Ch.4: Sharp Pointy Things
WritingWoman: Thanks to my reviewers! You all rock! Thanks AnonymousHieiFan101 for the compliments! Thanks jojogoodgirlgonebad2005 for YOUR compliments, and for putting my story in your favorites! Yeah, I know the speed limit I had them at was pretty stupid, but that's how I'd drive (assuming I had a car...lol) I guess all the policemen were having a donut break.
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Climbing out of the car, Hiei stared at the house. It was a gruesome looking building, with a room jutting out of the wall every now and again, with towers and obvious add-ons. He grimaced. The place was also painted in clashing colors, as if the owners didn't give a damn, and just painted it with whatever was handy. Mysa sighed.
"Home sweet home. Come on in, I won't be long. Just be very careful what you touch. Syrin has been winning some bets lately, and so my house isn't as safe as it once was. Glad I won the bet over the spring-loaded guillotine over the doorway. By the way, Syrin, I rigged that one."
"I KNEW IT!" Syrin cried.
"I'm sure you did." Mysa said in a condescending tone meant to put Syrin's teeth on edge. Hiei said nothing, and stopped right inside the door. Mysa turned to look at him. "You coming?"
"No."
"Suit yourself. Just don't touch the phone book. It bites anymore." She rolled her eyes at her best friend, who was doing the pee dance.
"Mysa, I really got to go!"
"You know where the bathroom is." Syrin groaned and hurried off. Soon, they heard a loud crash, but Mysa didn't pause on her way up to her room. "That's just Syrin fighting her way through the beer cans. I'll be right back." She went two steps before she realized that Hiei had given up his post at the door and was now following her. "What changed your mind?"
"There's a flood of freaks coming into your house."
"Are they deliberately missing the third green tile, second from the left?"
"Yes."
"Oh, then they're Family. No need to worry." He continued to follow her up to her room. Mysa shrugged and opened her door.
Instantly they were blinded by a brilliant light. She threw up an arm to protect her eyes, and started to swear colorfully. Feeling her way through the room, she made it to the opposite wall and closed the blinds.
Hiei thought he was in heaven, if such a place existed.
The walls were completely covered with katanas, samurai swords, daggers and knives. They were all of the finest craftsmanship he had ever seen, and there were so many you couldn't tell what the color of the wall was. Even the ceiling was coated with them. Looking closer, he saw that not only swords of the Japanese tradition hung on the walls; there were also European, Chinese, and multiple others. Either encrusted with jewels, or plain and serviceable, they were all in peak condition.
"Think fast!" Mysa said, whipping out a small throwing knife and throwing it at him. Hiei, though slightly off guard, still not only managed to dodge the knife, but catch it expertly and throw it back with deadly aim. Mysa narrowly escaped his toss, and caught the knife in it's sheath, then smiled at Hiei.
"Ah, so you do have skills. Good ones, too. You have my admiration." She made a small bow and went back to what she had been doing. Smacking a bed post, it popped open and she put the knife back in it's place. Hiei snarled at her compliment, and studied the room further.
It became quite clear that the woman was obsessed.
The bed was a canopy bed, but the posts were carved to look like katanas, and the words for war and blood had been painstakingly etched into the polished wood. The canopy itself showed steps to sword fighting techniques, and the floor of the room was littered with catalogs. He picked one up and looked at it. Filled with sharp pointy things, of course.
"Duck!" She shouted, and kicked her night stand. Hiei dropped to the floor as five nine inch long knives flew out of it and buried themselves to the hilt in the wall above him. "Sorry about that, but it's the only way the thing opens now. Syrin." She said, by way of explanation. Hiei got up off the floor, and went to sit in a chair off to the side, hopefully out of the way of anymore missiles. After rummaging through the drawer for a minute, Mysa pulled out two small boxes. She opened them, and took out the contents. One was a pocket knife the size of a fist. The other... was a pen.
"Aren't these just so cute?" She walked over and showed them to Hiei. "The pocket knife, the one shaped like the Grim Reaper, I bought for Botan, as a joke. The pen I bought because I just couldn't resist! See, when you twist it like this and pull, it becomes a decent knife, and it really does work as a pen too." She smiled at him again and tucked them into her jeans pocket, then she went over to one of her walls and considered the swords on them. Hiei joined her, out of curiosity more then anything else. She was silent for a moment, then she asked quietly,
"What type of attacks do you think we can expect? Subtle? Swift? Powerful? A combination?"
"Subtle and swift at first, more power later on." She nodded and took down a couple, then passed them to Hiei. "Hold these a minute, will you?" Normally, he would have refused, but instead he took a look at them. Mysa wandered away, studying her walls again.
The three swords he held were of beautiful craftsmanship. They slid out of their sheaths like silk, opening and closing without sound. These were serviceable blades, only lightly decorated. Because of the style, he could tell they were made by the same sword smith. All sheaths were mostly black, without even a token cross guard, and simple designs etched into the black in gold, silver and a metallic blue.
"...of course, I'll have to bring my newest baby along." Mysa said. Hiei realized that she'd been talking the whole time he had been busy studying her swords, but she had been talking in a quiet, soothing voice, as if to intentionally not intrude on his thoughts. He looked up to see her take an exquisite sword off the wall. The sheath and hilt were of the deepest red wood, highly polished, but so dark it only gleamed red in certain lights, and even then it looked blood red. Worked into the wood were intricate gold wire designs of enchanting beauty. To top it off, where the pommel should have been there was a hammered gold character he had never seen before. The symbol had small chimes attached to it by silk thread, which she carefully untied and put in the still open night stand drawer. Then she pulled out the blade.
It shone gloriously, nothing to mar it whatsoever, not even a fingerprint.
"And you see, this is what I meant about yours being dull." She ran her blade across her hand, using the exact same amount of pressure, but her blade bit much deeper, drew more blood. "Now, that hurts. See, the secret is–"
"MYSA!" Syrin called up the stairs. "SOME OF YOUR FAMILY ARE HERE, AND THEY WANT TO SEE YOU FOR A MINUTE." She laughed and added, "RAY-RAY'S HUNGRY!"
"RAY-RAY'S ALWAYS HUNGRY!" She shouted back. Two pairs of eyes peeped over her door frame.
"Ooh! MYSA'S ALONE in her ROOM with a BOY!" The eyes disappeared, but Mysa could hear them chanting the sentence over and over as they went down stairs. She flushed a light red and ran out the door, brandishing her sword.
"Why you little brats! Get back over here NOW, and I promise to kill you quickly!" Hiei heard screaming and crashing. Then all was quiet, and Mysa appeared at the door, still a bit pink. "Sorry about that. Those were the twins. I'll take my swords back now." Hiei started to hand them back, when his lip started twitching. "What's the matter with you?" Mysa asked him crossly, and realized he was trying not to smile. "Don't you dare laugh, jackass. Get out of my room so I can pack." She nabbed her katana's from him and shoved him out the door, slamming it behind him.
He was snatched up before he really knew what was happening.
Unfortunately for him, he was caught in a river of humans, as they swept towards Mysa's door. When they stopped, he was buried behind them, and couldn't see what was going on, so he fought his way to the front.
There was a small bubble of human-less space right in front of the door, and then a woman a few years older then Mysa (and looking a lot like her too) was shoved into the space. Dusting herself off and shooting a snooty glance back at the hands that had pushed her, the woman rapped imperiously on the door.
"WHAT!" He heard Mysa shout through the door. "WHO IS IT!"
"IT'S RAINA! OPEN UP, LITTLE SISTER!" Ah. Well, that explained why she looked like Mysa. The door snapped open, and an irate Mysa appeared in it's place. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, sharply altering her appearance. Her face was much more angular, much more harsh; and her hair, instead of being separate black and red, had mixed together to have the same red-rust color of drying blood. Hiei made an annoyed face at himself, irritated that he had noticed. Mysa blinked as she became aware of the mass of people.
"Oh. Sis, what's the Family doing here? It's not Sunday." Raina shot a mistrustful look at Hiei, stepped closer to Mysa, and whispered behind her hand in her little sister's ear. Hiei watched Mysa's face carefully, not bothering to strain himself to hear what was being said. He saw a brief flare of joy in her face, but it was so quickly masked by sorrow he doubted that anyone of these bakas had seen it. Raina stepped away.
"That's why we're all here. And remember, we never mention Family business to those outside the Family. And you remember the rules for those here at times like these." She looked at Hiei again to make her point. He felt fleeting satisfaction; she had a right to be against trusting him, but for reasons other then what she thought.
Mysa followed Raina's gaze, then angrily looked back at her sister.
"Sis! How could you think that I would let someone I didn't trust implicitly into the Family House! Do you really believe that I would let a snitch inside these walls!" Several in the mob looked down at their feet, and shifted uneasily. "Oh! So now no one trusts my judgement! Well, I vouch! Anyone oppose!" No one said anything. Raina sighed, and cut off her sister before she could launch into a full blown tirade. Now was not the time or place.
"No, My-Chan, no one thought that. No one opposes, if you feel so strongly. We remember last time. It was also a reminder to the rest of the family, that's all. Now, come downstairs, and direct the cooking." The mob nodded and a few ever cheered. Mysa still looked mutinous, then said,
"I can't. I won't be here for a while, I'm not going to be here. Extended Family has been threatened–" the crowd suddenly bristled with loaded guns and weapons of all sorts. A collective growl rose from many throats. Hiei looked into the crowd and saw the true emotionless gaze of cold blooded killers mingled with the rest. Yet again he wondered what was up with these people. But Mysa had continued, her angry expression replaced by a fond one. "No, no, you cannot help. I claim full responsibility for the protection of the Extended Family Member, O-Rase Syrin." Groans of disappointment filled the air. Mysa actually smiled. "That's right, I'm doing this by myself, none of you can lift a finger, unless absolute death threatens. NOW! All of you go! I have to pack. If you are staying, this week my cookbook is hidden under the third fridge. I'll need it before I leave, so write down a recipe or two quickly." She slammed the door shut, but opened it again. "And Sis, STOP GOING THROUGH MY ROOM! Every time you do, you leave the blinds open, which practically kills me when I walk through the door!" Door shut. A few chuckles rippled through the mob, but soon they dispersed.
Hiei stood in his place for a second. The stupid baka trusted him! She barely knew him! He had even suggested that they kill her friend! Then he snarled and went to look over the house, searching for any demons. 'Baka. Trusting people just like that will kill her someday.' He deliberately ignored the panic the thought gave him. What did he care? She was only human.
Mysa sighed and slumped against the door, thanking (place choice here) that she had been able to get rid of the immediate distrust and hate that Hiei had unknowingly stirred up. She would never have brought him here if she had known the Family would be coming! The rules on outsiders were strict. If they went inside the House, they died, unless it was agreed on by the whole to let him/her live. If it had been just her sister and her dad here, it would have been fine, but only a choice few were allowed in on Family Day. Hiei had no idea how close he had come to dying today. He also had no idea that he had just become an Extended Family Member, under Mysa. Mysa winced and continued packing. At least this time it was easier then it had been to get Syrin accepted. Much easier. For now.
But, somehow, she didn't think he'd be exactly thrilled to learn that he was part of her Extended Family, which meant he was dateable to any and all in the Family. Shit. That meant that Rashu, Tya, and Jing-Quo would be 'after' him. 'Well, of course they will, he's cute. Wait, where did that come from!' Forcing her brain back on track, she continued, No, not thrilled at all.
Especially if he knew that made him her responsibility while he was in the House. Come to think of it, she wasn't especially thrilled either.