Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Changed Miko ❯ Silent Heartbreak and Admiration ( Chapter 5 )

Kurama and Hiei momentarily forgot to breathe when they saw an exhausted miko sitting in a pile of shopping bags with a very enraged hanyou towering over her. They both knew the girl had power, but she was completely worn out and both worried for her…even if a certain fire demon would rather die a thousand deaths than admit to it.

 

Kurama was just readying himself to jump up and go to her aid when he heard the dog speak. “Oi wench! What are you doing just sitting there? It can't be too comfortable. You take forever to make it up those stairs!”

 

And the fox, with all his grace, almost fell out of the tree.

 

After regaining his foothold, and his composure, Kurama looked at Hiei and then back down to scene unfolding in front of them. They had both been so caught up in the fact that they had actually found the one they were searching for and that she was in close proximity to another demon that they hadn't thought of the simple fact that she might actually know him. And upon seeing what was transpiring on the shrine grounds below them, they would have preferred to rip the hanyou apart.

 

The sight they saw next left puzzled, and impressed, looks on both faces of the observers. They watched on as a very pissed off priestess shouted the word `sit' and forced the hanyou down to the ground.

 

“Bitch. What was that for?” Was the response from the felled half-breed, making Hiei and Kurama growl slightly.

 

In that instant, they learned the stupidity of the dog. The demons took one look at the girl and knew the hanyou was in for it. All signs of tiredness were washed away as pure anger rolled off the girl in waves. Right in front of their eyes, the miko forced the hanyou into a crater in the ground, shaped in his likeness, and stormed into her house.

 

Kurama wasn't one to normally show too many emotions, but the sight in front of him was almost too much. He knew that if it were him on the receiving end of even one `sit' he would have learned to shut his mouth. Now, he was having trouble stifling the chuckle that threatened to break free of his throat.

 

On the branch next to him, Hiei smirked.

 

Seeing the dog demon finally move from his place on the ground and enter the house, Hiei and Kurama flitted through the treetops and found one a little closer to the room with the open window and the light on.

 

Once they were in position by her window, they saw the girl sitting on her bed, a mask of pure sorrow and exhaustion etched into her features. They looked on as she called to the person outside her room to enter and left their immediate field of vision. Water started running and soon the familiar smell of lavender floated out the window, tickling the noses of the nosey demons.

 

As they watched the whole scene unfold before them, both were having trouble not jumping into the room and completely throttling the stupid dog. It was clear that the young woman cared about the half-breed and he wasn't the least bit kind to her. From all they had sensed in her aura, this woman was the purist form they could ever encounter and even though they knew nothing about her other than that, the fact that she would even associate with a hanyou was tantamount to her character. She deserved to at least receive a little kindness from one she obviously cared about and both demons visibly flinched at the sorrow that rolled off her frame in waves as she talked to the dog about someone named Kikyou.

 

Hearing soft words of dismissal fall from her lips, the demons settled farther into the tree to meld with the shadows. They watched as the hanyou stuck his head out of the window, tested the air and bounced down to the ground, heading for the well house.

 

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Kagome leaned against the closed bathroom door. Kami she was tired. Tired from the day and tired of mourning. She knew in her heart that Inuyasha would never see her as anything other than a weak, useless, shard detecting copy. Yet, she had always hoped that on the nights he went to Kikyou, he would remember her warmth when wrapped in the cold arms of the dead.

 

She sighed heavily and shook her head to stop the tears that threatened to fall. `No. I will not cry for him anymore. He has made his choice and I will not let him rule my heart.' With this new resolution in her mind, she stripped out of her clothes and sunk down into her bath.

 

Settling down into the water until it touched her chin, Kagome started washing her body absentmindedly while thinking back to the events that had taken place earlier that day. She smiled to herself once again thinking about the rapid changes that took place in the auras of the demons upon her brief unveiling. Could she have mistaken the flash of attraction? She almost laughed. Of course she had! Not even that baka hanyou could see anything in her that wasn't related to weakness! There was no way possible that youkai of any kind could see anything more.

 

Kagome sat up and washed her hair, then slid back under the water to wash the suds away. She had only been sitting in the tub for about 20 minutes but after the deal with Inuyasha, even her mood for a bath was tarnished. She sighed again as she stood and pulled the plug, draining away the water. Kagome grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body and pulled another one down for her hair.

 

She walked back into her room after cracking the door to ensure he was gone and sat at the window sill. Taking a deep breathe of the now nighttime air, she began to towel dry her hair. “Good thing my family is gone for a week. I would have loved to see them, but I am glad they weren't here when Inuyasha was.” Kagome said out loud to no one but herself. She missed her family and had hoped to see them while she had time off, but new how much her mother and Souta liked Inuyasha. It was better for them if they didn't know what kind of jerk he was.

 

Finding her hair dry enough, Kagome let the damp towel fall from her hands to the floor as she looked out the window at the sky. “Is it really so hard for someone to love me, for me?” She asked the stars as tears, the last for him, coursed down her porcelain cheeks unchecked.

 

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Seeing the hanyou bound away from the girl and towards the well house, Kurama turned to regard Hiei. `Well, now that the dog demon has gone, I am sure the miko will be sleeping soon. It is far too late at night to interrogate her now and she has been through quite a bit tonight as it is. We should leave for now and return tomorrow.'

 

`Hn.'

 

Kurama jumped down from the tree, his feet catching the ground silently. `I am heading for home. I still need to call Yusuke tonight and fill him in on what we have found out so far. I assume that I will see you in the morning?'

 

`Yes. I will meet you here in the morning. I assume that the detective and that baka will be along as well?' Hiei replied.

 

A knowing smile briefly crossed his features, `Yes they will be here. See you in the morning, Hiei.'

 

Hiei just nodded his head in affirmation, closed the mind link and melded into the shadows of the tree.

 

Kurama smirked at his friend's attempt at appearing to leave. Truth be told, he didn't necessarily want to leave yet either, but he needed to get home soon so his mother wouldn't worry. He was also seriously intrigued with the miko and his partner's new found fascination with her.

 

For as long as he had known him, Hiei had always been distant and cold and never liked to be touched. Kurama knew the fire demon had lead a very hard life solely because of what he was and held a deep seeded respect for him in lasting so long in a world that could be so cruel and unforgiving. He had never known Hiei to even have any sort of an attraction to another female, let alone be actively interested in one.

 

Oh, he was good at hiding it and for anyone else, it would have been impossible to know. However, the fox had known the fire apparition for quite some time and had learned a long time ago how to read him. Too say that he was shocked by what he saw in those crimson eyes when the hanyou was so cruel to the girl, would have been a gross understatement. It was a strong sense of hatred for the dog and compassion for the miko, even though it had flashed through his eyes so fast, it left Kurama wondering if he had truly seen it.

 

Now, his suspicions were confirmed. Hiei definitely had some sort of reaction to this young woman that was contradictory to his usual indifference. Kurama just shook his head. He too was having some `feelings' towards the young miko, ones that Youko was just aching to act upon, and briefly wondered if it would come down to confrontation between him and his partner. Kurama sighed heavily and made his way home.

 

Some part of him was well aware of the fact that Kurama knew he hadn't actually left that tree, but the majority didn't really care. Hiei Jaganshi was furious, simply put. He had always been cold and calculating, finding females to be a waste of time for the most part, and human females even more so. He didn't have tendencies of any kind towards males and he simply hadn't found a female that was worthy of his attention.

 

Now, Hiei was no prude and certainly wasn't a complete stranger on the subject of sex; after all, he was a male demon. He had come into his times of heat and simply gone to the Makai and had mindlessly rutted with any semi-willing female youkai. He had never had a `relationship' of any kind, nor had he wanted one, and had never been accused of `making love'. In fact, that concept was one that was foreign to Hiei. He was well aware of the bodies desire to mate but had never thought there to be anything to it other than a way to produce offspring and a relief of tension.

 

Now, the cold and stoic fire apparition was reduced to sitting in a tree outside the window of a human female. A miko at that! He mentally berated himself for such an indiscretion. How was it possible that this woman-child had intrigued him? She hadn't done anything truly spectacular untoward, aside from a brilliant display of power and control.

 

All of his self reprimanding was cut short when he heard a door open and his nose was greeted with that same pleasant scent. He situated himself more comfortably on his branch and peered in through the open window. He didn't have to try too hard to locate the girl for she had just now come into view.

 

Hiei felt his breathe momentarily catch in his throat when the young miko sat at the window sill, wrapped in a towel. Her raven tresses were glimmering in the moonlight, the beads of water resembling diamonds and shone brilliantly against her milky complexion. Her stormy blue eyes swirled and twisted with more emotion than the demon thought possible as she sighed and spoke into the night, her voice sounding sweeter than he had heard it before.

 

`…Kagome…'

 

He watched on as her hands absentmindedly wrung the water from her hair with a towel, mesmerized by her simple, yet studious, actions. He vaguely heard something about the dog demon who had been so cruel earlier, but chose instead to keep his attention on the sight before him.

 

`Why does she entrance me so? She is nothing more than a human!'

 

`But a beautiful and powerful one. She even associates herself with a hanyou! They are regarded almost as coldly as we are!'

 

Hiei mentally growled at his conscience. He knew all of this, but refused to give in to the small amount of hope that presented itself. Yes, she obviously knew of demons and had some sort of feelings towards the cruel hanyou, but he was the Forbidden One. He was never meant to receive love. He was cold and murderous and had a past that was lined in blood. No being had ever seen beyond that. Not even Kurama could completely understand his past, how could one so pure look beyond it?

 

A motion from the window caught his attention once again. He looked back at the girl as the towel she had been drying her hair with slipped from her hand. She once again turned her eyes to the stars, more pain and sadness surging forward in her eyes, steeling them to a beautiful blue-grey.

 

And the fire apparition's heart lurched painfully in his chest as her whimpered question was sent into the night sky.

 

“Is it really so hard for someone to love me, for me?” She asked the stars as tears coursed down her porcelain cheeks unchecked.