Ch. 7
Soon after shopping, Seiko, Hiei, and Kurama go back home to meet with Yuusuke and Kuwabara. When Kurama was about to take his keys out, he saw a note taped to his door. After staring at it for a second, he turned around and started walking away from his house.
"Yuusuke wants us to meet at Genkai's temple, he says she only gave him a few minutes off from his training to put that note there," informed Kurama.
"Hn," said Hiei and started walking up to Kurama.
"Yuusuke's the guy in green with the slicked back hair ri..." Seiko suddenly stopped running up to them and yelled in pain, causing Kurama and Hiei to whirl around and check the area for any other youkai.
"Hn, why'd you scream girl? There's nothing around here," said Hiei when he couldn't sense any other youki near them. He turned around to look at Seiko and his eyes widened when he saw that she was leaning against a tree, gritting her teeth, blood leaking through her hands that were covering the wound on her shoulder, and sweating.
"Hold still Seiko!" yelled Kurama as he ran and knelt down next to her and started pulling seeds out of his hair, making them grow, and grinding some of them together with his hands.
"Hn, we should get her to Genkai, fast!" said Hiei. He lifted Seiko up and looked at Kurama for approval. Kurama nodded and they both ran towards Genkai's temple as fast as they could. Surprisingly, Kurama kept up with Hiei's god-like speed quite well. As they ran, Kurama kept wondering what in all three worlds could have possible hurt Seiko. He glanced at Hiei, who had Seiko on his back, and turned his attention back to running. They soon arrived at Genkai's temple.
"Yukina! Genkai! Somebody!" yelled Kurama as he ran past Hiei to search around for their friends.
"What is it boy?" asked Genkai as she rubbed her aching ears. She had been standing right behind a pillar that was right in front of the gate that Kurama was at.
"Kurama? Hiei? What are you two doing here?" asked Yukina, her voice as sweet and calm as ever.
"It's Seiko! She's hurt! Can you help her?" asked Kurama and Hiei in unison.
"Quick, bring her inside and put her on the blue mat in one of the guest rooms!" said Yukina as she ran back towards another door to get some bandages and medicines. Hiei quickly ran, carrying Seiko on his back, closely followed by Kurama, to the room that Yukina had pointed out.
Soon after they got Seiko in a comfortable position on the mat, Yukina came running in with her arms full of medical things and her kimono flapping around. She knelt beside Seiko and started checking her over.
"........," Yukina's eyes suddenly narrowed as she bent down to inspect Seiko's shoulder more carefully.
"She...she's not hurt...well, of course she was...but now...she sort of...healed! You can see the blood that was leaking out but now...there's nothing!" exclaimed Yukina. Kurama and Hiei knelt down beside her and looked at Seiko's shoulder as well.
"If she's already healed somehow...how come she's still pale and shaking?" asked Kurama.
"I don't know, what caused the injury? Maybe it was poisoned," suggested Yukina.
"We didn't see anything hit or cut Seiko, she just just suddenly got hurt," said Kurama.
"D...d...d...d...da...da..." stuttered Seiko.
"Hn, what is it?" asked Hiei, trying to hide the fact he cared but obviously failing.
"D..ddd...dddaa..damn i...i..it!" stuttered Seiko through clenched teeth.
Just then, Genkai came into the room to see how they were doing.
"What's going on in here?" asked Genkai.
"Oh Genkai! Seiko-san seems to have healed her physical wound by herself but something's still wrong with her and I can't help her!" said Yukina as many of her tear gems could be heard dropping onto the floor.
"Then whatever hurt her must have been poisoned," said Genkai a-matter-of factly.
"That's what I thought but Kurama and Hiei said they didn't see anything hurt Seiko!" said Yukina.
"That's odd...," said Genkai. She walked over to Seiko and knelt down. She examined the shoulder that was hurt before. Her eyes narrowed and then grew wide.
"Stand back! Hiei, quickly get me a bowl and hot water, Yukina, get some honey from the jar next door, and Kurama, I need you to grow me a few plants," ordered Genkai as she folded up her sleeves. When everything was ready, she ground and mixed the plants that Kurama grew, put them into the bowl of hot water and mixed, making a very thin milky paste. She added the honey to sweeten the bitter smelling syrup. She went over and put Seiko's head in her lap and tilted her chin up. She placed the bowl to Seiko's lips.
"Here, drink this...," whispered Genkai, her eyes softening. Seiko looked at Genkai through her pain filled eyes and started to sip the syrup. Gradually, she stopped shaking and writhing in pain. Kurama and Hiei's eyes widened and were right next to Seiko within an instant.
"Seiko!Howareyoufeelingareyouok?" asked Kurama in a slur of words.
"Heh...ya...I'm ok...I just need...some sleep...ZzZz..." Seiko's eyelids dropped and soon she was sleeping in Genkai's lap.
Both Kurama and Hiei sighed with relief. Yukina smiled and started picking up her tear gems. Genkai was staring at Seiko's sleeping form and started stroking Seiko's hair. Somewhere along the way, Seiko's braid had come undone and her hair was now fanned out everywhere. Kurama and Hiei stared, hypnotized by the rhythm of Genkai's strokes. Kurama finally snapped back to reality and had a puzzled look on his face.
"Genkai...did you know Seiko?" asked Kurama.
"...yes...I did," Genkai said in such a soft voice that Kurama had to lean closer to hear it.
"How?"
"I've known her since she was born, I knew her father, and I knew her birthplace, I remember all of it," whispered Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened.
"You know her parents??? Great! You can help us find them! She'll be so happy when we tell her! So who's her mother? Someone I know? Is her mother a youkai also? I'm only assuming, because Seiko somehow managed to heal herself so..." Kurama let his sentence trail.
"Idiot! I'M her mother!" snapped Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Hiei had snapped out of his trance a while ago and had his mouth dropped as well.
"WHAT?" yelled Kurama and Hiei at the same time. Suddenly, Seiko started to stir. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at Genkai through sapphire eyes.
"Thank you for helping me...do I know you? I think I've seen you somewhere before but...I can't...remember," said Seiko as she continued to stare at Genkai's brown eyes.
"Yes, you know me, it'll come back to you eventually, but until then, I insist you stay here at the temple for as long as you want," said Genkai.
"Hiei, can I see your katana for a minute?" asked Seiko suddenly. Hiei unsheathed his katana and handed it to her with a questioning look. She gathered her hair into a low ponytail and held it together just a little below the bottom of her waist. Then, with a skillful hand, she hacked off all the hair below her hand, so that now her ankle long hair was only waist long.
"Much better!" chirped Seiko. She gathered up all her cut hair and turned to Hiei.
"Can you make a fire?"
"Hn, of course, but why?"
"Please just do it?"
"Beg!"
"YOU beg!"
"No! I don't have to! I can make it if I want!"
"Prove it! I bet you're not really a fire demon anyway!"
"HNN? WHAT? I'LL SHOW YOU!"
Suddenly, a dark flame appeared on Hiei's hand. Seiko ran up to Hiei and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for the fire! ^o^"
"...Kurama...did...she...just trick...ME?"
"It would seem so!" said Kurama with a very amused look. If he were in his fox form, his tail would be swishing from side to side with enthusiasm. Genkai chuckled to herself. Seiko ignored them and held some of her cut hair over the fire and started chanting.
Fire that gives warmth yet with a chill Help me seek what I need to find, Fire that is summoned to kill Help me become unblind, Let me remember what I have lost.
She let go of the hair and the fire in Hiei's hand crackled and sparked, emitting blue, green, red, and black rays of light here and there. The rays of light swathed together and created a blurry for of a small angel. The angel ran towards Seiko's face and disappeared into her head. Suddenly, Seiko gasped and dropped in a dead faint.
Soon after shopping, Seiko, Hiei, and Kurama go back home to meet with Yuusuke and Kuwabara. When Kurama was about to take his keys out, he saw a note taped to his door. After staring at it for a second, he turned around and started walking away from his house.
"Yuusuke wants us to meet at Genkai's temple, he says she only gave him a few minutes off from his training to put that note there," informed Kurama.
"Hn," said Hiei and started walking up to Kurama.
"Yuusuke's the guy in green with the slicked back hair ri..." Seiko suddenly stopped running up to them and yelled in pain, causing Kurama and Hiei to whirl around and check the area for any other youkai.
"Hn, why'd you scream girl? There's nothing around here," said Hiei when he couldn't sense any other youki near them. He turned around to look at Seiko and his eyes widened when he saw that she was leaning against a tree, gritting her teeth, blood leaking through her hands that were covering the wound on her shoulder, and sweating.
"Hold still Seiko!" yelled Kurama as he ran and knelt down next to her and started pulling seeds out of his hair, making them grow, and grinding some of them together with his hands.
"Hn, we should get her to Genkai, fast!" said Hiei. He lifted Seiko up and looked at Kurama for approval. Kurama nodded and they both ran towards Genkai's temple as fast as they could. Surprisingly, Kurama kept up with Hiei's god-like speed quite well. As they ran, Kurama kept wondering what in all three worlds could have possible hurt Seiko. He glanced at Hiei, who had Seiko on his back, and turned his attention back to running. They soon arrived at Genkai's temple.
"Yukina! Genkai! Somebody!" yelled Kurama as he ran past Hiei to search around for their friends.
"What is it boy?" asked Genkai as she rubbed her aching ears. She had been standing right behind a pillar that was right in front of the gate that Kurama was at.
"Kurama? Hiei? What are you two doing here?" asked Yukina, her voice as sweet and calm as ever.
"It's Seiko! She's hurt! Can you help her?" asked Kurama and Hiei in unison.
"Quick, bring her inside and put her on the blue mat in one of the guest rooms!" said Yukina as she ran back towards another door to get some bandages and medicines. Hiei quickly ran, carrying Seiko on his back, closely followed by Kurama, to the room that Yukina had pointed out.
Soon after they got Seiko in a comfortable position on the mat, Yukina came running in with her arms full of medical things and her kimono flapping around. She knelt beside Seiko and started checking her over.
"........," Yukina's eyes suddenly narrowed as she bent down to inspect Seiko's shoulder more carefully.
"She...she's not hurt...well, of course she was...but now...she sort of...healed! You can see the blood that was leaking out but now...there's nothing!" exclaimed Yukina. Kurama and Hiei knelt down beside her and looked at Seiko's shoulder as well.
"If she's already healed somehow...how come she's still pale and shaking?" asked Kurama.
"I don't know, what caused the injury? Maybe it was poisoned," suggested Yukina.
"We didn't see anything hit or cut Seiko, she just just suddenly got hurt," said Kurama.
"D...d...d...d...da...da..." stuttered Seiko.
"Hn, what is it?" asked Hiei, trying to hide the fact he cared but obviously failing.
"D..ddd...dddaa..damn i...i..it!" stuttered Seiko through clenched teeth.
Just then, Genkai came into the room to see how they were doing.
"What's going on in here?" asked Genkai.
"Oh Genkai! Seiko-san seems to have healed her physical wound by herself but something's still wrong with her and I can't help her!" said Yukina as many of her tear gems could be heard dropping onto the floor.
"Then whatever hurt her must have been poisoned," said Genkai a-matter-of factly.
"That's what I thought but Kurama and Hiei said they didn't see anything hurt Seiko!" said Yukina.
"That's odd...," said Genkai. She walked over to Seiko and knelt down. She examined the shoulder that was hurt before. Her eyes narrowed and then grew wide.
"Stand back! Hiei, quickly get me a bowl and hot water, Yukina, get some honey from the jar next door, and Kurama, I need you to grow me a few plants," ordered Genkai as she folded up her sleeves. When everything was ready, she ground and mixed the plants that Kurama grew, put them into the bowl of hot water and mixed, making a very thin milky paste. She added the honey to sweeten the bitter smelling syrup. She went over and put Seiko's head in her lap and tilted her chin up. She placed the bowl to Seiko's lips.
"Here, drink this...," whispered Genkai, her eyes softening. Seiko looked at Genkai through her pain filled eyes and started to sip the syrup. Gradually, she stopped shaking and writhing in pain. Kurama and Hiei's eyes widened and were right next to Seiko within an instant.
"Seiko!Howareyoufeelingareyouok?" asked Kurama in a slur of words.
"Heh...ya...I'm ok...I just need...some sleep...ZzZz..." Seiko's eyelids dropped and soon she was sleeping in Genkai's lap.
Both Kurama and Hiei sighed with relief. Yukina smiled and started picking up her tear gems. Genkai was staring at Seiko's sleeping form and started stroking Seiko's hair. Somewhere along the way, Seiko's braid had come undone and her hair was now fanned out everywhere. Kurama and Hiei stared, hypnotized by the rhythm of Genkai's strokes. Kurama finally snapped back to reality and had a puzzled look on his face.
"Genkai...did you know Seiko?" asked Kurama.
"...yes...I did," Genkai said in such a soft voice that Kurama had to lean closer to hear it.
"How?"
"I've known her since she was born, I knew her father, and I knew her birthplace, I remember all of it," whispered Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened.
"You know her parents??? Great! You can help us find them! She'll be so happy when we tell her! So who's her mother? Someone I know? Is her mother a youkai also? I'm only assuming, because Seiko somehow managed to heal herself so..." Kurama let his sentence trail.
"Idiot! I'M her mother!" snapped Genkai. Kurama's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Hiei had snapped out of his trance a while ago and had his mouth dropped as well.
"WHAT?" yelled Kurama and Hiei at the same time. Suddenly, Seiko started to stir. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at Genkai through sapphire eyes.
"Thank you for helping me...do I know you? I think I've seen you somewhere before but...I can't...remember," said Seiko as she continued to stare at Genkai's brown eyes.
"Yes, you know me, it'll come back to you eventually, but until then, I insist you stay here at the temple for as long as you want," said Genkai.
"Hiei, can I see your katana for a minute?" asked Seiko suddenly. Hiei unsheathed his katana and handed it to her with a questioning look. She gathered her hair into a low ponytail and held it together just a little below the bottom of her waist. Then, with a skillful hand, she hacked off all the hair below her hand, so that now her ankle long hair was only waist long.
"Much better!" chirped Seiko. She gathered up all her cut hair and turned to Hiei.
"Can you make a fire?"
"Hn, of course, but why?"
"Please just do it?"
"Beg!"
"YOU beg!"
"No! I don't have to! I can make it if I want!"
"Prove it! I bet you're not really a fire demon anyway!"
"HNN? WHAT? I'LL SHOW YOU!"
Suddenly, a dark flame appeared on Hiei's hand. Seiko ran up to Hiei and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for the fire! ^o^"
"...Kurama...did...she...just trick...ME?"
"It would seem so!" said Kurama with a very amused look. If he were in his fox form, his tail would be swishing from side to side with enthusiasm. Genkai chuckled to herself. Seiko ignored them and held some of her cut hair over the fire and started chanting.
Fire that gives warmth yet with a chill Help me seek what I need to find, Fire that is summoned to kill Help me become unblind, Let me remember what I have lost.
She let go of the hair and the fire in Hiei's hand crackled and sparked, emitting blue, green, red, and black rays of light here and there. The rays of light swathed together and created a blurry for of a small angel. The angel ran towards Seiko's face and disappeared into her head. Suddenly, Seiko gasped and dropped in a dead faint.