Hiei watched, wide-eyed as the wind blew around her closing in on Kageri's restrained form. Her claws grew longer and sharper. Her tail was more sleek and became a pure gray. Her hair grew down further and lightened to a silky silver. Her ears flickered. Her once round blue eyes were now sharp and gold. They narrowed at Karasu. With newfound strength she grabbed his arm and stabbed her claws through the skin. At once he dropped her. Before she hit the ground she jumped back from his reach. As she was away from his grasp she stood fully. Lightly she placed her hand on the metal mask she still wore.
Hiei, who was still sitting from when Karasu kicked him, stared up at her back. Her tail waved slowly back and forth, and somehow it seemed that her clothing had become black baggy pants and a sleevless shirt.
Dreadfully slow Kageri pulled the muzzle away to show a vicious smirk. She chuckled softly. Karasu looked at his arm. "Now do you see? You're much stronger in you're full demon fomr, Kageri." Kageri chuckled some more. "Yes. I've known that all along. What you don't realize is that I know I'm foolish. But never you mind that. For death awaits you in you're oh-so-near fate."
She dug her heel into the ground. Quickly she kicked off and sped forward. Her arms crossed over her chest. As she connected with Karasu her claws ripped apart his chest. Karasu stumbled back, just in the way for Kageri's drop kick.
By that time Hiei had stood. Karasu pulled himself off the ground and stared into Kageri's golden gaze. Knowing he couldn't win, Karasu threw one of his bombs at Kageri. The smoke clouded her vision and she coughed. By the time the smoke settled Karasu was gone.
"Well, well, Kageri. It looks like I got your little friend. You should have been watching you back." Kageri's eyes widened as she turned around to see Karasu holding onto Hiei. "Damn! Didn't I tell you to run?" Kager started to run, but froze.
The glint of a silver dagger was pressed to the tender flesh of Hiei's neck. "Hiei..." whispered Kageri. With a flick of her wrist something was thrown. Karasu easily dodged it, sending it into the ground. "I can't say that was a good try, foxy." Kageri glared at Karasu. He landed lightly, still holding onto Hiei.
"Hn." Hiei said. He rammed both of his elbows into Karasu's gut. Already having been wounded there, Karasu fell to one knee but pinned Hiei down roughly. "Stop resisting, dragon. All I want is my fox back." Kageri smirked. "I was never your fox. Hiei, stay still!"
Karasu's eyes widened as the earth behind him rumbled. "Rise my friend of doom!" Kageri shouted. She jumped into the air. Suddenly red roots of bark erupted out of the earth and towered high into the air. With ease Kageri landed on a branch and gazed down at them. "Meet my popular friend, the Death Tree." Kageri grinned evilly. The tree's mouths opened to reveal its sharp fangs and acid drool. "It's hungry." Karasu's eyes widened slightly. He stood up and forced Hiei up in front of him. "You want to feed it with your little lover?"
Hiei blinked. 'Lover?' he wondered. His eyes narrowed as he felt the dagger up against his throat. "Hn." he said. Karasu gasped as the dagger began to melt in his hand. Hiei pulled away, unsheathed his sword, and slashed across Karasu's chest.
Kageri watched amused as a mouth of the Death Tree lunged for Karasu. Acting fast, Karasu threw a bomb into the mouth and got away. He threw another bomb at Kageri and disappeared in the smoke. When she smoke blew away Kageri was kneeling on the ground, the Death Tree gone, and Hiei sheathed his sword.
She sighed and leaned back. Hiei looked at her. "This is your true form?" he inquired. Kageri stared at him. "It is. I am a demon thief known as Kageri Kurama." Hiei's eyes widened. Now that she mentioned it... she looked exactly like Kurama's Yoko form! She chuckled, "Don't look so surprised. But it is true, I'm the twin sister of Yoko Kurama. The crimson vixen you met is merely a form which I have locked myself in. I'll soon have to revert back to that form for my strength grows weak."
Hiei stood there besides himself. Kurama had a sister!? 'Right now she did look somewhat tired. That Death Tree must have taken more energy than it seemed.' Hiei thought. Slowly he walked over to her. She smirked.
"You must be the man that I've fallen in love with, otherwise I wouldnt' have been so worried about Karasu getting ahold of you. Heh..." Hiei's eyes widened. Kageri laughed. "Don't look at me like that. When one had lived as long as I, you don't care about the petty things if you don't have to." She grinned. "You now know everything there is to me. I'm Kageri Kurama the infamous thief, a fox demon who's immortal of age. Once a slave of Karasu but now free, the younger sister of Yoko Kurama. Latest new is that I have a weakder form of a crimson vixen and I've fallen for a certain Koorime. Heh.... not much to me is there?"
Hiei sat there silent and not believing everything that had just happened but believing it all. Kageri sighed softly and said, "I understand if you can't say those things back. After all there's so much difference between us. And there's so much more, things that hold me back from gaining what I want."
Kageri closed her eyes. Hiei's eyes widened. "Kageri!" Her spirit energy, it was gone, all of it! He couldn't even sense a life-force in her anymore. He dashed right next to her and was just in time to catch her limp form. "Kageri!"
There. A small force but still there. Hiei couldn't say why he cared, why he didn't drop her and leave. He didn't know why his heart didn't feel its usual cold, why his hands were trembling, or why he was chanting 'don't die' in his head.
"Hiei..." Hiei raised his head up from her shoulder and opened his eyes. A pair of innocent, round, blue eyes were staring up at him. Kageri's hair had returned to the dark crimson. She was now as he had first seen her.
"Kageri!" Hiei exclaimed. She smiled weakly. He blinked confsued. "I couldn't hold that form long enough." she whispered. Hiei stared at her. She looked somewhat peaceful, there in his arms. "Hiei...'
"Hm?" he mumbled. She blinked a few times and opened her eyes wide then closed them halfway. "You're cheeks.... are red." she said quitely. She was right, his face did feel warm. He started to ask what that meant but her eyes had closed. "Kageri," he whispered. He said no more after seeing the peaceful breaths of a sleeper. Gently he picked her up and scanned the area.