Morning Roses

Chapter Six: She's Your WHAT?

Disclaimer: If I owned YYH, world would go boom. (Grin)

A/N: I'm starting this the day after finishing the previous chapter…let's see how long it takes to finish.

.x.x.x.x.

"Good morning," Hiei spoke stoically, seated on the wooden trunk beside Botan's bed. Her eyes blinked blearily open.

"Uh…? Oh, g'm'rning Hiei…" she mumbled, pushing away her bangs with one hand and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Botan sat up and stretched, sighing contentedly. "What time is it?"

"Time to start our first 'lesson'."

She smiled at him. "Excellent."

There was a pause.

"Uh…Hiei?"

"Hn?"

Botan gestured at her trunk—which he was still sitting on. "I need to get dressed."

"Of course." He stood.

Another pause.

"Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"I can't get dressed until you leave the room."

"Of course."

.x.x.x.x.

Breakfast was late. Yoko didn't like when breakfast was late. Breakfast made him happy, and when he didn't have breakfast, he wasn't happy. And breakfast was currently taking its own sweet time getting to the table.

He turned and glared at the door to the dining hall, half hoping that cursing it with his stare would cause it to open and food to pour in. This naturally failed, and he decided that if the breakfast wouldn't come to him, he would have to revert to his demon roots and hunt it down himself. The lord pushed back his chair, scraping it on the flagstone floor and snagging the carpet. He attempted to quietly open the door to the corridor. It squeaked loudly. Demonically, he crept along the hallway; wincing each time his feet met the ice-cold rock. He yelped very shrilly when a spider dropped in front of him, before he viciously ripped it apart with his claws.

Suddenly, an eerie wailing noise drifted down the hall, quite evident to his sensitive ears. He froze, not happy that he had taken a route without any windows. It was dark: the torches were not yet lit in this part of the castle. Cautiously, trembling from the tips of his ears to the end of his tail, he crept down the dark, dank passageway. The noise grew louder, and he glanced fervently around, searching for the source of the ghostly cry. Yoko rounded a corner, heart pounding, just in time to see a white, ghostlike figure come running towards him at top speed. He screamed.

.x.x.x.x.

Hiei looked up from his plate on the kitchen table. "Did you hear that?"

Botan tilted her head. "Hear what?"

"That noise."

"What noise?"

"That scream."

She froze. "Is there a…you know…ghost, in this castle?"

"That was no ghost."

Her eyes widened. "Then what—?"

Hiei shrugged. "Probably Yoko."

"…Oh."

.x.x.x.x.

When Yoko finally identified the source of his absolute terror, he nearly broke down into tears.

"Mrow?"

Yes, it was his old arch-nemesis, the little white kitten.

He pried the cat's claws out of his leg and picked it up by the scruff of its neck, glaring at it. "You spawn of Satan. You evil incarnate. You are going in the fish well next time I catch you. Or maybe I'll tie you up in a sack and leave you in the middle of a wagon rut to get run over. Or perhaps I'll put something toxic in your milk, then happily gut you by hand as you twitch pathetically on the ground."

The cat stared cutely at him.

He glared angrily back.

It blinked.

He didn't.

It's stomach growled and it meowed pitifully.

"…Your breakfast is late, too?"

"Mrow."

"…Fine. Come with me. We'll get that pretty cook to feed us both." He put the cat down and started walking again.

"MROW!"

Sharp nails dug into his shoulder and the kitten made itself quite comfortable. Yoko glowered at it. "No. You walk." The lord pulled it off and once again placed it on the floor.

Once again it launched itself onto his shoulder and sat there, bright eyes staring straight ahead. He sighed and gave up. He was too hungry to even attempt to fight this battle.

.x.x.x.x.

Hearing voices within the kitchen, Yoko shushed the kitten and pressed his ear against the door.

"No, you can't stop! It won't stay creamy!"

"Like this?"

"Faster!"

"All right, all right! Want to switch places?"

"What, are you getting sore already? Honestly, I thought you'd have more endurance."

"…"

"Better?"

"Yes."

"But…hey! I'm doing all the work now!"

"Hn. It's your own fault for listening to me."

"Oh! Ouch! It burnt me!"

"Need me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Stop making fun of me! It really hurt!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Well? How does it taste?"

"Excellent."

The corner of his eye twitching, the lord threw open the door, fully intending to launch in on a tirade about relationships within the workplace when his jaw hit the floor.

Hiei whipped around, face bright pink…nearly the same shade as the ruffled apron that he had on.

Botan turned too, still stirring the pot of soup on top of the range. "Hello, Lord Yoko. Didn't you hear about the lessons?"

"Less…ons…?" he asked dumbly.

"Yes; I'm going to visit my family, so I'm teaching Hiei how to cook." She smiled sweetly at him.

The apron was quickly reduced to a smoldering pile of ash in the corner, but the blush didn't go away.

Yoko managed to close his mouth. "Ah…I…see…" The cat meowed sadly, reminding him of his hunger. He cleared his throat. "Breakfast. I need breakfast."

Botan tilted her head. "You didn't get my message?"

"What message?"

"You had to come here to get your breakfast this morning so that you could tell Hiei the particular way you like it cooked…I figured that you had just slept in."

He nearly burst into tears.

"Well, you're just in time for lunch!" Botan said optimistically.

"Lunch?" Shizuru entered with a basket of laundry. Hiei discreetly kicked the smoking pile of burnt fabric into a corner.

The kitten mewed happily.

"Finally, we agree on something," Yoko sighed at it.

.x.x.x.x.

Some time later that evening, Yoko was back listening at the door. This time, his companion was not feline, but Shizuru.

"What are they saying?" she whined. "They're too quiet!"

Yoko silently agreed, but put a finger to his lips to remind her of the need for silence, lest they be given away.

"…I…"

"…Haven't seen…"

"…Do they…anything?"

"…Know…"

"…Ideas, dear…?"

"None, sister…"

Shizuru and Yoko stared at each other for a second, before losing their balance and falling with a crash to the hard floor. Moments later the door was flung open by Hiei. Judging by his expression, they had 2.18294 seconds to live, and that was already past.

"How much did you hear?" he hissed.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Shizuru squeaked anxiously.

"Just that Botan's your sister!" Yoko squeaked at the same time.

They were dragged inside the kitchen and the doors slammed shut with a very final-sounding THUNK behind them.

.x.x.x.x.

We were young, and we were happy. That summer was fruitful and temperate, the crops grew green in the field, and we were happy. That was the important part: that we were happy. Life was wonderful and our parents loved us. The days were long and full of surprises. She was the adventurous one, always goading me into exploration and races. The smallest thing would make her smile. A butterfly landing on a flower, a fish jumping in a pond, a turtle coming out of its shell--all were miracles, beautiful and irreplaceable.

Then our whole world came crashing in around us.

The soldiers came like so many bugs, from our own country, pillaging and raiding. I suppose their summer guarding the border may have been rough, but our village was who paid in the end. And while my parents, neighbors, and friends were being slaughtered around me, my best friend and closest companion grabbed my hand and started running with me towards the forest.

The ground where we finally lay down was wet with my tears and blood.

When I awoke the next morning, she was gone.

I crawled to the hilltop, looking down on the smoldering plain. Everything I had ever known was gone, torn from my fingers in a few hellish hours.

And I didn't cry then. I was angry. Angry with the soldiers, angry with myself, but most of all, angry with the Lord of our country, who would allow such a thing to occur without raising a finger. No, I didn't cry then, but I vowed that this Lord who had taken my entire life away would suffer for it, and suffer by my hands.

By the time I managed to make it to the high-ranking position I now hold, the old Lord was dead and his son was my liege. I couldn't give up my hopes for vengeance, but this sincere fool of a leader was not responsible for my pain. I was at an impasse.

And then…she came back.

.x.x.x.x.

In the chaos of the soldier's attack, I grabbed his hand and ran for the refuge of the woods. We tripped and cried, I got scratched and beaten by wayward branches, but we pressed on. My foot caught in a thick tangle of roots and I crashed to the ground, unable to call out for Hiei to stop and wait. He was gone before long though, and I cried, curled up on the fallen leaves and moss of the forest floor. I must have slept, for my next memory is of daylight streaming through the trees and a kind, gentle old face above me.

The old man, Grandfather as I came to call him, took me in. We lived comfortably, but not easily, in a small house on the edge of the woods. When he died, I lived on in the house, tending the few animals and the stray cats that frequented the shed in the back.

But the money ran out, and I came here for a job.

And then…I saw him again.

Of course, we didn't realize it at first, because we hadn't seen each other in almost thirteen years. He didn't want to tell either of you, feeling it a betrayal that he had only come here to kill the previous Lord. I told him that we could skip telling the full story, but he insisted on absolute honesty.

So…here we are. In absolute honesty.

.x.x.x.x.

A/N: 3.5 hours. Lyk omgz. That's gotta be a new record for me. Enjoy! I'm updating twice in a weekend! Aren't you proud?