Make Them Suffer
Rage, unlike any he'd ever felt before, coursed through Hiei's veins, boiling his blood. He'd sensed them coming but arrived too late, despite even his incredible speed, and had been unable to stop the carnage that littered the grounds of Genkai's former temple. Botan, that nigh insufferable ferry girl, lay unconscious in a pool of her own blood and Yukina, openly sobbing over Botan, was doing her damnedest to heal the life threatening gash on the woman's head. A cursory glance around the temple grounds showed Hiei all he needed to know.
A group of low-class demons had crossed into Human World and set out to attack Yukina and steal her tears for profit. How they had learned of Yukina's location, Hiei did not know, but clearly they had underestimated his sister and the ferry woman, perceiving them as defenseless. Several of the would-be bandits lay frozen and shattered into hundreds of pieces, and a particularly gruesome ice-spear through the throat of another would have impressed Hiei, had the situation not been so dire.
Hiei took a step toward the fallen woman, his foot clattering against several of the blood slick hiruseki stones, and in an instant, the air around him turned frigid. Glowing white eyes snapped up to meet his own incensed crimson, Yukina instinctively preparing to defend herself and Botan from another attacker. After a brief stare-down, the icy haze disappeared from Yukina's eyes as recognition set in on just who she was glaring at.
"Mister Hiei!" Yukina cried out, relief washing over her facial features. "Thank goodness you're here! B-Botan, she.." Yukina trailed off solemnly, returning her gaze to Botan's pale face. The large wound at the side of Botan's head was slowly knitting itself closed, but the loss of blood was worrying, and Botan's life energy had dwindled greatly.
Hiei wordlessly knelt at Botan's side, reaching out to take hold of her wrist and check her vitals. Her pulse was weak, and her breathing shallow and ragged. Even unconscious, Botan's face was contorted in pain, and Hiei feared that Yukina's healing arts would not be enough to save her life. Hiei clenched his jaw, as the gravity of the situation set in. While her wounds would close, Botan would not have enough life energy to recover from the trauma.
"Explain what happened," Hiei demanded tightly, trying to keep his voice even, despite his growing ire. Yukina was clearly shaken and he didn't want to aggravate her further, but he needed to assure the enemies numbers and where they had fled to. He would make any survivors suffer.
"Botan…" Yukina choked out through a sob and a sniffle. "S-she shielded me from their attacks. We were able to stop a few of them, but when Botan summoned her oar to try and fly us to safety, they wrestled it away from her and then did this..." Yukina said, indicated the nearly closed wound.
"How many were there?" Hiei inquired, reaching up to pull the headband covering his Jagan away.
"Five," Yukina answered succinctly.
Closing his natural set, the glowing purple eye on his forehead opened, and Hiei began to scan the surrounding area for traces of the fleeing enemies' energy signals. Yukina and Botan had done well to kill three of the scum, but Hiei would not allow the others to escape and relay Yukina's position to any allies. They were quick, he'd give them that, but after a few moments of searching, Hiei found the two cowards making their way toward the portal at the base of the mountains. When he opened his eyes once more, Yukina had pulled her blood caked hands away from Botan's head, having finally closed the wound.
"Mister Hiei… will Botan…?" Yukina trailed off, not trusting herself to finish her remainder of her sentence. Her head fell forward, her shoulders beginning to tremble, and Yukina reached out to take one of Botan's icy hands in her grasp. She would never be able to forgive herself if she was the cause of Botan's death.
Hiei was silent for a moment, watching as Botan lay limp and still. He had never given much thought about the ferry woman before now. She was nosy, irritating, and seemingly just another pawn of the Spirit World he hated so strongly. Yet, she had done something this day that he would have never expected of her. She had protected Yukina, virtually giving her own life to keep his sister safe from harm and enslavement. His fist balled tightly, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm. She was no fighter, yet she gave everything to protect Yukina. And he would make those who hurt her pay, dearly. He owed Botan that, at the very least.
"No," he stated firmly, leaving no room for doubt in his resolution. There was no other option, and he knew Yukina had burned off too much of her own energy already, but Botan would not die this day. Hiei frowned, lips pulled into a thin line, and held his right hand over Botan's chest. Giving up his own life energy was never something he had considered doing in his lifetime, least of all to someone of Spirit World, but in this moment, it was the only way he could think to save her life.
A warm red glow encompassed his hand, and when Yukina realized what it was he was doing, she looked up at him in shock. He ignored her reaction however, and gently placed his hand upon Botan's chest. Taking a deep breath, Hiei let it out slowly in tune with the transferal of his energy into Botan, mingling his with her own. Almost immediately, a bit of color returned to Botan's face, and her body jerked as if she'd been shocked back to life, her chest rising and falling slowly. A wave of dizziness passed over Hiei, and he sat back on his heels, pulling his hand away from Botan. She had been closer to death than he had realized. Hiei shook his head to clear the unease, before moving to scoop Botan up in his arms, careful to not jostle her head.
"Yukina, into the temple, now." Hiei commanded tersely, and Yukina obliged without a word, scurrying toward the structure. Hiei briskly followed, and once inside, Yukina lead him to her living quarters, where he gently laid Botan on the futon to properly rest. His eyes lingered over her prone form a second longer. The once tortured look on Botan's face had now eased into one of mild discomfort, and Hiei felt a minuscule sense of relief. He stood and moved away from her.
"Stay here, and leave for no reason," Hiei instructed suddenly, turning to Yukina, "I'll send for Kurama. Until he arrives, block off this room with a wall of ice, do you understand?"
"Yes!" Yukina responded, nodding firmly. She would protect Botan implicitly until help arrived.
"Mister Hiei… thank you so much." Her words alone could never do justice for what he had done for Botan.
Hiei didn't reply, he simply nodded his head once and stalked out of the room. To his relief, the moment he passed through the threshold of the door, he felt the air begin to cool and Yukina's energy surge. Sure that she would be fine until help arrived, Hiei stormed out of the temple, and back into the plaza where he opened his Jagan eye once more, honing in on Kurama's familiar presence.
"Kurama."
"Hiei…to what do I owe the pleasure?" Kurama returned curiously.
"Genkai's temple has been attacked. Yukina is unharmed, but the ferry girl has been critically injured. Get to them now." Hiei recounted shortly.
"Will she live?" Kurama asked, his pleasant tone turning somber.
"For now. Yukina has healed the wound, but Botan may have resulting head trauma. You will see to her immediately." Hiei explained, deliberating leaving his own actions unspoken.
"Very well. And what will you be doing?"
"Slaughtering those responsible."
The telepathic link was promptly cut dead. Hiei trusted that Kurama would inform the others and they would make their way to the temple without hesitation, and with that done, he was free to kill.
He could feel his rage building once more and the muscles throughout his entire body tensed. Dark flames burst from his bandaged arm, now smeared with Botan's blood, and Hiei sneered angrily at the marks, lips peeling back and fangs bared. Using the Jagan, Hiei tracked the two demon's energies again, having memorized their wavelengths, and vanished from the grounds in a flash, bounding down the mountain and making his way toward the portal to Demon World. He would make them suffer. Suffer for ever daring to believe that they could lay their hands on the two women and live to see another day.
They were easy to find; pitifully so at that. Even without the use of his Jagan, Hiei would have been able to follow the twin trails of piss they'd left as they fled the temple grounds. The sight of their comrades falling, one after the other to Yukina and Botan, must have been a terrifying one to send two able bodied demons fleeing so fearfully. He had caught up to them easily enough, but had allowed them to continue on, leading him back to their hideout. Hiei grinned darkly, his eyes thinning, and glowing red with blood-lust. Now he could slaughter them all in one fell swoop.
What Yukina and Botan had managed to do, could never compare to what Hiei had planned now. He wasted no time, jumping from his perch high in the treetops and landing in a crouch at the front gates of the bandits' hideout. He stood slowly, tearing off his cloak with one smooth motion, and tossing it to the wayside. He drew his blade, the moonlight reflecting brilliantly against the pristine metal, which quickly drew the attention of all his would be victims. A sinister sneer stretched across his lips once more, and for the most brief of moments, Hiei knew true joy, as a look of horror spread across the camp. The unholy screams of agony and death that echoed throughout the night would forever be music to Hiei's ears.