Deep Crimson
By: Demon Hiei's Girl who needs a new user-name
Chapter 3
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Author's note: Yay, another chapter.
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"Welcome! Party of one?" asked a waitress with long, blue hair she wore down.
"Umm, yeah."
"All right, we'll seat you over here." she said chirpily. The woman lead him to a small table in the corner, a window seat, then placed a menu in front of him. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your ord..."
"Yusuke!"
Yusuke turned from his seat to the girl who voiced the shout, a turquoise haired gray eyed beauty he'd remember any day.
"Yukina?" the other waitress questioned, never having heard the petite woman be so loud before.
"Sorry, Botan!" Yukina blushed. "I just didn't expect to see him here."
"Oh," Botan gaped. Slowing making her way passed Yukina she whispered to the shorter girl, "Is that your man?"
"N...no!"
The retort was a chuckle as Botan headed for the kitchen. Yukina shook her head profusely then headed straight towards the dark haired man she hadn't seen in awhile. "What are you doing here?"
"Actually, I was looking for you. I wasn't sure you'd be working tonight, I just was kind of hoping."
Yukina blushed. "Looking for me? Did you leave something at our house? I'd be glad to retrieve it for you."
"No, no. Actually I was kind of hoping you could apologize to your bro for me."
"Hiei?" Yukina blinked. "Why?"
"I kind of...shoved him last time I saw him, and never really apologized. I feel really bad after you two helped me out." was the sheepish reply. She could tell he was feeling really uncomfortable about this subject.
"I don't understand, though. If you remembered where I work surly you'd recall where he does. Why didn't you go straight to him?" Yukina asked, tilting her head to the side. It seemed like the obvious action to take if this was his reason for coming to the diner.
"I would have..." Yusuke blushed looking down. "But he's kind of hot headed and I didn't think he'd hear me out..."
"Oh..." Yukina sighed. "Yeah, that sounds like my brother."
"I really didn't mean to!" Yusuke continued, whipping his head upward. "I just... had something else on my mind and it was kind of an accident."
"I'm sure he could tell. He probably tripped himself on the ice; I wouldn't worry about it." Yukina smiled to reassure him. Yusuke frowned in response.
"I'll tell you what," the girl continued, bracing herself to turn towards the next customers who needed a table. "Stay here and have some breakfast. Then go to his work and apologize to him. It'll be more sincere, and then you can have a nice talk."
"Um, okay." Yusuke decided quietly.
As Yukina walked away, she couldn't help but ponder distractedly as she helped the older couple to their booth. 'I've never seen him so quiet before. That must have really been eating him up. I feel bad for him.'
- - - - - -
"You know, it's illegal for cute guys to not have girlfriends."
"...really now?"
"Oh yes, they just passed that law the other day. But don't be distraught."
"I try my hardest not to be."
"Good. Because I just happen to be available. I mean, if you don't get a respectable girlfriend soon, they'll throw you in jail."
"Respectable? How about one with a pretty face and decent boobs?"
"Well, I happen to meet all three of the requirements then, don't I? How about we go to a movie after your shift?"
"How about you make an order?"
"C'mon, what time to you get off?"
"Sorry, if you're not going to order anything, I'm going to hang up."
"Don't do that, we haven't set a date yet!"
"Oh, sorry, a customer just walked in. Gotta go."
"No, wai–!"
With that, Hiei threw the phone on the receiver and turned to face the person who just walked into the restaurant. "How may I help...oh, it's just you."
"...hey..." Yusuke mumbled, looking at the familiar man behind the counter.
"Are you here for food or what?" Hiei asked through narrowed eyelids.
"Um, not really. I ate at your sister's ...uh, place."
"So you're loitering, huh?"
"I'm here to apologize, geez." Yusuke finally muttered out, scratching the back of his head. He wasn't very good at apologizing to people. Especially hot-headed people who held grudges.
"I still have icicles in the ass-crack of those pants thanks to you," Hiei snorted, turning towards a drawer on the other side of the counter. Crouching, he began to rummage through some of the various items searching for a notepad since his other one ran out of paper.
Yusuke watched patiently until he heard a none-too-quiet curse.
"Fuck!"
"Are you okay?" he asked politely, peering over the counter.
"Damn staple." Hiei muttered, standing back up. A small, thin cut formed on the tip of his index finger, and slowly a droplet of thick, crimson liquid formed overtop of it. "Where's a band-aid when you need one?"
Yusuke could smell it, and suddenly a small detail fell into place in his head. He could feel his eyes glow a faint color as his counterpart stared at his wounded pointer finger.
"I knew it! I knew there was something different about you." Yusuke said, matter-of-factly, quickly regaining his composure.
"What?" the dark haired man asked, turning to the amber eyed annoyance in front of him.
"There was a little something different between you and your sister, and I finally figured out what it was." was the happy response.
"Umm, you mean besides the fact that I'm a boy and she's a girl?"
"No, a difference in your blood." Yusuke smirked. Hiei stared at him wide eyed for a couple seconds, not really sure what to make of that. Yusuke just shook his head and grabbed Hiei's hand, taking the tip of his finger in his mouth. Hiei just stiffened at the action, feeling his cheeks heat up at the bold move.
"What are you...?"
"You're anemic! I knew it." Yusuke finished, pulling Hiei's hand down from his mouth. "Your sister's a tad more healthy, hm?"
"What...the fuck?" Hiei asked, suddenly freaked out. Ripping his arm out of the taller man's grasp, he muttered, "How did you...?"
"You really should get more iron into your system, Hiei, that's not really healthy. I mean, I'm sure they make a supplement for that kind of thing."
Hiei just gaped. "If my blood sucks so much, than why did you put it in your mouth?" Yusuke just laughed at that, noticing Hiei was not only extremely uncomfortable, he was blushing.
"You're cute."
"Fuck off, there is no way that what you just did is sanitary! I mean, what if I had AIDS or something? What then, pal?"
Yusuke just shrugged. Following Hiei's shouting match with an ever-so-calm Yusuke, a girl dressed in the restaurant's uniform walked passed Yusuke and behind the counter with her fellow employee.
"What are you shouting about?"
"This bastard here...!"
"He cut himself." Yusuke finished before Hiei could go off in another fit.
"Oh, do you want a bandage?"
"Yeah, as soon as I find the damn hand sanitizer!"
"Don't you think you're over reacting?" the dark haired girl urged as her counterpart continued to spaz.
"Well, I think I'll be going now. Later, Hiei. And again, I apologize."
"Smug bastard..." Hiei muttered under his breath.
"Wait, aren't you going to order anything?" the girl asked, shouting after the retreating figure.
"Nah, maybe next time." he smirked with a small salute on his way out.
"Don't encourage him to stay, Ayame, he's creepy." Hiei glared as she handed him a bandage, preparing to head back to the kitchen.
"Really? He seemed pretty nice to me. Aren't you two friends?"
"Hardly!" Hiei snorted. With that, he put the bandage around his finger with an agitated sigh.
- - - - - -
"I'm home." Yukina announced as she walked through the front door. Abruptly, she threw her coat onto the coat rack and kicked off her shoes before padding into the living room. Once again her brother was passed out on the couch having gotten off work and hour earlier. Rolling her eyes, she headed for the kitchen, deciding she wasn't super hungry so she'd just make some soup for a snack. As she turned the stove on, she caught wind of some muffled noises and soon her groggy brother emerged in the kitchen as well, rummaging around for some cereal.
"You're up." she commented with a small hint of a smile. "How was work?"
"Gay."
"You're really going to have to come up with more original answers. I can't keep having these conversations by myself, you know."
"Yusuke came in, is that what you were curious about?" Hiei added, annoyed. "He mentioned going to the diner first."
"Yes, you caught me," Yukina giggled as she watched her brother pour some milk into the cereal bowl. "He apologized, didn't he? I think that was sweet of him."
"He's weird, and you know it. You only give him a break 'cause he's good looking."
"Oh, you think he's good looking?"
"Screw you."
"Geez," Yukina pouted. "What a temper tantrum. I was just kidding. Did something happen besides an apology?"
"Yeah, he fucking saw me cut my finger open and knew I had mild anemia. It was freaky as shit. That's not normal." Hiei growled out, chomping on the fruit loops with more intensity that was really necessary.
"Really? That is strange. Is your blood discolored any? Maybe we should have it looked at by a doctor." Yukina added worriedly.
"Fuck paying doctor's bills for nothing. My blood was red and normal as ever. The weird thing is, it's really a mild case. Just a slight lack of iron. I have no idea how you could tell that just from..." Hiei trailed off when the memory struck again. "It's just weird."
"Maybe he's a blood specialist. We really don't know his career. Maybe he's a doctor!" Yukina pondered out loud, leaning back in her chair across from her brother.
"Yeah, but he knew you didn't have anything wrong with your blood, and he didn't see you bleed."
"That's true." Yukina commented. "Hm. He's a mysterious guy, huh?"
"More like a freaky guy."
"I wouldn't worry about it." Yukina sighed, getting up when the stove informed her that the soup was ready.
"Not worry? Please, he knows where you work and where you live. Shouldn't you be concerned a little?" Hiei gaped, anxious to get his overly trusting sister to see reason.
"He hasn't really given me a reason not to trust him. I think you're just bitter cause he man handled you in public." Yukina giggled as she retook her seat at the table, soup in hand.
"Ugh." Hiei mumbled, deciding to drop it. He really didn't have an argument to that anyway.
After a couple minutes of silence and chewing noises, Yukina finally added, "Speaking of anemia, you probably should eat healthier, Hiei. You'll get diabetes if you only eat that horrible sugar cereal all the time."
"Aw, not the fruit loops."
"Yes, the fruit loops. Do you read the nutrition facts? They're awful."
"Ugh."
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Author's note: I hate fruit loops, personally.
