It took little to talk out the details of their movement to the dojo, and before long, Hiei and Maribella were stepping outside of the cottage. Maribella shared a tight hug with Jin in the evening light as Hiei waited a few feet away.
"I will see ye tomorrow morning, Little Air Bell," Jin said as he pulled back, impish smile on his face. "Will ye be okay traveling back right now?"
"Yes, cousin," she said as she cupped his cheek for a moment fondly. Then she turned and gave Touya a handshake in thanks before turning and walking to Hiei.
"That seemed to go easier than you expected," Hiei muttered as he picked her up and off they ran again.
Maribella smiled and nodded, "It did. I knew he would not object to spending sometime with me, but I had wondered about his friends. They will be a good addition to the dojo in terms of strength," she said as she rested against him again.
"You would have been safe without them," he said with a frown down at her. "We have beaten them in the past. They cannot add very much in terms of strength if that is the case."
"Be nice!" Ari said, whapping him lightly on the chest. "They are plenty strong and you will know it when you take on Touya." She didn't actually know Touya personally but Jin had written to her about him. Touya seemed interesting if not entirely good demons. They had their own honor codes. Good fighters. What else could a woman ask for in potential protectors?
Hiei snorted and kept running. There was no way that he was going to let the stupid ice demon beat him, much less hit him with any ice to slow him down.
When they finally arrived back at the dojo, Hiei stopped outside her room which was becoming the most frequented place in the entire land that was theirs at this rate.
"Could you go fetch the others Hiei?" Ari asked when she was put down on the ground at long last, one hand resting on his shoulder to steady herself.
"Why?"
"Because I have presents for the lot of you and I'd like to give them to you tonight. You know that," she managed a smile before stepping in and fetching the items mentioned. Each were in their own little nameless bag so that each of them wouldn't know where she'd gotten them. She'd had the clerks do that just so if Kurama, Hiei or Kuwabara happened to peak they wouldn't know which was for whom.
"They are all in the dinning room trying to decide on dinner. There's no need to fetch them," Hiei said as his nose wrinkled. He didn't like the idea of being relegated to a servant, and he wasn't going to accept it either. Why should he go running around for her when she was more than capable of calling everyone to a central location?
She gave him a look that said something he couldn't quite decipher, but it was closely related to exasperation. "Go to them then, and wait for me to bring the presents in. I have to do a little something before then anyway, that I'd rather you weren't around for," she said pointedly, flicking her eyes to the bathroom.
Hiei stared at her for a few moments before rolling his eyes and vanishing. He kept his Jigan trained on her though until she'd gotten into the bathroom and began undoing her pants. By then he was in the living room.
"So Hiei, how was following her around all day?" Yusuke asked, reclining and reading a comic book that Kuwabara had been reading a little bit before Eikichi had come into the room for attention.
It hadn't really been horrible but… "Awful. I do not see the point in following her around like a puppy. I can keep my Jigan eye trained on her well enough from here and be there within a few moments if I have to be," he related, setting himself up in a corner of the room watching the door for her entrance. "I hope she doesn't go shopping often. The stench of humans was suffocating."
Kurama smiled and continued to read the school book he had in front of him while making the comment, "Me thinkth you protest too much, Hiei."
"Shut up Kurama," Hiei snapped with a roll of his eyes. He wasn't protesting too much. He thought he was protesting just the right amount.
Kuwabara was in lala land with his kitten and didn't really seem to notice the others at first but then he too put his two cents in, "He didn't complain while it was going on though. He did seem to dislike the store clerks who were staring at her when she was trying on clothes though," he said with a chuckle as Eikichi batted at his nose.
Hiei's glare turned to Kuwabara now and he humped. "they could have led the demon straight to her. It was too open. There could have been some serious damage to their lives if they had—"
"If who had done what?" Maribella asked as she came in carrying the four bags.
"The store clerks that were checking you out in the goth shop you took us to," Kuwabara said. Yusuke, having not seen her since her makeover looked up at the mention of goth and gaped at her.
"Damn! You clean up nice Maribella," Yusuke said appreciatively. Yes, he was dating someone but that didn't mean he couldn't compliment others… right?
"Thank you Yusuke, but don't let the dress fool you. I could still kick your ass if I wanted to," She warned with a smile as she came over to the table. "But that aside, I want to give you each something, for being kind enough to welcome me into your home for however long I'm going to be here for."
The three bags were placed in front of the three at the table and then Maribella moved over to place Hiei's bag down on the floor next to him. Returning to the table, she sat down and smiled at them.
"Go on. They won't bite," she promised as the four men stared at the bags suspiciously and at the same time with an obvious desire to see what was in them.
Kuwabara was the first one to cave. He reached forward as he settled Eikichi on the table and opened his bag. He pulled out a new gaming mouse. "Nice!" he exclaimed as he turned it over and began to read the specs on the back. "Thanks Ari!"
"You had been complaining about your mouse going wonky for a time," she pointed out with a smile.
"It has. Some idiot spilled soda all over it," Kuwabara said while giving Yusuke the stink eye.
"What? You knocked my elbow when I was logging off the computer! It happens, and I apologized already Kuwabara," Yusuke demanded as he grabbed his bag and began rifling around it in. What he pulled out made everyone laugh. It was a bottle of the highest end hair gel, and a big one. He looked over at Ari with a 'really' look before smirking and opening the bottle to sniff. "So, what Maribella? Don't like how it's styled?"
"Nah, I just think you'd look better if you branched out your gel collection into this. Especially since it was Koenma paying," she winked before turning her attention to Kurama who was now pulling out his present. There were two actually; smaller than the others but together quite expensive.
Within two jewelry boxes, two items sat. In one, which was definitely for his mother and not him, was a beautiful yet simple necklace with a rose charm on it. "That one I put a little magic into for a spell of protection, for whenever you are away," she explained before pointing to the knife in the other box. It was little over 6 inches long, with a plain hilt. It was along the blade that drew everyone's eye. It had the image of a fox sprinting along the metal. "That one is for your use. I spelled it to work with your seeds and rose whip a bit more. I won't tell you how. I'll let that be a surprise, but… I think for a fox spirit you'll appreciate it."
Kurama stared at the items and then drew the blade up out of its box. It was just right in terms of weight and usability. He'd be able to h die it on him easily without even noticing the additional weight. "Thank you, for both of these gifts, Maribella. This is quite generous," he said with a small smile at her before jumping a little as the fourth bag was dropped on the table in between them. Four sets of eyes turned up to Hiei who was glaring daggers at the woman.
"I am not amused," he snarled before disappearing.
Maribella blinked once and then fell back howling in laughter. She hadn't expected him to be amused by them but she'd never expected that kind of reaction. Kuwabara was the one that lunged forward to turn the bag upside down, the items falling to the floor. Among the items in the bag, there was one dragon plushie, a set of porn magazines and a book on 'tips to pick up girls'. This wasn't his actual present, or at least not the one she had originally planned to give him. But she'd seen the dragon and the magazines and the book and had known instantly she would have to give it to him. His reaction though…
Priceless.
