AbhorsenSabriel87: Good lord! You people suck!

Anna: That's no way to talk to your readers!

Sabriel: Heh, right. --sarcasm-- Am I just supposed to let them get away with hitting my stories without reviewing? Hells no! --turns to readers again-- Listen people; I know this is a bit of a difficult concept, but you need to stick with me here. Most of us authors write here because we love to do so, but another thing we like is to hear that our work is appreciated ...or hated by the masses, which ever fits the bill per story at the time. So please; review or flame. We all need to know if what we're doing is worth it!

Anna: Wouldn't the lack of reviews be a clue that people don't like your stories?

Sabriel: --glares at her-- Except for the fact that I have people hitting my stories all the freaking time!

Anna: Language.

Sabriel: --anime fall-- I didn't say anything!

Anna: I'm preventing you from doing so.

Sabriel: --grumbles-- Screw it. I don't care. Do this disclaimer so I can continue writing this story that no one seems to want to review.

Anna: --sighs-- AbhorsenSabriel87 does not own Yu Yu Hakusho or anything else in her stories that have been copyrighted before now. Now, please enjoy the story.

Sabriel: And review damnit all!

Anna: --sighs-- When will she learn?

-------------------------------------------------------------

Surprised by the sudden snatch, the little girl doesn't know exactly what to do as she is carried away into the forest. But as soon as Hiei is out of her sight, instinct kicks in and she tries to squirm away and scream for the stranger to help her. Unfortunately, the vampyre's grip around her waist is tight as iron shackles and the hand over her lips doesn't budge an inch, not even for a whimper of fear. She has no idea where they're headed until she sees a small cave hidden in the face of the mountain, one she had played in many times before. Terrified of what could happen to her in such a secluded place, she struggles harder and gains nothing but a lack of energy soon after they enter the hidden cavern.

The space within is large enough to house six people comfortably and is littered with stalagmites across the ground near the walls of the cave. The cave is also lit by a small skylight in the ceiling, casting an eerie glow about the cavern. As he slides to a stop, the vampyre drops Randirain harshly onto the ground. She hits hard and tumbles over herself, but before she is allowed to recover, she is pinned to the ground by his death-frozen hands, so unlike the warmth of her protector… who is nowhere to be seen.

"You have been quite an annoyance, little half-blood," Richard snarls, his voice no longer sweet, but filled with rage and bloodlust like his companion's. "Because of this, I think I'll reap as much reward from your death as I can... I'll make you one of us and have you be my eternal servant." His fangs gleam in his sinister face as much as his bright red eyes as he leans forward and scrapes them across her throat, her pulse racing beneath them as she tries desperately to scream or move. None of her attempts succeed as the vampyre chuckles darkly and hisses, leaning further in for the bite to seal her fate. Anticipating the strike, the child shuts her eyes tight and stiffens in preparation.

The strike never comes. Slowly, frightfully, she opens her eyes to see that her attacker has moved back from her neck, a confused look on his face and the point of a bloody sword through his pale throat. "What in Hells-" he manages to choke out before the blade rips itself from his neck. Spinning to face his attacker while clamping one hand to his wound, he growls darkly when he sees his opposition. "So, you managed to take care of Victor?" he murmurs, evil eyes cast upon his smaller foe. "I will not be so easy to take down."

"Hn. You all say that, and yet for some reason you seem to die anyway." The familiar voice grants Randirain some hope and she moves slightly to see her rescuer. Sure enough, it is the assassin from before, slightly scuffed up, but apparently ready to go with a sinister smirk on his face. "You blood-suckers never seem to realize that facing me is idiotic and suicidal," he taunts again, letting the words ring with an imperious air. "I guess you do lose most of your brain when you die. Either that or you have a second death wish. Which do you think it is, Richard?"

"I have neither," the vampyre growls, dropping the frightened child as he stands. "It's just my duty to bring this girl back. Dead, alive, or half-dead; my employer is not picky."

"And who is your employer, might I ask?" Richard smirks darkly, removing his hand from his throat and revealing that his wound is almost gone. "That's a secret, Hiei," he mutters soothingly, dropping all the formalities of before. "Now, are we going to fight, or shall I just kill you both while you stand there and gab away?" Instantly, the vampyre is striking at the smaller man, the other just barely blocking each time. Scared almost to insanity, Randirain crawls as fast as she can behind a stalagmite and curls her knees up to her chest, praying fervently that the battle will soon end in her protector's favor. The few minutes she waits seem like hours as the fight continues on out of her sight; metal clashing on metal, flesh striking flesh, spatters of blood staining the ground.

Finally, with a slight cry of pain, she hears someone being hit against a wall and sliding down it. Afraid for what she'll see, the young half-elf turns and peeks around the edge to see Hiei, battered and bloody, slumped against the wall and clutching his bleeding right arm in pain. Richard appears once more in her view, clothes slashed but otherwise relatively unharmed.

"So this is how the proud Forbidden Child dies," he laughs wickedly. "At the hands and feet of a half-dead like me. Instead of killing you, perhaps I'll drain you dry instead. It will give me the power you've been hoarding for centuries, maybe enough to return me to life as a demon." He stops and seems to think for a moment before chuckling darkly. "Yes, I think that will do just fine."

Hiei gives a weak smirk and replies, "Hn, do you really think it's that easy to kill me? Go ahead and do it already; although I don't heal as fast as you, I'm already working on it. This is your only chance while I'm down. Finish me and be done with it." Horrified at his response, tears form on Randirain's face and she bites her lip to keep them at bay. He's allowing this fiend to kill him? But then I'll be all alone with that monster! I don't want to die!

"Heh, all right. Time to dine then, my rare little Koorime!" As the vampyre raises his clawed hand and darts it forward towards Hiei's heart, the girl turns away in grief and fear, praying for a miracle. When she hears the splattering of blood and a groan of pain, she buries her face in her hands and weeps for a moment, thinking of her fallen comrade who gave his life to help her in vain. Wishing to see his face once more before her half-life imprisonment, she peeks around to stone once again, and the sight she receives surprises and terrifies her.

Richard's hand missed Hiei's heart, burying deeply into his left shoulder at the collarbone. Hiei, on the other hand, has a pained but triumphant look on his face as his right arm is outstretched toward his attacker. Piercing through the back of the vampyre's shirt is an uneven piece of ebony, a remainder of the broken skis. "Go to Hell, and take your foolish ideals with you," Hiei growls. In an instant, his eyes flash in their garnet hue and he jerks the wood from Richard's chest. In an unearthly scream of pain, the vampyre's body burns into a pile of ash on the floor, never to be seen or heard from again.

Content with his triumph, however lucky, Hiei pushes himself to his feet tiredly and glances around the cavern with wary eyes, dropping the remains of the make-shift stake onto the ground. "Randirain?" he calls out quietly, his voice echoing slightly in the small space. "Where are you, child?" Slowly, she pulls herself out from behind the stalagmite into his line of view. When he notices her, he walks over, limping slightly on his left ankle. He kneels in front of her and glances over her, as if checking for injuries, then glances at her leg. The jarring impact of being thrown to the ground hadn't broken the bone again, but fragments of stone had cut through her wounded leg badly and it had bled quite a bit during the fight without her knowledge, and the strength of which the vampyre had held her throat left bruises along her pale neck. "Well, at least you're not dead," Hiei mutters darkly. He helps her to her feet, still kneeling and orders, "Climb on, I'll take you home. You're in no condition to walk." Grateful for his kindness (however coldly portrayed), she warily hooks her right arm over his shoulder and her left under so not to further wound his shoulder. Without any trouble at all, Hiei picks up her legs and runs out of the cave and up the mountain toward her home, faster than Randirain had ever traveled before.

As they make their way up the slope, the little six-year-old spots where they had been before Richard had snatched her. Not really to her surprise lay a pile of ash on the ground and a scorched bit of a broken branch. Apparently, her savior had prevailed with deadly accuracy in that battle as well. Felling oddly tired, Randirain lays her head against Hiei's warm back and begins to drift off.

"Hey kid, stay awake here," his voice calls back to her, snapping her awake instantly. "If you fall asleep out here, you could die. Since I just risked my neck to save you, don't even think about it before you have a chance to repay me." Sighing in exhaustion, she nods and looks up at the dark sky, trying to stay awake. The stars shine brightly and coldly above them, making Randirain feel smaller than ever before. The only question in her mind is not how she survived, nor would she, but what manner of man she had provoked into helping her. He obviously neither cares whether he lives or dies, nor seems to care for her at all. He treats her as if he were a mercenary assigned to protect her against his will. But if that was the case, why had he been so... gentle?

The slowing of his rapid pace makes her glance up, and she notes that his breathing has not changed from before. He says something in that dark language that she cannot understand, then regains his speed, in fact going faster than before. She dares not ask what has him so concerned, but instead holds on tightly so that she may not fall from his hold. After a while, she notices him slowing again, and an odd form of light casting itself over the trees. Looking up over her shoulder as her guardian halts once more, she gasps at the sight of her home before her, burning to the ground as roaring flames licked the skies.

"…Damnit all," Hiei murmurs, bowing his head. "Now I can't get rid of you, can I?" He turns away from the burning remnants of the once beautiful home and begins to run back down the mountain as Randirain buries her head in his shoulder and sobs quietly.

Within moments, she is fast asleep, and Hiei has entered the small town at the base of the mountain. Heading directly for the hospital, he makes sure that none of his wounds are clearly seen and enters, immediately calling for a doctor to treat the young girl.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Sabriel: Okay, that's done after freaking forever.

Anna: That's coz you're lazy as Hell.

Sabriel: Now who's swearing?!

Anna: R&R readers!