Oathkeeper

by Seichou Maki

Miwa had pledged an oath to Youko Kurama, an oath that defines many things about her life and her choices. However, encountering the Spirit Detective, called to retrieve the Artifacts of Darkness from four demon thieves, begins the chain of events that forces her to rethink the oath she made long ago.

26. The Snake and the Dragon

Chapter 26: The Snake and the Dragon

Miwa did not have many expectations when she set out three months ago to find Fuura. The list was short; only three items. One, it would take a while. Two, her inevitable recognition by other demons would be troublesome. And three, to take all of Shirai's information with a grain of salt. Hiei's appearance, however, was not on that list.

But after three months of wandering the dark, grungy areas of crime-riddled communities in Demon World, it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Captain Shunjun from the SDF gladly brought her back to Gandara and as close to Mukuro's borders as he felt comfortable. Meaning, not close at all. He may have been a more agreeable guide than his predecessor, but that didn't mean Spirit World would make things easy for her. A direct Spirit World escort, he said, for a Gandaran figure to another lord's territory would only make the tension between the three worlds worse. Miwa didn't care. It gave her time to verify Shirai's information (which quickly proved itself to be legitimate) and for the human scent to fade from her body and belongings. The smell drew aggressive, hungry demons to her like a bait in a trap, but at least in Gandara, even her low-tier status in Lord Yomi's circle offered her some protections.

However, the closer she got to the border, the less those protections were of any use. Most border communities had weak loyalties to either ruler, priding themselves on their individualism more than anything else. And without the strength of a central ruler, the demons trusted their own community more than transient outsiders. The lifestyle was familiar, as Miwa used to frequent such communities. Travellers, both criminals and merchants, passed through all the time, becoming a great hub of information as it was the safest place for them to gather, either for a hot meal or a place to sleep. Miwa found one of those places just days after she crossed the border. It was a small inn and pub called Keikan, nestled just on the edge of Tozashi, a small farming village and the closest community to the forest where Fuura lived.

Keikan had small rooms intended for merchants, and they were not exactly luxurious or clean, but most demons passing through were not coming to Tozashi for a vacation. Ever since she crossed the border, Miwa wore a large, black shawl wrapped around her neck to hide as much of her face as possible. In some areas, a cloaked traveller walking around with her nose and mouth covered might seem suspicious, but it was par for the course in border towns like Tozashi. Miwa did notice demons eyeing her as she walked through the pub, and she had to hope it was only because she was a woman travelling alone. Killing them would be easy if she had to, but it would stand out in a way Miwa didn't want or need. She planned to check in for only one night, take her meal in her room for privacy, and try to call Kurama with an update. There was no guarantee the calls would go through in a forest.

Before doing anything, Miwa decided to speak to the bartender. He was purple-skinned, far too tall for his counter's height, and his burly muscles created sharp lines in his too-tight shirt. Yellow horns protruded from his temple, and his expression seemed locked in a stern, judgmental frown. But at least he seemed capable enough to handle the low-class trash that usually travelled between the borders. The locals, at least, seemed to trust him enough to keep them safe while they drank in broad daylight, and even though they surely knew his name, they all just called him "Barman."

"...An' what's your story?" he asked Miwa, not even looking at her when she sat at his counter. A few seats away, a couple of locals watched from afar, waiting for Barman to verify the newest stranger.

This was also a familiar situation to Miwa. In the old days, and sometimes even in the Human World, she often spoke with people just like him, alone in the dark corners of bars or shadowy alleyways. As a courtesy, Miwa ordered a random non-alcoholic drink, and while Barman busied his hands preparing it, she said, "I'm looking for someone."

"Haven't heard that before," Barman snorted. Rude by human standards, but it wasn't a refusal to speak.

"It's my understanding that she's living as a hermit in the forest near here." Miwa noticed patrons turn their heads at the sound of her voice. She didn't look at them. "She uses the name 'Fuura.'" Shirai's information was accurate so far, and after three months of following his trail, Miwa felt confident that Fuura was in that forest somewhere. But there was no harm in confirming what she can at the last demon hub before wandering that forest alone. Besides, this was Mukuro's side of the border. No matter how skilled Shirai's agents were, any information coming from this side should be verified as much as possible.

Barman handed her a small cup of an amber-colored drink. "If she's a hermit, then I prob'ly haven't seen her. No one comes outta the forest 'cept our hunters and woodsmen."

Miwa took a polite sip, and it tasted like iron. "Then maybe they have seen her."

"If they did, then they haven't told me."

A demon on the other side of the counter waved Barman over, and Miwa was left alone. Or at least, she was left alone for a few minutes. Just long enough to down the rest of her iron-tasting drink in one gulp. After that, chairs scraped across the floor and two pairs of heavy footsteps came up from behind.

"We've gone through that forest a few times," said a male voice from the left. "Maybe we can help you, love."

Miwa turned around, scowling a bit at that last part, but neither of the demons could see it under her shawl. The one who spoke, a wide-shouldered brute with a round nose and large nostrils, held a giant spiked club with one large hand. He exhaled, and his gold nose ring wiggled.

"And who might you two be?" asked Miwa, trying to sound pleasant.

The other demon, a woman with unusually long arms and legs, was much taller than her friend. Her smile exposed chipped teeth that she had sharpened down for extra grip on anything that had the misfortune to get trapped in her jaw. "Just a couple travellers, like yourself," she said, matching Miwa's pleasantries.

Miwa didn't trust them at all. Those smiles were far too wide. "I don't have much to offer in return."

"Don't worry about it," the woman said. "No skin off our bones to just point you in the right direction."

Off to the side, Barman was watching them carefully with the most "take it outside" look Miwa had ever seen. "Then," Miwa said, "I'll take you up on that kind offer."

Miwa grabbed her rucksack and slung it over one shoulder as she stood up. Her water pouch, which she had converted to using a shoulder strap, lightly bounced on her hip under her cloak. Both demons were taller than her, especially the woman, and they followed Miwa out of Keikan's doors with suspiciously polite smiles on their faces. The other patrons whispered gossip to each other, mostly expressing their curiosity towards what will happen between the three travellers; a few even placed bets. Miwa had to ignore them, focusing more of her attention on the two strangers behind her, and the mutual distrust was palpable. Extending an overly polite helping hand was common enough between criminals sizing each other up; Miwa herself had done it many times in the past. But not knowing what they really wanted from her put all her nerves on high alert. Did they recognize her? Or did they think a woman travelling alone was an easy target?

Outside, the edge of the forest was only a five-minute walk away. On their left and right were a dozen workers tending to plots of farmland, and if this encounter turned into a scuffle, those workers would have a front row seat. But having an audience rarely stopped a mugging in Demon World. The forest itself stretched far into the distance, and the leafy trees created a natural border wall along the farmland. A few paths had formed in the dirt, likely from the hunters or woodsmen that lived in Tozashi. The sunlight easily penetrated the foliage, giving the whole area natural light, but as with most forests, Miwa could already see the path darken farther along. In the distance, the forest eventually crawled up a small mountain range. It looked much larger than on the map and searching it blindly would take time Miwa did not have. Or at least, time she didn't have if she returned to the Human World.

A flash of Himari Shimizu's life again passed through Miwa's mind, reminding her of Saya and Taichi's faces when they learned she wouldn't be at Meio for their last term. Taichi asked her if she would be returning for the next school year, and she answered that of course she would, ignoring how hollow the statement felt, riddled with her own uncertainty. The decision was coming soon; she was heading right toward it.

Miwa shook her head. It was not the time for reminiscing.

"So, tell us about this demon you're looking for," the woman asked, folding her arms over her chest. Her elbows made a wide loop due to her arms' unusual length.

Miwa turned around, tired of them standing behind her for so long. "Old woman, long nose, and really scraggly hair that looks like straw. Last I saw her was four years ago, but I have it on good authority that she lives in this forest now."

"Why would she move?" asked the man, casually leaning on his club.

"...No idea," Miwa answered, having wondered that herself. "What kind of demons live in this forest?"

The woman answered, "Not that many. Most of the ones we've seen are lower-class creatures." She sounded proud of herself. Or arrogant.

"But there's a river up that way," said the man, straightening up and pointing northeast. "We passed an old shack somewhere by the bank. Might take you several days to get there, and you'll have to cross the river to find it. But we didn't see any old ladies."

"Not that we were looking," the woman shrugged.

Miwa turned back to the forest. A river would be easy for her to sense once she got close enough. And if the forest was truly full of low-class creatures, this part of her journey might end up being easy. It was impossible for her to not feel just a little excited at the prospect. She had no way of validating what they told her, but at least she had a heading to work with.

"Thank you," Miwa said, looking at the foot-trodden paths into the forest for one going northeast. "Searching this forest on my own would have been a nightmare."

"Don't worry about it," said the man, picking up his club again.

"Yeah," said the woman, "Anything for a member of the Dark Tournament champion team."

Long, bony fingers clamped around Miwa's neck in an instant. Sharp nails dug into the front of her neck, and the shawl's fabric was the only thing preventing them from drawing blood. Despite expecting a turn like this, Miwa let out an involuntary gag, and clawing at those fingers seemed useless. One worker in the distance looked up from his farming, but he immediately turned his back and continued working, resigning himself to feigned ignorance. The water in Miwa's pouch stirred under the brown cloak she wore, but before Miwa could do anything with it, the man's large right hand easily enveloped both of Miwa's wrists in a tighter lock than any handcuff. He wanted to keep her from attacking, Miwa realized. With his other hand, he twirled his giant club like it were merely a twig, and Miwa cautiously watched how it smoothly rolled over his palm.

"If you wanted to hide," he cackled. "…you shoulda at least changed your hair a bit, love."

"I'm…not…" Miwa gasped.

"Don't be cute," the woman said. Releasing her grip only slightly, she used her other hand to rip Miwa's shawl away from her face. "You're too famous to be skulking around places like this without being made."

Miwa felt surprisingly vulnerable with her face exposed. "...Well, what do you want then? An autograph?" she asked, ignoring the scratching feeling in her throat. She even grinned, just to piss them off.

"Your head might be better," said the man, holding up his spiked club to her ear with his left hand. "Worth more money if we turn in a Gandaran spy."

If she could, Miwa would have groaned. She was glad to have survived the stupid tournament, but she knew the publicity would come back to bite her one day, and the notoriety of working with Yomi would made it worse. The demon traitor, the Dark Tournament champion team member, and a part of Yomi's inner circle. Her face was more publicized now than it had ever been. Perhaps her attempts to remain undercover were pointless. What good was a tracker if everyone knew her face? The thought felt worse than the hand around her neck.

"You've got balls coming here alone," said the man. "You can either come quietly, or-"

The cap of Miwa's pouch burst open, and the water erupted from the spout like a geyser. The burst was wild and sprayed in all directions without Miwa's hands to guide it, and she had to turn her hips to aim it properly. The burst hit the man just under his right armpit, cracking his ribs and forcing him backwards, nearly knocking the wind out of him. The spiked club dropped to the ground. The man's grip loosened on Miwa's wrists, and she pulled her hands free before he could compose himself.

The fingers on her neck gripped tighter, either in shock or as a threat. "Bitch," the woman sneered, "You can still-"

Miwa didn't let her finish. Arms now free, she guided the water back around to strike the woman's wrist. A loud crack resounded in Miwa's ears as bones shattered, but the crack was quickly overtaken by a pained scream. Miwa pulled herself away from both of their reach, arms outstretched and circling, and the water split into two streams that looped back around her body.

"Yeah, I can," Miwa grinned, baring her fangs. "Thanks for your help."

She swung her arms in large arcs, and two water streams bulleted through the man and the woman's foreheads. They stood upright for a few seconds, faces frozen in shock, before their legs lost all tension and their bodies crumpled to the ground. Miwa held her neck tenderly and coughed a couple times, trying to soothe the itchy feeling in her throat. She looked around, remembering the farm workers, but they all eagerly focused their attention elsewhere, looking in any direction but hers. So much for not standing out. Did the workers hear who she was or recognize her face? Miwa decided it didn't matter. Now that she made such a spectacle of herself, she needed to disappear from Tozashi as soon as possible. There was no guarantee the two demons she killed, who even in death remained nameless to her, had told anyone else in that pub about her, or if anyone else there had recognized her face. Miwa lamented the loss of an otherwise quiet rest stop like this. A hot meal or a bed to sleep in before the last leg of this trip were now impossible dreams.

She picked a path, hoping the one facing northeast would be as good as any other unverified choice, and started walking. If the farm workers ended their ignorance charade and watched her leave, Miwa didn't know or see it. But she did hear the continuous thok or shhh sounds of their tools digging into the dirt. The farther she walked, the sounds got quieter, but none of them stopped nor turned into footfalls chasing after her. Miwa turned around, taking one last look at Tozashi. The trees obscured the small border town, feeling like a wall between her and the last demons that could feasibly recognize her. The path behind her was empty. Good, she wasn't being followed. Maybe those two demons would be the last encounter where she had to deal with being recognized. The people of Tozashi didn't care about her. The trees would hide her from anyone else who happened to be wandering this forest. And if anyone here caused her trouble, she would just kill them, like she did before.

But what if someone else from that pub comes after me?

Miwa shook her head to ignore that inner voice and kept walking. She hated this paranoia following her everywhere. It wasn't something she dealt with before. In the three months Miwa had been travelling alone, she was constantly reminded how much her infamy hindered her ability to track information. The demons in Human World were more cooperative since they all were hiding from Spirit World. But here, whether they were loyal to a ruling lord or not, the demons didn't have to worry about Spirit World's overbearing hand, and strength and power was all it took to get what they wanted. Those two demons mistakenly believed they were strong enough to capture Miwa for some reward, and they paid for that mistake with their lives, but they might not be the last to try.

"So annoying," she muttered aloud, trying to fill in the silence around her. Tozashi's ambient noise was long gone now, replaced by the wind filtering through the trees. It didn't take long to feel isolated in this forest, Miwa thought, but how long would that feeling last? How long until someone else found her here and recognized her Gandaran face in Mukuro's territory? The paranoid inner voice felt like an ugly creature latched onto her shoulder, weighing her down as she kept looking over her shoulder to see if more were coming. Miwa hated it. Her ability to track information dwindled away the longer she was out here. So useless. Even after getting this far with Shirai's help, Miwa still had no idea if she would find Fuura in this forest, or even if she was heading in the right direction. Wasn't she better than this? She once tracked down an infamous thief when no one else could, but now she couldn't confirm the location of an old woman without outside help. Useless and paranoid; she hardly recognized herself like this.

A cold, sharp blade pressed into Miwa's throat. It traced a small line on her skin, just one small push away from drawing blood or ending her life. Miwa didn't move a muscle, but the paranoid inner voice rambled on. Who was it? Did someone else in Tozashi recognize her? How did she not sense this person coming?! She chanced a deep breath to calm her nerves, and she incidentally took in the scent of the demon behind her. The recognition of that scent shocked her above everything else, a scent she hadn't come across in months, and a voice from years ago flashed across her mind, overtaking her inner paranoia with nostalgia and remembrance.

"Why are you following him?" the voice had asked, deep and dangerous.

"I protect him," she had responded, right before she attacked.

Coming across the same voice never made her short list of expectations on this journey. She wouldn't have dared expect him to appear. This could be dangerous. Miwa was aware of how this meeting could be used against her, to lower her guard, but she smiled all the same, even though it went unseen. Regardless of motivation, the one she longed to see showed himself.

"Why are you here?" asked the voice, as deep and dangerous as it was years ago, when they were nothing but strangers.

"You're the one who told me to make this trip, Hiei," she responded.

Slowly, the cold blade lifted itself from her neck, leaving only a small tickle where it had met her skin. Miwa waited until she heard the sword return to its sheath before daring to move, and Hiei was standing behind her when she turned. For the first time in over six months, she saw him without the white band that covered his Jagan Eye. There was no need to hide it out here, but he undoubtedly used its power to find Miwa in the middle of nowhere. Other than that, everything about him was the same: the black cloak, the white scarf wrapped around his neck, and the sharp, piercing stare of his red eyes.

"And you actually listened to something I said?" Hiei asked, tucking his sheath back under his cloak.

"More often than you seem to think," Miwa answered. Then, she slid her rucksack off her shoulder and held it out to him. "See for yourself. I'm here because of this thing on my back."

The Jagan Eye glowed, quickly searching through the contents of her bag. The folder she received from Shirai was stuffed in the main pocket. Miwa didn't know if this would placate anything, but she had to try. Was it a coincidence that Hiei was the one who found her? If news of her arrival had already reached the top, then sending Hiei, a known associate and master of the Jagan Eye, would only hasten her capture if it were necessary, and if Hiei deemed it necessary. Or was this just his job now, and he happened to follow a familiar trail? Miwa didn't know how much had changed for him as he worked his way up the ranks. All Shirai could tell her was that Hiei quickly rose through the ranks and garnered unusual favor from the tyrant, Mukuro. Her only solace was that he sheathed his sword, but it wasn't the only way Hiei could harm his enemies.

"...To fix it or remove it?" Hiei asked when the Jagan's glow faded. Whether he was satisfied with what he saw was still unclear.

"Neither is a guaranteed option, you know," she said, swinging her rucksack back over her shoulder. "Am I under arrest?"

Hiei huffed to himself, nearly rolling his eyes with his near-constant frown as he looked up to the trees towering over them. "I'm just investigating the rumored snake in our backyard."

Miwa folded her arms across her chest. Was it her imagination that he seemed more relaxed? "So, I'm not in trouble, but I am being monitored."

"It's suspicious when the loyal follower returns to Demon World alone."

Miwa did her best to stay hidden when she returned to Demon World, but it seemed Mukuro's intelligence network was competent enough to know she returned. However, Hiei showing himself so openly was odd if he was merely "monitoring" the follower that returned alone. In any other situation, her awareness of his presence would compromise his investigation. Realizing this, Miwa finally could relax. Even if they were on different sides, Hiei wasn't here as her enemy.

"Well," Miwa said, shrugging her shoulders, "if I'm not in trouble yet, then I need to get moving. Would you care to join me, Hiei?" While her reluctance to see him disappear was strongly fueling her request, that was not something she could say aloud.

His sharp eyes turned back to her in an instant. "And why would I do that?"

She expected that reaction. Maybe it was wishful thinking that Hiei appeared to her with this exact intention, but an eager part of her mind told her that making it sound like her idea would increase the chances of them travelling together; Hiei rarely acted without benefit to himself, and he did prefer to be alone. "If you're here to monitor, you might as well do it in person." She grinned. "Then you can easily stop me if I do something suspicious."

"...You and the fox can be so annoying."

"Then, the question becomes who influenced the other."

"It's definitely you." His sharp eyes narrowed, and his near-constant frown turned into a scowl. Or, if Miwa dared to believe it, a pout. "Fine," he snapped, "but only because there are fools who will pester me if I'm not thorough."

"Do they think you'll go soft on a former teammate?" Miwa asked, making absolutely no effort to hide her excitement.

Hiei glared at her. Instead of answering, he asked, "Do you even know where you're going?"

Miwa's overly happy grin faltered for a second, and Hiei definitely noticed. "The best I have is that she lives by the river in that direction." She pointed northeast, as indicated by the demon she killed not too long ago.

"That's it?"

"...Unfortunately."

Hiei fell silent, staring intently in the direction Miwa pointed. It was no secret that there was a river in the forest; any cheap map of the area would say the same thing. What's more, any cheap map would also show just how far away the nearest body of water was. Miwa, who always had a wide-ranged sense of the water around her, could not yet sense a river in the forest ahead, much less to the northeast. Even if she ran, it would likely take her days to find it. The trajectory was a huge stretch of land to search for one hermit lady's house and searching it effectively would take time and a lot of luck. Miwa imagined all those points running through Hiei's mind as he stared intently at the forest before them. But then, the next unexpected thing happened, the new addition to the list of things Miwa never thought would happen on this trip: Hiei's Jagan began to glow, unprompted and of his own volition.

"Well, you weren't wrong. There's a house out there." He took a few steps forward, passing Miwa on his way deeper into the forest, and then he stopped upon realizing that she wasn't following. "Hurry up," he said, thankfully toning down his attitude enough to not snap at her again.

Miwa shook her head once to collect herself. "Thank you," she said, genuinely smiling when she caught up to his stride. "Really, that helps a lot." For the first time in three months, finding Fuura felt possible.

Hiei glanced at her. "I don't want to be wandering this forest any longer than necessary."

"...Yeah, me neither," Miwa said, hoping he wouldn't sense the small tendrils of her lie.

They stepped off the beaten path, continuing down a road of their own making. The space between trees grew thinner and walking in a straight line quickly became impossible. It became a task just to avoid tripping over exposed tree roots, and unlike the forests of Human World, some trees here were incredibly large. Roots poked out of the ground in odd curves that were taller than both Miwa and Hiei's heights combined. Boulders jutted from the ground covered in moss of all colors, and some with rather unpleasant scents. Of course, neither of them had any difficulty jumping over obstacles like exposed roots or large boulders. Miwa felt like an explorer charting previously unknown lands, if she pretended the forest map tucked into her rucksack didn't exist. Occasionally, Hiei would glance over at her, notice the stupid grin on her face, and roll his eyes.

"We're not here to play, you know," Hiei said, rolling his eyes for probably the hundredth time when Miwa did a fancy backflip off a particularly tall boulder.

Miwa, who went so far as to pose with outstretched arms after her flip, wasn't dissuaded at all. "I'm not slowing you down, am I?"

"...No." Hiei turned away and continued walking, not acknowledging her pose at all. "Seems like your mood's improved compared to before."

"Before?" Miwa jogged a bit to catch up. Even when he wasn't trying, Hiei was always very fast. "How long were you watching me?"

Hiei glanced at her, and this time he didn't roll his eyes. "Long enough."

"...How mysterious." It wasn't the first time he snuck up on her, and Hiei could hide his presence, but Miwa felt a little embarrassed that she had never noticed him until he put a sword to her throat. "Was the sword even necessary then, if you were watching me for so long?"

"As if you couldn't handle that."

"Fine, fine, you clearly don't want to tell me." They climbed over another exposed root, and Miwa refrained from showing off this time. "I guess things are going well if you're trusted enough to investigate me alone."

"Special Guard," he answered simply. "You're also acting alone, and not even for Gandara."

"Gandara doesn't care what I do. Not as long as Kurama does what Yomi wants."

"As the second-in-command."

Miwa nodded because none of this was particularly confidential, but then, her head darted up to the sky as she remembered something important. There was still sunlight, and she could still see the contrast between the red sky and purple clouds. She dropped her rucksack to the ground and dug through the contents without a word. Maybe she could still get through. Those two demons she killed distracted her enough to forget this task before she rushed into the forest.

"What are you doing?"

"Kurama made me carry a mobile phone to check in every once in a while." Finally, Miwa pulled out the tan device from her bag. "So he knows I didn't get killed out here."

And to tell him what I'll do when this is over, her mind added, but Miwa pushed that aside.

Hiei narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the object in her hand. "Hmph." He crossed his arms, "Sounds like an overbearing parent."

Miwa laughed. "Maybe a little. Gimme a second."

She took a few steps away and leaned against a tree. Miwa didn't expect this to become a private conversation or anything, but Hiei clearly wasn't interested in human devices. She hoped that the reception would still work in the middle of the forest, and thankfully, whatever Kurama did to modify the phone still worked. The familiar ring sounded off in her ear, so she just had to hope that he was able to answer. It rang twice. Three times. Four times. They previously agreed to not let it ring more than five times, for safety, but just as Miwa was about to pull the speaker from her ear, there was a loud, mechanical click.

"Hello?" He sounded a little out of breath. Although the reception was better than she expected, there was still a light static mixed in with his voice.

"Hey," Miwa said, "Is now a good time?"

"Yes, I just got back from a meeting."

Miwa paused. She had a vague idea of what Kurama's life was like since he introduced the new fighters to Yomi, and he could spend more time in Gandara while school was on winter break. "With Shirai?"

"He asked how you were," Kurama answered. "I told him the truth."

Miwa sighed. "Why does he bother? No doubt that guy has people following me anyway."

Out of the corner of her eye, Miwa saw Hiei turn his head to her direction. He didn't even bother hiding it.

"He's probably trying to see if I know more," Kurama said, chuckling lightly, and there was more static as he did.

"...I wonder if killing them would make me a traitor to Gandara."

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her, showing an unusual amount of curiosity to this conversation, making Miwa reevaluate the strength of Hiei's hearing.

"You would just bring more attention to yourself out there."

Oh, if only he knew. Miwa groaned. "Don't even get me started on that. At least I don't have the scent of humans on me anymore."

Kurama went quiet, and the silence wasn't even interrupted with static. But before Miwa could say more, he asked, out of the blue, "How are you?"

"Well," she said slowly, "I made it to Mukuro's territory a couple days ago, so Shirai's agents probably can't follow me anymore. It's bad enough that I'm here," Miwa added, glancing over at Hiei as she remembered the sensation of his sword on her neck. "If I keep my head down and hurry, I should get to where Fuura lives in a few days. Maybe more."

"That's great. And you haven't been stopped by anyone?"

Miwa glanced at Hiei again, and he glared at her in return. "...There was a bit of a rough patch when I got here. Someone recognized me from the stupid Dark Tournament Coverage."

"But you're alright?"

"Yeah. More than alright, I guess." She glanced at Hiei once more, this time ready to handle any reaction. "Hiei is here."

He made a weird face at her, head turned to the side, eyes unusually wide despite his furrowed eyebrows, and his lips curved into a crooked frown. A strange mix of shock and annoyance that she would mention him at all, and through a human device no less. It was a look Miwa had never seen on him before, and she tried struggled to keep from laughing.

"Really? That's unexpected," said Kurama, completely unaware of what was going on.

"Yeah, I was surprised, too…" She waved a hand casually at him, trying to assure that everything was fine, but that weird face persisted. "I'm being monitored while I'm in this territory."

The static returned, and it sounded a bit louder this time. "Monitored is better than captured."

"Can't argue with that..." Miwa almost added that Hiei helped her scope the area, but then stopped when she imagined feeling that cold steel on her throat again for talking too much. Instead, she said, "But listen, I'm checking in now because we're in a forest. I have no idea if I'll get reception farther in, so I might not be able to check in again until I..."

She trailed off, staring ahead but not focusing on anything. Hiei's expression returned to normal, and he watched her curiously.

"Until you've decided what comes after," Kurama finished calmly.

"Yeah…" Miwa noticed Hiei was staring at her, confirming for certain that he could hear Kurama through the receiver, and she quickly turned away. "Anyway," she said, franticness rising, "I should go. It'll be dark soon."

"...Alright," Kurama said, thankfully ignoring her change in tone, "Be careful."

"I will. Bye."

Miwa heard a mechanical click through the speaker, cutting off her connection to him, and she pulled the receiver away from her ear. Silently, she walked back to where she left her rucksack and stuffed the mobile phone back inside. She had to rearrange the items inside to get it all to sit nicely, and Hiei stared at the contents of her bag. There was a brief glimpse of white documents as she worked, and Miwa immediately knew he had seen it, physically, for the first time.

"Does he know what's in that folder?" Hiei asked, pointing blatantly at her bag.

Miwa finished sorting her things and closed it up without looking at him. "Of course he does," she answered, casually slinging the strap over her shoulder. "Why would I hide it?"

Hiei walked past her, not even making eye contact, and continued northeast. Now with his back to her, he ignored her question and asked, "So he knows that your tribe's current location is in there, too?"

Miwa bit her tongue. Hiei's Jagan managed to read through a lot in such a short time. "...Yes, he knows." She jogged to catch up, but she couldn't bring herself to walk alongside Hiei this time, instead following a few steps behind, staring at his back.

"Hn...I didn't know you were interested in finding your tribe again."

"I'm not. It's just something Shirai threw in because he thought it would help." Miwa stuffed her hands into her pockets. Something about his tone made her nervous, like he was purposefully leading the conversation somewhere rather than genuinely curious.

Hiei turned his head, looking back at her with his sharp, red eyes. "Something happened in Gandara, didn't it? Before you came out here."

It was then that Miwa remembered Hiei didn't know anything about what she learned from Shirai. But even without being told, Hiei already knew something was different. Miwa sighed, lamenting at just how obvious she was about things concerning herself. "An annoying weasel asked me the same thing…" She sighed again, and then continued before Hiei could question the annoying weasel. "Shirai is someone I knew a long time ago, and I learned he is the one that killed Agata, not Kurama."

Hiei stopped, and Miwa nearly tripped trying not to run into him. He turned fully this time, facing her completely, and looked her up and down. Miwa returned the look, forcing herself not to look away this time. Slowly, and somewhat forcefully, she explained the rest of the details, exactly as she explained it to Kurama several months ago. For as long as she knew him, Hiei had always been respectful of how much her oath meant to her. Or at least he was on the surface because he actually believed it to be ridiculous, blind devotion. A flash of fear zoomed across Miwa's imagination, dreading him saying something along the lines of "I told you so," or "That's what you get." Her paranoid inner voice had no qualms about breaking down each flaw in excruciatingly cynical detail. Hiei would undoubtedly make the same arguments, matching her inner voice's cynicism, if not exceeding it.

"And now you think your oath was meaningless."

Hearing it phrased that way made her chest hurt, and the unstable pain in her core began to swell. Still, Miwa nodded, her lips tightly sealed in a stiff frown. She didn't want the instability to show on her face, but there was no doubt he could sense it.

Then, Hiei just swiftly turned his back to her and walked away. "...Then hurry up and decide what comes after."

He said it with such dismissal that it took a second for Miwa to process it. That was it? Hiei was always a man of few words, but the foundation of her whole life was shattered with that one truth, and that was all he had to say? Hiei had nearly disappeared into the trees when Miwa snapped out of her stupor and ran to catch up again.

"You make it sound so simple," she heard herself say.

"It is simple." Hiei snapped. "Unless you're going to blindly follow him forever."

Miwa opened her mouth, but it wasn't her speaking. All the fear and uncertainty building up for years formed words that spilled out in an unfiltered torrent. "There is no 'after.' For years, for decades I've never had an 'after.' The only thing I ever expected to come at the end of this was..." Her hands felt clammy, and they trembled slightly at her sides. Her stomach became a deep, bottomless pit, and no matter how nauseous she felt, she could never throw up the emptiness inside. "What 'after' could I possibly choose?" she asked, her voice sounding weak, defeated, and pathetic. "I have nothing."

Her tribe would never take her back. Her tracking skills were thwarted at every turn by her Dark Tournament fame. The one place she built for herself was based on a lie, and the person she built it for wanted her to give it up. He wanted 'freedom' for her, but Miwa never had 'freedom' in her entire life. Miwa was the looping snake who lived in recurring cycles. 'Freedom' was the opportunity to do anything, the starting point of infinite possibilities, and the infinite was terrifying. How could anyone narrow down their choices from infinity? It was impossible. There might as well be no choice at all. She might as well stay in her cycle, desperately clinging to the only life she knew. Dancing for her tribe, finding Agata, serving the one she thought to be his killer. Any cycle would do, because they made sense, and no matter what oddities life threw at her, she knew her result would always be the same. It was a cowardly way to live, and deep down she knew that, but the comforting familiarity would never end, and there would be no place to jump off the edge into the uncertainty of infinite possibilities.

The unstable pain receded, robbing Miwa of a distraction from the overwhelming fear.

Hiei remained perfectly still as the silence fell between them. Even the forest around them went quiet, keeping out the sounds of the real world. But a small, familiar clack cut through the silence. His cloak moved as his elbows began to rise. "...Then I should just kill you now."

Hiei turned, and then he was gone. Miwa looked around wildly, sensing danger from all directions. Hiei was fast. She could barely keep track of his movement, and one slip of concentration would lose him for good. Then, a flash of light caught her eye. Hiei's image came into focus at her side, sword drawn and gleaming in the minimal sunlight, and his black cloak billowing out behind him like a monstrous shadow. A water stream erupted from her pouch and tightened around the metal blade, like the end of a whip. The stream yanked the blade to the side as Miwa stepped back, but Hiei resisted the pull enough to keep his sword from getting thrown to the ground. The sword shook as it resisted the water stream, but Hiei's calm, deadpan expression concealed how much strength it took to keep his sword.

"Hiei, what the hell are you doing?!" Miwa's own arms were shaking to keep the sword still. He was strong.

"You don't need to find Fuura. I won't wander the forest for someone that may as well be dead."

He was calm, in control, and he wasn't kidding around. His Demon Energy surged, and one strong pull ripped his sword free. Miwa redirected her stream, plowing it into Hiei's chest. The force threw him backward, despite Miwa trying not to hurt him, and the stream forced him to the ground. The ease of throwing him off gave Miwa pause, but the dull thud of water hitting the dirt felt very solid. The black shape on the ground lay flat and still; too flat and too still. ...It wasn't Hiei. The only thing on the ground was his black cloak, soaked with water and mud. He fooled her with a trick she had seen him do before, but there was no time to feel annoyed or embarrassed.

For the second time that day, cold, hard steel pressed against her throat, and Hiei's deep and dangerous voice asked, "Why are you fighting back?"

"You're attacking me!"

"Wrong answer."

The steel blade cut deeper into her skin, and a sharp pain was immediately followed by the scent of blood. It hurt, and Miwa finally allowed herself to feel angry. The water stream enveloped the hilt, swallowing it whole like a glowing, white snake. The stream constricted around Hiei's wrist, biting down with a powerful compressive force. There was no grimace or any sign of pain, but Hiei's grip on the hilt weakened. Miwa leapt away, and the water followed her, taking the sword right out of Hiei's fingers. It flew, and she caught it by the hilt. Having a physical weapon in her hand felt odd; solid, cool, and heavier than she expected. The water stream pulled away from the sword, returning to its usual coil around Miwa's right arm.

A silence loomed over the forest again, neither Hiei nor Miwa moving to attack again, but they couldn't be more different in that moment. Every inch of Miwa's body felt on edge, preparing for the inevitable moment that Hiei would vanish from sight and attack again, all while she fought the very conflicting feelings about why he was attacking her at all. In contrast, Hiei looked bored. He wasn't upset at all that his sword was taken, and even with the loss of his weapon, he stood firm and certain, confident in his actions and intentions. He watched her carefully, waiting for Miwa to make the next move; maybe even curious about what she would do with a physical, solid weapon in her hand. But Miwa didn't move. She was angry, confused, and a trail of blood tickled her neck and collar bone, but she would not continue this ridiculous fight.

"...Hmph, at least you're not as hot-headed as the detective."

Hiei relaxed his fighting stance and turned around, deliberately exposing his back, and walked over to his discarded cloak. He frowned at the mud clinging to the wet fabric and shook it out, each shake making a loud snap that flung small brown drops into the air. Miwa still didn't move, but as the tension slowly diffused from her body, she noticed a dark, crooked line that circled his left forearm. It wasn't hidden; his sleeveless black shirt couldn't possibly conceal his arms, but there weren't even bandages covering up what had to be the remnants of a serious injury. The wound had small trails of scabs, and scar tissue stretched across the line like it stitched Hiei's forearm together. What happened to him? Did he get that while training? The questions blazed through her mind, but she feared finding an answer.

"...-ven listening?"

Miwa jolted, suddenly realizing that she was being spoken to again. Hiei's frown had turned to her, and he held out the still dripping cloak with his bandaged right hand. "What?" she asked, feeling rather stupid.

Hiei narrowed his eyes. "I asked if you could take care of this."

"O-oh...of course."

There was a dull ache in her arm; Miwa was still holding up Hiei's sword. She lowered it, feeling its weight tug at her shoulder, and pulled the water off Hiei's cloak with a flick of her wrist. It, and the rest of her water, funneled back to her pouch. He shook out his cloak a couple more times, and the snap had significantly dulled. Satisfied, he draped the cloak over his shoulders, covering up the strange mark on his forearm, and he held out his right hand expectantly. Miwa obediently handed the sword back. Hiei sheathed it without saying a word and walked away, back on their original course as if the sudden skirmish had never happened.

"Hie-"

"You fought back because you know you don't have nothing." He didn't look at her, but at least he stopped walking. "You were nearly erased protecting two humans that have nothing to do with your oath. There's a brainwashed human who thinks you're his daughter, and there's an overbearing fox that wants to know you're not dead out here. And…" He paused for a moment, turning his head down to look at his feet, and then lowered the volume of his voice. "...there are some idiots out there that would fight if it meant saving your life." He huffed a bit and started walking at a much faster pace than before. "You having nothing is the most idiodic thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," he grumbled.

Miwa, who was getting left behind with every passing second, had to replay that moment in her head several times to convince herself that she heard him correctly. It made her remember something Kurama had said the last time her seal acted violently. Even if her oath was based on a lie, everything that happened since was still real. It didn't get through to her before, but now... There was a slight tickle on her neck, and Miwa dabbed at the blood from the sword wound. It was drying up, and a bit sticky on her fingers, but a scab was forming around the cut. Just like the mark on her neck, the choices she made and the people she met along the way were all real, and they were a part of her now. Miwa went out of her way to make sure Takeo, Taichi, and Saya wouldn't worry about her while she was gone. She carried the mobile phone in her rucksack at Kurama's request, and she regularly checked in just as promised. Just a few years ago, she probably wouldn't have bothered with any of that. Hiei attacked her, and she fought back because the people around her all cared about her life; maybe more than she ever did. Hiei was never afraid to share what he thinks, and he would be as direct as he deemed necessary. His expression of those thoughts was often more aggressive than most people would like, but Miwa didn't mind, even if that expression left her a scar on her throat. His straightforwardness was what she needed. Her chest felt warm, and for the first time in months, it had nothing to do with the seal on her back.

She ran to catch up, unable to hold back a small smile. "I thought you wanted me to give it all up and return to Demon World."

"I don't care what you do," Hiei snapped, maybe a bit too defensively. "Just decide it for yourself, not because you think you owe something. Considering how often you break your own rules, you must have thought about something else at least once in your life."

Hiei pushed forward, and Miwa followed, but he remained consistently several steps ahead, barreling his way through the forest as if he intended to carve his own path in the dirt. Miwa touched her neck. The scab was rough and bumpy, and thankfully the bleeding stopped, but that wasn't why her hand unconsciously touched her throat. She remembered, once again, the first time his blade's cold steel pressed against her throat, and the deep and dangerous voice that asked her why she followed a red-headed boy.

"...I did," she muttered, and Hiei slowed down immediately. "Once. Around the time I met you..."

In her third year of middle school, Miwa had questioned her position at Kurama's side for the first time...

{00}

...and it started because of a human, of all things. An innocent human named Maya Kitajima, unknowingly dragged into her world's demonic underbelly. A demon named Hedoki appeared that day, beginning the storm that threw Kurama and Miwa's human lives, and the lies they built to maintain them, into a wild tempest.

But before Hedoki, that day was uneventful and boring. The most exciting topic of conversation in the middle school classroom was the odd disappearance of three human boys from an abandoned mannequin factory. It was the latest in a string of disappearances from the area, and some students even claimed to know the boys who disappeared, but the strange circumstances excited Maya Kitajima most of all. She had a strange fascination with supernatural and otherworldly beings. Her fascination was not unusual for humans her age, and Miwa, a bonafide demon who sat only four desks away from Kitajima, reveled in the irony of going unnoticed by such a girl for two years.

During a break between classes, Miwa's classroom was abuzz with gossip about the missing boys. Miwa did not join; most humans did not make an effort to talk to her. But the tracker in her refused to ignore the potential source of information, even if it were the casual musings of teenagers, and Kitajima was right in the middle of it. She was a sweet girl, always smiling, and she had a good relationship with her classmates, boys and girls alike. Her short, black hair would bounce as she walked because every step looked like a skip, and Miwa was very familiar with her stride. Not because Kitajima stood out from their other classmates, but because she and Shuichi Minamino were "friends." Even as Kitajima exchanged theories with her classmates, Miwa noticed the occasional glance she threw towards Shuichi Minamino a few seats behind, hoping he would look up and join in the conversation. He did not, focusing on reading his book instead, but Kitajima took her chance to speak with him when Kurama put his book down and stood up, about to step out of the classroom alone.

"Minamino!" she called, breaking away from two of her friends to step closer to him, "What do you think?"

Kurama turned back, looking indifferent with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his slacks. His red hair was short then, but out of anybody, he stood out the most for wearing a school uniform despite everyone else wearing their own clothes. "They probably just ran away," he answered calmly.

"So boring! There has to be something else!" Kitajima exclaimed, shaking a fist at her side for dramatic emphasis. "It could be alien abduction, or ghosts, or a secret organization, or a dimensional rip!"

"That doesn't sound very realistic."

"How naive. An alien could already be among us right now!"

Miwa, wondering whether she would be considered an alien, focused on her review notes without once looking up. Whether those two continued talking about the missing boys had nothing to do with her, but the other kid she heard speaking did. His name was Tasaka, and Kitajima was sitting right next to him until she pulled away. Tasaka sat backwards in his chair, resting his chin on his arms with a large, obvious frown scrunching up his face.

"Tch, how stupid," he muttered, glaring right at Kurama's back.

"Give it up," whispered a girl sitting beside Takase, one of Kitajima's other friends, "Maya is totally into him."

"He annoys me," Tasaka groaned. "Who wears a uniform to a school with free dress?"

The girl beside Tasaka chided him for his obvious jealousy, but they were both completely unaware that Miwa could hear them clearly. Tasaka's annoyance was practically radiating across the room, but his classmates ignored him to continue gossiping. Miwa, however, sensed the annoyance crossing into hostility. Finally, she looked up from her notebook, watching him from across the room. Human or demon, legal or not, it did not matter; Miwa would eliminate any potential threat to Kurama's well-being.

Tasaka reached into the empty desk beside him and pulled out an eraser that did not belong to him. He chucked it across the room, demonstrating impressive aim and power that such a small object flew directly towards Kurama's head in a near invisible blur. Every instinct told Miwa to get up and catch that stupid eraser no matter how unnaturally fast she would seem. Her legs and hands visibly shook from the effort to hold herself back. But an eraser was nothing, not even a small threat. It just took a moment for her instincts to accept that fact. Kurama easily snatched the projectile from the air without turning his head. He even expressed a small bit of surprise that it was only an eraser that targeted his head, as his instincts sensed the growing hostility and expected something worse. Even if he had not caught it, a measly eraser thrown by a human would not hurt him.

The urgent tension slowly dissipated from Miwa's muscles and watching Tasaka's jaw drop at Kurama's quick reflexes helped calm her down. What did he think throwing an eraser would even accomplish? Human teenagers were so emotional and irrational. As Miwa understood it, it was part of their brain's development, but humans in general seemed to be very emotional creatures to her, regardless of their age. Did Tasaka think Kitajima would pay more attention to him if he threw an eraser at Minamino's head? Did he think Kitajima would appreciate him taking out his blatant teenage jealousy on Minamino? Miwa did not understand humans sometimes. They were so...busy, but overactive emotions were not a threat to her or Kurama's human lives, so she let it go, and the boring day continued.

...Until Hedoki appeared an hour later. On campus.

School had ended for the day, but Miwa stayed behind because she was on classroom cleaning duty. Normally, Kurama wandered the campus until she finished, and they would walk home together. But Miwa sensed Hedoki's energy a few corridors away, and she instantly dropped the trash bag she was holding. Crumbled papers and empty food wrappers spilled across the floor, and the other student on cleaning duty cried out in surprise and confusion as Himari Shimizu suddenly and wordlessly bolted out the door. Miwa could hear people calling after her, but she ignored them. She passed by a water fountain and pulled water from the spout, forming it into a small sphere around her hand to use as a weapon. Hedoki was not powerful by any means. He had a small, blob of a body that would climb onto the shoulders of unsuspecting humans and possess them, more like a parasitic ghost than a demon. Kurama beat him half to death and expelled him from the city less than a month ago. But his sudden reappearance here was nothing if not a threat, and Miwa eliminated all threats.

Miwa rounded the hallway corner, and Hedoki was there, between her and Kurama, his head growing out from a brown blob of flesh on the ground. "I'll kill you," he growled, arrogant and proud, "I have a powerful new ally now."

She would kill him, if only for the sin of showing his face in this town once again.

Kurama raised his arm, but Miwa acted first. She threw her water, and it morphed into a spear mid-air. Hedoki was quick, and he leapt out of the way, just missing the water spear by mere inches, and he broke the nearest window as he escaped outside. The sound of shattered glass echoed in the hall, but Miwa did not care.

"Hold it!" she yelled and jumped out the window after Hedoki. That bastard was always quick to run.

But just as she passed through the broken glass, one familiar voice from the hallway cried out, and Miwa's murderous intentions disappeared in a flash.

"What was that? A ghost?"

Kitajima. She was there. Maya Kitajima saw what happened.

"Amazing! I saw it so clearly!" she continued, her voice wobbling with shock and excitement. "And shocking… The first ghost ever I saw looked like that…"

Miwa immediately abandoned her chase and leapt out of sight. Outside that window was just a grove of trees and one of the walls surrounding the school. In the distance, Hedoki's formless body jumped over the wall and out of sight. Miwa clicked her tongue, hating that she had to let him go, and she hid in one of the nearby trees, just within earshot of Kitajima's vocal confusion. Hedoki may have threatened Kurama, and Miwa desperately wanted to kill him, but even if his claim about a powerful ally was true, Kitajima learning about the existence of demons was a much bigger problem. It could upend Shuichi Minamino's life forever, and Miwa would not let that happen. In the Human World, living a human life, this was the most useful thing Miwa could do. The only thing she could truly protect...

"I think you're mistaken…" Kurama tried to mislead her, to somehow find a rational explanation to what she just saw, but he couldn't. He knew Kitajima had a fledgling spiritual awareness, but it was much stronger than either of them expected. She shouldn't have been able to see Hedoki.

"You can't fool me! I saw it!" Even from outside, Miwa could hear the rising excitement in her voice. She was strangely unafraid, even for a girl who loved the occult. "I knew I was right!" Kitajima continued, "I had a feeling you also had spiritual powers, Minamino! You were talking with that ghost, right? And Shimizu chased after it? Is she a psychic, too?"

Miwa frowned. Obviously, Kitajima also saw her leap through the broken window; that was unavoidable. But Miwa did not care if Himari Shimizu was outed as a psychic or for having special powers. It was just a name she assumed to be close to Kurama's new life, to continue what she started the day she left Shirai. The problem would be if it burdened Shuichi Minamino...

"This is great! I knew something was different about you two!" Kitajima clasped her hands together, grinning as if she just heard the most exciting news of her life. "I've always loved that kinda stuff, and I've been looking for people with those kinds of abilities!" Then, her voice quieted, her eyes softened, and a small blush appeared in her cheeks. "And...one of them is even my first love. It's so dramatic!"

Miwa was certain that all thoughts of Hedoki left Kurama's mind. He stood there, silent, thrown completely off guard, and dumbfounded by the blushing girl. For a moment, he looked just like the fourteen-year-old boy he was supposed to be, and an uncomfortable feeling grew in Miwa's chest. How could a mere human disarm him like that?

"...I thought so," Kitajima sighed, her cheeks redder than before, "You had no idea, right?"

So many things were happening at once, spiraling increasingly out of her control. Miwa forced herself to leave her hiding spot and stealthily retrieve her belongings from the classroom. There was nothing she could do to stop Kitajima, and the sudden appearance of Himari Shimizu would only make it worse. Kurama would have to deal with it on his own. Miwa hated it. She knew he was capable of handling this, but her own powerlessness to help was driving her mad. She swore to be useful to him. That was all she ever wanted, but she couldn't even stop one human from finding out that demons were real. Their cover wasn't blown yet, but with how fast Kitajima's powers were growing, it was only a matter of time…

And to make things worse, Kitajima did not give up. She and Kurama left school together, and despite being told many times to just go home, Kitajima followed right behind him. She was persistent, and strong. Nothing Kurama said would deter her. Miwa trailed after them, walking along the rooftops of nearby buildings to put as much distance as she could while keeping them in sight. There was no doubt Kurama knew that Miwa was following them, and normally he would scold her for behaving in a way that made her stand out, but Miwa didn't care if he did. The sky was red with light from the setting sun, there weren't any people outside to see her, and there was no telling if Hedoki would appear again.

After two years into Miwa's life as Himari Shimizu, the hardest lesson to learn about human culture was navigating the minefield of social expectations and etiquette. As a demon, Miwa swore her life to Youko Kurama, to be useful for anything he needed. She was the loyal follower, always at his side, and demons like her were common in the Demon World. Miwa has met (and killed) demons in the exact same position as her, and few demons would bat an eye if they heard Kurama had a follower. But here, as Himari, being close to him at all times drew unwanted attention that neither of them wanted, so Miwa had to step back and leave room for other people in Kurama's life. She did not hate Kitajima, but other than Shiori, Miwa had never left more room for someone in his life than for her.

But what would happen if Kurama wanted her there? Her, or someone they haven't even met yet? Where would Miwa's place be if he wanted someone else at his side? In all the years Miwa knew him, this never came up before. How was it that a human made Miwa question the place she built for herself? If they were still in Demon World, where loyal followers like her were more common, would this still be an issue? No, it would not. A demon would understand her position. Why did they have to follow the expectations of humans? They were demons.

"I told you to go home already," she heard Kurama say from below.

Kitajima answered, with an undeniable shake in her voice, "Well, you haven't given me an answer yet…"

Miwa suddenly remembered Tasaka, and how his jealousy made him throw an eraser. ...No, she thought, shaking her head. She wasn't like him. This wasn't jealousy, and she wasn't so petty that she would throw an eraser to interfere in something like this. Whoever Kurama wanted at his side, human or demon, was never Miwa's choice to make. She swore on her life to be useful and making a nuisance of herself was far from that. Just like with Shiori, if any other human had a place in Shuichi Minamino's life, then Miwa had no choice but to step back. She had to find a way to keep her oath as a human. But humans don't make oaths like hers. That was just how they lived, and Kurama chose a human life.

In the end, in this life, there may come a day where her place at his side would no longer exist, by his own volition.

What would she do then? What could she do then?

"You can be honest," Kitajima said, trying to hide her nerves with a laugh, "I'm ready."

Kurama didn't look at her, and Miwa couldn't see his face, but even from afar, the inner conflict was clear. The only question was, what made him hesitate? "I'm sorry…"

The energy Kitajima always had deflated, making her look small. Even she wanted to shrink and hide, where no one would see her pain. "Okay, I understand. I'll leave now." But she was strong, trying her best to take rejection in stride and leave with a smile, despite the tears forming in her eyes.

A perverse sense of relief made Miwa feel guilty. She knew the reason for his hesitation, and it wasn't to spare the feelings of a good friend. This is how it should be, said the perverse relief in her mind, loud and cynical, He could never tell her the truth. I'm the only one who-

The cold steel of a blade pressed against her throat, blasting away those thoughts in an instant. Its sharp edge bit at her skin, and one small movement would draw blood.

"Why are you following him?" an unfamiliar voice asked, deep and dangerous.

She didn't sense this guy coming at all. ...Or was she just distracted by her own thoughts?

"...I protect him," Miwa answered, and then she retaliated.

Miwa ducked away from the blade and rolled, getting a small cut into her skin in the process. She dropped her school bag, and a small water stream slithered out from a bottle she hid inside. The stream sped towards her surprise attacker, and Miwa snapped up her head to get a good look at him. As it turned out, she only got a glimpse. He was shorter than her, and the backlight of the sunset made him appear as a dark silhouette, but the white headband on his forehead was the only distinguishing feature Miwa was able to gleam from him. Instead of attacking her, the stranger vanished into thin air, and her water stream shot uselessly through the space he used to occupy.

I'm not the target, Miwa realized, and she leaned her entire torso over the railing, screaming, "Watch out!"

From the rooftop, Miwa heard a loud clang as their attacker's sword hit the concrete. A high-pitched scream immediately followed, and Miwa leaped over the railing to join the fight. Kurama sensed their attacker's killing intent, as expected, and he picked up Kitajima to protect her from harm. Miwa landed in front of them, ignoring Kitajima's confused ramblings about how she was too heavy to be carried or wondering aloud where Shimizu appeared from. The water stream gathered around Miwa's right arm, but she was quickly wishing that she carried a larger bottle.

"Tch, not bad."

The stranger lunged at them again, sword raised high. Miwa's stream wrapped around his wrist, and she diverted his attack with a hard yank. The stranger growled at her, grumbling a question that Miwa did not hear, and he used his new momentum to leap at her instead. He was fast, and Miwa was barely able to dodge. She used her stream as a shield to divert the sword, but she could hear the blade scraping against it right next to her ear, sending a nervous shiver down her spine.

This was dangerous. This fight needed to move. Kurama immediately understood this, set down Kitajima, and formed a leaf blade around his right hand. He joined the fight, blocking another attack from the stranger's sword, and shouted at Kitajima to run away. The poor girl was on her knees, frozen and confused; she probably didn't have the strength to run if she tried. So Kurama leapt into the trees, hoping to lead the stranger away as far as he could. The stranger didn't care about Kitajima at all and followed Kurama, but there was a split second where Miwa hesitated. She wondered, ever so briefly, if she should stay behind and look after Kitajima, but the idea was dismissed by the threat of this stranger. Who was he? Did he have something to do with Hedoki's sudden reappearance? Miwa had to know, and she had her priorities, so without even sparing Kitajima a final glance, she chased them to the nearby woods. Miwa would only learn the consequences of that choice hours later.

In the woods, the fight was more private, far away from human eyes. The trees blocked out the red sunset, darkening their battlefield, but any unfortunate soul that happened upon them would meet an unusual sight. When Miwa caught up, Kurama and the stranger were still exchanging blows, but because of the stranger's impressive speed, Kurama was on the defensive, blocking the stranger's sword as fast as he could. The blades crashing against each other echoed sharply through the trees, and the longer they fought, the stranger looked increasingly confused. Of course, Miwa didn't care about any of that; the stranger was simply a threat, so she threw her water stream, hardening it into a spear just like she did for Hedoki. The stranger easily sidestepped it, glaring at Miwa once again, and the spear lodged itself into the ground. But then, it curved and wrapped around the stranger's leg like a whip. The stranger glanced down, finally caught off guard, and he tugged at the stream to free his leg, but Miwa's grip held fast, trapping him as well as any ball and chain.

"Tch," spat the stranger, glaring at her with bright red eyes. "Why would a woman protect one of Yatsude's underlings?"

"Yatsude?" Kurama repeated, "He's in this town?"

The stranger turned back to him. "You're not one of his henchmen?"

Kurama lowered his leaf blade, and a small, understanding smile formed on his lips. "Lower your sword. We're just residents of this town," he explained. The stranger slowly did as he was asked, understandably cautious, and then Kurama looked over to Miwa. "Let him go."

She obediently released her hold on the stranger's leg, and he shook out his foot a couple times while staring at her with a raised eyebrow. Miwa ignored it. What mattered was he lowered his sword, and any misunderstanding between them was cleared. The water stream coiled around her arm, ready in case he tried anything else, and Miwa suddenly remembered that she left her school bag on that rooftop. Even if she decided to trust him, there was nowhere for her to hide her water without throwing it in the dirt.

The stranger sheathed his sword with a wry grin. "Heh, I guess I got ahead of myself," he huffed, unusually breathless for a demon as strong and fast as him, but a quiet splat soon explained that. The stranger was bleeding, and heavy drops of blood dripped from the bottom of his cloak, quickly forming a dark red puddle on the ground. Then, the stranger winced in pain and collapsed to the ground, quiet and still.

Kurama, quite the humanitarian these days, immediately rushed to the stranger's side, while Miwa warily watched from afar, just in case. He was hurt, but not from their fight. Someone else had attacked him long before he held the sword to Miwa's throat. Maybe it was one of Yatsude's demons; that name was enough to change their entire perspective on how dangerous this town had become, and a reasonable explanation for the recent string of disappearances. Yatsude was a powerful demon thug, and he had a ravenous hunger for the flesh of both demons and humans, particularly the females. Now, Miwa understood why the stranger approached her first. He must have thought that she, as a woman, was also hunting Yatsude by following an underling from a distance. He was wrong, but that was the least of their troubles now. Hedoki's new friend was more dangerous than they initially thought.

"This isn't good," Kurama said quietly, straightening up. "It'll be difficult to defeat Yatsude as we are now…"

Miwa did not want to admit it, but he was right.

They took the stranger back to Kurama's house. Luckily, his mother was working a late shift that night, so it was easy to sneak an unconscious, bleeding demon inside, and Miwa went back to the street to retrieve their bags. Kurama's bag rested innocently by the side of the road, and Miwa's lay untouched on the rooftop where she dropped it. That was lucky. She didn't have to deal with finding a thief or visiting the police box on top of everything else going on, and Kitajima was gone. If their luck continued (and there wasn't much going around), Kitajima would have gone home and decided everything that happened today was a dream. Including her confession to Shuichi Minamino, and their human lives would continue as they always had.

For now...

Miwa shook her head. That last part may have been her own wishful thinking. It was not her place to interfere with Shuichi Minamino's human relationships. Whatever Kitajima thought, they would have to deal with it later, so she picked up their school bags and returned to Kurama's house.

By the time she arrived, he had already cleaned and bandaged the stranger's wound. The stranger lay asleep in Kurama's bed, and Miwa only assumed his sleep was a restless one. The stranger's eyebrows scrunched together, frowning even in his dreams, unless he always frowned like that. His white headband sat on Kurama's desk atop a stack of folded black clothes. On his forehead was a large, closed lid of what could only be a third eye.

"It's a Jagan Eye implant," Kurama said, seeing Miwa stare. "A recent one; a very painful procedure that must have weakened him considerably."

Miwa's lips formed a silent "wow," legitimately impressed, and then she said, "He couldn't have gotten that here. Maybe he's looking for something."

"Like you were?" Kurama was sitting casually on the floor with his back against the wall, just below the window and opposite of his bed where the stranger slept. He watched Miwa recoil from his question, and a strange light danced behind his eyes. "Sorry," he said, trying to laugh it off, "It's just that when I realized it was an implant, it made me of you."

Miwa gave him a curious look, but she knew what he meant. She flung his school bag at him, which Kurama caught easily with one hand, and sat herself at his desk, right next to the white headband. The stranger's boots sat by the feet of the chair. "He's looking for Yatsude, right? They probably have a score to settle."

"Perhaps, but I don't think he would have gotten the Jagan just to find him."

Miwa nodded in agreement. She did not have a Jagan, but she was confident that, given time, she could find Yatsude without it. He wasn't exactly the type of demon that could hide forever. There was always a trail of half-eaten bodies left behind. "Did he wake up at all?"

Kurama shook his head. "He muttered a name in his sleep. 'Yukina.'"

They both looked at each other, but neither recognized the name.

Three hours later, the stranger woke up. Kurama complimented his quick recovery and asked about the Jagan and the name Yukina. The stranger elaborated on neither and insisted that Kurama talked too much. Miwa, who frowned a bit at his curt attitude, wordlessly tossed the stranger his clothes and boots, and he quickly put them on while barely acknowledging her. He didn't even thank Kurama for helping him, thinking it was sufficient to warn that Kurama's kindness would get him killed one day. There was already one foot out the windowsill, eager to get the hell out of that room, when Kurama cautiously advised that he rested longer before hunting Yatsude again, but it was pointless. They all knew Yatsude grew stronger every time he ate someone new. The longer he was out there, the bigger threat he would become. The frown on the stranger's face told them only one thing: as powerful as he was, not even this demon was confident he could win against Yatsude, fully recovered or not.

Kurama asked the stranger his name. He answered, "Hiei," and disappeared into the night.

Hiei, another famous criminal in the Demon World. "We keep great company, don't we?" Miwa joked half-heartedly.

The phone rang downstairs. Kurama left the room to answer it, and Miwa stayed in her seat, staring out the window after the stranger. She couldn't see him anymore, but she pictured him as a dark shadow jumping from roof to roof; probably using that Jagan to search the city. He wouldn't stand out, given his black cloak and speed, but Miwa smiled to herself as she imagined what a human child looking out their window right now would think if they saw Hiei passing by. She wondered why he was so hell-bent on finding Yatsude, even if it meant charging out just minutes after waking up from unconsciousness. Was this what she looked like to other demons several years ago, stubbornly searching for Youko Kurama who everyone believed to be dead? Kurama did say that Hiei reminded him of her, but it wasn't until much later when Miwa discovered how far the similarities went.

Kurama burst into the room, his face pale and his lips pressed tightly together. Miwa stood up immediately. "Kitajima was taken," he explained, quick and concise, and he followed Hiei's path out the window.

Of course, Miwa followed without being asked.

They leapt over rooftops, not caring anymore if they stood out, and caught up to Hiei quickly. He did not bother hiding himself from them, but he knew immediately the circumstances had changed. It was that human girl, without a doubt. Hiei didn't care, humans meant nothing to him, but their chances of victory went up in a three-on-one fight. Miwa trailed behind them, silently gathering around her arms any water she could pull up from the streets below; from water fountains, vending machines, the sewer, and sometimes through the open windows of houses beneath her feet. Miwa didn't care how suspicious it looked (or how weird it smelled). To fight Yatsude, she would need more water than what could fit in a school bag. Hiei turned around several times to watch her form liquid sleeves around her arms, and Miwa knew exactly what was going through his head. Why the hell was a Water Apparition pulling water from the environment when she should be able to generate it on her own? Miwa gave him a look every time he turned to watch, and he would pretend that he didn't notice. He never asked questions, and that was fine by her. She had other things to think about.

The facts were all perfectly clear. Yatsude was a threat, Kitajima was in danger, and more than anything else, she must be useful to Kurama. Miwa already failed the last one. Despite knowing Hedoki was lurking around, she had not done anything to make sure Kitajima was safe on her own before running off to fight a sword-wielding stranger. This was, obviously, misplaced blame. Miwa couldn't have known something like this would happen, but the guilt still followed like gum stuck to her shoe, and her failure to prevent it made her feel useless. Yet, there was something darker hiding beneath all that, covered up by the guilt and inadequacy. Or the latter was hiding the darker thoughts, pretending they don't exist by relishing in the misplaced blame.

Miwa didn't want to save Kitajima. This part of her was petty, childish, and probably would have thrown an eraser across the classroom if given the chance. Miwa had just gotten used to living as Himari Shimizu, but this human was encroaching on the place she worked so hard to build, and Kitajima waltzed in like it was nothing. Kitajima may have had her confession rejected, but after tonight, the truth Kurama wanted to hide from her may become unavoidable. Even if it doesn't, the day may still come where Himari Shimizu must step aside for good; that thought made her chest hurt.

But she had to ignore it. She swore to be useful to him, so she must make up for her failure and save Shuichi Minamino's friend.

Hiei, guided by his Jagan Eye, led the way to the mannequin factory, the last known location of the three missing boys. As they got closer, the smell of decay and rot confirmed they were in the right place. The building burned down years ago, and no company felt it was worth the money to restore it, so the concrete remains lay abandoned, burned, dirty, and littered with the broken limbs and heads of dolls that survived the fire. Hidden between the plastic and plaster were the smelly, squishy limbs of the dead. There was a constant buzz in the air from flies and bugs, and with every step Miwa took, a dark cloud of insects would shift and fly away, sending shivers of disgust down Miwa's spine. Kurama hardly noticed the bugs, focusing only on the corpses scattered across the ground. Looking for Kitajima...

A deep voice grumbled, "You'll soon join them," and the concrete floor crumbled beneath their feet. Arms emerged from the rubble, each wider than Miwa's waist, and blindly grasped at nothing when the three of them leapt away. Yatsude stood up in the cloud of dust, towering over them all with his great height. Two pairs of muscular arms connected at his shoulders, and two smaller arms, just as bulky, sprouted from the sides of his head. His hands and feet were a darker color than the rest of his skin, and each finger had long, black claws. He smelled of the bodies he ate, so strong that Miwa could taste it on her tongue. He wore no shirt, but a belt of human skulls held up his loincloth. Yatsude's face was strangely smooth, having no nose, and his eyes and mouth were thin, dark, and flat, looking more like the painted face of a doll than even the mannequins on the ground. He grinned in recognition upon seeing Hiei's face. "Back again? You're a persistent one."

"I'll ask you one more time," Hiei warned, his voice dark and dangerous once more, "Tell me the name of the Ice Apparition you ate."

"I dunno," Yatsude shrugged, his lips curving into a cheeky smirk. "Don't remember… Unless you're offering me that girl as a snack?" He pointed at Miwa, leering at her with his tongue sticking out like a hungry predator.

Disgusted into silence, but Miwa refused to show it on her face.

"What about the girl you kidnapped today?" Kurama asked, "Where is she?"

"Oh, are you her friends?" Yatsude asked, his tone taking on a hint of glee. "Then, I'll give you a hint." He held up something long and slender. "What do you think this is?"

A severed leg. A severed human leg.

Kurama's face blanched, and then it quickly twisted into anger. "You bastard!" he shouted, forming the leaf blade in his hand. He leapt hastily into battle, alone and unusually erratic. Hiei immediately followed with his sword unsheathed, refusing to be left behind.

Three versus one, Miwa reaffirmed to herself, and she joined too.

The problem with fighting Yatsude was not just his powerful arms; it was also how tough those arms were. Yatsude's hands deflected every slice of sword and leaf blade like they were the lowly flies infesting the factory, and the blades could not even break his skin. His thick muscles blocked water streams, sturdy as a shield. Just one slap was enough to throw back any attack Hiei, Kurama, and Miwa attempted. If they could just get close enough to his neck… At times, his fists would catch them in the stomach, throwing them back even farther in a crumpled heap of pain. Hiei crashed into a pile of empty wooden crates, nearly reopening his earlier wounds. Kurama was thrown onto the ground, skidding across the concrete until just barely catching his balance. Miwa slammed into a support column, dropping all her water in a painful lapse of concentration, and then landed like a ragdoll in her own puddle.

"Whether trash like you fight together or alone, the result will be the same!" Yatsude decided to focus on Hiei, so he leapt into the air, crash landing among the broken crates and punched mercilessly at the ground, kicking up dust, debris, and splinters into the air. Hiei barely managed to escape, but due to the pain of his wounds threatening to reopen, he could not get to his feet, so Kurama scooped him up onto his shoulder and hid in a small room while the dust cloud gave them cover. Miwa's whole body twinged in agony from getting hit square in the back, but she gathered her water back around her arms and used the streams to push herself to safety, landing in an undignified pile by Kurama and Hiei. Outside, Yatsude continued his rampage, spinning his large body to create a whirlwind destroying everything within its reach, and bellowing, "Where are you hiding?!"

The brief respite of their hiding spot allowed Hiei and Miwa to recover enough to catch their breath and stand. Kurama sat with his back to the wall separating them and Yatsude, listening to his loud rampage. But then, strangely, he decided to ask, "Why are you searching for that girl?"

Hiei looked at him in disbelief, undoubtedly wondering why he would ask that now, and scoffed. "What about you?" he asked, looking at both Kurama and Miwa. "Neither of you are like the demon weaklings that hide in the Human World. What are you doing here?"

Miwa narrowed her eyes at him. "I already told you why."

Hiei stared at her, but he didn't say anything.

Kurama, on the other hand, seemed at a loss for words. "I'm…" he started, and then stopped. It was a long story to tell.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he scoffed again, "I don't really care."

Kurama chuckled. "Well, reasons aside, we have to survive this place, right? There's only one way we can defeat him."

Always thinking. Always planning three steps ahead. That was Kurama.

Yatsude's fists burst through the wall, exposing their hiding spot. It was now or never. In sync as if they had been doing this for years, Hiei, Kurama, and Miwa circled and attacked Yatsude in formation. Yatsude, confident that he could see through their plan, continued deflecting blades and streams with his hands. Then, the trio circled behind Yatsude, who bent backwards into a near handstand to watch them run. Hiei, with his impressive speed, vanished from sight, and Yatsude flipped over, slamming his feet into the ground where Kurama and Miwa were standing just moments before.

Righting himself up, Yatsude bellowed, "I see you!" and punched Hiei right in the face.

Or at least, he punched what looked like Hiei. Upon contact, a mannequin dressed in Hiei's clothes shattered to pieces, and finally, Yatsude was caught off guard. Miwa, who remained in Yatsude's blind spot, split her streams to wrap around each of Yatsude's wrists. The split streams were still attached to Miwa's arms, making her closely resemble a squid, and she pulled them hard, forcing Yatsude's arms backwards in a tight grip. Yatsude groaned in pain, tugging at his bindings as best he could, but Miwa's grip held fast, trapping him just as she had done to Hiei's leg just hours ago.

Yatsude's hands were the key. The darker skin of his hands and wrists were tougher than the rest of his body, so he always used them to block their attacks. The skin of lighter shades was bulkier with muscle and raw power, but it was their best chance to land a killing blow. Now that Miwa forced his hands out of the equation, Hiei and Kurama were free to attack with their swords. With two fell slashes, Kurama sliced through Yatsude's stomach, and Hiei cleanly decapitated him. Yatsude's body, now in three separate pieces, fell to the ground in a bloody mess. With his dying breath, Yatsude admitted two things:

Kitajima was still alive, and he had never eaten an Ice Apparition.

...Later, they found Kitajima in the basement of the factory; unconscious, but also unharmed. Kurama carried her out on his back, patiently waiting for her to wake up. Hiei and Miwa lagged a few steps, keeping out of her peripheral vision so there would be less to explain. Looking from afar, Miwa thought they almost looked like normal teenagers, as if they didn't just walk out of a decimated factory full of broken dolls and the corpses of humans and demons. Something about it was...pure; a moment in which no other person should intrude. Kitajima eventually woke up, when the factory was far behind them, but she was still groggy with sleep, assuring herself aloud that, "This is a dream, isn't it?" She nuzzled her head on his shoulder, smiling peacefully into his jacket. What else but a dream could allow such a happy circumstance as this?

"...Yes, it is a dream," Kurama answered quietly, discreetly opening his palm. "And when you wake up, you won't remember any of it."

Pollen from the forgetfulness plant floated past her face, carried gently by the wind, and Kitajima only had time to whisper, "...smells good" before falling asleep again.

"Is this how you wanted it to end?" Hiei asked Miwa, keeping his eyes forward.

Miwa didn't look at him either. "...I don't know what you're talking about," she said, strongly aware of the obvious lie. She swallowed hard, trying to force down a feeling that she did not want to confront. It felt too complex to express in words so simple as "relief" or "guilt," but it must never shake her resolve to fight again. There was no place for it in her life right now. Of that, Miwa was certain.

Hiei huffed and quickened his pace, pulling away from her to talk to Kurama instead. He too noticed the pollen, and Kurama assured him it was better this way. Hiei looked at them both, asking for their names, and Kurama and Miwa promptly gave it to him, as if to signal that their adventure was over, at least for that night.

It was over a year later, when thinking back on that whole adventure, that Miwa suspected Kurama actually had feelings for Kitajima. She never confirmed it, nor did she want to, but it was obvious in hindsight, because the way he looked at Kitajima had always been different. His hesitation in rejecting her, his anger when seeing the severed human leg, or even the purity of their last moment together before she forgot everything. Maya Kitajima wasn't a bad person, and if Shuichi Minamino were a normal boy, they could have been happy together. But life was not that simple, and there was a reason Miwa had felt so threatened by her.

Miwa only understood all of this, even in hindsight, because she somehow developed feelings for Hiei, of all people. It was slow and gradual, perhaps in the same way feelings for Kitajima wormed their way into Kurama's heart. The realization came upon her out of nowhere, and Miwa distinctly remembered thinking, "Oh, so this is what it's like."

It took a long time to plan for their grand heist into the Spirit World Vault, and for the first time, Miwa reported her investigative findings to someone else. To Hiei, the orchestrator of their return to crime. She learned a lot about him in those days. Of course, Hiei never told her anything about himself; it was all things she observed slowly over time. Kurama had said Hiei reminded him of her. They both changed themselves so drastically, to the direct detriment of their power, and left the world they knew to accomplish a specific goal. Miwa quickly latched onto that idea, wondering how far it would go.

There were differences, obviously. He was brash, arrogant, and never had a kind word to say. No expressions of gratitude or appreciation no matter what Miwa reported. She could bring him the best news after days of reconnaissance and the most positive reinforcement would be an arrogant smirk. But to be honest, it wasn't the first time for her; a certain fox treated her the same way once upon a time. Miwa had long since learned to read between the lines when dealing with people like Hiei, and what she learned there caught her attention the most: even below the superficial differences, they were nothing alike. Hiei was driven. Independent. Intrinsically motivated. Everything he did was for the sake of the goal he set for himself. No one could make Hiei do anything he did not want to. Even his crazy plan to steal the Artifacts of Darkness was a means to an end for finding "Yukina." And Miwa quickly realized that whoever "Yukina" was to him, Hiei was not following any sort of oath or pledge to find her. It was his plan, based on his own desires. "Yukina" probably had no idea he was looking for her.

Something about that fascinated Miwa. Kurama was just as driven and goal-oriented, but the way Hiei went about was so different. While Kurama was meticulous in planning, Hiei forced his way through the shortest path, no matter what crazy things or demons got in his way. Hiei's Jagan Eye couldn't find Yukina? Then he will create an army of low-class demons to help him search. Hiei wants the Artifacts of Darkness to make his army? Without question, he will break into the most guarded vault of Spirit World to get them. Nothing was too big a hurdle for him; Hiei would push through no matter what, and Miwa loved watching him do it. His confidence was contagious, and it ignited something in her that she had long since forgotten. She didn't know what it was, not at the time of their big heist anyway, but it made her want to follow him, different from how she followed Kurama. She wanted to see what he would do. She wanted to witness how far he could go on just his willpower.

Kurama asked her about it once, not long before they joined Yusuke Urameshi in Maze Castle, because obviously that clever bastard noticed everything. When she explained this feeling, he told her it was like when humans love and admire athletes or movie stars. It was a strange way to frame it, but it worked for a while, until she thought, "Oh, so this is what it's like," the day Hiei found Yukina at Tarukane's compound. Seeing him find the girl he was looking for at long last, or the kindest expression she had ever seen on his face in two years of knowing him. The final confirmation of what she had already known to be true; that there was more to Hiei than his rude attitude, and Miwa wanted to know it all.

That was when Miwa finally understood the feeling Hiei's confidence ignited in her. It was her own sense of self rekindling, something she didn't even realize she had lost. She wanted to know about him, not because Kurama asked her to or to help accomplish something, but simply because she wanted to. After single-mindedly pursuing one goal for years, a goal that was dictated by another, Miwa had not selfishly pursued something without a sense of duty or responsibility for a long time. With Hiei, she wasn't Miwa, the loyal follower to Youko Kurama. She wasn't Shirai's accomplice, or even the young Water Apparition dancer girl. She was just...Miwa. Just herself. Only herself, and she liked that feeling whenever he was around.

Maya Kitajima was the first person to make Miwa question her oath, to make her fear an "after" would come before her death. At the time, Miwa did not know what it would look like. How would she manage the next Maya Kitajima to appear in Kurama's life? What would she do if the loyal follower was no longer needed and had to face the "after?" To Miwa, Hiei was the answer. The example. The ideal. He was freedom. Maybe they were similar in their background, or how they both crippled their abilities to come to the Human World, but Hiei did not fear the infinite. Never did. Never would. He charged right through it, making his own path until he found what he wanted. Hiei accomplished anything and everything on his own just because he wanted to.

He was who Miwa always wanted to be, if only she could get over her fear and take that first step into the infinite.

{00}

Of course, Miwa couldn't tell Hiei any of that. The embarrassment alone might kill her.

Instead, she fell silent as she recounted the times between then and now, and what they had overcome so far. Hiei did stop his determined trek through the forest, waiting for her to elaborate on the first time she reconsidered her oath, but Miwa never did.

Still, Hiei was smart. "Oh, that human girl," he said, confirming aloud more to himself than with her. "If you were jealous, then you should have said something."

Jealous…?

Miwa remembered that complicated feeling that she forced herself to repress; not quite "relief" and not quite "guilt." She remembered Tasaka throwing that eraser across the classroom, and how she had insisted she wasn't like him. Jealous. She didn't throw erasers, despite a small part of her wanting to, but that complicated feeling was definitely jealousy, even if she refused to call it that at the time.

"In the end, I didn't have to," Miwa said. That whole ordeal was over anyway.

Hiei stared at her. "You're extremely naive."

He was about to turn away and continue charging through the forest, but Miwa stopped him with a question that, even to her, felt like it came from nowhere, "What comes 'after' for you, Hiei?"

"...What?"

It wasn't too often she caught him by surprise. "Raizen will probably be dead in six months, and everything is going to change." Miwa pointed at his left forearm. "Are you going to keep training with Mukuro? Even if you lose your arm again?"

Hiei looked thoughtfully at his arm. Maybe he had completely forgotten about it and was surprised she noticed the scar at all. He almost looked impressed, or perhaps Miwa was just projecting her own desires again. Miwa had wondered for a long time what Hiei would do now that he found Yukina and was no longer on probation. She thought he would disappear the moment a chance to return to Demon World presented itself. She thought that the moment he did, they would never see him again. Her only hope for reunion would be if he either needed their help or became an enemy. Hiei was free, and he wasn't afraid to step into the infinite to find anything he wanted. It worried her, but there was nothing Miwa could do to stop him.

"Because…" she heard herself adding, the words coming from an unexpected pool of bravery, "there are idiots out there who would fight if it meant saving your life, too."

Hiei paused. "...Idiots like you?"

"...I'm probably the worst."

The pool of bravery had no more words, but it thankfully did not empty, or this might kill her, too. Miwa had no intention of ever telling Hiei how she felt. He would never accept it, even if he did show interest in that sort of thing. She was too set in her own ways, too trapped in her own cycle. That was the only "Miwa" he had ever known. Someone like her didn't deserve to reach out her hand to touch "freedom." As long as she continued honoring her oath, the most she could do was talk around her feelings to show how much she cared. It was fine if he didn't understand her meaning; the opportunity alone was more than enough.

Hiei stuffed his hand back into his pocket. "I'm going to get stronger," he answered, simple and resolute. "I told you, I'm using this chance for all its worth."

He did not even hesitate to give his answer; he was already carving his own path. And on that path, he found his way here, with her, helping her find Fuura even though nobody asked him to.

"Yeah," Miwa said, surprised to find herself smiling again. "That sounds like you."

Hiei huffed and turned away. They had to get moving; he didn't want to stay in this forest any longer than he had to, and Miwa gladly followed. The sunlight had all but disappeared, and the sounds whispering through the trees in the darkness above their heads were eerie and held the potential for danger, but they would get through this place. Hiei's Jagan showed them the way, and even though they were on opposing sides in the impending war, Miwa was confident they could overcome anything that finds them in this forest.

Then, when they find Fuura, maybe Miwa could even decide what may come "after."

---

Notes: I've wanted to include the Two Shots story for so long, and it finally found its home here. The events and dialogue are a blend of the manga and the OVA. I also really wanted Hiei and Miwa to have a solo adventure together, and luckily the canon timeline has an opportunity for it. And of course, ample opportunity for relationship exploring. Putting Miwa's feelings into words was particularly difficult. I hope it was enjoyable and sheds light on their dynamic. The next chapter will continue Hiei and Miwa's solo adventure as they search for Fuura, and I'm excited to delve into what they find.