By: Sharys Aogail
Chapter 7
Kurama stalked down the hall, long tail flicking behind him in irritation. Another summons to the dispatch office? He just got back from a three month long mission this morning and had yet to even wash the blood, dust and grime from his flesh. He liked the thrill of shedding blood, just like any other of his comrades, but he disliked how the stuff clung to everything. His hair especially.
It was to be expected he supposed. The whole base had been in a continual state of chaos since one of the newbies lost it, and in her panic caused the misfire of the largest elemental charge on base. From what he heard, the psychic responsible for that little stint had been brought before lord Enma himself. Kurama new very well that none of them would see her face again. Shame really, from what he had heard she had been a particularly beautiful woman.
An impulsive shiver ran through him. He prayed to the gods that her death was swift and merciful.
He rounded a corner and knocked sharply at the first door he came to. At a brisk "enter" he stiffly walked inside. Upon entering, a stocky middle-aged man looked up from an open manila folder to regard his guest.
"Kurama. Punctual as always I see. How was your trip?"
His tail twitched, but he stayed firmly at attention. "Successful, sir."
"Good, good. I heard you received your eighth armband, congratulations."
Kurama inclined his head slightly. "Thank you, sir. But somehow I don't believe I'm here so you can compliment me on my recent achievements." His ears flicked back against his head. "The point, sir."
The commander's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your not your usual playful self today. Very well then." He slid the folder across his desk and gestured for Kurama to take a look. "Your new mission. You leave first thing tomorrow morning."
Feeling more agitated by the minute, Kurama picked up the folder and started leafing through the pages. About halfway through, gold eyes flashed and he started snarling at the commander. "I don't do retrievals," he hissed.
"Well, as of now you do. Four days ago one of our Runners went MIA. It is now your job to locate the target, asses the situation, then report for further instructions."
Kurama finished flipping through the pages and bit back a growl. "There are no photos here, no identification. How am I going to recognize the target if I don't know who it is and what they looks like?"
"You are already familiar with the target, so ID is not needed. He's an old comrade of yours if I am not mistaken."
Kurama held a strong suspicion, but asked anyway. "Who?"
"Hiei Jaganshi."
His thoughts confirmed, Kurama's interest was peaked. Of course he remembered Hiei. They had been partners on several assignments over the years, one of which was for an excruciating ten-month stretch. The smaller Shade was an odd one to say the least. Kurama could honestly say he had never met anyone else so driven, and he respected the fire mage as a proficient soldier and a skilled swordsman. In a war where in the end nothing mattered except self-preservation, he was the only one Kurama knew that was fighting for the sake of another.
And because of this, his loyalty was absolute.
Some twenty minutes later, Kurama exited the dispatch office with a thoughtful expression. Hiei . . . what have you gotten yourself into?
oOoOo
He panted as he ran further and further, towards the outskirts of the city. Faster and faster he ran, away from the blood and the bad men he was so sure were following him. His little legs often stumbled, but he didn't dare stop.
They wanted to take him like they did the others. Away, away, where no one ever saw you again. He didn't want to follow the others no matter how much he missed them, he didn't want to disappear!
Faster still, over fences and around sharp corners. Away, away to anywhere to anywhere familiar anything safe!
A hoarse gasp escaped his lungs when a hand closed on the back of his shirt, suddenly ending his flight. He kicked and screamed, thrashing as a pair of arms wrapped around him.
"Hey, hey! Shh kid, calm down! I'm not gonna hurt you!"
Finally exhausted, he stopped struggling. Big watery brown eyes turned up to a young and kind face framed by wavy pink hair. Suddenly drowned in relief, he trembled in her arms, choking back sobs. Her voice floated down to him, but he barely heard her.
"It's alright, you're fine. They're gone, they're gone."
Everyone's gone, he thought. They're never gonna come back . . . .
They're all dead.
oOoOo
Yusuke woke up shivering. His eyes darted about as panic ghosted along his mind. Realizing he was in the woods alone, he forced himself to calm down. The dream wasn't that bad, he was being irrational.
He sat up and rubbed his arms vigorously, trying to work some heat back into them. He paused at the tattoo on his wrist, the outline of the phoenix barely visible in the darkness of night. His fingers traced it deafly, barely brushing the skin.
All dead . . . he though, as if he needed the reminder.
He killed them.
oOoOo
Hiei was lingering high in the treetops, and had been there since the sun had disappeared below the horizon. His eyes were cast towards the northern hills beyond which lay the Vahlkran border. Against the clear night sky, they were little more than faint silhouettes, but they were prominent all the same and loomed heavily on his mind.
He should go he knew. He should have reported back to base days ago and the longer he waited the more likely a search would be sent out. His thoughts briefly turned to his sister and his promise, but he cringed and swiftly pushed them away only to find that he couldn't.
It was a trap, he could admit that now. To himself at least. No matter how many jobs he pulled, or how many tasks he completed they would never keep their end of the bagain. They knew the only reason he cooperated at all was because of Yukina.
She was precious leverage that they would never willing hand over. Especially when it held sway over so powerful a Mage. Hiei inwardly scoffed at that thought, thinking back to how serious his injuries were. Some Mage alright.
Regardless, if he wanted to free Yukina he knew he would have to do it himself, and on his own terms.
Hiei was forcibly dragged out of his thoughts by a flood of foreign thoughts and images that suddenly invaded his mind, overriding everything else. It was too strong to block and Hiei had no choice but to give in and ride it out.
Running. There was blood and panic, so much red painted everything. A terrified child ran from men and deeds unknown. Too much, too young, oh much too young! Faster, faster away . . . . Then the savior. It's not alright! They're gone! Gone, all disappeared, all dead . . . A kind face that stayed, waves of pink that never faded. It's alright, it's alright . . .
Hiei broke free of the connection gasping, clutching his head as the jumble of information tied to sort itself out. He was still reeling when he finally realized the source of the invasion.
From his vantage point Hiei saw Yusuke suddenly sit up, his body shaking like a leaf. The connection was unintentional, that much was obvious. Hiei watched him for a minute or so, Yusuke's dream still fresh in his mind and crystal clear.
"Who was she?" Hiei asked, his voice just loud enough to get the other's attention.
Yusuke started, instinctively reaching for his guns, but paused in mid-motion when he recognized the voice. The Jantan shook his head slightly. "What?"
"The woman in your dream, who was she?"
Hiei could feel the cold glare directed at him. "Reading my mind now?" Yusuke snapped.
The shade merely shook his head. "Moron, you were broadcasting. Anyone within a mile would have been able to pick it up!"
Yusuke looked sullen and his eyes suddenly seemed determined not to meet Hiei's. After a few minutes of silence Yusuke let loose an audible sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Her name's Genkai, and she's my mom. Or the closest thing I have to one anyway. She found me after . . ."
He trailed off and didn't continue. Hiei knew better than to pry further.
Hiei migrated down to a lower branch and tried to make himself comfortable. As the silence stretched, he watched Yusuke out of the corner of his eye. The Jantan squirmed where he sat, his fingers once again tracing his wrist before moving on to fiddle with a pouch on his belt.
Abruptly he looked up at Hiei with a toubled expression. "Do you have any family Hiei?" he asked, then just as abruptly turned away. "Er, never mind. Don't answer, I shouldn't have asked."
Hiei wondered at the question. He couldn't fathom why Yusuke wanted to know, but had a nagging feeling that it had something to do with his dream. Hiei told himself that he really didn't want to know the connection. But the younger Jantan had answered his own question, and courtesy demanded that he should at least respond to this one.
"Hm, I have a sister," he responded simply. "My twin."
And left it at that.
Yusuke simply nodded, his lip giving a faint twitch.
There was another long batch of silence, this one lasting for the better part of an hour. Realizing how late it was, Hiei settled more comfortably on his branch, determined to get some rest before morning.
"Can I ask you something?"
Hiei suppressed a scowl. He had been half-asleep until Yusuke's interruption. "You're awfully full of questions."
The Jantan had the nerve to give him a small lopsided grin. "Bear with it. Anyways, what I wanted to ask was . . . when I woke up, what did you mean by broadcasting?"
Inwardly Hiei gave a resigned sigh. "Your thoughts are completely unguarded. Normally this is to be expected in undisciplined Mages. But your distress somehow amplified, forcing the dream out. Meaning anyone with a hint of telepathy could have received it. I'm going to assume that's a direct result of awakening your latent abilities.
"Can you teach me?"
Hiei snapped to attention. "What?"
"The broadcasting thing. Can you teach me how to block it?"
"I don't . . ." Hiei fell deathly silent as he gave it some thought. Slowly he began to realize the massive problem he had on his hands. If there had been another Mage anywhere within Yusuke's range, they could have been found again. If Jantans found them, it was a guaranteed death sentence for Yusuke, and Hiei as well though they would probably take longer with him. But if they were found by Vahlkra . . .
There was a thought. What would he do if he and Yusuke were found by Vahlkra's forces? Yusuke would be killed. There was no way around that. Lord Enma would never allow him to survive . . . in fact, he'd probably carry out the sentence himself.
He shouldn't care. However . . . no matter how he looked at it he was indebted to the young Jantan. He helped Hiei even though he was an enemy and he didn't want the help. He slaughtered his own in his defense, and even healed him (unintentional though it was). He owed this man his life three times over.
Obligation was a word that Hiei despised above all others, and took it very seriously. But there was only so much he could do.
"I'll try to teach you what I can," Hiei finally conceded. "At least until we go our separate ways."
"When will we do that?"
"When I'm convinced we're in a place where you can't get yourself killed by your own stupidity. After that I have my own business to attend to."
They didn't talk the rest of the night.
oOoOo
Author's Note: Hello All! A nice long chapter this time for you. Again, this story will be slow coming, but will not be abandoned! Have faith fellow readers! I know where this story is going and how it will end (which is more than I can say about most of my stories) so sit back and enjoy, 'cause I'm in it for the long haul!- Sharys
Thanks To:
cruiseberry: Was that soon enough for you? (smile) Would you believe me that when I started writing this I was worried I was being cliche and a little obvious? Thank you for the wonderful compliments!
Demon Hiei's Girl- (looks frantically for a foxhole to leap into) I'm . . . sorry? It's alright that you were a little late in finding this, I'm just happy you found it at all. Sorry, no lemons! I'll read them with the next yaoi-lover, but I'm afraid I would be a little too embarassed to actually write one . . .
Suryallee- I got distracted . . . . and so it goes.
Spiritwave13- Writer's block is very frustrating! And you're not the only one who gets distracted! (nervous laugh) My story is spicy? (knaws to check flavor)
Rujutoshi- I'm so glad you urge to write hasn't fled completely, it would be such a waste. And I'm glad you still read this! Your opinion matters a lot considering you got me hooked on this pairing . . .
hyperdude- Don't strain yourself trying to figure it out, I was trying to be as vauge as possible while still making sense to me . . . and hopefully to you guys in the end . . .
Skittles- I like to keep you guys guessing! (smiles)
XinnLajgin- (pouts) Genius can't be forced you know!
Kit-kit- Here ya go! Another chappie lined up for ya!
And anyone else that I missed! THANK YOU!