Life Goes On

Scene 35 ------------------------------------------- The Next Day

* Ryuji comes to a stop to scan the area he's come to. He hears Pehjo moan and lets the skink climb down off of his back to sit on the ground.


Pehjo- D---, that speed's gonna.. take some.. gettin' used to.


* The fire demon rolls his eyes, then glances around. It doesn't take Ryuji much longer to realize two things. One, they are now in Yomi's territory. Two, Hiei is not too far away.


Ryuji- Stay here and gather yourself.. Hiei's not too far away.

Pehjo- You'll come back for me, though.. Right?


* Ryuji hesitates, then turns to look down at Pehjo.


Ryuji- I told you! I'm not going to be your babysitter!

Pehjo- I told you, I'm not a baby!

Ryuji- Then stop acting like one.. It's time for you to go find a life, skink!


* Pehjo lowers his eyes.


Ryuji- I need to go deal with my brother.. I can't have you clinging to me no longer.. There's a pretty large town in that direction..


* Ryuji waves off to the side.


Ryuji- Go there and start.. And try to stay out of trouble!


* Before Pehjo can respond Ryuji blurs away. A couple miles is a blink to a speeding fire demon. When Ryuji comes to a stop he finds himself at the mouth of a small cave. His inner jagan tells him that Hiei is inside. It also tells him that his half brother is just sitting still inside it. This puzzles Ryuji, so he bends over and enters the darkened cave carefully. With his demon vision, though, he has no problems finding Hiei. Indeed, the koorime is just sitting, hugging one knee, and scribbling distractedly in the dirt that forms the floor of the cave. When Ryuji comes over closer he reads that Hiei has written 'I know you're here, Ryu.' The taller demon nods and settles down to sit beside Hiei. For several moments, neither of them speak. Hiei feels his brother's jagan monitoring him, bue he decides to give no protest. Finally, the koorime half glances toward the one individual in his life that he's always been able to relax his guard around.


Hiei- (Quietly) Why are you here?

Ryuji- You know the answer to that.


* Hiei lowers his eyes back to the dirt again and calmly rubs out the writing.


Ryuji- Lord Koenma released me to come find you.

Hiei- Why would he think that I needed to be found?

Ryuji- It wasn't his idea.. I requested it.. I didn't want you to be alone down here right now.


* Again there is a heavy silence between them for a while before Hiei breaks it again.


Hiei- My mate has died.. (Quietly) You know what that means for me.

Ryuji- And you know that there's a way to prevent..


* Ryuji quiets when Hiei shakes his head firmly.


Hiei- No. I'm not worthy to be anyone's mate.. I failed the only one I.. had.

Ryuji- Failed? You took better care of that Banshee's body than he probably did when he was.. awake..


* Hiei looks away to avoid Ryuji's visible eyes.


Hiei- I'm not talking about the.. minial tasks I performed..


* Ryuji calmly reaches over and lays a hand on Hiei's shoulder. The koorime closes his eyes and curses himself mentally.


Ryuji- (Quietly) Is this because of what we did?


* Hiei neither answers nor protests his brother's contact.


Ryuji- Hiei, you know that anything we do..

Hiei- Ryuji,.. I've always lived by my own honor..

Ryuji- I know this.

Hiei- Perhaps.. according to Fire customs, I am innocent.. But according to my own.. I was weak.. I gave in to this d---ed heat.. twice..


* Hiei clamps his mouth shut. Ryuji takes a deep breath.


Ryuji- (Quietly) Something happened between you and..

Hiei- Close you d--- jagan already!


* Ryuji calmly wills his hidden jagan to close.


Ryuji- You need to talk it out, Ani.


* Hiei closes his eyes. He can feel how hard Ryuji is concentrating on ignoring his heat scent in the confined space.


Hiei- You need to go take a breather.

Ryuji- Do you plan to stay in this cave until your heat passes?

Hiei- Hn.

Ryuji- You know what will end it quicker.


* Hiei glares at Ryuji.


Hiei- No!

Ryuji- Relax.. You know I won't force you.. I'll stay on guard outside.. But I will not leave you alone during this time.


* Hiei relaxes once again, knowing that he will indeed need Ryuji's protection. Just as he had in the past. Slowly, Hiei nods.


Ryuji- Okay. I'll be outside if you need me.. Or when you need to talk.


* Ryuji stands to leave.

Hiei- (Quietly) I can't go to Yusuke now.. The stuff Satjiyu used on us has messed with Kurama's cycle, too.. The Fox is probably already pregnant again.


* Ryuji watches Hiei lay down and curl into a ball, then he sighs quietly and leaves. He knows the significance of his brother's last words.