Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Osa.

Japanese to Know:

Tomodachi - Friend

Chapter 13

Black Beast and White Cat

"Angel, you s'pose D'll be changed when we go back?" Osadyro questioned, wiping sweat from her brow.

"Why would she?" Angel joked, popping his wrists.

"You know D, she's always changin'. 'Thout us, you s'pose she's gunna change more?"

"I don't care how long we been separated, Darkfire always seems the same to me. Always got that same smart smile and hidden brown eyes. Only thing ever changed is her height and voice."

"That's cuz ya don't look. If ya looked, you would hardly recognize her."

"We'll see. Hey, you ready?" Angel readied his weapon and took a fighting stance.

"Yea, I'm ready," Osadyro smirked, letting her whip uncoil and flop on the wooden floor. She flicked it a couple times as she stood straight and poised.

"You remind me of a damn cat, Osa," Angel laughed, beginning to circle.

Osadyro laughed and started circling as well. Sneering, she lashed out at the man. Angel stepped away and started his own attack. Both having weapons that could change direction with the flick of the wrist, both could predict where the next strike would come from.

But Osadyro was the cunning cat in this game. She waited for him to fling the blade behind her. When he pulled it back, she rushed ahead of it. As they were suddenly face-to-face, she ducked and slid between his legs. In the shock, Angel barely managed to catch the sickle before it killed him. Soon as he had it, though, Osadyro hooked his arm with her whip and pulled it to his neck. Knowing she couldn't overpower him, she kicked the back of his knees and held him steadily.

"You fell for another one," Osadyro laughed, releasing him.

Angel rubbed his arm and retorted, "Who wouldn't? But it ain't like demons have you're fightin' style."

"D wouldn't fall for that. 'Course, she don't have a weapon like yers. Still, she wouldn't let nobody get that close to her."

Angel scoffed and stood. "What would you think if I shaved my head?"

"Huh? Like bald or fuzz shaved?"

"I dunno, maybe fuzz."

"Yea, then I'd have somethin' ta rub while I got ya hog-tied," she laughed, curling up her whip.

"Ha ha, yer hilarious. I'm serious."

"So am I." She patted his spiky hair, laughed, and trotted out of the training room. She shifted the whip to her shoulder as she wheeled right and hopped lightly onto the sill of an open window. Despite the three-story drop, she gazed confidently at the ground. Sniffing, she pushed into the air. As she fell, she flipped and landed crouched on all fours. There she rested for a moment, letting the stinging in her ankles stop.

"That was quite a jump."

Osadyro stood and turned. She gazed at Riku with detachment. "So?"

"Nothing, I was just making a comment. Where are you off to?"

"Nowhere in particular. Figured I'd just walk about and see what sort of things I could find. Maybe wander in the grove I saw when we first came."

Riku laughed. "That is no grove. It leads to a large forest wrought with spirits and demons. Some are kindly, while others hold a great resentment for humans. If you choose to go, stay on your guard."

"Tch, don't worry 'bout me. I won't stray too far." Grinning, Osadyro did a two-fingered salute and rushed off. She gained on the forest in moments. "Heh, I guess she was right." Wiping at her nose with her thumb, she strode into the trees.

"You walk as a cat, but you are a human. What are you doing in the forest of demons and spirits?" a sharp, male voice questioned.

The girl immediately went on guard, crouching lightly and pulling the whip from her shoulder. "Sight seeing." Her eyes danced lightly about, trying to find some hint of the being that spoke to her.

He laughed loudly, "Look, a winged white cat! Whoever heard of such a thing?"

"Huh? 'Winged white cat'? I have no wings," she spoke, glaring into the treetops.

"But you do! I can see their outline. What a strange human you are." A lithe figure slipped from the branches. He had shaggy orange hair and playful red eyes. A small skirt of orange fur made for his attire; a sleek tail of rusty orange curled behind him.

"What manner of creature are you?"

"A monkey demon. You have entered my part of the forest." His smile faded. "Leave this place. You are not welcome."

"Yea, why's that?"

"If you are found, you'll be killed. The demons that rule this forest as a whole hate humans, no matter how special. Leave this place at once."

"But I have only just arrived."

"We may meet again. But you must leave." He pushed her back the way she had come. "Please, I don't want you to die."

"We've just met, why do you care?"

"Riku said you were special. If you die now, no one else can be special." When they reached the tree line, he pushed Osadyro out into the field, but he remained beside the trees.

"What's yer name?" she called as she started backing away.

"Koto!" the demon called, shrinking into the shadows.

"She looks eighteen when she sleeps," Kurama muttered, picking the sleeping girl up gently.

"What do you mean?" Hiei questioned, sheathing all the weapons.

"She always looks younger or older, but now she looks her age. Don't you think?" He slipped the girl into Hiei's arms so he could tie back his messy red hair. As he squeezed, blood dripped to the floor.

"She always looks the same to me," Hiei answered, handing the girl back. "You think Kuwabara relayed the information to Koenma correctly?"

"Yes, Hiei, I do. Contrary to your thoughts, Kuwabara is a reliable person."

Hiei shook his head and gripped the wakizachi. "It doesn't matter. Let's get back before more demons come." Kurama nodded and they slipped through the portal. When they touched the carpet, Kuwabara trotted towards them.

"Kurama," he breathed, "Koenma wants to speak with you."

"In his office?"

"No, I'll take you to him."

Kurama nodded and handed the girl to Hiei, whom juggled her carefully while trying not to drop her weapons. The two taller men jogged away, not looking back.

"You're lucky you don't weigh very much, Darkfire," Hiei grumbled, shifting her once more. He continued on, trying to decide if he wanted to drag this girl up eighteen flights. Growling, he shook his head and decided his room was just a ways off.

Just as he reached the door, Darkfire gripped his shirt, tensed, and pulled closer to him. "Save me," she whimpered.

"Huh?" Hiei searched her thoughts, finding dreams of happiness and friends. He didn't understand: how could she dream happy thoughts and hurt so much?

A tear trickled from Darkfire's clamped eye, dribbled down the side of her face, and disappeared around her ear.

Opening the door with his foot, Hiei slid into his room and laid Darkfire gently on the futon. He set the weapons in a chair and closed the door. Sitting on his knees by Darkfire's head, he stared at the girl's blood-smudged face.

"If you are not human what could you possibly be?" He pushed her bangs from her face. "You're weak without friends. Insecure and frightened, despite everything you show on the outside. Pathetic human façade." Sneering, he stood roughly and began pacing. He didn't know why, it was just something to do to get his mind off it all. It didn't work though, just caused him to think more.

"Life was fine 'til she showed up," Hiei snarled, singling Darkfire out for his own ease. "Then her 'special characteristics' brought a world of study upon my mind." He stopped and glared at her. "And your pathetic, useless emotions…. You're worse than Kuwabara." His pacing resumed.

Unbeknownst to Hiei, surprisingly, Darkfire was listening intently, trying to figure out why Hiei hated her so. Most of what she had heard so far was basic and childish. She knew he was just mad because Kurama forced her into his hands without so much as a "please" or "thank you." It would've irked her, too.

The demon stopped once again and turned his savage glare to Darkfire. "And your need to cling is annoying," he hissed.

The girl's heart stopped. "Cling," the word that broke her heart so many years ago.

"Angel…" she thought, forgetting it was Hiei whom was speaking. "I don't mean to. I don't mean to cling as I do. Please…don't hate me." A tear forced its way through the barricade of black lashes and rolled down the side of her face.

"Crying again? Weak…just as I thought," Hiei huffed, crossing to his window. He pulled back the heavy red curtains and stared at the full moon that greeted him. Darkfire chanced a peek to see what he was doing. When she saw him, he looked as an angel incased in glowing silver. That is until he turned his piercing red eyes upon her.

"How long have you been awake?" he snapped.

Darkfire didn't answer and sat up. She matched his unforgiving glower with a blank gaze. A gaze that hid all thoughts and feelings.

"Let me remind you that I will kill you if I do not receive an answer."

"No, you won't."

"You certain of that?" The demon turned from the window, strode to Darkfire's side, knelt down, and stared hatefully into her eyes.

"You've had the chance so many times before. But if you wish to prove me wrong tonight, go ahead. It'll only hurt for a moment…I know it won't faze you."

"You speak of what you know nothing of."

"The pain? Or the fact that I don't mind dying?"

Hiei didn't answer. Instead he forced Darkfire back onto the floor. She tried to sit back up, ready to throttle him, but he held her down stiffly. He glared at the window out of the corner of his eyes as he lowered himself towards her body.

"What the fuck—?"

"Shut up," he growled in a hushed voice, covering her mouth.

"What is it?" she thought, trying to look out the window. But the demon's head was right in her view.

"I don't know," a voice whispered in her head. "But there's something there."

A dark figure appeared in the window, casting an eerie shadow over the two on the floor. It was hard, though, to tell where his hair ended and the moonlight began. The figure shook with silent laughter. "My, my, aren't we improper, Hiei. She's barely of age."

Snarling, Hiei stood heatedly. "You sick bastard. Why didn't you just use the door?"

"It's more fun this way. And I the sick bastard? I believe it was you who was lying on the young girl, not I," the figure laughed matter-of-factly.

Hiei fumed. "Well if you didn't go sneakin' around I wouldn't have ta get protective!"

"Protective of this fallen one, are you? I thought this black beast had changed you."

Finding her voice, Darkfire sat and questioned, "Who're you talkin' 'bout?"

"You, my child. Don't you remember what I told you?" The figure slid into the room, its lithe figure becoming known. A tail flicked behind him.

"Kurama? You're silver tonight…. Why'd ya call me a 'black beast' just then?"

"I must've forgotten that bit. With you're being a Fallen Angel, you have an animal spirit that coincides with that title. For you, it is a black beast of some sort, a canine I suspect.

"As for your friends, their angel DNA also has spirits with them. For what they are, I am not certain." From the shadow over his face, a sharp, thoughtful frown could be faintly made out. His golden eyes glared at the floor.

Darkfire laughed. "Don't think so hard on it, Kurama. It'll make sense when it wants to."

Kurama stared into Darkfire's soft, smiling face with an expression of shock. Her brown eyes danced in the moonlight; her gentle grin held behind it secrets never to be known. But there was something about her that made him feel comforted by this wolfish exterior. Perhaps it was her assuring laugh, or the way she said his name, or how she felt so certain of events to come.

"Oh, shut up. That's just wishful thinking," Hiei snorted, closing his eyes.

"Not really, it's quite logical, actually," she said softly, shrugging.

A low growl rumbled in the demon's throat and he cast a sidelong glare at the human.

"Oh, grrr to you too." Standing slowly, she stared through the dark at Kurama's shadowed figure. "One day, fox, I should like to fight you. 'Til that day, I value you as an ally. But I sense a great threat growing in your heart; a great betrayal dying to break loose. When we confront the demon we pursue, fox, I can only pray you will remember who you fight for now." Gritting her teeth and tensing, she stormed from the room.

"I've never heard her call you 'fox' before," Hiei whispered, staring after her.

"She wasn't herself. Something greater was in control."

"Was that 'something greater'what sensed this disturbance in your soul as I have been feeling?"

"Maybe. But no one can say that I betray those I am loyal to."

"I believe she just did. And, Kurama, I also pray that you will remember that you are no longer a thief of great reputation. The meager renown you hold now should not cloud your judgment."

The fox turned his sharp, golden glare upon Hiei. "You, of all people, should know me!"

"Heh, I know hardly a thing about you. And what little I do is no comfort."

"I will not betray my friends!"

"Can you be certain of that?"

"I can and I am!"

"Minds can change in an instant! Will you fail when your life is put on the line?"

"My judgment is infallible! No man, demon or human, can sway my thoughts!"

"I was speaking of death, not man!"

"I will not fail!" Kurama snarled, baring his fangs and tensing his claws. Then he relaxed, realizing his foolishness. "Trust me, Hiei."

"Have I ever not trusted you?" Hiei questioned slyly, turning his back to the fox.

"Then what do you call questioning me as you were?"

"Simply making sure you were thinking clearly. The voice of a friend testing your trust can be deterring."

Kurama smiled and stepped up behind Hiei. He gripped Hiei's right shoulder affectionately with his left hand. The fire demon placed his left hand lightly on Kurama's and a smirk curled on his lips.

"Don't lose your one chance at life because of pride, tomodachi. This girl has strong feelings for you, no matter how hard she tries to hide them. Let another woman into your heart and care for her," Kurama whispered, looking down at Hiei.

"Despite my death threats, I am only trying to keep her alive. That is the only way I know how to care," Hiei breathed, smirk vanishing.

"Liar."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I know."