It was a handsome face.
It was mostly sharp angles.
The mouth small but with a full bottom lip.
The small nose.
The large, expressive crimson eyes that tilted upward.
It was a face made more for expressing anger and disdain then any other emotion.
Except for when it was relaxed in sleep.
Then that anger was eased from his features, the sharp angles somehow softened to show a touch of vulnerability that he would have detested.
It was not often that she woke before he did, that she got a chance to see him completely open in this way.
It showed, what he had shared with her the previous night.
In the hint of bruised flesh under his eyes, in the slight downward turn of his lips.
In the tiny furrow of his brow, a sign that even unconscious he was chased by sorrow.
You can be only one or the other, never both Seer...
A small smile lifted her lips.
She had been given a gift she had no idea what to do with.
That glimpse into him that she had never suspected, had never dreamed possible for anyone to feel towards her.
He had more than broken the rules, he had gone beyond that to some place wonderfully unforgivable.
There had always been too much in her past, too much to her reputation, too much for any one person to acknowledge and accept.
Inside of the maelström that had flowed between them had been a singular constant.
Her name whispered over and over, a mantra against the things that had ripped and torn at the both of them.
She had seen his eternity stretched out like a room of mirrors and in each one she had been a part of that reflection.
Yes you are quite the thief...his fate and now his future. Youko Kurama would find much to admire in your conquests.
The smile fell away.
She had finally found it.
After all that time of being convinced there would never be more to her life than tending to others and their futures.
After living vicariously through couples like Yusuke and Keiko, or even Kazuma and Yukina.
Someone that felt exactly the same about her as she did for them.
He was not suppose to, of course, but she was willing to ignore that fact.
Willing to sink into the sense of belonging, the euphoria of complete relaxation with another soul.
Of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that his concept of her necessity to his life was the same as his need for breathing.
I'm going to die...
You knew...
I only just got here.
Borrowed time Seer...or in your case stolen...
A little more time.
Was that too much to ask for?
Just time to know this feeling, to enjoy it the way she wanted to.
She was beginning to sweat, heat from Hiei combined with the warming that had started inside of her while she laid there thinking and conspired against her.
As much as she wanted to stay where she was, allow him to sleep longer since moving would definitely wake him, she needed the cooling effect the shower gave.
She sat up, turning to leave the mattress but was not surprised when his hand caught hold of her wrist stalling her action.
She looked back at him over her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow questioningly.
He was not fully awake, in fact he looked slightly confused.
"Some of us sweat," She offered bending over to place a kiss on his cheek, "and we smell bad when that happens."
"Your scent at any strength isn't offensive." Hiei dismissed, rejecting the idea as if it were obvious.
She rolled her eyes, "That's probably a compliment...but I'm going to take a shower anyway."
He did not bother arguing though his personal preference would have been she not wash their mingled scents from her body so readily
Shizuru left the bedroom without another word, a few moments later he heard the shower begin to cascade.
He dragged a hand across his face.
He felt...drained.
Emotions apparently could be just as exhausting to express as physical exertion during a battle.
It was not something he intended to become commonplace, or at this juncture to ever repeat again.
He had imagined knowing Shizuru through her memories was the deepest level to know her.
Being made a part of the more defining moments of her life had alleviated some of the mystery about her.
What he had shared with her the previous night had almost made a mockery of that concept.
Being a willing participant in the flow and ebb of only her emotions had been a more intense experience.
Feeling those minute adjustments and reactions, the wordless responses to him as simply the person she loved with the entirety of who she was had been almost humbling.
Granted that was not how he had imagined using the Jagan in that manner would play out.
His should have been the more dominant presence but at some point he had lost sight of exactly which of them the emotions belonged to.
When she had attempted to withdraw he should not have been able to hold her.
Her energies should have made it a simple thing, for her to escape him but she had been stilled by the smallest of resistance from him.
If nothing else he was more aware of her, of his vulnerability in her hands and of her's within his own.
For once in his lifetime of strife and opposition he did not see that as a particularly negative facet.
He pushed himself up allowing his energies to search the dwelling again.
He scowled in confusion.
There were still no other energies within the building other than his and Shizuru's.
He could have sworn a moment before he opened his eyes he had sensed another demonic presence nearby but had assumed it to be Yusuke or Kurama returning.
Now there was nothing apparent even within a small radius of the area.
There was the tiniest of chances that a demon had slipped by the area, only long enough for him to be aware of them before they moved on to another place.
That his mind was not at its clearest may also play a part in that.
That would also explain the seeming increase of Shizuru's temperature, a lack of full awareness.
For those moments of speaking she had felt even warmer then his normal temperature.
"I look like an idiot." She growled.
"You're the one who doesn't want to touch anyone." Narumi reminded her smirking, "So you look a little like a leather clad moron."
She turned her glare on her friend holding out her glove encased hands, "These are yours remember? When the hell did you think this looked good?"
"It was a phase." Narumi responded chuckling, "Guys dig chicks in leather."
"Who?!" She exploded throwing her hands up.
It did not help in the least that Yusuke and Kazuma were making horrible attempts at holding in their laughter.
"They do add a certain...allure." Kurama murmured with a small smile lifting his lips, "Hiei?"
"She wears more clothing than most females." Hiei responded indifferently.
She might be willing to strangle all of them in a very short amount of time.
It was one thing to be concerned about physically touching someone else during the arena fights this evening.
It was an entirely different thing to have the reality shoved in her face that in order to not she had to wear something to completely cover her hands.
Narumi had offered the immediate solution with a grin that had made her instantly suspicious.
A sound very similar to the snap of a whip came from the area Yusuke and Kazuma occupied.
It was not that horrible.
The gloves themselves were simple enough.
Ones someone who rode motorcycles would be familiar with.
Ones she would have never been caught dead in before any of this.
"I can hurt you Yusuke." She snapped as both the idiots dissolved into laughter.
"Well it is better than what the Committee wanted you to wear as Executioner." Botan offered helpfully.
"Nevermind." She replied to the instant interest from both Kurama and Hiei.
She was not going to discuss the skimpy, black horror Takahashi had presented to her on that first day.
That had been the first of many ideas she had quickly dismissed as beyond her comprehension.
The Committee had been looking for more than one way to sensationalize her involvement.
While she had been willing to go along with a few of their ideas, that particular one had almost caused her to walk out of the meeting room.
Hiei was of course being...annoyed with her again.
She had neglected to mentioned what had occurred with Chancer, that something had changed.
Not that she felt guilty for not making that her priority the night before.
Hiei just had to learn if he was not around when things happened he had to play catch up.
It was becoming the normal situation for her, the constant change.
Why should he feel any less caught up in the maniacal cyclone of events surrounding her?
She wanted to be more understanding with him, with all of them but she was a twisted knot of tension.
She had been the moment they had begun filing in.
The moment she remembered herself exactly what would happen the instant she accidentally touched any of them.
She looked down at her hands, at the gloves.
One more thing to separate her further from everyone else.
Thankfully it did not work with Hiei, that strange inversion of her energies.
She had no idea what was different about him, what made him the only one she saw nothing from.
Perhaps because there is nothing to see...
She pushed the thought away.
There was something strange in its undertones, an inflection to her normal inner voice that made those thoughts feel forced on her.
Or I'm just losing my mind...
She needed something else to think about.
"Any luck with albino boy?" She asked picking her head up.
"Not as far as I would like." Kurama answered, "The boy is single-minded in his hatred of you."
She nodded almost absently.
It was not as if she had expected Chancer to give in at the first stern look Kurama threw his direction. Hatred could do wonders for a person's ability to ignore anything threatening around them.
The problem was that she was starting to suspect there was more going on with her favorite red-head then he was admitting to.
He had an odd look in his eyes he normally reserved for extremely difficult decisions.
Granted there were extenuating circumstances, the reality of what was going to happen to her being one of them.
Still she could swear he was not quite himself, more quiet then usual, his body holding more tension then she was use to seeing in him.
He looks like he hasn't slept in days.
She chanced a glance at Hiei only to find the fire demon frowning slightly as he studied Kurama.
She had to trust he saw it if it was really there, that he would eventually deal with whatever it was Kurama was struggling with.
That Hiei and Kurama were close was a difficult thing to miss. There were times it came across as a teacher and a prized student but for the most part the two gravitated to each other like magnets.
She had found it entertaining when she realized she could gauge both of their state of minds by how close they stood, and the choice of company during those times.
If Kurama and Hiei were missing the odds were in favor that they were in each others company and that one of them was having a particularly difficult time with some situation.
"Where's Store?" She asked moving closer to Narumi.
Narumi glanced at the boys, "We need to talk."
Narumi headed for her room without another word.
She followed after a moment's hesitation.
"So I take it Store isn't in a good place."
"Those rumors about Oonishi turned out not to be." She replied turning to face her friend.
She expected the instant lack of reaction in Shizuru. Those light brown eyes bore into her, as usual in a way that made her tense in response.
She did not know what to expect from Shizuru past that point.
There were differences in her friend lately that made her own internal radar not quite what it use to be when it came to anticipating Shizuru.
It was not all that long ago that they had seamlessly come together from a quick look or particular movement.
It had been something she had come to rely on, something the rest of the criminal elements of the city had learned to instantly be wary of.
When she and Shizuru were together, getting along, there was hell to be paid by someone.
"Takahashi said the last he saw of Candy she was with Hiro." Shizuru reminded her.
She shrugged, "Candy could be fine, just involved in whatever it is floating her boat. We both know there's some things going on that shouldn't be."
"Like letting Store go after that bastard alone?" Shizuru asked raising an eyebrow as she leaned back against the wall behind her.
"I think she should get first shot," She returned folding her arms, "not like we're going to let her take all of it on."
"I guess you want us to go clean house with Miyake too huh." Shizuru reasoned pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her pants pocket.
She studied her friend for a long moment.
She was the one who usually made those type of statements, the holding off ones.
Shizuru normally had zero tolerance for waiting, most especially when it came to anything she was directly the cause of.
That ridiculous, almost obsessive sense of personal responsibility in the other woman had been the reason behind many of their exploits.
And yet another reason for Shizuru to be seen as a loose cannon.
Miyake was a strange subject for them.
Shizuru had shared Takahashi's information with her, that expectation of her to deal with the thug.
A part of her had completely agreed with Shizuru.
Miyake was Takahashi's problem to deal with. That fight should have never happened, would never have happened if Chancer had not opened the ex enforcer's energies.
It was not difficult to reason out that Takahashi had wanted to push Shizuru over that unseen edge that had made her hesitate.
Fear was a known aspect in their world, terror was not. Seeing that in Miyake had shaken Shizuru more than she wanted to admit.
Without even discussing it she knew her friend had hoped leaving Miyake alone would somehow restore the thug to his former mindset.
...except he isn't going to go back to normal...we both know he isn't...
She had wanted to support Shizuru's reluctance to deal with Miyake but in the end it had to be done.
She had caught a late news report while they had been tucked away at Shizuru's.
Luckily the others had been either sleeping or occupied at the time, and she doubted they would've paid much attention. It was news after all and she doubted Yusuke or Kazuma even knew the program existed most of the time.
The news report had been short as usual, not enough information to be really all that useful. Just enough to cause a chill to go through her.
Six young women had been found around the city killed by what appeared to be deep knife wounds.
All of them with light brown eyes, light brown hair, and ties to the criminal world in some way.
Any other day she knew Shizuru would have gone searching for the man, put him down without pause.
It was a reaction she would have thought predictable.
Instead Shizuru had gone after the demons that had gone against the Committee's rules, killed them and scared Yusuke half to death with her energies.
With Oonishi, though she had left the house talking about the bookie for some reason she was not convinced Shizuru had actually meant to do anything other than what she ended up doing.
Takahashi might represent a lot of the issues surrounding her friend at the moment but he was not the only one.
It was strange to see Shizuru prioritize those bigger events over very personal issues like Oonishi.
She was becoming extremely frustrated with Shizuru's lack of response.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, annoyed.
Shizuru lit the cigarette she had just taken out, exhaled the drag she took from it slowly before replying.
"You think I don't want to go after them?" Shizuru returned darkly as she stared at the floor, "You think everything inside of me isn't screaming to go find those guys?"
"No I don't." She fired back angrily, "I think you're letting them get away with crap you never let anyone get away with! Store is going to kill Oonishi Shizuru! His blood is going to be on her hands because you're just standing there..."
She stopped talking because Shizuru had moved.
It was only the smallest of movements, the slightest shift of her body weight.
Something Shizuru only did with her when they were cooperating with each other.
Shizuru had been contemplating attacking her.
That was as close as Shizuru came to a tell when it came to fighting.
Oddly enough that minimal reaction sent a wave of relief through her.
If she had not been able to get under Shizuru's skin with the Store comment then things were worse than she had imagined.
"Should be more careful Narumi," Shizuru warned.
"Yea I'm thinking not," She tossed back, "You're acting really dumb lately and I'm tired of watching it."
Shizuru eyed her for a moment, "If you have something to say then say it...or drop it."
They did not worry about niceties when it came to discussing things. They were truthful to the point of brutality that bordered on sadistic. That was the heart of their friendship, the stark truth they never allowed to be hidden with each other.
She was perfectly aware things had changed, that Shizuru was much stronger.
A physical altercation between them would probably not go in her favor, she might even end up pushing Shizuru too far.
The alternative was to lie, to ignore what she could feel seething beneath her friend's skin.
"You went after those demons cause you liked killing them." She stated gaining the full force of those topaz eyes, "You don't seem to mind following orders. The only thing holding you back from Oonishi and Miyake is knowing there's more to kill at the arena."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Shizuru denied quietly though that threatening tone still lingered, "I don't like doing any of it."
"You didn't," She allowed folding her arms, "not when all this started. Not the case now is it? You're just letting that asshole turn you into his attack dog. I don't think you would bat an eye if he somehow got those guys in on the fights. As long as you got your blood thirsty little hands in on it right?"
Shizuru raised an eyebrow as she took a drag from her cigarette, "So really what you're saying is you think I should get out there and kill the humans instead of just demons. You're pretty messed up..."
"It didn't matter to you before." She interrupted taking a step closer, "We both know you don't care about whose blood it is. Never been your problem. It was that lame idea that you didn't want anyone else to have to do it."
"Funny, I don't remember caring either way." Shizuru replied stepping over to put her cigarette out in the ashtray she had sitting on the nearby dresser, "And I really don't remember ever asking you to keep tabs on my dirty deeds. Mind your own business."
To anyone else the conversation would have seemed she was trying to convince Shizuru to act as a hitman.
That she was encouraging the other woman to end the lives of other people on a whim.
In a manner of speaking she was but there was more behind the heartless content.
Those people would not have understood in her world this conversation was common, where others talked about the weather her world concentrated on the lives of those they dealt with.
Lives were bandied about depending on their worth, if they had none then they were baggage to be gotten rid of at the earliest convenience.
While Shizuru did not dwell in those darker reaches she did on occasion slip along its surface.
Oonishi remaining alive.
Miyake on a murder spree.
Shizuru thinking nothing of it.
It was wrong on levels that made her doubt her own beliefs.
In some ways she used Shizuru as a personal compass, a way to guide her through the trickier parts of living in the manner she did.
Before all this Shizuru rarely associated with people like Hiro, the unpredictable ones that truly played with people lives on whims. Who never questioned the things they associated with, or the people involved in their dealings.
There were levels even she found disgusting, things she would never have any of her gang involved in no matter what Hiro wanted.
She had found a balance in the criminal world without lowering herself and she was sure because she had insisted on that balance Shizuru continued to associate with her.
Shizuru was predictable in that she would have walked away from their friendship without a backward glance if she had ever gone too far.
Oddly enough as long as Shizuru was predictable the world at large was a stable, decent place to be.
So alright it made little sense to be furious at Shizuru for changing the rules.
Still she was exactly that, furious to the point that she took another step towards Shizuru as her hands began to fist at her sides.
"Does Hiei know?" She asked tauntingly, "Just how low you've sunk? That all Takahashi has to do is wave a demon in front of you and you heel like the good little b...?"
She was not surprised when her cheek exploded with fire, or that she actually stumbled back a few steps for the strength of Shizuru's punch. She had known the wording would cause Shizuru to react, to come after her. She had even braced herself as the words had flown from her lips.
It caused an immediate rush of adrenaline to course through her, twisting with the fury.
Shizuru stood waiting for her to return the attack.
She was perfectly willing to do exactly that.
He was exhausted.
He knew that he should find a place to rest, gather his thoughts but he was also aware there was little time to do so.
Any time they had left concerning their possession of Chancer was short-lived at best.
Takahashi's endgame was not clear in any real sense.
What he did know was based primarily on observation and the chaotic events surrounding Shizuru.
He no longer believed they had ever been the target of the human's plans regardless of Shizuru's certainty.
He would not have been surprised if Takahashi turned out to have a hand in any if not all the more telling situations recently, including the shooting of Narumi.
They needed whatever information the white-haired teen could give them if they wanted any real chance of stopping the game Takahashi was playing with Shizuru.
He rubbed at his eyes tiredly.
"You can stop worrying Hiei." He said quietly.
"When you collapse I'll leave you where you fall." Hiei responded noncommittal.
A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
It was typical of the fire demon to be dismissive of anything that might come across to others as caring.
It was one of the many reasons they got along as well as they did, that ease of communicating through as few words as possible.
It was an art form, the game of reading between the lines of any one of their conversations was lost by many others who attempted to understand it. It had been that way between them since almost the beginning of their association. Where others found Hiei's delivery to be insulting he found a wealth of knowledge about his friend.
Of course it was also a double-edged sword, Hiei being that aware of his physical health meant he was in worse shape then he had realized.
He had thought he was hiding his growing fatigue better, that the building sense of disquieting internal restraint was not being telegraphed so obviously.
He never gone without his demonic energies in this form. The longer he did the more concerned he became in regards to both having that access denied him and its return.
What he sensed internally was very similar to what he imagined the energy behind a failing dam would feel like, that potential of enormous, destructive force barely held in check.
His lethargy could be his connections to his human body failing, that at some point he could lose them entirely.
What lay seething inside of him, a collection of that denied demonic energy growing as it waited for its release.
In many ways he was not certain what would happen the instant he convinced Chancer to undo what he had done to him.
At best the fatigue would leave him, the released energy settle into the confines of his body as it was with no real repercussions other than the easing of his symptoms.
At worst...
At worst I may be unable to control them. I may become Youko again and stay in that form...
The other side only seemed to hold the steady decrease of his ability to function, the potential for his death.
He was not content with either outcome but he had learned to accept every avenue of chance.
While he did not contemplate returning to his form as Youko to be a fully pleasant one, he did not see his death as being the outcome he desired.
"You seem much calmer today." He remarked wanting to change the subject, "Shizuru's influence on you is impressive."
He did not imagine the uncomfortable shift of Hiei's eyes to some point beyond him.
"She continues to hide things. Much like you." Hiei responded bringing his eyes back to him, "Is the human boy too much for you?"
There was a fair amount of derision in the question that he chose to ignore.
"You've noticed I'm not exactly...at my usual strength." He replied slowly, "There are many aspects that are interfering with my normal abilities."
"Then I..." Hiei began.
"If I wanted the boy damaged I could do that without the use of your Jagan." He interrupted smoothly, "You communicate well with it Hiei but you are not exactly restrained when it comes to its other uses."
Hiei smirked, "You don't hide your fears as well as you think Kurama."
A slight wisp of annoyance floated through him, "I think it's interesting you feel it's fear you hear in me. You should be more focused on the threat to Shizuru not on my emotional state."
Hiei's eyes narrowed, "Word games. Play them with the others. What use are you to anyone as you are?"
For a second he contemplated striking the other demon, taking the words for the obvious insult as anyone else would have.
That the thought had crossed his mind several times since Chancer had trapped his energies did not help him restrain himself.
What did was the manner that Hiei gazed at him, the darkening to the crimson of his eyes.
It reminded him quickly that Hiei was very aware of the potential for loss in his life perhaps more so then the average person. It was not all that long ago that Hiei had no one to interfere in his daily life, that his connections to others had been fleeting at best.
That was not the case now, though at times it seemed as if the fire demon rejected the concept of those connections, they existed. They tied him to the lives of others, to the camaraderie they shared with Yusuke and Kuwabara, to Yukina, to Shizuru. Those ties held Hiei in ways that he was still processing but unconsciously gave into.
He was a part of that even if he did tend to think of his own tie as a less solid one.
He could see in Hiei's eyes the knowledge that he had been wrestling with. The recognition that his health was indeed failing and Hiei was perfectly aware of it.
That was a mark Shizuru had created within Hiei, that easier expression of concern. As if Hiei had finally decided it was not a sign of weakness though it was of course expressed in his own way.
"Do you believe you could influence him without harm?" He asked.
"I can attempt to." Hiei answered dubiously, "That is better than nothing."
"The Jagan is not a tool for healing."
Therein lay the problem, the Jagan was a tool for enhancing power at its core. While Hiei controlled it with absolute focus the Jagan itself had, in its own manner, a will of its own.
Between Hiei's want to extract information and gain Chancer's coöperation the Jagan could easily destroy Chancer's mind by anticipating Hiei's wants.
For someone who was as controlling as Hiei tended to be it was astonishing how many of the fire demon's weapons had wills of their own.
Then again it makes perfect sense as well. Bending the Jagan and the Dragon to his will serves its own purpose.
"Stop pretending to read Urameshi it just makes you look dumber." Kuwabara scoffed.
He looked over at the pair to find Yusuke holding the book he had been sure he returned to Botan's care.
Yusuke lounged in Narumi's chair while Kuwabara stood in front of him grinning.
"I am reading." Yusuke insisted lowering the book, "You're just too stupid to understand how that works."
"I'm not the one holding the book upside down." Kuwabara retorted.
Yusuke snorted with laughter, "Shows how much you know moron. You can't even read this."
"Can too," Kuwabara snapped, scowling.
Before he could fully grasp what the other two were discussing there was a loud bang from the vicinity of Narumi's closed-door.
All of them rose to their feet a moment before the door first cracked then gave way under some weight behind it.
Shockingly Shizuru stumbled backwards into the room followed closely behind by an obviously infuriated Narumi who was already in the act of swinging on Shizuru.
Shizuru caught Narumi's arm and swung the gang leader into the wall, twisting to press her forearm against Narumi's neck.
"I should've put you back in the hospital!" Shizuru growled.
Narumi wrapped one of her leg's around Shizuru's bracing one and twisted her body causing both women to unbalance enough to allow Narumi the freedom to retrieve her knife.
As Shizuru went to restrain her again Narumi grabbed a fistful of Shizuru's hair and brought the knife up flush against her scalp.
Shizuru froze instantly.
"If I'm going back to the hospital you're wearing a hat while I'm there!" Narumi hissed at her.
For a long, agonizing eternity no one moved in the room, the air strained with the aggression between the two women.
Abruptly both women relaxed, Narumi released Shizuru's hair then leaned against the wall putting a hand to her side.
"A hat huh?" Shizuru asked, amused and slightly out of breath, "You're getting faster with that thing."
Narumi chuckled, "You held back..."
"Are you two crazy?!" Kuwabara exploded with exasperation.
The women glanced at each other then started laughing albeit in an out of breath fashion.
"Don't worry Kuza, just clearing some air." Shizuru assured Kuwabara sobering quickly, "You got any food in this jailhouse?"
"If your wrecking crew hasn't gone through the fridge since I had them restock it." Narumi said with a nod.
"By the way I'm not paying for the door." Shizuru stated as she turned and walked away, "You broke that."
"With you!" Narumi reminded her.
Shizuru flipped a dismissive wave over her shoulder as she disappeared into the hallway followed closely by Yusuke and Kuwabara. Food had been mentioned so it was only a normal reaction for the two young men.
"I assume that was necessary?" He ventured walking over to Narumi, "I can think of several less painful ways to get one's point across."
Narumi closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the wall, "Depends on how you look at it. She isn't paying a lot of attention to detail lately."
"Detail?" He repeated.
Narumi opened her eyes, "Oh you thought I was the "hope for the best" part of this duo of ours."
He frowned, "That would be Shizuru?"
Narumi shifted so that she was staring at the floor. He could not help but get the sense that she was contemplating darker situations than even he was aware of.
"Shooting that idiot Arai didn't stop the rumors, it just stalled them out. It didn't help that she went after those demons involved with Takahashi outside of the arena, that just added to it. She isn't acting like she should and everyone out there is waiting to see her next move." Narumi explained quietly, "It doesn't look good when she's doing everything Takahashi wants her to and not taking care of her own business. Even Hiro is starting to question her but that probably has a lot to do with Hiei threatening to kill him."
Narumi pushed away from the wall and moved slowly to sit in her chair, sighing heavily as she sat down.
"Shizuru's reputation seems a small matter." He admitted following.
"To you," Narumi agreed, "considering you don't know these guys or how they run. If Shizuru goes out with everything the way it is now bad things are going to happen."
"After her passing?" He questioned sitting on the couch across from her.
"As a wild card she was fine, her rep kept it that way. It keeps the rest of us who've hitched ourselves to her in the clear. She dies with them thinking she's a traitor then they'll give time for mourning. Shizuru is respected enough for the year. After that they'll want to erase her, everything and everyone directly associated with her legend will need to disappear. You, Yusuke, and Hiei might be fine..."
"But not you or Kuwabara." He reasoned frowning as his mind went over the information, "You're trying to protect him."
In the constant shift of events he had lost sight of the other side, of the normal aspects of the world Shizuru and Narumi dwelt in. It was unnerving to realize he was not keeping track of every event as diligently as he was use to.
"I'm protecting myself." Narumi corrected annoyed, "Yea it means him too but I'm way too self involved to care. She needed to be reminded she isn't the only one involved."
"Your method of discussion is remarkably similar to Yusuke and Kuwabara's." He remarked with a small smile.
Narumi shrugged, "Guess its a family trait, that needing to get hit to get the point."
Hiei snorted but remained silent.
He chanced a glance at his friend only to find him staring off at some distant point.
He could not help but wonder what exactly was going through Hiei's mind, how he would interpret this new information.
Granted it was Kuwabara they were more or less discussing but he knew the fire demon's honor code.
There was a good chance Hiei had just been accidentally given a reason to remain in the Human World if anything were to happen to Shizuru.
He resisted the urge to tease Hiei, though if Yusuke were to find out the brunette would not have bothered exercising any type of restraint.
The concept of Hiei feeling honor bound to protect Kuwabara of all people was a strangely amusing one.
In a way it was also a comforting one.
If Hiei did respond in that manner to the assumed threat he would not disappear entirely.
He would have been lying if he did not admit at least to himself that he had been contemplating such an event. The loss of Shizuru might be too much for the fire demon to deal with in the company of others.
If he were totally honest he knew Hiei would choose to be elsewhere, anywhere other than remain where the memories of her were so starkly apparent.
He was not the "hope for the best" of their group either.
He covered his mouth with a hand as a yawn over took him.
"You should get some sleep, you look like crap." Narumi informed him.
He nodded absently, "When I feel I can..."
Sorry this took a bit longer to write then I thought it would...Please REVIEW XD