Flaming Hearts ~From The Ashes I Rise ~Book3 {OLDER VERSION}

CH34 - Stay. . .

The moment he saw those silent tears falling from her blank eyes, he now see what this Puppet Master had finally done. Bloodbending have triggered this very reaction out of the poor soul and when Hiei saw those tears for the very first time in his life, he felt like he will lose all his strength if he keeps on looking at it but at the same time, he felt the rage building up within his chest.

Now he can truly see how she felt during the time she used that same technique on him earlier. . . And now he regrets ever blaming her as this realization dawned on his head. . .

Yes, Miyuki had hurt him, betrayed him in an awful way, and the demon is entitled to feel pain as much as anyone can. . . but he also knew he can't blame the whole thing entirely on the Urameshi girl, because he knows what is she like. . . Miyuki hates her loved ones getting hurt. . . and that finally made him think about how she. . . his lover was thinking. . . feeling . . .

And the fact that she was forced into such circumstances to hurt someone who is close to her heart. . . it probably hurt her more than it hurts the victim. . .

"Hm, looks like she had finally snapped." The Puppet Master scoffed that sounded more like a small snort. With all his might, the Fire Demon weakly turned his head and gaze to the young psychic, glaring coldly at her grin that twitched its way onto Mai's face. "And they said she is as strong as her brother. What a joke." That rubbed Hiei on the wrong way of course.

"Tsk, you're the one to talk." Hiei said through his gritting teeth. This one sentence of his caught the Puppet Master. Seeing that moment, he took this moment to distract her. Maybe that way he would be able to make up a quick plan. A strategy. Just this once. He was never the one making plans, he always improvise on the spot. "You may have the power to control other people, but in the end, you are still nothing more than the real coward of this earth." He usually hates talking much, but now, he makes an exception.

"Are you blind?" Mai snapped at the Fire Demon, anger seething inside of her. "Can't you see that this girl is under my control, because of my powers? I increased her powers, made them better for this very moment!" While she was bragging about what she did, neither her or Hiei sees Master Yara who is still strapped in her earthly prison, but with some struggle managed to find the water near her and use it to heal her feet as best as her abilities allow her to. "And at this moment your life is in my hand."

"Her hand you mean." The Fire Demon egged on, despite the fact that he was in pain at the moment. "All you're doing is giving others some boost and let them do your bidding. If you're so powerful then why not do things yourself? Scared of breaking a nail!?!?" The taunting of the demon continues on, making sure to dance on the Psychic girl's nerve as hard as he can, and by the looks of it he hit a few good spots here and there. "Or is it that you're scared."

"I am not!" The Puppet Master retorted in a harsh cry. "I am more than capable of pulling my own weight!"

"Yet you still decided to join a group and be the ass kisser to that Sensui." Hiei continued on with his taunting, unknowingly to him Master Yara managed to save the burned skin on the bottom of her feet enough to eventually find her sight back somewhat. "You said to have power, then why the hell are you wasting time with these people when they clearly don't care what your talent holds?" As the demon was talking Mai's emotions started to bubble up to the surface. The ones she had been desperately tries to hide from everyone, especially after Mitari's betrayal. "Maybe because he is too busy with more important duties. Or maybe because there is nothing useful in you at all beside this little trick of yours. Face it, little child, you are useless either way." The words stabbed deep into the young Psychic's soul. Despite her gift, she is still a teenager, a kid who can have her stubborn and overly emotional moments where they began to act out.