I wake up slowly to find myself lying on Hiei as if I was still in my dream. I had to take a moment to realize I wasn't still sleeping. If it wasn't for the fact we weren't in the middle of a desert I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"Was it you," I ask Hiei as I look up at him.

"Was what me," Hiei asks looking back down at me.

"That messed with my dream."

"I couldn't sleep with you shaking and trapping me in your endless loop of the past." In Hiei that meant yes.

"Thank you." I was tortured in my sleep and he rescued me, the reason doesn't matter just that he did it matters for me.

"You should shower before we hunt."

"What's a shower?"

"It's standing under a waterfall with the heat of a hot spring." I nod my head; I liked the sound of that. My favorite part of the day was waking up early and standing under the waterfall or on the special rare cases when I was able to find a hot spring. I used to tell Hiei, when we grew close enough, that if waterfalls and hot springs could be combined it'd be divine.

As I stand up Hiei stands up with me knowing I'd need help since I have no clue what I was doing. Hiei leads me to the bathroom and opens the glass door and turns a knob causing water to fall from a metal contraption. I jump back a little startled by this.

"The water takes a bit to warm up. The green bar is to wash your body. The bottle labeled shampoo is to wash your hair then use conditioner for your hair." I nod my head to show that I understand. "Strip down," Hiei orders me and without so much of a thought about it I strip down.

"I'll leave a towel for you on the toilet. The water should be hot enough now." I open the glass door and enter the shower.

Hiei was right; a waterfall with a hot spring. It had the power of the waterfall and the heat of a hot spring. I've never bathed so well before. Since I had to get the dried blood off that caked my skin I grab the green bar and begin scrubbing my skin. I scrub and scrub and scrub but no matter how much I scrubbed the blood wouldn't come off. Growing greatly frustrated I bash my fist into the wall and though I shattered the granite tile I didn't feel a thing, nor was I injured.

"Shika," Hiei shouts rushing towards me and throwing the shower door open.

"It won't come off," I tell him as I begin clawing at my skin trying to get the blood off.

"What wont?" Hiei asks as his sense of danger disappears since there wasn't an immediate threat.

"Katsu's blood!"

"There's only your blood," Hiei tells me as he enters my mind. I could feel him searching around in my head much like the many times he had before. I'm not sure what it was he was looking for but the image I see changes.

I look at my hands, my arms, my legs; my whole body was clean of blood except for my claw marks that were bleeding. Slowly I sink down to the floor with my back up against the hot glass wall.

"I'm not suited to serve," I tell him as I stare off ahead unblinking and without truly seeing. I was unfit and too unstable. I would just hinder Hiei.

"He was the boy you told me of?" It was a question, but he worded it as a statement.

"He was supposed to serve King Mukuro, not me. I have failed at my kind's whole purpose."

"Your existence isn't to serve."

"When born we train to serve, if we don't die before we graduate then we serve our king, if we're lucky we die serving them otherwise we go back to our village as elders to serve our village."

"I'd have killed you if you were just a servant."

"Then what am I?"

"Whatever you choose to be. Get up, we're going hunting." I stand up and take the towel left for me to dry off after turning the shower off. Once I was dried off I get dressed and started hunting.

The hunt was filling but the hunt didn't do it for me and I was unsatisfied with my kill, even if I did play with my pray.

"We're going to the Makia," Hiei declares and just like that a portal appears before us. I wasn't sure what he was up to or what he was trying to accomplish, but I didn't question him.

"There are a couple bands of demons Koname has been fussing about that need to be killed." It was much like the old days when Hiei and I were given tasks to go kill an army of demons.

Just like the old days I would track them down and then Hiei would use his third eye to pinpoint the exact positions and how many demons we were up against. I was looking forward to see the extent of his capabilities after all these years. It surprised me some to see just how quickly we both fell into our old routine.

As we approach the camps we figured out who is the strongest, who was the leader, and what would be the most fun way to go about this. We didn't have to verbally speak this because we spoke through telepathy. With everything decided we jump down in the center of the group with Hiei standing in the bond fire watching my back as I watch him, and also to scare the shit out of everyone. To our disappointment the group was only made up of class B demons.

"I don't see why class B demons would be a problem to Koname," I state as I clean the blood off of my sword.

"Nor do I," Hiei states doing the same.

I sigh to myself as I sit down with my back against Hiei's chest and stare blankly at the bond fire. This feels just like the old days before things changed. I smile a little to myself as Hiei wraps one arm around me. The smile felt odd though as my bottom lip snags on my fangs. I run my tongue along my upper row of teeth carefully. My fangs were fully extended. I turn to look back at Hiei in shock. He didn't seem to notice or just didn't care.

"Hiei," I call to get his attention and he looks down at me. "Do your fangs ever extend?"

"No." I look at Hiei for a little longer and begin to extinguish what I was feeling so my fang would retract. Hiei was the only one around me so he was my mate for life, but I didn't want to mate with anyone.

"Would you ever have a mate?"

"Why are you asking stupid questions?" Hiei retorts causing me to shut up and look ahead at the fire. I didn't want a mate right now, but if Hiei really is my mate for life I'd like to be his mate one day.

"We can hunt bands of demons for Koname for as long as we like," Hiei informs me. I nod my head liking that idea.

"I already claimed one," Hiei says after a moment of silence, refering back to when I asked him if he'd ever have a mate. In that second I can feel my heart sink. He's my mate for life, but he's already chose another.

"You should take her next you see her if you've already claimed her." I say this, but inside I hate this female that Hiei's claimed as his. I didn't want him to have another mate. I sigh, feeling defeated and a new heart ache, but in mid exhale I find my breath caught at the sight of Hiei in front of my throwing my sash to the side.

"What are you doing?" I ask trying to stay calm though I can feel myself becoming aroused.

"Taking what I've claimed." Before I can even react to what Hiei said he took what he's claimed as his.