By Die Before I Wake
(What you’ve all been waiting for…)
Hiei’s heart was pounding by the time Kurama pulled into the driveway of the team’s large house. When the kitsune finally stopped the car, the Fire Apparition got out and walked right inside without a word. He sighed with relief, seeing no damage done to the bottom floor of the house. He didn’t even catch the wolf’s scent. She has to be upstairs then, he thought as he climbed the stairs to go to his room.
He searched the entire place over. He looked under the bed and blankets, in the closet, in his clothing bags (that he still hadn’t emptied for some reason), and anywhere else he could think of. He even checked his dresser drawers and the cabinet under the bathroom sink.
After about an hour, he gave up and started picking up his now destroyed bedroom. He put his mattress back on the box spring, which he had to put back in the bed frame, and started hanging his new clothes in his closet. He sighed as he hung his last pair of pants and then tossed all of his belts, socks, and boxers into the top dresser drawer. He walked over to his bed and plopped down on his back, folding his thin arms behind his head.
“Hiei, you okay?” Yusuke asked from his doorway.
D***, the demon thought. I left the door open... “...” He simply turned his attention back to the ceiling.
Unfortunately for him, ignoring the detective didn’t make him leave. He heard the footsteps enter his room and stop by the bed. There was a small noise as a white container was put on the night stand. Crimson eyes shifted to the source of the sound.
“Keiko’s mother got worried about you not eating, and she sent these for you,” Yusuke said. “It’s just beef with teriyaki sauce on it and cooked into it.”
“...” The demon looked away and up to the ceiling. He heard the human sigh and then the retreat of shoeless footsteps. I don’t even eat meat, he thought, glaring at the container. Not since...
“Boss, is it time to eat yet?” the five year old Hiei asked. His stomach growled from not eating all day, seeing as he was left at the camp with the other subordinates, who weren’t as kind to him as the leader was. He sat patiently in the table and wiggled his first loose tooth with his tongue.
“Almost. Now go tell Kohaku to start cooking,” the leader of the thieves said, “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
The young boy nodded and got off of his chair. He went into the dining area and looked for the chef, hoping that they were the only two in the room... Er... the cave, actually. If there were other thieves in there, he could count on a boiling water shower while Kohaku was tied up in the back of the cave and could only watch as his precious cooking tools were used to harm the young boy.
“It’s okay, Hiei. No one’s in here but us,” Kohaku said, stirring a pot of something. Hiei grinned a little and sat on the stool near the stove. Kohaku tossed him an apple and he caught it. He sank his fangs into the sweet fruit and bit a piece.
“So, I’m guessing I started cooking at the right time, then?”
Hiei nodded as he swallowed his bite. He looked down at his apple and saw a small spot of redness in the white fruit. His eyes widened and he touched his loose tooth with his tongue and tasted blood.
“Is something wrong, Hiei?”
“My tooth is bleeding.”
“Hm? The loose one?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that just means it’s ready to come out. Give it a quick tug. Or do you want me to do it?”
“You’re cooking, though.”
“Actually, I started early today. I’m done now,” he replied, wiping his hands dry with a rag. “Now let me see,” he said, walking over to the young demon.
Hiei nodded and opened his mouth. Kohaku’s eyes widened a bit and he laughed. “You know, around this area, they say losing one of your canines means you’ll have a good life if it’s your first tooth. Ready for me to pull it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Alright. One, two, three!” On three, he yanked the young demon’s fang out and put it in a small fabric bag. He gave the bag to Hiei. “Here.”
Hiei took the bag and put it in his pocket. He walked out of the cooking cave and into the one he and the leader of the thieves shared. He put his tooth into his pillowcase and then walked out to the dining cave. He took his seat at the table and saw a large steak on his plate. A few of the other thieves were there. Most of them were probably still sitting in their caves, gambling, doing drugs, or drinking. The leader wasn’t there, and neither was Kohaku. The young boy saw that some of the thieves were already eating their steaks, and the rest were sitting out on all of the plates. He looked down at his and cut into it with his knife and noticed that it came out of the meat... oddly colored. And not to mention that the meat smelled funny.
He separated the chunk of meat from the rest of the steak and saw nothing appeared to be wrong with it. He put the steak in his mouth and he could have sworn the rest of the meat... moved? He didn’t chew his bite. He just plunged his utensils into the center of the steak and pulled it apart, only to see maggots spill out of it. He spit his bite out immediately and ran out of the dining cave, hearing a few snickers as he ran past. He almost ran into Kohaku, who was carrying a large, hot pot of soup, and ran behind a tree and vomited.
“Hiei? Are you okay?” Kohaku ran inside and put the pot down and ran back out to Hiei.
“Th-they gave me a steak with m-maggots in it,” he choked out before throwing up again. Kohaku sighed and knelt down by the young boy and rubbed his back. He tried to comfort him, but to no avail.
Hiei shuddered from the memory and was almost asleep. He closed his crimson eyes and then heard a very angry Kurama shout from downstairs.
“Can I see all three of you down here? Now?!”
Uh-oh, the Fire Apparition thought.
He swallowed the lump in his throat before standing and walking downstairs after Yusuke and Kuwabara. All three stood in the living room, facing Kurama’s back. He was obviously holding something. Or perhaps his arms were folded. The Fire Apparition bit his lip as the Kitsune turned around to reveal a small silvery-grey bundle of fur in his arms.
