Catch Me, Catch Me, If You Can

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters. Darn…

All she could remember was falling. The wind was screaming past her, whipping her hair about her face in wild, stinging tendrils. She knew that she should at least try to stop herself, but she was tired. So very tired. Would it really matter anyway, if she finished her fall? Would anyone really care when the wind stopped rushing and the ground came up to meet her? Oh, she knew that Koenma would be upset, if only because of the paper work that would surely follow this little "incident".

She wouldn't really die, per say, just return to the Spirit World in a different form. Maybe Hinageshi would ferry her back home. She had always liked Hina.

Oh, could she smell the ocean? Was she really that far away from the others who were still fighting back on shore? Surely the blast that took her down couldn't have been THAT powerful? But if it wasn't, then how did all of that blood get there? Was she bleeding? Funny, she couldn't feel a thing. The smell of salt was getting stronger, and she could hear the roar of waves under her…or was that just the blood rushing in her ears? No time like the present to find out.

She cracked an eye open only to have freezing wind close it again. Oh well, all for the better she supposed. Who would want to see an impending disaster heading for them? Wasn't it just natural to close one's eyes at a point like that?

She was sure that she could hear waves now. She could even feel sea spray hitting her face, further cooling skin that was already frigid. She should best try and hold her breath. Should have been hitting that water any second now…

"Wake up!" She twitched. "Stupid woman, wake up and catch yourself!"

She found herself suddenly annoyed at the voice in her head. She was rather enjoying this little rest, thank you.

"If you're so worried, then YOU catch me!" She swore that she heard a growl follow that comment. Strange how the brain behaves when one knows something catastrophic has happened. She was finding herself talking irrationally with a strange voice. Odd…she should really—

Her eyes snapped open as she felt the air being slammed out of her lungs with more force than she had expected to feel in her current state of physicality. Her lenses immediately began to burn from the sheet of ocean water that closed over her head. Good Lord, what had she been thinking not to catch herself? Her body suddenly came alive again as her survival instincts kicked in full force. She kicked and struggled to get back to the surface, to the fresh air, but her heavy traditional garments were acting as dead weight and pulling her downward faster than she could kick up. Her eyes squinted heavily, trying to see through the blurry haze of salt water and blood that had formed a swirling orb around her. She could feel her lungs beginning to burn even more heavily with the dual forces of asphyxia and muscle spasms working against her.

Through the muck she could she murky shapes moving about her. Most likely they were sharks and other such creatures attracted to the blood pouring out of her wounds. They were moving toward her, these dark figures, coming at her with great speed and intent. She focused on one just out of the corner of her left eye. It was coming much more quickly than the others.

'Fine,' she thought, 'just let the stupid thing get its fill of me. Then I can finally rest for a while.'

Her weary, over stressed mind had all but given up, even as her body continued to claw its way upward. The currents were beginning to toss her about, spinning her body this way and that until she was no longer sure which way was up and which way was misery. Her vision grew black. What was left of her tiny air reserve ran out and she sank like a stone, her limbs no longer attempting to save the body. And where was that blasted shark she had seen anyway? Didn't it know that she was a sitting, or in her case sinking, duck out here? Oh well, it was probably also for the best. At least she wouldn't be very dirty when she got back to Spirit World, what with all of this water around. She really should ask Koenma to grant her a leave of abse- Ah! There it was…

She felt the graze of rough skin on the back of her hand. She barely even twitched when the slight brush became an iron tight clamp around her wrist. Hmmm, she would have thought that a shark's teeth would be much more painful than that. Maybe that was just the lack of oxygen to her already frazzled brain that was talking. Pity, she would have preferred a bit of fresh air at that moment to a mouthful of bloody seawater.

It was as if the shark had read her mind. She suddenly felt a pair of very warm lips attempting to force air into her mouth. She resisted, thinking that a shark's breath would have tasted foul, and that was the last thing she wanted lumped on top of her at the moment.

"Take the air, you idiot! I don't have that much to give you! Believe me, if it comes to me saving me and leaving you to drown, I will not hesitate!" The shark clamped its lips over hers once more and exhaled sharply, forcing a small air bubble into her throat. She took it, if only to quiet this demanding and rather rude fish. Much to her surprise, however, she didn't taste guts and the blood of other, less fortunate fishes. Oh, there was a coppery tang of blood, but it was blended with what tasted like smoke and some sort of wild plant. It really wasn't unpleasant at all. Who would have thought?

Her eyes snapped back open at the stabbing pain in her chest as her lungs expanded just a bit. That teasing little puff of breath had awakened her body slightly. She focused her still burning eyes on her finned savior, who was at the moment pulling them both toward the surface. What an oddly shaped shark! It almost looked human. If she squinted a bit harder, why it almost looked like…

'Hiei?' Her mind rebelled a bit at the thought of the stoic fire demon coming to her rescue, but before she could dwell anymore on it, they broke the water's surface. She drew in a great broken gasp as the air hit her face once again. She immediately felt very dizzy and nauseous as ragged coughs expelled from her chest. Her stomach heaved, and she was afraid for a moment that she might have vomited all over herself and her savior.

"Don't even think about it, ferry girl! I swear I'll let you drop!" Her head rolled to her left as she tried to hone in on the source of the rough growl of a voice. Her eyes widened a fraction. Mercy! It was Hiei! It was Hiei who was currently kicking violently back to the beach that was only a few yards ahead of them. It was Hiei who held her wrist in a death-lock, supporting her weight and keeping her face above the water line. She could scarcely believe it! She had could have accepted Yusuke or even Kurama splashing away beside her, but this temperamental little bully had shocked her once again! She tried to speak, to tell him thank you, but all that came out was a croak of sorts which set of another round of those body racking coughs. Her face dipped a bit and she inhaled a small mouth-full of rancid seawater. God, would this day EVER end? She made a pact with herself then and there to never go swimming again if she could help it.

Still choking, shaking and terribly weak, she managed, with his assistance, to crawl her way through the shallow water onto shore. Once she knew she was safely away from the swells of the incoming waves, she allowed herself to collapse sideway in the soft sand. As she struggled to get her breathing back under control, she noted that Hiei had let go of her and was currently on all fours, panting just as she was. She looked him over, curious if he too was injured. So far as she could tell, he was just wet and angry. His heavy black pants clung to him and dripped heavily. His boots squished a bit when he shifted to look at her. She also noted that he was shirtless. He'd probably ripped it off during the fight. His gleaming garnet eyes bore into her face, and she saw that they were bloodshot from the saline that he had just paddled through to save her. To save her…Hiei had saved her! She reached out for his outstretched forearm, and immediately regretted it as he ripped his arm away from her fingers. He shot her a dark look.

"Don't mistake me dragging your pathetic carcass back to shore as an open invitation to touch me, ferry girl. " She looked up into his furious gaze, feeling much too exhausted to be frightened by it. She cracked a tiny smile at him, her face not allowing for the large grin that usually sat there.

"You," she gasped painfully, "You saved my life, Hiei. Thank you."

"Hn. Don't be so melodramatic. I only went after you because I thought the brat might shorten my sentence if I dragged you out."

She held his gaze and he twitched just a fraction, which only seemed to enrage him further. "It doesn't matter," she said hoarsely, "You still pulled me back. " With that, she broke her stare and closed her eyes. She passed out seconds later.

Hiei looked down on her and snorted. He found her quite disgraceful in this state. He mentally compared her to a drowned rat. A bloody drowned rat. He dragged his gaze over her body, examining each of the gashes that decorated her arms and torso. She was still bleeding rather profusely, but he'd seen much worse on Kurama and the Detective. He sighed, still knowing that her weak human form would need to have those attended to quickly. He looked around, silently wishing that Kurama or even that moronic oaf would show up soon and take over. He would never admit it, but the fight with Koenma's newest project had really tired him out. He'd had to use the Dragon twice just to make the enemy weak enough for the Detective to land his lethal blow. It had certainly been a surprise to everyone that he had the strength to pull that one off. Fools…they should've known by now not to doubt his abilities on the field. Thinking of the others roused him from his musings and he sent a call out to Kurama.

"Fox! Are you still alive, or do I need to wake this woman so she can ferry you to the brat's office?" Hiei smirked at the flicker of annoyance that passed through the link. Obviously, they were all fine.

"Hiei, where are you? We're coming to help you with her. I assume that you caught her in time?" Kurama sent the answering call, searching for Hiei's ki signature.

"Tch…as if you needed to ask, Fox. She's a bit…moist…but still breathing at least. She'll need healing. The brat's newest mess did a number on her. Pathetic." Hiei sensed concern pass through the link and scoffed at Kurama's softness. He really was hanging around these humans too much. Still he found his eyes tracing back over the sandy ground until they came to rest on her sleeping face. It seemed to him that being so weak by nature must be rather troublesome. He was instantly glad that he didn't need anyone to save him. He was more than strong enough to handle anything that came at him.

He found himself studying the lines and angles of her cheeks and jaw line. He would rather kiss Kuwabara than say it aloud, but even as torn up as she was at the moment, he still found her to be incredibly attractive. The brat was fortunate to have a body such as hers present in his office every day; though, her personality left much to be desired in his opinion. Which is why he was suddenly wondering at why he had saved her in the first place. She was extremely annoying with her sparking eyes, her flyaway hair and her ridiculously fluffy ideals on things like love and friendship.

He rolled his eyes at her sleeping form. That foolish woman had even accepted his explanation as to why he rescued her. She hadn't even thought to question it. Oh sure, saving her while he was already serving on a Spirit World mission would most likely convince the brat to shorten his sentence, which was his primary reason for literally leaping off of a cliff into a raging ocean to grab her.

In his mind's eye, he saw her broken body hurling through the clouds once more. He saw her blue hair loose and tangled, whipping around her battered body. Her kimono had fallen open with the upward push of the air, exposing her legs to her upper thighs. Her face was lax, splattered with her own blood.

He'd caught a glimpse of her out of his peripheral vision and shot a thought to her, urging her to save herself. He hadn't stopped to see if she really wouldn't catch herself. He hadn't ignored her and let her drown. He hadn't left her to the Detective. Most of all, he hadn't stopped to examine the icy nausea that overtook him when he saw a drop of pink and blue plummeting through the sky.

OKAY, GUYS, THIS IS MY FIRST STORY. I PLAN ON MAKING THIS A MULTI-CHAPTER FIC, BUT I NEED A LITTLE FEEDBACK TO HELP ME ON MY WAY. PLEASE, IF YOU WANNA BE A CRITIC, MAKE IT CONSTRUCTIVE. THANKS! -3 FREYA CAT