I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I don't own any YYH characters or concepts.

OH MY GOD EVERYBODY JUST LEAVEEEEEEE.

I was absolutely mortified. Humiliated. Embarrassed. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Hiei wasn't letting up on his grip of my leg, and I was incredibly conscious of his skin pressed into mine. His hands were way too close to certain areas. Why had he even come in here? Shizuru and Keiko had been doing just fine. The shard was much deeper than anticipated, that was for sure, but still, everything would have been fine… Probably. But then again, I was feeling a little woozy. I had lost a lot of blood today, after all.

FUCK.

"Alright, everyone except for Kurama out!" Botan's voice commanded the others, followed by protests from Jin and Keiko, and then a slap as Keiko chastised Jin for being a pervert.

Heh. He deserved it.

"Hikari?" Kurama's voice was gentle. "Yukina doesn't have energy, and this wound needs to stop bleeding. I'm going to put a salve on it, ok?"

I nodded my head vigorously behind the pillow. The pain was mounting now that my adrenaline had ebbed. However, I just wanted everyone out so I could try to regain some semblance of my dignity.

Hiei's grip relaxed on my leg, and I snuck a peek. Kurama's face was a little red, but at least he seemed semi-professional. He used a warm wet cloth to wipe away the blood, quickly applying the salve before more could flow. I hissed in pain as the ointment worked its magic. Just another second, and I again felt a warm wet cloth wiping away the area. Some gauze was hastily stuffed on the wound and was quickly wrapped into place.

"We will have to reapply all this after we get you in the hot spring. Guess it's a good thing I picked up so much earlier today."

"Hot Spring?" I asked, removing my face from my shame pillow.

"Oh, yes, we decided to go to the hot spring this inn is famous for. It has special healing properties for the body and spirit."

"Ah, ok…"

Great. Sounds wonderful. Now then... GET THE FUCK OUT.

"Before I leave, are there any more things we could help with?"

NO.

"I'm sure the girls can help me with the ones I felt on my back."

JUST LEAVE.

"If you're sure then. I'll just leave the salve here if you need it."

SO. FUCKING. AWKWARD.

"Thanks."

I heard Hiei and Kurama arguing quietly, but I couldn't make out what it was about. I was too focused on trying to make myself as small as possible. I heard one of them grunt in frustration, and then a moment later, the door clicked closed. Was Kurama now arguing with Botan and Keiko out in the hall? It kind of sounded like it.

I let out a squeal of frustration, wagging my legs.

"Again, with the kicking…" Hiei's voice growled, causing me to squeak in surprise. I had thought he left with Kurama.

I tore my head up, seeing Hiei looking down on me with irritation.

"What are you still doing here? Get out so I can get the rest of these splinters out."

Hiei rolled his eyes. He did that a lot.

"That's why I'm here, stupid. I can get all the splinters out faster than the women."

"B-but-"

"They wanted to leave for the hot springs soon since it closes in a couple of hours."

Hiei picked up the tweezers Keiko had dropped.

WHY ME.

"No! No, no, no!" I suddenly became very aware that he was also not wearing a shirt.

"Why for the love of everything are you shirtless?!" I whisper-screamed. My face was on fire.

Damn, the dude had some serious muscles. I couldn't help my eyes following the line of his six-pack. His unexpectedly chiseled form had me blushing for an entirely new reason.

Argh! Stop admiring this jackass, hormones.

"Quit whining and stay still."

"Noop!" I tried to squirm away and lock myself in the bathroom, but the bastard was so much faster than me.

Fuck.

He grabbed me around the waist and threw me back on the bed.

Ow. DICK.

I hissed as the glass ground further into my back, catching on the mattress.

"Stop being annoying. Take off your shirt."

THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I WANTED A GIRL, FUCKWIT.

"Nooooo." I scrambled up, holding an arm in front of me defensively.

Hiei scoffed. "It's not like I care about seeing you."

Oh, fuck off.

Besides, that slight blush on his cheeks told me he cared a little bit.

"That's not the point!" I snarled. "It's still embarrassing as shit! Why can't the girls help me?"

"I already said I'm faster, and the longer you delay this, the faster I'm going to have to be."

"Ugh, Fuck you!" Whoops, that one was out loud. He seemed amused by my vulgarity.

"If you don't take off your shirt, I'll just tear it off. I was trying to preserve some of your dignity by letting you take it off yourself."

"Oh yeah, thanks so much for trying to preserve my nonexistent dignity. Appreciate that. Asshole."

Glaring into his eyes, I knew he wasn't going to give up. He was just as stubborn as I was. But I also really wanted to go to the hot spring. The idea of the warm bath and possible healing sounded so pleasant. My entire body was hurting so badly. Kurama's herbs were strong, but I still felt like I got hit by a truck. So, after all that…

Fuck my life.

Sighing in defeat, I reluctantly tried to pull what remained of my cute sweater up but winced when it caught on the shards embedded in my back.

Hiei's eye twitched as I tried to gingerly remove the sweater. Impatient, he spun so that I was on knees with my back facing him and ripped what remained of my dignity away. Damn, guess there was some left after all. Waves of humiliated tears waved down my cheeks. The way he ripped it allowed me to cover myself in the front. But still.

He worked quickly, removing the glass at a steady pace. My back seemed to have the most shards, as he was taking longer than he had with my arms or legs.

I fell again into mortification as I remembered everyone had just seen my frilly undergarments. Wait, hadn't someone covered me with some sort of fabric? Looking at the torn cloth on the bed, I realized that it was the remnants of Hiei's black sleeveless shirt. He'd covered me with his own clothing? How strangely nice of him. It also explained why he was shirtless.

I squeaked with surprise when his fingers traced along my bra. It matched my underwear today.

"There are some shards caught in the fabric here." He announced.

"Oh, I'll change it in the bathroom. I think Yukina brought me a bag with more clothes."

"I think I've almost gotten them all. Hold still."

I stayed quiet as he finished up. My back was stinging, and I could feel warm fresh blood running down it.

He used the cloth Kurama had to help me wash away the red, and then his rough palms ran along my back, feeling for any splinters he might have missed.

It felt… nice. His calloused hands were warm and gentle. I was almost sad when he abruptly pulled away. But then he applied salve to what I assumed were the worst bleeding ones. The medicine stung.

"I'm not going to bandage your back. If I had known that we were going to the hot springs, I wouldn't have wasted so many on your arms and legs."

Yep, still a jerk.

He walked over to the bag Yukina had brought in for me. It looked like she had just stuffed one of the shopping bags from the previous day with some of my new clothes. He tossed it to me, and I had to catch it with one hand so I wouldn't drop what remained of my shirt from my chest.

He didn't say another word as he left the room so I could finally change.

Hiei slipped into the bathroom, ignoring the stares of the others. He didn't need to lower his guard to know they were questioning his actions. Hell, he was questioning them. He wanted that power, that was irrevocable. Perhaps because the human girl was so weak and pathetic without her power that it was endearing. Maybe he just felt responsible since he was the one who found her. Like an abandoned dog, he just couldn't make himself leave her in the cold.

He had never done anything like this for anyone.

When he had been checking her back for more shards, she had relaxed under his touch. Curious, he lowered his guard. Her thoughts were… pleasant. She was enjoying the sensation of his hands. He had been confused. His hands were those a killer, why would she find comfort in them?

He put said hands on both sides of the sink, sighing and dipping his head. He really couldn't figure her out. She was independent, brutally honest, and eerily adaptable to their world of spirits and demons- that was pretty much as far as he got in understanding her.

He thought again of how with only two days, she had fit right in among the others. He remembered how comfortable she was with him, while most kept their guard up or watched him with careful eyes. Even Kurama sometimes gave Hiei that look of worry when he was angered. She had no idea what he was capable of or what he had done. Perhaps that was why she didn't walk on eggshells around him like the other women?

Sigh.

Just one more weirdo for their band of misfits.