Ok, time to resolve the cliffie. Sorry, just trying to keep the chapters roughly the same length, and keep y'all coming back. Anyways, the usual disclaimer, don't own, don't sue, don't steal pyro. Reviews welcome.
thank you soooo much for the reviews! and favouriting me! and yes, i think it may be rushed, but its the way they wanted it to be. don't worry, it'll slow down in a bit. (this chapter's a lot of dialog)
Hiei growled. "Onna, move."
I glared at him. "You are not roasting your friend in the living room! Now get rid of the fire and calm the fuck down, or you fight me."
Yusuke marched Kurama out of the room while I stared down the fire demon.
"I'm warning you witch, this is not your fight." Hiei's growl lost some of the rage of the first one.
I got in his face. "Stand down oni-san. Talk to me, I can help."
"I don't talk."
"And Yusuke said you don't trade embarrassment for embarrassment either, that a year or so ago you'd have just killed me. So, speak. Why were you about to roast Kurama?"
Hiei refused to look me in the eye.
I started dropping my mental shields, to talk to him mind to mind. I had the basic idea. 'Hiei...'
His eyes flashed a brilliant crimson before settling back to their normal rust colour. 'He was speaking badly of you.'
Yay progress! 'What did he say about me that set you off like that? You barely know me.'
'He said you were just hiding your true intent and that you were waiting to gain our trust before you let the demon have her way with us all.' He finally looked me in the eye. 'He hasn't been in your head.'
I closed my eyes to banish the memory he brought up. "And you have. Thank you for defending my honour Hiei, it means a lot to me that you would stand up for me." I bowed slightly, then winked at him. "Talking's better than having to live with the memory of roasting your friend over some baka ningen onna, neh?"
He shrugged, then disappeared. One of these days I'd figure out how he did that.
I found Yusuke yelling at Kurama in the yard. I coughed to get their attention. "Kurama, a word please?" My words were polite, but my voice implied that compliance was mandatory.
Yusuke jogged over. "Talk to him out here, I'm gonna go find shortie."
"Actually, you should find Kuwabara, make sure they didn't accidentally kill him during their fight." I said. 'Hiei doesn't want to be found right now. I made him uncomfortable.'
Kurama sat on the grass under the big maple tree.
I sat near him, but in the shade. Did I mention that I'm a fair celtic lass and burn in naught point five seconds? Yeah, I do.
"Hiei actually spoke to you?" Kurama asked, plucking at the grass in front of him.
"Yeah, that was harsh man. I thought we were getting on better than that." I fiddled with a twig I'd found beside me.
"You're projecting your anger at me. Lotus did that a lot when she thought I'd screwed up." He stared at the grass, letting his feelings of hurt and anger wash over him.
"There's a big difference between me and that bitch, and if you'd get your head out of your ass, you'd know it was betrayal, not anger. But, since you knew her better than you know me, you assume I'm angry, when I'm really hurt." I threw the twig at him.
He flinched a little when it got caught in his hair.
"You're an asshole, Kurama." I said quietly.
Suddenly I had his full attention. "Excuse me?"
"You're an asshole. You think I want to inflict myself on you guys? I would so much rather be at home, doing my little blurb for the paper and being somewhat slightly normal. Y'all make it so much harder for me to keep her in, she wants to hurt you, and I can't do that. Talk to Hiei this time, ask him how tight a lockdown I have her in."
"I'm sorry. When he described her, it all just came rushing back. Lotus was brilliant, but very evil. At times I couldn't be sure if my emotions were truly mine or if they were something she did." Kurama ducked his head and hid is face behind his hair.
"For what its worth, I'm sorry about the bitch. The last time she got out, she nearly got me killed." I leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"So you really don't want her out, its not just a show." Kurama looked up at me with a very shocked look on his face.
"No. Hiei saw that memory too, he was actually dwelling on it when I spoke to him earlier."
He hesitated, as if he was unsure if he should offer comfort.
I hugged him. And he actually hugged me back. Kinda shocking, considering the rest of my day.
"We found the idiot." Hiei's voice came from the branches above.
Kurama jumped and looked up. "How long have you been up there?" He scooted away from me a little more.
"Long enough. Kurama, for an intelligent demon, you really are an idiot." Hiei said, jumping down lower so we could see him.
"No, he's just scarred from his dealings with her. Emotions are delicate, and when someone screws with them, it takes a long time to get over it." I offered the red head a small smile. "The bitch was nothing if not thorough in her evil."
Hiei chose then to turn his red eyes on me. "Onna, the baka who hurt you the last time, where is he now?"
I sighed and slumped. I really did not want to deal with that memory just then. "You're sweet, but I neither know nor do I care where that fucktard hangs his hat. For all I know or care, he's dead."
"I will eventually find him." Hiei growled and disappeared once again.
Kurama chuckled. "He really will. And beat the unfortunate man to within an inch of his last breath."
"And how is that funny? I don't like the guy, but I also don't want to be the cause of his demise." I glared at the red head.
"Hiei can't kill him, its against our laws. Its funny because he likes you enough to make that vow." Kurama chuckled a bit more.
A plastic fork flew out of nowhere and landed, tines first, just beyond Kurama's fingers.
The next few weeks were, well, kinda bland. I trained a bit with the guys, but only just a bit of physical training. They wanted me to focus on my powers, and actually learning to use them beyond the basics. And when Hiei wasn't playing reluctant sensei, I watched movies and hung out with the others.
Hiei didn't want to teach me, but he was the only one who could actively poke around in someone's mind, so they elected him. He was ok, but he had a fondness for being up a tree for lessons.
We were in his favourite tree when the other demons found us again. I was on a lower branch, because I wasn't as practiced at climbing trees as I once was. I was wedged in a fork of the branch, so that I could lean back to look at Hiei without worrying too much about falling.
"Why are we doing this?" I asked during one of the rare breaks he granted me. "Your Jagan can't even help you get past my shields, and that's without training."
"That would be why. If I can't get in, you also cannot get out to learn an ability during a battle." He gave me a strange look.
"Instead, I drop my shields and get blitzed by emotions. Now I get it." I swung my feet a little, trying not to shake the branch too much.
"You just now thought to ask? Its been three weeks."
"I was actually enjoying your company too much, and the time away from the rest of your little demon police group." I blushed and hoped to Hades he didn't see it.
"Onna, you're projecting again."
I squinted up at him, damn demon loved to have the sun at his back. "Is that what you're gonna call me the whole year? I mean, I do have a name."
"It is what I will call you when you annoy me."
"You're always annoyed, Hiei."
"Then, yes, onna will be what I call you most of the time." He actually laughed.
"Hiei, do you trust me?" I asked, then clapped my hands over my mouth and wished I hadn't said that. It was one thing to be paranoid and notice the others sneaking glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking. It was another thing entirely to question the only guy in the bunch who was willing to be alone with me.
"Does this have something to do with the fox?" He was in front of me so fast I nearly fell, but he caught me.
"All of them really. They won't be alone in a room with me, or I'll catch them watching me when they think I'm not paying attention, like they're expecting her to suddenly take over or something."
"Its because Yoko is so unpredictable. He and the Kurama you know are the same, not a reincarnation, he melded his soul into the infant on purpose, to hide." Here Hiei paused and switched to telepathy. 'He tends to pull sudden takeovers when Kurama is angered or if he's... um... in heat.'
'That's why my mental image got to you? Holy Hell, Yusuke figured it was just because you and the fox are like brothers.' I giggled.
'Yes, we tried, we failed.' He glared at me. "Stop that you twisted thing."
To my shock, the dragon didn't run off like he usually did when things got personal. I considered it a win for me, since getting personal, or getting in past his shields generally ended my lessons and saw me looking at the spot Hiei had just vanished from in confusion. I felt like doing a happy bounce.
"I swear if you start jumping around I will let you fall off this branch." Hiei's mild growl cut my thoughts off.
"Bull shit, Hiei." I grinned at him.
He smirked back. "Are you sure about that, onna?"
"Honey, you almost killed Mittens yesterday when he attacked my foot!" I giggled.
He looked away and mumbled, "That damn cat has a death wish."
"Thank you." I touched his arm to get him to look at me again.
"For what? Not killing the beast?"
"For not running away when we hit a touchy subject like you usually do."
He opened his mouth to say something, but got interrupted by an explosion that rocked the tree.
Another evil cliffie, I know. Reviews will make me type faster.