Hatsu made a small, surprised sound at the sudden lunge Sam made. "N-no problem," he smiled, slightly choked by the embrace. After she released him and they spent another calm moment just standing there, Sam suggested they go back into the void. "Yeah," he nodded, still holding her hand as they passed through. The two made their way back to the general area where they'd been before and settled down again. Hatsu felt like bringing something up then, just in case the red-head hadn't noticed.<br/><br/>"Hiei's gone," he said in a voice that denoted a half shrug without any real physical movement. Really... that guy was just... Jeez, Hatsu couldn't even think of a good word to use.<br/><br/>--------------------------<br/><br/>After a time, Hiei woke up again. He couldn't be sure how long he'd slept. It could have been a couple minutes or several hours. He still felt pretty banged up though, so maybe it wasn't so long after all.<br/><br/>The Hunter Assassin managed to drag himself into a sitting position with his back against a tree for support. Perhaps Alastor had been waiting for this, because he appeared a moment later.<br/><br/>"Feeling better?" the deceptively child-like demon asked, a mischievous smile on his face.<br/><br/>"Not really," Hiei admitted.<br/><br/>The demon shrugged. "Well, you're alive and conscious. That's all you really need to be to listen to a story."<br/><br/>"Just what kind of story do you want to tell me?" Hiei asked suspiciously.<br/><br/>A wicked smirk spread across the demon's face. "Have you ever wondered where you were during that blank period in your memory?" he asked.<br/><br/>Hiei's eyes widened in a mix of surprise, horror, and fear, and his heart gave a leap in his chest. "What would you know about it?" he demanded.<br/><br/>Alastor smirked calmly, unaffected by the frightening look his host was giving him. "That's what I'm about to tell you." The smile became more vicious, "So pipe down and listen up."