"Obligation and Duty"
Chapter 20
.oO{I own Rei. And this story, and everyone else I said I did.}
#Goku instant-transmissions here# Wow! Check this out! 20 chapters!#Goku smiles#
#Author sighs# He's right! This is the longest running story I've ever written. Fanfiction and not. #Author pops open a confetti balloon#
*****
Rei was still pulling along a confused Hiei by the time they got to the bottom of the shrine steps, but he stopped her.
"Okay, what is this all about?"
"Ms. Tanekai from Akuza's old nursing home-the lady who let me borrow some clothes- called and asked me to babysit her kid and I need someone to come with me because I don't know what'll happen," Rei said so quickly that half her words sounded like a different language.
Hiei seemed to understand, though. "What makes you think I could help you?"
"I didn't. You just happened to be the only one home," Rei said nervously. .oO{Why was he acting this way? Maybe he doesn't like kids.}
Hiei nodded, albeit slowly, and let Rei lead him to Ms. Tanekai's house. Knocking on the door, Rei shivered a little when a cool autumn wind blew past. Ms. Tanekai opened the door and her eyes instantly rested on Hiei.
"Oh, Rei. Come on in. Was this your guest?" Ms. Tanekai asked as she led them inside. Ms. Tanekai's house was warm; not just temperature, but with an air of caring. Ms. Tanekai lived here with her two children because her husband had died only a year before.
"Yeah. Hiei, this is Ms. Tanekai. Ms. Tanekai, Hiei," Rei introduced. Hiei nodded his greeting and Ms. Tanekai gave a small wave.
"I'll go get Sachi. She should be ready. 3 year olds. Sachi insisted on packing her own clothes," Ms. Tanekai rolled her eyes. Rei smiled and set her bag on the table.
A few minutes later, Ms. Tanekai came down the hallway with a cute little girl. She only came up to above Rei's knee, but that only made her even more adorable.
"Here she is. Sachi, this is Rei. She's going to take care of you for a few days," Ms. Tanekai said to her little girl.
"Hello, Sachi. That's a pretty bag you have," Rei said, bending down and pointing at Sachi's pink backpack.
Sachi smiled, "Mommy bought it for me."
Ms. Tanekai smiled and took Rei to the kitchen.
"How in the world is your stomach so small?"
Rei blushed. "I dunno. It just happened."
Ms. Tanekai nodded and sighed, "I wish I was like that. But anyways, Thank you so much for doing this. I have to take Sachi's brother out of town for a game and we won't be back for a few days. You can take her to the park, movies, I don't care. I know you'll take good care of her."
Rei nodded, "Okay. There's your clothes you let me borrow. Thanks again."
They walked back to the living room to find Sachi and Hiei locked into a staring contest. Ms. Tanekai laughed, "Come on, Sachi. Don't do that."
Rei found it hard to keep in a giggle as she picked up the 'kiddie-bag' that Ms. Tanekai had made up for her.
"She's not on bottles or diapers anymore, but she is on sippie-cups and 'no-leak' underwear," Ms. Tanekai reminded as she stuck a few more things in the outside pockets. "Here's a hundred dollars. For babysitting her and if you go out somewhere."
"Thanks," Rei said. She was stuck carrying the 'kiddie-bag' so Rei turned to Hiei. "You get to babysit her until we get home."
Eyes wide, he asked, "Wha? Hey, come back." Rei was already walking out the door and Sachi latched onto Hiei's pantleg. He looked down at her cute, little smiling face and couldn't fight anymore.
.oO{Ohh.... Rei is so going to pay...} he thought as he picked Sachi up.
***
Rei slowed down when she got away from Ms. Tanekai's house and waited for Hiei and Sachi to catch up. Hiei pulled up beside her with Sachi on his back. He gave Rei a small glare and she smiled. Hiei wouldn't want to admit it, but he looked really good with a kid hanging onto him.
"Hiei-san, I'm cold," Sachi said in her quiet little voice. Hiei stopped and let her down. He just about took the 'kiddie-bag' away from Rei and made her carry Sachi but she wouldn't let him. With a growl, he picked Sachi back up and carried her on his hip like a mom would. Sachi snuggled close to him to stay warm and Rei turned away so Hiei wouldn't see her smile.
"Sachi, what do you want to do today? Do you want to go shopping?" Rei asked.
Sachi seemed to think for a moment, but she snuggled closer to Hiei and said, "No. I want to see your house."
Rei nodded as they walked past Rei's old school. Rei didn't so much as slow down, but Hiei did.
"You haven't gone to school for a while," he said absently.
Rei slowed down then to get into step with him. "Yeah, I know."
Just then a ~very~ annoying voice rang out from the playground, "Hey, Rei! I see you ditched the skirt!"
Rei looked down at her baggy jeans and layered shirts. "Yeah, seems I have, Leiko," she called back.
Leiko ran up to the gate and looked at Rei. "Is this your bitch?" she asked Hiei.
"Maybe, why don't you go back over there and find yours?" Hiei mumbled.
Leiko raised her eyebrow. "Is that your kid, too?"
"Leiko. Think for a second. She's more than 3 years old. I've only skipped school for 3 months," Rei rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I'll just go tell everyone, though," Leiko said with a flip of her hair.
Rei slowly nodded to herself as she and Hiei started walking again. "Well, that is going to be nice. There's going to be a huge rumor all over school..."
Hiei looked at her, "Why do you care? It would've been true anyways."
"But she'll say it was yours."
Hiei looked away with a look in his red eyes that Rei could not decipher. Sachi broke the odd silence by saying, "She was a jerk."
Rei laughed and said, "Very much so."
***
They arrived at Rei's house by 2 o'clock and Rei went and made one of her extra rooms ready for Sachi. It was right next to where Ishida's was. Rei sighed as she changed the sheet on the mattress and wondered how Yusuke was doing.
Sachi came in less than 2 seconds later holding Hiei's hand and leading him almost as Rei had.
"Can I have some juice?" Sachi asked.
"Sure. Hiei, help her get some," Rei smiled. She was being absolutely devillish to Hiei, and she didn't care. He gave her a small growl as Sachi lead him back out of the room. Rei laughed to herself as fluffed the pillow and threw it on the bed. Walking out of the room, she went to the kitchen. Sachi was on one of the spinning bar-stools and Hiei was sitting at the table.
"Did you get your juice?" Rei asked, opening the fridge door.
"Yup, but there's no more left," Sachi answered as Rei walked over to the answering machine. The red light was flashing so she pushed the play button.
'Rei, it's Botan. Yusuke woke up and we're all just hanging out. Uhhh... Yusuke said he probably won't come to your house for a few days because he's still tired, but Kurama will be back before 5:00. Later!'
Rei stood there for a second; dazed. .oO{It's just because he's tired. Not because I lost his kid. It can't be...} Regaining her consciousness she turned around and just about ran to her room. Falling onto the bed she started to cry.
A few minutes later she wiped her eyes. "Rei, you're such a loser. You don't know what the reason really was and yet you still bawl your eyes out," she growled to herself. Standing up, she went to her bathroom and threw water on her eyes.
"I hope that works," she sighed. Drying her eyes and looking into the mirror she silently wished she had some make-up to cover the puffiness. But what did she care? It was only Hiei and Sachi here.
Smiling, she walked back into the living room. Sachi was on the couch watching a movie with Hiei. Or better yet, Sachi was making Hiei watch the movie. She was still on his lap and Rei sat down on the couch beside them.
"Was Yusuke your boyfriend?" Sachi asked as she got off Hiei's lap. Rei looked at Sachi, "Who told you that?"
"He didn't really tell me," Sachi shrugged as she looked at Hiei. Rei glared at him and muttered, "Hiei, I'm going to kill you."
"You always say that, but you haven't done it yet," he sighed. Rei got up and plopped herself down on his lap.
"No, not yet," she growled into his ear. Sachi giggled and asked, "So Hiei's your boyfriend?"
Rei blushed and said, "No. Just a friend." Hiei looked into her eyes, but Rei had to look away. He was so familiar. Through those 6 months and even when he was away, he always seemed very close. What was it with Hiei that made her feel this way?
Rei quickly got off Hiei's lap and walked to the kitchen. She touched her stomach and shook her head. There was no way. Opening the refridgerator, Rei heard the kitchen door open and Sachi walking over to her.
"Can I have something to eat?" Sachi asked, pushing out her lip so that Rei wouldn't argue.
"Of course you can. You don't have to beg," Rei smiled. She picked Sachi up and set her on one of the spinning stools.
"Well, you didn't look like you were having fun," Sachi said. Even though she had said it as a child, she sounded like a sage old woman. It make Rei stop for a second. She turned back to the fridge with a smile threatening to show on her lips so she asked, "Is a sandwhich alright?"
Sachi nodded so Rei brought out the sour pickles, balogna, Swiss cheese and mustard out. Sachi helped her put it together and less than a minute later Sachi walked back to the living room with her plate in hand.
"Ahhggg... Why am I so confused?" Rei sighed as she leaned against the wall. Sliding down to the floor she thought, .oO{I don't know anything anymore... I wish I had all the answers, or atleast make life not so complicated.} The clock struck 3 and Rei decided to get off the floor. Maybe she should clean to get her mind off things. Rei walked through the living room again and Sachi was still hanging all over Hiei, even though she looked really tired. He gave her a 'help-me' look and Rei grinned evilly. Maybe she could kill him and get rid of her boredom.
Opening the door to her room, Rei looked around. .oO{Nothing in here for me to clean... What about the guys' rooms?}
Rei just about walked into their rooms to check, but she thought she better not. They didn't go snooping in her room, so she won't do it to them. She sat in her room for quite a while; cleaning.
.oO{Oh well, there's always the living room and bathrooms. And the clothes. I could wash and fold the rest of the clothes...} she thought to herself as she walked back through the living room. Hiei was dozing on the couch with Sachi asleep on his lap. Rei leaned against the kitchen doorframe and took in the scene. .oO{So cute. I wonder if Hiei was ever a big brother...?} Hiei's head shot up and he glared at her just as she thought that.
"What?" Rei held up her hands in surrender. "You shouldn't be glaring at me anyways. You were the one who read my thoughts," she glared back.
"Hn. Don't go prying into my life," he growled.
"I didn't. I just thought the frickin thing!" Rei growled back. Rei rolled her eyes and then said, "Or does that hit on a soft spot?"
Hiei's glare became all the more lethal and his growl deeper, "I said don't."
With a flip of her hair, Rei walked into the kitchen. The clock on the stove beeped to tell it was 4 o'clock as Rei grabbed herself an orange soda and walked into the laundry room. Grabbing the nearest basket, Rei sat down in it and started folding the clothes in the next basket over. She was sitting there for a good 45 minutes before Sachi came running in.
"What'cha doin'?" Sachi asked as she sat down in one of the empty baskets.
"Folding clothes," Rei answered without looking up.
"Is that so?" Kurama's voice asked from the doorway. Rei looked up and dropped the boxers she was folding. .oO{Just my luck; they had to be Kurama's.} Rei thought with a blush. Sachi let out a small giggle and Rei gave her an 'oh-stop-that' look. Sachi smiled an innocent little smile and hopped out of the basket. Picking it up and putting it over her head Kurama said, "There, go torment Hiei now."
Sachi giggled again and skipped from the room as Kurama sat down in another one of the empty baskets.
"Wow, this is actually comfier than I thought it would be," Kurama said. Rei nodded, but didn't look up. She had kinda just thrown his boxers into the basket and picked up some washcloths. Kurama looked at her for a moment before he leaned forward and lifted her chin with his forefinger.
"I take it you know Yusuke isn't coming over tonight?" he asked, running his finger along her cheek, right under her slightly puffy eyes. She nodded dumbly. She didn't know how to answer. But Kurama saved her any more embarrassment by asking, "What's that little girl doing here?"
"Oh, Sachi? Ms. Tanekai asked me to babysit her," Rei answered. Kurama nodded and watched her as she folded. Rei asked, "Is Botan coming back tonight?"
"No. She has to go back to Spirit World tonight to talk to Koenma."
Just then they heard a bunch of giggling and Sachi appeared at the door.
"Can I have something to eat?" she asked. Rei raised her eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you just eat an hour ago?"
Sachi nodded but said, "I'm thirsty."
"I can get it," Kurama volunteered and would've stood up if Sachi hadn't shook her head. Biting her lip, she grabbed Rei's hand and said, "I want her to."
Rei sighed and smiled at Kurama as she stood up. "Alright, let's get you something to 'eat'."
Sachi lead her into the kitchen, but stayed away from Hiei. Sachi stuck her tongue out at him and whispered to Rei, "He's cute, isn't he?"
Rei's eyes fluttered to Hiei and she watched him for a few seconds. He was laying on the couch with his eyes closed, but yet he seemed so alert. .oO{Yes, he is cute...} Rei answered Sachi's question in her mind. Shaking her head quickly to get rid of that thought, she opened the fridge door.
"Oh hmm... Nothing besides some sake, but you wouldn't be allowed to drink that," Rei mumbled. Sachi was twirling on the barstool, "Mommy drinks that a lot. But she won't let me."
"That's what I thought," Rei nodded. "How about I take you down to the grocery and you pick out some things you want to eat for these few days you're going to be with me?"
Sachi squealed and jumped off the stool. Rei sighed and shook her head as she pulled her jacket off the chair. .oO{Well, I know how to make kids happy. But what's up with Hiei?} Rei shook her head again.
"That doesn't always work," Hiei muttered as he grabbed a bottle of sake out of the fridge. Rei yelped; she hadn't heard him come in.
"What doesn't always work?" she asked.
"Shaking your head. And what about me?" he asked.
"You jerk! Would you stop reading my mind!" she yipped. He looked at her blankly and shrugged.
"Where are you going?"
"You can read my mind, why don't you know?" Rei shrugged back as she slung her purse over her shoulder.
"You still didn't answer my first question, either."
"I don't have to," she scowled. Kurama came in and looked back and forth between them.
"Oooohhkkayyy... Maybe I should go back in there," he mumbled to himself.
"No. I'm taking Sachi to the grocery right now. Just make sure you aren't thinking anything around this one," Rei pointed behind her at Hiei. Kurama nodded in silent agreement and Hiei must've glared at him too because Kurama looked like he was having a hard time not laughing.
"Actually, I came in to ask you if I could go with you," Kurama said.
Rei nodded, "Sure," and walked out of the room to find Sachi. Kurama followed her and Rei helped Sachi get her coat on.
Hiei came out of the kitchen and Sachi made a face at him, but when Rei turned around he wasn't even looking at them. Sachi giggled and Rei rolled her eyes. .oO{Dude, I'm tired of not catching things. And what's gotten into Hiei? Is it because there's a kid here?}
Rei picked Sachi up and straddled her on her hip. Kurama opened the door and they walked outside. Rei breathed in; the cold air stinging her lungs. They walked down the shrine steps, but Rei still could not shake the feeling that she should've stayed there.
Chapter 20
.oO{I own Rei. And this story, and everyone else I said I did.}
#Goku instant-transmissions here# Wow! Check this out! 20 chapters!#Goku smiles#
#Author sighs# He's right! This is the longest running story I've ever written. Fanfiction and not. #Author pops open a confetti balloon#
*****
Rei was still pulling along a confused Hiei by the time they got to the bottom of the shrine steps, but he stopped her.
"Okay, what is this all about?"
"Ms. Tanekai from Akuza's old nursing home-the lady who let me borrow some clothes- called and asked me to babysit her kid and I need someone to come with me because I don't know what'll happen," Rei said so quickly that half her words sounded like a different language.
Hiei seemed to understand, though. "What makes you think I could help you?"
"I didn't. You just happened to be the only one home," Rei said nervously. .oO{Why was he acting this way? Maybe he doesn't like kids.}
Hiei nodded, albeit slowly, and let Rei lead him to Ms. Tanekai's house. Knocking on the door, Rei shivered a little when a cool autumn wind blew past. Ms. Tanekai opened the door and her eyes instantly rested on Hiei.
"Oh, Rei. Come on in. Was this your guest?" Ms. Tanekai asked as she led them inside. Ms. Tanekai's house was warm; not just temperature, but with an air of caring. Ms. Tanekai lived here with her two children because her husband had died only a year before.
"Yeah. Hiei, this is Ms. Tanekai. Ms. Tanekai, Hiei," Rei introduced. Hiei nodded his greeting and Ms. Tanekai gave a small wave.
"I'll go get Sachi. She should be ready. 3 year olds. Sachi insisted on packing her own clothes," Ms. Tanekai rolled her eyes. Rei smiled and set her bag on the table.
A few minutes later, Ms. Tanekai came down the hallway with a cute little girl. She only came up to above Rei's knee, but that only made her even more adorable.
"Here she is. Sachi, this is Rei. She's going to take care of you for a few days," Ms. Tanekai said to her little girl.
"Hello, Sachi. That's a pretty bag you have," Rei said, bending down and pointing at Sachi's pink backpack.
Sachi smiled, "Mommy bought it for me."
Ms. Tanekai smiled and took Rei to the kitchen.
"How in the world is your stomach so small?"
Rei blushed. "I dunno. It just happened."
Ms. Tanekai nodded and sighed, "I wish I was like that. But anyways, Thank you so much for doing this. I have to take Sachi's brother out of town for a game and we won't be back for a few days. You can take her to the park, movies, I don't care. I know you'll take good care of her."
Rei nodded, "Okay. There's your clothes you let me borrow. Thanks again."
They walked back to the living room to find Sachi and Hiei locked into a staring contest. Ms. Tanekai laughed, "Come on, Sachi. Don't do that."
Rei found it hard to keep in a giggle as she picked up the 'kiddie-bag' that Ms. Tanekai had made up for her.
"She's not on bottles or diapers anymore, but she is on sippie-cups and 'no-leak' underwear," Ms. Tanekai reminded as she stuck a few more things in the outside pockets. "Here's a hundred dollars. For babysitting her and if you go out somewhere."
"Thanks," Rei said. She was stuck carrying the 'kiddie-bag' so Rei turned to Hiei. "You get to babysit her until we get home."
Eyes wide, he asked, "Wha? Hey, come back." Rei was already walking out the door and Sachi latched onto Hiei's pantleg. He looked down at her cute, little smiling face and couldn't fight anymore.
.oO{Ohh.... Rei is so going to pay...} he thought as he picked Sachi up.
***
Rei slowed down when she got away from Ms. Tanekai's house and waited for Hiei and Sachi to catch up. Hiei pulled up beside her with Sachi on his back. He gave Rei a small glare and she smiled. Hiei wouldn't want to admit it, but he looked really good with a kid hanging onto him.
"Hiei-san, I'm cold," Sachi said in her quiet little voice. Hiei stopped and let her down. He just about took the 'kiddie-bag' away from Rei and made her carry Sachi but she wouldn't let him. With a growl, he picked Sachi back up and carried her on his hip like a mom would. Sachi snuggled close to him to stay warm and Rei turned away so Hiei wouldn't see her smile.
"Sachi, what do you want to do today? Do you want to go shopping?" Rei asked.
Sachi seemed to think for a moment, but she snuggled closer to Hiei and said, "No. I want to see your house."
Rei nodded as they walked past Rei's old school. Rei didn't so much as slow down, but Hiei did.
"You haven't gone to school for a while," he said absently.
Rei slowed down then to get into step with him. "Yeah, I know."
Just then a ~very~ annoying voice rang out from the playground, "Hey, Rei! I see you ditched the skirt!"
Rei looked down at her baggy jeans and layered shirts. "Yeah, seems I have, Leiko," she called back.
Leiko ran up to the gate and looked at Rei. "Is this your bitch?" she asked Hiei.
"Maybe, why don't you go back over there and find yours?" Hiei mumbled.
Leiko raised her eyebrow. "Is that your kid, too?"
"Leiko. Think for a second. She's more than 3 years old. I've only skipped school for 3 months," Rei rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I'll just go tell everyone, though," Leiko said with a flip of her hair.
Rei slowly nodded to herself as she and Hiei started walking again. "Well, that is going to be nice. There's going to be a huge rumor all over school..."
Hiei looked at her, "Why do you care? It would've been true anyways."
"But she'll say it was yours."
Hiei looked away with a look in his red eyes that Rei could not decipher. Sachi broke the odd silence by saying, "She was a jerk."
Rei laughed and said, "Very much so."
***
They arrived at Rei's house by 2 o'clock and Rei went and made one of her extra rooms ready for Sachi. It was right next to where Ishida's was. Rei sighed as she changed the sheet on the mattress and wondered how Yusuke was doing.
Sachi came in less than 2 seconds later holding Hiei's hand and leading him almost as Rei had.
"Can I have some juice?" Sachi asked.
"Sure. Hiei, help her get some," Rei smiled. She was being absolutely devillish to Hiei, and she didn't care. He gave her a small growl as Sachi lead him back out of the room. Rei laughed to herself as fluffed the pillow and threw it on the bed. Walking out of the room, she went to the kitchen. Sachi was on one of the spinning bar-stools and Hiei was sitting at the table.
"Did you get your juice?" Rei asked, opening the fridge door.
"Yup, but there's no more left," Sachi answered as Rei walked over to the answering machine. The red light was flashing so she pushed the play button.
'Rei, it's Botan. Yusuke woke up and we're all just hanging out. Uhhh... Yusuke said he probably won't come to your house for a few days because he's still tired, but Kurama will be back before 5:00. Later!'
Rei stood there for a second; dazed. .oO{It's just because he's tired. Not because I lost his kid. It can't be...} Regaining her consciousness she turned around and just about ran to her room. Falling onto the bed she started to cry.
A few minutes later she wiped her eyes. "Rei, you're such a loser. You don't know what the reason really was and yet you still bawl your eyes out," she growled to herself. Standing up, she went to her bathroom and threw water on her eyes.
"I hope that works," she sighed. Drying her eyes and looking into the mirror she silently wished she had some make-up to cover the puffiness. But what did she care? It was only Hiei and Sachi here.
Smiling, she walked back into the living room. Sachi was on the couch watching a movie with Hiei. Or better yet, Sachi was making Hiei watch the movie. She was still on his lap and Rei sat down on the couch beside them.
"Was Yusuke your boyfriend?" Sachi asked as she got off Hiei's lap. Rei looked at Sachi, "Who told you that?"
"He didn't really tell me," Sachi shrugged as she looked at Hiei. Rei glared at him and muttered, "Hiei, I'm going to kill you."
"You always say that, but you haven't done it yet," he sighed. Rei got up and plopped herself down on his lap.
"No, not yet," she growled into his ear. Sachi giggled and asked, "So Hiei's your boyfriend?"
Rei blushed and said, "No. Just a friend." Hiei looked into her eyes, but Rei had to look away. He was so familiar. Through those 6 months and even when he was away, he always seemed very close. What was it with Hiei that made her feel this way?
Rei quickly got off Hiei's lap and walked to the kitchen. She touched her stomach and shook her head. There was no way. Opening the refridgerator, Rei heard the kitchen door open and Sachi walking over to her.
"Can I have something to eat?" Sachi asked, pushing out her lip so that Rei wouldn't argue.
"Of course you can. You don't have to beg," Rei smiled. She picked Sachi up and set her on one of the spinning stools.
"Well, you didn't look like you were having fun," Sachi said. Even though she had said it as a child, she sounded like a sage old woman. It make Rei stop for a second. She turned back to the fridge with a smile threatening to show on her lips so she asked, "Is a sandwhich alright?"
Sachi nodded so Rei brought out the sour pickles, balogna, Swiss cheese and mustard out. Sachi helped her put it together and less than a minute later Sachi walked back to the living room with her plate in hand.
"Ahhggg... Why am I so confused?" Rei sighed as she leaned against the wall. Sliding down to the floor she thought, .oO{I don't know anything anymore... I wish I had all the answers, or atleast make life not so complicated.} The clock struck 3 and Rei decided to get off the floor. Maybe she should clean to get her mind off things. Rei walked through the living room again and Sachi was still hanging all over Hiei, even though she looked really tired. He gave her a 'help-me' look and Rei grinned evilly. Maybe she could kill him and get rid of her boredom.
Opening the door to her room, Rei looked around. .oO{Nothing in here for me to clean... What about the guys' rooms?}
Rei just about walked into their rooms to check, but she thought she better not. They didn't go snooping in her room, so she won't do it to them. She sat in her room for quite a while; cleaning.
.oO{Oh well, there's always the living room and bathrooms. And the clothes. I could wash and fold the rest of the clothes...} she thought to herself as she walked back through the living room. Hiei was dozing on the couch with Sachi asleep on his lap. Rei leaned against the kitchen doorframe and took in the scene. .oO{So cute. I wonder if Hiei was ever a big brother...?} Hiei's head shot up and he glared at her just as she thought that.
"What?" Rei held up her hands in surrender. "You shouldn't be glaring at me anyways. You were the one who read my thoughts," she glared back.
"Hn. Don't go prying into my life," he growled.
"I didn't. I just thought the frickin thing!" Rei growled back. Rei rolled her eyes and then said, "Or does that hit on a soft spot?"
Hiei's glare became all the more lethal and his growl deeper, "I said don't."
With a flip of her hair, Rei walked into the kitchen. The clock on the stove beeped to tell it was 4 o'clock as Rei grabbed herself an orange soda and walked into the laundry room. Grabbing the nearest basket, Rei sat down in it and started folding the clothes in the next basket over. She was sitting there for a good 45 minutes before Sachi came running in.
"What'cha doin'?" Sachi asked as she sat down in one of the empty baskets.
"Folding clothes," Rei answered without looking up.
"Is that so?" Kurama's voice asked from the doorway. Rei looked up and dropped the boxers she was folding. .oO{Just my luck; they had to be Kurama's.} Rei thought with a blush. Sachi let out a small giggle and Rei gave her an 'oh-stop-that' look. Sachi smiled an innocent little smile and hopped out of the basket. Picking it up and putting it over her head Kurama said, "There, go torment Hiei now."
Sachi giggled again and skipped from the room as Kurama sat down in another one of the empty baskets.
"Wow, this is actually comfier than I thought it would be," Kurama said. Rei nodded, but didn't look up. She had kinda just thrown his boxers into the basket and picked up some washcloths. Kurama looked at her for a moment before he leaned forward and lifted her chin with his forefinger.
"I take it you know Yusuke isn't coming over tonight?" he asked, running his finger along her cheek, right under her slightly puffy eyes. She nodded dumbly. She didn't know how to answer. But Kurama saved her any more embarrassment by asking, "What's that little girl doing here?"
"Oh, Sachi? Ms. Tanekai asked me to babysit her," Rei answered. Kurama nodded and watched her as she folded. Rei asked, "Is Botan coming back tonight?"
"No. She has to go back to Spirit World tonight to talk to Koenma."
Just then they heard a bunch of giggling and Sachi appeared at the door.
"Can I have something to eat?" she asked. Rei raised her eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you just eat an hour ago?"
Sachi nodded but said, "I'm thirsty."
"I can get it," Kurama volunteered and would've stood up if Sachi hadn't shook her head. Biting her lip, she grabbed Rei's hand and said, "I want her to."
Rei sighed and smiled at Kurama as she stood up. "Alright, let's get you something to 'eat'."
Sachi lead her into the kitchen, but stayed away from Hiei. Sachi stuck her tongue out at him and whispered to Rei, "He's cute, isn't he?"
Rei's eyes fluttered to Hiei and she watched him for a few seconds. He was laying on the couch with his eyes closed, but yet he seemed so alert. .oO{Yes, he is cute...} Rei answered Sachi's question in her mind. Shaking her head quickly to get rid of that thought, she opened the fridge door.
"Oh hmm... Nothing besides some sake, but you wouldn't be allowed to drink that," Rei mumbled. Sachi was twirling on the barstool, "Mommy drinks that a lot. But she won't let me."
"That's what I thought," Rei nodded. "How about I take you down to the grocery and you pick out some things you want to eat for these few days you're going to be with me?"
Sachi squealed and jumped off the stool. Rei sighed and shook her head as she pulled her jacket off the chair. .oO{Well, I know how to make kids happy. But what's up with Hiei?} Rei shook her head again.
"That doesn't always work," Hiei muttered as he grabbed a bottle of sake out of the fridge. Rei yelped; she hadn't heard him come in.
"What doesn't always work?" she asked.
"Shaking your head. And what about me?" he asked.
"You jerk! Would you stop reading my mind!" she yipped. He looked at her blankly and shrugged.
"Where are you going?"
"You can read my mind, why don't you know?" Rei shrugged back as she slung her purse over her shoulder.
"You still didn't answer my first question, either."
"I don't have to," she scowled. Kurama came in and looked back and forth between them.
"Oooohhkkayyy... Maybe I should go back in there," he mumbled to himself.
"No. I'm taking Sachi to the grocery right now. Just make sure you aren't thinking anything around this one," Rei pointed behind her at Hiei. Kurama nodded in silent agreement and Hiei must've glared at him too because Kurama looked like he was having a hard time not laughing.
"Actually, I came in to ask you if I could go with you," Kurama said.
Rei nodded, "Sure," and walked out of the room to find Sachi. Kurama followed her and Rei helped Sachi get her coat on.
Hiei came out of the kitchen and Sachi made a face at him, but when Rei turned around he wasn't even looking at them. Sachi giggled and Rei rolled her eyes. .oO{Dude, I'm tired of not catching things. And what's gotten into Hiei? Is it because there's a kid here?}
Rei picked Sachi up and straddled her on her hip. Kurama opened the door and they walked outside. Rei breathed in; the cold air stinging her lungs. They walked down the shrine steps, but Rei still could not shake the feeling that she should've stayed there.
