Hiei scowled as he walked along the familiar suburban street. Vibrant and varied colours burned his eyes as he passed by his neighbour's house. The gardens surrounding the neat, two-storey house were perfectly trimmed, healthy and insulting. Butterflies played among the fresh buds, birds chirped happily in the trees, and the breeze carried with it the scent of sakura blossoms.
And the blossoms themselves.
Hiei sneezed into his handkerchief, giving the garden one last baleful glare before he slammed the door behind himself, his handkerchief pressed to his nose.
The flowers were a constant irritant to Hiei's sensitive nose. Even his own backyard was not a refuge as the sakura blossoms blew over the fence and into his yard. They clung to the clothes hanging on the clothesline, stinking them up with their sweet fragrance.
Even winter provided no relief for Hiei. It was the damned roses. The horrible things bloomed all year round, blood-red against the white blanket of snow. It was impossible. And yet, it was undeniable.
Hiei was determined to do something about it. But he had to wait for the right opportunity. He had to wait until the garden's diligent caretaker was gone.
Hiei had only sighted his neighbour on a handful of occasions. The man was fine-featured, with a face that looked too perfect to be real. His skin was so smooth and unblemished that Hiei suspected that it was actually a mask he put on every morning. His hair was as vibrant as his roses, and just as red. It was long, coming to the small of his back when loosed from it's ponytail.
Hiei had never spoken to the man. Had never cared to ask why he kept the garden in such immaculate condition. Nor how he managed it alone. Hiei didn't care. He just wanted it gone.
Tucked away in the darkness of Hiei's small shed in the corner of his mostly-bare backyard were several barrels of plant poison. More than enough to take care of his neighbour's monstrosity. He just had to wait for the right time.
It came just a few short days later. The redheaded neighbour left his house with a suitcase in hand. Hiei watched with growing excitement as the redhead lifted the suitcase into the back of the taxi.
This was it. This was his chance.
But he had to wait for nightfall. If one of their other neighbours saw him and told his neighbour that he was responsible for the damage…
A small part of Hiei felt bad about what he was going to do. A very small part. But that part was easily quashed by the annoyance at having to put up with a constantly-running nose, red, irritated eyes and a clogged-up throat.
None of the medication Hiei had tried had ever been effective. The flowers were simply too potent. But Hiei was going to fix that.
Under the cover of darkness, a shelter for all those up to no good, Hiei lugged out the barrels from his shed.
It took him all night to spread the poison over the neat flowerbeds. By the time he was done, he was ready to faint. His clothes stank of the poison and his head ached horribly.
But he slept with the knowledge that tomorrow would be better.
The poison took effect quickly. The brightly-coloured blooms withered and shrivelled up, dropping to the dirt, their colour gone. Hiei took immense satisfaction in the sight, though he was careful not to show that to the neighbours who stopped to stare with startled and worried eyes at the wilting garden.
The redhead returned a week later to find the ruined garden. Hiei was not home to see his reaction. That was something that he had to admit that he was grateful for. He had nothing against the gardener, really. Just his damn flowers.
Hiei's allergies had not entirely disappeared, but they were now much more manageable. With the poison having sunk into the soil, nothing new would grow in the empty beds. Hiei would finally be able to enjoy his own home.
Two weeks went by. His neighbour seemed to keep to his usual routine, whatever it was. Hiei did catch glimpses of him in the evenings however, cleaning up the dead plants rotting in the ruined garden beds.
On one particular afternoon, a knock came on Hiei's door. Puzzled, Hiei answered it. He wasn't used to receiving visitors.
To his surprise, his redheaded neighbour stood on his welcome mat. He wore a somewhat sheepish smile on his face, as if he'd just realised that he'd ended up there by accident.
"Good afternoon, sir," he said. "Please excuse my intrusion."
For a moment, Hiei was speechless. "Ah, ah…" he stammered ungracefully before his manners asserted themselves. "Ah, good afternoon," he said as his mind spun like a helicopter's rotors, trying to work out what his neighbour wanted from him.
Did he know that Hiei had poisoned the garden? Was he here to accuse him? Hiei's chest tightened at the thought.
"I was making a cake," the man confessed, "but I am out of eggs. Do you, perhaps, have some?"
Hiei frowned as he considered the request. He'd been shopping that morning. He did, in fact, have a carton of half a dozen eggs. But he'd been planning on using them himself during the coming week.
The man's pretty lips drew down in disappointment as the silence stretched taut like a rubber band between them. "I see," he said. "It was a long shot, but I thought it worth a try. I apologise for taking up your time."
He started to turn. Whether it was out of guilt or a genuine empathy, Hiei didn't know, but he reached out to stop the man. His hand gripped the man's narrow shoulder through the thin cotton of his shirt.
"Wait," he said. "I've got some eggs."
The man turned back, relief flooding his face. "Oh, that's wonderful," he said.
"Come in."
Hiei gestured for the man to enter his house. The man did so, stepping across the threshold and slipping off his shoes. Hiei led him into the kitchen and removed the carton of eggs from the fridge. He set it on the counter and bent down to retrieve a plastic bag from the cupboard beneath the sink.
"You have a lovely home," the redhead said from behind him.
"I haven't done much with it," Hiei admitted as he rose, bag in hand.
"May I trouble you for a drink of water?" the man inquired politely.
Hiei frowned. First the eggs, now water? He was starting to feel distinctly uncomfortable with this situation.
But it was only water.
Hiei left the plastic bag next to the egg carton and began to fill a cup with water from the tap.
Something touched his shoulder lightly. Assuming that it was some sort of insect, Hiei brushed at it. It must have been an insect because it disappeared.
But, as Hiei shut the tap off, it returned. Hiei reached up again.
Something smooth coiled around his neck and then pulled tight. Hiei never even had time to utter more than a croak before his airway was crushed. He scrabbled desperately at the smooth noose, fingernails digging into his own skin in his frantic efforts to breathe.
A cool voice came from behind him. Very close behind him.
"Relax. I'm not going to kill you yet."
Hiei's vision swam with dark clouds. His knees gave out beneath him, limbs weak from the lack of oxygen.
When the darkness swallowed him, it was a blessing.
Hiei woke in unfamiliar surroundings. The room he found himself in was damp and smelled of rotting flesh. The walls were bare grey concrete and there was no natural light. A naked bulb swung from the ceiling, making it seem as if the shadows were alive and moving.
Hiei coughed. His throat hurt horribly.
He was strapped down to a hard, steel table, limbs secured in leather bonds. Something had been stuffed into his mouth, something that tasted stale.
The redhead's face loomed over him, a friendly smile on his too-perfect visage.
"You're finally awake," he said, sounding pleased. "I thought that perhaps I had killed you after all. That would have been unfortunate. The sacrifice must be completed properly for the ritual to work."
The man's hand came into view. Fear shot through Hiei and he struggled against his restraints. The gleaming silver blade of the knife slid into the flesh of Hiei's chest like he was made of nothing more than butter. A thin line of red blossomed, marking the knife's passage like the slimy track left behind by a snail.
Hiei's scream was muffled by whatever was in his mouth.
The man raised the bloody knife, his green eyes glowing with satisfaction. He ran his finger along the cut in Hiei's skin, then brought it to his lips and licked the blood from it.
Hiei's stomach twisted at the sight. What kind of monster was this man?
"Perfect," he said. "Young and full of life. Just what my garden needs to grow again."