The Romance of Kiki and Kurama
From the pen of
The Fan-Girl From Hell
Looking around her, Kharistahl smiled. "This isn't really where I wanted to have this discussion, boys." She waved her hand and they found themselves in an elegantly appointed chamber liberally strewn with huge, fluffy silk-covered pillows. The manacles and implements of torture were gone and they were comfortably - if skimpily - attired in silk robes that didn't quite close above mid-chest. Between the pillows and the robes, they barely dared move for fear that something might slip loose. Kharistahl, apparently had no problem with that, but then again this was her bit of reality. Small tables appeared next to them with a variety of delicacies and glasses of what appeared to be wine.
"There, now. Isn't this more comfy?" The two exchanged a look, but didn't say anything. "Oh come on, lighten up. I brought you here to offer you a compromise, not to try and convince you to accept a proposition that you have already proven is unacceptable." She sighed and reached out to the little table next to her and picked up the glass. "Drink up, boys. This is going to take a while."
Resettling themselves so that they could reach their own glasses took a moment, but when they were ready, Kharistahl stood up, looming over them. "I propose a toast, gentlemen. To an agreement between the three whereby everyone gets what they want." Kharistahl drained her glass while Hiei and Kurama, glancing at one another, each took a small sip.
"What's the matter, boys? Too tart for you? Too sweet? Or are you just a little leery of my toast?" Kharistahl laughed chillingly. "Not that you really have much of a choice. Oh, and Hiei, I wouldn't be expecting to be rescued from this particular dream by being awakened when you are late for your next stint of trying to undo my handiwork. Time works on MY schedule here and an eternity in the Nightmare Realm can last only an instant in the waking world. So, I say again. Drink up, boys. You are going to be here a while."
"So what exactly are you proposing?" Kurama asked, sitting slightly forward on the cushions. Kharistahl seemed a bit distracted as he shifted and actually licked her lips when the robe slipped open a little lower.
"Ah. Yes. The Proposition." Kharistahl sputtered a few seconds before returning to the subject at hand. "The proposition is simply this. I have come to the conclusion that all I really need Kurama for is his brilliant mind. That lovely little body WOULD be an extra perk, but if he wants to save that for his little twit, that's all right, too. If you agree, I'll save Hiei the rest of the work unravelling it and just pull it free from here."
"Interesting." Hiei appeared slightly uncomfortable in spite of his stony face. Perhaps it was something about the way he held his body so stiffly. "And where do I fit in here? I must assume that since you have generously included me in this discussion that you intend for me to play a part in your little farce."
"How insightful of you to notice. Yes, I do have a place for you in my regime. Coincidentally enough, it is similar to the one Kurama is not interested in. I still need a consort, and I also need a general to lead my forces. You were practically unnoticeable when last I had Youko visit, but after your performances in the Dark Tournament and then the Makai Tournament, you have almost as great a name. And you aren't terribly hard on the eyes, either." Hiei felt rather like a side of meat as Kharistahl leisurely eyed him up and down and chuckled thoughtfully.
"So, what you are proposing," Kurama interjected as Hiei tensed himself to leap at her, "is that I help you take over Makai-"
"Actually, I have reconsidered that. If I have the two of you at my side, I think we can conquer Makai, The Human World AND Spirit World. That silly pest Koenma has burned up all that power he had been storing for all those centuries, leaving the Human World and Spirit World relatively defenseless. With Kurama to plan out the campaign and Hiei to lead my armies, there's no limit to what we can do."
"And you plan to get around the problem of the Kakai Barrier between Makai and the Human World how?"
"Silly boy! I don't have to. I can enter the dreams of anyone I want to and convince them that resistance is futile and my friends have a much longer life expectancy than my enemies." She smiled benignly at them, as if they were a pair of especially well-behaved lapdogs. I'm starting with you two because I KNOW you can be more help to me than anyone else. Besides," her face took on an ugly tint, "if you don't Kiki will never be in her right mind again and Hiei won't be far behind."
"Hn. That's not fair. What if I decided to work with you and HE decided to be stubborn and noble about it?"
"Sorry, Hiei. It's a package deal and it's an all or nothing package this time. Besides, if you can convince him to help you can remain close to him for at least a few more centuries, during which he'll get so bored with that powerless twit he's so eager to protect that you'll get all those nasty little fantasies of your own out of your system."
"You-"
"Don't get ugly, Hiei. You may be a telepath, but remember. I've seen your dreams. And you are a very inventive little fellow. Why else would I offer you this position?" The last word was uttered in a very breathy and suggestive voice. "Have you ever considered the possibilities of a three-way relationship? Or if he doesn't get bored immediately, a four-way relationship?"
Hiei and Kurama glanced quickly at each other and then toward opposite corners of the room. They both seemed lost in thought. Kharistahl helpfully brought forth a large chunk of crystal and pointed into it's depths. "See what can await you if you agree to help me."
The images contained in the crystal were varied, sordid and graphic. In addition to Kurama and Hiei, Kharistahl figured largely, as well as Kiki and another blond girl that neither had met. She, at least appeared to be human. Her face was slightly familiar to both Hiei and Kurama.
"Who is that other girl?"
"Do you like her? I thought you might. Her name is Missy and she, along with her twin, Faith are a pair of humans I acquired a while ago. It's so much easier to construct a dream if you have a second consciousness to work with." Again Kharistahl uttered her chilling chuckle. "As a protege, she leaves something to be desired, but as an innocent she works well in nightmares. Her sister is a bit more interesting, but unfortunately a trifle harder to control."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"I wouldn't want to ruin all my surprises. You are just going to have to wait and find out."
"Kharistahl, the points you make are significant," Kurama said slowly, sipping his wine and gingerly leaning back. "But what makes you think the three of us can conquer three worlds, starting with Makai?"
"I have ultimate faith in your strategic intellect and I believe that if that is combined with Hiei's war-like capabilities we would be unstoppable."
"We would have to remove Kiki from custody in Spirit World before we could even consider this an option. Once we started, there would be no safe place in any of the worlds for us until long after we had succeeded." Hiei stared at Kurama aghast. Was his friend actually considering accepting this plan? Or was he just thinking aloud to gain them time to figure a way out of this predicament?
"Of course. For the first part of the plan, the best place for you two would be in the Human World. You could plan the strategies there and pass them on during your sleep. That way, no one would know of your involvement until it was too late to do anything about it." Kharistahl's smile was triumphant and she seemed to not be aware that Kurama hadn't actually said he would do it.
"You seem to have done a little planning of your own."
"Well, since the Dark Tournament and then the arrival of Kiki asking for help, it HAS been slowly brewing. You don't really think I waited this long for no reason, do you?"
"No, but I wasn't about to ask."
"Of course not. Besides, the Kakai Barrier has never been the real problem. All I have to do is convince that foolish young human, Kazuma Kuabara, that that Urameshi pest is in trouble and needs him and he'll chop me all the holes I need. And it is useful that he gets strange, prophetic dreams now and again. Although I could wish that Urameshi was somewhere other than Makai for this. But, we can't have everything we want, can we?" Kharistahl stared at the two for a moment. "So, are you with me or do I start ripping peoples' minds apart?"
"This is a significantly different offer than the one you originally made, Kharistahl. Why is that?" Kurama wasn't answering the question directly, but Hiei wasn't sure he wouldn't eventually.
"Because you are far too stubborn to know when you are well off. But that's neither here nor there. Quit stalling and answer the question."
"I'm afraid I will need some time to think about it and consider my options. Decisions of this magnitude should never be made on the spur of the moment or without careful consideration." Kurama stared at Kharistahl defiantly. "I would ask that you give us a few days to get Kiki away from Spirit world and into a safe place, if such a thing exists. Then we can negotiate in truth. You cannot handle the various responsibilities of running all three worlds alone, so we need to think about proper divisions of the spoils. Rather than being minions, Hiei and I would have to be your partners. Not equal by any means, but still..."
"Oh, I understand your reservations. And I do sympathize. You have three days, but I will be watching you carefully and if you try to betray me, I WILL make your lives, sleeping and waking, intolerable." Kharistahl watched them suspiciously for a moment and then smiled. "In fact, it might be a good idea to show you an example of what COULD happen if you try to betray me." Her laugh echoed through the room again and everything got dark.
Hiei and Kurama were standing back-to-back, weapons in hand, facing outward in a world of dark, menacing mist. They could see only a short distance around them and the mist kept shifting and forming itself into shapes that melted away when they tried to focus on them. They knew there were enemies out there, but they couldn't tell where.
"Hn. At last, something familiar."
"Yes, it would appear Kharistahl has made a thorough study of us over the last few years. Can your Jagan get any kind of a fix on whatever is out there?"
"There's nothing out there except-and you'll pardon the pun-nightmarish images and-Damn!"
"What is it, Hiei?" Kurama's answer came not from Hiei, but from the feminine shriek of terror that followed almost immediately.
"Suichi, Help me!"
"That sounded like-"
"-a trap."
"That, too, but if Kiki's consciousness is here, I have to find her."
"Of course you do. Just wait for me to get a fix-" before Hiei could finish his sentence, the female voice cried out again and Kurama was gone. "Damn!" Standing alone in the mist didn't seem to be a really good idea, so Hiei raced off in Kurama's wake. At least they had had enough sense not to release the mental connection between them and Hiei would be able to track him, no matter how far ahead he got. And he was faster than Kurama, so there should be no problem catching him. He thought.
As Hiei raced through the mist toward his friend and Kiki, his connection seemed to falter. Suddenly he could heard a feminine shriek of terror and then Kurama's voice called out in what appeared to be pain. Then his connection was broken. When he reached the spot where his senses told him his friend had last been, there was no sign of him beyond an ominously large pool of blood. According to Hiei's nose, it was human, therefore, Kurama's.
Oddly enough, the thought settled Hiei into a state of calm. He was well aware that this was still a nightmare and that Kharistahl was in control of the events. That being the case, she wouldn't do Kurama any real harm because she wanted him to work with her. Hopefully that would apply to himself as well, but it was never wise to trust Kharistahl at her word. Hiei froze and scanned the mist around himself in search of his friend's essence. Or anything else he could latch onto as a directional beacon.
He heard Kiki scream again and saw that there was a trail leading away from the bloody spot in the same direction that the sound came from. He chose to follow the trail slowly through the mist, katana at the ready. After a short while, he thought he saw a female form flitting through the mist ahead of him. There was still no sound and his Jagan could not confirm what his eyes were showing him. As he proceeded, the form resolved itself into a blond girl wearing a white dress. Then it changed to two.
As Hiei approached, the girl glanced back over her shoulder, giving him a flash of startled blue eyes. Then she began to run. Hiei's predatory instincts were awakened and he pursued the girl though the mist. It was ridiculously easy to do, as the girl was only human and Hiei was more than capable of great speeds when he felt the need. The girl was almost to the door of a small cabin when Hiei caught and tackled her. She went down with a startled shriek and then lay there quivering and sobbing in terror.
The door of the cabin opened and another girl stood there, appearing to be exactly identical to the terrified creature Hiei had captured. Except this one wasn't terrified. She flew toward Hiei and her eyes seemed to take on a reddish tinge just before she slammed into him and he bounced away from the pair. Hiei was on his feet again before she could do more than check to ensure that the first girl was unhurt, but he stayed where he was. There was something odd about this.
The first girl murmured something to the second and was helped to her feet. Then the pair turned to stare at Hiei. "What do you want?" the bolder of the two asked. "And why did you attack my sister?" Hiei found himself staring in shock at two pairs of accusing blue eyes with nothing coming to mind to say in his own defense.
Eventually, Hiei's brain started working again. "I am sorry. I mistook your sister for someone else. I did not mean to attack either of you."
"It's OK, Missy. He's just one of Lady Kharistahl's silly dupes." She spoke soothingly to her sister while glaring at Hiei over her head.
"B-b-but Faith, he attacked me the other night, too. I recognized him. He's the one that knocked me down and made me skin my knee and tear my favorite dress." Her head came up and her eyes, tearfilled and confused, stared into his. "Did you mistake me for someone else then, too?" She accused.
"Unfortunately, Kharistahl has chosen to drop you in my path when I am both angry and in a hurry. Again, I apologize. For frightening you. Both then and now. I would like you to know, however, I would never harm an innocent child like yourself intentionally."
"Hnh. As if we haven't heard that before. From nobler and gentler men than yourself. Usually just before they threw themselves on her swearing they couldn't live without her." Faith was still glaring at Hiei and her gaze had taken on a slightly scarlet hue that was most distracting. Hiei was caught by it for a moment before his Jagan opened and glared back at her.
"Nice try, whatever you are, but I am relatively immune to those types of compulsions. There are only a few ways to get me to do something that is not exactly what I want to and that's not one of them." Hiei's contemptuous dismissal did not seem to upset the girl, but she murmured something to her sister and sent her scurrying into the house.
"My name is Faith. My sister is Missy. And you are...?"
"Getting very tired of these games of Kharistahl's. I am Hiei. I believe you were referred to as 'interesting and more difficult to control' by your Lady Kharistahl. And I begin to see why."
"Hiei...now where have I heard...-" Her eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed to slits. "You're here to take Missy away from me!" Her body tensed and her hands curled into claws. Her fingers even seemed to sharpen to talons. "You can't have her. I have not protected her for over 100 years to see her handed off to some stupid demon as a pacifier until Kharistahl has everything under her control!"
Hiei caught a glimpse of blood-red eyes and fangs as he dodged the girl's first attack. Whatever she was, she was fast and-as he caught a glancing blow to the side that he rolled with to reduce the impact-strong. Rather than counter-attacking, Hiei concentrated on keeping himself in one piece till her insane fury dissipated. A few minutes later, as he was becoming winded and she seemed to not be fazed at all, that idea was tossed out in favor of simply leaving the area. Fleeing, as it were. Backing away, he found the way blocked by a stone wall.
"Oh no. Lady Kharistahl has said that if I can eliminate you, Missy will be spared and we will both be freed from her service. Prepare to die, demon!" Hiei waited until the very last instant before she reached him, and then dodged out of her path. He stepped behind her and neatly pinned her to the wall with his body. Faith struggled a few seconds. Having no leverage and darned little range of movement, she finally stilled.
"What did Kharistahl say would happen if you did NOT eliminate me?"
With a sigh that sounded at least half sob, Faith went limp against the wall. "She said you would become one of her consort's high lieutenants and that Missy would be given to you as a plaything. Missy is a true innocent, and the thought of what could happen to her then..."
Hiei released the girl with a sigh of his own. He waited till she turned to face him before speaking. "Faith, I have no interest in your sister. Or any human for that matter. I am just trying to keep my friend Kurama from being forced into something that can only end with all of us being killed. Or Kharistahl in charge of the waking world. Or both. Frankly, I'm not sure which is worse, but if Kurama decides he needs to go along with her, so will I. We're partners, he and I, and would do almost anything for each other. Kind of like you and your sister."
"Then why do you keep attacking Missy?"
"I'm not really attacking Missy. My friend Kurama has a girlfriend who is a blond and is also being possessed by a minion of Kharistahl's which I have been trying to eliminate. Kharistahl keeps dumping me into nightmares where I am pursuing the girlfriend to avenge some damage she has done to Kurama. I go racing off through the mist like an idiot and wind up on top of a girl I think is her. I flip her over and it is Missy."
"Oh." Faith studied him consideringly. "So Lady Kharistahl wanted me to try to eliminate you so she could have her minion keep its grip on this Kurama person's girlfriend to make him-Wait a minute. Kurama? As in Youko Kurama? As in the last piece Lady Kharistahl needed in her puzzle to achieve domination over the world? Her intended consort?"
"Ummm...yeah."
"But he's dead. Almost twenty years now. How could...?"
"Reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. Anyway, where have you been the last 5 years? Since he was revealed in the Dark Tournament and the Makai tournament I didn't think anyone was unaware of his return."
"Missy and I are in the human world. Lady Kharistahl says we have to keep Missy here so she can retain her 'air of innocence' and it is easier for me to guard her here where people mostly don't believe in vampires."
"Vampire. Perfect. And Missy is...?"
"Asleep. Perfectly preserved, but in an enchanted sleep. Lady Kharistahl never explained HOW she was going to keep Missy from aging for the 100 years that I was to work for her. I suppose I should have asked." Faith looked faintly disgruntled for a moment, then her attention fastened back on Hiei. "Just because my time working for Kharistahl is nearly up doesn't mean you get a free shot at my sister, though. I'm still going to protect her for the rest of her life."
"I suppose Kharistahl wants you to get rid of me so she can have a clear shot at Kurama," Hiei muttered, half aloud.
"Don't know. Don't care. She just said that if I don't get rid of you, she is going to give Missy to you for a plaything, and that I cannot allow."
"And if I told you I don't have any use for a human girl, especially one so..." Hiei shuddered briefly as he searched for the appropriate word. "Innocent." The weight of disgust in his voice left Faith with no doubts about his sincerity.
"Is there something wrong with my sister being innocent?" Faith's eyes started to glow, again. Hiei sighed as the girl prepared to charge him again. Obviously, he was going to have to find a way to stop her or convince her he was sincere. Neither thought particularly appealed.
Hiei virtually vanished before Faith's eyes. He reappeared just to the left of directly behind her. Before she could react, he had his left arm wrapped around her waist, pinning both her arms. "I will tell you once again. I have no interest in your sister. Nor do I care one way or the other about her innocence. Or lack thereof." The last comment made Faith growl and squirm harder to get loose. He squeezed her one more time until she stopped. Then he set her back on her feet facing away from him. By the time she spun around, he was behind her again.
"I can keep this up all day," Hiei said from behind her. As she spun toward the sound of his voice, she glimpsed a lightening of the horizon. She ignored it. "All right, maybe day was a bad choice of words." He vanished from below her claws and reappeared on the far side of the clearing. Next to the door of the cabin.
"I don't want to have to hurt you, Faith." He dodged seemingly effortlessly to the side as she dove for him. Leaning his back against the door in a show of bravado, he seemed to be examining his nails. "Perhaps we should invite Missy to play, too." Faith growled and started toward him just as the door he was leaning on was flung inward.
Hiei was only off-balance for an instant, but that was just long enough to see the cast-iron skillet that slammed into the side of his head and sent him flying. He seemed bonelessly unable to move as Faith complimented her sister. Someone really needed to remind Kharistahl that nightmares are not supposed to feel so real. Or at least, they're not supposed to hurt so much.
"Nicely done, Missy. You're getting really good with that thing."
"Yes. If only I could cook with it, too."
"Hey, you can't have everything."
"That's true, I guess." Missy looked at the slight dent on the underside of the skillet and then toward where a corresponding lump was forming on Hiei's head. "Are you going to get rid of him before he gets back up?"
"Have you forgotten that this is another of Lady Kharistahl's nightmares? I can't actually DO anything to him here. But Lady Kharistahl did say that he and his friend are currently living in the Human World. They shouldn't be too hard to find. That way I can eliminate this one and Lady Kharistahl gets her desired consort and we get our freedom."
Hiei dragged in a ragged breath and levered himself into a sitting position. "You do realize that I am right here and can hear every word of your plans."
Faith walked over and wrapped her fist into his spiked hair, using it as a lever to lift him to his feet and steer him into the cabin, where she planted him none too gently in a chair. "I don't care what you hear, because you are going to give me your location in the Human World and Lady Kharistahl will keep your consciousness here while I go there and get rid of you. She promised that once I accomplished that, she would release Missy from her spell and we can be free."
"And you believed that? I thought you said you had worked for Kharistahl for a hundred years. After seeing her work for that long, you are going to take her word on something that will lose her two of her favorite play-toys? You must be dumber than you look." Hiei let his head roll with the punch, but it still hurt. Maybe he should try expressing himself a little less clearly. Not that that would be hard. The wench might have broken his jaw.
Faith looked over Hiei's shoulder and he followed her glance to where Missy stood threateningly holding her skillet aloft. "Just sit still and give me the information I want. Then I'll go and eliminate you as painlessly as possible."
"Right. And you expected that to work because...?" Hiei was starting to recover and was seeing no more than six of the girls.
"You have no choice. You tell me now and I will handle things quickly and painlessly, or my sister does a tap-dance on your head with her skillet till you give me the information and I will make it feel like nothing you could ever get in the Nightmare Realm."
Hiei was about to retort again when he realized that he had quite literally sunk INTO the chair and was now completely immobile. He pulled surreptitiously at his arms and was rewarded with no more than a fraction of an inch of slack. He wasn't going anywhere. So he relaxed into the chair.
"It'll never work, you know." He was trying his best to look relaxed and calm, but he was also searching frantically for a way out.
"And why would that be?" Faith stared at him a moment while Missy went over to the stove and put the skillet down.
"Because your Lady Kharistahl can't get Kurama out of where his physical body is without me. Alive and undamaged." Hiei smiled slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I am the only one who knows exactly where I have him stashed and how to open the locks and release him without flooding the chamber and killing him in the process. You kill me and her 'Chosen Consort' will either die of starvation or, if someone actually figures out his location, drowns when they miss a single tiny step opening the cell. Either way, she loses. And now that you've made her intentions clear to me, I don't know that it isn't safer for all of us to leave him right where he is."
The two girls stepped away from Hiei and held a hurried conference, taking turn glaring at him from time to time. Finally Faith stepped forward. "I have to go find out what Kharistahl wants to do about this information. Missy will stay here and keep an eye on you. You aren't going anywhere, but just in case, she will keep the skillet handy. I'll be back soon." She looked at her sister, who just nodded to her, and then left.
Hiei watched the nervous Missy putter around a bit. Then he returned to trying to find a way out of the chair and this predicament.
Kurama was not having a much better time of things. Knowing it was a trap and keeping himself from falling into it were two different things. He lost track of Hiei almost as soon as he dove into the fog toward Kiki's voice. Yet another scream led him further onward and then suddenly, he plummeted off the edge of a steep embankment. He was reminding himself that this was still a nightmare when he landed. Flat on his back. On something very soft.
Opening eyes he did not recall closing, he found himself back in the room with all the pillows. But this time he was alone with Kharistahl's crystal. Looking toward it, he got a glimpse of Hiei being smacked on the side of the head and flying across an open space to lie in a limp heap on the ground. Then he saw a blond girl walk over and drag him by his hair, first to his feet and then into a room where he was tossed into a chair that seemed to grow around him.
Kurama couldn't hear what was going on, but he saw Hiei smile smugly at his captors and them huddle together talking. Then one of them left and the other one fiddled around the room, being careful not to get close to Hiei's chair.
"Ah, I see the girls have taken a liking to your friend. They just can't seem to let him go." Kurama turned, unsurprised to find a huge bed now dominating the majority of the room and Kharistahl stretched indolently out on it. Meeting his glare with a smile, she patted the spot next to her in invitation. When he did not approach, she pouted unbecomingly and the walls closed in around the bed so that there was no other space in the room. Kurama sat down, cross-legged against the furthest bedpost from her.
"I thought you had given up on these silly games. You know I no longer find them entertaining. And it certainly is NOT the way to gain my cooperation."
She stared for a moment into the piece of crystal in her fist before answering him. "I know. You just squirm so nicely when in certain situations. I just can't help myself." She waved one hand and they were seated across a table from one another. "Better?"
"It would be if you kept your feet to yourself." He stated, removing the offending body part from where it had been creeping up his inner thigh. Kharistahl sighed, but made no further incursions into his space. "Now just why are your minions thrashing Hiei? I thought they were supposed to be a gift to him, not the other way around."
"Oh, it's like I said. This is what is going to happen if you two choose not to work with me." Kharistahl reached out and picked up a full wineglass that had not been there a moment before. One also appeared at Kurama's elbow. "By the way, your little friend has informed MY little friends that not only is he the only one to know your exact location, but if someone should try to open it other than himself, the chamber will flood. Either way, if he is not the one to let you out, you die. Is there any truth to this? Or is he just trying to distract us from his attempts at bad behavior?"
"I can't really say," Kurama took a sip of wine reflectively. "Aside from the fact that I have never known Hiei to lie-or at least not to ever be caught in a lie-I was unconscious when he put me there. I don't even know where the door is. Knowing Hiei, though, it's probably true."
"Well, that does put a bit of a crimp in things," she murmured, almost to herself. Then she smiled at Kurama. "You won't believe what a ridiculous thing he has managed to believe."
"Oh? Then you aren't planning on having him eliminated so that you can keep Kiki as a hostage for my behavior and force me to become your consort?" Kurama was slightly gratified to see that he had timed his question so that Kharistahl was just taking a sip of her wine. He had only rarely seen a person spray wine from their nose and found it added a lightening touch to the proceedings. Kharistahl, naturally was not as amused, but the innocent stare she received in return from her accusatory one made her doubt that it was intentional. Which, of course, it was.
Coughing and sputtering a few moments, Kharistahl recovered quickly. "Now, I ask you. WHAT gave you an idea like that?"
"Kharistahl, we've known each other too long to lie. Besides," Kurama watched her from the corner of his eye as he took a small sip of wine, "it's what I would want to do if I were in your shoes. Hiei has been interfering in an otherwise practically infallible plan both by removing your parasite from Kiki and by keeping me locked up and unavailable. Off-hand, I would say that right now HE is the greatest single threat to your accomplishing your goal. Or am I wrong?"
"You always were too smart for you own good." Kharistahl tossed the rest of her wine down and stood. "But then that's what I like about you. So. You want me to leave both Kiki and Hiei alone and you will come and work with me?"
"I never said that."
"No, you didn't. You are very good at avoiding commitment one way or another in this affair. Perhaps you don't trust me."
"Would you, if our positions were reversed?"
"Perhaps not, though I am aware that once you give your word you never go back on it. Now, what do I need to do for you to agree to work for me?" Kharistahl leaned across the table, her robe open far enough to leave little or nothing beneath it to the imagination, and asked her question in a sultry, breathy voice. Kurama stared for a moment in shock and then calmly looked away and finished his own wine.
"Honestly speaking, I am not sure I would ever believe any promises you made. Especially regarding people I am fond of. Your reputation for double dealing and betrayal speaks for itself." Kurama stood up and turned away from the table, contemplating the misty surroundings. "On the other hand, you also have a deadly reputation for destroying anyone that DOESN'T fall in with your plans, so I don't really want to directly deny you my assistance."
He turned back to face her again. "Nevertheless, you did promise me 3 days to make up my mind and I am going to use them to contemplate the entire situation. You will have my answer at the end of those three days and not before. On that I give you my word. And you are right. I never have and never will break my word."
Kurama watched with interest as the color in Kharistahl's face went through a number of startling color changes. He could almost hear her teeth grind in frustration as he smiled blandly to her, pulled a rose from his hair, set it on the table and turned and walked off into the mist.
"I'm not going to pounce on you and have my way with you, you know," Hiei said casually as Missy scuttled nervously around the room. "I really don't have any need for a human plaything, no matter what Kharistahl told you. Or your sister."
Missy looked nervously over her shoulder at him but didn't reply. Hiei sighed. Whatever they were using to hold him in the chair, there was nearly no give to it at all. Missy watched him warily as she sidled past him to peek out the door for the umpteenth time. "I really don't eat pretty girls like you for breakfast." Missy flashed him a quizzical glance and he grinned at her. "I save them for after my dinner. They make wonderful desserts." Missy gasped and returned her stare to the area just outside the door. She wished Faith would get back.
"You do realize I am only kidding, I hope." The look this statement got him made Hiei wish he had not been teasing the girl. He sighed again. He, too, was wishing Faith would get back. If only to give him someone to converse with besides this little mouse. He also wondered how much time had passed in the real world and when he would be awakened from this nightmare. The boredom was going to drive him mad if nothing else did.
Missy slithered against the wall as far from Hiei as she could get back to the stove where she had something slowly simmering. Hiei's nose twitched as a familiar fragrance wafted to him before she returned the cover to the pan. "Ah Missy?" She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Please tell me what delicacy you are preparing for your sister and yourself."
"Oh, it's not for us. Lady Kharistahl told me that if I got the recipe just right that it would allow us to control whatever demon ate it."
"Really?" Hiei's nose twitched again and suddenly he was glad he was held immobile in the chair. "And did Lady Kharistahl tell you exactly what that would do to a demon that ate it?"
"Not exactly," Missy looked uncertainly from the pan to Hiei. "She just said that once you tasted it you would do whatever we wanted you to do in order to get more."
"I see. I suppose it would do me no good to warn you that, if I am smelling what I think I am, that substance, besides being the most addictive thing ever known to demonkind, has one or two other ...side-effects that you might find difficult to deal with." The odor was getting stronger and Hiei found himself squirming uncontrollably in the confines of the chair.
"I don't believe you." Missy spun toward him and placed her hands, one of which still held a wooden spoon covered in the rich, dark substance, on her hips. "You're just trying to scare me so I won't make you eat it."
"No, not really," Missy had the brown gooey stuff poured into a flat pan and had set it on the counter to cool. She turned and smirked at Hiei's nervous and yet drooling face. "Missy, there is one MAJOR side effect of...that...stuff..." Hiei's voice trailed off as she waved the spoon under his nose. "Please, Missy. You don't know what you are doing."
"Of course I do. I am following Lady Kharistahl's instructions to the letter in order to make sure you do exactly what she wants." Missy smiled at him. "This way, Faith won't have to kill you and we can all get just what we want."
"Oh...You want to-" Before Hiei could finish his question, Missy shoved the spoon between his teeth. All he could think at that point was to thank all the stars that this was a nightmare and not the real world, because Missy made some really, REALLY good fudge. He distantly felt the inevitable reaction as the chocolate entered his system, but somehow he couldn't force himself to care any more.
Missy watched, slightly alarmed as Hiei's eyes glazed and rolled back in his head. She pulled the spoon free, but not before every speck of fudge was gone. Perhaps she had given him too much? Not enough? Something was not right. His gaze focused and all three eyes fixed on her. She felt her body move forward of its own volition and then found herself bent down and Hiei's mouth fastened onto hers voraciously. The shock of the moment caused her eyes to close and she pulled away. Backing toward the counter, she reached for the plate. Perhaps more fudge would make him more tractable.
Hiei watched through a reddening glare as Missy grabbed the plate and cut the fudge into small pieces. "Yes, bring more." He managed to growl. Missy stopped for a moment, but she HAD been assured that the fudge would make him calm and obedient. Perhaps he just needed a little more. Carefully keeping her fingers from his snapping teeth, Missy slowly fed Hiei the entire batch. Toward the end, he seemed to relax a bit, so she thought that maybe all she needed to do once he had eaten it all was wait. That might have worked.
Once all the fudge was gone, Hiei gathered himself and put all his energy into getting loose. And then the unthinkable happened. Hiei generated enough heat to melt the chair from around himself. He grinned demonically at her and pounced. Missy squeaked, but with Hiei between her and the door and the counter at her back, there was nowhere for her to run to.
"Now you are going to see what happens to little girls who don't heed the warnings given to them," he chortled, dragging her out of the cabin and into the woods. Missy struggled to the best of her meager abilities, but Hiei was so much stronger she really never had a chance.
"I thought you weren't going to pounce on me and have your way with me," she asked tearfully, struggling futilely against him as he dragged her further into the forest.
"That was before you fed me chocolate," he replied, leering down at her. "You should have listened. I did try to tell you. I knew you weren't going to appreciate the side-effects."
"B-b-but...Lady Kharistahl...you can't..."
"B-b-but nothing. Lady Kharistahl lied to you. And I not only can, I am." The mist seemed to be conspiring with Hiei and darkened around them as he proceeded to demonstrate how well he could. Missy was shocked, but not necessarily displeased by this demonstration. She did, however think, just before she finally was allowed to drop off to sleep, that Faith was NOT going to be pleased.
Hiei sat bolt upright in his bed. He could still practically taste the chocolate and the girl in his mouth. He smiled for a moment, then reached mentally for Kurama to assure that his friend was still all right. Standing up and stretching, he felt more relaxed than he had in a VERY long time. Then he scratched at an itching spot on his cheek. Hiei stared on horror at the small brown flakes his fingers pulled loose.
He was now officially in trouble.