Burn it Black (Summary): Released from her dwelling place by mistake, a female demon seeks out her fated enemy. Now she battles to keep her mysterious ways out of the Detectives' knowing, but is thrown off course when she feels strangely toward a certain fire/ice apparition. Hiei/oc

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, only my characters and the plot.

"To belong to a world of things that cry in the dark"--unknown

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ONWARD MY TRUSTY READERS!

Rindou's Reminiscence

I was lying on my back when I slowly opened my eyes. I saw through black strands of hair that was strewn across my face carelessly. There was an open window to my right, where streams of light lit the surrounding background. I ignored the posters on the white wall and stared at the ceiling.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. My body ached and my left arm hurt badly. Reopening my eyes I jolted upright and sat forward in a cross-leg position. I reached with my right hand and felt the wound along my left arm, but instead of feeling my cape, I felt a bandage. Looking, I saw that my arm was indeed bandaged up tightly, and the white dressing was splotched with a deep blood red.

I clicked my claws together and took interest in the window. In the yard beyond this one there were two children enjoying a game of toss with a baseball mitt and a playing ball. One had shabby blonde hair and the other had light brown, and the sun was bright outside.

I twitched my ears as I heard feet tap on the wood paneled flooring. Turning over my shoulder, I saw an old teenager with brown hair and bronze eyes staring at me indefinably. His forehead had the abbreviation JR. printed on it.

"Glad to finally meet you, Kumori," he said a bit edgily.

"Koenma," I said simply, "I've heard a bit about that name. You're the son of King Enma, and decide where souls go by how they lived their lives. I've also heard that you're not too fantastic when it comes to keeping your own in battle or promises."

"Sounds like I'm famous," he said somewhat cheerfully.

"That all well and good," I said, "but I need to know if I killed Satsujinki and where I am, exactly."

"You are at Kazuma Kuwabara's house, one of my Spirit Detectives. This is his room," Koenma explained quickly, "and yes, you did kill Satsujinki. Very effectively, might I add."

I released a heavy sigh. As I closed my eyes and bent my head, my chest suddenly felt heavy. It was finally over. The whole ordeal was finally over.

Coming back down to earth as the boys outside ran to get the ball that had been thrown particularly far, I gathered myself together and regained my stiff manners. "Why am I here?" I asked flatly.

"If you want, let's get right down to business," he said impassively. "I sent my Spirit Detectives after you because at first it was a requested distress letter. The interesting thing about it was that there was no name left on it, no fingerprints, no

hair, no anything. Here, take a look." Koenma reached inside his coat and pulled out two pieces of paper. I waited a moment until he walked over and handed them to me. As I took them in my hand he backed away to rest on the wall while I looked them over. The first paper was folded over and crinkled. I lifted it under my nose and took a light sniff of it. It was true; there was no scent trace. Ignoring it, I flicked the letter open.

Koenma,

I have contacted you in hopes that we could resurrect an old treaty from a while ago. I call for your services, so you have no other choice but to act accordingly, however I plead nonetheless. Inside the Gishi Forest lies a small house, in which is inhabited by a young woman by the name of Kumori. It would be highly appreciated if you would be able to rescue her from that confinement a.s.a.p. This is simply because she is of greater value to me then she will ever be to anyone else, and I need her at this time. I am aware that your team of Spirit Detectives has quite the reputation. Hopefully they will not leave this mission without their heads. Forewarned caution; Kumori is a bit of a pyromaniac.

I snorted in dissatisfaction and shuffled to the next paper. "That's your record, Kumori," Koenma said from behind me.

Name: -----, Kumori

Gender: Female

Age: Unknown

Height: Unknown

Eye color: Red

Hair color: Black

Species: Never Recorded

Place of Birth: Never Recorded

Signature move: Unknown

Class: Unknown

Occupation: Never Recorded

Advantage: Never Recorded

Description: Was brought through the Barrier with Tenrai, Kogarashi legally. Inhabits Eirou House in Gishi Forest.

I stared at it for a few spare moments. They had a record of me? At least it wasn't detailed.

"Not much," I said offhand.

"No, it isn't," Koenma huffed angrily. He always knew everything. He was the Prince of all ReiKai. He should be privileged enough to know more then my name and a sketchy description.

"You said 'at first.' That means there was at least a second reason you wanted to see me," I said smartly as I looked directly at him.

He smirked at himself and straightened his poise. "Yes, in fact, there was another reason. I looked up the treaty that the letter talks about, and found it to be made a century ago with a man named Kamaitachi. In exchange for him giving me the portal ring I would offer him my services to him in an extremely serious position. If you put two and two together, it means Kamaitachi knows you and needs you. I, however, don't have any signs of his current whereabouts so I cannot immediately hand you over to him. Then again-."

"I don't care what you and Kamaitachi had, I don't know him and flat out refuse to be handled like-like…. an animal!" I shouted at him heatedly.

He stared at me before continuing, "Well, as I was saying, I couldn't do that anyways. As I sent my Spirit Detectives after you, I also sent Inspectors to the Eirou House to examine the bones. There turned out to be some remains of humans there. Do you know the penalty for human murder?"

He waited for an answer I could not give. I remained silent.

"It's death for the killer, which happens to be you-."

"How do you know?" I asked sharply.

"They were burned, and the ashes had your energy traces on them."

"…Damn…" I whispered under my breath.

"However, it seems that your heritage is truly…unique," he mused. "A fire shadow apparition? I've hardly come across one before, and, as you have proved earlier, you have the potential to become a highly recognized Spirit Detective, or something of the sort."

"If your asking what I think your asking, "I said slowly, "the answer is no. I wouldn't be caught dead with you and your-."

"Be careful what you say," Koenma forewarned, "I hold your future. Besides, you don't have a choice in the matter. I made the same decision with Hiei and Kurama, and they turned out to be excellent assets."

I glared at him and tightened my grip on the papers in my hands. He thinks he can control me just like that? I thought angrily. I'll show him who he's dealing with.

I glared at him and loosened my grip on the innocent papers gradually, until finally placing them down quietly. I yawned and reached behind my back to scratch it, but I used the protection of my back to hide the forming energy from my soon-to-be victim. As my yawn came to an end, I closed my mouth and my eyes. A moment later, I extracted my arm and whipped the fireball toward Koenma's form. As it left my hand, the fire died with a puff of black smoke. Stunned, I opened my mouth slightly and gawked at my empty hand.

"What…what just…"

I tried to form the question, but I couldn't.

Koenma started to have himself a giggling fit, and tried to subdue it as he pressed the back of his hand against his mouth. I glared at him and seethed, "Koenma…"

Finally restraining his laughter, he redeemed his formerly posture. "Yes, well, you didn't expect me to let you lye there without giving you some restraint. After all, I didn't know how you would take-."

"You sabotaged me when I was healing!" I snapped at him furiously.

Koenma nodded and sighed. "I just couldn't let you on the loose just yet. I can't trust you."

"That's mutual," I barked.

"Kumori, you'll understand with time. I'm not doing this to make you angry," he tried to reason.

I shook my head and clenched my fists at my sides. "Just…. go," I growled lowly. I heard Koenma's footsteps quietly tap toward the right, and the door creaked open. In a matter of moments, it hit the frame as it closed. As soon as I was sure I was left alone, I fell backward and closed my eyes to the blinding sunlight. My head hit the soft pillows, and I groaned in pain and mental frustration. Why was everything so hard for me? I found bliss in simply staying there for a few minutes, listening to the boys play outside together. It brought back painful memories…

"Can't just lye here all day," I mumbled as I resignedly sat up again. Rubbing my eye with my left fist, I rested my right in my lap lazily. Any further sluggishness was unacceptable. I was an active, predator-like demon. It isn't natural to feel as if I could lye anywhere without any tension or tautness.

Expelling my comfort, I flung my legs over the side of the bed and walked toward the window. The two boys were at the door of their yellow-painted house and were entering under the ledge of the front door. The green ball was in arms and safely transported to the home base. I instinctively drew away from the window and walked away.

I passed the bed, but glanced at the papers on it. Snatching the two documents quickly, I folded them neatly and stuffed them into my shirt. After all, my hakama didn't have pockets. I stopped in my walk toward the door and thought for a moment. Did I have on the same top that I had before they caught me? Quickly glancing at my attire, I came to the conclusion that I did in fact have the same complicated top with assortments of leather straps, filmy sleeves, and silk fabric.

Satisfied with what I had found, I continued to walk toward the door. I met the oak entrance and grasped the bronze knob that was connected to it. In one swing I had opened it and peered into the dark hallway. Somehow it seemed that way without any light fixtures or windows. I saw a case of stairs that lead to the lower level and felt my curiosity spark.

At the bottom of the stairs I removed my hand from the one-sided railing and excavated the new environment. There was a kitchen, which was fairly dirty, might I add, a living room, and somewhat of a very small, feeble foyer. I chose the living room and walked away from the staircase to greet it.

As my feet hit the carpet underneath, I glanced at the couch. The pungent scent of a human wreaked the entire house, but the source was coming from here. Walking closer cautiously, I peered over the couch and found the informant to be a young woman. She had light brown hair, tossed over her shoulder and face, and was a slim creature. She wore a white tank with one of the straps hanging off her shoulder and a pair of cotton plaid flannel pants. Her legs were crossed and her toes curled in her sleeping form. I held my hand before my nose to protect myself from the overpowering aroma of booze.

My conscious decided she could contain some information, but my actions were also fueled by my undying curiosity. Humans did that to me. I poked her side lightly and watched her squirm and collect herself in a curled position. Her eyes screwed shut and a trace of a frown was visible on her face. I couldn't help but smile at her and proceed to infuriate the slumbering human. I poked her side again, harder, and watched her grumble a curse under her breath and swat at my hand.

"Pesky brother…" I overheard her mumble in her sleep. My features lit up as I thought of something selectively evil. Maneuvering around the couch effectively, I kneeled at the side of it and watched her sleeping face relax if only for the moment. Then I dove my hands forward toward her stomach and instantly the human jumped up with wide brown eyes. I instantly drew back with a small smile and maintained a calm stare with the shocked human. As I pulled myself up I shrugged and shared a condescending grin of sorts with the now settling human.

"Koenma didn't tell me you'd be here so soon," she said lazily as she settled herself back on the couch. I lurched forward in shock. "You knew I'd be here?" I asked her angrily. I didn't like my locations to be known. In my world, it meant death.

" 'Course," she mumbled from her couch. "Kumori, right? You look like a demon to me." I was unsure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Regardless," I said as I twitched my ear in irritation, "I would appreciate if you kept where I am private. I don't want any…visitors."

"Who're you expecting?" she asked groggily.

I disregarded the question and murmured, "Curious humans…can't keep their noses out of anything these days." With that said, I proceeded to walk away from the couch and it's inhabitant to occupy myself with something I found more relaxing.

I folded my hands behind my head as I stretched out on my tree branch. The leaves brushed against my skin lightly, and I openly welcomed the tree's comfort in which I so sought to obtain. I glanced up at the midday sun with a weary glare, but soon found myself engaged with the problem that had currently presented itself to me. A tongue-curling yawn upset my stillness, however, and I found myself settling back down into the tree branch.

"At least Kuwabara has a good tree," I sighed as I turned my face into my arm. My eyes fluttered closed and I allowed my mind to drift. Hazy questions passed beyond me, like where were the Spirit Detectives now? Shouldn't I be finding a way to get rid of the leash that Koenma so conveniently put on me? Unconsciously, I took the invitation to sleep and slowly drifted off until I was deep in sleep.

Shizuru, meanwhile, figured something was up after not seeing a certain black-haired demon for quite some time.

Precisely, 5 hours.

She groaned as she opened the back screen door. It creaked open, sending a breeze of refreshing cool night air to wash over the brunette. It swept up her hair in the strong wind as she squinted and hugged her over-sized jacket closer. Shizuru then spotted a strangely familiar figure amidst the soft rose petals of their large Sakura tree. She sighed as she recognized the shape as none other then her newly acquired roommate.

She talked to me as she picked her way through the dirt and pebbles that stubbornly blocked her a clear path to the base of the tree. "Why on earth are you all the way up there?"

"…snore…"

Shizuru stopped mid-step and turned her head toward the tree with a puzzled look. She just snored… the woman thought cynically as she stared at me through narrowed, questioning eyes. Putting the topic aside for further questioning at a later time, Shizuru moved on.

"So, you're the kid they're all worked up about. As it seems, Koenma can't find much on you. Interesting, too, that little kid knows everyone it seems. If you ask me, he knows too much."

I reset my jaw and turned on my side, facing away from Shizuru unconsciously. She stared up at me with a dry glare.

"Be that way," she mumbled to herself as she put her back against the tree and crossed her arms. Shizuru looked up at the sky for the instant, and found the setting sun and rising moon to please her momentarily. She couldn't help but give a ghost of a smile at the rays of light as they reflected on her skin with the paleness of the moon and the flushed pink of the sun. Shizuru glimpsed up in the great mass of twigs and found me again, lightly snoring from time to time.

"I've got to know, what's all the hush-hush about this Rindou kid? Kuwabara's driving me mad asking questions about if I knew anyone with his name. One day I'll ring his throat and end it all," she mused quietly, not expecting any answer. None at all. But I gave her one nonetheless.

"Rindou…" I whispered, my voice heavy with sleep. Shizuru decided to glance up and see if I was still sleeping. Amazingly, I was.

"I…miss him…. " I whimpered in my sleep as I pressed my face against my arm and pulled my legs closer to me. Mildly surprised, Shizuru stared at me silently.

"He was the best… I swear," I continued as I curled my fingers into a fist. " He was the only one….who….wasn't afraid…"

My eyes tightened as an image slowly formed in my subconscious as I unwillingly recalled the event. The sky was dark overhead, showing a silver crescent moon in a never-ending sea of black night sky. A child with red-brown hair smiled at me with his deep green eyes. I had fallen backward in the dirt when I was running through town.

"Whatcha doing down there?" he said in his curious 13-year-old voice as he offered his hand to me. I eyed him curiously, but took his hand nonetheless. He pulled me to my feet, and I dusted off my long gray skirt and short-sleeved kimono subconsciously.

"You've got a twig in your hair," the boy informed as he reached toward my head.

I hadn't noticed he said anything until I felt something being pulled from my hair, in which time I glanced up at the boy quickly and stepped backward. He stood there, in slight shock, as he watched an ear twitch on my head. I grimaced as I waited for his screech to pierce the air.

"Whoa…" he gasped as he watched them move on their own atop my head. I swallowed and waited unwillingly, as my fear had rooted itself in my position.

"Get outta town," he said with a small smile.

Not knowing this wasn't to be taken literally, I turned away to do so. Just as I had, I felt a pang of pain tear into my body from my heel upward. Instantly I fell to my knees and squeezed my right foot tightly and thought over and over again to try to forget the hurt. That was when I felt a hand on my back.

"I didn't really mean to get out of town," the boy said curiously, but then busied himself with what I was holding.

"What's up?" he asked as he reached forward.

I went to move away, but he quickly swatted my hands away and looked at my heel. There was a deep gash along my ankle, and blood was oozing from the wound. He wrinkled his nose at the sight and said, "You've got to get that cleaned up, you know."

I gazed at him with wide, yet still unsure eyes. Was he serious? The boy leaned back and instructed me to put my bad ankle on his knee. I did as I was told obediently. Then he took his right sleeve into his hands and ripped the fabric apart with some difficulty, but then looked at my ankle again.

"This might hurt," he said quietly as he grabbed my ankle. I instinctively yelped and drew away, but he took a rough grip and held my foot down. Scowling, I thought, I knew I shouldn't have listened.

I held my palm face up and began to gather Spirit Energy in it when the boy quickly wrapped the white fabric around my bloody wound and tied a knot in it efficiently. Shocked, my concentration broke and the Spirit Energy evaporated. The smiling boy turned to me practically beaming with pride.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I snorted.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You do talk, don't you?" His eyes widened and he questioned, "Are you a mute?"

"No," I said with annoyance.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Oh, then why are you so quiet?"

"…I choose to."

"Ok. Oh, um," the boy fumbled with his hands and looked down at my ankle. "My name's Rindou, what's, um, yours?"

I looked at him through my tousled black bangs curiously. My eyes followed his movements as he put his hands' twiddling to rest and looked up at me, his green eyes expecting an answer of sorts.

I sighed as I rose to my feet and set my hands on my hips, but my authority seemed slightly less important due to the limping leg I had to now carry on with. He stared at me for a moment before putting his hands down and pushing himself up to his feet as well. He stood about a good head taller then me, even if I was older then him, so I looked up with squinted eyes as if deeming if he was worthy or not of this private knowledge.

"Its Kumori," I said flatly.

At this small enlightenment, the boy, Rindou, smiled at me and looked as if he had just won a priceless prize. I tilted my head to the side and said, "It isn't such a big deal."

"But it is! Now we can be best friends forever!" he said as he carefully put his arm around my shoulder in a childlike, innocent way. I rolled my eyes as my head snagged on that last word.

Forever

I had a taste of how long that was. It was too long.

I lightly leaned on Rindou's shoulder as he continued to talk and talk about this and that. I had absolutely no idea what any of it was about, but it came as somewhat of a sense of reassurance that he would bother. It just felt nice to know someone knew you existed.

The blurry image faded and washed away into another less relaxing reminiscence. It was three years after I had first met Rindou, and he was now 16. My appearance had grown with him, and I left the short somewhat shy girl with sad eyes behind and changed into a young woman with long thin legs, a reasonable waist, and was known for being hotheaded.

I sat high up in a tree with my legs crossed and my claws clinking on the bark. The sky overhead was that of a full moon, on which nights I came to visit Rindou. I looked up at the silver sphere admiringly as I shallowly swung my feet in the air.

I heard a distinct click, and turned to my right to catch a familiar window opening and a head with long red-brown hair and forest green eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

"About time you came," I said as I leaned back and smiled at him. He returned it and rested his forearms against the frame of the window and leaned his chin on it.

"I was living in a hellhole of homework, Kumori. You don't have any idea what it's like."

"Is it really that hard to use your head?" I asked as I let myself slip backward and I flipped upside-down on the branch.

"You're telling me that isn't hazardous?" Rindou said as he rolled his eyes at my performance. "Stop showing off."

"Why? Jealous?" I asked as I shook my head to let my hair dangle below me. To keep myself from falling and crashing my skull into the ground, I tightened my legs around the branch and glanced up at Rindou.

"That I'm not a demon?" he asked in an amused tone as he looked down at me. At my lack of response, he added, "You certainly play the part."

"Soon I'm going to test my newest theory and see if humans can stand 200 degree fire," I said as I scowled at him.

Rindou laughed and said, "You and I both know you'd never try something like that. You ain't that bad, am I right or am I right?"

I pouted and turned my stare to the tree for the moment. The blood was rushing to my head so much that it began to hurt and I was losing my senses temporarily. Just as I was about to sit on the branch properly again, something wrapped around my neck and shocked me with the force of 1000 jolts. I was about to scream when it tightened its grip and threw me to the ground. In a second I had managed to flip around and land on my feet smartly. My eyes widened when I saw an orb of yellow-white light flew toward Rindou's open window.

I had no time to think, it was all instinct. I shadowed right before Rindou and felt the heat of the electricity singe the ends of my hair and press against my body forcefully. I shouted in pain and hit the back of Rindou's house, and he was forced back by the power of the impact from the attack on my body. I tried to pull my arm back, but something was holding me back.

As I desperately strained against the electric force field around me a knife slit into my stomach. My eyes snapped open as blood flew from my mouth as something drew a fistful of my shirt and pushed me through the window. Slithers of glass ran into my arms and back, and beads of red blood seeped through like tears. A groan behind me snapped me back into reality as I realized I hit Rindou. I saw a shadow before me, slowly drawing into the darkness of Rindou's room, and the blood on his knife was all I needed to go over the line.

For the first time ever, my crimson irises began to turn black and my pupils slit and faded into silver. My Spirit Energy grew to such a point that my flesh began to reject the glass and melt the wounds together.

Rindou saw where this was going and, even though he was well aware of my fiery nature, grabbed a hold of my shoulders. He cringed as his palms grew hot and began to burn, but continued to shout in my ears, "Kumori! Kumori, don't do it!"

This snapped me out of the dark that began to feed off me and I shook my head. I looked up at the shadow, in which I could now clearly see had long dark brown hair and bright orange eyes. He glanced at me and spat, "Move aside, woman."

A rumble grew in my chest, and I jumped to my feet and ran toward the cocky man. His eyes widened at my unexpected assault and speed, and I quickly drew my claws forward and gave him a quick uppercut aside his face.

He cried out in pain and withdrew as he covered his hands over his face and I saw the glint of blood seep through his fingers. A few more muffled cries escaped his throat as I turned back to Rindou and shouted, "Take cover!"

He understood the importance of this command and crawled silently into a corner in his room. As I turned back to my opponent I felt a shock of electricity hit me squarely in the chest. I flew backwards, but flipped mid-air and slid backward on my feet. I pushed my hand into the dark cherry wood flooring and my landing came to a halt. I proceeded to run forward and throw a punch at the new arrival's chest, but he blocked and cut his knife into my arm. I ignored the pain and instead grabbed his wrist and pulled it down as I thrust my kneecap in his abdominal.

He hacked for air as I removed my knee, but he regained control of his body and grabbed my sides. Electricity buzzed around me and I closed my eyes in the pain it brought. It felt like a thousand needles were puncturing me from every side and made me immobile. The pain steadily grew to a breaking point, and I couldn't help but feebly open my mouth and try to scream. It proved pointless, however, as my voice had been lost in the wave of pain that washed over me. One thought rushed to my mind. Rindou…!

I cracked open my right eye and watched in horror as the enemy towered above him, holding a long knife above his quivering body. I willed my body to move, to speak, to do something to prevent it from happening.

"R…Rindou!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I shook trying to break the binds the electricity had brought me. Pounds on the door sounded the room; strong, powerful blows that meant his father had discovered something had gone wrong. I barely managed to open both my eyes as I shook vigorously against the constantly relentlessly constricting binds. I heard Rindou's trembling voice yelp, "K-Kumori…. Kumori! H-Help me!"

I felt my heart squeeze as the knife was brought higher above our rival's head, and my lungs collapsed as I gasped for words to stop him. Cold fear stabbed my heart as the knife was brought down in one fatal swing and blood splattered on the back of the wall. My wide eyes flooded with hot tears as they ran down my face in long staining streams. I tasted the salt as they trickled on the sides of my mouth and dripped off my chin. I chocked on sobs as the murderer smiled cockily. Trying to stop the tears I bit my lip, but they were relentless and persisted to run until there was no will left in me.

"R….Rin…dou," I wept mournfully as his back slumped against the wall. The poundings on the door endured, however helpless they had been. I lowered my head and closed my eyes as the tears dripped off my chin and long black eyelashes to splash onto the bloodied floor.

I snapped my eyes open and found myself breathing deeply to recover lost breath and sweat forming on my face. Hastily I brushed it away, and once I had I sniffed the air. My eyes snapped open as I smelt an acrid burning scent and a human's and I looked over the side of the tree branch. Shizuru looked up casually with a cigarette between her lips. She rolled it to the side with her tongue and puffed out a billow of gray smoke.

"What's all the trouble kid?" she asked me offhandedly.

"Nothing," I said as I swung my legs around the side of the branch and clenched the tree beside me. I stared down at Shizuru and watched her lean against the tree and eventually emit a cloud of smoke. I quirked my head to the side in confusion and asked, "Humans can't breathe smoke."

"Sure can, it's just not good for your health," she answered as she caught onto my patient glare and spit the cigarette out onto the grass. Before it could catch onto fire she smoldered it with the heel of her shoe.

"I'll see ya inside," she hollered over her shoulder as she began to walk toward the screen door. I glanced at their roof and glimpsed Hiei's staring figure. At meeting my gaze he seemed slightly shocked for a moment, but brushed it aside and flitted away as the screen door slammed shut behind Shizuru. As it did I tossed my head back and glared through the branches above mine. Hiei was once again there, looking down at me with the same glare meeting his eyes.

"Koenma has a message," he said sternly, "he says to meet him in front of Sarayashiki Junior High School at 4:15. Don't be late."

With that the black apparition disappeared with little left then a light breeze that played across my face and lifted my bangs. I sighed and leaned backwards and twisted myself against the trunk of the tree again. I brought my knees close to me so I could lay my hands across my stomach idly. My eyebrows furrowed as I recalled Rindou and all the things we shared…and how it all came to a crashing halt too soon. I silently glared at the horizon as I realized what I had to do next.

I have to find who hired Satsujinki. That's the only thing left to do until I can leave it behind.

I was broken from my thoughts as a nearly silent scream pierced the air. I turned around in my tree branch and saw the boy with brown hair from before fall in the street. I rolled my eyes as he drew himself up in a fetal position and began to turn back around when I heard the distinct echo of a truck horn boom in the background. I quickly stood up and turned to the street once again. Over the tall wooden fence the Kuwabaras had put up I saw into the concrete street a large truck speeding up the road, and the terrified boy glanced up at it.

Move! I thought as I grabbed a nearby twig that grew from the tree. Move you stupid boy!

However, despite my silent pleas, the boy was simply frozen in fear. The truck drove dangerously close, and the boy was sweating in fright as he tried desperately to call out. The only noise was a barely auditable squeak that only my ears could pick up. Despite my demonic instincts, I shadowed myself as the truck drew only a few feet from the human. He screwed his eyes close as the horn flared again and the shadow of the large vehicle covered him.

As he braced his body for the fatal impact, he felt arms scoop around his back and legs and sprint to his left. He bounced on the grass of his lawn before coming to a standstill and looking up for his savoir. I was panting behind him, glaring deep into his terrified dark brown eyes. Suddenly the eyes turned a forest green, and his hair grew in long auburn locks. My eyes widened as I stared down at the boy in shock. As I blinked, the image disappeared and the same terrified boy from before reappeared before me.

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself up until I stood up straight. Dusting my hands off with sharp, short claps, I said, "Watch it next time, will you? You're gonna kill yourself being stupid."

The boy remained in a state of shock before he shook his head and smiled up at me. He followed suit and stood up, all the while staring at me. I raised an eyebrow as he reached out and grabbed a hold of my leg. I jerked and twitched as he rubbed the side of his face against me.

"What are you-!" I attempted to shout, but was cut off when he interrupted me and said, "Thanks you. A lot. You'll be my hero forever!"

I stared down at the kid for a moment and my glare became somewhat less furious.

"Um….ah…o…k," I said awkwardly as I pet the top of his head lightly. I sighed as he let go of me. I stared at him for an instant as he furrowed his eyebrows at me. Then his eyes lit up and he smiled and waved at me.

"Bye bye!"

I smiled softly at him and in a flickered into a shadow. When the boy opened his eyes he didn't see me there. He looked at his right hand and found that he was clutching something. Uncurling his small fist he gasped as he found what he had found. The boy then proceeded to take the slate of obsidian and stare at it fondly. His eyes winded in joy as he saw a small flare of an ember flash in the bright moonlight.

He blinked at the stone that shimmered like a star and beamed at it. Happily he shoved it in his jean pocket and ran up the yard until he reached the white steps that lead to the front door. He jumped them and hurriedly grabbed the doorknob and forcefully turned it and rushed inside. His mother, who had been coming out of the kitchen, saw him run in and kneeled to his level.

"Honey, honey what's wrong?" she asked as she held his arms lightly and looked in his face steadily.

The boy smiled at her proudly and dug his hand into his pocket. When his hand surface, it produced a particularly shiny slate of finely cut rock.

"Oh," his mother gasped at the wondrous stone, "where did you find that?"

He once again grinned widely at his mother. "Mommy, a black angel gave it to me!"

She raised an eyebrow at this exclamation, but then remembered how young he was and smiled.

"So, a black angel gave it to you?"

"Yes, she did. She saved me from a big truck that was going to hit me!"

"Is that so?" his mother questioned as she pulled him into a hug.

"Yeah," he sighed into her shoulder, "she gave me this rock and told me not to be stupid again. Then she disappeared into the night sky. She's my hero"

The mother smiled and shook her head lightly. Kids she thought with a dazed happiness. She hadn't known just how far, and how close, her son was telling the truth. He was saved from a truck, but what saved him was far from a fallen angel.