And now we get to see how our favorite young fox is doing after that little problem with septicemia. (That's blood poisoning!) But first, the reviews responses to my ever-faithful readers! —sparkle-sparkle—
Darkspirals: Here's your update, over easy, shug! And I'm glad I'm doing a decent job at getting the characters to interact!
Kitsune Kit: Ah, you must mean 'kaze', ne? One of my favorite words in the Japanese language. n,.,n
Magus784: Ohh, good! I was hoping you'd say yes! Excellent! The fanfic proceeds as planned! —evil chuckling— Anyway, getting Kohaku to go along really is much easier than having one of the youkai on the Team constantly (ahem!) hounding him—
Starling: That was terrible!
I know, I couldn't resist! n,.,n! Kohaku's opinion of math is pretty close to my own (I actually kinda liked Algebra, but anything beyond that and I tend to get a bit lost…) and as for Aislin's Jagan? Well, we'll see. ;P
Dolphingirl32173: —blushes— Thank you very much! And I like your stories, too!
Silverwing013: Yeah, the anime and manga don't really give her a chance to show a whole lot of personality, what with her being sick for most of her appearance and all. I thought I'd fix that!
Asilin Kheldarson: Self promoting? Why, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about! —bats eyelashes in innocent manner—
Obsidian: —trying to wriggle loose— Err, what does she mean, 'for the night'? She's not talking about what I think she's talking about, is she?'?
Shiku: Boy, you have been outta the loop, ain'tcha?
Shadowkitsuneonna: Maybe you'll get a chance to enter my next contest, whenever and if I have another one. Like I told Magus about Aislin's Jagan, you'll have to wait and see. And yes, Hiei can do that with his Eye, but it's fairly limited so he doesn't get as many chances to use the technique as he'd like. It works best on humans and low-class youkai, as demonstrated in Hiei's debut at the start of the YYH series.
—————————————————————————————
Obsidian wakes to the sound of quiet voices, one the familiar dry tones of Jaganshi-san, the other voice rough as a crow's but undeniably female. Since neither are speaking directly of him, the young renard takes a moment to study his surroundings from his obviously-prone position.
Polished wood forms the ceiling, a relatively uniform warm red-brown shining in the…late afternoon sunlight. That sunlight also pours across white-washed walls and a floor that matches the ceiling. A tilt of his head brings an almost-new futon into his sight, the pine-green quilt pulled up to the middle of his chest. Instead of either his school uniform or his demonic clothes, Obsidian finds himself dressed in an oversized long-sleeved grey shirt and loose black sweats. He briefly wonders who changed him—and by the scent of soap and shampoo, washed him—as well as where the hell he is.
There is the sound of a door sliding open and almost-silent footsteps on the wooden floor. Obsidian opens lethargic eyes again to gaze up at one of the smallest elderly women he has ever seen. If she's even Aislin's height he'd eat a slug youkai raw. Her faded pink hair is allowed to tumble in subtle waves down around her shoulders; her eyes, when he reaches them, are a no-nonsense light brown framed with the lines of age.
He gives a slow blink while she studies him, apparently coming to some decision. What that is, he doesn't get to find out, because she simply nods and leaves again without saying a word. A moment later a very pretty girl who probably stands about 4' 8" pads in with her hands full of a tray. Appetizing scents waft from it, the fox finding the strength to sit up and inhale appreciatively.
"I'm glad you're awake," the girl says sweetly, her voice soft and reminding him nothing short of the religious choirs he'd heard in a European church during the earlier parts of his unorthodox education. Beautiful, entrancing, soothing. Even her scent is unobtrusive, lilies with the faintest hint of vanilla.
He watches while she puts the tray down—noting the bowl full of thick stew—to put a hand to his forehead along with one on his left bicep. Her first smile was angelic. The smile she gives him now is bedazzling. "You've healed remarkably well even with your low reserves. I'm glad! Any friend of Hiei's is one worth helping."
"Thank you, angel," he replies humbly, ears drooping bashfully. He'd called Zephyr 'angel' to tease; with this maiden he means it. This girl with hair the color of a honeydew melon's heart and eyes the color of fresh wine is the closest he's seen to a celestial walking on mortal soil. If she is not an angel, then no one is.
She seems utterly unaware of the effect she's having on the muddled kitsune—though Kohaku would comment on his expression being that of someone who's been poleaxed, then whacked on the head a couple times with the thing. He submits to her every whim, letting her check eyes, throat, and temperature in utter silence. He does thank her with all the manners he can muster when she gives him the stew with the light-hearted remark that she doubts he needs help downing it. "Just try not to choke," is her cheery parting shot.
He follows her advice and eats the rich meal slowly, savoring every expertly-spiced bite with all the relish he'd shown Zephyr's sandwich concoction. His stomach growls impatiently, wanting him to eat faster, but Obsidian takes his time so feels pleasantly full instead of overstuffed by the time he scrapes the bowl clean.
That's when he hears the sound of feet thudding towards him. He has just enough time to set the empty bowl out of harm's way when a lithe body dressed in jeans flings herself at him, bowling him over onto his back with an 'oof'.
"Haru Shinkai Avalon! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Zephyr scolds, sitting up, grabbing the confused fox by the shoulders, and shaking him until his teeth rattle. "Do you hear me?"
"Hai, hai!" he manages. The silver-haired girl releases his shirt then throws her arms around him for another fierce hug.
"Stupid. I thought you were going to die."
"With Healers such as Yukina at hand," Hiei informs her dryly from the doorway, "that is rarely an option allowed us. Let the unlucky idiot go before you suffocate him."
Contrite, Zephyr loosens her hold and Obsidian makes a show of gasping for air, wicked humor shining in the backs of his eyes. His visitor lightly swats him on the shoulder with a frown, expression telling him that this is no laughing matter. "Aw, sorry, fallen angel," he apologizes, "but yanno, the friends I've got won't let me die for a very long time yet."
"If I'd let you the snowflake would've had my hide in the most painful way imaginable," the fire apparition agrees from the door. "Since the ningen wildcat isn't going to rend you to bits or strangle you, I am going to continue to discuss things with Genkai."
"Things?"
Hiei looks back over his shoulder as he walks out. "How long you're going to stay, of course. It's already been three days."
"EH?'?" Obsidian looks to Zephyr for confirmation to find her nodding her head solemnly.
"Three days. I've been worried sick and your fanclub's been frantic."
The kitsune chuckles weakly before a realization makes him freeze. "When you pounced on me—what did you call me?"
Challenge sparks in those cinnamon eyes while her spine suddenly goes ramrod straight. "I called you Haru Shinkai Avalon. I know very well that you're the one who rescued me before, the one those beasts called 'Avalon'. And I have met you before, just not while I'm awake!"
The gold-eyed male rubs his forehead. "Wait, wait, whoa. Back up. How'd you find out, and what the hells are you talking about? You're not making any sense."
A deep breath makes the fox wince; crap, he's in for it. "The day you passed out I saw a bandage on your arm in the same place that the fox who saved me got hurt, it was obviously infected like one would expect from those things, and when I tried to touch it you grabbed my hand and your eyes turned gold like Avalon's which is when I knew you were one in the same and I want to know why you didn't tell me!"
Meekly: "Finished yet?"
"Almost, I haven't explained what I was meant about being awake. For the past couple weeks, ever since I turned seventeen, I've been getting these weird flashes from someone else, someone who lived a long time ago. In them there is a boy who 'feels' just like you do in my head, of fox musk and treasure, who in the end of one of them is labeled as 'Avalon'. The rest of the time he's called 'winsome kit' and I keep getting called 'chibi-Yoko'. It's been driving me crazy; most of the time I get the nightmare and I wake up scared and crying because of something I can't understand!"
Forget about being poleaxed. Obsidian looks as though someone has just told him that every single shiny thing he could ever desire has been put into one giant room for his pleasure and handed him the only key. Now it is Zephyr being hugged tight as laughter burbles from her friend's throat, joy giving him the strength to rise and spin her around the room.
When the borrowed strength runs dry he flops back onto his futon with Zephyr still in his arms and a smile that only a man who's been allowed heaven can wear. "I found you!" he cries loud enough to bring an annoyed Genkai back into the room with Hiei right behind. "I found you I found you I found you! I knew I would!"
"What is he babbling about?" Genkai rasps to the fire apparition, affirming that she was the one he was talking to earlier.
Hiei shrugs indifferently. "The only person I can think of who'd get that kind of reaction out of him at the moment would be who he's been searching for. I mentioned it when you got here."
Genkai nods before turning back to the jubilant fox and his confused friend. "Stop making that racket, you young idiot! You'll only make yourself sick again with all that jumping around."
Obsidian doesn't care; he gives her that same ecstatic smile that won him so many friends in the Lair way back when. "But you don't understand! I found her with months to spare! Oh, I missed you so much, Ivory!" Zephyr finally manages to squirm free, panting and rumpled.
"What are you talking about, Haru?"
"Actually, my name's Obsidian," he corrects her gleefully, "as you'd know if you just had a few more memories, gojuusou-nakama!"
"Nani?'?" A well-aimed knee-cushion smacks into Obsidian's head, both teens turning to find an exasperated and annoyed elderly psychic giving them both a frighteningly intense Look.
"Will you cease this useless racket and explain things to those not in the know, you dimwit?"
——
"So far, the whole tale seems pretty preposterous," Genkai rasps as Zephyr gently slides the door shut behind the two females. Hiei, having already heard the tale, had not bothered to stick around long enough to hear more than the part involving the fortune-teller. The only reason the elderly psychic and the human girl aren't still listening to the story is because Obsidian has fallen asleep again after having worn himself out.
After all, within the last two weeks he has escaped from the Reikai Medium Security Wing, found a portal into the Human World, set up a persona as a human student, rescued a girl from a tree, battled lust youkai, and gotten blood poisoning. All with energy levels equivalent to that of Yusuke when the Spirit Detective had just returned from life the first time—next to nothing. Small wonder he tired quickly.
But the older woman adds reluctantly, "Still, there's you and he for proof enough. Damn, but I hate getting in the middle of politics."
A faint, cheery melody starts playing from the vicinity of Zephyr's pocket, the source being revealed as a stylish little cell-phone when the silver-haired girl pulls it out. "Moshimoshi? Hi, okaa-san. Yes, I was just over at a friend's house. Yes, I'll be home within the hour. Yes, mom. Okay. Okay, bye."
Zephyr sighs hard as she looks towards the ceiling in a gesture of asking for patience before bowing to Genkai. "I'm sorry, I have to go home. My mother is having hysterics about the thought of me out after dark. You'd think I was seven instead of seventeen."
"I'll let the dimwit in there know when he wakes up," is the gruff response. "Better hurry or you'll miss the last bus."
"Right. Thank you!"
"For what?" Genkai calls after her.
"For getting him to make sense!"
Practice at racing over landscape after renegade ghosts stands the budding psychic in good stead now as she sprints outside and bolts down the long flight of stairs to be swallowed by the dusk under the trees. Natural ability grants her vision enough to see her way around or over obstacles such as roots and low bushes in the deep forest. Carefully-built stamina leaves her breathing only a little harder when Zephyr reaches the bus stop just as that last bus pulls up, its door sliding open at her arrival.
Unbeknownst to her Hiei has been following her with his energy as firmly behind shields as he can get it; his respect for her has risen a notch or two during her headlong dash through the forest. Most demons he knows don't have the kind of stamina to run like that—of course, that's not counting anyone over a C-class strength.
And contrary to popular opinion, his morals have not degraded enough for him to allow a potentially-vulnerable being to go through 'his' territory without some form of escort. Although if anyone asks, he'll hide such soft-heartedness behind an excuse that he was contemplating a visit to Kohaku. Reputation still is everything.
Satisfied that the girl has come to no harm and can get herself safely home the rest of the way, Hiei returns to his comfortable tree and gazes up at the stars steadily becoming visible in the moonless sky. Dark-of-the-moon, his favorite time of the month.
By the end of the night, he'll be revising his opinion.
——
"Damn it! Would you freakin' stop already and lemme arrest your ass?" Yusuke yells at the fleeing figure before him, jumping rooftops with incredible ease. The only thing letting him and the others keep track of the runner is that long braid of dark silver flashing in the light of the streetlamps. The rest of the figure is clad in dappled grays that make it almost impossible for them to be seen. "Hiei, can't you do something?"
"Already tried, Detective," the fire apparition snarls back. "Damned bastard's so heavily shielded it would take a hundred Jagans to even catch a stray thought!"
Bright, burbling laughter just incites their temper further as the fugitive performs a graceful bound to land on the next roof. All of them had been roused—Kurama as well, though Aislin is absent—from their sleep somewhere around twenty minutes ago, with a long way until morning, by a frantic and furious Koenma who snapped at them all for being lazy sluggards when a youkai thief is robbing a nearby art museum.
So the Tantei had gathered in record time with Kohaku muttering complaints with Yusuke about the injustices of it all in time to start a tail-chase with a fleet silver-haired burglar. Orange light from the electric lamps sparkles off something clenched in one gloved hand—according to Koenma, a statuette of Inari in goddess form made from pure white jade.
"Come on, hunters," the fugitive laughs, voice betraying the thief as female, "can't you keep up? I'm barely breaking a sweat here."
"She's a fox, so help me," Hiei growls to Kurama. "All of you foxes are too damned alike!"
"Games, Games, that demons play, to pass the heavy time away," singsongs the vixen as she virtually dances her way across rooftops, "All is hung on what dice say, won or lost, come what may!"
"I'm going to kill her just to silence that babble!" Tapping into a deeper reserve of energy, Hiei puts on a fresh burst of speed and draws almost even with the vixen, his katana flashing with the lamplight. He barely stops himself in time when she takes a ninety-degree turn to the right, darting out of reach again. But what he'd seen has shaken him; one metallic eye in profile, emptier than a fallen empire's throne.
The chase continues until the business district ends, the fox skidding to a halt when she hits the final roof before a ten-story drop-off. She whirls around as the annoyed—and tired—Reikai Tantei catch up to circle around her. Hiei is up in front with a feral gleam to his cherry eyes.
"You've run outta room," Kuwabara pants, bent nearly double with his hands resting on his knees and a stitch trying to rip his side in two. Yusuke nods, face grim.
"He's gotta point, little thief. Now it's either give up or die." Hiei chooses that as a subtle clue to start edging forward. Then freezes as the face of their quarry is turned up to the light.
Like the Elves Westerners and Europeans talk about so wistfully, so are the delicate cheekbones, the narrow chin, and the broad forehead supposedly denoting large intelligence. Graceful, sweeping brows curve upwards over eyes that, if under sunlight instead of electric, would be a deep reddish-gold flecked with chips of ruby. That thick silver hair tumbles freely around her face as bangs, the rest caught back in that sinuous braid.
Her clothing is simple, the tight-fitting dappled grays of a night hunter crossed with gothic style. Limb-hugging leather pants with a silk shirt tied close around the arms with charcoal silk cord, snugged to her torso with a laced-up vest. Around her hips is the only real color in her costume: a crimson sash that holds a war-fan tucked into the top. Her feet are bare.
Kurama takes a disbelieving step forward, trying to reconcile what he sees now with what he knows. This is a face he hasn't seen for a century; only older, one he thought he'd never behold again. The vixen—for now her ears swivel on top of her head and a tail lashes at her legs—simply smiles that same empty smile that had so disturbed Hiei. And takes a step back so that she stands on the very edge.
"Don't you hunters know?" comes the gentle, cheerfully-admonishing question. "You cannot catch the misted Avalon." Her head tilts back, her body follows, sending her plummeting over the edge before anyone can stop her.
Hiei is first to reach the edge, staring downward at nothing. No body splattered to the sidewalk, no fleeing figure on the street below. Just regular little human specks and toy cars going about their business in the night. The fire apparition doesn't turn as Kurama comes alongside less than a thought-long later, but he has his own statement to make.
"Funny, fox. I was under the impression that the female Avalon was dead."
Kurama licks dry lips as he stares down. "Oddly enough, Hiei, so was I."
——
"I want to know what happened tonight." Oversized brown eye flick over to the crimson-maned male brooding silently over in a corner in a particularly Hiei-esque fashion. "And why are you sulking, Kurama?" A flash of dangerous amber eyes makes the child ruler gulp and forget bothering to ask again.
"The statuette was stolen by a previously-thought-dead thief by use-name of the misted Avalon." The two humans and the wolf are too tired from the chase to string together a comprehensive sentence and Kurama is obviously not safe to distract right now, so Hiei is tonight's—or rather this morning's—spokesman. "She disappeared without a trace off a ten-story drop-off. No scent, no energy trail. Nothing."
"Misted Avalon…misted Avalon…" Koenma taps on his desk and a small folder appears under his hand, courtesy of the new filing system-spell Aislin had cast on the thing last year for her own convenience. This way, the koorime wouldn't have to keep waiting for the child-prince to have Jorge the Ogre bring whatever files he needs. "Strange. Her soul was processed and sent to one of the purgatory-style punishment areas. She's supposed to still be there."
Another flash of amber eyes. "Purgatory-style punishment areas?" comes the deceptively gentle purr. Koenma shivers at this manifestation of the ruthless Yoko before answering.
"There's no actual punishment involved, seeing as how little time she'd actually been an active thief, just a little physical labor like what you'd find at some of the milder Shaolin temples. Carrying water, cleaning, gardening. According to the file the soul last labeled as the misted Avalon, aka Ivory Avalon, is not very old, a dozen lives at most. Those tend to have more lenient punishments because they are young and have had so little time to learn lasting lessons."
Satisfied, Kurama once more subsides into his brooding silence. Hiei rolls his eyes at the rather demonic personality shining through that human mask, albeit in understanding at how seeing someone he cared about and had thought dead walking around apparently alive and well could affect him.
"If there's nothing else for us to do, toddler, I have a case that I am to solve waiting for me back in the Ningenkai." Kohaku perks a bit but is unable to gather much energy at the poor hour. She can guess what he's actually going to do: make sure that Genkai hasn't killed the recovering Obsidian or that he hasn't killed himself by trying too much, too soon.
Koenma waves a hand in absent dismissal, already absorbed in his paperwork and the new, complicated puzzle that the reappearance of the misted Avalon has created. The three zombies shuffle out with a few groans or insensible complaints, Hiei stays long enough to poke Kurama and jerk his head silently towards the door. Then watches warily as the kitsune ghosts out, the kajihenge feeling sorry for anyone who crosses the fox's path any time soon.
Hiei has seen that look before. And there are usually bodies to be cleaned up after Kurama has worn it. Damn. Like the fire apparition really feels like handling damage control tonight.
A musical voice speaks up quietly just as Kurama passes the door, Hiei experiencing some relief that Aislin has arrived. If anyone can keep Yoko from ripping anyone or anything up, it's the snowflake. Feeling slightly better about the whole mess Hiei saunters out with his usual 'don't care, piss off' mask in place.
Only Aislin, alert and aware enough despite having her hands full with an emotionally unbalanced life-mate, sees some deeper, unnamable emotion swirling within those eyes the color of white Merlot. Her own jeweled eyes catch her soul-sib's, an unspoken message passing between them. They don't need words to understand each other.
Hiei gives her a nod that more resembles a salute before vanishing around a corner. Aislin allows her soul to plunge into that cold depth within herself that allows her to deal with things involving dear ones deceased—or thought to be—without unbalancing as well, as she wraps her arms around her beloved and teleports them to her cottage. Neither will be getting any more sleep tonight.
——
Zephyr wakes slowly with the last tatters of a delicious dream fading from her memory. Something about running, running how she has always yearned to, fast as the wind and just as tireless, in a race or some kind of game. She'd always had dreams like that, unlike the regressive visions she'd been getting since her birthday last month. They're old and dear friends, like other people's dreams of flying, a sense of freedom she won't feel by herself.
Feeling like the dream is a good omen for the day ahead, she goes through her morning ablutions, changes from her over-sized concert T-shirt (Three Doors Down, a present from a friend in America) into her school uniform, and leaves, calling a cheery goodbye to her mother as she grabs her lunch and books on her way out the door.
She never notices the white jade statuette peeking out from beneath the trailing edge of her sheet on the floor.
——
Obsidian has an equally pleasant awakening, reveling in the combination of weightless arms, silence broken only by birdsong, and the scent of early morning drifting in crisp waves through his cracked window. The fact that Hiei is watching him unblinkingly from the darkest corner does nothing to damp his good mood.
"Ohayou, Jaganshi-san," the kit manages to say, voice soft and rough from sleep. "I'm behaving myself, I promise."
"Hn. That's not what I'm worried about."
The remaining cobwebs burn away in a flood of adrenaline, the fox not liking the other's phrasing one little bit. "Meaning what, Jaganshi-san? What does worry you?"
"Dead people coming back to steal things out of my territory."
Maybe he's not awake enough yet, but that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. So Obsidian blurts the most intelligent thing that pops into his head. "Huh?"
"An Avalon stole a jade carving very early this morning."
"But I didn't…" The youngling trails off, seeing his unexpected ally shake his head grimly, the tranquility shattered beyond repair. Pondering the implications of that, he comes up with something impossible. "No. No way. It couldn't be."
"Even without her declaration of her name, your king's reaction is damning enough. The misted Avalon has been raiding."
Obsidian curls up underneath his blanket, pulling it up so that it wraps around his shoulders, and stares at the fire apparition with the sunlight pouring down on him from the window above. It gives him an angelic nimbus, an impression that this young fox is incapable of anything wicked. "That's not a funny joke, Hiei Jaganshi."
"You can ask the snowflake. I don't joke about death or my obligations."
The only way Hiei can describe the golden eyes peering out from behind rumpled bangs is 'lost'. "But…I watched her die in front of me…And even if she did reincarnate, only a reincarnation like Yoko-sama's would allow her to use anything from her life as Ivory."
"Her sentence and the ongoing punishment is listed in her soul-file. There can be no way, but there is."
"But…I don't…understand."
A heavy sigh as Hiei rises to his feet, face unreadable to the forlorn and confused kitsune cub huddled on the futon, but he offers no stinging retort or the like as he would to such a statement were it delivered by, say, Yusuke or the idiot. Instead, those eyes are uncharacteristically gentle and weary as a hand is run through the white-touched hair/fur. "Well, Avalon, that makes it unanimous."
Changing his mind, the fire apparition slumps back down as exhaustion creeps up on him. Last night was supposed to be his sleep-night for the week, but we all know how well that turned out. "Don't stress out too much," Hiei warns the startled Obsidian as he settles down for a nap against the wall, arm propping his katana against his shoulder. "Yukina would be upset. And don't overdo anything, either. It would annoy me to have her put you back together again."
For a few long moments there is silence that is broken by a very meek comment. "You smell alike, you know."
One garnet eye is cracked open, one ebony eyebrow lifts.
Encouraged in the fact he's not lying in pieces already, Obsidian ventures further. "You and Yukina. You smell alike."
"Do we?" The words are noncommittal, as is the tone.
Obsidian nods several times in childish exuberance. "You do. I mean, on the top you smell different and all. Yukina-dono smells like lilies and vanilla, that flavoring stuff Gre'ich useta put in his sugar cookies. And clean, like fresh snow and winter stuff. You smell…you smell like everything in summer and on winter nights. Furs, fire, really good kinds of wood like cedar. Amber, too. Metal. I dunno…don't know," the kit corrects himself, numerous grammar lessons at Aislin's knee reinforcing themselves, "but you two smell kinda like Aislin-sama and Yoko-sama. Like you could be home." That last is said bashfully, uncertainly, as though Obsidian truly does expect to be struck dead at such personal words.
What he gets is the moon suddenly declaring itself to be bleu cheese. Hiei opens both eyes and gives him a warm smile. "I think that's the first time someone so young has ever considered me as safe as 'home'. It's a pleasant change from being thought of nothing but a cold-blooded killer."
He can't help it. The sight of Obsidian's jaw hanging open on top of exhaustion undoes his usual masks, warm laughter bubbling from his chest to pour from his mouth, head flung back in open mirth. Yukina walks in on that comfortable scene, her own garnet eyes wide but pleased that the normally-stoic fire apparition is laughing so freely.
"Good morning, you two," she says sweetly, the laughter turning into a coughing fit from shock. Hiei hadn't even sensed her coming. "Are you all right, Hiei-san?"
"Fine," is the one word managed between coughs. Getting himself back under control, Hiei watches as Yukina soothes away all confusion by her mere presence alone while arranging Obsidian's breakfast in front of him. It's mostly Western-style dishes like eggs and pancakes, but there's a small bowl of miso as well as orange juice and a fruit the young fox doesn't recognize.
"What's this, Yukina-dono?" Obsidian asks, poking at it with his furry ears perked forward. The koorime maiden smiles at him as she replies.
"That's the Makai's version of an apple, Obsidian-kun." Hiei had filled her in on some things while the fox had been zoned out. Right now, she knows that he is a kitsune named Obsidian and that people are chasing him, so she must keep quiet about his identity. With no one able to enter Genkai's domain without those already on knowing, it has been deemed safe enough for him to relax in his real form in order to remove the tax on his energies maintaining that shift requires. "Kurama-san brought a sapling back during one of his visits and planted it here at the temple. It's a very sweet tree," she adds happily.
"Never saw one of these before. Most of the others weren't big on plant-food." But he picks it up and bites into it. Then starts making funny sucking sounds to keep the juice from escaping his mouth and running down his chin. Yukina giggles and goes over to Hiei, gone cross-eyed with the effort of not laughing at the easily-hurt cub busy with the luscious new food.
"It was nice to hear you laugh, Hiei-san," she tells the startled male quietly. "I hope I get to hear it more often." With that, she leaves to begin her morning chores, as Hiei gives in and roars with laughter at Obsidian, grinning while licking at the fruit and devouring it at the same time.
"You're not supposed to eat the core!"
"'M not?" Obsidian blinks at him in mid-bite. "'S good."
"Get a little farther into it and say that."
"Ack! Ick! Pfuhaw! Bitter!"
More laughter at the outraged expression, a deep green gem chiming to the floor by Hiei's side. "Stick to the outside, cub!"
"You bet! Inari, that's nasty!"
Genkai looks up from her tea at the unfamiliar sound drifting through the compound. "Who's laughing?" she asks Yukina as the maiden walks in with a fresh pot of tea. "I don't recognize it."
"It's Hiei," comes the merry reply, the garnet eyes dancing. "Obsidian actually got him to laugh. Isn't it wonderful? He has a very nice laugh, too."
"Huh. Well, I'll be."
The apple is already a pleasant memory, the black fox starting in on the known but rarely-eaten pancakes with enthusiasm. Hiei, exhaustion momentarily forgotten in this unexpected relaxation, watches as Obsidian digs in like the end of a seven-year famine. "Try adding that liquid over there on top of it, cub. I think it's 'boysenberry' flavor."
"Whazzit?" the young Avalon asks with his mouth full, sniffing at it before drizzling it on a corner of one pancake and nibbling. He answers his own question with a delighted, "'S good!"
"You'd think they never fed you at the Lair," Hiei comments mildly, rolling that rare green gem in his fingers.
"Gre'ich stuphed be do burthing," comes the food-muffled reply, then a hard swallow. "Don't feed us much in prison, though. What's this gooey stuff called, anyway?"
"Syrup." Hiei manages to hide the flash of anger from the matter-of-fact statement of mistreatment. A wicked smile then blooms at a particularly enticing thought. "I'll have to get you to try ice-cream. If you think this stuff's good, wait until you taste it."
"Ice-cream? Is it what it sounds like?" Obsidian blinks as that gem lands in reflexively-open hands, staring in wonder at the gift. "Is this mine?"
"Yes, it's what it sounds like, and yes, it's yours." Hiei makes himself comfortable again, letting his eyes drift shut. "Anyone who gets—yawn—me to laugh at all these days deserves the reward."
The young Avalon watches in awe as the ice-born fire youkai slowly drops into sleep, before tucking the jewel into the pocket-space just behind his ear and rising silently. Hiei doesn't even stir when the summer-weight blanket is draped over him, Obsidian taking his meal to the kitchen to finish it in order not to disturb the sleeper. A tiny smile curves the corners of the apparition's lips ever-so-slightly upward.
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Aw, Hiei, look! I'm getting you to show your bishie side again!
Hiei: Hn! I am not that soft, damn it! I am a cold-blooded kill…—is given puppy-dog eyes by Kohaku and Obsidian— —sigh— Nevermind…
Gojuusou-nakama: quintet-partner. Meant to translate into one of a 'litter' of five.
Moshimoshi: phone hello
Okaa-san: Mother (polite)
Reikai Tantei: Spirit Detectives
dono: a slightly higher degree of politeness than –san.