Hiei summoned back the staff that had fled from the castle precursor to the ice maiden's attack. They were on their way back, which meant once that lot returned with their son, every person in the castle would be exhausted in their own way. Hiei had watched as the ice mage and the stocky mage stirred first in the castle's front hall while he held the ocean mage close to warm her up. She smelled much too much like her father, the wind mage, especially when she shivered. He felt like when the news broke for her that the wind mage was dead, someone else was going to have to hold her in this same manner. It was not about to be him, of that he was certain. As soon as she was warm enough, he planned to extricate himself from her and go to Nishi.
The stocky mage rolled over, sitting himself up and putting his hand on his head. Hiei could not imagine his headache could be any worse than his own from his over use of his third eye. The stocky mage looked around him in the front hall, seeing the five dead ice maidens along with the dead rock mage. "What happened?" he asked, looking over at Hiei and the ocean mage. He rose up slowly to his feet, stepping over to them. He knelt down, looking the ocean mage over. "Is Airi okay?" he asked groggily.
"Hn, just cold," Hiei answered curtly.
The ice mage was up now, too. "Her father's not going to like you of all people touching her," he commented, sitting up himself and taking in the room. "Even if you managed to kill the remaining ice maidens." The ice mage narrowed his eyes, looking up towards the balcony. "Jin didn't make it," he said his realization out loud. He looked over at the rock mage. "Nor did Risho," he added.
"Congratulations, you're the most experienced shinobi now. That'll make you the new leader," Hiei said dryly. He wished the ocean mage would hurry up and warm up. The ice mage walked over to them, kneeling down by the lot of them himself, looking like the weight of the world just landed on his shoulders.
"Oh, poor Airi," the stocky mage commented, looking down at her. "How did it happen?" he asked.
Hiei clicked his teeth, shaking his head. He was curious himself though. He slipped delicately into Nishi's mind, looking over her memories from before Five hung her over the balcony. When he saw Nishi asking the wind mage to come with her and her boy, followed by that kiss, made him internally furious. Aloud, he answered, "he was defending Izo, Nanashi, Asa, and Kotone..." He kept explaining briefly what happened with the fight, much to their surprise. Both seemed taken aback to hear her boy had fell, but then that Nishi was possessed by the Great Hawk Spirit in order to rescue her.
"Is Izo alright now?" the ice mage asked. "Are numbers have just been halved, but we can't risk a fallen angel in our midst..."
"He won't fall again," Hiei ressured. "After rising from a fall, angels and part angels become immune to it as it were. Nanashi never fell after she rose again. Haruto confirmed as much years ago."
"He still has those wings?" the stocky mage asked curiously.
Hiei nodded, not saying anything more. He felt the ocean mage stir in his arms. After finding out about that kiss, he wanted her near him even less. He sensed her temperature was warm enough now for her to survive on her own. He pushed her off of himself and into the arms of the stocky mage. Her boy's memories confirmed she liked him. She would probably prefer to wake up in his arms instead anyway.
He got up, heading up the stairs to her boy's room, taking the stairs two at a time. He saw her boy sitting close to the mute and her son on the bed. The mute leaned against her boy while holding her son close. Her boy looked up at the sight of Hiei coming into the room. He pulled away from the mute a little bit, looking suddenly nervous. Hiei figured he would deal with him later. He looked over at Nishi laying on the couch asleep with the wolf healer dozing on the floor beside her. A wave of pity went through him at the sight of the wolf healer, who often said she was getting too old for so many things. His nose twitched at the sight of Nishi, bristling internally. The wolf healer stirred, looking up at him, studying him wordlessly. She looked over at Nishi, pityingly.
The wolf healer sighed, standing up and looming over Nishi protectively. "I'm getting too old for this..." she grumbled. She stepped over to him, slipping her arm into his. "Help an old woman to her room to rest, would you?" she insisted.
Without wanting to do such a thing, he did anyway. The wolf healer was quick to slump herself down at her couch once in her room. "Sit down," she ordered.
He stayed standing, but kicked the door behind himself, leaning against it. He crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you think you can say that-"
"She was scared," the wolf healer interrupted him. "She was scared, though she would never have admitted it. She wanted nothing more than to be downstairs fighting alongside you. I told her to run like you told me to in case the fighting went south, but she refused. Her sense of duty overriding her desire to listen and flee. Then Jin came in and told her to do the exact same thing, tried to hurry her along even. She asked him out of fear to run with her, nothing more. It would have saved his life had he accepted." Hiei shook his head, not wanting to buy it. "He initiated the kiss, which he shouldn't have. But that was on him. I don't think he planned it."
"She kissed him back," he snapped. "What's your excuse for that?"
"Fear. Comfort. She was going to run after that, but the ice maiden got to the room first," the wolf healer answered. "I assume you sent him up there to tell her to run? Why else would he know the plan for her to take Izo and flee?" When he did not answer, she kept speaking. "In his eyes, you stole her away from him. All those years ago, when the king brought her back to the castle and planned to marry her to Jiro, no one else was to pursue her by order of the king. Jin knew she did not like Jiro that way, that he got on her nerves at times. She liked Jin though, he was certain of that. He was attracted to her, too. Most men were because she was angelic, but he was more interested in her for who she was. He thought her being a part human, coming from a human city, meant she was a little wild like humans were rumored to be. He never imagined he would take her virginity like that. He felt horrid for it. He offered the king to marry her so she would not be so dishonored. The king refused to allow her to be married so beneath her, which was why the king sent him away. In his absence, you had your chance and took it. She only ever called you her friend and mentor before she took care of you in her rooms in the castle. I watched her interest shift, long before she may have realized it. Even when he came back and tried to get her to run away with him, you cut in and gave her exactly what she wanted to keep her from him. So while yes, you could fault him and her even for the rest of her life for that kiss. But it would never have taken her away from you. You stole her from him. Even if he survived today, and you died instead, she still would not waver from you. So save yourself and herself both time and torture and don't hold it against her."
He stared blankly at the wolf healer before him. "You're exhausted. Get some rest," was all he said.
She shook her head. "Kotone will need help with the newborn."
Hiei shook his head in turn. "Izo's doing that now."
The wolf healer pursed her lips at that. "His devotion to her..." she preempted.
He closed his eyes tiredly for a pause. "I'll deal with it," he stated, wishing he could lay down himself.
He turned away from her, leaving her alone in her room, parsing over what she told him. His head pounded with each step he took, feeling exhaustion wipe over him. He went back to her boy's room. He did not see her boy right away, but did see the mute laying asleep on the bed with her back propped up with pillows.
He heard the sound of water in the bathroom. He looked in there, seeing her boy cleaning up the mute's son in the sink. The newborn squirmed and kicked at being washed, but let her boy do his work. He spoke softly to the newborn in a soothing tone the wolf healer had perfected. Seeing wings on his back looked so foreign, but surprisingly so right.
Hiei turned quietly from them, stealing back into the room and going towards the couch. Nishi slept hard, white hair on her again, after all these years. He felt his temper flare, seeing the kiss in his mind's eye. He scooped her up in his arms and turned back towards the door.
He stopped, seeing her boy with the mute's son wrapped in a towel in his arms. "I healed her. And she needed to rest," was all he said. "I'm not tired. I should be, but I'm not," he explained. He certainly sounded alert. "You ought to rest up though," he offered.
Hiei nodded, stepping around him. He could better deal with this later. Her boy moved out of the way helpfully for him. "Don't push her. For anything. Let her come to you if she wishes it."
"Yes, Father," he answered obediently, not looking at him.
Hiei carried Nishi out of the room, trudging in his steps by the time he got the two of them to their bedroom. He felt weariness right down to the bone. He laid her down on the bed, tucking her under the blankets on her side, facing the middle of their bed on her usual side. He planned to go sleep on their couch.
He turned away, but paused when he heard her move. She stirred in her sleep, mumbling under her breath. "Hiei..." she called out for him so breathily he could hardly understand what she said at first. He looked back at her. Her hand reached over to the middle of their bed in her sleep. She loosed a disappointed hum under her breath before settling back into a deep sleep.
He stepped back over to the bed, kicking his boot off and climbing into it with her. He laid on his back and pulled her over to him, laying her head on his chest. He stroked her hair curiously. It felt the same, even if with the new color contrast. "Mine," he whispered down at her, feeling his stomach twist for the first time when he said the word.
