Chapter 24

First of all, my apologies for being busy with school and then being lazy when I actually had free time. You can totally bring out your pitchforks and torches since I was gone for so long. However, the good news is that I might be able to start updating more often. MIGHT is the keyword there, so don't get your hopes up too high. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy the results of my writers block being unblocked!

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Kurama started realizing exactly what position she was in the next morning, when the events of the day before came back to her. Being Hiei's toy not only meant doing whatever he wanted, but it also meant that he would probably have sex with her, or do other things of that nature. He could demand it from her at any time, and since she had agreed to the terms of the fight, she had to obey. She would not be able to refuse him. However, she would endure. She would not let that fact ruin her life here at the fortress.

So, she carried on with the normal schedule that she had settled into by going down to the kitchen. Yusuke had become used to her morning visits and now had a separate breakfast laid out on the counter for her instead of having to make her go to the dining area to get her food. Often times she would go to the library in her free time, cleaning and organizing the many shelves of books that had been abandoned long ago, as well as reading the ones she came across that looked interesting. Many times, she would fall asleep while reading, snuggling into a nest of pillows she had formed. And then there were the days when Hiei called her up to his office.

Today was one of those days.

Yusuke was the one to tell her that she was required in Hiei's office this time, instead of a different henchman she hadn't met before. By now, Kurama knew many of the hallways and rooms by heart, and easily navigated he way to his office. This time, instead of waiting for her in his chair behind the desk, he was already standing, wearing a business suit instead of his usual choice of wear.

She had to admit, he pulled off the formal attire quite well, with it hugging all the right spots tight enough to show that he was well built. Looking instead at his face she said,

"You needed me?" Hiei nodded, walking to a different door and opening it, beckoning for her to follow.

"Yes, we're going on a trip. You don't need to to pack since I've already done that for you, and we're leaving now." The door led into a hallway. A simple one with no decorations, lights, or extravagant carpets. She followed him down the long stretch, Hiei taking her hand when it got so dark that she couldn't see, making sure that she didn't run into a wall.

After her eyes had gotten used to not seeing anything, they arrived at a staircase. Light came up from below, lighting up the staircase and causing Hiei to release her hand. The hand he was holding was very warm now, because his hands were like mini heaters. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they descended down towards the light. The rails were cold, and they chilled her hand when she touched them.

When they reached the level that had the open door, the crime lord stepped throughout the entrance and into the brightly lit area. It appeared that this is where he kept his private jet, plane, and helicopters. Workers were everywhere, doing final maintenance on the plane, stocking it up as needed, and opening up the runway, the pilots going into the front cabin to prepare for flight.

Kurama looked around in awe, never having been here to view it's grandeur. As they made their way to the plane, she was forced to squint because of the bright rays of sunlight streaming into the hangar from the runway being opened up. Thankfully, she stopped having to shield her eyes once they got on board.

"Hiei, where are we going?" She asked as she sat down next to him, admiring the expensive looking interior of reds and cremes.

"I had been invited to a gala by an old acquaintance of mine in France. You are coming as my plus one. The event is in two days, so we shall be staying at a hotel I own there. In the meantime, I must teach you what to day and do for when we are there."

"Do you speak French?"

"I know enough to get me what I need."

The warrior sighed, fidgeting a bit after she put her seatbelt on for departure. However when they took off, she couldn't help but grin at the feeling of being pushed back into her seat by the speed of the plane, at which Hiei quirked and eyebrow and gave a small chuckle at her expression.

"I'm guessing that you haven't gotten used to the feeling of a plane taking off?"

"Not exactly. I just can't keep myself from grinning each time. It's the feeling I get from it."

"Makes me wonder what you'd be like with turbulence."

"I guess you'll just have to find out when it happens then."

And the conversation ended with that. About an hour passed of Kurama staring at the first class seating style with all it's finery as well as out the window at the clouds, cities, farmland, and bodies of water that they passed over. Getting hungry, she asked Hiei where the food was, finding out that she had to go to the back where it was stored to obtain it. When she settled down with her armfuls of snacks and a few drinks, she started her new mission. To entertain herself and learn more about her "Master", so to speak.

"Can we play a game?" The raven haired man opened his eyes and blinked at her.

"What kind of game? Please don't tell me you want to play I Spy, since we're in a moving object."

"Not at all. It's a questions game. No one necessarily wins or loses, but its entertaining. We go back and forth asking questions about one another. Please can you play it with me?"

The crime lord grumbled a little, but sat up, facing Kurama and eyeing her eating her snacks before asking,

"Where does all that go? Do you have a black hole in your stomach?"

The redhead laughed heartily at that, patting her stomach with a hand.

"I just have a fast metabolism and a large appetite, nothing as destructive as a black hole in here. How does your hair manage to stick straight up like that?"

Hiei pulled at a lock of his black hair, but released it to its previous position.

"I don't really do anything to it, it just does it by itself. Genetics or something I guess. Why do you keep your hair that long? Wouldn't a lot of other guys make fun of you for it?"

"Nope, I've never had that problem. Why would they do that?"

"Isn't it unusual for a man to have such long hair?"

"Who said I was a man?"

The horrified look on the crime lord's face was priceless. Kurama started cackling madly, her face slowly changing color to match her hair in her amusement.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a woman?!"

"You never asked. Besides, you're the one who went and started assuming things in the first place without using information that came directly from me."

Finally getting a hold of himself, the raven scowled at Kurama, apparently frustrated that he didn't know this before and was given faulty information from the beginning. When she finally ceased her chuckling, she consoled him.

"I usually let people believe I'm a man anyways because it makes my life easier. I don't have to deal with people judging and harassing me because I'm a woman in this line of work. So it's no surprise that you, people back at the fortress, and practically everyone in the city thought I was a man. In fact, you're probably the only one out of all of them who knows for sure my real gender."

Hiei's look of frustration had shifted into one of smug satisfaction.

"And we're going to keep it that way. You are not to tell anyone else that you're female, understood?"

Kurama nodded in affirmation to the command, continuing to munch on her multitude of snacks and taking a few swigs from one of the drinks.

"When did you become the crime lord you are now?"

When Hiei gave her a quizzical look, she elaborated.

"It was my turn to ask a question."

"Oh."

"So?"

"I got to this position seven years ago after winning it from the previous leader." He thought for a minute before asking his question.

"Where did you get that unique whip of yours?"

"I actually created and designed it myself, with a little help form a master metalsmith I know. It's quite the lovely weapon isn't it?"

"I just had never seen anything like it before, so I was curious if you had maybe gotten it somewhere outside of Japan."

"Nope. I made it while I was in Hokkaido."

And so the questions and casual conversation between them continued for the next 8 hours of their flight. Eventually, they fell asleep, hoping that when they woke up, they would have landed in Paris, France.

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So, what do you think? Once again, my apologies for being such a lazy ass and taking so long to update.

Until next time,

BlackFoxGun