Fear of Fire
Disclaimer - Don't own YYH.
Chapter 9 - The Nightmare
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"Hello, boys!" Botan said cheerfully as she arrived at Yuusuke's apartment. She wore a shorts and a tank top with her hair braided behind her for the get-together. "I brought snacks and stuff as requested." The only two there were Yuusuke and Kuwabara. Shizuru and Keiko had gone to the store and Kurama, Yukina, and Hiei had not shown up.
"Thanks, B." Yuusuke took the bags from her hands and went into the kitchen. She took her sandals off and followed him.
"No one else came yet?" Kuwabara shook his head.
"Not yet. Though, I hope Shizuru and Keiko get back soon. They went to get soda and some other good stuff." He stated. "What did you bring?"
"Mostly snacks but I went to a donut shop this morning for coffee so I picked us up quite a few donuts." He grinned. She turned to Yuusuke. "Will Genkai come?"
"Nah, not the old grandma. She said she didn't feel like coming when all she'd get is a headache." He pulled cups from the cupboards. "I'd imagine she's just cranky." Botan frowned in disappointment. "Kurama called to say he'd be late. He had something else to do today." She sighed.
"All right." Her eyes went to the living room and she went back into it. "Do you think there's anything on television?"
"No." Both boys responded. She sat down on the couch. She needed something to do...
"Did you get today's paper?"
"Yeah, it's under the magazines on the table." She pulled it out and scanned it for something to do. That lasted for about fifteen minutes. She was never more relieved when Keiko and Shizuru arrived. They were both dressed similarly to her.
"Sorry we took so long. The lines were horrible." Keiko stated. Shizuru carried most of the bags so Botan took a few to lighten her load. "When did you get here?"
"About twenty minutes ago." The ferry girl smiled as she led them to the kitchen. "You could've taken longer. No one else is here yet."
"You're kidding me!" Shizuru exclaimed. "Not even Kurama?"
"Yuusuke said he called to warn us that he had something else to do so he'd be here later on." She answered. Keiko frowned.
"Well, what about Yukina?"
"Nothing yet." Yuusuke stated. "She'll be here. Calm down." The door opened and Botan and the other two girls rushed out to greet whoever it was. Hiei was just taking off his cloak when he noticed them.
"What?"
"When did you come back?" Keiko asked softly. "Botan-" The ferry girl grinned.
"Just a couple of days ago. Sorry I forgot to tell you. So much has been going on." Shizuru watched the scene with a smile.
"Well, Hiei, glad you're here. I need someone intelligent to talk to." The elder Kuwabara said with a wink.
"What about the kitsune?"
"He isn't coming until later." Botan stated. Hiei sighed. He rolled his eyes before going out to the kitchen to see the other two.
"Hey! Hiei, you're back!" Yuusuke's cheerful voice reached the three in the other room.
"So, you and Kurama hooked up, huh?" After five minutes, all of them were caught up.
"Yeah, but... I don't know how everything is going to work out. I mean...my feelings for him sort of faded. I'm not sure if it will be good for us but I told him that I would try." Yuusuke and Hiei brought out glasses of soda for them. The koorime handed one to Botan. She smiled up at him.
"Hey, why don't we start having fun? I just got a new video game that rocks this world!" Yuusuke grinned. They all crowded into his room and he handed out paddles. Botan and Keiko stayed out of the first one since there were only four paddles. The girls watched them. Botan's eyes went to their hands. She kept glancing at their hands then the screen, watching what to do and how to do it. When it was her turn, she pretty much kicked butt.
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"What do you think is worse? Being beaten by a girl or being beaten by a girl that has never played the game in her entire existence?" Yuusuke asked; pouting. Botan and Keiko high-fived each other.
"Both are pretty bad." Kuwabara said softly. "What was the second one again?"
"I lost to them, too. Usually I can at least get in a good score." Shizuru muttered as she pulled out a cigarette. "I'll be out in the kitchen." She left the room. Hiei sighed.
"Can we do anything else? This stuff is bad for my eyes."
"Come on, this is where I get my hand-eye coordination." Yuusuke said with a grin. The koorime paled and stood up.
"I am definitely leaving this room." The Spirit Detective stared after him before realizing that was an insult.
"Hey! Get back here, you little wise ass!" He ran out after Hiei. Keiko and Botan looked at Kuwabara and watched him leave the room.
"Anything new with you and Yuusuke?" The ferry girl asked softly.
"No, nothing. I suspect something's going to happen soon. With Yuusuke, it's very unpredictable." They both sighed and shared a look.
"With any of these boys, everything is unpredictable." She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. They were sitting on his floor right by it. "With Kurama, I thought it was a little different but I guess I was wrong." Her words made Keiko smile.
"At least Kurama's a gentleman." Botan opened her eyes and stared at her friend before laughing and standing up.
"True!"
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Hiei sat on the edge of the roof of the apartment building. He was watching for Kurama. Being inside didn't really help his naturally short fuse. When conversation started to include him, he was done. His crimson eyes went from person to person. The only one who understood him was Kurama. However, the kitsune decided to be extremely late. He sighed and got off the rise that was on the edge. He sat down and pressed his back against it. A nice nap wouldn't hurt him.
He found himself at the park when he opened his eyes. Looking around, he noticed that it was on fire. The scent of burning woods and flesh filled his nose. His sensitive ears picked up the sounds of screams. One scream in particular caught his attention.
"Onna?" He wondered out loud. He ran to where the sound of her screams carried him. She was surrounded by a circle of flames. Her hair was singed in places and there were minor burns on her arms and legs. Her hands looked the worst. She was using them to shield her face. The intense heat was making perspiration glitter on her pale skin. "Onna!" He called to her. She fell back and put her hands down. When she saw him, her fear changed to horror.
"G-Get away..." Tears already ran down her face. She screamed again, this time from seeing the circle of fire grow larger and begin to close in around her.
"Botan!" He ran forward and the heat hit him. It scorched the underside of his right arm, leaving a red mark that barely hurt at all. He tried to use his powers to surround himself in flames so he could go in. The effort was only in vain. His mouth ran dry. He couldn't do anything. "Botan..." The scent of burning flesh became sharper. After one last agonized cry, all was quiet. The flames died down and the breeze kicked up. Ashes blew up all around him. Where Botan had been, nothing remained...but the ashes that floated upon the breeze. He turned to see a figure standing there with a pleased smirk on his face.
Hiei woke in a cold sweat. His mouth was dry and he was shaking. A calm breeze caught him and attempted to cool him off but he was beyond that. He felt nauseous. He panted heavily. His mind raced through everything as he tried to calm himself down before he got sick. Her look of horror had not faded at all from his memory. None of the nightmare faded. It was as vivid as if it had actually happened. He looked at his right arm and searched the spot where the mark had been. An angry red burn rested there. His eyes widened but before he knew it, it had faded. Almost like his skin had absorbed it.
The kitsune is usually good at interpreting things... Perhaps he can tell me what this nightmare meant. Why was the onna in it, though? And why was she surrounded by the flames? It was like someone was controlling them. She looked at me like I was the one...
Shaking his head, he stood on shaking legs. Telling himself it was only a dream was easy; believing it was another story. Maybe if he was able to hit the books in a library or something. The Reikai library had to have something about dreams.
Right now...all I need is a cold glass of water.
He went downstairs and entered Yuusuke's apartment. Everyone was in the kitchen so he went to the bathroom. He turned on the cold water and splashed his face with it before looking into the mirror. He shook his head again before leaning down to splash his face once more. Then he dried off and went back out. Kurama had only just arrived. His emerald eyes met Hiei's crimson ones. Confusion settled over the kitsune's face.
"You look pale, my friend." The concern in his friend's voice made the koorime feel guilty.
"We will talk later. Until then, the others are anxious to see you." He said softly. Botan walked in and her eyes went from one to the other. She put her hands on her hips.
"There you both are. Finally, Kurama. We've been nearly dying, waiting for you." She smiled at him and held her hand out to him. He took it with a smile of his own and let her guide him. Hiei watched them, feeling nearly sick to his stomach as images from his dream plagued his mind.
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That night, Hiei followed Botan home. He kept to the shadows so she wouldn't notice him. As soon as she was inside the apartment building, he used his Jagan to check her apartment before she unlocked the door. Nothing. As soon as she was safely inside, he hurried to Kurama's. His mind was plagued with guilt.
"Hiei, I have been waiting for you." The kitsune was sitting at his desk in his room. A book sat open in front of him. "What happened to you?"
"I had a nightmare. Would you be able to interpret it for me?"
"I am not good with dreams. Was it really all that bad?" He looked troubled yet thoughtful.
"It is imprinted in my mind as though it happened. It seems real every time I look back to remember it. It's like a...memory." Hiei answered truthfully. "I do not want to burden you with it. I will just go to Reikai and ask Koenma to let me into the library." He spoke with the kitsune until it got quite late on what Kurama could decipher about fire. It wasn't much but there were some ways to interpret it. However, in order for him to finish a few ways it could be answered, he needed to know what happened throughout the whole thing. Hiei was not willing to reveal that to his friend so he just shrugged. "I'll look it up." So, the koorime left and went to Botan's. He knocked on her door and, when she answered, he had renewed feelings of guilt and nausea.
"Hiei? What is it?" He stared at her, trying to get past those feeling. Besides, he wasn't sure what the dream meant.
"Will you take me to Reikai?" She looked worried but nodded.
"Go to the roof. I'll be there in a few minutes." He left right after she finished talking. Once he was on the roof, he stared up at the sky.
I hope that nightmare was not what I think it was. If it is, then I will definitely go back to Makai.
Just thinking about it made him feel sick to his stomach. Botan made it up there quickly enough and he got on her oar behind her. His hands gripped the wood tightly as his heart began racing. As soon as they had passed into Reikai's territory, the ferry girl slowed down. She stared down at the Sanzu river briefly before clearing her throat.
"Hiei? Why is it that you want to go here this late at night?" His usual leave-it-alone scowl appeared.
"None of your business." He snapped coldly. "Just drop me at the gate." She gave him a wary glance before sighing.
"Why are you so moody? I was only asking. You seem...upset and agitated. What is bothering you so much?" She had learned not to push him but this was worrying her past caring. All she had to do was threaten to push him into the river and get her answers that way...if she wanted to die before she could analyze them.
"Onna, you are testing my patience. Hurry up." Realizing that she wasn't getting any answers or sleep this way, she sped back up. As soon as they were in front of the gate, she let him down.
"I can stay here until you're ready to go." She offered with a smile. "None of the other ferry girls will give you a ride. They don't want you to kill them."
"Hn." He walked toward the gate. Botan went to the intercom.
"Botan here." As soon as they were inside, Hiei went toward Koenma's office, giving the ferry girl a glare that meant he didn't want to be followed. She then went to see what was up around work. The koorime opened the door to the prince's office.
"Toddler." He muttered crossly. Koenma looked up and frowned.
"What are you doing here, Hiei? Do you need something?" A nod followed the question.
"I want access to the library."
"It is split into sections. What do you want to look up?" Anger began entering Hiei's mind but he resisted it.
"Dream interpretation." Biting his pacifier and thinking briefly, the little prince opened a drawer in his desk. Inside rested several different keys. He pulled one out and tossed it to the koorime.
"When you're done, bring it back. I'm almost done so don't finish until morning." He stated with a tired yawn.
"Deal." Hiei knew that he wouldn't finish until morning anyway. The ferry onna was probably going to have to sleep here if she was waiting. He shrugged and walked out. As he went along the hallways, he studied the key. It was silver and the top of it had a small crystal with stars and moons painted on it. He followed along the main hall until he came to a huge door. As soon as he stopped in front of it, the doors slid open. A long hallway spread out before him and he walked along it. There was a crystal on each door, each depicting small symbols. He finally reached the one with the stars and moons on it and unlocked the door. After he entered, he locked the door behind him and walked among the tall shelves of leather-bound, paperback, and hardcover books. He thought about the fire in his dreams and walked toward the F section. There was a whole shelf of books to go through. He used a ladder to climb up to the top before pulling out the first ten. He had a long night ahead...
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Well? What did you think...? I had a brief resting period during the middle of this chapter but I got it done and that's all that mattered.