My mother's friend is apparently and anime fanatic? The freaking schizo part? She was showing my mom hentai… or whatever you'd consider Love3 to me. So awkward…
Anyways! Sorry it took so long, I had a friend in town like a I said, and very little time to write or get internet access. But! I hope this chapter is alright. The next one will feature Yusuke's match (let me know if you guys want real details or not, because I'm not sure how I'm going to write it) and build up to the Hichi fight.
Shiningheart of ThunderClan has been an awesome help this time around too. Thank god for people to talk to, eh? Also, you should check out some of her stories. Whose Line is it Anyways made me cry in laughter. She inspired the part where Hiei lays Yusuke out.
I sort of like the end, but it feels a bit off…but ehn. I hope it's alright… so enjoy!
Hayato did not approve of this arrangement. Not in the least bit. Didn't his lord, he always thought about the girl as she wanted to be thought of, see that this little fire demon was going to be the death of her just like the lightning user? He was not safe. He was not stable. He was not good enough.
But there the runt of a youkai sat at the head of the table in the formal dining room, hands behind his head and he leaned back in the seat with his dirty shoes propped up on the hardwood finish. The blacksmith didn't understand the appeal. Of course, Amon-Shinpi had always had strange taste and curiosities. Her methods didn't synchronize with the world beyond her paradise, and that's what made him admire her in a way. She took after her father very clearly. He had been a man of great stature, had lived to love his family and protect his life more than anything.
Kichirou Takani had not lived his life in the wake of the other rulers, he had made a point to befriend them, but he was not influenced by them. That had made him great. It made him strong.
His daughter was growing in his shadow, and in his image.
"Baka onna," the mutter brought his eyes back to the crimson eyed man who was now glaring at the ceiling. Amon-Shinpi had not come down yet, and it was already into the afternoon. He wasn't surprised. The hanyou, Yusuke, and the kitsune, Kurama, looked at their friend from over the plates of food that had been prepared for them. The others had chosen to wander around the large structure, studying the history of their cautious friend.
"She needs her rest," Hayato glared at the indignant and impatient demon. Mukuro's heir, if he recalled correctly.
"She had plenty of energy yesterday," Yusuke pointed out around a mouthful of meat. The hanyou was tolerable, he was powerful and seemed to genuinely have an interest in the girl's health. The fox was a master of finesse and quite intelligent, asking only the bare minimum and figuring the rest out on his own in regards to the wolf demon.
"She was weak and should have known better than to use that attack. It weakened her further. The last time Amon-Shinpi tried to dehydrate someone that way she was asleep for three days. She'd gotten stronger, though, and should rise by tonight. But she needs her rest." He sighed heavily.
"Why didn't she use this power against Hiro? It would've been simpler," Hiei grunted.
"It wouldn't have appeased her as much. She wanted Hiro to be beaten by her, wanted to best him. She wanted his blood on her hands."
"So why go through the pain of such an attack when she was crippled?" the red headed man asked quietly, curiosity twinkling in his large green eyes.
"To get her castle back." The fox and half-demon rose at the same moment as they sensed Hiei's temper growing. Neither wanted to be there to witness the inevitable fight between these two, and so they mumbled good byes and fled.
"This need to recapture her property, before the end of the tournament, is too sudden to be of Shinpi's choice." The statement was so laden with accusation that Hayato raised his eyebrows in surprise that the words didn't crash the table between him and the fire demon onto the floor.
"You may not know her well enough to see it," the fire demon bristled visible at the comment, "but Amon-Shinpi is searching for a distraction. This is a perfectly acceptable one. No one will question her retaking this castle. Just like your friends won't question why she's going to spend hours searching it."
"And what's she so desperate to get away from that she had to risk her already miniscule health to take possession of a piece of land that's as good as hers anyways?" red eyes narrowed with the question.
For a moment there was no answer. Then all the fire demon received was a humored shake of the head and curious glance as the man chuckled.
"From one extreme to another. I think I may be starting to see it," was all he muttered as he walked away, clearly amused with the youkai he was leaving behind. Hayato paused on the threshold of the door and turned back to Hiei. "You really don't know, do you?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't waste my time speaking to you." The curt response sounded from the dour looking demon.
"She has her work cut out for her," and then he was off to check up on his lord.
"I'm just saying," Yusuke carelessly tossed his hand around to demonstrate the fact he was not trying to be insulting, "If she can go and turn people she doesn't know into jerky, I think she could've handled the match with Hiro better."
"I agree, I feel jipped." Kuwabara complained, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Yukina kneel to study a small box they'd found in the room they were scouring. So far they'd stuck to the first floor, going through three large rooms and still had two more to go before moving upstairs. "She could've done so much better against him. I'm still annoyed he managed to land as much damage as he did."
"To be fair, she did teach him to fight. He knew all her weaknesses." Kurama defended the demon girl as Botan squealed, a small bug having flown at her face. "And it was an emotional battle just as much as a physical one."
"So you're saying you aren't surprised at all?" Yusuke raised his eyebrows.
"I'm saying, I understand," the red head sighed.
"Let me tell ya what gets me," Jin jumped into the conversation with all the vigor of a happy child. The other demons had chosen to come and see the group for a short while before disappearing to the tournament grounds to cause some chaos. "Why'd she so suddenly need help?"
"I agree, the Sheila is mighty frigthenin' alone. No need to scare an entire castle worth of demons with all her friends." Chu added.
"When I talked to her and Hayato he pointed out that having an united front would be more beneficial, and it would also tie her to all three great kings," Yusuke explained. "Waking up with the decision to storm the castle already made up and then doing it so fast just happened to fit her needs, I guess."
"You don't think she's going to mind us looking through these rooms, do you?" Keiko turned to Yusuke from where her and Botan were hovering over Yukina's shoulders now. "I mean, what if we find something private?"
"Like what?" he blinked slowly. All the girls sighed, deciding to not answer him.
"Where's the runt, anyways?" Kazuma turned to look at the door.
"Which one?" most of the male demons asked in unison.
"Either, actually."
"Hiei was talking to Hayato when we left. Ichi is still asleep." Kurama answered for the others who seemed to be wondering the same thing.
"So," Chu rubbed his chin in a mockery of deep thought. "Which one of the tykes do ya think is gonna take the prize?"
Ichi's eyes fluttered open, then winced back to being squeezed shut as she realized how bright the sunlight was through her massive window.
I need to invest in curtains.
Rolling to her side with her back facing the glaring light she pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing the back of her hands against her lids to wipe away the remnants of sleep. For a moment she was surprised she moved so easily, as she stretched her loose muscles, and then her back popped loudly and she decided to not question a good thing again.
Looking over her shoulder, which made her push back some strands of red so she could see without the mess blocking her vision, she noted food had been left on her bedroom table. Other than that she knew her room had been untouched.
Getting the energy to get to her feet didn't take long as she strode over to the food only to find it was cold on the plate. The drink of water was lukewarm, but that didn't bother as much. She didn't like cold food. She didn't like cold anything, normally, but she ate it anyways. Healing always made her ravenous. Of course, so did nearly dying. Maybe she should focus on conserving energy instead of throwing it off the first chance she got.
Tilting her head her wolf ears twitched, trying to pick up the sounds of her friends and guests.
"Oh, you're up." Turning with a drumstick in her mouth, she blinked blue eyes at Hayato, who seemed shocked that she was on her feet. "I expected you to be out until the sunset, at the very least."
She didn't answer.
"I'll call those two girls and have them bring you some warm food," he turned to leave and she swallowed a thick piece of chicken without chewing in her haste to stop him.
"No, this is fine, Hai." She called and he stopped and came back to her. Taking a long drink of the water she watched her second in command watch her. "How is everything?"
"Perfectly fine. No one has questioned the move." He studied her carefully, looking for signs of injury or weakness. "Are you feeling better, milord?"
"Slightly." The red head nodded and looked around the barren room. "What are the chances the archives are still intact?"
"If Hiro never found them, very high." He furrowed his brow at her train of thought. "Are you wanting to find some papers?"
"Items, actually. I placed quite a few valuables and trinkets down there when I was preparing for Kin to take over. I'd like to turn my room back into a place I can live." Amon-Shinpi breathed in the cleaner scent on the stale air. It smelt like firewood and rain. "I'll go look through them to see if that bastard ruined anything else I may have wanted."
"Are you okay?" the way his voice changed meant that her newfound companion knew for a fact that she was not okay. If he expected her to admit it, however, then they had been apart way too long.
"I'll be downstairs then, if you need me." She nodded to him after finishing off the cold meal. "After I change of course."
With a slight grimace, knowing she was intentionally not answering him, Hayato slightly inclined his head then turned and left to give her privacy. Watching to make sure he closed the door Ichi allowed herself a slight wince, touching her still very sore shoulder. It was probably time to change the bandages there, just in case. She set to work.
Hiei cocked his head to the side as the blacksmith skulked passed the group who was moving from one room to another. A small smirk made its way onto the fire demon's face.
"You really don't like that guy," Kuwabara blinked.
"Hn." The smirk widened as he disappeared into a different room.
"What do you have against him?" the human pressed, causing red eyes to shut in annoyance. The black clad man shrugged away from the wall he had been using as a leaning post while he continued to ignore the orange haired man. Choosing to walk by Kurama instead, Hiei turned to the fox.
"Come with me." And without argument the other man nodded, following his friend out and down the hall to a different room. This one was completely barren of all signs of life. There was no furniture, no paintings, no memories.
"What is it, Hiei?" Kurama asked gently.
"I wanted to talk to you about Shinpi's relationship with Hayato." The demon glared at the door as he closed it. "And I didn't want the idiots giving their input."
Amon-Shinpi walked into the dark room with a lit torch, searching the rough walls for one of the remaining lanterns. Her fingertips slid along the bricks which jutted out somewhat unevenly, but finally she found what she was looking for. After a few moments of wandering in semi darkness Ichi had lit all the lights in the caverns under her home.
The archives, as her family called them, were a system of large and wide rooms connected by open gaps. They used this place to house anything important enough to not want to lose. Her great-grandmother's gem jewelry, such as the necklace no one was ever allowed to touch that hid in a velvet lined box in a cabinet in the very back. Maybe she'd find it when she worked her way back there.
Shoving her hands in her pockets she studied the flickering scene around her, the flames causing shadows to move in awkward ways as if there were actually wind down here. Maybe she should shut the door. But then the smoke would build. Sighing, she started to look around.
"I guess he never found this place," she muttered, relishing the intense silence. It was quite a trick to getting into the safe haven for family memorabilia. Unless the door was propped open as she had left it.
Stopping in front of a massive bulk a smile grew on her face. Stooping down Amon-Shinpi blew on the thick coating of dust that had built up on the large piano's keys. This looming instrument had once belonged to her sister, who had learned to play from their mother. Pulling out the small bench shoved underneath the massive device, she took a seat.
After popping her weary knuckles she placed her fingers to the ivory keys to test the sound. It amazed her that the thing could even possibly be close to being in tune. But it made her smile.
And she began to play.
"I'm sure if Ichi can trust him, then we can too." Kurama rubbed his temples as a pain started to grow there. Hiei was trying to rationalize his hatred of the blacksmith to no avail. He wanted a united front against the man, but honestly, the fox didn't see what he saw so unappealing.
"No, we cannot." Came the response, Hiei's mouth remained open as he abruptly paused in his ensuing rant. He heard music.
"Is that a piano?" Kurama lifted his head curiously.
"Never mind," Hiei turned and left the room quickly, no doubt searching for the source of the noise. The kitsune chuckled into his fist, knowing full well who was playing the song, which explained the fire demon's hurry.
Shinpi continued to play the piano with her eyes closed, dust rising off the keys with every stroke of her fingers. The melody wasn't as sweet or soothing as her mother's lullaby, or as soft as her old love ballad.
Hiei listened carefully as the heavy notes churned in the stifling, dust choked darkness, flames dancing shakily in a silent and nearly undetectable wind. It wasn't a sad tune that she played, but the quick notes made it seem angry, and the deeper notes, which leveled off with a few sharper ones, reminded him of pain. Her pain.
"Do you like it?" her steady voice asked as her hands slowed for a heart clenching, if it were another heart listening and not his, overture.
"This isn't like your other songs," he noted, not moving from the edge of the wall he was perched against. The moving torch lights only revealed half of his face and yet it glowed around hers like a beacon, highlighting all her features. Breathing out deeply, he watched her play.
"No, it isn't. The other songs are hand-me-downs," she began to pick up the pace as the end of came closer. The frantic keys were definitely some sort of release for her, he realized as her body moved a bit to the music she created. "This one is purely mine."
With her words she hit the final keys and let them ring out through the vault like archives, cutting through the air.
"Are you feeling better?" she turned on the bench to regard him, her eyes sparkling with the reflected flames around her. He watched her face turn down to study her arm, as she clenched and relaxed her fist.
"My arm is nearly healed," she announced, slightly evading the question. Looking back up at him she went on. "Aare you finally coming to the source, Hiei, or do you plan on annoying Hayato and Kurama some more?"
"What do you mean?" he blinked, stiffening in surprise that she knew of his recent conversations.
"Hayato came back to warn me about your recent thirst for knowledge, and in the process of coming downstairs I heard you speaking to Kurama." She swung her grey clad legs around so she could look at him with her elbows on her knees, her body leaning forward and hair loose to fall where it may. "You want to know why the sudden rush? Why I trust my only living ally after all this time? Why I'm running in circles with my eyes closed?"
"Are you going to tell me?" with arms crossed over his chest he took to walking forward a bit and stood in the open with nothing to lean on. All the better to study her.
"Like usual, I have a plethora of reasons for my seemingly unintelligible actions," she shrugged slightly, barely using her injured shoulder. "I wanted to set a new example of my power, which has grown beyond what even I knew. I knew nothing would stop me now that Hiro is dead. Hayato did some heavy convincing, but he could never force me to do anything against my will. He missed the power too, but he isn't that selfish. He missed me. And yes, Hiei, I do need a convenient and worthwhile distraction at the moment."
"From what?" he shifted and her eyes tracked the movement. Sometimes he lost track of which one of them was watching the other, of which had the upper hand at any given moment.
"You." She shrugged so nonchalantly he wanted to growl.
"What could I have possible done to force this," he lifted a careless hand to demonstrate the space around them. Her space. Her home.
"You disrupt my sleep," she glared balefully, then sighed and looked down at her hands as her fingers played with each other. "It's not just you. I just need to keep my head in the game, is all. This is the game. My game. And this is saving me from myself."
He remained silent as he watched her forehead crease suddenly, her hands tightening into fists so hard that her tendons jumped to attentions. Something was dancing in her vision, a product of that strange head of hers. It shocked him after a fruitless moment of searching that whatever it was, it was clearly not for him to see.
Shinpi had closed herself off to him.
She had mentioned they needed boundaries, hadn't she? Glaring, he huffed to himself. It couldn't be that horrifying or embarrassing, whatever it was. Suddenly his head jerked up and he smirked at her slyly, not that she noticed immediately.
"Do I distract you?" he asked darkly and her eyes turned up to him through her lashes. Blinking after a second it seemed to click in her head what he had said.
"Kisama," she muttered with an eye roll. But her back straightened as she stretched. The fire demon was suddenly in front of her, pulling aggravatingly at the tunic laying over top of her grey shirt.
"You look like Kurama," he snorted, realizing the resemblance between the onna's clothes and his partner's.
"Kurama and Jin, both." She tugged at her own hair with a small smile. It wasn't wide, or even complete, but it was sincere. "It's the hair and slender frame, I think."
"You should put on weight."
Thwak. Hiei grunted and dropped his hand, glaring at the red mark starting to form on his arm from where she'd lashed out at him. Her eyebrow was twitching irratibly.
"Jackass," she growled before shoving herself to her feet and walking passed him to study the other contents of this castle. He smirked as she muttered under her breath about men and their expectations and sexism.
"Where are we?" he asked, feeling safer treading away from the dark waters churning around her as she fussed quietly over herself.
"What? Oh. We're the in the archives," she waved him off and bent down to fiddle with a box. "All the real valuable stuff that's been in my family is down here. Hiro never got the privilege of finding it, apparently."
He had to agree, if there hadn't been an open door he would have never realized this place existed. Her voice cut off as she rocked back onto her heels, holding a small frame in her hands. Hiei walked over and peered over her shoulder to study the picture. Her indigo eyes softened to the point of looking teary as she rubbed her thumb over the young face there, Kin Jiro's eyes looking up at them both.
"He would've made a great king," she whispered softly and fell back onto her bottom to get more comfortable while holding the picture, her back rim rod straight. No other words left her lips and the fire demon said nothing about her silence, instead leaving her to mourn while he scoured the underground chamber for something less anguished to study.
"You are a big part of this, you know." Even with the soft tone he could hear her perfectly, her unmoving form cradling the image of her lost brother. He mentally noted that it was more of her lost son.
"Because I disrupt your sleep?" he studied a small portrait of a very young Amon-Shinpi with cropped hair, her blue eyes shining as she stood beside her more ample bodied sister.
"Because you're something I feel like hiding from," she cradled the picture of her brother, her son, to her chest and closed her eyes. For a split second she decided to tell him about her dream, about why she was so tense around him now. Then she banished the idea from her head.
Yusuke laughed as Kuwabara tripped over a wayward book, landing flat on his face. The larger boy yelled in frustration as he blushed deeply, Yukina bending down to offer a hand of help, which only added to his humiliation.
"Stupid books," he muttered, kicking the offending tome away from him until it skidded to a stop at Kurama's feet.
"That's an heirloom," the dangerous tone announced the entrance of Ichi as she glared at the thick volume in the fox's hands and glared dangerously at the human, her body stiff. "This is my entire family history, and it is not stupid."
Urameshi laughed again, only to be silenced with a venomous glare himself.
"Geez, what crawled up your ass and died?" he snapped at the little wolf girl, who ears twitched then laid flat against her head as she snarled at him. Kurama glanced at Hiei, who had followed her in, and realized he seemed more tense too. This must not have been a pleasant visit for them.
"Nothing," the girl back down instead of continuing to argue, determined to save her breath. She took to glaring out the window instead. The hanyou turned to the annoyed fire demon.
"What did you do to her?" he demanded sharply.
"Nothing."
"I'm really tired of that answer!"
"Then stop asking pointless questions." The fire demon glared. Ichi rolled her eyes at them and turned to Yukina who had pulled her sleeve.
"You're shirt is stained Ichi, do you want me to get it out? It also has some holes in it." The Koorime offered with an innocent smile. "It's the least I can do for you volunteering to teach Kazuma to be a better fighter, and for allowing us to stay here with you."
"You don't owe me anything, Yukina," she protested softly.
"Please," the girl pleaded and the wind demon felt herself wear down. Stripping off the tunic, obi, and top she handed them to the green haired woman. "Thank you. It makes me feel good to be useful."
Keiko, Shizuru and Botan looked over the girls to the group of boys. Kurama made a point to look at Kuwabara instead of the topless woman to his right, despite her being clad in bandages as usual. Fresh ones even. They stopped a few ribs up from the base of her ribcage, he could tell from the corner of his eyes.
Hiei, however, slid his eyes down the girl with such a hazy look the girls blushed. The fox wasn't sure if his friend realized how obvious he was being, watching her like that. Ichi turned and blinked at him, then looked away as she tucked a long strand of hair behind her shoulder.
"Damn, Ichi, no wonder Hiei always wants to be alone with you," Yusuke let out a low whistle as he took in the girl a little more clearly than before, her pants hanging low on her hips since the obi wasn't holding them up anymore. He was surprised she had hips, and that her body actually held the hint of curves now that he was face to face with her without her looking like a mummy.
She actually had a nice stomach, cut but not obscenely so. She was the strongest looking girl he'd ever seen and still know it was a woman. Her body maintained a softness, even though her muscles were obvious in many places. It wasn't hard to see the appeal she had for his foul tempered friend.
There was a loud growl and very suddenly the detective found himself slamming into the far wall from where he had been standing, his body hitting the ground loudly in a heap. Keiko squeaked and ran to help him, her eyes wide and fearful as everyone sucked in a breath.
Hiei was glaring at him, his fists clenched as a short snarl erupted from him. Something possessive darkened his ruby eyes, his muscles tight as his fists remained clenched in an attempt to gather control of himself.
"Keep your thoughts and your mouth to your own woman," he warned, pointing a single finger at the fallen teen, who glared back.
"What the hell, Hiei?" Yusuke yelled back, getting to his feet.
The fire demon stilled completely, eyes widening for a moment as the adrenaline faded and his baser instincts dwindled until he was rational again. Shinpi was staring at him with wide blue eyes, even her normally calm mask broken into shock, as was Kurama's. What had he just done? Why the hell did he take the moron detective's words so seriously? Why had he proceeded to read his mind then get react so harshly to what he found?
"You gonna answer me, runt?" the black haired hanyou snapped. "Why are your panties in a bunch over a joke, huh? She's not your property!"
"Yet," he snarled back, taking a step forward. A soft hand pressed into his chest and the unexpected smell of rain and earth overpowered him, calming him and the growl erupting from his chest.
Amon-Shinpi was standing between the two boys, her right hand pressing into Hiei's chest as she turned her face to Yusuke, eyes stony.
"Both of you can either calm down, or take this outside. But I will not have you two trying to kill each other in my home, you understand me?" she was using that authoritative voice again.
"Ichi!" Hayato ran into the room looking startled, his eyes wide as he noticed all the stilled bodies. She didn't look at him.
"Do you understand?" she demanded again, eyes moving slowly from Yusuke who was unharmed to Hiei who was still seething a bit. "Hiei-"
"Fine," he stepped away from her and took a deep breath of stale air. It had never felt so cleansing before. Her scent shouldn't be able to stop him like that.
"Yeah," Yusuke popped his back gingerly. Then he stopped and jerked towards Hiei again. The fire demon's eyes widened as he realized what the detective was about to shout out and her turned to the girl as fast as possible.
"You should take the others out so we can talk," he suggested seriously, appearing calm and stoic. She didn't seem to believe him but nodded, finally glancing as a worried Hai.
"I'm fine. Just a one sided sparring match," she told him before motioning for the girls to follow her out. "Why don't I show you where the private bathroom is? It is the only place in the building with plumbing."
Eager for privacy and baths all the girls walked into the hall, leaving Ichi in the room with all the boys.
"Keep yourselves under control," she warned darkly, before leaving. Calling from the hall she yelled for her second in command, who gladly bowed out of the tense room and followed his leader.
As soon as the door was closed by Kuwabara, the hanyou pounced.
"So, yet hmm?" he raised his eyebrows and the fire demon remained silent. "Does she know, or will this be a delightful surprise for all of us?"
"It was her idea," the clipped tone was a warning.
"What's going on?" Kazuma questioned, standing next to Kurama who was not at all sure how this situation was going to end.
"Listen to Hiei explain," the fox advised quietly to the receipt of a nod. "Hiei, you should tell them like you did me."
"You knew?" Yusuke growled. "What, did you all take lessons from the she-runt? Are there going to be more secrets now?"
"It was a matter of privacy," Hiei countered darkly. "Shinpi asked that I be her mate, and I consented to think about it, after our match."
"Because you have to beat her to earn her respect and break down the last hurdle," the teen nodded sagely, remembering the girl's conversation with Keiko. "She mentioned that when she told Keiko how she felt about you."
"Lovely," the sarcasm dripped acidly from the single word.
"So, is this like a permanent mating, or a one night stand thing?" there was a dangerous sharpness to the hanyou's tone as he regarded the shorter demon male, who didn't seem fazed.
"She gave her word that we would not mark each other."
"So, what? You're going to sleep with her and then fight beside her like nothing happened?" brown eyes glittered dangerously. "I don't like this, Hiei."
"It's none of your business," the red eyed man pointed out coldly. "But I don't intend on making this a short fling. It just won't be permanent. Shinpi has captured my interest, and I have captured hers, that's as complicated as it gets."
"She cares about you," Kuwabara threw in quickly. "A lot."
"Hn." Hiei didn't have a better response.
"You hit me because I stepped too close to your territory," the teen rubbed his neck with a grin. "I think that goes a bit deeper than sex."
"I never said it was shallow, I merely said it wasn't complicated." Came the curt response.
"I wonder if she's going to tell the girls," they all exchanged a look. Then Hiei felt like banging his skull against the nearest wall to retrieve what remained of his common sense and self control. Of course, she'd tell them.
So much for a quiet arrangement.
"So if you win, you get her?" the carrot top blinked, his brow furrowed. "But you said you have time."
"Time I plan to use," Hiei nodded.
"What's to think about?" Yusuke asked. The smaller youkai didn't answer him, instead chose to think about that. What was preventing him from staking his claim the first moment he got?
"Hn."
Ichi had just finished pointing out the features of the bathroom. A large tub in the floor, big enough for four people, a single sink, a toilet, a stand alone shower, and cabinets full of shampoos, conditioners, soaps and towels. It was the most human part of the fortress, born of a moment of weakness for her.
Shortly after her parents' deaths Amon-Shinpi had become obsessed with being clean. She'd had the once empty room converted into a washroom so that she could scrub herself raw without worrying about being seen. The privacy was a bonus, and she'd been spoiled by it. It seemed she wasn't the only one, since the place was freshly stocked.
Fresh roses littered the floor, water, and window sills which sat too high to be paranoid over. Someone had either expected them to use this room, or had been interrupted in utilizing it themselves. No one wanted to dwell on which.
The room held porcelain facilities, terracotta tiles lining the floor, and a large mosaic on the base of the tub and shower depicting the lands outside the walls. It wasn't much, with the stone walls, but it was all she had to offer.
"So, what's going on between you and Hiei?" Botan asked casually, trying to hold back her giddiness for a moment or two.
"Nothing."
"Whatever. He totally just said you were going to be his property," the blue haired woman declared with a silly grin. "That's so cute, he has a crush."
"I hardly doubt he's capable of such things." The wolf demon snorted before realizing she was surrounded by the other girls. With a growl she remained obstinate.
"Oh, come on." Keiko poked her in the gut. "Just admit it."
"There's nothing to admit."
"So, you wouldn't mind if I had a go at the twerp?" Shizuru lulled out, and was promptly snarled at before Ichi detected the trap she was in. Damn. The human psychic smiled, pleased with herself.
"Fine, depending on who wins this match Hiei and I might become mates, or," realizing she was in the presence of a lot of women who didn't know much about the demon rituals, Yukina included with her innocence, she added, "dating in your terms. We'll be seeing each other."
They all cooed, much to the red head's annoyance. This was why she didn't have many women around her.
"That's just adorable, I think you'll be perfect for each other!" the small ice maiden chirped happily.
"Hn. It's all based on speculation. If he doesn't win, I move on. End of discussion." The owner of the building walked over to the bathroom cabinet and opened them to reveal the contents.
"But if he does, you two will be together?" Keiko smiled at the very thought. Hiei with a girlfriend. It was almost too much.
"Only if he wants to be. He still hasn't given me an answer."
"But he said-" Botan started.
"Until he tells me directly, it doesn't matter what he said." She was silenced with a short glare.
"Do you want him to say yes?" Shizuru asked curiously.
"Yes." Ichi sighed.
"Do you love him?" that question brought silence to the room. It was from Yukina, the one girl Amon-Shinpi couldn't bring herself to yell at.
"I don't believe in love," she breathed out shallowly, annoyance clear on her face despite her attempt to conceal it. "We'll be friends, partners, and lovers maybe, but this isn't a binding arrangement."
"Yet," Shizuru tapped the wind demon on the nose before smirking. "He very specifically said 'Yet'."
"Oh, just take your baths and drop it already," the girl squirmed uncomfortably. "Besides, I'm going to do my best to win."
"So, is he a good kisser?" Keiko gave an evil smile as she leaned closer with Botan, meeting the eyes of the shorter girl. Even Yukina clasped her hands under her chin to study her closer.
"Hiei?" Ichi asked carefully.
"Yes," they all answered at once. She didn't answer immediately.
"He's nice," all their faces fell at the way her brow pinched with the word. This was not something she usually discussed. With Hiro she had never had to tell anyone whether or not she was impressed with his kissing skills. Or any of his skills really, except what he displayed as a fighter.
"Nice? Not breathtaking or passionate?" Keiko frowned.
"Or excellent or bone melting?" Botan let her smile slide too.
"Surely he's better than nice," even Yukina seemed unhappy with the answer. Making a face with a wrinkled nose she tacked on, "Kazuma is much better than nice."
"Yeah, come on princess," the tallest of them pressed. "Give us the real details."
"He's," she paused, not liking this situation or her lack of words. How could she describe the little fire demon's technique? Was there a word in existence? "I don't know what to say."
"What's it feel like?" the ferry girl asked with a sly smile. "I mean, when he kisses you do you want to rip his clothes off or run away or what?"
"Run away?" she blinked. "Why would I run away?"
"He is pretty scary and intense," Keiko nodded. "I'd run."
"Hn. You've been spoiled by Yusuke and his soft heart." The wolf demon snorted. "It's not like I could run even if I did want to. Every time he kisses me I lose all sense of the world around us. And if I did try to run, I'm sure he'd just yank me back."
"Is he rough with you?" this seemed to displease the lot of them.
The memory of being pressed into a wall, of her anger falling away like water rolling off of glass, his lips against her neck. She realized she'd dropped off into her own world when a hand waved in front of her face.
"Not in a bad way," she muttered distractedly, something like pain growing in her chest. Taking a deep breath, her hair swayed as she shook her head. "I just don't know what he wants, you know? I mean, I made it painfully obvious, but with him I just can't tell."
"What do you mean?" Keiko placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder and they sat on the floor, the others following suit.
"I care about Hiei," Amon-Shinpi winced at the admittance. "A lot. He's my friend, my ally. But I don't know what I am to him besides a teammate. I don't know if I can go through with this if I don't mean anything more than a warm bed."
The girls were quiet for a moment. Botan was the one who spoke up first, a small smile trying to give encouragement. Self doubt didn't fit the onna.
"He cares about you. You should've seen his face when he thought you died. And then you breathed and it was like his world was saved for a minute. No one was allowed to touch you until he was sure you were alright." She held eyes with the much older woman. "He's always trying to watch over you, even when you don't see it. And you're the only person besides Kurama he even talks to, really."
"Have you two talked about this part?" Keiko offered quietly, and the red head shook her hair again, eyes unclear.
"To be honest, I don't think I want to know." She admitted. "I mean, I can handle it, but-"
"Having your heart ripped out again isn't exactly appealing," the others nodded to the sage words of the smoker. "Hey, why don't we watch you two, and then give our two cents?"
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Botan stared at the brown haired girl. "Hiei doesn't like being watched."
"I'll figure it out," the okami rolled her eyes. "I'm five hundred years old, this shouldn't too hard. I like puzzles."
"You know, I'd bet if you and Kurama played chess, it would be the longest game in history." Botan perked up quickly, making the other shake their heads in amusement.
"That is the most random thing you've said in a while," Shizuru patted the top of her head. "But I agree."
"Ehn." The furry eared girl shrugged. "I don't play chess. Too many rules."
"So what, are you going to date or whatever?" Kuwabara was sitting on a wide desk beside Urameshi as Hiei took up his post on a window sill. Kurama was sitting in a chair with the left behind family history open in his lap.
"Hn." For the sixtieth time the shortest demon grunted, not wanting to hear the oaf's grating voice for another minute. If it wasn't him, it was the hanyou, each determined to defend their young female friend's honor by forcing Hiei to name his true intentions.
"I mean, I don't think she's going to appreciate being a chew toy, that's all I'm saying," the giant carrot top didn't even flinch away from the snarl directed at him. "But hey, whatever. I'm sure she'll bounce right back. Hell, it only took her seventy years to get over the other one."
"Go drown yourself," came the venomous command.
"Dinner will be ready soon. I guess those three who moved into the servant's house have decided that I'm a more respectable boss than Hiro and developed a schedule to follow," the girl walked into the room with a consternated look on her face. Her eyes were in a far off place, not making contact with any of them.
"Where are the others?" Yusuke asked curiously.
"Bathing. They were so excited to have a real bathroom," she smiled softly, her stupor seeming to lift the glaze from her eyes. "Are you all done talking?"
"We aren't," Kazuma puffed his cheeks and glared at the silent man by the window, who was staring at the red head with something like concern in his eyes. "But he clammed up real fast."
"I see," she nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to whatever you were doing, I'm going to go back downstairs for a while. There's a lot of history in the archives I want to sift through."
"Will you be up for dinner?" Kurama lifted his head to question her, and she eyed the book in his hands with curiosity before shaking her head.
"I don't feel much like eating," she smiled politely, then turned to look out the door. "I'm actually looking for a few specific items for my room, so I'll be down there for a while."
"Shinpi," the dark call had her head tilting slightly towards Hiei. Out of the corner of her eyes she met his gaze. "You need to eat."
"Yeah, yeah." She waved his comment off stubbornly. "You know where to find me if you need anything."
She moved to leave and found herself blocked by a wall of black. Glaring into crimson eyes she prepared herself for an argument. Keiko and Shizuru walked in and paused while standing in the threshold of the door, their hair hanging limp and wet onto their shoulders and down their backs.
"Hiei," she warned in a low voice, not liking his silence. Normally he'd be demanding her eat and rest, forcing her to listen to him. Now he was just staring at her face, eyes scanning and moving over her features, but no words were coming to his lips.
A warm palm went to the back of her neck quickly, dragging her to him and their lips met. Her shock didn't seem to bother him, his lips moving against hers as if there weren't five pairs of eyes watching them. Ichi found herself pressing against him, eyes closed as she relished in the warmth he always offered.
When he pulled away she gave a shaky sigh against his lips, then his hand fell from her neck and he smirked, leaning close to her.
"Was that enough to earn a few adjectives?" he teased and then ducked away as her hand went flying towards his face. A dark chuckle sounded as he kept out of her reach, not that she'd moved to follow him. "And you will eat, after you're done searching. Don't think I'll forget."
"Yes, Master," she sneered, jerkily walking out of the room with a grave mask. He watched her go with a smirk before turning to the girl's who stood with open mouth on either side of the opening, having moved out of his okami's way.
"Well?" he tilted his head slightly with mock curiosity, "What do you decipher from that?"