A/N – heeeeeeeello again Readers! You will be pleased to hear that writing has begun for the new story, but you won't get to read any of it until this story is fully completed, or else I probably won't end up finishing this one at all. And that would suck.
Damn. I thought to myself. I don't need any more samples. I leaned back in my chair; arms crossed over my chest, staring at my pile of notes. It was an unpleasant thought for first thing in the morning. I had been hoping to make another excursion into Alaric's wonderful forests with Hiei, but it didn't seem necessary. At this point, I had a few days of writing to do, a day or two of field burns, and then another few days of writing.
"UuuuUUUUUUuuuugh!" I sighed loudly and dramatically, collapsing onto my desk in a huff. A lock of my hair promptly flopped into my eyes, just to add insult to injury. "This sucks." I whined to no one. I wondered briefly about whether I should just lie, and say that some of my samples degraded or something… but that just seemed like a bad plan overall.
My musing was interrupted, however, when my office door opened. I thought it could be Hiei or Kurama, but a rough feminine voice addressed me instead. "Aria."
My head shot up off the desk and I nearly broke my patella on the underside of the desk from trying to stand quickly. "Lord Mukuro!" I shouted. Graceful lady, am I. "What can I do for you?" It came out rather rushed, and I hoped she understood me.
The demon Lord stood in my office doorway, but didn't enter. Her arms were clasped behind her back, and she had that moderate smile plastered on her face. "Do you have a moment to take a walk with me?" She asked politely.
"Of course, of course." I replied hastily, extricating myself from the scientific rubble. She was already walking down the hall, and I had to scurry to catch up.
When I caught up, she addressed me. "I must admit that I had ulterior motives for requesting you stay to complete the forest surveys."
I nodded. "I expected as much."
She glanced at me briefly, never slowing her long stride. "I was hoping Hiei would reconsider his decision."
"What decision is that?" I asked slowly. I felt a strong possibility that I was treading in dangerous waters with a shark just beyond my field of view.
She made a vaguely disgruntled noise. "Hiei has made it clear that he will not take up stewardship of Alaric after I am gone."
I blinked a few times, and hoped for a clarity that never came. "I don't understand what that means."
She glanced at me again, but held the look a little longer. There was definitely something condescending about her facial expression. "Under the current King of Makai – Enki – the original three Kings of Makai watch over their old lands as Lords, as a way to keep balance. As my first Lieutenant, Hiei would have inherited the Lordship when I die, or when his power surpasses mine."
"Okaaayyyy…?" I drawled, still feeling stupid.
Mukuro slowed her long strides as we approached the end of the hall. There was a small window set into the thick wall, and I could see familiar trees outside, though I couldn't tell where we were exactly in the fortress. Mukuro looked out the window for a time before clarifying. "Hiei has stated, and now reiterated, that he will not accept the Lordship. You must make him reconsider."
I realized at that moment that I could be in quite the sticky situation; I had been led on a merry goose chase around the fortress, and was counting on Mukuro's good will to find my way back. And I was about to crush it. "I will not." I said firmly.
She blinked. "Beg pardon?"
I shrugged, hoping nonchalance would relieve tension. "If he doesn't want it, he doesn't want it. I don't know what made him change his mind-" Mukuro interrupted sharply. "You." She stated, and my eyebrows shot up, nearly into my hairline.
"How do you know?" I asked slowly.
Her little smile was back, setting me on edge. "Because he told me."
We stood in silence for only a brief moment where I considered my words very carefully. "I'm not going to make him take that Lordship if he doesn't want it."
"Hiei doesn't know what he wants." She rebutted.
I scoffed. "Obviously he does."
Mukuro was infinitely unnerving. She never seemed to get emotional about anything when she spoke, and I was pretty sure that I was an obnoxious sort of person. She didn't stand aggressively, or threaten me. She just stood there, arms crossed behind her back, smiling that emotionless grin.
"You know so little about your husband, Aria. Doesn't that bother you? Do you know what we were to each other?" She asked, her smile never faltering.
"Nope, and nope, and I don't care." I declared, my voice bordering on a yell for just a moment. I collected myself, returning to a calmer tone before continuing. "I can't let my worry, or jealousy, or anger overshadow the best thing I have. If he chooses to tell me, fantastic! If not, that's ok too. He and I have a thousand years ahead of us to figure all of this out."
I jutted my chin up a little, and glared at her with defiance. She continued to blink at me. Her face slowly returned to the gentle smile that didn't meet her eyes. "Are you certain of your decision?"
Contestant, is that your final answer? I hesitated, steeling myself. "Yes."
She blinked at me, seemingly waiting to see if I would change my mind. When I didn't, she nodded once, firmly. "Good. You and your Husband have much to speak about." She stepped to the side, and I could see Hiei approaching from far down the hall.
His eyes lit up with surprise when he saw me, but it was quickly veiled in his usual stoic expression. "Obviously this isn't the meeting you claimed it to be." He snarled at Mukuro.
"No need to be angry. I was just leaving." Mukuro sounded so calm, almost teasing in her light tone. "Aria. You can give me your report information verbally, tomorrow. There's no need for you to stay here any longer."
That really threw me for a loop, and I struggled to collect enough working brain cells to reply. "Uh, sure. I was going to do a few burn trials-"
She shook her head. "That won't be necessary. The information you've collected will suffice." And just like that, she left at the same brisk pace.
As soon as she had turned a corner, Hiei turned to me, his eyes full of concern. "Did she threaten you?" He asked, reaching for my hand in a surprisingly touching gesture.
I laced my fingers with his. "What? Of course not." I squeezed his hand, and swung it lightly, smiling. I almost never got to hold Hiei's hand. It was nice.
He still looked both concerned and annoyed. I think it's a uniquely Hiei feature to be able to fully express both emotions on his face at the same time. "What did she want?"
"You know… I'm really not sure." I shrugged, still swinging mine and Hiei's hands. I tugged at his hand, and we started walking back the way he had come. "You want to tell me about this Lordship that you're turning down?" I asked, my tone still fairly chipper.
"No." He said flatly.
I sighed. "Hiei-"
"I don't want it." He stated firmly.
"But you did before." I pressed.
He made a disgruntled noise that sounded an awful lot like the kind Mukuro did. Maybe it was a demon thing. "That doesn't matter."
I swear I loved my husband dearly. I squeezed his hand to get his attention, and stopped walking. Those amazing red eyes turned on me, the question glimmering in his eyes. I sighed. "Mukuro says I changed your mind; that you were going to take her place before… well, me." I shifted awkwardly, and felt my hand slip out of Hiei's grip.
He watched my hand slip away and then just stared at me. He did a good job of keeping his emotions off his face. "I was. And now I'm not." He stated plainly.
I rubbed my palms together, fingers splayed wide. "I guess I just don't understand." I was saying that a lot lately. It didn't feel good.
"You don't have to." He said, and his flat tone continued to confuse me.
I felt so… alone. It's hard to describe. I was new to this whole demon thing, and everyone around me seemed to know exactly what they were doing. I was just stumbling around, hoping that what I said didn't get me killed. I didn't understand the world. I didn't understand the people. "But I want to." I said softly. I imagine some of what I was feeling could be read on my face, or maybe Hiei could feel it through the Mark, because his eyes softened just a little. I think maybe somehow he understood my strange loneliness.
"Come here." He beckoned, holding his hand out for mine. I took it – it wasn't every day Hiei asked to hold my hand. How about never? "It's not…" He struggled to find the words. "This is not a gentle world. And it is not kind people that lead it. I don't want this place to ruin you. Or… us. I won't risk it."
Oh.
Oh.
I was a demon now, and that would change the rules. While over time I would get stronger, and Hiei wouldn't have to worry about a human scent attracting people-eaters, he was focused on even longer-term problems.
It was unexpected, honestly. I had thought he would want to stay in the Demon World – to keep power, to be King, like we had talked about not too long ago. But Hiei wanted me to be able to be me. I didn't have a choice in becoming a demon, but he was giving me a choice in what kind of person I became from that point on. He was walking away – and keeping me far from – the sweet call of power that consumes most demons.
I smiled, squeezing his hand. "If I still had a real heart it would be all a-flutter right now." I smiled, my other hand on my chest. He scowled deeply. "No, I mean it! It's very sweet."
We started walking again; me smiling, him grumbling. "Will you stop pestering me with questions now?"
"Yes; I'm satisfied." I linked my arm around his. We walked in contented silence.
Mukuro listened impassively as I reported on the state of Alaric's forests. I handed her jars of samples as I spoke, pointing out which would benefit her to collect regularly, and which needed to be monitored carefully to prevent invasive tendencies. She would nod occasionally as I stressed a point, and set the jar in the growing pile on her right.
I talked for hours, transitioning from species-specific concerns to general recommendations. Alaric had great diversity, and with that came a well-maintained balance of plants. As long as the larger plants remained relatively undisturbed, they wouldn't have a large problem with invasives, save for a few over-zealous plants.
We spread out a huge map over the massive table, and I pointed out areas of concern, where underbrush could or had been building up to unsafe levels. I showed her where I had marked the locations of rare species, and areas with dangerous fire-starters.
She continued to nod as I spoke, and rolled up the map as I continued to talk, and talk, and talk. I was starting to think that this was an elaborate form of torture – she wanted me to talk until I was hoarse and mute or until I ran out of breath and dropped dead from exhaustion. No such luck for the powerful demoness, though.
I wrapped up my presentation by touching on a few key points again, and finished with a lame "Uh… that's it."
Mukuro nodded, again, and said finally. "Good." And then she didn't say any more. It was an awkward silence that followed, and I figured that was as close as I was going to get to a proper dismissal.
I bowed my head once. "Thank you for your hospitality." I mumbled.
"It was my pleasure." She replied, which I hardly believed. But then she finished with.: "And Aria-" She smiled. "You're a good match. I approve."
I almost flailed my arms in the air in complete disbelief. "You've barely spoken to me!" I cried, leaning forward on the table. This crazy woman, who had known me for basically all of five minutes, kept saying the most insane things.
She chuckled lightly. "I know enough. Unless you question my assessment?" She seemed perfectly calm in light of both my loud reaction at the utter absurdity of her words. Her laughing did stop, and I stood up from my hunch over the table, rubbing away the palm marks I had left behind.
"I guess I was just expecting us to fight or something." And on that note – who the hell was I kidding? God, I felt like an emotional and physical wreck. I could barely keep my emotions in check it seemed, nowadays. I wondered if that had anything to do with my "change".
She smiled, and this time it did reach her eye. "Do you want to fight?"
"I don't think I have a snowball's chance in hell of winning that one, so hell no." I grinned cheekily, and thought that if Yusuke were in my position he absolutely would have taken her up on that offer.
For just a minute, we were two regular people, standing in a room together. Two women, talking about our jobs, and a guy we both knew. I didn't understand the demoness, but I thought that – given another hundred years or so – I might look back and understand a little more.
Mukuro closed her good eye, and leaned back in her chair. "Do remember to visit, from time to time. I believe Hiei is waiting for you right outside my doors." That was definitely a dismissal, and she didn't say any more. Her robotic eye tracked me as I gave her a proper, respectful bow.
I walked out quickly, as soon as the moment was over. It took a good amount of effort to push the heavy doors open, but it got easier each time. My bag was on the floor next to Hiei, who was leaning against the wall, looking indifferent. "Hello, my love. Shall we?" I greeted him, grabbing my bag.
He pushed off the wall without a sound. "That took too long." Hiei complained.
"If I had been in there for five minutes, you still would have said it was too long." I teased, poking him in the arm.
His scowl warmed a little. "Hn. Kurama's waiting for us, something about going to Spirit World."
I hefted the bag strap higher on my shoulder, and followed Hiei as we walked down the hall. "Oh? What's up?"
His jaw clenched, and he ground out his next words. "Taisho wants to talk to you."
I'm not 100% in love with this chapter, but I think it's just as good as it's going to get. I had to rewrite a large portion of this once it was pointed out to me that I had made a very strange plot change that really just made no sense.
Review!
