"Is that a challenge, shorty?"
"Maybe, but, with your brain, you might have mixed it up with a compliment."
"What?!"
"Need I repeat it, baka?"
"Stop it, please!" Kai shouted, having returned from the bathroom. She stood in-between the two boys, glowing with a faint golden aura, halting their fight. Hiei removed his hand from his katana sheath and Kuwabara walked away, muttering something about 'not worth my time.' Hiei glared at him and bit back a retort. Kai smiled at him kindly, ignoring his glare.
Hiei noticed a faint smell of blood about her, and a slight dark spot on her coat. She followed his gaze and hurriedly covered the spot, hiding a wince, and accidentally permitting Hiei a glimpse of a jeweled dagger hilt, sparkling silver against the bright infirmary walls.
Koenma stared at the two dark-haired demons, worried but confused. He again cleared his throat importantly, adjusting his scarf.
Koenma beckoned everyone to him and said, "So, the new Tentai will be as follows: Kai, you will be the 'leader' of sorts." He nodded toward her; she returned the nod, looking mortified, and then returned to her piteous state in the corner. "The other members will be Kurama, Hiei, and...Hmm...Who else wants a spot?" He asked the people gathered around him. Kuwabara began to raise his hand. "NO! Sorry Kuwabara, but we can't afford any mistakes this time around." He lowered his arm, looking crestfallen but confused. To everyone's surprise, Yukina spoke up.
"Koenma, sir, May...May I join?" When Koenma, shocked, didn't answer, she added, "I can be of use. I can heal people when they're injured and I can train-"
Koenma snapped out of his stupor and interrupted, "Are you sure about this, Yukina?" He looked into her eyes and it was obvious that she wanted to join out of concern for Kai. She, too, saw the dark spot. She nodded, icy blue hair swinging across contrasting crimson eyes. "Well....okay. That's that. You will all meet me at Genkai's in a week, where you will receive further instructions. Until then, you will hang around Kai for...." He paused awkwardly, thinking of a word. "Bonding purposes."
Kai looked like her death had come early; her already pale face paled even more, making the thin stripes look as if they were glowing. Yukina and Kurama bowed politely (Kai inclined her head, still pale), while Hiei did his usual "Hn."
A/N: Finally! Gosh, that took forever! Okay, well, I hope you enjoy it. I tried really hard, so, yeah. Please reveiw!
