EPILOGUE
I hear the wind call your name
It calls me back - home again
It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns
Oh it's to you I'll always return...
Cool, fresh wind blew through the forest, making it rustle. The fallen leaves, colored by Autumn in red, orange, yellow, brown (some stubbornly remained green), were creating multi-colored swirls every now and then. The sun shone brightly on the sky among the grayish, fluffy clouds.
The rustling, mixed with many different sounds of nature, seemed to form into soft, cooing words with a relaxing background tune.
It all seemed like a warm 'welcome back'.
I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone
I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home...
One year. One year had passed since we left. I couldn't help but curve my lips into a small smile. Everything looked so new, so fresh. The smile widened as I caught a glimpse of the huge mansion before me. I fished out a small piece of paper and unfolded it, re-reading it for the God-knows-how-many time.
Kikyo,
I've found some things about Your father's past and I think You'd want to know as well. Its about Your name's origin.
Your father's first mate was a half dog demon, like You. However, despite what others were thinking of her, she never had given up. She was a master in swordsmanship, a true genius. Sadly, after two years of meeting Ryoku, a cat demon killed her. Her name was Kikyo.
Also, I had finally solved the enigma of Your strange visions. I'm guessing that You know about the spell that had been put on You by Tataru, when You were a pup - the word was striked through, bit with only one straight line, so I could still see it clearly - baby? Well, it had its side effects. In Your case, it is the gift of seeing the future. Yes, gift.
I do not know any cures, though I think it's better to leave it, right? Say anything You want; it can come handy one day, like it did several times before during Your Detective work, had it not?
Until next time (I'll catch You),
Koenma
-
I hear the wind call your name
The sound that leads me home again
It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns
Oh it's to you I will always return
"Kikyo-san?"
I looked down, putting the letter back to my pocket. Inuko was staring at me, anxiety shone in her dark, sharp eyes. She's got a bit taller during the year, but beside that, she hadn't changed much. Her face was slightly paler, her hair was kept a couple of inches below her chin, brown and spiky.
"Haa?" I replied lazily, stifling a yawn.
"Since we're back..." Inuko started "Will we have to leave this place again?"
I frowned, musing about her question. Wherever we had stopped by, I was careful not to be there for too long. I really didn't want to hurt Inuko, again.
"I have the strange feeling that we'll have Holidays from now on." I finally said, smiling down at the girl. "Long holidays"
Her face broke into a grin. "That's great!" she shouted cheerfully, doing a small jump. I ruffled her hair playfully, grinning as well.
'Yep, we definitely need Holidays...'
----
Hiei swung his katana for the thousandth time, bringing down yet another innocent tree. He wiped the sweat off his bandaged forehead. A whole week passed since Team Urameshi had gone to a real mission, but Hiei didn't want the free time go to waste.
All of a sudden, he felt a rush of youki somewhere around him. As soon as it appeared; it vanished. Hiei put his guard up, squeezing the hilt of his weapon; the youki was very familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it – it disappeared so fast...
The youki appeared to the left. The fire demon was facing the direction in a matter of milliseconds, his eyes catching a blur between the trees. He smirked. 'Not fast enough.'
He began to walk towards the spot and cautiously looked around. No one. Not even the slightest trail. Hiei frowned to himself. 'What the -'
"Hello, Hiei," Hiei whirled around, his weapon ready to strike whoever dared to sneak up on him...
"K-Kikyo?!" his red eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Indeed, Kikyo was hanging upside-down from a tree branch by her knees, her arms crossed and a satisfied smirk plastered on her lips. Her face was on the same level as Hiei's, her mischievous eyes fixed on his. "Nice to see ya."
----
I felt so proud of myself for being able to sneak up on Hiei. But, I pushed everything aside as our eyes met. The warm, fuzzy feeling returned as my smirk turned into a genuine smile. Forgetting about everything around me, I relaxed, melting into his warm gaze and... It happened.
I fell off the damn tree.
I got on all fours, growling and massaging the sore spot on top of my head. I opened on eye and looked at Hiei, my face tinted red. The blush deepened as I saw him smirking in amusement. I got up quickly, dusted my kimono off and smiled sheepishly, a major anime-style sweat drop rolling down the side of my forehead.
Suddenly, Hiei's warm hand grasped my free one and a soft, sweet kiss was planted on my cheek.
"Stupid inu-onna," He said, his voice in a whisper, his eyes never leaving mine. Gosh, how I missed how he called me... "Welcome back."
I returned his smile, putting my forehead against his, careful not to make contact with his Third Eye; the Jagan. Just then, I realized that I'm truly free. That I'm no longer a slave to the Northern Wind.
Well... At least until it will call my name again.
So I'm waiting for it, living my life to the fullest. I'm waiting for it, improving my skills. I'm waiting for it, developing new feelings and refreshing the old ones.
I'm waiting for the next Call.
The Call of the Wild.
THE END
Please visit my profile for some quite important info. Or you can visit me at my new account, Sensible One. I'd be more than happy to see you there :) I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've been enjoying writing it. Thank you for sticking with me, even though I've almost forgotten about this project of mine. Almost.
Happy New Year, everyone! :)