Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Osa.

Japanese to Know:

Tomodachi - Friend

Chapter 16

Awaken, My Loves

Darkfire turned sharply. "Hiei!" she gasped, rushing up to catch him. Gently, she eased him to the ground. "I'm so sorry! I've been gone for so long."

"But you're alive…that's all that matters," the demon coughed, staring at the blood on his hand.

"Oh, Hiei." Darkfire's eyes traveled down his body. His tank top was in tatters, barely even there; his pants were cut into uneven shorts with cuts oozing blood; there was a hole in his stomach that went clear through, the main cause of his impending death.

Tears bubbled in Darkfire's eyes.

"Don't cry for me," Hiei whispered, smearing blood on her cheek as he wiped away a tear. "Don't even dare."

"What happened? Where're the other two?"

"Kuwabara…he's…dead." He stumbled through how it happened:

A painful cry sounded over the rumbling thunder. Hiei raced towards it, not quite sure why. When he got there, he saw Kuwabara lying on the ground, his leg detached and lying at his side.

"Kuwabara!" Hiei shouted, diving between the raised blade and the human. The blade plunged into his back and on through, piercing Kuwabara as well. For a moment he lay there, stunned. But when his senses returned, he stabbed the demon and pushed himself off Kuwabara. He pulled out the offending sword and killed all the demons that stood close by.

"Hi…Hiei…" Kuwabara gasped, tears falling freely from his eyes.

The demon knelt by the human and they held hands, Hiei squeezing for Kuwabara's dear life.

"Don't you even think about dying, oaf," Hiei threatened.

"I don't mean to," Kuwabara smiled weakly. "Tell Yukina…tell her that I love her. Please…Hiei." His grip loosened and a long, hollow sigh escaped his lips.

"Kuwa…bara…" Hiei whispered, closing the human's eyes, "I'll tell her."

"What about Kurama?" Darkfire choked, taking off Hiei's cloak.

"I…I don't know," he answered.

Darkfire nodded.

"I think…I think he's dead, too." He closed his eyes slowly, definitely and his head lolled to one side. Darkfire's eyes widened and she held her breath. When she released it, she screamed to the Heavens:

"Hiei!" Tears began to slip from her eyes.

"Will you waste your tears on this bastard demon?" the voice whispered in her head.

"If it will give me just a few more moments with him I'll cry every tear I possess."

"What about the other two? You have only a limited number of tears left after all these years."

"Can you bring him back to me? Can you save him?"

"Can you accept who you truly are?"

"If it brings him back I'll be whatever you wish of me."

"Then cry. Cry your heart out for this man. But when the tears become difficult, don't force them. That's when it's time to stop grieving."

Darkfire buried her face in Hiei's wound, sobbing loudly. She pulled her face from the blood and pulled his body to hers, holding tightly.

"Hiei!" she screamed, a searing pain developing at her shoulder blades. She didn't notice, but two feathery black wings, glistening with blood, had just sprouted from her back.

Though she cried silently now into his neck, her body shook with unvoiced pain. Her tears came slowly and with difficulty, stopping altogether. Still she held him, praying with all her might.

"Darkfire?"

The girl gasped and lifted her head quickly, blood flying from the sudden jerk. She stared, wide-eyed, at the demon in her arms.

"I thought I had died."

"You did," Darkfire whispered in a shaky voice. She traced where his wound had been, cutting through the drying blood. "But you're back now."

"So, you're really not human, are you?" Hiei said, pointing behind her.

She looked behind her and jumped a little. Touching the wings, she answered, "No, I'm not." Smiling sadly, she looked back at Hiei. "I have to find the other two."

"I'll help," he offered, sitting up on his own.

"No. You have to look for survivors. You're the fastest and can search the quickest." Darkfire stood and her wings flapped on their own accord, relieving themselves of blood. "Please." Turning, she grabbed her weapons as she ran out of the room. Her feet led her outside, where she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the horrific scene that lay before her.

"I didn't want this to happen," she whispered, slipping to her knees. "They shouldn't have all had to die. Not all of them were bad!" She slammed her fist into the ground, dust and pebbles spraying into her face, and created a small crater. A soft light caught her attention off in the distance. Her wings made a single beat and she rocketed into the air. She soared with ease, as though she had done it a million times before, and she soon reached a body she recognized.

"Kuwabara!" she gasped, touching down. Looking to the sky, the light began to fade. "Bring him back to me, Lord! Give the human back to me! His work here is not yet complete! Please, Almighty One, return my friend!"

"Darkfire," a soft voice whispered. "Tell Yukina I love her."

"Kuwabara, you tell her! Please, take my hand and let's go home!"

A silvery figure appeared in the sky. "I am broken on earth; here I am whole."

"I can fix you." Tears began to snake down her face. "Hiei died trying to save you. Please don't disgrace that honor. Let's go home, Kazuma. Please!" She stretched her hands to the sky, trying to grasp the soul. "Just take my hand, friend, just grasp it!"

To an ordinary human just watching, the girl would have seemed odd. She was stretching with all her might towards a gloomy sky, crying and talking to herself.

"Promise?" Kuwabara asked, hesitantly reaching toward her.

"I swear, tomodachi! Just take my hand!" Tears of desperation clouded her vision as she felt an otherworldly feeling at her wrist. With great might, she threw the spirit back into its body. Before the transition had time to react fully, Darkfire took up the detached limb and reattached it with a soft glow.

The being gasped for air and choked on what it received.

"Kuwabara!" Darkfire cried, holding the man up. She held him gently as he regained his breath. "Ev'rything's fine now; you're all right. You are all right."

"Heaven's nice, but I'd rather be here," Kuwabara joked, wincing. "But when I do die again, let me be in Heaven, k? I like it up there, it's nice."

She held the man tighter. "Don't be deceived, my friend. Heaven has many secrets hidden behind those cheery smiles. Just don't beg Satan for help."

"Darkfire…do all Fallen Angels hold grudges like you?"

"Not many Fallen Angels have also been shunned by Hell." She released him and stood. "I have to find Kurama. Do you remember where you saw him last? Maybe I can find him there still."

Kuwabara hung his head and clenched his fists. "He ran east," he growled. "The bastard ran!"

Darkfire's wings beat in haste, sending her over the land quickly. She scoured the area at a glance, trying to catch the sent of roses through all the blood and death. "Kurama!" she cried, hoping he could hear it and answer. A flash of silver caught her eye and she made a sharp turn for it. The fox was attacking a demon that had survived. But he was moving wildly and reaching out with his claws, losing his balance and tripping.

"Die," he growled, ripping the crying demon apart.

"Kurama!" Darkfire yelled, landing.

At his name, the demon turned and glared at the girl. "Who're you," he snarled, a strangeness in his voice.

"Kurama, it's me," she said, feeling hurt. "It's Darkfire. It hasn't been but three days; you can't have forgotten me already."

Kurama cracked his knuckles by simply moving his fingers. "I don't know you." He licked his lips. "Perhaps it was all a dream, human."

"Kurama, please, don't tease me. Please, don't do this. Kurama, I beg of you."

The demon laughed hollowly. "You stupid child! Wake up and face the sad reality!" His claws ripped through her shoulder to the other side.

She screamed in agony but made no attempt to get away. Again she cried out when Kurama tore his hand from her.

"Do you see? Are you awake now?"

Darkfire fell to the mud, tears pouring from her eyes. These tears were not caused by anything physical but rather a great emotional hurt in her heart. "Kurama, why don't you wake up? Be freed from whatever evil possesses you! Please, come home with us!"

"To obtain this demon's freedom something must be lost...and your tears are not enough."

"Wake up, you stupid child!" Kurama snarled, taking hold of the girl's ponytail. "Life isn't a fairytale with a happy ending!" He pulled her to her feet and held her there as she tried to free herself from the pain. Without even really thinking, she pulled a sword protruding from a slain beast beside her and cut her hair. She plopped back to the mud and clung helplessly to Kurama's bloodstained pants.

"Wake from your possessed dream, mighty fox. See me with your golden eyes once more. Prove you ran not as a coward but as a way of saving the lives of your friends…your kin," she pleaded. Her great black wings held the fox delicately. "Please, Kurama…I'm not ready to die for you yet."

"Your offering has been accepted. Take hold of the demon you love and protect him from the wrath of your other lovers."

Darkfire looked up at the silver demon. "Is it truly you, Kurama?"

He crouched down and carefully took her into his arms. As if she might break, he held her deftly. "Forgive my weakness."

"No, forgive mine. I should have seen through his deception."

"You couldn't have known. You're only human."

"But I'm not! I should have acted when my heart began to ache. I should have known something wasn't right. Forgive me." She held him tightly and refused to let any more tears fall. As Kurama stroked his hand through her short hair, she rubbed her head affectionately against his solid chest.

"Darkfire, there was a survivor."

Dun, dun, dun. Another mystery guest! But, really, if you don't know who it is, you obviously weren't reading very close. 'Til next time!