Day 5: Injured/Healing
This HB week is just breezing by! Hope you all enjoy today's contribution.
Once again, Hiei found himself in the city of apparitions. A new coalition had risen, one that Kuwabara had dubbed the Saint Beasts 2.0. Their goal was the same as every other two-bit villain: world domination, starting with the human world.
Hiei wasn't impressed in the slightest. The only thing that the enemy really had going for them was their numbers. Wave after wave of fighters continued to appear from all sides and every member of the Spirit Detective team was preoccupied in one way or another.
The only thing that truly unsettled Hiei was the fact that the ferry-girl was here. This city was filled with dangers at every corner and even if the demons posed no real threat to him, they were still a hazard to her. She was with the detective, though, so he was sure that she would be safe.
With that in mind, he pushed aside his reservations and dove into the heart of the fray. The battle carried on uneventfully for a while, enemies falling just as easily he expected they would. In his boredom, fire-demon had taken to toying with one of the stronger opponents.
And that was where it all went wrong.
Hiei's guard was admittedly lowered - arrogance and ego clouding his judgment - and an attack that was meant for him was foolishly intercepted by the ferry-girl. He spun around quickly, just barely managing to catch her as she fell against him. Her kimono was in tatters, body limp and face devoid of any expression save for the pained crease of her brow. It was clear that she'd lost consciousness almost immediately, but he knew for a fact that she must have suffered from the searing pain of the blast she had just taken.
His mind went numb as he stared down at the unmoving woman. The very same one who sought him out, wanting to be close to him despite all that he was. Who smiled at him without prejudice and without reservation. Who looked at him as though she actually liked what she saw.
The very same woman who searched an entire beach for a shell that she wasn't even sure that he would accept was now lying limp in his arms, because she was trying to protect him.
She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of this at all.
Something within him snapped and Hiei saw red.
His energy spiked, dark flames growing dangerously and drawing everyone's attention was to him.
He was going to kill every last one of these cretins and then burn this place to the ground.
Botan blinked slowly, her eyes dry and heavy as she struggled to keep them open. She glanced around at the empty room, taking note of the small dresser in the corner and old painting hanging on the wall. She was in one of the unused back rooms at Genkai's temple, but she could not figure out why.
The last thing she remembered was joining the boys for the mission. The enemies were endless and she was supposed to remain by Yusuke's side, but when she saw that despicable demon who had tried to harm Hiei while his back was turned, she moved on autopilot.
The blast must have knocked her unconscious upon impact, because it all went dark from there.
All things considered, she felt okay. A phantom pain lingered and her energy was still far too low for her liking, but she would survive. If the attack had been stronger, she could have very well been obliterated instantaneously. A few aches and pains were minor in the grand scheme of things.
"Hey, you're up," Yusuke said, sliding the door closed behind him.
"Yusuke," she greeted, smiling weakly as she pushed herself into a seated position.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay."
Brown eyes rested on her knowingly.
"Yukina healed you up, but she said you might still feel a little worse for wear."
Botan forced a smile.
"Don't worry about me, I'm right as rain," she reassured. "More importantly, how did the mission go?"
"Well..." Yusuke hesitated, which was extremely uncharacteristic of him.
Worry flooded her, causing her expression to falter slightly as she waited for him to continue.
"It was something else..." he trailed off, scratching at his cheek.
"What happened?"
"After you got injured, Hiei went berserk. He took care of the rest of the demons, giving special attention to the one that hurt you."
Amethyst eyes widened under rounded blue brows.
"He did?"
"Yeah. I think the guy was ready to incinerate the entire city if we let him," Yusuke recounted. "I haven't seen him that angry in a long time."
Botan's gaze fell to her hands as she processed Yusuke's words. She had seen Hiei lose himself in his rage before; fire burning, blazing, in his red eyes as his fists drove into Tarukane's face relentlessly. She had seen him lose control, his power exploding and bursting from his body like an untamable inferno, threatening to destroy everything in its wake. But he had calmed down considerably since then, learning to control his power and his wrath. It almost seemed unfathomable that he would regress from his newfound state of stability because of her.
"Don't tell him I told you this, but he even refused to leave your side for the first few hours," Yusuke revealed quietly. "Yukina had to practically beg him to step away to eat something."
Botan swallowed thickly, her breathing falling slightly out of rhythm as she tried to imagine Hiei doing all those things for her sake. She had seen the fire-demon worry for others before. He had done it all throughout the Dark Tournament. Sometimes it was through a physical sign of his distress - the tightening of his fists, clenching of his jaw, narrowing of his eyes - and sometimes, he had spoken his worries aloud, thinly veiled by a callous comment and flat tone. But it was rare and it never extended to her.
"I can't believe he did all of that," she breathed out.
"Believe it," Yusuke replied.
"Is he alright, at least?" she asked. "He wasn't hurt, was he?"
Yusuke opened his mouth to respond, but a new voice filled the room.
"You are in no position to be worrying about anyone else right now, ferry-girl."
Botan's gaze snapped to the source of the cutting voice and she found Hiei standing near the door, gaze fixed on her pointedly. She didn't even hear him enter and apparently, neither had Yusuke.
"Sheesh, give a guy a warning next time."
Hiei crossed his arms over his chest and grunted as he looked away.
Brown eyes darted between the fire-demon and ferry-girl a few times, before eventually settling on the door.
"I'm gonna go," Yusuke announced, stretching his arms over his head and then cracking his knuckles. "If either of you needs me, I'll be kicking the old hag's ass in Goblin City."
Botan watched him leave. She could hear him issuing a challenge to Genkai by urging her to start up her arcade system as he treaded down the hallway, and moments later his voice and all other sounds of motion fell out of range.
She returned her attention to Hiei hesitantly, the room suddenly feeling much smaller than before. His mouth was pulled into a firm line, shoulders taut and squared. His forehead was creased, dark brows knotted angrily. The air was thick with tension; heavy and filled with a myriad of emotions that neither of them was willing to breach.
"Why did you do that, woman?" Hiei asked finally, the sharp tone of his voice slicing through the silence.
"..."
"Why did you jump in the way of that blast?" he pressed.
"It was instinctive," she explained. "I saw you in trouble and I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Why?"
"Because I care about you, Hiei," she answered easily.
He averted his gaze, uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to his side. His hands balled into fists as his expression hardened.
"I could have easily taken that hit," he told her. "It wouldn't have done enough damage to incapacitate me."
"I know..."
His gaze met her once more and this time, his guard was gone. Open and exposed, she saw the emotions shading his crimson eyes. The worry. The concern. The guilt. Such sentiments did not belong in his eyes, especially not because of her.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asked harshly, anger pulling tight lines throughout his features.
"Because I made you worry."
"I wasn't-" he stopped himself, posture tensing until he heaved a heavy sigh. "Look, woman, the truth of the matter is, I was reckless. But so were you. I shouldn't have been so careless and you shouldn't have felt the need to protect me."
"You're right," she agreed. "Let's just say we both acted unthinkingly."
"Hn."
"But it's over now and we're both okay. That's all that matters, right?" she tried.
Hiei went silent at that, the tightness still in his features, jaw clenched stubbornly. He still looked so conflicted, so troubled, and her heart sank.
"Please don't be upset," she urged.
"I'm not upset," he denied stiffly.
"Then why are you scowling like that?"
"Force of habit," he replied simply.
She couldn't help but smile at that, letting out a light giggle. Hiei relaxed a bit, too, and the tension that ran through the air began dissipate. Botan breathed easy again, comforted by the fact that the weight of uncertainty between them was quickly fading and their tentative relations were restored.
As she settled back into the bed once more, her breathing slowed. Fatigue was setting in once more and her eyes drooped slightly as she suppressed a yawn.
"Go to sleep, ferry-girl," Hiei instructed.
Maybe she was imagining things in her weary haze, but his entire countenance had shifted into something new and gentle now. His sharp eyes rested on hers intently and even the sound of his voice was less rough and commanding.
"Rest, woman," he urged again.
This softer side of him was so new; that look in his eye so compelling. She did not want this moment to end.
"I don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Because if I do that, you'll go away. And I want you to stay."
"You're being unnecessarily stubborn," Hiei admonished lightly.
"I know."
"Especially when I have no intentions of leaving in the first place," he finished.
Botan blinked up at him, her vision beginning to blur.
"You'll be here when I wake?" she asked, meeting his crimson eyes searchingly.
Hiei nodded without hesitation.
"You have my word."
"Okay," she relented, letting out a contented sigh as her eyes drifted closed. "That's good."
The last thing she felt before sleep overtook her was the warmth of Hiei's hand enveloping her own.
She had never felt so safe before.
She had never felt so secure.