Lunesca: Hi again...well, in this chapter we will get to see what all the talk about Hiei`s promise and how it involves Raven. So sit back and enjoy the chapter.

Legend:

"Talking"

'Telepathic Speak'

Thinking to oneself

Dream/Memories

YYH = Pagebreak/Scene Change/Etc

Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed

Hiei raced through the forest in search of his charge. He lost her trail shortly before arriving at the waterfall. If she's anything like her father she'll have come here to recover. He thought to himself as he searched the trees for any sign of her. Hopefully she's got a few more brain cells working than her old man did when it came to sleeping in trees.

The trail had disappeared just before he entered the clearing around the lake. Hiei stopped and searched the trees, looking for any sign that she was or had been there. Something nagged at him and he looked over at the tree Raven was in just to see her start to roll out and begin falling. He raced to catch her just before her body hit the ground.

"Baka onna." He muttered to her, seeing that she still hadn't awakened. Her body had entered a deep healing sleep and it would take some amazing force to awaken the girl in this state. Re-adjusting his grip he heard her mumble a sleepy reply.

"…am not." She said clearly and continued for a few more words that he couldn't make out. Hiei smirked and pulled her close to him. He started back towards the temple and whispered in her ear. "Sleep well. I'm taking you back so you can heal properly my little nightingale. At least now I know to keep a close eye on you."

He surprised himself at the small term of endearment but brushed it off. He knew eventually he'd see her again. He just didn't think he would care so much for her when he did. As he walked the path back to the temple the clouds opened up and rain came pouring down on them. Hiei made his way back as fast as he could, wrapping his cloak around Raven.

YYH *At the Temple*

Botan and Yukina were staring out the window, waiting for Hiei to return with Raven. They were worried for her and it only increased once the rain had started. The boys and Hawk were sitting around the living room table playing a card game. To look at things, it appeared that Hawk was winning. Even Kurama found it hard to stand his ground with her when it came to poker. Each of the boys only had a small stack of chips left, and as they were only playing with fake money this was a good thing for them.

"Man! What's taking shorty so long to get back here?" Kuwabara complained as he threw his cards on the table, losing yet another hand to Hawk. As the next sets of cards were being passed out he glanced at the window. "As fast as he is, I would have thought he'd be back here by now."

"Kurama?" Hawk asked quietly while Yusuke dealt the cards. "Why is Hiei so obsessed with keeping Raven safe? Not that it's a bad thing for someone to look out for her. But from the sound of things, Hiei doesn't usually care so much about anyone. So I have to ask, why Raven?"

Kurama sighed and put down the cards in his hand without even looking at them. He glanced out the window and decided that it was best for them to know. He didn't want problems because Hiei didn't want his secrets shared. The fire demon would understand on this one as long as he kept it simple. He knew that this would have happened sooner or later and now was just as good a time as any.

He leaned back against the couch as it was to his back anyways. The others put down their cards to listen and the girls turned from the window, curious to hear what Kurama would say. "It was years ago. Hiei was still young and had recently gotten his Jagan eye…"

YYH *Flashback/Story*

Hiei stood over the body of a demon from the Cobra Clan. He had just recently gotten his Jagan eye implanted and still wasn't back to full strength, though he had finished his training with the man who implanted it, Shigure.

During the fight, the demon had managed to get a hit on Hiei in a moment of weakness. In an attempt to block the attack, Hiei used his arm and got bit by the snake demon. With the demon dead it should have been a matter of hours before the poison coursed through his veins and eventually killed him.

But Hiei just started walking. He kept walking until he became too weak to continue and collapsed in a heap, unable to force his body to stand up any longer. By this time night had fallen and any hopes that Hiei would be found and treaded were slim and shrinking as time went on. Hiei eventually allowed his eyes to close waiting for death to take him, accepting it even.

Sometime later, he woke up in an unfamiliar hut. He could hear voices talking about him and took the effort to listen in. They were discussing how he could have had such a rare poison enter his system and still live. Hiei saw the bandage around his arm just as the male demon entered the room. Sensing his power, Hiei was embarrassed that someone like himself was saved by a weak shadow demon.

At the time the only ones who had known about Hiei and his rescue were Shade, Lyra (Shade's wife) and Hiei himself. Not even Koenma knew about this. He still carries the scar from that battle.

In the months that it took for Hiei to heal and recover, from such a rare and deadly poison, he regained his strength and energy by helping the couple with small things at first then larger tasks as his strength grew.

By this time Lyra was very pregnant and due within a couple of months. Shade had requested for Hiei to stay and help him protect his mate. Hiei agreed and stayed for a few more months. Eventually Lyra gave birth to a girl. That girl was Raven.

Shade feared for his daughter for he was a winged shadow demon. He resembled what most would consider a dark or fallen angel. Lyra on the other hand was a special breed of fire apparition. They were in hiding for their clans feared what would become of such a union.

Shade, worried about being found, asked one more favor of Hiei. Should he and his mate perish, he wanted Hiei to train and protect Raven until such time that she was capable of protecting herself. Essentially, they had made Hiei her guardian. Hiei agreed and having a dark feeling about the family, stayed with them for another year.

In that time Hiei had come to adore the little girl. He felt like he had found a family. But something kept pulling at him. He had a quest to complete. Now, he was strong enough to complete the tasks he had set before him. With a small regret he left the family and his little charge, hoping to return soon.

It was some time before Hiei was able to return. When he went back to the little hut, Shade and his family were gone. With some searching, Hiei found a hidden message that said they have found us. Shade.

When Hiei had finally been able to track them down he found that Lyra had been killed two years before. Hiei was upset by this and continued searching for Shade and Raven. He found them several years later. By this time Raven would have been ten. Hiei arrived to discover that he was too late. Shade was dead and his new mate had gone into hiding with Raven. He never even knew Shade had had a second daughter.

Hiei, determined to keep his promise and find the little girl, searched for years. He never gave up looking for her. But as time went on, it became harder and harder for him to find any traces of the girl or her stepmother. Even the Jagan eye was of no use to him.

YYH *End Flashback*

By the time Kurama finished the story Hawk was nearly in tears. She had never heard the story of Raven's birth or that they had someone looking for them all this time. Then as the information settled in, she realized, while Raven had Hiei's full protection and resources, she was left with nothing because she had not yet been born when the deal was struck.

"Hiei didn't even know about me until the other day." She muttered to herself finally understanding why he was so cold to her and warm to Raven. "Raven is so powerful now, she doesn't even need his protection though."

Kurama saw through her words and understood her jealousy. Not at Raven, but at the fact that while Raven was wanted, she had no one. Kurama took her hand and smiled at her. "Well, since it bothers you so much, I offer you the same protection that Hiei has given to Raven."

"Hah! Now you both have knights in shining armor!" Yusuke laughed at them making the two blush. Before a fight could break out, Yukina and Botan looked out the window to see a dark form emerging from the forest with something in their arms. "They're back!" the ice maiden cried and ran for the door.

The group soon followed her and awaited Hiei's arrival on the porch. He walked right past the group, using a small amount of energy to begin the drying process on the two of them. He couldn't afford to waste much more, but he worried about Raven getting sick from being out in the storm.

Yukina followed Hiei to his room. She opened the door for him as he carried his charge into the room she had abandoned earlier. The ice maiden quickly closed the window that had been left open, the window seat was soaked but nothing appeared to be damaged. She turned to Hiei waiting for his orders on how she could help.

"Yukina, thank you." He said quietly and, after placing Raven on the bed he grabbed some clothes out of his dresser and turned to the shower attached to his room. "Take care of her for me." He said and entered the bathroom.

Yukina took the time to examine the girl. There was a fresh gash on her forehead, just an inch above her eyebrow, and the wound in her shoulder had opened up again. Yukina started to tend to the wounds, using her energy to help speed the healing.

YYH *With Hiei*

Hiei started the shower, turning the heat up to his liking. He quickly stripped and entered begrudgingly. The floor of the shower was instantly covered in red and brown as Hiei allowed the water to rinse away the worst of the dirt and blood. The hot water made the wounds ache but at the same time allowed his muscles to relax a bit.

Gritting his teeth in an attempt to keep quiet, he grabbed his shampoo and began to wash his hair, cleaning himself from the top down. His injuries did not make it easy for him. As the water washed the soap away, Hiei examined the multitude of cuts and lacerations along his body. The worst of which, being a deep scratch along the length of his arm and a deep cut along his ribs on the opposite side.

He painstakingly cleaned his wounds and regretfully turned off the shower. Feeling a little revitalized, he used a towel to dry off and sent a little energy to drying his hair instantly. His wounds had stopped bleeding so heavily and he quickly dressed before re-entering his room.

A quick glance told him that Yukina had done what she could, leaving fresh supplies for him to tend to his wounds. She had tried healing him in the past and it left him feeling uncomfortable, so she began leaving him to tend to himself privately, making sure he had everything he needed.

Hiei speed dried the window seat and removed the shirt he had just put on. Trying to mentally prepare himself, he grabbed the bottle of anti-septic and went about cleaning his injuries. He had to keep reminding himself that he had to do so in silence or risk waking the girl up. Instead of growling or cursing out loud, he challenged himself to think of every curse word in the demonic and human languages.

Once the worst was over and he could wrap the wounds, he let out a sigh of relief. Wrapping his chest and stomach in gauze and bandages was fairly easy. He found he had trouble trying to properly wrap the arm wound due to the awkward angle of it. As he fought with the bandages he heard a small groan coming from the bed.

Looking up, he saw Raven pulling herself into a sitting position. Ignoring her for the moment he went back to work, having to redo the wrapping because it came loose. "What happened? And why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?" She asked half-heartily with a groan.

She stole a glance at Hiei and noticed the bandages as well as a bunch of other small cuts that he had so far ignored. "This is my fault, isn't it?" She asked him. When he "hn'd" and ignored her she let out an angry growl. "Stupid move on my part, I was in no shape to have a campout in a strange forest." She grumbled to herself.

"Forget it." Hiei told her, trying to tie off the bandage. It wasn't his greatest work but it would hold, if he could get it tied. Raven looked at what he was doing and went over to help him. Before he could really protest, she re-wrapped the bandage properly and tied it off in only a matter of seconds.

"Sorry Hiei, I…hey what's that?" She asked, noticing a mark on his hand. She turned his hand over and saw a white scar going across it. "You grabbed my sword didn't you? That was a stupid ass move…" She rambled on for a moment before sighing. "At least it didn't kill you. But how could that be?"

Hiei thought about it for a second. Touching her temple he sent a small mental push, silently asking her to let him in. She did and images flooded her mind.

YYH *Another flashback*

Hiei was returning to the temple, carrying a sleeping Raven in his arms. The rain was coming down and Hiei was on constant alert but could sense nothing coming from the forest. Suddenly Raven woke up and threw herself out of his arms before he could protest. 'What is it?' Hiei demanded, drawing his sword and going on guard.

Raven set herself against his back, mimicking his stance with her own sword. Her lilac eyes searched everything around them. 'Company, strong company. Be prepared for anything.' She sent him as a large group of demons seemed to just appear around them.

"Give us the girl and we'll let you leave here alive." One demon said as he stepped forward. Raven couldn't make out what kind of demon he was but she sneered at him then returned to the demons in front of her. Whoever sent them wasn't joking around. Many of the demons were mid to high level A class with some high B and low A class demons thrown in.

"Not a chance ugly." Raven said and Hiei let out a growl behind her. The two of them simultaneously maneuvered so that Hiei could face the big brute directly while Raven protected his back. "If your boss wants me to visit he could send a nice, polite invitation and then I might have considered it." She told him over her shoulder.

The demon growled and started to move forward. Hiei glared at him, his eyes appearing to glow a bit in the night. The demon hesitated trying to figure out who his short opponent was. As if reading his mind Hiei spoke. "For those of you who don't recognize me by my reputation, I am Hiei Jaganshi, wielder of the Jagan Eye and master of the Black Dragon. This is your last chance to leave this place alive. This girl is under my protection. Anyone who challenges that will only receive death as their reward."

Raven was impressed with Hiei's little speech. She knew he spoke the truth. She also knew he only said that because it would be difficult for the two of them to fend off this many high class demons, especially with her being injured as she was. She had very little use of her injured shoulder.

Laughing off his warning the demon signaled for the attack and Raven swung her sword, taking the head off the first demon to come close enough. She did her best to stay close to Hiei but they were quickly separated and she was surrounded by enemies.

As she continued to fight them off, Hiei turned and noticed her predicament. "Raven." He said softly, trying to make his way to her. Before he could move more than a few steps, a demon had gotten behind the girl and hit her from behind, knocking her out.

Her sword dropped from her hand and landed a few feet away from her. Spotting the shimmering handle, covered in gold, silver and jewels, one demon reached down to grab it. Instantly a wind kicked up around him, encircling him in a protected shield, and his life force was quickly drained from him. In a matter of moments there was nothing left but an empty husk.

Hiei recovered from the sight a moment too late as a demon's claws slashed open his arm. He growled and in one fluid motion, he turned, taking the demon's head clean off his shoulders. Anger renewed, Hiei began making short work of the remaining demons. Any that came near Raven was instantly killed.

As he raised his sword to destroy one of the few demons left, the leader came up from behind him and slashed his side open. He had been distracted by one of them grabbing Raven and starting to run with her. He rushed over, ignoring the leader for the moment and took out the demon who was making off with the girl. Before she could hit the ground, Hiei managed to catch her. Placing her against a group of trees, he was able to finish off the rest of the group swiftly.

The whole battle had only lasted a few minutes. In that time there were roughly twenty-three demons lying on the ground dead at Hiei's feet. Satisfied they were dead; Hiei went and wrapped his hand in his cloak and wrapped his hand around Raven's sword. The few steps it took to place the tip of the sword into the sheath at her side were agonizing but not having direct contact with the hilt saved him from even more serious damage.

Once the sword was secure, Hiei pick Raven up and looked her over. There was blood coming from her head, just above the eye, and her shoulder was torn open and bleeding heavily. Getting her wrapped in his cloak he secured his grip and raced back to the temple with her, using every ounce of energy left to him to avoid another trap.

YYH *End Flashback*

Raven saw everything in full detail. She was amazed that Hiei was able to hold her sword and live. It had a very particular dislike of males. Looking away from him she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry that you were dragged into this Hiei. It seems they will never stop hunting me."

Before she could turn to leave, Hiei grabbed her uninjured arm roughly, forcing her to stop. "Hn, this was not your fault on'na. It's the fault of those who don't know when to leave others alone. I will destroy anyone who comes after you if that's what it takes to keep you safe."

With that Hiei got up and walked to the door. He opened it and looked over his shoulder at her. "You should come down and let your sister know you are alright. She's driving the fox crazy with her incessant questions." With that he walked out the door, leaving the choice to her.

After a moment she followed Hiei down the stairs and into the common room. No one was in there but voices could be heard through the next door. Raven went through it as Hiei went to sit in his normal spot at the window.

The next room was the kitchen and dining room. Everyone was gathered around and talking, in the case of Yusuke and Kuwabara it was arguing. Getting closer she saw that the group was playing poker and with Botan joining in they needed more space to play.

Raven walked behind her sister and ruffled her hair. 'Cheating again are we?' She asked, noticing the large stack of chips in front of the girl. 'I thought you learned your lesson the last time you got caught.'

Hawk chuckled and gave Raven a big grin. 'No actually, cheating isn't necessary with this group. Besides, it's kind of fun to play honestly with them. Not to mention, Yusuke and Kuwabara always give themselves away anyways.'

Raven looked over at Kurama to see signs that him and the fire demon were communicating silently. She assumed that they were discussing what had happened in the forest. Raven knew that she'd have to tell Hawk later but for now it was just good to be up and around.

"Are you hungry Raven?" Kurama asked, bringing the girl out of her thoughts. Raven looked up to see that Hiei had already grabbed a plate of food and Kurama was offering the other one to her. Raven wanted to turn down the plate but with the look on his face she couldn't. So she thanked him and took the plate, picking and nibbling without even noticing what was there.

She leaned over Hawk's shoulder as she ate and looked at her cards. Kurama returned to his cards and looked at them with a frown. "Who dealt this hand again?" He asked looking at the others. Everyone instantly pointed to Kuwabara, well everyone except Hiei who had left, though Raven did use her fork to point instead of her hand.

"It figures." Yusuke mumbled and tried to figure out his hand. Kuwabara's dealing seemed to always come with bad hands for everyone from what Raven gathered. Hawk told her that most of the time the hands had to be thrown in because no one had anything whatsoever to go on.

'Raven, we need to talk later. I made a deal with Lord Koenma and I think you should know about it.' Hawk said to her sister, not looking up from the cards. 'Please believe me when I say it was our best option.'

Before Raven could question her, Hawk threw down her hand and everyone groaned. Raven had never had much interest in card games, most of the time they were just a way to lose money, so she didn't see what had happened.

"Dammit!" Yusuke yelled throwing his cards face up on the table. "I lost again! It's a good thing we weren't playing with real money." He yawned and stood up from his seat. "I'm gonna go catch some z's, night everyone." He waved and went out the door and up to his room.

"Damn that Urameshi!" Kuwabara growled and went after the detective. Whether it was to confront him or follow his example he didn't say. After he left Kurama stood up as well.

"I think it's time for me to turn in as well." He said and kissed Hawk's hand. "Thank you for an interesting experience. It is not something I shall soon be forgetting. Good night ladies." He told the other girls and left the room.

Shortly after all the girls had the room cleaned up and were getting ready to head to their rooms. Just before Botan and Yukina made it to the door, the perky ferry girl stopped and turned around. "Oh I almost forgot! You haven't seen your rooms yet! Yukina, you're the only one left awake that knows which rooms are available. Would you please be a dear?"

Yukina nodded and smiled. She bowed to the two girls, "Please, if you would follow me." With that she went through the door, the other girls on her heels. The rooms were on the second floor with the others, Yukina indicated two doors across from each other.

"This one over here would be Hawk's," She pointed to the left, "and this one would be Raven's" She said pointing to the right. She showed them the different rooms that were around them. "Standing at Raven's door, Hiei's room is on the right, Kazuma's is on the left. Kurama is directly across from Hiei and Yusuke is directly across from Kazuma's. And if you need me, my room is at the end of the hall on Raven's side and Genkai, who isn't going to be back for a few days, is across from mine." She bowed. "Please let me know if you need anything else." She said and went down to her room.

"Well I better be getting back!" Botan chirped and waved at the girls. "I'm sure Koenma is going to be needed me for something. I'll see you ladies tomorrow." And with that she left.

The sisters looked at each other and shrugged. They opened their respective doors and examined their rooms.

Raven's room was perfect. The walls were black with the slightest hint of blue in it. The carpet was a deep purple. The ceiling was like the midnight sky, it showed the darkest blue, purple, and black. Stars and constellations covered the whole thing, except for a full moon right in the center of the painting. The curtains over the window to the left of the door were a metallic silver. The bed was directly across from it. The frame was made of a dark mahogany wood, along with the desk, dresser, and shelves. The sheets were black, the blanket was purple and the comforter was blue. The three pillows were the same colors.

Smiling, Raven cleaned up in the adjoining bathroom and went to bed.

Hawk's was just as beautiful in its own way. The walls were a silver blue, with a gold carpet and curtains. The ceiling was like a painting of the morning sky, with the sun peaking over the corner of the room. The furniture was all made out of knotty pine and matched the room perfectly. The sheets were sky blue, the blanket was white and the comforter was a light yellow. Like Raven's room, each of the three pillows were a matching color.

Hawk blinked her happy tears away and went to the desk to find a brand new diary. She instantly opened it, grabbed a pen and began writing. She spent a good twenty minutes writing everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours before going to bed.

Chapter 3 End!

Lune: Okay! That seems like a good place to stop. I'm trying to keep my chapters around 4k words or a little higher but this one was pretty long. I actually took Chapter 4 from the original Guilded Cage and am splitting it up a little differently because it was really short and there wasn't much too it. So please read and enjoy! And I'd love for you to tell me what you think.