Chapter 2 Of All the Situations
The day passed quickly because by the time Hiei opened his eyes again, he could hear the bustle of students filling out.
About time, he thought. Hi picked himself up and headed for the door, until he saw a abrupt flicker of purple pass by. In a second, he'd reached out for the small color and opened his palm to his face.
The ES was indeed smaller in size compared to the Makai. It twitched in his hand and he suddenly felt a small sting. Almost instantly Hiei felt a small drop in his strength and a light wave of dizziness passed over him. Surprised, he threw the insect to the ground and he blinked. It began to crumble in a blue flame. The outflow of his energy had stopped when he'd released the pest.
The flame smoldered then sputtered out, leaving behind a small mound of ash which Hiei took the liberty of sweeping away with his foot.
"What a nuisance."
~.~.~.~.~
My day was fairly normal. It was just another day at school. Maybe the only ruckus had been the one girl who'd apparently fainted randomly in the hall way and had to be taken to the hospital. She'd probably just come down with some kind of flu that was being passed around. I hope she'd be ok. But I haven't found that 'Hiei' guy all day... I thought, my mind wandering.
"Ren!" I spun around, drawn to the voice that called me. It was one of my classmates, although I felt bad because I didn't know her name. She came up to me.
"Hey, do you know what happened to that girl today? Everybody's talking about it."
"No, but I..." I trailed off, oblivious to her confused glance, as behind her I could see what looked like a head of black spikes.
"Um, sorry. I've got to take care of something." I knew it was a little rude, but I figured I might as well. Despite her protests, I sprinted around her.
"Hey, you- Hiei!" The guy stopped as I jogged towards him. I must've been right when I thought the folder belonged tho him.
"There you are! I guessed you were the same guy from this morning. Why weren't you in class today? The teacher called your name, but you weren't there. Here you must've dropped this," I held out the manila pack. Once he realized what it was, he snatched it from me abruptly and I flinched. What was this attitude?
"It's none of your business." he clipped shortly. His eyes proceeded to roam over me, with an analytical and cold look that made me squirm uncomfortably.
"Look, I'm sorry for this morning if that's what you're so mad about, but I apologized. And I was just looking for you to check if you were alright since you didn't show up for class. Hey wait!" Before I'd even finished, Hiei had already taken to walking away. This guy was seriously pushing my buttons.
"Hiei-" then I was overcome with an odd sensation and I tripped over my feet, landing on my knees. The room began tipping over, and it was as if far away I heard the quick patter of running. And the world became right side up again. I wasn't dizzy anymore, and someone was holding onto my shoulders. I looked behind me, only to catch myself staring straight into Hiei's red eyes. Red eyes...?
And he quickly let go. I shook my head, my thoughts feeling fuzzy.
"...Sorry, I don't know what just happened."
"Hn." I could see his fist was clenced and my eyes widened dramatically. It was smoking!
"Hiei," I shrieked, "your hand is on fire!"
He smirked, as if he knew something I didn't and I watched as the smoke cleared.
"You talk to much, girl." He walked away, leaving me in my stupified state. I blinked by the time he was down the hall and turning left.
"W-Wait Hiei!" And I went after him, turning the corner as he'd done moments ago. I gaped in utter confusion. He was no where in sight.
~.~.~.~.~.
Soon after Hiei had left the campus, he was met by Kurama and Botan. There were all headed to Kuwabara's house, as they had planned earlier.
"How was your first day Hiei?" Kurama asked conversationally.
"I was up on the roof and caught one of those disgusting vermon. I caught another one after."
Botan slightly gaped at him, "Wait, you mean you only got two?"
"Yes."
"Hiei! The whole point of the mission is to be involved inside the school so you can incinerate as many ES as possible. Not just skip! Two is nothing!"
"Hn."
"She has a point Hiei," Kurama added, "There were already five incidents of students succumbing to some type of lathargia, one of which I believe belonged at your school. Botan and I have already caught and destroyed well over twenty. And there are soon bound to be more."
Hiei was silent the rest of the way to Kuwabara's house. The recent conversation had already put him in a foul mood and he didn't particularly enjoy the banter between Kurama and Botan. He just wanted to escape for the day and get away from the noise.
By the time they arrived and situated themselves in Kuwabara's living room, the sun was already setting.
"So Kuwabara and i were able to get a lot of those suckers today! Except we couldn't get to this one girl in time, but I think she'll be ok. It caused a big scene at our school when she suddenly collapsed in the middle of class." Yusuke said.
Kuwabara shivered beside him, "It was the creepiest thing I ever saw. Like a giant mosquitto, except sucking spirit energy instead of blood."
"Yes, there were two incidents at our school, but with some rest at the hospital they should be fine. But I don't know about the last one." Botan shot a side glance at Hiei who glared in return.
"Why? What do you mean?" Kuwabra cocked his head.
"Hiei was to busy skipping class on the roof the whole day. " Kurama said cooly, sipping his tea.
Hiei's expression didn't change, "Hn."
"You sound just like me!" laughed Yusuke, until Botan slapped the grin off his face.
"It's not funny. Fortunately, I was able to send out some spirit demons and they've informed me that she's been acting like nothing was wrong, but at first, she was near her death bed. I was already receiving her death report from the Spirit World."
Kurama set down his cup, "That's quite odd how she regained her strength."
"Yes, but apparently (as Koenma has told me) if a bug is carrying an spirit energy from an individual, they can get full and at that point, won't be able to suck anymore till they release it, or rather, pass it on to their Queen. However, that being said, we've drawn the conclusion that if the bug is destroyed before it's actually able to reach the nest, the energy will immediately return to its original host." Botan said.
Hiei crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "Meaning that one of the bugs I killed must have been the one that absorbed the energy. So get off my case."
Kurama shook his head,"It was quite lucky. But you can't just risk that Hiei."
Hiei growled softly. Why was he being attacked all of the sudden? They had no right to tell him what he should do and not.
"Hn. This isn't worth my time." He leapt to the window and onto the street without so much as a farewell. Kuwabara clambered to the window, but Hiei wasn't there.
Kuwabara looked at them timidly, "You... You don't think we hurt his feelings?"
Kurama chuckled slightly, "No, I don't think that's the case. Although he'd never admit it, I think we've made him feel a bit guilty."
Sighing, Yusuke rubbed his head, "Where do you think he went?"
Kuwabara crossed the room and plopped down next to Yusuke, "Who knows and who cares, because I don't. That guy's such a downer! It's a wonder that Koenma trusts him at all."
"Well that's-" Kurama began, most likely in Hiei's defense, but he was cut off by a series of rings.
"Hm? Oh, it's the communication mirror." Botan smiled apologetically and rummaged in her side pocket, withdrawing the small compact, and flipped it open while the others busied themselves surrounding her.
Koenma popped up on the small screen, his face tight with distress, "Botan!"
"Sir? What happened?" Botan asked worriedly.
"How is the situation so far?"
Botan frowned, "Koenma, we've found many ES in the schools and five students collapsed today."
Koenma whimpered, slumping in his chair, "It's bad enough as it is! We just got word of a rip in dimensions!"
"What! How can that be?" Kurama said, now on high alert.
"We're not just dealing with any normal enemy here. Obviously, they didn't come from Makai or Spirit world, but like an alternate space! " Several moments passed as this sunk in.
"How is that even freaking possible?" yelled Yusuke, pulling at his hair.
"This isn't good. We're dealing with some kind of creature who can actually manipulate space." Kurama said, his face drawn, "Perhaps a shadow demon?"
"What's a shadow demon?" Kuwabara asked.
"There's no time for that! Whoever opened the space let something into the city! We've registered that at least seven apparitions have entered the human dimension. I need you to try and scope them out. And where's Hiei? Under the circumstances, I'll need him to go back to Makai and increase security on the Human-Makai border!"
Botan was sheepish, "Er, well... he left."
"What?"
Yusuke shrugged, "Yeah, he got all cranky and left just a minute ago."
"Well don't just stand there! Get to it!" Koenma yelled and the screen blinked and they were left in a troubling silence.
"What are we waiting for, an invitaion? Let's go kick some demon ass!" Kuwabara punched the air and Kurama nodded.
"Yes, let's go. There's no time to waste."
"But what about Hiei?" Botan asked, concerned.
"The shrimp can take care of himself for now!" Kuwabara huffed.
Kurama agreed, "Yes, he should be able to handle himself if he gets into trouble. Hopefully... He'll quickly sense the energy and maybe even rendezvous with us, if we're lucky."
Yusuke stretched, "Maybe in the best case scenarious. But Kurama, you should know by now: we have the worst case of luck."
~.~.~.~.~.
Hiei had no destination in mind, but it was alright because he simply enjoyed walking. It gave him peace of mind.
They're all fools. He continued in his solitary stride, lost in deep thought. Before he knew it, he'd gone into the park and was standing under a large tree with plenty of wide branches for him to rest on. Street lights were beginning to pop on and to his right lay a noble, white fountain. In the center lay a carved statue of a siren, crying, but what also appeared to be singing to a human from underneath a rocky ledge. On top of the carving laid a human reaching out for the siren, although he was on the brink of falling as the rock crumbled beneath him.
So the siren is leading the human to his death- how typical. They're fools too. He was intrigued by the sorrow forever etched into the beautiful sculpted face, but he paused when he heard a tiny rustle to the side. His hand snapped to his sword, only to realize it was stilll missing.
"Damn it!" he hissed and whipped around and leapt in the air, his hands smoking with blue heat. With a swipe of his arm, the ES was caught by gravity and it landed in a smoldering heap.
Hiei stared at the charred remains . And then a wave of energy crashed into him, making him freeze up in tension.
"What's this?" There was several point of energy that had suddenly come from nowhere. It was an immense aura- and all points all reeked of demon stench. No...there's human too.
Hiei crouched, switching into a deffensive position.
"So this is the human world? Wow, it's much nicer then Asami's lair, but it stinks like you Tatsuya."
Hiei turned around and leapt backwards towards the fountain. Figures that hadn't been there before remaind silouhetted in the shadows of the trees, casually looking around. Hiei was shockedo: for a group that radiated so much spirit energy, how had he not been able to sense them right behind him? The shadows dissolved as the moonlight shone down.
There were seven of them. First, a tall, purple lilac haired demon* dressed in traditional robes, then a pair of children, one almost clad entirely in white, a girl who clutched a destroyed bear to her chest and the other in black, a boy, with a long weapon casually resting on his shoulder with a curved blade stretching down the top- a massive scythe. Next were another pair: a man, definitely human (Hiei could smell it underneath the scent of feline ) that was almost inhumanly large. On his shoulder, perched a cat demon girl who was looking quite smug with herself, her tail curling around the man's neck.
Then there was a towering demon draped in a sheey with only a rectangle cut-out for the eyes, like a child playing ghost under a bed sheet. And the last was another human: he was very young looking, perhaps late adolescent and he stood with his arms crossed and a grim smile, his green eyes glimmering dangerously. His sighed.
"Really Aya? Right now? Plus, Itsuki's human too."
The cat on the giant's shoulder purred and mewed, "So? He doesn't smell like you."
The purple haired demon cleared his throat and the way he held himself conveyed to Hiei that he was the leading figure.
"Please, we have company. Pardon us," the demon smiled, but it was void of any inclination of kindness. Likewise. But there was something familiar about the demon, but Hiei couldn't exactly tell why- he was sure he'd seen his face, at least, in someway before.
"I am Minoru and these are my partners." he waved to the others behind him, "The Kuro Kagami and Shiro Kagami, the cat demon Aya and her faithful companion, Itsuki, our own fire demon, Manabu, and last but certainly not least, Tatsuya."
Kuro rolled his eyes, "Come on, Minoru. Can we cut to the chase already?"
There was something odd about a few of them, Hiei observed to himself silently. Around Kuro's neck, a red band lined his skin, along with Aya's, Minoru's, and Itsuki's.
Hiei glared fiercely, "I really could care less."
Several of them didn't flinch except for Kuro and Aya who glared back.
Minoru laughed, "You must be Hiei then, no doubt. And all alone too."
"How do you know me?" Hiei was really wishing he'd had his sword. That way, the mess would be cleaner.
Minoru stepped forward, raising his hand, "Hiei, we did a little research into Koenma's forces before putting our plan into action. You, the fox Youko, or now Kurama, the Raizen descendant Yusuke Urameshi, and the quite barbaric human Kazuma Kuwabara. You all are quite infamous so doing our homework wasn't that hard."
Hiei couldn't help but grin,"At least you have your facts straight."
"Indeed. Kuro," Minoru said.
"Yeah, yeah." Kuro heaved up his scythe and bared it towards Hiei, but instead of attacking he only swept it down. There was a loud ripping noise and a crescent shaped blackness was left in the air. Hiei recognized this, from distant memories of the study of dark arts.
He can cut through dimensions!?
Minoru snapped. A swarm of ES erupted from the small opening and Hiei watched how the group only became bigger and bigger until he was facing a full swarm. The tear in space swallowed itself like a black hole.
"You see Hiei, our Lady requires all the spirit energy she can get and we are searching for something here in the human world as well."
Hiei's eyes flickered between Minoru and the loud bugs, "What would that be?"
"My, we aren't just about to tell you. However, the only thing that stands in our way is your team. But we've become lucky today, you being here and alone at the same time. We'll be able to get rid of you and take your energy while we're at it, although you're not a woman."
Hiei's eyes widened. They were only targeting females?
Aya peeked through slit eyes, "Let's make this quick and painless okay?" she meowed sweetly. Itsuki shifted awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.
"Hn. Don't go getting a big head as to think you can possible beat me." Hiei said.
Minoru sighed, "Very well then. I'll take you on. Tatsuya," he looked a the quiet human, "You know what to do. I won't be long."
Hiei bared his fangs angrily, feeling enraged by his mocking. I'll make him eat those words.
"Right." Tatsuya nodded and leapt- he vanished.
"Oh phooey. I wanted to fight too." Aya whined, but vanished with Itsuki and the rest right afterwords. There was only Minoru, Hiei, and the looming cloud of ES.
"My insects will be feasting tonight," smiled Minoru and he waved forward. The bugs suddenly charged at an alarming speed. Skillfully, Hiei sliced and burned, cutting with speed and he jumped back. But the by the time he re-steadied himself, the ones he'd sliced and only knicked were recovering- and multiplying.
Minoru shook his head in sympathy, "Tsk, I thought you knew that whenever you cut them, they just multiply."
Hiei growled in aggravation as the second wave attacked.
~.~.~.~.~.
I heaved a tired sigh. I'd had to stay after school today becaues a teacher had caught me before I could leave the grounds and had asked for help of organizing papaers and I would have felt bad later if I said no. So I was stuck there for the rest of the afternoon. I touched the ribbon in my hair, a habit of mine, and groaned.
"Jeez, that was a pain. But that was a surprisingly interesting day. First with that new student, Hiei, and then that girl suddenly collapsing and being shipped off to the hospital. I'm glad she turned out ok, but that guy was a serious jerk. Just thinking about earlier makes me annoyed, even after I went through the trouble of looking for him to return his things and everything." I thought out loud to myself.
"But enought about him, he's not worth dwelling over anyways and it's Friday, so that means I can sleep in tomorrow. But now, I've to hurry home so I'll make it to work on time."
I was by the park now, enjoying the quiet night. But then for some reason I felt a quesiness in my stomach and I froze, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling like crazy. I couldn't move. Some just wasn't right.
The atmosphere felt dangerous.
Everything seemed to errupt around me. I screamed as a tree went crashing down right in front of me. A man jumped off of it, landing gracefully a few feet away. I was in utter shock but despite my trembling legs, I managed to stay standing and looked at the person as he noticed me. I instantly saw red eyes. Whatever I had been thinking about before was obliterated from my mind.
"...Hiei?"
Hiei took a moment to process me being there and his eyes widened slightly, before a swarm of purple bugs and a man with long purple hair jumped out.
"Where are you going Hiei? We just started getting to know each other!"
Hiei cursed, but I remained petrified to the spot.
The next thing I knew, Hiei was lunging for me and I was able to register an arm wrapping around my waist, the wind knocking from me, and I was filled with a terrible weightlessness, my stomach dropping.
If I was screaming before, I ws going ballistic now. We were sailing through the air, as if we were flying. I was blinded by tears due to the wind tearing at my face and I couldn't breathe. I clutched deperately to whatever I was holding on to, keeping me from not letting gravity make me drop like a rock. I looked up with effort and saw Hiei's face.
Something clicked in my mind and my arms and legs became beings of their own, lashing out. Over the whistle of the wind, I could hear Hiei grunt as I managed to dig a nail into his cheek. I was squeezed harshly and was forced to release the nail, leaing a small but deep cut, blood dribbling down.
"Stop moving unless you want to get killed!"
His tone and expression was beyond angry and I became a limp doll in his arms, giving up resistence. I didn't want to die.
We crashed down on a roof and then were hopping from top to top until we finally landed between two buildings. Only then did he drop me. I rolled on the ground, gasping for breath on all fours, trembling violently. I could barely get to my feet, I was scared one of my legs would spasm out from under me.
I opened my mouth to say something, but it only hinged like a broken door. I couldn't decide what to say first, what to think. My thoughts were racing miles in seconds, much like my heart, and they wouldn't slow down.
Hiei grabbed my back collar and tossed me into a near trash bin like an old rag. For a moment, the smell almost made me sick, but it didn't even matter anymore because Hiei's eyes were much more powerful and hypnotizing. My mind went blank, as if something had suddenly wiped it clean.
"Do not leave this spot or you will die painfully." and he slammed the lid over my head so hard that I was was seeing white spots. After they faded, leaving a terrible pain in my head, I noticed a small crack between the inside of the bin and the lid and was almost to scared to breathe properly. I peeked out, and almost screamed again. I bit my tongue to choke it back down.
The other man was already there, the pack of bugs looming behind him. He stood facing Hiei, blocking any means of escape. They were standing little ways from eachother and I could only pray that my beating heart couldn't be heard round the world. The man stepped forward, flicking his hair back and my breath hitched.
"Well Hiei, where did your little friend go? I know I saw you take a girl..." and he swerved his head around and for a second his eyes landed on the bin. My blood ran cold.
He knew where I was.
I really had no clue what was going on, but all I knew was that I was in grave danger. But there was no way I could move from this spot- I was helpless. It seemed like Hiei was trying to protect me- I think. I shivered as a cold smile stretched across the man's face.
"I'll take care of her later I suppose. Right now, I'd like to finish what I started. Now go," the swarm charged. Hiei was defenseless!
Hiei leapt into the air and managed to avoid them, but I could see that a secondgroup was already swooping down on top of him. He went crashing to the ground.
"Hiei!" I clamped my hand over my mouth.
Color quickly left his face and the bugs on his back pulsed like leeches. I wanted to throw up. It was as if they were sucking the life out of him.
As the feasting continued, Hiei seemed only to become weaker and weaker and I tears trickled down my face. I had to do something! But I was to afraid. There was nothing I could possibly do.
The man slowly approached him. He bent down to his face and lifted his head by his hair cruelly.
"Hiei you could have just made this easy, but you chose to talk big and look at where you are now- forced to eat them all up. But before I finsih you, I'd like to draw your life out a little longer."
He waved away the bugs and pulled out a dagger that made my heart practically stop. Hiei looked like he wanted to tear the man apart and tried to struggle, but it was futile. With his foot, the man kicked Hiei onto his back. He rested the tip of the dagger on Hiei's heart and smiled again.
I wanted to shut my eyes to the horror that was unfolding before me. At the last moment, I squeezed them shut and the night was filled with squelshing and a deep cry of agony that made me feel like I was being the one stabbed.
Minoru slowly withdrew the knife, now glistenning scarlet, but not before twisting it cruelly into Hiei's chest once more.
"I missed your heart on purpose as to allow you to live a bit longer. You have no strength to heal and I imagine my team has already found yours so I'll enjoy watching you bleed to death."
Then suddenly his eyes flashed and he tensed, sighing, "Damn...you'll have to forgive me. It seems like our Lady is calling us back already. It doesn't matter, you'll die all the same. Farewell." and without turning back, he disappeared into the night, the swarm with him, leaving Hiei for death.
~.~.~.~.~.
Hiei was bleeding all over the ground and my stomach felt like it was on roller coaster. I scrambled out of my hiding place, landing awkwardly on my side and I crawled over to Hiei.
"Hiei!" I bent over him and glanced at his chest, only to look right back away, feeling the sick rising up my throat. It was really bad.
Yet, I forced myself to look up at his face. It was creamy pale and his eyes flickered in and out of consciousness. He must have been in serious pain. The little cut I'd inflicted on his cheek stood out bright red against his white skin.
I shook my head rapidly, "What am I doing? Hiei needs help and I'm just sitting here like an idiot!"
Now what to do... I didn't reallly have anything that could immediately stop the bleeding so I busied myself with ripping off his black coat and stripping it as fast as possible into long pieces. I silently apologized to him while doing it and hoped he wouldn't be mad later. If there was even going to be a later for him to be mad.
I was scared out of my mind to even try moving him, but I knew I had no choice if he was going to survive. Plus, I had no idea if the demon, or whatever that man was, was going to come back for us again.
I tried as best as I could to wrap the strips around his torso, and although the bleeding seemed to slow, it didn't stop. When I attempted to lift him up, I gasped when his eyes fluttered open. They weren't annoyed or passive, but burned with an anger that shocked me, especially with his current state.
"What do you think you're doing?" he muttered quietly, and I saw him flinch in pain. My hands shook as I tied the strips in knots.
"Please be quiet, I need to finish this and you need to save your strength. I need to at least stop the bleeding so I get you to a hospital alive."
What was probably meant as a snort came out as a groan of pain. Even though barely conscious, I could read the message clearly.
"I never asked for you damn help, human. And I swear I will kill you if you even dare take me to one of your disgusting 'hospitals'." and then he slumped, as if he'd lost the energy to even talk and his eyes began to slip closed again.
"No don't fall asleep Hiei!" I was in a war with myself. Why had he just said human as if he weren't one himself? Then again, the things I'd just seen didn't seem very human at all. And I didn't doubt that he might actually kill me if I took him to a hospital. But where could I go?
"Where should I take you then Hiei?" But he didn't answer and I couldn't really expect him to. I could see the eyes rolling to the back of his head- I had to make a decision now. Gently handling him onto my shoulders, I dragged myself slowly to the mouth of the alley. I poked my head around the corner- the streets were empty, the shop lights were off except for street lights lining the road. My stomach churned nervously. And then I spotted a small, general store and slight relief flooded through me. I recognized this place. Sometimes I would come here for the good sales and lack of crowds. My apartment was the closest place I could take Hiei to. The hospital was practically on the other side of town anyways, so that was ruled out.
I pulled Hiei's arm over my shoulder and I shuddered. He looked like death, but I could see that he was still breathing.
"Please hold on Hiei. We'll be there in ten minutes!." I whispered to him although I doubt he could hear me. I couldn't be more grateful for the deserted area; it would have looked awfully suspicious . A girl covered in dirt and blood, dragging someone who was out cold with a hole in his chest. I quickned my pace, my shoulders beginning to hurt under his weight.
When I finally saw the peack of the apartment building, I was panting. My face twisted once I realized I'd have to get Hiei up the stairs. I'd have to do my best not to hurt him.
I pulled him over to them and slowly made my way up. I almost dropped him twice and it took a long time, especially with his increasing dead weight, but I finally made it to the top. I pulled him all the way towards the end and gently rested him on the wall, where he groaned slightly. He's still alive.
I reached for my keys and dread pooled through me. My bag was missing- I must have dropped it when Hiei first grabbed me!
I pressed the bell several times, even though I knew no one was supposed to be home.
In desperation, I grabbed the handle and putting all my might into my arms, twsited it and pushed. It glided open and I went crashing down, sending a shock of pain into my arms and I tried to support my fall with them. Tears dotted my eyes, and I achingly picked myself up and made to grab Hiei, my focus reset entirely on him rather then the fact the door had been open the entire time. I dragged him in and made a stumbled towards my room.
Reaching it, I managed to push Hiei onto my bed, careful not to touch his chest to much. His bandages were loose and bloody- I'd have to replace them.
I didn't have a moment to think. I ran to the kitchen, filling a tub with cold water and ice, rags and all the ointments and medicines I could find.
I fretted back to his side. First, I took one of the rags and dipped it into the freezing water. I wiped his face and folded it, pressing it down softly over his forehead. He was burning up! I had to get the fever down.
I undid his bandages and tossed them to the floor. The puncture was right over his heart, only slightly to the side. The man hadn't lied. He missed on purpose, but just barely.
The bleeding had actually stopped, but dried blood caked around the wound so I grabbed another cold rag to clean it. It seemed to be turning yellow: signs of it already getting infected.
I grabbed the alcohol and swabbed over it, trying to ignore the whimpers and hisses beind drawn from Hiei's twisted expression, although still unconcsious.
Drawing away, I dried it off re-wrapped him in white gauze. At least now I know he won't bleed to death.
Inspecting him, I noticed the small cute again and pressed a band-aid on it after cleaning it. I cupped his face- it was still hot.
Must be the infection. I replaced the drying compress with a fresh one and Hiei shivered. I felt utterly helpless.
"All I have is this medicine." it was a liquid medicine meant for lowering fevers, but what could it do? And how would I be able to give it to him? He wouldn't be able to swallow it unconscious.
I pulled Hiei into a sitting position and my heart panged at the look on his face- it was so vulnerable.
Earlier that day, I'd been at school wehre I'd met him for the first time for barely a few minutes. How could I have possible known that I'd be facing him, in this type of situation?
Hiei had saved her, protected and even hid her, only to...die himself? Was I really going to leave it up to fate? I clenched my fist.
No. I haven't done everything I could do yet. I was looking at his face when I got the idea. My face flushed and for the first time I was super thankful that he wasn't awake. If he ever found out what I was about to do... I didn't want to think about it.
I took a deep breath, pouring the medicine onto a spoon.
Right now, I promise myself that I will never mention this ever again to anyone. I spooned the medicine into my mouth, but didn't swallow.
I leaned over Hiei and pinched his nose.
Why me? Ok Ren, pull it together! I'm not going to kiss him, I'm just trying to help! I tilted his head back and his mouth parted slightly. It was now or never.
Come back to me Hiei. I closed my eyes, to embarassed to keep them open and my lips touched his. A strange sensation came over me and my hear pounded. The desire to save Hiei welled up in my ike a fire and my entire body tingled. The heat was spreading like liquid fire through my veins, but it didn't hurt. It rose into my fingers, my neck, my ears, and when it reached my lips, it was like something was slipping out of me, passing onto Hiei, as the medicing passed from me to him.
I pulled away quickly and the sensation dissolved away. Except, my ears were still hot. After making sure he'd swallowed it all, I fled the room, feeling wobbly. Stumbling over to the bathroom, I leaned heavily against the sink.
That was the strangest feeling... I touched my lips absentmindedly. And I got so tired... I splashed my face with water and looked up to my reflection. A stranger stared back at me, moust brown hair in a mess although tied up, blue eyes swollen and sagging, pale. I sighed- I was such a wreck.
What was I thinking? Who else did I know took somewhat strangers home, put them in bed, and treat them for nearly fatal wounds? No one, obviously. Except me.
I massaged my temples and shakily made my way back to Hiei. He was still asleep but he seemed... different. He was breathing easier and color had returned to his cheeks. I smiled tiredly, relief flooding throughout me.
"He looks liks such a kid." I touched his forehead- he still had a fever, but it was significantly cooler.
Wow, that medicine really must have worked. I'm so glad his fever went down so much. I slumped by the side of the bed, finally allowing myself to relax, feeling sleep stroking my body. My eyes drooped and folding my arms on the bed, I rested my head and faded into deep sleep.
[End]
Thank you for reading chapter 2 of Our Days Together! :D
Please review, they seriously mean so much to me! They're honestly one of the main things that inspire me to continue this story!
Thank you for all my previous reviews and favorites/alerts too, you're all so great and wonderful!
Now I'm going to go and watch Tangled as a good self pat on the back :{D
Till next time then ;)
-Love InuChimera7410