I have no body and I feel no pain
for I am no longer here again.
Now I can fly through-out the widest space
finally I'm set free from all my chains.
A farewell to heaven and a farewell to old hell,
from now on we shall never meet again.
Neither light nor darkness are here to know my way,
there'll be no more sadness and there'll no more pain.
I can fly, yes, I can fly and I'm no longer here,
may this old flesh stay down there forever,
I shall not waste a thought.
No, I do no longer care..-

-Somnambulist's Secret Bardo-Life

A/n: Just so you all know, Hiei is still very grumpy in appearance and attitude. The idea was to give a little purpose behind his mood swings. SooOOoo, unless my text says that his features changed, just plaster that adorably bored expression on his face and your good to go.

Also, when I use lyrics, I might not like the style of music, or the singer. I may also just use a part of a song. It's normally just the words I'm using unless it's IN the story. Even then sometimes... yeah.

Now excuse me while I run away from that katana flying at me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu or that song up there or down there.

Chapter 11

Once Hiei was sure he was far enough away from the camp not to be sensed, he let his Jagan search the area around him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pick up an aura. With an irritated growl, he switched to searching for a physical sign. Almost immediately it found a clue to which direction Mia had ran.

A broken branch in the clearing led him farther away from camp and down the cliff side, that for some reason was much easier to get down. The subtle clues continued to lead him through thick grooves and it soon became obvious that she had not been entirely careful when she had left.

The smell of salt water filled his senses as the trees began to thin. Between the boughs he began to see the black of her cloak, yet she didn't turn to face him. Perhaps she wanted me to follow her. No, she knows I'd only come to harm her. What profit is in that for her?

When he finally reached the clearing, Mia was still staring in the opposite direction from him. The source of the salty scent had been the bay flowing in from the ocean that was easily twenty miles in. Either this is a very large Island, or the bay reaches nearly half way in.

But that wasn't what surprised him. It was the female. Mia had her hood down, her hair could easily be called black with brown highlights now and hung slightly past her shoulder-blades. But even through the slightly wavering tresses, he could see the scars shining on the back of her neck and the the cloak pulling over her fragile form that was slightly hunched over from exhaustion. The strange youth's scent was either overwhelmed by the sea or was like her spirit energy, nonexistent. Mia's feet hung many yards above the water, limply swaying.

"I wondered how long it would take you," Mia commented quietly.

Whatever pride the koorime had taken in sneaking up on her washed away instantly. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"To kill me," she stated bluntly. "Don't be surprised, your aura changes to suit what you want. My blood in this case."

Hiei stared at her, cold, calculating, and, ever so slightly, interested. "I am going to kill you, onna. Whether it be now or latter, you will die by my hand." he stated smoothly, flicking his blade out slightly with a satisfying 'click'.

"I do not seny my fate. Feel free."

"Your not going to fight?"

"No, I am, at the moment at least, weak and predictable because of it. Besides, I doubt I could anyway."

He felt like the cat. "Why?" The one that Mia had mentioned to Angelo.

"Life means nothing to me and...some things... can't be helped."

The fire demon stood there, watching her, listening to every inflection in her tone. She's trying to trick me, I know it... but, he shook his head, and drew his sword. For once, I'll grant someone's desire.

"We have visitors."

Wheeling around, fearing to face Kurama or, worse, Edeth only to see a thick grove of tangled branches. Turning back, preparing for a weapon, he was only met with the sight of her pulling up her hood and standing.

"Jagan, Hiei. Those aren't the trees you passed through earlier."

Without warning something deeply pierced the koorime's left shoulder rendering it useless.

"More Changelings," she stated dryly as Hiei faced his opponent and lopped off the creature's head.

"Plural," he growled, eyes shifting back and forth.

"The trees, Jaganshi,' she stated, but Mia barely got out his name though the escalating screams. Once he had finished, Hiei realized she had not only just stood there, she was also mumbling not to him, but herself. "Minors? They know, so why minors?"

He stalked up to her at the cliff edge. "What are you hiding?"

"What does it matter to you? I'm going to die, remember?"

"Suicide doesn't seem like you."

"No, your right. It's just that your blade has taken a sudden liking to my neck."

"Was that dry humor?"

"No, it was -Hiei, Move!"

"What are you going on a-" something solid rammed into his ribs, sending his careening over the edge. Why am I getting so damn reckless? Had his sword been sheathed, Hiei doubted his own survival. As it was, however, he managed to slam the blade into the side of the cliff, slowing his movement. But it wasn't enough and he was forced to swing his right leg into the rocks sending searing pain down his leg. With a hiss, he realized that is was far worse than his arm.

A large bird flew over the edge only to have an acupuncture needle follow it straight into its temple. With an oddly human scream, the bird spiraled over the edge into the foaming waves beneath them. They hadn't seemed so dangerous minutes before.

Mia leaned on her hands and bent over the edge. After staring at him she jumped onto a ledge not to far above him. Slowly, without a word, she offered him a hand.

"You actually expect me to take your hand after I threaten you?"

"It's either that or break into tiny pieces on the rocks below."

"The Hell, I'll fall first!" he retorted sourly. At that moment, his feet slipped on the gathered blood and he lost his grip and fell farther, just barely catching himself once more.

He swore he could hear a sigh. "Now I'll have to get a vine."

"You gotta be shitin' me! There isn't any way in the three worlds you could get me to grab a vine." Not a moment after she started to turn around, ignoring his comment, he slipped again, hitting the ledge just right to send him outward, unable to grab onto a hold again.

A black blur caught his attention, and he saw that Mia had jumped, face first, arms tucked in at her sides, right past him. She's insane! his mind screamed, just to get his thoughts off his own predicament. It worked so well that he missed the feather like touch under his arms until he was back over the cliff edge and headed towards the ground without its support.

He would have to brush his teeth for a week straight to get the mud out of his teeth. Laying his palms flat against the earth, he pushed his sore body up and looked around as he brushed the dirt off.

Not too far in front of him was a very deep crater with a woman around nineteen looking laying in it, he pitch black hair sprawled down the length of her back on over the ground. There was blood everywhere about her, shining malevolently on the green blades of grass. But what got him most was the ashen wings tipped red on her back. And though he couldn't be certain, he didn't think it was from the crimson liquid. The lack of aura gave away who it was instantly.

With a cocky smirk, he stood shakily and walked up to her, ignoring the pain in his leg. "Dirt taste good?"

She pushed herself halfway up, glaring at him with narrow eyes as dark as her hair. He face had lost it's human innocence and had defined features and a full mouth. "I don't know." Her arms shook. "You tell me." And gave out.

"Do you like pushing yourself to near death?"

"I''s a nigh hobby," she grumbled, flexing her muscles to stand again.

"I should let you die here."

Mia waved a heavy, dismissive hand at him. "Fe' fee," she choked out through the ground.

Hiei began to walk away, listening to her struggle to get up again. With a depressed sigh he turned around and looped her arm around his shoulders, avoiding his own injured limb. Damn my honor. That's when he saw the source of the blood through the thin cut in her cloak that allowed her wings to poke through. Many deep gashes covered her back getting worse as they met the newly added bones. In a sickening revaluation, he realized that he could see those perfectly as well.

Turning his attention back to her face, it was obvious the blood loss had gotten to her. Mia's skin was pale, her breath short, and her eyes glazed. "How did you know I would come and not one of the others?" he said in an attempt to keep her conscious. I shouldn't have let her struggle. Wounds like that could be deadly strained.

"Edeth is the only one who is up around the same time as me. Plus none of them had a reason to follow," she added weakly.

Hiei shook his head. It was plain logic, yet he hadn't seen it. Grumbling he continued.

"Hiei?" she asked quietly.

"Hn." He almost was afraid of her question.

"You've got a mean mouth when your about to die."

"And you talk too much when you're injured."

She said nothing in reply for a while. "...If King Enma asks, I was hunting."

"What are you babbling..." suddenly he gave an evil laugh. "You know, I think I would enjoy watching his features if I said that."

Mia made an odd, whispery sound that caused him to look at her. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Quit dragging your wings, it makes you heavy," he grumbled.

Edeth was the first person to see them. "What in the name of the Great Gods happened?" That was surely enough to get everyone at camp to look at them.

If this woman wasn't on my back, his voice box would be too full of blood to vibrate. Hiei's eye twitched.

Kuwabara dropped the fruit halfway through a bite causing it to stay in his mouth like a roasted pig. And for good reason; the sight was terrifying with a Hiei limping, drenched not only in his blood but with the paper white Mia's who was currently styling a pair of red ash wings.

Yuskue was nearly as pale when he nudged Kerr who was breathing heavily. When he didn't wake from that, the panicked hanyou kicked him in the head to get his attention. "Wakey, wakey, ding-dong," he hissed at the swearing Thirian.

Kurama came running into the clearing, rose whip beard, hair tipping white. He turned to Edeth, his normally collected features very agitated. "I thought we were under-" his eyes locked on Hiei's, widening.

Kerr had just found the same sight. "I didn't think you would..." he trailed off, eyes larger than the kitsune's.

"Shut up, the fire demon grumbled, feeling Mia flex her muscles in an attempt to stand. The sooner, the better. He was beginning to lose the feeling in his arms.

"Looks like she got a good chunk of you before she left," Kuwabara said through a filled mouth.

"Says the one who is supposed to sense auras."

The human gave Hiei a suspicious look and turned his attention to Mia. "Holy...mother, she's-!"

"Still Breathing, now get her healed you idiots!" Surprisingly, it wasn't Hiei. It was Edeth. His body was trembling as he ran forward, relieving the fire apparition of his burden.

Kerr was instantly checking the koorime over the moment he let go of the near corpse. Once more, gravity seemed to lose it's effect as the Thirian healed his wounds. This time though, he left a bit of stinging, though it was obvious why. All in all though, the koorime was healed before Edeth was even a yard away.

"You need healed, Mia," the Changeling begged.

"No...I don't," she countered him weakly, attempting to stand on her own and failing miserably.

"Just let the Thirian heal you, onna," came Hiei's icy tone. He wiped a smudge off blood off his face, though in reality it only made it worse.

Mia turned to look at him, an the fire demon was given the privilege of meeting her eyes. There was the I-hate-you look, but something else as well. A mixture of regret, pain, fear, and something else blurred behind her irises, but faded when she blinked. Without looking away she asked Kerr quietly, "You'll have to reset the muscle and bone. Do you need me to lay down?"

Kerr grabbed his wadded ball of a cloak -which he had used as a pillow the night before -and set it at the base of a tree without a word. It wasn't until Edeth began to lead her there, that she broke eye contact.

She did as she was motioned to do and dropped belt and brooch revealing that she carried a few blades on her back and a set of cloaks that were slit from the hem to shoulder blade. Both hit the ground with a sickening slop. Her outfit was just as Edeth had described it. Loose and black, yet completely covering save her back, which was not a pleasant sight to see at the moment. What caught Hiei's eye was two chains hidden under her clothes. One in the folds on her back and one around her neck. The now winged one laid on her stomach, burying her face in the cloak, ignoring the retching sounds around her.

Kerr knelt down on Mia's left side. He took out a handful of items out of his pack including balm, bandages, and what was probably the Thirian equivalent to peroxide.

When he was done looking over the gashes, he looked at Kurama. "Would you find me some braces for her wings. They'll drag and freeze that way if we don't support them, even if they do only go down half her waist. Stretch them out, please." And it was true. Even as the fox began to leave, he saw the wings were tiny, only four and a half feet. Perhaps supporting both their weights had been what had torn them, not the fact that they had sprouted.

"I can't heal bone, and I'm not familiar with the wings structure, so all I can do is clean you wounds and patch them up enough to stop the bleeding to a point.

She shifted her wings into a folded position, using new muscles and opening different wounds. The Thirian gingerly went to work, cleaning the wounds and sealing them up as he went along. He then began to wipe off the blood. After several minutes he jumped back. Edeth grave Kerr a questioning look before looking at Mia's back and using profound language.

Mia looked over her should and stood quickly. Too quickly. "Forget it."

Littering the strange youth's back were scars very different from the ones she had received from her red appendages. There were clean and smooth slices, while others that looked like claw marks. Still some -mainly in her sides- were small, circular, and deep.

Mia grabbed the badges and moved away from the group, heat coming to her face, standing out horribly on her pale features.

"MIA!" Edeth ran after her, grabbing the youth's upper arm. "WHAT the Heck was THAT!"

"Drop it."

"But-"

She pulled away from him, and with a show of anger no one knew she was even capable of, wheeled to face him and roared, "I SAID DROP IT!"

The Changeling froze and watched her stalk away, gaping.

Kurama came up behind him, splintered wood in hand. "What was it?"

Edeth glared at him, his normally go-happy attitude completely replaced with an icy resolve. "I don't know, but I will find a way to loosen her tongue."

The fox fought a smirk and the shape-shifter headed to camp, growling.

After several long minutes of awkward silence, Hiei stated quite bluntly, "I'm going to was this stinking filth off my body," and left.

---------------------------------

The rest of the day was uneventful. Well, not quite. Edeth had an half an hour argument about training them still. Surprisingly, he won, and she gave in to a shortened three day rest.

Yuskue's response was probably the most realistic. "She must be really tired."

Then again, constant near death experiences do that to a person. After three days, Mia seemed perfectly fine. The wings on her back had taken on a blood red color, so deep, it easily compared to crimson. Her bandages still needed changed every four hours, but she walked around as though her wings weren't even there.

"What are you smirking at?" she muttered at the confident looking Yuskue.

"With those wings, you'll be easier to catch."

She glanced over her back. "Hm." Slowly her wings began to fade.

"Wha? Why didn't you do that at first?" said the disgruntled hanyou.

"All the nerves in my back had yet to be connected. I couldn't do it until about six hours ago."

"Convenient," he grumbled."

"Very," Mia stated, her wings now completely undetectable. "Well Kuwabara, shall we?"

Needless to say, they didn't have very much fun.

It slowly progressed once they began to catch her. Hiei, was as expected, the first, followed by Edeth, Kurama, Yuskue, Kerr, then Kuwabara. Once they had all completed their task, they thought they were done. Silly them. They should have known that nothing' ever easy by now. The next day she upgraded her machine via the control panel and made the rods thinner and farther apart. The next step included them breaking under too much force. The last series they used was down right painful. It was long blades that they had to move on and were moving at unrealistic speeds. No one walked away without scars. Even the all seeing Forbidden Child and the secretive Forgotten had been scathed.

It took over two weeks of training until Mia was satisfied. By the end, Yuskue was completely panicked about how long this tournament would take. Keiko was gonna kill him.

Mia stood in the middle of her contraption, clicking away on the control, causing it to shrink back into one of her pebble like gems. No one noticed when she picked up her pair of sandals and quietly slipped them back on her feet as she headed to camp.

Dinner was filling. Kurama and Yuskue had managed to catch a boar -demonized of course- and Kerr had skinned, gutted it and stuck on a stick. It was a nice break from eggs and mushrooms.

Soon everyone was happily relaxed, enjoying the afternoon off for tomorrow they started off again. Though Mia predicted about ten teams left on the whole island. That was a lot of walking.

"Man," the Changeling groaned. "I'm whooped."

"Why," Mia muttered, keeping her face hidden as always. Even through practice, she had managed to keep her cloak up. "You didn't even catch me on the last course."

"I was too busy trying not to get my head cut off!"

"More like you have no motivation."

"Oh Yeah!" Edeth said, jumping to his feet. "I could beat you hand to hand right now!"

"Hardly."

"You can't even summon up a full hand of energy."

"Doesn't matter. And even if you could beat me, it wouldn't exactly be fair considering I have to manipulate this body more than you do yours."

"Like I care!' he stated, swinging into her face with a playful smirk. Mia leaned onto her back and kicked Edeth in the chest, sending him through a few trees.

"Like I said." The strange girl continued, sitting back up.

"Cranky," he grumbled.

"Childish."

"Too calculating."

"Too emotional."

Everyone stared at them. Had Edeth, the childlike creature, managed to trick Mia into a battle of name calling. Or was this one of her evil plans to make him look like an idiot.

"Skank."

"Fool."

"Heartless."

"Reckless."

"Hag."

"Baby."

"Wench."

"Lunatic."

"Bitch."

"Village idiot."

"(Censored for taste)." Edeth gave her the 'Top-that" stare.

The winged one simply stared at him for a moment. "...self-absorbed, half-witted, thick-headed, self-righteous, nitwit who can no more form a halfway decent retaliation as he can turn his annoying personality off."

Jaws hit the ground then sunk another foot. Edeth rolled from side to side laughing so hard, tears were coming out of the corners of his eyes.

"Well, I'm glad I entertained you all," Mia muttered. Even Hiei cackled again as the camp erupted with snickers and chuckles. This time it was Kerr who did nothing.

"Yeah, well at least he doesn't have to posses a body to exist," he commented. According to Edeth's reaction -his hands flying over his mouth like a child who said their first cuss word- it was obviously one without thought. "A dead body at that."

I have seen for myself
The rogues of all life born
And I'm lying through the night
My solemn end
And a cold touch of death
Takes my hand
The only way... the only way

Everyone stared at him, then at Mia. Edeth gave her a shocked look and opened his mouth to say something but it only came out as a squeak.

Mia looked slowly up at him. "What? I ju-gah.." He doubled over, wheezing and clutching his chest.

Well, I'm fighting for my life
And I'm wasting away the time I've got left
The only way... the only way

Another blast of unseen energy, Hiei thought to himself. How odd.

"Mia! That was just a bit-"

"Do you wish to join him?" her voice was little over a whisper and shut Edeth up immediately. "I thought not."

Hearing you talk is a waste of silence
I can't bare... I no longer care
I no longer care... no longer care

With slow, smooth movements, she closed the gap between her and the suffering Atlantian. "Let me make one thing very clear, Kerr," she said, yanking on the man's hair to force him to look into her face with a grimace. "I try not to judge people on past occurrences, and rumors for that matter. I had a great deal of respect for you when we came here, you held no grudge against me, kept my story to yourself, and, if anything, helped me."

I create the cross that I must wear
And I am flying to my plight successfully
The only way... oh the only way

"But in every day that passes, you have grown more and more pessimistic towards me. I will not tolerate such sickening changes. If you do not wish to be here, say so. Otherwise, I suggest you remove that stupid spell on your left shoulder before I rip your head off Elemental."

And as soon as she had said the last word, she jumped back, just missing the explosion that went off at her feet. A man, made entirely out of earth, rose up from the debris and stared at her with solid black eyes.

Turning around to an empty space
I cried despair... I no longer care
I no longer care... I no longer care

"It's stronger than expected," it stated in a deep, hollow voice.

"I told you, idiot." Another man appeared out of the sky in a gust of wind. He was as slender as Kurama and had a buzz cut. Barrel like armor covered his limbs, protecting the silken garments beneath. Endless hazel eyes stared at them, ancient yet forever youthful. "Well," he continued in a scruffy voice that made it hard to tell if it was high or low. "I was beginning to worry."

Feelings... feelings of remorse
Now locked away, another day, to live again

One round of confusion on the house.

"I thought I was tailing the wrong person until you blew that basilisk up. There was no way for you to distort and energy amount of that magnitude."

All eyes followed his gave to Mia, who stood looking at him with a bored expression. "Feeding on another's hate to spy on me? Honestly, you should have enough of that on your own."

"Oh, I do. My father's murder was more than enough to suffice."

Feeling the pressure high
Holding on to the fire

"Speaking of your father," said Mia, not even bothering to keep her eyes on the Elemental any more. Instead she walked over to Kerr and examined his wounds. They were glowing with his own spirit energy. "I never saw him sink to the level of toying with people's souls."

"Don't you dare act like he was your friend!"

"Perhaps not," she said, brushing off her hands and turning to face him with the same expression as before. "But I know him better than you did."

"Liar! You tricked him then murdered him!"

"I suppose you could look at it that way." Mia was still blank looking. Uncaring to a fault.

It was just that fault that sent the strange man over the edge. In a reckless movement, he struck forward and landed a punch straight on Mia's face, sending her flying.

Right into his partner, who she latched onto and blew into tiny pieces. It only said one thing softly. "Euode."

Feelings... feelings of remorse
Now locked away, another day, to live again

"No!"

"I would have thought he taught you better." Mia said. "A first generation Elemental is born from his 'element' by sheer will. They have no soul until they reach a certain point in their growth. To destroy one who's not fully developed, all you have to do it shatter their desire to 'be.'"

"Shut up!" The man growled, jumping forward, wind gathering around his hand like a blade.

Only to be repelled by a now conscious Kerr. To the Elemental's surprised look, all he said was, "Don't you dare cause me to hurt a team member, you sick bastard." And with a mighty blow, the giant of a man threw him back wards.

Mia walked up and placed a gentle hand on the broad shoulder of her companion. "Leave this one to me Kerr. Euode is something I have to deal with," she stated with firm resolve. Even the slight undertone of regret in her voice wasn't so bad.

It was what 'Euode' said next. "Yes Chaos Immortal. Bring it."

Feeling the pressure high
Holding on to the fire

---------------------------

Just so you all know, this is not an 'My-character-is-all-powerful-and-she's-gonna-destroy-the-world" fic.. I'm avoiding that route. Not that those stories are bad. There's just too many of them, a good deal of them better than mine.

This chapter was going to be twice as long, but I couldn't bring myself to doing it. Not many people are reading this story, but for those that are, I'm now starting up school. I'm hoping this won't slow down my updates, but that means I have to start on my original story again. My friends love to harp on me about it.

Any who- Hiei brushing his teeth. Can you imagine him all squinty eyed in the morning, foaming at the mouth from tooth paste? Heh heh. Opps, there's that katana again.

R&R