InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of the Night ❯ Night CL: Trouble ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Night CL: Trouble
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.


Summer was only days away from ending officially. Yet it was easily felt in the bite of the cool air, the dwindling sunlight, the colder nights. The leaves in trees were changing color and some were beginning to fall. Most of all, there was something on the wind that Hiei could taste in his mouth with each inhale.

Home.

Though it was a faint scent, its dark aroma could not be mistaken for anything else. The bloodshed, the evil, the darkness, the youki, the makai insects it bred. He knew home. It did not smell as if it was coming from Tokyo, and he could not truly sense the immensity of youki he knew had to come with it. That was the only thing he hated about the smell: it was not close enough for him to look into it.

Nights of practice, days of killing makai insects, and months of idling caused his sword-hand to twitch in lurid anticipation whenever there was a particularly strong gust of makai air. Knowing those he fought alongside and dared to call friends as well as he did, he had no doubt that the trouble would be finding its way toward them, and by extension: him. Or even if he just considered his miko. From her tales of her past, she was as bad as the detective at falling into trouble. Either way, he would be getting a good fight and a much needed outlet for his murderous add-ons in the near future. It was enough to cause him to smirk in bloody excitement.

...His miko. Kagome.

The smirk that had been growing on his face fast diminished into a scowl. He knew her back-story, her fights, her. With the proper training she was receiving from him, she could be considered a good ally, one that toddler-god would love to "recruit". She also had a record against her in the near-death and kidnapping departments.

Hiei did not want her getting involved. Everything was already staked against her and him. If she got involved and survived, then that toddler would love to find something against her to force her into being one of his detectives. She could not do that job, and he had just gotten out of it. If he got involved, then it would drag her into it as well, and he could not keep both his friends out of trouble and her, too. He knew his limits, and while he was good, he was not that good. In normal circumstances, he would not have been worried, but makai air in the ningenkai did not qualify as "normal circumstances."

And he knew if she found out about his desire to keep her safe in this instance, she would not be happy.

Yet he could not let her get involved nor could he drag her into it. The past may be hers, but the present belonged to his comrades and him. She no longer needed to save the world, it was someone else's job now. Just as it was not his job now either, but the detective's. And his mind was set: they were not getting involved.

"You're sure pensive tonight. What's on your mind?"

Years of training and self-discipline kept Hiei from reacting to Kagome's sudden appearance on his branch. He had been so lost in thought that he had not noticed the night descend nor her presence. She was a dangerous distraction in every form. Had it been anyone else, they would not have been able to get so close to him undetected. His ever-growing attachment to her along with her growing spot in his thoughts was dangerous to his health. Though he may admit to enjoying and welcoming the danger that brought, it was not in this instance.

Instead he glanced over his shoulder at her to see her staring at him with blatant concern. He could see a hint of knowing hidden in her look simply because he had spent so many nights with her. Simply, he knew her too well, and he knew she could sense the winds of the makai as well. She may not know what it was, but she could sense it. "Something's on the wind, or have we been slacking in your training that you can't sense it."

She nodded, but not before giving him a wry look. "Of course I can sense it. I think even normal humans can tell something's not entirely right. What is it, though? It feels like youki, but so different..." Confusion furrowed her brow as she fumbled through her words. "I've never felt anything like this before."

In all the nights they had spent together, he had never told her about the different realms. She had never asked, so he had never offered to tell. It might have eased her pathetic depression a year ago, but he never found it in his best interests to divulge such information even after everything. Months ago, it had been because he did not want to have an actual conversation with her. These days, it was because he did not want her to go off and find some other youkai to torment, or to find her old friends and forget about him. He would put nothing past women after his childhood.

Now, he could not find a reason to lie.

"It's the makai," he said. He stared at her, gauging the emotions in her eyes. They were the sleeve her heart rested on, after all.

"Makai," she whispered. He could not read the depths in her eyes or the tone with which she said that word. "And where we are now, what is..."

"Ningenkai. There's a barrier separating the two realms, but something had obviously happened."

Hundreds of questions and emotions looked away from him. "Then, how can it be the makai? Why...?" she trailed off, unable and unwilling to clarify her last question.

Yet Hiei was no fool.

'Why did none of my friends come?'

'Why did I meet you?'

'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

Despite how well she fit into the odd one percent of humans, there were times her self-interest would shine through. Her altruism, the questions she refused to ask, her desires to have someone to love... He loved and loathed it about her. But only in her.

He looked away and toward the park entrance at the two idiots and air-headed guide who appeared. The detective's missing presence did not go unnoticed to his dangerous gaze.

His silence in the face of her questions was his admission to his lack of knowledge, and his refusal to answer her unspoken questions. Her response was to sigh.

A moment of silence passed between them as muffled words were exchanged among his comrades. He had heard his name and about their desire to find him, but he was resolved to remain hidden and out of the picture. Even if he did long to have a good fight.

"Are they your friends?" she asked, though he knew she knew the answer.

He nodded once.

"I think they're looking for you."

"They can survive on their own without me."

Hiei heard her smile and all the emotions in it that she refused to give name here. He knew he would get quite the earful when they made it back to her shrine. "You should still go. If this Makai, or whatever, can be felt here now, and they're looking for you... Well, I don't think it's just coincidence."

He shrugged. If the world was in danger, it was not his problem anymore. His debt was gone and paid for. Though his hand still twitched with the desire to cause bloody chaos, he would do his best to ignore it to keep her out of danger. It was appalling how much she had changed him and did not even realize it.

"Then, I suppose you won't mind if I dropped my shields and found out what they wanted then, hm?"

Before she finished her sentence, he turned to glare at her. She blinked back at him, innocence plastered on her face though he was far from fooled. Yet even he knew when he was stuck between two undesirable choices. To keep her from danger and out of Reikai clutches, he would do this. He did not care how capable she had been with friends in the past; this was entirely different.

"I want you back at the shrine once we leave." She looked ready to protest, but he cut her off. "Do it. This isn't the past, it's Tokyo. I want you far from the toddler-prince of Reikai and his fuck-ups."

Though her face was set with anger and he could hear the words she was ready to yell at him, she kept her mouth shut. Tomorrow night would be an entirely different matter. She crossed her arms, turning from him. He did not know which one he hated more: her cold shoulder, or her depression. Though before he could do anything, a damnable whistle pierced the air and made his ears feel as if they would be bleeding in another minute. He saw her reaching out to grab him before he felt the unforgiving earth beneath his back.

As if the night could not get any worse.


A version of this chapter was posted to the livejournal community 30_Nights for their theme #016. You don't know what you have done to me.
Edited 15 May 2010.
Word count: 1549