Kurama glances at Hiei as he arrives from below,
his eyes twinkling merrily.
"Hello, Hiei-kun ... how have you been?"
Hiei glances coolly at Kurama and nods. "Yo. Same
as always..." His eyes flick
briefly to his pendant, then to the city spread out below.
Kurama smiles, brushing the grime away from his
work clothes. "I'm glad ... "
He glances around. "Where's your Dragon?"
Hiei shoves his hands in his pockets, scowling slightly.
"Probably wasting time
mapping the city. The AI has strange notions."
Kurama smiles. "You should have gotten a more dependable
AI, Hiei-kun ..." He glances at the new arrival, his eyes widening a little
...
Hiei flicks his red gaze at the person.
Enko appears rather suddenly, simply on the roof
of the cafe. "Dragon....
wielder of the Wind of Fire..."
Enko says, "Greetings..."
Enko bows respectfully.
Hiei narrows his gaze, his breath coming out in
a hiss as he nods. "So yo. What
brings you here?"
Kurama stands to Hiei's side, glancing at Enko.
o O (Interesting ...)
Enko says, "I need your help, Dragon. The abomination
that is the Storms have
caused us all misery enough. I need your help to launch one final strike
against them, to annihilate them utterly, so that we can all be at
peace."
Hiei smirks. "One final strike? What if they have
become too strong to be wiped
out so completely?" He gazes at the ground, his eyes unfocusing. "What
would you
have me do?"
Enko says, "Allow me to fill you with my new power...
I am no longer the child
I was before... I am full and mature. I will make your powers blossom
to thier
fullest potential. Together, we can crush the Storms utterly and all
will be at
peace."
Kurama's eyes tighten, but he doesn't speak. He
merely observes the two ...
Hiei turns to face Enko, a strange hungry light
in his eyes. "Do what you
must...this power...interests me."
Kurama puts a hand on Hiei's shoulders, his eyes
still observing the two ...
Enko smiles. "I knew you were my ally..."
Hiei frowns slightly, intrigued but reserved.
Kurama's eyes tighten as his gaze passes by Enko,
but he keeps silent ...
Enko walks toward Hiei, her hands filling with light.
She opens them, turning
her palms up to Hiei. "Touch my hands, and recieve the power..."
Kurama steps back, watching ...
Hiei's eyes widen for a fraction of a second as
he hesitates, then his cold
mask slips back into place as he steps forward, stretching his hands
out.
Shougo appears in a sparkling of autogate energies.
Belldandy has arrived.
Shougo enters with Belldandy following behind.
Hiei jerks to face the newcomers, his gaze swift
and piercing.
Enko puts her hands on top of Hiei's. Her eyes glinting
with a strange fire. An
outline of flame begins to envelop Hiei.
Kurama glances at the new arrivals, his posture
nonchalant ... but his eyes
sharp ... observing everything. He reflexively closes his hand ...
Belldandy raises her voice slightly, saying "Wait!
Don't do it Wind Bearer! Enko is not herself!"
Hiei mutters a muffled curse and jerks his hands
back. "Nandato?!"
Enko glances aside at the two newcomers. "Technicians...
why do you stop me?"
Shougo lets Belldandy handle melodrama. He opts
to observe and wait for an
opportune moment to act, standing ready without seeming excessively
eager to do
anything.
Shougo says, "Why do we do anything? For the sake
of the Experiment.."
Hiei glares at Belldandy and Shougo, his gaze seeming
enough to break glass.
"Explain yourselves quickly before I decide what to do."
Shougo shrugs like Mirage has asked a stupid question,
and then nods toward
Belldandy. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"
Hiei steps away warily, placing a space around him
with Kurama at his back. His
hand rests on his katana hilt.
Belldandy says softly, "Go ahead Shougo."
Shougo's eyes barely hide traces of bemused indifference,
but he effects the
air of a concerned Technician and advances a step forward.
Shougo says, "Enko's physical form has been subjected
to yet another physical
instability. Her power has matured and left her mind about eight years
back...in this state, she's more of a danger than anything else..you
stand to
lose much by allowing yourself to be 'opened' by her."
Hiei mumbles, "..... yourself .....
for ..... comes ..... .." to Kurama.
Kurama nods and stands behind and slightly to the
right of Hiei, leaving
everyone accessible ...
Shougo flashes a smirk to Enko. "Somebody's in a
hurry to grow up, yes?"
Hiei bares fangs in sardonic smile. "And in a hurry
to crush the opposition."
He turns to face Enko, his eyes narrowed to slits. "What have you to
say?"
Shougo rolls his eyes at Hiei's statement, covering
his mouth to supress a
chuckle.
Shougo . o O ( In a hurry to play her role in this
farce, rather. To become
another pretty puppet for the kiddy-show the Experiment has become..
)
Enko says, "I am in full control of my faculties.
I have never been in more
control."
Shougo ahems, resuming the affectation of a serious
Servant of the Greater
Good...mostly.
Shougo says, "Mmm-hmm. I'm sure. And you're not
up past your bedtime, either.
I'm sure you -feel- in control, but you're deviating from the course
intended
for you..that demonstrates a severe lack of this control you claim
to have."
Hiei flicks his gaze to Kurama, for a minute seeming
like the thirteen-year old
his slight form suggests...then his face hardens, and he is the ageless
youkai
once more. "She was overly cautious when I worked with her before.
This is a
strange turnaround."
Enko says, "The course is wrong! You know it Shougo...
I've heard your
drivel... it's the same, reality after reality... but no more. I'm
ending
things here and now... and no one will stop me. I will call my winds
and
destroy the storms utterly! They will cause no one any more pain."
Belldandy says softly, "Enko, listen to yourself...
this is not you..."
Enko says, "I have never been really me... not until
now, Belldandy... you will
not stop me with what I am to do..."
Shougo bathes in Enko's words, closing his eyes
and fighting a smile. Finally
he opens them, and secures the mask of hypocrisy more securely about
his
features. "Now Enko,"he says in the tone of a condescending parent,
"..you know
what's best for you. You're going about this -all- wrong.."
Enko looks at Hiei. "Well, Dragon, are you with
me... or are you against me?"
Kurama places his hand on Hiei's shoulder ...
Kurama whispers, "I leave it to you, Hiei-kun. I
will abide by your choice and
stand by your side." to Hiei.
Belldandy says softly, "Listen to reason, Enko...
please... consider what
you're doing...."
Hiei's mouth twitches in a bitter smile. "What have
I to lose? I've never been
one to hang back...that is the coward's way. I may be a fool, but never
a
coward." He glances at Kurama, his eyes for a minute losing their stoniness.
"Saa...let's get on with it."
Kurama nods at Hiei gently, then turns his eyes
on the rest.
Belldandy gasps. "Wind bearer... no... you don't
know what you're doing..."
Shougo glances to Belldandy, his voice heavy with
forced concern. "What should
we do about this? Diplomacy was supposed to be your strong suit, if
I'm not
mistaken."
Hiei smirks. "So I've made my choice and perhaps
people will die for it. Or
perhaps I'm just having delusions of grandeur...but this hedging is
enough." He
steps forward.
Belldandy says softly, "Please, Wind bearer... this
is not the way things are
meant to be..."
Kurama steps to one side, his hand suddenly holding
a rose. He glances warily
at Enko, and then at the other two. "It is his choice, miss ... "
Belldandy says softly, "Don't you have friends,
people you care about? They
could perish with what she is going to do..."
Enko says, "And what makes you say that, Technician...
my Dragon has spoken. He
is my ally now."
Hiei glances swiftly to Kurama, his thoughts churning
in turmoil, but committed
now.
Enko walks behind Hiei and embraces him. "Burn my
dragon.... burn... open your
Wind to the power... grow and blossom!"
Kurama nods gently, murmuring something under his
breath. "Do what your heart
dictates, my friend ..."
The sky, for no real reason, darkens as fat black
clouds march across the sun,
casting the rooftop into shadow.
Shougo nods to Belldandy, and then turns his attention
toward the others.
Hiei's outline glows, a faerie fire like aura enveloping
him and Enko, the two
looking like they are immersed in fire.
Hiei closes his eyes as the power rushes into him.
Belldandy closes her eyes, shaking her head. "I
don't want to do this... but..."
Kurama interposes himself between Hiei and the two
technicians. "It is his fate
he's deciding ... let him choose." His eyes narrow. "... and may he
choose
well, for the sake of this world."
Belldandy puts her hands together, a radiant sphere
surrounding her.
The first droplets of a soon-to-be heavy rain begin to strike the rooftop...and
leave tiny pinpricks in their wake. As the frequency of the sprinkles
increases, it becomes apparent that this rain is wholly unlike any
natural
weather, as its drops are razor sharp, like needles falling from the
sky.
Shougo just smiles and nods, condescension written
in every line of his face.
"Whatever."
Shougo . o O ( Much as I -should- let them finish,
it wouldn't do to have
Belldandy question my loyalty. Her words would reach less tolerant
ears and my
efforts to end this would come to naught. )
Belldandy's shield keeps the water off her. "Enko!
Stop this or else!"
Belldandy's hands begin weaving a complicated pattern,
strings of energy
starting to interconnect in her fingers like a complex weave.
Kurama closes his eyes, and a small rippling of
the air around him occurs,
bringing forth hundreds of rose petals that swirl near him. His hand
holds the
rose steady close to his lips, and he smiles softly.
The pitterpats (or rather, the metallic sounds of
needles imbedding into
concrete at speeds in excess of local limits) hitting the rooftop increase
in
frequency. As though to attest to their destructive potential, a stray
rose
petal is neatly shredded. It stands to reason, then, that their effect
on flesh
would be significantly worse.
Hiei opens his eyes, his lips parting in a deadly
smile.
Kurama grits his teeth, ignoring the pain of the
needle-thin raindrops and
moves his body gently, allowing the rose-petal to take the rain. Many
raindrops
break free and shreds through his clothes, but he ignores it and stands
between
the two and Hiei. (Must ... hold on ...)
Enko's eyes snap open, fire burning in them. "Slicing
rain? That will not
affect me or my ally..."
Shougo extends his hand to make a simple, beckoning
gesture towards Enko, Hiei,
and Kurama. He continues to curl his finger in a repeated 'come-hither-and-let-me-slaughter-you'
gesture. "That's fine. There are other ways.."
Hiei growls under his breath, his eyes kindling
to rage.
Enko sticks out an arm.. blood welling up from cuts
from several of the
droplets. With a wave of her wrist she sends a pulses of microwave
energy
barelling out of her body, shattering the unnatural coordination of
the water
droplets around her.
Kurama glances at Hiei once as his skin is slowly
cut by the droplets, his face
marred by trails of blood. He smiles sadly and turns to face Shougo
and
Belldandy, hurt ... but ready.
Belldandy releases the weave from her hands, tendrils
of energy lace around the
legs and feet of Enko and Hiei, quickly hardening and threatening to
bind the
two into the building floor.
As though in response to Shougo's gesturing, the
rain diverts its course in
midair, no longer a deadly threat to those unprotected from it. The
droplets
spiral to gather at a point along the edge of the roof, meters behind
Enko and
Hiei. They form a swirling mass which hovers in wait, growing with
the
increased rainfall, which still continues to divert itself toward the
mass.
Shougo seems now to be beckoning not to those he's
facing, but to the swirling
mass of water behind them.
Kurama smiles. (And so the two think I am no threat.
Think again ...) His hand
whips up and crafts a whip from the rose, lashing at Shougo ....
Hiei snarls and whips around, his katana appearing
in his hand. He gathers his
energy, tense as a snake ready to strike......and vanishes from his
spot in a
whiplash of savage motion, employing the kinetic speed to eye-defying
swiftness
as he leaps to avoid the tendrils of energy, making for Belldandy.
Shougo jerks his beckoning arm upward, this motion
serving one purpose and
attempting another. He is unable to protect himself from harm, as the
thorn-laden lash wraps around his forearm. However, the eagerly churning
vortex
across from him bounds across the rooftop with the force of a rhinoceros
stampede, its course directed toward and past the spot where Enko,
Hiei, and
Kurama stand..or stood, in some cases. Even as he wrestles with the
pull of the
lash, bloodying his sleeve with his efforts, his now-enemies face an
equal, if
not greater threat.
Belldandy reflexively gathers dissaociated energy
in her hands for a powerful
ki blast to repel Hiei.
Hiei whips his katana in a feint, eyes following
Belldandy's movements without
blinking. His left hand tenses to unleash a counterattack, a faint
smile
playing on his lips.
Enko opens her mouth in a furious scream, raising
her arms as she faces the
mass of water "Hyaaa!" A wall of blue tounged fire erupts in front
of the
oncoming wall of water.
Hiei slashes at Belldandy, leaving himself open
to her attack.
Kurama smiles sadly as he pulls the whip back, his
senses intent on the raging
battle around him. The whip snakes back, releasing Shougo, and curling
into his
hand, preparing for another lash. He closes his eyes and focuses his
ki on his
left hand, where he holds a strange object....
Belldandy is no warrior. Her ki blast misses Hiei
as she falls for his feint.
Too late she realizes her mistake... Hiei's sword strikes the shield
she
erected for herself and it crackles wildly, lightning rippling across
it's
surface.
Water and flame, doomed star-crossed lovers, couple
on the field of battle to
make steam. Visiblity on the rooftop is now obscured by a thick, pale
mist.
Enko's eyes close. She holds her palms together... a breeze swirling
around her
as she calls forth air to sweep away the mists...
Hiei snarls, the joy of battle surging within him
as he forces the katana down
with all his strength.
What water isn't burned away by Enko's rebuke diverts
its course in twin
streams which snake their way to their summoner, spiralling protectively
around
him before assuming the heads of dragons, transforming to serpentine
ribbons
which encircle and shield him. The mist grudgingly takes its leave,
although
being in no particular hurry, much of it opts to straggle, but not
enough to
obscure visiblity.
Belldandy puts her palms together, calling forth
all the power she can muster
to stop the sword strike... It is a clash of force versus force...
but
Belldandy's energy rapidly begins to fail...
Kurama glances at Shougo, his posture relaxed --
but his eyes sharp and
waiting. In his hand seems to be a rather large seed, half the size
of a man's
fist, and he smiles sadly ...
Hiei smiles savagely, as black flame leaps
up around his body, his figure
swelling almost imperceptibly with the energy straining to be loosed.
He tosses
his head back to scream a cry of triumph, his merciless eyes blazing
with
unleashed animal ferocity. Fire darts down the katana to strike at
the shield
with a hissing crackle.
Shougo makes a dramatically rapid gesture of dismissal,
sending one of his
'dragons' through the air on a collision course with Hiei, more or
less
intending to shove the young man away from his Fellow Technician. Turning
his
attention away from the effort, he looks instead toward Kurama and
Enko, with
one water-serpent still wreathing his form in lazy spirals.
Belldandy's shield gives way dramatically... and
Hiei's sword bites flesh. She
gives a gasp... and falls to the ground.
Shougo favors Belldandy's predicament with a mild
expression of concern before
returning his attention to more pressing matters. He's done what he
can about
her opponent, and has his own troubles to contend with.
Enko exclaims, "Teach them a lesson, Dragon! Injure
them enough so that they
will leave us alone! We do this to save everyone from the Storms..
and these
people stop are trying to stop us... I open the floodgates... release
your
power!"
Kurama hurls the seed towards the ground in front
of Shougo, and, closing his
eyes, will them to grow. Violet vines suddenly emerge from the demon
plant and
crawls towards Shougo, its venus-flytrap-jaws clacking and its tendrils
waving
...
Hiei, not expecting the attack from the side, is
smashed aside by the dragon
into the far wall. He winces as pain shoots through his body, but gives
no
outcry as he gets to his feet, brushing rubble from his body before
moving
forward sinously on silent feet, his gaze now chillingly deathlike.
Shougo's 'pet' flies apart, becoming razor-edged
half-moons which swarm in a
deadly mass to intercept the vegetable assailant.
Hiei roars a challenge, fire leaping about him in
an alarming aura that swells
bright enough to blind. He gives a twisted smile. "Now you see what
powers she
gave me," he intones, spreading his arms wide. The concrete beneath
his feet
cracks with the heat, the droplets of rain on it sizzling and vanishing
into
steam.
Amarukh has arrived.
>> As Amarukh enters the room, the scent of brine and roses follow.
Amarukh floats down in the center of the battlefield, his eyes glowing
an eerie
green ...
Shougo takes a wary step back, letting his water-razors
deal with the plant
beast. He looks toward Hiei now, and then begins -walking- toward Belldandy.
To
ward off possible protests against his purposeful course, a veritable
wall of
water tears its way into existence with the sound of a rushing tide,
encircling
him as he moves without apparent urgency to his fallen comrade.
Hiei darts his eyes to Amarukh, the fire roaring
about him only growing higher.
"Nande kuso?"
Enko exclaims, "The Storm of Salt!"
Amarukh says, "No ... this insanity must stop ...
" He glances at everyone, his
eyes staying on Hiei and Kurama for a few minutes ... " I am The Storm
of Salt
... and I will not allow the Contest to be ruined by some petty brat."
Amarukh is slowly enveloped by a swirling wave of
water, which slowly
dissipates as it touches her skin. A wave crests and shimmers to become
a misty
veil that wraps around her body, showing her skin tantalizingly, but
still
protecting her innocence. Her eyes turn steel-blue, and her hair turns
argent.
Black wings grow from her body, and curve back gracefully as she hovers
above
the ground, a light mist of silver emananting from her eyes.
Hiei stares, gaping.
Enko's eyes flashes darkly, lethaly. "That will
be the first to die! Burnt to
ashes!"
Belldandy is still lying limply on the ground.
Shougo pauses momentarily to study the new arrival.
Through his shield of
water, he can almost be seen to smile.
Hiei hesitates, the flames whipping around him whirling
faster, their heat
filling the air around him as he gazes at Amarukh, his eyes meeting
hers.
Enko exclaims, "I am Dawn! My Fire shall Burn you
to ashes Storm Bearer!"
Hiei says, "Why...na....nante.......Amarukh."
Amarukh murmurs, "Oto-san... Hiei-kun ... I'm sorry
...." She moves in a blur
between Hiei and Belldandy, positioning herself between the prone and
weakened
Technicians, and those that attack them. She smiles sadly at Hiei and
Enko, and
closes her eyes. "I am of Dusk ... and you will NOT interfere with
the
experiment. The Leveling WILL be proven right against your petty beliefs.
You
who say ... " She spits out, "... you who say you are of the Path of
Light ...
prove your own principles wrong." A field of salt particles ripple
across her
and she motions towards the three attackers, sending glittering lights
and
particles in their general direction. "You .... will ... fail."
Hiei lowers his head, a flicker of something fleeting
in his ruby gaze. He
mutters. "So be it."
Shougo's water-barrier spirals its way out of existence
then, as it is
apparently no longer needed. He approaches Belldandy's limp form and
bends to
gather her in his arms.
Hiei raises his head, eyes flashing. "So now I unleash
the power of the Ryuu no
Kaze!" The fire screams around him, climbing into a giant spiraling
funnel
burning with blistering heat. His voice lowers. "Kurama, stand back."
Kurama mutters, "What she said ... Father? ..." He
stands up and gasps, "...
no, Hiei-kun ..."
Enko says, "The Levelling is a farce! No one deserves
to die.. the only one who
does... are your kind, Storm Bearer... we are of no path. We exist
only to
protect what exists. And to do that, we must destroy..."
Amarukh mumbles, "Get ..... ..
I'll ..... them ..... you ..... flee
.. .. .. ..... experiment .....
go ..... .." to Belldandy, and Shougo.
Hiei's face stiffens to a mask of carved ice. "Kitsune.
Stand back."
Amarukh smiles bitterly at Enko and disregards the
other two. "The Levelling
... may or may not be true, but as your words say, you seek destruction.
Which
means you also serve the Leveling. In your own corrupted way."
Enko points her hands into the sky. Tongues of fire
explode around the building
as flames sheathe Hiei as the floodgates of power are opened to him.
Shougo looks up to meet Amarukh's eyes, betraying
something akin to doubt with
his expression before an impassive mask hides all. He nods, then, and
rises to
stand with the fallen megami in tow.
Kurama weakly murmurs to Hiei, "Do what your heart
thinks is right, my friend
... I stand with you."
Hiei crosses his arms in front of his face, eyes
closing. A whisper of
breath..."Fire Storm."
Amarukh smiles softly and motions to the speeding
particle, reflecting the
light of Hiei's flames and attempting to dazzle and blind the three
with the
particles of salt. A murmur and a sigh, "Salt Wave ..."
A shrieking whirlwind of fire explodes around the
slight figure of the fire
youkai, screaming outward with awesome force, the speed terrifying.
The stone
around Hiei's feet bursts with a crackling roar as the heat destroys
the stone,
a solid, scything wall of fire rushing to kill and destroy.
Enko exclaims, "Yes! That's it! Burn! Burn them all!"
Amarukh glances at the two, her eyes glowing green
with the light of the Storm.
"Hurry ... I can't hold them off much longer ..." She returns her gaze
to Hiei,
Kurama and Enko.
Shougo raises his bloodied hand high into the air
and makes a fist to strike
the heavens. Emanating outward from the point his knuckles strike,
a greyish
unlight creeps into being. This light takes the shape of a prism, briefly
seen
before it expands to engulf everything within a kilometer radius.
The flames spin faster with a booming roar, tearing
up the concrete and
melting metal as streams of fire shoot out around the building...and
the
colossal tornado of fire surges toward Amarukh.
The wave of salt slams on the flame, trying with
all its might to push the
flames back. As the flame melts the salt, the salt in turn smothers
the flame.
Shougo watches the combatants, hoping that this
new experience has put them at
least slightly out of sorts, giving him a chance to sieze some kind
of upper
hand..
Shougo gazes intently at Enko, as though he were
trying to bore holes in her
mind. Something happens, apparently...
Amarukh's eyes are hard, focused solely on Hiei.
She disregards Shougo and
concentrates on defending the innocents against this Wind ...
Enko blinks as her power is drained from her. "What
is..." she glances a dagger
stare at Shougo. "You will pay for this interferance, Shougo! You and
all your
kind...Hiei! Fight on... I will find you again I prom..." She begins
to
dissolve back into the real world, her form shimmering briefly before
she
disappears."
Shougo watches the girl vanish, his expression hardly
that of a triumphant
victor..more like someone who's broken his own favorite toy. "That
worked.."
Amarukh nods but keeps her gaze on Hiei, her wings
gently moving, allowing her
to hover as he watches ...
Amarukh murmurs, "Hiei-kun ... why do you do this?"
Hiei lifts his eyes to meet Amarukh's, his gaze
sharp. "You ask why? The
previous bearer of your storm killed many people and maimed me," he
spits out,
"And you still ask why?"
Amarukh glances softly at Hiei. "And if you believe
that, you begin to
subscribe to our philosophy ... and you forget." Her eyes sadden and
a single
pearl teardrop falls. "The last bearer of the Storm ... was my father
..."
Amarukh murmurs. "The previous Bearer ... my father
... Kurama." Her eyes fill
with sorrow ...
Hiei snarls. "Ch. Otousan, you called the kitsune.
Impossible!"
Hiei steps back, bewildered and angry....
Amarukh smiles softly, shaking her head. "That was
what I thought ... until I
began to remember. A month ago, in the hospital emergency room ...
the Salt
Storm last unleashed its energies. And the two who battled each other,
forcing
Yuffie, Genkai and the others to destroy the pendant ... was my father
and I."
She looks into your eyes and a tendril of thought enters Hiei's mind.
(Open your
Jagan, Hiei-kun ... and look into my soul. I trust you with this ...
as my
father trusts you.)
Amarukh relaxes and sags, her hair darkening until
it reverts to its normal red
color, his eyes sharpening to an emerald hue. The veil around him disappears
and he reverts to his normal clothing.
Hiei narrows his eyes. The white band of cloth around
his forehead rips away,
and the horrid glance of the Third Eye opens upon Amarukh. "You. You!"
Amarukh murmurs, "I ... am my father's daughter." She closes her eyes
and bares
her mind to the Eye ...
Amidst the swirling confusion of meeting her father
and you again, Amarukh's
mind is an orderly place, where the Storms are only an instrument of
change to
help the innocent, the weak, and those opressed by society. Dusk for
her is the
means for which society WILL change ... thus, the Leveling. (Or so
she thinks.)
The Storm rages inside her, but its corruption is tempered by her naivete
and
purity. As it is, the Storm has been bent to her iron will ... an inheritance
coming from both her parents.
Hiei's thought pierces her mind, treading its pathways
with thorough skill,
seeking for what he knows not but knows he will find.He delves deeper
into her mind and
an image of the hospital emergency room appears.
Kurama, standing by the side of the bed, is bent
as though carrying a
great burden. His eyes and hands glow the sickly green of the Storm
of Salt ...
and Rei is standing in front of him, willing to kill him and sacrifice
her
feelings for the sake of others. With his love for Rei in his heart,
Kurama
lets go of the Storm, releasing most of it in the city ... but a
fragment
remains. A fragment of the Storm, bound with a piece of Rei and
Kurama's soul
... tempered and purified by the flames of their love and willingness
to
sacrifice ... gave birth to their daughter.
Hiei closes his eyes, his brow furrowing at the
concept alien to him, almost
disbelieving, yet held by that intuition that sensitive seekers know
is the
truth. He staggers back as if hit with a physical blow, his fists clenching
and
unclenching convulsively. His eyes spring open, and a brilliant ruby
gaze bores
into Amarukh's own.
Amarukh stares back into your eyes and a single
teardrop falls ... and shimmers
in the lights cast by the Wind and the Storm, as it forms into a pearl
...
Hiei breathes out, "Shimatta..."
Amarukh sighs and murmurs, "Now you know who I am,
Hiei-kun ..." She lowers her
eyes to the ground and a sob wracks through her slender frame. "...
I am the
daughter of your two friends ... and I ... am the Storm of Salt."
Her voice saddens and she moves back. "I do not
wish to fight you or Father,
Hiei-kun ... but I must stop you from this insanity. The Tempests are
not meant
to destroy humanity, but only to aid them in their own way ..." With
her head
bowed, she murmurs softly, "... and I will not kill ..."
Hiei stands there, the flames around him dying to
nothing. A slow wind sighs
about him, curling into itself and disappearing as he fixes cold eyes
on the
figure of his friend's daughter. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, his
form
sags, leaving a figure bereft of strength, weary and spent. His eyes
flick to
Amarukh again, this time, a faint sadness in their red depths vanishing
into
the cold mask.
Amarukh glances at Hiei, her eyes reflecting hissorrow
... for as the Jagan
peered into her soul, she also peered into his ...
Hiei says, "Perhaps it falls to the Bearer then,
truly." His gaze darkens.
"Then we all are deceived, if that is the truth." He raises his right
arm,
staring at the bandaged limb, underneath which lives the Kokuryuhaa.
"We are
all puppets on strings."
She is still gasping, hurt by the events that slowly
force her into moving
their way ... and as she begins to cry, she murmurs, "Hai ... but I
believe
..." She sobs softly, "... I believe we are given our own choices ...
like
father and mother made theirs and released the Storm ....
Hiei appears next to Amaru-chan, laying a firm but
gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Stand...I will not have you broken by this."
Amarukh weakly stands and glances at you ... "I
cannot bear it ... I almost
killed my father ... " She shyly moves away from you slowly. "... and
I almost
killed you. I ..." She gasps weakly. "... am not evil ..."
Amarukh looks at her hands, saying the four words
like a prayer. "I am not evil
..."
Hiei narrows his eyes, almost exasperated, but he
moves closer, his hands
closing on her shoulders. "No, you are not. No more than....than Kurama."
A
faint grimace, as he thinks of himself. .oO(But I am.)
Amarukh murmurs, "Thank you ..." Her eyebrows tighten
and her mind touches
yours, a legacy from her mother. oO(No.Not you ...)
Hiei's mouth twitches in a slight half-smile. "Quit
that. I didn't let you do
that did I?" he interjects almost gruffly, but a gleam of fond tolerance,
quickly masked, flickers in his eyes before he snorts and turns away.
Amarukh smiles shyly and rubs her hand across her
eyes, dashing away the
moistness. She murmurs softly, "H...hai ... but I have my parents'
memories of
you ... and I've seen into your soul and touched the dark flames that
burns
within. I ... know you now ..."
Hiei hmphs and crosses his arms. "Really."
Amarukh nods gently ... and shyly extends her hand.
"Hai ... would you like to
go to the Sip for ... coffee?"
Hiei suppresses a faint chuckle, which he very quickly
covers with a glare.
"Hnn. No. I mean, Yes. I mean, I need my espresso."