Ride Like the Wind

Chapter 3

A week passed after Karasu's murder and the mayor was quickly replaced by another person Hiei hated with a passion. Shuichi never heard much more than a few words against the mayor every once in a blue moon, but he never thought much about it or became further interested.

Shuichi stayed at an inn and had to do certain chores for the owner, a old man who was blind in one eye and spat a lot, to pay the rent. He usually worked with Rinku, a twelve year old orphaned demon with spiked brown hair and brown eyes. He worked because he couldn't get into school but needed something to do. Working with Rinku was actually fun only because it was amusing to watch someone stick there tongue out at an old man and mock them behind their backs in various ways for some reason.

"Sea lions! Whoa! Do they eat people!" Rinku gasped in amazement.

"No..." Shuichi chuckled. "They eat fish. I'd be afraid if people would watch something that ate them."

"Aw... What do they look like?"

"Well... Kinda like dogs, but with fins..."

He stared at the red head, his mouth agape as he formed the mental image. "Man, I wish I lived in San Francisco so I could see that! It sounds cool!"

"I dunno. It's getting crowded... And to think we used to live in a small town..."

"Alright, kids, you can do whatever now!" the owner said as he hobbled across the recently swept room and spat into a jug on his way there.

"Whew!" Rinku plopped on the porch. "I'm tired and I always feel like I never do any real work..."

Shuichi smiled at him. "Hey... I've just been wondering... Do you know anything about Hiei?"

"Not really. He's just a short guy that likes to be creepy. I think Ruka at the orphanage knows. She was there when he was a kid. I know the humans here hate him."

"Hello, boys!" Botan greeted almost in a song. She was a cheerful girl of twenty-five with blue hair that she always had tied back. Her eyes were pink and sparkled in light. She was actually from Britain but her family moved to Mexico for some unfathomable reason when she was twelve so she spoke with a British accent. What she did all day was a mystery. Shuichi had noticed that she left a lot, and when she did, she always took a few weeks to appear again. "What're you talking about?"

"Shuichi wants to know stuff about Hiei," Rinku explained. "Hey, you went to school with him, didn't you?"

"No. They don't let girls into school. But I did see him a lot... Why do you wanna know?"

"Uh... I dunno. Just because..." Shuichi had not real idea why he wanted to know. Maybe it was just because he wanted to know why Hiei acted the way he did.

"Well, I dunno much about him before his teen years. I've heard it around the older folks that he's not really a whole demon. I've heard that he's half a fire demon and his mother was a ice demon, I believe. I've heard all kinds of stuff about his parents. Like his father kidnaped Hiei's mom and raped her or his mom came here and became a prostitute and got stuck with some alcoholic as the father... Weird stuff. The one that made the most sense was this one: they just met and just... You know. Then they never saw each other again. Supposedly, his mother went home to the demon's world. Well, she had him, but killed herself because she couldn't keep him..." Botan sighed.

"You know him, so why didn't you ask?" Shuichi asked.

"...I did. And he got mad. He threatened to kill me if I asked again. And I don't ask anymore because I know he will..."

"...So who raised him?"

"Supposedly a group of bandits. Something went wrong in New York and he was brought here because they didn't like what happened. So he came when he was five. Well, there was one guy who was from that group that took care of him until he was killed. I think his name was Johnathan James Thompson... When that guy died, Hiei was fifteen so then he just quit school and hardly went out unless Touya made him. But before that, he still didn't really get along with humans. He used to get in trouble a lot for getting in fights and almost killing them a lot. And if not that, they falsely accused him of stuff or threw him into stuff..."

"All because of that guy?"

"No one else served as a parent to him.." Her voice trailed on, but Shuichi didn't listen.

He remembered again...

"It's... No one. No mother. No father. No one left. I'm the last one..."

So he was always alone because no one wanted him... Shuichi thought. Could I be feeling sorry for him? But... I guess that's why he's always so cold. I thought it was just because he was just a jerk, but he just never had someone that was actually there for him. I guess I would be the same way if I were in his shoes...

"Hey! What the hell're you doin' standin' there! Answer!" a voice called from behind him.

Shuichi turned around and stared at Hiei. He didn't realize he shut everything out.

"Okay, by the stupid look on your face, I can tell you weren't listenin'. You know the guy here checked you out right?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I guess he was either tired of seein' you here or he's pissed off at the sight of an American because his wife took off on him for a New Yorker."

"Aiya... So where're..."

"You're gonna hafta stay with me. I got plenty of space." There was a slight tone of irritation in his voice.

"Huh? What would your wife say?"

"Wife? You're kidding, right? If people had a problem with me, why would I be married?"

"Well, I kinda figured you had at least a girlfriend since I sometimes see you with a woman trying to hang on you and stuff..."

"I dunno. Something in the water or they wanna get me in trouble by saying I raped them or something. And I thought when Botan got away from me, I'd be free. By the way, you like cats, right?"

"Uh, sure. I prefer dogs, though. Why?"

"You'll see."

---

When they got top Hiei's small house a few cats raced to the two and meowed, demanding to be fed.

"Wow, Hiei! You sure do love cats!" Shuichi tried to keep himself from laughing. "I guess you need a soft spot for something."

"Shut up, you!" Hiei growled and frowned at the tortoise shell cat that plopped in front of his feet. "Damn cat..."

"Did you name them?"

"Only this one right here but it wasn't me who named him. The guy who used to live here with me liked him the best. He named this one Paco for some reason so I'm just goin' along with him on that one. I think he preferred dogs, too."

Shuichi glanced at him. He couldn't help but notice the warmness in his voice. So was that guy Johnathan James Thompson?

"Anyway..." Hiei walked in and showed the red head around the house.

Just when you walked through the door, you would find the kitchen to the left. All the kitchen had was a stove, a table, some chairs, two buckets-one bucket for water to be brought in and the other to wash stuff in, and a small window. To the right of the door was a room with chair that were arranged in a messy circle. Straight down the hall was three rooms. The first was an empty bedroom that Hiei used until he was sixteen. It was simple: a small bed, a window to the right of it, and a pile of possibly unread books on the floor near the foot of the bed. The second was Hiei's which looked almost the same except without the books, and it had a pile of clothes on the floor next to a box of tools. The third used to be an empty guest bedroom but is now used as a bathroom/ washroom.

"And just so you know, if you wanna talk to me and I'm in my room, knock first so you won't give me a heart attack if I'm doin' anything," Hiei explained. "If it's during the day, I'll be in the field. I'll be gone from sunrise to sunset. Alright?"

"Okay..."

---

"Ho there, American!" Jin greeted, his ears pointed again. "So you're livin' with Hiei now?"

"Yeah," Shuichi replied simply.

"Cool, so you get to be best friends with me and Suzaku! And I'll introduce you to Touya when he gets back from China or Chicago!"

Shuichi nodded absentmindedly.

"We'll probably your only friends here from now on..."

"So I've noticed."

"Well, a lot of humans are mean and stuff. Exorcists are really common in this area you know. I was kinda freaked out about it at first but I got over it. They won't do anything to you unless you do something to them. You know exorcists are still trying to find the guy who killed Mayor Juarez?"

Well, they don't have to look far... Heh... Shuichi thought. Then a part of him laughed mockingly. Exorcists. What a bunch of fools. I haven't toyed with one of those in a while...

"I saw you talkin' to Botan earlier. What were you talkin' about?" He started to float upside-down.

"...I wanted to know what happened to Hiei as a kid..."

"Hiei! Hiei's my bestest best friend! Since I was a wee little eight year old! We met when I was seven... I think he's mean cause Ruka used to whip us with that weird switch she has. She's mean! People used to pick on him and stuff! Lucky Koenma was around! He got him into school and outta jail..."

"Jail?"

"I dunno. JJ died. JJ used to be my other best friend but he died..."

"Oh yeah. Botan said something about that..."

"Hey, you wanna go eat potatoes!"

"W... Wha?" Where'd that come from?

"Yay! Potatoes!" He dragged Shuichi away.

—(That was pointless...)

Hiei swiped the sweat off his forehead and turned around. "For the last time, Botan, quit stalking me."

"I'm not stalking you!" Botan growled. "I've got news that you want."

"I don't want news. Go away."

"So you're trying to avoid me cause you dumped me when we were fourteen?"

"I didn't dump you. How could I when we had no relationship whatsoever. I'm not avoiding anyone. I'm trying to work."

"Oh, take a break, will ya? I mean you work all day and still stay on your feet for other stuff. Can't you stop?"

"I'm a farmer! I have to work all day! I don't have it easy like you!"

"Okay, if you have work all day, then listen and work!"

"Okay, I'll bite if you shut the hell up. What?"

"Well, you know your mom's hometown?"

Suddenly Hiei's interest was piqued.

---

"All work and no play makes Hiei a dull boy," Shuichi said when Hiei returned from the field.

Hiei let out a simple, "Hn."

The red head sighed and stroked Paco, who was plopped next to Shuichi's chair. I wonder what happened... Should I care?

And he pulled out a pencil and paper and wrote:

"Dear mother:

"Well, I'm living with Hiei now. It's been quiet and I know it will be for the rest of my life in Mexico because I'm with Hiei. Speaking of Hiei, you know no one really knows what happened to his parents? I asked about it and I heard that there were a whole bunch of weird stories about his parents. Supposedly a guy from a group of bandits raised him but died when Hiei was fifteen. Maybe that guy was killed by Americans and that's why he hates me?

"I hope everything goes well for you!

"Love,

"Shuichi"

End chapter 3

Notes:
1. "They don't let girls into school."- I have no idea how education worked in Mexico. I know that in America, at this time, girls were allowed to go to school but couldn't do normal courses like boys. I'll assume girls still don't go to school in Mexico at that time.
2. "I think his name was Johnathan James Thompson."- Not a real character. Makes things simple, right?

Sorry I missed updating. I was at Vegas for five days. Nice to have clean California air instead of casino smell all the time...

Reviews are appreciated!