Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Is This For Real...? ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or my friends' characters. I do own Kimi Ichisaigosuki, as she is my character. I do not own anything brand name mentioned in the first aid kit.

 

These quotation marks ' ' and/or italics mean that the character is thinking. The asterisk and italics like *this* signifies Hiei and Kurama talking telepathically.

 

Chapter Three

 

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Kurama woke up a few hours later at seven in the morning. He reached for his clock only to have the ringing of the alarm cut off before he could stop it. He opened his eyes to see Hiei's katana among the sparking remains of his alarm clock. The aforementioned fire demon glared down at him. “What was that?”

 

“An alarm clock, Hiei.”

 

“What does it do?”

 

“It tells the time and wakes me up in the morning. At least, it used to.” Kurama flicked a pointed glance at the mess of metal and plastic debris that was beginning to leak battery fluid onto his bedside table.

 

“Hn.”

 

The kitsune sighed and cleaned up the now useless remnants of his alarm. He would just tell his mother that it broke and get a new one while he was showing Kimi around Tokyo. `Oh Kami.…'

 

Kimi. He had almost forgotten about her. Shoving that problem to the back of his mind for the time being, he decided to deal with the problem standing in front of him. “How're your ribs?”

 

“Hn.”

 

Kurama had a sneaking suspicion that Hiei was just acting tough to mask any discomfort his injury might be giving him. “Hiei, I am fully prepared to knock you out and then examine your ribs. You have a choice: I can, as I stated earlier, knock you out. Or you can just accept the fact that it is a good idea to let me examine the wound while you're conscious and able to tell me where it hurts the most.”

 

The fire demon grunted, then carefully pulled up the right side of his shirt to reveal a mottled black, purple, and blue bruise that completely covered his side. Kurama sucked in a breath, then let it out again. “Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?” Hiei declined to answer.

 

“Idiot.” The two whipped around to see Kimi leaning against the doorframe of Kurama's room. The girl walked in and shut the door behind her. “Suuichi, move aside. Hiei, let me see the injury.”

 

With a wariness that betrayed his apprehension, Hiei cautiously allowed Kimi to examine the wound. She gently ran her right index finger along the darkest part of the bruise, exerting pressure comparable to that of a feather. Kurama had to use his demonic strength to restrain the fire demon. Worry, fear, and determination danced in Kimi's hazel eyes, all three warring for dominance. Finally determination won and Kimi left the room, only to reappear moments later with a first aid kit. However, this first aid kit was not standard issue.

 

Instead of the usual medications there were bundles of dried herbs. A small Bunsen burner, a mortar and pestle set, and a metal cup were packed in with the linen strips of cloth that replaced the Ace bandages. “Take your shirt off.”

 

Hiei stared at the girl as though she had gone insane. “Excuse me?”

 

“Take. Your. Shirt. Off. How am I supposed to bandage your side if your shirt is in the way?”

 

“And why are you bandaging my injury? It's a bruise, not an open wound.”

 

“Underneath that bruise are separated ribs. Those need the support that the bandages will give. And I'm assuming that you don't want the ointment that I'm going to be putting on the bruise to be rubbed off by your shirt. The bandages will prevent that.”

 

“Ointment?”

 

“To help reduce the swelling that's probably going to occur if your bruise is that big. It'll also numb the pain after an hour or so.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“Baka. I don't bite.” Kimi paused, looking thoughtful as she sorted through some herbs. “At least, not often. Ah, here it is.” Hiei glared at Kurama while Kimi pulled out a paper bag that was labeled `chamomile.'

 

*This is your fault.*

 

Kurama just smiled dismissively.

 

“Kimi, if you do anything that isn't related to healing me, you will die.”

 

“What, like bite you? Don't worry; you're not my type.”

 

After a few moments Hiei pulled off his shirt, being careful not to shift the band of cloth that was tied over his forehead and covered the Jagan. “Suuichi, could you please get me some hot water and a coffee filter?”

 

“Sure.” Kurama opened his bedroom door to reveal Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan. Yusuke had his hand raised to knock, and was staring over Kurama's shoulder. “Uh…Hiei? Kurama? Are we interrupting anything?”

 

Kimi started slightly before regaining her composure. “Kurama? I thought your name was Suuichi.”

 

Hiei's eyes narrowed. *She's lying. She already knew that your name is Kurama. Her mental defenses weakened in surprise when Yusuke spoke and a thought escaped. She knows about the Reikai Tantei. She knows about all of us.*

 

*Now's not the time, Hiei. We'll deal with her later. Act normally for the time being.*

 

Momentarily distracted by Hiei's urgent message, Kurama realized a second too late what the situation must look like. The bed was unmade, Hiei was shirtless, he was in his pajamas, and there was a girl that the rest of the group didn't know in a T-shirt and thin cotton pants, both of which were black, kneeling beside Hiei. “No, you're not interrupting anything. Hiei is injured and this girl, Ichisaigosuki Kimi, is helping him recover. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go downstairs to heat some water and get my guest a coffee filter.”

 

“Heat water? Get a coffee filter? What for?”

 

“So I can make Hiei some chamomile tea that I will probably end up pouring down his throat so that I can bandage his injury without him passing out.” Kimi cut in.

 

“Tea?”

 

“It'll help you recover.”

 

“I don't drink tea.”

 

“You do now. So shut up and let me heal you.”

 

An icy silence descended on the room, made even frostier by the tension between Hiei and Kimi. Kimi nodded her thanks to Kurama when he returned with the items she requested. She put about a teaspoon of water in the mortar and then poured a liberal amount of dried chamomile flowers into the kettle that held the remaining hot water.

 

Pulling out several unmarked packages of herbs, Kimi shook out small portions of the plants into the mortar, then ground them into a thick paste with the pestle. Setting that aside, she placed the coffee filter on top of the metal cup that Kurama had noticed earlier and poured the steaming liquid into the container. The girl threw out the chamomile-filled coffee filter and handed the cup to Hiei.

 

“Drink.”

 

The fire demon glared at Kimi before draining the cup. Kimi picked up the mortar and approached Hiei. “This might sting a little bit. Kurama, be ready to counter any attacks that he might throw at me.”

 

Kurama sighed. `This is going to be a long day…'

 

~*~*~*~

You people are going to be seeing these apologies for dialogue a lot, just so you know. Please review!!