Just Another Comeback ((Open))

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

Lustrous blonde hair danced to the cold wind as she passed by. Her ashen complexion unblemished, silver eyes glimmering in the dark—this Lady certainly is the epitome of beauty. A faint smile formed on her moistened lips as she marched in the night, searching for something to keep her occupied.

The whisper of the cicadas. The clatter of the soles of her high-heeled sandals against the ground. The voice of her so-called ‘soeur.’ Those were what keep her ears company, while her eyes struggled in the obscurity of the evening, with nothing but the crescent moon’s guiding light to follow.

A cold wind blew against her face, flaxen strands tickled her cheeks. A small chuckle, nothing more, and then silence.

[Hiei]

History was once more repeating itself. The coldness feeling of loneliness was once more familiar to the young matured male, ever since he destroyed every single relationship he had with people he loved, the most significant one being Hime. And now, he was taking another simple stroll under the light of the luminous moon, having being deprived of the ability of sleep. The pain in his heart took it from him. He stopped in his tracks, hiding his crimson eyes as he closed his eyelids. His head lowered, his red-tipped raven-black hair shadowing his forehead, eyebrows and eyes.

The boy was wearing a plain loose black shirt, where ripples appeared as the night breeze blew past his person. For his bottom wear, he was wearing brown cargo pants with at least two pockets on each side, two of them containing his two hands. His forearms were covered in white dirtied bandages, and a part of the dark mark of the Dark Dragon was visible at the open area between the sleeve and the bandages. The Dark Dragon represented his Wrath, Chaos representing his Envy. Perhaps there were five more demons dormant inside him, each corresponding to one of the Seven Sins?

Then, the sound of footsteps entered his sharp ears, the battle-hardened teenager looking up, his eyes opening and his crimson hues scanning the area around him. Somewhere to his right, he noticed another figure, a long-haired figure, probably a female. Under the light of the crescent moon, he could only manage to make out part of the person's features, but from what he could see, he realised that it was a female and a beautiful one at that. He stayed where he stood, his head still turned to the right and his seemingly luminous red eyes glued onto the female figure.

For a moment, he was reminded of Hime, another sharp pain entering his chest like an arrow. No, he could no longer think of her. Although she had inspired him many times in his battles, all he could give her was pain. It was best for her. She deserved a better person. A person that was better than himself. The self-proclaimed and reputated Crimson Protector, Masaaki Hiei.

[Kira-chan]

"Ehh.. It's dark already.."

The female student said to herself, as she read the last sentence of the chapter and closed the book she was reading. Tucking the library chair underneath the desks so that others wouldn't trip over it. Carrying the book with two hands, and placing it up to the same place where she had found it.

Time passes so quickly when you don't count down. It was three o'clock when she had started reading books in the library, and before she knew it, night has fallen.

Her plan didn't go like how she wanted it to go. Thinking that she'd be back in her dorm before dark. Akira's not the kind of girl who'd disobey the school rules, and for her own safety, it's better if she goes before dark. Therefore, she'll take a shortcut. From the library to the dorms.

Walking along the unsteady ground, taking the shortest path possible to get to the dorms quickly. Clumsily stepping on a peble, slipping down from the higher grounds and into a lower. Letting out a wince of pain, Kira tried standing up after the fall, but it only hurt her ankle even more.

A sigh was let out from her lips, followed by a deep breath, to shout out:

"HELP!"

OOC: Claymore? Issit good? ;;

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

OOC: Pretty cool, but I've only seen up to the ninth episode. Teresa is <333 xDD

She couldn’t be any more comfortable in her clothing—a black-necked silver leotard under a white fur coat. For many hours had she been practicing, and this is the reason why she’s out so late. In a distance, she could see the silhouette of a person, alone in the darkness.

A male.

Widening her silvery eyes, Roux let out a quiet laughter, bringing her hand over to her mouth. “Absolument magnifique!” she blurted out in her native language, and then continued to giggle to herself.

Ah, if it isn’t the infamous Masaaki Hiei. What ever is he doing out this late at night? the Lady’s soeur tauntingly pointed out, making Roux laugh even harder.

Masaaki Hiei. There’s virtually nobody in the academy who doesn’t know his name. Many say that the mention of his name strikes fear to the hearts of his enemies. He has participated in battles nobody dreams of participating in. Despite of all of it, he is weak when it comes to a certain someone—Mizuno Hime, Alice Academy’s fair-haired princess. Just recently, the two broke up, causing a massive setback to the students and even staff of the academy.

What makes it very amusing for the Lady is the fact that at the present moment, she shares the same color as the undoubted academy princess. Capricious is this young woman’s mind, and the broken-hearted lad is just absolutely ill-fated for having crossed paths with Roux and her soeur.

In a few seconds she was already next to the alleged Crimson Protector. Roux playfully stood in front of him and stared at him at the face. “Mi-tsu-ke-ta~” she said in a sing-song manner, her hands locked behind her back.

To the Lady’s irritation there was a shout of dismay, which she responded to with a quick glare towards the source of the sound.

Of all things, her soeur told her.

Merde, she cursed in her mind.

[Hiei]

“Absolument magnifique!”

Although it had been soft, the silence of the night gave no resistence for the sound of her words to enter Hiei's ears. A French? At that, his eyes slightly squinted. The only language he was familiar with was the universal language, English. Although he was Japanese, he was not that good at it. He could understand his native language, but could not speak it, which, of course, is rather pathetic. The sound of laughter next entered his ears, causing the silent young male to raise an eyebrow as he wondered what was going on in her mind.

In a few seconds, there were right beside each other, the male turning on his heels to face her completely, his hands still in his pockets. Soon enough, he found himself locked eye-to-eye with the French girl, his face keeping stern and expressionless thoughout the awkward moment. Save the call of the cicadas and the wind, the pair was surrounded by the silence of the night. Though, her voice once more entered his ears, breaking the silence.

“Mi-tsu-ke-ta~”

She spoke in such a way that Hiei was having this feeling that she was flirting with him. Her staring at his face and her 'playful' pose further proved that. Hiei raised another eyebrow. Now, he was unsure whether or not she was speaking in French OR Japanese. Why doesn't anyone speak in English anymore? Then, just as he was about to inquire on her words, then another sound entered his ears. Was it just him, or was there anyone asleep at all this night?

His head turned as his red eyes gazed at the direction of the sound. It seemed that a student was in trouble and once again, Hiei found himself automatically walking forward towards the plead for assistance. Although his body seemed calm, his pace was faster than before. As he took the second step, he turned his head as he looked at the French girl, wondering if she would follow or not. Knowing types like her, Hiei was sure that she would do just the former.

Thoughout the whole moment, his mouth never opened, not even to let his breathe escape into the cold night as thin mist. After his break-up with Hime, he found that it had once more become difficult for him to express emotion. It was painful, but he found it rather useful too. It made it harder for him to develop close relationships with people, which was best for people like him. People who would always be in the face of danger. It was the best for himself and for the people around him.

[Kira-chan]

Rubbing both hands together, creating heat, as she placed both palms on her cheek. The night grew darker and darker, only to scare her even more. Especially with the sounds of insects accompanying her. If there was something better than insects she wouldn't be so worried.

That wasn't the only thing worrying her though. For someone who's scared of the dark, being alone outside at night was really something. Akira looked up the night sky, the crescent moon was pretty, but the dark surroundings still scared her. Taking a deep breath once again, as she waited for a reply from her earlier SOS call. Nothing but silence was heard, and another sigh was let out.

"AH! I know, I'll just get back to the higher grounds and skip with one leg all the way back to the dorms!"

Kira thought as she forced her sprained foot to let her get up, reaching for the higher grounds, and hopefully climb up to it, and her plan would work. Even though herself and her clothes would be dirtied by the soil, she could always wash them and she'd be clean again. The important thing is that she's back in her dorm, no? Sadly slipping back down to the lower grounds, now having both ankles sprained.

"No way.. This is a joke, right?"

She said to herself, regretting the fact that she had thought up of something idiotic to get her back in her room. It was her fault to have stayed in the library for so long though, she didn't mean to. Tears started to fall out from her eyes. The dark skies were already scaring her enough, and the thought of being stuck there for the rest of the night was even worst.

"DAREKA?! TASUKETTE!"

Shouted the girl, wiping her tears with her sleeves.

"Kowai yo.."

OOC: Ah, then I'll go see how good it is myself =D

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

OOC: Dammit, there's no MS Word in this computer. T_T

“Urusai wa yo ne... hontou ni,” the Lady grunted as another call of distress was made; her cold breath escape her mouth. It was a chilly evening, and even though that was so, Roux was perfectly warm as her fur coat embraced her tiny body. Little did she know that a girl was already freezing herself, hurt and lying on the ground. Well, even if she knew about that, she still wouldn't care. She's been such a mystery these days—there are times that she's really playful and there are times when she's just plainly cruel. The second statement applies to her right now.

She straightened up, flipped her blond hair to the side and then skipped towards the source of the sound with all grace. Yes, she's a gymnast; she practices rhythmic gymnastics to be exact. The elegance in her every move shows that she isn't any ordinary girl. Her personality isn't ordinary either.

The French mademoiselle looked back to her male companion who was already behind her, then pointed somewhere towards the ground, near the bushes. “There's your distress caller,” she said coldly, as if not pertaining to a person. Well, that can't be helped; Roux was about to have fun then she was interrupted. The person who interrupted her moment with Masaaki Hiei is absolutely unlucky—the Lady's wrath has just been incurred.

[Hiei]

"DAREKA?! TASUKETTE!"

Hiei let out a rather frustrated sigh. Sometimes, distress calls were rather annoying, especially when they were repeated over and over again. Whoever this girl was, she seemed to be very frightened. Hiei had confirmed that it was a she, taking note of the pitch of her yells. The fright of the lady-in-distress was rather obvious too. Hiei could feel it, for some reason. Perhaps something Chaos had provided him with. Now, now, he started to formulate a little back-up plan in his head, just in case. Using his fires as light was completely a pointless thing to do. Dark Dragon's flames were black and gave no light and Chaos' flames were purple. Not exactly bright either. He was going to have to depend to the light of the crescent moon. And he realised that all these thoughts were relevant to combat. After months of practicing himself in the preparation of combat, it seemed to have become a permanent habit.

A gust of the night breeze blew straight at his face, this time bringing with it coldness that gripped around the male like a hand, causing him to shiver for a moment as he let his body get used to the sudden change of temperature, before returning to a casual pace. He gritted his teeth as a way to prevent them from clattering. Among all the night walks he'd had, this had to be one of the coldest ones he'd had. Perhaps because that warm fuzzy feeling of love was gone? An illogical reason, but Hiei found point in it.

He turned his head as he heard the French's steps coming closer and soon, she passed her as she skipped forward, in front of the male now. Eyeing her movements rather carefully, he noticed that none of her movements were wasteful. It seemed to be perfectly co-ordinated, or in a more simple term, graceful. A martial artist? No, she did not FEEL like it. Perhaps a dancer, or a gymnast? Perhaps.

Though, it seemed that she had found whoever was in trouble. Looking at her for a moment, he gave a nod, before walking forward, past her and towards the bushes. Did the girl have some kind of grudge against the damsel-in-dismay or something? Hiei sighed. Sometimes, he just never understood the female mind. Pulling both of his hands out from his pockets, he noticed a hint of red light on the top of his right hand. Looking at it, he saw the eyes of the Dark Dragon tattoo blinking red. Hiei immediately knew what the demon wanted, but he would have to delay the dragon's request for now. Reaching out with both of his hands, he shifted the bushes aside, only to notice that he was standing on a hilltop.

On the bottom of the rocky hill, or perhaps it was a hole, Hiei was not yet sure, was a girl. The lady-in-distress. Hiei knelt down, placing his hands on the top of the sides, feeling the rock give way under slight pressure. It was rather unstable. Looking back down at the girl below, he finally spoke out, his voice loud but his tone calm and almost expressionless.

"Stay there. And don't panic."

Standing back up, he took a step back, turning towards the French girl. Looking into her eyes, he reached his right hand out to his right. Then, from the finger tips, black flames slowly engulfed his arm up to his elbows, burning off the white bandages and revealing the whole of the Dark Dragon tattoo and also some of the burnt skin of his forearms. The black flame flickered under the light of the crescent moon, before expanding outwards like a snake, the tip of the trail of fire forming into a shape akin to that of a crocodile head. The flames were cut off from Hiei's hand, his arm now bare and flameless, the burns on his skin now easier to notice. His eyes then travelled from the French girl's towards the trail of flame that now formed an L shape, the 'head' being at the top and half of its body on the ground. It had to be at least ten meters long. Then, two red dots appeared on the 'head', indicating the eyes, which turned to look at Hiei, who nodded at the flaming black creature. This was the Dark Dragon.

The Dark Dragon then lowered its head until its chin touched the ground. Bending his knees a bit, he jumped up, landing on the Dragon's snout, before walking up to the top of its head. Some would find this rather unbelievable, as Dark Dragon looked like it was made of fire, but truth was, the demon could take a physical form too. Once it did, it'll be like the flames does not exist at all. Turning towards the French girl, he lowered his body and stretched his left hand out, gesturing for her to come up with him.

"Don't worry. He doesn't burn."

[Kira-chan]

OOC: Me too ;;. Poor Suzuki cannot understand Nihongo

Cold wind blew once more. Shivering in her own little place down the bottom of the hill, sitting atop dead leaves, and fresh grass. Only having a thin, light pink long-sleeved shirt and brown three-quarter pants on. She would have never thought that she'd be caught in this kind of situation.

Tears stopped when she heard the clattering sound of footsteps, glad that her SOS call was loud enough to be heard by others, and that the people who came would actually, well, come. Looking up to the higher grounds, where she had slipped from. From there a young male's head's sillhouette could be seen.

"Stay there. And don't panic."

The boy said, although his voice was rather mono-tone, she felt at ease that someone was there to 'rescue' her. Placing her hands which she had used to wipe her tears earlier down, feeling the sensation of the cold ground which she is sitting on.

Facing the boy, she nodded and reverted her attention back to what's in front of her, often looking up again. Waiting for the young lad to come down and fetch her. Wondering what kind of trick he would use to rescue her.

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

Roux simply observed Hiei, following his every move with her unnatural silver eyes. For some reason, she could feel an air of something she couldn’t really explain. All this time she’s been feeling that with her male companion. It wasn’t until a few moments that the Lady finally understood it. Frustration. Uncertainty.

Loneliness.

Feelings are very interesting, aren’t they, my dear soeur? the inner voice inquired, after Roux realized what was really happening. She simply replied to her soeur with a sadistic smile. She closed her eyes and then shifted her attention back to the young man. Something started to materialize.

Like a child in a candy store, the Lady’s expression changed from a sadistic one to a euphoric one as Hiei’s arm was enveloped by black flames. She brought her palms together in excitement as her grin grew wider and wider. This is what she has been waiting for; a chance to witness the famous Masaaki’s alice. This kind of thing is why she chose to stay in this prison-like institution—after all, it would be easy to escape from this academy with the kind of alice she has.

Even though it was very dim that night, the luminosity of the moon was enough for Roux to be able to make out the silhouette of a dark dragon-like figure. It was the famed Dark Dragon in corporeal form.

“Don't worry. He doesn't burn,” he mouthed, much to the French lady’s delight. Her palms parted and then she applauded.

“Très intéressant! S'il vous plait, Monsieur Hiei!” she said out of excitement. Oh, how absolutely fortunate of her! At first she wanted to ‘play’ with him, but now, she’s being given the chance to experience his alice! This is such a glorious day for her. She would save her thoughts of ‘playing’ with him for later, and just enjoy the moment.

This is getting more amusing than expected, my dear, her soeur said in her mind. She giggled a bit and brought a finger over her lips. Exactly, she replied.

She reached out her silky hands to take hold of Hiei’s, and then leaped elegantly on to the creature’s snout as well. Never letting go of the boy’s hand, she started tiptoeing towards him, giggling like a little girl. The distress caller is the least of her concerns at the moment.

[Hiei]

“Très intéressant! S'il vous plait, Monsieur Hiei!”

Once again, Hiei sighed. The only words he understood were Monsieur and Hiei, which of course was his name. As she giggled, Hiei started having second thoughts on bringing her along, but it was too late now. He could not just take away his hand just as she reached out hers. He felt her smooth hands touch his and for a moment, he was reminded of Hime. Ignoring another arrow to his chest, he hoisted the girl up onto the head of the Dark Dragon. As soon as she did, Hiei loosened his grip on her hand. He may be cold sometimes, but he still knew basic manners. He was not just going to pull his hand away like that. Though, hopefully she would get what Hiei was trying to tell her by loosening his grip.

"Get down. You're still new to riding, so you might fall off if you're not balanced enough."

His voice was calm and almost monotonous. He bent his own knees, whether or not Roux was still holding his hand. As soon as the French girl would prepare for 'lift-off', the Dark Dragon would then raise its head, before slowly rising into the air up to its full length. Keeping its head horizontally straight, the Dark Dragon then started to descend towards the center of the hole, the speed neither too fast nor too slow, as Hiei had instructed the demon. As they made their descend, Hiei turned towards the girl.

"One thing, though. Could you speak in English? I can't understand more than half of what you're saying."

As soon as he was finished talking over the sound of the wind, the Dark Dragon started to slow its small descend, its tail in the air and its head near the ground, still horizontally straight. At that, Hiei leaned forward, seeing the girl on the side of the hill, right in front of him. If Roux had not yet let go of his hand, Hiei would then grab her wrist, gently pulling it away. Once he was free of any 'shackles', he would then descend from the head of the black dragon snake. Walking up to the girl, he would then kneel down by her side, asking a single question.

"Are you alright?"

[Kira-chan]

A black demon, very much like a tube fox. Apart from the fact that tube foxes are cute and small, compared to that of the black demon. Dragon look-alike. It flew down to where she was, carrying its passangers. A beautiful blonde haired girl, and the boy whose sillhouette was viewed earlier.

The black demon descended its altitude, arriving right in front of her, as the boy hops off the black dragon-like creature. Walking towards her, who was on the ground. Kneeling down before her, only to ask if she was okay. Looking at her left foot, before turning to the boy once again.

"My feet.." She started. "That's all.. Apart from that I'm fine.."

Starting to shiver once more, this time it wasn't because of the cold. Once again, tears flowed out of the fourteen-year old's eyes, as she hurriedly wiped them with her sleeves. Weird, she shouldn't be crying now that she's been somewhat rescued.

"Yokatta.."

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

The Lady was sadistic, yes, but certainly she wasn’t insensitive. She could feel that Hiei was starting to hate her now, and if that pushes through, she wouldn’t be able to have some ‘fun’ with him. Roux could only ignore that gut feeling and shut up, simply holding on to her companion’s hand as tight as she could.

"Get down. You're still new to riding, so you might fall off if you're not balanced enough," he said.

Not balanced enough? Being a well-coordinated gymnast as herself, she was rather insulted by that. Okay, it’s true that she was new to riding this dragon creature, but the statement ‘not balanced enough’ doesn’t apply to her. She was about to say something spiteful, but she restrained herself in doing so.

Just let this pass; this way, I’ll be able to read him easier, her soeur suggested. Roux replied with a sigh, and then moved closer to Hiei. She bent down and sat on her thighs, not letting go of the young man’s hand. Her fur coat would probably brush against Hiei’s burnt arm as Roux leaned her head onto his shoulder. She wasn’t being romantic—oh no, she wasn’t; she was simply wondering on how the boy would react to this.

"One thing, though. Could you speak in English? I can't understand more than half of what you're saying."

This made the Lady snap. What the hell is wrong in speaking in her native languages? She removed her head from the boy’s shoulder and then looked straight at him in the eyes, being rather expressionless as she did so. A sigh escaped from her lips, and then a sweet smile.

Perfect timing; I need to practice my voice anyway, she thought.

Roux could feel her soeur smile. Poor boy, it replied, You’re going to hurt him a lot.

“I’m sorry,” she started in a rather soft voice, never taking her silver eyes off the boy, “It was rather inconsiderate of me to comment in my native languages. I’ll speak only in English from now on, m’kay?” She smiled at him, and then turned her attention towards their destination.

It was a familiar voice—familiar to anybody who’s met or even heard the asserted princess of the academy talk.

Although her imitation wasn’t exact, the Lady just used Mizuno Hime’s voice.

***

Finally they arrived at their destination, and Hiei and Roux disembarked from the Dark Dragon. She looked down on the injured girl with her now expressionless silver eyes, and then sighed. She bent down and looked intently at the girl.

“Nakanaide,” she said in a low voice (still having Hime’s voice, but rather cold), taking her whitish fur coat off. She placed it over the girl’s shoulders, cringing as she saw her beautiful coat drop on the dusty ground.

My, my, aren’t you being nice today, the voice inside her head mockingly stated.

“Hmmf,” she retorted as she stood up to turn her back to the girl. I just can’t take this kind of freaking drama.

[Hiei]

“I’m sorry, it was rather inconsiderate of me to comment in my native languages. I’ll speak only in English from now on, m’kay?”

Hiei's eyes widened as the Dark Dragon descended, turning his head to look at the girl. As soon as he did, for a brief flash moment, he thought that the girl was Hime, the appearance even changing for that small moment. Another tinge of pain entered his chest and he gritted his teeth. Her voice. It reminded him of Hime. The tone, the pitch it was all similar. Through, the accent was a little off, but it sounded a lot like Hime nonetheless. Who was this girl? And what was she up to? And why was she leaning her head on his shoulders like there were couples or something? It was a rather uncomfortable position too, with the fur from her coat tickling her burnt skin.

Ignoring the awkward and painful moment, he simply turned back to their destination without returning the smile. Whatever was happening here, he sure felt rather depressed, for some reason. Well, he knew what the reason was, though he simply persuaded himself that he does not. Going back was a very difficult thing to do, not to mention painful. This was best, he kept telling himself.

Still, he could not help but think about her and now, this girl whom he was holding hands with. Why did it seem like she was Hime, and yet she was not? This was certainly getting difficult and uncomfortable for him. He made a mental note that once he had brought the two back to the school compounds, he was going to leave instantly.

-=-=-=-=-

"My feet.. That's all.. Apart from that I'm fine.."

Hiei turned his eyes towards her feet, then noticed the slight disfiguration of her ankles. Sprained? Hopefully. Hiei sat up straight fist, looking up the rocky hillside by him. That was certainly a rather painful fall. He wondered how many people would have fallen victim to this dangerous spot, it being hidden by the bushes. Turning back to the girl, he noticed her crying and let out a soft sigh. He simply let her cry. What could he do about it anyway? He was never good at comforting people.

The French girl then came, placing her fur coat on the girl, earning a raised eyebrow from the male. That was a rather surprising move from her. Hiei had thought that the French girl was rather angry at the distress caller for having interrupted her, though now she was helping her. Hiei was about to look up and give her a nod when he heard her voice once more. His eyes widened slightly as he did. This voice. He had heard it before. Twice. Once was when he had been possessed by the Dark Dragon and the other was when Hiei had come into AAO to rescue two people. Both times belonged to the same person. Hime Mizuno.

Another tinge of pain and another shiver, Hiei ignored it for a moment. He only had to bear with the pain a few moments more. He noticed the French girl turning around, as if not wanting to see the injured girl. Hiei looked at her for a moment, before turning back to the distress caller.

"Hold on and try to bear with the pain."

At that, he placed his left arm under her knees and wedged his right arm under her shoulders. Letting out a soft grunt, he forced himself up, the girl in her arms. This was the best way to carry her without getting her ankles into much contact with anything else. The harder part was trying to keep the fur coat on her. Turning around carefully on the rocky ground, he walked back towards the Dark Dragon, passing the French girl as he did. Stopping beside her, he looked into her eyes and spoke.

"Come on, let's go. We have to get her ankles looked at."

Now, there was something about his eyes this time. It showed no hostility nor coldness at all. In fact, it seemed rather... Grateful. Despite all the pains she had, delibrately or not, made him go through, Hiei held no grudge against her. After all, she was one of those that he vowed to protect. Holding a grudge would only make it harder. And his life was already hard enough. He did not have to make it much worse.

[Kira-chan]

"Thank you, and sorry."

Kira apologized as she wiped away the last drops of tears before she had stopped crying. Thank you, for being so nice and sorry to cause trouble. Also, even though the blonde-haired girl didn't seem too happy after giving up her fur coat to her, she still thanked her for it. After all, to refuse something is a bad thing in the superstition world. Even though she doesn't really believe in those stuff.

The boy then lifted her up. Close up he looked like someone she knew, but never recall meeting. She took a good look at him, and tried to remember where she had seen or knew him before. Although this was the first time they've actually met, she has a feeling that she knew at least his name.

Hearing the soft grunt, as he lifted her up in his arms. She bit her lower lip, trying to direct the pain to her bottom lip instead of the ankles which moved as the young boy lifted her. A human brain can not feel two sensations at once after all. She took the coat, making sure that it stayed on her, so that she wouldn't cause anymore trouble.

"Sorry.."

She said once more, as the boy turned around and walked back to his pet black dragon. Keeping her head down to show that she was indeed sorry for the trouble. It wasn't anything serious, it was just her fear of the darkness, her arachnophobia, her ankles and the night's cold weather.

The boy stopped beside the girl who had lent her coat to her. Good thing too. She looked up and smiled softly at the girl. It was nice of her to lend her her fur coat, and it's really warm too. Kira opened her mouth and thanked the girl.

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

Aren’t you exhausted? This is hard work, my dear soeur, the voice inside the Lady’s head commented. At that Roux sighed. Yes, it was quite exhausting, showing different emotions to two people. She was trying to gain Hiei’s trust, but she couldn’t care less about the other girl. All that matters is the powerful Masaaki, really. A smile formed on her now moistened lips.

It is exhausting, she answered, I’ll ‘play’ nice, then. But before anything else…

She also looked into his eyes when he stood beside her and looked into her eyes. Letting out a small sigh, she slightly ‘smiled,’ squinting (almost closing) her eyes in the process. “I can’t stay mad like this, can I?” she said, almost mumbling but made sure the two heard what she just said.

“Yes, Hiei. We should get this treated as soon as possible. This might be more serious than it looks like,” she said, her silvery eyes ‘turning’ into a deep ocean blue as she did so. When she blinked again, it was back to its original silver hue. Now, she just played a trick on the boy’s mind, making him remember momentarily about Mizuno Hime. With the blonde hair that she has, it was quite easy to strike pain into the boy’s heart. Even just for a bit. She really didn’t care if the other girl noticed that; she might think she was just hallucinating, anyway. And she was confident that Hiei won’t say anything, either.

Roux then turned to the brunette girl and looked at her intently. Yes, she was hurt, but the Lady really couldn’t care less, as mentioned earlier. Thus she had to feign sympathy.

“Just do not cry, please,” she started, “It is quite… bothersome. That aside, would you care giving me your name? I really do not lend expensive fur coats from my native Paris to people I do not know.”

[Hiei]

It was rather obvious, Hiei had to admit. The French girl was frustrated at the injured girl, the reason still being unknown to the second-year student. What he had in mind was more or less in the lines of jealousy. Of course, Hiei hoped it was not. He hated it when he was seen as a guy who can easily socialise with, sometimes. People would bother him, people would talk to him, people would take his 'alone time' away. And his 'alone time' was quite a very important moment for him. He ignored every single one of the injured girl's apologies, knowing that even if he told her to stop, she would not.

And then, another arrow shot into his heart and this time, he could not hide his surprisement as his eyes widened, noticing the change in the French's eyes. Was it just his imagination, or did she look just like Hime a moment ago? For a moment, he found that he couldn't move. Confusion, curiousity and pain filled his mind. Who was this girl? What was she doing? How was she doing it? Possibilities started to fill his head. Illusionist? Shape-shifter? Hallucinater? Hiei wasn't sure, but he made himself try to ignore every single resemblance the girl would have about Hime. Then, something hit him. Maybe it wasn't her Alice. Maybe it was his imagination? Gritting his teeth, he looked away, his eyes returning to a casual form.

Then, as Hiei proceeded towards the Dark Dragon, he heard the French girl ask for the injured girl's name and stopped in his tracks. At that, he turned around slightly so that both the Dragon and the French girl could be seen with a single turn of his head. His crimson eyes landing on the girl's silver hues, he spoke.

"I haven't heard your name either."

As he spoke, the Dark Dragon shifted closer, under Hiei's mental request. It lowered its head, the tip of its snout touching Hiei's shin, waiting for his host to mount it.