ShadowDove87: I realise this chapter took a little longer to bring out than the last few…I was lazy! Bite me:P Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. And please review to let us know what you think!
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A Battle with Memories
Chapter 4 – Melting Two Close Hearts
Authors: Qiruama and ShadowDove87
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Several hours later, after a well deserved cat nap, Soraya wandered down the stairs, still yawning. Reaching the landing, she looked about her. As far as she could tell, no one was there. Her ears twitched to catch the slightest sound, her nose still ambushed by the new scents of the human world. It was difficult for her to sense anyone. "Where…where is everyone…?" gradually, a sensation of loneliness took grip of her body and she felt the world grow around her.
Kuwabara had left the house only a few minutes earlier, muttering something about his sister yelling at him to clean his room. The other three sat outside under the shade of a tall oak. Tara glanced at the two demons sitting around her. She barely knew them, so, she figured, the next natural step would be to learn about her new team-mates. Kurama told her the story of how he and Hiei first met Yusuke and Kuwabara and about the sentence the two demons served in NingenKai. She was not surprised to hear Hiei declaring stubbornly that he would return to the MaKai once this punishment, which he claimed was only wasting his time, was lifted. Kurama, on the other hand, intended to remain in his human body and take care of his mother. That had come to her as a surprise.
As if on cue, a small, black kitten with one white patch around it's left eye and a streak of silver along its tail, padded carefully out into the open. The fire demon raised an eyebrow when he recognised the brown eyes of the neko youkai.
Weak, he knew well enough that cat demons only returned to their kitten form as a defensive measure when they were not yet confident enough to rely on themselves. He watched as she stumbled through the grass and towards Tara, looking up at her with big eyes, meowing up at her longingly.
The thunder demon smiled, reaching out and scratching her behind the ears. She knew this was no household cat, there was something different about her. "Well hallo to you…"
Kurama soon came to the same conclusion as the fire demon. Brushing his fingers along the creature's back, he smiled at her, reminding her that she wasn't alone. Looking relieved, the cat jumped onto Tara's shoulder. Living in the human world for so long had allowed her only a limited knowledge of the Makai. She had yet to learn about the demons she should have grown up with. She allowed the neko youkai to curl up in the safety of her raven locks. Hiei, unlike the other two, refused to understand how a demon could regard herself as a fighter if she reverted to something like that when there was no danger.
Soraya ignored the disapproving stare boring into her back, instead, she hesitantly toppled out of Tara's hair and eyed a strand lying across her face. She sneezed when it tickled her nose and meowed again as she bat at it. Tara laughed and reached up to pet the playful creature, smiling when Soraya licked the palm of her hand. Although it was sweet, Kurama knew Hiei had a point. It was not wise to be so carefree, not when they could be attacked any time.
He slowly got to his feet, responding to the questioning looks with a comforting smile. "I'll go get Yusuke and Kuwabara, I don't think it's a good idea for us to split up,"
Soraya hopped off her perch and watched the yoko go. Although he was a canine, the presence of the animal youkai comforted her. She looked after him for a few moments before a bright, yellow butterfly fluttered above her head, just out of her reach.
Within the next hour, the kitsune had returned with the two humans. Kuwabara greeted them cheerfully, face lighting up when he saw Soraya playing in Tara's lap.
"Kitty!"
Hearing the rasping coo, Soraya panicked again and jumped back onto the thunder demon's shoulder. She hid within the safety of her tresses again, only the slitted, brown eyes still visible.
Tara stared at Kuwabara a moment before laughing. "Don't scare her like that you idiot,"
Yusuke stood behind the tall boy, snickering when he caught sight of the pout on the long face. "So there's actually a cat that is scared of you, huh?"
"But…but I want the kitty," Kuwabara plopped himself down across from Tara and stared intently at the kitten perched safely on her shoulder.
Hiei only rolled his eyes, sitting off to the side, making a point of keeping himself out of such affairs. "She's not coming out for you idiot,"
Tara shook her head and slowly got to her feet. The venomous glares passing between the two men reminded her that she needed to be elsewhere. Gently prying the hissing kitten from her hair, she handed the delicate creature to Kurama, instructing the furball to keep her fangs well away from the redhead. Watching her go, Soraya slowly turned her attention to the brilliant, green eyes, which were regarding her kindly. She meowed happily before dodging into the safety of the boy's thick hair, purring as she rubbed her head against his cheek.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow at the cat. "What's with him?"
"Her," Kurama corrected as he sat down against the tree that Tara had vacated. "It's Soraya," he explained as he pulled her out of his hair, holding her in his hands. Soraya turned a few circles in the flat of his palm before proceeding to lick his fingers. He laughed when she continued to tickle him. She finally stopped and turned to face him, her tail swishing back and forth expectantly, mewing when he finally understood. She was hungry.
Coming down the stairs and running a towel through her still wet hair, Tara felt a nice mixture of relaxed and rather sluggish. She'd forgotten what a comforting bath could do after a long, hard training session. She smiled when she saw Kurama and Soraya in the kitchen. The neko youkai, now in her demon form again, returned the greeting, sighing when she heard Yusuke yelling outside.
"You fucking asshole! Come here and let me give you back your spider, dammit!"
Kuwabara was running around the yard for dear life, doing everything he could do stay out of the spirit detective's reach. He should have known it was a bad idea to drop one of those hairy creatures down Yusuke's shirt.
Tara shook her head, deciding it would be safer to stay well away from them as she abandoned her towel in the laundry bin and jumped up into the trees, landing on a branch near Hiei. "This is better…" she glanced over to the fire demon, offering him a disarming smile. "What are you doing up here?"
"Avoiding the two idiots," Hiei stated nonchalantly, watching as the two humans chased each other around below.
After a few moments of silence Tara looked back, raising an eyebrow when a rather annoyed Soraya stepped into the sunshine. She couldn't help but laugh. Both boys were now strung up by two kunai each, waving their arms and legs frantically as they tried to free themselves from the trunk of the tree.
"If you both keep quiet for five minutes, I'll let you down," Soraya stated curtly, returning her remaining kunai to its pouch at her waist. She promptly turned on her heals, her tail swishing almost violently in irritation. Kurama's laughter could be heard from the kitchen.
Yusuke slowly lifted his head to look at the kunai that had caught the shoulder of his green blazer, not having noticed how close the knife had landed to his head. It was a good thing that Soraya could aim, he decided, that thing could put your eye out!
The peace was not long lasting. Not two minutes after Soraya had issued her threat, the neko youkai had to abandon her dinner yet again. Apparently hanging to a tree wasn't going to stop the two Ningen from squabbling. She was about to open her mouth and yell for them to shut up before she did poke their eyes out, when a portal suddenly appeared to her left.
Kurama stood at her side, having come out to see whether Yusuke's frantic and enraged cursing had any substance. A fist colliding with his left cheek was not what he'd expected.
"This will teach you!" the now closed portal found Kurama sitting at Soraya's feet. Above him, eyes ablaze, stood a slender, tanned boy with a shot of blonde hair, one arm still extended after having landed the blow. The impact still thundered in their ears even after they realised what had happened.
Soraya barely paid the boy any attention, falling to her knees, her immediate focus was the redhead and his bleeding nose. Tara, on the other hand, could not tear her eyes away from the strange newcomer.
"What the hell are you doing in my garden?!" although quaking with danger, her voice woke the others from a dazed dream. Yusuke and Kuwabara began flailing again, with more vigour this time.
"Hey!! HEEEEY!!! Let me DOWN!!!" he continue cursing the cat's name in vain. It was as if she couldn't hear him.
Slowly lowering his fist, sapphire eyes reflecting complete and utter loss, the boy wobbled on his feet. He reached out for the wall and stabled himself before focusing on his surroundings. "And where d'hell am I?" the sleeves of his white shirt had been torn off, revealing two, muscular arms, covered in an array of blue and purple blemishes. When hearing Tara his body began to shake. "I…I don't know…the last thing I remember, I was fighting a guy and then…" his voice trailed off. His eyes were met by a pair of blood red orbs. The anger flaring off the smaller demon almost freezing the newcomer's blood.
Hiei had no time to drill the stranger with questions, for the blonde suddenly disappeared from the tip of his sword. A soft thump and Tara's scream, drew all eyes to yet another portal that had opened in the centre of the garden. A green, scaly arm, black claws tinted with the red of blood, lay only inches from the demoness.
Quickly dropping his tattered weapon, he turned to the smaller girl, relieved when he saw she was unharmed. "You ok?" thin lips parted in a smile when he saw her nod, offering her a callused hand. "Let me help you,"
"SORAYA!!! LET ME DOWN!!" Yusuke's volume had risen another notch. Sighing, the neko youkai turned away from her patient and took her kunai, muttering something about five minutes as both humans landed unceremoniously on the ground.
Hiei's sword was at the blonde's throat the moment he'd let go of Tara's hand. He hated the way he smelled, of waste and rotting flesh and dried blood. He'd made a point of not trusting anybody, and he trusted this one even less.
Feeling the cold metal press against his throat, the demon fell back in surprise. Waving his hands in front of his face, he managed to squeak his name and reassure the glaring fire demon that he meant no harm.
Soraya had gone back inside with Kurama. The kitsune youkai was still rather dazed and dripping blood on his shirt. With a sigh, Tara suggested that they go back inside as well before the were drenched by the second onslaught of rain.
"Hiei, Alouka, both of you come in too," waiting patiently at the door, she watched the fire demon slowly sheath his sword and walk back inside, clearly upset with the idea of Tara taking charge, not hesitating to confirm her suspicions when he glared at her in passing. The blonde, Alouka, scrambled to his feet and followed the others into the warm living room, keeping a safe distance from the black clad demon.
"Why did you attack us?"
Tara sighed when she saw the reaction Yusuke's firm words on Alouka. Shaking her head, she tried again. "Where did you say you were from?"
Looking down a little, the sopping demon confirmed their speculations. He was from the MaKai. He had only recently escaped from prison. Those words accompanied by such a meek voice, caused Hiei's blood to boil. Now they had a convict in their midst. Hurrying on, Alouka explained that he had only been locked up to spare his younger brother from a cruel fate. Slowly raising his head, he was surprised when Kurama, now standing in the doorway with the neko youkai a few paces behind him, kindly reassured him that there was no harm done.
Meeting Hiei's gaze, Kurama's own eyes betrayed none of the doubt he felt towards the boy. He was with them now, so there wasn't much he could do. Not when he was under their constant watch.
"I…I don't even know who you guys are…" the smile had returned to his lips. Apart from the small demon, they seemed to believe him.
"Oh, right. I'm Yusuke. This moron is Kuwabara, the red head is Kurama, that's Tara, the chic with the tail's Soraya and the short guy is Hiei," he didn't even flinch when the ruby orbs focused on him, waving the warning aside without so much as a flick of his wrists.
So there was yet another stranger disrupting her home. Shaking her head, Tara pushed herself back to her feet. "Come on Hiei, let me show you to your room,"
Kuwabara scratched his head, watching Hiei follow her with a bewildered look. "He's…staying…?"
Soraya only shrugged, stepping past Kurama and into the living room. "I guess she invited him while the two of you were playing tag, eh detective?" the words left her lips before she could stop them.
With a sigh, Kurama placed a restraining hand on the cat's head. He hadn't intended to reveal so much to the newcomers, but, there wasn't anything he could do now. Sitting the smaller boy on the couch, he explained their situation to him, leaving out anything Alouka didn't need to know. They would have to be especially wary of him now. He could only hope that the others would see as much.
After dinner, Soraya had discovered the magic of television. Although the perplexed look on her face showed that she could make no sense of the cartoons. While Yusuke and Kuwabara were enthralled by the road runner, claiming the coyote was, in fact, a genius, Soraya only continued to stare blankly at the flickering screen. Humans would always be a mystery to her.
Alouka sat on the couch, the comforting warmth of a blanket wrapped around his thin frame. He was happily chattering away to Kurama, glad to have someone who would listen to him at last. Hiei, on the other hand, was slowly growing wary. Sitting on the windowsill and staring out into the darkness, the rain pattering against the glass, he found himself wondering what in the world he was doing in that house with these people. Tara noticed his unrest, quickly stepping in before the fire demon decided against staying inside and running off to who-knows-where.
"Hey guys, do you want to do anything tonight?"
Soraya's ears perked up, staring up at Tara from where she sat, curled up in the ground with the other two boys. "Something fun?" the cartoons where getting very old, very fast.
Tara thought a moment before nodding. "Yeah, we could rent a movie or something. Make some popcorn, play truth or dare," the screen flickered out and she was met by a pair of grinning faces.
"Now you're talking!" Yusuke cheered. The cartoon had been a rerun anyway, and watching the coyote fall down the same cliff over and over again was losing its charm.
Tara laughed, giving into their relentless pleas and agreeing to play truth or dare and, to Kuwabara's excitement, spin the bottle, after the movie and popcorn. Turning to leave the room, she grabbed Hiei and dragged him out into the abandoned hallway. She stopped, turning to him and answering his cold question with a smile. "I thought you'd want an excuse to get out of there,"
She left Hiei in the small store room to search through her vast collection of movies, drawing herself back into the kitchen, rummaging through various cupboards until she finally found what she was looking for. Popping the popcorn into the microwave, she timed the beeps of the kitchen appliance to the downbeat of the song she had started humming.
Kuwabara slowly turned to look towards the kitchen when he heard the cheery tune. He was at a loss for words. Tara had struck him as a demure girl up until that point. Yusuke furrowed his brow, his expression mirroring his friend's.
Soraya had moved to the safety of the couch, trying to put as much distance between herself and the two humans as possible while they had explained what was involved in both truth or dare and spin the bottle. Looking up, a soft smile graced her lips, Tara's tune calming her a little. "She seems happy,"
"Are you sure she's not high or anything…?" Yusuke kept his eyes locked on the kitchen door doubtfully, even though it had been a rhetorical question. He knew well enough that women were moody and unpredictable creatures. Besides, a happy Tara was much better than the scary bitch he'd been dealing with thus far.
Soraya only rolled her eyes as the kitchen door swung open. "Oh god…shut up…"
Tara stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, a buttery scent drifting into the living room, accompanied by the familiar popping. "Geez, I can't even be happy in my own house anymore?""
Kuwabara crossed his arms, glaring into the back of Yusuke's head. "Great going Urameshi! Now she's not going to let us have any popcorn…!"
Looking over the assembled group, Alouka couldn't help but laugh. Sweatdropping and scratching his head in embarrassment when they turned to look at him. "Sorry, but you guys are just like one big family," four pairs of eyes looked at each other before looking back at the blonde, chorusing a protesting "I'm not related to him/her!", pointing in every which way. Kurama only shook his head, smiling as he looked up from the book he'd pulled out a while ago, almost glad he hadn't been included in Alouka's declaration.
Shaking her head, Tara returned to the kitchen just as Hiei sauntered into the living room, looking oddly sombre with a DVD in his hand. His lips slowly turned up in a smirk when he was met by their questioning gazes, reading out the title of the movie.
Soraya only looked puzzled, more so when she saw the shudder and heard the groans of the others. Only Alouka shared her confusion. The fire demon made his way to the television, pushing the movie into the DVD player. When he straightened up again, he found Tara standing amongst them, three large bowls of popcorn in her arms.
He answered her questioning gaze with two words. "The Grudge,"
Two agonising hours later, Hiei turned the living room lights back on, the credits of the muted film scrolling up the screen. Yusuke sat on the floor, cowered against the foot of the couch, hands covering his face. Tara had chosen the end of the couch as her haven, mimicking Yusuke, albeit with a pillow. Kurama and Soraya, the other two occupants of the three-man couch, were staring speechlessly at the screen, the latter wishing she could disappear behind her tail. Alouka and Hiei were the only ones who seemed unmoved by the horrors that had been unveiled to them, Kuwabara a shaking mass in the middle of the floor.
"And I thought you were cool and tough…you guys are just a bunch of chickens!" Alouka laughed, having taken the floor with the two humans. He toppled over when Tara's pillow smacked against the side of his head.
"Oh shut up!"
Yusuke, finally managing to tear his eyes off the now fizzing screen, quickly turned to look over his shoulder at Tara. "Should we play now…?" anything to get his mind off it.
Retrieving her pillow from a laughing Alouka, Tara nodded. "Alright…spin the bottle?" Kuwabara's enthusiastic applause only made her shake her head. "Ok, ok…I'll go get the bottle," shaking the stiffness out of her legs she slowly made her way across the oak floor, pausing when she opened the door, blinking into the darkness that lay ahead of her. "Umm…Yusuke? You wanted to get something to drink…right?"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow, feeling even more confused when he saw the pleading look in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess…" walking to her, he stopped, one foot in the kitchen. "The…the light's not on!"
"I know! Turn it on!"
"Why me?!"
The remainder of the group, having temporarily forgotten their own fear of the dark, brought on the by the movie, was watching them in amusement. Kuwabara got to his feet after a moment, puffing out his chest. His overconfident grin was almost blinding and Hiei wanted to do nothing more than throw the oversized human out the window.
"I'll come and protect you both!" he bellowed in, what he thought was, a heroic voice. Marching over to the open door, he stopped short of the kitchen. "Umm…" blanching at the darkness, he slowly turned to the look at the other two. "Do I have to go any further?"
Tara groaned. "Yeah, to the end of the room! The light switch is over by the fridge!"
"I'm not taking another step!" he bellowed again, although this time he sounded more like a mouse with a megaphone than the idiot he had resembled before.
Soraya smirked, leaning over the armrest of the couch. As long as she was on this end of the room, where it was bright, she was safe. "Oh and you were acting so brave a second ago…"
With a disappointed sigh, Hiei eased himself off the windowsill. Looking at the three disapprovingly he disappeared, the kitchen lit with an eerie, iridescent glow a moment later. The fire demon stepped out from behind a row up cupboards, walking past them without a second look.
Quickly retrieving the bottle, Tara sat down in a circle with the others. Placing the bottle in the middle, she was pleased to note that everyone was taking part. Kuwabara, who had his heart set on going first, gleefully tapping the neck of the empty beer bottle, watching it spin, almost giddy with excitement. His face promptly fell when he saw that the mouth of the bottle, which he had placed so much trust in, was pointing at the over-gelled detective. Yusuke's luck on his turn wasn't any better when he found himself staring at Hiei in horror. He wasn't sure which was worse, watching that movie, or having to kiss the fire demon.
Alouka sat between Soraya and Kurama who he had warmed up to rather quickly in the last few hours. He had no idea humans could be so stupid and yet so simple. Not that he was about to voice his opinion. Gaining their trust had been a lot of work and he knew he still had a long way to go. His smile soon faded when he realised that the bottle was most definitely pointing at him. He was only glad that Hiei had teleported. It helped take the edge off the laughter around him. The fun had been leeched out of the game with the dry peck of Hiei's kiss, up until he realised that he would now be kissing the blushing neko youkai to his right.
Soraya squeaked a little when she realised what had happened. Worse than the anticipation of Alouka's kiss, she worried over who the bottle would point her to. Please not Kuwabara…anyone but Kuwabara! Hiei had been right earlier, in saying that she was more frightened of kissing the squint eyed human then she was of the movie. Although, she did have to give him credit, he had to put up with a lot being the group's punching bag and he was holding up impressively well under the pressure. To her relief, she found the bottle point to Yusuke, although the leer wasn't helping matters much.
After a few more rounds, the group decided to give the bottle one last spin. As of then, Kurama, Alouka and Yusuke had been the only ones lucky enough to kiss a girl, although each had to pay the price of kissing a very irritated fire demon. Hiei was more than relieved when, after playing with the damn bottle for a half hour, Tara announced that Hiei would be the last to spin. Ignoring Kuwabara's whines about not having kissed a girl, worse yet that Tara and Soraya hadn't kissed, he was left agape when the final spin rested on Tara. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he slowly turned to look at the, now blushing, thunder demon. He slowly eased himself up from the floor and took the few steps to her, wishing all the eyes would stop following him. Leaning down he brushed his lips quickly over hers, stepping back and sitting down. The rest of the team was left wondering why he hadn't teleported to her like with the others.
Tara blinked, not sure what to make of it. It was just a game and the kiss had been short, but…sweet. As if Hiei had taken care, even in his embarrassment. Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, he really was blushing.
No one else seemed to notice the change in Hiei, save for Alouka who was watching him curiously. All eyes were on Yusuke who was hooting with laughter.
"Too bad, huh Kuwabara? The only guy who didn't get the chance to kiss a girl!"
Kuwabara crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes as he watched the green clad teenager rolling on the floor. The worst thing was that he hadn't had the chance to see the girls kiss. Where was the girl on girl action???
Tara plucked the bottle from the floor, putting it off to the side on the coffee table and out of harms way. "Are we still going to play truth or dare…?" her senses were still rather frayed from Hiei's kiss, telling herself repeatedly that it had meant nothing.
Sitting up, completely ignoring the glare from his left, Yusuke grinned at the small demon who was still trying to avoid everyone's gazes. "Ok, I'll start this game!"
"What? No! I want to!"
Soraya shook her head, sighing a little as she leaned back against the couch behind her. "You started last time, let Yusuke have a go,"
"Geez, just like babies," Tara didn't admit it, but the look Yusuke was giving the fire demon wasn't comforting. She never liked the way the detective thought, especially when the rusted wheels inside his head started turning.
The comment went unheard, Yusuke's eyes locked were on Hiei's. "Truth or dare?"
Uttering a small grunt of annoyance, ruby eyes met chocolate brown. "Dare,"
The detective's smirk could only be described as victorious. "I was hoping you'd choose that…You see, I know you're going to sleep here, but Al needs a room too, right?" all eyes turned to Alouka, who couldn't understand what this dare had to do with him. "And with Soraya taking the only other free room, there won't be enough for all four of you, and Hiei…your bed is king size,"
Slowly unfolding himself from his defensive position, the forbidden child's expression darkened. If Yusuke was about to suggest what he feared, then the human was treading on very dangerous soil.
He was either blissfully unaware of the blood lust emitting from the other side of the room, or he was suicidal, but the look of hatred that flashed through Hiei's eyes remained unnoticed by the teen. "So, your dare, is to share a bed…with Tara…all night."
The room went quiet. Slowly turning to look at the koorime, Tara could almost feel his blood boiling. Slowly closing her eyes she fought to ignore Kuwabara's coos. She was going to die in her sleep, wasn't she?
The remainder of the game went by without much result. A few embarrassing stories and blushing faces here and there, but nothing of real substance. Even Alouka was getting bored. After hearing about this game he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to discovery some of their greatest secrets, perhaps uncover hidden truths, but this was only a child's game and, in the hands of children, it could do no harm. Then again, not all in the room were but children.
"Yusuke, truth or dare?"
Tilting his head in the neko youkai's direction with a sigh, he chose the latter. Even he was starting to bore of this game. He had come to the conclusion that he was the only one who had come up with even a half decent dare.
Brown, glinting almost golden in the dim, living room light, eyes flashed almost dangerously. "Good. I've heard about all these exchanges going on between you and this…Keiko. Yusuke, I dare you to tell her how you really feel,"
Staring at her, he felt his blood run cold, but only for a second. The tired smirk soon returned to him and he shook his head. "She's not here, is she?"
The neko's face fell. She hadn't thought that through very well, had she. Of course, even demons have guardian angels, and Tara was one of them.
"Why not call her? Then we can all hear it!"
The smirk evolved to a frown, glaring at Tara he slowly got to his feet. He was a man. There was no way he would refuse a dare, even if it was something so stupid. Walking into the kitchen to get the cordless phone, he heard the muffled voices of those in the living room trying to explain to Soraya and Alouka how to make a call and what a phone was.
"Call her?"
Kuwabara nodded, grinning at the violet tressed girl. "With a phone!"
Her face fell as Alouka's brows furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't help,"
He stared at the phone for a while. It was just a stupid dare, it's not like it meant anything right? How he really felt about her…Wandering back into the living room, the phone in his hand, he felt numb for the first time in his life. Not annoyed, embarrassed or angry. Just numb. Leaning against the wall near the kitchen door, fingers, that weren't his own, slowly dialled her number. The watchful eyes all centred on him didn't make it any easier, and it certainly didn't help that he knew her number off by heart.
"Hey, Keiko? Yeah…it's Yuske," he sighed when Tara urged him on. They should give him some goddamn time! "Shut up! No, not you Keiko! Umm," he ran his free hand through his hair. All this pausing an hesitating was not like him. Keiko said as much. "I…I called to tell you that…I really care about you, you know. I…well I…I kinda love you…" right, now would be a good time for someone to bash his head into the nearest brick wall. "No I'm not drunk dammit! I mean it, ok? I…really love you…" he glared at Kuwabara when the squinted boy shouted for him to speak up. "I have to go…" he ignored her shaking voice on the other end, feeling relieved that she hadn't rejected him. "I'll see you soon," without waiting for her reply he hung up, glaring at the glowing faces. "There. Done. Happy?"
"Yep! And you are too! I can tell!" Tara giggled, punching her classmate's shoulder.
Alouka's thoughts were elsewhere. So…he loves a girl named Keiko huh? he couldn't help but smirk inwardly. Finally he had something to work with. Maybe all this 'studying' was going to pay off after all. He'd always been smarter than that idiot Hiko.
After giving Kuwabara a well-deserved noogie, Yusuke grinned when Tara announced that it was about time they turned in for the night. Following the two, small demons up the stairs, he made a point of continuously reminding them of Hiei's dare. Stepping into the large room that had been her parents, Tara flinched when she heard Hiei slam the door. When she turned around, she found the fire demon leaning against it, keeping the others from getting in.
Sitting down on the bed, the thunder demon carefully smoothed out the wrinkled sheets. She hadn't slept in this room since shortly after they moved to the NingenKai. Just sitting on the cream blanket brought back painful memories. Turning her attention away from the room itself, she stared at her reflection in the mirrors that lined the far wall. She regretted that after a moment as well.
Raising an eyebrow, the fire demon easily sensed her fear, which he could not understand. It was just her reflection after all. A small smirk formed on his lips when he remembered the movie. "Still?"
"Oh shut up!"
"What…if the lights were to go out?"
Tara's face paled as her eyes searched his pallid face pleadingly. The room went dark. "Hiei! Stop fooling around, you baka. This isn't funny!"
"Isn't it?"
"No, it's not! Turn the light on again…please?"
His hand remained on the light switch, red eyes glowing eerily in the dark. Hearing her silent pleas, he frowned and flicked the light back on. He was surprised to find the look of horror engraved on the girl's face. The last time he had seen anyone look at him like that, was shortly before he had taken their life, but this was all induced by a stupid movie. Humans lived a sheltered life and it appeared that this thunder demon had been raised no differently. An odd sensation dawned on him as he continued to stare at her, watching the colour slowly return to her pale cheeks. Something…protective.
Quickly pushing the disturbing thought aside, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the other side. There was no way he could put his little sister and this girl on the same level. They were too different and yet…they were much the same. A low growl emitted from his throat as he lay down on the bed. The slight shift in the mattress indicated Tara had done the same, but the room remained bright. He was going to have to satisfy himself with sleeping with the light on after all. How bothersome.