You wake with the scent of the Luna Thorn still lingering in your nostrils. The lights in the infirmary are dim, and it appears that the doctor has long since gone home. You reach a hand towards your back, and touch a solid layer of gauze and tape, although under it, you can feel a the raised highway of stitches. You slowly sit up, and find happily that most of the discomfort is gone.
In the weak glow of the auxiliary lights, a neon yellow post-it note seems to glow from it's perch atop a pile of fabric on a chair near the door. You leap down from the table and pick it up:
Morning sweetie,
by the time you wake up, I'll no doubt be off-hours. Please try not to overexert yourself in the next 24 hours or so or your stitches will pop and we'll find ourselves spending another afternoon together. Your shirt, as you may have noticed earlier, is rather defunct, so I took the liberty of grabbing a new one for you. Beau, or no- it would be quite the scandal to be wandering the halls topless, don't you think ?
Next to the latter sentence she had drawn a winking smiley face, and you grin as you picture the group's reaction if you did just decide to wander the hallways 'au natural'.
Try to stay out of trouble, dear.
Sincerely, Doctor Laurie Zephyr
You fold the note carefully and put it in your pocket thinking that Doctor Zephyr is...
A fool begging for a slow death at my hands!
I'm not thinking about her, silly!
Similar to my mother in many ways.
One of the nicest people I've ever met.
'Hiei...' You say gently. Hiei raises his eyes back to yours with a look so raw and unguarded, it makes you uncomfortable and you look away. 'Thank you for taking care of me.'
He nods wordlessly.
You glance outside again to see the sun beginning it's trek west. 'Don't you think we should be heading back?'
'You should rest.' He says curtly.
Despite your efforts to restrain it, a tiny spark of indignation flares in the recesses of your mind. 'I'm fine. I think that part of my back may have dried onto the wood, but other than that, I'm perfectly okay.'
'Stop acting tough...the others can wait.'
You scowl. 'They can, but they don't have to- and I'm not acting tough, I'm being realistic. We're just beginning to pull ahead of the Shikigami, I can't just lie around while they're catching up...'
'So you'll just blindly chase after him, despite the fact that only hours ago, you were on the brink of death.' His eyes narrow.
'I recover quickly' You snap. o0(What is with him today?)
'No, you just have no sense when it comes to your own limits!'
With that you grit your teeth and pull yourself forwards on the pew, a dry layer of coagulated blood peeling away from your back as you do so. A throbbing pain roars in the area, quickly replaced by an agonizing tingling sensation. Although you try to suppress it, a small cry escapes your mouth, and you grab onto the side of the pew to steady yourself as a slow ooze of blood winds it's way down your back.
Hiei pales, a look of anger and surprise flooding his face. 'What is wrong with you?!' He grabs your shoulders as you sway in a sitting position, waiting for the pain to subside.
You look up at him defiantly, a single tear hanging from your lower lid in spite of your best efforts. 'Nothing! That's the point!' You begin to swing your legs over the side of the pew, when you're stopped by the sensation of Hiei's arm sliding under your knees. His other arm wraps behind your shoulder blades, and you feel yourself being lifted off the hard wood surface.
'Hiei...what?' Forgetting your initial argument you look up at him confusedly.
'I guess I should have known better than to try and reason with the insane.' He gives the tiniest wry smile, and a large part of you feels relieved at the revival of Hiei's usual personality. 'Even if you are 'fine', you'd slow me down if you went on your own- so deal with this.'
You smile up at him, completely forgetting your earlier resentment. 'Thanks.'
Under all his posturing, he really is a good guy.
Ch. He better put me down before I break his thumbs.
I'm in love!!! Marry me!!
Why is he doing all this for me?
You pull the large gray tee-shirt the doctor brought you over your head, and step out into the hallway. Although it's getting late, you decide that you've done more than enough sleeping for one day, and set out to find Hiei and the others. You pan out your senses, and discover all four energy signatures coming from the floor where your rooms are, all of them apparently together.
As you walk down the stairs, you can make out the sound of their voices coming from a small conference room on the opposite side of the stairwell from your quarters. You approach the entranceway, and find that the door is cracked slightly open. You reach for the door, but something in the tenor of the conversation stops you.
'If there was ever a single thought in your head, it would be lonely!' Hiei's voice is a pitch higher than his usual irritation with Kuwabara.
'I didn't think it was any big deal! It's just Botan!'
'All women have big mouths, you oaf. Surely you didn't think she'd just keep it to herself did you?!' There's the sound of a scuffle and Kurama's voice cuts in.
'Hiei, there's no way anyone that hasn't spent a good part of their lives in the spirit world could possibly know about the stigma attached to her heritage, and our two reactions were hardly typical.'
'Yeah, I figured it wasn't something she was proud of, but...I never thought it was this big of a deal either.' Yusuke's voice sounds troubled.
'Well obviously, you thought wrong.'
'I would have thought at least Koenma would be a little more judicious though...' Kurama says in a conciliatory tone.
'Well I wouldn't. Spirit World is always anxious to jump to conclusions- it lightens the load of what those morons have to think about.'
'Hiei!'
'You forget, Kurama, that Koenma would have gladly had you locked away or killed when we stole those three items. The thought that you had no intention of keeping it never occurred to him- youkai thieves are common enough occurrences, he just assumed that you were the same. Anyone other than Urameshi would have tried their best to take you out by any means necessary.'
'They would have failed...' Kurama says gravely, 'But point taken.'
'But he still let you escape punishment, that's something isn't it?' Yusuke says hopefully.
'We proved useful at the time, Urameshi.' Hiei responds coldly.
As the conversation continues, you feel a knot of disbelief tighten in your stomach, making you vaguely nauseous. So that was it.
Before they had found out about your heritage, you had been a newcomer named Avari Midou. And now? You were right back at age 11 where people didn't even bother to learn your name. They knew what you were and that was enough. You had known this was too good to be true- everything had been coming too easily...eventually the universe would have to strike back and even out the score...
o0(I should never have gotten my hopes up...)
Feeling?
Confused. What's going on?
Betrayed. Why didn't anyone tell me before?
Curious. I wonder if this is related to what Hiei was arguing with Koenma about?
Torn. I don't know what to feel.
Angry. How dare they let my secret out!
Sad. I had hoped that just this once it would be different.
Lovestruck!!..wait, is something happening?
Hopeless. I knew I could never be 'one of the team'.
.Excited! Awesome! A reason to kill them all!!
You watch Hiei walk out of sight and then turn your attention back to yourself. You begin to move your hand tentatively towards your back, when you notice that it is caught in the fold of some sort of soft material. You look down at yourself and notice that your body has been draped with a black and red cloth. Raising your hand slightly, fingers still trapped under the covering, you recognize it as Hiei's cape.
'Still in one piece?' Hiei's voice calls from the entranceway. It's only a few seconds before he reenters your field of vision and places the cool compress back on your forehead. As he leans over you, you can clearly see bruises and gashes on his bare torso from the night before.
o0(Even with those wounds...has he been taking care of me all night?)
You look at him with concern. 'What about you? You're injured.' You reach a hand out towards a gash on his shoulder and he seizes your hand in his, meeting your eyes with an almost frightening intensity.
'What are you saying?! Don't you understand how close that was?!' He seems to search your eyes with his own, 'You could have died pulling a stunt like that!'
His tone jars you out of the sympathetic mindset, and throws you on the defensive. 'Oh, and I was just supposed to take off and leave? What the hell would that have accomplished?!' You feel ridiculous arguing from your prone position your hand clenched helplessly in his, but have little choice.
'At least you would have had enough energy to keep that spell in check!'
'I obviously didn't need it too badly!! I'm fine now!' The movement from your agitated speech jars a sore muscle in your abdomen and you wince.
Something in Hiei's expression seems to soften, and you realize that his earlier outburst was something far different from real anger. He releases your hand and places it by your side. 'You stopped breathing last night.' His voice is subdued, his eyes trained on the ground.
You look at him bewildered. 'What?'
'I really thought...' His voice trails off for a moment. 'That Kouji bastard left a vial...' His hand closes involuntarily into a fist. 'I guess in a way, he saved you...'
'If that asshole ever tried to save me, I'd die just to spite him.' You say jovially- Hiei's overly-somber mood freaking you out a bit.
Hiei says nothing, apparently swept up in his own thoughts, his face drawn.
You think to yourself:
Geez- this is annoying. SNAP OUT OF IT!
He so sexy!
What is his deal?
He was really concerned...
Okay! Reader participation time!
At least one Yonkagi is safe for now, but enemies are still prowling on all sides. On top of everything, your heritage seems to have become and issue once again! But why and what impact will it have on you and the others? For once, I've decided to give you a real choice in the storyline: Do you enter the room with the guys? Run to your room to cool down? Or simply run away, hoping to return to your solitary lifestyle? Even worse, do you seek out Kouji? (You can also choose to dance like a monkey, but that really wouldn't help progress the storyline ^^;).
~~~The decision is in your hands! ~~~Message or e-mail me with your choice, and Pt. 23 will begin with the most popular response!
Whoo! I have such might! *rates and messages*
.Ooohh. What to do?! The possibilities are endless! *rates* *ponders* *messages*
I wanna dance with tuna! *rates* *messages a ridiculous response* *is ignored and mocked*
You arrive back at the large gates to Koenma's castle in almost no time flat. The journey seems surreal to you, not just because of the amount of pain in your back and lingering fever in the rest of your body, but primarily because you find yourself blissfully encapsulated in a comforting aura- strong, gentle, and infinitely kind. Once inside, the halls and stairwells pass by without even the slightest hint of recognition from you, as you become more and more immersed in your own thoughts.
What are you thinking about?
Tracking down Kouji and getting my revenge.
Nothing in particular, I'm just enjoying the moment.
How badly I want to stab someone.
How badly I want to make-out with Hiei.
Consciousness gradually begins to creep its way through the dark haze of sleep. Opening your eyes slowly, you make a small grimace as brilliant beams of early afternoon sun stream down on your face. Awareness of your body bubbles to the surface of your thoughts in pieces. Beneath you, your back is a mass of the burning sting of an open wound supported by the dull throb of extensive bruising beneath the broken skin. Your limbs feel heavy and stiff, and your head throbs in sync with your heart beat. You feel slightly warm, but come to notice a patch of cool moisture on your forehead and raise an unsteady hand in it's direction to further explore.
'You really shouldn't be moving...' The voice sounds tired in more ways than one, and you turn your head slightly towards the source, blue and black strands of hair falling rebelliously over your face.
'Where...' Your own voice sounds hoarse and dry as you speak. Your eyes, now adjusted to the light, glance around you. You are lying on an old wooden pew in the great room of the temple The windows where the moon had shown so radiantly the night before now contain the yellow hue of mid-day, illuminating a floor littered with the grisly remnants of last night's carnage. Sitting on the steps to the main alter across from you with his hands steepled is a familiar fire demon, his crimson eyes fixed intently on you.
'Hiei...' You move to sit up, but quickly think better of it as the wound on your back reopens. You fall back onto the bench with a small cry.
o0(some of the blood must have dried to the pew) You think with a frown.
'Do you ever listen to anyone?' Hiei's voice is right beside you and he reaches towards your forehead where the patch of moisture is, retracting his hand to reveal a damp white pad. You look more closely at the object and notice that it's the bandage Hiei usually wears around his arm.
You startle slightly at the sensation of a hand against your cheek and look up at him with wide eyes. 'It looks like your fever's gone down, at least...' He says, avoiding your gaze. He rises to his feet from his kneel beside you. 'I'm going to the well, try to keep yourself from doing anything idiotic while I'm gone...'
You-
Smile and nod. 'I guess I could give that a try...'
Swoon. 'Of course!'
Smirk. 'I can't make any guarantees...'
Look angry and plot your merciless counterstrike.
'Oh, you're back!' The chipper sound of Botan's voice pulls you from your own little world. She looks down at you, her eyes widening at the sight of your tattered back leaking blood onto Hiei's arm, and then meets Hiei's eyes with a knowing glance. 'So-'
'We were attacked.' He says, and your stomach jumps at the overtone of anger in his response.
'O-oh, of course you were!' She giggles nervously. 'Of course. Well, um please get that looked at. then..' She waves and turns to leave without looking at you.
You look after her, puzzled, and Hiei curses under his breath.
'Hiei, wha-'
'Nothing.'
You scowl, but before you can say anything else, you've arrived at the infirmary and he's laid you down on a white papered table.
'The infirmary?' You ask skeptically.
Having already headed towards the doctor's quarters at the far end of the room, he turns slightly and brandishes the arm he had around your shoulders, now covered with a slick coat of your blood. 'At least for the sake of upholstery everywhere...' He says deadpan before he disappears into the office.
A moment later, he emerges following a tall lanky woman in a white coat. The woman pulls her glasses forward onto the tip of her nose and looks at you over their bridge.
'And you came here all the way from Ningenkai like this?' She adjusts her glasses with a sigh and sets about rummaging through a large white dresser of drawers to your right. 'Not the brightest bulb are we.'
Hiei smirks at you with an air that screams I told you so, and seems surprised when you stick out your tongue in response.
The doctor emerges from her search with a handful of gauze and some sutures, and places them on the table next to you. She looks over at Hiei, 'You're no spring peach either, Hon. If you'll take a seat in the waiting room, I'll get you fixed up right as rain in a few minutes, too.'
Hiei gives a small 'hmpf' and turns to leave. 'No thanks.'
The doctor looks after him, 'Suit yourself, I suppose.' She turns her attention back to you, snapping on a pair of white latex gloves. 'Your beau's quite the hard read isn't he?'
You flinch as she begins to pull the scraps of your tattered shirt from the gash, but still manage a blush. 'Beau?' You laugh. 'I think you've misunderstood...'
She looks at you with the knowing smile of an older woman and nods. 'Sure. I guess I must have...' She seems to laugh to herself and sets about her work.
For several minutes, the only sound in the room is the ticking of a wall clock, and the metallic schinkt of the scissors as they shear off piece after piece of your bloodstained garment. The older woman makes a face. 'Honey, I'm not even sure I want to know what happened...this is pretty messy...'
o0(Oh, fantastic...what a great bedside manner) You comment sarcastically in your mind.
The doctor sighs and pads back over to the set of drawers, apparently on a quest for something. When she turns back to face you, she's holding a clear cylinder with a small spiky looking spiral of a plant. You look at it suspiciously.
o0(and just what is she planning to do with that?).
She notices your expression and smiles rather charmingly. 'Luna Thorn.' She says simply. 'It releases a gaseous spore that acts as a powerful anesthetic.' She removes the cover from the container and holds it under your nose. ''Kay, now breath deeply, and count backwards from 50 for me...'
You inhale. The scent is light and reminiscent of spring roses, but with grassy notes resembling aloe and chamomile. You begin to count, '50, 49, 48...' as the room dims and the good doctor seems to move farther and farther down a black tunnel. Your final thought before going completely under is...
I wonder how long it would really take to smother someone with a pillow.
I wonder how the other team's assignment's went.
I wonder if Hiei's a good kisser ~teehee~
I wonder if Hiei's really okay.
So what if Koenma's got some beef with your heritage? You're lucky he has something to take his mind off your horribly cruel personality. You don't get along with anyone anyways, so one or two more people who have joined the 'Burn Avari at the Stake' Club of hatred and ill-wishing are probably not that big a deal for you (in fact, you probably get off on it). Well, if you enjoy living alone and accruing animosity, you're doing a bang up job. Keep it up.
Thanks for reading! Please rate and message me with your path choice!
Well, you know what you want, and there's something to be said for that, but you may actually be a little too forward. If you haven't noticed, Hiei isn't the most emotionally open individual and having you drooling over him every second of the day will more than likely prove to be a major turn off. Hiei's cool, and pretty damn sexy ^~, but remember that you have a world to save first and foremost. You will almost certainly lose his respect if you start slacking off. He already cares a great deal for you, so stop worrying about it. Just be yourself and destiny will take its course.
Thanks for reading! Please rate and message me with your path choice!
You're a little dense when it comes to matters of the heart. Hiei won't say it, but you really frightened him last night. There aren't many people that he gets upset over, but he's just discovered that you are among that select group. You're stubbornness does piss him off, but it's mainly because he hates seeing you in pain. Where you're observational skills fail, Doctor Zephyr's seem to be in perfect working condition, maybe you should take her comment about Hiei under some serious consideration. But what's this new development with your secret getting out, and what does it have to do with Hiei? You're teammates, right? So why didn't he just tell you earlier? It's hard enough to get Hiei to reveal even an inkling of his true emotions, and your cluelessness isn't making anything any easier.
Thanks for reading! Please rate and message me with your path choice!
Hiei won't say it, but you really frightened him last night. There aren't many people that he gets upset over, but he's just discovered that you are among that select group. You're stubbornness does piss him off, but it's mainly because he hates seeing you in pain. Doctor Zephyr's a very observant woman, and she may be a lot closer to the truth than you believe. But what's this new development with your secret getting out, and what does it have to do with Hiei? If he does care for you, why didn't he just tell you earlier? Keep being the same genuine, determined person you are- things are certain to work out.
Thanks for reading! Please rate and message me with your path choice!
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