Pt4
Yukina slipped quietly into the cool darkness of the dungeon.
"Kotsu? Kotsu are you awake?"
"Miss Yukina, is that you?" The guard peered through the bars. "My lady you shouldn't be down here!" Yukina pressed a loaf of bread into his hand.
"I couldn't let you starve down here."
"You're going to get in trouble miss."
"Hiei won't know." She looked sadly at him as he held her hands to his face. "I just wish I could do more." He kissed her hand gently.
"You've already done so much for me." His black hair was filthy and the mirth-filled eyes she loved so much were duller now and tired. They both knew he had done nothing wrong. Hiei merely locked him up because he felt his sister was getting much too close to the slave. Kotsu's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. "Yukina," he whispered, "please don't get into anymore trouble for me."
"But I had to see you." He put a finger on her lips and smiled.
"I'll send messages with Chi for you. She'll take the message back to me… I love you Yukina." She smiled as well.
"I love you too Kotsu."
"Even though I'm next to nothing?" She swatted him.
"What my brother thinks of you means nothing to me. I love you Kotsu and I'm going to get you out of here no matter what it takes. I'm going to wait for you."
"And if I never get out?" Yukina sighed
"I'll wait for you forever Kotsu." He reached out and brushed her hair back.
"You sure that's a good idea?" She shrugged, very unlike her.
"It doesn't matter." She leaned against the bars and he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"Technically I should be encouraging you to move on with your life, to go marry a lord like your brother wants, but I can't help but be happy hearing you say you'll wait for me. Selfish isn't it?"
"You've been selfish from the moment I met you."
"Only with you Yukina. Can you blame me if I don't want to share you?"
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She stayed as long as she dared, then she slipped back up. Hiei hadn't noticed her missing. She had learned to dampen her mental images so he didn't sense her.
As soon as she was able she went out to the stable and curled up in the stall of Akai, her favorite mare, and started to cry.
"I hear that if you keep that up your eyes get all puffy and hideous."
Yukina gasped and sprung to her feet. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Who's there?"
"Kyomu – nothing, nothing at all, that's what I am, or at least next to nothing, if I understand Lord Hiei correctly."
Yukina looked around and climbed on the crossbar of the stall door. A flash of red caught her eye. She shut the door behind her and walked over to a haystack. That's where she saw him, leaning on a beam.
"You're the new fighter, Kirai is it?" Miya nodded.
"The fighter named Hate, that would be me." She looked up at her. "You look like you could use someone to talk to."
"I guess I could." She sat down next to her. He has no idea who I am! Yukina couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. Finally she would be able to honestly talk to someone without them worrying about what her brother would say. "Have you ever been in a position where you just can't win, you know, you feel like you're trapped?"
She shrugged.
"I'm not sure I get what you mean. I'm a slave, I feel trapped everyday. It's a part of my life."
"No, not like that, I mean…oh I don't know how to say this!" Miya remained quiet, letting the ice yokai collect her thoughts. "I…have you ever been in love Kirai?"
"No, not that I recall."
"Then you wouldn't understand."
"Try me." Yukina sighed and leaned back.
"I've fallen in love with someone I shouldn't and now I don't know what I'll do."
"One thing, please tell me the object of your affections is not A. Our Lord or B. me." She couldn't help it, she had to laugh. She flung back her head and laughed as she hadn't laughed in years. This guy really hasn't got a clue!
Miya watched the blue-haired girl beside her burst into peals of laughter, desperately trying to find what it was she said that was so funny.
Yukina wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"That was rich Kirai! No, I can one hundred percent assure you that I haven't fallen for Lord Hiei." She chuckled again, "and this has been going on for a whole lot longer than you've been here so rest assured, it has nothing to do with you." Miya breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, lets go from there. Does the guy know how you feel?" Yukina nodded. "And loves you back?" She nodded again. "Damn!" Miya slumped down onto the floor. "You can't even fall in love anymore. I don't know what to tell you."
"What would you do if you were me?"
"I'd wait for the first opportunity then said person and I would get the hell out of this place."
"Where would you go?"
"Who knows? Maybe escape to the human world. That's where I was born so I feel more comfortable there. You know, blend in for a while although the prospect of hiding for the rest of my life doesn't appeal to me. I prefer the more…" She slammed a fist into her hand. "…direct approach." Yukina chuckled again.
"Spoken like a true fighter!"
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A month went by without Hiei taking over the training sessions. Ryoutou surmised that he was too busy. Miya suggested that the ghost of Christmas future had been giving him nightmares. As a young neko Ryoutou's human father had taken him to see A Christmas Carol so he got the joke although none of the other yokai did.
There was a major division in the castle between servants, serfs and slaves. Serfs were considered to be the luckiest ones. They lived outside the castle walls so they had much less contact with lord Hiei.
Servant and slaves did not get along. Servants looked down on the slaves as objects not worth their time while slaves viewed the servants as pretentious and hypocritical. As one kitchen-slave so blithely stated, "Just 'cuz dey git a couple o coppers a month fer their contracted work (and mind ya, contracted means forced in this 'ere house!) dey think they're better than the rest o we!"
Never a day passed without a slave ordered about by a servant retorting that they're not some sort of noble. The servant would reply that at least they owned their own bodies to which the slave would reply with the point that slaves outnumbered servants by at least a hundred to one. Said servant would retort that it was because no one wanted to work for a crabby lord. On a few such occasions Hiei was within earshot and the offending servant was severely punished for their 'insubordination'.
Miya quickly learned what to say, when to say it and to whom it should be said. Quite a few servants got an earful and a few landed bruises from the fiery haired slave with a temper to match. And after seeing the fighter's first three weeks of practice, no servant in their right mind wanted to encourage confrontation.
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Ryoutou and Miya bowed and went their separate ways after their practice. She made a beeline for the bath-house. She may be disguised as a boy but she was still a girl and this girl wanted…needed a bath.
She hauled the wood herself, waving off the slaves that left their lunch and ran to help. She piled a good amount under the huroba and pumped the water. It was almost amusing to see this mix of modern water system and ancient bathroom combined.
Very few people used the bath: only the fighters and servants, occasionally Hiei and even more rarely a visiting lord. The house hierarchy (the people at the castle who weren't slaves or servants) each had their own bathroom attached to their bedroom and most slaves bathed in the river or the slaves' bathroom on the other side of the house.
Thankfully at that time of the day the bath was deserted. She stripped off her clothes and, checking to make sure no one saw her, stepped into the semi-modern shower stall in the far corner of the huroba. Quickly she showered and washed her hair and then settled down to soak in the pool-like bath. Relishing every moment she lowered herself into the boiling water. Her kitsune skin could easily handle the temperature. She closed her eyes and sank down until water was up to her chin.
"Having fun?" Her eyes shot open to see Hiei looking down at her. She gasped in shock and stiffened when Hiei ran his fingers through her wet hair. He knelt at the side of the bath, fully dressed.
"My Lord! I was not aware that you were here." Hiei chuckled.
"No I wasn't watching you, I just came. That was what you wanted to ask wasn't it?"
"Yes sir." This is not how I wanted to test the true strength of my illusion! Miya didn't struggle, knowing that would make him angry. Obviously this was one of his better days. So far this was the only time she remembered him touching her and she wasn't in pain. Her body remained stiff, hoping he would hurry and go away. He didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
Hiei stroked her hair rhythmically, smiling at the kitsune's obvious distress. She thinks I don't know everything that goes on in this house. This may work to my advantage. His fingers buried into her hair, grazing her scalp gently. That was the kitsune's only weak spot that he remembered. Her breath hissed as his fingers massaged her scalp.
"I believe I am overdue. I should have taken over your training two weeks ago, ne?" Miya nodded with a sinking feeling, unable to utter a word. Her discomfort amused him. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
"You've got no idea how much I would love to stay and play Kirai but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a rush." He ran his fingers through her hair one more time then rose with a sigh.
He snagged a bundle of clothes at his feet and walked over to the shower. Involuntarily her eyes followed him. As much as she tried she could just not tear her eyes away from him. Sternly she reminded herself that she was impersonating a boy but it did not help.
He slid out of his shirt and her eyes caressed every muscle. His back was covered with many scars and burns and Miya couldn't help but wonder where he got them. He was by far the strongest fighter she had ever come across, the only lord who was powerful enough to keep her for as long as he had, yet he had obviously faced someone much stronger.
As if he felt her gaze, he turned slightly and stared back. Instantly Miya occupied herself some extremely interesting, invisible and nonexistent thing in the water and as soon as she knew he had turned around again her eyes inadvertently moved back. Shock filled her as if she had suddenly been slapped.
Hiei stood with his back to her, completely naked. The scars that covered his whole body somehow seemed to add to his allure. He's gorgeous! her mind screamed, and the rest of her was inclined to agree. She mentally kicked herself and slid down in the water embarrassed.
She had forgotten that he was telepathic! She waited for a few moments to see if he had heard her. After a while he still hadn't reacted and Miya allowed herself to breath again. Obviously he hadn't heard. Or if he did, he chose to ignore it. She couldn't understand how this yokai's mind worked. One day he practically starved her and the next he acted like this, almost…who knew what he was acting like.
Her mind ever on guard, she watched him from the corner of her eye, taking in all of his well toned body. He showered, letting the warm water run freely over him for a while then, almost reluctantly, turned off the shower and began drying himself. Miya closed her eyes and pretended to ignore him as he got dressed. When she peeked out from under lowered eyelashes she could have sworn she saw…something under the bandana he always wore.
"Do you plan to stay there all day?" Startled, she realized he was talking to her.
"No sir."
"Good, hurry up and get out; I've got work for you to do." She nodded dumbly and he left.
As soon as she was sure he was gone she reached for the large towel she put at the edge of the bath. To her surprise her fingers closed on empty air. She looked around to find her towel six feet from the edge of the bath. Hiei! She knew for a fact that she hadn't put it there. Growling in her throat she slid out of the bath and reached for the towel.
She was swallowed in the large towel. She rubbed her skin until it turned a light shade of red and then went to dress herself. Startled she realized that her clothes were gone, replaced with a beautiful black tunic-like shirt with silver trim and pants to match.
What the heck is that lord up to?! He had left her no alternative. She couldn't put back on her fighting clothes because those were gone as well and the thought of running across the courtyard in a towel for all the palace workers to see was just preposterous. The others would never let her forget it and she could just picture the self satisfied smirk on Hiei's face, knowing he had thoroughly shamed her. No, the towel was not an option.
With a sigh she slipped into the clothes. By the time she was fully dressed the bath-house slaves had come and insisted they would clean up. Warily she walked out to the cobble-stone courtyard.
The place was in an uproar, everyone rushing about their different tasks. Miya was surprised people didn't collide. This was a heck-of-a lot more than the usual dinner scurry. Kore, one of the castle servants who actually got along with her now (after she had given him a very loud piece of her mind) caught sight of her in the rush and pulled her out.
"Only a foolish man plants himself in the way of an avalanche Kirai! The avalanche will merely keep moving and the man will be crushed to death. My grandfather told me that once."
She smiled.
"I looked pretty lost out there, didn't I?" He grinned back and nodded. "You called that madness out there an avalanche; it looks more like someone knocked off a beehive."
"You've only been here a month. The place always looks like this when a lord is coming or leaving. Do yourself a favor and go saddle Set-shou for me." She glared half-heartedly at him.
"Do myself a favor. Don't you mean do you a favor?"
"The stable is the only place not taken over with this madness." Miya didn't even have to think over his offer.
"Hunting, fighting or riding saddle?"
"Riding. Lord Hiei sent me to do it but that horse is just plain evil. Will bite or kick ya if he feels like it, which is all the time. He seems to like you though."
"Right!" She rushed off in the direction of the stable.
"Hey Set-shou, come on you evil creature from beyond, get your behind out here." The horse rolled its eyes and seemed to glare wickedly at her. She swung open the door and reached for the bridle but the evil horse sat down in the stall. "Oh for crying out loud!" She put her hand on the door and a twig grew out and from the twig grew a large rosy apple. Now she had his attention. "Well you greedy pig, if you want the apple you get your butt out here." Slowly he got up and came out. Miya broke the twig off and it kept just out of his reach. "Okay, you just stand there and behave and you get the apple." The horse obeyed. "You're not evil are you? You're just spoiled rotten." It behaved long enough for Miya to get it ready. She could easily control plants but she much preferred animals even though they tended to be a little more stubborn. She led the animal out to the courtyard. Unfortunately the moment Set-shou finished the apple he became restless again.
"Behave would you!" Miya whispered fiercely in his ear. "You think lord Hiei is gonna put up with any crap from you?" She knew he understood, somehow all animals did. The big horse quieted the moment he heard Hiei's name.
Activity in the courtyard had slowed some as dinner was being served but it was by no means quiet.
"You imbecile! What took you so long?" A servant grabbed Set-shou's reins from Miya. "Slaves are so stupid, can't do a single thing right and if they do manage to get the job right it takes them forever." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hiei coming from the front door. She had to bite her lip to keep from answering for that would certainly incur his wrath. Hiei smirked and she knew he had heard what the servant said and was waiting to see the response. She looked back at the lord and blinked innocently. Bite him! she silently commanded the horse behind her. She turned to a scream of pain and easily took back the reins as the servant clutched bloody fingers to his chest. Good Set-shou. The horse neighed happily and trotted in place.
She led him to the steps where Hiei was standing, chuckling in amusement. He said nothing to her as he took the reins.
"Lord Hiei!" A servant came running from inside. "The gift sir, for Lady Akurei's ceremony, what should I take sir?" Miya's body temperature dropped ten degrees. Lady Akurei! That's what this is about! Aw hell! I had forgotten!
Hiei saw the fighter's face pale and had to bite back a laugh.
"Tell me Kirai, what should I send to the lady on this her special day?"
"My-my lord … I think…well…a…a fur coat for the lady is always appropriate!" Hiei could no longer hold it in. He threw his head back and laughed, the sound carrying through the courtyard. Everyone stopped their rush to stare at them, none ever hearing the lord laugh before.
"Very well then Kirai, fur coat it is!"