A/N: Thank you guys for reading! I'm cranking stuff out this week, dunno what's got into me but I'm into it.

Takeo stared at Amon as though she'd outright threatened his life. Hiei wondered if maybe she had, in some unspoken way. Then the general's fury turned to him in the wake of Amon's bold declaration.

A dog he'd screamed, purple in the face with fury.

A wolf she'd answered, blood dripping from her lips.

"You need to put that bitch back on her leash before she can't be controlled anymore." Takeo seethed.

"Whoa!" Yusuke shouted. "Maybe don't go calling her a bitch, big guy."

Hiei barely heard them, because Amon had turned to look at him in a relentless and removed assessment. Her blue eyes, dark with swollen pupils, cut through him and he feared she could see his inner machinations. Could she smell his desire? The others disappeared and for a moment it was just them in the room together, a dragon with his back to the wall and a wolf staring at him with hunger in her eyes bathed in the blood of those had dared enrage her. Her shirt looked better ruined, torn apart and stained. This was the culmination of what he'd seen in their training together, that ruthless brutality he'd wanted her to harness.

Her eyes moved from him back to Takeo and the world was allowed to spin once again.

Hiei let out a breath he hadn't meant to hold.

"It's alright." Amon allowed the biting comment without a reaction. Her voice breezed, chilled and empty. "I'm sorry you find my defense of the king to be such a threat, General Takeo. Perhaps if any of you had moved faster to protect him I wouldn't have had to. I know you're more than capable of bringing ruin to a life with those mighty hands of yours."

Hiei turned slowly to regard his general then, watched as another fresh and hot wave of anger crashed over him. Takeo's teeth gnashed together as his lip pulled back to reveal them. There it was again, the hint that Amon knew his generals in a way that did speak to their favor. The telling lack of denial on Takeo's part was enough of an admission for him.

"As though you gave anyone a chance." Takeo tossed to her. "It's almost as though you knew this would happen, you were so quickly in place."

"Well someone in this castle should be vigilant about Lord Hiei's safety. If his esteemed generals are too busy I suppose that duty falls to lowly me." Amon glanced back to Hiei, once again sweeping her attention over him before quickly averting her eyes. "Besides this isn't the first attempt I've had to thwart. I think we're near to reaching fifty now."

"Fifty?" Hiei asked, surprised. "I haven't been attacked fifty times."

"Of course not." She told him over her shoulder, cobalt gaze clouded by darkness. "As though I'd allow anyone to get within reach of you. I've been able to take care of things out of sight for a while now. These were more dedicated professionals. The fact they arrived in numbers means someone is getting desperate."

Her attention coldly shifted back to the generals with her final words.

"You can shadow walk." Kurama's words made her eyes narrow for a second before she smoothed her expression so she could turn to him. Intelligent, tactical. She'd heard the descriptions of this one and he did not disappoint. How annoying. "That's how you crossed the room so quickly. The technique is not easy to obtain. I find it strange a servant would know it."

"I'm naturally inclined toward mastering difficult things." Her response did not satisfy him and it showed as he slid his gaze to Hiei.

Hiei knew that look. That 'she's lying and you should be wary' stare. Kurama's delicate trust threatened to shatter right then and there, which to the king felt like quite the overreaction. Amon wouldn't try to kill him. He'd literally handed her the opportunity several times to no avail.

"Of course she knows such a foul skill. She's so well suited for fighting assassins because she can relate to them so well." Takeo's accusation finally pulled a reaction from Amon.

"Be careful which truths you offer in the open, Takeo. We share so many of them." She all but growled at him. "Though if you'd like to compare sins I can provide you a list of yours."

"I'm done watching you take advantage of Hiei's trust."

"Lord Hiei's trust." She corrected darkly, chin ducking down toward her chest as her anger clearly flowed through her. She felt it tingle down her spine in a wash of cold. Her fingers flexed away from her palms as she planned how to best remove her gloves. One foot slipped in front of her with intention to prowl forward her glare matching the readiness to engage.

"You've been pumping him full of deceitful ideas since you arrived. You're nothing but a dangerous menace and you should have been pried from Hiei's side long ago."

"Enough." Hiei cut through their moment as Amon stepped toward the general with such a sense of hostility he was worried she'd throw herself at him. "Takeo, your opinions on Amon are known. Though I'm interested in learning what you consider to be deceitful, we can discuss that at another time."

"Apologies, sire. I forgot myself." Amon retracted her step and then bowed her head to him, still dripping blood on the floor. She tucked her anger away quickly and resettled into her role, speaking with a voice clear and proper. "It seems like a good moment to suggest relocating this meal to another room so you can all eat in peace while I clean this horrid mess. If that's permissible."

"Yes." Hiei allowed, then nodded his head toward the door so the staff knew to get moving. "Take the food to another room. Generals, follow suit. I need to speak to Amon alone."

"What about them?" Takeo gestured to the other three men who remained standing.

"They don't count."

There was a considerable amount of complaining and defiance, but the order was followed fairly quickly. Once the door closed Amon glanced over the three men then faced her king with obvious trepidation. Her eyes moved down to the side as though she were about to screamed at, her shoulders rolling forward slightly to shrink herself down. It was a stark change from the woman he'd seen just a few minutes prior.

It must be confusing, he thought, to be a being in such conflict with themselves.

"I should watch my tongue more closely." She admitted quietly, chastened before Hiei even had a chance to speak. He handed her a napkin so she could get some of the crimson off her face. "Causing more strife between you and your men wasn't my intention but yet again it's been the result. I lost my temper and there's no excuse for it."

"Did you know about the attack?" Hiei ignored her words, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is that how you acted so decisively?"

"No. I didn't. Well, I should clarify that given the amount of strangers in the castle I did assume that something would happen at some point. It's why I pushed for you to change your wardrobe. The clothes you're wearing are made with special textiles that cannot be pierced or slashed. You'd receive some bruising, maybe broken bones if you were caught completely unaware, but you wouldn't be critically injured. I wanted you as protected as possible." She once again studied his missing buttons. "Choosing button-downs was short-sighted of me. They're too easy to tear open. I'm sorry."

Frown tugging at his lips, Hiei brought his eyebrows down. "I was never in danger from your knife."

"No." Her eyes held no reservation nor remorse when they met eyes before she shifted her attention to the ground. "I would never willingly put you in harm's way."

"You've been handling attacks like these without me knowing? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't mention it exactly because I was handling it. You've had so much work to do, so many arguments to have, so many reports to read. You're a king and if I could lighten your load at all, I wanted to. If I thought you were threatened in a way I could not protect you from, then I would have told you." Amon kept her eyes downcast. "It has been a source of pride to me that I could protect you so thoroughly that you never even knew you were in danger."

"And this shadow walking that Kurama mentioned?" Hiei watched the wince that over took her face. The slight anger that followed. Her fingers curled toward her palms and she breathed out slowly and there was no missing the flash of a glare she shot at the fox before she once again tucked her anger behind a mask he doubted she even knew she wore.

It was the first time she didn't willingly rise up to offer him an answer. It was obvious she wished she didn't have to speak. Her teeth worried at her lip before she seemed to decide there was no escaping the question.

"You know already, don't you?" She reminded him quietly. "You told me, in the hospital after Yashishi."

Hiei inhaled as her meaning struck him. He had said something before, what seemed like a lifetime ago. She was Greyfield's prize possession, his pet assassin. She was connected to the deaths of a handful of officials across Makai. Her hands were red with the blood Greyfield had never touched.

"I," she breathed out shakily, emotion tainting her formally steady voice, "I am the monster he created, or maybe the one he perfected from what was already there. But if that means I have the skills to defend you then so be it. If I'm to be a monster I'd rather be yours than anyone else's."

"A tool." He corrected her. "That's what you told me when you became my personal attendant isn't it? That you were my greatest tool."

She nodded but looked unconvinced that it was a worthy distinction.

"Takeo knew Greyfield. He knew you through Greyfield. Am I correct in assuming this was not a friendly relationship?" Hiei's tone grew harsh, anger leaking into it as he considered the ramifications. "You've never told me. I've suspected but you've never actually admitted it."

"I sow enough seeds of discontent by existing. He's been more supportive of you recently, there was no reason to out him." Amon explained herself with shaky words. "You seem to have a particular temper when it comes to me and inciting it would get no one anywhere good."

"Ah, so you were protecting me from myself? Or protecting a man who has now undoubtedly tortured you from my rage? That's an interesting move to make." Hiei couldn't help but show his anger then, eyes flashing with it. He shot Yusuke a look when the man leaned to Kurama to whisper something.

"You need the support of your generals if you're going to get anything done." Amon grew smaller.

"They can be replaced."

"Not because of me." She swallowed. "You've made so much progress with them, with everything. I cannot allow you to throw it away because of a past you have no connection to. Whatever Takeo has done to me, it was before I was here. It's best to leave it alone."

"Did he scar you?" Hiei demanded and she closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. "I know that look. That's the patented Amon 'sire stop wasting your energy worrying about me you have better things to do this makes you look foolish and weak' look. Didn't we just have this conversation? About you always demanding I be softer with others and yet cannot seem to stand when I show any lenience or favoritism towards you?"

"We did." She nodded.

"The point was apparently lost on you." He pointed out roughly. "Answer my question."

"It wasn't. It wasn't at all. In fact it was the opposite, you seem to forget. We agreed that I should do what was necessary to preserve your image in the eyes of your men and your kingdom." She reminded him defensively, unfurling a bit. "You go out of your way to make that difficult for me."

"I do." He nodded.

"Save her." Yusuke muttered, shoving Kuwabara forward so hard the larger man stumbled. Hiei glared at the lot of them and Amon frowned, gaze shifting between the group and her king as though she feared they'd all attack her at once.

"Uh, Hiei." Kuwabara cupped a hand around his mouth to whisper near Hiei's ear. "This isn't what you wanted to talk to her about. Didn't you need to talk about the thing from earlier? Y'know, about her well-being?"

Hiei blinked and then realized he was right. With a smirk he lifted his chin. "Thank you for reminding me. I did need to berate her for that too."

"That's not what I said." Kuwabara frowned, then turned to Amon. "I did not say that."

"I believe you." She assured him without a smile.

"Before I get into that, I want to know why you didn't make use of the knife." Hiei gestured to the blade he'd given her.

Amon blinked, drew herself up and then looked down at the item as though it had only just appeared on her person. "In all honesty, I forgot about it. I'm so accustomed to having nothing but my hands to fight with it slipped my mind that you'd given me a weapon."

That was a lie, an obvious one, but one she didn't seem to realize she was speaking. Amon's nails weren't the least of her weapons it seemed. She'd so readily torn into flesh with those teeth of hers. He wanted to explore them but pocketed the idea for the moment. He didn't want the others there. He'd wait until that night when she undoubtedly came into his room where they could be alone and he could comment on how she hadn't removed her fancy gloves, on how she'd become a heedless animal, and how much he enjoyed the sight.

Maybe he'd leave that last tidbit out.

"Right. Well, I heard some unsettling news earlier I needed to address regarding you." Hiei offered her a dangerous grin that did nothing to make her feel less like she was in trouble. "You weren't in trouble before, Amon, but you are now."

"Over?" She wondered, defeated.

"When was the last time you ate something?"

Amon stilled, then brought her brows toward her nose as she scanned her memories. When she looked at him again it was with some confusion. "What? Why is that important?"

"You can't recall, can you?" Hiei guessed.

She opened her mouth then closed it. "Well, I know it must've been recently. I'm still on my feet after all."

"Yes, see, that is not the correct answer. I was informed that you haven't been eating or sleeping, that you outright refused a meal the other day. It seems me growing lax with forcing you to take your meals with me was a mistake so I'm going to have to reinstate that rule." He let the grin fade so she could tell he was serious. "I told you I won't have you starving to death in a castle full of food, Amon."

"I'm not starving. I'm just busy." She argued lightly. "You're worrying too much over nothing."

"Am I?" He raised his eyebrows. "It's unfortunate that you think that because it doesn't matter. You're eating with me from now on. No arguments, no pleas that you're too busy or you've overextended your schedule. When you serve me a meal, you'll serve yourself one too and I will watch you eat."

She tensed up, pulling her shoulders back as she regarded him as though he'd lost his mind. "Sire."

"Amon." He mocked her tone.

"I cannot eat with you this week. It is incredibly improper to even suggest that I set a place for myself at a table with you outside of an event of this magnitude, but you have a lot of attention on you right now from outside eyes. The idea of having me, a servant, seated at the same table is absolutely insane." She didn't bother hiding that she was completely unwilling to meet his demand. "I cannot do this."

"Maybe they'll think me a mad king and leave me alone." Hiei hoped. "It doesn't matter. I've made my order clear."

"I have to argue."

"You normally do."

"Perhaps there's a compromise here?" Kurama offered, a little guilt showing that the poor woman was having to endure Hiei's personality so long. "She can eat after the guests have left."

"That sounds less fun for me." Hiei pointed out with a smirk. "I want to see the looks on people's faces when she takes a seat at the table."

"You're painting a target on my back." She huffed. "Is this my punishment?"

"No, that will come later." He promised her quietly.

"Hiei, see reason." Kurama sighed heavily. "Amon, you could do that couldn't you? Bring yourself a meal after guests have left and enjoy it then?"

"I could." She allowed though even to Kurama it sounded like she wanted to argue. "If I must."

"You must." Hiei made sure that was very clear to her with a look. "We can discuss your sleeping later."

"Sire, I beg of you to just show a little more patience in these matters for just a few more days. I will do whatever you want once this event is over. I will gorge myself for your amusement, I will sleep wherever you tell me, just please, please give me this time." Amon's earnest words nearly moved him. He hesitated, wondering if she wasn't right.

If the others weren't there staring at him, waiting, he might have given in to her.

"No." He told her firmly. "I'm done being lenient in these matters. If you wanted time you should have taken care of yourself."

"Sir, please." Amon's tone turned a little desperate. Then almost in a whisper, she begged. "Please."

"Go clean yourself up Amon. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do. I expect you in that room after the generals leave with a plate of food for yourself. Do not make me find you." He tightened his jaw, darkened his expression to avoid letting anyone see how badly he hated that tone she used.

"As you wish, sire." She looked a the floor again and then exhaled. "I'll bathe after I clean up this mess."

"Do you need any help?" Yusuke asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Amon shook her head. "No, this part I have down to a science. Thank you all the same. Please go enjoy your meal before it gets cold."

"Right." Yusuke nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets making his way to the door. Kuwabara followed after him shooting the woman and Hiei a glance with pursed lips.

"Hiei may we speak please?" Kurama's inflection suggested this was not a request.

"Fine." Hiei stood still but he didn't leave. "In a moment, Kurama."

Green eyes slid to the woman refusing to look at any of them then he shook his head and left with the others. "I'll be outside the door."

"Of course he will be." Hiei muttered to himself. Finally free of an audience he raked his fingers through his bangs before settling his attention more gently on Amon. She was malleable in his hand when he reach up and took hold of her chin to force her to look at him. Then he tilted her face slightly. "You've been injured."

"Nothing vital."

"Don't sound so morose, this is for your own good." He withdrew his hand and stole another napkin from the table to wipe off the blood, pacing around her to do so. "You've been habitually neglecting yourself. What else am I supposed to do?"

She didn't answer and he could tell she wouldn't.

"Not now, for obvious reasons, but I want you to tell me what Takeo has done to you. I should know what sort of men are holding knives to my back." Hiei shrugged out of his thoughts and turned to see Amon staring at him with curiosity but also something else. Something that look awfully cautious.

"His rage wasn't all directed at me, sir. Some of that was yours to carry." She explained with a head tilt. "You surprised him and he did not at all enjoy it. He thinks he knows you, knows your fibers and your core, but he's mistaken. You displayed some truth to that end. It scared them all."

"I didn't do anything." Hiei told her seriously.

"You saved the girl." She looked to the bodies littering the floor, the blood ruining the table cloth. "You shoved her away even though it meant accepting a knife to the arm. It was a calculated move to get her to safety. A selfless thing to do."

Hiei glanced to the doors, aware that Kurama was lurking there waiting for him to leave.

"They would have let her die." Amon touched a tooth lying on the table, picking it up to examine it. "Your food is going to be inedible at this rate. I'll be ready by time the meal is over."

He left without another word, greeting Kurama in the hall with a subtle nod.

"Interesting development." The redhead offered evenly. "You know about her past and still trust her?"

"Amon isn't a danger to me. I can't say the same for everyone else, however." Hiei studied the hall, noticing that a few of the servants were whispering to each other. "You're bothered by her skills."

"I'm bothered you didn't know about them." Kurama's response sounded thoughtful. "You've put a considerable amount of faith into that woman. It makes me uneasy that she holds such power and you're unaware."

"Oh, no, I'm more than aware of her power Kurama. Maybe not all the ways she can utilize it, but I know her strength. I also know her loyalty. Amon does whatever I ask of her. She'd let me do whatever I wanted if I was serious enough about my demands. The only way she fails me is when it comes to taking care of herself." Hiei expressed with annoyance.

"You care about her."

"Our relationship is reciprocal. She convinces everyone I'm tolerable and fit to rule and I keep her alive."

"Ah, yes, that's what it is." Kurama chuckled to himself. "Reciprocal is a good word for it."

"What the hell are you saying?" Hiei griped.

They stopped before the doors of the room everyone had migrated to. Kurama glanced at the wood then shook his head offering no response before walking in to find his seat. Hiei glared at his back, marching in to take the chair at the head of the table.

"I brought presents." Amon dropped the bodies of the assassins over the railing of the disposal area of the castle. The vulture demons who worked with the waste scurried toward her as the dense thud of the bodies hitting the ground without regard. Wings shifting and curved beaks glinting they looked up at her with beady eyes as stood on the level above the pit. "Four whole, relatively warm meals. Look at that. Don't say I never gave you anything."

"It's been a while." One of the demons squawked at her.

"Not my fault." She reminded him sternly. "Don't be ungrateful."

"You just like that we clean your messes." Another huffed.

Amon leaned against the rails, chin resting on her arms as she stared down at them. "To be quite honest, I could just throw them into the incinerator like usual but I thought maybe you'd be hungry."

She offered them a smile, tired.

"You're bleeding." A third of the birds stared at her. "Smells fresh."

"Enjoy your meal." She pulled away and patted the rail. "Thanks for your hard work keeping the castle clean gentlemen. I appreciate your services."

"I heard there were ten of them and Miss Amon was just like," Benji spun in place flailing his arms out in a poor imitation of what a fight must look like, "taking them all down. She's so cool."

"Benji, you should know better than spreading rumors." Amon put a hand in his green curls as she entered the kitchen. "You should also be with the king. I need you to keep him out of trouble when I'm preoccupied."

"Your face." Marielle blinked at her. "It's true then. You were attacked."

"The king was attacked, I merely put an end to it. It's nothing. A few scratches really." Amon shook her head, her freshly washed hair still damp in braid that hung down her back. She'd slipped into one of her trusty suits to avoid wasting time putting together another outfit. "And for the record there were four of them."

"Armed?" A cook asked, then whistled. "Glad I'm not on your bad side."

"Me too, I'm tired of replacing cooks." Amon quipped. "And I hate to ask but I need a plate of food please. I don't much care what's on it at the moment. I just need to eat so the king will let me work."

"I'm glad to hear you're eating again. I was worried about you." Marielle told her softly. "You seem like you're in fairly high spirits all things considered."

"I am. It's strange. I am definitely in trouble with the generals and the king but it felt nice to stretch my limbs, to do something with my body. Shame it was so violent though." Amon puffed out a breath and then smiled for them all as she accepted her plate. "Thank you all, I hope dinner is going well."

"Right on schedule." The cook nodded. "Oh, the human came in and made some requests. They were fairly simple."

"Good. He left immediately?" Amon raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Perfect. Keep working hard everyone. You have my thanks." She stole her plate away to go and deal with the king's overbearing concerns for her health.

"A wolf is a predator, Hiei." Kurama expressed with some exasperation after the staff had vacated the dining room, including Amon, now that lunch was over. "She is a predator."

"Good. The castle is full of them. It'll be nice to finally have one on my side." Hiei tossed back, thoroughly amused at the fox's frustration. "I feel as though we just had this conversation."

"Red is right," Yusuke leaned back in his chair, feet on the table. "That woman was unhinged."

"Since when do you fear strong women?" Hiei quipped. Without bothering to wait he looked to Kuwabara. "What reservations do you have?"

"Me? Oh none. I think she's really nice." Kuwabara shrugged. "I mean, it was pretty gross watching her eat someone though."

"She didn't eat him. She ripped his throat out. She spit the meat back out." Yusuke dug in his ear with his pinky. "Which was actually a pretty ballin' move."

"Yusuke." Kurama chided. "The point isn't that she's lethal, we are all dangerous in our own ways. My concern lies more so with the fact that she's being held in captivity when she is obviously not built for this life. Eventually that truth will show itself."

"Good, I cannot wait for that moment." Hiei tossed his feet onto the table to join Yusuke. "The day cannot come soon enough, in all honesty. I've spent the last year brow beating that woman into some semblance of an independent demon."

"You say that now, but what will you do when she realizes she doesn't want to be confined to this place anymore?" Kurama shot at him.

"Amon can leave whenever she wants to go." Hiei informed him curtly. "I don't force her to stay. This was a choice she made. I gave her her freedom and this is how she wants to use it."

"I think he means what are you going to do when your girlfriend eventually chooses to leave because she gets bored taking orders." Yusuke explained.

"She's not my girlfriend." Hiei snapped at them all. "And my answer is the same. Amon is free to leave when she wants to. She is also free to stay and work for me as long as she wants. She's good at what she does. She's practically indispensable, but that doesn't mean I'd force her to stay."

Kuwabara snorted and earned himself a ruthless glare. "Cool off, Hiei. You're not scaring anyone."

"I hate every one of you."

Long after lunch, Amon entered the king's office with a covered tray. "I found you."

"You always do." Hiei looked over some papers on his desk. "Took you longer than usual."

"I expected you to be with your friends int he dining room." She explained easily, uncovering the tray to reveal two plates. "But once I realized you weren't there I thought there would be no harm in inviting myself to join you for dinner."

"I've had enough company for today." Hiei looked up from the paper in his hand studying the food first then Amon. "Are you already out of your fancy new clothes? The suits made another appearance rather quickly."

"It was the fastest thing to wear to meet your deadline." Her brows tugged down toward her nose as she found him staring at her without blinking. "I didn't realize this would upset you."

He set the paper down, moving the stack to clear space for his plate. Instead of paying attention to his food he got out of his seat and walked around the desk. Easily he stepped into the chair beside Amon so that he stood taller than her for the first time. She faced him with confusion. Then his right hand flashed out taking hold of her chin, tilting her head back so he could look down into her eyes.

"Your face is a mess." He told her. "The cut is barely closed. It'll scar if you don't handle it."

"I don't mind if it scars." She rested in his hands with only the barest amount of tension at what he might be planning to do. "This mark is one I earned doing something meaningful. It's mine. I'll be able to tell anyone who asks that I received it saving a king's life."

"That's nothing to brag about." He hummed. "Maybe I don't want to see it. Maybe it makes me feel sloppy and useless."

"Does it?"

"It might."

"Will you demand I heal it?" She wondered, searching his face for answers she wouldn't find. "Even though it brings me pride?"

"Pride." He considered the word, hopeful that she was telling him the truth and that she was proud of herself. "I'd be willing to stay the command if that were true, Amon."

"It is true." She promised him. "It's a scar I'll wear with honor."

He hummed again brushing his gaze over her face. The scar that ran over the bridge of her nose from the mask being removed. One near her hairline he'd never quite noticed before, it was small. He touched it with his left hand. "What of this one?"

"A childhood memory." Her words were quiet. "I took a strike meant for someone else."

"Throwing yourself into harm's way is a habit of yours then." He nodded to himself. "I'm glad it's not just about pleasing me." He spied one, faint, on her upper lip. "That one?"

"I got punched in the mouth in a bar."

"I can see how that would happen." He grinned, humored, then it faded.

"Are you planning to make me name every scar I carry?" She wondered softly.

"Not tonight." His response fell before he could process it's meaning. He hoped she took it as a dismissal and not as the agreement that the idea was very much one he would entertain. "Open your mouth, Amon."

Hesitation hitched her breath, then her eyes pinched as they yet again searched for meaning in his face despite him not intending to offer her anything of the sort. He merely stared back and after a second she cautiously did as he demanded.

"Wider."

"Sorry." She offered before complying. She wanted to ask him what this was about, it was such a strange request. Then again the king often had strange requests when he got into these quiet moods.

A thread of tension pulled through her when he moved his hand from her chin to cupping her jaw, his thumb sliding along her top teeth as he inspected them with heavy interest. She was glad he chose to do this before they ate but a nagging fear quickly took hold in her. Was he planning to take them from her? To have them filed? What was this examination for? With his fingers in her mouth she could form the questions into words.

"Sharp." He commented, unaware of her mounting discomfort. "Definitely the teeth of a predator."

She watched as he slid his tongue over his one teeth, toying with the tip of his canine. Pressing his thumb to the same tooth on her he seemed to gather what information he needed, as he pulled his hand away. She thought he was done but then felt him doing the same to her bottom teeth with such involved attention he didn't seem to notice he had pulled her up by his hold on her, forcing her to lift her heels off the ground.

"Sharper than mine." He mused, a stray thought. His thumb slid over her bottom lip before he came back to his senses, releasing her.

Amon closed her mouth immediately, not sure what the emotion coursing through her was called. When she wet her lips she pulled the taste of blood onto her tongue. Her eyes closed, realizing this was the taste of king, that he'd broken his skin on her teeth.

"I think, from an expression like that, you might be more carnivorous than you act." Hiei voiced with some delight. He put one hand under her chin again, the other on the back of her head and this time hoisted her to the balls of her feet intentionally, though he was impressed he didn't have to use force. She rose at the barest suggestion it was what he wanted her to do. For once he didn't mind the mindless obedience. "That's not the first time today I've seen you savor the taste of blood today, Amon. Are you denying yourself something so crucial to your satisfaction?"

"No." She spoke with conviction.

"No?" He wondered before sliding his injured thumb over her lip again and watched as her eyes darkened. "Seems to me you might be mistaken."

"Perhaps I haven't been eating enough meat." She allowed them and it was an active effort not to lick the liquid from her lips. "It's not intentional like you make it sound."

"Kurama warned me about you earlier, you know. He said a wolf was a wolf and it didn't matter that I had you trained. I had to explain how badly I wish you were a little less obedient. That the idea of you baring your teeth is actually thrilling to me, because it is oh so different from the little ruined waif I invited into my home." He tilted his head as he spoke to her, light playing off his eyes and his grin.

"Strong words from a fox." She muttered dully.

"He means well." Hiei assured her. "You were all tooth and no claw earlier, Amon. You had me convinced you relied on your pretty nails to defend yourself but you didn't even remove your gloves to kill those men. No, your mouth, as usual, did so much of the work for you."

She finally lost the battle and ran her tongue over her stained lips. Hiei carefully slid the hand on her chin down, fingers then palm brushing the line of her jaw before slipping further until he could feel her swallow under the warmth of his hand on her throat. He expected resistance, a warning to back off but instead she lifted her chin and closed her eyes, lips parting. She was glad she was looking because he half-way to kissing her before he caught him and pulled back.

"I'm glad you've got some savage in you, Amon. I enjoyed the way it looked." He released her and retreated off the chair to reclaim his seat safely behind his desk. "Time to eat, and from now on I'd like to see more meat on you plate. It's obvious you need it."

Amon remained standing for a moment, recovering. Rolling her lips she opened her eyes and waited a beat for her breath to even out. Then she nodded, took her seat across from him and gently began eating off of her plate. She stole glances at him when he wasn't looking, once again destroyed by the fact that there were such beautiful things in the world that she couldn't claim as her own.

Hiei looked up from his plate and felt some comfort in the fact Amon wasn't looking at him. He might have broken if he had to see her eyes. Troubled water, that's where he found himself.

And he didn't know how to swim.