"This is sort of…lacking in the stimulation department," Iruni spoke with her arms behind her head as she walked, lazily scanning the surrounding area for signs of trouble. Kurama looked down at her curiously. She seemed to have two distinct personality types that interchanged however she saw fit: aloof and engaging.
"Yes well, sometimes it's nice not to have to save the world," he told her, returning to his own survey. "Do you sense anything?"
"Yeah, two demons have been following us for a few minutes. There's a bigger energy ahead and to the right, but nothing severe. I'd say a D-class, while the losers behind us are much lower on the totem pole." She was so relaxed as she spoke with her eyes half closed it took him off guard. Yusuke had been right, a few more hours of sleep and she'd woken up a more tolerable person.
"Aren't we going to fight them?" Hiei asked her from the other side. She shrugged quietly. "What's the matter? Waste all your energy on the human?"
"I'm saving myself for the asshole that interrupted my nap," she explained without much emotion.
"You can hold quite the grudge can't you?" Kurama asked with a smile and she looked at him from the corner of her eyes. Her hair was down and free to flow around her now, a sign she felt absolutely no danger from their pending situation. Yusuke and Kuwabara would meet them in the park and from there they'd leave to attack the apparition hidden in the trees.
"Some low level scum is the reason I was woken up after my first hours of sleep in three days. I take that personal, yes." Stopping she stretched her arms, making her cotton t-shirt stretched and twist with the movements. With a change of heart and three more hours of rest she'd decided to change into jeans, tennis shoes and a simple blue shirt. She fit in better downtown now that if she had continued to walk about in bandages and baggy pants.
"What are you doing?" the fire demon demanded, his eyes catching the flicker of movement behind her.
"Alleviating my boredom," she shrugged, turning in time to catch one of the demons by the throat. Wrapping her fingers around its skinny blue neck she squeezed until it choked out in pain. Not waiting long she jumped into the question, "Why are you following us?"
"Boss told us to report on you," it wheezed though a pinched windpipe. She blinked and looked to her two companions.
"I guess what I should ask is, do you think it's worth the energy I'll expend to kill him?" she asked Kurama who had a stoic look to his features, sighing she turned to the demon. Her arm was fully stretched as she held him, revealing his height, but still he couldn't shake her grip. "You see, he's the rational one most of the time, so him not defending you isn't good. Maybe you should start giving me a reason not to kill you while my other colleague dispatches your friend."
"Ah!" it yelled in pain as her grip tightened.
"Time is a factor Tiny," she reminded softly, never once breaking out of the calm bubble of personality she was wearing tonight.
"The, the boss, he's just ahead see. He's not very strong, but he does this thing with energy blasts. He's the one who's been causing trouble," he tried and failed to push her away. It was like fighting a wall, except more dangerous. Well, and walls couldn't fight back.
"You know, disloyalty really grates on my nerves," she shook her head slightly, "I used to have followers, companions. Everyone knew that loyalty was a very important trait to me, and to disband it was basically treason. I hate people who roll on their friends."
"But you said-" it choked off its reply as she squeezed harder.
"I'd kill you but you aren't worth my time," she let him go so that he dropped to his knees. With a blurred kick to the head he went flying into the trees behind him.
"Noble," Hiei scoffed and she went back to walking with her hands clasped behind her head, mingling with her hair.
"Keep your eyes open, all three of them," she told him pensively, staring up at the dimming sky. The way the reds washed into deep blue and black away from the orange and gold was mesmerizing. It was calming, the bright colors ushering in the night, soothing over her with every light breeze. s
"Why did you touch Hiei's Jagan the other day?" Kurama interrupted her thoughts suddenly, his curiosity not able to wait another hour before being sated.
"Hmm?" she looked at him then remembered. "Oh. A few reasons."
"What were they?" the fire demon stayed silent as the fox interrogated her. The red head knew his shorter friend wanted the answers but was too stubborn to ask the questions and therefore took it onto himself.
"I wanted to," she shrugged a bit then went on, "To see if it could sense what I was, to see what he'd do, like I said. To make an impression I guess. A lot of reasons."
"It didn't work," Hiei told her finally and she met his eyes.
"Gee really professor?" she asked sarcastically and Kurama smiled. "I think I realized that when I didn't get a reaction."
"I like you better when you're quiet," he snapped back.
"Do I look like I care?" she cocked her head to the side, spilling dark hair over her arm that dropped to point at the short man.
"So loyalty is important to you?" Kurama asked her to divert the conversation. She nodded, turning back to him as they walked.
"Yeah, always has been. Not much use in people if you can't depend on them," she explained lightly.
"And can we depend on you?" the red eyed demon asked her, making her think.
"You don't get a choice," she finally responded, a little too easily as they emerged into the spacious park. "Why are there always demons in wooded areas?"
"Convenience," Kuwabara waved them over as he answered happily. "Provides good cover. You guys ready?"
They all nodded and followed Yusuke through a small path leading into the woods. Someone had let it slip, apparently another unfortunate demon pawn, that this is where they'd find the low life they were hunting. It was a silent walk, allowing for plenty of time to think. Yusuke lead the way, followed by Kuwabara who was followed by Kurama and Iruni, then Hiei.
"What has this demon done?" she asked finally, annoyed by the sound of twigs crunching repeatedly.
"I guess he's exposing himself," Yusuke told her. When she raised an eyebrow he corrected himself, "Not like that. He's openly attacked a few people in the park, and apparently has a taste for pets."
"Yuck," she made a face and went back to silence. A low power dog eater. Didn't sound too bad, especially with their team. Great, now I'm actually counting myself in with them. When the hell did that start? These people, demons, whatever, they're a punishment, not a friendship. Don't be stupid about this Iruni…
She was shoved to the ground before she could finish the thought, Hiei and Kurama were covering her as a blast of light flew towards them before crashing through the trees. Bright orange and hot. Great, this guy was throwing his energy like fire balls.
"You can get off me now," she told them both, staring at them from under the protection of their arms. "I'm not a child."
"Hn," Hiei rose first poised for a fight. He didn't look impressed by the lights display and when the others rose to their feet, neither did they. Iruni hovered beside the fire apparition, glaring in the direction the attack had come from. There was a faint glow and she stepped forward, raising her arm straight out. A dim green light bubbled around the group, keeping them all inside as another blast pushed her back a few inches but did no harm. It dissipated around the bubble like water rolling over glass.
"A force field? You can conjure a freaking force field?" Yusuke asked, nearly yelling as she dropped the guard.
"Naturally, its basic defense," she blinked at him. "Can't you?"
"No!" he yelled.
"You might want to learn," she turned back to the direction the energy was coming from. "Our friend here has a touch of love for fire."
"Weakling," Hiei scoffed and she smiled at him with a nod. "Isn't this your fight girl?"
Slyly she gazed at him, "You don't want to face one of your own?"
"No one is like me," he growled dismissively and she couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. Leading the way she pushed through the last thicket of trees before they stumbled into a small clearing. There was a brief moment of silence as they regarded the large humanesque being before them. He was tall though, maybe having a foot over Kuwabara and he had three horns on his head.
"You aren't so menacing," she tilted her head to the side and stepped forward. "You must be the asshole I'm here to bring in."
"A little girl like you? Does Spirit World not have any real fighters anymore?" he laughed.
"Nah, just little ole me," she pouted, effectively with all the years of practice, and blinked her bright eyes up at him. "So maybe you could go easy on me? This is my first mission after all."
"It'll be your last too!" he surged forward to hit her.
"Yeah, I'm sure," she told him with a smile as her feet widened into a defensive stance. Crossing her arms into an 'x' over her chest she blocked the kick he'd sent at her. Her body moved back an inch but other than that didn't respond to the assault. "But before we get to the me dying part, I'd like to exercise a bit. Since I'm in training and all."
"What?" he asked dumbly as she hauled her arm back and punched him in the thigh, gripping his ankle as he went to pull his leg away. He howled in pain. "You bitch!"
"I get that a lot," she punched him in the nose as he double over to check his leg out. Falling back he screamed his rage, confused by the surge of strength she was commanding. There was no spirit energy or demon energy to sense, just a girl with a killer right hook.
He jumped back to his feet and attacked, delivering multiple hits she easily stopped with the palms of her hands. She lifted her leg and kicked him twice in the side, going for a third strike when he grabbed her leg with a malicious smile and flung her to the dirt.
"Damn, that wasn't nice," she stood up just as the giant ball of fire hit her, unable to deflect it in the short notice.
The direct hit sent her hurtling backwards through the many trees that snapped under the force of her body until a thick trunk finally stopped her without breaking in half. Groggily she was aware of the pain in her body, of the smell of singed flesh, but being unconscious can make some things seems so insignificant.
"Oh my god! You blew her up!" Kuwabara stared at the smoldering shoe left behind after the powerful blast. It was all that remained of the girl who'd been standing there seconds before.
"So much for D-class," Kurama whispered to himself, eyes searching for their friend.
"Hn, he's still a weakling. She should've taken him more seriously," Hiei told him darkly. His eyes were moving quick too, trying to find a sign of the girl. He didn't believe she was dead, but there was a good chance she was severely injured.
The demon they faced laughed heartily, throwing his back in the movement. Hiei's eyes twitched in aggravation at the smug sound, all his senses scanning the near area for the demon girl. Kurama and Yusuke were watching each other, both still trying to find her without leaving the group. No one got even a whiff of her earthy scent.
"Go figure," the leader mumbled, "her first assignment and she goes and gets blown up."
"I didn't see her," Hiei told him impatiently, not sure why he had the urge to rip the beast scoffing at them limb from weak limb. He slipped into a fighting pose.
"I agree, I think she got thrown by the blast, but I doubt she was killed by it," Kurama nodded pulling his rose out with a grave seriousness. "After we handle him we'll go find her."
"No guys, let me handle this," Kuwabara stepped up with two glowing swords forged of raw power. "Hurting Iruni was just the thing to do to piss me off!"
"Ugh," Iruni shifted under the light cover of twigs and leaves that blanketed her after they'd showered down when she hit the massive oak. Sitting up they scattered to the wayside, thrown as she rubbed her aching head. "Why do they always have to aim for the head?"
Trying to stand she fell to her right knee, grunting in pain as the other limb seared and refused to work. It wasn't the only injury she'd sustained she noticed. From the headache brewing she'd assumed that her skull had been the target for the blast, but now she knew different. Blood pooled through the bandages she was still wearing and through her shirt. That meant she must've hit her head on the tree when she crashed into it, but the blast had hit her chest.
"He made a direct hit," she told herself, remembering the last few seconds before being cast into the air. That wasn't a pleasant thought and her self esteem suffered more from the blow than her body ever could. Sitting back against the tree she brought energy to her hand in a faint green light before pushing it into her broken leg. One of the side effects of not accessing her energy was it couldn't heal her unless she called it. Feeling the pain lessen and the usefulness return she stopped, not bothering to heal the wound on her chest. She could work around it, and ignore that pain, as long as she could walk.
Rising unsteadily she took a deep breath and wrapped her arm around her front side, hunching over the slightest bit as she began to make her way back to the clearing, to find her team and finish what she started. There was the sense of great spiritual energy, meaning Kazuma had come up to bat.
"I'm coming guys," she whispered as her feet picked the uneasy path back towards the fight.
"Do you think he understands that fire beats humans?" Hiei asked his two remaining friends as Kuwabara slashed at the demon repeatedly, landing various blows, but not doing enough damage to be taken seriously. He was torn up himself, parts of his clothe singed and ripped.
"Cut him some slack, he's still exhausted from his fight with Iruni," Yusuke snapped at him. "She kicked his ass! I'm surprised he's even walking."
"I can hear you!" he yelled from behind the fire demon he was fighting, taking an arm off of it with his sword. "Ha ha yes!"
"You'll die for that!" it screamed its pain at him, powering up for another fire ball. There was a distracting rustling in the trees behind him and so him and Kuwabara both turned to see it, the team moving around to get a better view.
Iruni listened as Kazuma bantered with the demon, listened as her other team mates spoke. Yusuke had a point, if Kuwabara wasn't at his best, it was her fault. Grasping for her self control she clouded her mind with it, ignoring the eating pain of the wound in her chest. After hundreds of years of practice donning the old expressionless mask was easy enough, and she hid the pain and everything that went with it in the back of her mind before stepping into the clearing.
"Iruni!" Kuwabara yelled happily, seemingly pleased she was alive. She looked at him stoically then turned to the demon who was sputtering his shock at her.
"You could've hurt me with your carelessness," she spoke crisply, falling easily into her old mannerisms of dealing with the ones who couldn't recognize danger until it was stabbing them in the face. "I'm not impressed. And then you go and threaten my friend. That really upsets me."
"How are you alive!" he yelled, backing away. "You shouldn't be able to walk."
"Her chest," Kurama half stepped forward in concern, even Hiei followed the movement then thought better of it. She had a look in her eyes that was death warmed over, and it was directed at the fire demon in the clearing. He'd rather watch the show than get involved. "She's seriously injured."
"She'll be alright," Yusuke said confidently. "I mean, she's freaking Amon-Shinpi, I don't think he stands a chance."
"Maybe not but she's still hurt," the red head stared at the girl. "She's not even controlling her movements like before."
"Hn, shut up and watch," their fire demon demanded with a short glare. "I want to see what she's going to do."
"Kuwabara are you hurt?" Iruni turned her head to him and he shook his back. "Do you mind if I take this back over? It'll be quick this time. No playing around."
"Yeah, sure," he backed away, before escaping to the refuge of the others. "Sheesh, she looked scary."
"You know, at first while I was walking back I thought about using my sword to just take your head off, but then I decided a little less fun might be necessary," she spoke clearly, staring at the fire demon. "So I'm just going to kill you, plain and simple."
"You can't expect me to believe- Ack!" he spit blood out as she shoved her arm through his chest, breaking through his ribs and destroying his internal organs as she let a condensed beam of her power expand through him under her command. It lit his eyes from the inside, and glowed from his mouth before she ripped her arm out of him. Flicking his stomach innocently she watched as he fell into bits, a broken pile of body parts landing at her feet, nothing bigger than her fist in the pile.
"Bastard," she muttered, falling to her knee as the pain in her chest came back full force now that her mask was gone. She didn't need to fake strength right now, not with the boys around her.
"Are you alright?" it was Hiei's deep voice she heard before she looked up to see him beside her first. Holding back a painful scream she nodded, rising to her feet again. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah," she held herself together for the first few yards out of the woods.
"That was amazing," Kuwabara boasted as they walked, unaware her face was growing paler with each step, blood dripping from between her fingers as she clutched her torso. "I've never seen anyone do that! Man, what sort of demon are you?"
"Kazuma, shut up," she demanded in a strained voice, having to clench her jaw so that she could contain herself. Taking another step forward she lost it, and black washed over her like a mercy sent from heaven, allowing her to fall forward without pain. All four reached for her, but Yusuke and Hiei were the ones who managed to get a hold before she hit the ground.
"Hn, dumbass," the fire demon shook his head allowing Yusuke to hand her over to Kurama, who carried her easily in his arms, as a fireman would a victim. "I guess you were right Kurama."
"I'm always right," the fox told him somewhat sharply. He was worried that she'd expended too much energy, but she didn't seem to be fading.
"Sleeping will help her recover," was the quick reply. "We can fix her at the temple."
"I suppose you're right," they started walking again, faster.
"That was pretty interesting to watch though, I mean, she came out pissed and stoic holding in all that pain, and then bam, killed him mid sentence. She's got the potential to be heartless," Yusuke rambled on. Him and Kuwabara got into a discussion over the possibilities of her specialty and origin while Kurama offered limited input. Hiei remained silent, trying to sort his own thoughts out before he spoke.
He couldn't understand why she'd finish the fight with such a powerful attack if she was weak, it didn't make sense. Just like him blaming the human didn't make sense, or him wondering why Kurama always seemed to want to be at the girl's side. Huffing in his silence he pushed the thoughts away, determined not to answer any of those questions if he could help it.
