Please read the disclaimer on the last few chapters.

Kagome leant back in her chair. Today had been relaxing. She'd slept in late that morning and there had been no obnoxious intrusions from the loud speaker system. It was 7:30pm.

She was listening to an amusing conversation between Hiei and Himekawa. Himekawa was attempting to explain the purpose of the pompadour hairstyle and Hiei didn't seem to understand at all.

"The pompadour style is the very embodiment of the Yakuza style. It towers over others and intimidates weaker small fry." Himekawa sighed as Hiei crossed his arms.

"So basically it's a defence mechanism to fool predators into believing you're bigger?"

"No it's more of a symbol of power."

"So it's using the legacy of an original figure to create fear in those who recognise it? Kind of like copying a strong creature to fool others into thinking one has similar strength?" Hiei debated.

"No. It's a symbol of power in oneself. A symbol of stature! A symbol of importance!" Himekawa combed his own pompadour, oblivious to Hiei's confusion.

"But I know many human children who take on the hairstyle and the majority of them are self-absorbed idiots who blindly wallow in self-vanity and non-existent power." Hiei said bluntly. "Wait. I think I've figured it out."

"No… that's not… GAH!" Himekawa gave up and returned to his book. Hiei sat back in his spot by the window with a look of triumph upon his face. Kagome struggled to stop herself from laughing at the two of them. She was happy to see Hiei communicating with other members of the group, even if it was mostly with insults and snide comments.

At 9:00pm Kagome decided it was probably time to call it a night. Himekawa had left to his quarters hours ago, L had been in the library throughout the day and C.C. was helping Roy with his wounds. Only Hiei and Kagome were left in the room. Kagome was suddenly reminded.

"Hiei, why don't you go into our room?" Hiei looked away from the window to her.

"Well I don't find any need to. Also I was told human girls like their privacy." He remembered asking Yusuke why he got slapped by Keiko all the time. He smirked slightly, maybe he could learn something from him after all.

"Okay… What about sleeping? That chair can't be very comfortable." Kagome yawned.

"I've never really slept in beds. I usually sleep in trees. And I don't really need that much sleep, although I tend to nap if I'm not doing anything." Hiei shrugged, "Unlike you. Go sleep girl." He waved a hand.

Kagome sighed, "Fine." She raised her hands in mock defeat. As she left Hiei said one last thing, "Remember, if Gambler gave us a day without any kind of contact we can be sure he's planning something big. Be ready for tomorrow." Kagome nodded and left, unhappy because she knew he was right.

Kagome awoke to the sound of his voice. She groaned and looked at the clock, it was only 3:00am.

"Good morning maggots. Today is going to be special. Someone from my higher vicinity has gone missing. Anyone to find and capture the missing person will get a reward! Good luck! Also, I'm opening the gates between teams! You won't be able to walk through the other team's gate, but chances are the missing person may have ended up there. The clock is ticking maggots!"

Kagome sat up and got dressed quickly. She left the room in under 3 minutes, camping out with Inuyasha had taught her to get ready quickly. When she arrived in the living area she saw that Hiei was still in his spot, and she could see L moving around in the kitchen area.

"You ready to go woman?" Hiei looked over to her.

Kagome cocked her head, "shouldn't we wait for the others?"

Hiei shook his head, "I just saw Roy, he thought it would be a good idea to search the halls in pairs and meet up by the gate later. We can cover more ground." He turned away and expected her to follow. Kagome sighed happily and followed.

"So… where do you think this… mystery person will be?" Kagome attempted a conversation, Hiei frowned slightly. "I haven't found any strange auras in the training room, infirmary or the library… Something is… blocking my view of the further halls, so that's probably the best place to start." Kagome was shocked by how quickly Hiei had gathered this information, and by the fact that Hiei probably wouldn't have told her about any of it if she hadn't asked. But she knew that's just the way he is. Trying to get him to open up would be like trying to staple jelly to the ceiling, impossible unless you have a big ass stapler.

Hiei stopped suddenly, motioning for her to remain silent. They had reached the further halls and he pointed to the wall. Kagome's heart skipped a beat as she saw the scarlet stains on the fading wallpaper. The stains of blood. Hiei didn't seem bothered, he knew what this meant. The target was injured, and probably not hostile unless provoked. "Well now we have a trail."

Kagome soldiered on. She wouldn't let a bit of blood stop her, and she didn't want to seem weak hearted in front of Hiei.

Hiei could see the grim expression on her face and he kept silent as his vision flickered. Kagome's face was replaced with that of another, with turquoise hair and innocent scarlet eyes. He shook his head to clear his mind. He didn't understand why he kept seeing her. He didn't know why he was being haunted by his inner demons like this. He was confused, but he didn't let it show. He never let it show.

After a while Hiei stopped Kagome. His eyes narrowed as he glanced ahead. The blood splatters led to the place he expected. They stood in front of the gate, which was now open, revealing the giant ballroom-like area inside. Kagome turned quickly at the sound of footsteps then sighed with relief as she saw it was Roy and C.C.

"Found anything?" Roy raised an eyebrow, surprised to see the two of them that quickly.

"There's a blood trail from the outer halls leading to this point. The target is likely injured, with the amount of blood we've seen I'd even say close to death. This is the only chance we have to get in and out quickly before he's found by something worse." Hiei spoke quickly without any glimpse of emotion.

"You seem to be familiar with this kind of procedure." Roy was impressed, "But you said he. Any reason?"

"I used to have to do this kind of thing a lot." Hiei shrugged, "Also… The blood smells male, but not human… or demon for that matter. It's familiar to the aura I felt when I was analysing the seal on the gate… it's old… and has an overpowering sense of danger." His face seemed confused for a second before he refocussed, "We're wasting time."

Roy nodded, gesturing to the others to follow, as they entered the gate.

Kind'a boring, but I wanted to show that not every moment in the hotel was all action.

see ya