Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Dragon’s Promise ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

 

The Jagan open, the dark section of his mind that the dragon resided in opened up to him with ease. Thin tendrils of smoke rose up from the ground with each step he took, but he took no notice as it swirled around his feet and caressed him. This was his mind, and despite the dragon's influence, it would always be his mind.

 

Stepping beyond what appeared to be a fiery threshold, Hiei felt a thick mass of energy assault him. He did not pause, though, knowing that the dragon recognized him immediately, and continued until he stood before a dark, smoke-covered altar. Then, waving his hand, he watched as the intricate design of the dragon became clear to his eyes.

 

“That girl—” the dragon design pulsed in recognition, “—she excited you. Why?”

 

The intricate designed barely rippled, as it shifted along the stone.

 

Thoroughly annoyed with the beast, Hiei allowed the Jagan to flare. The design rippled again, as he snapped, “Answer me, beast.”

 

After a moment, with the Jagan's threat still in place, a chilling voice echoed into the room. `If that is what you desire, Master,' it called, as the smoke surrounding the altar began to rise. The intricate dragon design could be seen swimming within the vortex, but as quickly as it formed, it dissipated, and a lone figure was left sitting patiently upon the cold, dark stone.

 

Gazing upon the womanly form indifferently, Hiei's eyes narrowed in thought. The dragon always chose to take the same form within his mind, and though he had always believed it had to do with his conscious desires, he now realized that that was not the case. The woman sitting before him was taller, certainly, with hair that hit the floor and gleaming red eyes, but otherwise she was the trapped miko in all her naked glory.

 

It was obviously not a coincidence.

 

Though the woman's mouth never opened, the dragon's voice echoed into the room once more. `Tell me, Master, what is it you wish of me?'

 

“The girl,” he quickly reminded the beast. It was odd, he realized, now that he recognized the dragon's chosen form as the miko that Koenma was so concerned over awakening in the Makai. In fact, he was not entirely sure how he knew it was the woman, since he had not gotten a very good look at her, but he knew. The form could belong to no one else.

 

The woman's flaming eyes narrowed, as the dragon's voice hissed, `You are very arrogant, Master, to believe that only you have successfully called upon me, known my strength, and tried to use my power for your own purposes.'

 

Instantly, Hiei scoffed, “That human woman summoned you and survived?”

 

Black fire erupted around the dragon's human form, licking throughout the mass of hair cascading toward the ground and caressing the soft, pale skin that seemed so easy to break. `You may have chained me, Master, but that does not mean I have not been touched by those who lived before your time,' the dragon replied, hissing.

 

The hybrid took a single step forward, the Jagan flashing malevolently underneath his control. “What is this?” he sneered. “The mighty Dragon of the Darkness Flame loyal to a human woman of all things?”

 

The beast did not reply. It did not need to, for Hiei knew that the dragon was loyal to no one but itself. It was a ruthless killer, much like himself, that fed from the foolish souls that it devoured whenever possible. It needed no one, and would have preferred to remain in solitude than be bound to the mortal plane.

 

Dropping the subject, Hiei quickly returned to the question that the dragon had avoided. “The girl must have offered you something,” he stated. “What did she give you in exchange for her life?”

 

With a coy smile, the beast said, `Perhaps she did, perhaps she did not. What does it matter?'

 

“You're not answering the question,” Hiei hissed back. The Jagan immediately ensnared the beast, causing the dragon's womanly form to open her mouth and release a deadly hiss. Clearly, he had the dragon's attention.

 

`No,' the chilling voice replied. `You're simply not asking the right one.'

 

The Jagan pulsed in glee.

 

`Why should I tell you anything about this girl?!' the dragon snarled dangerously. `Why should I explain the reason I let her live? Why, Master, when you can easily find out in the near future?'

 

“And who will give me this information?” Hiei snarled back, “Koenma?”

 

`Koenma is a fool,' the beast snapped.

 

“Then who?” Hiei demanded, taking another step toward the woman upon the altar. The black fire did not scare him, it did not even burn him, as he grasped onto her slender arm and yanked her down to his eye level. “Who?”

 

`The girl.' Long, black fangs revealed themselves as the woman pulled back her lips and snarled in his face. The dragon knew it could not use them on the demon that it was chained to, but oh, how it longed to.

 

Again, Hiei scoffed, shoving the woman away from him. “There is a very high chance that she will not even awaken once her tomb is destroyed. Her soul might have survived the prolonged sleep, but her body is only human.”

 

`You are the fool if you believe that, Master.'

 

Watching the woman shift upon the altar before him, Hiei's mind quickly pulled a part the dragon's sentence and deciphered it. “You,” he said very slowly, finding it hard to believe as he came to his final conclusion. “You know how she managed to seal herself in such a way, don't you?”

 

The woman's red eyes glittered with delight.

 

“You know because you helped put her there, didn't you?”

 

`The well was open—'

 

It took Hiei a moment to realize the beast was speaking about the gateway that the miko used to jump through time.

 

`—yet, she could not bring herself to go home,' the dragon muttered softly. `She had been broken, as she watched her heart tear itself a part with the death of her closest companion. But, like most that have tasted power, she could not accept his death. She could not let him go, because her broken heart refused to believe that the one she loved so much could possibly be gone forever.

 

`Some,' the dragon continued after a pause, `called her insane, as she chose to argue with her companion's elder brother. For you see, he held the gift of life in his hand and could easily strike life back into the dead when compassion filled his heart. But, she argued nonetheless, even when he tried desperately to tell her that her companion's soul was gone. And, oh, how he tried, but she could not be appeased as he explained that her companion's soul had been torn a part by the very jewel she was meant to protect.'

 

The woman upon the altar raised one hand into the air, swirling the smoke that had settled in the air. `Despite the pleas of her living companions, she held onto the hope that she could revive him somehow. So, in secret, she searched for any trace of him, using the Shikon no Tama as her guide, and soon found that a fraction of her lost companion's soul had survived the brutal torture it had been put through. It had changed, grew in an attempt to heal itself, but she knew the feel of her companion's soul and delighted in the thought that he might live again.'

 

Hiei listened, watching the dragon's womanly form closely. Deep in his mind, a part of him could almost see the events that the beast spoke of, and it troubled him. He did not care about the trapped miko's plight, her pain, yet he could clearly see a pair of stunning blue eyes flash behind his eyes. And, he knew, it was the insanity he could see leaking into the corner of those eyes that truly troubled him.

 

`But, her happiness died quickly.' Once more, the dragon paused. `Despite the blind devotion that she felt for her companion, she realized that she could not use the Shikon no Tama to resurrect him as she had originally hoped. That would certainly taint it, throw the world back into chaos, and there would be nothing to stop the mass destruction that would occur. Her soul could not do such a thing, even blinded by devotion and insanity, and she spent days afterward despairing for the loss of her closest companion.

 

`Then, after what seemed like an eternity for her, her broken soul came to a stunning realization. She would not wish on the Shikon no Tama, but she could easily use it to bargain with a higher power in order to find the one that would one day be born with her lost companion's shattered soul.'

 

“Reincarnation?” Hiei scoffed. The woman had to have been insane, believing that the person she sought would be the same as the one she remembered. Especially when it was only a fraction of his original soul.

 

Smoke billowed from the corner of the woman's mouth, as she smiled slightly. `Indeed,' the dragon replied. `She was so far gone that she did not care if his soul was the same or not. She merely wanted to love it, to cherish it, and continue to show it that she was best suited to stand beside it.'

 

Hiei decided it was time to change the subject. Such blind devotion was ridiculous, and it almost made him ill to think about the miko giving such to a dead man. Those beautiful blue eyes in his mind looked insane because of such devotion, and truly, that alone solidified his opinion. The miko had been utterly stupid to give out such loyalty.

 

The dragon waited patiently, as it always did.

 

“How do you know all of this?” he finally asked. And, almost immediately, Hiei realized that it was the wrong question to ask.

 

`How does anyone know anything, Master?' the dragon mocked.

 

“How are you connected to that girl?” Hiei scowled. He had not forgotten his earlier question, knowing that the dragon had been summoned by the miko at some time, and he wanted his answer now. Though, he had a feeling he knew why the dragon allowed the miko to live.

 

The dragon's womanly form finally stopped playing with the smoke billowing from the corner of her mouth, and shifted herself so she was playing with a thin chain around her neck instead. A tiny, pink jewel hung from the end, swinging with each roll of her fingers. Her fiery eyes focused on the hybrid, noticing the way his eyes were drawn to the little jewel, and a giggle filled the silence.

 

“The Shikon no Tama,” Hiei stated. He recognized the pull easily enough, even when he had only heard stories of the legendary jewel. And, as his mind shifted through the dragon's story, the entire situation fell easily into place. “That is the reason you allowed her to live, because she gave you the Shikon no Tama in exchange for sealing her away.”

 

`I was not always this powerful, Master,' the dragon sneered. `And, like mortals, even I can be tempted with that which seems beyond my reach.'

 

“But, that still does not explain why she is reawakening. Did her companion's soul return, or did your seal merely not hold up—?” he went to continue, when the dragon hissed darkly.

 

`Perhaps her companion's soul did return, perhaps it did not. What does it matter to you, Master?' the dragon asked.

 

“Your right,” Hiei smirked. “Why should it matter to me whether the soul has been reincarnated or your spell is breaking due to a flaw?”

 

The woman upon the altar watched, her gleaming red eyes mere slits, as the hybrid turned on his heel and finally walked away. It surprised her that he did not push the matter, since he usually wished to know every last detail, but she would not give up her good fortune.

 

Soon, he would understand. And then, the dragon's debt would be paid.