Sequal to Sun on Sword on Stone

By Keo Siph

A.N.:I've got the feeling that Hiei's been confusing some people. I'm here to clarify.

Or make it worse.

Hiei twisted his head in time to see the next fist flying. A dodge and a slice later, any concern for the fist was no longer needed.

There were around two hundred, swarming around his house, his home. Yusuke's kids. Keiko. Mostly, though, they were drawn the growing power of the brats.

He wasn't sure when he should start letting them use that, and so had left the decision to Keiko, who was still oblivious.

By the time she noticed their powers, it would be too far along to divert her daughters' energy towards another good.

After Yusuke proved that the use of your life energy to make a barrier was cause for death, Hiei had been overly-cautious in manifesting his powers, especially around Keiko.

Now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time for the darkest of his being… flames, seering flames that writhed within his soul. But, to control it for long enough to take down these creatures, he would have to change. His skin would reform and these beasts would see eyes that were hardly ever seen twice. He would see everything and the carnage would end quickly.

It was a pull to breathe as a demon once more.

Then back to human again, but in the meantime…

Keiko stared down the path to the well in back. It did not take anyone twenty-five minutes to use that well. Hiei had no excuse for taking so long. She threw a hat on and started to treck out after him. The small path was stone paved, and the sound of her feet wrung through the fog and mist of early morning. Stupid men, they couldn't find anything without explicit direction that they would never ask…

Something hunched over and green blocked the path just beyond the well. Green, and small, and black-clothed… Blood dripped from him and slid around him. The carnage was obvious, and only in one direction. Against a thousand corpses, this new creature stood, spikey hair drooping in the mist and arms shining with the wet. His head seemed to scan the horizon for more before he dropped until his hands caught himself on his knees.

She took a shuffling step backwards.

The creature twisted and almost lost its balance, red, hazy eyes catching hers before widening in understanding. They stood as they were, staring.

She was beautiful, like a creature that had walked through a hurricane untouched.

He was… Hiei.

Even as the normal hibernation of the dragon gripped him, Hiei could see Keiko fall over, colorful hat blowing away in the sudden wind.

Hina and Buu sat next to their parents, one accepted as adopted, one real. But, as they decided, you take what you've got.

And that's two fainting adults.

"What're we going to do about these two?" Buu, the eldest blonde, asked. Hina, black hair short and now flying into her eyes, shrugged. The wind Hina had summoned had kept her parents from earning concussions when they hit the ground, but they were both still out. Buu smirked suddenly.

"I could burn them awake."

"Buu…" Hina yawned. "I agree we should wake them up, but… They'll get P.O.'ed when we give them scars. Besides, it hurts."

"Since when did you learn to talk like that?"

"What, you haven't?"

"Keep your sharp tounge to yourself." Buu earned a laugh from Hina. This was all she ever tried too hard to do. The laugh was almost masculine and it reminded her of someone.

"But, I didn't mean I'd burn them. The heat near their skin would wake them."

"… Yeah. They could catch something if we doused 'em with water."

"What happened, you think?" Buu turned now to face Hina.

"Father Hiei probably used the dragon, and Mother probably saw him in his almost-natural state, as we see him now."

"You ARE a textbook!"

"… The point?"

"… nothing," Buu sighed. Another tilted smile from her sister. If anyone had a rebel streak the size of Manhattan, it would be her.

"She's… still out?" Hiei asked cautiously as Hina propped him up. A nod from Buu. Hiei sighed, and began to resume his humaneque form as he aimed for the house, kitchen, and warm tea. "I'll have something for her when she wakes up."

"We'll check to make sure none of the demons survived." Buu jumped up with glee.

"That's so like you." Hina followed her sister anyways. Hiei paused, and left. When he returned, Keiko was as she was. He knelt next to her, waiting patiently, continually warming the coffee mug, deciding pure caffeine was preferable to tea. Her eyes started flittering just as a sudden realization hit him: melted ceramic mug was running down his arm. He jumped up and started to throw the cup back together, loosing coffee and chips of the ceramic everywhere. Keiko let her chin rest on her brought-up knee as she laughed at the sight. He jumped at the sound, meeting her eyes again. They stared.

Her world was gone. Yet she couldn't take her foot off the gas pedal. The world wouldn't go away. She just kept driving farther into it.

So Keiko smiled and Hiei cleaned up a little bit more.

Green toad for a friend or no.