Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Worthy ❯ Part Two ( Chapter 2 )

Part Two

 

“—Hiei,” she called. “Hiei, wake up!”

 

Slowly, the hybrid opened his eyes. He was confused for a moment, glancing around the small room he found himself within, but he was not given a moment to regain his bearings before Kagome barreled into his chest. “Wha—?”

 

“Oh, thank God!” she cried. “You were whimpering in your sleep, and I wasn't sure where those marks around your neck had come from or the burns. I was so worried! I thought—I thought—!”

 

Reaching up instinctively when he smelled the salt in the air, Hiei wiped at her eyes. His crimson gaze caught sight of one of the burns she was talking about, seared up the outside of his left arm. Yet, strangely, he had not even noticed it when he awoke, and he did not feel it even as he watched it heal over rapidly. And then, slowly, a thought came to his mind, “I was… outside.”

 

Shaking her head, Kagome answered, “Hiei, you've been sitting in the windowsill since you fell asleep. I woke up around midnight to a loud whine, and I've been up ever since. You haven't been outside.”

 

“No,” he told her. “I was outside. At midnight.”

 

“Aren't you listening to me?” she huffed in outrage. Why would she lie? She had spent most of the night worrying about him, trying desperately to wake him or at least calm him down. But, he neither worked, and it had almost been like he had been disconnected from her completely. She had been so frightened, so why would she lie about it? “I told you, I've been up most of the night! You never stepped foot outside of this room!”

 

Blinking, Hiei turned his head to stare out the window. “There was another,” he said softly. “Another demon there.”

 

“Hiei—!”

 

“Sesshoumaru,” Hiei continued. “That was what he called himself.”

 

Kagome froze quite suddenly, pulling away from him. Concern filled her blue eyes, while she frowned at him. Her heart ached a little inside her chest, despite the love that she had developed for him, and she blinked away a new set of tears. “Hiei,” she placed her hand on his knee, “you weren't outside. There was no demon named Sesshoumaru.”

 

“I was outside,” he scowled. “There was a demon named Sesshoumaru. He—” he paused, “—he wished to take you from me.”

 

Blinking, she turned her face toward the ground. Softly, she replied, “You don't remember what I told you about my past, do you?”

 

“You traveled with the half-demon, Inuyasha, and a band of misfits in an effort to recover a stupid little jewel,” he stated. “The half-demon chose to stand by the side of Kikyo's first reincarnation, a girl by the name—” He stopped, feeling her slid her fingers away from his mouth.

 

Sitting back on her heels, she shook her head. “Not them, Hiei. Sesshoumaru. Don't you remember what I told you about him?”

 

“No,” he told her. He did not, it was as simple as that. All he knew was that some strange demon, powerful, had come to him the night before and was named Sesshoumaru. He had tasted the air, felt the rain, and touched the electricity coming from the other demon's blade. How could it not have happened? And, really, that was all that truly bothered him at the moment.

 

“Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's half-brother,” she replied. “He was the one that took me in, and appointed Akina-sama to train me in exchange for watching over his son, Kazuhiko. You don't remember that?”

 

Again, he stated, “No.”

 

“I stayed with them up until the time that I returned to this time,” she sighed. “They became a part of my second family, and everyday I found out something else I adored and admired about them. I loved them, especially Kazuhiko, and I could have easily stayed there forever. But, I soon realized, when a demon attacked Kazuhiko and I, that I had grown to love Sesshoumaru in a different way than I had originally thought—”

 

“—He was the demon that you planned to mate before you met me,” Hiei finished for her. Vaguely, like some distant dream, he remembered that. He did not know why, but even then his heart twisted, a growl wishing to work its way out of his mouth, as he thought of the demon that had been so close to taking what now belonged to him. The demon that might very well come back in order to—

 

“Yes,” she nodded. “Sesshoumaru acknowledged my feelings, I always knew that he did not return them completely, and decided that I would be a fine mate for him. I was delighted with the idea, since I had always thought that I would never find love again after Inuyasha, so I agreed. I thought that maybe, over time, he could come to love me the way I loved him, and he made all the arrangements.

 

“But,” she whimpered, “a demon lord invited to the ceremony decided to take it upon himself to rid the world of the thought, because he felt that the bond was too forbidden. He railed up a large group of demons, none of them weak, and attacked the House of the Moon the night before the ceremony was supposed to take place—”

 

Hiei remained silent, listening.

 

“—They stormed the fortress, coming from everywhere at once, and they somehow managed to kill most of the guards trained by Sesshoumaru's father. I still don't know how they did it, though I always suspected a demon with poison capabilities.” Her eyes misted over in memory. “Soon after they managed to enter the fortress, one of them somehow managed to grab a hold of Kazuhiko. They knew they had a bargaining chip at that moment, and they offered Sesshoumaru the life of his son in exchange for my own.

 

“I was ready to do it. I could not let Kazuhiko die. I could not watch as they tore a part a small child just because I wanted to be happy, but Sesshoumaru stopped me. He told me `no', and then he rushed into battle. The remains of his guard followed after him, while I watched almost uselessly beside Akina-sama, since I had stupidity broken my bow and training sword earlier that week.

 

“He did everything he could. He pressed down upon the enemy with rage, determined to reach his son in time, but nothing he did mattered. The leader recognized that Sesshoumaru was no willing to trade, that he wanted both lives, and had already killed Kazuhiko before Sesshoumaru managed to reach him—” Tears rushed down her face, “—And Sesshoumaru just… just lost it.”

 

Reaching out, Hiei stroked his thumb along her cheek. She was crying again, and he did not like it. Perhaps it would be best if he—

 

“They took advantage of his madness. They forced him to remain in his human state, distracting him from every angle, and it was so hard to watch. I wanted to stand by him, to calm him down, but nothing I could have done would have mattered at that point. They played with him. They cowardly wore him down. They attacked without honor. And then, while I watched, one of them drove a blade through his back and into his heart—”

 

Her tears streamed down in thick paths. Hiei tried his best to wipe them away, feeling his heart twist at the sight of her crying, but there was nothing he could do about them. They just kept coming. They could not be stopped, just like the blade that had driven through Sesshoumaru's back clearly could not have been stopped.

 

“—I saw him fall,” she choked. “He—” she choked again, “—he died, Hiei. Sesshoumaru is dead.”

 

It could not be true, though. Hiei began to shake his head. He had felt the pressure of Sesshoumaru's blade, felt his energy swirling around himself and the shrine. There had to be some logical explanation for it, because the demon simply could not have risen from his grave and came to him in the dead of night! “Kagome, listen to me, Sesshoumaru was—” she cut him off before he could finish.

 

“He's dead, Hiei!” she cried. “Dead, don't you understand? You couldn't have seen him last night, even if you did somehow mysteriously managed to get up and walk out of here while I worried over you half the night! And you can't be in two places at once, so don't say that you saw him!”

 

Crimson eyes narrowing, Hiei's thumb stopped lightly caressing her cheek. He realized that the memory would always be fresh in her mind, he understood that, but the way she shouted at him made his heart nearly freeze. If the demon did return, even reincarnated, would she go to him? Would she leave him?

 

Bringing her hand up when she felt Hiei tense, Kagome blinked up at him. His eyes were so dark suddenly, and she leaned into the leg settled beneath the window. Instinctively she knew what he was thinking about, and she said, “Don't think that way, Hiei.”

 

“Why not?” he snapped. “You clearly still hold affection for that demon, so—”

 

“But,” she replied softly, stopping him from continuing, “Hiei, I love you. I loved Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, too, but I love you here and now. It hurts to think about them, it does, but I know that Inuyasha is happy and Sesshoumaru cannot rise from the dead. And even if they both somehow managed to come back into my life, I wouldn't dream of leaving you. Not ever.”

 

Slowly, his hand rested on her head, as she leaned deep into his knee.

 

“I'll never leave you,” she whispered. “Please, understand that.”

 

Hiei's eyes softened considerably, while he watched the small woman worry over him. His hand began to stroke the top of her head, trying to calm her nerves. He had known she would not leave him—not for Sesshoumaru, and certainly not for Inuyasha. But, for some odd reason, he had to hear it. He had to hear her say it, but most of all, he had to hear her say it before they bound themselves together for all eternity later in the week.

 

“I love you.” Her voice held no lie. She had no reason to lie, even while her exhausted mind, half her night having been spent worrying over him after all, drifted into the sweet embrace of dreams.

 

“Hn,” he muttered. He reached out for the woman, lifting her from the floor, and settled her into his lap. She moaned softly, shifting, before she leaned completely into his embrace.

 

His mind wandered away from the moment, his eyes seeking the window, as he remembered the night before. He did not know how, but that demon had come to him. He had battled Sesshoumaru somehow. It seemed impossible, knowing he was dead, but his senses could not lie to him. Hiei had tasted the water from the sky, heard the wind caress his ears, felt the sizzle of power along his flesh, and most of all, he recognized the release of the Dragon.

 

He knew what he knew. He felt what he felt. There was no denying the truth in his mind, despite the knowledge that it could not have happened, so it was clear that the demon had somehow called out to him from the dead. The demon had come to him, perhaps not in physical form, but in his mind. The demon had battled him, threatened his claim, and, in the end, called him worthy of Kagome's attention.

 

Had that been his intention all along? Had his spirit been protecting Kagome somehow, making sure that she received only the best? How long had his spirit wandered, watching and protecting, while knowing that the small woman would never be in his possession again? And why, after going through all the trouble, had Sesshoumaru decided he was worthy?

 

Hiei could not understand. He realized that Sesshoumaru had drove away all that were not worthy of Kagome in his eyes, yet he, the Forbidden Child, was worthy? Had he come to that conclusion because of his strength, or because his heart had not wished to leave Kagome behind? Because he was desperate enough to still fight off a demon clearly more powerful than himself just to return to her?

 

Glancing down at the small woman resting on him, Hiei shook his head. She looked so fragile, so tired. She clearly needed more rest, and he had merely argued with her until she told him the story of her past once more. Which, in turn, only weakened her further.

 

Sesshoumaru had been correct the first time. He was not worthy of Kagome's affection, yet he could not live without it anymore. He did not deserve her devotion or time, yet he was willing to overlook that detail in favor of keeping her. He was selfish, he knew. Evil, in a way. But, as his hand slowly caressed her exposed skin, he would not have it any other way.

 

He was glad that Kagome chose to give him her love, and that Sesshoumaru's spirit allowed him to have it completely. In their eyes, at least, he was worthy, and that was all he needed in the world.

 

--Fin