Chapter 24: Telling Nerves
Kurama leaned over the rocky ridge, looking from side to side until he finally located Hiei. The little fire demon was sitting twenty feet to his left, holding a large leaf from one of the trees that grew in small clumps over the mountainside. He appeared to be trying to sharpen the stalk of the leaf with his teeth and fingers, and Kurama could not help but smile.
"You left your sword at the other side of the pool," he called over.
Hiei yelped, his entire body jerking in shock at the sound of Kurama's voice. His head whipped around and he stared over at Kurama with enormous, terrified eyes.
"It's alright, I came alone," Kurama assured him as he began climbing over the rocky ledge, lowering his eyes to his feet to make sure he did not accidentally stand on a sharp edge. "Yusuke and Kuwabara were too busy arguing between themselves to notice my departure. I think Yusuke's a little upset that you kicked him so hard in the face, he was fabricating a fantastical tale about accidentally swimming into invisible rocks under the water."
Kurama stopped as he reached the other side of the rocks, tilting his head in curious confusion: Hiei was still sitting in the same place and position, but he was suddenly wearing the leaf he had been sharpening.
"Are you trying to hide yourself?" Kurama asked.
Hiei shook his head, but took on a distinctly guilty expression that was obvious even from where Kurama was standing.
"Right…" Kurama said under his breath.
He lowered his eyes to the ground and began walking towards Hiei, watching where he stepped as he was barefoot and some of the rocks were quite sharp. He already had an idea about why Hiei had been hesitant to get undressed, and so, in an act of sympathy for his friend, Kurama had donned his underwear and been sure to collect every piece of clothing Hiei had lost in the water before starting his search for Hiei himself. He stopped by the rock Hiei was using as a backrest and sat down onto it, looking down at Hiei, who twisted his head to look back up at him worriedly.
"If we lay these out on the rocks here, the heat of the air around us should dry them soon enough," Kurama said, holding up Hiei's clothing.
"Did you find my bandana?" Hiei asked, carefully pushing aside the tips of hair hanging over his eyes.
His hair was still wet and flat all around his head – as it always was when he got his hair wet – but he was making no attempt to push his hair back out of his eyes and off of his forehead like he usually did when it was wet.
"Yes, I did," Kurama slowly replied.
He laid Hiei's shirt and pants out on some nearby flat rocks that were warm from being so close to the hot spring before turning back to Hiei with the bandana stretched between his hands. He looked down at the cloth thoughtfully, and although he was trying to concentrate on it, he could not help but notice the way Hiei began chewing at his lip.
"I have to tell you something, Kurama," he said quietly.
"I thought you might," Kurama replied, keeping his eyes on the bandana.
"But before I do, you have to promise me something," Hiei said. "It's very important that you still let me come to spirit world with you after I tell you what I have to say. I want to help save Rui. I think I've earned that right, even if I haven't been entirely altruistic in my other actions on this mission."
"Alright," Kurama said.
"You promise? You promise I can still come with you, no matter what?"
"I understand why you feel a need to rescue the ice maiden. It's not my place to stop you."
"Thank you. N-now you have to remember to keep that promise, because what I'm about to tell you might make you want to change your mind – but you've already promised me that you'll let me go to spirit world with you."
"I don't go back on my word, you should know that."
"Of course. It's just that this is something really, really terrible – something I've been hiding from you. I know that I should have told you a long time ago, but at first I didn't think there was any real harm in keeping it a secret. It was almost fun to begin with, and then later it just got harder to tell you the truth because time was passing and the longer I put off telling you, the harder it became, but now I really have to tell you the truth, Kurama. I-I don't think I can move from this spot until I do."
"I understand."
"I have you tell you about my true–"
Hiei stopped abruptly as Kurama met his eyes.
"Yes?" Kurama pressed.
"Um…" Hiei said softly. "I was um… I need to tell you about my real… About how I… About what I… Um…"
"Your real feelings?" Kurama asked. "About what you actually feel for me?"
Hiei's face twitched through a range of expressions, his eyes wandering from Kurama's as his mouth worked through a few silent words. After a few moments of awkwardly faltering he met Kurama's eyes again and finally found his voice.
"That wasn't what I thought I would talk to you about right now exactly, though maybe it's part two of what I was trying to say," he said quietly.
"I think I already know what part one is as well," Kurama said.
"Y-you do?" Hiei asked.
"Yes, I do."
"Oh. Well of course you do. You always were the most intelligent and perceptive one of us all. And I suppose you learned a lot about how to spot a liar during all those years you were a bandit in demon world. After all, you saw right through the tricks of that girl in the underground."
"Yes, well, your behaviour has been at its most erratic these last few days whenever you were confronted with a situation that meant you would have to get undressed. The Hiei I know had never been insecure about his physical appearance in any way, but you've been ridiculously so, from refusing to let me look at your shoulder when the wood nymph bit you on our first day together on this mission to panicking at the thought of joining us in the hot spring tonight. You don't flatter me when you say someone with my skills of deduction was bound to have noticed your shift in behaviour: it's painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers."
"Oh, I see. I thought I had done rather a good job of pretending. I tried so hard, but sometimes unexpected things happened that just caught me off guard!"
"I'm a little insulted that you thought you could hide the truth from me, though I do also understand why one as stubborn as you felt the need to lie the way you have."
"Y-you think I'm stubborn?"
Kurama smiled wryly and held out the bandana towards the tense little demon by his feet.
"I know you are," he said. "But as I said, I can understand why you tried to hide the truth – even though you did do a very pitiable job of it: dressing in layers and bandaging the full length of your arms is impractical and silly, really."
Hiei smiled, accepting the bandana from Kurama.
"It is impractical," he agreed, flexing the fingers on one hand. "And very uncomfortable!"
"I haven't told Yusuke or Kuwabara, though you should know that they are becoming aware of it on their own," Kurama replied.
"Well, Yusuke was a detective at one time, it was only a matter of time before he figured me out," Hiei replied. "I thought I was doing such a good job of hiding it, too… Well, at least I won't need to wear this any more!"
Hiei flung aside the bandana and smiled at Kurama.
"It's a very dangerous thing that you did," Kurama said solemnly, causing Hiei's smile to fade. "It's a very dangerous thing that you are continuing to do. I am angry at you for trying to deceive us all, but equally I am disappointed in myself for not noticing much sooner. I've been a fool."
"A fully justified, trusting fool," Hiei offered.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Kurama asked.
"I thought it might."
"I see. I don't know if you are fit for the challenge we face in spirit world. I won't stop you coming with us – I don't think I could stop you even if I did try to – but I worry that you're not prepared or strong enough to stand alongside us when we battle the enemy there."
"I can keep up with you. I can keep up with all of you."
"I know you can, but I'm concerned that the added complication of your emotional connection to their prisoner might be a weakness for you."
"No, that's not true! I'll try harder because I know I have to for Miss Rui's sake!"
"I don't doubt that you'll try hard, but it's not just your own safety we have to think about. When we enter a battle as a team, we have to be able to trust and rely on each other."
"You can trust and rely on me."
"Not if you get hurt we can't. If you do something reckless and render yourself useless, you expose the rest of us to potential dangers. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I didn't think of it like that before."
"I know you didn't. You never think ahead, it's your biggest weakness."
Hiei lowered his head, looking slightly guilty and surprisingly subdued. Kurama waited for him to become defensive or aggressive as he usually would when issued with such an insult, but instead he remained silent and kept his head down.
"But I won't try to stop you coming with us," Kurama assured him. "I understand that recovering Rui is an important issue for you. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm still a little confused: I've never heard you mention her before. Why is that?"
"I don't like to talk about my past," Hiei quietly replied.
Kurama smiled.
"Yes, I suppose I only learned what I did about your past through circumstance," he said. "Still, you shouldn't try to ignore your past. Remembering it is an important tool to help prevent you repeating old mistakes."
"I don't have any regrets," Hiei replied, lifting his head at last to look at Kurama again. "I sometimes think I shouldn't have gone back to the ice village at all, but I did see another side of my people that I would never have otherwise understood, so I don't know if it was a bad idea or not."
"You've never been the type to regret much of anything."
"That's probably because of the way I make decisions."
"Do you ever really make decisions? Decisions are usually life-changing choices made after careful thought on the matter at hand: does that sound like anything you've ever done?"
Hiei smiled and shook his head.
"I suppose not, no," he admitted.
"You know I'm not sure if I prefer you like this or not."
Hiei's face twisted as though he was about to say something vicious and admonishing, but he remained silent, his eyes studying Kurama intensely.
"And about part two, about your real feelings…" Kurama began. "That is quite a complicated issue. A real tangled mesh of… Complications."
"It's not like you to be inarticulate," Hiei said quietly. "I think you're trying to politely tell me that you're very fond of Botan."
"No, actually, that wasn't the gist of what I was trying to say, though now that you mention it, it does add another thread to the tangled mesh of complications."
"It's becoming a very tangled mesh."
"It's getting to be more like a knot."
Hiei smiled and nodded. Kurama straightened his back and looked over one shoulder. Behind him he could see Yusuke and Kuwabara wading towards him, both looking irritated by something.
"I sense that we're about to be asked for an opinion on something incredibly insignificant, random and banal," he concluded, turning back to Hiei.
"How do you sense that?" Hiei asked innocently. "Is that something you can smell, or…?"
Kurama laughed quietly, being careful not to let Yusuke or Kuwabara hear him.
"Sometimes it is something I can smell, unfortunately," he said.
"Hey, Kurama!" Yusuke called over to him.
Kurama rolled his eyes and smiled at Hiei before turning around on the rock to face Yusuke as he approached.
"What's the difference between stinky feet and rotten feet?" Yusuke asked.
"My feet aren't rotten, Urameshi!" Kuwabara complained.
"So you're admitting they just stink then?" Yusuke asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"It's a bacterial condition!" Kuwabara said as he stopped by the rocky edge of the pool.
He lifted one foot up onto the top of the rocks and pointed at it as though to prove his point.
"So now you're saying it is rotten?" Yusuke asked.
"No!" Kuwabara cried.
"Bacteria is the same as rotten, right?" Yusuke said, shrugging indifferently.
"It is not the same!" Kuwabara argued.
"He's just teasing you, Kuwabara," Kurama pointed out.
"Oh yeah?" Kuwabara said, glowering at Yusuke.
"No, you're feet are rancid," Yusuke flatly replied.
"Well at least I'm a real man!" Kuwabara retaliated.
Yusuke eyebrows shot up and for a brief moment he looked strangely pale and bewildered; but he quickly relaxed back into a mildly amused smirk.
"It's been a tough night, so make us laugh Kuwabara," he said in a low voice. "Tell us why you think you're a "real man" now."
"I have hair!" Kuwabara snidely replied.
"So do I," Yusuke said, peering down at himself.
"I'm not talking about that sort of hair!" Kuwabara snapped. "I mean I have a manly stubble."
"So do I," Yusuke said, rubbing at his chin. "That's what eight days on the road does to a guy."
"Mine's is more hairier than yours," Kuwabara muttered.
"That's because, unlike you, I shaved the night we went back to living world," Yusuke flatly replied.
"As did I," Kurama volunteered.
"So, that was still like 4 days ago!" Kuwabara scoffed. "And I'm still the hairiest."
"That's idiotic," Yusuke said. "And besides, girls don't like hairy guys, didn't you know that?"
"What?" Kuwabara muttered, his face slowly changing into a look of worry.
"No, they don't," Yusuke confirmed. "You see how the girls all flock around Kurama, and look at him: four days later and he's barely got a five o'clock shadow."
Kuwabara turned to Kurama, studying the faint hint of colour staining the lower half of his face before turning to Hiei.
"What about Hiei?" he asked. "He doesn't even have a shadow."
"There were razors onboard both of the vehicles we were journeying in," Hiei answered him.
"Oh yeah, it figures you would know that, Hime!" Yusuke said, his top lip curling in disgust. "And I guess that explains why your legs are as smooth as your face, you little freak!"
"Do girls like shaved legs too?" Kuwabara asked.
"I've never shaved my legs," Yusuke replied. "And I've never struggled with the ladies, so I guess they don't."
"Hiei's probably had a lot more girls than you though," Kuwabara said. "So if he shaves his legs, maybe he's onto something."
"No way has Hiei had more girls than me!" Yusuke argued.
Kurama snorted, but quickly straightened his face as Yusuke met his eyes.
"I'm being serious!" Yusuke snapped at him. "Unless he's hypnotising them with his freaky eye, then there's no way he's been with more than like two girls in his entire life!"
"Why do you measure a man's importance based on how many women he's laid down with?" Hiei asked.
Yusuke started to screw up his face at Hiei but his head snapped around and his face twisted further when Kuwabara responded.
"That's the sort of thing a guy who's had lots of girlfriends would say."
"What?" Yusuke yelped. "That's the sort of sentimental crap a girl having a period would say!"
"No, the guys who get all the girls are always all nonchalant about it like that," Kuwabara corrected him.
"That's true," Kurama agreed.
"Is not!" Yusuke argued. "Hiei, how many girls have you ever slept with?"
"What do you mean "slept" with?" Hiei asked. "Do you mean how many women have I ever shared my bed with?"
"Whatever, just how many?" Yusuke said irritably.
Hiei looked up, touching a finger to his lips, his head nodding slightly as though he was counting back through his memories.
"Wow, that's a lot," Kuwabara said.
"He didn't say anything yet!" Yusuke said.
"That's because he's still counting," Kurama whispered.
"No way is he… He's…" Yusuke replied, narrowing his eyes at Hiei. "Just answer me already, Hiei! There's no way it's taking you that long to remember! What are you like nine years old? How many girls could you possibly have slept with since your balls dropped?"
"Can I include non-demon girls?" Hiei asked.
"What?" Yusuke yelped.
"Do human girls and ferry girls count?" Hiei asked.
"Yes," Kuwabara answered him.
"Well in that case thirty-seven."
Yusuke's eyes almost popped out of his head, Kuwabara nodded as though he had expected as much and Kurama gave Hiei an almost accusatory glare.
"How the hell did you manage to get that many girls to sleep with you?" Yusuke asked.
"Would you really want to sleep with that many girls?" Kuwabara asked him.
"Yes!" Yusuke replied. "Wouldn't you?"
"I don't know, it seems kinda shallow and pointless," Kuwabara replied.
"You're pathetic!"
"You know, this is why Keiko gets so mad at you. You're insensitive."
"Am not!"
"Drawing attention to my feet is insensitive."
"Taking off your socks and stinking out the room is insensitive!"
"See, there you go again!"
As Yusuke and Kuwabara launched into an argument that quickly dissolved into a wrestling match in the water, Kurama turned his attention back to Hiei, his face still stern and critical.
"Thirty-seven?" he said.
"What about it?" Hiei asked.
"You said it so earnestly," Kurama replied. "Not a hint of sarcasm, even though you know that I know it was a lie."
"It wasn't a lie," Hiei said. "Not really. He asked me how many women I'd slept with, how many I'd shared a bed with. The honest answer to that is thirty-seven."
Kurama frowned, but he slowly started to nod his head.
"That's so strange," he said. "I didn't think you'd spent an entire night with any of them."
"Well sometimes I did," Hiei casually replied.
"I see…"
Kurama scratched at his head, silently wondering if his own exhaustion was making his mind play tricks on him.
"Kurama?" Hiei said, his voice quiet but firm.
"Yes?" Kurama responded, meeting his eyes again.
"I'm not gay."
"But… I…"
Kurama hesitated, the determined look on Hiei's face only confusing him further.
"Right…" he said slowly. "Well, neither am I."
"Oh good!" Hiei said, smiling sweetly.
Kurama felt even more confused than ever. He decided that he was probably just tired, and that the heat from the hot spring was making matters worse; and, as he heard Puu dropping into the water and starting to preen himself, eliciting yells of alarm and complaint from Yusuke and Kuwabara, Kurama decided that it was time to move on.
"I don't think this night can get any more… Weird or awkward…" he muttered, reaching his fingers into the hair at the back of his neck. "So I'm just going to ask you outright: are you aware that you created this after you heard about Rui's fate?"
Kurama produced the sparkling hiruiseki he had collected earlier, holding it out towards Hiei. Hiei's eyes grew large as he looking at his own reflection in the gem's surface, and he gulped audibly.
"Did you know that you had made it?" Kurama asked him.
Hiei shook his head, lifting his eyes to Kurama.
"How silly of me," he said quietly.
"Not exactly," Kurama replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I wondered if we could use it?"
"What for?" Hiei asked.
"To buy ourselves a room for the night in a quality hotel in Arbeinia," Kurama replied. "Because we need the sleep, we need the hearty breakfast such an establishment would serve in the morning, but most of all because we need the protection of a well-guarded, up-market hotel in case Kokou decides to come looking for payment for her lost collection of priceless liquor one of us reduced to water…"
Hiei tilted his head slightly.
"Are you bribing me?" he asked. "Are you saying you'll tell Kokou I destroyed all those bottles of poitin if I don't let you sell my… That… The hirui stone?"
"Do I need to bribe you?" Kurama asked.
"No, I would let you use it anyway," Hiei replied.
"Good," Kurama replied. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone else about where this came from. And if anyone does ask, I'll say it came from the baby we had onboard the vehicle with us – who must have left behind enough gems to more than pay for the damage we did to that vehicle anyway for all the time she was crying."
"Can I ask you a question though?"
"Of course."
"Have you been hiding the stone in your hair this whole time? How did you manage to keep it in there?"
"I hide everything of importance in my hair, including my Rose Whip and a collection of seeds."
"But you're all wet, you've been swimming underwater. How did you manage to do that without all of your treasures falling out of your hair?"
Kurama smiled slyly and leaned closer to Hiei, whose eyes widened further still.
"I could tell you how," he said quietly. "But then I'd have to kill you."
Hiei made a small, soft, yelping sound and the colour drained from his already pale face.
"You never were terribly good at being able to tell when someone was teasing you, were you?" Kurama asked.
"Wh-what?" Hiei echoed.
"We should be on our way," Kurama said, standing up from the rock. "Your clothes are mostly dry, I'll leave you in peace to get dressed. Once you're ready step out onto that flat rock over there. I'm going back to collect the rest of my clothes and to make sure Yusuke and Kuwabara are ready too."
"Oh, okay."
Kurama started to pick his way around the edge of the pool, and behind him he heard Hiei untangling himself from the leaf.
Kurama smiled behind his hand as he watched Hiei's head bob behind the menu. He was clearly exhausted and fighting sleep as best he could, trying his best to hide his heavy eyelids and drooping form behind the large menu card.
"What's a grox?" Kuwabara asked.
"Are you gonna ask what every damn thing on the menu is?" Yusuke growled through tightly clenched teeth.
"Probably," Kuwabara honestly replied. "Because I don't know what anything on the menu is. It's all demon stuff."
"We are in demon world," Yusuke reminded him.
"Yeah, it's kinda hard to forget that…"
Kuwabara's eyes wandered across the empty restaurant to the impatient centipede demon standing by the entrance, his antennae twitching irritably. He looked especially odd as he had stuffed his long, multi-legged body into a suit designed for a human-shaped demon; though by the way he kept tugging at the collar it was clear the outfit had not been of his own choosing.
"Are you all remembering that this restaurant closed two hours ago?" Kurama asked quietly, glancing around his friends.
Hiei peered up at him, his eyes large and hazy with his exhaustion, Kuwabara frowned at him in a blend of confusion and concern and Yusuke gave an indifferent, half-smile and shrugged his shoulders. Kurama sighed and returned his attention to his own menu card. After returning to Arbeinia on Puu's back, the team had sought out the finest hotel in the town and, at the sight of the hirui stone Kurama offered them, the proprietors had gladly reopened the closed hotel restaurant and bar, and had arranged for some of their staff to set up the family room on the top floor – a hotel room with a living area and multiple individual bedrooms – for the team to spend the night in.
"What's a smoky man-horn?" Kuwabara asked.
"A roasted human penis," Yusuke replied.
Kurama put down his menu and held up a hand, waving over the waiter.
"We're ready to order now," he called out.
"Oh God, so then what's a grilled pastry-hole?" Kuwabara asked.
"I think you already know what it is," Yusuke replied, grinning darkly at him.
"What about a hairy-lipped oyster, is that…?"
Yusuke nodded and Kuwabara turned pale, his menu slowly wilting as his fingers weakened and his grip lessened.
"We'll just have four of the chef's special," Kurama told the waiter.
"And some beer," Yusuke added.
"A jug of water and four glasses," Kurama corrected him.
The waiter nodded and retreated back towards the kitchen, leaving Yusuke glaring across the table at Kurama.
"Didn't your last experience with demon world alcohol teach you anything?" Kurama asked him.
"Kurama's right, Urameshi," Kuwabara said. "You don't need alcohol to relax or have fun. It's really bad for you, I never touch the stuff."
"You were easily as wasted as I was last night!" Yusuke snapped at him.
Kuwabara started to argue back but stopped as Hiei's elbows collided with the table. He blinked a few times and tried to sit upright and look alert, but he was failing miserably.
"Aw, the poor little guy's sleepy!" Yusuke said in a baby voice.
Hiei shook his head.
"Hey, is it true what you said before about him still being a kid?" Kuwabara asked Yusuke. "Because maybe it's past his bed-time. Or maybe the reason he's so grumpy whenever we go on a mission is because he can't get his afternoon naps."
"I'm not a child," Hiei replied, his voice thick and slurred. "And I'm only a little tit bired."
Yusuke and Kuwabara both smirked.
"What did you just say?" Yusuke asked.
"Leave me alone," Hiei mumbled, his eyelids drooping again. "I'm not as sleepy as you thinkle peep I am."
He lifted up his menu-card again, hiding himself behind it so that Yusuke and Kuwabara would no longer be able to see him: but Kurama still had line of sight of him, and saw his head slowly move forwards until his forehead came to rest against the menu-card, at which point his eyes closed completely.
"I'll be back, don't steal any of my order," Kurama told Yusuke and Kuwabara as he pushed out his chair.
"Can we steal Hiei's order?" Yusuke asked.
"You might as well," Kurama replied, stepping away from his seat and grabbing onto Hiei's chair.
He pulled the chair back and Hiei slumped forwards before awakening abruptly as he realised that he was falling, his hands throwing the menu-card up in the air and grabbing at the table to stop himself from collapsing completely. Kurama beckoned him to stand up and, after one last, squinty glare at Yusuke and Kuwabara, Hiei got to his feet and followed Kurama from the restaurant, dragging his feet with every step. Kurama led him into an elevator, and, during their journey up to the top floor of the hotel, Kurama had to hold onto Hiei's shoulders to keep him upright.
"It's been a long day," he said when Hiei looked up at him with a hint of shame in his eyes. "And an early night will do you good."
"Are you going to bed now too?" Hiei asked as the elevator doors opened.
"No," Kurama replied, pushing Hiei out into the lobby ahead of him.
"So why are you coming up here with me?"
"To make sure that you make it to a bed. We can't have you collapsing halfway there and spending the night curled up in a plant pot."
Kurama smiled at Hiei, who looked as though he was embarrassed.
"Don't be ashamed," Kurama assured him as they entered their room. "Once this mission is over, we can work on your… Well, you know what I mean. You've done incredibly well to last as long as you have like this, but you must promise me that once we rescue Rui, you will never do this to yourself again."
Hiei smiled.
"I don't think I'll ever get the opportunity to do this to myself again," he replied.
"Let's hope not," Kurama said. "We don't want any more epidemics in demon world."
"No," Hiei agreed.
"And I know another killer virus would be the only thing that would lead to you being in this situation again."
"That's true."
Hiei moved to the nearest bedroom, stumbled over to the bed and collapsed onto it, crawling over the covers until he reached the pillows and then gladly turning over and lying down on his back, his head resting on the pillow.
"I'm going back to the restaurant," Kurama said.
"Thank you so much for accompanying me back up here, Mister Kurama."
Kurama tilted his head, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
"Mister Kurama?" he said.
Hiei's eyes were suddenly open wide and staring at the ceiling. He slowly turned his head to look over at Kurama by the doorway.
"As soon as this mission is over, you know what you have to do," Kurama said sternly as their eyes met.
Hiei nodded in agreement. Kurama turned around and disappeared out the door, and Hiei turned onto his side, facing the open doorway, watching through the gap as Kurama strode briskly across the living room area beyond. He reached the main door, his hand touching the door handle, but he stopped before his fingers closed around it. He hesitated there for a moment before turning and jogging back over to the bedroom and leaning in through the open doorway. When he saw Hiei still wide awake and watching him he edged further into the room.
"Now probably isn't the best time to talk about this, but there is something that worries me," he began. "It's about your sister."
"I don't have a sister," Hiei replied, pushing himself up onto his hip and curling his legs around at his side.
"…Yukina?" Kurama said.
"Yes?"
"Right."
"Okay."
"It's just that… You said you know where she is, but do you really?"
"…What?"
"I'm worried about Yukina, Hiei."
Hiei's face dropped.
"In light of everything we've witnessed and learned in the last few days, I'm concerned that she may be in great danger," Kurama continued. "At first I was worried the sick might go to living world and capture her, but now that I know Tsubara freely told Fumio and his men about Yukina's new residence and her vulnerability, being there alone so often, I'm worried that the real reason nobody has seen her lately is because Fumio, or one of his allies, has taken her. So Hiei I have to know: do you actually know where your sister is tonight?"
Hiei looked far less concerned than Kurama thought that he ought to. Instead he looked down, scratched his head, looked up, chewed at the inside of his mouth and then finally looked directly at Kurama again, his head slightly tilted.
"What's my secret?" he asked. "What is it about me that you've figured out?"
"What are you talking about?" Kurama echoed.
"Back at the hot spring, you said you knew what I was hiding," Hiei replied. "What am I hiding, Kurama?"
"You know what you're hiding," Kurama said.
"I know what I'm hiding, but I don't think that you know what I'm hiding. You just think you know, but I don't think that you do know."
"You're hiding how ill you genuinely are. You've lost weight – most noticeably muscle mass – and you're trying to hide how frail you've become behind excessive layers of clothing. Did you really think you could disguise the truth by dressing in layers, Hiei?"
"It works for Botan."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Hiei sighed and burrowed his way under the covers, pulling them up over his head.
"Hiei?" Kurama called over to him.
"Go away," Hiei's muffled voice replied.
"Your body has maybe weakened, but your obstinacy certainly hasn't…" Kurama muttered as he took his leave once more.
"Yukina!"
Hiei looked about himself anxiously. His heart was thundering in his chest, he was short of breath, he was sweating and the room was almost too dark for comfort: but he could see enough to realise that he was in a bedroom, and that he had apparently just been dreaming about his sister. He let out a long low sigh and dragged the back of his bandaged hand across his brow.
And as he did so, he realised that the warding bandages from both his right arm and forehead were absent.
Lifting up the covers and peering down at himself, Hiei discovered that he was in fact entirely naked. He tried to remember when he had taken off his clothes, but his disturbingly vivid dreams about his sister were clouding his memories. The room around him suddenly came into sharp focus as a small lamp snapped on, flooding the bedside area in light. Hiei turned towards it curiously, grunting in surprise as he found himself looking at a ferry girl with messy, slept-in blue hair and curious pink eyes.
"Why are you in my bed?" he growled at her.
"You were asleep but you felt cold, so I thought I should come in here and keep you warm," she replied.
He narrowed his eyes at her, hoping that she would at least acknowledge that her excuse was pathetic.
"I already told you, I don't do ferry girls," he said gruffly.
"But – ah!"
He threw the covers over her, cutting her words off, and got out of bed. For the first time in a long time, his head did not start to throb and spin the moment he stood up, which was at least something of a relief. He began stomping around the room in search of his clothes, but he did not get far before halting as two realisations struck him: first of all, none of his clothes or even his sword were in the room, and secondly he had woken up in a bed with Botan.
"Why are you in my bed?" he called over to her.
She fought her way out from under the covers to show her face before answering him.
"You're still sick and I was worried about you," she replied.
"Why am I naked?" he asked. "Did you undress me again?"
"You were unconscious," she replied.
"I've told you before, that's not a good enough reason to take my clothes off!" he snapped. "And why are you naked?"
"I was keeping you warm."
"If you wanted to keep me warm, maybe you shouldn't have taken off my clothes. And did you forget that I'm a fire demon? Heat isn't a problem for me."
"Skin on skin contact helps insulate the heat better."
"Hn, pathetic."
"What is?"
"Just admit it woman: you just wanted to get naked with me."
Botan folded her arms and pouted, but Hiei was in no mood to humour her sulking.
"Where's Yukina?" he asked her.
Her arms slowly fell to her sides and her face softened into a look of confusion before slowly dissolving into a look of dismay.
"You said you knew where she was!" she said.
"I always know where she is," he muttered.
"Then why did you just ask where she is?" Botan snapped.
Hiei clenched his fists at his sides and hung his head. Botan shuffled to the edge of the bed, watching him intently as he began to shake.
"A-are you okay?" Botan asked cautiously.
"I'm fine," Hiei replied. "I'm not sick. I saw those others get sick, but I'm not sick."
"You are sick, Hiei," Botan said. "But it's okay, I can cure you."
Hiei head snapped up and he glared at her almost accusingly.
"That's it?" he asked quietly. "I feel better now because I lay in bed naked with you?"
"What?" she echoed.
"Yes, I understand now…" he said, his eyes wandering from hers in thought. "That's why she was so angry… The cure for the virus involves nudity… The only way the sick can be cured is by lying naked with a healer… The ice maidens were being made to get naked…"
Botan's eyes doubled in size, but as she realised that Hiei was looking at her again she quickly relaxed her expression.
"Yes," she said, nodding her head. "That's exactly what the cure is: nudity. If you want to get healthy again, you'll just have to get back into this bed with me."
She lifted up the covers and patted the mattress at her side, smiling at him optimistically.
"The ice maidens were able to cure each sick demon in under ten minutes," Hiei pointed out. "Why is it taking you so long?"
"I'm not as strong as the ice maidens are," Botan said, drawing circles on the covers with her index finger.
Hiei narrowed his eyes as he watched her toy with her hair and gently bite her lip.
"You're trying to seduce me again," he concluded.
"You seduced me first!" she retorted, smacking a hand against the bed.
"When?" he asked. "How?"
"Always taking your shirt off and being confident in a fight, what did you expect?" she said.
"To wear my opponent down mentally with well-timed taunts and then to destroy him physically with my powers?" Hiei asked.
"Well it worked, Mister!" Botan replied.
Hiei took a breath to answer her, but sighed it out again.
"You're an idiot," he concluded. "And this can't happen. I need to find Yukina."
Botan's eyebrows shot up.
"What?" Hiei asked.
"You-you want to lie naked in bed with your own sister?" Botan asked.
"What?" Hiei barked. "Where did you get that from?"
"You won't let me cure you, so obviously you want her to cure you instead, but I've already told you that the only way to cure the virus is to be naked!"
"I don't have the virus!"
"Yes you do!"
"It's just a minor, temporary, mild, insignificant case of…"
Hiei lowered his head and began shaking again.
"I really don't feel comfortable sharing you in a naked sense with Yukina," Botan said, making him growl in frustration. "It's not that I'm uncomfortable getting naked with Yukina per se, it's that she's your sister, and even just the thought of the two of you together makes me feel icky."
Hiei started towards the door.
"I'd share you with anyone else," Botan called after him. "What about Shizuru? She's a very adventurous and capable girl!"
Botan watched the door expectantly as she heard Hiei's feet stop and then move back towards the room. He poked his head in through the doorway, glaring across the room at her through thinned, critical eyes.
"Is Shizuru the whiny one who's always hanging onto Yusuke or is she the tall rakish one who smokes?" he asked.
"The tall girl who smokes," Botan replied.
Hiei nodded.
"Shall I call her?" Botan offered.
"Isn't she Kuwabara's sister?" Hiei asked.
"Yes, but don't let that put you off," Botan replied. "Her feet are barely smelly at all."
"I'm not touching anything with the name Kuwabara."
Hiei left the room again, and, when she realised that he was not coming back again, Botan leapt from the bed and raced after him. She eventually caught up to him in a nearby bathroom, where she found him standing in front of the sink looking at his own reflection.
"When was the last time you saw Yukina?" he asked her, watching her in the mirror as he spoke.
"The day Koenma and I came here to tell you boys about the problem in spirit world," she replied.
Hiei nodded.
"Where did she sleep that night?" he asked.
"I don't know, Hiei," Botan replied. "I went back to spirit world that night."
"I don't think she did sleep that night," he said with a sigh. "I think she did something really stupid."
Botan gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Hiei turned to look directly at her.
"Am I right?" he asked. "My jagan eye hasn't been… Very reliable lately…"
"Romanticide!" Botan whispered.
"Don't ever do that again," Hiei warned her, pointing a finger at her nose.
"Do what? Whisper?"
"No. Don't ever combine my least favourite word with my most favourite word ever again."
Botan looking up, her lips silently moving through a series of words as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"I need to find Yukina," Hiei said, interrupting her thought process.
"Can't you just use you jagan eye like you usually do?" she asked, meeting his eyes again.
"No," he said.
"Why not?"
"Because I can't. Now you're supposed to be Yukina's friend, so where is she?"
"Oh, I see! It's like that is it? Last week my friendship with Yukina wasn't good enough for you to tell me where she was, but now that you don't know where she is all of a sudden it is important!"
"Just tell me where she is!"
"Use your jagan eye!"
"I can't!"
"Why not?"
Hiei flashed his teeth at Botan before reluctantly opening the third eye in his forehead. Botan screamed and fled the room at what she saw, and, as he turned his head and caught sight of his reflection, Hiei could understand why.
"It's just a minor, temporary, mild, insignificant case of pink eye," he muttered. "Stupid woman, she ought to understand, she has pink eyes all the time…"
Next Chapter: The team arrive in spirit world, but when they report to Koenma's office they start to realise that the situation in spirit world is actually even more bizarre than the one they just overcame in demon world. They set out to find Fumio and his gang, but reaching their goal means entering a part of spirit world that is strictly off-limits to outsiders, and the only way to continue is to pass a series of increasingly difficult challenges: the second of which divides the group and forces each of them to reveal a secret about themselves that they had previously been hiding/lying about. Chapter 25 – Truly Noble