Holy crap, I'm popular! That's nine reviews for this story alone in the past four/five days. There won't be a bonus chappie this time, I'm afraid, because we are getting close to the end (sniffles) and I want to make this as suspenseful as possible.
MizuiroHiei: And yet, you sound so uncertain. n,.,n Joke, joke.
Kitsune Kit: 1. So they're the ones who wrote that ending theme song, huh? I was wondering. 2. No, just a handy little online dictionary good for words but not phrases. And whatever I've picked up.
Darkspirals: I think I can translate that. n,.,n Hope you enjoyed reading this chappie first!
KittyKat: Glad you joined us! Sorry about 14 beig confusing; it was originally supposed to be the end, but I decided that Tournament had been too easy and kept going. And yes, from the minute Kohaku fell asleep on the boat to when Kurama woke her up, it was entirely a dream.
Magus784: How could anyone not want to glomp Hiei? He's the paragon of bad-ass bishie-ness! And so damned cute, too! You'll get your wish about Aislin in a chapter or so.
Nura: Yeah, Kohaku seems to be the new favorite abuse-toy, doesn't she?
KuramaIsFine: 1. Woot for us foxes! 2. Sorry, fresh out. You'll have to wait for the next shipment. Try about two years. 'n,.,n'
Chapter 17
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"Damned bitch! Sneaking up on me like that! No bushido! No honor!" Hiei blinks and smacks himself in the head. He's in Kohaku's dreamscape again, this time purely unintentional. Maybe he fell asleep…"Heeyah!" What the hell? Curious, Hiei makes his way through the thick foliage of this new dreamscape and finds Kohaku in a clearing practicing her katas.
"What are you doing, baka ookami?" he queries in a mild tone. Kohaku stops with a blink, turning her head towards his voice.
"Oh, hi, Hiei. I'm venting before I start healing so I don't wake up mad." And she goes back to practicing. Hiei sits down on a convenient stump and watches, enjoying the sight of someone who loves his Art moving to it so flawlessly. A bright pair of bronze eyes are suddenly in front of him, startling him backwards off the stump. Giggling, Kohaku helps him back to his feet and dusts him off with a merry smile. "Sorry, fluff-head, couldn't resist."
"Stop calling me fluff-head." Inward groan as the puppy-eyes are turned on.
"Hiei, do you really want me to stop calling you that?"
He grumbles a bit before replying, "At least in public."
That bright smile returns. "Okay, I'll try to call you Hiei in public, fluff-head." Knowing that that is the best he's going to get Hiei lets it slide. When his attention is again recaptured by Kohaku it's because she's halfway to the summit of a decent-sized foothill slowly blooming with climbing vines and broad flowers. A flash and he walks beside her, still unable to shake the feeling of failing her.
"Kohaku…"
"You know, Hiei, it was my own fault for not paying attention. So don't do what you always do and blame yourself." He regards her in surprise.
"How do you know what I'm going to say before I say it, hm?"
Her smile turns impish. "Because you're predictable that way."
"Hn!" Kohaku laughs all the rest of the way to the summit.
----
When Hiei returns from an uneasy lunch, Kohaku is not in her bed. A flash of fear before he spots her with her nose pressed to her window, staring out at the drowning rain. "Baka," Hiei growls at her, bonking her lightly on the head with a fist. "You should still be in bed."
"I finished healing a few minutes ago," is the absent reply, with no reaction to the affectionate tap. "Felt like watching the rain."
With the feeling of something wrong making his head-fur start to fluff, Hiei waves his hand in the limited space between her eyes and the glass. No reaction, not even a blink. "Kohaku, are you all right?"
"Peachy," she responds, her tone dream-soft, distracted. "I love the rain."
"Wolf girl, I want you to turn around and actually look at me."
An ear-twitch is all he gets. Concerned, he gently tugs on her shoulder to turn her, with only a slight murmur of protest. But her face stays turned to the window. A hand under her chin carefully forces her face to him, to reveal clouded peridot eyes rimmed with wolf bronze. Blank eyes. By the touch of his hand on her chin he can feel that she doesn't have a fever, and a delicate brush of telepathy reveals no foreign thoughts within her mind. What is going on?
A dreamy smile curves her lips and she rises, catching Hiei's hand in hers and pulling him towards the door. "Let's go walking, Hiei. Please?" Unwilling to let her go anywhere without him now, he nods but convinces her to wait until he's gotten them both cloaks from his room. Thanks to the odd change in his height over the past six months the cloak Hiei gives her fits perfectly--with their hoods pulled up it's impossible to tell which one is which.
Walking out into the living room Yusuke and Kuwabara stare at them with wide eyes. Kohaku is still very much out of it, and all Hiei offers in the way of explanation is the single word of 'out'. Ignoring the door in favor of the window, Kohaku drifts towards the large panes, once again entranced by the sight of the rain sheeting down the glass.
"Dude, what's up with Kohaku?" Yusuke asks, staring at the zoning wolf demon.
Hiei decides to take a page from his ward's book. "You're asking me like I know the answer. Kohaku! Come!" The brown-haired girl drifts her way back over to Hiei, who leads her out the door.
It's a matter of minutes before the two are outside in the rain, Hiei drawing his cloak closer to him against the damp chill. The ookami girl, on the other hand, pulls her hood back and tilts her face to feel the rain on her cheeks. Unlike her dream from the day they arrived, she asks Hiei to run with her through the growing storm.
Hiei nods and they take off into the forest, cloaks billowing out behind them. His companion's face is joyous despite the hair plastered against her face, her body bent low to the ground as they race among the trees. Hiei swears she's getting faster and smaller during their run; when the cloak slides off her shoulders he sees why.
Instead of a human-bodied girl there's a chocolate-brindle wolf galloping silently beside him, tongue lolling over white fangs in a grinning jaw. They skid to a halt when they run out of ground, the land falling away just ahead of them into a roiling sea. Hiei gazes out towards the horizon as the wolf steps to the edge, throws her head back, and howls long and serene. The fire apparition standing beside her nearly falls over when the howl is taken up by another voice below them, and then another, and another.
Hiei leaps back as lithe bodies colored grey, white, black, brown, tan, and the many shades thereof surge over the cliff's edge, gathering around a bouncing Kohaku. Garnet eyes watch as yips, sniffs, and tail-wags are exchanged, soaked bodies rubbing against each other in greeting. Through it all, not a single tingle lances through the link he shares with Kohaku.
At last, a brindled blonde male with a coat that would be glorious if it wasn't glued to his skin by the rain steps forward, butter-yellow eyes gleaming with good humor. A moment later and the Thief-King Ikazuchi stands before him, soaked to the skin but smiling and giving Hiei a respectful bow. "Greetings, Jaganshi-san. Fine weather, isn't it?"
"Hn."
"You haven't changed, I see. How are you getting along with my niece?" He bends to the side and strokes the top of Kohaku's head between her damp ears with another gentle smile. Her tail makes an odd squelching sound as it wags back and forth in the mud.
"Your…niece?" The rest of the wolves begin shifting into their human forms, though all of them show some sign of their blood by having some bit of pelt the same color as their own attached to their clothes somewhere. "Kohaku is your niece?"
"Mm-hm. Benjamin Piers is my brother, you see. I was beginning to wonder when his children would begin to manifest their heritage. Though I'd have thought this pup here would have felt the call of weather long before this."
"Explain, Thief-king." Hiei keeps his demand polite--for Hiei, anyway, and is rewarded with a faint chuckle.
"Perhaps we can wait for such things until after we are at the hotel? If I recall correctly, rain is not good for the health of fire-types such as you."
"Hn." Kohaku gambols ahead of the pack as they walk, snapping playfully at the bigger raindrops and sending up huge sprays every now and then as she shakes the excess water out of her coat. By the time they reach the refuge of the hotel lobby every single one of them--including a very unhappy Hiei--is soaked to the skin and leaving puddles on the marble flooring.
The group waits while Ikazuchi walks over to the front desk and speaks to the man there, coming back a short time later with a number of room keys. He calls out sets of four, naming room-mates and handing them their key-cards until all twenty are tucking the squares of plastic safely away.
"Jaganshi-san, I'll meet you in your Team's suite shortly--I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being wet. Little amber wolf, I want you to go back to your regular form and be warm and dry by the time I come calling. Clear?" A happy yip and he nods. "Good. See you shortly, Jaganshi-san."
As the guardian and his ward travel up the third elevator by themselves (the visiting pack had crammed themselves merrily into the other two) Hiei looks down at the female and frowns. "You didn't tell me that your uncle is Ikazuchi."
"Uncle William. And I didn't know you knew him, or that he's…is he really the King of Thieves? Mom told me stories about the Thief-King Ikazuchi and Uncle Will played the part in my dream a couple days ago, but is he really the Thief-King?" The wolf looks up at him with uncertain bronze eyes, and Hiei pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Yes, he is. He took over Yoko Kurama's gang when a hunter put him out of commission and has been running the Lair ever since. He's got the smarts, skills, and strength to back it up, too, which is why he advanced through the ranks so quickly, I'm sure."
"Oh."
"Hn. Nice to see you back to yourself, wolf girl."
"Did you have to pay ransom?" A raised eyebrow makes her elaborate. "It's a t-shirt quote. The print is newspaper cutouts that say 'I have kidnapped myself. If you ever want to see me alive again give me 10,000 dollars.'"
"Hn."
----
Fifteen minutes later Ikazuchi is ensconced in one of the living-room armchairs, curled around a cup of hot chocolate. Across from him sits an impatient (but dry) Hiei and a content Kohaku, both of them dressed in comfortable sweats and tanktops. Kohaku is sitting tailor-style with her weight supported on her hands tucked behind her ankles. Her hair is damp, but a towel has been draped over her head by an exasperated Hiei with the comment of, "You're leaving water all over the place."
For once, everyone else is off doing their own thing, according to the various notes left by the front door. Yusuke and Kuwabara have discovered that there's a large arcade in the basement of the hotel so Hiei is certain they won't be seeing those two until dinner. Kurama and Aislin are off strolling through the downpour, knowing that Hiei hates the rain and wouldn't have gone even if they'd stuck around long enough to ask. He still doesn't understand why they love being wet so much.
"Ah," Ikazuchi purrs, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and settling himself for all the world like an oversized cat instead of a canine. "Down to business. How have you been, my little jewel?"
Kohaku dimples at him, her wolf ears tilting crazily. "I've been fine, Uncle Will! I didn't actually expect anyone to show up at the Tournament, though, let alone you and Great-grandma Sango."
"Your great-grandmother is a formidable woman, Kohaku-chan. When she wants to do something, by all that's holy, she's going to do it. I'm just sorry we've missed most of your fights."
"Is that where you got that attitude of yours from?" Hiei inquires archly, giving the girl beside him a sideways glance.
"I guess so. I don't really know Granny Sango that well, we haven't been in contact much." A fluid shoulder-roll for a shrug. "You were talking about our heritage, Uncle?"
"Heh, heh, on topic as always, yes. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what I'm talking about, so let me explain. Weather manipulation, elemental forces run in your blood, at least the Blade-arm half of your blood, anyway. Your father is famous in the Demon World for tornadoes, while I, as Hiei and Kurama know, am lightning. You apparently are rain, seeing as how it's today's downpour was what awakened your demonic form. You're going to be quite popular, you know."
"Really?" Kohaku perks her ears straight forward with fascination, eyes glowing apple-green. Ikazuchi nods and chuckles.
"Indeed. Once you get a grip on this new facet, you're going to be in high demand as what the humans call a 'rain-dancer' during things like droughts and storms. You'll be able to summon or banish rain and its clouds at will, or at least that's what most of our other rain-callers can do. Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to do something different."
"You mentioned that you thought Kohaku would have discovered these abilities before this." Hiei narrows his eyes at the blonde-brindle male seated before him.
"That, too. The rare times I got to visit my family this side of the portal--and getting an A-class strength through a B-class portal is a trick, let me tell you--this one was always outside, no matter the weather. If I recall correctly, one of Kohaku's favorite past-times was jumping in puddles."
"Hn. Aislin told me that she uses a crystal to store enough power to travel and simply pulls the crystal behind her. Psyches the barrier into thinking two lesser-powered demons are using it instead of one very strong demon."
"I'll have to remember that," Ikazuchi comments, setting his empty mug aside and spreading his arms wide. "Hey, little sugar-wolf, don't I get a hug?"
Kohaku giggles as she bounces into his lap. "I was wondering when you'd ask, Uncle Will!" He gives her a quick squeeze and a hair-ruffle (pushing the towel down to her shoulders) before setting her on her feet and getting to his own.
"Ah, I'm getting forgetful in my old age." Hiei snorts. He thinks he's old? Try being nearly a thousand. "I'm going to head back down to our pack's rooms to make sure they're not wrecking the place, but I'd love it if you and your guardian join us for dinner."
"Dunno. Hiei?"
"Hn. Will your pack natter to me about things I don't care about?"
"Possibly." Ikazuchi shrugs. "We have a number of pups about Kohaku's age, and Grandmother Sango is somewhere around yours. Who knows what we'll end up talking about? Actually, Sousobo's been teaching the pups a bit of philosophy."
Hiei mulls this bit of information over for a few moments, then reluctantly nods. Kohaku squeals happily and hugs him before dashing into her room to emerge with some of the manga-books she'd packed. "I'm going to head down with you, Uncle Will! I want to meet my relatives!"
"Hiei?" To the fire apparition's pleasure, the Thief-King looks to him for confirmation.
"Hn, I hardly think she can get into that much trouble between here and your family's rooms. And if she does, you are already there. Anything above an A-class demon should have restraining seals locking their extra power away."
"Good point. All right then, my little jewel, let's head down. I'm sure your cousins will love you."
----
"--that is what it means to be a wolf," Great-grandmother Sango finishes in a surprisingly firm voice, presiding at the head of the long table the hotel's restaurant had prepared for them. Even Hiei has been kept fascinated by the deceptively simple creeds by which this clan lives their lives. The law which had so stood out in Kohaku's dream is the number one creed in every single honorable pack known to the Blade-arms.
'A wolf gives their loyalty lightly to no one. But once it is given that loyalty is absolute.' For a fleeting moment, Hiei wonders how he would have turned out if any of those in his old thief-band had been a wolf such as these people.
"Hey! Jaganshi!" That almost wistful feeling is swallowed by overwhelming irritation. Not a gods-be-damned moment of peace in this place! No rest for the wicked, a more wry side of him sighs. Turning, Hiei finds a rather tall, very bulky demon striding his way with a half-smile on his face. The irritation disappears--so this won't be a fight.
"Kiseki," he returns coolly, his trademark smirk bending his lips. "Out of prison already?" Beside him Kohaku slowly flattens her hackles, looking between the two conversationalists with mild confusion. The giant chuckles, rocks grinding against each other.
"Got bailed out by a mutual friend. Came t' see if'n you wanted to get inta a bit o' fun."
Exhibiting an indolence he doesn't feel, Hiei slouches down in his chair and gives the demon a more advanced version of his usual smirk. "No, I don't think so. I'm quite busy enough as it is, fighting in this year's Tournament."
"Oh?" The craggy eyebrows rise nearly to the shaggy mop of unkempt hair, the small red eyes alighting on the wolf girl favoring him with an unfriendly stare. "And who's this bit o' pretty?"
"This," Hiei says in a voice full of venom, "is my ward."
Kiseki pales and takes a step backwards. "Didn't mean harm, Jaganshi," he defends, "wasn't gonna touch 'er. No wise man messes with wolves."
"Hn. Didn't take you as a wise man, Kiseki. Enjoy the rest of the Tournament." Obeying the clear dismissal, Kiseki lumbers off without another word. Hiei turns to Kohaku when she lets out a short, disgusted growl.
"Feh. Lowlife."
An internal sigh that his ward still needs to learn manners. "Kiseki is a very dependable soldier, Kohaku, and one who has fought by my side several times. You of all people should know not to judge by appearances."
Rebuked, the chocolate-haired girl squirms in her seat. "I still don't trust him."
"Nor should you. He is, after all, a mercenary."
Understanding dawns. "Oh, so he was getting paid to fight?"
"Exactly."
"That was an impressive act you put on, Hiei Jaganshi," Great-grandmother Sango informs them from her seat. Despite the fact that she is nearly the same age as Hiei, who resembles more of a youthful eighteen with his new height, the ookami matriarch looks like an elderly woman nearing the end of her life-span. That apparent fragility hides whip-cord muscles and a razor-sharp mind (not to mention tongue) that can still trounce any number of her clan without a moment's thought. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have said you were an arrogant prick."
"You mean he isn't?" a familiar voice drawls from behind him, eliciting another sigh from our much-suffering kajihenge.
"Hello, snowflake." Slender, pale arms snug around his shoulders before Aislin comes into view, dressed in a flowing white wool gown that hugs her body to the hips before flaring out to the floor. Her long snowy hair has been worked into a French-braid, leaving those wine-hued strips free. Bigger, tanned arms echo the hug as Kurama comes around his other side, nodding to Ikazuchi on the far side of the table.
"We were wondering where'd you'd gotten yourselves off to," the red-head murmurs. "Imagine our surprise to scent Ikazuchi in our suite and wolf in the air on our return. This is nearly a fifth of Blade-arm, isn't it?"
"No, young man, it's not. It's barely a sixteenth, thank you very much." Sango's voice is acidic, but one eyebrow quirks when Kurama turns his bright emerald eyes on her in a startled gaze. "Well, as I live and breathe, is that Yoko I scent?"
"In the flesh, I'm afraid."
"What is it with family knowing everyone I know?" Kohaku mumbles to no one in particular, throwing her hands up in the air before propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands. Aislin chuckles and leans over, plucking a bit of salad from Kohaku's plate and crunching down on the crispy green.
"When you live for as long as we do, you meet very many people. Sango."
"Aislin. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes. I'm glad to see your clan's thriving so much. Just look at all these pups--most've 'em don't look older than Kohaku-chan here."
"And good fighters, all." None of the pups are paying attention by this point; they're too busy chattering with Kohaku about things like techniques, raves, anime, music, bishies--yes, even a couple of the boys are in on that subject, never mind that they won't think about taking a mate for several decades.
The two mixed-bloods stroll over to Sango and the adults' end of the table and start a chat about various things that goes so long that a waiter brings them a couple of chairs and a menu. The pack lingers over dessert until Kohaku suggests that she and the other youngsters go to the Lounge and rave for a while--a suggestion that is met with great enthusiasm, all of the pups bounding out of the restaurant before Sango can tell them yes or no.
"Ah, the enthusiasm of youth," Sango sighs as they watch the pups leave. "It's wasted on the young."
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Later on, Hiei goes wandering around the hotel in search of Kohaku so that he can be certain she'll be rested for the morning and the Semi-Finals. All the teams they've faced so far have just been the tip of the proverbial iceberg--from here on, the demons they face will be tougher, colder, with murder on their minds and death clinging to their skins. He searches roof to lobby and finds only the Blade-arm pack, rounding up the scattered youngsters.
One of the adults mentions that Kohaku had meant to fetch something from the Team's suite and hadn't come down yet--so he goes there. Stars only know where Yusuke and Kuwabara have gotten off to, but by the sounds of breathing Kurama and Aislin are already asleep in their room. All he scents in that direction is the extra heat/chill their bodies produce in slumber--he doubts they'd be so foolish as to engage in anything of a dubious nature while in close quarters with two human boys. Especially since that pair's revelry always makes him so damned itchy…
Shaking off that train of thought the fire apparition sighs and makes his way silently to Kohaku's room, cautiously poking his head in when he finds the door ajar. Kohaku lies asleep on top of her covers, curled on her side with that incredible mane of hers spread behind her. A silent smirk--Guess the healing and unlocking of her demon form took more energy than she'd thought it had.
He spots a notebook, the kind one writes quotes and such in, lying open on the corner of her nightstand. This, then, must be what she'd intended to retrieve. Curious as to what might be in the book, Hiei sidles over and tilts the pages so that the outside lights shine on them.
The smirk softens into a real smile. His ward seems to be a songwriter. Lyrics are scrawled on both pages currently visible, and he bets there are more filling the rest of this worn tome. The title of the song catches his eye, as does the designation beside it. 'Spirit of Fire (d/m)'? Silently picking up the book, Hiei takes it over to the window and uses a finger to mark his place while he checks the front page.
Kohaku's Quotes and Random Stuff. Read at your peril, ye who dare pick up this book. For those actually brave enough, here's a quick reference: (d)dream, (name)outside source, (m)mine, (r)randomness. No laughing. Hn. Little imp. Honor satisfied, he goes back to his mark and reads the words scribbled with what could be called haphazard neatness across both pages in full. (We already know the words so I won't bother rewriting them here.)
When he finishes, he fastens a surprised gaze on the sleeper. Is this about the two of them? The date of the lyrics is very recent, no more than a day or two ago--maybe this song was part of that dream she'd mentioned while getting off the boat. But wouldn't this song mean that--? A sound from the girl, the mumble of someone who walks the edge of awakening, sends him into action. The book is replaced and Hiei swiftly takes his place on her windowsill, tucking chin to chest and pretending to be asleep himself.
With another drowsy mumble Kohaku turns over and slips deeper into dreaming, pulling a blanket with her to cover bare arms. With an internal--and heartfelt--sigh of relief Hiei walks back over to her bed with an exasperated smile. Baka ookami, he sighs to himself as he uses one arm to lift the sleeper up enough to disentangle her from the bedding in order to tuck her in properly. Her subconscious has other ideas. Abruptly her weight shifts and, already unbalanced, topples Hiei over onto the floor.
Groaning at the impact of head on hard floor, the now-annoyed fire apparition attempts to at the very least sit up but is denied by the simple weight of Kohaku stretched across his torso and arms. The groan changes to a growl and he tries again. This time he actually makes it to a sitting position, but now Kohaku lies across his lap and pins his legs. Not certain as to whether or not he should be thanking or cursing the deities of luck and fortune for having Kohaku be such a heavy sleeper, Hiei levers Kohaku into his arms and somehow manages to get to his feet.
"Sometimes you're more trouble than you're worth," he whisper-sighs, this time succeeding in his efforts to settle the wolf girl under her blankets instead of on top, and turns to go. Something pulls him back in mid-step, winning a strangled gasp that results from Hiei biting back an undignified yelp, and sits him on the bed. Craning his neck around, he finds that Kohaku had caught his shirt-hem and pulled him back in her sleep, wrapping her arm around his waist when he'd gotten in range. "What am I, a teddy bear?"
"Mine," is the dreamer-mumble as Kohaku snuggles closer. Those berry-hued eyes roll in an expression of utter vexation at his charge as an attempt is made to reach freedom. No luck. Whatever her earlier 'cooperation', he seems to be stuck with her for the time being.
Kohaku's contentment seems to be contagious, Hiei notes as he catches himself yawning. He'd slept just last night, five hours in fact, the equivalent of a regular human or demon's nine or ten. So there's no real reason he should be feeling sleepy now. But, giving his dignity up as a lost cause--if either the detective or the buffoon finds him like this he'd never live it down anyway--he kicks off his boots and stretches out beside his charge.
Her grip shifts a little higher on his ribs and she scoots even closer, tucking her chin in the hollow of Hiei's neck and shoulder with a happy sigh. He swears she does this on purpose, just to see how far she can push him until he either runs or snarls at her. As sleep steals gently over him and his famous eyes drift shut, he mumbles to no one in particular, "Guess I am." And prays to whoever might be listening that it won't be the boys or a late-arriving Botan to rouse them come dawn.
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Sousobo: great-grandmother
Kiseki: (from several) Cornerstone