I feel like I'm getting lazy with this one at parts. So if there are any mistakes sorry about that. But there shouldn't be any, with the exception of maybe a few spelling mistakes. Well enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha. Only this story and Oni.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Change of POV, location, and time

Hiei's Journy In The Past

Chapter 22

Normal POV

Kagome looked down at her watch once again. She had started to do this every few minutes once she and Kurama had finished tending to Inuyasha's wounds. It was almost noon and there was still no sign of Hiei or the demon they were fighting. Everyone, even though someone wouldn't admit it, was beginning to worry. Most in particular was Sango and Kurama, though Kurama was doing a much better job of hiding his concern. Sango seemed to be a nervous wrack.

Kurama wasn't sure what to make of the situation now. He didn't want to believe that his friend was dead, but he also wasn't sure that he could rule out the possibility that he was. When Kurama stood everyone looked his way hoping that he had sensed something. Seeing the look in their eyes he regrettably shook his head and pulled out his communicator. It only took a few seconds after opening it for Koenma's face to appear on the screen.

"Ah, there you are Kurama. Where are you?" Koenma asked.

Slowly at first Kurama told him the events of the morning up until now. When he informed him that there was still no sign of Hiei there was a small bit of silence. Koenma was thrilled to hear that they had most likely killed the demon, but the news about Hiei was unsettling. Koenma decided to give Kurama permission to stay for the rest of the day if need be. So far Yusuke and Kuwabara were still doing ok. But if anything seemed to go wrong, even the slightest, then Koenma told him he would call him back. With that the screen went black and Kurama put it away. Turning to look at the others Kurama said, "All of you can return to the village. I'll continue to wait to see if anything turns up."

"I'm not going. I'll wait for as long as I have to," Sango said without looking at anyone. No one argued with her and started to walk back to the village. But Miroku didn't leave at first. He just stood there and stared at her back. Sango could feel him staring, but didn't dare to look back at him. She knew why he was staring and it did hurt her to know that her decision was upsetting him but she had made up her mind. Slowly, Miroku turned and walked away. Now it was just Sango, Kilala, and Kurama standing in the field. Kurama looked at Sango with a sad smile.

Later That Day

It was well past noon and still no sign of Hiei was to be found. Kurama and Sango would split up and search the area incase Hiei showed up elsewhere, but that also proved pointless. They met up back at the well and took a break. As they sat in silence Kurama glanced over to Sango. It seemed like she had a look of determination, but when he looked carefully into her eyes he saw despair. Sango broke the silence with a question.

"Kurama, do you really think that Hiei's… dead?"

Looking away from her and to the far trees he said, "I honestly have no idea. The only thing we can do is wait."

"But what if he reappeared somewhere else! He could be hurt and dying…"

Kurama looked at her with that same sad smile from before and stood up. She looked at him slightly confused. "Well then. We should hurry up and look as much as we can." Sango nodded her head and climbed onto Kilala.

???

Hiei's POV

'I'm… I dead…?'

"I feel so light. As if I was floating. But that doesn't make any sense. Why would I be floating?"

My body felt weak and beaten. When I tried to move any part of my body it felt as if my flesh was ripping apart. Slowly I opened my eyes to see if I could tell where I was. Luckily it was dark out because even the faint glow of the stars stunned my eyes briefly. When I tried to move again the same feeling coursed through me and I fell back, crying out in pain.

"Hn… I guess it's time that I finally died."

Normal POV

Not too far off Hiei thought he could hear something moving around in the bushes. He grunted and tried to move but was unable to. Accepting that some weak demon would finish him off, he stopped struggling. As he laid there he thought he heard a voice. It belonged to a girl that much Hiei could tell. Ignoring the pain Hiei slightly turned his head to where he heard the voice. A small girl in a checkered pattern kimono popped out of the bushes and stared at Hiei once she noticed him. She paused for a moment when she saw him and then turned back and yelled, "Sesshomaru-sama! Over here!" Shortly after that Hiei hard another voice and a small imp demon walked out of the bushes. "Now listen here you stupid girl, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't have the time to be wasting it on anybody." The girl looked at the imp demon with a defiant look and said, "But he's hurt pretty badly. See?" The girl stepped to the side and pointed at Hiei. When the imp looked at him it gasped slightly in disgust and stepped back. It bumped into something and it looked up and saw Sesshomaru.

"I-I'm sorry my lord. I didn't know you were…" but Sesshomaru ignored him and walked past him and up to the girl and Hiei. He looked down at Hiei and Hiei did his best to glare at him. "Rin. We do not need to help him. Let's go." But Rin grabbed onto his pants and tugged back on them to stop him. "Please Sesshomaru-sama. We can't leave him like this. What if another demon comes by and eats him? I'll tend to his wounds, I promise." Sesshomaru looked down at her and reluctantly nodded his head. A huge smile lit up her face and she called for Ah-Un. As the two-headed dragon walked over to them the little imp started to protest, "But Lord Sesshomaru!" He was cut off however. "Silence Jaken." Once that was said Jaken didn't dare argue and kept quiet. Sesshomaru, despite Hiei's protest to the whole idea, lifted him and placed him on Ah-Un's back.

After Hiei was placed on Ah-Un's back he was too tired to even threaten them again. Before he knew it he passed out.

The Following Morning

Hiei woke to the sound of birds chirping. He could sense that he wasn't alone and opened his eyes to see who was near him. Not too far off he could see a little girl and a two-headed dragon walking towards him. It was then that he remembered the night before and sat up. The sudden jolt shot pain through him, but not like before. It was then that he took the time to look at himself. His shirt, or what was left of it, was next to him and his whole torso was wrapped in bandages. There were a few on his arms and face too. The band-aids really threw him off.

'Why are these in this time?' Hiei wondered.

When he looked up he saw the girl, which he now knew was Rin, running towards him. She had a smile on her face and was carrying a bundle of flowers. When she reached him she paused slightly to catch her breath. Hiei watched her carefully as she held out a flower to him. "I'm glad that you're recovering. Here, this is for you." Hiei just stared at it as if he was confused. Seeing that he wasn't going to take it her smile went away. Hiei tried to stand and was able to get to his knees but the pain he felt prevented him from going any further. "You shouldn't move so much. Your wounds could reopen," Rin warned. Despite not wanting to listen to her Hiei could tell that she was right. He could feel fresh blood starting to dampen his bandages and decided to lie back down.

Rin set a couple of the flowers down next to Hiei before walking away, while Ah-Un stayed behind to lie down. She didn't go far before she stopped and started to do something else. But do to Hiei's angle he couldn't tell what. After a few minutes Hiei sat up again, put his shirt on, and this time took it slower when he tried to stand up. He was successful this time and looked around at his surroundings. Nothing but an open field filled his view. Far in the distance he could see trees. 'That must be where that girl found me,' Hiei guessed. Thinking back to the previous night he remembered that there were two others there as well. The imp he could tell was very weak but the taller demon was incredibly powerful. As he was Hiei knew that he didn't stand a chance. Glancing back at the girl Hiei decided to leave while she wasn't looking. But of course, once he started to leave the girl turned back and started to run after him.

"Wait! Where are you going? Don't leave Rin alone!"

Hiei looked at her in the corner of his eye but didn't stop. It only took her and Ah-Un a few seconds to reach him. When Rin caught up to him she grabbed onto his arm and tried to stop him. Hiei told her to let go but she didn't. "But Sesshomaru-sama told Rin that he wanted to talk to you when he got back. He said that he could smell Inuyasha's scent on you." Once Hiei heard her mention Inuyasha's name he reconsidered staying. But then again he wasn't sure if this Sesshomaru was an enemy looking for a way to find Inuyasha or not. Then again why would these people bother to tend to his wounds? Deciding to take a chance Hiei removed Rin's hold on him and walked back to where he had woken up. As they waited for Sesshomaru and Jaken to return Rin would try to get Hiei to play with her or talk, both of which he refused to do.

Some Time Later

Sesshomaru could be seen in the distance walking towards their camp, with Jaken following closely behind. When Hiei noticed them he stood up and Rin ran towards them, stopping halfway. Rin smiled when he reached her. Sesshomaru stared over at Hiei. Not liking being stared at Hiei glared at him. He just wanted to get this over with so that he could leave.

"So what do you want? The human child told me that you could smell Inuyasha's scent on me."

"Yes. I can smell him, though it was very weak and most of the scent was overpowered by the smell of your own blood. But now it's gone do to Rin cleaning and tending to your wounds. Now tell me, what is your name and what connection do you have with my half-brother?"

"Hn. My name is Hiei. There is no connection between us. It's just for the time being we are traveling together but got separated during a battle. Now, are you finished?" Hiei said impatiently.

Jaken started to yell at Hiei for showing so little respect, but it went on deaf ears. Sesshomaru didn't seem to care much and told Rin that they were leaving. Rin called for Ah-Un and followed Sesshomaru when he walked away. She looked back to Hiei and waved. Hiei watched them walk away annoyed. 'That was pointless,' Hiei thought. Looking up at the sky and judged by the position of the sun Hiei figured it had to be a little past noon. Feeling like his body had healed enough over the course of the morning, just enough so that his wounds wouldn't reopen, Hiei started at a slow jog. After a while he picked up his speed. Once he reached the trees he leapt up onto a branch and continued through the forest like that. As he jumped from branch to branch he became a blur as his speed picked up.

Back At Kaede's Village

Kurama let out a heavy sigh of defeat. He and Sango had returned to the village late the previous night and had been searching all morning. They had returned to the village to eat lunch, which Kagome prepared.

"So… still no sign of Hiei?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. If we can't find him soon I think we may have to accept the fact that he's gone."

Sango sat quietly by the window petting Kilala. She would glance out the window every few seconds in hope of seeing something. Kagome looked over to Miroku, who was sitting next to her, to see how he was doing. It wasn't too hard for her to tell that he was hurting. He just stared with a blank expression into the flames. Once the stew was done everyone quietly ate. Sango was the first to finish hers, as she wanted to hurry up and continue to search for Hiei. When she stood it was actually Inuyasha that stopped her.

"Sango, wait. There's no point in exhausting yourself. Just wait and I'll help you look for him. Besides, I owe that little bastard a few hits." Inuyasha said.

"Thanks Inuyasha, but I can't wait. I'm going to head out farther to see if he could be anywhere out there." Sango said.

Just like that she was gone. Kurama calmly placed his bowl on the floor when he was done and looked at everyone. "As much as I don't want to I must leave after tonight if we can't find Hiei. I will return however to try and find him in hope that he's still alive whenever I can. There is just too much going on that I can't put off any longer." Kagome looked at him and nodded in understanding. It was their world after all and it needed to be protected now more then ever. Inuyasha got up and left to aid Sango while everyone else just sat there.

As Kilala flew through the sky Sango asked if she remembered Hiei's scent. When she received a nod and a growl in response she tightened her grip on Kilala's fur. 'No matter what Hiei… I will find you. I promise.'

Deep in a Forest

Nightfall

Sango and Kilala landed in the middle of the forest. It was far too dark out to see anything from above the trees, but the faint glow of the moon did provide them with enough light to see somewhat around them on the ground. They knew better then to wander aimlessly in the dark in an unfamiliar area. Sango looked around and found a large tree. At its base there was a hollow opening. Kilala went over and investigated it. When she found no trace of a demon inside Sango walked over. They both ducked down inside and Kilala wrapped her tails around Sango to try and keep her warm. After Sango laid her weapon down she leaned back against Kilala and almost fell asleep instantly. She had gotten little sleep the night before and all the stress that she felt had worn her out. Reaching up she scratched Kilala behind one of her ears.

"Since when did I care so much? I can't even remember when it was that my feelings started to change. Isn't it ironic Kilala? A demon slayer falling for… huh?"

Not too far off Sango thought that she saw a pair of red eyes glow in the darkness up in a tree. Her eyes opened wide for a moment, excitement feeling her. When she leaned forward to get up she heard Kilala start to hiss. After taking a closer look she saw that it was not Hiei in the tree, but in fact a large demon. It jumped out of the tree and wings sprouted from its back. They began to flap and suspended it in the air. On its feet were sharp talons and it had sharp claws as well. It snarled at her, revealing grotesque teeth. As it floated there it let out a screech and many more like it flew into the area. Sango swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat as she stared at what seemed like certain death ahead of her. Reaching for her weapon slowly, Sango and Kilala slowly stepped out. When Sango looked around she had to guess that there had to be at least twenty of them hovering around. Most were above the trees.

Tightly grabbing her Hiraikotsu she whispered to Kilala, "Ready?" Hearing her hiss once more Sango threw her weapon. It flew through the air with deadly accuracy and hit three of the demons. The main one however dodged her attack and went for her. With her weapon still not returned Sango reached for her sword, but couldn't find it. She cursed herself for not wearing her slayer outfit and waited for the right time to move. Kilala however leapt into the air and collided with the demon. They tumbled to the ground and it quickly reacted by grabbing Kilala by the throat and throwing her to the side. When Sango caught Hiraikotsu she yelled out Kilala's name and started to run towards the demon with her weapon held high. She swung it as hard as she could but it flew back up to avoid her. As she prepared to throw it again she felt claws dig into her back. They weren't deep but the pain did cause her to cry out and fall to her knees. Kilala jumped onto the demon that attacked Sango and ripped out its throat. Using Hiraikotsu for support Sango got on her feet, panting. She watched as the demons started to circle around them, signaling that they would soon strike again. Feeling like this might be the end Sango gripped the strap of her weapon tightly and got ready for when they would attack.

The lead demon that she had first seen made the first move. It descended at a great speed with its talons pointed at Sango. As she braced herself she caught something in the corner of her eye, actually there were multiple things that caught her eye. Fireballs started to shot out from the forest depths. The first one caught the demon flying down at Sango. It cried out as its flesh burned away and fell dead next to Sango. Most of the others were caught in the assault and the few that remanded flew away. Looking to where the fireballs came from Sango's eyes widened and a smile crossed her lips, completely forgetting about her wound. Hiei, panting slightly, came walking out from behind the trees. He simply shook his head.

"Stupid slayer. What do you think you're doing out here?" Hiei asked.

Sango just kept smiling at him, as he got closer. Once he sat down by a tree he stared at her questionably. "Why are you smiling at me?" he asked, more confused then anything. Sango walked over to him, sat next to him, and held him in a strong embrace. Hiei froze up, not sure how to react at first. When he recovered he told her to let him go and tried to get her to let go without hurting her. But Sango refused to and held on tight. After a few seconds Hiei felt that his neck was wet. 'Is she… crying?' Hiei wondered. "I thought you were dead…" Sango whispered. Hiei turned his head away, not sure what to do. "Hn. Why would I be dead? Once in his portal and he couldn't get away that demon was no match for me." Hiei let out an irritated sigh. It was obvious even to him that she didn't plan to let go any time soon. He looked at Kilala, whom had walked over to them and laid down next to them. Leaning back, Hiei let out a sigh.

End Chapter 22

I think this was a good ending. A bit predictable with Hiei showing up I think, but still I like how I ended this chapter. Well it's about done now. One more chapter to go I believe. I hope I make it a great ending. Please leave reviews.