AUHORS NOTE* I am so sorry about going so long without an update! 0_0
I have been swamped with approaching finals homework in my art classes. Anyone out there taking painting? It takes a long ass time, promise.
So be warned, in my effort to make up for my negligence, this chapter is REALLY long.
I tried to stop myself.
Really.
If you aren't comatose by the end of this chapter, please review my little story.
Plot bunnies need some kind of nourishment you know. ^_^
And those of you who have already reviewed(some of you twice, yes I am talking to you aksume ^_-) I LOVE YOU TO DEATH!!!!
"If you want to remain alive in the next few minutes, you will tell me exactly where Riosuke is."
The voice was coming from behind him and it definitely was not friendly. Fighting the urge to swallow with what felt like a VERY sharp blade pressed against his throat, Hokin put his hands slowly in the air.
"Hey man, sorry, but you just missed him. Riosuke isn't going to be back for a few hours."
Instantly the blade's pressure increased, causing him to wince as it pierced his skin.
"Keep lying to me pretty boy and I'll make sure that you taste my sword as it goes through your neck. I know that he is here, so don't waste your pathetic life in an attempt to hide him."
The easily pissed type, shit.
"Now just hold on a second! In the room I just came from there are monitors for security surveillance through out the whole compound. You can use that and see for yourself."
"Hn. Take me there, but if you try anything stupid I will kill you."
"Okay, Okay, I get the picture; just lighten the pressure a little ok pal?" Hokin said as he started walking back to the camera room.
But the sword stayed at Hokin's throat, preventing him from even turning to see who the bastard was.
They entered the room and Hokin directed him to the large panel of monitors. Gingerly leaning forward, Hokin brought up one of the monitors and hit rewind until he brought up the last conversation between him and Riosuke.
I always knew that it was a good idea to have camera's set up everywhere, he thought to himself.
"Your not leaving already are you? I thought that you would still be having fun with the girl! You haven't changed your mind or anything right?"
"I will be back in several hours to claim her. Make sure that she is cleaned up but untouched or I will use your own intestines to strangle you with."
"I get the message, no one will touch her. But why don't you just take her with you now? I mean you already paid for her."
"I have something to take care of in demon world first, which will give time for the transformation to finish itself and for the Doctor to administer any last tests he needs to give."
"Alright, suit yourself."
"Hn" was all Hokin heard until he noticed that his attacker was moving to stand in front of him.
Good, now I can finally see the bastards face…
But when he felt the blade come full circle in front of him, there was nothing there.
What the fuck? He thought as he slowly looked down and saw the pint sized demon in front of him.
The guy was tiny! Hokin would have laughed his ass off if it hadn't been for the look in the guys eyes.
They were Red.
Demon eyes
They were like a void of deadly hatred. There was NOTHING else in them and Hokin felt himself go cold as he felt the guys' aura. It was just like Riosuke's, a darkness that pressed all around him, but worse. He felt like he was drowning in it.
"Take me to Riosuke's slave."
The command broke through his haze and Hokin blinked.
"Wha? Why the hell would you want her? She's just-YOOWW!" Hokin yelped as the sword cut deeper into his neck."
"Alright! Ill take you."
Gingerly he led the demon who now moved behind him again, all the while trying to lean his neck as far away from that sharp instrument as possible. After what seemed like forever they reached the door to the Screening Room.
"Here you go man. Just a sec and Ill punch in the code for y-"
He didn't finish his sentence as the sword suddenly left his neck and the door fell open.
He cut the door? I didn't even see him fucking move! Wait, maybe I can get the fuck out of here…
'Don't even think about it.'
But the voice Hokin heard was in his head, and suddenly the darkness was closing in on him again and he was drowning in it. Mentally he screamed before everything turned to nothing.
Hiei covered his Jagan with his white bandana as he glanced at the unconscious slave trader. He wouldn't wake up for awhile, which would give Hiei plenty of time to see the slave that Riosuke was so interested in.
And it will be an added twist of the knife to the one that I will bury in the bastards heart when I take her…
Hiei's smirk deepened as he stepped through the door.
Immediately he could feel light traces of fire demon energy in the room, left over from that bastard Riosuke. At some point the demon had become angry and his power had risen. Hiei could almost taste it like the air had been burned.
Maybe his slave wasn't being all that cooperative, Hiei snickered darkly. He knew what the demon was like with his women, and was surprised to find no lingering scent of sex in the room. It was odd that he had not taken her yet, since Riosuke always liked to employ some sort of torture to his games of seduction.
Sensing that the human was in the corner to his left, Hiei stepped further into the room and turned to face the slave.
Hn, how pathetic.
The girl was huddled up in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, her head ducked under her arms and shielded by a curtain of golden brown hair.
From what he could see, she was naked and her form was trembling slightly. He could smell the fear coming off of her in waves.
Riosuke wanted this, a trembling human?
"Get up." He ordered.
The girl instantly stopped trembling and he was almost certain that she had stopped breathing as well, her body became so still.
Slowly she disentangled herself and moved to stand up, her head still bent and her face hidden by the fall of her long hair.
Briefly he noticed that she was not completely nude, but actually dressed in black garments that hid very little. Her form was exceptional for a human, trim and athletic with creamy pale skin, softly curving hips and large breasts that swelled inside of her bra.
Hiei noticed all of this clinically without any real interest. She was still a human after all.
But she reminds you of her…
Hiei squashed the thought before it even had a chance to fully form itself. Slightly irritated, he addressed the slave.
"So you are Riosuke's slave. Well you belong to me now and you will do whatever I tell you to, understood."
It wasn't a question and Hiei watched as the girl started to tremble again.
She probably thinks that I am going to bed her. Hn, I have no such uses-.
Suddenly the girl's right hand shot out, aiming for his face and Hiei reacted instantly and caught her wrist. Her smell had changed to something peculiar, but Hiei barely noticed as shock coursed through him.
Because the slave had dropped to her knees, her head lifting to show a lovely pale face with striking brown eyes filled with fury.
Hauntingly familiar eyes…
Before he realized it, her name escaped his lips in a haunted whisper.
"Keiko?"
Keiko had felt the power flare up somewhere else in the compound. The feeling was dark and strong and it reached out for her, like a whisper in her mind. It was as if it were something she was supposed to recognize but couldn't.
Then it had subsided, but she could still feel it somewhere in the back of her skull.
It was getting closer.
Had Riosuke decided to come back for her? Keiko wondered, shivering at the thought.
No, the power that she had sensed felt somewhat like Riosukes', but there was also something different in it, something she couldn't place. However Keiko could recognize that whatever was coming was coming to her.
And the fact that she could actually sense this was scaring the living shit out of her.
Suddenly the door literally fell open as it crashed to the ground. The power that she had felt flared to life again for a moment, and Keiko felt something inside of her try to answer. Clamping her eyes shut, Keiko huddled herself in the corner of the bed, willing herself not to respond.
What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? Who is it, why are they here for me?
She could hear achingly loud footsteps as they slowly came to stand directly in front of her.
"Get up." A stern voice commanded and Keiko complied, but kept her face down and hidden.
She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see the new nightmare that she was about to begin.
"So you are Riosuke's slave. Well, you belong to me now and you will do whatever I tell you to, understood."
It wasn't a question. It was a command. Another man was taking her freedom, telling her that she was His, and that there was nothing she could do about it.
Something inside of Keiko snapped and she struck out with all of her fury.
She didn't care if they killed her, she didn't care anymore if she couldn't escape…
…but they would not make her a slave.
Her wrist was caught and Keiko looked up as she dropped to her knees, defeated, so that her capture could see her hatred and the fury that seemed to burn inside her.
The first thing she saw were crimson eyes staring widely at her. The color was incredibly vibrant and so clear that all Keiko could think about for a brief instant was how beautiful they were. For a moment she was simply lost in them.
Then she heard her name being said softly and it was if she snapped out of a daze.
Suddenly she recognized the eyes that she was looking into.
"H-Hiei?" she breathed, as her brain raced with a million thoughts, trying to cope with what she was seeing.
It was him. The short tempered, anti social fire demon that had fought beside Yusuke countless times on their missions. The demon who always snorted when someone tried to include or compliment him, herself included. The one who was always strangely protective of Yukina and endlessly baited Kuwabara. The one who always silently watched her and the others…
Keiko watched as the shock slowly left his face and he knelt to the ground in front of her. Suddenly she knew…
She was safe
A tidal wave of relief crashed through her so suddenly that she became sick with it and did something unthinkable. Keiko flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, trembling violently as all of the trauma and stress poured out of her.
She never thought to question her actions, didn't care to realize that she had never been this close to the youkai in her entire life.
Instead she clung to him like a lifeline, breathing him in like he was the only real thing left in the world.
Because he was there.
He had saved her.
At first he couldn't move, couldn't speak, when he realized who it was that was in front of him.
Keiko was Riosuke's slave.
The thought echoed through him, sinking in and swirling with a thousand others raging through his mind.
How in the hell had she gotten here? Where in the hell was Yusuke? How long had she been here?
Then she had flung herself at him and all coherent thought vanished from his mind in an instant.
NO ONE had ever embraced him before like this, not even Yukina, no one since his mother had ever gotten that close.
His first instinct was to push her away, to reject the unwarranted familiarity and warmth of her body. So he brought his hands up to her arms, but instead of pushing her away, his hands hesitantly started to stroke along the outside of her arms. It seemed to soothe the girls violent trembling and soon his hands moved to her back, almost as if they had a will of their own.
Why the hell am I doing this? Why the fuck should I care if Keiko is the slave? He questioned, trying not to notice how soft her skin was.
You know why… came a dark reply from deep within.
Hiei killed the image that was trying to form itself in his mind and brought himself back under control.
This was Not happening, not right then.
Leaning back from her, Keiko instantly got the message and unwrapped herself from around him. As she pulled back Hiei remembered her state of dress and quickly took off his cloak and put it around her.
"Thank you Hiei." She said quietly, her eyes overly bright from unshed tears. Hiei knew that she meant it for more than just the cloak and simply nodded once.
"Sir…"
Hiei cocked his head slightly as Shorin spoke to him telepathically.
"What is it?"
"All of the guards in the compound have been disabled, all of them human, no casualties. There are no other demons on site. There were no slaves found anywhere in the compound, however, we did find what appears to be a Doctor in one of the rooms. When we captured him he started to scream about not taking the girl. Do you know what he meant by that sir?"
Hiei looked at Keiko's confused face.
Don't take the girl? Keiko was the only slave in the compound?
Hiei looked away and scowled. This whole thing felt wrong and it was beginning to really irritate him. He did not like being unsure of what was going on.
"Take the Doctor and another that I have unconscious in front of the main room in the east wing to Koenma's Palace. I will take the slave that I found elsewhere as bait for Riosuke. Make absolutely no mention of her to Koenma, understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Hiei?" Came the hesitant question next to him. Hiei turned to face her once more. She was now standing and clutching at his cloak nervously. He could see that due to their height difference the cloak looked like a very short dress on her, still allowing a long line her creamy legs to be viewed.
Beautiful…came the thought before he could catch it. Grunting in annoyance at the fact that his eyes lingered a little, Hiei unceremoniously grabbed her wrist and began pulling her through the door
"Were leaving." He informed her gruffly.
She didn't protest, but Hiei noticed when she paused as they passed the unconscious form of the slave trader. Something passed through her eyes but he couldn't tell what it was.
Had something happened to her?
Hiei continued to lead Kieko through the compound until they reached outside. He couldn't afford to waste time at the moment. He would get his answers later.
Once they reached outside the compound, Hiei turned to her and hooked one arm under her legs and the other behind her back and picked her up.
The girl squeaked in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck for balance causing Hiei to suppress a smirk. Then without warning he began sprinting at high speed through the forest surrounding the compound.
As he increased his speed he felt rather than heard her gasp as she clung to him in fright and buried her face in his neck. Grunting, Hiei tried to ignore the feel of her warm breath on his neck and increased his speed even more.
He needed to reach to portal to demon world soon. He was confused about the whole damn situation and that only served to piss him off more than he already was at finding out that Riosuke was gone and that Keiko was his slave.
He wanted answers now.
So he would take them to the Makai forest and he would make sure that Keiko gave him what he wanted.
They reached their destination in only a matter of minutes and Keiko was almost disappointed when Hiei put her down to stand on her own.
The incredible speed with which he ran had at first terrified her enough to bury her face in him, trying to escape the knowledge that they were high off the ground and that he could drop her at any moment.
But he never dropped her, and as she buried her face in his neck she noticed a few things.
The first was that he was as graceful as he was strong. His arms held her like supports of steel as they soared through the trees. Keiko wasn't jostled around like she thought she would be, and became amazed at how smoothly the demon traveled.
It was almost like flying...
And as she began to relax and actually enjoy the ride, she began to notice his scent. Her face was pushed up against his neck and as she breathed it was so strong it was almost intoxicating. It was hard to describe. He smelled like the forest and something warm and spicy and Keiko found herself deliberately breathing him in.
His skin is warm…and He smells really good…better than Riosuke…
Immediately Kieko blushed and retracted her thoughts
Whoa, what was she thinking? This was HIEI for Kami sake! What was with her and smelling demons tonight? Was it some weird side effect of becoming a demon?
This thought sobered her enough to turn her face away for the rest of the trip, but she still couldn't suppress the small twinge of regret when he put her down.
Its probably just because I am skittish since I'm actually out of that that place, Kieko reasoned.
Steadying herself on the ground, she noticed that they were still in the middle of forest. Confused, she turned to Hiei to ask where they were.
"We are going to the Makai Forest for the night." He informed her before she could even open her mouth.
Kieko's eyes widened.
"The Makai?" Why are we going there? Can't you just take me home?"
Hiei walked over to the large tree behind her, ignoring her pleading look.
"You can't go home. Not yet. There are some answers that I want from you, like how in the hell you were stupid enough to get taken in the first place, and the Makai forest is the best place to go for the time being so that Bastard Riosuke can't track us."
Keiko bristled at being called stupid and opened her mouth to retort when what he said sank in.
Riosuke could come back and track her down! He wasn't going to let her go easily, not after it had taken so long to find someone like her.
Keiko cast a furtive glance at Hiei as felt for something on the tree.
He doesn't appear to know that I'm turning into a demon…Riosuke said that he could smell it in me…was that a lie?
But Keiko didn't have long to ponder this as Hiei touched a knot on the tree and a door like space filled with green light opened up.
Keiko stared apprehensively at the opening for a moment before Hiei made a frustrated noise and grabbed her hand. The feel of his warmth grounded her somewhat and she squared her shoulders a little before taking a step towards Hiei and following him through the portal.
As they drowned themselves in the green light, Keiko instantly felt the weightlessness surround her and the sinking feeling that she was falling into nothing. This caused her to panic slightly and she grabbed onto the only solid thing she had, Hiei.
She felt the safety of his arms encircle her as they drifted through and she instantly felt better.
As soon as her feet touched solid ground on the other side, she quickly jumped back from the demon in embarrassment, ducking her head so that he hopefully would not see her blush. That was the third time in one night that she had been held in the youkai's arms and while she relished the feeling of safety that it brought, she couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't shoved her away or threatened to kill her if she ever did something like that again. He always threatened death to anyone that came close to touching him without his permission. Still… she couldn't just apologize for her actions because she was sure that it would come out sounding horribly lame.
"We'll stay here for the night." Hiei said, moving to a clearing next to them.
Keiko followed close behind, trying not to crowd him but not wanting to be too far away. They stopped in the clearing and she could tell that it was used from time to time, as there were signs of a fire pit in the center of several large boulders.
Hiei started gathering branches and wood surrounding the camp to make a fire with and Keiko rested against one of the boulders and looked at the sky.
The night here was like ink, the only light in the sky were two moons, one red and one blue that floated side by side. But their light seemed to become absorbed by the forest around her and she shivered as she felt the first stings of cold hit her bare legs.
Suddenly light flared in front of her and Keiko turned to see Hiei holding his hand outstretched over a very healthy sized flame. The warmth instantly reached her and she scooted closer, eager to warm herself.
Hiei came and sat on a rock a little ways to the right of her and folded his arms.
"Ok, now you are going to answer some questions. Starting with how you let yourself be captured by those bastards." He said firmly and she could have sworn that he was agitated.
Kieko sighed and explained what happened with Hokin at the club and how she woke up in the compound. She left out the parts about Hokins threats of molesting her and the Doctors sick experiment. If she could, than she was going to come out of this without anyone knowing what they did to her.
She would return to her normal life.
Hiei listened incredulously as Keiko recounted how she had been taken by the slave traders. He barely managed to keep the emotion from showing in his face as anger threatened to roll through him.
She had made herself and easy target. Going off to one of those human meat markets alone, making herself a prime pick for one of those bastards.
But something else about this also bothered him.
"Where was the idiot Detective? Why wasn't he there with you when you went to this place?" He demanded coolly.
The girl in front of him instantly tensed and cast her eyes downward before bringing them back up to meet his challengingly.
"We broke up a few months ago and decided that it would be best for both of us if we didn't see each other at all for awhile. Last I knew He was off doing some kind of training with Genkai."
"Hn." The Detective had always been getting into arguments with the human girl, and from what he knew they never stayed apart long.
But why had she been the only one there? And why had Riosuke wanted her, a human? He hated humans as much as Hiei did if not more and something about this was eating at his senses.
"Did the demon who bought you do anything to you?" He asked bluntly.
Keiko stilled completely, one hand unconsciously going up to touch the right side of her neck underneath her hair.
Suddenly seeming aware of the Demon watching her intently, Keiko quickly removed her hand.
"No. He tried to see if he could get me to kiss him of my own free will, but when I refused he left, saying that he would be back in a few hours."
Her tone was sincere, but Hiei could easily tell that she was lying. She was to used to being open about everything with people. She was hiding something. He had seen the unconscious gesture she had made, but for some reason she did not want to reveal something.
Why in the hell would Riosuke buy a slave and not bed her, why-
Your not leaving already are you? I thought that you would still be having fun with the girl…
I have something to take care of in demon world first, which will give time for the transformation to finish itself and for the Doctor to administer any last tests he needs to give…
Suddenly something clicked in Hiei's mind and he looked at Kieko suspiciously.
"What?" she asked when he didn't relent his stare.
"What did Riosuke do to you?" He asked in a deadly calm voice as he stood up and slowly advanced on her.
"N-nothing. After his little game he left, saying that he would come back for me. That's all."
Fear permeated her scent; along with something else that he had barely notice before, something that only heightened his suspicions and his anger.
Don't scare her even more, some distant voice said within him, but Hiei growled inwardly and ignored it.
She was trying to hide from him and it was awakening his predator instincts in his agitated state. If she wouldn't tell him than he would take the answer from her.
Dropping to the ground in front of her , Hiei captured her chin in his hand and tilted her face upward, holding her startled eyes with his own, his face close enough to her own that her breath fanned his skin.
"Your lying, I can smell it. Tell me, did he BITE you Kieko?" He asked silkily.
For a moment she just stared at him like a frozen deer and his suspicions were confirmed when she suddenly bolted to her feet and tried to distance herself from him.
Faster than her, Hiei hooked and arm around her waist and forcefully brought her to the ground, using his other arm to imprison her back against his chest. Kieko gasped and started to struggle.
Growling darkly he said "Hold still, I am not going to hurt you, but since you insisted on lying to me than this is the only way.
"Hiei I-" Keiko began but stopped when Hiei he tugged his cloak down around her bare shoulder, lifted her hair away from her neck and brought his nose to her skin, inhaling deeply.
Kieko gasped again but Hiei ignored it as he concentrated on her scent. Searching with his nose, he nuzzled her neck until he found what he was looking for.
Her scent was warm and musky, like vanilla, but there was also something else there, something underneath it that made an indescribable rage flow through Hiei.
Riosuke had given Keiko the first mark of possession.
The bastard had marked her.
Hiei tried to control himself, but he was unable to move from the spot on her neck where the bastard had branded her. He continued to breathe her in, her scent thick and intoxicating to his senses. He knew that he should stop now that he had found what he had suspected, but he couldn't make himself move for some reason. Riosuke's scent subtly mixed through Kieko's and this stirred an overwhelming desire in Hiei to remove it and replace it with his own...
What am I doing?... I've got to stop… she's just a human…she belongs to the detective….she-
… She is the one that you have craved since that night…
The voice was there again, resurfacing from the depths of his darkest thoughts to taunt him.
…now she is in your arm and she doesn't fear you…smell her…she wants you…
Amazed, Hiei realized that indeed her scent held no fear, but instead an increasing arousal. Keiko had relaxed into his hold and this caused the last of his resistance to vanish. Growling low in his throat in approval, Hiei nuzzled the hollow in between her neck and shoulder, relishing in the feel of her skin. The heat in his blood was steadily increasing, sending a pleasurable feeling through his veins.
The girl in his arms moaned softly and Hiei felt a hand hesitantly thread itself through his hair.
"H-Hiei?"
Her voice was light and breathy and it caused Hiei's body to burn even hotter than before. Hiei responded by slowly flicking his tongue over the spot where Riosuke had marked her, satisfying his desire and replacing the demons scent with his own.
Keiko scent spiked and she gasped, arching into him to allow further access to her neck.
But Hiei had stopped cold, his eyes shooting open in shock as he felt an ice like cold steal over him.
Because when her scent had spiked, even in his aroused haze, he had suddenly detected something that was impossible, something that should never have been capable of being conceived.
The Doctor kept screaming something about not taking the girl…do you know what he meant by that sir?…
He did.
He could smell it now, the thing that had been tugging at the back of his consciousness since he had found her. Something that had somehow been hidden before but was now so strong that he could not mistake it.
A demon.
They had made Keiko into a demon.
And not just any demon.
Now he understood why Riosuke had chosen her, why she had been the only slave there.
That is why I lost control when I smelled her...
That bastard had made her into something that he otherwise would have never found in a century.
"A Fire Demon."
*heres a pic that I did just for you guys ^_^ (remove the spaces)http: // www.fanart-central.net / imageboard/general/src/1081509898307.jpg
POST NOTE* I promised waff action and I hope I delivered adequately enough. ^_^Please let me know if you thought that Hiei was completely ooc, because I had a tough time writing that part. I already have the next chapter planned out, and there will be explanations and Lots of citrusy flavors!