Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unbalanced Pendulum ❯ Don't Blink ( Chapter 13 )

Shihiko - I'm always so glad to hear it when I'm able to attract readers who aren't

usually fans of the pairing, topic, genre, or style that I'm writing.

Tbiris - Feel free to ask me specific questions regarding what confuses you. I'd be happy

to explain things to you.

Mistress of the Sand - Thank you and no, I'm not nearly done with this fic yet, trust me.

 

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Unbalanced Pendulum

Chapter 13: Don't Blink

 

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Kurama's POV

 

I had been in a near coma for four days. I slept undisturbed for another day after that as well since Hiei would not release me and I had no honest reason to refuse his…affection. In his arms I rested for several hours before again succumbing to my body's desire for sleep. I could see him, right now, pacing below me. His left hand was brushing against the scabbard hidden beneath his cloak. His right arm swung gently forward and back with each step, the fingers were slightly curled without any muscle tension holding them fisted or straight. The line of his shoulders was upright and rigid. That and the very minute lines at the outside corners of his eyes were sure indicators of his frustration and irritation. I too was upset at my slow recovery. I had been forced to drain my body of its physical energy nearly to death during my struggle to reach Hiei through the spiritual field. Had I drawn from my spirit my recovery would have been much quicker, but I could have also been utterly destroyed beyond anything death could ever inflict upon me. There was also a skittish edge to Hiei's attitude that alluded to a deeper reason for his anger. Two days ago I had been wrapped in his arms and steeped in his presence. My weak mind had been overwhelmed. Now I was thirty feet above him in the arms of the recovering demon forest. Branches and leaves the size of my chest hid me from view. I was able to be more detached up here for I needed this space after that night. My spirit was feeding and through it, my body was being restored. Each breath filled my limbs with powerful energy that sparked and crawled within and along my skin. The energy was flowing in a continuous circuit into me from the trees, into the trees from me, in and out, out and in. I was far enough away to analyze him and forget how attached I was becoming to this grown-up child.

 

Neither because I was tired (though I was) or relaxed, I sighed and shifted my back against the rough bark of the tree trunk. Hiei was approaching. The rustling leaves were telling me so. No, trees don't use words or possess anything near intelligence. They are bellow pets, but I still cared for them and so I learned to notice how they cared for me. If flora were considered to have emotions or language, they would be the changes in their state of being. It is a simple shift between energetic, antagonistic, and apathetic. My spirit appeals to plants because it can sustain them and so they lean towards me as they do the sun. They `like' me. Plants generally grow away from the dark and cold. They don't `like' the dark. Normal animals don't even register on plant radar and so they don't `care.' I had, however, noticed that prolonged exposure to myself and other strongly enchanted creatures does engender in plants a blooming affection for me. With this also comes a minuscule increase in their intelligence. This was the case with this forest. I'd discovered one patch of newly sprouted flowers that actually bobbed of their own accord when stroked like how a cat will curve into a caress. A few branches of the tree I was in at that moment were lightly brushing against me more than the wind should have caused in order to get my attention. I returned the gesture, petting the leaves with the backs of my fingers so as not to tear them then closed my eyes to hold my composure as long is it would last. Hiei appeared on a neighboring branch moments later.

 

He sat uncomfortably for a long moment, looking hard at me. My eyes were closed and my face tilted upwards so I only gave a shallow nod to acknowledge his arrival, hoping he took it as an indication of my exhaustion. He didn't.

 

“What did The First do to me? What happened to you? And why could I kill him?” he growled out. It was clear he wanted answers now.

 

I opened my eyes slowly, waiting for my vision to focus, then rolled my head to face him at an odd sideways angle. I found that in one glance I had fallen in love with the line of his set and angry jaw and I longed to brush my fingers against the clear skin covering it. Lids at not quite full mast and my jaw slack causing my lips to part, I was aware of the picture I was presenting to him. It wasn't seduction, but it was attraction. I could tell he liked my confident softness, the way I would let my guard down not because of trust but because of self-assurance. Oh he liked it, but he rebelled against his attraction. All this I could read in the muscles of his perfectly square jaw. I spoke in a voice that was weary but not of anything, just weary in and of itself.

 

“The First spun his illusions about your mind. It is something all spirits can do if they so wish to learn. I was stolen from this body and imprisoned in a half world, half in this plane and half just drifting. Uh, another dimension that overlaps with this one is what you might call it. These are nothing more than the bending of reality or the manifestation of one's imagination.”

 

“Can you do that?” he asked suspiciously.

 

“Of course. A spirit in its corporeal form is nothing more than the manifestation of a being of one reality in that of another. We have to either create or borrow our physical avatars. Existing as a spirit in a physical world is too taxing on both us and the structure of that world.”

 

“Hn, you mean possess and steal,” he was trying to get a rise out of me to prove that I wasn't as tired as I seemed. I merely shrugged in response.

 

“Yes, it can be called that, though that hardly sounds as pretty.” I smirked and turned more fully to face him so that I was looking at him less out of the corner of my eyes. I was frustrating him with my offhand words. Had I not been trying to deceive Hiei as to the innocence of my actions, I would have teased him about his impatience. As it was he could not know that I read him as well as I did. After a few moments' pause he attempted to break the silence. I held out a hand to stop him. “Why were you able to defeat him? The same reason why The First feared you to begin with, your eye.” I further extended my hand to barely grace the headband under which his jagan lay, lingering for a moment before calmly pulling back. I pretended not to notice the brief lowering of his lids that paralleled my touch.

 

“Explain,” his voice was rougher and breathier than before. The commanding sound was failing him. I wondered curiously whether or not he was even able to say more. As it was, what he asked me to explain was something he should have known without question: the jagan was an all seeing eye. In fact, that was nearly all I knew about it. He was flustered. I was finally beginning to unbalance him.

 

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Hiei's POV

 

I had had to fight with all my will to prevent my jagan eye from opening of its own accord. And now that I was refusing to let it open, it was straining to reach the retreating fingers by urging my body closer to Kurama. It had been many years since the eye rebelled and I was unprepared for the assault. The eye was flooding my body with the urge to be touched and my mind with a sense of terrible loneliness. I forced out “Explain” in a voice that sounded painfully raw to my ears. It was stupid, but if the longwinded fox could be distracted by it then it was worth it. I didn't even hear his words. I just knew he was talking.

 

I panicked when I felt bark sliding against me. I was scooting farther along my branch and closer to the fox. The smaller branches in between our two larger ones were woven together like the threads of bed sheets. They easily supported my weight as my body inched across them. Kurama stopped talking and I could now only hear how hard I was breathing. My left hand brushed up against the cloth of his loose pants then, right after, his thigh through the thin material. There was no doubt to his strength. The flesh didn't give way to my fingers at all. But that wasn't enough, I needed to touch and feel more of him. My knees bumped up against his legs as I moved closer and closer. His clothing was incredibly light to the touch. I imagined it could float away and never touch ground again.

 

My skin crawled; it felt too tight. Waves of invisible shudders traveled out of my gut and down and up my extremities. I couldn't grip him, but I wanted to do just that and pull myself right into his body because I couldn't get close enough from out here. It was maddening and frustrating. My jagan wouldn't stop pulsing because, though any god will know I tried and tried, I couldn't do what it wanted of me. I couldn't take it and finally just gave in, burying my head in his chest concentrating on maintaining any sort of in and out airflow. Then the fire stopped and a cool breath blew against my face.

Kurama was cradling the back of my head with one hand, running his fingers through my hair, and was covering my jagan with his other. I whimpered softly without looking up. The hand on my forehead pushed lightly, tipping my face upwards to which I gave no resistance.

 

“Truly a wonder…” he whispered. Then he kissed me.

 

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Kurama's POV

 

I watched in shock and curiosity as Hiei's aura became erratic and his skin clammed with sweat. Moving closer with no regard for his surroundings, I strengthened the branches between us out of caution. They grew in girth thus pressing tightly against each other. His fingers clambered desperately over my body. His eyes were distracted, unfocused, and permanently cast down. My stomach clenched and I gave him what he wanted, what he needed.

 

I placed a full hand upon the banded eye assuring it of my presence and held his head to me. So many intricacies in one small person, he was a fragile puzzle whose edges didn't always match up. I kissed him lightly with closed lips. Passion was to be calmed not stirred. I was not so the lecher as to take advantage of his vulnerability for if I had wanted, he would have been mine right then. But mine in body only, I needed his heart and mind. When I pulled away he was staring with wide, young eyes up into my face. One of his hands fisted in my tunic, while the other crept tentatively up to touch my lips like a child stroking a museum artifact that fascinates their naive imagination. I remained perfectly still, dragging out the moment and letting him indulge his wonderment.

 

Then his two eyes hardened with suspicion and anxiety. Stepping away from me, he turned in my direction one last time and, without warning, slashed me across the face. “Don't ever touch me again,” he spat. A smirk at my shock, anger, and fear then I was alone in my tree again. Motionless, I let the blood trickle down my right cheek from the four long, shallow cuts inflicted by his nails.

 

Truly an all seeing eye to see inside the bearer's heart and desires. This was all indirectly my fault. I had reawakened the stronger powers of the eye when I opened it to break The First's illusion. My power had imprinted upon the eye. I hadn't meant to do so this time, but the jagan reacted to my touch on impulse. It felt that Hiei wanted me, though he didn't even know it, and exploited those desires. I felt guilty but I was also victorious.

 

I smiled.