Peneia Teke: I'm baaaaack! :sheepish grin:
I don't know if anyone even follows this story anymore, but if you do, let me just apologize for the long delay. Has it been three years, already? Really? I have no excuse other than I lost interest in this story (and in YuYu Hakusho, in general) for awhile, and then college killed off my enthusiasm for writing. Thankfully, the plotbunnies are coming out of hiding, and my muse has returned to me with a vengeance, so expect updates much more frequently than every three years. Heh.
Also, if you haven't already, go read MystiKoorime's story, More Than Anyone Else. It's what got me back into the Hiei/Botan spirit ^_^
Without further ado, here is the next installment…
Chapter Four: The Calm Before
The first thing Hiei saw when he opened his eyes was Kurama sitting in the corner of the room, browsing through a text book. He glanced up briefly and smiled when he noticed Hiei watching him. "Oh, you're awake, I see," he said, putting the book aside and standing up. "Are you feeling any better?"
"A little," Hiei admitted, stretching his arms and grimacing when the movement pulled on the stitches in his chest. His eyes scanned the room warily, taking in his surroundings. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital wing of Koenma's Palace, recovering from surgery. Do you remember anything?"
"Vaguely. Why did I need surgery?"
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "You were attacked by one of the demons we've been tracking. The poison that was injected into your body behaved like a virus, attacking your vital organs. Your heart began to fail, so you were given an emergency surgery. Now, that you're out of the critical stage, the doctors are focusing on your superficial wounds. They're impressed by how quickly you're bouncing back."
Hiei grunted. "If that's the case, then why do I feel so weak?" he asked, more to himself than to Kurama. Unfortunately, the fox heard him and decided to answer, anyway.
"This particular toxin has the dual affect of blocking what little demon energy you have, so your recovery has been slow."
"You mean it's still inside of me?" Hiei asked, feeling alarmed but trying not to let it show.
Kurama nodded. "The surgeon managed to draw out the poison, but there are still residual elements in your blood. It should be relatively harmless."
"Should be. Well, that's a relief," Hiei said sarcastically, not liking the idea of a foreign substance floating around in his body, especially from a demon that tried to kill him.
"Koenma has a team looking into it, now," Kurama said. Then he sat up straighter and gave Hiei a pointed look. "You are very lucky, Hiei. There were moments when we thought we were going to lose you."
"Nonsense," Hiei said, glaring at the wall behind Kurama. It annoyed him that they thought he was so weak as to let an inferior demon kill him off. Then a thought occurred to him, and he voiced it aloud. "Where's that fairy girl?"
Kurama smiled, though he was obviously trying to hide it. "Botan went to the cafeteria for some coffee. She's hardly left your side, you know."
Hiei stared at him blankly then turned his head to the door when it creaked open and the girl in question walked in, carrying a tray of coffee and sandwiches. "I wasn't sure which kind you wanted, Kurama, so I got a couple of each," she said, steering the tray to the table next to the red head.
He smiled and nodded his head in thanks. "I'm sure whatever you chose will be fine, Botan. In fact, this tuna fish looks delicious. Would you care for a sandwich, Hiei?" he asked, purposefully avoiding the fire demon's eyes as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
Botan whirled around, nearly bumping into the table in her surprise. She stared at Hiei for a moment before breaking out in a large smile. "Hiei, you're awake!" She launched herself toward the bed as though to envelop him in a hug but stopped herself just in time. Instead, she hovered over him, fluttering her arms around uncertainly.
After a moment's hesitation, she reached out toward the bandage on his chest, but he slapped her hand away with his own. "Don't touch me." Kurama began to chuckle and got up to walk toward the door. "Wait, Kurama, where are you going?" he demanded in a tone that clearly pleaded, 'don't leave me alone with her.'
"I believe it would be wise to track down Yusuke before he gets himself into too much trouble," he said, smiling at Botan. "I'll leave our mutual friend in your capable hands."
"Yes, sir," Botan said, giving Kurama a mock salute.
They watched him walk out and close the door behind him with a soft click. Then Botan turned back to Hiei and furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." He said as he gave her a thorough once over, searching for any signs of injury. From what he recalled of the incident, she'd been fairly wounded herself.
Botan understood what he wanted to ask even without him saying anything. "Oh, don't worry about me," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "My wounds were scratches compared to yours, nothing I can't handle." Then she glanced over at the table and asked, "Do you want a sandwich? I have ham, tuna, and turkey."
Hiei eyed her warily. "I can get it myself."
"Oh, don't be silly," she giggled, walking back with a quarter of a turkey sandwich. "If you move too much you'll reopen your wounds. Besides, your arms are connected to IVs. You can't use them, anyway. Now, open up." She offered the morsel, but Hiei turned his head away, stubbornly.
"I don't need you to feed me."
Botan sighed. "Why not? There's nothing wrong with it." She ripped off a piece and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly. "See? I'm still alive." She peeled off another piece and offered it to him, again.
"I can eat the damn thing myself," Hiei growled in irritation. "Stop treating me like a child."
"Then stop acting like one," Botan retorted, shoving the piece of sandwich into his mouth as he opened his mouth to respond. In a bold move that surprised them both, she covered his mouth with her hand until he swallowed. "Good, huh?" she grinned as he glowered up at her. "Want some more?"
"No," he spat, shrugging her hand away. "I don't want more. I want you to keep your damn hands to yourself!"
"Don't be so dramatic, Hiei," Botan said flippantly. "You haven't eaten anything for two days. Of course, you must be hungry."
Hiei frowned at her. He wasn't sure if she was feeling so brave due to the fact that he was in a hospital bed or because she'd been spending so much time around him. Either way, it was quickly becoming irritating, especially when he realized she wasn't as afraid of him as she used to be. That was unacceptable. "Shove that in my mouth, again, and I'll kill you in your sleep," Hiei warned, narrowing his eyes at her.
Botan looked startled for a moment but recovered quickly. "Oh, for goodness' sake, Hiei, stop being-"
She was cut off when the door swung open and Yusuke barged in, followed closely by Kurama and Kuwabara. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty's back from the dead. How you doin', Princess?" Yusuke said.
Hiei shot him a seething glare, but Botan turned to him and said, "Yusuke, tell Hiei to stop being such a stubborn jerk. He's got to eat something!"
"Hiei, stop being such a stubborn jerk," Yusuke said, mimicking the fairy girl. "But seriously man, I'd do what Botan says. She can get pretty scary when she's mad."
"Why don't you tell her not to force feed me, then? I'm perfectly capable of eating a sandwich without her help," he retorted sarcastically.
"Okay, okay. How about this?" Yusuke said, putting his hands out defensively at the same time as Kuwabara exclaimed, "Aw, man, Hiei! That's gotta be pretty gosh darn embarrassing."
Yusuke shot Kuwabara a look as though to shut him up. "Hiei, you eat something. Botan, stop fussing over the guy. I mean, seriously, you're worse than Keiko." Botan blushed as Hiei plucked the sandwich out of her hand with a smug expression.
"But you'll pull out your IV," she protested lamely as Hiei snorted and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
"Eh, if Shorty wants to act tough, I say let him," Kuwabara said. "It'll serve him right when he pulls out his stitches and has to come back here later."
"Only a fool would let that happen," Hiei mumbled around a mouthful of food.
"What was that? You got something to say?"
"Great. So, now that that's all settled, does anyone know when Hiei's going to be released?" Yusuke asked, ignoring his two bickering friends and stretching his arms over his head. "If we don't get out of here soon, I think I'm gonna go crazy."
"You said it, Urameshi."
"For once, I agree with the fool," Hiei said, smirking over at Kuwabara.
"Hey!"
"I spoke with Koenma earlier," Kurama replied. "He has no authority on these types of decisions. He said that Hiei can leave whenever he wants, even today if he so chooses."
"Hn. I would have done that anyway. I don't need Koenma's permission."
"Don't need my permission for what?" asked a familiar voice. Everyone turned in surprise to find Koenma standing in the corner of the room in his teen form. "Quite a party in here, isn't it?" he asked cheerfully.
"Oh, hello, Koenma sir," Botan smiled. "We were just having a discussion."
"So, I heard," he said, glancing over at Hiei. "I wanted to inform you that Genkai has graciously offered her temple as a place for you to recover. Since Kurama's home is no longer available," he turned to give the red head an apologetic look, "we're running low on options."
"I don't need to be taken care of," Hiei snapped, irritated that he had to keep repeating himself. He'd had quite enough of Koenma's hospitality.
"Don't let pride get in the way of your head," Koenma said. "Without your demon energy to help you recover, you have the healing rate of a human. There's no way I'm sending you out in that kind of condition. Anyway, would you rather stay here?"
"No! Absolutely not. I refuse to remain here any longer than necessary," Hiei growled, sitting up despite the pain in his chest.
Koenma nodded as though he'd expected that response. "It's settled then. I'll set up a portal to the temple, and you can leave as soon as you're feeling up to it."
"Sir, would you like me to continue the healing sessions?" Botan asked, ignoring the dark look Hiei sent her.
"Yes, because that worked so well last time," he growled.
Koenma nodded. "Go ahead and continue, Botan." Then he turned to Hiei and added, "It will take time for Botan's energy to assimilate with yours. Don't lose patience just because you haven't felt any different, yet."
"Fine, but when she screws it up and kills me, you'll be the first one I haunt," Hiei said.
Koenma chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Well, let's just pray that doesn't happen."
Later that day, Hiei and Botan took the portal to Genkai's temple and stepped out into the kitchen. She was sitting in one of the chairs with her arms crossed over her chest. "There you two are. I've been waiting," she said impatiently. "Well, come on in and make yourselves comfortable."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Master Genkai," Botan said with a small bow. Hiei just grunted and followed the old woman into one of the adjacent rooms.
"This is where you'll be sleeping," she said, nudging the futon mattress on the floor with her foot. "If you don't like it, well, there are plenty of trees outside." Before either of them could decide whether or not that was a joke, Genkai was already walking away. "Botan, I'll have another bed made up for you in the living room, unless you'd rather stay with Yukina and me. It's your choice."
"Oh, um, whatever is easiest for you," she said. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."
Genkai nodded her head. "I'll make up another bed then."
Hiei was brooding near the window of his new room when he sensed a familiar presence walking toward the door that made him cringe in irritation. He'd already resigned himself to the idea that he'd be here for awhile. He'd been told that human injuries as serious as these took several weeks to heal. That was, of course, unless the simpletons working under Koenma found a way to unblock his demonic energy, which he doubted highly. The only solace he found in this whole mess was that Yukina was staying here as well. At least he'd be able to watch over her.
"Hiei?" Botan asked, poking her head into his room. "Oh, there you are. Are you settling in okay?"
"I'm fine. Go away," he grunted, not bothering to look at her. It was bad enough he had to be confined here to "recover", but to have her hovering around like a protective mother hen? Ridiculous.
"Are you sure you don't need anything?"
He turned to glare at her over his shoulder. "Are you deaf, woman? I said I'm fine. Go make yourself useful elsewhere."
Botan's smile faltered, and she gave a little exhale of breath that he didn't miss. "Okay. If you need anything, just let me know."
After Botan closed the door, she felt tears of frustration sting the corners of her eyes. It looked like she and Hiei were back to square one. She thought things would be different once he woke up since they'd helped each other out back there, but Hiei seemed even angrier with her than he used to be. Was it because he'd had to save her? Was he blaming her for his current condition? Probably. That or perhaps he couldn't stand the idea of being under the care of someone weaker than him. Either way, Botan rather thought he was being a jerk about the whole situation. She was only trying to help, and he kept pushing her away!
She decided to leave him alone the rest of the day, and, instead, spent her time catching up with Yukina, filling out paperwork for Koenma, and doing little odds and ends for Master Genkai. By the time it got dark, Botan realized she couldn't put off seeing Hiei anymore, and walked up to his door with a plate of grilled cheese, a dish that Kurama had informed her was his favorite.
She knew he could probably sense her at the door but knocked anyway to be polite. She took his silence as affirmation to enter and carefully opened the door. Hiei hadn't moved far from the windowsill, and he neither acknowledged her nor turned to look at her. Botan almost smiled. Was he giving her the silent treatment? "I brought you some grilled cheese," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "A little birdie told me it was your favorite." She frowned when he didn't answer and set the plate down on his futon. "I'll just leave it here then." He still didn't acknowledge her, so she just stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. Finally, she decided to bring up the subject that had been bothering her all day. "Hiei?" she asked hesitantly. "Why are you so angry with me?"
There was a long pause as he continued to stare out the window, and Botan was about to give up and leave the room, resigned in the fact that he wouldn't answer when he finally said, "I'm not angry with you." He turned to look at her, and she realized for the first time how tired he appeared. "I'm angry with my situation," he finally admitted.
"Oh." For a moment she didn't know what to say. "You're not mad about what happened at Kurama's house? About having to save me?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he scoffed, shifting around to face her fully. "Don't be stupid. If it hadn't been for you, I'd probably be dead right now." Botan's jaw nearly dropped open in shock when the full implication of his words sank in. It must have been hard for him to admit that to her.
'I owe you my life,' hung unspoken between them.
Botan felt her cheeks warm up, and she glanced away uneasily. "Do you remember any of it?"
Hiei shrugged a shoulder and cocked his head slightly. "Only bits and pieces." He gave her a look that made her believe he wasn't being completely truthful, but she wasn't sure she wanted to broach that subject, anyway, so she let it go.
"So we're okay, then?" she asked, gesturing vaguely with her hands. "You don't hate me?"
"No more than I did before," he said with a ghost of a smirk.
She smiled at him as a sense of relief washed over her. "I'm glad. Well, I guess I'll leave you alone, then. We'll have a healing session first thing in the morning, okay?" She turned to walk away, but his voice stopped her.
"Wait." She glanced at him over her shoulder, and he hesitated as though unsure how to put in words what he wanted to say. Then he gestured to the plate of grilled cheese. "I appreciate the sentiment."
"Is that your way of thanking me?" Botan grinned, amused at Hiei's cryptic way of speaking.
He shook his head. "No. I was simply acknowledging your attempt to reach out." Then he turned back to the window, and the discussion was clearly over.
Botan smiled at his back and turned for the door, feeling appreciative of him suddenly. Surely, he wasn't as bad deep down as he'd like people to think. It was amazing how one small attempt to reach out could change her opinion of him, but now that she'd glimpsed what he kept so guarded, Botan was addicted. She decided then and there that she would do whatever it took to bring that side of him out, again.
Peneia Teke: Yes, I'm aware this chapter is a little on the uneventful side, but things will get heated up, again, soon. I promise. Since you got this far, why not take the time to review? It does wonders for a writer's motivation. :hinthintwinkwink: