A/N:
lazy fat kitsune: lol, i like your user name. here it is, an update after a week. is that fast enough?
Birth stained Scarlet: yay, you're still here. yeah :cough: kuwa-chan will save the day. well, he'll make an appearance at least. i'm glad you're still reading this.
Katsume18: 'worth the long wait'? wow, you're really patient. anyway, i hope you like this chapter.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
It has been about three months since Kurama and Shuichi departed ways. Hiei kept true to his word and trained... almost nonstop. Shuichi couldn't believe how determined the fire demon was. It took about a week after Kurama's departure before Hiei could train seriously. The human was amazed at how fast the small demon could heal himself.
Two weeks after Hiei's injury, Hiei isolated himself completely and sought to strengthen his black dragon. Shuichi remembered how creepy it was to have a huge dragon devour half the ground he tried to sleep on. Hiei just told him to look for the ice maidens by himself and distance himself if he didn't want to be killed while Hiei trained. Shuichi took his advice and didn't see Hiei for two months. After that, he checked in occasionally to see Hiei pass out from his training. He would bandage his new wounds and then leave to find information on the koorimes.
Shuichi knew most of the jewelry traders in the Ningenkai because of Kurama. It hurt to see the traders because they asked where Kurama was. He only told them that he was on an errand from his former guardian and they told him everything they knew. The jewelry traders knew that if they didn't want their goods stolen, they would cooperate with him. There was also the occasional theft attempt when petty thieves would see Shuichi leave the trade shops. Shuichi would take care of them easily with his whip. After fighting off two groups of thieves who thought he carried expensive jewels, he realized that his training with Hiei had paid off. He was faster, stronger, and his hits were more accurate.
"I wonder when I'll see him again," Shuichi said to himself after the thieves have fled. He had traveled to many cities, both demon and human populated ones, and have found almost no traces of the ice maidens. Some stores sold hiruiseki, but wouldn't tell how they got them. Not even a threat that Kurama would visit could make them spill. Whoever Tarukane was, he was a stronger player in the Ningenkai than Kurama, which worried Shuichi a little.
He knew he couldn't return to Hiei with no clue where the koorimes were. He even looked for information from other demons, but no one has actually seen the ice maidens. Shuichi was about to give up when he decided to use a last resort. He headed toward demon territory and cautiously approached the fancy mansion. Most of the demons around knew who Shuichi was, but it wasn't them he was worried about, it was the owner of the mansion. He was another thief like Kurama; he wasn't as famous but just as good. If he wanted information about jewels, getting it from him would almost be as reliable as getting it from Kurama.
The youth hoped he was still in, and that he wouldn't slice his head off for coming back to this place. A servant greeted him at the door and welcomed him inside. That was a good sign, right? Shuichi cautiously followed, aware that at any time, the owner could order him to be killed. Why did he come here again?
"Shuichi," a calm voice said. He wasn't aware they arrived at the destination. He looked around the vast, grand room to see a figure by the large ceiling to floor window. He wasn't in his usual attire. There was no hat, vest, or straps on his arms. The demon was in a long black bathrobe, holding onto what seemed like wine. Wrapped around his other wrist was a red pendant. Shuichi looked around to see that the servant had left.
Kuronue turned around and looked at the human. He moved over from the window and stopped a few feet away from the human. He started to swing his pendant around his hand. He didn't speak but continued to look at the youth. Shuichi stayed still and tried not to reveal that something happened between him and Kurama. A whole minute passed without anyone speaking.
"So, what did Kurama send you here for?" the bat demon asked. Shuichi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"He wants to know if you've seen new hiruiseki on the market or in auctions anywhere," Shuichi said casually. The bat demon thought for a while before he replied.
"Those rare jewels?" he paused. "Now that you mention it, there has been a new wave of them on the auction blocks. It's strange, really. The ice maidens usually don't leave Koorime Island. It makes you wonder how so many new tears got into the Ningenkai," Kuronue wondered.
"So there are ice maidens here?" Shuichi asked. Kuronue looked at him with a frown. It seemed like the youth interrupted his thoughts.
"Someone has gotten a hold of a couple of ice maidens," Kuronue revealed.
"How do you know that?" Shuichi asked. Kuronue smirked at him like Shuichi should have been able to figure it out for himself. Oh well, now Kuronue could share his brilliant deductive reasoning with the human and put him in his place.
"It's really quite easy to figure out, Shuichi. Like I said, the koorime almost never leave the island and tears don't just roll out of that place. Someone would have to go to the island to get the tears. The island itself is impossible to find since it's shrouded in mist and fog somewhere in the sky. Even Kurama and I couldn't find it..." Kuronue said. It seemed like he was reminiscing for a while before he continued.
"The temperatures on the island are below freezing so whoever does make it to the island would have a limited time to either find the tears or capture a maiden. Even if someone managed to get a koorime off the island, it's very hard to get her to cry. So you can see why the new wave of hiruiseki is strange. Whoever is selling them has easy access to them. One maiden wouldn't be able to shed that many tears, even under torture," Kuronue concluded.
"So it's definite that the ice maidens are in the Ningenkai," Shuichi said to himself.
"Now you can answer my question. Kurama already has hiruiseki, so why would he want more? And now that there are more tears available, they're not as rare anymore. I don't see Kurama going after jewels that decrease in value," Kuronue said. Shuichi knew that he was caught.
"From the moment that you walked in here alone, I knew something happened between you two. Kurama would never let his precious kitten come near me again, especially since he knows how I feel about you," Kuronue said. Shuichi didn't respond, now regretting that he ever came here.
"And now that Kurama's not here to protect you..." Kuronue said as he drew out his sickle. Shuichi made a dash for the exit, but the bat demon easily caught him. The human took out his whip and tried to free himself from the demon's grasp, but Kuronue easily caught the whip and threw it aside. Shuichi was no match for Kuronue no matter how many weapons he had. Kuronue threw his blade at the human, which Shuichi barely dodged. This time, the human made a U-turn and tried to escape through one of the windows. Shuichi's legs carried him as far as they could go, but Kuronue appeared before the window and grabbed Shuichi's neck and lifted him up. The bat demon enjoyed choking the little brat.
"K-Kurama..." Shuichi weakly cried. This angered Kuronue and he dropped him onto the floor. The human wheezed on the floor and tried to get away again. Kuronue leaned down and grasped Shuichi by his shirt and threw him into a chair. Shuichi wondered what changed the bat demon's mood so suddenly.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Shuichi asked. Kuronue scoffed.
"Don't think I wasn't going to. However, Kurama would never forgive me if I did that," Kuronue answered. He turned around and called for his servant. The bat demon requested something and a few seconds later, the servant returned with something in his hands. He handed it over to Shuichi. The human hesitantly took it.
"I don't know how much these jewels or the koorime mean to you, but if you're willing to risk your life to get them then they must have more meaning than Kurama," Kuronue said. Shuichi looked at the little card in his hands.
"That's an invitation to the five biggest auctions in the world. If you search all of them, you should be able to figure out where all the jewels are coming from," Kuronue revealed.
"Why are you doing this?" Shuichi asked.
"I don't know why you're no longer with Kurama. I know you didn't betray him or hurt him because you would be dead already. But... I do know that for some reason, he cares about you and if I help you... he'd be happy," Kuronue said. Shuichi was confused because a few seconds ago, Kuronue tried to kill him.
"I thought you wanted me dead."
"That was a temporary lapse in judgment," Kuronue brushed off. 'Lapse in judgment? What if you killed me?' Shuichi thought angrily. Oh well, he was thankful to be alive and couldn't wait to get away from the unpredictable demon.
"Now leave before I change my mind and kill you."
X X X X
Shuichi quickly left the mansion and headed back toward Hiei. It was easy enough to find him because of the numerous trees that were missing. That would always be where the little demon was. Shuichi waited a couple of minutes to make sure that Hiei wasn't going to kill him while he was training. The human walked along several trails of scars in the earth until he saw Hiei meditating under a waterfall. It brought a smile to Shuichi's face because he never thought that was what Hiei considered training.
The water from the river drifted off in different directions thanks to the new cuts in the earth. Shuichi could tell that Hiei was getting stronger because the damage the fire demon made every time he got back seemed to be bigger. He was thankful that this time Hiei wasn't laying on the ground, tired from exerting his body too much. As Shuichi got closer to Hiei, his eyes suddenly opened and his body tensed as energy from his body erupted in all directions. Shuichi ran behind a huge boulder. Rubble flew into the air and the wind blew viciously against him. A couple of minutes later, dust fell onto the ground and the wind settled.
Shuichi slowly peeked around the boulder to find that the huge rock was reduced to something just big enough to cover him in a crouched position. He looked to see where Hiei was standing to see him with his eyes now closed and his body relaxed.
"W-What's wrong with you! You could have killed me!" Shuichi shouted and stomped his foot on the ground. 'That's twice in one day I was almost killed.' Shuichi thought. Hiei didn't respond so Shuichi took a step toward him.
"Don't move," Hiei said. Shuichi stopped, wondering if there was a demon close by. Then, the jaganshi leapt off the ground to land a foot behind the human. Right after he left, the ground he stood on crumbled. The area kept caving in and didn't seem to stop. Shuichi fell on his behind as he moved back and tripped. The ground stopped falling in mere centimeters from Shuichi. He gave a sigh of relief. The human then turned around to yell at Hiei.
"What was that? Did you not hear me approaching?" Shuichi yelled.
"You were never in any danger. I tried to divert my energy away from this boulder," Hiei said as he looked at the rock.
"Tried? And what if you couldn't? I would be a burnt crisp by now! Look at this place. There's a huge crater on the ground and there are no more trees! You turned this place into a barren wasteland," Shuichi exclaimed. He only stopped ranting because Hiei fell onto the ground.
"No, not now! Hiei, wake up!" Shuichi yelled. This always happened when Hiei drained all his energy. Shuichi shook him roughly knowing full well that he wouldn't get up.
"I should bury you in a grave..." Shuichi threatened. However, anything like that would be futile since Hiei would be able to get out anyway. The human looked down to see that he was dirty, covered in dust and debris. 'After all I did for you...' he thought. Shuichi let the demon go and went to the nearest town to buy a shovel.
X X X X
Several hours later, a fire demon buried neck deep in the ground woke up. Night had fallen and Hiei wanted to get up. This was strange, why couldn't he move? And what was this strange weight on his head? Hiei moved his head around, only to have a bird peck his ear harshly. Hiei wanted to strangle the bird but realized his hands were buried. There was a nest on his head. Hiei had gathered most of his strength back by now and shot himself out of the ground. He grabbed the stupid nest on his head and threw it on the ground. However, his hair felt strange. He pulled his hand through his hair only to find a sticky substance on his fingers. 'Bird poo?' Hiei thought. The birds tried to attack him but he turned them into roast poultry with his flames. Oh look, a free meal. Hiei ate the birds and threw their bones on the floor. He went to look for Shuichi.
The human was about a mile away in a natural hot spring. He missed taking a bath. The last one he took was in that inn six months ago. It felt so good to stretch out and let his muscles soak in the hot water.
'Hn. Serves you right, Hiei. How can you just pass out like that after you nearly killed me? I hope some demon attacks you.' Shuichi thought. He couldn't believe he was thinking about him when he was alone in the springs. 'It's nice that he's not around.'
Shuichi held his breath underwater for as long as he could and then came back up. It felt nice to be completely soaked in the hot water out in the open. He swam around for a while and played with the water, splashing some of it here and there. 'It's more fun when there's someone to splash...' he thought. He looked around and suddenly felt too exposed. 'I hope there aren't any perverts around...'
Shuichi didn't know but there was a demon that was attracted by his scent. A big orange ogre was watching him, crouched behind the big leaves of the plants and shrubs. Shuichi was rubbing his face with a towel and the ogre licked his lips. He hadn't had nice meat like this in a long time. His flesh looked so soft and tasty. How nice of his prey to clean himself for him to eat. The ogre was practically drooling by the time Shuichi was cleaning his hair. The ogre couldn't wait anymore and wanted to eat him already. He got up but a hand stopped him.
The ogre turned around to see a short demon standing by his side. What was this tiny demon doing next to him? The ogre shoved Hiei's hand off of him and showed him his club. He would squash this insect because the human in the water was his dinner.
"That's my prey, get your own," the ogre growled loudly. Hiei was going to kill him but a whip shot through the leaves, strangled him and then beheaded the ogre. He made a gurgling sound before his body collapsed on the floor and his head rolled around near it.
"So you already knew he was here?" Hiei asked.
"Do you really think I'm that oblivious? He's a bright orange ogre trying to hide himself behind green leaves. Besides, even if I didn't see the orange eyesore, I would have noticed him when he growled at you," Shuichi said. Hiei looked at Shuichi and then at the hot spring. Suddenly, Hiei started taking off his clothes.
"W-what are you doing? Just because I'm naked doesn't mean - " Shuichi started but stopped when Hiei jumped in the water and started rubbing his hair in the spring. He was just trying to get the bird poo out.
"What are you talking about? Who would care for a scrawny thing like you? I'm just trying to get this crap out!"
"Hmph! It serves you right for passing out after nearly killing me! You should watch how you use your energy. Any demon could have attacked you while you were out," Shuichi said. "And you should be thankful that I didn't put tar in your hair so that the nest stuck PERMANENTLY."
"Thankful? You put a sign over my head that said 'Passer-bys, please hit this unconscious demon as many times as you want.'" Hiei said. Shuichi crossed his arms and looked away.
"I don't see why I even keep you around," Hiei said as he moved closer to Shuichi and grabbed his arm roughly.
"Wait! I know where the ice maidens are," Shuichi exclaimed. Hiei loosened his grip a bit to see if he was lying.
"Well, not their exact location, but I know where to look. I had to get this from a tough source so you should be thankful I even have a clue where they are!" Shuichi said. Hiei let the human go. He was surprised that the human could find a clue about where his sister was when he couldn't find a trace for three years.
"How do I know you're not lying?" Hiei asked. Shuichi was offended.
"Why would I lie? I've been searching for three months. With the connections I have there's nothing about jewels that I can't find info about," the human said proudly.
"Just tell me what you found out," Hiei demanded. After all this time, how could Hiei not trust him? Shuichi moved away from Hiei to distance himself. Hiei was glaring at him like the information was the most important thing in the world. Shuichi sighed.
"I'm tired of this barrier of mistrust we have between us. I'll tell you everything about me and you'll see why I know so much about jewels and about the Makai. However, you have to tell me what happened to you three months ago and why we're looking for hiruiseki and the koorime," Shuichi proposed. Hiei took some time to think before replying. He wasn't used to telling something personal about himself to other people. He knew the human would ask why he wanted to find the koorime sooner or later. He wasn't going to answer, but he needed the information Shuichi had.
"Fine, I'll tell you why we're looking for the ice maidens but I won't tell you her name."
"Fine, then I won't tell you his name either," Shuichi responded. Hiei was confused but he would probably explain later.
"You first," Shuichi said.
"Why?"
"It's not fair. You can tell if I'm lying but I can't tell if you are. If I'm satisfied with what I hear, even if it is a lie, I'll tell you all you want to know," Shuichi said.
"And if you're not satisfied?"
"Then you can try to get the info out of me any way you want," Shuichi replied. Hiei thought it over and nodded.
Hiei told Shuichi about his birth, that his mother was an ice maiden and that his father was a fire demon. The ice maiden they were looking for was his sister. Hiei revealed that he had been looking for her for three years and that he had the jagan implanted to find her. Shuichi asked about the tear that Hiei carried with him. Hiei told him that it was the tear gem of his mother. The jaganshi told Shuichi what happened with Toguro. Shuichi suspected that Hiei trained so much because he wanted revenge. However, he found out that Karasu was tied into all this so the search for the ice maidens now interested him as well.
"What are you going to do when you find Karasu?" Hiei asked.
"Kill him," Shuichi replied. Hiei scoffed, but didn't say anything since it didn't matter if the youth wasted his life as long as he got the information on the koorime.
"Now you."
Shuichi told Hiei about being raised by a demon, a very strong one, and living a very sheltered life with him. He then told him how he met Karasu and the reason he ran away was because of that demon. He told him about meeting his guardian again when Hiei was injured. The human told Hiei that it was over between them and that he was now traveling to find himself and learn how to survive on his own.
The human then told the fire demon how he got his info. Shuichi told Hiei about Kuronue. When they first met, he was still with his guardian. Kuronue was jealous of Shuichi because he was so close to his guardian. Kuronue tried to kill him but Kurama got in the way and saved him. Kurama didn't kill Kuronue because they started their careers together and were old friends. His guardian couldn't forgive Kuronue though so Kuronue was shocked when he saw Shuichi again. He then told Hiei about Kuronue's deductions.
"Auctions?" Hiei asked.
"Yeah. New hiruiseki are being sold there. We'll be able to find out information about the seller."
"Tarukane. He has the ice maidens," Hiei said. Shuichi was stumped.
"Well, if you knew that, then why did you tell me to find info on them if you already knew?" Shuichi said, trying to reign in his anger. And he almost got killed for this...
"I don't know where they're being kept," Hiei said tersely. "Now that I know where to look, I don't need you anymore. Shouldn't you go back to your guardian? If it's Karasu you want revenge on, I'll kill him for you like I said when we first met," Hiei said.
"What's that? You're worried about me?" Shuichi asked.
"I just don't want your guardian to blame me if you die," Hiei said.
"No, I won't go back. I've decided that I'd rather risk my life and see the world than remain in that sheltered life. I'm just going to follow you until we find Karasu. After that, I'll leave you alone."
"Suit yourself," Hiei said. They both didn't say another word and relaxed in the hot springs. Shuichi was looking at the sky and Hiei was looking at him. He noticed before that Shuichi was beautiful and wondered how any demon could raise him to be so innocent. The youth's hair stuck to his skin and his porcelain skin looked beautiful in the moonlight. His crimson hair brought out his cherry lips and Hiei's eyes lingered on them for a second before moving on. How did he ever end up with him as a companion?
"Aren't the skies pretty? Shuichi asked. Hiei looked up to see the stars twinkling down at him. It wasn't that long ago that he once stared at the same stars from another world and was all alone.
"Yeah."
X X X X
Yukina was staring at the same stars in her prison cell miles away. There were burn marks on her arms but that wasn't what had made her cry. The human named Tarukane put her in a casket with powerful demon wards lining the inside and locked her in there for a week. It hurt more than she ever thought it would but she never shed a tear. Physical torture was nothing. Her body naturally healed from wounds.
The demon with the silver mask was the one who made her cry. He never hit her. Instead, he talked about all the things he had done to the demons he has met. The demon killed in gruesome ways and Yukina thought he would try that on her. It was fine if he killed her, she would rather die than make money for that greedy toad.
She grew uncomfortable with the other demon. He kept moving his hands like he was replaying what he did to the victim in his head. She could hear his heartbeat go up and that he was excited just thinking about his victims.
Then the raven haired demon moved on. He asked her about her family. She told him that her entire family was dead but he just smiled, though she couldn't see it. He then told her about his most recent target. He described him: his height, his red eyes, his spiky black hair with a white star-burst, his speed, and that he asked about hiruiseki.
"He had such beautiful eyes, like yours. You can't imagine how happy I was when I found him. He put up quite a fight, but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that. I'll tell you what I did to him after I got him on the ground. You see, he tried to shove me off him and clawed at my mask with his hands. Those arms were so troublesome, so I took his sword and pinned his arms over his head with it. He cried for the first time that night," Karasu stopped to chuckle. He then looked at Yukina. She had a bad feeling about this.
"Well, since he wanted to see my face so badly, I obliged him," Karasu continued. He only paused to take off his mask and show his face to Yukina. Her face showed signs of fear as she felt his youki soar.
"As you can see, I'm actually more dangerous with my mask off. Now where was I? Oh yes, the little demon pinned under me. He stopped screaming after a while but I wasn't done yet. His shirt was almost torn into pieces by our last battle, so I ripped the rest of it off. Now all that was left were those troublesome pants. He had two belts on but they wouldn't keep him safe from me. He tried to get away from me when I reached for his pants, but I just twisted the sword and he stopped squirming for a while. He was breathing so harshly and I hadn't even begun yet," Karasu stopped when he saw that Yukina covered her ears. He walked over to her as she tried to get away from him. He finally grabbed her and threw her on the table there. He took her arms and pinned them above her head. She tried to get free but she was powerless against him. He held her there as he continued his story.
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in girls. I just want you to listen to my story. Where was I again? Oh yes, I easily ripped his pants off him and I climbed on top of him. He couldn't stop breathing normally so I thought I'd help him by giving him a kiss. He only struggled for a while before he relaxed beneath me. He tasted like... a sweet meat. Anyway, he was completely naked by now, so I took the opportunity to explore his body. He had trained very hard and I wanted to praise his body. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. The muscles in his legs were very toned though. I could easily trace them with my finger. He tried to kick me this time, but I grabbed his thighs. You should have seen the look on his face when I had all his limbs immobilized. He squirmed some more, but it only aroused me. I pinned his legs to his shoulders with my torso and unzipped my pants," Karasu continued. Yukina was now desperately fighting to get him off. He held her easily and straddled her legs so that she couldn't fight against him.
"Now now, you knew this part was coming. There's just a little more. It's rude to interrupt when I'm trying to share with you. As I was saying, I finally unzipped my pants and I prodded him some more with my hands and fingers. I tried kissing him again but he bit me, so I bit him back on his neck. He gasp and moved against me. There was blood coming out of where I bit him and I drank it eagerly. It wasn't as sweet as I hoped, but it was still tasty. He cried and begged me to stop. I slapped him for his insolence. Demons shouldn't beg, it's unbecoming. But I forgave him because he looked so good under me. There was blood on his arms, his neck, and his lips. He looked good enough to eat, so I tasted him some more. I moved down and tasted his chest. I listened as his heart beat faster and faster. The little demon cried again when I bit his nipple and drew blood. His warm blood tasted good against his cool skin. All his cries were so arousing and I couldn't take it anymore. He only needed to bleed in one more place. So I pulled him toward me and -"
"Stop it! Stop it!" Yukina cried and there were tears falling from her eyes. Karasu frowned as the jewels hit the floor with a clatter.
"Aw, that's it? I was hoping I'd get to tell my whole story. Fine, then I'll just give you the abbreviated version." He moved closer until his mouth was by her ear and whispered.
"I fucked him harshly. Twice in the ass on his back and then once more on his knees with the hilt of his sword. He didn't seem fun anymore so I killed him by exploding a bomb by his chest." Karasu finished and got off of her. There was a new wave of tears after he finished.
"Ne, don't you still have a brother, Yukina-chan?" he asked. She stayed on the table and didn't move.
"Aw, did I traumatize you?" Karasu asked. Then he burst into laughter.
"Don't worry about your brother. I just made all this up. He's still alive," Karasu revealed. Yukina didn't know if she believed him or not.
"It's amazing the things I have to say to get you to cry," Karasu said as he left the cell.
That was several months ago and she hadn't seen him since. After that, Tarukane sent in other demons to torture her other ways. They found that she was emotionally weak and they found her weak spot with forest animals and served her their dead bodies every night.
"Why was I thinking about that now?" Yukina asked herself. She wondered if her brother was still alive and out there looking for her.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
A/N: I've already started on the next chapter but once again, no promises as to when I'll update. I suppose it'll take longer to write because it's nearing the end.