Yukina

Chapter 2: Something

I open my eyes.

And cringe.

My head is splitting open and I do not recognize this place.

I sit up straight and there is a sharp, intense flash of pain behind my eyes. I cry out and quickly, as if remembering a need for silence, clap my hand over my mouth. I squeeze my eyes shut and rock back and forth, willing the pain to go away.

Once the ache has subsided a bit, leaving only a persistent throbbing, I ease myself back down to wait. For what, I have no idea. I glance around the room, checking for signs of life, lurking ninja fighters, a magical pain relieving pill...before realizing that it hurts my eyes, and that the room stubbornly remains unfamiliar.

My ears pick up the soft tapping of approaching footsteps. I quickly close my eyes and flop down on the pallet beneath me.

Then the door creaks open and the sound of someone walking into the room pounds softly in my aching head.

The person walks into the room very close to me, and I almost flinch when he...she...it brushes some strands of hair off of my forehead. I feel the coolness of a wet cloth against my skin and suppress a shiver before the anonymous footsteps retreat from the room and shut the door.

I wait a few seconds.

And my eyes snap open.

I stand up, pushing the quilt someone has placed ontop of me away, ignoring the pain in my head. The room is simple. There is a small window with birdsong and sunshine pouring through, and the room is empty save the thin mattress I am standing on and a small heater beside it.

Where the hell am I?

I choose not to dwell on this disquieting thought, however, and walk over to the sliding door, pushing it open.

I step barefoot onto the smooth floorboards, and an overwhelming feeling of tranquility suddenly washes over me. I feel very empty and possessed of nothing but a desire to wander. The fact that I do not know where I am is small and insignificant.

The doorway opens into the middle of a corridor, and I arbitrarily pick to go to the right.

I walk along, thinking of nothing really, until I finally decide this hall is too damn long for it's own good. I turn and punch a hole in the wall, hoping that there will be something interesting on the other side. There is not. Just an empty black space with a perceptible wall behind the one I just put my fist through.

After that strangely draining experience, I begin to plod on aimlessly down the hall...until I see someone up ahead turn a corner, notice my presence, and come rushing toward me.

My eyebrows fly up and I take a cautious step backward. If this person attacks me, I'm dead.

Damn. I thought this place was, at the very least, ninja-free.

"Hiei! Hiei, are you ok?" what is rapidly becoming recognizable as a boy shouts.

I twist to look over my shoulder. The hall stretches on and fades into empty darkness behind me.

So this stranger seems concerned about me...not a bad thing, I think that rules him out as a ninja.

On the other hand, why wouldn't I be all right?

The stranger stops in front me, and because of my size—which I realize, to my great chagrin, is embarrasingly small—I have to crane my neck a little to look him in the eyes. He has very—there is no other word for it—pretty, green eyes.

I take another step back. Away from the stranger. Pretty eyes do not a friend make. I remind myself that I've never seen this green-eyed boy before, and that looks can be very deceiving. Though he seems to care about me, it may only seem that way. I begrudgingly acknowledge that there could be any number of reasons someone might require my body intact.

"Hiei…why are you awake? I was just in your room and you were sleeping."

So this is the towel-boy who checked on me.

I suddenly want desperately to befriend him. The desire to know where I am hits me full-force in the presence of someone who can tell me.

I start, astonished at the sudden realization that I don't know my own name.

It only takes a minute to calm down, though, once I recall that it must be 'Hiei' as towel-boy called me by that name. This is a comforting thought, and I cling to the information as I struggle to get out words.

"I woke up," I finally choke out, blinking confusedly up at the taller boy. I find myself absolutely loathing my confusion.

Confusion is crippling, and it forces me to limit my actions. I can't ask him where I am. What if he is really an enemy? He might trick me in an instant into following him somewhere...unpleasant.

The green-eyed boy blinks too, and then begins to question me on my physical state. He asks if I am all right...again.

"Yes," I reply simply, and wondering distractedly why I wouldn't be.

Did something...happen to me?

I scoff at my own foolishness. Of course something happened to me! Any idiot should be able to remember their own name and identify their surroundings without help!

I toss a furtive glance back towards the eerie, unlit hallway and begins to get uncomfortable and fidgety. I wish he would tell me his name. Maybe I'd recognize him then. It would put us on even footing, at least. Evener footing. Whatever.

"So Genkai's healing really is as effective as she claimed," the green-eyed boy mumbles, unknowingly causing the feelings of agitation stirrring within me to grow, even though the situation itself doesn't seem particularly annoying. The frustation of not being able to recollect anything at all is taxing.

My inner monologue suddenly explodes into frenzied ranting. This boy is completely useless! Muttering retarded phrases that mean nothing to me... I want to know what the hell is going on! I'm completely shut out of the world this moron lives in... I feel like a cripple!

He understands what is happening, what has happened, and I do not. I realize with horror that within seconds anything could feasibly happen. Fire, flood, enemy attack...ninjas...and I would be powerless to react, not knowing how.

...And I can't rely on this idiot, who seems incapable of even introducing himself.

"Who are you?" I bite out with a scowl on my face. I see no point, finally, in beating it around the bush. If he is going to attack me, he may as well. I'll demonstrate my obliviousness sooner or later. Better do it now, before he calls for backup.

"...Hiei?" he asks in disbelief, confusing me even more. The least he could do is say his name, instead of repeating what can only be mine.

But he says nothing more. He is clearly more of an idiot than I originally figured him for. At least now there is less reason to fear him, unless he is an enemy lackey.

"Hiei...it's me, Kurama. I'm your...friend. Don't you... You don't know me?"

No...

Kurama. That name seems vaguely familiar. The blurry red-haired image I have of the name fits the boy before me, but I've never seen the redhead before.

I think I've made it pretty obvious I don't know him...what's wrong with this fool?

And yet I sense something. A warped, demonic energy, swirls around this boy, without which I could have safely attributed the brain capacity of a human to this...demon?

And as for being my friend...I can't remember ever having a friend, an unsettling thought in itself.

"Hiei...please tell me you're joking." The redhead does not wait for my assurance that I am, in fact, perfectly serious before slapping a wry, weak sort of grin on his face and saying bitterly, "Oh no, wait...you never were the joking type."

I say nothing and turn away from 'Kurama.' He's not helping this at all. In fact, he's making it worse.

He's making me angry and worried...that there's something I should know. Something...

But what?