Please read Disclaimer in Prelude.
Title: Firebird Sweet C34: Pane of Glass
Author: JaganshiKenshin
Genre: Action/Adventure, Humor, and Beyond
Rating: T
Summary: The enemy is getting ready to strike again, but will Hiei be able to fight back?
A/N: As we edge toward the completion of FS (literally, the last week of action is about to take place), I find myself wondering what I'll do once it's over! As always, accompanying sketches are found on my LJ homepagey. Thanks for reading, and please review. Your comments make my day.
"Give him air!"
Firebird Sweet C34: Hell Week (Pane of Glass, part four)
by
Kenshin
The small gray oni, most intelligent of the dwindling group, had never been expressly forbidden to enter the Boss' office.
Nevertheless his movements seemed furtive as he slipped inside the office door, unlocked the steel cabinet where they stored the plastic explosives, and removed an object.
However, he removed not the briefcase filled with enough plastic to blow the docks straight to the South Pole, but held in his palm a metal device roughly the size and shape of a television remote. Taking it to the desk, he sat, sighing and shaking his head.
When the Chief rapped on the door, demanding his presence, the gray oni tossed the object in a desk drawer and hurried out.
0-0-0-0-0
A pane of glass had positioned itself between Hiei and the rest of the world.
That's what annoyed him most. This glazing of his senses, this lag between question and answer, between commands of his brain and response of his body, this having to stop and recall that only a couple of hours ago, Shizuru had put out a cigarette on his Dragon arm.
Never mind that every muscle felt scorched, or that light stabbed his eyes, or that Kurama was---
Well. Still pissed, I guess.
Kurama, seated in a chair across from Kuwabara, refused to catch Hiei's glance. But Shay-san kept one watchful, worried eye on Hiei, crouched over the twins' stroller as if to protect them with her very body. The ubiquitous tray of drinks and snacks lay untouched on the coffee table. Hiei didn't know about the others; the thought of food only nauseated him now.
Kurama's right hand was bandaged, but had not seemed to bother the fox-boy when he gave Hiei a rough, cursory exam.
"Yuusuke's late." Shay-san darted a glance at the door.
"He's runnin' between the Yukimura place and his apartment." Yawning like a hippo, Kuwabara stretched his arms.
Hiei shifted, trying to find a position that didn't set his nerves afire. "How do you know?"
The orange-haired boy shrugged. "It's what I'd do: protect the ones I care about most."
Kurama yanked another gauntlet from his backpack and flung it at Hiei. "Here. Though I don't quite see the need if your arm is already bandaged wrist to shoulder."
Hiei unwadded the fingerless glove, examining its workmanship. Kurama had fashioned the first one shortly following the Dark Tournament, using some sort of plant material that resembled silk, weaving in wards to bind the Dragon, and the result was far better than the old wraps Hiei had used.
But Kurama had a point.
Shay-san spoke for them all. "You're sure that hand is okay, Kurama?"
"Fine." The leaf-green eyes flicked to Hiei. "Why wouldn't it be? Nothing but a simple burn. I have a salve to treat that, carefully and lovingly compounded from no less than three separate Makai plants. It's not as though I had been poisoned."
"C'mon, Kurama..." Glancing from the fox-boy to Hiei, Kuwabara switched course in mid-stream. "It's gonna be okay, though, right? You're feelin' okay, right, Shorty?"
Hiei kept his burning eyes on the kitsune.
Urameshi Yuusuke arrived a bit later, out of breath, and flung himself into what was supposed to be a strategy session.
Hiei listened to the others. He knew they had a point---it was imperative to find Carlos and this Boss demon, stop them.
But he couldn't make himself focus. His arm and hand were under his control, true, in that he could clench his fist, hold a bottle of water. Kurama had admonished him to drink as much water as he could stand, to quickly excrete any lingering toxins.
It was just that he couldn't feel anything. He had to look at his arm to determine whether he was holding the bottle or had merely managed to wrap his fingers around empty air.
Urameshi raked both hands through his licorice hair. "Dammit, those bastards know our every move!" The boy's outburst brought Hiei's focus back to the group. "They turned Kurama into a weapon, took out one of the best fighters we got!" He clenched a fist. "Kurama, couldn't you have stopped it? I mean---"
Shay-san murmured in protest, echoed more forcefully by Kuwabara. Hiei thought he must have joined the Kurama's-not-to-blame chorus, but could not be sure.
Kurama managed a sliver of a smile, then got to his feet. "Excuse me." Threading his way to the dining room, he went out the patio door.
Without a word, Hiei followed.
0-0-0-0-0
It was a very strange feeling, Carlos thought, to discover he had taken on what should have been the Boss' sense of rage.
The dun-brown jaki, bearer of unhappy news, caught the brunt of Carlos' anger. Carlos scarcely noticed the oni sidling away from him, the jaki cowering, the water sprites huddling behind crates, until the Boss himself held up a hand for silence.
Then it occurred to Carlos that the creature on the Boss' hand, and not his anger, was the source of unease.
"Lay off the messenger," Boss admonished, then gave Carlos a black look. "Been on a diet? Looks like ya lost weight."
Carlos subsided. The jaki grabbed this opportunity to flee.
It was true that Carlos' appetite had been off lately. What of it? Everything in life was subject to change.
Take the Japanese Sparrow hawk that rested on the Boss' gloved hand, gray above, barred below. Only this morning she flew free. Now she was bound by will, turned into a weapon.
The weapon-become fluttered her wings, as if she longed to take off after the jaki. In spite of her small size---less than a foot in length---her beak meant business and her talons could rip you to shreds. She turned her fierce yellow glare on Carlos, making him personally responsible for her 'snack's' escape.
And the dwindling company of oni glanced at the rack of surveillance equipment, one monitor notably blank. The little ice maiden was not in her usual garden spot.
Still addressing Carlos, the Boss sighed. "Kickin' up a fuss over some minor setback," he said. "Ain't like you. Don't worry---it ain't over yet." He beamed at the hawk. "Guess it's gonna take a lady to kill a lady."
"But---" Carlos bit down on his automatic protest, considered the five assembled oni: Red and Purple, both big, silent and sullen; Ocher; the blue one; finally Little Gray, almost as jumpy as Carlos. Perhaps the gray was thinking the same thing: they could afford no more loss of personnel.
And was it even possible for the target to be killed---or was he like a cockroach, shaking off death no matter how many times you stepped on him?
As if reading Carlos' mind, the Boss made a sound of contempt, deep in his throat. "Target's been defyin' me way too long. Time for a face-to-face meetin'."
The little ice maiden. Carlos missed seeing her---she reminded him of his lost sister, Bebita.
Face it. Bebita's dead, and the ice maiden will soon follow. Moving in front of his employer so the demon could read his lips, he said, "I'll take care of it, Boss. Right away."
0-0-0-0-0
Hiei discovered he had left his water behind, which was probably a good thing; he lacked strength to lift it. Somewhat lagging after Kurama, he reached the tiny yard; daylight pounded his eyes in a wicked assault that left him dizzy.
He had to stop at the old picnic table, unable to walk as far as the heavy bag Kuwabara used to toughen up his punches.
But Kurama made a beeline for the bag. Setting himself before it, he slammed blow upon vicious blow against the painted face of Urameshi Yuusuke, snarled curses Hiei hadn't heard since he'd left the demon plane.
Hiei raised an eyebrow at him. "Didn't realize you were that pissed at Yuusuke," he remarked.
Kurama belabored the bag. "I could have killed you!"
"But you didn't."
"Not for lack of trying. And I was meant to!" Kurama changed tactics to land a kick that almost knocked the bag from its moorings. "I'm not sure whether it was your own constitution that saved you, or the Holy Water."
"And Holy Salt. Let's not forget Holy Salt."
Turning, Kurama raked a hand through his hair. For a blurred moment Hiei wondered whether he should flinch, whether this was the launch of another poisoned Rose Whip.
But before he could react Kurama said, quietly, "Has anyone ever used you in this particular fashion?"
Hiei shook his head.
"Then shut up."
"Fine! I had no choice but to put you out when---"
"Idiot!" Whirling, Kurama leapt upon the practice bag, raining blow after blow, his words shooting out between gasps of effort. "I don't care about that. You---could----have---died!"
"I didn't."
"Then you're the first." Kurama launched a leaping kick Hiei hadn't seen him use previously, made a three-point landing, then rose to steady the bag. "No one survives Two-Hearts."
"Didn't even know you carried it in your arsenal."
"I don't!" Kurama's fist crashed into the heavy bag again. That's the point! I trashed most of my arsenal just now."
That big a shocker penetrated even the pane of glass surrounding Hiei. "Why?"
"Remember my video camera? Acquired to distract myself when I lost my powers? I discovered a liking and a knack for it. Left it running in my room last night. The lighting's poor and the image poorer but it shows a jaki---messing with my hair. For all I know that vermin had time to pollute my entire stock."
The sun seemed awfully bright for a late afternoon. Hiei's eyes didn't like the light much.
The pane of glass sitting between Hiei and Kurama bowed a bit, lost part of its clarity, as if someone had puffed dust all over it. Was it warm out in the yard? It must be, the way sweat was beading on his upper lip. For a moment or two Hiei could not remember the season.
Oh, right. April, the cruelest month.
Odd, the way Kurama seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, tilting against the practice bag. Odd the way the fox-boy's mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Odd how he was reaching out a hand, how slow the movement seemed. Most odd, those stars gathering around him.
0-0-0-0-0
Wreathed in white, The Stranger gazed down at Hiei.
"My son," he whispered, "It's not yet time."
And with a deep breath, Hiei knew he had grasped the missing piece of the Stranger's puzzle. "Father?" Hiei pushed himself off the picnic table; pain and suffering fell from his shoulders like dust. "Father! I've been asleep, but now I'm awake."
The tall lean form drew closer, bathed by cool fires, hand outstretched, black hair billowing in the wind from the flames.
"You have to go back now," came the deep, silken voice. "You have to go back."
0-0-0-0-0
The Boss was sitting in the office, playing with the hawk when Carlos, light-headed from too little food and too much last-minute maneuvering, entered and took a breath.
"Chopper's in place," he reported, one eye on the fierce bird, whose claws had already been poison-tipped. "Operatives standing by."
"What is this, the friggin' army?" The Boss grinned up at him. "Relax. Take a break, get somethin' to eat."
Carlos could find nothing to say. His mouth tasting like an ancient footlocker, he wondered what it would feel like to go crazy altogether.
0-0-0-0-0
"Give him some air, please," insisted Kurama.
Murmuring, thick-tongued, Hiei opened his eyes at last. Kuwabara, Yuusuke and Shay-san crowded around, adding their own voices to the confusion, robbing the patient of breathing space.
"Stand back, please," repeated Kurama, louder this time. "Give him air."
Gradually, and under protest, the others withdrew. Kuwabara and Yuusuke hit the streets. Shay-san went upstairs.
Hiei looked terrible.
The fire demon appeared as though he had not merely paused at death's door, but wiped his feet on the mat and staggered most of the way inside.
Not only was Hiei's aura dangerously low, perhaps a mere 20 percent, but his color was pale and muddy; his expression one of dullness, confusion. Gone were the razor-sharp reflexes that guaranteed you took your life in your hands if you startled him.
"Kurama?" Hiei sounded half-asleep, the words slurred.
"You went out like a light, right on the picnic table. Nearly fell off it, too. Lucky I'm still fast on my feet."
In truth, Hiei's collapse had alarmed Kurama no end, the way he fell rag-doll limp, yet with eyes open and pupils dilated. For long anxious minutes Hiei had remained like that, resisting Kurama's attempts to revive him.
Yuusuke's right. I've been turned into a weapon. It could as easily been my mother who took the poisoned Whip.
Kurama had lost friends and family before---as Youko, Kuronue pained his memory; as Shuuichi his father's death could still conjure grief. But if Hiei had died, Kurama would have been responsible. And it could happen again.
"Kurama." Hiei sighed. "Oh. It's you."
"I don't know who else it would be. Though you were muttering in your sleep to someone."
Hiei blinked, repeatedly, as if trying to work out what Kurama had just said. "Talking to someone? Who?"
"I couldn't discern that."
"Turn out the light." Hiei ran a hand through his hair, as though his very follicles ached. "Too bright in here."
"The light's not on," Kurama said, gently.
Hiei shut his eyes and sank back onto the couch.
Sitting in the gathering dark allowed Kurama much-needed time to think. It was indeed miraculous that Hiei had survived Two-Hearts. That might mean any number of things, from Hiei's core toughness, to the possibility that somehow, the poison was not fully activated.
Someone had planted a rose not of Kurama's own stock on him. Although he had no recall of the attack, that unknown someone ---and it was a safe bet this Carlos was involved---had meant for him to kill Hiei.
Kurama wondered whether his powers were still too raw to carry the poison into the rose, or he had resisted the command to kill. He wanted to believe he had fought the directive, not that he was merely too weak to carry it out.
One thing was certain---the enemy was a master of poisons, and there was only one place in Makai where Two-Hearts grew.
But Hiei was stirring again. "Mnf." Slowly, he levered himself to his feet, wobbling.
Kurama moved to the couch, easing him back down. "And just where do you think you're going?"
"To see my kids."
"You're not going anywhere. I'll get them."
Hiei gave a ghost of his former wicked grin. "And fetch the woman while you're at it."
In spite of himself, Kurama sputtered with laughter. "I'm t-telling!"
"Ch. Knock yourself out."
"Symptoms first, though. In detail."
It took Hiei a while to respond, but Kurama wrote them down: tongue furred and copper-tasting, overwhelming thirst and exhaustion, eye sockets feeling like they were lined with sawdust, always chilled, no sensation in the Dragon arm.
Kurama dug into his pack and handed Hiei a bottle.
"What's this?" Hiei squinted. Kurama bought the bottles by the dozen from a pharmaceutical supply house; holding four fluid ounces each and brown to prevent light from spoiling the contents, they somewhat resembled flasks of cheap rotgut whisky.
"Drink it. It'll restore your electrolyte balance."
Shrugging, Hiei unscrewed the bottle, and without question, drank, though it was unlabeled, clearly not of commercial make, and anything could have been in it, even more poison. "Not half as bad as the crap you fed me last night."
"Thanks." He drank it, Kurama thought, because it was me who gave it to him.
A small corner of his heart cracked. "I'll get the kids." He managed to keep his voice steady. At the base of the stairs--it really was dark---he flipped on a light switch.
"Mnf!" Hiei flung up an arm, protecting his eyes.
"Sorry. Light still hurts?"
Slitting his eyes, Hiei nodded. "Better note that. First-hand observations from the only survivor of Two-Hearts."
"I'll bring you a pair of sunglasses." Back at the stairs, Kurama snapped the light off and went up in the dark.
The bedroom door was open. Shay-san sat in the chair flipping through a magazine that was upside down, the twins at her feet. Kurama waited outside. "Hiei wants to see---"
"I heard." She pointed to the stroller. "Please. Give me a hand with the kids? They're heavy, and I'm tired."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure I'm tired."
"You know what I meant." This potential sister-in-law, who seemed more ashamed of her kind impulses than her Irish temper---did she share Yuusuke's understandable frustration?
She looked up, eyes wide and glittering. "The enemy didn't count on your strength. You fought him. If you hadn't, I'd be a widow." Going to the stroller, she made sure the twins were secure. Michael regarded Kurama steadily, while CeeCee held out her arms and squealed in delight.
"Hiei may not be the effusive sort," said Shay-san, "but he knows who's on his side, and he knows you saved him again."
Kurama gave her a smile of genuine affection. "Come on. Mr. Effusive wants to see 'the woman,' too." Carefully lifting the stroller, Kurama made his way downstairs.
0-0-0-0-0
In the pre-dawn hours, a human male and a small gray oni pulled up in a rented car across from the Kuwabara residence.
They left the car together: Azuma Ken with his bulging biceps bare, the oni small enough to pass for human in his trench coat, fedora low enough to hide the gray tint of his skin if you didn't look too close.
"In there." The oni inclined his head at the Kuwabara house. "Give it a minute for the Boss' Eye to work."
Azuma grunted. "What the hell for? It's just a damn string of beads, and the rest of 'em are just human."
"Shows how little you know. That Rosary has power."
"Oh yeah?" The human's eyes narrowed with predatory hunger. "I'll get it off him and take it as a souvenir."
"Don't even think it! No demon can lay hands on a Blessed Rosary, and no one knows why the target can. My orders are to take him, no others, and you are here for one thing and one thing only: to get his Rosary off. Besides, the carrot-topped kid can fight, and so can the girl."
Azuma Ken spat in the street, speaking his scorn for girls and kids who 'could fight.'
On the roof, the steel-gray jaki gave the final signal.
"It's time," said the oni, and they crossed the street.
0-0-0-0-0
The rhythmic needle-prick of cat's claws woke him.
Lying on the couch, under a blanket---though he did not recall falling asleep---Hiei had just enough strength to open his eyes and sigh, "Eikichi. Get off."
Kuwabara's favorite cat responded by purring like an outboard engine, redoubling his efforts to puncture Hiei's skin.
It was not yet light out. The dimness soothed Hiei's eyes. He wondered whether the cat was as witless as his master, or merely thought it fun to wake sleeping youkai.
Feed me, Eikichi m'rowed, in that unmistakable cat dialect.
"Eikichi," Hiei said, "How can I feed you if you refuse to get off me?"
In reply, the cat gave him a head-butt and settled onto Hiei's side. The cat's warmth was pleasant, the purring hypnotic. Hiei's eyes drifted shut again.
Out in the street came the soft sounds of footsteps.
Eikichi's purring cut off. Claws stabbed deep as the cat scrambled to his feet, uttered a low snarl, then spat.
Every hair on end, the cat launched himself off Hiei in a flurry of terror, then bolted from the room.
0-0-0-0-0
Last night, Kurama had brought the twins down to visit with Hiei, but the fire demon had melted back into sleep a mere half-hour later. He'll recover, Kurama told himself. I did.
Yet Kurama still felt tired and dispirited when the phone rang. "I'll get it," he called down to Kaasan, hoping against hope that this was a wrong number.
It was Shay-san, her voice threaded tight with anxiety. "Is Hiei with you?"
"No." Kurama's gut gave a sickening elevator-plunge.
"He didn't take his Rosary."
"He didn't what?"
"Hiei's Rosary." She cleared her throat. "He never, ever removes it, not even to shower. Kuwabara's out looking, but---"
"Suppose you tell me the story so far."
Shay-san took a steadying breath. "When I woke up, Hiei was gone. His wallet is still on the coffee table, and the phone." She paused. "He didn't take his sword either. Sometimes he doesn't, if he goes to the park to work up an early sweat."
"Are you sure that's not the case?"
"I came downstairs at six."
Kurama glanced at the clock. It was now 10:15. That long? And with Hiei in such poor condition--- "All right. We'll search together. I'll call Yuusuke; wait for him to bring you and the kids." He didn't have to remind Shay-san it would be most unwise now for her to venture out alone.
-30-
(To be continued: Where is Hiei?)