Hiei of the Thousand Eyes

Chapter Five: Foresight

Chihiro felt as if the world moved in half time as she read the situation. Every possible move would end in a bullet to her body. There was one path with minimal damage, but there were too many people with guns. She'd be hit, at least once, if she was lucky. Ryuoku raised his gun. Chihiro dove past him into a roll, breaking past the cluster of yakuza gambling and giving her a path to the door. As she stood, crouched, she pulled the blades that were still in their harness at her back.

She hadn't moved faster than them, but the world still had that edge of slow motion to it as the bullets began to fly. She deflected the first three of four with the flat of her blades, the last skimming the side of her arm, unavoidable. She shouldn't have been able to block any of them. The ache that hit her as the speeding metal tore open her flesh was muted, somehow. Pain without being painful.

She closed her eyes to a blinding light and ignored the explosion and yells of the fellow yakuza in the back room. A hand circled around her wrist and tugged. She followed instinctually before seeing Kaisei with a determined look in his eye. In the chaos of the exploding light, they were able to escape.

They ran for blocks, weaving through back alleys to find themselves on the other side of town. It wasn't until they reached an empty bus station that they stopped and Chihiro had the wherewithal to sheath her blades. Despite the long run, neither of them were panting.

Kaisei looked distraught, running his hands through his hair until it stuck at odd angles. He kept giving her odd glances, a tense line between his brow.

"What the fuck?" Chihiro asked. What the fuck had set her boss off? What the fuck had Kaisei been doing there? What the fuck was the blast of light? What the fuck was happening to her? Because something was happening to her. And somehow, she knew without a doubt in her body, that Kaisei knew the answer.

"The next bus should take us to the base of granny's mountain," Kaisie finally said, falling onto the bench seat and hanging his head low. "We'll figure this out there."

"Figure what out?" Kaisei stayed silent. "Damnit, Sato. Something really weird just happened and I want answers!"

Kaisei looked up, the look on his face grave. A knot pitted in Chihiro's stomach. He stood up and ran a hand over his eyes. "We're going to meet my sister at the temple. I – I gotta make a phone call." Kaisei turned and headed towards the end of the platform. She could see the loss and confusion he carried with him.

Chihiro wanted to cry. She didn't know why, but she knew her life had just been swept out from under her. It was childish to believe that her life wouldn't change upon learning about demons. But she hadn't expected this. Whatever this was.

It was terrifying, not having details, not having facts, but all the same knowing that the world as she knew it had shifted and would never be the same.

Hiei followed the female spirit detective through the rift in worlds to find himself back at Genkai's temple. Kuwabara was outside already waiting for them. "Your brother called," he told the detective. "Found his friend. They should be here by midnight." He looked the two of them over. "Want to tell me what's really going on here?"

"Hiei's created a demon," Fubuki snapped.

Kuwabara snorted. "I mean, so did I, but I don't think that's what you mean."

"I created nothing," Hiei glared. "I alerted the idiotic prince of the spirit realm that this woman was a nuisance."

"You didn't have to give her all the pieces of the artifact!" Fubuki snapped.

Hiei huffed. "It was the best solution to my problem if you and Koenma weren't going to interfere. Or would you rather I killed her?"

Fubuki spun around to give him a further verbal lashing when Yukina stepped out. "Please," his sister cajoled sweetly. "No fighting. The twins have just fallen asleep."

Hiei and Fubuki sneered at each other and headed inside.

Kurama was in the living room, waiting for them all with tea. They all sat down, Hiei picking up his offered tea out of boredom. It was steaming, but still tasted lukewarm down his throat.

"We have a situation on our hands," Kurama said, leaning forward, "which is unprecedented. A human without knowledge of the workings of the Makai or Reikai has been granted powers that need to be kept in check on this world."

"How did this happen?" Kuwabara asked.

"The eye thing," Kaisei sighed, leaning his head against the window. His reflection looked just as dower as he sounded. The bus was fairly empty and Kaisei had calmed down enough to finally start spilling information. "The gold eye thing you had been putting together. Best I can understand, it figures out what kind of strength you want and it gives it to you."

It must have been why Ryuoku was so angry. The eye gave its power to her, but nothing happened to him. She could believe it. She had fainted after putting it together, after all.

"Why do you know this?" Chihiro asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

Kaisei cupped one hand in the other on his lap. Faintly, a light began to grow. Chihiro gasped. "My mom used to fight demons. We have special powers. It's my sister's job now."

"That's why I never met your family?" Chihiro said, knowing she was right.

Kaisei nodded. "I used to think it was black and white. Demons were evil. But that's not how it works. People are good, people are bad, demons are the same." He looked over at Chihiro sadly. "Naya-chan, this eye. The process of giving you whatever powers you now have. They're not like mine. This is just… energy. A part of my spirit I can manipulate. But you?" He shook his head. "The process turns humans into demons, and demons into monsters."

It felt like her lungs restricted. She didn't feel like she had powers. "What did I wish for, then?"

Kaisei looked at her as if he could pull the answer out of her eyes. "I don't know."

"And what I'm saying, is that it is my job to stop threats. She is a threat, but one we can control," Fubuki said. "We can control it by teaching her. But if I take time to step into the role of Genkai, then Koenma is out a Spirit Detective. I need to be working cases, not training fledglings."

"I have my own life," Hiei spat back. A life he did not care for. A life of monotony. A life with a broken relationship and tiresome work detail. But his.

"I agree with Miss Sato," Kurama said. Hiei whipped his eyes to the fox's direction. "You and I both behaved recklessly. You, for not handing the completed artifact over to Koenma, and myself for letting you give it to the human girl. We could have not predicted this outcome, but it could have been even worse. We had no way of knowing what the eye did. But anything with that kind of thrall should have been given more careful consideration than it did. That is on us. I believe it is our duty to deal with the fallout."

"You can," Hiei huffed. "I gave it to her so she would be out of my hair."

"Then perhaps think of it as a reminder to not be so brash and callous with your actions," Kurama said pointedly. "This may be your lesson to take things slow and think things through. It's mine, it appears."

An icy hand placed itself gently on Hiei's forearm, causing him to startle. He looked over to his sister who had a warm smile. "This girl, she will be staying here regardless of your involvement," she said simply. "It is the safest place for her to learn her abilities. Away from the city, and away from too many demons at once. However, my children also live here. If she proves to be volatile, I would like to ask for your assistance in protecting my family."

Hiei felt frozen to the spot, the odd tingle of their body temperatures warring against their point of contact. His sister was a sly one. He wanted to yell at her for using his one weakness against him. He would never let anything happen to her. By extension, that meant her children, who were terribly vulnerable at this stage.

"I will stay but I will not train her," he finally told the room at large. Yukina squeezed his arm gently before letting go. That seemed to be enough to assuage them all.

The bus dropped them off a block away from the mountain's temple steps. They had only walked up to the shrine when Kaisei had brought her here only days ago. Now they spent the better part of the night taking the stone steps all the way up to the summit. There seemed to be a spiral path that a car could drive to reach the point, but neither of them had a car and Chihiro doubted a cab would take them.

It was a long climb, tiring given the day she had. Still, it surprised her how easy it felt. It was unnerving. Sure, Chihiro was in shape. She had to be. Her life had always depended on her ability to prove herself in combat. Even when her father kept her strung out and willing to do anything for another hit. She had to be in control in a fight when he demanded her to be, whether she was high or shaking from withdrawal. Since getting clean the last time, Chihiro has had to push herself even further to keep her position with Ryuoku cemented.

Her services for his protection.

So, Chihiro was in shape. But she shouldn't have been able to climb all these stairs without feeling winded. He thought about what Kaisei said, about the eye figuring out what kind of strength she wanted. She had never thought much about superpowers. Even as a kid, the fantasy of being able to fly or turn invisible came secondary to knowing she would be able to get away, the will to always be a step ahead of her father. The dream was about never having to worry about him.

Now she worried about herself.

The temple was quiet when they finally reached it. There was a soft glow from inside, one room in use at this late hour. "Come on," Kaisei said, nudging her. "You'll get to meet everyone. Officially."

Chihiro didn't know who she expected when he said everyone. His sister, for sure. He had already mentioned that. Perhaps their mom. Dad? Kaisei never talked about his father, so she didn't know if he was even in the picture. He had said something the other day about family friends living in the temple. Them, she supposed. Did they know about demons and magic glowing artifacts? Probably. Kaisei can make light pool in his hands and shoot it out like a weapon. It would make sense the people he's bringing her to can do similar.

She wasn't expecting two familiar faces. There was the three eyed demon perched on the far windowsill, but Chihiro barely spared him a glance before her eye caught the redhead who had been in her apartment. Without thinking, she drew her gun and aimed it at him.

"What is this," she demanded.

If he was one of her father's men, then this was surely a trap. But Kaisei wouldn't do that to her. Not after all his effort in getting her clean, in making sure she was safe when still in his custody. She thought Kaisei was the one person she could trust.

"Naya-chan, put the gun down," Kaisei sighed.

"He was in my house earlier," she snapped.

From the far end of the room, Chihiro noticed the three-eyed demon stir. Hiei, she remembered. She watched him come towards her. Somehow, she knew all of this was happening in the space of moment. Less time than a heartbeat, less time than a blink. All the same, she watched his entire path towards her, hand reached out for her gun. He was moving faster than lightning, faster than light, faster than she could possibly move. And yet, she did. Just a fraction. Just enough that his target was off. Just enough that as he passed, his fingers didn't make their way around the cold dense plastic weapon in her hands.

She saw his reaction as he was, for a fraction of a fraction of a moment, too slow. Hiei skidded to a halt next to Kaisei in utter bewilderment, hands empty.

Chihiro's heartbeat was ringing in her ears.

"Kurama's our friend," Kaisei said, taking what just happened in stride. "I called him before I even found you. Told him to meet us here."

She pursed her lips but took in the room. Everyone was wary of her, on edge. But she was tired, and she trusted Kaisei. She wanted to trust these people too. She flipped the safety on and tucked the gun back into her side holster. Chihiro felt like there was something stuck in her throat. If she weren't so stubborn there might even be tears in her eyes. From everything Kaisei had told her, there was only one reason to take her so far away from the city.

"So what are you going to do with me?"

Kurama had suggest they all retire for the night, and discuss things in the morning. It was late and their newest guest looked on the verge of hysterics. Kaisei stayed by her side as they prepared for bed and the rest remained talking for a bit longer.

"Did you see the way she moved?" Kurama asked, still amazed now that he had the chance to focus on it. "It wasn't speed, it was as if she already knew where you were going."

Hiei huffed. He had been able to steal her bag off her before. "Perhaps it's her new demonic powers," he scoffed.

Kurama hummed. "There was something familiar about her energy, but I can't quite place it."

"Kind of reminds me of the shrimp's," Kuwabara mused, rubbing a finger under his nose. "That bitter energy that peppers your normal one."

Everyone turned to Kuwabara in confusion.

"What?" He asked, looking around. "Don't look at me like that. I ain't crazy. The shrimp's got more than one energy flavor."

"Flavor?" Kurama asked, unsure. Energies never had flavors to him. Power levels, yes. And you could always feel if someone wasn't quite stable. But flavors?

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah. Like, the shrimps a fire demon and he's speedy. That's his normal flavor. Like charcoal or something on my tongue and his aura's a blackish blue color. Ask Shizuru."

"And this bitter peppering?" Kurama continued.

Kuwabara shrugged. "I think it's the eye, since it's a transplant. I don't normally feel it, but I remember when he first used that dragon technique. He could only do that 'cause of the eye, right? So, I assumed that's why."

"Interesting theory," Kurama said, mulling the new information over. He turned to Hiei who had been oddly silent. His friend may seem antisocial and quiet, but he was actually quite vocal in his displeasures. He looked ready to grind his teeth to dust. "Perhaps it is best, Hiei, that you are here to keep an eye on her. No pun intended, of course. But if your energy signatures are similar, then it might help us discover what exactly we're dealing with."

Hiei shot him a glare and then darted out the room, no doubt needing time to think. He wasn't going to abandon them now. That was for sure. Besides, Hiei had been coming to the human realm a lot recently. Kurama had to wonder that he didn't want to be here.

They would see, he supposed.

Chihiro curled up next to Kaisei, thankful for something familiar in this strange situation. All pretenses of earlier fights were gone. She was scared and he knew it. That was the most vulnerable she had ever let herself be before.

"What's going to happen to me?" Chihiro whispered into the dark space between them. She could feel Kaisei shrug.

"They're good people," he told her. "We'll figure this out together."

Chihiro nodded. Then, carefully, leaned in. Their lips touched for the briefest of moments before Kaisei was pulling away with a sigh.

"Naya," he pleaded.

"What?"

"You're my best friend," he said, finding her hand and linking their fingers. "And yeah, we sleep together. But I've always known." He let out a frustrated huff of air. It tickled Chihiro's face. "You don't love me. Not the way I want you to."

"Kaisei."

"No, let me finish." He squeezed her hand and brought it up to his face. He kissed her palm and rested it on his cheek. "You're scared right now. And I know we seek each other out for comfort, but this feels different." He let go of her hand.

She left it there for a moment before pulling it back towards her chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't know you liked me like that."

Kaisei laughed faintly. "I know. And it's okay. I just don't want you attaching yourself to me because I'm familiar right now."

Chihiro buried her head into Kaisei's chest. "You're my best friend, too," she told him. "I would be with you if I loved you that way." It was true. She could see it, an easy pull between them. Friends and lovers. But there's something missing that isn't just friendship and isn't just sex. An elusive element of love that connected people with each other. They just didn't share it.

Kaisei kissed the top of her forehead. "I know, Chi, I know. And I'd rather us be good friends than have you play at loving me."

She wanted to cry, but no tears came. She knew whatever intimacy they shared between them had to stop. It felt like an ending she hadn't realized was coming. Like the words just stopped in the middle of the book. Her story had changed.