Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. First, FF.N won't let me sign in, then I went to Washington D. C. for a week for Presidential Classroom. Guys and girls, if you can, I highly recommend going. Find the money, and GO! It's a blast, trust me.
* * * * *
Cold as Fire
by Grace Musica
Chapter Fourteen
Tensi's Sacrifice
* * * * *
"Hello Mrs. Tetsewon."
"Oh, hello Suichi. Come with some more of Sakura's homework?"
"Yes ma'am. Shall I put it in her room?"
"That would be fine. Hiei is with her."
Kurama bowed, made his way down the hall and entered Tensi's room, closing the door behind him silently. Hiei sat watching Tensi's sleeping form. The girl tossed and turned in her sleep, battling the fever she had been fighting for almost an entire week. It had forced Yusuke to bring Henageshi and Botan over to the Tetsewons and the both of them what their daughter had been doing late at night for six years. Her parents had been pretty crushed, but they took it fairly well.
Kurama placed the books under his arm on Tensi's desk. "Has she woken up?"
Hiei didn't even turn around. "She's been talking in her sleep: to Henageshi, to Botan, to Koenma, to King Yama... I know for a fact she's been talking to the last two; she always called them 'cousin' when she referred to them." Finally he turned and faced his friend. "Kurama, if I lose her again... I don't know what I'll do."
Kurama blinked, taken aback. Hiei hadn't been this frank, open, or emotional with him in years.
Hiei turned back around, and Kurama suddently remembered back to after the battle with the Four Saint Beasts.
"Here's what I don't understand; why would he bother saving her if he died in the process?"
"Trust me, Hiei, there are reasons."
"Huh. Maybe for a person who's lived there. But I'd never do it."
He's changed so much in the span of a week... Kurama bit his lower lip. Ten, you'd better get well, and soon.
* * * * *
"Hiei, I want to thank you for all the help you've been with Sakura," Mr. Tetsewon told the fire demon that night when he got home. They were in the kitchen, Mr. Tetsewon gripping the back of one of the chairs, his stance showing worry and fatigue.
"It's nothing," he replied. "She's done the same for me, it's the least I can do to return the favor. I just wish I could do more."
The elder sank down into the chair. "Why didn't she tell us? Did we do something wrong?"
Hiei shook his head. "She didn't want you to worry about her. I know your daughter better than I know myself. She hates people worring over her. Doing just that has earned me a few bruises in my time."
Mr. Tetsewon looked up. "I wish she had brought you home sooner."
* * * * *
That night, Tensi took a turn for the worse, her fever going so high, the Tetsewons ended up taking her to the hospital.
* * * * *
When Hiei arrived at the hospital the next afternoon, Yusuke and Kuwabara met him just outside of Tensi's hospital door. "It doesn't look good," Yusuke conceeded. "They're only letting one person in at a time. Her parents took Kori home, and Kurama's in there with her right now."
"She's awake?"
"Off and on," Kuwabara supplied. "She was awake when I went in there, and when Yusuke went in, too."
The door opened and a somber Kurama walked out of the room. He met Hiei's eyes, then moved out of the way to allow Hiei access to the room.
As Hiei shut the door behind him, Kurama looked at Yusuke and Kuwabara and shook his head.
Yusuke slid to the floor. "I feel responsible, in some way... Like it's my fault she's dying..." He looked up at his two friends. "I realize now exactally what she did, back in the castle... She gave me her life's energy." He held up his right hand and looked at it. "I can still feel it running though my veins. And she won't let me give it back!" He slammed his hand on the cold tile hall flooring. "Stubborn bitch," Yusuke muttered, almost to himself. "Her life is dwindling away, yet she refuses to do the one thing that would save it, brushing me off with that smile of hers, and tells me in that tone of hers, 'no, I've got to die.' Doesn't she understand what she's doing to Hiei?"
"I think she understand more than any of us."
The three boys turned to see Kayko and Yukina standing at the end of the hallway, apparently for some time. The ice demon spoke again in her soft voice. "This is the price she must pay for comming back."
Kurama blinked at the demon, startled. Yukina met his gaze levely. "Hiei told me. As he also told me that he is my brother."
Kurama nodded, eyes averted. The blue-haired girl continued in the ensuing silence. "From what I've heard, she died once, but was allowed to come back after thorough begging. And if I know one thing about King Yama, he does not grant things freely without a price in return."
Kurama nodded once again, agreeing with the girl. "But this time, I fear, the price may be too high."
* * * * *
Tensi's eyes lit up when they met Hiei's. She smiled, relieved to see him, and opened her arms.
He was next to her in an instant, her arms around his neck, his around her waist; a bit awkward, considering the hospital bed, but Hiei found that he cared little. What was more important was her lips on his. He could feel her heart beating faintly through that connection--that's what mattered.
Finally, they pulled apart, and Hiei sat in the chair next to her bed. He looked into her bright green eyes. "Ten, why--?"
"Akuma." Tensi shut her eyes and shook her head slowly. "She screwed us over again."
"Again? I-I-I'm sorry, I'm just a bit confused."
"She's the one who made the cliff fall out. Koenma told me."
Hiei silently cursed Akuma's soul to Hell at that.
"She also cast a spell over me--before you came to rescue me. She sold her soul to the highest bidder for the ability to do what she's wanted to do for years. Kill me for good. With a death-spell. One that worked in her favor. I could die, and she would live. If she died, so would I."
He almost wished that Akuma was still alive, so he could beat her to a bloody pulp.
But Tensi wasn't done.
"In fact, the only reason I was allowed back... Was to say good-bye."
The room went silent, except for the steady 'beep, beep, beep' of the heart monitor. Tensi turned her head away to look out her window. The day was overcast, the grey sky and looming black clouds forcasting not only rain, but predictng Hiei's future as well.
He reached into his pockets and pulled out the little ring he had given her all those years ago. He put it on her hand, then held both of hers in his.
"Hiei..."
"No, you keep it. I'm not going to give it to anyone else. I never was, and I never shall."
"Hiei... I can't come back. My cousin told me so when I was trying to come back the first time. 'I'll let you go only once. Don't ask me again.'. Those were his exact words."
He met her eyes again and kissed her gently. "Ai shiteru, Tensi."
"Ai shiteru, Hiei," she replied, tears filling her eyes. She leaned back onto the bed. "Hiei... I'm so tired. So tired."
He understood. "Then go." He stood, kissed her lips, then her eyes, making them shut. As he pulled back, he noted that they didn't flutter back open. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Good-bye."
Tensi's eyes opened slowly and put her hand over his. Hiei could tell that it took every bit of strength for her to do so. She smiled at him so sweetly, so lovingly, he could actually feel his heart breaking. "I'll see you sooner or later." She turned her head and kissed his hand. "And I'll wait for you like you did for me."
"Ten..."
He leaned over again and kissed her gently. As he stood, he noticed that Tensi's entire body was limp. With her eyes shut, she looked like she was sleeping.
Hiei knew better.
As he turned to leave, he heard the one sound he had hoped against hope to not hear.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...
The flatline of the heart monitor.
* * * * *
Kurama sighed from under his umbrella. It had been raining for almost a week straight, he reflected. Ever since Tensi had died, the weather had seemed to mirror Hiei's mood. Which was understandable. Kurama didn't feel too chipper himself. Twice, Ten... Twice. His grip tightened on the umbrella at the memory of what Tensi had told him in the hospital room. I told you, but you didn't listen. You never did, now that I think about it.
The redhead stepped stealthily up the hill, right behind Hiei. Although he didn't make a sound, Kurama knew that Hiei knew that he was behind him. "I thought I'd find you here."
Hiei didn't say anything.
"Hiei, she's gone. There's nothing you can do to bring her back."
No response.
"She wouldn't want you to act like your life is over. You're alive. Don't just give up."
Hiei's reply of scilence was infuriatating.
"Damnit, Hiei!" Kurama finally lost his temper. "I'm hurting too! We all are; her human family, the other guys... She died for all of us. And, if we're lucky, we'll get to see her again."
Hiei took his eyes off the gravestone to turn and meet his friend's sympathetic eyes. They reminded him for a split-second of Tensi. "You're right. We'll see her again."
"And damnit, what a party that'll be."
Kurama looked over his shoulder to find Yusuke, Kayko, Kuwabara and Yukina under umbrellas, dressed in back to pay their respects to Tensi. Yukina had a black coat in her arms, which she unfolded and offered to Hiei. "Come on out of the rain, before you catch a cold!" she pleaded, her blue eyes imploring her brother.
With one last look back towards Tensi's grave, Hiei obediently listened to his sister and his friends. They're right. I will see her again.
* * * * *
It's over!... or.... is it?
* * * * *
Cold as Fire
by Grace Musica
Chapter Fourteen
Tensi's Sacrifice
* * * * *
"Hello Mrs. Tetsewon."
"Oh, hello Suichi. Come with some more of Sakura's homework?"
"Yes ma'am. Shall I put it in her room?"
"That would be fine. Hiei is with her."
Kurama bowed, made his way down the hall and entered Tensi's room, closing the door behind him silently. Hiei sat watching Tensi's sleeping form. The girl tossed and turned in her sleep, battling the fever she had been fighting for almost an entire week. It had forced Yusuke to bring Henageshi and Botan over to the Tetsewons and the both of them what their daughter had been doing late at night for six years. Her parents had been pretty crushed, but they took it fairly well.
Kurama placed the books under his arm on Tensi's desk. "Has she woken up?"
Hiei didn't even turn around. "She's been talking in her sleep: to Henageshi, to Botan, to Koenma, to King Yama... I know for a fact she's been talking to the last two; she always called them 'cousin' when she referred to them." Finally he turned and faced his friend. "Kurama, if I lose her again... I don't know what I'll do."
Kurama blinked, taken aback. Hiei hadn't been this frank, open, or emotional with him in years.
Hiei turned back around, and Kurama suddently remembered back to after the battle with the Four Saint Beasts.
"Here's what I don't understand; why would he bother saving her if he died in the process?"
"Trust me, Hiei, there are reasons."
"Huh. Maybe for a person who's lived there. But I'd never do it."
He's changed so much in the span of a week... Kurama bit his lower lip. Ten, you'd better get well, and soon.
* * * * *
"Hiei, I want to thank you for all the help you've been with Sakura," Mr. Tetsewon told the fire demon that night when he got home. They were in the kitchen, Mr. Tetsewon gripping the back of one of the chairs, his stance showing worry and fatigue.
"It's nothing," he replied. "She's done the same for me, it's the least I can do to return the favor. I just wish I could do more."
The elder sank down into the chair. "Why didn't she tell us? Did we do something wrong?"
Hiei shook his head. "She didn't want you to worry about her. I know your daughter better than I know myself. She hates people worring over her. Doing just that has earned me a few bruises in my time."
Mr. Tetsewon looked up. "I wish she had brought you home sooner."
* * * * *
That night, Tensi took a turn for the worse, her fever going so high, the Tetsewons ended up taking her to the hospital.
* * * * *
When Hiei arrived at the hospital the next afternoon, Yusuke and Kuwabara met him just outside of Tensi's hospital door. "It doesn't look good," Yusuke conceeded. "They're only letting one person in at a time. Her parents took Kori home, and Kurama's in there with her right now."
"She's awake?"
"Off and on," Kuwabara supplied. "She was awake when I went in there, and when Yusuke went in, too."
The door opened and a somber Kurama walked out of the room. He met Hiei's eyes, then moved out of the way to allow Hiei access to the room.
As Hiei shut the door behind him, Kurama looked at Yusuke and Kuwabara and shook his head.
Yusuke slid to the floor. "I feel responsible, in some way... Like it's my fault she's dying..." He looked up at his two friends. "I realize now exactally what she did, back in the castle... She gave me her life's energy." He held up his right hand and looked at it. "I can still feel it running though my veins. And she won't let me give it back!" He slammed his hand on the cold tile hall flooring. "Stubborn bitch," Yusuke muttered, almost to himself. "Her life is dwindling away, yet she refuses to do the one thing that would save it, brushing me off with that smile of hers, and tells me in that tone of hers, 'no, I've got to die.' Doesn't she understand what she's doing to Hiei?"
"I think she understand more than any of us."
The three boys turned to see Kayko and Yukina standing at the end of the hallway, apparently for some time. The ice demon spoke again in her soft voice. "This is the price she must pay for comming back."
Kurama blinked at the demon, startled. Yukina met his gaze levely. "Hiei told me. As he also told me that he is my brother."
Kurama nodded, eyes averted. The blue-haired girl continued in the ensuing silence. "From what I've heard, she died once, but was allowed to come back after thorough begging. And if I know one thing about King Yama, he does not grant things freely without a price in return."
Kurama nodded once again, agreeing with the girl. "But this time, I fear, the price may be too high."
* * * * *
Tensi's eyes lit up when they met Hiei's. She smiled, relieved to see him, and opened her arms.
He was next to her in an instant, her arms around his neck, his around her waist; a bit awkward, considering the hospital bed, but Hiei found that he cared little. What was more important was her lips on his. He could feel her heart beating faintly through that connection--that's what mattered.
Finally, they pulled apart, and Hiei sat in the chair next to her bed. He looked into her bright green eyes. "Ten, why--?"
"Akuma." Tensi shut her eyes and shook her head slowly. "She screwed us over again."
"Again? I-I-I'm sorry, I'm just a bit confused."
"She's the one who made the cliff fall out. Koenma told me."
Hiei silently cursed Akuma's soul to Hell at that.
"She also cast a spell over me--before you came to rescue me. She sold her soul to the highest bidder for the ability to do what she's wanted to do for years. Kill me for good. With a death-spell. One that worked in her favor. I could die, and she would live. If she died, so would I."
He almost wished that Akuma was still alive, so he could beat her to a bloody pulp.
But Tensi wasn't done.
"In fact, the only reason I was allowed back... Was to say good-bye."
The room went silent, except for the steady 'beep, beep, beep' of the heart monitor. Tensi turned her head away to look out her window. The day was overcast, the grey sky and looming black clouds forcasting not only rain, but predictng Hiei's future as well.
He reached into his pockets and pulled out the little ring he had given her all those years ago. He put it on her hand, then held both of hers in his.
"Hiei..."
"No, you keep it. I'm not going to give it to anyone else. I never was, and I never shall."
"Hiei... I can't come back. My cousin told me so when I was trying to come back the first time. 'I'll let you go only once. Don't ask me again.'. Those were his exact words."
He met her eyes again and kissed her gently. "Ai shiteru, Tensi."
"Ai shiteru, Hiei," she replied, tears filling her eyes. She leaned back onto the bed. "Hiei... I'm so tired. So tired."
He understood. "Then go." He stood, kissed her lips, then her eyes, making them shut. As he pulled back, he noted that they didn't flutter back open. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Good-bye."
Tensi's eyes opened slowly and put her hand over his. Hiei could tell that it took every bit of strength for her to do so. She smiled at him so sweetly, so lovingly, he could actually feel his heart breaking. "I'll see you sooner or later." She turned her head and kissed his hand. "And I'll wait for you like you did for me."
"Ten..."
He leaned over again and kissed her gently. As he stood, he noticed that Tensi's entire body was limp. With her eyes shut, she looked like she was sleeping.
Hiei knew better.
As he turned to leave, he heard the one sound he had hoped against hope to not hear.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...
The flatline of the heart monitor.
* * * * *
Kurama sighed from under his umbrella. It had been raining for almost a week straight, he reflected. Ever since Tensi had died, the weather had seemed to mirror Hiei's mood. Which was understandable. Kurama didn't feel too chipper himself. Twice, Ten... Twice. His grip tightened on the umbrella at the memory of what Tensi had told him in the hospital room. I told you, but you didn't listen. You never did, now that I think about it.
The redhead stepped stealthily up the hill, right behind Hiei. Although he didn't make a sound, Kurama knew that Hiei knew that he was behind him. "I thought I'd find you here."
Hiei didn't say anything.
"Hiei, she's gone. There's nothing you can do to bring her back."
No response.
"She wouldn't want you to act like your life is over. You're alive. Don't just give up."
Hiei's reply of scilence was infuriatating.
"Damnit, Hiei!" Kurama finally lost his temper. "I'm hurting too! We all are; her human family, the other guys... She died for all of us. And, if we're lucky, we'll get to see her again."
Hiei took his eyes off the gravestone to turn and meet his friend's sympathetic eyes. They reminded him for a split-second of Tensi. "You're right. We'll see her again."
"And damnit, what a party that'll be."
Kurama looked over his shoulder to find Yusuke, Kayko, Kuwabara and Yukina under umbrellas, dressed in back to pay their respects to Tensi. Yukina had a black coat in her arms, which she unfolded and offered to Hiei. "Come on out of the rain, before you catch a cold!" she pleaded, her blue eyes imploring her brother.
With one last look back towards Tensi's grave, Hiei obediently listened to his sister and his friends. They're right. I will see her again.
* * * * *
It's over!... or.... is it?