Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The youkai and you by me, Kita! ❯ Truth ( Chapter 4 )

a.n./ *sweatdrop* ok, from now on this point of view will simply be known as

_3rd_-_P_O_V_

a.n. continued/ and refers to seeing things from, let's just say, the author's point of view *grins* I am now kami!!! Muhahahaha-*gets smote by a sudden thunderbolt from the sky*……..@.@ (swirly-eyed again)….…oro…..*twitches from the electricity* back to the fic ^-^;;)

_3rd_-_P_O_V_

Botan suddenly held the phone about six inches away from her ear. The four occupants of the room sweatdropped as they heard the female voice yell loudly, then suddenly there was nothing but a dial tone.

"Well-" said Yusuke after a moment. "I think we know where Hiei is." Kurama nods.

"Yes." The redheaded fox stated. "There can be no question, since the girl reacted in such a way."

"Well-" Koenma sighed, his pacifier drooping. "You'd better go and get him, Yusuke. I had no idea someone would attack Hiei while he was being transferred to spirit jail." The spirit detective walks out of the room, annoyed and grumbling.

"Koenma." Kurama asks in his soft alto voice. The toddler-sized ruler of Reikai looks up.

"Yes, what is it, Kurama?"

"Might I accompany Yusuke on this mission? Whoever was able to overpower Hiei so easily must be a fierce opponent." Koenma nods, sinking into his big chair.

"Alright, Kurama. But I'll be keeping an eye on you. You're still under punishment for breaking into the King's Vault, after all." The kitsune smiles (a.n./ in his own little mysterious, almost rebellious way ^-^).

"Very well. Excuse me." And the youko just walked out of the room, without even a glance back.

"Do you think they'll get through the portal in one piece, Koenma-sama?" Botan asks, worried. Koenma nods.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Yusuke and Kurama are both humans . . . physically anyway. And since we can't get the combination for the portal ourselves, they've got to go." He sighs, sucking furiously on his pacifier. "And besides . . . if anyone sees THEM, they'll just assume they're foreign exchange students from Japan. The people of Chuokai have no idea that there are three others worlds besides their own (a.n/ yay! I made up a word! ^-^ anyways, `chuokai' is the name of our world in this little fic (it means `middle world', the other three worlds being Reikai (spirit world), Makai (demon world) and Ningenkai (human world) ^-^). They'll be fine."

_Y_O_U_R_-_P_O_V_-_A_G_A_I_N_

You tromp down the stairs, wanting to . . . just think.

You fall on the futon/couch face-down, burying your face in the soft cushions, attempting to sort things out . . .

Let's see . . . this guy . . . said he was a . . . demon . . . was that it? Obviously, he's something different than you are . . . that fire of his makes it sort of hard for him to be human, at least . . . what's going on? That girl that called . . . she seemed to know that there was a black fire shooting up from your forest/backyard . . . but . . . how'd she get your phone number . . . how'd she know your name . . . this is WAY too freaky . . . what the heck's going on . . . and that third eye . . . you shiver at the thought of it . . . it felt like you were being sucked in . . . you couldn't move . . . couldn't think . . . you start to wonder what his life was like growing up . . . he seems so . . . so . . . you try to think of the right word to describe it . . . distrustful . . . no, that's not right . . . is it . . . fear? You stop for a moment, digging deeper into the idea . . . is he . . . afraid? . . . but . . . what could frighten HIM . . . he must be a pretty good fighter . . . to be able to take a two-on-one fight . . . with two DEMONS, at least . . . your brow furrows as you think. It's too stuffy in here . . . you've got to go . . . somewhere. Anywhere . . . just as long as it's . . . away . . .

You get up, grabbing your jacket from its place over a chair and walk out the door, taking in the briskness of the early spring weather. A cool breeze floats by, and you put a hand up to keep some wispy strands of hair out of your eyes. You stand there, just taking in the white spots of snow. . . and the spots where there's just grass. Deciding to go for a walk, you start to head toward the road . . . but . . . you find yourself wandering back to a little wooded area by your house. It's like a little strip/grove of trees around a stream . . . completely separate from the woods in the back that you ran from earlier. You can still see the road and buildings from inside the thin patch of trees. You smile a little when you spot the tree house you tried to build (with your parents' help) when you were younger . . . the wood broken and rotting, hanging limply off the living trees . . . then frown, thinking how many bugs you let in the three trees from the nails put in to support it . . . you change direction, and sit down on the swing. You start to push, rocking back and forth gently on the swing . . . which is yet another man-made device attached to the sturdy tree branch above . . .

You sigh, getting up after a while, bored of just swinging in silence. You turn back in the direction of the tree house, instead making your way down to cross the shallow stream. You step on a few rocks ever so carefully, making sure you don't touch the water. A few strides later, you're now on top of the opposite bank, bending down slightly to avoid the pine branches that are hanging over the little clearing. You survey the little spot . . . your spot. There are dried pine needles covering the ground, hiding the dirt . . . and some branches hanging down, blocking the patch of grass behind it and keeping the little niche hidden from foreign eyes.

You sigh as you sit down, cross-legged, on the soft, organic, cushion. Closing your eyes, you decide to `pull a yoga' and rest the back of your hands on your knees, spreading the fingers out. No one's here to see you, anyway . . .

I_N_T_O_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S----

I watched the ningen cross the stream carefully, taking time to avoid the shallow water. My eyes never strayed from her as she climbed up the bank, and sat down in the small clearing that was to my right. I was resting on a tree branch, my back against the trunk and my right arm resting on my knee. My left leg was straight out, lying on the branch, while my right one was bent, propping up my wrist. Hn; I scoffed to myself, taking my gaze from her to between the pine branches and into the blue sky. My outer vision faded away as I thought . . . she hadn't been terrified of me when she found out I was a demon . . . that was a strange attribute . . . in a ningen, at least . . .

_O_U_T_-_O_F_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S----

Suddenly, your thoughts turn to Hiei. Suddenly, as in you had been thinking of your math homework, then he just popped into your head. Actually . . . you felt as though . . . you weren't really thinking them. They were just images . . . playing back . . . like a film . . .

At first, you saw yourself (not from your point of view, you actually SAW yourself, which was really kind of unnerving . . .) running in fear from him, glancing back, terrified . . . but he appeared in front of you, taking your arm . . . saying something . . . you couldn't hear . . . you saw yourself struggle, panic flashing in your eyes as he instantly released you and let you run away. Then you watched him, staring after you with some strange look on his face . . . it almost seemed . . . sad . . . broken . . . like he was lost . . . like he had nothing to keep himself from just fading away . . .

NO! You think in response, trying to change the images, forcing them out of your mind. Surprised at the resistance, you persisted, changing the awful picture to a blurry memory. Now it tried to pull away to the back of your mind, but you held firm, wanting to blot that horrible vision from every part of you . . . and . . . gradually . . . you began to change it.

You saw yourself turning back around, and seeing the look on his face. You ran back to him, but he began to back away, not meeting your eyes. You realized he was about to disappear, but you screamed in your mind for him to stay . . . not to . . . not to leave . . .

Amazingly, he hesitated. In that moment you barrel into him, wrapping your arms around his neck, bending slightly because he's so short . . . (a.n./ 0.0……..can you imagine that? *tries to hold back giggles and gets whacked on the head by some reader's computer monitor*………..@.@…….oro…...) He's stiff under your arms, and you whisper, brokenly, to him.

" . . . I won't leave . . . whatever happens . . ." There is nothing but silence for a few moments, and you begin to feel foolish . . . then . . . slowly . . . tentatively . . . you feel his arms come up to encircle you . . .

"Hiei . . ." You whisper, relieved that he's trusting you . . .

Then, suddenly, you're thrown on your back, the mental image disappearing before your eyes. Slightly out of breath . . . you look up, focusing dazed eyes on the attacker's angry red ones. Your own widen when you recognize him, and you find yourself stumbling out his name in confusion.

"H-hiei?" You begin to lose yourself in those crimson depths, searching for an answer . . . then; they fade to black . . . as oblivion takes you . . .

I_N_T_O_-_H_I_E_I_'_S_-_T_H_O_U_G_H_T_S----

I stared down at the now passed-out ningen girl below me, my hands shaking in anger and . . . something else . . . I shook my head, bringing my thoughts back to the matter at hand. She had seen my thoughts! How in the name of kami had she seen my thoughts?!? My left hand went up to the cloth around my head, touching the Jagan. I was surprised when I found it was warm . . . I must have used it recently. Things became clear to me in that instant. The ningen must have been meditating, her mind relaxed and thinking about nothing important (a.n/ haHA! take that, geometry homework!!! *smiles evilly* ^-^) . . . and I had been thinking of her. I knew full well that people could tell when you were thinking of them, but . . . I had never even considered she could see my weakness . . . a foolish, irrational fear . . . but when . . . I had tried to pull away, she had screamed for me not to leave . . . and, being the weak fool that I was, I had hesitated. When she embraced me, I felt as though I was trapped . . . what she had said to me . . . had she meant it? The foolish thought flitted into my mind. No! Of course she hadn't meant it . . . but . . . in that one moment . . . I had let my baka side take over. I . . . I had . . . held her . . .

I growled in a low tone, tightening my grip on the sheathed katana in my right hand. I had made the right decision . . . hadn't I? It was better . . . better for her not to get close to me . . . she caused too much confusion. I remembered exactly how I had hit her . . . three lightning-fast blows to the gut, and one, though slightly softer, on the head . . . so she would pass out.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Kurama until he was right behind me. I stiffened, recognizing his ki, and turned to the fox. At first his gaze was on the collapsed girl on the ground, but then the green stare slowly shifted to me.

"Hiei . . . " my friend began, shaking his head while walking straight past me to pick up the girl. I glared at him coldly when he met my eyes again, not looking down at the unconscious ningen in his arms. He sighed and called out, his calm voice just loud enough for the sound to carry.

"Yusuke. I've found him."

_3rd_-_P_O_V_

To say the least, the spirit detective was surprised when he came running over, finding an uncharacteristically somber Kurama and an obviously greatly irritated Hiei. What was even more confusing was the fact that Kurama had an unconscious girl in his arms. Before he could even ask, the fox explained, in a dismally resigned tone of voice.

"Hiei attacked her. I think it best that we get back to Reikai and hand him over to Koenma. As for the girl . . . we'll bring her along. I would hate to leave her here, defenseless and vulnerable, for anyone to find." The black-haired boy nodded quickly, assenting, and Kurama began walking back to the forest . . . where the silvery portal to Reikai lay. Yusuke dropped back to walk beside Hiei. After a while of walking, he spoke up to the half-koorime.

"So . . . Hiei. What's the deal?"

"Hn. What are you talking about." Yusuke rolled his eyes, then turned them back on the fire demon.

"That girl . . . I thought you had an honor code. Does it call to hit someone that's defenseless?" The short youkai looked away with his characteristic `hn.' Yusuke continued.

"Well . . . I know you're an intense kind of guy . . . but . . . jeez. I never thought you'd stoop THIS low." Red eyes focused on the detective, narrowed in annoyance.

"What are you talking about, ningen." The detective's eyes widened as he began to realize that Hiei had absolutely NO IDEA what he was referring to, and he leaned down to the short guy's face.

"You mean . . . you WEREN'T going to . . .?" Still annoyed, Hiei voiced his irritation at not knowing what the heck the spirit detective was referring to.

"What are you running on about, baka." But Yusuke had straightened, looking only at the path in front of him, seeming to be in a daze. This didn't help Hiei's now simmering temper. The fire demon fought the angry urge to get out his katana and slice the tantei into numerous gory pieces . . .

_Y_O_U_R_-_P_O_V_-_A_G_A_I_N_

You wake with a slight groan, your head throbbing. And your stomach doesn't feel too good, either . . . a damp washcloth softly places itself on your forehead, and your eyes snap open. Then you see him . . . the guy . . . he has long red hair, with two thick sidelocks framing the sides of his face . . . and depthless green eyes. He's smiling gently, almost apologetically, down at you.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake." You prop yourself up on your elbows slowly, looking around the room.

"You are in my house." Your gaze snaps back to him, but you know in a moment that all he did was take care of you. You can't help but trust someone with eyes as gentle as his . . .

"I'm sorry for what Hiei did to you." At the mention of his name, you cast your eyes down and away from his. You hear him sigh, then he catches your chin with his hand, gently leaning forward and pulling your face up so you will look him in the eyes.

"My name is Shuichi, but I would rather you call me Kurama. What is yours?"

"Maki." You say without thinking. He smiles, taking his hand away from under your chin and going back to his original position; sitting on the chair by the bed.

"That's a Japanese name." You look away while answering.

"Yeah, well . . . it's a long story."

"I wouldn't mind hearing it." You glance at him briefly, searching his eyes for a reason. When you find no hidden objective, you sit up and tell Kurama your whole confusing Japanese/American past, hesitantly at first, but soon you find yourself confiding your own personal thoughts and feelings to him . . .

"I see." He looks thoughtful after you've finished your story . . . well . . . your story up until you met Hiei, that is . . . Emerald eyes focus back on you.

"And how exactly did you come to meet Hiei?" You look away again, but can't help but give him an answer.

"I found him in the woods. He was injured. I helped him." He is silent for a moment.

"What happened after that?" You look up at him, surprised he knows that you didn't tell him everything. Still meeting his gaze, you reply.

"Then . . . these two demons came." You look down again, cursing your weakness and embarrassment for running away. "He told me to run. I did. He came back injured. I helped him again. When he woke up . . . he told me he was a demon. I . . . I saw his third eye. Then he left." You pray silently, hoping that Kurama will be satisfied with this answer, and not ask you what happened after THAT. He seems to understand and stops his questions.

"I see. I have been asking a lot of you . . . do YOU, by chance, have any questions?"

"Well . . . I was . . . sort of wondering . . ."

"Yes, Maki?"

You have so many questions buzzing around inside your head and the headache that's started to come back isn't helping matters . . . you take a deep breath, and think of the two things you would like to know above all the rest . . .

That third eye . . . what the heck is it? It isn't the color of his regular eyes . . . and why does he keep it covered all the time . . .

But his past . . . what could have happened to him . . . that he would be so untrusting as he is now? What made him this way . . . so angry and so afraid at the same time . . .

If you want to know about his Jagan, go to `6. Eye'

If, instead, you want to hear about his past, go to `8. Child'

~ E TSUZUKU ^-^ ~