6. Stories
The whole day was full of laughter and smiles that the day had ended so quickly. Eri was already taking her bath while Hiei had already taken his-it was the same routine they would do every night. He had already showered before her, and run her bath to take that he'd even got her something else to sleep in besides the same shirt she wore two nights ago. The door opened to reveal Eri stepping out drying her wet hair as Hiei approached the girl to help dry her hair. He loved to touch Eri's hair feeling the strands of her hair run through his fingers and the smell of vanilla he could sense in her scalp.
"You really enjoy wetting the floor, don't you?" Hiei teased.
"N-No. I-I don't mean to do it on purpose." Eri replied.
He knew that the girl was too innocent and would never do anything so rational. Hiei was starting to like Eri more and more even though he didn't show it; he'd prefer to keep his emotions to himself. When he was done drying her hair he could tell it need to be taken care of to see how wavy and dry it was.
"Go sit on the bed." He said.
"Which one?" Eri asked.
"Either of them. You decide." He replied leaving to retreat to the bathroom while Eri did what he requested her to do. She decided to go sit on his bed and wait until he came back. She then saw Hiei return with a comb and a hairbrush as he approached the bed she was sitting only to crawl over sitting behind her.
"Your hair needs treatment." He said as Eri was surprised that Hiei was doing this to take care of her hair.
"Y-You know how to do hair?" She inquired.
"I watched how the woman brushed through your hair, and this is the only time I'm doing this," Hiei replied as he took the comb to start at the bottom, then work his way up to get all the tangles out of her hair. After he combed her hair, he then grabs the hairbrush to brush each section of Eri's hair until it was fully smooth and straight even.
"What style do you want?" He asked.
"Uh, a ponytail?" Eri replied a little nervous feeling Hiei grabbed her hair in his grip not too tight. He had something outside his lips which was a hair tie as he used it to wrap Eri's hair up to a ponytail that she requested.
"Stand up." He ordered.
Eri climbs off the bed to stand in front of him as he admired his work and nodded. "You look pretty like that. I just wanted to see how you look with any hairstyle that I will do for you."
"Oh, what about your hair?" Eri asked.
"It's fine the way it is," Hiei replied.
Eri nodded as Hiei spoke up, "Come sit."
Eri climbs back on the bed as she sat across from him facing him with a straight face. Hiei sat there looking back at the girl and noticed her small horn poking out as he leaned back against the pillow on his bed.
"I was happy to hear you protest about the idiot's words about our heights," Hiei said as she looked up at him with her big red eyes.
"I-I only did it because I heard him call you that the first time. I just didn't like it." Eri twiddled her thumbs looking down as she felt the bed shift around. Hiei was sitting up picking up the girl in his arms to rest her on his lap.
"I appreciate that because I acted like a coward wanting to strike my sword into him. But I'm glad that I didn't."Hiei said as Eri let out a small squeak as she rested her head against Hiei's chest. "So, I'm a giant?" He faintly smiled down at her as she nodded in return.
"You are a giant and always will be," Eri said resting her hands on her lap staring up in his eyes full of kindness.
"But what if you get older and you're taller than me?" Hiei inquired.
"You're still a giant," Eri said.
A small smile appeared on Hiei's lips as he hugged her in his arms that felt really comforting to him. He felt like he was wrapping a small pillow in his arms, but with Eri's body in his grip.
"Do you want to play a game?" Hiei asked.
"What game?" She asked.
"20 questions."
"How do you play that?" Eri tilted her head to the side.
"It's like asking a question and the person will respond to that question. Then, when they answered it they will answer the question and the other will respond. Simple." Hiei explained.
"Okay, um...What's your favorite color?" Eri asked.
"Purple."
"I like red."
"My turn. Uh, what's your favorite treat?" Hiei asked.
"I like candy apples or just a regular apple," Eri replied.
"A candy apple?" Hiei tilted his head to the side.
"You don't know what it is?" Eri asked.
"No. You can tell me."
"Okay. A candy apple is sweeter with caramel all around and it is delicious." Eri explained with a small grin. "Maybe we find some and I'll let you try it. I promise it's delicious!"
"If you say so," Hiei smirked. "My turn..."
The questions went on and on...The two of them were getting along with each other. Eri smiled more when Hiei would tell her things she never heard before or would make comments about it making the fire demon grin and laugh a little at her statement.
"Hiei? Can I ask you something?" Eri asked.
"Yes."
"Why are you always so angry?" Eri asked with her tilt to the side.
"I'm not always angry, but I just wear this expression to show a brave face." He replied.
"But your already brave, aren't you?"
"Yes. Brave enough to slash through other weaklings that would put up a fight with me." He snorted.
Eri blinked a couple of times responding, "Am I weak?"
Hiei shook his head replying, "No. You may be a child but...I don't think you're a weakling."
"That's reassuring. I know your strong and can fight anything that comes in your way to scare away anyone." Eri smiled making the demon smile heartedly at the little girl.
'She is so polite to me. She isn't scared to share anything, but that smile is something else.' Hiei thought wearing a huge smile on his face.
"If any demon tries to mess with you, I'll step in to take care of it," Hiei vowed.
"Like a prince would save a princess?" Eri tilted her head.
"Yes. Something like that."
Eri couldn't help but formed a huge smile on her face, "Then your my prince a hero that will protect me from anything!"
"Y-You think of me like that?" Hiei blinked in surprise as Eri nodded.
"You're my prince was known as a hero." She claimed.
'A hero?' Hiei thought.
Hiei then spoke up again, "Do you want to hear what the prince did as a traveler? The prince fought many dangerous creatures to protect himself and prevent from getting hurt."
"You fought other monsters too?" Eri asked as her eyes bulged.
"Yes." Hiei nodded.
Eri smiled and starts hopping on his lap balling her fist together pumping them up and down. "I want to hear one of your stories! Please! Please!"
"Okay. I'll have to not mention about the gore and gruesome parts." Hiei lightly chuckled staring down at the enthusiastic girl sitting on his lap. That she was so eager about listening to his tales about facing off against other demons in the past.
As Eri listened to his stories she had something coming up in her mind and interrupted Hiei from telling about his travels.
"Hiei? I-If you were traveling on your own, then why don't you go back to visit your family?" Eri asked.
Hiei stares at her in silence before responding, "I have no home or a family. I'm a loner."
"A loner?" She repeated sadly. "Can you tell me about what you were like at my age?"
Hiei squinted his eyes at the girl before responding, "If you want to know...I-I can trust you and tell you about my past."
"I'm listening," Eri said.
Hiei told Eri about his past and what happened to him as a young baby forced to leave out of the village, raised by a pack of thieves, and then finds himself all alone.
"When I heard that doctor called you a "curse", I felt anger rise in my blood. You didn't mean to do what you just did out there, and I know that you weren't a curse." Hiei said glancing down at the girl and hugged her in his arms. "Don't let anyone claim who you are. You aren't a curse, and I know you know that too."
As Eri looked up at the demon who was showing a side of care and kindness. She realized that these two were alike in their own way, but she didn't want to tell Hiei about her past quite yet because it was too much of a trauma to talk about it.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Hiei," Eri said as she stood up to wrap her arms around his neck nuzzling her small head against his as he returned the embrace. The demon never told anyone about what he dwelt with his whole life, and the child he opened up to felt very sorry to him. As Eri pulls away from his grip to stare at him with her lips pierced together in a line.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it anymore. If you want to cry on someone's shoulder I'm here." She says with a small smile on her lips making Hiei's eyes water a little as a single tear dropped. Eri wipes it away quickly that she didn't mean to make him cry or feel sad. "I-I'm sorry if I upset you and-"
"No," Hiei said in a deep tone. His gaze softens up as he said, "I'm alright. I-I needed someone to talk about the problems I face in the past. You are likely the first one that I told you about this."
This made Eri want to tear up because Hiei never trusted anyone besides Kurama and now her. He needed someone to be around and to talk about his problems rather than keep things to himself.
"I won't tell anyone about this. L-Like friends do." Hiei perked his head up to see the little girl staring at him with a soft gaze in her eyes as her cheeks were tinted pink.
"You better not," Hiei said wiping the tears away from his face.
Just as Eri looked away for a second, she then remembered asking, "You got hurt really badly for fighting other demons in the past. You even had scars traced on you."
"Yeah, and?" Hiei's hoarse voice asked.
Eri held her right arm asking, "Are scars a good thing to carry on?"
Hiei blinked a couple of times before responding, "Scars are what makes you feel strong, fulfilling, and compassionate. Your scars are beautiful, Eri. They aren't as bad as it seemed." This time it was Eri's turn to start tearing up as Hiei pulled her in for an embrace to pat her back to soothe her crying.
"N-No one has ever told me about how my scars looked on me." She sniffled.
"Then, they don't know what true beauty means in your heart rather than just seeing it," Hiei said.
Just as they broke apart Eri asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything. Go ahead." Hiei nodded.
Eri asked, "I-Is Yukina your sister? I-I-I wanted to ask and I won't tell if you don't want her to know."
There was silence in the room and Hiei said, "Yes. She is my sister. That would make me her brother."
Eri tilted her head asking, "What's a brother?"
This surprise Hiei when she asked him what exactly is a brother. Has she not heard of that before or what?
"A-A brother is the one that is protecting, supporting, and to show his love towards his other sibling and family members." He clarified to Eri to make her understand what a brother is as she lowered her head.
"Wow." She said in 'awe' as she scrunches up her face. "I wish I had a brother that could do that."
Hiei's face fallen and she continued, "I overheard Yukina talking about finding her brother after she found out. I feel very sorry if she didn't know that she already has the greatest brother in the world."
'The greatest brother in the world?' Hiei couldn't believe his ears when the young girl claimed him to be the best brother there is.
He then saw Eri let out a yawn as he looked at the time and it was already around midnight. He faced back at Eri to see her crawling off the bed as he knitted his eyebrows together.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Y-You told me that I can only sleep with you once. I'm going to my bed." Eri replied.
Hiei shook his head.
"No. You can sleep with me tonight." He insisted with a small smile on his lips watching the girl run back to the bed to climb back up again. Hiei lifts the blanket just for her to get under the covers with him as he switched off the lamp.
"I-I'm glad that I got to know more about you, Hiei," Eri said facing him as she could see his glowing pair of red eyes staring back into hers. "C-Can you t-tell me more stories? "
"I'll tell you more. Goodnight." He said his arm around the small girl's body as Eri snuggle into his warm chest.
"Goodnight, Hiei." She said shutting her eyes to let the darkness take over her.
The moon slowly goes down as the sun arise in the sky, the sunlight radiant into the bedroom as Eri woke up rubbing her eyes blinking a few times to get her sight right. She found herself in Hiei's arms watching him lying there restless sleeping peacefully.
'He's still asleep. Maybe I should do something after making him cry last night.' Eri thought as she climbed out of bed to get out Hiei's grip and plop on the ground with her little feet pattering on the floor as she went to go change into a white dress shirt with a frilled collar and a plain blue pinafore with two large, golden buttons on either side of her chest. Under this, she wears gray tights and a large set of tan boots. She untied her hair that Hiei had done a great job of fixing her hair making it straighter.
When Eri was fully dressed she left out of the room and walked down the hallway. She left out of the room and headed downstairs to enter the lobby and outside to look around outside and walk into the woods. This time Eri knew how to get back to the hotel, the sky was a little dim and she guessed it was going to rain. She hurried out to find any flower that would be perfect for Hiei to have and she'll serve him breakfast this time. She walked further into the woods and found flowers in the bushes that she picked some to carry back to the hotel just in time before it started raining. Just as she arrived back she saw Kurama in the lobby ordering his breakfast as she came over to him grabbing his pant leg.
Kurama glanced down greeting the girl with a warm smile, "Good morning, Eri. Your up early I see."
"Kurama? C-Can you order something for Hiei and for me too? Please?" Eri pleaded.
"Hm? Is something wrong?" He asked.
"No. I-I just want to surprise him breakfast." She replied.
"All right, I will order his meal and yours too," Kurama said as she smiled at him.
"Thank you," Eri said.
Kurama and Eri stood waiting for the food to be served and when the food was prepared, Eri insisted to carry the tray that was Hiei's, although Kurama had to help her and make sure she didn't drop it. When they got back to their rooms, Eri headed straight to the bedroom with Kurama helping her inside to set her tray on the nightstand and held the other placing on the nightstand beside Hiei's
"Thank you, Kurama," Eri whispered.
"The pleasure is all mine," Kurama said.
When he left out of the room, Eri removes her boots to climb on the bed and sat on Hiei's lap waiting for him to wake up. Minutes later, Hiei groan in his sleep as his eyes twitched urging to open and he didn't expect to see Eri sitting on top of him piercing down with her big red eyes.
"Eri? What are you doing?" Hiei grunted in a husky tone.
"I was waiting for you to get up. I even got us some breakfast, and we can eat together if that's okay with you." Eri said as crawled off Hiei letting him sit up as he arched his back forward a little, then he stretched his arms before scratching his scalp. His eyes shifted to the two trays except one caught his eye when he notices that there were flowers on the side.
"What are the flowers for?" Hiei asked.
Eri lowered her head mumbling, "Remember when you were crying last night? I-I wanted to make you feel better and I-I went out to give you those."
The demon pats her head gently before saying, "I appreciate you doing this for me. But next time, don't go out on your own. It's dangerous."
"Okay, I promise not to do it again." She replied as she crawled off the bed to go over and grab her tray to set it on the floor.
She started eating as Hiei went over to his tray to sit next to her and ate. This was the first time they have eaten together, but they still talked while they ate. Once they ate every last bit of their food Eri sat there with her legs crossed while Hiei got dressed because their team will be fighting.
"You're going to go fight out there again?" Eri asked.
Hiei nodded, "Yes, we're next to compete the other team we'll be facing off against."
"Oh." Eri blinked then says, "Do your best. I'll be cheering you on."
A light chuckle was heard from Hiei as he crouched down at her level ruffling her head and be more careful around her horn poking out.
"You're excited about the next match?" Hiei asked.
Eri nodded with a huge smile on her face making him smile in return to see how happy she was as he glanced out the window to see that it was raining. He furrowed his eyebrows together saying, "Well, it looks like we'll be having a storm later today."
"I know." Eri sighed.
"That doesn't mean it'll stop the tournament when he has to face against ShiShi
"Who's that?" Eri asked.
"We'll see for ourselves when we enter the first part of the match," Hiei reassured as he stood up helping Eri back on her feet again.
"Um, Hiei? A-Are we friends?" Eri asked shyly.
"We can if you want us to," Hiei said.
'I always thought friends are for the weak, but somehow I was getting attached to this child. She understood the pain and suffering I went through.' Hiei thought as he looked down at Eri who was extremely happy to hear that she had a friend she could trust just like the others.
"T-Then I'll make you my best friend until the end!" She chimed.
"Best friend?" Hiei quirks his eyebrow up as he forced a smile on his lips. "Yeah. I-I like that."
Eri grabs Hiei's hand as they left out of the room and went into the living room to see only Kurama and Kuwabara were playing a game. Hiei took a seat by the window to watch the rain pour down, and Eri went to sit next to Kurama to watch them play together.
"Hey Eri, you wanna play with us?" Kuwabara asked.
"How do you play?" Eri asked kicking her small legs back and forth. Kuwabara was about to explain how to play until there was a knock at the door as it revealed the girls.
"Ta-da! The cavalry has arrived." Botan greeted holding snacks in her arms and behind her were Yukina, Shizuru, and Keiko.
"You know, you could have knocked, Botan. We're discussing important business here!" Kuwabara implied.
"Oh? And how do you explain the cards in your hand?" Botan asked.
"I've guessed you've never seen a mobster movie!" Kuwabara said as Yukina walks over to them wearing a genuine smile.
"Has your back injury healed yet, Kazuma?" Yukina asked.
Kuwabara instantly went into "lover-boy" mode when he saw her. "Aw yeah, it was just a scratch! You want to play some cards with us?"
Keiko walks over to Kurama asking, "Um, have you seen Yusuke?"
"He's still out with the Masked Fighter. We're not sure where." Kurama replied.
"I see," Keiko said.
Yukina takes a seat next to Eri smiling down at her, "Hello Eri, you look very beautiful today."
"Thank you, Yukina," Eri replied.
"Puu's been acting funny a lot lately. He doesn't even want to fly." Keiko said as held a not so good looking Puu in her arms.
"Can I hold him?" Eri asked.
Keiko nodded as she passed Puu to her as Eri held him in her arms as she nuzzles her face onto his furry black scalp.
Soon everyone sat down chattering and playing a game of cards. Kurama leans forward into his seat glancing over at Hiei, "Come join us Hiei. We're practically a family here."
"Kurama! Don't let me pull out your precious voice box!" Hiei hissed.
"I'm sure Eri wouldn't let you do that. Will you Eri?" Kurama inquired.
Eri peeks over to see Hiei wearing a scowl on his face as she climbed off the couch to approach over to him. She wore a genuine smile saying, "It's only if Hiei wants to and I-I don't want to force him. He's my best friend after all."
"Best friend?" Kuwabara blinked in astonishment.
Eri nodded as she struggled to sit on the window sill while holding Puu in her arms, and she received help from Hiei giving her a little boost to sit across from him. She smiled up at him making his scowl disappear as he smiled a little before facing back to the window.
