"Shika, reporting for duty Master." I say as I enter the Grand Hall where King Mukuro resided. The land was always in a constant state of darkness with thunder roaring and lightening lighting up the sky. The Grand Hall was as light as any other place as the only furniture is a skeleton and skin covered thrown where my king sat in her off white pants and shirt, red cloth belt, purple loose fitting vest, and her signature bandaged face. I was her top solder though I was technically a free soldier since I came when called upon, but I was loyal to no end since I had no ties but to the one I serve.
My kind live in neutral territory and at the age of seven after our training from the elders we must choose who it is we will serve out of the three Kings; Mukuro, Yomi, Raizen. After we decide who we serve we are taken to our camp and stripped of any attachments to our previous lives. Your best friend can become your enemy and of those that go to these camps only three come out, one from each camp. After spending six years in these camps with each other, being stripped of dignity, a conscious, a personality, or even emotions you kill each other in a blood bath. My people come together once every six years to reproduce and if it wasn't for every woman giving birth to four kids with each pregnancy we would be extinct. A select few of us women aren't put through these camps and instead help around the village to raise the children and give birth alongside the female warriors.
"Shika I have a mission for you and your new partner, Hiei."
"My King, I do not work with partners," I say bluntly with my hands placed one over the other behind my back.
"Nor do I," a short man dressed in head to toe in black declares as he enters the Grand Hall. He had cold crimson red eyes that have seen the death of many victims. His black hair stood straight up with a star-burst of white.
"That's why I'm ordering you two to stop the invasion coming on my East border." I couldn't disobey an order, but I needed to test his strength first.
Right as I think of attacking my new partner he's rushing towards me, his hand near the hilt of his sword. He was fast for a demon, but I was faster. I let him draw his sword to slash me. It was clear he was a master swords man, but again I could still move faster than him. After a second of this going on I stop and grab the tip of his sword with two fingers so that very little of the oils on my fingers get on his sword.
"You're fast and strong as well as know what you're doing, but when you're opponent is stronger and doesn't think of what they're going to do next, you are blind," I say pulling off his bandana. "You should relearn how to read your opponent." I turn my back to this man and begin walking away from him.
I wasn't stupid I just needed to prove a point because as soon as he tries coming at me again for insulting him. I turn and grab his arm at the elbow applying pressure to his pressure point while taking his feet out from under him. I watched him as he finally understood; I was stronger than him.
"We have a mission to complete, let's stop wasting time."
~Years Later~
I haven't seen him since he went after three Artifacts of Darkness from the spirit world. He offered me to join him after seeing my abilities, but I had no desire to join him. My place at the time was with King Mukuro, but now that everyone is ruling under one king that is not my own and my village is in order with our time of birthing over I am without a place to go. As luck would have it though, I found my spiky haired companion.
"Show yourself before I kill you." I smirk at the cold harshness of the familiar voice.
"Your senses have sharpened, though time hasn't been good for you." I drop down and glare at the two humans and demon reborn as a human standing by Hiei. "Their stench clings to you, no wonder I couldn't smell you."
"Why are you here Shika?"
"To kill you," I tell him as I attack at half speed; the level of his speed when we met. He kept up and even counter attacked. Happy with this improvement I increased my speed smirking. Even as I reached full speed he kept up with me. I could see he was struggling to do so, but his speed had doubled since we met. I pull out my sword and attack him. Hiei didn't have time to pull out his sword and block me, but he rolled to the side and drew his sword. The battle continued for some time until I was satisfied with what I saw.
"Enough," and in mid attack Hiei stopped and put his sword away.
"Did anyone see what happened? And why did Shrimp stop when he was wide open? That guy was wide open!" I glare at the obnoxious orange haired human. He stood taller than the rest in a pare of dark jeans and pale blue shirt.
I was often mistaken for a man with my short hair and built frame. I kept my dark purple hair short so it wouldn't get in my way of fighting and my loose grey clothing and purple sash, the traditional wear of my kind, hid all famine aspects of my body. If someone was to look closely at my face the shape of it could tell others that I was indeed female. Most people didn't look at that though because they grey color of my clothing that matched my eyes and the purple sash that matched my hair was a sign of death to others typically, unless you served under the same leader as me. Most don't like to take the time to look at the crest on my right arm or sash though since they'd be dead before they get a chance.
"No, not most of the fight at least. You, Yusuke," the red head demon reborn human asks looking at the human with black hair slicked back wearing light blue jeans, wrinkly white shirt with an orange jacket that had a yellow collar. The red head was in a white button down shirt nicelly tucked into black work pants as he stared at me with peircing green eyes.
"No," the boy named Yusuke replies.
"You've improved, but these humans," I say the word disgusted, "will only drag you down."
"I thought the same," Hiei says looking straight at me.
"You made ties. Have you forgotten my first lesson?"
"Was he your teacher?" the orange haired guy shouts.
"No, he's from the Kuna clan they don't mentor anyone that isn't from their own clan. They stay loyal to whoever they serve, but you're here now and it's clear you don't serve Hiei. So why are you here?" The red head clearly knew a lot about my kind.
"My business is my own."
"How do you know who he serves?"
"It's marked on their uniform. He belongs to the old king Mukuro, so he has no place now and can't serve anyone else or he will be killed."
"You are mistaken. My kind won't be killed we'd be tortured to death, unless released by our previous master in a written document. Once released formally we may serve whoever we want unless instructed otherwise before being released."
"You're free," Hiei asks me though it sounded more as a statement.
"I've been free since the tournament after King Mukuro wasn't declared King."
"So what have you done all these years?"
"My clan had to change with the time and then the time of birth came so I was busy for some time."
"So why are you here?"
"I heard my partner was in this world and class AA demons are allowed here now."
"You're an AA?" The orange haired human shouts.
"Does Koname know you're here?" the black haired human demands as makes a gun with his hand and a blue orb of spirit energy forms.
"Yusuke! Yusuke! A class AA demon has been spotted! You must track them down or great catastrophes will occur! A demon of that class would only come through to kill all humans and rule the world!" the blue haired grim reaper didn't even take a breath as she screams at the
top of her lungs in a frenzy while shaking Yusuke around.
"Or maybe she's looking for her partner." The reaper turns and looks at me for a second before screaming then jumping to cower
behind Yusuke.
"Yusuke, it's here!"
"I'm not going to kill anyone." At that moment Hiei comes behind me and locks my hands behind my back.
"Its orders," he whispers in my ear.
"I'd have done the same." Without even fighting them I follow and do as they say.
"Shike Kuna, what is a class AA demon like you doing here?"
"As I've told everyone I'm here visiting my partner."
"You have a mate here?" the little pacifier sucking baby practically shit his diaper at the very thought of such a thing going on under his noise.
"No, but I served side by side under King Mukuro with Hiei. My kind is not allowed to mate with another kind without permission from our master or by order."
"Hiei, he was your partner? I thought you said you had no partner?" Red-Head- Know-It-All seems at a loss for once.
"It was orders."
"No ties, just orders," that was my one rule and my first lesson.
"Then why have ties with Hiei," Koname asks me.
"My last order was to find Hiei and serve alongside him as his servant. As my final order I am to go through with it and cannot die until I do so." I turn towards Hiei and get down on my knees bowing my head deep and low to level with the very top of his shoes.
"I offer my services, my body, my life, and my very essence to you. I only ask that you mark me as your property." As part of the ceremony of my kind we are not marked with just embroidery on our clothes, but branded on our bodies. The only scare on my body is from King Mukuro from the day she marked me as her servant.
Hiei knows full well how these ceremonies work from when I caught him staring at the scare on my back one day on a mission together. Hiei will have to make a choice; accept me as his servant and brand me forever as his servant or deny me and cut my head off. Deciding to accept me as his servant Hiei burns my left cheek and shoulder along with part of my neck. I don't flinch for a second or even bat an eye as he through a fire ball at me. I wasn't fazed by this.
"What the hell man!" Yusuke shouts only to be backed up by the orange headed human.
"Yeah, what was that for?"
"Thank you," I say standing up and bowing. "I am in your services until death or you set me free from service."
"What," the two humans demand looking at me in shock.
"He has marked me as his servant," I explain.
"Doesn't it hurt?"
"Pain is only in the mind, if you don't think about it you don't feel it."
"But that needs medical treatment."
"No, don't touch me!" A dark purple aura forms around me, warding the humans back.
"His kind can heal themselves and only bare scares of those they've served or they would never have lived past the first four years of their
lives because they would have died from their injuries."
"And I thought Granny was tough."
"You know a lot about my kind," I say glaring at the red head.
"I met one of the Kuna on the run from the village life."
"You should have killed them."
"I did."
"Hiei and Shika you are dismissed, the rest of you stay," the baby says waving his hand in a buzz off manner.
"They don't trust you," Hiei tells me when we're alone.
"Would you," I ask knowing the answer to that question already.
"No."
"It wasn't until we were fighting together and I took a blow for you that you did."
"Even then I questioned it."
"I am loyal to the person I serve and my kind. As my partner I had to protect you as well."
"And as your new master?"
"I live and breathe for you. My life is to protect and serve you as I live by your command."
"Good," he says walking a head of me. "You have no room so you'll be sleeping with me."
"And my patch?"
"I'll have Fox make them for you."
"Thank you Master."
"Stop treating me different, I'm your master but you still treat me as your partner." He was mad, really mad at me. I wasn't sure why though I was simply doing as I was taught to do. As per his request I stay quite as I would before.
Once in the room I could tell it was Hiei's, the room was plain and simple. There was only a bed, a dresser in the closet, heavy dark curtain
drapes over the widow, and a bathroom. Instantly I begin to check everything out. It turns out that behind the curtain drapes was a balcony with a gorgeous view of mountains set behind a vast forest. The door could easily be busted down with two good hits from a class C and the window was sturdier than most, but still pretty weak by any standard. Everything else in the room could handle an attack.
"The window and door need to be upgraded to sturdier modules."
"Talk to the baby, I have no control over living arrangements." I take note of this and since it was night time I prop myself up against the end
of the bed and close my eyes. I won't sleep since I never do, but I'll rest allowing my body and mind time to recuperate.
"Shika," Hiei calls and instantly I jump up to my feet aware of everything around me as I look for danger. "You can sleep in the bed." I relax knowing there wasn't any danger.
"That's your place of rest," I told him as I prop my back up against the head of the bed. There was a moment of silence before he gave me my first real order.
"I order you to sleep in the bed." I'm not allowed to disobey an order and if I do I am to kill myself. My kind is to be the perfect soldiers and if we are anything less we are to be killed for disgracing our name sake.
Begrudgingly on the inside I do as I'm told and crawl into bed beside him. It wasn't that I was sharing a sleeping area with him that bothered me since it wouldn't be the first time, but that I never actually slept in a bed before. I wasn't conferrable with the idea of sleeping on something that actually changed form when you lie down on it. To make matter worse you cover up with a blanket making it harder to move.
This bed was a death trap.
"Relax," Hiei tells me without looking at me.
"You're tense, even for you." I don't reply.
"Think of our time in Makai." I do as he says and I see what he meant, I really was tense, but thinking of our time together I relax.
I always say no ties, just orders. It's my biggest lie because the one that orders me is my only tie to emotions I have left.
You can all thank Heather for me coming up with this story while trying to think of a story line for the story "Forced Arrangements" for her.