Jen sat in bed, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened. He's gone... Her chest tightened painfully as tears fought to fall from her eyes. Her body shook as she continued to stare out the window he left from.
No, Jen. I feel nothing for you. I tried, but I do not care for you, or anyone else. I am not capable of those feelings.
Her heart clenched as his words played through her mind on a loop. How could he not care for her? Had she really misread him this whole time? Fed up with herself as her anger rose, she threw the covers away from her and got out of her bed. His scent was all over it and she couldn't handle it anymore.
With a frustrated growl, she tore off her shirt, trying to get away from his scent further. She made her way to the closet, throwing open the door to find something to wear. His scent hit her tenfold from his clothes that were neatly hung on one side. With a whimper, she sank to her knees in the closet, pulling her knees against her chest as her tears fell from her eyes.
I do not care for you, or anyone else. I am not capable of those feelings.
She pulled her arms around her knees tighter, her body shaking as she hugged herself. She should have known it was too good to be true. Everything was going too well, and the Fates never just let anyone live in peace.
Jen sighed as more pain assailed her. This wasn't the Fates' doing though, was it? No, this was Hiei. The stubborn fire demon who made her feel all these emotions; Made her feel like she was capable of anything and then just decided it wasn't real and left. Her anger rose once more as she cut a glare to his clothes.
Before she could do anything, small arms wrapped around her neck from behind. "Sissy, what's wrong?"
Leta's small voice shook her out of her anger for a brief moment. "He's gone, Leta," she choked out.
"Why did he leave? You guys are supposed to be together. Soul mates don't leave each other," she said, her voice a full octave higher. Leta nuzzled her the back of her shoulder as her arms remained around her neck. Jen felt Leta's tears wet her skin. "He will come back, Jen-Jen. He has to. Please don't cry, Sissy."
Leta's voice was choked with her own sadness as her etheral arms tightened around Jen's neck, but Jen shook her head. "He told me he didn't feel anything for me, little love. He isn't coming back."
Leta sniffed as she floated around to stand in front of Jen. "Then he is lying, Sissy. I have seen what's in his heart and you are there. Along with Yukina, me, Kurama, Yusuke," her voice trailed off as she continued listing names, counting them on her fingers.
That was a lie your father told to push us into something before we were ready so that we wouldn't mate in the future. Leta told me after you had left after Carlotta.
Jen frowned as she remembered more of Hiei's words. "Leta, why did you lie and say we were soul mates?"
Leta's eyes widened as she stared at her sister. "That wasn't a lie, Sissy. You are soul mates-"
Jen cut her off, her anger rising. "He told me you said we weren't soul mates when I wasn't there. That it was just a lie that Father used to drive us apart. Why would you keep something like that up, Leta?"
Leta shook her head. "No. You are soul mates, Jen-Jen-"
Jen slammed her hands into the ground, causing Leta to whimper. "Damn it, Leta. Stop lying to me," she yelled.
Dread sank into her stomach as Leta's sob echoed in her ears. Jen looked up to meet Leta's teary eyes. "Leta...I'm sorry. I didn't-"
Before she could finish her apology, Leta shook her head disappearing with a cry of sadness. Unable to handle the pain, Jen lashed out at the clothes around her. Tears streamed down her face at an increased pace as she threw clothes from their hangers at the walls. She knocked over the stands that held her shoes, loud crashing echoing through her closet as she sank to her knees again with a sob.
In the back of her mind, she heard the door to her room open, rushed heavy foot steps coming towards her. "Jen?"
She barely recognized the voice as Salvatore's but she said nothing as she lowered her head further, her sobs forcing her body to shake uncontrollably. Her brother's large arms lifted her up and pulled her into a tight hug. Her hands clutched his shirt as she buried her face in his chest.
His soft whispers of comfort calmed her slowly, though she was unsure of just how long they stayed there like that. She pulled her head back to look up at her brother, his now jet-black eyes a stark contrast to the warm golden color they once were. She could see torment and agony in his eyes, but the rest of his body language spoke of his concern for her. "What happened, dear sister?"
Jen shook her head as she got up, digging through the mess to find a shirt and shorts. "He's gone, Salv," she said quietly, pulling the clothes on.
Salvatore's eyes widened. "What?"
Jen turned on him and snapped. "He's gone. He told me he didn't give a damn about me and left."
She cursed colorfully as she realized she couldn't even say his name. "I swear, I'm going to find that bastard and rip him apart for leading me on," she growled as she pushed past Salvatore to walk out into the room.
"Woah, woah, slow down, Jen," he said as he followed her and pulled her to a stop. "I've seen the way he acts around you. You can't hide anything from a Venatore, little sister. There must be something going on. Tell me everything that happened."
Jen growled as she moved away and sat on the bed with her head in her hands. "Everything was fine when we went to bed. He said he had a bad feeling, but that it was no big deal. I helped him relax and we fell asleep.
"When he woke up, he was shaking and his eyes were hazy like he was somewhere else entirely," Tears threatened to fall again as she forced herself to continue. "Then he snapped out of it and said he needed to leave. That we didn't belong together and he wasn't capable of feeling anything for me."
Jen squeezed her eyes shut as his words played through her head again. His voice had been so cold. Yet, thinking back, she could almost hear something else in his voice; See something in his eyes.
She shook her head as she banished the idea. It must have been her imagination. All of it must have been her imagination. She was worthless to him. Nothing but a curiousity that he finally got bored of.
"Maybe something startled him. From what Kurama says, Hiei gets premonitions of the future from time to time," her brother said.
Jen frowned as she looked up at him, sniffling pathetically. "Premonitions?"
Salvatore nodded. "It comes with his Jagan, along with telepathy, empathy, telekinesis and so on. His mind is so powerful that it catches the wave-lengths of the Oracles sometimes, and he gets glimpses of the future. According to Kurama, they can be rather distorted, and he never knows when it will happen, nor any of the surrounding information or events. I guess it's like watching a snippet of a movie without knowing anything about it."
Jen sighed. "But why lie? I've never known Hie-him to lie to me," she said, still frustrated at herself that she could even manage to say his name.
Salvatore shrugged. "Maybe he was trying to protect you. Give him some time to come back to his senses, Jen, or straighten out everything he needs to straighten out."
Jen nodded numbly, not really hearing his words. She was afraid to really contemplate anything in case she was just setting herself up for more pain. Time she could do though, distracting herself long enough for him to either come back, or forget him entirely.
Her body shuddered with another wave of pain at that thought. She knew better. She'd never be able to forget Hiei.
Hiei walked through one of the run-down, bandit infested cities, his chest aching. Ever since he had left Jen, he couldn't shake the way her agony rang in his ears. Leaving her had been one of the most difficult things he had to do.
He glanced up at the sky, deciding he needed to find a place to stay soon. A summer storm would be blowing in tonight, and there was no way he was going to get caught outside in the violent storm.
He found a small inn near by and walked in. He arched a brow as the clerk squeaked , jumping nearly three feet in the air when his eyes landed on Hiei. "C-can I he-help you, Sir?"
"I need a room," he said, his voice cold and full of malice. These emotions of anger were what he was used to; Comfortable with. He knew exactly where his limits were and what he was capable of. With anger came confidence as he could feel his cold and calculating self falling back together. No one could stand ever stand against him once he was in the right zone. Sundrak had another thing coming if he thought he could actually have power over Hiei.
The cowardly demon nodded and turned to the wall behind him, his hands shaking as he grabbed a key off the wall and handed it to him, quickly retracting as soon as Hiei took the key. "D-D-down the hall and to th-the le-left. Eighteen is the room number."
Hiei turned silently, disgusted with the cowardice of the lowly demon, as he walked towards his room. Then again, this was what he was used to. Being regarded as the monster he was. He let himself in, glancing around the small, poorly furnished room.
With a sigh, he closed and locked the door, pulling off his cloak and setting his sword on the bed. Without warning, a small blue blur shot through the room, hitting him square in the chest. Knocking him off balance, he hit the ground hard, too stunned to really move. The blur turned out to be Leta, her tiny fists beating against his chest as she yelled at him incoherently.
Hiei held her at arms length by her shoulders. He visibly flinched. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at him with so much pain, it felt like a hot blade had sliced straight through his chest. He looked down at the ground, disgusted with himself, knowing he was the cause of her pain. So much for that cold and calculating thing.
"Why did you lie to my Jen-Jen, Hiei-dessi? Why," she shouted at him as she started struggling in his grip to continue her attack. "She thinks I lied, Dessi. I didn't lie. I never lie. I'm a good girl," she whimpered, the pain in Hiei's chest increasing with each word.
He had given up holding her back and let her return to hitting his chest over and over again. Finally, the hitting stopped, Leta burying her face in his chest, saying "I'm a good girl," repeatedly between her sobs.
Hiei carefully wrapped his arms around the shaking frame of the small girl, not knowing what he could do. He spoke quietly. "I had to leave, little onna. She would be in danger if I stayed."
Leta sniffled as she looked up at him. "So you still care about her," she asked sniffling again as hope glittered in her teary eyes. "You know I didn't lie, right Dessi?"
He stroked her etheral hair. "I know, little onna."
She hit him hard in the chest, taking him by surprise as she glared at him, her lower lip sticking out slightly. "Then why did you lie to her!"
"I had to. To keep her safe."
Leta let out a sound of indignation. "Don't talk to me about keeping her safe, Dessi. I know whether or not she's safe and everything was just fine before you left. Now my Jen-Jen is sad, and that makes me unhappy, Dessi," she said, hitting him again to punctuate the end of her statement.
Hiei kept his temper in check as he shook his head. "No, little onna. An old enemy is after me, and he knows about Jen and Yukina. I can't let him hurt them to try to get to me."
Leta frowned. "What kind of stupid logic is that? You don't want them to get hurt, so you leave them?" Hiei only nodded in response before Leta continued. "If this guy already knows about them, how would leaving make them safe? It just means you aren't there to protect them yourself."
His blood ran cold at the six-year-old's logic. She had a point, but it didn't change anything. "Not when I'm the one who will kill them all, little onna."
Leta tilted her head. "Now why would you do a silly thing like that?"
Hiei sighed. "I saw it in a premonition. Yukina dies and I lose control and destroy everyone around me, Jen included."
Leta scoffed. "So then we make sure Yukina is safe," she said with a shrug. "That's still something you can do better if you are there and not off running around the Makai." She finished her statement by waving her arms around.
Hiei shook his head. "I will not risk them, little onna. I will find Sundrak and kill him to ensure Jen and Yukina's safety."
Leta wrinkled her nose. "Is that the evil guy's name? Sundrak?"
Hiei nodded and Leta's frown increased. "I don't like his name, Dessi. It just sounds gross and mean."
Hiei shook his head a little, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He doubted he could manage much more, considering the heavy pain that still hung in his chest. He blew out a sigh. "You should go, little onna."
Leta scoffed. "Like anything can happen to me, Dessi. I'm a ghost, remember? No one can hurt me! I'm invincible," she said with a smile.
Hiei arched a brow. The young ghost did have a point, though he never mentioned her needing to leave being related to her safety. But to be completely honest, even though he really didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to be alone right now. He'd just hurt the woman who had come to mean more to him than he even cared to admit.
Leta sniffled as she wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck, like she could read his mind. "Don't worry, Dessi. Everything will be okay. We are gonna get this Sundrak guy, and I'll make sure Jen and Yukina stay safe. I'll even let you know how everything is going back home."
Hiei nodded slightly, wrapping an arm around Leta, only partially realizing they were still sitting in the middle of the floor. "Do not tell Jen about this, little onna."
Leta scoffed as she let go of his neck, standing on his lap with her hands on her hips. "I know my sissy, Dessi. If I told her, she would get into lots of trouble to try to find you and help you. I promise I won't tell Jen-Jen, but you gotta promise that we'll go back home as soon as we deal with this meanie."
Hiei arched a brow, not sure when this turned into a 'we' situation. "Alright, little onna."
Leta stuck her lower lip out as she frowned. "Promise," she urged.
"You have my word, little onna. We will return to Aerisia."
Leta's eyes instantly lit up. "Yay!"
Her happiness warmed him a little as he stood up with a sigh. Leta turned a serious look on him. "Now, you need to get some sleeps, Dessi. We've got a bad guy to get tomorrow!"
She pushed him towards the bed, floating behind him. He was too tired to try to fight against her. Hiei flopped down on the bed beside his sword, his hand resting on the hilt. Leta crawled under his arm and curled up in a ball just above his shoulder. His eyes widened as she settled in with her eyes closed. "Night night, Dessi," she mumbled as she let out a sigh.
Still a bit shocked at the contact of the young girl, Hiei spoke quietly. "Goodnight, little onna."
How was this little girl so comfortable around him? How did she trust him so easily? And when the Hell did I become okay with this? He sighed as he shifted carefully, Leta already fast asleep with the tiniest snore.
He supposed the little girl didn't really have anything to be afraid of anyway, considering he couldn't hurt her even if he wanted to. She was already dead, so she couldn't really fear for her life.
Leta shifted a little in her sleep and her arm stretched out, grabbing a handful of his hair. She mumbled happily in her sleep incoherently and Hiei relaxed to a degree, let himself fall into a light sleep.
Jen sighed as she looked around the clearing that she would normally have her sparring match with Hiei around now. She had just finished an intense two-hour session with Nykairren, who still threw her around pretty easily. Jen could at least bounce back now, and her recovery was a lot faster, but her entire body ached from the constant stream of energy she forced to surround her body.
Yusuke had taught her how to keep her energy controlled outside of her body, forming a thin, but concentrated, layer of energy over her body. It was draining, but she was able to control it for a little bit longer each day, and it served as a good shield to absorb some of the damage.
The sun had disappeared a few hours ago, a cool breeze finally floating in the air as she turned towards the inn. As Jen walked in, she saw Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Avidan, Selene, Salvatore and Blythe sitting around the hearth. From what Jen could tell, they were sharing stories of their past, their joy reaching her ears.
Avidan was the first to notice Jen as he jumped up to run over to her. "Jenny! You are just in time! I was just about to tell everyone about our first visit to the human world."
Jen choked a little on a laugh. "I don't think they need to know how we battled a mighty printer and nearly lost."
Yusuke and Kuwabara let out a bark of laughter. Jen shook her head deciding to let Avidan lead her over to the group to sit down as Avidan started their tale about the human contraption.
"So here we are, first time in the human world, already kind of spooked because we were nearly plowed over by a couple cars when we walk into this store, right?"
Jen leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she listened to the story. She had always loved the way Avidan told stories. He was always animated and his sense of humor kept her laughing.
"Back in the corner of this little store, which, if I recall correctly, was called Staples, there were a bunch of crazy looking machines. They were these rectangles with like a huuge mouth that stretched all the way across it.
"So Jen and I approach them with curiousity. All of the sudden, when I get close to one, it starts to growl ferrociously and shake. After it stopped, I look closer, at the mouth of the beast. Jen's right behind me as I poke at it.
"With another growl, the machine tries to eat my hand! So Jen and I proceed to smash it, surprisingly easily, with a yell. After that, a couple humans started yelling at us, so we decided to run, thinking these machines had some kind of mind control over the humans. We finally get away and escape back to the Makai and I tell ya. It was at least another three months before we ever went back. We told my dad about the evil mind-controlling machines and he told us they were just printers, and the humans were mad at us because we destroyed one of their products."
Avidan stretched back with a sigh as he finished. "Needless to say, our dads made us do some research on the human world and their contraptions before they let us go back."
Yusuke and Kuwabara were nearly blue in the face from laughing so hard. Salvatore was smirking at the memory, and Yukina, Blythe and Selene were giggling softly. Even Jen had to smile. They had been so young and naive at the time, but their adventures into human world had been some of the best.
After Yusuke and Kuwabara finally recovered from their laughter, Yusuke looked over to Jen. "Hey Jen, where's Hiei?"
Jen flinched a little. "He left."
Yusuke shrugged a little. "Yeah he does that sometimes. He will be back."
He said nothing more on the subject as he turned his attention back to the story telling. She looked over to see sadness in Yukina's eyes. If she didn't know any better, she could swear Yukina knew Hiei was her brother. Yukina quietly excused herself to turn in for the night.
Selene watched her silently with concern in her eyes before getting up and following her. Jen had no idea why, but Selene had always been nearly as protective of Yukina as Hiei was. They seemed to have some kind of past together, but Selene had never elaborated. She definitely knew that Hiei was Yukina's brother though. Jen could tell that much.
Tiredness tugging at her, Jen stood up, quietly wishing everyone a good night before making her way to her room. Part of her dreaded getting back into the bed that smelled like Hiei, but part of her couldn't wait to surround herself with his scent again. She missed him, and despite the pain, she needed something to remind her of him.
After closing her door, she made her way over to the closet, surprised to find everything neatly put back together. Such a wonderful big brother, she thought to herself as she grabbed a large dark blue t-shirt and changed into it.
She slid under the blanket as she sank into bed, Hiei's scent instantly assailing her senses. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her muscles, that she only now noticed had been tense, slowly relaxing. Come home soon, Hiei. Please.
Jen looked around, finding herself in a dimly lit room and a completely different bed. Her body was suddenly covered by a shadow of a man looming over her. She started to struggle a little but the man dropped his head to her ear. "Shh, onna."
Jen shivered, Hiei's deep voice rumbling his chest as he solidified above her and his body pressed against hers. His lips dropped to her neck, causing sparks to skitter over her body. His hands trailed over her body as his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss, his hot skin under her hands rippling against her touch.
As one hand started a slow circle on her breast, Hiei's other hand came up between her thighs to tease her sensitive flesh. His lips never left hers as she moaned, Hiei taking the opportunity to slide his tongue in and explore her mouth. He slid his tongue down one of her fangs before softly nipping her lower lip. It was heaven and hell all at once as his teasing continued.
Hiei pulled back from the kiss a fraction of an inch, his gaze searing her as his fangs lengthened between his parted lips. "You are mine, Onna," he said with a feral growl as he dropped his head to her neck, sinking his fangs in at the extact time he thrust into her.
Jen shot up from her bed, looking around to find herself alone in her room, her cheeks flushed. Her breathing labored, she fell back onto the bed with a huff. Why do all of the good dreams end right before they start to get really good?
A/N~ So, I thought a cute Leta scene, a funny story and little dream would help make up for all the sadness and the fact the Hiei left Jen. Don't worry though, I have the next 5 chapters or so planned out, including Jen and Hiei reuniting! :D
Anyway, this was just kinda the reprecussions of Hiei leaving, the next chapter will actually have some action :P
Special thanks to Vhee, who kept me on task with an amazing and wacky conversation :P She has a fic called Getting Soft that is fantastic! So go read it :) Her pen name is Just 2 Dream of You. Read it~ :3
I also want to have a mini-celebration for Blood Ties reaching 50k words and breaking 1,000 visitors this month with the last chapter. Yayyy! Balloons, confetti and party hats - Go!
Oooh~ I also made a cover picture...but I'm too lazy to color it :P Anyone wanna color it for me? :3 I will probably make a cover for Leta's Guide to the Universe next because I have a cute idea. :P
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Much Love ~Jessa