Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters
So after this there are five more chapters. I'm hoping to do a weekly update (if I can get the last four chapters written in that time) up until the end of the story, but don't hold me to that. It will definitely be done within a two month period, though. Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Since the night of Hiei's confession, abrupt departure, return, and then sleeping together, Hiei had made himself scarce. Shizuru wasn't really surprised. She also wasn't worried about Hiei being a flight risk. Truth be told, she expected the fire demon to retreat after opening up to her. It seemed to be his pattern, even with his sister. She didn't expect him to break free of that after one night of passion.
Thinking of the fire demon was beginning to bring out the concern she always attempted to hide under the guise of irritation, like when Kazuma had joined the boys on their missions and in their competitions. Work hadn't helped to ease her mild anxiety as it usually did. She exhibited too many nervous ticks that day that she decided to return home before she cut someone's ear off. Her last customer hadn't really been pleased with his haircut.
So now she was lying in bed, smoking a cigarette while reading a magazine. She was checking out some of the latest hair styles and the best outfits to go with them. Though she wasn't superficial, she needed to keep up with the times, at least so she could give the customers what they wanted.
"That smell again," Hiei muttered as he entered the room through the window. Though he growled it out, she knew he was questioning her.
"I've been tense lately," Shizuru replied blowing out a stream of smoke for effect. "Sue me."
Hiei didn't reply as he walked around the bed and kicked off his boots. He reclined himself on the bed, leaning against the head board, and closed his eyes. Occasionally, he'd peek them open as he heard the sound of the page turning. The two of them sat in silence for a while, but then Hiei scoffed and caught Shizuru's attention.
He motioned his head to the page she was currently on. "I've seen demons that take more pride in their looks than that," he jeered as he saw a human woman dressed in obnoxiously bright colors with her hair frayed out in all directions. The orange shades did not seem to tie the look together.
Shizuru chuckled before she took another drag. "You mean like 'The Beautiful Suzuka?'"
Hiei turned to her, surprised she would be reminiscing about the Dark Tournament at all before his face became blank. "Hn, he was a clown," he remarked, "and a fool. Everyone thought he was a joke."
"Yeah," Shizuru agreed. "He definitely had people talking about him, and not in the way he wanted."
After the brief moment of memory, the room grew quiet again, though this time the weight was heavier than it had been. The tournament had been a struggle for everyone. No one besides Koenma could even guess how derailed Shizuru had been. She had almost lost her baby brother more times than she could count, and then she had to lose someone who was a stranger and a kindred spirit all at once. She could admit she didn't have it as hard as Yusuke had, but she had been scarred by the tournament. And scars like that wouldn't fade.
It didn't help that when it came to talking about her feelings, she was stubborn. After the tournament, her brother had tried to get her to talk to him, just because he thought it would help both of them. They had never seen so much death before in their lives, and Kazuma was protective of her. When she wouldn't talk to him, that was when Kurama started showing up at the salon or randomly at her apartment. She knew her silence was what led her brother to send someone in to check on her. What he didn't realize was that she wasn't completely fragile. Instead, she used the worry she held for him during the tournament (something she always played off by scolding him for his losses) and the pain she still felt from when she thought she had lost him forever and pushed him to study harder. She truly believed that if he dedicated his time to something more "normal" that he would be less inclined to jump into another fight. So far, it was working.
Hiei knew that the Dark Tournament was a sore subject with the human, though he didn't understand the extent. Being a demon, living among thieves and killers, the happenings of the Dark Tournament were nothing new to him. He had continuously tried to get the humans to understand that they had entered the world of "kill or be killed." They hadn't accepted it until after someone they cared about was taken from them. He couldn't be responsible if they didn't heed his advice.
Living the life he had, he knew that having ties and connections could lead to weakness. He had always been the loner, the survivor, and he had prided himself in that. It wasn't until he had been forced into the group that he began to change a little bit at a time. The moment Yusuke had said he trusted him, he knew he couldn't go back. Eventually he learned to trust the group as well, even though he had been betrayed by Kurama and "hated" Kuwabara. After all, they helped him do something he couldn't on his own. They helped him find Yukina.
Knowing his sister was free and safe at Genkai's let Hiei feel a certain peace he hadn't had in Demon World. He had no intention of telling her who he was, even during the tournament when everyone kept implying it. He still hadn't forgiven Kurama for that little joke of his…
Even the girls that came along with his human teammates had become a part of his life, especially the one sitting beside him. If someone would have told him he'd find a place in her home one day, he would have slaughtered them in the most inhumane fashion he could think of. Now, he couldn't think back on a time when he had last been alone other than when training. The loner wasn't alone anymore…
And that terrified him.
A sigh from Shizuru brought him out of his internal thoughts. "To think talking about a clown would lead to this intensity," she murmured setting her magazine aside and facing him. "And you were already tense to begin with, too."
Hiei narrowed his eyes at her. Sure, his muscles were very taught from his increased training, but that didn't mean he was tense. "I was not," he countered.
Shizuru sighed again and shook her head. "I'm too tired to do this right now," she said to the fire demon who just stared at her. "Hold on."
The woman got up from the bed and left the room momentarily. Hiei caught himself watching her as she left the room, and his eyes lingered on the doorway waiting for her to return. She did return, with a bottle of lotion. Hiei had no idea what she was planning.
"Alright…take off your shirt," she ordered.
Hiei continued to stare at her, though inside he felt his core race. It hadn't been very long since the night he slept with the human woman. Neither of them had made a move to discuss it or push it forward, so he didn't know how to react to her order.
"Really?" she asked. "You're just going to stare at me and not ask me what I'm up to?" Well, yeah, she caught him there. "I know you're curious, so I'll just tell you. This is a special type of lotion, no scent, that's used for massages. When you train as excessively as you do, your muscles get tensed up. Toxins build up in the tense muscles and the tissue needs to be broken down to release them. I would have suggested the oil, but that's probably not a good idea to use oil on a fire demon."
"Hn. What makes you think I've been excessively training?" Hiei retorted.
"Was I seeing things the day you came in here bleeding?"
He glared at her. "We are not to discuss-"
"Hiei," Shizuru interrupted, "I don't want to hear it. I've left you alone about it before, but even I can see how hunched your shoulders are right now. If you aren't going to stop, then at least agree to do something that can help you. You could hurt yourself if you don't take care of this. You won't make any positive strides."
"What do you care?" Hiei asked, genuinely curious, but letting bitterness invade his tone.
"After the other night, you're seriously going to ask me that," she stated in disbelief.
Well, that did him in. In an indirect way, she stated that she cared about him. He had realized over the last few days that he cared about her too, on some level at least. It only made sense that she would want to help him with problems he didn't even notice himself that he was dealing with.
"Fine," he grunted as he began to take his shirt off. As he tossed the fabric aside, his eyes gave her a challenge. "Now what?"
Shizuru smirked slightly. "Lay down flat on your stomach with your arms to your sides and just relax as best you can. I'll do the rest."
Hiei nodded and lied down in the position Shizuru suggested. He never did anything like this before, giving someone access to him when he was in a vulnerable position. He never even did that with the group save when he had no choice exhausting his energy after the fight with Bui. With Mukuro…well, again he had no choice. Here, he knew he did have a choice, and he chose to let Shizuru in more than he already had. He was certain he was losing his mind. That could be the only explanation for his actions.
Shizuru began to knead his muscles, using more pressure than she ever had with any human. Before working in the salon, she had been a masseuse and she was trained to notice even the subtlest of cues of discomfort or pain. Hiei himself probably didn't realize he was having issues. His posture gave him away.
As she continued her ministrations, she felt the fire demon tense slightly as she reached a part close to his spine. The more she kneaded that spot, the worse he tensed up and twitched. Shizuru smiled, knowing exactly what was going on with that area. Regardless of his twitching, she continued to work on that area. "Relax," she ordered again. "It'll feel better in a moment."
"How can I relax when you're…"
When he stopped short, Shizuru just kept going, but she couldn't help but laugh. "The word, Hiei, is tickling. You're ticklish."
"You're an idiot," he murmured as he sucked in a breath. "Warriors don't get 'ticklish.'"
"That is where you're wrong, my friend," Shizuru teased and she worked out the rest of the knot and moved on to yet another sensitive area which caused Hiei to tense and twitch even more. "You see, when muscles are tight, they become very sensitive to touch, AKA ticklish. When the knots get worked out, it slightly decreases the sensitivity. It'll take time before you completely lose that sensation in those sensitive spots, but eventually you won't feel it as badly."
Hiei scoffed but tensed slightly every time her hands moved over a spot closer to his hip. "I think you're making that up," he challenged.
Shizuru paused momentarily, and he smirked in victory thinking he had caught her. Before he knew it, though, her hands were kneading the shoulder muscles of his dominant hand and he saw stars. The sensation was almost unbearable as he tried to jerk away. He almost started crawling away when she stopped and let him gasp for air. He turned around glaring heatedly at her, but she just wore a victorious smirk of her own.
"I was trying to be nice and work my way up to that spot, start with the areas around, but I think I made my point," she taunted. "Think I'm lying now?"
Hiei glowered at her, almost pouting, but he did shake his head and resumed his previous position. He still gritted his teeth and twitched when she reached sensitive areas, but he stayed quiet and just let her do what she wanted. It was clear she knew more than he gave her credit for and, like his emotions towards her, and that also terrified him.
What have I gotten myself into?
A/N: Before anyone asks, the ticklish thing is a real thing. I have back issues and had started trying out massages, and I'm insanely ticklish. They told me that it's because of me being tense a lot, and they told me it would get better. My best friend was so shocked when it took way more than normal to tickle me XD It was amazing! Anyway, yeah, fun fact of the day.