“Yo Tsukino! Heads up!”
You gasped and dodged the ball that had been thrown to your face. You had zoned out during class again while searching for the owner of the person who had been watching you. While you were distracted, the opposing team took this as an advantage. The one who had called out to you was none other than Urameshi Yusuke, a boy in your class.
“Sorry about that,” you grinned and waved over to the teenage delinquent. For the first time in months he had shown up at school. You couldn’t help but think that it was the work of his on-again off-again girlfriend Keiko. She really did have him whipped, didn’t she? You giggled and almost got another hit to the head while you were contemplating this.
The coach blew his whistle and that was it for today. It was rare that boys and girls played together in sports at school, but since so many kids were absent on this particular day the coach had no choice. You walked towards the locker room, only to be stopped by a few voices behind you.
“Way to go, Kagami. You almost cost us the game with your stupid daydreaming.”
You turned to them, anger taking over your form. “Oh yeah? Well why don’t you just cram the ball up your-”
“Kagami!” Keiko scolded, grabbing your arm. “Don’t be so rude to them. It’s best just to ignore them, you know that bullies are only egged on by your anger.” She turned to the girls and bowed quickly in apology. You stared at her, a bit miffed, while she dragged you to the changing rooms. “So, mind telling me why you were so out of it today?” Keiko asked.
You sighed dejectedly. It was hard keeping up the smiles and the happy face when you were actually yearning for attention and someone to care for you. Could you explain to her that getting into trouble with Mr. Takanaka would help you achieve that? Probably not...at least then someone would recognize you.
“Well...I just felt like someone was staring at me, was all. So then I got off on a tangent of thinking about that, then Yusuke interrupted me, I thought about your relationship with him...” you trailed off. Keiko’s face turned red and she immediately blew up, claiming that she and Yusuke had nothing going on whatsoever. You smirked in response, glad that she was taking the accusation lightly.
School ended and you started your walk home. You tended to walk on the side of the path that was furthest away from the cars. Why? Your mother was killed in a car accident when you were only ten. Not a year later your father died from a heart attack. From then on you had to take care of yourself. Sure, you had your elder brother Maro, but he only cared for himself. You lost touch with him years ago.
You frowned when your senses told you to stop. You turned slightly and saw nothing but the bright sun, the clear sky and the hustle and bustle of those heading home from work. You shrugged off the strange, clenching feeling in your gut and kept your journey on. Occasionally you would listen to the conversations of those around you, but for the most part you were indulging in past memories and trying to find some sort of comfort in them.
“I see your life is quite exciting.”
That voice. It couldn’t be...could it? You stopped at your front door, having reached subconsciously to grab your key. The boy standing in front of you was none other than Hiei. Huh. What was he doing here in the Ningenkai? You blinked but then your mouth broke into a smile.
“Well, hiya, Hiei! Whatcha doin’ here?”
He only snorted. “To claim my undying love for you...what else.”
It took a few seconds to register that he was joking. Damn. Calm down, heart, you told yourself in a scolding fashion. There’s nothin’ going on here so you might as well drop it. You reached past him to get to the doorknob and stuck the key in. Good thing the life insurance money you got from your parents was helping you pay for this apartment.
“It’s nice to see you.” You tried to make conversation in the best way you knew how. Being polite. Of course, trying to be polite to a condescending, superiority complex-wielding fire demon was like trying to...oh hell, there was no simile for this.
You had known Hiei back when he fought in the Dark Tournament. Shizuru and Keiko had dragged you along with them to support the boys in their fights and that was when you learned everything about demons and the guys themselves. You and Hiei got along as much as he did with anyone else. For the most part he talked down on you.
However, once when he asked you about your past in order to make rude comments about your “easy life” (or so he was going to put it), it was as if something clicked in him. Ever since that day he would questionably linger around you, not saying much of course, but he didn’t completely ignore you, either. You had slowly fallen for him over that period, even if he was so cold and rude. You saw past that and recognized someone who was just as lonely and attention-deprived as you. Perhaps one day the two of you could take care of each other-
“...you’re not even listening. Che.”
You snapped out of your complicated thoughts, your face calm and serene. “I’m...sorry. I was out of it again. What were you saying, Hiei?”
You knew his answer before he even had to say it. “Hn. You know I’m not one to repeat myself, so I will not.”
Dammit. Another chance at conversation wasted. You sighed and sat down on your crappy couch, the one that Maro had left behind. “So what did you really come here for, Hiei? If it wasn’t to talk, if it wasn’t to claim your undying love...why do you keep showing up here?”
His stone-cold face only twitched. He crossed his arms and glanced out the window, which was facing another building. The view from here wasn’t very nice, he noted. He turned back to you and scowled at your curious face.
“The Ningenkai has absolutely nothing to do. You, on the other hand, provide entertainment especially when you’re caught unawares.”
You stared at him blankly. “If making fun of me is really all you’re going to do, then why don’t you just leave?” you snapped. You tried your best to be nice but Hiei really knew how to push your buttons, didn’t he? Your eyes narrowed at the demon and he merely walked towards the door.
Without another word he let himself out. You frowned and flung yourself on the couch, suddenly feeling extremely tired. The couch was so alluring in the sense that if you closed your eyes you would be pulled into an uninterrupted, dreamless slumber. A small smile crossed your face and you decided to let that happen. School and life was stressful enough, so what harm would a little nap do?
Within ten minutes you were completely gone. You were in your own little dream world now, where anything was possible. In your dream you had just been awarded a five thousand dollar shopping spree. You were running to the mall to shop ‘til you dropped, since it was one of your favorite things to do, when someone stopped you.
“It was me.”
You blinked and turned towards the sound of that voice. What the-? When you pulled yourself away from the cheerful atmosphere of the mall and your prize, you were soon engulfed in exactly the opposite.
The landscape beyond you was ominous and foreboding. It almost looked like the Makai. You frowned and stepped forward, the bare, straggly trees lining your vision. White-hot lightning zipped across the sky, followed by the earth-quaking boom of thunder. The sky was red and black, only dark gray clouds in sight. You shuddered and walked closer to the bulky shadows that lurked in the corner of your vision, where you could just feel someone’s presence.
“Wh...what’s going on here?”
A giant screen fizzled in the middle of the barren desert. You walked closer to it and put your hand on the cool glass. The salt-and-pepper image burned into your vision and you bit your lip. Before you could peel your gaze off it, vivid images spread across the screen. It was...your hometown. You recognized this street; it was the same one your mother drove on her way to work. Your heart clenched in your chest and you fought the painful memories away.
The scene changed. The camera seemed like it was...moving. It faced an opposing demon. A gleaming sword pointed out from this angle towards the enemy creature. “You never answered me. Have you heard of the Koorime, the ice maiden?” That voice was masculine...didn’t you know it?
No reply came from the demon. Instead, it shot off for the road. You watched in awe while the person – whoever it was – chased after them, the camera seemingly right from his own eyes. He dodged into the streets empty of any humans and his sword clashes with the demon’s. The two battled and slashed at each other in quick strokes.
A familiar car came rushing up the road. Your eyes widened when you realized it was your mother behind the wheel. She screamed and swerved, veering off from the narrator of the video and the other demon. The other demon was smashed and crushed under her wheels while the one surveying all of this fled. He looked down at the scene and watched everything unfold. Your mother swerved into an oncoming car and the two molded together like two pieces of clay. Fire and smoke clouded the spectator’s vision and darkness consumed the screen.
“My...my mother died...because of demons?” you asked yourself, stunned. Your fingernails raked against the hard surface of the TV and you fell to your knees. The screen lit up again. The light glared over your hunched figure. You ran your eyes over your father, who was sitting at his desk. He seemed to be...crying.
You watched sadly when he turned his chair and looked out to the window. Rain hit the window with a light tapping sound. He got up and peered outside, right to where the camera angle was coming from. Once the lightning flashed and he was able to see outside, he screamed in terror and fell backwards over his computer chair. The person ‘filming’, or watching all of this, opened the window and let himself in.
Your father choked and pointed at him, muttering, “Demon! Demon!” The demon’s hand reached forward, as if they were trying to help your father up. But your father clutched his chest and yelled aloud, his face tightening up in excruciating pain. The demon your father saw jumped out the window and watched from just outside to see what would happen. Your father’s secretary burst in and saw what was happening. She panicked and ran out of the room to call for an ambulance, while your father suffered with his heart attack alone.
“I was looking for my sister.”
You turned around, not even noticing until now that you were sobbing. You put your hand up to your wet cheeks and spotted Hiei. He had turned to the side and was clenching a fist so hard that his palms were starting to bleed. His face was so full of disgust.
“Humans never mattered to me back then. Nothing did, nothing but becoming stronger and finding her. I killed your mother when I fought that demon in the street, Kagami.”
You gaped at him. No. That wasn’t right. Hiei wouldn’t do that! He disliked humans, but he would never slaughter them without them being able to defend themselves! He had his own little twisted code, but it was still a code, damn it!
“I know what you’re thinking. My code? Hn. I only created that after I made that mistake of causing your mother’s death.”
His maroon eyes glimmered in the dark shadows this world bestowed upon him. The blood red moon that hung in the sky only showered him with more horrific illusions. It almost looked as if his whole body was soaked in blood. Black and red, black and red, those were the colors that represented him. It was even in his name.
“I tried to approach your father a year later, to let him know it was I who was the cause of it all. My mere appearance killed him too.”
He faced you and took a step forward, his boots clicking when he moved. You were frozen in fear. This was a dream. You had to wake up soon. Then you would shake off this nightmare and you would realize that everything would be a lie. It had to be!
“Your brother left you. He thought it was you who caused their deaths. Hn...fool. It was me. I was the one. So he abandoned you. Pathetic. Trust a worthless human like him to run from his own silly beliefs.”
He bent down and put his hand under your chin. Your eyes darted to the right, you didn’t want to meet his gaze. His face was hard, you could see that from the corner of your vision. He wouldn’t accept this as your only reaction, so he pushed further.
“What do you think about that, Kagami? It was me...all me. The one you respect was the one who caused the deaths of the only people important to you. Tell me how you feel.”
You covered your face with your hands, but his own whipped toward you. He pinned your arms above your head and growled at the sight of you. You had buried your head in your arm. You couldn’t face him like this, he already thought of you as weak and a nuisance. Why would you let him see you like this now, while you were completely unprotected?
“I...I can’t....I can’t...no! Hiei you weren’t supposed to be the one! You weren’t supposed to cause all of this! No! How can you? I love you! I love you and it’s not fair that you did this to me!” You cried out and let your stringy brown hair cover your gray-green eyes. “It hurts so much! It hurts! The person you love isn’t the one who shatters your entire life! The one who tears everything that was fine apart and leaves nothing but the aftermath!”
His face was void of any emotion. “Your life was a reflection of mine, the parallel that kept us apart. You had everything. Parents, a loving family, a home, your silly sentiments and feelings. I took that away from you. How will you recover?”
You hung limp in his grasp, your head rolling so that your chin was on your chest. “I’m not sure I can pick up all the pieces...”
Silence. Then, a dark chuckle. “Hn. You won’t have to...” Hiei lifted you up so that you were at your full height. He released your limbs from his powerful grasp and let you stand on your own. You wrapped yourself up in your own embrace. “I will make sure I correct my mistakes. I will make up for the damage I have caused you, Kagami.”
You sniffled and glanced at him. How did he see you at this very moment? Even through all of this, through the terrible truth, you knew that you would never be able to leave his side. With a promise like the one he made, your love for him would continue to blossom and grow with his awkward but determined help.
“O...okay...” You stumbled towards him and stood by his side, shooting him a small smile.
The background melted into nothing but a pure white room. No windows, doors, or any entrances were present. You clutched onto Hiei’s arm in fear and looked down. On the floor were brittle pieces of broken glass and wood. You peered over them and saw your distorted image staring back at you questioningly.
You had this dream many times, when you were feeling lonely and ached for someone by your side. During those times you would tenderly try to put the pieces back together in order to complete the mirror. You somehow knew how it was supposed to look like, but more often than none you would cut yourself and bleed, the puzzle would be missing a few pieces, or you had no idea which piece went where.
Squatting down to put your hands on a piece, you felt a warm hand press the top of your own. You glanced up and saw Hiei, who had a concentrated look on his face. He plucked your hand from the ground and moved it over to a pile of pieces that were already being moved together. With a small smirk, he put it down and glanced at you.
Yes. His promise was legitimate after all.
