A/N: Alright, so, since I'm juggling three languages in this (sign, English and Japanese) I thought I'd provide a key for how they are depicted.
"Japanese will be italicized within quotation marks, as I'll only refer to it when its spoken."
Sign will be italicized, without quotation marks.
"English will be done normally."
Also, this chapter took forever to craft and I'm very tired. Love y'all, enjoy. Also, I'm open to idea for what you'd like to see in future chapters. I have running notes but my brain isn't handling things very well at the moment.
"What's for breakfast?" Hiei asked Kurama, and the redhead pointedly ignored him. "Fine. Ask the woman."
No response, no indication the other man had heard him.
It had been like this for days. Kurama spoke to Victoria exclusively in English now, the words coming fluidly to his tongue and she demonstrated those hand gestures to him with every syllable that poured from her mouth.
And there were a lot of syllables. The woman hardly stopped talking. It was as if she were afraid she'd lose her voice if she didn't use it constantly.
"Does he need something?" Victoria nodded toward Hiei and Kurama didn't even glance in that direction.
"He's fine." Kurama smiled warmly.
"You don't think this is going a little far? I mean, I don't want him having a tantrum and tearing up my house." She cast a look toward the dark haired man who glowered at both of them before stalking to the fridge himself and pulling out a package of deli meat. She watched at Hiei pulled a few slices from the container then shoved them into his mouth as he stood with the fridge door open. "He's a bit more agitated lately."
"He'll learn to adapt." Kurama assured her, but his tone had turned chilly when he glared at Hiei's back. "I refuse to baby him and lean into this stubborn nature of his. I'm not his caretaker and he should have the sense to cooperate with allies by now."
"We tend to call people friends 'round here." Victoria laughed.
Hiei cast her a dubious glare, then shot the same look to Kurama.
"He'll come around." The redhead grinned, but even to the woman who'd only known him for less than a week it looked forced. "Hiei, as I'm sure you know, changes through demand. Given any lenience he will remain rooted in his ways."
"I dunno, I mean, I feel like the whole reason Yusuke earned his trust was by offering it first. That kindness seemed foolish but Hiei really responded to it." She argued, leaning on the counter with her elbows. "I don't want him to associate me with annoyance."
"Trust me, at the moment I'm the cause of his frustration. He views you as a byproduct." Kurama deflated some. "I hate to admit his opinion of people hasn't changed very much over the years."
"People do sort of suck." She allowed, then winked at Kurama and earned a genuine smile from him. "Alright K-drama, Café de Victoria is open for business. What can I make you and our dour ally for breakfast?"
"Don't make him food until he asks you directly." Kurama shook his head. "But I will eat whatever you make for yourself."
"Frozen waffles and scrambled eggs coming right up. Now, when you eat this, don't be alarmed by cooking prowess. I know it might overwhelm an unrefined palate, but, in time you'll learn to ascend to my level." Victoria spoke seriously but with a smile and it earned a chuckle from the man across the bar from her as she set about her morning task.
Kurama napped upstairs as Victoria sat on the back porch, laptop poised on her lap as she rocked mindlessly in the wooden rocking chair. The sun was bright, the humidity up, and the citronella candles barely kept the mosquitos at bay. Midday found her lazy, hiding in the shade of the porch as she worked. Every now and then, she would glance to the side and watch Hiei study the world around him.
It was sort of adorable, how he jumped the first time an anoles scurried passed him.
The little green reptiles were quick, small and plentiful. Not nearly quick enough to avoid Hiei's agile fingers, but they tried. Feeble creatures. He snatched one from the railing of the porch, studying it as it struggled in his hand. Victoria watched him with fascination, looking up from her laptop.
"They're pretty cute, right? When I was a kid I used to hang them from my ears." She laughed at herself, signing the story as she spoke it. Hiei rolled his eyes to her then away, not sure why she continued to bother trying to communicate with him in that gibberish native tongue of hers.
Hiei looked the lizard over again, then with a shrug, he popped the animal into his mouth.
The horror that pooled through Victoria was visceral and real, draining the blood from her face.
"Get that out of your mouth!" Victoria shrieked, running over to Hiei who stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Spit it out! Spit it out! Kurama!"
Hiei swallowed the lizard with a look of utter annoyance and boredom.
"Gross!" She paled, gagging some and trying to fight the sensation. "Oh fuck, that's so gross Hiei! You can't just eat lizards! WE HAVE FOOD UPSTAIRS."
He stared at her dully, silently reminding her he had no clue what she was saying. Even now, in her hysteria, she used those damned hand gestures wildly.
"Lizards aren't food!" She signed the words as she yelled them, disgusted.
Hiei rolled his eyes as Kurama came jogging out to them, looking quite frazzled.
"Hiei ate a fucking lizard." Victoria turned to the redhead immediately. "He's not listening to me. You need to tell him he's disgusting and to cut that shit out."
"I don't understand." Kurama blinked turning to Hiei, "Why?"
"It was there." Hiei shrugged, speaking in Japanese. "I'm not asking that woman for food. And you're ignoring me. I'll fend for myself."
"Why isn't he disgusted with himself? He should be disgusted with himself." Victoria pointed at the spiky haired man. "Gross, you're fucking gross. Go brush your teeth."
Her admonishment and order was administered in sign as well as verbally. Hiei smirked, stepping toward her and watched with glee as she ducked away from him. He moved toward her again and she moved behind Kurama, using the taller man to shield her from his shorter counterpart.
"Get away from me Lizard Eater." Victoria warned. "I will end you. Fucking cretin."
"Hiei go brush your teeth." Kurama sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And throw out your toothbrush afterward. We'll get you a new one."
"It's not that bad. I barely chewed." Hiei huffed.
"Disgusting." Kurama chided, scowling. "Just go."
Hiei rolled his eyes, stalking toward the house with a hmph.
Hiei stared at the woman. Her head rested on her arm as she slept against the counter, slumped over. Her laptop's screen still vibrantly lit, the charger plugged into the wall underneath her, earbuds tucked into her ears. She didn't move as he walked closer, totally unware of her surroundings. He studied the counter around her, picking up one of the many notecards littering the bar. Crimson eyes moved back to the sleeping face.
She'd written out a bunch of labels in kanji, another word written above and below in Latin script. He glanced around the kitchen and living room, noting that she'd fixed several labels into place already. Hiei set the card in his hand back onto the counter. Her handwriting was atrocious, but given that it wasn't her first language, he guessed it wasn't half bad. He could read it.
"You must be something special. Victoria never leaves her men where I can find them." An old woman teased from behind Hiei, causing him to spin around on the defensive.
She assessed his pose and narrowed eyes before glancing at Victoria, who continued to sleep soundly.
"You are here with her right?" The woman gestured to the sleeping girl. "A friend of Victoria's?"
"Victoria." Hiei spoke the name slowly, the syllables foreign to his tongue. Then he glanced at the bearer of the name and back to the woman. "She brought me here. Who are you?"
The old woman stood taller than Genkai, the only other human around her age he'd ever met, but her hair was equally grey and cropped close to her head. Her rounded cheeks still held considerable color, her blue eyes lively. Her stature reminded him of Victoria, and he was certain they were related. She walked over to the counter and picked up a notebook to the side of the laptop, reading back a few pages. With a nod, she glanced back at Hiei.
"Hiei, huh? You hungry?" She asked then nodded again, flipping back a page. "Would you like to eat?"
The awkward pronunciation of the phrase made Hiei raise an eyebrow. He stared at her, then the notebook in her hand, then to the sleeping woman. He'd assumed Victoria and Kurama had been in league with each other when it came to refusing to speak to him. The old woman set it back down, moving into the kitchen to rummage through the refrigerator and cupboards, speaking the whole time despite Hiei being unable to understand. He swiped the notebook up and glanced at the words, unable to recognize most of the language. But there were a few phrases written down in kanji.
Mostly instruction and key phrases. His name. Questions directed toward him, he was sure. Some answers he might offer. Underneath the words were what he determined to be pronunciations. Above them, more Latin script.
On the last page there was a note written in rough kanji, the contents of which took time for him to decipher from the lack of grammar and misused symbols. This woman was a mess, but he got the gist of her message. She described that she was labeling as much of the house as she could so he could find things comfortably and so she could learn to speak to him more easily since he wasn't going to come to her. She was sorry for the lack of familiarity with Japanese.
He looked up as two plates were set on the counter, on top of the notecards. The old woman smiled warmly and gestured to one of the plates and then to him. She pointed at herself last.
"Grams." She said the word and pointed at herself again.
"Grams." Hiei repeated, testing the name. His eyes moved to the food. Eggs, meat and toast. He sat down at the bar, taking a small tentative bite as his eyes stayed glued to this new stranger.
She watched him with obvious mirth, slowly sliding the other plate closer to Victoria's face. The hand that had been hanging down limply rose to the counter and pulled a piece of bacon into her sleeping mouth, eyes still closed as she chewed. Hiei watched in muted fascination and horror at the display as the girl continued to eat without actually waking up. What sort of bizarre monster was she, exactly? Then almost as if she'd heard his question, her eyes blinked open and moved to his face.
He'd expected more a reaction once she came to. Maybe some squawk of concern that he was still there. A cry for help at the glare settling over his features. Even lifting her head would've been within the realm of possibility, but Victoria did none of those things. She met his glower with a heavy-lidded smile.
"Ohayōgozaimasu." Then she slowly rubbed her eyes and rose to sitting, stretching her shoulders and neck. What honorific did she offer him? San? Senpei? Kun? No. Not that one. Never that one. Her ragged brain pulled up all the information she'd scoured the night before. What time was it? Oh. She'd only been asleep for three hours. "Coffee, please."
"Why are you bleeding?" Grams demanded, passing over a piping cup of the coffee, colored caramel for all the creamer added to it.
Victoria looked down at her left side, the blood staining her shirt in full view when she extended her arms over her head to stretch some more. Hiei had noticed it too, apparently, as his eyes wouldn't leave the wet mark. Curiously, Victoria hiked the hem of her shirt up over her ribs to reveal the gash had seeped through the gauze she'd re-applied the night before.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just got stabbed at a haunted house." Victoria waved off all concern.
"You haven't healed?" Hiei demanded, pointed to the wound. "How weak are you?"
Grams and Victoria looked at him from the corner of their matching blue eyes then turned back to each other as if he hadn't spoken.
"I told you not to go to those things. You're going to bring demons in here again. Remember last time? We had to remodel the whole bathroom." Grams fussed. "Girl, I swear to the good lord above, you make my hair greyer every single time you open your mouth."
"Did a pretty redhead come downstairs?" Victoria yawned around the words, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"No, but I believe I saw one sitting on the pier." Grams looked her granddaughter over. "You were right, he's definitely not a panda."
"That little shit ate a lizard yesterday, Grams. A fucking lizard." Victoria rubbed at her eyes and yawned again. "He's a garbage panda at best."
"Why are you doing this?" Hiei gestured to the notecards, holding one up.
Victoria just stared at him dully, sipping her coffee. He frowned back at her, asked the question again, shaking the card.
"What's he asking you?" Grams wondered. "He seems confused."
"Doesn't matter. I can't answer him." Victoria sighed let her head fall back on her neck. "I was trying to convince him to learn sign but he's an ass."
"I think he's handsome, even if he is small. You need to feed him more."
"He's a grown man, Grams, he's not getting any taller." Victoria lamented, shooting her grandmother a look. "And he's still an ass, handsome or not."
"Seeing him in person I understand that weird fetish you used to have those cartoons." Grams nodded. "The men are pretty, aren't they?"
"I can't deal with this right now. I'm exhausted and drained." Victoria whined.
Hiei grew annoyed with getting ignored and slammed the card onto the counter, the noise barely earning a reaction from the purple haired woman. Grams, however, narrowed her keen blue eyes. Hiei shot her a dirty look, mouth opening to hurl something harsh.
"Sit down and eat." Grams demanded in a cool, firm tone.
Hiei found himself following the command he only barely understood, sitting back in his hair and grabbing his fork. After swallowing a bit of egg he stared at his hand, the plate, then slowly the old woman. Her gaze bore into him with a physical pressure, and when he found himself trapped in it, he couldn't look away.
"Where he comes from, he's a powerful psychic. I'm talking, mind-reading, telepathic, connected to the underworld psychic. Remote viewing too. The works." Victoria explained, waving a hand loosely toward Hiei. "He's not used to being bossed around or ignored."
"Well, he better get used to it. I will not tolerate that rude behavior." Grams looked away toward Victoria and Hiei exhaled, sagging forward a bit as someone had just stopped pulling his shoulders back.
What the hell were these women? He stared at Grams, then drug his attention to Victoria with a strange enough expression it made her sweep her gaze over him. Was that what Victoria had done to that idiot who'd been shouting at her? It seemed neither of the women appreciated loud men. He'd need to tread carefully lest they choose to force him to do something other than sit. Where was Kurama? He wished the fox had been here to witness what just happened so they could come up with countermeasures.
But, for the moment, it seemed he was on his own.
With resolute sigh, Hiei tapped at Victoria's phone which sat on the counter beside her laptop. "You made it speak for you before. How do I do that?"
She furrowed her brow, then shook her head in her lack of understanding. Hiei pressed his lips together.
"I need to speak to you." He begrudgingly admitted and tapped the phone again. "Make it translate."
Victoria glanced at Grams, as if to confirm that the other woman also had no clue what Hiei was saying. Then she grabbed the pile of notecards and started shuffling through them, eyes scanning over the English phrases quickly until she landed on a card and held it up to him. Then another. And another. Until Hiei pieced together a rough cut sentence.
This was going to take forever if he had to do this every fucking time.
I want to talk to you. He traded out one of the cards I need for this updated sentence. Then he pointed at the phone again and watched as understanding clicked. She pressed a button, swiped her thumb over the screen, and then drug the translator to life.
"Why are you doing this?" He pointed to the cards, glancing at Grams to be sure his tone didn't earn the woman's penetrating ire again.
"So you'll stop eating lizards like a fucking goblin." Victoria grumped in response. "Kurama be damned, I have to be able to communicate with you."
He studied her for a moment, nearly amused the lizard thing bothered her so much.
"I'm not using these cards." Hiei told her with a glare. "It takes too long. Show me those hand gestures again."
"You mean sign language?" Victoria tipped her head to the side. "I thought you didn't want to use it. I made the cards so you wouldn't have to talk at all."
"They take too long and your handwriting is poor."
She nodded. "We'll have to use them while you learn, probably. And they're good for me so I can learn some Japanese."
"Not my problem. I don't care."
She smiled at him, despite his annoyed tone. Then plucked a card from stack showed it to him and signed the meaning of the word.
Thank you.