Chapter 17 – Katoma and Hiei

Katoma sat on a large bolder, Hiei was next to her, and a small river of water floated in the air, levitating around both of them in a complete and next to perfect circle. The waterfall roared to the right of them, and the bubbling river flowed to the left. Hiei was watching Katoma, but Katoma's eyes were closed.

"Katoma?" he asked. The water, in a blink of an eye, was back in the river. She turned to face him, her dark navy blue eyes reflecting the watery mist that hung in the air. Her pupils were hardly noticeable. All she had was a small blue slit, much harder to see than Inuyasha's or Sarome's.

"Yes?" she asked. Her voice was smooth and soft, like water in itself, yet, it had sheer ferocity that came naturally, like a waterfall, a heavy flowing waterfall.

"Do you love me?" he asked. She smiled and kissed him on the lips, and he held her there. He wanted to savor this moment forever. He had found a girl that was close to him. They were different, yet same. They both hated many things, yet, they enjoyed many things. They both loved to fight more than anything other than each other. They were like a single personality, copied and placed in another body. He was reluctant to let her go when she pulled away.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked. He knew it was rhetorical. Since Sarome was captured, she had been acting different, and Hiei thought he was the only one that was seeing it. She was usually distant, far off, and when he spoke, it was like he was talking to an empty shell. Her voice showed none of that now. "Hiei…" she sighed, looking at the water, her eyes downcast, "I-I don't think we should see each other."

"What?" Hiei said, obviously shocked to hear that. "What are you saying?"

"You come from a different land, a place where you will have to go back sooner or later. We are still working on a way to send you back, and Sarome knows she will have to say good-bye to Kurama. You have no idea how hard this really is for me."

"So you are going to say 'good-bye' just like that?" Hiei was ticked off, no, he was more than ticked; he was seriously pissed off. That didn't happen around Katoma. Not now, not ever, but he was actually feeling it now. "Katoma…" he let his own voice trail off.

"Hiei, let me speak here," he said. He turned to her, his burgundy eyes flaring like Sarome's flames. "I am half-demon, you are full, I am water, you are fire, think about it!"

"I don't want to!" he whined. "I love you more than life itself, and this feeling I have never felt before! I want more of it! More of yours, for I love you more than life itself!" he quieted down, sighing. Katoma kissed him again, but he pulled away. "Tell me why."

"Once we separate, you to your world, and me to my own, we will never see each other again. It will hurt too much to say good-bye," her eyes began to water, and small tears fell down her face. She lifted one off of her face with her magic, and clenched her fist. It instantly hardened. She took one of her hairs from her pelt and hardened it with another stream of water from her tears. It formed a necklace, which she draped around his neck. He touched it with the tip of his finger. "I love you too, more than anything, and I mean it, you know it, so this is a reminder."

She stood up onto her bare feet, and looked down on him. More tears fell down her face, yet, she had a smile on her face. It was a smile of sorrow and guilt. "I never thought I would love someone," she chuckled slightly, "guess I was wrong. I fell head-over-heals in love with you, Hiei. Don't save your heart for the likes of me."

"I want someone with the likes of you. I want it to be you!" he yelled, and for the first time in his life, he cried. Tears rolled down her face, and Katoma gasped. If it was from his words or tears, Hiei couldn't tell, but her touch came instantly. "Katoma…" he wept. "Stay with me, or better yet, come with me."

"I will do all that I can, Hiei," she said, grasping him in an even tighter hug. He wrapped his hands around her chest like a small child would do to his mother. "I promise."