Author's note: This was a request by Shizuru herself (shizuruknowsbest over on Tumblr). It's a fun pairing, if still not my first choice. :3

(...I'm turning into a multishipper. Bother.)

Pairings: Shizuru/Shishiwakamaru (Shishishishipping!)

Continuity: English anime.

The Dark Tournament was an odd time, really.

It didn't seem to fit well within the bounds of "normal" for anyone at all. People were thrown together in odd, unlikely ways, interacting in ways that would have been well nigh impossible anywhere else.

Mortal enemies might meet in the hallways, old friends might fight in the ring, and demons and humans who had never even met one of the other might find that they had more in common than either had realized.

This is the story of one of those chance meetings—or rather, two of them.

Shizuru was just on her way back to her room, minding her own business, when she saw Team Uraotogi leaving the fighters' room.

Granted, she didn't know exactly who they were at the time. But since she was definitely getting a feeling of antagonism from them, she guessed they were the next team her brother and the others would have to fight.

"Coming to wish them a fair fight?"she asked as she passed them. Perhaps she shouldn't have said anything at all.

Their apparent leader, an angry-looking demon with sharp horns and fierce fangs whirled at her. "What's it to you?"

She definitely should have left well enough alone then.

"Just wondering who my brother was going to fight next."

The demon laughed, and his horns shrank down to nothing, earning him a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you'd better hope he doesn't fight me."

Shizuru took a good long look at him, and then turned her attention in the direction of her brother.

"You're not going to hurt him." She was sure of it. Well, ninety-five percent sure. Maybe ninety-two.

The demon blinked, not noticing that his companions were halfway down the hall. "Well now. That's certainly a pleasant certainty to hold onto. Perhaps I'll fight a different member, and your optimistic assertion will come true."

Shizuru studied him again. On second impression, he was actually not a bad-looking demon at all. Given a personality that was something other than arrogance, he might actually be attractive.

"Hmm. I don't think so." Arrogant as he was—and with the power to back it up, it seemed—she wasn't exactly getting the most auspicious feeling for him. Of course, that fact itself was entirely auspicious for her team.

"Don't think…what now?"

"That you're going to win." Call it eighty percent certainty.

He laughed again, and this time it was almost musical, lacking the harsh edge from before.

"I don't know where you're getting these ideas from. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Shishiwakamaru, swordsman of demon world, and future winner of the Dark Tournament." He bowed gallantly.

"Mm-hmm. That's nice. I'm Shizuru Kuwabara, sister of the guy…well, the guy whose team has someone on it who's going to kick your ass." She shrugged.

The demon's horns came out again, and his eyes shrank in anger.

"You don't know what you're talking about, human."

Shizuru might have answered, but right at that point, another member of the demon's team, an old man, called out to him.

"Shishi! You'll have enough time for impressing your fangirls later. Let's get going."

Shishi huffed and turned to follow them.

"You'll see soon enough," he said haughtily.

Shizuru didn't bother to respond. His type always had to get the last word in anyway, and she really didn't give a damn anymore.

As it turned out, she didn't 'see soon enough', or, strictly speaking, at all. Since she and the other girls missed most of the semifinals, she never did get to see her predictions come true. Not that she was surprised, of course—her predictions usually did.

She didn't think to predict, though, that she would ever see the arrogant demon again.

Shizuru was just wandering through the lower part of the massive hotel several hours after the semifinals, anxious for a little time to herself. The other girls were nice enough, but they did tend to be on the noisy side. And by "they", she mainly meant "Botan".

She took a long draw on her cigarette at the thought, savoring the quiet.

"Hmph. You again."

Shizuru coughed and whirled. How the hell did these demons keep sneaking up on her?

But when she saw who it was, it became clear.

Of course she hadn't sensed his demon energy. Genkai still had it all.

Shishiwakamaru was a very different sight from before. Then, he had been clean, polished and smooth, a veritable demon Casanova.

Now, his long blue hair was unbound and tangled, his arm was in a sling, and he was sporting various bandages, bruises, and tears in his clothing.

On the whole, Shizuru found the picture rather more appealing, and she wasn't sure if it was the significantly lowered level of arrogance in the air, or just an uncharitable sense of I told you so.

"Yes, I do appear to be me again." She took another breath of nicotine-infused smoke. "And you, in an incredible coincidence, also appear to be you again."

Shishi huffed and crossed his arms as well as the sling allowed.

"Have you come here to mock me?"

What was that she'd been thinking? He'd lost some of the arrogance? Screw that.

She blew out a breath. "My presence here had precisely nothing to do with you. Contrary to what you seem to believe, other people's actions don't always revolve around you."

The demon drew back a bit, staring at her with a look that went from surprised to something like contemplative.

Then he chuckled, and ran his good hand through his hair.

"Fair enough."

It was Shizuru's turn to be surprised. She'd been prepared for anger, for incredulity, but…concession? She honestly hadn't thought he had it in him.

Her shock must have shown, because the demon laughed—the musical one again.

"What's so funny?" The words slipped out against her better judgment.

His eyebrow rose. "I thought you knew everything."

"I'm psychic, not omniscient," she snapped.

"Oh?" said Shishi. "There was something to your predictions other than blind optimism, then?"

Shizuru snorted. "I've been called many things, prettyboy, but 'blindly optimistic' isn't one of them."

"I can imagine."

Shizuru's lips opened to let out a retort she hadn't figured out yet.

Before she could come up with anything, however, Shishi moved his good hand toward the one in the sling.

"Cynical, perhaps," he said, ticking off the first. "Fearless—possibly foolhardy. Not sure there." That was the second. Apparently both wasn't an option. "And…do you prefer 'spirited' or 'intrepid'?"

Shizuru shifted her head to the side, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. She wasn't at all sure whether she was being complimented or insulted, if indeed it was meant as either.

"I'd add 'fiery', but that spark is hidden under quite a layer of dry wit."

Shizuru glared at him.

"Though that does seem to provide quite the kindling under the right circumstances," continued Shishi thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should add it anyway."

"Are we compiling lists of words to describe each other, then?" said Shizuru, finally finding her voice. "Because I have quite a few I could apply to you."

"Oh?" said Shishi. "Do tell." He leaned back against the wall and watched her.

Shizuru was suddenly a little less sure than she had been, but she forged ahead anyway, ticking them off on her own fingers with the edge of her cigarette.

"Arrogant. Self-centered. Overconfident." Then a piece of understanding clicked into place. "You're flirting with me because that's your way of dealing with the fact that I beat you at something. It's your way of getting back in control." She glared again. "Frankly, I'm not interested in being part of your little ego-trip."

She spun around and headed back the way she'd come, catching only a glance of the demon's shocked face. Why had she even listened to him as long as that? He was clearly only toying with her. The man was dangerous. Why wasn't her usually finely-tuned warning bell going—

"Perhaps you're right."

She stopped dead.

"I was simply going to defend myself by saying that I flirt with anyone I please," he continued, "but…you know, I do rather like being in control."

She glanced over her shoulder. He shrugged. "Perhaps that is my way of staying in control. I hadn't thought about it in that particular way, but it does make sense."

Shizuru studied him. There was a certain edge of calculation in his eyes, and yet…she didn't get any sense that he was lying.

She turned around and crossed her arms.

"What do you gain by saying this?"

Shishi's lips twitched. "So suspicious."

"You would be too, if you grew up surrounded by a cloud of deceit and selfish intentions. So what is it? What could you possibly hope to gain by agreeing with my less-than-complimentary assessment of you?"

"Isn't in obvious?"

She glared again, and he raised his good hand and inclined his head.

"Simply the honor of your presence for a few more moments."

Shizuru's lips parted and her eyes narrowed. Again, he appeared to be telling the truth, such as it was.

Approximately three dozen questions chased themselves in circles in her head. She tried to voice one of them, any of them, but her mouth seemed to have come disconnected from her brain.

"…why?"

Shishi raised his eyebrows.

"Why not?"

Shizuru shook her head. "You agreed with me that your only reason for flirting with me was to gain a sense of control. So once that's no longer exactly going to work—I'm not going to let it work—what's the point?"

Shishi shook his head. "That was a reason. Not the only reason."

"Oh? Other reasons, like proving to yourself that no girl can resist your charm? Other reasons, like feeding your bias against humans? Other reasons, like trying to win me over just so you can laugh at me later?"

The demon glared back at her, and his expression hinted at that entirely inhuman face she'd seen before.

"Perhaps your cynical side outweighs the psychic. Now you're completely misreading me."

"Oh? Completely? I've heard the note in your voice when you talk about humans, at any rate."

"My opinion of humans is currently hanging in the balance, thanks in no small part to you. But as for the rest of it, you couldn't be more wrong."

"Oh? This I simply must hear."

Shishi's glare went tight-lipped before he answered.

"Am I an inveterate flirt? Yes. I like the game, I like interacting with attractive people who might also be interested in me." He clenched his fist. "But I don't play the game with people who aren't interested, and I don't," he almost hissed, "play simply to turn around and torture people."

For a long moment, they glared at each other.

Shizuru broke it first.

"I didn't want to play."

Shishi closed his eyes and raised his hand.

"I wanted the chance to address your incorrect assumption about me."

"The one you admitted to?" Shizuru laughed. "Yeah, that'll teach me."

Shishi shook his head. "Not that one."

Shizuru tilted her head, now slightly curious in spite of herself. "Which one, then?"

"The one where you assumed that I lacked any sort of self-awareness or self-honesty."

Shizuru considered him with pursed lips.

"Perhaps I have misjudged you. Slightly. But don't think I haven't noticed that you're still making this all about you."

Shishi brought his good hand to his chin and gave her an indescribable look. It had and edge of cold anger to it, but it was tempered by a much stronger sense of contemplation, and even something that might have been respect.

Then he ran his hand through his hair with another of those polished smiles. "My greatest failing, apparently—a fact you certainly seem to be keen on making sure I never forget."

"Always happy to oblige."

There. That would be a good place to insert a semi-graceful farewell and get the hell out of here.

Aaaany time now.

But her feet didn't seem willing to oblige.

"Are you still…unwilling to play the game? Because you could easily have left by now."

Dammit.

"I…suppose I did have one more question."

Shishi pushed off from the wall he'd been leaning against and stepped closer.

"Certainly. Ask anything you like."

Shizuru considered stepping back, but held her ground.

"You never said what you were laughing at before, when you asked if I knew everything."

"That's technically not a question."

"You didn't answer it when it was a question. You just deflected it with another question."

"Did I?" said Shishi, glancing up.

"…you do that a lot."

He laughed. "Perhaps. But it was no real secret. I was simply thinking of Suzuka's comment the first time we met, where he essentially called you one of my fangirls."

Shizuru turned a surprised laugh into a snort. "Hmm. Yes, I see how the incongruity could be amusing."

Shishi took another step forward, and Shizuru stepped—not back, like she probably should have, but to the side, eyeing him warily.

Shishi raised his eyebrows, turning a bit and stepping to his own side to face her.

"Since you object to everything being about me—an uncommon preference in my experience, allow me say—then perhaps you'd care to let me know a little more about yourself."

"What's there to know? I'm human, I'm here because my brother's on Urameshi's team, and I'm psychic. I'm pretty sure there's nothing else about me you would find remotely relevant."

"Oh? Try me."

Shizuru scoffed. "What would you want to know? My profession? My birthday? My beverage preferences?"

"Any or all of those."

Shizuru gave him another long look, but answered anyway. "Hairdresser. January seven—in the year of the boar, that's a freebie. Black coffee."

"You're not giving me much to work with here."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"One-word answers? How am I supposed to make conversation that way?"

"You still haven't explained why you would want to."

"Do I need a reason to want to talk to a beautiful woman? Especially one who's both willing to talk to me and not throwing herself at me?"

Shizuru's stomach did a weird flipping motion that, for once, had nothing to do with her sixth sense.

"Beautiful? Please," she scoffed. "And perhaps I should consider fangirling over you after all, if that would get you to leave me alone."

Shishi smirked. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. I rather like fans swooning over me." His smile slipped. "But if you truly want me to leave you alone, all you have to do is say so."

Shizuru opened her moth to retort, and to take him up on his offer, but once again words failed her. After a moment, she snapped her mouth shut and settled for glaring at him instead.

His smirk returned, and Shizuru got the sudden, overwhelming urge to punch him.

"And if I didn't think you were beautiful, I wouldn't have said so. I told you, I don't toy with people."

The urge to punch him shifted, twisting into something that was just as strongly directed at him, but a great deal less specific.

"So, year of the boar? I might have guessed year of the dog, myself, but I can see it. Inner strength, honestly, a bit of a temper…"

Shizuru didn't respond, but turned her attention on him again, trying to pick up impressions she might have missed before. "I'm guessing you're year of the horse. Silver-tongued, talkative, too clever for your own good."

Shishi's eyebrows lifted a bit, but his smile stayed in place. "Not bad. Tell me, was that more a psychic thing, or simply observation?"

Shizuru shrugged. "Both. It's hard for me to say where one ends and the other begins. I've always been like this, so the impressions or senses I get from people are kind of central to the judgment I make of them."

"Must be useful."

She shrugged again. "I suppose. As such things go, however, I'd have to rate the whole 'sensing danger' thing a little higher."

Shishi shifted forward a little. "You can do that?"

"Yeah. It's saved us from being crushed in the bleachers more than once now, and it's also how I knew you wouldn't win your fight, and that my brother would be ok."

"Must be nice, never having to worry about danger sneaking up on you."

Shizuru looked down and was silent for a moment.

"…you can never be sure of a negative."

Shishi's eyebrows drew together.

"What do you mean?"

Shizuru closed her eyes for a moment. She considered debating the pros and cons of answering, but instead, she threw caution to the wind and spoke.

"Fate didn't warn me before it took my mother. I don't think it even had the grace to warn her. In any case, I'm never wrong about sensing danger, but I can never be sure about not sensing danger."

"Ah."

Shizuru's head snapped up at the unexpected note in his voice. He was looking down, and his smile had drained away entirely.

"If it's any consolation, knowing ahead of time does little to help."

Shizuru blinked. She was long over it, she hardly even thought about it anymore…so why was she having to blink so much to keep her vision clear?

"You've…lost people too?" Her voice really shouldn't take this much effort to keep steady.

He glanced up. "Did you think demons had no one to lose?"

She didn't answer, but glanced down guiltily.

"Yes, many," he continued. "Friends, family. One of the few drawbacks of near-immortality." The phrase was flippant enough, but his voice held no humor.

Shizuru closed her eyes, her memories of her mother's death mixed with the idea of watching people she knew and cared about die while she went on forever. She tried to deny the heat behind her eyes, the sudden constriction of her windpipe, and the awful twisting in the pit of her stomach.

"Are you all right?"

She shook her head to try and clear it. "Dammit, I'm fine."

"Frankly, that seems a little hard to believe."

She snapped her eyes open, ready to retort—and secretly grateful the distraction—but at the same moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Her brown eyes met his inhumanly violet ones, and she was surprised once again by the seriousness in his expression.

They stayed like that for a moment that seemed too long for its length, and then he lifted his hand again.

Shizuru just had time to realize that she really, truly missed that weight on her arm, and then it was back, wrapped around her in a one-armed hug.

The tears she'd been denying slipped from her eyes, and a single shuddering breath escaped her.

She let herself stay like that for a few long moments, not questioning the comfort offered.

Then she pulled back, and his arm slipped easily away.

"I should get back to the others. Stuff's happening tonight, you know?" Her face was back to normal now. At least, she hoped so.

He smiled. "Of course." He bowed slightly, somehow still elegant despite his rather disheveled appearance. "Perhaps we shall meet again."

Shizuru tilted her head.

"You know, I might not be opposed to that idea."