Ikigai (Hiei x OC)

THE BRINK

Airi awoke with the sun, emerging from her tent just as dawn lightened the sky. A week had passed since she arrived, and living amidst nature had restored her in ways that were unimaginable. It felt as though years had been taken off her soul.

Lacing up her running shoes, and tying her hair into a ponytail, she left her tent for the woods. Mori followed her out lazily, lumbering over to Kuwabara's tent. They'd taken a great liking to one another. She suspected it had something to do with their predilection for sleeping well into the morning.

She took off without a destination in mind, only turning back when her legs grew weary. With the boys training all day, there was not much for her to do. The exercise gave her purpose. It was an unseasonably chilly morning, and her cheeks and nose were red as she returned to camp. She sat and warmed her hands by the fire.

"Good morning," Kurama said, stretching his arms over his head.

"Morning," she replied. "How are you feeling, Kuwabara?"

"Stronger, for sure!"

Bless him, he gave the same response every day. She smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder. At least he was getting better, little by little.

Hiei joined them after a time, picking up a new bamboo shoot to sharpen into a weapon for today's training. He ignored the rest of them, as was typical. Friendliness was not exactly his strongest trait, and mornings brought on especially sour moods.

"I believe today is the day that Airi should begin her training," Kurama said.

"My training?"

"Yes, I've tasked Hiei with helping you to refine your talents. He is well versed in uncovering new powers. I believe there is much yet to be discovered about yours."

While the thought of spending more time with him alighted butterflies in her stomach, she could not help but worry about Hiei's reaction, or lack thereof. His teaching in the past had been marvelously effective, but she knew him well enough to understand he would see this as nothing other than an unwanted nuisance.

Proving her point, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Kuwabara," Kurama said, ignoring him. "For right now you will train exclusively with me. I fear you've reached your current capacity for improvement with Hiei."

"Ugh! That's not fair! He goes way easier on me than you do."

"Precisely."

Airi hung her head low, using her bangs as cover to get a read on Hiei. He'd stopped filing down the piece of bamboo and stared at the ground by his feet. With his thoughts guarded, she didn't have the slightest clue as to what was running through his mind.

"Well, time waits for no one. Let's begin," Kurama said, dragging Kuwabara off to the makeshift area they'd set up for combat.

It was just her and Hiei, then. The bamboo rolled off his fingers onto the ground. His mouth had formed a small frown, barely perceptible. Her stomach sank.

"You don't have to," she offered, for his sake.

"I will play my part."

He stayed still a while longer, before standing up and reaching behind his head to remove the fabric concealing his Jagan Eye. She was still not used to seeing it, and could not help but notice that the color of its iris was almost identical to hers.