Hinote Kyou Mizu

Chapter 8

*~Three years ago~*

Amaya didn’t understand why Koenma had sent her to Mukuro’s camp. Nothing was going on. She was tired and ready to go home.

She moved to the hot springs that marked the entrance to the human world when she sensed him.

“Stop right there human.”

Amaya stopped, hand on her sword hilt. She sensed the demon aura behind her, but somehow knew she wasn’t in too much danger. The short woman turned, looking toward the voice. He was a black-shirted demon, with what seemed to be a red belt around his waist, flying in the wind. He had his hand on a sheathed Katana, and a white headband on his head. His demeanor was cocky, but not reckless. He had a small smirk on his face, his black hair not quite blending into the darkness. She silently wondered how he got it to stand up like that, but thought that it suited him perfectly. She admired how compact and muscled he was, built for speed, yet with stamina. She noticed the white steak in his hair and immediately snapped back, realizing who she was talking to. He remembered Koenma talking about this demon, and knew she would be no match, if he decided to attack her.

“Hey. Hey. You there?” The Demon Hiei stepped forward, putting his hand on her shoulder, an action that sent shivers down both of their spines and effectively snapping Amaya back into reality.

He had seen her near the camp, wandering around like she belonged there. She was well concealed by her own power, but any demon worth their salt could see what she really was. ‘So this is who Koenma sent to watch us?’ He thought. ‘This little girl. Well, she must have some talent if she made it this far into demon world and isn’t dead yet. She’s not a threat though I can tell. D-Level demons could take care of her fairly quickly if they got hold of her.’ He placed his hand on his katana, wondering if she would even be worth the fight. She noticed him reach for his sword and silently watched him, not showing fear or anxiety.

‘She’s not badly built, for a human. Why the hell isn’t she scared of me? Shit, she’s a human in Demon world, why the hell doesn’t she run?’ He watched her, intrigued at the small human watching him silently. He didn’t know why he felt this tug toward her, but he did, wanting to see what she was made of.

He unsheathed his katana, turning to swing on the tiny human, thinking she would be afraid of her sword, knowing instinctively that she was more archer than swordswoman. But she wasn’t bad with the blade, blocking him as best she could. A bit rusty but not bad. He slowed down a lot from his usual speed, matching her speed to see what he was up against.

The fight stopped when Hiei knocked the katana from her hand, making it land next to a tree. She stood there silent, not in the least unnerved or outwardly fearful.

“Aren’t you afraid of death? I could, and should kill you for being here.”

“You can’t and shouldn’t fear death if you’ve already encountered it and overcome it.”

He smiled, understanding the words as they fell from the human’s lips. He put his hand out to help her up, smirking down at her. “Come on. I don’t bite. I am called Hiei Jaganshi.”

“I’m Saikoubi. Nice to meet you.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Amaya sat on the couch next to Yukina, almost catatonic as she leaned her head on the ice apparition’s shoulder. Botan and Yusuke watched her from the kitchen, unsure of how to help.

“Botan, it’s been two days. Hiei and Kurama should have been back by now. She’s not doing very well.”

The blue haired spirit turned and looked at her friend on the couch, seemingly dead. “Yukina says she is still in there, she is still responsive inside her mind. She is fighting to get out, once in a while she does but it sucks her back in. I saw coherent thought in there earlier too. Unfortunately it’s a swirling void except for here and there, where she’s trying to get out. It’s the demon energy. The control is not there, so it’s taken over.” Botan looked at the dark haired man beside her. “There is still hope. If they get here in time.”

Yusuke nodded, watching Yukina lay Amaya down to sleep on the couch. “I hope they hurry up and get here. She may be almost gone.”