Sorry that this comes out so late but I don't get that many readers on this site. sigh Oh well, what can I do... how about beg those who do read to actually rate! Thanks!
There it was again, that soft haunting sound of a flute. Hiei flickered his eyes open to the soft light of the morning sun creeping through the dark curtains. Sitting up to rub his eyes of sleep Hiei glanced around the small cottage to see he was alone and that the music was coming from outside. In the kitchen he could make out some food on the small table and swung his feet off the side of the bed to head towards it when he noticed his own cloths and sword lying on the end of the bed. Picking them up he saw his cloths free of blood and tears he changed quickly and tied his sword to his waist, standing up he found no soreness and then went to the kitchen and sat down at the table to find it filled with fruits, bread and a tall glass of milk. He ate quickly and drank the milk, when he was finished he paused and listened again to the soothing sound trying to discern what direction it was coming from. Standing up he went to the door and opened it to be nearly blinded by the sun's light. Hiei walked out with his arm up to his face blocking the light from hitting his eyes, as they adjusted to the brightness he slowly lowered his arm and looked at his surroundings in astonishment. He was standing in the middle of a valley about ten miles in every direction and surrounded by peaked hills and cliffs, to the north about 50 yards from him, was a waterfall that fell from the cliff into a small lake and a small stream ran from it trickling into the forest the encircled the lake and cottage. Everything was lush and green and full of life, in short, gorgeous.
Hiei stood there for a while taking everything in, until he heard a soft growl come from the dense forest behind him. He quickly crouched down with his hands on his katana and watched the forest edge for any sign of an enemy. The growl was louder this time and Hiei could see dark eyes and a shadowy shape heading his way, when they finally emerged from the forest Hiei was surprised to come face to face with a grown, growling timber wolf. Hiei couldn't understand what this ningenkai creature was doing in demon world but drew his sword nonetheless. The wolf edged closer and closer growling and raising his shackles in an attempt to intimidate his opponent but Hiei just stared at him emotionlessly. The wolf crouched lower and began to spring an attack at Hiei, but was suddenly halted when a voice called out from within the forest that it had just emerged from.
"Kage! Heel!"
Both turned towards the voice to find a cloaked figure, the onna, emerging from the forest. The wolf turned its head once more towards Hiei with a snort and a bark, then ran happily towards his cloaked mistress hoping for some petting. Hiei glared at the wolf while he was rolling in the grass getting his belly pet, the cloaked onna looked up at Hiei while petting Kage.
"I'm sorry for his behavior, he didn't know that you are a guest here. He protects this valley and thought that you were here to cause harm."
"Hn." Hiei stated still glaring with crossed arms.
"It's good to see your finally awake. I imagine you must feel very well rested after sleeping for nine days." She said with a smile.
Hiei's eyes widened . Nine days! How could he have slept for nine days?
"Why so surprised? Your body was in great need of rest." The onna commented with a chuckle.
Hiei narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
"Did you give me a sleeping draft, onna?" he asked threateningly.
Frowning she replied, "No. You obviously didn't need it. So why would I give it to you?"
Feeling his mistress change in temper, Kage stood up and tried to cheer her up by licking her face. Startled by this abrupt onslaught of a wet tongue, the onna fell to the ground with the wolf on top licking her feverishly. She began laughing and thrashing about trying to evade Kage's attacks. Hiei frowned at the stupid wolf's interuption and walked over to try and get her attention again. He stopped about six feet away, unbeknownst to her, the hood of her cloak had slipped back and Hiei could now see her more clearly. Her face was delicate with high cheekbones and skin pale as the moon, he couldn't see her eyes, but a lock of shining lavender hair caught his attention.
Hiei was snapped from his scrutinizing by Kage growling at his nearness. Hiei glared at the wolf then bent down to his eye level and began growling back.
"What are the two of you trying to accomplish?" the onna asked shaking her head, but she got no response. The two males continued to eye each other and growl. Hiei began to narrow his eyes in annoyance when suddenly Kage stopped growling, cocked his head to the side and sat on his haunches, all the while staring at Hiei. Hiei straightened and put his hands in his pockets, then with an emotionless face turned to their female observer as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The onna looked at him in wonderment then looked at Kage.
"What was that?"
Hiei cocked an eyebrow for she had not addressed him, but Kage with that question.
"What do you mean approval?"
Hiei looked back and forth between the two. Was she talking to the wolf?
"KAGE! That's not why he's here and even if he was, WHO asked YOU!"
Hiei narrowed his eyes and quickly entered her mind, only to hear an odd husky voice speak as though from a distance.
You are my mistress after all, I think I should have a say, considering I would have to obey your mate as well.
Hiei left just as quickly as he entered, flushing slightly. Mate? What was that stupid wolf talking about, in fact how was that stupid wolf talking in the first place?
"Why are you talking to him, Onna!" he demanded. Startled from her conversation, she realized how stupid she must look.
"Oh, my apologizes Hiei. I know this must look odd but I'm not crazy. You see Kage is a guardian animal, not actually a wolf, it's just the form he prefers."
Hiei was not entirely sure what a guardian animal was, but before he could ask Kage took off into the forest, he looked up at her quizzingly.
"He has other duties he must attend too. You will most likely not see him again." She said with a shrug and then began walking towards the cottage with Hiei in tow.
"How is it that I slept for nine days, onna?" he asked again.
"Are you still on about that?" she sighed, "I told you, you needed the rest. I gave you nothing that would induce you to sleep for so long."
Hiei crossed his arms and sulked, he just couldn't believe that he had slept that long by himself. He was not so weak as to need all that. When they reached the door of the cottage she turned around and raised a finger at him then the ground.
"Wait here. I need to change. Don't you dare come in for any reason." Then she entered the cottage and closed the door. Hiei glared at the door, how dare that onna tell him what to do. Then a thought came to him and he smirked evilly.
Walking quickly and silently Hiei went to the sidewall of the cottage that had the kitchen window and crouched just below it. He planned to jump on the windowsill and scare the onna in the middle of …. Just scare the onna. Hiei waited a few more seconds then leapt up to the window, only to be smacked in the forehead with a katana sheath and fall flat on his back in the grass below. Rubbing his head, Hiei looked up and found the onna squatted there with a katana in hand and a smirk on her face.
"I didn't think you would actually try something so … immature Hiei. I'm actually disappointed." She stated with a mock frown and shaking her finger. Inside however she was laughing hysterically, she had actually counted on him to do that after the way she had purposely antagonized him.
"Grrr, watch it onna or we'll just have to see how good you are with that." He growled back nodding towards her sword.
"Why Hiei, that was exactly my intention." She retorted with a smile and then before he could blink away his confusion, she jumped to the ground and took off into the woods at an amazing speed. Hiei was shocked with total confusion he just didn't understand her, he shook of his confusion and took off after her.
The two demons were running through the forest with amazing speeds, looking behind her, the cloaked women saw the fire demon almost upon her and grinned at him, then disappeared into thin air. Hiei skid to a stop looked around him frantically, he couldn't sense her so he had to rely on his other senses. Closing his eyes to concentrate, Hiei flinched and pulled his katana above his head as fast as he could, the loud metallic clash of the two swords colliding echoed through the small forest. Both wielders stood pressing against the other with their sword, Hiei narrowed his eyes at his grinning opponent.
"What are you up too onna?" he questioned.
"Up too?" she said innocently. But before Hiei could answer she jumped back a few feet and again charged at him.
The forest again rang with the sounds of strikes and swipes. They faught on the ground and in the trees, Hiei was mostly on the defensive having just recovered from injuries, still he held his own even though the onna was fast, but seemed a bit clumsy with her sword in her left hand. The two demons kept this up for a few hours and by noon Hiei was panting and sweat fell in drops down each of their faces, but still they continued swiping and swinging. Hiei was exhausted and wanted to end it, but he would not let the onna win, then he go an idea, with the last ounce of his strength Hiei swung at her and as expected she blocked it but with a great heave he swung both their swords in a circle as fast as he could, making the onna's sword fly from her hands into a near by tree where it vibrated with the force it had been thrown. Having disarmed his opponent Hiei quickly made a stab towards her chest, but to his utter surprise all he saw with wide eyes was a brown cloak float harmlessly around his sword. He stood absolutely still, how could she have moved so quickly?
As the shock began to dwindle Hiei suddenly felt a light warm breeze against his neck, and with it came an unfamiliar scent that seemed to wafer softly around him. That's when he heard her, right behind him, close enough to speak softly in his ear.
"You nearly got me there. I'll have to be more cautious." She said.
Hiei shivered as her breath brushed his ear and out of the corner of his eye he saw strands of her hair floating past him shimmering a bright violet and he realized that she was standing behind him without her cloak. Curiosity got hold of him and throttled, whirling around quickly he saw nothing but the surrounding forest, frowning he turned back only to find the onna there, and back in her cloak.
"Lets have lunch, shall we?" with that said she turned and began her trek back to the cottage. Hiei was once again dumbstruck with his jaw to the floor, but blinking away his shock he humpfed in annoyance and went to follow the onna. They remained silent, each in their own thoughts, until they reached the cottage where they entered and the onna began immediately making fruit salad and sandwiches. Hiei just sat and watched her with a suspicious look as she went on as though she hadn't just fought with him all day after picking a fight. Placing two bowels of salad and two plates with sandwiches on the table she sat down and began eating. Hiei glanced between her and the food for a minute then began eating as well, again they both sat in silence as they ate their meals. When she was done the onna fetched two glasses of water and set one by him and the other she sat and drank slowly. When he finished Hiei simple sat back with his arms crossed and stared at her with suspicious eyes. After about ten minutes of this, she couldn't help but notice and squirm a bit under his soul penetrating crimson eyes.
"Is there something bothering you Hiei?" she finally asked.
"Hn, what are you up to onna?" he asked again more firmly.
"What do you mean?"
"Quite playing innocent Onna! Why did you pick a fight with me and then just drop it?" he shouted heatedly.
"What? Pick a fight?"
"YES BAKA ONNA, just a few moments ago we were fighting and now your acting like it never happened."
"Really, well I was under the impression that we were training to regain your strength, after you griped about being weak." She sneered back with an unusually cold voice, but Hiei didn't seem to notice. She had been training him? He mentally smacked his head at not realizing this sooner, Hiei now felt a bit guilty about yelling at her, but he would never admit it.
"Hn, well you could have just said that, onna." He said instead.
"I guess I just assumed you would know that." She said emotionlessly. Hiei winced mentally and silence followed for a minute before becoming uncomfortable Hiei decided to break it.
"It's to bad the fox has to train that buffoon, he would like this salad." He said without making eye contact, but she knew this was his way of apologizing and complementing at the same time. Smiling inwardly she decided she would have some fun with him.
"Really? I can give you the recipe to give to him, it makes a great romantic treat for when the two of you want some one on one time."
"What? Why would we want that?" he asked not quite getting it.
"You know, two lovers, alone, feeding each other, then . . . "
"LOVERS? Who are you talking about onna!?" He interrupted with wide eyes and red cheeks.
"Well, you and your fox, right?" Hiei was shot, wide eyed and mouth agape in disbelief. "Isn't he your boyfriend?" she continued.
Hiei had never been so close to fainting in his life as the color just drained from his face. She thought he was gay? Gay? Him and the fox? With a burst of disgust Hiei was instantly thrown from his shocked state.
"I AM NOT GAY, ONNA!" he shouted red faced.
"Really, well it sounded as though . . . well never mind." She managed to state calmly but had to take a sip of water in order to hide her grin that revealed that inside she had just died of laughter and gone to laughing heaven.
Hiei was seething with anger, frustration and embarrassment, how could this onna possible get the idea that he was gay? He stomped over to her and grabbed the front of her cloak.
"I'm. Not. Gay." He hissed at her.
"Very well, if you insist, it's just that you must use a lot of hair gel and I haven't heard any straight guys say my fox when referring to another guy. You can't blame me." She couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I don't use gel it just naturally stands up like this and second I said THE FOX not MY FOX!" Hiei exclaimed. The onna seemed to just look at him for a while and then, before he could pull away, she was standing inches from him and running her fingers through his hair. Hiei stood stock still, he'd never had anyone run their fingers through his hair, it was strangely comforting and at the same time the same scent he had smelt at the end of their training began to tease his nose. Closing his eyes, was drawn into the peaceful feeling of her hands running threw his hair and the familiar sweet scent that seemed to come from her. Realizing that she was still petting his amazingly soft hair, she quickly stopped and backed away, pulling Hiei from his thoughts. Both a bit embarrassed there was a moment of silence before without warning, the onna punched him hard upside the head and then dashed out of the house laughing. Before she even got to the forest a shout of 'ONNA!' rang through the valley, only making her laugh harder and nearly trip before she picked up speed to avoid a steaming fire demon.
Hiei was running after the onna smirking, for he would make her pay for that little stunt, he could see a brown blur up ahead and sped up, then he heard her laughing and growled while going faster. He almost reached her when she jumped into a high tree and began limb hopping, skidding to a stop he leapt into a neighboring tree and the chase resumed.
Their chase continued for about an hour, Hiei was unable to catch her and this frustrated him to no end. Going from tree to tree and some times racing across the forest floor, the onna continues to remain out of his reach, though sometimes appearing right next to him just to tease and then jump from his reach. She was a little surprised that he wasn't even close to catching her; she had thought him much stronger and faster than this. With a final leap to the ground from the tree, she speed ahead of Hiei faster then he could see. Startled Hiei raced into the direction she went and followed her scent until he came into a half moon, small clearing and a cliff wall staring him down. Sitting on a rock against the cliff waiting patiently was the demoness that had escaped his grasp. He took a step forward ready to charge at her but was stopped when her voice sounded threw the clearing in a serious tone.
"Just a moment, Hiei, I have a proposition to make." Hiei straightened and stared at her thinking she was trying to get out of her punishment. She sighs and then continues, "I had honestly thought you stronger then what you presently are, I know that you can become extremely powerful just by the aura of untapped power that surrounds you. I can't completely train you in the little time we have but I can put you on the right path. Do you wish to try?"
Hiei was confused, angry and curious all at the same time, but anger tends to show up easier. "What the hell makes you think that YOU can train ME?" he demanded.
"Would you like me to fight you? I believe you'll be satisfied after I have defeated you." She said simply with no hint of pride or teasing that made Hiei think more seriously about the offer as his anger lessened. Perhaps the onna was truly stronger than him, her training may come in handy, but she hardly seemed strong enough to be his sensei. And what if he defeated her? Then a devious and brilliant plan came to him and he smirked at her.
"We will fight and should you win then I'll train with you, but if you lose then you have to remove your cloak and answer any questions I have truthfully and fully."
Hiei's smirk gets wider when he sees the onna shocked and silent for a moment. She debates her options and weighs them. She knows he can't win but what if he suddenly pulls a rabbit from a hat and somehow manages a win. Would satisfying his curiosity be worth possibly losing his life? Then again if he manages to defeat me then there would be no need to protect him. Sighing with defeat, she slowly stands and nods to Hiei in agreement. Moving to the middle of the clearing she reaches into her hood with her right hand and pulls from her back a short red stick, then waits patiently. Hiei lifts a brow in confusion and walks towards her.
"Why not fight with your katana?" he asks her as he draws his and takes a stance.
The onna smiles at him and then replies in a most amused voice, "Because It's not mine and I won't need it, it is not my only weapon of choice."
"What!" How could the onna not have used her own sword but still have nearly beat him left handed when in the forest, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. "Then what are your weapons of choice?"
Laughing, she snapped her wrist with the stick and in an instant it became a red Bo with gold tips, nearly as tall as she was. She twirled it expertly between her hands, and then crouched into a stance with her right foot and Bo behind her and her left hand up, ready to fight. "You have not won the fight yet, Jaganshi"
But before he could reply, she jumped forward with a speed that left him barely enough time to bring up his katana to block the tip of her Bo from bashing in his head. Then she altered her stance and smashed the other end of her Bo into his thigh making him cry out in pain as he fell backwards. Using the fall he rolled back onto his feet in a crouched position and sprung at her with a slash of his sword. The onna blocked and then used his momentum to make it go past her and as he tried to regain his balance was helpless to stop the speeding fist that soon collided with the back of his head, sending him skidding through the dirt.
Hiei sat up and spit out the dirt that he's scooped up with his teeth and shook out his daze. He turned and glared at her when he heard her statement, "You should expect the unexpected at all times, preventing you from being caught off guard all the time."
With anger Hiei again charged at her, but before reaching her, he jumped up slashed down on her. The onna moved swiftly to his left and he shot of the ground towards the direction she had gone. He was just about to stab her when she disappeared and reappeared beside him bringing her Bo down on his back before he could react. Hiei rolled away again and coughed as the air that had escaped his lungs swiftly returned. "You must be able to change your direction of attack at any given moment, the inability to do so could leave you open to a surprise attacks."
He growled at her in anger and charged with ferocity, slashing and swiping with all the speed and power he could muster. She simply dodged and avoided all attacks while moving backwards, until she backed into a tree with seeming no escape. Hiei grinned and plunged forward until he felt the tip of his sword cut into the thick bark of the tree. Hiei blinked in confusion when there was no onna in between, a flicker of movement brought his eyes down to the floor where she was sitting on the ground leaning against the tree and smiling, then before he could react she recoiled her feet slammed them into his chest. With an 'oaf' Hiei flew backwards with his katana still stuck in the tree, he landed skidding on his back and grunted at the pain that seemed to hit him from both sides. Slowly and shakely he stood and saw the onna walking slowly towards him with her Bo in hand, he growled and waited for her to make the next move. As she walked towards him she could see the sweat and pain of exhaustion on his face, but still he stood stubbornly and bravely, she knew he wouldn't give up or surrender until she beat him. Stopping about two feet from Hiei, she thrust her Bo in the ground and disappeared, Hiei watched as she flickered in and out of his view around him. Then before he could react and quicker then he could block, the onna began rapid punches that hit him like a car. They came at him from every direction and landed on every part of him, then came a pause and he saw her stop in front of him a second before her fist came yet again for a final blow on the side of his head.
Hiei fell to the ground and his conscious flickered in and out, until finally deciding he could stay awake. Hiei squinted open his eyes and saw the shadowed figure of the onna standing over him with her Bo pointed directly at his throat. There was silence as each waited for the other to move. Hiei glowered at the baka onna that had beaten him, he knew she was waiting for his surrender and he could find no way out. She just stood there silently waiting without gloating or offering help, he sighed and relaxed into the only sign of defeat that she would receive. The onna stepped back a ways and relaxed against her Bo, Hiei grunted at his aches as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Doing a mental physical check of his body he was astounded to find that she had beaten him black and blue without breaking a single thing in him, shit, she's good. He heard a chuckle and looked up at the smiling onna with a raised eyebrow.
"I think I may have underestimated you, Hiei. You're one who learns from each experience and mistake, so you improve with every blow. That in its self is a rare talent." She commented and Hiei couldn't help but smirk with pride.
"Not to bad yourself onna." He grunted in response. The sound of her warm tinkling laughter soon washed over him and his smirk faltered ever so slightly.
"Why thank you sir. That's such a high honor and compliment coming from the great Hiei Jaganshi himself." She grinned back while mockingly bowing her head slightly. Hiei's smirk widened, although she was mocking him, he felt that some part of the comment had rung true.
"Hiei, why is it you didn't use any of your ka?" she asked with an air of casualness. Hiei was slightly confused for a minute trying to think what she was talking about when he remembered the fox talking about how he used ka to grow his plants. He looked at the onna and shrugged not wanting to admit he didn't know any more about it. He saw her frown in understanding, then sigh and sit cross-legged on the ground with her Bo lying in front of her.
"I guess that's going to be the first thing you need to learn. Explaining it is going to take a minute so this should give you time to rest before we start again." She stated, pausing to chuckle at the slight look of reproach from the fire demon, then continued, "First, ka is like your energy but it's the elemental manifestation of earth, water, fire, or air that it takes when released. For instance, when I lifted you using my ka that I transformed into the air, or growing and controlling plants, or even manipulating fire and water. Each demon is born with the ability to use their ka but they have to be strong in spirit and body, most of the time when a demon reaches that stage their ka shows itself at a time of stress or high emotion and the only reason I can think of that you haven't seen yours yet is because you were born of two different and opposing ka elements." Hiei was now sitting in front of the onna cross-legged and frustrated with the new information, did this mean he couldn't use ka? "Believe it or not Hiei but your situation is not an uncommon one, there are a few times when a child born of two different ka's cannot use either because the parents where of equal strength in their ka's and therefore the child's ka could not decide which element to manifest as. However we've found that we can sometimes influence which element should reign by somehow tipping the scale."
"So how do I 'tip the scale' and use my ka." Hiei interrupted.
"Well there are many different ways, like surrounding the said demon in the element he wishes to win, or having another demon with the same ka as he wishes to loan some of his element to him, or even injecting them with the blood of a demon with that element. Which is why I think you should already be able to use your ka, Hiei, because of the blood we injected in you for the cure." Hiei quirked his eyebrow and stared hard at the onna trying to conceal his excitement.
"So which element is my ka, onna." He demanded with a slight you-better-have-picked-the-right-one tone, making her a bit nervous with her decision.
"Well, you were incapacitated at the point of time so we weren't sure which you preferred, but figured that considering your male, fire might be a safer bet." She said hesitantly hoping she had been right. Hiei stared at her unblinkingly for a few seconds then sat back with arms crossed and gave a 'Hn' but mentally grinned for that would have been his choice. Hiei looked back up at her and smirked at her look of relief.
"Are you saying I can throw fire balls now, onna?" he asked.
"Most likely yes, we just have to get you to bring it out."
"And what are you suggesting onna?"
"Hmmm, well… how are you feeling now?" she asked casually. Hiei was caught slightly of guard, but began working his once sore areas.
"Hn, I feel fine, onna, now how are we going to . . . " he was unable to finish his sentence due to the onna's red Bo smashing the ground right where he would have been sitting had he not moved quickly enough.
"What the hell are you doing now onna?" he shouted angrily at her, but instead of answering she merely smirked at him and charged at him with a stab. Hiei rolled to avoid it then quickly went for his sword, grabbing it just in time to block her incoming blows. Continuously she struck at him and nothing he said could stop her, in fact Hiei was becoming very frustrated and angr . . . that was it! She was making him angry in order to get his ka to show, now that he'd figured it out Hiei smirked and concentrated on the fight. The onna struck at him with a mighty blow that sent his feet skidding back a ways and Hiei was again readied a defense but looked at the onna who was simply standing there in a fighting stance with a slight frown of thought on her face. He used this chance to catch his breath and watched as suddenly her face looked as though a light bulb had switched on in her head. Hiei watched with apprehension as the onna straightened and before his very eyes change into a completely different person. Her entire demeanor and personality changed, his apprehension grew when she suddenly began grinning while sliding her Bo back under her cloak. Somehow Hiei could sense that this was not the same onna that he'd come to know over the last few days, she was dangerous now, and this unsettled him.
"Well it's not really fair for you to have a sharp pointy sword, when I don't. Is it?" She said in maniacal voice.
"I thought you couldn't wield that katana." Hiei answered shortly while stabilizing his defense position.
"Who cares? It's a sharp point thing that cuts. Besides, you can't be all that capable with it either, considering I beat you before." She stated sarcastically. Hiei growled in warning and anger, how dare the onna say that, what the hell was she up to? She emitted a sharp laugh at him and crossed her arms. "Your such a little brat, you know that? I think you need a beating and I know just where to get the tool to help in your shameful whipping." She grinned then disappeared into the forest. Hiei was now steaming with anger, how dare she call him a brat and boast about beating him, then take off. Suddenly the memory of the last instant of their last sword fight came up, her sword was still stuck in that tree! Not really wanting her to have a sword, Hiei took off as fast as he could towards the clearing, but he was too late for when he arrived there stood the onna with the sword in hand and a maniacal grin on her face. "Here little fire demon. Come a little closer. I wont kill you . . . yet." She taunted and laughed when Hiei sneered and crouched in defensive position once again, his thoughts somewhere along the line of, shit.
About an hour before sunset Hiei was beaten, bruised and bleeding, in fact he was so exhausted that it was by sheer will that he continued to stand. They stood a few feet apart, Hiei leaning slightly against his katana panting and the onna across from him smirking with her sword resting across her shoulders. She wasn't even breathing hard, he knew she was taunting him, playing with him but it didn't matter because he couldn't defeat her. She'd insulted him, beaten him and humiliated him to a point he was blinded by rage and still he couldn't touch her. He watched as she walked slowly, tauntingly and deliberately towards him with that evil smirk of doom, he had one more card to play and put all his cards on this hand. He waited until she stood right in front of him and brought up her sword ready to bring it down in a life-ending blow. Hiei suddenly plopped down on the ground sprawled out with his sword lying beside him and looked up at her defiantly.
"Go ahead onna, I've had enough of this game and your endless chatter. Anything's better then having to look at you any longer." He taunted sharply, holding his breath in hopes that he was right to try and call her bluff. There was silence for a few seconds then Hiei panicked as he watched the sword came down, he squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the piercing pain. Suddenly he heard a soft sigh and peeked his eyes open, the onna stood in front of him leaning against her sword with one hand and her other on her chin in a thinking stance.
"Well, that certainly didn't work. And I was sure I could have fooled anyone with that act. (sigh) I guess ill have to think of something else to help channel his ka. Oh well, at least he got a work out." She muttered to her self. Hiei's eyes widened in disbelief as he stumbled over her words, it had all been an act. Then without warning his eyes slammed shut and his fists balled as his confused, relieved, and shocked feelings merged into anger so great that his now open and narrowed eyes began to glow a bright and furious red. His entire body heated up and shook with rage and unbeknownst to him his very aura seemed to be aflame. The onna backed away slowly with her mouth in an O shape of astonishment, Hiei tried to stand and exact his revenge in the form of a mountain of pain, but his body was still to exhausted and in an act of furious frustration Hiei did what he felt was the only way to hurt her and sent arm swinging at her as though to throw a baseball but instead a burning ball of black flames shot at her. The onna looked briefly panicked and scrambled on all fours to get out of the way so that the ball of flame instead made contact with a tree not to far away and exploded in a shower of splinters.
Hiei was dumbfounded, had he just done that? Hearing the onna's tinkling laughter he looked over to her and found her squatting a ways from him, she stood up still laughing and walked shakely towards him. When she was next to him she sat down cross-legged and leaned back on her hands while still giggling at Hiei's look of open-mouthed wide-eyed astonishment at what he'd just done. When her mirth had finally subsided she turned towards him and smiled brightly with pride and satisfaction.
"Well done Hiei, not only have you activated your ka, but it seems it's manifested in one of the more powerful forms of flame that many have to be taught to summon. What you just used is known as the darkness flame or immortal flame because it can't be extinguished as easily as the flame of a campfire, for instance. With hard work and a lot practice you could master it, but you'll have to train for endurance because it also takes more ka or energy to use it. " She stated with glee. Hiei let her words sink in and as a smirk began to grace his lips so also did pride fill him, he had used his ka and it had been powerful, it was all thanks to that onna. Then he remembered what she had done in order to get him to do it an annoyed glare replaced his smirk and he quickly brought his fist down on her head with a 'thunk'. "Owww, what was that for? I helped you summon your ka remember?" she glowered back while rubbing her head.
"Hn, I don't care. That was for all the hassle you put me through you baka onna." He retorted with crossed arms.
"I was only trying to help, but I suppose your right. I shouldn't have taken the liberty. Can you forgive me?" Hiei looked up at her and saw her mouth set in a sort of sheepish grimace and he was sure that if he could see them, her eyes would have a pleading look. He quickly looked away and gave a soft 'Hn' then turned back around with a stern look.
"Do anything like that again onna and I won't be so forgiving." He stated simply.
"Of course not. Here." She placed her hand on his shoulders and he began to feel more energized as he realized that she was giving him some of her energy. "Let's go. There's a hot spring in the trees near the lake where you can take a bath. I'll start dinner so we eat and then sleep, it's been an exhausting day." She stated mildly as she stood and began her trek back to the cabin. Hiei found that the energy she'd given him was enough to where he could stand and he began walking towards to where the onna had stated was a hot spring.
As he relaxed in the warm water, Hiei thought over his day, he had accomplished more in one day with that onna then he had in years. What an odd onna she was, at the beginning she was serious, withdrawn, almost shy, but the longer he knew her the more easygoing and playful she became, as though she was beginning to trust him. Hiei grunted at the thought, he didn't trust anyone, maybe the fox, but not completely. So why was the onna trusting him and helping him like this, maybe because she knew he was a spirit detective? Still as much as he hated to admit it though, he did owe the onna quite a lot, hating to be in anyone's debt he resolved to find a way to pay her back, maybe she wanted a favor.
Hiei ended his thoughts and climbed out of the soothing water, replacing his cloths and katana, made his way to the cottage where he could smell the onna's cooking. He walked in to find the onna still at the stove and sat down in a chair at the small table already placed with bowls, spoons, glasses filled with water and a large loaf of bread in the center.
"Did you enjoy it?" the onna asked with her back to him stirring a pot.
"Hn."
They didn't speak after that, simply opting to sit in a comfortable silence as they waited for the meal to finish. Hiei was a bit droopy eyed but his hunger and thoughts kept him awake. The onna finally switched off the stove and carried the pot and ladle to the small table where they both served themselves to a thick stew and chunks of fresh bread. As he ate Hiei watched her for a bit debating when he should begin questioning her, he decided that now, before sleep took him, would be the best time.
"Why have you been helping me, onna?" he asked.
She looked up at him right in the middle of bringing her spoon of stew to her mouth, putting it back down she leaned back and looked at him. "Because you're a spirit detective and now Lord Koenma is in debt to me, which could come handy in a tight spot." She answered shortly.
"Hn, would you have helped the others if it had been them instead of me?"
"I'm. . . not sure, but I think I would have helped to cure them. Training them would not be as interesting." She replied with a small smile.
"That means that me working for Lord bottle butt is not your only reason. So what are you getting out of this, onna?"
The onna smirked at his comment towards Koenma but then went serious as she thought through her actions. "I see. I hadn't thought that you might feel obligated to do a favor for me in return. There really is nothing that you can do for me right now Hiei." Hiei snorted in frustration as he looked around in the cabin in thought. "Hiei, you mentioned 'the fox' and 'buffoon' earlier. Are they friends of yours?" Hiei was caught of guard by her question but quickly smirked and responded with an amused tone.
"Hn, they are two of the other spirit detectives. 'The fox' is Kurama who you probably know as yoko Kurama, " he paused to watch her reaction to yoko's name, normally girls went all googly eyed and acted as if in heat at his mention, but the onna simply sat there as though not really interested. Hiei was puzzled at why this seem to please him slightly, "the 'buffoon' is a weak, ugly, baka ningen who keeps chasing after the detective, Urameshi, another lucky ass baka ningen. I'd hardly call those two my friends." He snorted.
The onna chuckled a bit and then looked at him again. "But you do consider the fox a friend?"
Hiei looked away briefly then feeling as though he could he responded with a 'Hn' and waiting for her to laugh at him. But when he looked back she was simply sitting there with a non-chalant smile and looking out the kitchen window.
"Hiei, I have to leave here tomorrow and I don't think I'll be able to return. I've been coming here for years as a sort of vacation spot, but . . ." she paused and looked back at him with a slight frown, "my life will soon change drastically and there's nothing I can do to stop it. However, I don't want this place to be forgotten or invaded by heathens, and I know that you appreciate it for its beauty just as I do. I wish to give it to you, as your own territory if you will." Hiei was stunned, she was right in thinking that he appreciated this valley, however, he didn't need anymore gifts or favors from her, Before he could protest though she cut him off to continue, "I know you don't want a gift, Hiei, that's why I'm proposing a trade."
"What trade, onna?" he asked suspiciously. What could he possibly have that would equal in value to this valley.
"I know now how high your price is for giving anyone the title of friendship because I can see how uncommon it is for you, a rare thing is a high value perhaps even more so then this valley. So I offer you this valley as trade for your friendship, Hiei." She offered softly.
Hiei starred at her emotionlessly trying to discern if she was jesting or sincere, half wishing she was joking because then he knew how to react but the other half was convinced she was serious and was too stunned to react. No one had ever asked for his friendship before, in fact he had never even offered it out loud before, she even thought that the valley they were now in was to little a trade for it. Hiei had never given his friendship any worth, so why was this onna that he barely knew rating it so highly? Could he really consider her a friend? The onna has shown him nothing but kindness and a helping hand, but he didn't know enough about her to trust her. He didn't even know her name, but would that make a difference? The onna has spoken nothing but truths to him, but that doesn't mean she would never deceive him, perhaps a test of her honesty and trust for him, is that not what friendship is?
"I'll accept the trade, onna" he paused as he watched a bright smile begin to grace her lips, "If you tell me your name." slowly her smile began to fade and she looked down, what if he recognized her name? It could be disastrous if he turned her in, or held her captive, he could even renounce his friendship, but would he really do something like that? No, she trusted him and she had to be willing to believe in him as well if she expected him to do the same, it was only fair.
"Well, onna?" she looked up and saw that he seemed impatient. She smiled softly at him and looked back down.
"Yabi" she whispered.
"What?" he asked. For a moment she panicked thinking he was angry but then calmed and took a deep breath when she saw he was simply confused because he hadn't heard her.
"My name . . . is , Yabi." She said shyly but a bit louder. She watched his face for any sign of recognition or anger and found only a wide smirk slowly grace his lips.
"Now was that so hard, Onna?" he taunted playfully.
A bright smile came to her face and she giggled in response. "No, I suppose it wasn't." She watched as Hiei yawned and stretched, then made his way towards the bed on the other side of the cabin. The night had just settled bringing with it the reminder that Hiei needed rest, but before he slept she had to say one more thing. "Thank you, Hiei." She said as he flopped down on the bed and replied with only a grunt. Yabi cleared the table and cleaned the dishes then sat in the kitchen windowsill looking outside at the full moon who's rays seemed to light up everything it touched with a mysterious and beautiful glow. Then reaching into the sleeve of her cloak she pulled out the silver flute and began to play a slow haunting tune that seemed to blend with the mysteries of the night. Hiei lay there listening to the melody as he pondered the reason for the onna's reluctance and even fear to telling him her name, Yabi, he had never heard the name before. Slowly his eyes began to close as the song began to warp his senses and slowly lull him into the relaxing darkness that ended all his thoughts.
It was some time after midnight when Hiei woke, he quickly glanced around to see if there was danger that his instincts were warning him off. There was no one there and everything was quite but for the normal sounds of the night critters about there business. Still, his instincts had never led him wrong and they were telling him that something was up and he should go check it out. Hiei walked outside and surveyed the area to find still nothing of importance, putting his senses on high alert, he stood there a few minutes. Finally, in the distance towards the lake, on the side bordering the woods by the hot spring he heard a barely detectable splash. Probably the onna taking a bath, but always the man of caution, Hiei began a slight run towards the sound, quietly and mindful of his surroundings. About half a mile from the splashes origin, a scent began to tingle his nose and he stopped. Hiei recognized this scent, it was the sweet scent that came from the onna, but somehow different, sweeter, spicier. Normally he would have stopped and returned to the cabin to sleep but for some reason the scent was drawing him in, his curiosity got the better of him and he ran forward. The closer he came the stronger the scent became and the stronger the pull, it was as though it was intoxicating him as his temperature began to rise in anticipation, but for what? Finally he came upon some bushes with weeds everywhere, the scent was so strong and sweet he could think of nothing but to get to it. Parting the weeds and brush Hiei raised his eyes to the water and past, only to be stunned open-mouthed by the sheer image before him.
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