J is for Jumpy
She had been alone in her house for quite some time. This made her absolute wreck, because there was a fierce thunder and windstorm outside and she hated storms. Rain she could stand, but thunder and loud wind? Not a chance. She hated how the thunder beat down, banging against the sky, which reminded her all too much of the brutal fights at the Dark Tournament.. She hated the loud, piercing howl of the wind. The very sound stabbed through to her very core, reminding her of the sound of lost, helpless souls, doomed to roam the earth for all eternity, howling with sorrow and desperation.
But most of all, she hated it when she was alone during times like this.
She had made herself a cup of hot coco, and had snuggled up in a large and heavy blanket on her couch, in an attempt to comfort herself. She would often talk to herself as well, whispering words of reassurance:
"It's ok Botan, ol' girl. It is just a storm, nothing more than thunder and wind. And everybody knows that the thunder and wind cannot hurt you. It cannot even get to you, so stop being so afraid and cheer up a bit!"
It was a feat easier said than done.
And that attempt to comfort herself just flew out the window when she looked up to see the lights flicker for a bit and then plunge the entire room into darkness.
The power had gone out.
Cursing her luck, and that blasted storm, she slowly crawled off the couch, putting her hands out in front of her, to avoid bumping into anything.
She began wondering where she kept those spare candles and flashlight. She clumsily made her way through her home, shaky hands opening cupboards and drawers, fumbling around for anything that felt like wax.
Then she remembered: the extra candles and flashlight were down in the basement.
Once again, she cursed her very luck, and made a mental note to next time keep candles and a flashlight in the house, and not the basement.
She made her way through the dark, hands still out, stumbling around. With a loud thud, she bumped her shin into a chair.
"OW! Stupid chair!" She howled in pain, clutching her shin. Sometimes she really hated this stupid human body of hers. While being a ferry girl, she could not feel any physical pain.
Nevertheless, she treaded on until her shaky hands grabbed a doorknob.
"Bingo!" She exclaimed with excitement, for she had found the door to the basement!
Grabbing onto the nearby railing, she slowly descended down the stairs, until she got to the bottom. She was grateful that there was a window down here, for a nearby streetlight reflected into the room.
The basement was filled with boxes. Boxes full of old clothes that had planned to give away at some point. Other boxes were filled with pictures and small trinkets, prized and meaningful possessions that would never throw away, but did not have enough room to keep upstairs. So she put them in the basement.
"Now let me see, where did I put those candles and flashlight?" She walked over to some nearby shelves and had a look around.
Nothing. Perhaps, they were in one of the boxes.
Pulling put box after box, she read the labels, and pushed them aside. Some boxes were labeled with things such as: Day the Beach, Home Movies, Halloween, and Yusuke's 21st, but so far none were labeled Candles and Flashlights.
She knew she had a box full of them down here, but the question was: which box was it?
Then, she came upon a large red box. Pulling it out, she opened it up, to find several candles, both large and small. Also inside the box, were a few lighters, a bag of extra batteries and four flashlights.
She smiled with glee! She had finally found the box!
Grabbing a few large candles, the bag of batteries, a lighter and a flashlight, she gathered the items in her arms. She moved to stand up when all of a sudden:
"Onna, what on earth are you doing?" A deep voice came.
She shrieked with surprise, and the candles, lighter, flashlight and batteries when flying out her hands, landing with a clang and a thud. She whirled around to see him.
"For Enma's sake Hiei, don't do that!" She shrieked once again, hyperventilating.
He had only found nothing more than amusement in this. Scaring her, whether it was intentional or not, had sometimes been a favorite pastime of his.
"My, my. Someone is a bit jumpy." He smirked, leaving her to scowl at him and shake her head.