Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Freedom ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight

 

When Yusuke woke the first thing he noticed was that Hiei's head was still on his chest and that sometime while they were asleep he had thrown his arm across Yusuke's chest and pressed his body as close as possible to his side. It was unexpectedly nice to wake up like this and part of him hoped that it would happen many more times in the future. A slight movement of the mattress and he turned his head to watch Ariana laying out clothes on the bed. He could see the digital alarm clock behind her and saw that it was almost two in the afternoon. Ariana was laying out three sets of clothes.

 

It seemed to Yusuke that the moment she realized he was awake she began to smile. She walked closer, before leaning over the bed and kissing his forehead. Hiei shifted in his sleep before looking up with eyes that were open but still half asleep. Hiei also got a kiss on his forehead.

 

"What are the clothes for?" asked Hiei, his voice sounding small and half asleep.

 

"I was thinking that we should take a bath to get all of the dried blood off." Said Ariana.

Hiei nodded as though her comment made perfect sense and laid his head back on Yusuke's chest.

 

It was only then that Yusuke remembered the blood that he had bled. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before he had fallen asleep then realized that when it had happened he'd been far too relaxed to think of anything at all and with Hiei pressed against him the way he was it was almost as hard to think now.

 

Not that he wanted to think right now, because, despite how relaxed he was and how great he felt in this moment, that one mention of blood had memories from the last couple of days coming back. So many memories of things he had not been strong enough to prevent crammed into so very little time.

 

"Not your fault, Yusuke." Mumbled Hiei, as though he had known what had gone through the Tentei's mind. Knowing Hiei he probably had known and whether that knowledge came from Yusuke's mind or Hiei had sensed it from his aura Yusuke didn't know and did not care. Hiei had actually used his name and not the nickname that he had used ever since that first, fateful mission had led to their first meeting and that was something that Yusuke could count on the fingers of one hand and still have three untouched fingers. It was also something that made Yusuke smile.

 

A long moment passed in a lazy silence before anything else happened. Ariana disappeared in a room Yusuke assumed was the bathroom and soon after there was the sound of running water.

 

Suddenly the weight of Hiei's head on his chest was gone and he was looking up into crimson red eyes.

 

"There's something that you need to know." Said Hiei, his voice far more serious and hesitant then Yusuke had ever heard from the shorter demon. "It's something that you probably won't like."

 

"It is very unlike you to hesitate to say something so why are you doing it now, Hiei?" asked Yusuke.

 

"Because you might hate me after I tell you and that's the last thing that I want to happen." Said Hiei.

 

Yusuke's hand was pressed against Hiei's cheek before he'd even realized that he'd decided to move it.

 

"I couldn't bring myself to hate you even back when I thought you were evil. Not even when I was fighting you that first time and I was actually trying to hate you because of what you had done to Keiko." Said Yusuke.

 

There was a small smile of Hiei's face that only someone who knew Hiei as well as Yusuke would have noticed. Yusuke's smile transformed into a grin because he had been the cause of that oh so rare smile on Hiei's face. It was a grin that slowly faded as Hiei told him everything that Ariana had told him about why everything was happening.

 

There was a long moment before Yusuke spoke.

 

"It all makes sense now." Said Yusuke softly. "Except for how you could think I would hate you for that or did you think that for the same reason that you think that Yukina will hate you?"

 

Hiei could only manage a small, solemn nod.

 

Yusuke sighed, then wrapped his arms around Hiei. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Ariana who was still in the bathroom.

 

"Unless you want your bath water to be cold I suggest you get your asses in the tub now." Said Ariana.

 

Hiei sighed, throwing a glance in the direction of the bathroom, obviously wondering if Ariana had deliberately interrupted their conversation. He grabbed Yusuke's hand as he climbed off the bed, knowing that the taller man would follow without further prompting.

 

Ariana was next to the unusually large and deep bathtub pulling her shirt off over her head before throwing that shirt into the far corner of the bathroom. Hiei let go of Yusuke's hands before starting on the belts that he wore. He could see from the corner of his eye that Yusuke was blushing bright red as he looked at the floor rather then the people around him as though he had just remembered that he was as naked as they were about to be.

 

Yusuke glanced up at the sound of Ariana's jeans and underwear joining her shirt in the far corner of the bathroom and the scent of fear in the room was suddenly almost overpowering. One look from Ariana and Yusuke took a step back suddenly trembling and breathing fast enough that he was nearly hyperventilating.

 

Hiei moved to calm Yusuke but Ariana was there first, moving in with a suddenness that had Yusuke taking another step back.

 

"It's okay, Yusuke." Said Ariana softly. "No one is going to hurt you because I won't let it happen."

 

Ariana's words seemed to increase rather then decrease Yusuke's fear as he took another step back. This time Hiei made his move before Ariana, stepping between the two and using a hand to gently force Yusuke to look him in the eyes.

 

"Calm down, Detective." Said Hiei. "Would I be standing here so calmly if there was something to fear?"

 

A moment passed in silence as Yusuke tried to bring his breathing under control and the scent of fear in the room plummeted to nearly undetectable levels.

 

"Thanks, Hiei." Said Yusuke, practically mumbling the softly spoken words.

 

Hiei almost managed to suppress the small smile he felt forming on his face. It made him wonder for a split second what it was about Yusuke that had him smiling so much or if there even was a reason for it at all. Once that split second passed Yusuke headed for the bathtub, leaving Hiei to finish removing his pants, wards, and bandana before he could do the same.

 

The moment that Hiei was in the tub, Ariana threw a wash cloth at him followed by a bar of soap both of which Hiei caught easily. Yusuke was already working on getting off the dried blood that seemed to cover his lover body with the water in the bathtub barely making that task any easier. Ariana was washing herself while watching how the water in the tub was slowing becoming a pale pink. Hiei thought she must have been wondering whether a shower would have been a better idea.

 

Hiei had barely finished cleaning himself when he more sensed then saw Ariana approaching. He didn't need to look to know that she was holding the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. He closed his eyes as she sat one of the bottles, presumably the conditioner, down on the edge of the tub behind him, knowing that she put some of the shampoo in her hand before he heard her place the shampoo next to the conditioner. The feel of the shampoo was cool on his scalp as she began to work it through his normally spiky hair but that sensation soon faded. Hiei had better things to pay attention to. Things like making sure that all three of his eyes were closed. He was not going to risk getting shampoo in his jagan eye. That was something that he had heard Kurama complain about enough to know that he did not want to experience it first hand especially since his jagan eye would be far more sensitive to such things then the human eye.

 

When Ariana removed her hands and seemed to be done, Hiei ducked beneath the water to get rinse the shampoo from his hair. It only took a few seconds of running his hands through his hair under water before he was sure that all of it was out. He looked at Yusuke after he came back up, water still running from his hair. Yusuke looked faintly amused at the prospect of Hiei having his hair washed. It did not bother Hiei in the least because he doubted that Yusuke would be able to escape the same treatment.

 

The conditioner was next after Ariana squeezed the excess water from his hair and like before Hiei already had his eyes closed. The conditioner went on like the shampoo had and when Ariana was once again done Hiei repeated the process that he had used to rinse the shampoo from his hair.

 

By the time that Hiei had opened his eyes Ariana was already moving in Yusuke's direction with the shampoo and conditioner. Hiei could not help but smirk at the expression on the Detective's face.

 

Yusuke looked nervous but Hiei knew the other man well enough to know it wasn't over anything big. More then likely it was the slight chance of getting shampoo or conditioner in his eyes.

 

Hiei watched as Yusuke closed his eyes and Ariana began with the shampoo but after a few seconds Hiei realized that he was watching more then what was happening to the Detective. It seemed that for the first time he was noticing Yusuke on a level that he never had before and realized that the young boy that Yusuke had been when they first met had been replaced by a very attractive man.

 

When Yusuke ducked under the water to rinse his hair Hiei saw an unusual light in Ariana's eyes and it made him nervous because he had no idea what it meant. He thought about asking Ariana but decided not to risk asking when he was so unsure of what the answer would be. He considered saying something to Yusuke telepathically but once again he decided not to because he had no idea what to say. Making Yusuke panic over something that could in fact be nothing was something that Hiei wanted to avoid.

 

In the end Hiei could only see one option. That option being to move closer even if there was likely nothing that he would be able to do.

 

Watching Yusuke emerge from the water was quite distracting. It took more self control then Hiei would ever admit to for him to not stare like an idiot at the water running down well-muscled Yusuke's chest.

 

Ariana grabbed the conditioner, squeezing some of the thick liquid from the bottle before returning it to its place next to the shampoo. She seemed to be spending more time working the conditioner through Yusuke's hair leaving Hiei to wonder if she was or if paying closer attention was warping his sense of time.

 

The second time that Yusuke went underwater to rinse his hair Ariana crooked her finger at Hiei, silently ordering him to her side. Hiei went, knowing that disobeying that order would be pointless. When he was close enough she put her arms around him, pulling him closer then he would have gone and resting her cheek on top of his head.

 

"I wish I could have told you all of this." Whispered Ariana softly. "But there is no time to do so and I need you to understand what I am about to do."

 

A nudge at his minds defenses was the only warning that Hiei had before his mind was flooded with pictures and information. Suddenly he knew things that he had not known moments ago. Questions, including ones that he had not though to ask, were being answered. The knowledge of what he was to Ariana and of what she was about to do to Yusuke and why she needed to do it seemed to float to the top of all that information. Hiei knew that it was not coincidence because his trained mind had felt Ariana giving emphasis to those bits of vital information so that they would not be lost in the flood of information.