"Are you sure about that?" asked Hiei. He was pale.
"Of course! I'm the schoolteacher. I must keep up with the day."
"You may not believe me, but I assure you that I'm telling the truth. I'm from the twentieth century."
She sat down heavily, forgetting the lady-like manners that had been bred within her. "The twentieth century? Like the 1900s, twentieth century?"
"Yes, Allyna."
"A time period that won't begin for another twenty-four years?"
"Right."
She saw a glint out of the corner of her eyes. "Oh, heavens above! Crabby Abby's seen you!"
"Crabby Abby?"
"Abigail Johnson. She owns half of Tumbling Creek and is very nosy. She always reports her findings to Reverand Thompson so that he can deliver an 'appropriate' sermon on Sundays." She drew a ragged breath. "I'm utterly ruined!"
"Why?"
"Because you're a male. I'm female. You're staying in my house and we're unrelated. That's why! It may be allowed in your time, but here, it's forbidden!"
He looked thoughtful. "Where are my clothes?"
Confused as to what this had to do with anything, she said, "Over there in my sewing basket. I was repairing them."
He nodded, retrieved his clothes, and dressed. "Would I pass for a girl?"
"If I did something to your hair.. Possibly. It's more feasible that you're my cousin recently off of the reservations." She smiled. "It'll be a close call." Her smile widened into a smirk. "I think I'm about to have some fun."
-------------------------------
He noticed her eyes dancing and the humour in their depths. "You're going to enjoy tomorrow, aren't you?"
"I usually like Sundays, but this one is definitely going to be more interesting than most." She grinned. Then, it faded. "Thank you, Hiei, for your sacrifice. I know that this could prove embarrassing."
For some reason, he already felt embarrassed. "It's nothing," he demurred. "After all, you sacrifice your time to take care of a stranger."
"After tomorrow, I will be in your debt."
"I will think of a way for you to repay me."
Obviously, she ignored this last comment in favour of retrieveing her hair brush. "Come here and sit. As I do your hair, would you mind telling me about Youko Kurama and Yuusuke Urameshi? And the Spirit World!"
"How did you find out about all of those things?" he asked, startled.
"People talk when they're in delirium. You remembered fights, arguments, and something you called the 'Dark Tournament.'"
"And you want to know about all of that?"
"Yes. I'm afraid that I'm quite curious."
He sat and she placed the brush in his hair. "Where should I begin, Quinneke?"
"Let's see.. It was something about a Shadow Sword. And the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. I suspect those two items are the beginning of your misadventures."
He smiled slightly. "Very well. The Mirror of Forlorn Hope..."
------------------------------
She listened. Then, "Let me see if I have this correct. You make a wish with the Forlorn Hope, but, in order for the wish to be granted, you have to die? What if you wish for immortality? Doesn't that negate the effect?"
Hiei looked thoughtful. "I would suppose so. I don't think anyone's tried that one, though."
"Makes an odd sort of sense, I think." She shifted in her seat and began to try and conquer yet another tangle. "So, what did Shuuichi, or Kurama, or whomever he is, wish for?"
"In my time, Kurama has spent the last twenty years in a ningen. sorry, that means human. form. During that time, he has come to care for the family he's been living with. Especially his human mother.
"Five years ago, Minamoto-chan was ill. Very ill. We stole the Makai. no, I'm not translating that for you. Artifacts and Kurama took the Forlorn Hope. On the night of the full moon, Kurama wished that his mortal mother would live."
Her hand stilled. "So, Kurama died to save his human mother?"
"No."
"But-!"
"Let me finish. You see, Kurama had Yuusuke Urameshi, a Spirit Detective, witness it. When Yuusuke remembered his own mother's reaction to his first death, he aided Kurama by sacrificing some of his own Life Energy." Hiei drew a breath in and it hissed out as she brushed out the tangle she'd been working on. "The mirror refused to take life because of Yuusuke's noble act."
"But you said that Yuusuke was a juvenile delinquent."
"Sometimes. At other times, he's a good kid."
She pulled out the last tangle and Hiei's hair hung straight down his back.
"You have gorgeous hair, Hiei," she said as her fingers flew, braiding his hair in the Ninnuock fashion.
------------------------------
He felt her pat his shoulder, signaling that she was done.
"Thank you, Allyna."
"It was nothing." She curled her feet into the chair and looked at him. "So, what happened next?"
He studied her face and saw the faint purple shadows beneath her eyes. "You need to sleep."
She yawned. "You're probably right." Her face became soft and dreamy. "You'll tell me some more tomorrow, won't you, Hiei?"
"Of course," he promised. However, she didn't hear him because the need for sleep had already conquered her.
He picked her up and was astonished by how slight she was. He finally found her room, but, by that time, she had curled against him in such a fashion that it would have been impossible to lay her down without awakening her.
Thus, he stretched them both out on the bed and drifted into sleep.
"Of course! I'm the schoolteacher. I must keep up with the day."
"You may not believe me, but I assure you that I'm telling the truth. I'm from the twentieth century."
She sat down heavily, forgetting the lady-like manners that had been bred within her. "The twentieth century? Like the 1900s, twentieth century?"
"Yes, Allyna."
"A time period that won't begin for another twenty-four years?"
"Right."
She saw a glint out of the corner of her eyes. "Oh, heavens above! Crabby Abby's seen you!"
"Crabby Abby?"
"Abigail Johnson. She owns half of Tumbling Creek and is very nosy. She always reports her findings to Reverand Thompson so that he can deliver an 'appropriate' sermon on Sundays." She drew a ragged breath. "I'm utterly ruined!"
"Why?"
"Because you're a male. I'm female. You're staying in my house and we're unrelated. That's why! It may be allowed in your time, but here, it's forbidden!"
He looked thoughtful. "Where are my clothes?"
Confused as to what this had to do with anything, she said, "Over there in my sewing basket. I was repairing them."
He nodded, retrieved his clothes, and dressed. "Would I pass for a girl?"
"If I did something to your hair.. Possibly. It's more feasible that you're my cousin recently off of the reservations." She smiled. "It'll be a close call." Her smile widened into a smirk. "I think I'm about to have some fun."
-------------------------------
He noticed her eyes dancing and the humour in their depths. "You're going to enjoy tomorrow, aren't you?"
"I usually like Sundays, but this one is definitely going to be more interesting than most." She grinned. Then, it faded. "Thank you, Hiei, for your sacrifice. I know that this could prove embarrassing."
For some reason, he already felt embarrassed. "It's nothing," he demurred. "After all, you sacrifice your time to take care of a stranger."
"After tomorrow, I will be in your debt."
"I will think of a way for you to repay me."
Obviously, she ignored this last comment in favour of retrieveing her hair brush. "Come here and sit. As I do your hair, would you mind telling me about Youko Kurama and Yuusuke Urameshi? And the Spirit World!"
"How did you find out about all of those things?" he asked, startled.
"People talk when they're in delirium. You remembered fights, arguments, and something you called the 'Dark Tournament.'"
"And you want to know about all of that?"
"Yes. I'm afraid that I'm quite curious."
He sat and she placed the brush in his hair. "Where should I begin, Quinneke?"
"Let's see.. It was something about a Shadow Sword. And the Mirror of Forlorn Hope. I suspect those two items are the beginning of your misadventures."
He smiled slightly. "Very well. The Mirror of Forlorn Hope..."
------------------------------
She listened. Then, "Let me see if I have this correct. You make a wish with the Forlorn Hope, but, in order for the wish to be granted, you have to die? What if you wish for immortality? Doesn't that negate the effect?"
Hiei looked thoughtful. "I would suppose so. I don't think anyone's tried that one, though."
"Makes an odd sort of sense, I think." She shifted in her seat and began to try and conquer yet another tangle. "So, what did Shuuichi, or Kurama, or whomever he is, wish for?"
"In my time, Kurama has spent the last twenty years in a ningen. sorry, that means human. form. During that time, he has come to care for the family he's been living with. Especially his human mother.
"Five years ago, Minamoto-chan was ill. Very ill. We stole the Makai. no, I'm not translating that for you. Artifacts and Kurama took the Forlorn Hope. On the night of the full moon, Kurama wished that his mortal mother would live."
Her hand stilled. "So, Kurama died to save his human mother?"
"No."
"But-!"
"Let me finish. You see, Kurama had Yuusuke Urameshi, a Spirit Detective, witness it. When Yuusuke remembered his own mother's reaction to his first death, he aided Kurama by sacrificing some of his own Life Energy." Hiei drew a breath in and it hissed out as she brushed out the tangle she'd been working on. "The mirror refused to take life because of Yuusuke's noble act."
"But you said that Yuusuke was a juvenile delinquent."
"Sometimes. At other times, he's a good kid."
She pulled out the last tangle and Hiei's hair hung straight down his back.
"You have gorgeous hair, Hiei," she said as her fingers flew, braiding his hair in the Ninnuock fashion.
------------------------------
He felt her pat his shoulder, signaling that she was done.
"Thank you, Allyna."
"It was nothing." She curled her feet into the chair and looked at him. "So, what happened next?"
He studied her face and saw the faint purple shadows beneath her eyes. "You need to sleep."
She yawned. "You're probably right." Her face became soft and dreamy. "You'll tell me some more tomorrow, won't you, Hiei?"
"Of course," he promised. However, she didn't hear him because the need for sleep had already conquered her.
He picked her up and was astonished by how slight she was. He finally found her room, but, by that time, she had curled against him in such a fashion that it would have been impossible to lay her down without awakening her.
Thus, he stretched them both out on the bed and drifted into sleep.