InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of the Night ❯ Night VIII: Her Story ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Kurai Mori 
Emotions and secrets can only be held in for so long before they seek release.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 08.30.2008 | Updated On: 06.03.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Work In Progress
Emotions and secrets can only be held in for so long before they seek release.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Psychological / Hentai / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 08.30.2008 | Updated On: 06.03.2010 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 1.6K | Status: Work In Progress
Title: Night VIII: Her Story
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.
Warning(s): Light swearing.
This time was different; her mood was off. It was sickening how he could read her so well and in such an intimate manner after so short a time. Hell, he had been able to read her emotions before he even actually met the human. Though the life he had lived prior to his probation had conditioned him to read others and their non-verbal cues better than most others, he had never been able to read someone as well as her. Every hunch of her shoulders, every wistful look at her window, every time she gnawed on her bottom lip... He could tell what emotions had led to such actions. She was both stupid and intelligent to evince her emotions in such ways. That girl was a paradox of the strangest kind.
Those trusting eyes of midnight blue once again saw through the darkness and shadows he covered himself with in the tree and looked him straight in the eyes. He was certain she could not actually see him, but it was beyond obvious she knew exactly where he was. He blamed his lack of stealth on her hama no reiryoku that she never used to harm him. Hiei knew; he would have been able to see the second it crossed her mind to use her powers to kill him, but she never did. He looked down at her, able to see her mood reflected in her eyes for the first time. That content melancholy from when they first met was back again. He sneered down at her; he had no desire to know what trifling matter had brought on her dark mood.
And there was her smile again. What kind of miko would smile that way at a youkai? That kind of kindness and trust would get her into trouble, if it had not already. His curiosity took over his tongue. "If you keep staring at me, I'll be forced to cut out your eyes."
She laughed. "I don't think you will. You don't seem to be the kind of youkai to issue threats. More like, just do them without warning."
He resisted the urge to grind his teeth. How ridiculous of her to presume to know him, and he told her as much.
"Of course I don't know you," she said, shifting against the tree. "But I've known youkai like you."
She looked down, and he found himself once again captivated by the myriad of emotions that surrounded her. If he was not who he was, he would have sighed in relief when she settled on one emotion with a small sigh. "Though that was years ago..."
He had not been expecting such a statement. It seemed as if she knew what to say to get him curious enough to talk to her. And of all the times for her to exercise brevity in her speech, she had to choose such a moment. He narrowed his eyes as he looked her over, this time more closely than before. Her face still held the chubbiness he had learned to associate with younger humans, and her face was unmarred by age wrinkles. Though there was the curious case of her hands, which were calloused from a weapon of some sort. She was aggravating even without saying anything.
"You humans. As if you have experienced or know anything about years. The whole lot of you run around screaming about lost time and wanting it back. You're too young to have known youkai."
She looked up at him once again, this time with a painful smile showing on a face too mature to be a normal teenager. Pain, he knew too well; he could deal with it better than he could handle her usual smiles. Especially since he was the one who caused it. "You're right," she said. "I don't know much about time... Maybe if I did, this wouldn't hurt so bad."
Hiei said nothing, knowing her own desire to fill up the quiet with words would take over soon enough. While he may not have lived for as long as the fox, he knew when to stay silent and when to provoke. It was too easy to play that game with her.
"I almost wish time could have let things end differently... But I guess that's only selfish thinking. Still, I can't help but want to change how things happened. How it all ended."
"And your answer is to jump in a dry well? You're just as pathetic as all the rest."
"Humans do strange things when they're half-asleep." She laughed. It was the same tittering, nervous laugh she always gave when she was lying as he had learned from watching her interact with her family. Just like a typical human, always thinking of herself and not how others would perceive a liar. Even he, who rarely had to resort to lying to get his way, could lie better than that. As if he would deign her with more of his time now.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
That was the understatement of the decade. Though he could not resist one last jab toward her, despite his earlier conviction to not reply. "I've killed low-class trash that could lie better."
He could hear her shirt against the bark of the tree as if she was trying to draw out some type of comfort from its ancient magic. "I thought... I thought that maybe its magic hadn't disappeared. That it could still take me back to the places and people I had to leave behind. But it's gone... I really must've looked so foolish jumping into it, like someone wanting to die."
This time he could tell she was telling the truth given how her emotions thickened her voice. Yet what she was saying was making no sense at all. If there had been a portal there, it was certain no one would have been left alive on the shrine. Youkai would not have passed up the free portal into the Ningenkai if it led to the Makai as he suspected. That was the only explanation he could find as to why she was so comfortable around his kind. "The only magic is in this tree."
Her mood shifted once again, this time to a desperate kind of dolor. He considered slitting her throat to save them both from the story he knew was going to spill forth from her lips in only a few seconds. Yet it was too late, her sadness caused the story she had been keeping inside for too long to come out in an incoherent ramble.
His distaste became disguised wonder as he managed to piece together her teary words and ecursive tales. She was not lying when she had said it had been years; she had five-hundred of them separating her from everything that had become normal to her. He almost shook his head at the similarities between his group the detective called a "team" and her own. Rag-tag and misfits, indeed. His sense of pride forced him to admit to himself that his respect for her when up a tiny bit. It was unfortunate that she was sparing him all the gory battle details that he wanted to her, and instead told him all the emotional relationship crap better suited for one of his teammates. As if he had any desire to hear about love and bonds and friendship. Those were for the soft and humans.
She sniffled, failing at hiding her lack of control over her emotions, when she finished her tale. "Thank you for listening. I haven't been able to tell anyone any of that, not even my mom. It's nice having it off my chest."
He did not reply. Instead he glared at the top of her head. In turn, she ignored it. "Sorry for rambling to you so much, you probably didn't want to hear any of it, huh? And I don't even know your name either."
He did not intend on telling her his name or agreeing with her. They were connections he did not want to make to her or even acknowledge. She had done nothing so far to warrant either, and he hoped it stayed that way. So he stayed silent, knowing already it was not in her nature to push for answers people did not want to give. He had really been spending too much time around her if he knew that.
She looked up at him again. He doubted the darkness of night would ever be able to hide him from her eyes, just as he was sure he would always be able to find her in it. A different smile was on her face this time, one he was not sure he was ready to see from anyone. Especially not from her. It was a smile purely for him; one that was small and grateful that hid her teeth and caused her eyes to crinkle at the corners. Perhaps it would have been better if he had slit her throat before it had come to that.
Word count: 1630
Edited: 3 June 2010
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.
Warning(s): Light swearing.
- - - - - - - -
Somehow it had become their ritual. Hiei loathed it more than he could express. He prided himself on his unpredictable nature, yet she had made him predictable. She would always be waiting for him at the shrine as she had given up on wandering throughout the streets at night. She would sit at the base of the tree, and would always smile up into the branches whenever he would arrive. And like a puppy, he always would. While he had entertained the thought of not returning all throughout the days, he still found himself among the familiar branches of the shrine's ancient tree. Goshinboku, he had heard some of the other humans that lived there call it.This time was different; her mood was off. It was sickening how he could read her so well and in such an intimate manner after so short a time. Hell, he had been able to read her emotions before he even actually met the human. Though the life he had lived prior to his probation had conditioned him to read others and their non-verbal cues better than most others, he had never been able to read someone as well as her. Every hunch of her shoulders, every wistful look at her window, every time she gnawed on her bottom lip... He could tell what emotions had led to such actions. She was both stupid and intelligent to evince her emotions in such ways. That girl was a paradox of the strangest kind.
Those trusting eyes of midnight blue once again saw through the darkness and shadows he covered himself with in the tree and looked him straight in the eyes. He was certain she could not actually see him, but it was beyond obvious she knew exactly where he was. He blamed his lack of stealth on her hama no reiryoku that she never used to harm him. Hiei knew; he would have been able to see the second it crossed her mind to use her powers to kill him, but she never did. He looked down at her, able to see her mood reflected in her eyes for the first time. That content melancholy from when they first met was back again. He sneered down at her; he had no desire to know what trifling matter had brought on her dark mood.
And there was her smile again. What kind of miko would smile that way at a youkai? That kind of kindness and trust would get her into trouble, if it had not already. His curiosity took over his tongue. "If you keep staring at me, I'll be forced to cut out your eyes."
She laughed. "I don't think you will. You don't seem to be the kind of youkai to issue threats. More like, just do them without warning."
He resisted the urge to grind his teeth. How ridiculous of her to presume to know him, and he told her as much.
"Of course I don't know you," she said, shifting against the tree. "But I've known youkai like you."
She looked down, and he found himself once again captivated by the myriad of emotions that surrounded her. If he was not who he was, he would have sighed in relief when she settled on one emotion with a small sigh. "Though that was years ago..."
He had not been expecting such a statement. It seemed as if she knew what to say to get him curious enough to talk to her. And of all the times for her to exercise brevity in her speech, she had to choose such a moment. He narrowed his eyes as he looked her over, this time more closely than before. Her face still held the chubbiness he had learned to associate with younger humans, and her face was unmarred by age wrinkles. Though there was the curious case of her hands, which were calloused from a weapon of some sort. She was aggravating even without saying anything.
"You humans. As if you have experienced or know anything about years. The whole lot of you run around screaming about lost time and wanting it back. You're too young to have known youkai."
She looked up at him once again, this time with a painful smile showing on a face too mature to be a normal teenager. Pain, he knew too well; he could deal with it better than he could handle her usual smiles. Especially since he was the one who caused it. "You're right," she said. "I don't know much about time... Maybe if I did, this wouldn't hurt so bad."
Hiei said nothing, knowing her own desire to fill up the quiet with words would take over soon enough. While he may not have lived for as long as the fox, he knew when to stay silent and when to provoke. It was too easy to play that game with her.
"I almost wish time could have let things end differently... But I guess that's only selfish thinking. Still, I can't help but want to change how things happened. How it all ended."
"And your answer is to jump in a dry well? You're just as pathetic as all the rest."
"Humans do strange things when they're half-asleep." She laughed. It was the same tittering, nervous laugh she always gave when she was lying as he had learned from watching her interact with her family. Just like a typical human, always thinking of herself and not how others would perceive a liar. Even he, who rarely had to resort to lying to get his way, could lie better than that. As if he would deign her with more of his time now.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
That was the understatement of the decade. Though he could not resist one last jab toward her, despite his earlier conviction to not reply. "I've killed low-class trash that could lie better."
He could hear her shirt against the bark of the tree as if she was trying to draw out some type of comfort from its ancient magic. "I thought... I thought that maybe its magic hadn't disappeared. That it could still take me back to the places and people I had to leave behind. But it's gone... I really must've looked so foolish jumping into it, like someone wanting to die."
This time he could tell she was telling the truth given how her emotions thickened her voice. Yet what she was saying was making no sense at all. If there had been a portal there, it was certain no one would have been left alive on the shrine. Youkai would not have passed up the free portal into the Ningenkai if it led to the Makai as he suspected. That was the only explanation he could find as to why she was so comfortable around his kind. "The only magic is in this tree."
Her mood shifted once again, this time to a desperate kind of dolor. He considered slitting her throat to save them both from the story he knew was going to spill forth from her lips in only a few seconds. Yet it was too late, her sadness caused the story she had been keeping inside for too long to come out in an incoherent ramble.
His distaste became disguised wonder as he managed to piece together her teary words and ecursive tales. She was not lying when she had said it had been years; she had five-hundred of them separating her from everything that had become normal to her. He almost shook his head at the similarities between his group the detective called a "team" and her own. Rag-tag and misfits, indeed. His sense of pride forced him to admit to himself that his respect for her when up a tiny bit. It was unfortunate that she was sparing him all the gory battle details that he wanted to her, and instead told him all the emotional relationship crap better suited for one of his teammates. As if he had any desire to hear about love and bonds and friendship. Those were for the soft and humans.
She sniffled, failing at hiding her lack of control over her emotions, when she finished her tale. "Thank you for listening. I haven't been able to tell anyone any of that, not even my mom. It's nice having it off my chest."
He did not reply. Instead he glared at the top of her head. In turn, she ignored it. "Sorry for rambling to you so much, you probably didn't want to hear any of it, huh? And I don't even know your name either."
He did not intend on telling her his name or agreeing with her. They were connections he did not want to make to her or even acknowledge. She had done nothing so far to warrant either, and he hoped it stayed that way. So he stayed silent, knowing already it was not in her nature to push for answers people did not want to give. He had really been spending too much time around her if he knew that.
She looked up at him again. He doubted the darkness of night would ever be able to hide him from her eyes, just as he was sure he would always be able to find her in it. A different smile was on her face this time, one he was not sure he was ready to see from anyone. Especially not from her. It was a smile purely for him; one that was small and grateful that hid her teeth and caused her eyes to crinkle at the corners. Perhaps it would have been better if he had slit her throat before it had come to that.
- - - - - - - -
A version of this chapter was posted to the livejournal community 30_Nights for their theme #015: Telling you the truth.Word count: 1630
Edited: 3 June 2010