Chapter nine: safe haven

"Kaari, wake up. We're here." Hiei said softy. The girl's eyes flickered open and for a moment He almost lost himself in their deep green, not a jewel green like Kurama had, but a forest green, reminiscent of the home she'd just lost. Kaari looked around, her eyes landing on a large tree right in front of them.

"Wow… you really do live in a tree, don't you?" she muttered.

"What was that?" Hiei asked, arching an eyebrow. She looked up at him innocently.

"Nothing. Ahhhhh!" she cried out as pain flared in her wrist. She cried out a second time when she grabbed her wrist and thus strained the wounds on her shoulder and neck. Hiei looked down at her in pity.

"Try to be still, ok? I don't want you to bleed all over me." He muttered. He jumped up onto a low branch, and then another and another until he was midway up the tree.

"I'm going to have to set you down for a minute, ok?" he said, not waiting for a response before sitting her down softly on the rough bark. She clung to the branch for dear life. She was a wolf, not a monkey, and she did not belong up this high.

"Scared of heights?" Hiei laughed. She nodded and stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't worry about falling. I'll catch you." He said quietly. He dug his nails into the bark and then leaned to the left, sliding the bark back to reveal a doorway. He scooped her up, chuckling at her shocked expression and heading through the doorway. Beyond the doorway was pitch-blackness. Hiei leaned against a knot next to the hole and it slid shut. At the same time the door slid to a close torches ignited along the walls, revealing a staircase that spiraled down into the unknown. They started down the stairs, descending for what felt like an eternity. Finally they came to a door. Hiei pushed it open and stepped inside. Kaari looked around her in bewilderment. She appeared to be in an underground mansion. The place was huge and well furnished. The color scheme was one of sharp contrasts, all blacks and whites and deep purples and reds.

"Welcome to my house." Hiei said as he paused at the "front" door to the house.

"Wow… Hiei… it's beautiful…" Kaari breathed. Hiei began walking. They passed through what she supposed was the living room, then what was obviously the kitchen, full of economy sized appliances and lots and lots of knives. They came to a bathroom and Hiei set her on her feet. He walked over to the shower and turned the water on, then turned to her. She stepped forward sheepishly, unsure of what he was going to do. He pulled his shirt off and then reached for the ratty blanket that was the only thing separating Kaari's body from the rest of the world. She drew back slightly. He frowned.

"Kaari…I assure you that I'm not going to do anything to you. I need to clean your wounds before I can patch you up. And you need a shower. Come here." He commanded. Taking a deep breath she stepped toward him. She watched his eyes as he undid the crude knot she'd made in the cell. As the rags fell away, his eyes didn't flicker once anywhere that she didn't want them to go. He stepped into the shower, his pants still on, and then held his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her into the shower. The warm water felt so good on her skin, and she closed her eyes for a moment. She started as she felt his fingers brush her collarbone, probing at one of the wounds on her neck, cleaning it of the dirt and grime. She winced at the sting of the soap, but soon got used to it. He rested his hands on her shoulders, and she felt stronger, somehow. They just stood like that for a while; letting the water wash them clean. Finally the pipes ran cold. Hiei flitted out from behind her and grabbed a towel from the cabinet and was back beside her wrapping it around her before she even knew what had happened. She smiled. The towel was warm and fluffy and black. She pulled it closer around her with her good hand.

"Can you walk now?" he asked. She nodded.

"I think so…" she said, taking an experimental step. After she didn't fall, she took another, and then finally made it to the bathroom door.

"Kaari…"

" I can do it myself, Hiei." She said softly. He nodded and walked down the hall, turning and beckoning her to follow him. She did, and a moment later they came to a closed door. Hiei hesitated at the door, turning his eyes to her very seriously.

"Kaari, what I'm about to show you has never been seen by anyone's eyes but mine, not even Kurama has been in here. And what you see in here, you must never reveal to anyone, okay?" he said solemnly.

"Why not? Is it something that could get you in trouble?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"HA! No, no, nothing like that. It's just…you'll just have to see it." He laughed, turning the door handle. He motioned for her to go in, and she did just that. To say that she was taken aback would be an understatement. A huge bedroom was spread out before her. The walls were sharply contrasted to those of the rest of the house. This room was a beautiful cerulean blue, all except for the furthest wall, which was white. All of the furniture was ebony, and was polished to gleaming. But it was what was against the wall to her left that absolutely took her breath away. A huge four-poster bed, complete with drapes, sat there. The bedding was the purest white that she'd ever seen, topped with a down comforter, and the drapes were a deep purple. She was stunned. This room was the proof that Hiei did have a soft side, that he did have a heart. That not everything was black and white to him, and that he did not, in fact, sleep in a tree. She felt him probing her mind for a reaction and turned to him.

"Am I right?" she asked. He nodded silently. She took a step towards him. "Hiei, why are you showing me this?"

Hiei's eyes softened minutely. "Because this is your room now."

"What?!" she exclaimed. He shrugged.

"For tonight, and for however long you wish to stay." He stated simply. She looked down at her toes.

"And how long am I staying?" she asked, raising her eyes up to his. He shrugged again.

"Until you decide its time for you to leave. I'm not going to kick you out."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Hiei, where else am I supposed to go? I don't have a home. I…I just…I just want a home." She started crying, leaning into him. He put his arms around her, quite unsure of how THIS was supposed to work, but suddenly willing to let the instincts that had been ignored previously to take control. He pulled her close, lowering his mouth to her ear.

"Kaari, as long as I live, you will have a home, right here, in these arms." Those words sounded so strange coming from his mouth that he was almost surprised when Kaari responded by lifting her tear-filled eyes up to his and whispering "Thank you, Hiei."

Hiei didn't know what to think of his present situation. Here he was, holding this girl that made him…weak…this girl that had the ability to affect him in such a way that no one ever had…the only thing that he could think to do was to return her thanks.

"Thank you, Kaari."

When she looked up at him in surprise and confusion, he simply pressed the back of his hand against her mouth and smiled.

"Go sit down and let me bandage you." He said, gesturing to the floor. She did as told, all the while wondering what Hiei was up to.