Not Okay : Dead Legs
A/N: Wow. Those reviews came in an explosion. Hahahha. Thanks, I really do appreciate them. Well, I've been thinking of this story. It really does interest me, so please keep reading and reviewing! Peace!
I
Judy Earl was sitting at the desk to a hotel. Her hair was long and black, and being thirty, she believed that she had seen everything. She hadn't been surprised since college, and that was a while ago. She swore she never heard the door open. She never heard a thing. Until the visitor decided to make his presence known.
"Excuse me." Judy jerked suddenly, adrenalin coming to the rescue. Her lips opened as she looked up. Nothing. She squinted when she heard the voice again. "Down here."
Ms. Earl stood and looked down, astonished to see a shorter man. His eyes were dark red, and judging by the circles under them, he hadn't slept in a while. Judy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she straightened her back, a bit ashamed that she was scared by the likes of him. That was when she saw the woman in his arms, her eyes closed.
"Who is that?"
Her voice shook as it cracked. The man glared at her.
"My friend. We need a room for the night." Judy was about to open her lips again before the man interrupted her, his low tenor voice breaking the early air. "Here, this should cover it."
He pressed eight one hundred dollar bills into the palm of her hand. Judy stared wide eyed at the cash.
"S-sir..."
"Keep it. All of it. Just give me a room. Now."
Judy held her tongue. She would be obedient for that money.
"Follow me."
She led the man and sleeping woman to an elevator, where she gave him a key with the room labeled on it. It was one of those card keys.
"Hn."
Judy bit her lip.
"Have a nice night, sir."
The man rolled his eyes just before the door closed.
Judy closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Geez... this is going to be a long day. I can tell. She walked slowly over to her desk again. She sat down in the chair, exhaling loudly. That was when she saw her money. Her money that was now nothing but leaves from a tree.
She was about to hit the silent alarm when a sharp flash of white light flickered behind her eyes. Her eyes rolled into the back of her skull as her forehead hit the desk. Her lips were open as she saw a man with three eyes. He was short. He had black hair.
Judy. You will forget everything that happened here.
Her lips moved with his words. A little notion in the back of her mind wondered what kind of accent he had.
Yes... I will...
Nothing happened.
Nothing happened. Nothing.
You will wake up in a few hours.
Back to work in a few hours...
You never saw me.
I never saw the short man with the lady...
You never were given money.
I didn't get the fake money...
And Room D56 is closed for repairs. No one under any circumstances is to enter that room.
Room D56 is broken...
Good. Sleep.
Without a second of hesitation, Judy Earl did just that.
II
Hiei closed his mind connection with the onna. Hn. Nigens are so easy to fool. He looked around in the room he was given. It was nice. Really big. Nice walls. Plenty of space. He walked forward, inspecting it.
There was only one, large, soft looking bed. A small problem. The infamous Hiei Jaganshi pulled the sheets back and placed the ferry onna under them. She let out a soft moan, curling over to one side.
Hiei sat on the window sill. His crimson eyes scanned the area. We're safe. For now at least. He had gotten them far enough away. He hadn't slept for four days. He just ran. He actually had to knock the onna out so she wouldn't move more than necessary. He knew she would complain, to say the least, but he had to do it.
The fire demon activated his Jagan Eye to check up on the Rekai Tentei. In a fierce glow, he found them.
They were walking silently. Hiei's eyes narrowed. They're still on my trail. He had about a week on them. Hiei gazed at their faces. None of them looked close to happy. The Koorime watched Kurama, his slow walk, his slumped shoulders.
Come on, fox. It's just me.
That was when the kitsune's head snapped up. His green eyes were wide as he stared right where Hiei's mind was. The demon jumped a little and instantly closed his Jagan Eye, panting a bit.
Hiei gazed at the onna.
Baka. The bruise on her face was darker. He growled. And you thought that an onna like you could possibly deserve this.
Her blue hair was a bit greasy, seeing as they both haven't showered in several days. Her breathing was slow. Just watching the rise and fall of her chest was hypnotizing the demon into considering sleep.
Don't close your eyes, Hiei!
His head rolled back.
Don't you dare go to sleep!
His arms were numb. His legs weren't even there.
YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU GO TO SL–
III
Yusuke and the others were frustrated and tired. They had been at this for four days now, and they hadn't come close to him. Kurama said he couldn't find Hiei's energy, which meant he was far away.
Wonderful. Fan-freaking-tastic!
The detective shoved his hands in his pockets. The only lead they got was an abandoned fire. The semi-burned pieces of wood indicated that the fire was put out immediately. Something else that made Yusuke squirm.
The shrimp knows that we're coming for him.
He could barely think those words. It didn't seem right. He had already fought the demon. Back when he was bad. He was nauseous. He didn't want to believe that Hiei had taken up his old habits again.
Kurama was getting worse. And Kuwabara was starting to notice, and that was saying a lot.
The kitsune was getting thinner, and Yusuke knew he wasn't eating. His skin was clammy, and he wasn't sleeping. One night, when they stopped to take a rest, Yusuke woke up to short, frantic breaths.
In the moonlight, he saw Kurama crying. Yusuke couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. All he could do was watch in silent horror.
Kurama was crying.
His red hair was covering his face, but his feminine hands were clenched in fists, rubbing at his eyes. Kurama was trying to stop, his soft hiccups telling the detective that. His cheeks were red, almost like the skin was raw.
Yusuke stood, without thinking, and pulled Kurama into a friendly embrace. Kurama never spoke a word. Not once. All he could do was clutch onto Yusuke Urameshi like a small boy would his mother.
Kuwabara was even getting a bit down on himself. He no longer bashed Hiei. Yusuke was walking ahead of them when he was thinking about all this when the Prince of Hell showed up.
"Yusuke! Get a move on! Stop shuffling your feet!"
His nasally voice, that bratty nature. Yusuke's frayed nerves and shot brain couldn't take it. It was like one second, Koenma was yapping away, and the next, he was sprawled out on the ground a few feet away, a red welt swelling on his cheek.
"Don't... tell me... to move FASTER!" Koenma was speechless. "We've been through hell, Koenma." Kurama gazed at the detective, his eyes shimmering. "I don't think Hiei could do something like this! How can you... how can you...?"
He couldn't finish. The Prince stood, his knees still a tad shaky.
"Yusuke..." The Prince closed his eyes. "I understand. If there's a chance that Hiei is innocent... you know I would jump on it right away." He sighed. "The thing is... we've got nothing." His brown eyes opened. "Just capture him. Bring him in. We'll see what he has to say for himself. Okay, Yusuke?"
The rest of the gang nodded. Yusuke looked away.
"Sure."
IV
Malik glided across the hotel floor. The woman at the front was still knocked out. He drifted through the floor. He arrived in the room of Hiei and Botan.
His long black hair trailed behind him, his muscles tensed as he suppressed his demonic energy. He stopped at the bed, gazing at the blue haired onna. She really was beautiful. Hiei does have good taste in women after all.
He brushed some hair out of her face. She shivered and brought the sheets up closer to her face. Malik moved on.
His pale face gazed at the demon. Hiei Jaganshi. The one and only infamous thief of Makai.
Malik tilted his head to the side. Finally we meet. His hand reached out. It's been a while. His nails brushed Hiei's face, earning a deep, lethal growl emit from his throat.
I see. You still need some pushes.
His gaze turned back the onna. The onna who was Chosen. His eyes narrowed, and he vanished, just in time to hear her scream...
V
Botan woke up, her throat frozen in a shriek of terror. Her eyes were wide. Get out! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!
She gasped for air, and it felt like she was on fire! Her skin was burning as tears flowed down her face. Her heart was beating so hard she was afraid that her ribs were going to break through her skin.
Botan couldn't see anything. She only felt the pain.
Until she felt cold. She felt the chill of something... cool. Her eyes shifted back and forth. She heard something, but it was muffled. Fuzzy. Incoherent. All that mattered was that something cold was touching her. And she wanted more. Needed more.
Her hands shot out, latching onto cloth that was in the way. The muffled sounds grew a bit louder, but that wouldn't stop her. Nothing could stop her. She ripped the cloth.
The ferry girl was savage. Her mouth never opened, her eyes burning, staring fiercely at nothing in particular. Finally, she hit gold. Freezing. Despite the hands that kept her away, pushed her away, she pulled through. She pressed her face to it, letting her body shudder as it cooled off. She almost expected an explosion of steam to erupt around her as she sighed with relief.
Botan blinked. Her eyes were able to focus. Her ears were able to digest sound. She heard a low muttering.
"It's going to be okay, onna." Very soft. One might suggest gentle. "Don't die. Please... don't die."
Botan lifted her head up, her blue hair falling in front of her eyes. It was surreal, hearing such desperate words from the cold mouth of Hiei Jaganshi. Her pink eyes landed on his shirt, which was torn open.
"H-Hiei?" He twitched. "I'm okay." He just stared at her. "It's okay."
His brow was furrowed.
"Are you okay?" She nodded. "Are you sure?"
Botan bit her bottom lip.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She looked down at his chest. There were some scratches on it. "What happened to you?"
Hiei glared at what looked to be his hands.
"You don't remember?"
"N-no."
He sighed, his head rolling back.
"Bo-onna... you did this."
Botan looked at her hands. Under her fingernails were bits of skin and cloth.
"B-but... why...? Why did you let me do that to you...?"
Hiei looked away from her questioning eyes. The ferry girl didn't notice that his hands grasped her arms tightly.
"Because, it wouldn't have mattered." His eyes moved down to meet hers. "In the state that you were in, nothing would have stopped you from getting to your goal. You would have fought me until you were unable to or I killed you."
Botan bit her lip.
"A-and w-what was my g-goal?"
Hiei moved so that she was sitting beside him. He ran his fingers over his tell toned stomach. He wasn't bleeding, but his skin was still raw, pink lines running across his muscles. His voice was low and faint, like he didn't want to admit the truth, but he had to.
"My skin." Botan's eyes widened. Hiei frowned. "Your goal was... my skin."
VI
Hiei woke up to screaming. He stood up too fast, his left leg going limp as soon as he applied weight to it. He fell to the floor, dragging himself to the bed, then pulling himself up. What he saw was not what he wanted to see.
The onna was arching off the bed, her tears streaming down her eyes. Her blue hair was sprawled across the pillow. Her eyes were fading into the black that spelled out trouble. When the Koorime touched her, he pulled back.
She burned me!
However, once his skin met hers, she jerked violently. She was still for a few seconds before her slender hands shot out, grabbing his clothes. Hiei tried to scream at her to stop. To wake up. To return to the onna that he knew.
The ferry girl never heard him. Even when his strong arms pushed her back, she fought him. She hissed viciously, spit flying out of her mouth. She scratched him, ripping apart his shirt like a savage beast.
It was only when she realized she was touching his skin, not removing another layer of cloth did she calm down. Her eyes closed as she embraced the fire demon, who refused to move. He knew it would be futile if he tried to anyway.
When she regained consciousness, she didn't remember a thing. Hiei had to explain what she did to him. It was a bit embarrassing, admitting to the fact that he stood and did nothing to stop her.
After a few minutes of silence, the onna ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing at its greasy feel. She excused herself to the bathroom to shower. Hiei said nothing, but just sat on the bed.
My left leg is a problem. A BIG problem.
Hiei could not stay in this hotel room until the Rekai Tentei found him. He was not going to be arrested for a crime that he didn't commit. The demon used his craws to slice away at his pants, so he had a good view of his actual leg.
He couldn't breathe once he saw it.
Bulges of skin sagged off of his limb. It was like rolls of fat on his leg, and they were getting bigger. Hiei knew what these lumps really were. Muscles. Torn muscles.
He bit down on his hand to soften a scream. His teeth broke through the skin, blood running between his fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut, each and every inhale burning his lungs.
No! No! NO!
His hands covered his eyes once he stopped screaming. Pain shot through him as another muscle tore in half, another lump forming on his leg. He took quick breaths as he shivered.
I can't fail! I can't be useless!
Another muscles snapped.
I can't just SIT HERE!
Tear gems fell from his hands.
I can't let Botan die!
Soft, desperate sobs were heard. His leg didn't even look like a limb anymore. He stared at it, tears rolling down his face, yet his expression was not hysterical. It was fear, his skin pale and his eyes shrunken.
He wiped his eyes. Snap. There went another muscle.
VII
A/N: Sorry to leave it there folks, but I had to. It was so good it had to end there. Hahhaa, well, I thought it was good. Please tell me if you agree or disagree. Um, yeah that's about it. Review, please, and check out the new chapter of Three Families. For some reason, not a lot of people are reading it... Oh well. Review!
-mia
p.s. Hiei used his Jagan to make Judy think the leaves were money. Yeah... (coughs) I'm cool like that hahahaha.