Overprotective

Author: Reflection of a Broken Dream

Pairing: Kagome (Inuyasha) x Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)

A Quick Note:

- I'm not sure how much time spans for the entirety of Yu Yu Hakusho series, but for the sake of this fic, let's say almost three years.

- Please forgive me for not getting this out sooner! ;,; I would have, but I had no internet access. (Library was shut down for a while.) v.v

- Thank you to all of those who have reviewed! I love ya'll and I'll hopefully have more out soon!

- MoonPrincess623 - Oooh...that'll be interesting! Haha! I imagine their meeting will be hellish- especially for Kagome.

- JoWashington - Thank you! I'm working on it! ;,; Hehe, yes! I may have some other connections coming...

- gcardozaqromero1 - Muchas gracias! I will continue soon! Yo habla piquino espanol. '.';

- dragonlily22 - I'm attempting to! ;,;

- Mistress of Darkness Katana - Haha XD Yes! He has...she's kinda weaker than usual here, but it will get better. She will surprise them with her strength soon. :P

- erica - lol XD Thank ya, and sorry for the sporatic updates! I'm back on the ball! The next one should be interesting, haha. XP He still likes her- she's his addiction, haha. You're welcome! More coming! XD

- SilverontheRose - Thank you much! XD Nope, I'm continuing it, I just need more time. Follow away! Next chapter due...soon.

- Sweetly Staring - I'm not sure what I've answered, so I'm reviewing all my reviews. Thank you! I will change it, I didn't mean to confuse you! XS I meant ten years from where they are now. I'm sorry! ;,;

- Thank you for taking the time to read this!

- I hope ya'll enjoy it!

- Please review!

Disclaimer:

Don't own it.

Overprotective

- Chapter 3 - Do I Know You?

Kagome panted as she rounded a bend in her favorite park, her long raven hair tied in a high ponytail bouncing behind her. 'I'm eighteen today,' she stated silently in her mind as she pulled her bow and quiver tighter to her shoulder. 'I can't believe it's been a whole year since the well closed up...the journey lasted two years...but it went by too fast...' Kagome took a shuddering breath as she stumbled over a rock, but managed to keep her balance and keep running. Her red and white miko garb whirled about as she ran, the heavy material making things a little harder for her.

"And now I'm a little lost...," Kagome sighed as she looked up through the boughs of the trees, warm sunlight filtering down despite the cool air. "Got through school and all...but that didn't mean anything. Not after beating Naraku and saving the world..." She came to a slow stop in the middle of the heavily wooded area that sorely reminded her of the Feudal Era. "What purpose do I have now?" Everything felt a little empty and materialistic now that her journies were over. Her friends had survived, but she hadn't had long to share in the celebrations... 'I wished on the jewel away that night, at the feast in Edo...I wished that it couldn't be used for evil purposes anymore,' Kagome silently added on as she caught her breath, her cheeks a light pink from her long jog. 'The jewel returned to my body and I was transported back to my time, and I've been unable to return since...' Sad azure orbs found the sky again. "Am I supposed to protect this thing forever? I can still feel it inside of me... Demons don't seem to live in this era, besides some sealed exceptions, so what's the point?" She stared intently at the sky, expecting the kami to reply. "Come on, now! I deserve an answer!" Still the sky remained as quiet and peaceful as ever, birds chirping cheerfully despite her gloomy mood. "Dammit..." Tears burned at her eyes for the umpteenth time as she returned her gaze to the well-worn trail before her. "Is it really too much to ask to get some answers? I lost almost everything when I was pulled back through the well...I could have been happy with everyone..." Tears swelled and fell from her despairing dark blue orbs as she continued her trek through the woods, Kagome wishing once again that she could be with the friends that had become her family and the hanyou that had become more...

"It's about time you showed up," Yusuke grinned as Hiei slowly strode towards the little band of three, his hands firmly planted in his pockets.

"Hn," Hiei inclined his head as Kuwabara grinned goofily at him and Kurama gave a welcoming smile.

"Ain't seen you in a while, shorty," Kuwabara greeted with his giddy grin. "How ya been?"

"Yes...it's been quite some time," Kurama agreed, his emerald eyes alight with joy. "Are you still working for Lord Mukuro?"

"Yes...and I will be for another year," Hiei answered as he stopped a few feet from the three, pointedly ignoring the idiot's question. If he wasn't well or if he was hurt he wouldn't be here now. It was a stupid question, but it was to be expected of the oaf to ask something like that...

"I bet yah got a sweet set-up with Mukuro," Yusuke remarked suggestively with a smirk inching across his face. "Seeing as she's a strong woman and all, eh? Eh?" He nudged Hiei playfully, the koorime flinching and glaring at him for that remark. "I bet you get a little extra 'encouragement' on the side, hunh?"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled, affronted. For once, Hiei shared in his offense of Yusuke's playful lewdness.

"The only thing extra I recieve from Lord Mukuro is training, detective," Hiei replied stiffly, using Yusuke's old title that no longer applied out of habit- the Spirit Detectives had been disbanded a while back, just after the Demon World Dark Tournament. "I am not that kind of person and I would appreciate it if you kept your insinuations to yourself." Hiei's eyes were as cold and hard as his voice as he glared at Yusuke. In truth, he didn't want to think about any sort of a relationship with any female. He was able to forget about her when he was working and when he kept himself busy...but...Hiei's mind had a tendency to drift towards Kagome at the worst of times...like now. So absorbed in his thoughts, Hiei didn't realize his expression had softened slightly as he'd looked away. Kurama's eyes flickered in surprise and Yusuke's expression contorted with the same emotion.

"You've got a girl you like that isn't Mukuro, don't ya?" Yusuke asked seriously, taking Hiei completely offguard.

"What? No," Hiei answered quickly- too quickly- and defensively.

"Seriously?" Kuwabara asked with wide owlish eyes as he turned back to a ruffled Hiei. "Must be a heck of a girl to have grabbed your attention...when do we get to meet 'er?"

"I don't...I don't have a female," Hiei responded, slightly flustered. "You don't get to meet her...because there isn't a female to meet." He was starting to sweat, the first half of his second sentence broken from the second in a very obvious way, the last part of it more tacked on than part of the statement. Hiei could tell that he'd really messed up by the cheshire grin that was spreading across Yusuke's face.

"You don't have to hide it, Hiei," Kurama spoke up before Yusuke got the chance to press him for more information. "We won't think badly of you for it or anything. We're merely happy that you've found someone." Pained crimson orbs locked in soothing emerald. Kurama always understood him the best...maybe he would understand this...

"There is no female," Hiei stressed, his voice almost hoarse as he silently lamented his loss once more. Giving Kagome up three years ago had been, hands down, one of the hardest things he had ever done. Even now he had to fight the urge to go and just see her face, her smile, just one more time... Kurama's eyes widened again before softening with pity and other emotions that Hiei didn't care to decifer as he turned away from the fox. Thankfully, before more could be said, a wave of energies arose from the surrounding wooded area of the park they had decided to meet at. Some of it was very obviously youki...but the other, the reiki...it was powerful...and very familiar to Hiei. But he couldn't quite place it...

"The hell?" Yusuke muttered, all four of them turning towards the direction the clashing energies were coming from, Hiei's issue- thankfully!- forgotten for the moment.

"Feels like a heck of a battle's goin' down," Kuwabara pointed out the obvious.

"Shall we go and see the situation for ourselves?" Kurama asked, glancing back at his old teammates.

"Yeah, might be someone who needs our help," Kuwabara answered immediately.

"Why not?" Yusuke smirked, cracking his knuckles and neck. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight, and it feels like the one with the reiki is strong as hell."

"You'll only get a piece of the action if you get there before I do," Hiei snorted, an odd anxiety itching inside of him. He wasn't sure why...but he felt like he needed to get to this fight and...well...he wasn't sure, but he needed to get there. Fast. Yusuke turned back to Hiei, mouth opened to respond, but Hiei just smirked, using his speed to his advantage.

"Dammit Hiei! That's not fair!" Yusuke yelled, his voice ringing through the trees as Hiei dashed in the direction of the clashing energies. Yusuke and Kurama were well on their way, but neither were as fast as Hiei. Said koorime gracefully slid through the forest until he reached a clearing where the fight was going down...and nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him. In the middle of a ring of youkai was a miko-garb clad young woman with a familiar face. Taking in a deep breath, Hiei was easily able to discern her scent from the others- rain-kissed grass after a long storm, spiderlilies, a warm-sweet spice, a hint of bellflower, and a clean purity to the scent like the air of times long passed in Ningenkai. His eyes widened.

"Kagome!" he gasped aloud. Red filled his vision as he witnessed one of the demons cut her arm, the girl struggling to fight back as they ganged up on her. The sweet scent of her blood filled the air...and he couldn't take it. Hiei didn't think, he just acted. Drawing his blade and rushing around the battlefield, Hiei took out three demons before the four others noticed.

"The hell?!" one cried, a bear demon.

"GET HIM!" a lizard hissed, the lizard and bear headed for him. Hiei locked blades with the bear, the three facing off toe-to-toe in a three-way battle.

"Huuugh!" Kagome grunted, pushing another demon back as she hazarded a glance back at the demon that had just arrived. He was facing off with two of the other demons that had just been on top of her. The other five...wow...make that two...were still in her face. That black and white-clad demon had made quick work of three of them, and while she was grateful...she was also hoping that he wasn't out to kill her, too. Kagome wouldn't last two minutes against someone as fast as him... 'You know, when I asked for an answer earlier...this is not the way I wanted to get that answer!' Kagome silently yelled at the kami as she refocused on her own battle, blood streaming down her left arm as well as various other places. Her bow string had been snapped earlier and hand-to-hand combat was not her specialty. Thankfully, she didn't have to continue to fend them off for very long.

"Comin' through!" Yusuke yelled as he barrelled into both demons attacking Kagome. She stumbled backwards with wide eyes as he took on the two at the same time, quickly beating them into bloody pulps.

"Well...," Kagome breathed out shakily, glad for the reprieve. Silently, she cursed herself up and down for not practicing with her reiki more, needed or not...she was rusty from the one year gap of disuse of her reiki and fights, and this had almost cost her her life. Adrenaline continued to pump through her veins, causing her to be hyper alert and uncomfortably jittery. She was no longer in condition to fight such a sudden sneak attack by hidden demons...in her time. That last thought made her giddy. Maybe not all were bad...maybe some of the demons from her past made it to this time...

"Are you alright, miss?" Kurama asked as he joined the area a bit late, Kagome jumping at the sound of his voice. Kuwabara would completely miss the action...

"I...uhh...yeah," Kagome managed to stammer out with a shaky breath, her right hand covering the wound on her left arm. 'He's a demon, too,' she noted silently, the man seeming to be taking stock of her injuries and the uncontrollable trembling that the adrenaline had caused. "You're...not going to try and kill me?" Her question was hesitant, but she needed to know, her own eyes taking in the man's form. He was quite handsome...but so were many other demons and half-demons she'd met...and not all were kind.

"Not unless you give me a reason to," he answered, relieving her some but unnerving her just as much. If she did or said something he didn't like, would he kill her? A shiver ran down her spine. "Did they attack you?" He pointed at the demons, only one remaining in a brawl against the black and white clad demon that had saved her first.

"Yeah, out of nowhere," Kagome nodded, deciding that honesty would be best. Demons can smell deceit, she'd learned that from Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, among others, and she really didn't want to put this one off. He was hiding his youki, making himself appear as a normal human or a weak demon to those who could sense his youki...but she could tell without batting a lash that he was anything but normal or weak. "Took me completely by surprise...it doesn't help that I'm not great at close-quarter combat. Damn lizard sliced my bow string..." She frowned at the arc of her bow that was lying on the ground a few feet away. Kurama was monitoring her oddly pleasing scent and he scented no lie in her words, the man nodding to her once he was assured of her honesty. As Kuwabara came jogging into the clearing and Yusuke was standing up, Hiei finished the last demon off and turned back towards Kagome, furious. He had done so much to protect her...and for what?! She just trapiesed right back into the world of demons, her forcefully made dormant powers resurfaced! Were all of these agonizing years spent away from her for nothing?! Hiei stormed over to Kagome as he flicked the blood off of his sword and sheithed it, the man only an inch or two taller than her now he idly noted, his eyes burning with fury.

"What the hell do you think you think you were doing, woman?!" Hiei snarled, Kagome's azure eyes widening as she jumped again and looked at the furious approaching demon male. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke all turned to look at Hiei, all three shocked into silence by his surprisingly angry outburst at the very human woman before them; the man stopped just in front of Kagome, his fists clenched at his sides and shaking in both fury and concern. He'd almost lost her...again.

"I-I was just trying to s-stay alive," Kagome managed to get out, confused and bewildered by this strange demon's anger towards her. Hiei frowned at her answer, seeming thoughtful and broody to her. She was still shaken by the surprise attack, her hands and knees trembling from the adrenaline rush. But why did it feel like she knew him? Like she should recognize him? Squinting, she was able to see his youki...it was split into two conflicting energies that surged around his form in mesmerizing angry patterns. Red and blue...fire and ice. That made sense. But she still couldn't place him, though- she certainly hadn't met him in the past. She would have remembered someone like him. Focusing on his face, pressing herself to find a memory of this familiar yet unfamiliar demon before her...Kagome's vision began to blur slightly and her head began to ache and pound. Then the words slipped out, unbidden, making Hiei stiffen rigidly. "Do I know you?"

- Chapter 3 - End -

- Haha, sorry to leave ya'll off at a cliffy, here, but I was trying to get out what I have of the stories. I want to finish them, I swear I do, I just need more time and internet access. xp The library was shut down for a long while there for rennovations, so I kinda stopped working for a while again. -,-;; I really need to get on things when I can. Sorry guys. v.v But I got this out, and I do intend to write more soon. Please don't give up on me.

- I hope ya'll enjoyed this!

- Please review!