Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Demon of Makai ❯ Chapter 13

I just finished my first week of school, and since I only have English homework to do, I'll post the next chapter.

 

~*~

 

It turned out that Yusuke's prediction was true. Everyone was surprised that Kurama and Jordan had run off to find the demon, but once they got over the shock, things got violent.

 

When Crystal was told, her face turned stony. “So she just left without saying anything to us? Not even good-bye?” Her voice got higher with each word.

 

Yusuke nodded, cringing.

 

“And you didn't even try to stop her?” Now her voice was deadly quiet.

 

“We did try, but she wouldn't listen,” Yusuke protested, but it was futile.

 

A frying pan appeared in her right hand. “You didn't try hard enough,” she stated flatly before proceeding to chase him around the entire town, swinging her pan at him in an attempt to smack him across the world.

 

~*~

 

Hiei watched the whole Crystal-Yusuke fiasco from a rooftop. We probably should've tried harder, he told himself. I don't know how strong that fox's willpower is, but I doubt he could stand against Yoko if he was to come out. That poor girl. Wait, am I feeling sorry for a ningen? I must be worried if I'm feeling sorry for a human child. Living with Kagome must have changed me in more ways than one.

 

He flipped onto his stomach and watched the five boys spar with each other on the other side of the hut. They were actually pretty good, good enough to give the Reikai Tantei a run for their money, but he wasn't paying much attention to them. Fox, if you lose your cool, no one will be forgiving here.

 

“Hiei!”

 

He crawled on his elbows to another side of the roof. “Yes?” he called down to Serena, who was standing right under him.

 

Her head snapped up. “There you are,” she said. “I was looking for you.”

 

“I've been up here, watching the world go by.”

 

“Care for some company?”

 

“It's not my roof. Come up if you feel like it.”

 

She got up with lots of help from our favorite fire demon. “Thanks,” she panted. “I know you like your privacy, so we try not to violate it too much.”

 

“So what brings you up here? I thought you'd be healing the patients.”

 

“None of them are in danger or in pain, so we decided to take a small break. Why did Shuichi and Jordan leave?”

 

That was completely out of the blue. He knew it would come, but not quite so soon. “They went to look for the demon. Well, Shuichi did, and Jordan decided to play tagalong.”

 

“She wouldn't have gone if she didn't think she could help,” Serena admonished him. “She probably thought it would take both of them to find this demon. Does it have a name?”

 

“What?”

 

“This demon. Does it have a name? I mean, you all call it `the demon' so I was wondering if it had a name.”

 

“No. He might've had one at one point, but not anymore. He's just a demon now. If we needed to call him something, he's referred to as `That demon'.”

 

“I see.” They watched the boys fight each other for a while, not speaking. Then, “I'd better check on the patients. It wouldn't be a good thing if they died because we didn't keep an eye on them.” He didn't move. “Why don't you go and fight with them?” she suggested. “You're bored, I can tell. Just go down there and fight. I'm sure they won't mind.” She left.

 

She's right. I'll be bored out of my mind here without something to do. Maybe Yusuke will be free to spar. No, he's being chased by that scary sister of Jordan's. I don't feel like running from an angry female, so that's out. The buffoon could use some work, but there isn't really a place to fight safely around here. Maybe I could try those other ningens. Finally making up his mind, he jumped down and walked slowly towards the other boys. After watching them for a few minutes more, he stated, “You're not too bad, but you could definitely use some polishing.”

 

It was comical how they all immediately got into defense positions when he spoke. It wasn't like they could've stopped him if he wanted to hurt them; they were just too slow. They didn't relax when they saw who it was.

 

“What do you want?” demanded Ryo. It wasn't exactly rude; he just happened to catch them off-guard.

 

“I saw your fighting skills. They aren't terrible, but there's room for lots of improvement.”

 

“And how would you know?” asked Kento.

 

These poor, ignorant fools. “You haven't been trained properly. It's a start. Not much of one, but a start. You haven't reached your full potential yet.”

 

“I think he's asking for a fight. What do guys think?” Rowen stated more than asked.

 

Hiei used a small amount of his speed to get behind Rowen. Of course, this was still to fast for them to catch, so it seemed like he disappeared. “I think you're right,” he said right in the blue-haired boy's ear. This startled the boy so much he leaped three feet into the air.

 

“How did you do that?” he demanded.

 

Hiei only smirked at him. “That's for me to know,” he responded. His ears picked up the sound of someone charging from behind, so he jumped away to land beside the side of the hut, while Kento ran right into Rowen.

 

“It's not a good idea to challenge someone like that until you know what their strengths and weaknesses are,” Hiei informed the downed pair while he leaned against the side of the hut. “That kind of assault can get you and those around you killed.”

 

“What are you?” asked Ryo, staring at him. “No human can move that fast.”

 

“Probably not,” he agreed. “But what I am will stay with me until either you defeat me or I feel like telling, both of which I highly doubt will occur.”

 

“Oh, it will, little man,” Kento boasted as he got up.

 

“Hn. Not all of your strengths combined are enough to stop me at the moment.”

 

“Is that a challenge?”

 

“Charge me all at once if you will. You still won't win.” That got them fired up, just as Hiei hoped. They all came from different sides, which was not something a novice would do. I guess they've practiced this before. Better remember that. He still was able to leap over them and land outside the circle they had hoped to trap him in.

 

Their looks were ones of shock, but it quickly disappeared. Their bodies glowed for a second and they were now covered in some kind of metal. Interesting. This may be more of a challenge than I thought.

 

“So this is also a part of your strength, to call up metal to protect yourselves? It won't save you from a demon on the warpath,” Hiei commented.

 

“That shows how much you know of us,” snapped Ryo. They tried splitting up, to keep his focus from centering on just one place.

 

Too bad they don't know I can read their minds. They can't hope to take me by surprise. Once again, he moved out of the way, making them almost collide with each other. “Like I said, good idea, but it needs polishing,” he informed them.

 

“How can he do that?” Cye panted. “It's like he can read our minds.”

 

Hiei only smirked at them. “Is this the best you can do?” he asked in a bored tone. “If so, then Kuwabara is more a challenge than you are.”

 

The game went on a while, and they got close a few times, but never managed to land a blow on him. By the time they were done, they were panting and out of breath, and Hiei was barely sweating. “I think I now know better than to fight you again,” he said, allowing himself to sound just a little disappointed. “I was hoping for a challenge.”

 

“How did you do that? We couldn't even get near you,” said Ryo.

 

“I practice.” Hiei let it go at that and once again used his speed to jump to the roof again.

 

“Why didn't we use our armors?” he heard Kento ask.

 

“Because he isn't an enemy,” was Sage's patient reply. “Our armors would've smoked him.”

 

“So why didn't we use them?” he asked again.

 

“He would've been killed, probably,” Rowen answered.

 

“But you saw how fast he was,” argued Cye. “No human could possibly move that fast.”

 

“Well, someone can, or else he isn't human.”

 

“Then what would he be, huh? A demon?” Kento asked incredulously.

 

“He might be. Then again, he might just be a short human who can move really fast.”

 

“If you say so, Rowen,” Cye gave in. “It's a bit too much for me to take in at the moment. Let's go in.”

 

The sound of stumbling footsteps leading away signaled that they were following Cye's suggestion.

 

“Disappointed?” Serena's voice came from behind him.

 

He turned to face her, saying, “Ever since I moved in with you ningens, I've been going soft. Six months ago I would've known if someone was within a mile of me, and now I can't sense someone who's right behind me.”

 

“That's not such a bad thing,” she reassured him. “You just know that we won't hurt you, so you aren't as on guard as you were before.”

 

“But I should be on guard,” he argued. “We're in Makai. There're things here that won't hesitate in killing you.”

 

“Does Shuichi know that?” she asked, concerned.

 

“Yes, he knows, but Jordan probably doesn't. She'll learn quick enough, though, if she isn't eaten right away.”

 

“Don't even say that.” She shuddered.

 

“She'll be fine as long as she stays with Shuichi,” he said, remembering at the last second to call him Shuichi.

 

“I hope so, Hiei,” she murmured. “I hope so.”

 

~*~

 

“Hey, you okay?”

 

Crystal's head came up off the table. Looking down at her, concern in his eyes, was Ryo. “Yeah, I'm fine,” she answered. He sat down, and she noted how his black hair was clinging to the wet clothes around his shoulders. “Been working out?”

 

He sighed. “Hiei just gave us the workout of our lives. I didn't know anyone could be so fast, and I've seen some fast people.”

 

“Well, Hiei's different. Maybe his speed makes up for what he doesn't have in height.”

 

“Maybe. So I guess you're done chasing Yusuke around.”

 

“I didn't catch him. I still can't believe that they let my sister go off on her own when this place is filled with things that eat humans.”

 

“They seemed pretty confident that Shuichi could take care of her.”

 

“Why would she leave without me? She knows I hate it when we're not together.”

 

“She probably wanted to protect you.”

 

“She's always doing that!”

 

“What?” He looked confused.

 

Sigh. “She's the older of the two of us, so she's always looking out for me. When we were still at the orphanage, she would bring me extra food and do little things for me.”

 

“I thought you two were twins.”

 

“We are, but she was born a few minutes earlier. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful for what she's done for me. I just worry that one day she'll wear herself out and I'll be left alone.”

 

“You won't be alone,” Ryo reassured her. “You still have Michael, don't you?”

 

“You don't understand. When you have a twin, there's a strong bond formed before either of you are even born. I can almost feel what she does, and at times, we can understand each other's thoughts without anything being said. I know that if she dies, I will probably lose my sanity and part of my soul. Now, here she is, wandering around in a place crawling with things that eat humans.”

 

“So you're worried that she'll die and you'll lose your mind?”

 

“I don't care if I lose my mind. What I don't want to happen is for her to die. I don't care what happens to me, as long as she's safe.”

 

“You're very selfless.”

 

Crystal laughed. “No, I just worry about her. She's my sister, after all, and we're closer than most siblings. I suppose I should see if I'm needed still. Come with me?” They got up, but Ryo winced as his side brushed the table. “What's wrong?” She bent down, ignoring his protests. “What happened?” she asked looking up at him.

 

“Nothing. I just bruised it while we were fighting Hiei.”

 

“That's some bruise,” she commented. “There's blood coming through. I'll tend to it.”

 

“No, really, it's nothing,” he protested.

 

“I'll need to talk to Hiei about that, too,” she muttered to herself. “Come on, let's go get this fixed.” She took his hand and gently but insistently pulled him in the direction of the “hospital”.

 

“Thank you,” he said.

 

“Hm?” She wasn't paying much attention.

 

“Thank you. For healing me.”

 

“Oh.” She smiled. “I'm a healer. It's my job to heal the injured.”

 

He smiled back at her. “You are very kind.” He held the hand that was pulling him.

 

“I try to be.”

 

~*~