Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul ❯ Remembering ( Chapter 30 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Never fear! Chapter 30 is here! This is the beginning of the angst chapters (or was it the last chapter the beginning? *shrugs*) So, be prepared to face angsty chapters coming up. I owe all my angst chapters to one of my fav. CDs, Evanescence.
This is very long and took me a couple of days to write this... phew! Need Hiei to cuddle with...
Hiei: *pissed* No, you don't!
MNA: YES! I DO!
Botan: MNA doesn't own YYH. Only Gwen, Carnation, Zarie, and Aliana.
MNA: I also don't own "Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys. Though I do own the CD.
Shizuru: So R&R, will ya?
Note - [la la la] - is "Caged Bird". I also advise you to listen to "Taking Over Me" by Evanescence during this chapter. I've got the rest all planned out; inspired by 8 out of the 11 songs by Evanescence. ^_^ I think I listened to them too much...
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Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul
Chapter Thirty
Remembering
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Gwenevere came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her. She wouldn't of dared go out if she was at the temple, in case some hentais walked that way. (*cough*Yusuke and Kuwabara*cough*)
It had been a while since she had been her home. She smiled when Carnation jumped on her bed as she walked in her room. Carnation curled up and fell asleep as Gwen got dressed in a spaghetti strapped black nightgown and brushed her hair.
It had been just a week since Gwen realized she was in love with Hiei. To take her mind off of him, she came back home and went to school. There, she actually concentrated on her work instead of daydreaming.
She looked out the window, half expecting the fire youkai to be sitting on his usual tree branch. But he wasn't there. She opened the window, looking at her tree full of blossoms.
"It stopped raining," she determined as tiny raindrops fell from the blossoms. She looked at the night sky to find a crescent moon beaming down at her.
Gwen climbed into bed, Carnation at her feet. Gwen laid on her side, lost in her thoughts.
'Will he ever love me?' was her last thought before she fell asleep.
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Hiei was there, but invisible to Gwen's eyes. He was there, watching her as she looked at the moon. When he was sure she was asleep, he went to his tree branch.
He still remembered her gift for him, all those years ago. And he still had it. He took off his bandana and looked down at it. It still had her scent, even after all these years.
He couldn't sleep, even if he wanted to. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Even in his dreams, she was there. It was driving him insane! So he did the unbelievable, at least to him.
He went into Gwen's room and stood next to the bed, looking down at her. The moon shone into the room, the moonlight shining on Gwen, the blanket covering the lower half of her body.
A few strands of hair fell on her face, and Hiei, still wondering why he was here, brushed them away. Then, Gwen moved on her back, but continued sleeping.
Hiei's eye twitched; relieved, in a way, that he did not wake her. Carnation awoke, though, and looked straight at him. He glared at her, and she smiled evilly.
~Wake her up and I will kill you on the spot, neko,~ Hiei growled telepathically.
Gwen's inner self stared hard at him, but her tail twitched. ~Fine, but I'll leave you two lovebirds alone.~ With that, she quickly left the room.
He stood there for almost an hour, he thought, as the grandfather clock downstairs chimed twice. Then, all of a sudden, as if his body couldn't take the pressure, he leaned toward the sleeping hanyou.
'What are you doing, baka!?' he thought to himself. 'What the Hell!?'
But as much as his mind protested, his body didn't listen. He was mere inches away from her face as Gwen slowly opened her eyes.
She looked up to see Hiei right in her face! "Hiei?"
Then in a blink of an eye, he vanished. She sat up, looking around. "Was it a dream?" She looked out the window, seeing a shadow. 'No, it couldn't be!' She jumped out of bed, and ran to the window. "Hiei!" She looked around, disappointed to find nothing at all. "Don't leave..."
She turned away from the window and plopped on the stool in front of her vanity. She put her head in her hands, closing her eyes while releasing a sigh. When she opened her eyes, she looked into the reflection of herself. Then, something caught her eye. She looked at the reflection, seeing Hiei sitting on the windowsill. With some newly found energy, Gwen darted to the window in one simple motion, even without making the stool crash to the floor. She looked out the window once again, but to her surprise, the fire youkai was sitting on his usual branch, eyes closed.
Gwen crawled onto the tree branch, sitting next to him, and felt very uncomfortable. She watched him, and he was uncomfortable as well, but was hiding it better than her. Looking at him, she saw that his bandana was gone. He sat up, opening his eyes. (Have you ever notice there isn't much talking! *gets hit with random objects, even being hit by Puu* OW! Okay! Okay! @_@)
'Are you this weak!?' Hiei asked himself. 'To actually care for a weak hanyou?' He subconsciously scowled, but it showed on his face.
Gwen looked at him in shock. 'He never scowls at me... Oh no! What if he read my mind and knows that I love him! So it is true... He doesn't love me and will think I'm weak...' With that on her mind, she felt tears coming. She tried to overpower it, but a couple of renegade droplets slid down her cheeks.
Now it was Hiei's turn to be stunned. 'Why is she crying?' He reached out and wiped a tear away. (That part was from a dream I had a couple of nights ago!) The healing tear fell onto his finger as he looked at it. Gwen opened her eyes and their gazes locked. Gwen was hesitant to move, afraid that Hiei would disappear if she did. There was a breeze and it softly hit the blossoms, making them fall gracefully to the ground. Some of them fell on Gwen's hair, making her look more attractive by the moonlight.
Gwen made a daring move and placed her hand against his cheek. But then, he turned away. 'Even if she did leave the kitsune, she will never go to me. I am the Forbidden Child. I cannot be loved.' Both of their hands fell to their sides, Gwen's eyes on him still. 'But...I cannot break my promise to her.'
She saw him frown, and held his hand, as if that is the only way to comfort him. Hiei felt her hand holding his, and he looked back at her. (Ok, this next part is very unusual, and bear with me on this crazy idea.) She smiled a little, but her gaze fell onto Hiei's Jagan eye. Hiei looked at her puzzled, but his eyes widened as Gwen's closed and she fainted, falling off the tree.
"Hanyou!" he called out, grabbing her hand. Suddenly, as he grabbed onto her, a bright light blinded him. Next thing he realized was that he was falling off the tree also!
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I opened my eyes to find myself lying in snow. "Where am I?" I asked myself as I stood up, looking around as more snow fell softly to the ground. "...Wait a second... This place is...the land of ice! Why am I here?"
Ahead of me were six ice maidens walking to the edge of a cliff, two carrying a bundle each. One stood at the edge of the cliff and began to speak. I walked toward them to see what was happening.
"We are here to send the child over to the seas. He is forbidden in our land...our home," she began, looking toward one of the Koorime holding a bundle. She was on the verge to tears, holding the bundle close to her.
"Hina. You must give him up. He is half fire youkai," the eldest woman said who had spoken earlier.
"But he is also half ice!" Hina shouted at the elder.
"And yet he is a male..." the elder spoke as Hina looked down at the bundle with gentle eyes as the elder continued to speak. "Hina...you really have disgraced us by...mating with a fire youkai... (I'm not sure if she mated with Hiei's daddy. So let's say she did!) We must take your child."
"No!" Hina cried as the elder took the bundle. "He's just a baby! Please! I beg of you!" She ran to the elder, but was held back by two Koorime. She fell to her knees and cried. Tear gems sparkled against the snowy ground as the elder walked to the last Koorime. I bent down and reached for a tear gem. But, my hand went right through it!
'Am I a ghost?' I thought, standing up.
"Ruri, will you do the honors?" the elder asked, handing the Koorime the bundle.
Ruri looked at her crying friend, and hesitantly took the bundle and walked to the edge of the cliff.
"What are you doing!?" I yelled at Ruri, running toward her. "You can't drop a baby off a cliff! Even if he is forbidden!"
But it seemed that they can't hear or see me. So I had to look at this...feeling helpless.
Ruri looked down at the bundle with great sadness. "Gomen nasai, child. But, you must survive. You have to come back to kill me for this. Do not forget." Ruri put a necklace with a white tear gem around the baby's neck. Identical to the ones on the ground!
"That's Hina's tear gem," I said sadly.
The Koorime holding onto the other bundle gave it to Hina. Hina had stopped crying, but I could tell she was trying to hold it back.
"Gomen, Hina," Ruri said, looking back at Hina.
Hina nodded, but kept her gaze at the bundle. "Gomen nasai, Yukina... Gomen nasai..." And she began crying again.
My eyes widened. "Yukina!?" I turned to look at Ruri. "Don't!!" But it was too late, Ruri dropped the bundle...
"No!! Hiei!!" I screamed, falling to my knees, trying to grab the bundle fruitlessly as the world around me turned black.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
Opening my eyes, I saw that I was at the hanyou's former home. Hawk youkai were walking through the hall, and I immediately went on my guard. What was really odd was that one of them walked through me. I stared, wide eyed, at them, before I heard a familiar voice.
"Mommy! Aunt Zarie and Hiei are coming!" a child cried out happily as she ran into a room.
"So, this is a memory of the hanyou's," I figured as I followed behind her.
Aliana stood up, solemn-faced. "Gwenevere, I do not want you to see Hiei ever again." Both the hanyou and I stared at her, shocked.
"But...why, Mommy?" the hanyou asked.
"Last time they visited, Zarie told me more about Hiei. She heard from Hiei himself that he is the Forbidden Child. Of course, I knew his heritage by Zarie, but I dismissed it, never thinking that both you and Hiei will become friends. I don't want you to see him because you might start to have feelings for him."
"But I do have feelings for him," the girl burst out.
This time, her mother was shocked as I smirked. "Nani!? You can't! You're only four years old! Besides, when you're older, you have to love a hawk! Don't you see, Gwenevere? You also are a Forbidden Child. If you mate with a hawk, you won't have to go through much persecution! Your children won't have to go through the same as you did!"
"...I love Hiei, mother! You can't change my mind! I am forbidden, I know that. No male wants to come close to me, not even my kin..." the chibi hawk said as she stared at the floor. The she looked at her mother again. "...But he doesn't. Hiei comes here to see me. I know now...he understands what it's like to be left out..."
"Gwenevere..." Aliana started.
"I hate you!" With that she fled out the door.
I looked at Aliana who stared at the ground. "I only want what's best for you, Gwenevere..."
"Hn," I growled, following the young hanyou.
Her running slowed down to a walk as she walked outside where it had snowed.
"Oi! There's the hanyou brat," a voice called next to her. She glared as the voice became voices. Several male hawks were outside. They seemed young, maybe 150 years old. With them were female youkai, their mates, I imagined.
"Leave me alone, bakas. I'm waiting for someone," the hanyou said, defending herself.
"Oh! The brat's waiting for someone!" One of the hawks shouted. "Who are you waiting for? That fire youkai!?"
I growled, but remembered I couldn't do anything since this is a memory.
"Hai, actually, you asses."
A hawk walked up to her angrily and picked her up by the hair. "So we have a brat with a big mouth, huh? Are you sure you're mature enough to say such mean words, brat?"
"Hai. I seem to think I'm much more mature than any of you, halfwits," she smirked.
"You'll regret that, whelp!" he said throwing the hanyou to a tree. "Nani!?"
I looked to the hanyou, seeing...myself! Only younger...with no Jagan... 'Hai...I remember now...' I thought.
"She is right. You don't have the brains to know what will befall you if you harm her," I heard my younger self say, holding the hanyou.
"So what? Nani? You protecting your 'mate'?" the hawk asked mockingly as his companions laughed.
My younger self growled and appeared in front of him, katana drawn.
"You have no idea who you're talking to," my younger self said, smirking.
"Then who am I talking to?" he laughed.
"The Forbidden Child."
The hawks and their mates gasped and they fled inside.
"Arigatou, Hiei," the chibi my younger self was holding said in a tiny voice.
"Hn." They sat down under a tree, the hanyou in my younger self's lap.
"Hiei...can you keep promises?" she asked, looking up at my younger self.
"Hai."
"Yoroshii... Um... When I'm older...can I be your mate?"
My younger self looked down at her in shock, but I remembered what I had said.
"But I am the Forbidden Child."
"So am I. Please... You're the only one who understands me...the only one who doesn't shun me away."
"...Yoroshii. I will keep this promise..."
"Arigatou. Please wait for me." Then everything around me turned to darkness.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I looked around once the darkness had vanished. I was in a forest. And Hiei was just a couple of feet in front of me, sword drawn.
"Hiei?" I asked, walking toward him. Then he swung his sword...at me! Terrified, I fell backwards on my butt. "What the hell, Hiei!? You almost killed me!"
He wasn't listening as he kept training. I became agitated and yelled, "Aren't you listening to me!?"
No response. I became more angry and let out a heavy sigh.
"Hiei! Where are you? I need to tell you something very important!" a familiar voice shouted.
Hiei stopped and sheathed his katana before walking to the direction of the voice.
I followed, guessing that since he cannot see me or hear me. Also, this time, Hiei has no Jagan eye. Last time, I saw him as a baby...so I took it that I was looking at Hiei's past.
Hiei stopped, looking at a woman who looked so familiar... "What is your 'very important' news, Zarie?" Hiei asked.
I looked at Zarie and she seemed very depressed. "It's...Aliana... She's dead..."
I looked at her shocked. "How did they know my mother?" I asked.
"What about the hanyou?" Hiei questioned.
"She's with her father. I hate how this is going! I wish she would come with us!" Zarie yelled, punching a tree, making it fall.
"Why not?"
"It was Aliana's last request. She asked me to take her to her ningen father if something like this happens. I couldn't refuse her request."
"Hn." Hiei started to walk away.
Then a youkai came running to Zarie, warily gazing at Hiei. "Zarie. The leader wants you to go see him."
Zarie smiled and nodded. The youkai gladly ran off. She turned to Hiei. "Wanna come with me? It's probably another theft."
"Whatever." Both of them walked off to their camp, with me tagging along. When they got there, I was so amazed! There were dozens of huts, and a dozen more thieves.
They stopped at the biggest hut. Zarie turned to Hiei. "Wait for me, okay?"
He didn't say a word, only leaning against the outer wall, arms crossed. Zarie shook her head and walked in. I decided to follow to see what was up.
"Where's the next theft, sir?" Zarie asked, standing before a raccoon youkai, light blue eyes with brown and black hair. I could tell it was a raccoon youkai by the black across his eyes.
"...There isn't a theft taking place yet, Zarie," he said seriously, looking down at her, youkai around him as guards.
"Nani? Then why have you called me?"
"It's about your campanion...Hiei."
"What about him?"
"We know that he is very close to you, but we must reject him."
"Nani!? But he's a great asset to this tribe!" Zarie shouted.
"Hai, but he is very strong. Stronger than you, Zarie. Who knows? He might even kill us if he wants."
"He...would never do such a thing!"
I stood there, stunned beyond belief. Hiei...actually wanting to kill his comrades...?
"Gomen, Zarie. But we must," the leader of the tribe said. "Remember when Hiei killed our comrades when he was younger, only to protect a simple gem?"
Zarie looked to the ground, shaking her head. "NO! I will not take part of this! You are the stupidest bunch of thieves in history of Makai! He never turns on people who gained his trust!"
The youkai, even the leader, became restless. I figured that Zarie had upset them.
"How dare you insult us! We took you in when you were a young fool. Along with your friend, Aliana," the leader said firmly.
"My friend is dead! And I don't want you to leave Hiei behind...wait... I see what's going on...you don't plan to leave Hiei...you plan to kill him!" Zarie yelled. "I see now! Since you never had this many youkai in your hut! They are also armed! You knew I'd bring him along... You thought I would agree with you!"
"That's enough, Zarie."
"No! I won't let you hurt him! He's my friend! He's like a brother to me!"
"I said that's enough, Zarie! We're going to kill him and that's final!" the leader shouted, standing up, sword drawn.
"If you want to kill him, you have to kill me first!" Zarie said, palms outstretched.
"Then so be it. I will not jeopardize my tribe for two thieves!"
The youkai ran at her, but she closed her eyes. Next moment, a wall of fire shot up around Zarie. "Zarie!" I cried out, unable to see her.
Then I saw the blue of her eyes as fireballs shot at a couple of youkai. I looked behind her, seeing a youkai ready to send an arrow to her back. "Zarie! Look out!" I screamed. But I had forgotten that this was part of Hiei's past. The fire wall died down as Zarie fell to her knees.
"You kisamas (bastards)..." Zarie mumbled as she fought to stand up, but was slashed at the side. She sent fire around the youkai so they wouldn't follow her out of the hut as she slowly walked out.
I walked out behind her, eyeing the arrow in her back, having deja vu, seeing a dagger in my mother's back. I shook my head and looked at the scene before me.
"Zarie!" Hiei shouted as she collapsed.
"Hiei...you must go...they're going to kill you..." Zarie muttered, blood trickling down her mouth. "I distracted them...GO! Go...Hiei..." Then she died. I looked at Hiei sadly, as he carried out Zarie's last request. Then the darkness overcame me like before.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I saw that I was in another memory of the hanyou's, seeing the young girl with Aliana, surrounded by several Falcons. Aliana was in her true form and she looked enraged.
"You will not harm my child or me!" she warned.
Blocking as one of the Falcons took a vicious swipe at her, she flew up into the air.
"Hawk's Tornado!" Her hands flurried before her at dizzying speeds, sending the Falcons headfirst into the ground.
She grabbed the hanyou and flew away from them. As her wings unfurled and she lifted off the ground, however, she let out a piercing shriek, falling from the sky. They separated as Aliana hit the ground. The hanyou stood up, running to her mother.
"Mommy! I'm coming!" she yelled.
Aliana stood up weakly and turned her head around slowly, seeing a knife embedded in her lower back. She turned around completely, seeing her daughter running to her. Aliana looked behind herself again and saw the Falcons once again flying toward them.
"Gwenevere! Leave this place now!" Aliana shouted. Suddenly she heard a scream, and whipped her head back in the direction of her daughter. I also looked toward the chibi hawk. A Falcon was holding her, pointing a knife at her neck. The hanyou was holding onto the necklace I gave her and started crying. I growled and clenched my fists. Aliana stood there, shocked for only an instant before being overcome by pure hatred.
"Leave my child out of this, you cowardly kisama!!"
Aliana levitated mere inches off the ground, eyes burning with anger. She flew at the Falcon holding her daughter. 'Just a couple more inches...' I read her thought as golden youki surrounded her.
Then I saw another dagger pierce her back. She gazed behind her to see the Falcons whooping and leaping, cawing with triumph. She saw why they were celebrating...her blood was gushing from the wound as her breathing was quickly becoming labored. She struggled to turn back to her distraught daughter.
"Gwenevere...Mommy will always love you..." Aliana managed to choke out to the hanyou, falling to her death.
"MOMMY! NO!" she screamed. "DON'T LEAVE!"
"Shut up, halfling!" the Falcon ordered sharply, and threw her on the ground, headfirst.
I stood there, stunned. "So that was how Aliana died."
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I was at the edge of a cliff, Hiei was sitting down. It seemed that Hiei was watching the sunset, but he was looking at his mother's hiruseiki stone.
Then Hiei whipped around, katana drawn. A huge green youkai was standing before us. I wasn't even going to scream since I knew I was in another memory. Hiei fought with it, and the youkai tried to slash at his neck, narrowly missing. But it cut the cord holding the tear gem and that had angered Hiei. He instantly killed the youkai and looked over the cliff, seeing that his treasure was gone in the river below...
Now...I'm at the land of ice once again. I could tell by the snowy ground and its constant light snowfall. The thing that surprise me was that Hiei was here...and I could tell by the bandana, that he had acquired his Jagan eye from the time he lost his gem until now.
He looked around, seeing the village as a ghost town. I looked around. Hai... They were afraid that a male had come to their home. He stopped at a certain home and knocked at the door. I was surprised yet again as Ruri opened it.
"May I help you...?" she asked warily.
"Can I see the Koorime named Hina?" he requested.
She looked at him sadly and nodded, leaving her home and leading him to the edge of the village. I was confused. Was Hina living so far from her friends because of her disgrace? But then I stared at the grave before us. "Hina" was engraved on the stone.
"She died a long time ago. We assumed it was from a broken heart...giving up her son..." Ruri said, saddened. "She had a daughter along with her son. Her name's Yukina, and she told Yukina about her twin on her deathbed... Yukina left the land of ice years ago..."
Hiei gazed at the grave and walked away. As Ruri looked on, she gasped.
"Hiei! Hina's son!" she called out, running toward Hiei. She fell to her knees and cried. "Please take my life...I am responsible for your rejection of your homeland..."
But Hiei kept walking. I looked at him. "Hiei..." Everything went black, but then I saw flashes of my past...of my forgotten past...I started remembering...but I couldn't take it all at once...
"No! Please...! No more!" I cried, holding my head. But they just kept coming...
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I was at the hanyou's home, staring down at her. She was smiling, but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She was cleaning when her ningen father came into the room with some ningens.
"Make dinner, girl," her father ordered.
"I'm cleaning like you asked, daddy. I can't cook if I'm cleaning," she replied with a tiny smile.
"I said make dinner, so you do as I say!"
"But I am..."
Her father walked up to her and slapped her hard. She fell easily to the floor, dropping the things in her hands.
She looked up at him with sad eyes, but didn't do anything at all.
"Oi, Donawo! We're hungry!" the ningen behind him complained.
"Go ahead. I have to punish my...daughter," the hanyou's father said, spitting out the last word hatefully.
"She was a slave for her father..." I said, getting more furious. She never deserved this. She deserved much better...
The ningens left, leaving the hanyou and her father. He grabbed her neck and shook her.
"This is all your fault, whelp! My Aliana...is dead because of you!" he shouted at her, choking her even more.
I growled, but I couldn't do anything. "This is a memory," I reminded myself.
"Gomen...gomen nasai..." she whispered.
He slapped her again, but she didn't scream or anything. "If you weren't born, Aliana would still be here...with me!" He punched her in the abdomen and threw her into the wall, before leaving.
The hanyou weakly stood up, walking to the window. She opened it, looking out into the world.
"I wish I could go out there..." she said in a hoarse voice. Then a small blue bird flew to the her. "Hello, again," she smiled, letting the bird fly to her finger.
The thing that the hanyou told me...a radio...or something like that...the thing that voices come out of...was on. It was singing a song as she smiled even more.
[Right now I feel like a bird...
Caged without a key.
Everyone comes to stare at me...
So much joy in reverie...
They don't know how I feel inside...
Through my smile I cry.
They don't know what they do to me...
Keeping me from flying.
That's why I say that
I know why a caged bird sings.
All the joy comes from song.
She's so very beautiful to others...
So why not just set her free?
So she can fly...fly...fly...
Spreading her wings and her song.
Let her fly...fly...fly...
Let the whole world to see.
Hey, hey...oooooo....
She's like a caged bird...
Fly....fly....fly...
oooooo....should've let her fly...
should've let her fly...
should've let her fly...
Spread wings, spread beauty...]
"Gomen, friend. I cannot sing today. But maybe tomorrow...if daddy doesn't hurt my throat again," she said hopefully to the bird, moving her hand to the window. "Sayanora!" she called out as the bird flew away.
Then, suddenly, I am in the hanyou's room. But a chill filled the room as I looked around. There...I saw her...dead... She looked like her present self...why would she do this now? Wasn't she happy?
I knelt in front of her limp form, knife cutting into her chest, blood all over the floor. Her eyes were glazed over...I checked her heartbeat to see if she really was dead, but...I still couldn't touch her. My hand went right through her. Was this a memory? I wasn't sure.
But it could be intended. I clenched my fists and pounded the floor. Why her...?
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Normal POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
Hiei opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around and saw that he was outside. A few feet away from him was Gwen. He stood up walking to her, wondering if she was dead, like the last memory (or intention).
"Onna," he called out, kneeling down and lightly shook her. To his relief, he could touch her and she slowly opened her eyes. She was pretty shaken up by getting her memory back and looked up at Hiei.
"I remember..." she said softly. She looked down at the necklace and fingered it. Then her gaze went back to Hiei. "Why, Hiei? Why did we have such tragic pasts?"
Tears fell as she started shaking again.
"What did you see, onna?" he asked in a firm tone. But she didn't answer and kept crying. "Answer me, onna!" Hiei shook her a bit, but still no response. So he looked through her mind.
After a couple of minutes, he looked down at her.
"Hiei..."
"What, onna?"
"Do you remember our promise?" She looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes.
"Hai, I do."
She then embraced him. Hiei had no idea that would happen. He felt his cloak getting wet, so he assumed that she began crying again. He felt very uncomfortable and didn't know what to do. Push her away or hug her back. He tried pushing Gwen away, but she had a tight grip on him. So...the only thing to get her off of him was hugging her back.
He was very tense as he slowly wrapped his arms around her. Shortly after that, he heard her soft breathing.
"Hn," he smirked as he picked her up, jumping to his tree branch to enter Gwen's room.
He set her down and was about to leave, but he felt something grab his sleeve. He turned around, seeing Gwen looking up at him sleepily.
"Don't leave..." Gwen said softly with pleading eyes. Hiei rolled his eyes, but climbed onto the bed. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, but relaxed as she turned around, snuggling into his chest. They both fell asleep as Carnation watched it all happily. She stood by the door, her tail twitching away like this was the most exciting thing on the face of all three worlds put together. She smiled and slyly walked in the room, jumping onto the bed and curling up at the foot of the bed. They were not aware that someone, or something, was watching them.
"So...the Forbidden Children have fallen in love with each other..." the voice said darkly, laughing evilly as her plan was beginning to unfold...
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I feel so proud of myself! My editor, Ran, emailed me when sending this chapter back, saying that I have improved over the course of this story! She said I write like a 17 year old! And I'm only 14!
MNA: The birds are out to get me! *looks around* There's gotta be somewhere to hide! *runs behind Kuwabara* There we go! The birds won't ever expected this! They don't even come close to him! (Sorry Kuwa fans! ^_^U)
Yusuke fell to the floor, laughing his ass off.
Kurama: *amused* Why are you afraid of the birds?
Carnation: While she was writing, a bird flew straight into her window. Luckily for her, the window was closed.
Kurama: So...
Carnation: She's afraid of birds who are stupid!
MNA: *still hiding behind Kuwabara* Please Review! I'm starting the next chapter today...maybe...
This is very long and took me a couple of days to write this... phew! Need Hiei to cuddle with...
Hiei: *pissed* No, you don't!
MNA: YES! I DO!
Botan: MNA doesn't own YYH. Only Gwen, Carnation, Zarie, and Aliana.
MNA: I also don't own "Caged Bird" by Alicia Keys. Though I do own the CD.
Shizuru: So R&R, will ya?
Note - [la la la] - is "Caged Bird". I also advise you to listen to "Taking Over Me" by Evanescence during this chapter. I've got the rest all planned out; inspired by 8 out of the 11 songs by Evanescence. ^_^ I think I listened to them too much...
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Two Hearts, Two Minds, One Soul
Chapter Thirty
Remembering
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Gwenevere came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her. She wouldn't of dared go out if she was at the temple, in case some hentais walked that way. (*cough*Yusuke and Kuwabara*cough*)
It had been a while since she had been her home. She smiled when Carnation jumped on her bed as she walked in her room. Carnation curled up and fell asleep as Gwen got dressed in a spaghetti strapped black nightgown and brushed her hair.
It had been just a week since Gwen realized she was in love with Hiei. To take her mind off of him, she came back home and went to school. There, she actually concentrated on her work instead of daydreaming.
She looked out the window, half expecting the fire youkai to be sitting on his usual tree branch. But he wasn't there. She opened the window, looking at her tree full of blossoms.
"It stopped raining," she determined as tiny raindrops fell from the blossoms. She looked at the night sky to find a crescent moon beaming down at her.
Gwen climbed into bed, Carnation at her feet. Gwen laid on her side, lost in her thoughts.
'Will he ever love me?' was her last thought before she fell asleep.
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Hiei was there, but invisible to Gwen's eyes. He was there, watching her as she looked at the moon. When he was sure she was asleep, he went to his tree branch.
He still remembered her gift for him, all those years ago. And he still had it. He took off his bandana and looked down at it. It still had her scent, even after all these years.
He couldn't sleep, even if he wanted to. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Even in his dreams, she was there. It was driving him insane! So he did the unbelievable, at least to him.
He went into Gwen's room and stood next to the bed, looking down at her. The moon shone into the room, the moonlight shining on Gwen, the blanket covering the lower half of her body.
A few strands of hair fell on her face, and Hiei, still wondering why he was here, brushed them away. Then, Gwen moved on her back, but continued sleeping.
Hiei's eye twitched; relieved, in a way, that he did not wake her. Carnation awoke, though, and looked straight at him. He glared at her, and she smiled evilly.
~Wake her up and I will kill you on the spot, neko,~ Hiei growled telepathically.
Gwen's inner self stared hard at him, but her tail twitched. ~Fine, but I'll leave you two lovebirds alone.~ With that, she quickly left the room.
He stood there for almost an hour, he thought, as the grandfather clock downstairs chimed twice. Then, all of a sudden, as if his body couldn't take the pressure, he leaned toward the sleeping hanyou.
'What are you doing, baka!?' he thought to himself. 'What the Hell!?'
But as much as his mind protested, his body didn't listen. He was mere inches away from her face as Gwen slowly opened her eyes.
She looked up to see Hiei right in her face! "Hiei?"
Then in a blink of an eye, he vanished. She sat up, looking around. "Was it a dream?" She looked out the window, seeing a shadow. 'No, it couldn't be!' She jumped out of bed, and ran to the window. "Hiei!" She looked around, disappointed to find nothing at all. "Don't leave..."
She turned away from the window and plopped on the stool in front of her vanity. She put her head in her hands, closing her eyes while releasing a sigh. When she opened her eyes, she looked into the reflection of herself. Then, something caught her eye. She looked at the reflection, seeing Hiei sitting on the windowsill. With some newly found energy, Gwen darted to the window in one simple motion, even without making the stool crash to the floor. She looked out the window once again, but to her surprise, the fire youkai was sitting on his usual branch, eyes closed.
Gwen crawled onto the tree branch, sitting next to him, and felt very uncomfortable. She watched him, and he was uncomfortable as well, but was hiding it better than her. Looking at him, she saw that his bandana was gone. He sat up, opening his eyes. (Have you ever notice there isn't much talking! *gets hit with random objects, even being hit by Puu* OW! Okay! Okay! @_@)
'Are you this weak!?' Hiei asked himself. 'To actually care for a weak hanyou?' He subconsciously scowled, but it showed on his face.
Gwen looked at him in shock. 'He never scowls at me... Oh no! What if he read my mind and knows that I love him! So it is true... He doesn't love me and will think I'm weak...' With that on her mind, she felt tears coming. She tried to overpower it, but a couple of renegade droplets slid down her cheeks.
Now it was Hiei's turn to be stunned. 'Why is she crying?' He reached out and wiped a tear away. (That part was from a dream I had a couple of nights ago!) The healing tear fell onto his finger as he looked at it. Gwen opened her eyes and their gazes locked. Gwen was hesitant to move, afraid that Hiei would disappear if she did. There was a breeze and it softly hit the blossoms, making them fall gracefully to the ground. Some of them fell on Gwen's hair, making her look more attractive by the moonlight.
Gwen made a daring move and placed her hand against his cheek. But then, he turned away. 'Even if she did leave the kitsune, she will never go to me. I am the Forbidden Child. I cannot be loved.' Both of their hands fell to their sides, Gwen's eyes on him still. 'But...I cannot break my promise to her.'
She saw him frown, and held his hand, as if that is the only way to comfort him. Hiei felt her hand holding his, and he looked back at her. (Ok, this next part is very unusual, and bear with me on this crazy idea.) She smiled a little, but her gaze fell onto Hiei's Jagan eye. Hiei looked at her puzzled, but his eyes widened as Gwen's closed and she fainted, falling off the tree.
"Hanyou!" he called out, grabbing her hand. Suddenly, as he grabbed onto her, a bright light blinded him. Next thing he realized was that he was falling off the tree also!
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I opened my eyes to find myself lying in snow. "Where am I?" I asked myself as I stood up, looking around as more snow fell softly to the ground. "...Wait a second... This place is...the land of ice! Why am I here?"
Ahead of me were six ice maidens walking to the edge of a cliff, two carrying a bundle each. One stood at the edge of the cliff and began to speak. I walked toward them to see what was happening.
"We are here to send the child over to the seas. He is forbidden in our land...our home," she began, looking toward one of the Koorime holding a bundle. She was on the verge to tears, holding the bundle close to her.
"Hina. You must give him up. He is half fire youkai," the eldest woman said who had spoken earlier.
"But he is also half ice!" Hina shouted at the elder.
"And yet he is a male..." the elder spoke as Hina looked down at the bundle with gentle eyes as the elder continued to speak. "Hina...you really have disgraced us by...mating with a fire youkai... (I'm not sure if she mated with Hiei's daddy. So let's say she did!) We must take your child."
"No!" Hina cried as the elder took the bundle. "He's just a baby! Please! I beg of you!" She ran to the elder, but was held back by two Koorime. She fell to her knees and cried. Tear gems sparkled against the snowy ground as the elder walked to the last Koorime. I bent down and reached for a tear gem. But, my hand went right through it!
'Am I a ghost?' I thought, standing up.
"Ruri, will you do the honors?" the elder asked, handing the Koorime the bundle.
Ruri looked at her crying friend, and hesitantly took the bundle and walked to the edge of the cliff.
"What are you doing!?" I yelled at Ruri, running toward her. "You can't drop a baby off a cliff! Even if he is forbidden!"
But it seemed that they can't hear or see me. So I had to look at this...feeling helpless.
Ruri looked down at the bundle with great sadness. "Gomen nasai, child. But, you must survive. You have to come back to kill me for this. Do not forget." Ruri put a necklace with a white tear gem around the baby's neck. Identical to the ones on the ground!
"That's Hina's tear gem," I said sadly.
The Koorime holding onto the other bundle gave it to Hina. Hina had stopped crying, but I could tell she was trying to hold it back.
"Gomen, Hina," Ruri said, looking back at Hina.
Hina nodded, but kept her gaze at the bundle. "Gomen nasai, Yukina... Gomen nasai..." And she began crying again.
My eyes widened. "Yukina!?" I turned to look at Ruri. "Don't!!" But it was too late, Ruri dropped the bundle...
"No!! Hiei!!" I screamed, falling to my knees, trying to grab the bundle fruitlessly as the world around me turned black.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
Opening my eyes, I saw that I was at the hanyou's former home. Hawk youkai were walking through the hall, and I immediately went on my guard. What was really odd was that one of them walked through me. I stared, wide eyed, at them, before I heard a familiar voice.
"Mommy! Aunt Zarie and Hiei are coming!" a child cried out happily as she ran into a room.
"So, this is a memory of the hanyou's," I figured as I followed behind her.
Aliana stood up, solemn-faced. "Gwenevere, I do not want you to see Hiei ever again." Both the hanyou and I stared at her, shocked.
"But...why, Mommy?" the hanyou asked.
"Last time they visited, Zarie told me more about Hiei. She heard from Hiei himself that he is the Forbidden Child. Of course, I knew his heritage by Zarie, but I dismissed it, never thinking that both you and Hiei will become friends. I don't want you to see him because you might start to have feelings for him."
"But I do have feelings for him," the girl burst out.
This time, her mother was shocked as I smirked. "Nani!? You can't! You're only four years old! Besides, when you're older, you have to love a hawk! Don't you see, Gwenevere? You also are a Forbidden Child. If you mate with a hawk, you won't have to go through much persecution! Your children won't have to go through the same as you did!"
"...I love Hiei, mother! You can't change my mind! I am forbidden, I know that. No male wants to come close to me, not even my kin..." the chibi hawk said as she stared at the floor. The she looked at her mother again. "...But he doesn't. Hiei comes here to see me. I know now...he understands what it's like to be left out..."
"Gwenevere..." Aliana started.
"I hate you!" With that she fled out the door.
I looked at Aliana who stared at the ground. "I only want what's best for you, Gwenevere..."
"Hn," I growled, following the young hanyou.
Her running slowed down to a walk as she walked outside where it had snowed.
"Oi! There's the hanyou brat," a voice called next to her. She glared as the voice became voices. Several male hawks were outside. They seemed young, maybe 150 years old. With them were female youkai, their mates, I imagined.
"Leave me alone, bakas. I'm waiting for someone," the hanyou said, defending herself.
"Oh! The brat's waiting for someone!" One of the hawks shouted. "Who are you waiting for? That fire youkai!?"
I growled, but remembered I couldn't do anything since this is a memory.
"Hai, actually, you asses."
A hawk walked up to her angrily and picked her up by the hair. "So we have a brat with a big mouth, huh? Are you sure you're mature enough to say such mean words, brat?"
"Hai. I seem to think I'm much more mature than any of you, halfwits," she smirked.
"You'll regret that, whelp!" he said throwing the hanyou to a tree. "Nani!?"
I looked to the hanyou, seeing...myself! Only younger...with no Jagan... 'Hai...I remember now...' I thought.
"She is right. You don't have the brains to know what will befall you if you harm her," I heard my younger self say, holding the hanyou.
"So what? Nani? You protecting your 'mate'?" the hawk asked mockingly as his companions laughed.
My younger self growled and appeared in front of him, katana drawn.
"You have no idea who you're talking to," my younger self said, smirking.
"Then who am I talking to?" he laughed.
"The Forbidden Child."
The hawks and their mates gasped and they fled inside.
"Arigatou, Hiei," the chibi my younger self was holding said in a tiny voice.
"Hn." They sat down under a tree, the hanyou in my younger self's lap.
"Hiei...can you keep promises?" she asked, looking up at my younger self.
"Hai."
"Yoroshii... Um... When I'm older...can I be your mate?"
My younger self looked down at her in shock, but I remembered what I had said.
"But I am the Forbidden Child."
"So am I. Please... You're the only one who understands me...the only one who doesn't shun me away."
"...Yoroshii. I will keep this promise..."
"Arigatou. Please wait for me." Then everything around me turned to darkness.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I looked around once the darkness had vanished. I was in a forest. And Hiei was just a couple of feet in front of me, sword drawn.
"Hiei?" I asked, walking toward him. Then he swung his sword...at me! Terrified, I fell backwards on my butt. "What the hell, Hiei!? You almost killed me!"
He wasn't listening as he kept training. I became agitated and yelled, "Aren't you listening to me!?"
No response. I became more angry and let out a heavy sigh.
"Hiei! Where are you? I need to tell you something very important!" a familiar voice shouted.
Hiei stopped and sheathed his katana before walking to the direction of the voice.
I followed, guessing that since he cannot see me or hear me. Also, this time, Hiei has no Jagan eye. Last time, I saw him as a baby...so I took it that I was looking at Hiei's past.
Hiei stopped, looking at a woman who looked so familiar... "What is your 'very important' news, Zarie?" Hiei asked.
I looked at Zarie and she seemed very depressed. "It's...Aliana... She's dead..."
I looked at her shocked. "How did they know my mother?" I asked.
"What about the hanyou?" Hiei questioned.
"She's with her father. I hate how this is going! I wish she would come with us!" Zarie yelled, punching a tree, making it fall.
"Why not?"
"It was Aliana's last request. She asked me to take her to her ningen father if something like this happens. I couldn't refuse her request."
"Hn." Hiei started to walk away.
Then a youkai came running to Zarie, warily gazing at Hiei. "Zarie. The leader wants you to go see him."
Zarie smiled and nodded. The youkai gladly ran off. She turned to Hiei. "Wanna come with me? It's probably another theft."
"Whatever." Both of them walked off to their camp, with me tagging along. When they got there, I was so amazed! There were dozens of huts, and a dozen more thieves.
They stopped at the biggest hut. Zarie turned to Hiei. "Wait for me, okay?"
He didn't say a word, only leaning against the outer wall, arms crossed. Zarie shook her head and walked in. I decided to follow to see what was up.
"Where's the next theft, sir?" Zarie asked, standing before a raccoon youkai, light blue eyes with brown and black hair. I could tell it was a raccoon youkai by the black across his eyes.
"...There isn't a theft taking place yet, Zarie," he said seriously, looking down at her, youkai around him as guards.
"Nani? Then why have you called me?"
"It's about your campanion...Hiei."
"What about him?"
"We know that he is very close to you, but we must reject him."
"Nani!? But he's a great asset to this tribe!" Zarie shouted.
"Hai, but he is very strong. Stronger than you, Zarie. Who knows? He might even kill us if he wants."
"He...would never do such a thing!"
I stood there, stunned beyond belief. Hiei...actually wanting to kill his comrades...?
"Gomen, Zarie. But we must," the leader of the tribe said. "Remember when Hiei killed our comrades when he was younger, only to protect a simple gem?"
Zarie looked to the ground, shaking her head. "NO! I will not take part of this! You are the stupidest bunch of thieves in history of Makai! He never turns on people who gained his trust!"
The youkai, even the leader, became restless. I figured that Zarie had upset them.
"How dare you insult us! We took you in when you were a young fool. Along with your friend, Aliana," the leader said firmly.
"My friend is dead! And I don't want you to leave Hiei behind...wait... I see what's going on...you don't plan to leave Hiei...you plan to kill him!" Zarie yelled. "I see now! Since you never had this many youkai in your hut! They are also armed! You knew I'd bring him along... You thought I would agree with you!"
"That's enough, Zarie."
"No! I won't let you hurt him! He's my friend! He's like a brother to me!"
"I said that's enough, Zarie! We're going to kill him and that's final!" the leader shouted, standing up, sword drawn.
"If you want to kill him, you have to kill me first!" Zarie said, palms outstretched.
"Then so be it. I will not jeopardize my tribe for two thieves!"
The youkai ran at her, but she closed her eyes. Next moment, a wall of fire shot up around Zarie. "Zarie!" I cried out, unable to see her.
Then I saw the blue of her eyes as fireballs shot at a couple of youkai. I looked behind her, seeing a youkai ready to send an arrow to her back. "Zarie! Look out!" I screamed. But I had forgotten that this was part of Hiei's past. The fire wall died down as Zarie fell to her knees.
"You kisamas (bastards)..." Zarie mumbled as she fought to stand up, but was slashed at the side. She sent fire around the youkai so they wouldn't follow her out of the hut as she slowly walked out.
I walked out behind her, eyeing the arrow in her back, having deja vu, seeing a dagger in my mother's back. I shook my head and looked at the scene before me.
"Zarie!" Hiei shouted as she collapsed.
"Hiei...you must go...they're going to kill you..." Zarie muttered, blood trickling down her mouth. "I distracted them...GO! Go...Hiei..." Then she died. I looked at Hiei sadly, as he carried out Zarie's last request. Then the darkness overcame me like before.
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I saw that I was in another memory of the hanyou's, seeing the young girl with Aliana, surrounded by several Falcons. Aliana was in her true form and she looked enraged.
"You will not harm my child or me!" she warned.
Blocking as one of the Falcons took a vicious swipe at her, she flew up into the air.
"Hawk's Tornado!" Her hands flurried before her at dizzying speeds, sending the Falcons headfirst into the ground.
She grabbed the hanyou and flew away from them. As her wings unfurled and she lifted off the ground, however, she let out a piercing shriek, falling from the sky. They separated as Aliana hit the ground. The hanyou stood up, running to her mother.
"Mommy! I'm coming!" she yelled.
Aliana stood up weakly and turned her head around slowly, seeing a knife embedded in her lower back. She turned around completely, seeing her daughter running to her. Aliana looked behind herself again and saw the Falcons once again flying toward them.
"Gwenevere! Leave this place now!" Aliana shouted. Suddenly she heard a scream, and whipped her head back in the direction of her daughter. I also looked toward the chibi hawk. A Falcon was holding her, pointing a knife at her neck. The hanyou was holding onto the necklace I gave her and started crying. I growled and clenched my fists. Aliana stood there, shocked for only an instant before being overcome by pure hatred.
"Leave my child out of this, you cowardly kisama!!"
Aliana levitated mere inches off the ground, eyes burning with anger. She flew at the Falcon holding her daughter. 'Just a couple more inches...' I read her thought as golden youki surrounded her.
Then I saw another dagger pierce her back. She gazed behind her to see the Falcons whooping and leaping, cawing with triumph. She saw why they were celebrating...her blood was gushing from the wound as her breathing was quickly becoming labored. She struggled to turn back to her distraught daughter.
"Gwenevere...Mommy will always love you..." Aliana managed to choke out to the hanyou, falling to her death.
"MOMMY! NO!" she screamed. "DON'T LEAVE!"
"Shut up, halfling!" the Falcon ordered sharply, and threw her on the ground, headfirst.
I stood there, stunned. "So that was how Aliana died."
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Gwen's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I was at the edge of a cliff, Hiei was sitting down. It seemed that Hiei was watching the sunset, but he was looking at his mother's hiruseiki stone.
Then Hiei whipped around, katana drawn. A huge green youkai was standing before us. I wasn't even going to scream since I knew I was in another memory. Hiei fought with it, and the youkai tried to slash at his neck, narrowly missing. But it cut the cord holding the tear gem and that had angered Hiei. He instantly killed the youkai and looked over the cliff, seeing that his treasure was gone in the river below...
Now...I'm at the land of ice once again. I could tell by the snowy ground and its constant light snowfall. The thing that surprise me was that Hiei was here...and I could tell by the bandana, that he had acquired his Jagan eye from the time he lost his gem until now.
He looked around, seeing the village as a ghost town. I looked around. Hai... They were afraid that a male had come to their home. He stopped at a certain home and knocked at the door. I was surprised yet again as Ruri opened it.
"May I help you...?" she asked warily.
"Can I see the Koorime named Hina?" he requested.
She looked at him sadly and nodded, leaving her home and leading him to the edge of the village. I was confused. Was Hina living so far from her friends because of her disgrace? But then I stared at the grave before us. "Hina" was engraved on the stone.
"She died a long time ago. We assumed it was from a broken heart...giving up her son..." Ruri said, saddened. "She had a daughter along with her son. Her name's Yukina, and she told Yukina about her twin on her deathbed... Yukina left the land of ice years ago..."
Hiei gazed at the grave and walked away. As Ruri looked on, she gasped.
"Hiei! Hina's son!" she called out, running toward Hiei. She fell to her knees and cried. "Please take my life...I am responsible for your rejection of your homeland..."
But Hiei kept walking. I looked at him. "Hiei..." Everything went black, but then I saw flashes of my past...of my forgotten past...I started remembering...but I couldn't take it all at once...
"No! Please...! No more!" I cried, holding my head. But they just kept coming...
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Hiei's POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I was at the hanyou's home, staring down at her. She was smiling, but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She was cleaning when her ningen father came into the room with some ningens.
"Make dinner, girl," her father ordered.
"I'm cleaning like you asked, daddy. I can't cook if I'm cleaning," she replied with a tiny smile.
"I said make dinner, so you do as I say!"
"But I am..."
Her father walked up to her and slapped her hard. She fell easily to the floor, dropping the things in her hands.
She looked up at him with sad eyes, but didn't do anything at all.
"Oi, Donawo! We're hungry!" the ningen behind him complained.
"Go ahead. I have to punish my...daughter," the hanyou's father said, spitting out the last word hatefully.
"She was a slave for her father..." I said, getting more furious. She never deserved this. She deserved much better...
The ningens left, leaving the hanyou and her father. He grabbed her neck and shook her.
"This is all your fault, whelp! My Aliana...is dead because of you!" he shouted at her, choking her even more.
I growled, but I couldn't do anything. "This is a memory," I reminded myself.
"Gomen...gomen nasai..." she whispered.
He slapped her again, but she didn't scream or anything. "If you weren't born, Aliana would still be here...with me!" He punched her in the abdomen and threw her into the wall, before leaving.
The hanyou weakly stood up, walking to the window. She opened it, looking out into the world.
"I wish I could go out there..." she said in a hoarse voice. Then a small blue bird flew to the her. "Hello, again," she smiled, letting the bird fly to her finger.
The thing that the hanyou told me...a radio...or something like that...the thing that voices come out of...was on. It was singing a song as she smiled even more.
[Right now I feel like a bird...
Caged without a key.
Everyone comes to stare at me...
So much joy in reverie...
They don't know how I feel inside...
Through my smile I cry.
They don't know what they do to me...
Keeping me from flying.
That's why I say that
I know why a caged bird sings.
All the joy comes from song.
She's so very beautiful to others...
So why not just set her free?
So she can fly...fly...fly...
Spreading her wings and her song.
Let her fly...fly...fly...
Let the whole world to see.
Hey, hey...oooooo....
She's like a caged bird...
Fly....fly....fly...
oooooo....should've let her fly...
should've let her fly...
should've let her fly...
Spread wings, spread beauty...]
"Gomen, friend. I cannot sing today. But maybe tomorrow...if daddy doesn't hurt my throat again," she said hopefully to the bird, moving her hand to the window. "Sayanora!" she called out as the bird flew away.
Then, suddenly, I am in the hanyou's room. But a chill filled the room as I looked around. There...I saw her...dead... She looked like her present self...why would she do this now? Wasn't she happy?
I knelt in front of her limp form, knife cutting into her chest, blood all over the floor. Her eyes were glazed over...I checked her heartbeat to see if she really was dead, but...I still couldn't touch her. My hand went right through her. Was this a memory? I wasn't sure.
But it could be intended. I clenched my fists and pounded the floor. Why her...?
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^Normal POV^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
Hiei opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around and saw that he was outside. A few feet away from him was Gwen. He stood up walking to her, wondering if she was dead, like the last memory (or intention).
"Onna," he called out, kneeling down and lightly shook her. To his relief, he could touch her and she slowly opened her eyes. She was pretty shaken up by getting her memory back and looked up at Hiei.
"I remember..." she said softly. She looked down at the necklace and fingered it. Then her gaze went back to Hiei. "Why, Hiei? Why did we have such tragic pasts?"
Tears fell as she started shaking again.
"What did you see, onna?" he asked in a firm tone. But she didn't answer and kept crying. "Answer me, onna!" Hiei shook her a bit, but still no response. So he looked through her mind.
After a couple of minutes, he looked down at her.
"Hiei..."
"What, onna?"
"Do you remember our promise?" She looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes.
"Hai, I do."
She then embraced him. Hiei had no idea that would happen. He felt his cloak getting wet, so he assumed that she began crying again. He felt very uncomfortable and didn't know what to do. Push her away or hug her back. He tried pushing Gwen away, but she had a tight grip on him. So...the only thing to get her off of him was hugging her back.
He was very tense as he slowly wrapped his arms around her. Shortly after that, he heard her soft breathing.
"Hn," he smirked as he picked her up, jumping to his tree branch to enter Gwen's room.
He set her down and was about to leave, but he felt something grab his sleeve. He turned around, seeing Gwen looking up at him sleepily.
"Don't leave..." Gwen said softly with pleading eyes. Hiei rolled his eyes, but climbed onto the bed. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, but relaxed as she turned around, snuggling into his chest. They both fell asleep as Carnation watched it all happily. She stood by the door, her tail twitching away like this was the most exciting thing on the face of all three worlds put together. She smiled and slyly walked in the room, jumping onto the bed and curling up at the foot of the bed. They were not aware that someone, or something, was watching them.
"So...the Forbidden Children have fallen in love with each other..." the voice said darkly, laughing evilly as her plan was beginning to unfold...
^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^o^
I feel so proud of myself! My editor, Ran, emailed me when sending this chapter back, saying that I have improved over the course of this story! She said I write like a 17 year old! And I'm only 14!
MNA: The birds are out to get me! *looks around* There's gotta be somewhere to hide! *runs behind Kuwabara* There we go! The birds won't ever expected this! They don't even come close to him! (Sorry Kuwa fans! ^_^U)
Yusuke fell to the floor, laughing his ass off.
Kurama: *amused* Why are you afraid of the birds?
Carnation: While she was writing, a bird flew straight into her window. Luckily for her, the window was closed.
Kurama: So...
Carnation: She's afraid of birds who are stupid!
MNA: *still hiding behind Kuwabara* Please Review! I'm starting the next chapter today...maybe...