Love for Hiei Part 2
Mai had few belongings, so helping her unpack wouldn't be too much of a hassle. While I placed towels into her bathroom, she was busy fixing up the bed sheets. I had given her some spare sheets and covers since she had none of her own, and I could tell she was thankful.
"Mai, I put fresh towels into your bathroom. Maybe a nice, hot shower will help relax you."
She didn't speak, as if thinking it over. She then nodded and I gave her a bottle of shampoo. An eyebrow was raised and I laughed slightly at her expression.
"Squeeze some into your hand and work it into your hair. It'll help untangle any knots you have and help keep your hair shiny and clean."
After she entered the bathroom, she paused for a minute to put a hand on my shoulder. I smiled and put a hand on top of hers.
"You're welcome."
I shut the bathroom door and headed downstairs, where Kurama greeted me.
"Yukina, did she get settled in?"
"She did. She's in her bathroom freshening up. Unpacking didn't take long since she only had a few items of clothing with her."
"After what she went through, I'd say she's entitled to relaxation."
"I agree."
I sat down beside Hiei on the couch, his expression as uninterested as always.
"It's awful what she went through, isn't it?"
"Hn. Main thing is that no one innocent was disposed of today."
"True."
Yusuke emerged from the kitchen and smirked.
"Good news, guys. Koenma says that since Mai put her life on the line to help Yukina, he's offering Mai a chance to join us."
Hiei rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Last thing we need is another human to mess things up."
"C'mon, Hiei. You have to admit that Kuwabara and I have improved quite well since you teamed up with us."
"That may be true, detective, but I don't plan on working with her until I find out more about where she came from. She may have helped my sister, but that doesn't give me enough reason to trust her."
Kurama sighed heavily at my brother and shook his head.
"Hiei, be reasonable. With the state Mai was found in and how she helped Yukina escape, by what means would she pose as a threat?"
"For all I know this whole thing could've been planned out. Ryoh could've been a decoy to lure Yukina out of hiding, and Mai could've very well been a part of it."
"Brother, Kurama's right. Mai saved my life. Because of that, you owe her. Had it not been for Mai, I may not be sitting here talking with you right now."
Hiei sighed and walked upstairs, presumably to his room. Kurama put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.
"He is thankful Mai helped you, Yukina, but he does have a right to be concerned. He's only looking out for you."
"I know he is. But ever since he told me of who he was, he has become very protective of doesn't need to worry so much, though."
"He knows that, but he can't help himself. You are his only living relative and if anything happened to you, he'd be all alone again."
Mai's POV:
I had just finished putting on a white blouse and black skirt when a knock was heard at my door. I opened it to see Hiei, his eyes as narrow as they were when I arrived. I raised an eyebrow at him, but allowed him to enter before locking the door behind me.
"I have a few questions to ask you, and I expect to get answers."
Considering what could've happened to his sister, he did have a right to get answers. I offered him a seat on the couch in my room, and he sat down while keeping his eyes on me.
"How can I be sure that what happened was true, that all of this wasn't planned out to lure us out? For allI know, you're just a pawn in someone else's game. While I am thankful that you helped Yukina, I can't say that I fully trust you yet."
I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. I could tell from what Yukina told me if him that they were close.
"Answer me this, Mai. What kind of life did you have? What kind of life led you to being captured by Ryoh?"
I grew tense at the thought of telling him where I came from. The mere image of what happened to my parents still hadn't left my mind. Hiei, growing frustrated, angrily pinned me to the wall beside my bed.
"Damn it, woman. Answer me!"
Tears came to my eyes as the gruesome images returned to my head. I nodded, which was all he needed to enter my thoughts.
Hiei's POV:
I entered Mai's thoughts, and I'd be lying if I said the images weren't disturbing. I saw her start out with a happy life, but then it changed. I saw her father slaughtered at the hands of burglars as he tried protecting her and her mother. I also saw her mother's battle and death with the illness, a severe form of bronchitis. What disturbed me more was seeing the physical punishments she suffered at the hands of Ryoh during her isolation in his domain. I immediately left her mind, and my eyes widened as I saw the tears fall down her face. I let go of her and proceeded to walking out the door, looking back at her one more time.
"I apologize if you felt I was intruding, but I had to be sure your intentions were good and that you weren't really after my sister."
Mai weakly smiled at me and shook her head, as if dismissing my apology. I exited her room and headed for my own, eager for time to myself to let everything I saw sink in.
Mai's POV:
After heading downstairs, I saw Yusuke and Kuwabara playing a videogame on the television. They paused it as they saw me enter the living room.
"Hey, Mai. Settled in?"
I nodded and smiled, looking at Yusuke with interest.
"What's up?"
"Urameshi, I think she's curious about your Spirit Gun and how you were able to use it."
"Is that it, Mai?"
I nodded and he escorted me to the training room. He held up his hand as if it were a gun, and smirked as he saw me mimic his movement.
"What I do is concentrate my energy so that it flows through my finger. Once I have enough to use, I unleash it."
I tried it, and smirked at Yusuke's face as he saw my finger begin to glow.
"No way. You haven't even been trained to use this yet."
I unleashed it on a target on the wall and saw it turn into ashes. Impressed, Yusuke put a hand on my shoulder.
"For someone that has no formal training with the Spirit Gun, that was pretty good. I think Koenma could tell how much Spirit Energy you had when he suggested you join our team. You hungry?"
Now that he mentioned it, I did feel pretty hungry. I hadn't eaten anything in a couple of weeks, and I had been using my energy to keep me alive. My stomach growled and Yusuke smirked.
"Guess that's a yes. I think Kurama's fixing up something to eat."
Yusuke resumed his game with Kuwabara and I entered the kitchen to see if Kurama needed help. He sensed me beside him and smiled.
"If you like, you can slice up some onions and peppers. I hope you don't mind having fajitas tonight."
I smiled and got right to work. I got out a cutting board and got to work slicing up some peppers. Some looked perfect, and others not so much. Either way, I could tell Kurama was impressed with what he saw.
"Good job, Mai. I think that about does it. Everything looks ready to go. Do you think you can get Hiei for me?"
I headed up the stairs to Hiei's room, hesitant about knocking on the door. I summoned up courage and knocked twice before Hiei abruptly opened it.
"What do you want?"
I pointed down to the kitchen, and he caught the scents of what was cooking. He shut his door and followed me down the stairs. I put a hand on his shoulder and he narrowed his eyes at me.
"Now what?"
I reached into my pocket and produced an item I had found in a small creek by the forest near where I used to live. Hiei's eyes widened as he looked at the object, curious as to how I got my hands on it.
That's a wrap for part 2. Yukina helps Mai settle into her new room at Koenma's, and Hiei sees Mai's thoughts on the life she once lived. On their way to dinner, Mai shows Hiei something that shocks him to hiscore. What the item is and Hiei's reaction is featured in part 3. Stay tuned to see what Hiei has to say