Chapter 8: Explanations

It was the light knocking at the door that startled Mizuki, not the clanking the metal bat made when she suddenly jolted from her seat at the kitchen table. She may or may not have fallen asleep in her seat while waiting for Shuichi-san and she didn't know how she felt about that. She quickly crossed to the door, dragging the stepladder with her. She stood on it and looked out the peephole. Mizuki took note of Hiei, the red eyed boy who'd ultimately been the one who had killed the blue skinned girl, and Shuichi-san. Shuichi looked as calm as ever, shaking the umbrella in his hand of the rain drops that still clung to it. Hiei looked restless, his feet unable to stay still. She sighed, putting the stepladder away to allow them in.

"Where is the damned bird?" Hiei demanded, the first thing that had come to his mind immediately making its way to his mouth. The girl looked slightly surprised, her blue eyes widening almost imperceptibly. She sent Shuichi a slightly annoyed look, before heading to her room.

"It's not here anymore, but it left behind a feather." She explained, opening the door of her room. Everything was still closed, thankfully, and when the light was turned on, it illuminated the golden feather that still lay on the floor of her room. "I didn't know what to do with it." Hiei grunted, moving forward to pick it up. In a surprising move that only surprised Mizuki-san, he gently picked it up with his index finger and his thumb. He ignored her stare as he handed the fragile feather to Shuichi, who placed it in a small black bag. "What are you going to do with it?"

"We'll bring it to a friend of ours," Shuichi-san explained, ignoring the snort that came from his friend. "I'm sure he'll know what to do with it. You said it just caught fire as you were walking in?"

Mizuki nodded, turning her head away. She didn't trust her voice not to sound absolutely weak in front of them, but she knew they were going to ask her questions. Just like she was going to ask them some of her own. She watched as the black bag disappeared into Shuichi's coat pocket, and then showed them to the kitchen. Hiei made himself comfy on her counter, while Shuichi took a seat at the table. She was silently glad both had taken their shoes off; she didn't even want to think of the dirt trails that would've tracked throughout her house.

"Would you both like some tea?" She asked, ignoring the expecting looks of them both. Mizuki had decided that she was going to take control of this, no matter what they did.

"Yes please, Tanami-san." Shuichi-san sent her a gentle smile. Hiei shook his head, just now taking note of the metal bat still grasped in her hands. Hiei caught Shuichi-san eye and flicked his gaze to the bat and back. Shuichi took note of it with a worried frown. "Tanami-san? Did something else happen before we got here?"

"Oh, um, no. I just had it in case something did happen…" She muttered, leaning the bat against a corner of the kitchen. Shuichi raised his eyebrows slightly, wondering if more demons had visited her than they thought. Mizuki turned to the cabinets, rummaging through it until she found the tea bags. She reached past Hiei to get to the honey, standing on the tips of her toes to reach it. Her arm brushed his shoulder and she couldn't help the flinch that came over her. With a sigh, the blue eyed girl lowered her arm, the honey bottle in her hands. Hiei turned his head, ignoring the anger that swept through his body like hot lava. "Sorry. Your skin is very warm; have you got a fever?"

Before Hiei could say anything, her small hand was on his forehead, trying to gauge his temperature. His eyes flicked to her in mild shock, watching as she looked at him in concern. "It feels like he's got a fever, Minamino-san. Why would you take him out in the rain?" She turned angry eyes to Shuichi-san, who looked somewhat amused. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips at the small blush that had taken over his friend's cheeks at the girls ministrations. "Well?"

"Hiei's temperature runs a lot higher than ours, Tanami-san." He replied, smiling still. She blinked in surprise, before looking at the boy who was pushing her hand away with a glare. He turned his glare at her and she watched as he looked almost like he wanted to pout. "You need not worry about his temperature."

"What if he was sick?" She asked. She had already placed a teapot on the burner; all she needed to do was turn on the burner. Silence met her question and she turned with a raised eyebrow. Both boys were looking away with a blush, their eyes looking everywhere but her. Her eyebrows furrowed to show her confusion. "What?"

"Maybe it would be best if you put some shorts on, Tanami-san?" Shuichi muttered, pointedly only looking at her face. Her cheeks immediately burned in embarrassment and she took off down the hall. She had only been wearing the somewhat long shirt that reached her thighs. When she had reached for the honey, she supposed it had risen a little too far and hadn't gone down. She picked up jeaned shorts that she had on a chair and went back to the kitchen, ignoring the fact that her cheeks were still red. "Now I need you to tell u-"

"I'm sorry, Minamino-kun, but you seem to be mistaken." She smiled at his raised eyebrows. "You will not be the ones taking charge. I will be the one asking questions, which you will answer truthfully and to the best of your ability. When I am satisfied that I have no more questions, then and only then will you be able to ask questions."

"Look Human. You do not-" Hiei tried to say that she did not tell them what to do, but she had sent him a glare and spoken over him.

"No you look. I have been attacked, more than once, my attackers were apparently not human, I've had a dying phoenix at my window, I haven't been sleeping all that good because of dreams where I see you guys and some weird ass doctor looking creature bending towards me with a fucking needle, I've woken up from the hospital from something I don't even know, and no one is telling me anything. Plus the bitch from earlier kept saying some really encrypted words that just made me feel really uneasy." She sat down at the table, tucking one leg underneath as she got comfortable.

"She was saying things to you?" Shuichi-san asked, watching the girl as she ran a hand through her hair. Her hair, which was normally neatly in a braid or ponytail, was messy and framed her face, showing that she must have just gotten out of bed. There were indeed dark circles underneath her eyes, making her look even more tired combined with the weariness of her expression. She nodded, clearly a little distracted with her thoughts. The teapot made itself known with a screech and she jumped, knocking the chair over as she ran to stop the noise. "Are you alright, Tanami-san?"

"…I'm just really confused about a lot of things that are going on right now." She muttered, turning her attention to pouring the tea. She placed Shuichi-san's cup in front of him and picked up her chair again, dropping into once her cup was down. Hiei lifted an eyebrow and she sighed. "I've been seeing things that are really strange to me. Hell, strange things are happening to me."

"We will answer your questions." Hiei muttered, ignoring the sharp gaze that Shuichi-san sent him. "However, if you speak to anyone of what you hear, I will spill your blood." Shuichi sighed, shaking his head at his friend. Mizuki looked surprised, but suddenly couldn't hold back a laugh that erupted from her lips. She sent them an almost appalled look as she got control of herself, turning her head away quickly. "What is so funny?"

"I'm sorry. I think everything is catching up to me." She ran her hand down her face with a deep sigh, her eyes closing to give herself a moment to collect herself.

"It's understandable, after all that has happened to you." Shuichi smiled gently, nudging her cooling cup towards her. She shot him a small smile, taking the drink he offered. "Just take it slow and speak when you feel you can."

It took her at least five minutes for her to actually calm her head, the hurricane that was her mind making it a little harder than usual. They sat in silence, simply waiting for her to speak. Hiei moved to the table, sitting in the seat farthest from the other two, but across from the girl. She was close to crumbling; he could see it in the way she had to place her head down on the table. Her messy hair hid her face all too well, making him oddly antsy. However, he had felt restless and unwell ever since he and his friend had stepped out in the rain. He liked the rain most of the time, but at the moment it left behind a stifling feeling that confused him.

Shuichi felt a little restless as well, but not because of the rain. He was a little concerned for the black haired girl who looked like she was breaking down right in front of him. Koenma would not answer any of his questions of what was in her file that attracted the demons to her. The attack on her today had been a lot more dangerous than the time before; she had been able to get away from the demon. This time, they had been almost too late. He eyed her, wondering if she had gotten any proper care for the wound on her throat. He doubted she'd even thought about the wound once it stopped bleeding.

"Does this happen around you a lot?" She asked, lifting her head so they could understand her. Her eyes were expressionless, making them wonder what she was thinking about. Her blue eyes seemed to darken with emotion, yet they couldn't say what emotion had caught up with her. Shuichi nodded, making sure to keep a straight face. She looked away. "What were they?"

"Demons." Hiei replied, watching the girl for any reactions. She nodded, for what they didn't know, but they assumed it was to show she was processing the information.

"Where do they come from?" Her voice had dropped almost to a whisper.

"The Makai and no it is not hell, though many would think so." Mizuki turned her head sharply to look at Shuichi-san, her eyes begging him to explain himself. "There are three worlds; the Makai (Demon world), the Ningenkai (Human world), and the Reikai (Spirit world)."

"Reikai, do you mean like where dead people go?" She looked a little confused, her blue eyes widening.

"Yes. The Reikai also makes sure that humans are safe from demons. I'm sure once Koenma learns that you are still being attacked, he'll try to help you every way that he can." Shuichi sent her a comforting smile, hoping that was the end of the questions.

"Who's Koenma? Is he that purple creature thing that I see in my dreams?" Both boys couldn't help the chuckles that escaped their lips when they thought of Koenma's reaction to the comparison. "What is so funny?"

"The "creature" is a type of demon called an ogre; they work for Koenma, the prince of the Reikai." Shuichi explained, watching as her cheeks turned pink. He waved off her apology gently. "It's alright; you didn't know."

"Did I meet Koenma before?" She asked, watching them nervously. They both nodded. "Did he take my memories away?"

"…Yes." Shuichi looked down at the cup in his hands, waiting for her to blame them for her not knowing that she was being attacked. After all, they all had agreed that they were going to take her memories away; it had just been by Koenma's procedures. If they had known that she was still being targeted, they would not have tried to shelter her. Even though it had turned out a mistake, they should've figured something like this. He sighed, closing his eyes as he waited.

"The bird was a phoenix, am I right?" Both boys blinked, Shuichi looking up in surprise. They watched as she stood to pace. It was silent for a couple moments with just her pacing. Hiei huffed in annoyance and she stopped to send him a silent glare. "What did it want with me?"

"We will try to figure that out when we go to Koenma for answers. It's very rare for Phoenixes to move far from their homes, especially in that way. It's also strange that we didn't see it's infant form." Shuichi looked towards her room, wondering if they had missed it.

"I was wondering that as well…" Mizuki muttered, pacing again. "Okay, let's see if I've got this right. There are such things as different worlds; one of them deals with the dead. Demons are real; Hiei is a demon. Dem-"

"How did you know Hiei was a demon? That wasn't one of your questions." Shuichi asked. Mizuki couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Well, he's got red eyes. He's really fast, he's called me a human which implies that he's not human, and his temperature a hell of a lot hotter than humans. He looks remarkably human, yes, but I bet you there are a lot of human traits that he has that I can't see," She stated, thoroughly proud of herself for thinking of it. "Well, I have one more question and then it's your turn."

"Go on." Shuichi made a "carry on" gesture that made Mizuki grin as she settled herself once more at her seat. Now that she got most of her questions out, she felt a lot better.

"Is it possible to get my memories back?" She asked, her blue eyes catching Shuichi's green eyes and holding him there. She looked decidedly determined.

"…You want your memories back?" Hiei asked, looking away from the surprised faces of the other two. He saw, in the corner of his eye, the slow nod that the human girl produced, her eyes focused on him. He inwardly smirked, but then had to berate himself. Let his friend have her, what did he care? She walked over to him, noticing that his focus was on other things. She slowly inched towards him, a small smirk on her lips. Shuichi-san looked confused, wondering what in the world his classmate thought she was going to do. Hiei would catch her before she could even touch him, so it wasn't possible to catch him unaware. She got close enough to reach his neck, running the very tip of her finger down the middle of his nape. He jerked away, an involuntary shiver running through him. The two boys looked absolutely astonished, watching as the girl laughed at her success. "You don't get your memories back."

Mizuki stopped laughing in surprise, her wide eyes latching onto his angry face. "What? Just 'cause I was joking around?!" Shuichi couldn't help the chuckle that came from his friends pouting behavior. Mizuki suddenly latched herself to his front, begging him to "hand over her memories". Although he hadn't seen this kind of behavior from her before, he could only correctly assume that it came from the two girls that were her friends. He had many times seen the taller twins wrapped around her, begging for something-or-other, which she mostly refused.

"Alright, alright, get off of me!" Hiei finally erupted, smacking the fists her hands had made in his shirt. She looked up at him in a grin, the "tears" suddenly vanishing. She thanked him with a suffocating hug, rendering him breathless in no time. "Onna, if you insist on this behavior, I will not only refuse to give you back your memories, I will also beat your head in."

"Oh, you're so grumpy," she stated, quickly going back to her seat. She sent a playful wink to Shuichi who shook his head. Hiei sighed, moving forward to grasp her head with both of his hands. She watched his eyes close. A dimmed white light came from behind the white headband that wrapped around his head, showing in a shape of an eye. She couldn't tilt her head, which she normally would do, but she reached up and touch the near the light. It emanated from the middle of his forehead, which was rather odd to her. Then she felt something in her head, literally something moving through her head, and it felt like something released. She suddenly had to close her own eyes as this nauseating feeling swept over her.

"Give her a moment, Fox. I forgot to tell her to close her eyes." Hiei muttered, a smug tone sounding behind his normal tones. Shuichi snorted, knowing full well that his friend had done so on purpose. He noticed, however odd it seemed, that his friend still had both hands on her head, his thumbs lightly massaging her temples. He narrowed his eyes at the sight, watching as the girls shoulders slowly relaxed until she looked up with a smile.

'He should keep his hands off of her…' He caught a growl in surprise, turning it into a cough so the other two didn't notice. When had he gotten possessive over her? She was her own… Was that a pheromone he detected? He turned his gaze to Mizuki who thanked Hiei with a smile and looked at him to begin the questioning. A scent wafted over to him, the smell of fresh rain and what he thought at first to be some kind of flower, but he quickly deduced it was some sort of fruit. The smell was sweet and succulent, making him want to wrap himself in-

"I believe it is time for us to leave." He stated, standing so abruptly that the chair he had been seating in fell over. Both of his companions looked up at him in surprise, Hiei arching an eyebrow. "It's very late and I promised my mother I would be back very soon."

"You did-" Hiei glared at the boy currently tugging him towards the door, already bidding the girl goodbye without hearing any of her protests. 'What the hell do you think you are doing, Fox?'

'Do you not smell that?' His friend asked, pulling on his shoes as he yet again told the girl goodbye. Hiei followed in kind, slanting a look as he gruffly bade the girl goodbye. Shuichi clearly read the annoyance and curiosity brimming in his friends' eyes and he sighed as they walked out the door. Once they were a good bit away from the girls' apartment, he let out a breath he had been holding. 'She's in heat.'

Hiei looked at his friend sharply, having to strain slightly to hear over all of the people in the crowd on the sidewalks. 'She's human, Fox. How could she possibly be in heat?' Someone bumped into him and he sent his friend an annoyed look as he pushed the drunken woman off him. They sped towards their goal, not looking anywhere but ahead to avoid someone trying to get their attentions.

'That is what I want to know…'