~So I'm doing this one per request of a friend of mine. I had told her the idea I had come to me one night and she told me I HAD to publish it online. So I hope you like it.~
It's been so long since I've seen him; almost three months now. He's never been away for this long, is everything alright? Shouldn't he have dropped in at least once by now or have left some sort of message for me. That's what he usually does when he's gone for more than a month. I hope everything is ok.
I gaze out into the empty quart yard that made up my sixth period view. I had no interest in a bunch of mathematical formulas that I already knew. Math to me was like all the rest of my classes except art; I couldn't careless and I had other, more important, things on my mind.
"Neona," I hear the sharp crisp voice of my teacher Mrs. Rose call from the front of the room.
"Yes Mrs. Rose," I ask calmly looking away from the quart yard up to my middle aged math teacher.
"Can you pay just a little attention to the lesson or at least act as if you are?" She sounded as annoyed as she looked as she stood with one leg out a little farther, leaning with most of her weight on her right foot, and her hands on her hip skewing me with a scowl.
"My apologizes," I say bowing my head.
"For the daughter of such important figures in our society you would think you would have better manners," Mrs. Rose muttered to herself before resuming with the lesson for the day.
I hated it when people brought up my parents. First off, they never acted like parents to me. Second, what do my parents have to do with the way I acted? Third, my parents don't determine what I do, I am my own person. I can do as I please. Fourth, I hated my parents and everything about them and they don't even look remotely related to me.
With most kids you can take one look at them and tell that they are related to at least one of the parents, not me. Both of my parents where Latino and had black hair. My father and mother both had very built blocky body frames. I was none of those things. I had pale fair skin that never tanned no matter how often I've tried. I had unusual smokey-grey eyes that more often than not held bleakness in them. The only time they ever seemed to truly hold light in them and seemed to dance was when He was with me. My hair that I preferred to keep at shoulder length and quiet anime-ish was pure white. Unlike my parents I also have a very petit, curvy figure. My parents had believed that maybe I had a genetic deformity that may have made me an albino, but the doctors disproved that theory. I simply am not their child by blood, nature, or anything of that sort.
Finally school ends and I walked home by myself as I do every day. As every day since that day I get home and head up to my room to begin my school work. I crawl across my bed and open the window that He always appeared at when he shows up for a visit. After how long it's been since I've seen him it's unlikely, but I refuse to give up hope that he'll stop by.
I wait a few minutes looking to see if I can see him, but after no luck I sigh to myself and begin working on my homework on my laptop as I lie on my bed under the covers.
"New Moon." I look up from over my laptop to see the only person that uses the meaning of my Greek name.
"Nice of you to finally drop by again," I say coldly and slide back down as to hide the smile that creped across my lips at the sight of him. He was around my height and was highly built, most likely from being a skilled swordsman. He had black hair with a white streak going through it that defied gravity by sticking straight up. What made me question if he really could be human were those crimson red eyes I've come to love because when I see him it's his eyes that first draw my attention. They seemed to pierce through everything and threaten all those he didn't trust or annoy him.
"What adventures have you gone on this time Hiei," I ask pretending as if I really cared about what I was working on.
"You can stop pretending I know you already finished your homework as I came into the room," he says coldly as he lies down next to me.
"Why haven't you stopped by in so long? It's not like you to be gone for so long without at least letting me know." I close the laptop and fix Hiei with a look that told him I wasn't happy about him going away for so long.
"I had business to attend to, but I plan on dropping by more often."
"I'm holding you to your word." He was so calm and disconnected as he talked while I let my voice hold its anger in it. Even while knowing I was unhappy with him, me Neona Quirina, he didn't faultier though anyone else in his position would coward before my wrath even without knowing who my parents are. Hiei though he doesn't hesitate to tell me something that could upset me or anger me. I love that aspect about him because he knows I won't hesitate to hit him if I feel he deserves it, but he's still going to be straight forward and direct with me. I know Hiei won't dance around a subject for my sake.
"Neona," I hear my father shout at me as he burst through the door, not bothering to knock or give me any warning of his entrance other than him yelling my name as forces my door open practically kicking it open.
"Yes father," I reply forcing my voice to stay calm and holding back the anger as I make it mono-with held of all emotions. With a composed face I look up at the scowling angered face looking down at me with disgust.
"Why isn't dinner finished already? It's eight o'clock! You're mother and I work all day everyday and you can't do something as simple as make dinner for us! We don't demand anything from you except get good grades, don't screw up our reputation, and make dinner! How hard is that?"
"I'm sorry," I falsely apologize as I bow deeply not lifting my head or looking at anything but the floor in front of my feet.
"Go," he snaps grabbing me by my short hair and throwing me forward. I stumble for a moment grasping to keep my balance as I fall to the ground. I thrown my hands in my face, not daring to roll and piss him off any more than he already is, instead I allow myself to land roughly on the ground. I pick myself up slowly, still holding back the anger boiling up side of me.
"Move," he shouts again this time kicking me in the guts. I wince and gasp fir air as the air is rushed out of my lungs from his kick. "I said move!" His shouts turn into loud screams. "Go!" He kicks me in the butt this time, sending me tumbling down the stairs.
I pull myself up with the help of the staircase rail and look up at him. I wanted so badly to fight back. To do something instead of just sitting here and taking the beatings, but I know from past experiences that if I fight back the beatings will only increase and become worse. So instead, I do nothing and just take it.
I turn from his hatful glare and head to the kitchen to begin making dinner. It didn't take long since I cook every day and plan out the meals the day before. I simply had to cook the salmon and the rice to go with it. It was about eight- thirty by the time dinner was done.
"Dinner is done." Without another word to my parents or bother waiting for whatever hateful commits either one of them had to say I head back up to my room.
With a sigh I enter my room to see Hiei looking at the my latest charcoal portrait I was working on for a contest that my art teacher signed me up for and didn't bother informing me about until after the fact. The portrait was of him. One half was of a cold deadly scowl threatening a slow painful death at his hand. On that side I made sure to make all of his features very dark and menacing. On the other half it was the same scowl, but in a lighter aspect. It was his side that only I saw. His eyes were in softer shading and didn't hold that hate that the others had. While both sides were so contrasting it was the exact same expression.
"You're the inspiration in case you can't tell," I spoke softly while coming to a stop from behind him. I don't have to see his face to see his cold eyes analyzing the picture.
"My art teacher signed me up for an art contest. I'm signed up for charcoal, painting, family portrait, anime, sculpting and then in the written art section I'm signed up for poetry and story writing. Would you like to see the others? I don't really have anything for the family portrait painting yet, but I have the poem, the charcoal, anime drawing, and I've completed a large chunk of the story writing that needs to be submitted in about two weeks. They want the story turned in early so that they can announce the winners during the actually contest with the other winners." As I explain what I have done Hiei follows me to where I kept my hidden art selection. I reach in my closet and grab the poem and anime drawing.
"Here," I say handing them to him.
He begins to read the poem out loud the moment I hand it to him. I watch him carefully, analyzing him this time to try to figure out what's going through his head.
Can you hear the cries? She sits next to you You'll never see her pain
Screaming and yelling,
Can you hear it?
The pain and loneness,
Can you hear them in the cries?
Can you hear the cries at all?
Or are you deaf to it all?
Walks by you almost every day
She smiles and laughs right there with you
Seeming so fine
But those are her biggest cries of all
She'll always hide them for others
Always putting other's joy before her own
She'll never show her pain
She'll only push on
Making sure everyone around her are happy
And satisfied with that
As she hides the pain
And keeps up the act
Screaming and yelling
Cries of despair
Cries of her pain
Can you hear them?
Can you hear it?
The pain and loneness
Can you hear it in her cries?
Or are you just deaf to it all?
(In case anyone is wondering any poetry that's going to be in this story is all my own original work)
Hiei moves on to the drawing next. He doesn't say anything about the poem, but he doesn't have to for me to know that it got his approval. I can see it in his eyes and the way the corner of his lips twitched up for a second. He approved, but he didn't approve of the emotion shown in the poem. I was simply glad to achieve his approval though, that I couldn't care less about his disliking to the emotion displayed. Hiei is far too hard to get approval from for me to worry about something like that.
"The poem came to me while you were gone and I was sitting in class waiting to get home. The drawing sort of illustrates it." We both look at the drawing now as we move along.
In the very center a girl with smoky grey wolf ears pulled back and to the side and a matching tail stands looking around everyone. Those around her seemed happier as they laughed and joked. In the picture I drew the building to look like a pair of wings with the over lapping details as they seemed to wrap around everyone protectively. If the judges looked even more care they would be able to find a hidden character that hid in one of the trees that made up part of her wings. It was a person that was part of her strong hold wings that protected everyone.
"Who is this," Hiei asks pointing to the hidden figure.
"You know me well enough to be able to figure it out." I smirk at my challenge towards Hiei causing him to smirk in acceptance to my challenge.
"Are you wasting time on that silly art crap again?" My father demands as he barges into my room.
"No, father it's for the art challenge that my art teach put me in. I was just going through them to make sure that they were decent enough to enter in since I know I must come in first place." My voice sounded a bit panicked even to me. But lately my parents have been threatening to burn off my art supplies because of my 'lack of care to important things' as they phrased it.
"Then why do I see your art stuff opened," Father demands as he looks at where I keep my general art supplies.
"I'm about to begin working on my art for the contest Father." Thankfully this time as I speak I was able to keep my voice very even and level.
"Lies," he shouts to the sky as he somehow sets all of my art supplies and almost all of my art on fire. I never saw him pull out a match or lighter, or anything for that matter. One moment they were there not on fire and the next as he shouts lies they catch on fire.
I rush over to them and begin to try and put the fire out. Standing over me, watch my Father bursting into a laugh of a tyrant. I look up at wanting so badly to hit him, but refrain myself. How can he really be so heartless? Almost every day he beats me and every day I'm the personal house maid while still keeping up with my extra crucial stuff, learning every foreign language there is, playing just about every classical interment, and still getting straight A+. None of it's by my choice either, it's all things they force me to do and I do this while being dragged to all of their fancy parties! Yet he laughs at my pain as I'm trying to save the stuff that he put on fire.
After my father walks away I finally get the fire to stop. I sigh as I sink down beside the ashes of what's left of my art supply.
"I can't take this any longer. I'm lucky this time that he didn't burn any of my contest stuff, but I don't have anything left for my anime class." In silence Hiei walks next to me and sits down. He doesn't say anything to me because he knows anything he could say wouldn't be able to help me, so instead he lies my head down on his lap and begins to stroke my hair. He's learned over the years that this has a calming effect on me and it doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.
Beep, Beep, Beep
"Ugh," I complain as I turn off the alarm clock and drag myself out of bed to begin my morning. Every morning I wake up at five thirty, not to glamour myself for the day as most girls do when they get up at this time. No I get up at this time to take my shower, blow dry my hair, get dressed in my uniform for the day, and make my parents gourmet breakfast for the day before I leave to walk to school.
As the school day finishes I'm grateful to leave. I plan on heading home to get my stuff and head into the woods where an old tree house completely set up with a bed, a mini fridge, a stove, a sink, a T.V., and running electricity and water. All I'd have to do is grab a blanket and pillow from one of the guest rooms in the house and some food and clothes and I'll be set.