Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Discovery ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kurama interrupted the alarm clock when it rang. He rose from his bed. He had set his clock earlier because he wanted to stop by the Three Lights' studio to inquire about Yaten's health. He was concerned. He hoped it wasn't mono, for Yaten's sake. He remembered his own brush with mono. He almost wasn't able to raise his notes to his usual rate that year. Poor Yaten, I hope he won't have to redo his school year, he thought. I will help you, Yat-chan.

He quickly ate breakfast and, taking his school bag, he exited his apartment and the building. The streets were almost deserted. Good, he could use the peace and quiet. He didn't sleep well last night. He kept thinking about his silver haired lover. He lifted his head, just in time to see Hiei jump in front of him. Kurama tried to smile to Hiei but he found he couldn't. He still felt embarrassed over what happened. Hiei told him many times not to worry about him, but Kurama still did. He confided to Yaten that he still had feelings for Hiei. He also reassured Yaten that he loved him and that he wouldn't leave him for Hiei because they split up. Sometimes, he wished Hiei hadn't broken up with him, but Hiei told him he didn't love Yaten the way Kurama did. Kurama respected his wishes but still, it made him feel guilty. He truly wished Hiei could find a soul mate like he did. Kurama thought that if Hiei did find someone, at least he could feel comforted with that.

"Hum!" said the koorime. "You're up early today! Going to see your little silver haired lover? You're certainly not going to Meiou College this early!"

"Hello Hiei..." sighed Kurama. "Yes, I'm going to the Three Lights' studio but as to if I'm going to see Yaten there or not..."

Hiei raised and eyebrow. "Why? Did you two have a lover's fight?" he asked flatly.

Kurama chuckled. "If only it was that..." he started. His face darkened. "Yaten is sick, Hiei..."

Hiei shrugged "Yeah? So? In a few days he'll be okay, so why the long face?"

"It's not like he got the flu, Hiei... I think Yaten caught mononucleosis..."

"Mono...WHAT!?" asked Hiei unable to repeat the word.

"It's a kind of disease, Hiei, if that's what Yaten has. Well, he's going to be sick for at least two months..."

"Two months!" whistled Hiei. Kurama nodded and started to walk toward the studio again. Hiei followed him. He was curious to know if really Yaten had a disease that could make someone sick for two months. On the way to the Studio, Kurama explained to Hiei the sickness and told him how fragile Yaten's spleen was. Hiei nodded. He told Kurama he felt sorry for Yaten, that if Yaten couldn't fight for two months or do anything he would probably go batty or something.

"You're still not sure if he's got that disease or not, so relax... You're probably overreacting..." Said Hiei.

"Well, we'll know soon enough..." replied the redhead. "We're here... want to come?" Hiei shrugged but followed Kurama anyway. The security guard let Kurama and Hiei pass, after Kurama said he was with him. They entered the studio. Kurama's heart sank when he didn't see Yaten anywhere. He saw Seiya and Taiki taking a pause and looking a little depressed.

"Ohayo!" said Kurama. Both Seiya and Taiki greeted them. "Is Yaten okay?"

"No..." said Seiya. "He's got mononucleosis and didn't get much sleep last night. You should have seen him this morning. He looked like hell..."

Kurama sighed. His hearth sank even deeper. Poor Yaten, he thought. "Did you find a replacement for the musical?" Hiei asked.

"No..." replied Taiki. "We didn't find anyone and we've got to find him in the next few days. We can take comfort in the fact that Yaten's costume wasn't done yet, so the height of the guy replacing him isn't all too important..."

"What's the name of the musical and what role did Yaten play?" asked Hiei.

"We're playing 'Labyrinth'. I play Hoggle. Taiki plays Sir Didymus and Yaten played Jareth the Goblin King..." said Seiya.

Hiei started to chuckle and then he laughed. They looked at him wondering what the problem was. "Oh! That's rich!" Hiei finally was able to say. "Yaten as the Goblin King... hahahahahahaha! I'd sooner see me or Kurama play that... hahahaha! Yaten! <snort>"

The two brothers looked at each other, of course! Why didn't they think of that? They both turned to Kurama.

"Hiei! You're a genius!" said Seiya.

"Huh? I was joking!" replied Hiei.

"Kurama, you'd be perfect!" added Taiki. "I'm sure Yaten will be glad if you take his role."

Kurama face vaulted, "You can't be serious!"

"Come on, you've practiced with us before. We know you sing well, and you'd do a real good Goblin King!" said Seiya.

"I... I don't know..." replied Kurama.

Hiei looked at the entire scene, mildly amused. "Why don't you go for it, Kurama?"

"But what about Yaten? I won't be able to see him as much as I wanted because of this..." said Kurama.

"I know, but if you join us now, you can start faster and the practice won't be as long... Please Kurama, we need your help..." pleaded Taiki. "We wouldn't be asking you if we didn't think you could pull it off... Akane-san will say yes, I'm sure. She likes what you do..."

"Can I have the day to think about it?" asked Kurama.

Both Seiya and Taiki nodded. "If you don't have anything to do tonight why don't you come to our place? We could discuss it there..." Kurama nodded. Seiya and Taiki were ready to go to school. They offered Kurama and Hiei a lift. Kurama accepted but Hiei declined.

"You are not going in the direction I want to go..." the koorime simply said and he jumped away easily reaching the tip of the trees. A few jumps and he was already far, Seiya shrugged and entered the van. Kurama took a place in the back seat wondering where Hiei was going.



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Yaten opened his eyes, 10 o'clock. At least he had slept about two full hours. He grunted. The last time he felt so weak was when that demon had drained him. He tried to lift his head but for him it weighed a ton. He didn't sleep much last night. He would fall asleep only to wake up about ten to fifteen minutes later, hot and covered with sweat. He would then throw his covers and try to go back to sleep. He would sleep a little while and wake up because he was freezing. He was harassed all night with this, trying several tricks like only having one thin cover on him or changing pajamas, but to no avail. He kept waking up either sweating as though he had been put in an oven or cold as though someone placed him in a freezer.

"You do look like hell..." a familiar voice said. Yaten spun his head around.

"Hiei?... How did you get in?"

Hiei raised his thumb towards the opened window. "I took my usual entrance..."

"Why are you here?" asked Yaten, slowly turning himself to look at him.

"Kurama told me you were sick. He was worried about you... I understand why now... You look like shit!" the koorime said flatly.

"I pretty much feel like shit, too..." whispered Yaten, closing his eyes. He was surprised to feel Hiei's hand on his brow.

"You have a very high fever... that's peculiar." Hiei analyzed coldly. "You were shivering half an hour ago..."

"How long have you been here?" asked Yaten trying to rise. He didn't succeed. His head weighed a ton and he got dizzy just trying to raise ten inches off his pillow. "Shimatta!" he said "I hate this... what a stupid disease!"

"Hm..." snorted the koorime, "And it's only your first day. I should have taken a bet with Kurama; I would have won..."

Yaten sighed, "I'm going to go crazy if I'm like that for two months..." he grumbled.

"Funny..." said Hiei as he rose from his chair. "That's exactly what I told Kurama... You wanted to get something?"

Yaten nodded. "Some water, my lips are parched..." Hiei nodded and went out. When he returned, he came back with a bottle of cold water. Yaten thanked him and before he started to drink, he passed the cold bottle all over his fevered face. "Aaaahhh.... that feels better..." He then opened the bottle and took several gulps, closed the bottle and slumped back into bed. Hiei just looked at him.

"Hiei... I'm going to be a very dull person. Why do you stick around here for?..." asked Yaten.

"I have nothing else better to do." replied Hiei. He took the bottle from Yaten and was about to take sip when Yaten yelped and took the bottle away from him. "Hey! What's the big idea ?" said Hiei slightly annoyed.

"You want to catch my disease or what?" asked angrily Yaten. "It's transmitted by the saliva... you want to be as sick as me?"

"I'm not human... I probably won't catch it..." replied the koorime.

"You really want to take that chance?" asked Yaten. Hiei was forced to agree that Yaten had a point there. Hiei stayed with Yaten until he fell back asleep. The black haired boy got bored decided to go away. He went out the same way he got in, by jumping out the window. He ambled along, jumping from tree to tree for a good hour and he decided to rest in the nook of a tree.



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The school bell rang. Seiya and Taiki headed for their van; there was no study session today. Rei had to sell charms at the temple for her grandfather. Usagi was held up after school because she had arrived late, yet again. Minako had a volleyball competition. Ami was heading for her cram school and Makoto had a reunion at the Horticulture Club. They were about to drive away when they saw Kurama, arriving at Jyuuban running, waving for the brothers to wait for him. Seiya told Taiki to wait and Kurama entered the van. He thanked them, after he got back his breath.

"I thought about it and..." started Kurama.

"And?..." asked Seiya.

"I'm very flattered and tempted by the proposition... But!" paused Kurama.

The two brothers looked at him waiting to hear what the conditions were. "I want to talk with Yaten first... It's his role. I just want to make sure he's okay with that..." said quietly Kurama. Seiya and Taiki nodded, as they rode off toward the apartment.



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Hiei had become bored again and he headed back towards the Three Lights' apartment. When he felt the presence of five demons, he smiled. He would check them out. He wondered what five demons were doing in the human world and he figured probably nothing good. Suddenly they split up. Hiei cursed under his breath and decided to follow one of them. The demon was heading for the Jyuuban district. Carefully, Hiei followed him. After a few minutes, he realized that the other four had regrouped and followed him. Just then, the demon he was following turned around. Ambush, thought Hiei. Well, never mind, I could use the exercise.



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Makoto was coming back from Jyuuban College, mightily mad. "The nerve of that girl!" she said to herself. "She just wants to boss everyone around... That makes me so mad I could..." She then heard a battle cry and she saw five figures battling a sixth one.

"Those aren't very fair odds!" she thought to herself. She looked around and headed for a secluded corner where she could change without being noticed.

Hiei was having the time of his life. The battle was interesting. Only two of them were good swordsmen. If they would have attacked him individually they wouldn't have stood a chance. Those two were nearly as fast as him, nearly, but not enough to trouble Hiei, who just laughed at their futile attempts. Suddenly, Hiei felt a power surge and he understood too late that he cockily had underestimated his foes. He barely had time to uncover his Jagan to see what kind of attack they were throwing at him.

He took a sharp breath. They were all ice demons and three of them were pooling their spiritual energy to blast him. Hiei tried to jump out of the way. He partly succeeded because the attack they sent him would have encased him in a solid block of ice instead of partly freezing him. Since he was a fire demon himself, Hiei was able to survive the attack. A normal human would have died of the shock. But had he been encased, Hiei wondered if he could have resisted. His heart was hammering in his chest and it hurt to breathe. To make things worse, he was falling toward the ground at top speed and was unable to break his fall. The two swordsmen were still battling him and he was now barely able to fight them off. He hit the ground. The ice broke but so did something in his ankle. Using their momentum, the two swordsmen rammed Hiei's head into the pavement.

Hiei's head rang from the onslaught. Shivering from the cold based attack, he lifted his head just in time to see Sailor Jupiter clobbering one of the swordsmen, then shoving her elbow into the second one, cutting his wind, while the first one fell to the ground unconscious. Trying to get the blood out of his eyes, Hiei watched her, impressed by her skill and strength. She then joined her two hands, lifted them up and bore them down with all her strength on the winded creature's skull. Hiei could swear he heard bones crack, but he knew it didn't come from his rescuer.

Jupiter then turned her attention to the other three who were rushing her. Hiei saw a symbol glow in her hand that closely resembled the number four. On her brow the jewel of her tiara glowed brightly and it elongated like an antenna. The sky became dark and lightning struck the jewel ionizing the air around her. Hiei could feel the hair on his arm stand on end because of the energy in the air. Hiei saw her start to twirl and she yelled.

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"

She spun faster and faster, graceful like one of those ice skaters he once saw on TV. Hiei blinked. He wondered if it wasn't the blood in his eyes, but he could swore he saw oak leaves floating around her. The demons attacking her were literally in for a shock as the balls of lightning hit them. Hiei blinked as they all fell to the ground, stunned. He tried to get up but his vision darkened and he too fell unconscious.



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"I'm home!" said Usagi as she entered the door. She took off her shoes. That's when she noticed the extra pair of shoes. She shrugged, maybe her mom had invited a neighbor. Ikkuko came to Usagi as she put on her slippers.

"Usagi-chan!" she scolded mildly. "Where have you been? Your cousin, Redi-chan is waiting for you in your room. She's with Luna. She has been waiting for a good hour for you..."

"Redi-chan?" asked Usagi. She was stumped. She didn't have any cousin of that name.

"Don't tell me you forgot she was coming here, Usagi-chan?" added her mother, annoyed. "You're lucky you don't forget your dates with Mamoru-san..." And with that her mom took off and went back to her kitchen and finished preparing dinner.

Usagi was puzzled. She repeated her 'cousin's' name, "Redi..." then it hit her. Oh no! Not her! She ran to her room. Why did this little brat change her name again? she thought. She burst into her room.

"Chibi-Usa!!!! You better have a goo-*" Usagi stopped in mid sentence, her eyes wide.

"Konnichi wa, Usagi-chan..." said a voice.

"I don't believe it!..." was all Usagi managed to say before she passed out.



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"So there you have it, Yaten... Would you mind if I took your role?" asked Kurama.

"Of course not, silly!" Yaten replied, feeling a little better now that he had eaten and that Kurama was there. "In fact, Hiei should have told me that when he came today..."

"What?" said Seiya as he cleared the table. "Hiei was here?"

Yaten nodded. "This morning, he came to see if I was really as sick as you told him, Ku-chan..."

Kurama chuckled. "That's Hiei, for you all right... And thank you, Yaten. I feel better about taking that role..."

"I can always give you tips on how to play Jareth... after all, I know that character and his line pretty well. " winked Yaten, teasingly.

"Indeed you do..." Kurama concluded. He got closer to Yaten and was about to kiss him, when his lover stopped him. Kurama looked at Yaten puzzled, so did Seiya and Taiki.

"We can't kiss, Kurama..." started Yaten. "I might give you my disease..."

"But Yaten, I had it before so..." He advanced again, Yaten stopped him yet again.

"Dr. Muzino told me you could get it again, if you get exposed to it again..." explained Yaten. "... She wants to see you, too, Ku-chan and make sure you don't have the disease yourself..."

Taiki sweat dropped. "He can't do THAT!!! She'll know you and him..."

Yaten glared at Taiki. "She ALREADY knew. It seems you and Ami-chan talked about us. Next time, check if there is someone else in the apartment besides you two..."

Taiki blushed deep red. "Ano... When was that?"

Yaten smirked slightly. "I don't know, she didn't tell me more... Why?"

Taiki took the dishes from Seiya and hurriedly went to wash them. "Nothing!" he said quickly. The three others boys exchanged glances. Yaten was blushing deep red, too. He turned on the TV wishing it would turn the conversation to another subject.

"Okay... I'll go see her, Yaten..." said Kurama.

Yaten nodded, "She gave me this phone number. It's her pager. She told me you just had to call her and that she would call you back quickly to make an appointment..." Kurama nodded and took the number. He told Yaten he would call her when he'd go back home.

"Great! Now that everything is settled," Seiya said, "why don't we discuss the play? Tomorrow the practice for the song will start and after school at 7 we have a practice with that girl that's supposed to play Sarah..."

"I see Minako wasn't chosen for the role... She's going to be mad..." cringed Yaten. He could feel the answering machine getting overflowed by her messages.

"We are not the ones choosing the actress... " said Seiya. "Anyway, that girl won an acting scholarship to come study in Tokyo. She's from Sapporo..."

"What's her name?" asked Kurama.

"Well Akane told me... She has a strange name... mmm... oh yeah! Hikoku... Heiwa Hikoku."

"And what's strange about it?" asked Yaten.

Seiya shrugged. "I don't know it just felt strange for me... Anyway don't worry about Minako. She'll have a role, just like all our friends... We needed ladies for the ballroom scene..."

"Yeah! I can tell she'll be LESS than thrilled about that!" said Yaten as he took out his transcript of the play. "Now... maybe we should try and help Ku-chan learn all about Jareth..."



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Hiei slowly woke up. What surprised him was that he was in a soft comfortable bed. He first thought he was in Kurama's room, but no, the room was too frilly, too girlie looking. He reached to his face and felt the bandages on his forehead covering his Jagan. He moved a little bit on the bed. His ankle hurt. He saw his dark coat and his white shawl neatly folded on a desk. Then Hiei smelled something, something that smell real good. The aroma made his mouth water and his stomach grumble.

"I'm hungry..." he said flatly. He got up, careful not to put his entire weight on his injured ankle. He walked toward the smell. He opened the bedroom room and saw a small but comfortable apartment. Plants thrived in beautiful pots, plush colorful cushions were on an equally looking comfortable couch. The smell was now intoxicating and the koorime's mouth watered against his will. I never smelled anything like that before, he thought. Then in a corner he saw a girl talking on a phone.

"Calm down, Usagi-chan... I can't make heads or tails of your story!" said the brunette. Hiei looked at her, who was she? Her face was familiar but he couldn't place it. She turned around and when she saw Hiei up she hurriedly said in the phone. "Listen Usagi-chan... I'll call you later, okay?" and she hung up.

For a while, they just stared at each other. Hiei frowned. He felt weird. He didn't like that at all. Was she waiting for him to thank her? Makoto took a few steps toward Hiei. He took a few steps back and cringed when he forgot and walked on his ankle.

"Oh! Are you okay?" she asked as she got closer. Hiei frowned.

"Yeah, just my ankle... I'll be okay..." he mumbled. She stopped and looked at her feet. Just then she remembered she had something cooking on the stove. She yelped and rushed to her kitchen. Hiei was taken aback by the suddenness of her departure and curious he followed her.

"Whew!" she sighed. Just in time she retrieved the pot before it boiled over. She noticed Hiei had followed her, hopping on one leg. I guess black must his favorite color, she thought as she looked at him. He wore black pants, black shoes and a black sleeveless T-shirt. Their silence was broken by Hiei's stomach who loudly growled.

"Are you hungry? I have made enough for 2 people... would you like to eat?" asked Makoto.

Hiei felt his stomach grumble again. There was food near and he really was hungry. "Okay..." he said as he sat down with her. Makoto smiled and served him some soup. Hiei took his spoon and took a sip. His eyes grew wide. He took another spoonful then blinked looking down at the soup.

"Is something wrong?" asked Makoto. She took a sip herself, fearful the soup wasn't good, but it was as good as it usually was.

"It's... GOOD!" said Hiei impressed. Kurama had usually cooked for him and after tasting that soup, he could say that Kurama wasn't that good a cook after that. He started to eat the soup up as Makoto giggled at his ravenous hunger. He was finished in no time flat.

"Would you like some more soup?" she asked. Hiei quickly nodded. She took the plate and was pouring some soup when he asked.

"You're that Sailor who helped me this afternoon... aren't you?" He didn't need to uncover his Jagan to feel the power that was hidden in her. "You have the same aura around you..."

She gave him back his plate, surprised. "I didn't know we gave off auras..."

"You don't... usually, but I also remember seeing you, two weeks ago. You seemed to know Kuwabara and Yuusuke..."

She nodded, "We used to go to school together... that was before I got transferred." She ate some of her soup, then paused. "My name is Kino Makoto... and yes, I am the Sailor Senshi who helped you. I am Sailor Jupiter, but I don't remember your name..." she admitted.

Hiei finished his soup before replying. "My name is Hiei..."

"Hajimemashite, Hiei-san." said Makoto. "Would you like to try the main course?"

Hiei nodded. "Just Hiei... It's what everyone calls me..."

Makoto smiled. In that case, you can call me Mako-chan..." she blushed when she put rice in a dish. Why the heck did I say that? she thought. She spooned some curry on the rice.

"Hope you like curry!" Makoto said as she prepared her own plate.

"If it's as good as your soup... it must taste great!" Hiei bit his tongue, why the heck did I say that? Her cooking was good but... He shrugged. It must be the hit I got to the head. It must have scrambled my brains a little. Makoto sat back down blushing as she handed him his curry. He dove right in, and by his pace, she could tell he liked her curry. When he finished, Hiei was full and happy. That sure hit the spot, he thought. He waited and digested as she ate her own plate.

"Do you want some dessert?" she asked when she finished. Hiei hesitated. He was full and if ate even more he doubted he could jump for a while. On the other hand, a voice in the back of his head told him to get dessert. He wouldn't be able to jump very high with his ankle now anyway.

"Sure... What kind of dessert?" Hiei asked.

"Surprise!" she winked and blushed when she realized what she just had done. Hiei blinked the way she winked. It reminded him of Kurama. He also realized she had green eyes too. The girl got up and got some slices off a chocolate cake. Hiei looked at his piece, his mouth watering as he tried to imagine it's taste. He took a piece with his fork and dug in, his eyes opened wide. The cake was so good it was literately melting in his mouth. It tasted of chocolate and orange.

"mmm... Good!" he simply said, but she saw by his expression that he really liked her cake. She looked at him eating it. It really made her feel good when someone appreciated her cooking like he did. She heard a knock at her door. She rose as Hiei finished his piece of chocolate orange cake. She was in the corridor when she felt a rush of wind behind her. She turned back in the kitchen. Hiei was gone. She then heard the knock again and the window of her room open. She ran to her bedroom. Too late, Hiei was gone.

"What a strange boy..." she said softly, puzzled. She stared at where he had disappeared. Lost in her thoughts, she wished he wouldn't have gone so soon. She got called back to reality by the ringing of her doorbell. She blushed and rushed to answer it.