The girl stood with Hiei before the king in his throne room. Empty but just the three of them and two of his guards. By the looks of him though, he did not need much of a guard. A beast of an elf. Hiei doubted somewhere down the line of his ancestry was completely elvish. Then again, ancestry could be deceptive as the wolf healer had discovered for him.

The girl had insisted she stand here with when the king read his mind, kept telling him it would be over fast. The king stood before him, trying to intimidate him with his size. Bigger men than him had fallen before him, and fallen hard. The king stood before him, ready to read his mind.

The king spoke in his deep voice, "just think about those moments and only those moments. It will be over quickly."

Hiei bit back a snarl, not wanting to go through it. He closed his eyes, feeling the king's hands come to either side of his head. He blocked the king from seeing anything else, only allowing him to see those few minutes.

Kastura. Fancied himself Lord Kastura, with all his wealth, but lacking any claim to any title. High rising son of a merchant elf. An electric elf, quite a rare breed. His wife, Cho was older than him. Part of his wealth had even come from her. It was a bit of a marriage in name only, as Hiei saw from when he started on the fake lord's household guard. Girls, even a few boys came and went in and out his bedroom. Hiei regretted letting him buy him out of the pits. The feeling of not knowing if this was your last fight was preferable to the looks the fake lord gave the lot of them.

Hiei blocked the king from seeing anything else from that short tenure bar that fateful night. The fake lord had been drunk, drinking well into the night. His wife had retired to bed long ago. He had sent off any other guards beyond Hiei to bed as well. Hiei had cursed his luck that he was stuck being the only guard.

The fake lord sat drinking, goading Hiei into drinking with him. Hiei drank one glass only, hardly wanting to give into the fake lord's pressure.

"So I've heard something of you," the fake lord slurred out at him. He sank absurdly in his chair, one leg over top the arm rest. "You've entertained a man a time or two."

Hiei blocked the king from seeing those time with a few willing men, and two willing women. The king tried to push for it, but gave in and moved back to the fake lord.

Hiei had only grunted under his breath at the fake lord. Too drunk, too vain, and too skinny for his like. "Apparently you're a fighter and a demon in more ways than one, more places than." This fake lord was getting on his nerves. He debated about telling off this fool and running off down the road. That would be preferable to serving him.

Hiei stayed at his post on the wall. The fake lord rose up from his chair clumsily. He reeked of the wine he had been drinking. He stumbled his way before Hiei. Hiei had been warned when he started that this could happen by the other members of the household guards. He was not about to let it happen to him.

The fake lord grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand, and reaching between his legs with the other hand. The other hand never got there. Hiei seized him by the wrist with near bone crushing force, staying his hand. He gave him an insolent look, challenging him.

Then he felt a nasty shock on his neck, making his shoulder seize up. He slipped his way out the fake lord's grip. He stood between the fake lord and the table he had been sitting at. He loosened his sword in its sheath as a nonverbal warning. He would be gone before sunrise now, he had promised himself. Being on the run would be better than being under this fool.

The fake lord rose to the challenge, instead of backing down. He drew his own tiny sword that hung on his hips. He could hardly use it worth a damn, it was more decoration than anything else. He still stepped forward towards Hiei. He had a murderous look on his face, pride wounded. He shoved Hiei against the table only because he was allowed to. He pinned his head down to the table by the neck, sword tip resting against his gut.

Hiei laughed to himself. So weak, so pathetic. All he could manage when given no resistance. He heard the fake lord grumble drunkenly above him. The fake lord's hand come to rest on his throat, a pulse of electricity shooting through there. He laughed again. Weak and pathetic sober, even worse drunk. He had killed more capable men in the fighting pits when he first started.

Hiei kicked the fake lord's legs out from under him, easily shoving him and his decorative sword forward and off of him, to the ground. That was all he wanted to do, that was all he had intended to do.

He swore under his breath when he saw what had actually happened. The fucking fool had somehow manage to lodge his own damn sword in his own damn gut when he fell. Hiei knew from the sight of the blood and the smell of the wound it was fatal. That was when he ran.

Hiei kicked the king out of his mind after that. He did not need to see anymore or know anymore. The king stepped away from him, a somber look in his eyes. "Seems like someone was lying," he stated knowingly. Both men were themselves sweating and panting. The two shared an unlikely companionable look.