Ikigai (Hiei x OC)

MONSTERS

The splendor of their dreams that night was unparalleled. As soon as Hiei joined her in sleep, they began to traverse them together. They were swept away to her favorite tree, the one that stood so long ago at the park, when life was bright and sweet and magical. She took his hand and climbed to the top, looking out over the great expanse. As with dreams, the place they were in was not the perfect replica of its reality – rather, something so much grander.

Sparkling skies overhead spread for miles, a delicate breeze tossing the tall grass this way and that. Here, there was no pain. No evil. No violence. Only the transient beauty of a warm dream, and the realness of her favorite arms wrapped snugly around her. She could not feel him, the way she could in life, but he was wonderfully, miraculously there with her.

Without the passing of time, it was impossible to tell how much of the night they'd spent there. Just as she was about to descend from the tree, the scenery shifted, and she felt herself losing control. The new surroundings materialized, and she recognized the blood red sky from Hiei's memories. His home.

She watched him close his eyes, tilting his head to sniff the air.

"I've missed this smell."

Trying to experience it for herself proved fruitless, though it did not hinder the moment. That tension, the one that filled him always, had receded. His body language was unfamiliar, too at ease for the demon she knew. It never occurred to her how out of place he felt in her world. To herself, she admitted that she would stay there forever if it would make him this happy. She would do anything to watch this peace return to his face again.

She found herself wondering if sex worked in dreams the same way it did in real life.

"I don't think so, unfortunately," he said. "Although, I do not see the harm in trying."

Giggling, she'd forgotten they were still connected. Taking his face in her hands, she tried to kiss him, but her lips kept sliding from his. Growing frustrated, she pulled back to look at him. His features were fuzzy, almost wavering.

"We could try to wake up," he said, lust evident in his voice.

She nodded, and tried to rouse herself the same way she would in a nightmare, by reminding herself she was dreaming. Excitement filled her as she watched the landscape melt away. For a fraction of a second, she saw the lavender land they'd traveled to with Genkai. It passed, and was replaced by a frigid cold.

Looking down, she was surprised to find her feet buried underneath a thick blanket of snow.

"Where are we?"

Her question was blown away with the wind. Hiei's face, so filled with delight before, was desolate. Head lowered, he stared at something a few feet in front of them. She followed his eyes, dread washing over her when she realized what he was looking at.

A tombstone.

The air went still around them, silent as death. Even the sound of her breathing was muffled into nothingness. Large, dense snowflakes fell slowly to the ground, gathering on his shoulders and in his hair.

"Hiei..."

He did not respond, his eyes still glued to the stone. Hesitantly, she stepped forward, gauging his reaction. When one did not arrive, she approached it, dragging her feet through the snow. Sparse engravings covered the front. Whoever laid here either led a quiet life or was not well regarded. Close enough to read it now, she squinted against the snowflakes.