Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fluff Forevermore ❯ Miracles Happen ( Chapter 13 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.

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If this is the Afterlife, Hiei thought, it's really boring. You'd think they'd reward you better forgoing to all the trouble of dying. He sighed heavily as he looked around at the blackness that was all he could see. I must have been judged already…I was more of a jerk than I thought.

He started to walk, just to have something to do. There was still nothing around him but darkness, swirling around and around himself, in a restless, endless dance. He looked down and saw that there was no visible ground; it was as if he was walking on air and would fall through the black curtain at any moment. He shivered.

“I've only been dead for a few minutes and I think I'm going to die of boredom! I want to see something!” Hiei said aloud, just to fill in the silence. “Like Kurama…”

He cut himself off in a gasp as an image appeared right in front of him. Kurama stared mournfully at him, a tear running down his cheek. Hiei reached out to touch him, but the picture was already beginning to dim.

“No!” Hiei said loudly, trying frantically to pull it back with force of will. “Come back! This place is boring!”

But the figure didn't pay him any attention. It grew fainter and fainter, until finally it faded away entirely.

Hiei cursed violently, but fell silent quickly when he noticed that the picture had been replaced by something else.

A small light, no larger than the tip of his finger, floating in the gloom. Because of its size, it was impossible to judge the distance. It could have been a hundred yards or a hundred miles or more.

“At least it's something to investigate,” he said to himself, and flitted off.

Or tried to flit.

He couldn't seem to run any faster than half speed.

Hiei sighed. “This sucks,” he muttered. “What is wrong with me?” But there was nothing for it. The light might have led to nothing, but it might also hold something interesting. Besides, it wasn't like he had anything else to do.

Grumbling about all the problems with dying. Hiei began to walk. As he did, he began to think. Memories of Kurama came to mind, and suddenly he forgot boredom for sorrow.

He hadn't really realized until that moment what death meant. He had been unintentionally thinking of it as a vacation, like he could go back in a day or two. But as he looked around him, the definition became undeniably clear. This was permanent. He was going to be staying here forever, alone, in the darkness.

Without Kurama.

Those two words repeated over and over in his mind. Without Kurama. Without Kurama. Without Kurama.

At that point, if a passerby walked past (if there were passerby here) he or she would have seen two dark red, almost black, gems fall from a small figure's face and plink quietly to the invisible floor.

Hiei felt as if he had been walking for hours, and he probably had been. Usually, that would not have been something he would have even noticed. But now he was exhausted.

“Probably because of dying,” he reflected. “Yet another problem.”

It was then that he felt it.

Right in midstride, all of his strength seemed to give out of his limbs. He fell to his knees, and then flat on his back, unable to move. He lay there, fear numbing his mind.

In all his life, with all the injuries he'd suffered, he had never felt anything like that.

He lay for a long time, but how long he didn't know. Eventually, his strength began to return, slowly, and as it did, his fear began to ebb. When he felt strong enough, he pushed himself to his feet and continued toward the ever-growing patch of light.

The same thing happened twice more as he walked, and each time it did, it took longer for his strength to return. He wondered what was happening to him, but then decided that it didn't matter. He was dead. Nothing mattered anymore.

As he drew closer to the light, it got more intense and beautiful in the starkness of…wherever he was. Soon, the unbearable ache in his heart was dulled by a powerful longing to reach that light and, hating the ache, he began to focus solely on the longing, and soon it became an obsession. He didn't know what it was or why it was there, but it had to take him to a place better than here.

Minutes turned to hours as he walked, but no matter how drained he was, he refused to stop, and finally, his determination paid off.

Exhausted beyond all coherent thought, more bone-weary than he had ever been in his life, crawling the last few feet, Hiei Jaganshi walked into the pure, sweet, everlasting light.

“You're all graduating this year, right?” Yusuke asked Harry, trying to keep the fact that he was searching for something to talk about secret.

Harry seized the topic with vigor. “Yeah. We've finish up our N.E.W.Ts—that's Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests—and all that, so now there's nothing left to do but decide what to do after Hogwarts.”

Yusuke fought the urge to glance at the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories as he replied. “And have any of you decided yet?”

Harry sighed heavily. “Most of the others have. As for me—I'm headed back to the Dursleys' until I decide. Enough to make me want to hide out here for the summer.”

Yusuke gave him a sympathetic look. “Do you really hate them that much?”

“Believe me, it's mutual.”

“I'd invite you to stay with me, but my apartment's got only one room…”

“Nah, don't worry. I'll ignore them all summer, they'll ignore me, it's all good.”

Silence fell over them, each concentrating on something in the room very hard to keep their eyes from straying to the stairs. Yusuke, staring out the window, glimpsed Yukina and Kuwabara, under a tree. Even at this distance, he could see that Yukina was lying in Kuwabara's arms, face buried in his chest, while he held her, not even trying to comfort her, knowing that it would only make things worse.

“Yukina's crying again,” he remarked. His voice shook. “Kuwabara looks so helpless…”

“Can you see Ron and Hermione?” Harry asked.

“Not from here.”

Harry nodded. “Probably down with Hagrid.”

That made sense, Yusuke thought, remembering the huge, friendly man he and the rest of the Tentei had visited a couple of times with Harry, Ron and Hermione. He seemed to be the one the three went to in bad times.

“You know, Hermione's taking this pretty hard,” Harry was saying. “She felt like she was finally starting to get close to Hiei, and then—” He seemed to choke, and he paused, until he regained control. Then his sudden curse made Yusuke jump. “Damit! Even after he died Voldemort managed to make us suffer. Damn him to Hell, the bastard!” There was a loud thud as he brought his fist down on the wooden table in front of him.

After a silence, Yusuke said quietly, “You know, I've seen a lot of death. I've seen good men die in battle, in the worst ways one can imagine, while the truly bad and evil got off free. I have fought creatures who could kill a normal human by simply breathing on him. I have enemies on every known plane of existence. But I have never, in my life, met a man I hated more than Voldemort. And I don't think I ever will.”

A sudden tapping on the window drew their attention. Yusuke, grateful for the distraction, went and opened it. Sora hopped in and looked at Yusuke, confusion clear in her luminous golden eyes.

“I know, girl,” Yusuke said softly. “He still isn't letting anyone in there. Even if they're delivering his mother's letters. I'll take it again.”

It was difficult to tell how much of this Sora understood, but she held out her foot and allowed Yusuke to take the letter.

Yusuke, sighing, went over and put the letter on top of the other two already sitting on the mantelpiece. “Three letters in one week. She's really worried about him.”

Harry heard a gasping sound, and, turning in his chair, he saw Yusuke break down for the first time in a week, and cry.

Hiei's head and throat hurt.

Actually, upon reflection, everything hurt, including his eyelids, which also felt like there were large two-ton weights holding them down.

Which meant that opening them was certainly going to be an interesting experience.

One that he would put off for the moment, actually.

Therefore keeping his eyes closed, he took stock of everything else.

Well, he had already established that everything was there, because it all hurt like crap, but whether it was all in working order was something he should probably investigate…later. He was also warm, cozy even. That was odd, since his ki seemed to be completely tapped out, which meant that his body temperature should have been sufficiently low. He heard nothing except soft breathing.

But wait.

That wasn't him breathing.

His warrior instincts made him forget how weak he felt, and he forced his eyes open and sat halfway up, reaching for a sword that wasn't there.

His body had a violent reaction to the sudden movement, and he began to cough, wracking, severe coughs that nearly sent him spinning back down into darkness. It was only after he stopped and the black shadows in the corners of his vision disappeared that he noticed the pair of arms wrapped tightly around him, holding him against a strong chest. He would have struggled, but something told him that he was in no danger.

Besides, he did not want to have another coughing fit.

His hunch was confirmed when he heard sobbing from the one holding him. Listening closely, Hiei heard gasped and strangled words mingling with the tears. “Tenshi…you're alive…I thought I'd lost you…my tenshi…”

Such a wave of relief swept over Hiei that he nearly passed out. He slumped back with a sigh. “Kurama…fox…” he murmured, turning in Kurama's arms. When Kurama didn't look up, just continuing to cry, he frowned and placed his fingers under Kurama's chin, forcing him to lift his head.

When Kurama met his gaze, Hiei lost himself in those emerald-green, tear-filled eyes. Kurama's face was so full of disbelief and confusion and happiness and…vulnerability, that Hiei felt tears gather in his own eyes.

They were both utterly still for a moment. Then, suddenly, Hiei crushed his lips to Kurama's, giving both of them what they needed. Hiei forgot all about the total weakness in his limbs as he combed his fingers through Kurama's hair, cradled his face, held his hand, did everything possible to make sure that he was alive, that this was real.

Finally, the two parted, gasping for air. Kurama was wearing a smile that looked like it would break his face in half. Hiei felt that smile spreading across his own face, and he couldn't help it—he giggled. Yes, Hiei Jaganshi, Forbidden Child, terror of many, giggled. The look Kurama was giving him only made him laugh harder, and in a moment, Kurama joined in.

From downstairs, Yusuke and Harry looked up sharply at the laugher. Then they looked at each other as if looking for confirmation. Then, seeing that they both heard the same impossible thing, they leapt to their feet at once and raced for the dormitory steps.

Word spread quickly. Hiei had woken up; some kind of miracle had occurred; Hiei had “come back to life.” Within the hour, the news had spread all over the school, and suddenly the corridor outside Gryffindor Tower was so crowded that Professor Dumbledore himself had to come and give specific orders that none of them were allowed in the boys' dormitory, and only Gryffindors were allowed to enter the common room, as usual.

However, this commotion went unknown by eight people. Up in the dormitory, all was peaceful. Kurama and Hiei were lying in their bed, Hiei curled up against the kitsune's chest, while Kurama stroked his hair gently with his left hand and held him tightly with his right. At the end of the huge bed, Yukina sat in Kuwabara's lap. Yusuke, Harry, Ron and Hermione had pulled up chairs next to the bed and sat in those, listening to Kurama tell Hiei everything.

“You didn't die, as you should have,” Kurama was saying. “I don't know how you did it, but at the last second you banished the Dragon, and then passed out. Your life force dropped almost to nothing. Just before you died, I convinced Yusuke and Kuwabara to help me in a last-ditch effort to save you. We joined our ki and jump-started your heart. It was pretty pointless, and we all knew it, but…it gave us something to hope for.

“We took you back to Gryffindor Tower, and waited. We kept saying we were waiting for you to wake up, but really, it was the opposite. We were really waiting for…for…” Here, Kurama choked, and it was a minute or two before he could continue.

“As you began to dwindle away, I got worse, too. I hardly ate or drank or slept. I never left this dormitory and I never let anyone in. I just sat with you, waiting for the moment your life force left you. Three times, it did, completely. But…it always came back, just a bit.” Kurama sounded baffled by this, but apparently he didn't like to question miracles. “And now you're here, and I can't believe it. How?”

“I don't know,” Hiei said. “But I am, and I don't plan to leave again. Literally. I do not plan to leave this bed ever again,” he added, and at the serious look on his face everyone laughed. It was a true relief to be able to laugh again. “Seriously, though,” Hiei said as they calmed down. “I don't know how I got back—I don't even know where I got back from—but I think…that's the way it should be. That way, we can keep believing in miracles…” He blinked several times. “Look at me…honestly…I hate being sentimental.”

He felt Kurama's arms tighten around him, and he gave a sigh of contentment. “So, tell me everything that happened during my vacation.”

“Well, the whole school's in chaos,” Harry reported. “Whatever that thing you conjured was, it caused quite an uproar. The black marks wouldn't come off the floor, so Dumbledore just left it and hung a plaque over it that says, `Tribute to Hiei Jaganshi, Savior of the Wizarding World.' The whole school is dying to hear your story—they couldn't get one out of any of us. Also, Kurama now ranks second to you in the Hogwarts Hottest Guy Polls, to his vast relief. Anyway, they still have hopes of getting something out of you. Oh, and I hear that someone wants to write a book about you. Every Wizarding newspaper and radio station in every country is begging for an interview with you. Reporters have already approached half the students and teachers. And Snape and Malfoy are in a fury because you get all the glory and they still hate you.”

“All within a week?” Hiei asked, dazed.

Harry nodded. “Welcome to my life.”

“It's not easy being you, is it?”

Harry laughed. “No, but you're lucky. As soon as you're better you get to fade out of the Wizarding world entirely.” His voice was suddenly a bit rough and tight.

“Hey,” Kurama said quietly. “Don't look like that…”

“Don't worry, I'm fine. It's hard not to be jealous of you, is all.”

Hiei smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing fully against his lover. “I used to be jealous of them, too.” And I hope I never have to leave them again.

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Sorry it took so long again, guys! But I had a biography on Frederick Douglass to write, worth a hundred points each in two different classes, and the last two weeks were MAP weeks, too, so I just couldn't seem to find the time to sit down and type!

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Reviewers' comments:

KyoHanna: Well, believing seems to have worked…my muses got soooo mad at me for killing Hiei. It was quite chaotic, you know…so I couldn't leave him dead! Thanks for the review!

Jessica: There! More! Yay! Thanks for the review!

shiorifoxiesmom: Thanks for the review! And of course I didn't leave Hiei dead! I never can…I tried, once…it hurt…my Kurama muse jabbed the thorns on his whip in the back of my eyes…

YokoYoukai: You no cry now! I update! You no cry! chibi You like chapter, yes? You review again, yes? Pwease? And thanks for the review!

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“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” -Elie Wiesel