A/N: Late update. Gomenasai! My excuses and reasons are in my livejournal. If you want to know why this update is a week late, check there. The link is in my bio under homepage.
Warnings/Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Thank you so much to my reviewers! This is more reviews than I ever expected to get!
Reviewer Responses:
animefreak54: I'm happy you liked it! Sorry the update was slow.
Koritsune Dragonrider: Wow, thank you! I love AUs too, and I can't understand why some people don't.
Dark-kitsune-dreams:I believe Youko tells Hiei in the next chapter. It's hinted at in this chapter though. Thank you so much!
DarrkKatt: Good job. And yet my updates get slower...v.v Glad you liked it!
KayHiei: Muahahaha, you shall see. Updating...
darksaphire: sorry the chapters are so short! I don't have time to make them longer! Lol. Glad you like it!
moonlit-kitsune: oh, you'll see. Glad it's good!
zidet: gah! He'll get better, I promise. Just...don't hurt me.
What2callmyself: Why he's getting sick now? Um, because he's recently been through a lot and isn't in real great condition, I guess. I think it'll all be explained in this chapter.
Tala ishtar: Thanks!
Skettio: Hiei can be so sweet sometimes, ne?
PainfulxRecovery: I like your name. Never fear, for I am a rabid yaoi fangirl as well. Yes, it'll be yaoi, but not real graphic. Name explanation...there are essentially two Kuramas. Youko Kurama was the silver-haired thief, and Shuichi Kurama is the reincarnated redhead. To me 'Kurama' makes me think of the redhead, and this fic is about Youko Kurama, but I'm lazy, and Youko is shorter to type.
Elearwen: No! If you keel me, I can't update! But thank you! And I really am updating.
Stratus5: Thanks! I'm continuing...just at a slower pace than I'd like.
Hedi Dracona: ::bows:: Wow, you're reading this? Thank you. Your wonderful fic How They Met actually inspired the first little plot-bunny nibble for this fic. Thank you!
Soko, Kurama's love: Even I'm not sure how this'll end. I'm continuing!
Johanna Gen: Sorry if that was a cliffhanger. Please do keep reading!
And thanks to Lady Lanet who reviewed via livejournal.
Many thanks to those who voted on the Yukina/OC or OC/OC pairing. There were seven who did not vote, three indifferents, two for OC/OC, and three for Yukina/OC.
Because the votes were so close, I'll probably just go with my own judgment. That will most likely be OC/OC, though I'm not certain. I tend to dislike canon/OC pairings, as do most others. If you want to express your opinion, please do, you still have time, I'm not there in the fic yet.
On with the fic!
Chapter XI
Healer
The rest of the day went fairly quickly. It was uneventful, and they made better time than Hiei had thought. By mid afternoon they were nearing their destination.
As soon as the shop, which was half treatment center, half home, was in view, they saw a man walking out to meet them.
He saw Hiei and immediately called out, "What have you brought me this time? I haven't seen you for a while, did something happen to you?"
Hiei waited for the man, Cree, to reach them, and then nodded towards the kitsune sitting in front of him.
Cree nodded in understanding before taking a closer look at the other demon. When he did, a look of surprise came over his face. "A silver kitsune? My, what rare taste you have. Your taste is also impeccable, but why did you bring him?"
Hiei flushed a little at the healer's comment about rare tastes, but let it pass. "He's sick and he's hurt; physically, emotionally, and mentally. I need you to take care of him." Hiei said shortly. "Please," he added as a belated mark of politeness.
The man nodded and offered to take the kitsune. Hiei handed him down gratefully, knowing that Youko was being given into the best of care. Youko needed it too. In addition to being sick, Hiei was slightly disturbed at how light Youko was. The smaller demon barely felt a difference when Cree took Youko from his arms.
Hiei dismounted and led the horse while talking to the healer.
"Did you drug him at all Hiei?" the man asked.
"A tea that will wear off in another hour at most. It's just to help stop the sickness and so he can sleep." Hiei answered.
The healer nodded again and carried Youko inside, calling over his shoulder to Hiei, "The stable is behind the house. Care for your horse and wait inside, same as always."
Hiei did as he was told, grooming the horse and bringing her food and water before leaving. He walked back to the main building and stepped inside. The first room was small, and had a row of chairs along one wall. Hiei sat in one of these, waiting for the healer's assessment.
OoOoO
When Youko started to wake up, he was laying on an unfamiliar table in an unfamiliar room. He blinked to clear his eyes. Trying to sit up he found that he couldn't. Panic began rising. He couldn't see or smell Hiei anywhere.
Another man entered the room, dressed in a pale green robe. Youko looked up in panic. "Who," he started. His voice was dry and cracked as he attempted to speak. He swallowed and tried again, "Who are you? Where am I?"
The man turned and smiled. The smile helped lower some of Youko's fear; the man had a kind smile that seemed very open and trustworthy. "Awake and afraid Youko? We can't have that. I am Cree, a healer. You are in my home. Please don't fear; I specialize in healing hurts, not causing them. I'm going to place you under a trance. Again, do not fear; I shall not hurt you."
Youko couldn't do anything against the healer. A trance implied the healer wished to learn something from his mind, and the thought of someone reading his mind terrified him. He didn't want anyone to know what was there. He was doing his best to forget, but it never worked. He looked again at the healer, who was murmuring something. Suddenly it was like all of Youko's thoughts shut down, and he fell gladly into non-thinking darkness.
OoOoO
When Cree came out into the room where Hiei was waiting, he looked troubled. Hiei immediately stood, awaiting the assessment.
Cree gave him a long, measuring stare.
"Well, is he all right, healer?"
Cree's voice was hesitant. His gaze grew colder as he spoke. "In all honesty, I've met corpses with better immune systems. And his memories...so jumbled. I could barely read what had happened to him. I never thought you to be cruel Hiei, but this..."
"What do you mean?"
Cree walked into the adjoining room where he'd been examining the fox. Hiei followed. Youko was still sitting on the edge of the table with a vacant trance-induced expression on his face. Once they were inside, Cree turned with a harsh stare to Hiei and elaborated on his original statement.
"I mean the extent of injuries. These white scars," he pointed to Youko's bare chest, "while not permanent, show a lot of damage, most likely from both a knife and a whip. There are fading burn scars, plus the kitsune has been beaten badly enough that it caused minor internal damage. It will heal, but... and there are worse things. You may be a ruthless fighter, but I didn't think anyone could be so heartless."
Hiei interrupted, "It wasn't me. I swear to you. The kitsune has only been in my custody for weeks. I saved him from death by what you described. He was a personal servant of Karasu's; he did this to Youko." Hiei's expression was more open and pained than Cree had ever seen it.
Cree continued, "His mental and emotional wounds are much worse. He has gone through what is essentially mental torture; usually illusions that will hurt him, being told things to make him hate himself, things like that. Plus there are the much more obvious psychological scars of rape and frequent beatings. Add the purely physical affects of malnutrition. This is one of the worst cases of extreme abuse I've ever encountered. I could not identify the one who did this to him, only a sense of dark. It could have been you, but that you are not the cause is good indeed. He would never heal in your company if you were. And it is good to know that you didn't do this to any creature."
"Can you help him? I realize he is hurt worse than I knew, but you can still help him, right? If he goes untreated, he won't make it to my sister."
"It'll be long and hard, but yes. I can help him. And I intend to. You will have to help a great deal, starting with getting him to open up to you. If he can bring himself to tell you, for himself, what happened, he will have made a great step in recovering. He is past his illness, that was simple enough to get rid of, but the greater damage has yet to be touched. When he comes out of the trance in a few minutes, all three of us will talk."
OoOoO
'We will talk,' became 'we will all sit in an awkward silence because no one knows what to say.'
Hiei sat motionless in a chair facing the table Youko was sitting on. Cree stood to the side, resting one hand on the table next to the kitsune. Youko was looking resolutely at the floor. He was embarrassed at having his mind sorted through, and wondered what exactly the healer had found. He also wondered if Cree had told Hiei anything.
Hiei was worried. He was a fighter, and that was all he'd been for a long, long time. He was not used to helping anyone but a fellow fighter. Even then, it was only helping to heal a physical wound or keep a comrade from being killed. He had no idea how to deal with emotional wounds. He hadn't truly realized the extent of what Karasu had done. Even now, he probably didn't understand fully.
Cree moved aside and stood by Hiei. Looking up at Youko, who wasn't paying any attention to them, he softly spoke to Hiei. "Would you do me the favor of leaving for a short period of time. That way you can sort through this a little, and I can speak with the kitsune."
Hiei gave a short nod and rose from the chair. He walked quickly to the door and left.
Youko looked up and had a slight moment of panic, totally misunderstanding Hiei's reason for leaving. 'He hates me now. I knew he would.'
Cree saw this and immediately explained. "I needed to talk to you Youko. Hiei will come back soon."
Youko looked back at the floor.
"I know what Karasu did to you, and I only told Hiei an incredibly simplified version. The decision to tell him more is yours, though I would suggest that you do. He really does care for you and wants to help. But, I don't understand one thing. Why were you suddenly so bothered last night? You seemed to be coping rather well until then, or so Hiei tells me."
Youko shakily answered, "I... I remembered. I remembered what Karasu did and said."
"You didn't before?"
Youko shook his head.
"So you blocked your memories, and then they resurfaced, making you hate yourself. That would explain some things. Youko, please understand, this was not your fault. Karasu is the only one to deserve blame."
Youko kept shaking his head. He really didn't want to talk about it. Talking would make it more real, and then he couldn't forget again.
Hiei wandered out of the building entirely, going vaguely towards the stables. This was too much for him to deal with. 'But I have to. It's my fault. I put Youko in that situation with Karasu. Damn it. I should have known. When does Karasu ever not have an ulterior motive? I need to help Youko, I promised. And I think I want to. I think I want to help him. I need to talk to him.' Hiei turned back to the main building.
As he walked through the door, he continued on to the other one leading to where Youko was, and nearly ran into Cree. The healer was leaving the room.
Cree took Hiei's arm and led him back to the chairs. His advice echoed Hiei's thoughts. "Hiei, I think you need to talk to Youko. He plainly doesn't want to talk to me. I'd suggest giving him a little time to physically recover, say until tomorrow, and talk to him outside. Surrounded by plants he'll be much more likely to feel all right and not imprisoned. I tried to speed up his heal time, so whatever physical damage is still present should heal within a few days. However, there is nothing I can do for his mental and emotional anguish. But I think you may be able to. Please think over that. I will set up a room where the two of you may stay for a night or two." Cree got up and left through a third door.
Hiei did think, but only for a few seconds. Then he got up and went back to Youko.
The kitsune was sitting where he had been when Hiei had left. He plainly wasn't doing well. Hiei sat in the chair in front of him, looking at Youko. The fox didn't seem to know he was there.
Hiei was about to speak, though he didn't know what to say, when Youko spoke. "Hiei?"
Hiei nodded, moving slightly closer.
"You came back. I'm glad. I thought you left."
"Kitsune, I will not leave you. I promised that I would help you, and I will. You still need rest. I'll take you to a room where you may sleep. We'll talk tomorrow, all right?"
Youko nodded, though he still refused to meet Hiei's gaze.
Hiei took Youko by the wrist and led the taller demon back through the door to the sitting room. Them he led the fox through the door Cree had entered minutes before.
It led to a stairway, which led up to a hallway of doors, all on the right side. The left wall had windows at regular intervals. All but one of the doors was closed, probably locked too, though Hiei didn't try. Hiei and Youko slowly walked to the open door. Youko could walk, but barely. He still relied on support from Hiei to keep him from falling.
Inside the door was a bedroom. It contained two futons next to each other on the floor. There was a low table surrounded by cushions. There was one chair next to the single window. It resembled a brighter version of Hiei's tent.
Youko managed to walk unaided to one of the futons and quickly sat down. Hiei knelt next to him on the other bed, feeling rather awkward. Cree entered, carrying the packs, setting them down just inside. He smiled quickly at the two and left.
Hiei stared after him before turning his attention back to the kitsune. 'Why are you here?' part of his mind asked. 'He is a hindrance. Leave him with the healer; he'll be safe and you can continue your work.'
Hiei answered himself, 'I both need and want to help him, and I need to get him to Yukina.'
The rebellious inner voice replied, 'A guilty conscience gets one nowhere.' Hiei told the inner voice to take a long walk far away. It obliged by remaining quiet.
Youko yawned. The kitsune had had an exhausting few days. Hiei was really surprised that he was even conscious.
Youko lay down, looking troubled, but better than before. He closed his eyes. To Hiei it was pretty clear that the kitsune was going to sleep, which was good. Sleep helped to heal much damage.
Hiei got up to go, not wanting to disturb the other demon's rest. As he rose, Youko sat up, reaching out with one hand. "No, Hiei, p-please." The kitsune stuttered. "Don't, I need y- someone to stay with me. In case that nightmare comes back. Please."
Hiei tactfully decided not to ask which nightmare, and sat down. He was tired anyway. He could doze, and if Youko needed him he'd be there. Hiei and Youko both lay down on the beds net to each other. Hiei waited until he heard Youko's breathing slip into a more regular rhythm of sleep until he allowed himself to drift off.
OoOoO
Cree was downstairs, still thinking about the fox demon. And thinking about Hiei. None of this really made sense. Well, it did, he just hadn't expected it.
Hiei had been coming to Cree for years with his own injuries and the injuries of his fighters. Cree was essentially a passively active member of Hiei's little resistance project. In all that time, Cree had never seen Hiei show anything above a minor concern over a fighter. Yet he was worried to an extreme about Youko.
At the thought of the kitsune, Cree's thoughts darkened. The fox was probably the worst case he'd ever had to treat. Youko had suffered abuse close to the point of death. If Hiei hadn't saved him, Youko would have died. As it was, it was a miracle that he was alive.
The kitsune showed a remarkable attachment to Hiei as well. He became panicked when he thought the other demon had left, and was both more relaxed and on edge in Hiei's presence.
The demon's independent reactions to one another showed an emotional attachment he had never expected to find with Hiei, or Youko after all the abuse he'd been through. Put more plainly, they seemed as if they were in love. Or connected on an equally deep emotional level; something more than being fighters, more than friends, more than mutual need. Cree sighed and shook his head. That would be interesting to work through, especially since neither of them knew it...
To be continued...
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