The Scar: Part Four

Hiei swiftly slashed the wind with his sword; he pivoted his left foot and attacked the wind again. It has been an hour or so since he started practicing, concentrating on every move and finding out his weak and strong points. He jumped from the ground and landed on one of branches of a nearby tree, he tried doing multiple slashing with his sword on his way.

"Hiei! Hiei!" He got distracted with Rei calling him. He frowned as his eyes looked for Rei.

"Hiei, where are you? It's time to eat!" He found her busily scanning the area opposite to where he was.

"I'll give you a minute! After that minute you have to be inside the house, the food is getting cold!" She shouted her last warning.

Hiei watched her walk towards the house and he smiled to himself. It has been six days since he first met Rei and in that six days, he somehow got comfortable with her. Which was weird because he never got comfortable with anyone. Maybe it was because no one got comfortable with him, until Rei came.

Rei's different in so many ways. He never got the usual treatment people give him with Rei. She never looked at him with disgust or suspicion. She totally trusts that he would never do anything harmful. And that's rare. He was so used to people treating him like a criminal. But not Rei, never Rei.

And so he forgot how to feel like a criminal, he loosened up. He stopped acting like someone's on his back all the time. And for the first time in his life he felt good being himself.

He jumped to the ground and walked back to the house. He was greeted by the smell of vegetable soup, rice and cooked meat. Rei and his lunch were waiting for him. He took his seat and he consciously smiled at Rei.

"You seem really fine now. You recovered pretty quickly, considering how badly wounded you were." Rei commented as they started eating. "You and your sword make a good pair. I wonder how I would be like with a sword on my hand. But I guess that wouldn't happen, 'cause I don't really like the idea." She shook her head as if literally dismissing the thought from her mind.

She amuses Hiei. Her constant chatter, her elaborate movements, her comic grin, the sparkle in her eyes, and her lust for life - it all amuses Hiei. Maybe because he never met anyone like her. How could someone be like that?

She never went through all the things I've been through. Hiei reasoned to himself. He was becoming fond of Rei, and he didn't mind. Somehow, she also made him stop guarding his emotions.

"Hmmm… What would you like for dinner?" Rei asked as she finished off her food.

Hiei frowned.

"What's your favorite dish? Maybe I could cook it for you." She asked again. "I can probably get all the ingredients by afternoon if you tell me now."

Hiei never actually paid attention to food that much. And he doesn't have a favorite dish. Hell, he doesn't even no what he eats most of the time! And here's Rei, asking his favorite so that she could cook it for him. Hiei felt weird.

"Oh, when will I get you to talk!" Rei threw her hands in frustration. It seems like every attempt she make to get Hiei talking is failing. She breathed deeply, "I guess I don't have the talent for making people talk." She hit her head playfully and rolled her eyes.

"I don't have any favorite food." Hiei said.

Rei looked bewildered as she heard Hiei talk more than five words.

"So, I guess you can cook whatever you feel like cooking. The food tastes good."

"Okay, stop! This is too much! Boy, I never imagined you could talk as many as that!" There was a look of total surprise in Rei's face.

Hiei looked, his expression a little uncertain. Then he smiled a little.

"Don't try to smile. Are you trying to smile? Stop! You're really something today! I was right that fresh air would do you good. This is way TOO much for me." She was full of enthusiasm, her eyes dancing and her mouth in a wide smile.

Hiei bit his lower lip, not wanting to smile like she said, but it failed because his eyes were already smiling. He felt good and he never felt good ever since he could remember. And it's all because of Rei.

She cleaned up after they ate while Hiei busied himself with his sword. He was quietly polishing it while hearing Rei hum her tunes. He silently thought about her. Even though he already feels comfortable around her, there was still something in her that's bothering him.

He never saw her bare hands; they were always covered with those gloves even when she was washing him with a towel every night before they retire for the evening. And he had noticed how she avoided any physical contact with him. There were plenty of times he thought that she would touch him to help him with something, but she always tried her darndest best not to let her skin touch his. And when he was still not able to move from his bruises, whenever she gets him dressed she would always be too careful not to touch a single centimeter of his body.

What's wrong with her hands? He wondered to himself. Were those the hands that murdered people? That burned people? His thoughts wandered on the rumors she told him about herself. He shook his head disbelievingly. It was hard to imagine Rei killing people. After all, it was her who told him not to cut any tree during his training this morning because it would cause those trees pain.

But come to think of it, he doesn't know Rei. All he knows was that she is a happy girl, contented with life and not asking for more - or that's what he thought she is.

He stopped wiping his sword as he could already see his reflection on its surface clearly. He put his rag aside and held his sword with his two hands, positioned to fight. He admired how it glimmered at the sun's rays.

"Hiei?" Rei called.

He looked up to see Rei walking towards him. On her hands were the black clothes he was wearing the day he got here. "I already stitched them, they were badly torn. Anyways, they're done - free of charge." She smiled at him. She placed them beside Hiei and sat in front of him, her eyes on the sword.

"Why were those guys chasing you?" She asked after a while, pertaining to the villagers who chased Hiei and got him there.

Hiei looked at her.

"It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it." She quickly added.

"It was just a fight. I killed someone important to them." Hiei answered briefly.

"Someone important to them? Like their parents?"

"No, not their parents. Someone they worship."

"Oh…" Rei looked down at the floor, silently picturing Hiei killing someone mercilessly. And for some reason, she just couldn't picture it. She observed Hiei; he doesn't look brutal to her. Sure, he was a lot reserved. But reserved and quiet are so different from ruthless and cruel.

"Did you start the fight?" She asked again.

"No."

"I thought so. You don't look like you can kill without a reason." She smiled at him.

Hiei looked down. He can't look at her in the eye after hearing her say that.

"You don't kill without a reason, right?" She tried to confirm.

Hiei didn't answer; instead he stood up and went outside. She knows so little about him and assumed that he was a nice guy. And Hiei couldn't bring himself to tell her about him and how cruel he could get. Maybe someday he could, but not now.

Indeed, he never met any one like her. Rei assumes the good in everyone, including him who lived a life of a villain. He would have liked to stay much longer. Sad though, he was planning to leave tomorrow morning, he has some things about his life he has to take care of.

Hiei stayed out all afternoon, not at all pleased with the idea of having to explain why he left so suddenly to Rei. He was just about to head for Rei's hut when he heard her screamed aloud from the back of the house.