AN: So it's been a month since my last update, and my excuse is... university D; You'd know that if you kept track of my profile, which is always updated with story progress. Now exams are here so there won't be weekly updates anymore... probably. Definitely an update within the month though, i'm not dropping this fic anytime will pick up pace after the 24th hopefully.


When morning came, the landscape next to Emerald Station Castle looked as if it had been remodelled by a very drunk Chu on drugs. The castle itself surprisingly had been imbued with a strange magic it seemed, because even as its owner had died, the crystal castle restored itself gradually throughout the night. Come dawn, it looked as if the explosion that had ripped its walls to pieces never even happened.

The bodies inside had been incinerated as completely as if Hiei had let loose the hell flames on them. At this thought, Kurama swallowed hard. Hiei.

Something slapped him on the back hard and he was send stumbling forwards several steps. So his reflexes weren't up to par either.

"We'll get him back, Kurama."

"I know," he replied frostily. He glared at the figure Kuwabara and Yusuke were currently lugging along on their backs. "As long as we have him…"

"They don't seem the type to abandon their comrades," Yusuke said casually, seeing the way Kurama was glaring darkly at the unconscious pirate. "Nor do they seem the type to forgive. If we don't harm him, they'll probably come back with Hiei for an exchange."

For once, Yusuke was the cool-headed one.

Kurama shook his head from side to side, clearing it.

"I thought it'd be rude to ask but—now that it's come to this you know—what's been going on with you and Hiei anyway?"

The overtly-casual tone betrayed to Kurama just how curious Yusuke really was. And how he'd been itching to ask for quite some time.

"What do you mean, Urameshi?" Kuwabara interjected.

So they hadn't been so obvious that a human would pick it up. It would go against the grain to tell anyone, but in light of the current situation… "Let's lock this away first," Kurama stated in a way that did not allow objection. "Then…" his voice trailed off. Then what? Kurama wondered. He'd reveal not only his, but Hiei's weakness as well?


In the end, Kurama's resolve wavered. Hiei's rescue was more important than this. Yusuke and Kuwabara were allies. Last night, they'd been more use than Kurama in trying to save Hiei.

It had been Yusuke who'd led that pirate Captain away, unleashing his full demonic strength and from the looks of things shocking the female pirate beyond belief—Yusuke had a tendency to surprise people, Kurama recalled with a certain fondness.

Kuwabara had done his best to push back the scorpion guarding the fallen panther demon that had obviously exhausted his own energy on that strange ward—and Kurama fought the rest. He was able to change into Youko form at will now, at a much faster speed than a few years ago. The emergence of his silver fox form had catalysed a focused attack on him, and he had held them all back—whilst taking many careless injuries of his own.

And then he'd found an opportunity to strike the panther—killing him would make Hiei wake up, right? It'd undo that strange brand of magic… right?

But Yusuke had yelled out, stop. Kurama had looked over, missing his chance. Thank god he did. He saw Hiei's body raised up off the ground by the pirate Captain's dragon tail, the tip of a spine digging into his vulnerable neck. Yusuke on the other hand, had a spirit gun fully charged and aimed at the man who was the cause of Hiei's incarceration.

Stalemate.

No one would be able to stop Yusuke's blast, and they were at a standstill—neither side could deliver a telling blow without losing something important.

The surprise arrival of Sindra and Roxene's minions signalled the end of battle—unsurprising really with all the commotion they'd caused. The pirates had fled quickly to their ship, the Captain towing Hiei along with them as they retreated to prevent the spirit detective team from following. There hadn't been time to trade hostages. Evidently, the pirates didn't want to stick around for a full-scale war and there were weak members in their ranks who couldn't all be protected in what would be a bloodbath.

This left Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama to tackle the new arrivals, and by the end, their energies were exhausted. If the Sisters were low S-class fighters, then their minions were all upper A-class. And they had a lot of minions. The pirates who'd fought on the other hand had all been A to S class fighters. Their Captain had matched Yusuke. That would be the cream of the crop.

"Do you know what time of the year it is?" Kurama looked from Yusuke to Kuwabara expectantly.

"Umm… like, you mean the season? What has that got to do with anything?"

"Yes, Kuwabara, exactly that." Kurama took a deep breath, and then took the plunge. "Hiei and I—some spirit energies have side effects, let's just say. Right now…" Everything is dying. "Heat and cold are trading places. It's the season where… well, look at the trees."

"Mmm…"

"They're losing leaves, Yusuke." Don't make me divulge anymore… even if it's you…

"Ah. But Hiei doesn't use plants?"

"Heat and cold are trading places," Kurama repeated, head pounding. "The equinox, you know." They hadn't expected it to come so suddenly—apparently, the natural pulse came earlier in the south of Makai—neither demon had travelled this far into neutral territory before. It was also stronger than it had been in previous years. Normally, Kurama would be in human world, curled up in bed after calling in sick at work. He would have an entire arsenal of plants at every entrance to his room to assure himself he was totally safe, as he felt every painful drop of leaf within a few kilometres of where he was. Until the long hours were over, and the painful feeling of loss ebbed.

One year, he'd spent it with Hiei. The fire demon had hopped into his room and drawn an intricate spell circle on his bedroom floor, before enveloping himself in flames at the centre. He'd sat down without a word and curled himself into an almost-ball. Kurama had understood.

Last night, the pulse had hit just few minutes after midnight—few precious moments before Hiei had spotted the incoming pirate ship and raised the alarm.

Yusuke pondered. Hiei is a fire demon. If his powers were also tied to nature then—the winter equinox would bring about… the lowest point of his energy. Yusuke's eyes widened. Oh. Well that explained why the two demons were so edgy. And whilst Hiei's dragon last night was strong… "Why didn't you guys just tell…" he trailed off. "Of course you wouldn't. You idiots! Prideful, stupid demons," Yusuke muttered. "Could've covered for you—no shame in that…"

"It's not about that, Yusuke," Kurama said softly. It's our weakness—telling anyone that is like inviting death. Don't you know, Yusuke?

Yusuke stared at him evenly. "I know what it's about. And—" He broke off and turned away.

Kurama felt ashamed all of a sudden.

"It's alright, man. We get it." Kuwabara was looking at him as if he understood.

"Hiei told me he'd watch my back, remember?" said Yusuke.

He had, Kurama recalled. Back in that fight with Sensui, when they'd thought Yusuke had died, but then he'd been brought back as one of their own and Kurama had felt—he'd felt like he could trust the mazoku standing in front of him with anything. And because it was Hiei who said something like that—that made the fact that they were able to trust the former human irrevocable truth.

Yusuke watched him quietly. "You get it now?"

"I've been stupid," Kurama replied quietly.

"At least you know. Now let's go talk to that new friend of ours and find out if killing him will give Hiei his whoop-ass dragon back—we probably won't even have to go looking for him then—did Koenma say anything about bringing the thieves back alive?"


Mera was drowning herself in alcohol. It was one of the only times she hated being the species that she was. Dragons don't get drunk. Dwarf dragons like herself don't either.

"World sucks," she grumbled into her tankard. "Refills, Coby."

The armadillo demon boy plonked a large round bottle in front of her. She waved her hand half-heartedly in thanks at his back as he shuffled away.

"Hey Mera!" sang Forrest as he scuttled next to her.

"AHH! SPIDER—SOMEONE KILL IT—oh wait, it's just you. Don't…look like that."

A swirl of black, and then a black-haired man with matching onyx eyes emerged to fall in a cross-legged position on the long oak table, replacing the large eight legged being that had previously occupied the space. "That's mean," he whimpered, clutching his hands to his chest as if he'd been dealt a fatal blow. "Don't you think so, brother?"

"Captain's mean!" repeated an identical singsong voice from behind Mera and a figure vaulted over the top of her head to land at his twin's side.

Before Mera could reply, a gentle voice floated across the mess hall and she knocked over a few chairs with her tail in her urgency to turn before swearing and pulling her power back, tail and wings disappearing for the first time since two nights ago. "Blue! Is he awake yet?!"

"Is he awake yet?" the spider twins Forrest and Faustus repeated mockingly, swinging their legs down towards the floor in one identical motion.

Mera batted her shipwrights' legs aside, dodging past numerous inebriated crew mates at Blue's come hither motion. The twins cackled behind her as she stumbled over someone's leg.

Alright, so maybe she was a little drunk. And it wouldn't hurt to bring her wings out to help with that iffy balance—too bad they wouldn't really fit in most rooms below deck.

Outside on deck it was a clear Makai night, and the sea wind blew gently into crimson sails. It would be a perfect night to take flight, to aim for the moon until even her dragon lungs could not allow her to fly any further… but not whilst she was missing a brother.

She found herself hypnotized by Blue's swaying tail as the scorpion woman sashayed across the wooden boards, then down stairs and into the lower wings, through a narrow hallway and at the end room she hesitated; her deep purple tail flicked nervously beside her, tapping the wall and creating a little dent.

"Mera… he's dangerous," Blue murmured quietly.

"I know," Mera grinned. "Isn't it great?"

"I do not think he will join… he is far too prideful—you can see it—the fire in his eyes."

"He'll join," she replied with certainty cheerfully, her mood a one eighty from her previous depression. A silver aura billowed out from her feet before dissipating, yet the invisible force moved on throughout the ship. She closed her eyes a brief second—"He's hiding behind the door," she whispered to her head navigator. "I—"

"Wait a second, Mera please. He's not like us—he doesn't need, or want a family. He'll never fit in… I know his type and—"

"He'll join."

Blue sighed. Her captain was the stubbornest demon she had ever met. Perhaps it came with being a dragon type, Blue mused. But at least she wasn't moping anymore. When Mera moped, the depressing atmosphere would come first. Then she'd send sad looks to everyone around her. Last would come the puppy eyes, accompanied with the eventual unending questions of—and Blue would see the picture very clearly in her mind—"Where's my Law?!" After that it would all degenerate into never-ending whines until eventually they sailed back to Emerald Station with no plan, no clue, just the aim of retrieving their much-loved Second Mate.

Which, Blue acknowledged, wouldn't be a far cry from what they would probably end up doing eventually. But why on earth was Mera so set on getting their enemy to join the crew?! "This is such a bad idea," she groaned as Mera stepped smartly around her to tap on the door.

No answer. "I come in peace," declared Mera whimsically. Still no answer.

"Really?" Blue sighed. "Well if you're set on doing this…" She reached towards the doorknob—

SMASH!

"Repairs for the door will be five hundred gold—"

"You can't fine your captain."

"Watch me," hissed Blue with an unnatural blizzard in her deep violet eyes. "And another hundred for new floorboards."

"They're just a bit scratched—"

"One thousand."

Mera didn't reply in favour of stopping a plank of wood a few centimetres from her nose. "Join my crew." She flared her spirit energy with the statement.

The plank of wood dropped. "No," Hiei hissed, furious at how weak his swing had been. "What did that overgrown cat do to me?!"

He'd woken with a vague recollection of the smell of ashes in a foreign bed anchored to the floor, which rocked as he stepped on it. It didn't take him long to remember that burning embarrassment at having his dragon taken—falling unconscious—and now, evidently, he had been captured by the enemy—this was a ship, and he had no weapons. Never mind the fact that for some reason he hadn't woken in a brig or some sort of form of imprisonment… his dragon was still absent, and the goddamn equinox had sapped most of his energy—not that they knew that.

He was seen as harmless enough that the scorpion woman didn't even bother to assign him a new guard as she hissed a warning before marching off to presumably call their captain—who would then gloat over their apparent victory over him… so why the hell was she still pretending like she wanted him on her crew?! He was so shocked that he almost entertained the thought that she was being serious…

"How are you feeling?" Mera asked, waving away Blue, who retreated out of the room fuming.

Hiei sneered at the way she had given up her intimidation strategy as quickly as she had begun. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Your friends took Law."

Hiei blinked, dull surprise in his eyes one moment. Was that a slip of tongue? The information was invaluable… but he would have figured it out eventually—so he was alive because she wanted the panther demon back? "He's not your mate." Saying those words felt odd. He shrugged it off, putting it down to the strange condition her underling had left him in.

"Nope," she agreed, slipping around him to the bed he had woken up in and sitting down on the black satin sheets edged with silver.

The way he was now, he was no threat to her and they both knew it. Hiei had never been in a situation has hopelessly weird as this before. If one of your allies were dragging you down, you left them to their own devices. She was keeping someone as dangerous as him around to save an ally?

He watched her guardedly, keeping half his attention on the open doorway of the room. Not to escape of course—he'd die before turning his back on an enemy no matter how outclassed he was in his current state. But if anyone were to attack him from behind… their captain may not feel like taking him out right this moment, but that didn't mean the rest of the crew felt the same way. And as if she'd read his mind, she spoke again. "I've told them you're our new crewmate."

"I'm not. The moment you let your guard down, I'll kill you."

The demoness laughed, falling back on his bed with a grin and a stretch as if his threat didn't bother her at all. Bingo. He lunged for her throat with a sharp block of wood that had been a part of the door. He wore a feral grin on his face as he realised she wouldn't be able to move in time—and she didn't.

The sharp point slammed into her throat—sunk down—splintered into pieces with the violence of his thrust. Hiei growled in frustration, staring down at the softly shimmering silvery scales which adorned her neck like jewellery. Certainly he felt no admiration for such a delicate yet effective defence that could be summoned up with apparent ease. Nor did those scales give him a strangely soothing sensation much like his mother's tear bead. Just what the hell were her powers anyway?

"Should we come back later?" asked two voices from the doorway in unison. "If this is the reason you wanted him around Mera, you should have just said… didn't you tell Law off the other time for having an orgy in your room?"

"GAH—IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE—and wait—YOU CAN'T HAVE AN ORGY WITH ONE PERSON ANYWAY."

"Are you sure? You have our blessings," chorused Forrest and Faustus chirpily before: "We'll leave you guys to it then!"

"No really it's—!"

The spider twins twirled in place and left with a fluttering of coattails.

Curious, Hiei thought. Of course he had understood the implications… and now that he thought about it, their positions were rather suggestive. And for the first time, he sensed discomfort from her. Not that he was completely comfortable with their suggestions himself…

Mera blinked up at him quietly, watching the subtle shifts of emotion across his face from a much closer distance than ever before. At the same time, she was extremely mindful of the distance between their bodies. Which wasn't much.

"Is this how you normally look?" Hiei found himself asking derisively. "Or is it just another mask?"

She didn't take her eyes off him as she replied, "No. Those illusions belong to my second mate."

"The panther?" he asked scornfully, though inwardly he was a little curious.

"Mm." She decided that she quite liked the warmth his body gave off.

Hiei on the other hand was thinking furiously. So there was another on this ship—the First Mate, who hadn't fought in their battle. Why?

"Ehh… he's a little… temperamental, let's just say" So…warm…comfy…. "We don't invite him unless we want to fight him as well… he's a good guy though… just, misunderstood and all."

Hiei stared down at the carefree woman who was now—was she falling asleep?! For some reason, he didn't know whether to be offended or… He just had no idea what to make of her. In a way, she reminded him of Yusuke…

When her eyes closed, he hissed softly. What was he meant to do now? He felt the vague rocking motion of the ship. The effects of the equinox would last a few days more at worst… and then what? He'd swim back to shore? Perhaps if this was the human world, but Makai waters… The ship would have to dock sometime to pick up supplies of course…

"I. Hate. You." Hiei growled vehemently before gritting his teeth and clambering off her, making sure to shove his elbow into her gut and plant his knee on her thigh before reaching the floor and stretching like a jungle cat, ignoring the pitiful whimper behind him. He flitted out the door to what looked to be an empty corridor, then set off for recon. He had no doubt in his mind he'd get off this ship one way or another.

Petty, Mera thought, rubbing her bruised ribs and wincing. She'd let the fire demon get a few hits in to console his insulted pride. But seriously? Well, I did kidnap him… how do I go about negotiating a trade with the detectives when I want to keep that volatile fire spirit? Well… we're well on course to that island so it's not like we can turn back anytime soon… guess I'll worry about in a month's time.

"I want Law," Mera mewled, top half of her body dangling off the bed limply before sliding the rest of the way onto the floor, black silk cascading around her like a shroud. She rolled across to the doorway when black heeled boots appeared in her corner vision. "Look—Blue—I'm a worm! Also—I want Law back—I want Law back and—"

"Don't. Even. Start."


Word Count: 3700. Did anyone see this coming at all? Leave a comment below if you're confused about anything and i'll get back to you. I'll elaborate more on the specifics of Law's power later on, though you're welcome to guess just what ability he has ;) I'll also delve into Mera's abilities.

Of course, the natural balance of the world affecting different spirit energies is something i just made up, and it'll play a part throughout this series. I figure it could actually be a part of YYH; it wouldn't be spoken of because demons guard their weaknesses very very well even against their allies, like Kurama has said :D Togashi never went into detail about spirit energy, so TADA here i am~!

Once again, if you want to know when things will be updated, my profile is the place to be. And please tell me if characters are OOC.