a/n – I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Fruits Basket
Midnight Meetings
"You should get some sleep." Hiei's words echoed in her thoughts.
Sleep. Right. She had been laying there staring at the ceiling for an hour now, and still repose eluded her. So much had happened today. Her mind kept wheeling over it all. She should stop obsessing. She could if she wanted to. If there was one thing she was good at, it was meditating. Clearing her mind and calming her body, after years of practice she could at least do that much.
She didn't really want to though, because while she could carefully school her waking thoughts, her dreams were something entirely different. He said 'get some sleep' as if it would make her perform better. What he didn't realize was that even if she did manage to drift off she wouldn't wake up refreshed; it'd be more like drained. And pained. She ruefully rubbed the sore spot on her neck left from last night's attempt at slumber.
She new there was no avoiding it. Eventually the land of nightmares would claim her, sleep would come, despite her ill will, but she wasn't about to rush in and embrace it.
Sighing and feeling a bit restless Hana rose up from the floor. The soft velvety lining of Hiei's cloak caressed her skin as she moved to check her own garments which hung from the hearth. Still wet, that was the problem with heavy material. It keeps you warm and dry up to a point but at the same time you might as well be wearing a sponge.
Seeking a distraction, her attention idly drifted to her belongings. She had been lucky. Apparently the material of her messenger bag stood the test of the torrent a little better than her clothes. She slid her fingertips over the array of her personal effects fanned out on the hearth. Odds and ends of varying importance lay strewn before her. Charms and trinkets which reminded her of her clan, and a wallet with her high school ID displayed in the window were there. Her eyes softened a bit as the little wallflower, which was set atop a book, began its jig. Picking it up, she allowed it to rest on the palm of her hand as her other hand wandered to the paperback which had been sitting below it.
'Midnight Meetings, by Sohma Shigure.' Now here was a suitable distraction. Setting the wallflower back down she clutched the half finished book. Her friend Tohru's roommate/landlord, Shigure was quickly becoming one of the denpa's favorite authors. All he wrote were cheesy romance novels, but there was something about his writing style that drew her in.
His novels reflected many aspects of himself. There were the more obvious points that even Tohru could identify as trademark Shigure, the always playful perverseness and an almost melodramatic sense of humor, but also present were aspects that less in tune people may or may not have picked up on. Below the surface Hana found a sense of angst that was rare amongst novels of this genre, of which she had read many.
Shigure's novels always ended appropriately, but that didn't mean happily ever after. It was as if a happy ending were beyond his reach, a curious vibe that she got from all of the Sohmas, though the more time they spent near Tohru the weaker it became. Tohru had a way of bringing light into gloomy lives.
Leafing through the book as she sat at the low table Hana came across a photograph of her and her friends. The shot was taken on the school lawn during lunch hour and was off-center due to Yuki's possessive fan club pouncing on the photographer. She felt a tinge of pain in her chest as she remembered that sunny day. Life had been so much simpler then. Though she had chosen a blank stare for the camera, she was actually happy. She felt like she belonged there with Tohru smiling brightly, Uo grinning as she gave Kyo bunny ears and Yuki pretending not to see the hoard of girls stalking him. Her life with her friends had been peaceful in its own deliciously chaotic way.
And now, for the time being, it was gone. Setting the book and picture down Hana crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on them. So much had changed. It had taken so long to get to that point. To the point were she looked forward to life, to school, and to friends. She was here to protect that, to protect them, to guard her happiness, and to justify herself. To prove that she was the way she was for a reason.
She had always been the weird one, the feared one, and she would finally put it to good use, protecting the only ones that didn't make her feel that way. But still…she turned her head to the side studying the picture…she missed that. She missed that place and the feeling that came with it. Now her place was here, and she wondered if she would ever have that feeling again.
It had been three hours since he left her. The first thing he did was check in on his twin sister Yukina, which he did, as always, from the sanctity of the tree tops, using his jagan eye to search her out. It had always been a habit of his to look in on her each night while she slept, so she that wouldn't notice his concern.
Normally he would find her at Genkai's Temple, but tonight was an exception. She and Genkai had journeyed into town for supplies and he found them staying with Yukimura Keiko. He inwardly grumbled when he noticed that Botan was there as well. The loudmouthed ferry girl new his secret and, though he'd threatened her before, he wasn't entirely sure that he could trust her to keep it.
Even if he could tell Yukina that her long lost brother had been right under her nose for so many years, he wasn't entirely sure that he'd confess. The last thing the young ice apparition needed was a guy like him for a brother. Strange, how twins could be so different. Yukina was an optimist through and through. He was realist. She had been a blessing to those fortunate enough to meet her, especially himself, while he had been a curse to his people. She was sweet, nice, naïve and innocent. He was not.
He held his palms toward him, staring at them as he flashed from branch to branch en route to his next destination. How many had he killed in the name of revenge, or power, or more recently…justice? Ten or ten million, it didn't matter, she was better off not knowing.
Coming to a halt outside Keiko's window, Hiei put on his grumpiest aura knowing it would give the bubbly ferry girl chills. He smirked as she glanced out the window as if she'd seen a ghost. It was the simple things in life that gave him pleasure.
Botan excused herself and headed downstairs. 'What does mister party pooper grumpy pants want now?' she wondered as she ventured outside immediately wishing she had grabbed some sleeves as the breeze blew across her goose bumps.
'Oh no! I hope he wasn't listening to my thoughts just now.' The blue haired girl looked around. Taking a step backwards, she went rigid as her back came into contact with something solid and warm.
Plastering on her trademark super big smile, Botan turned to meet the visitor's gaze.
"Hiei, what are you doing here?"
"Are you enjoying yourself ferry girl? Doing a lot of talking perhaps?" He interrogated the suspect, reminding her of where she stood.
She bristled a bit, becoming a little defensive. Her smile tightened a little but she managed to keep it in place. "Yes, I was enjoying myself, thank you for asking. I do love talking…" Her eyes widened as she realized what he was getting at. 'So that's what this is about.'
She straightened her body performing her best military style salute. "…and don't worry sir, your secret is safe with me." Her voice softened a bit, and her eyes wavered with concern. "But seriously, you really should tell her, you know."
He hated that look. It was strange to him. He wasn't sure he'd ever be used to having 'friends', and he honestly never imagined that she would be one of them. Something told him that she wouldn't give this up though. He began to feel queasy as she continued.
"Yukina is a very understanding person; I think she'd be thrilled to know the truth. I mean, your past is no secret and she accepts you now. I seriously doubt that finding out your related would lower her…"
Hiei cut her off. I was time to stop this. "That's my decision to make, no one else's."
"But shouldn't she have a say?" She could tell she was pressing her luck on this one, but was determined to continue.
"No."
"I mean…"
"No. Shouldn't you be working right now?" The koorime glared at her, changing the subject.
"Huh?"
He rolled his eyes not bothering to hide his annoyance. "Back in Koenma's office when he was sticking me with this ridiculous mission I said, 'What about that blue-haired bimbo? The ningen seem to like her,' and Koenma replied, 'This is a very busy time of year in the spirit world; I'll need Botan's services here'. Effectively implying that you have work to do." He was clearly peeved.
She giggled nervously avoiding his eyes. "I'm uh…multi-tasking?" She met his eyes again, weighing the severity of his scowl. He wasn't buying it, time to shift the focus. "What about you? I don't see any badass denpa's around. Shouldn't you be working?"
"No, unlike you, I've finished my duties." He was sick of this. It was time to leave, and noting Botan's speechless response, that's exactly what he did.
"How did it go?" Kurama looked up from his computer screen as Hiei entered his room through the window.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Did you find the denpa?"
"Hn"
"…and?"
"I told her to get some sleep."
"I see…" Kurama smiled knowingly. His comrade had probably ordered the poor girl to go to sleep. "…and she listened?"
Hiei raised an eyebrow then lowered it as he closed his eyes. A glow akin to that of the computer screen shown out into the dark room from behind Hiei's white headband. It was soon gone and Hiei met Kurama's gaze.
"Women are a pain in the ass."
Kurama chuckled lightly, "Now that's not entirely true."
"You would say that." Hiei scoffed. "All those human women constantly swarming and swooning around you and you actually choose to go to school. It's disgusting."
"You're right. For the most part it is disgusting, and you know that's not why I enrolled for senior year. It's to keep my mother from worrying any more than necessary. You of all people should understand my desire to protect my family from the truth." Kurama said rising from his desk.
They exchanged solemn looks and Kurama sensed the need to lighten the subject. "At any rate don't knock it until you've tried it. When was the last time you made a girl swoon? Be honest now." He questioned.
Hiei only mumbled something nearly inaudible about disgusting pains and stabbing out his jagan if that day ever came.
Kurama sighed as walked he toward his window, same old Hiei. He glanced over his shoulder toward his reluctant friend, mirth playing in his emerald eyes. "You know, if you can find the right girl it's really not all that bad." He turned back to his flowers which were growing in a planter near the open windowpane.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable Hiei turned his gaze toward the computer. Kurama had been typing a report, but not for school.
"How'd the recognizance go?" Hiei asked skimming his eyes over the screen.
"Good and bad and there were a few things that I'm still analyzing."
"That was the straightest answer I've gotten all day." The fire demon looked up as the red head picked a large funnel shaped flower from the greenery and turned to face him.
"The good news is that Uzgoth is definitely holed up somewhere. Probably hibernating or at the very least recuperating. He's undeniably strong, but still, breaking out of King Enma's dungeon was a difficult task for him. He'll need some time to recover."
"The bad news?" Hiei leaned against the wall as waited the fox's reply.
"Somebody's nourishing him back to health. There are a lot of rumors going around about missing persons, mostly young people about Yusuke's age. I suspect these humans have become victims of Uzgoth's henchman, probably as a food source."
Hiei folded his arms across his chest in thought. "But why humans, and why high schoolers? If they wanted their master to regain his strength quickly, demons would provide more nourishment. And if for some sick reason he did prefer humans, children would be easier to catch, and are rumored to taste better."
"It's true, I'm not quite sure yet, but I've come up with two theories. Either: (a) His minions are simply to weak to capture the stronger prey, like demons; or (b) it's an invitation. They're baiting us by selecting prey close to home. Three students have come from Yusuke's school and two from my own. They want us to rush in." Kurama had crushed the flower and was putting it into a simple box as he spoke.
As he made his way toward the exit, Hiei thought of Yusuke and Kuwabara. They would never walk away from a fight. "Fools probably will too."
"Here." Kurama tossed the box over his shoulder. "If she's still awake, mix that powder with hot tea and it will help her get to sleep. I'm sure she's got a lot on her mind." Kurama returned to his desk and with a resigned tone added, "Just like the rest of us. You know, it works on demons too."
Hiei effortlessly caught the article as he jumped out the window throwing his parting statement over his shoulder. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."
a/n- special thanks to everyone who gave me input on romance titles, especially SugarSorceress09 who came up with 'midnight meetings'.
Reviews are always helpful. Thanks for reading
