InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Everything Burns ❯ Proposition ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything but an idea and a laptop…and a massive collection of medications

Chapter 4: Proposition

Kagome could see the tree above her and quickly shut her eyes tight with a few tears escaping at the fear of her imminent death. Something suddenly slammed against her with such force that she actually believed that the tree had hit her for a moment. But then she felt the wind and rain again along with a strong arm wrapped around her stomach. She turned wide eyes upward in time catch a glimpse of crimson eyes before her heart rate picked up once again.

The speed at which they were moving coupled with the strong winds around them nearly took Kagome's breath away. She could hear the trees crashing around them and closed her eyes so that the rain hitting her face wouldn't sting them. Other than the rain, she would feel leaves brush against her legs from time to time as the demon that held her continued to run.

Soon they came to an abrupt stop and Kagome noticed that the rain had stopped hitting her skin though she could still hear the thousands of tiny droplets falling. She opened her eyes and saw that she was now in what appeared to be a small cave. And she wasn't alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiei had forgone taking to the trees as he usually would have as he didn't trust the strength of the branches anymore. He was running quickly to find out what was happening at the center of the noises he'd heard moments before. The normal groaning and popping of the dead wood around him was replaced with loud, echoing cracks and he growled in irritation when the rain finally started to fall.

He briefly wondered why he continued to follow a group that seemed to attract nothing but trouble and misfortune. He knew he was getting closer but grew alarmed when he started coming across fallen trees and their splintered and jagged stumps. He looked up to see the thick, tightly woven vines connecting the trees straining with the weight of the fallen and slowly bringing down surrounding trees that still stood. Picking up his pace, Hiei moved toward the muffled voices that he could now hear even as rain continued to pelt him.

He came across a scene that made his feet move even faster. The fiery priestess was about to be extinguished in her prime by one of the falling trees.

Inuyasha wasn't going to be able to make it to her in time—that much he knew for certain—and with her human reactions her body had probably become all but unresponsive to the need to move due to her fear. So without slowing his pace, Hiei put out his arm, wrapped it around her mid-section, and lifted her out of harm's way without missing a step.

He continued to move at a breakneck pace with more and more trees starting to topple in a deafening display all around them. This domino effect seemed to be coming to a head and soon it would be very dangerous to be out in the open. Hiei needed to find something, anything at all, that could offer a solid shelter. Soon he saw a small outcropping of rocks that formed a cave-like structure.

It would have to do until this passed.

Putting down the woman that he still held, Hiei walked to the entrance of their shelter and watched for anything that could pose an immediate danger such as trees that could trap them within. When he was satisfied with his inspection he turned around and was slightly taken back by what he saw.

He had spent so much time following this group around and seeing the woman who appeared to be everyone's strength, the woman who fought against man-eating demons alongside her friends, the woman who cared for all despite their lineage…that he had forgotten what she really was. And he was reminded of this for the very first time since he had dismissed her on a battlefield all those months ago.

She was a human girl, probably no older than sixteen or seventeen, who had almost just been killed and was now alone in a small enclosure with a demon she didn't know. Her eyes were wide and held a look of fear and shock. Her small frame was trembling as she sat on the ground, and whether it was from fear or the cold rain that had soaked her clothes he wasn't completely sure.

This girl named Kagome wasn't a warrior priestess out of some children's bedtime story…she was just a girl of unknown origins.

He berated himself internally for building this human girl up as something she couldn't be. Right now she looked like a scared child who had just lost their parents as she continued to stare at him with eyes that matched the storm outside in their grey-blue color. When Hiei decided that she was indeed shaking from the cold dampness of her clothes he scoffed and removed his cloak. The thick material didn't absorb water well and was probably much warmer given his abnormally high internal temperature.

He walked closer to her and held it out wordlessly for her to take.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kagome sat on the dirt ground, water dripping from her soaked hair and clothes, and watched this demon who had kept himself hidden all this time as he looked outside of the cave. He had saved her after she had pretty much resigned herself to her fate, when it seemed as though there was no escape, when Inuyasha hadn't been able to…

She remembered that this wasn't the first time that he had saved her. Sometimes she felt as though he was watching over her silently. A quiet guardian who was neither seen nor heard but was always felt. She couldn't imagine why Kuwabara would have tried to warn her against him when he only seemed to be a good presence in her life. He had never done anything to hurt her in these months, which was more than she could say for most people even if she never held it against them.

He turned back to face her and seemed to freeze on the spot. She could see the thoughts swirling in the deep red coloring of his eyes even though she hadn't the faintest clue as to what he would be thinking about. During this time she noticed just how…compact he was.

He looked like he was about her height (minus the hair of course), maybe an inch or so taller than she was. But when he took off his cloak and extended it to her she clearly saw that he wasn't thin or lanky, but very lean and muscular. His eyes were a crimson color but didn't give her the same malicious chill that Naraku's did. Instead, his eyes spoke of a hard life and wariness, of fiery passion and chilling caution.

When she realized that she was staring at him like an idiot, Kagome reached out a trembling hand to take his offering. She almost dropped the heavy fabric when she felt just how warm it was. It wasn't hot enough to burn her, but it felt as though it had been hung near a furnace for extra warmth before use. She quickly wrapped it around herself and allowed the heat to penetrate her clothes and take the chill from her skin.

Standing up slowly, Kagome looked at Hiei still a little unsure of what to say or do. So she started with the most obvious thing she could think of. “Thank you.” Her statement was simple and softly spoken coming from a throat that was tight from nervousness. She waited for his reply, not realizing that she was holding her breath.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They both stood in silence for a moment just looking at each other. Hiei had never really been thanked for anything before, at least not in person, and was unsure of how to respond. Kagome was just hoping for a reply of some sort instead of him running from the cave which was still a very real possibility.

Her reply came in the form of a sharp nod and him turning his back to her to walk to the edge of the small cave once again. Everything in Hiei's body was telling him to run and get away from this person who made him second guess his own thoughts and actions. He didn't look at her as she came to stand a few feet to his left and look out into the raging storm as well. Her face was drawn up in concentration, he noticed.

Kagome was very worried for her friends. She may have been provided with shelter but they were still out there and she had no idea where they were, how far away from them she was, or how they were fairing with the collapsing forest. Taking a deep breath, she removed the warm cloak from her shoulders and extended it back to its owner. “I mean it, thank you, but I have to go. My friends are still out there and might need help.”

Hiei was a little surprised at her sudden decision. He thought she was scared, not worried.

“I'm sure that you already know my name with as long as you've been following us, but I'm Kagome. I thought it was only right that we introduce ourselves since we're actually meeting for the first time.” She said with a small smile on her face.

Hiei took in her appearance for a moment as he thought about what she said. Her dark hair was hanging straight from the weight of the water and was clinging to her face and shoulders. Her clothes were clinging to her body and he could now see the shirt with thin shoulder straps that she wore underneath her normal shirt. Her skin was paler than normal from the rain and cold which only made her small blush stand out even more. She had introduced herself like she would to anyone else and even smiled at him. Had anyone ever smiled at him without a killing intent before??

He hesitated for a moment, but when he saw her awaiting his reply with slightly hopeful eyes something inside him couldn't bring himself to ignore her or brush her off like he would do to anyone else. “Hiei,” was all he said in response as he turned back to look at the storm, leaving her there to look at him and waiting for him to take his cloak back.

When Kagome realized that he probably wouldn't take the cloak back she sighed and folded it as best she could before laying on a nearby rock. She went back to stand beside Hiei before taking a deep breath and making to take her first step out into the storm. At least that was the plan until she felt a strong grip on her arm.

Kagome looked to Hiei and saw him shake his head. “But my friends—” she tried to protest.

“I don't know where they are, but they are fine. Their blood is not on the air so they are most likely safe.” He tried to explain. Hiei wasn't particularly fond of talking, especially to humans, but after he took the time and trouble to make sure she hadn't died he wasn't about to let her walk out into almost certain doom. “It would be wisest to wait out the storm and destruction here.”

Then he let go of her arm and turned to pick up his cloak once more, leaving Kagome to watch his movements.

She saw as he unfolded the fabric and wrapped it around his bare arm several times. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments of nothing happening she noticed that his brow began to knit together in frustration. But then she suddenly felt a large amount of power fill the cave in a quick burst only to disappear just as quickly. When it was gone she noticed that a thin, wispy vapor was rising from Hiei's body.

Kagome walked closer to make sure that everything was okay but stopped when she noticed that he was completely dry. His face slowly relaxed again and he unwrapped the heavy material from his arm to hand her the cloak that was just as warm as when he had handed it to her the first time. “Sleep,” was all he said before going to sit against the entrance to the cave once again. She gave a small huff before lying down near the back of their shelter, unsure if what he said had been a suggestion or a command.

As Hiei sat and watched the rain fall and more trees pile on top of one another, he became very annoyed at his Jagan Eye. It had weakened him considerably and he had yet to gain the control over it that he desperately needed. Over the months he had found himself either struggling to come up with the amount of energy needed to control some of the more basic fundamentals of his father's element or he would suddenly find himself with bursts of excess power that he had to figure out how to either absorb or redirect.

He had been trying to raise the temperature around his arm to warm the cloak so that the girl wouldn't freeze herself during the night, but had been incredibly annoyed when he found that the energy wouldn't come to him. So he had pushed harder, trying to find some reserve somewhere, when suddenly the Jagan flared to life and his entire body heated to the point of burning anything he touched. The air around him had sucked all the moisture from his clothes and hair and steam could be seen rising from his body.

The cloak was warm again, but the power had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Now as Hiei sat watching the wind and rain, he vowed that one day he would control the almost sentient life form on his forehead and become even more powerful than he had been before.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kagome awoke the next morning still wrapped in the warmth that Hiei's cloak had provided. She stretched lazily as she did every morning before sitting up and looking at her surroundings. She noticed that sunlight was streaming in through the entrance to the small cave. Getting up and moving towards the opening she stepped out to see a decimated forest.

The trees were blanketing the forest floor and some were lying across one another creating small mountains of leafy lumber. Some of the stumps were still standing at various heights while some trees had been so weakened that their entire root systems had been pulled from the ground. Kagome looked around for a moment before climbing to the top of one of the piles of logs and scouting the area for her unlikely rescuer.

She jumped and nearly fell when she heard a voice from behind her say, “I found your companions.”

Kagome turned around to see Hiei, who had apparently already gotten his cloak from the cave, and he was looking at her as if waiting for her to immediately run off to find her friends. But instead she asked, “Are they okay?? Where are they?”

Hiei had expected her to turn tail and leave as everyone else had done in his life once he'd outlived his usefulness to them. So now he had to work on developing a new set of skills that he'd never had the need for until now: Communication and Conversation Skills.

“They are west of here. They are unharmed and appear to be searching for you.”

Kagome released a relieved breath. “Thank you very much, Hiei.” She said as she gave him a polite bow. Straightening up, she gave him a bright smile and turned around to climb down from the fallen trees.

Hiei watched as she carefully touched the solid ground once more and began walking westward, climbing over fallen trees along the way. He was about to go off on his own again when she suddenly turned around to face him after walking about twenty feet away. “Come on, Hiei! Let's go!” She called back to him with a smile and a wave.

To say that he was shocked, even if he didn't outwardly show it, would have been an understatement. Hiei watched her with wary eyes for a moment before quickly catching up with her and walking a few feet to her left. They continued to travel in silence for a while as he thought about what was going on. She wanted him to travel with her? Why?? What could she gain by being associated with him? Did she think that he would protect her from every little danger now? He scoffed at the question. If that was the case then she would quickly realize her mistake should they be attacked. But as much as he told himself that he wouldn't, Hiei knew that he would protect the blue eyed female that practically screamed “Damsel in Distress.”

“So Hiei,” she started bring him out of his musings. “Why have you been following us all this time?”

“Why?” He couldn't help his suspicious nature as he began thinking of where this question could be going.

She merely shrugged her shoulders as she stood on top of another fallen tree to look around for any glimpse of red. “Just curious I guess.” She answered with a smile as she jumped back down to the muddy forest floor.

`What is that silly saying that humans have?' Hiei wondered for a moment before responding, “Curiosity killed the cat.” And that was exactly what she reminded him of with her coy yet daring nature. When she was agitated she wouldn't hesitate to show her claws but the rest of the time she was openly affectionate with those around her.

“And satisfaction brought it back again,” she countered. Kagome had a feeling that getting Hiei to open up was going to be similar to what she went through with Inuyasha…only with any luck there would be much less yelling and cursing. “So,” she tried again, “why would you want to follow around some humans, a half-demon, and two full-demons? Most people we come across are either scared or try to kill one, several, or all of us.”

Hiei could understand that. They were different. Their very natures contradicted them being in the same area without killing each other, much less traveling together as friends without violent outbursts towards each other—Inuyasha excluded of course. And on that thought, Hiei had his answer. “That's why. By all rights you should all hate each other, yet you work together and behave as friends and comrades would. You are all very different from each other and everyone fears or hates that which is different. Your group doesn't make sense.”

Kagome couldn't help but laugh a little at his answer. It was true that in this day and age they should all probably hate each other, but when they all found that one common enemy…everything else seemed so trivial. “Well I guess you're right in a way,” she began to explain. “You see, when we all met each other none of us really liked each other. Inuyasha and I couldn't stand to be around each other. Inuyasha thought Shippo was a brat and Shippo only saw Inuyasha as a weak half-demon. Inuyasha hated Miroku when they first met and Miroku only saw Inuyasha and Shippo as demons. Sango tried to attack us for several reasons and things were very tense when she first started traveling with us.”

Hiei could only wonder how they had managed to form an alliance with one another after such rocky starts. If he was in any of the listed situations he would have killed his opponent and cut his losses. Why try and form a group with people that you despise?

“But there was something stronger than the dislike for each other that everyone had,” she continued to explain to the dark demon who still traveled beside her. “Everyone had been wronged by Naraku in some way or another. Naraku is like a plague. He's spreading and causing sorrow and death wherever he touches. Someone has to cure the world of him before he destroys everything. And that's what we're trying to do. We've been able to look beyond our differences and see each other as people so that we can work together towards a goal that's bigger than any of us. We can't do it alone, so we gather allies where we can who are also willing to put away petty arguments for the greater good. Does that make any sense?”

Hiei only nodded once as he thought about it. What was his greater good? He was trying to become stronger and find his sister. To him, his own world was all that mattered. That's the way that it had always been. But what if this Naraku was a threat to the larger world that his world resided in? Would he be able to work with those that he hates and, the more likely problem, those who hate him?

“So,” he heard Kagome continue, “I'm sure there's something in this world that you care about. It doesn't matter if it's one or many people, power, money, or even just yourself. Everyone has something that they want to preserve.” Here she paused and stood on the tree she'd been climbing over to look him directly in the eyes. Those blue orbs seemed so sincere and trusting as she spoke her next words. “I don't know you very well yet Hiei, but I know that you're fast and very skilled with your sword. And I can feel that there's something more to you even if I don't have any clue what it is yet. But one thing that I do know for sure is that I'd much rather have you as a friend and ally than an enemy. So what do you say? Would you like to travel with us and help keep the world safe for whatever it is you care about?”

Hiei merely kept her stare. What was he supposed to say? He was a solitary creature. Being with one person for any amount of time tried his patience, so how was he supposed to tolerate a whole group of these conflicting personalities that she traveled with? But she was right in a way. There were certain goals that he wouldn't be able to accomplish if this Naraku gained substantial power. He couldn't allow that to happen. He could either travel with a group that could possibly strip him of his sanity to secure the future or go his own way, worry about himself, and hope for the best possible outcome. His options were clear, but his decision eluded him for the moment.

Before he could find his answer, distant shouting caught his attention. Apparently Kagome noticed the commotion as well because her face instantly lit up and she immediately took off as quickly as her legs could carry her, avoiding the obstacles in her path along the way. Hiei had started leaning towards going on his own at her abandonment before she yelled over her shoulder without slowing down, “Come on Hiei! I want you to meet everyone!”

Kagome was so happy to know that her friends were alright. And from the sounds of it, Miroku was doing something perverted again as Inuyasha yelled at him and Shippo laughed. There was one more pile of logs in front of her separating her from her makeshift family. Just as she reached the top she saw Inuyasha turn around, probably catching her scent, and she jumped off of the fallen trees, propelling herself into his arms.

Even though he had sensed her in time to catch her, Kagome had still caught Inuyasha off guard enough cause him to lose his balance and send them both falling to the muddy earth below.

Hiei came upon a scene of much rejoicing as friends were reunited, hugs were given and received, and a young fox-child pounced on a priestess who served as a surrogate mother. He apparently had some momentum behind his jump seeing as he knocked the young woman off of the half-demon and onto the ground. As the child cried and the woman comforted him, Hiei merely stood atop one of the many broken tree trunks and watched. He was still contemplating Kagome's offer. `They're all very different, but they are still able to celebrate and fight together as though they've known each other all of their lives.' Could this be the one place that he could find acceptance? `Ridiculous,' he thought, `I do not need their acceptance or that of anyone else. I am doing this so that there is a world in which my goals will come to fruition.'

The happy group of friends immediately paused and took notice of the fire apparition, in plain view for them for the first time, as he spoke in a clear but flat tone. “Priestess…I have decided to join you on this quest of yours.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Well it's certainly been a while, hasn't it everyone? How are you?? I'm finally through with that god-awful Communications class I was taking and am now free for the rest of July and part of August to write to my little heart's content! I'm going to try to get as much out as I can on ALL of my stories. If I have it my way I might even finish a couple of them! Yay! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed thus far, I love hearing what you think =D Also, for anyone who is interested in other stories of mine or crossovers in general I have another one in the wings---
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION:
What I'm working on here is a crossover with a series that sadly isn't very big. It's called Ghost Hunt. It's amazing. It's 25 episodes long and all of them can be downloaded for free at realitylapse.com. If you're interested in reading this story once I get it going (I'm still working on the first chapter which is currently at nine pages and counting) I highly suggest watching the anime. I'll provide links to character info with the story so nobody's lost, but it would be best to watch the show. The pairing will be Lin/Kagome so pay particular attention to him!

That's all for now, sorry for the long AN, and I'll talk to you guys again sometime soon!