She took a few hurried steps back from the advancing liquid that spread across the floor of her cell, the exaggerated knife still clutched tightly in her hand.
She raised her eyes to the other demon that had entered the cell behind the first. For a heartbeat she could see the flare of deadly intent in it's eyes and knew if she did not hold her ground it would be after her like the first one had been.
The moment passed and abruptly the door was shut against her leaving her with the body of the demon she had killed.
She looked down again at it in disbelief.
She had not even been angry with the demon.
It had wanted to intimidate her but that was normal in this place. Every demon that she interacted with for some reason felt the need to try it with her. In truth it had started to bore her, most of the time gaining nothing but a raised eyebrow for all their efforts.
Most of the time she did not even bother talking to them. They were there to check on her, to ensure she had not died during the night. Sparky normally was the one that entered the cell. She assumed he was still off on his little quest but she had hopes he would not be returning.
Tsuneo rarely entered the cell to cast his illusions which was impressive. She had visions of him sitting in a dark room somewhere in a throne like chair his hands pressed to his temples in concentration like some psycho wizard casting a spell.
The river of red was to close, some of it staining the hem of her robe.
She quickly shrugged out of the clothing, tangling the weapon in the arms of it in her haste and not caring enough about having it to not toss it with the robe to the ground as she retreated to the cot.
It was not that the blood itself bothered her. She had seen a fair amount of it in her day. Between her own past and the boys there was always some involved and more then once she had been required to take care of it.
She just did not want it touching her. It needed to stay on its side of the room as far as she was concerned and she would stay on her's.
She rubbed at her temples, closing her eyes against the sight of crimson splayed over the grey floor.
She could remember every moment of the exchange.
The demon's entering the cell.
That first one approaching her, knowing it would come to close as usual and being uninterested with it before it even happened.
This time it had been different, just as the two times before, catching her completely off guard.
When the demon tried to loom over her it had felt like something unfurled inside of her. Before she could even try to make sense of that sensation she had the weapon in her hand freeing herself from the bindings that held her to the wall.
She could be honest about her own physical abilities. She was strong and fast but she did not compare in any type of way with what she had seen of Yusuke or even Kazuma in that area.
She should not have been able to free herself and attack that demon.
She should not have been able to decapitate it before it could do more then stumble a few steps back in a failed attempt to escape her strike.
She should not have been able to do any of that.
The proof that she had lay on the floor of the cell surrounded by that sea of red that she could not look at without the disquieting sense that it moved as if mimicking the motion of open water.
Killing the demon did not bother her.
The blood itself brought no sense of guilt to weigh on her.
She could not wrap her mind around how she had been able to do it in the first place.
Or why immediately after the demon had fallen to the floor some of that aching chill had felt as if it withdrew from her leaving her cold but not as affected as moments before.
It had not felt one way or the other to her. She had listened to Yusuke and Kazuma talking about their spiritual powers, the way it felt as it moved inside of them. It should stand to reason if that was what had happened that she would have felt something or would be able to feel something different.
Or I am going crazy and that just didn't happen...
She pulled her legs up to her chest and glared at the body laying on the floor.
She did not feel crazy.
Tired and cranky but not crazy.
Frustrated and alone but not crazy.
So what if the blood on the floor began to resemble swells of an ocean if she stared at it to long.
She still did not feel crazy.
He did not know all that much about the different abilities of demons but it seemed to him that they walked only a few yards farther into the forest before everything around them abruptly changed.
The scenery once lush with vegetation suddenly became barren and mountainous.
"Interesting..." Kurama commented quietly from beside Hiei a few steps ahead of him and Yusuke.
He was not all that interested in the surroundings because he was being bombarded by what amounted to an ocean's worth of pure hatred. It burned along his skin in waves that made him hunch his shoulders until he realized none of it was directed at him.
A small gathering had appeared to either side of them. The demons that stood there were eerily silent, their disgust apparent on every face he gazed at as he followed those ahead of him.
Wait...it's Hiei they hate...
Once his mind processed that thought he began to straighten, to glare openly at the demons standing there as they centered their attention on the small demon infront of him.
It made his blood boil to see those looks, he was sure they were all one step away from something vile like spitting at Hiei and that only made him lengthen his stride till he was walking directly behind him.
It did not occur to him that the position he had taken up was protective in its very nature. His only real thought was that Hiei had just done something that for him wiped every single thing that irritated him the most about the fire demon away.
Hiei had volunteered to be captured for Shizuru.
It made sense after what he had seen at Mukuro's complex but Hiei was not what he would call led by his emotions. He had been pretty sure he would have to volunteer before any of the others would and that included Hiei no matter what he had witnessed.
So when Hiei had spoken before he could any doubts he may have had disappeared and Hiei took up a new position in his mind.
In his book that was probably most noble thing he had ever witnessed, doubly so since it involved his sister.
That included Yusuke's sacrifice during the fight with Sensui.
He had a lot of respect for Yusuke but that could not really compare to what Hiei had done, not for him anyway.
It was not just the source though he had to admit it still stunned him to a degree but only because it forced him to see Hiei in this new, shining light.
It was in the way the fire demon had done it.
The simplicity of an act he would have never thought a possibility for Hiei to do.
Hiei and the word surrender would have never crossed his mind to be put in the same sentence together, or even the same passing thought.
But that was the point.
Hiei did not surrender.
Hiei had surrendered for one person...Shizuru.
As far as he was concerned he would fight every demon in this place if they were thinking what he thought was in their minds to do even if his arms were tied behind his back. Even if that entailed getting the hell beaten out of him that was fine. He was use to being pounded on, that was no big deal.
The others must have sensed the animosity that surrounded them as well because Yusuke did the same as him, lengthening his stride to walk beside Hiei while Kurama simply straightened to standing taller.
In their own way they created a protective barrier around the fire demon daring the growing amount of onlookers with their eyes to try anything.
Hiei made no comment as to the new arrangement around him. There was no hint that Hiei was even aware of what rolled from the gathering crowd except in the fact that his shoulders seemed to stiff as they continued forward.
He was perfectly willing to bare the brunt of whatever these people had against Hiei.
He was actually more then a little proud to be able to do so.
How could he do any less for a guy that knowingly put his head on a chopping block to make sure his sister remained safe?
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