A/N: Hello once again, FanFiction Dot Net Users and Anonymous Readers alike!
This is another one of those chapters that is Hiei/Shikiyoku-centric.
Symbols Guide:
* : Written by CM; She writes for Akari and Hiei
3 : Written by Star (supposed to be the 'heart' symbol, but FF doesn't like the 'less-than' sign, so it's a 3 instead); She writes for Toriko/Shikiyoku and Kurama
~!**!~ : A universal transition between scenes or characters, sometimes used to indicate a passage of time, but most often used to transition between major scenes that are happening. As the story progresses, this will evolve into mainly separating the (usually two) scenes happening between authors/characters.
As a general rule, anything in italics is thoughts.
Unless it's used in a sentence like this, which merely indicates emphasis.
"Quotations are usually reserved specifically for telepathic dialogue being transmitted from one being to another, but sometimes this can also mean a character isn't being careful about what they're thinking and anyone with telepathy in the nearby vicinity can listen in without taking any effort."
The only exception to that last rule is for the Shiba Inu dog, Nabu. All of his "spoken" dialogue will be in italics and quotations, but is communicated through body language or dog-like noises, so unless a character is able to translate those they are unlikely to pick up on what he is saying any more than the average person might understand his general moods like aggression (bared teeth, ears back) or excitement (wagging tail).
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
The Youko with Akari was in fact the Youko impersonator,
but as Otento attempted to capture her again,
it appeared as if this Youko was willing to defend her.
Otento and Youko escape once more with Terepo as Kurama bursts into the scene,
but both Kurama and Akari have now broken through the limitations set upon their energy.
~!**!~
Maneshi stirs the wrath of Hiei and just as it appears the fire demon is about to strike,
Toriko manages to gather what little energy she's recovered and fling it at him,
but she faints and Toriko gives way to Shikiyoku,
who informs Hiei that she can no longer feel Toriko's presence in her mind,
just as Toriko once told him she could no longer feel Shikiyoku there.
Hiei proceeds to tell Shikiyoku that Koenma wishes to speak with her about a mission,
and even promises to lift the warrant out for her arrest should she complete it...
Shikiyoku found herself biting at her lips and she slowly shook her head again.
"Koenma...Koenma didn't put the warrant out for my arrest." Her eyes were still wide, fearful. "He really...he has no say on whether or not I go free."
Shikiyoku closed her eyes and took a shaky breath.
She had something to go on now. A desire to fulfill. And the best kind of desire: one from her Champion.
He shall have what he desires.
All her former anxiety slipped away as she reopened her eyes to look up at Hiei and gave him a small smile.
"It doesn't matter." She started to sit up. "Should we go now?" 3
Hiei considered this information for a moment, thinking back to the entire conversation Koenma had administered, after having his ferry girl interrupt his evening nap. The frown that colored his features at the muddled mess his mind had become was only a small one, but it was gone when he realized Shikiyoku was smiling at him.
His head tilted to the side.
"Don't you need rest?"
It was only a natural inquiry, since they'd both been awakened abruptly. Speaking of..
He glanced at his shoulder, the tears in the cloak and the blood that was now dried. How long had they been sitting here? "Matters not to me," he finished, looking away as if his cloak hadn't retained any damage whatsoever. *
The thoughts of what might happen to her should she so much as step foot in Spirit World were still skirting around the edge of her mind, but as she stood up and saw Hiei look at his shoulder, her worries melted and the small smile from before did not waver.
"Let's fix it first." She was already standing at this point and she extended her hand in Hiei's direction, "And then let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we go home." 3
Hiei frowned at the hand outstretched to him for a moment, unsure what meanings were held behind such a gesture, but his muscles moved on their own, his eyes meeting hers and his hand found hers in the dark.
"It isn't much," he said with a shrug, though at the edges of his mind, he felt irritation well up that this was the second repair he'd have to have done on his cloak from the very same source. *
Pulling him after her, Shikiyoku left the room, "It won't take long. You don't even have to take it off this time." Her smile almost twitched into a smirk as she looked over her shoulder at him again, leading the way downstairs and into the closet they hadn't entered in a long time.
Her steps were sure-footed through the junk even with the limited light, as if she had every piece memorized in each place she originally placed it.
Her hand had slipped from Hiei's at some point as she opened one particular trunk, making quick work of tearing a strip from the fabric she left on top alongside the small bag with the sewing implements.
She put the strip in her mouth, opening the bag and first taking out a small crystal vial and an equally small woolen washcloth, palming them as she prepared thread and needle, making quick work of the whole ordeal.
Turning back to Hiei she opened the vial and covered it with the washcloth, dampening the latter with a flick of her wrist and clearing the blood from Hiei's shoulder with a gentle pass of the cloth.
Having kept the needle and thread with her, she removed the fabric from her mouth and put her hand underneath the opening where the cloak had been torn, deftly weaving thread and new fabric with the old in no time at all, smoothing her hand over the finished product and tilting her head to check it.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, almost smacking her hand to her forehead as she whipped back around, putting the needle, thread, vial, and washcloth away and pulling out the lighter.
Without thinking or asking, she slipped her thin fingers around the cuff of the cloak's arm and pulled it upwards, her hands small enough to fit one in next to Hiei's shoulder after this was done, flicking on the lighter with little trouble and running it around the seams until they disappeared, melding in with the old fabric.
She pulled the sleeve down as she brought her hands out and tossed the lighter behind her, landing it in the bag she left open as she looked again into Hiei's eyes, her own bright as that same small smile graced her lips.
"Ready?" 3
Hiei hadn't protested in any way, shape, or form about anything Shikiyoku did, deciding she was the expert and he'd just simply have to deal with whatever she did. He'd entered the small closet and glanced around at the objects inside, looking over the very same things he'd seen the first time with just as much interest as then. Each item hummed with its own energy, it seemed, though at such a low frequency that even he had trouble hearing it.
He continued to look around as Shikiyoku made quick work of his cloak, not even glancing at her as she did whatever it was she needed to do, since interrupting would only delay their return to Demon World. But the sound of the lighter and the feel of heat nearby caught his attention, and his eyes snapped over at her as she slipped a hand underneath the cloak and ran the flame over the fabric.
He witnessed with his own eyes as the fabric seemed to meld into one another, making all signs of rips, tears, and repairs disappear altogether. Amazed, as he hadn't really paid much attention the first time around, he inspected her handiwork before responding, his hand pulling the fabric this way and that to investigate his theory that absolutely no sign would be seen.
And when he was proven right, and completely amazed, he turned back to Shikiyoku and gave a brief nod of affirmation, waiting on her to take the lead when he realized that getting to Koenma would need a little extra assistance. *
~!**!~
"No, no, no! NOT five hundred, five thousand, ogre!" Koenma jabbed his finger at the middle line on the paper work.
"I'm so sorry, Koenma-sir. I thought for sure we had that right this time."
"Well, it's not. We'll have to do it again." Koenma sighed, looking up as he heard footsteps entering the office.
"Hiei!" He seemed surprised to see the spiky-haired demon strolling into the room. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" 3
Botan had parted ways after her assistance, leaving him to lead the way through the large castle-like building Koenma and his workers resided in, careful to keep Shikiyoku not only nearby, but out of sight of the people in front of him. Not that it mattered much, he assumed she didn't look the same as the demon form Spirit World knew of.
As he approached Koenma's office and entered the room in time to hear the last bit of Koenma's griping at ogre and then a greeting.
Red eyes searched the rest of the room, momentarily eyeing the blue creature dressed only in a loincloth before turning onto the toddler prince. "Your offer."
And that was all he said, unsure what could be said here, if anything at all. *
Without a beat, Koenma passed the paperwork back over to George.
"Go get this taken care of, ogre."
"Yes, Koenma-sir." George took the stack with a rather defeated expression.
"And don't come back until the whole thing is revised!" Koenma yelled after him as the blue ogre wandered out the door.
Koenma huffed a breath, collecting his thoughts before turning back to Hiei, leaning forward over his desk to look at him.
"You have news for me, then?" 3
Hiei, his mind much clearer than before, gave a raised brow and glanced behind himself, but otherwise not indicating that Shikiyoku was with him. If Koenma hadn't seen her yet, then he'd let her show herself, if she didn't have second thoughts.
"There was a minor setback," he began, eyes meeting Koenma's again with an intense glare of warning, "but as I said, it was minor, and fixed itself." If his warning glare didn't get across that Shikiyoku was not happy with being here and Hiei was paying very close attention to their surroundings, then he didn't know what to do to get the message across:
No tricks or gimmicks. He was not in the mood. *
Koenma's eyes widened briefly, but only briefly, before returning to normal, realizing he could see that Hiei's body hid someone behind him.
"Toriko! It's good to see you again." Koenma gave her a genuine smile.
The entire place had Shikiyoku's blood running cold and she had followed as closely behind Hiei as possible without tripping them both up once they reached the temple.
Botan had blabbed on the entire time they travelled, and while Shikiyoku did not know the blue-haired woman, it seemed apparent that Toriko did, so she tried to stay as quiet as possible, unsure exactly how her other side would react. It didn't appear to phase the Reaper.
Now that she stood within the barren, quiet office of the Prince of the Spirit World, she still cowered behind the defiant fire demon before her, any semblance of the courage she'd felt before when her executioners were far away but a memory.
She squeezed her eyes shut when Koenma addressed her, her hands over her face and both buried as deep as possible into the place between Hiei's shoulder blades as soon as he stopped moving.
Hiei desired to go home.
She trembled once, visions of her eyes and hair being ripped out by her would-be captors dancing across her mind's eye. She was in their den now, and all it would take is a single word for her future to be sealed, no matter how strong her Champion before her might be.
Home.
Drawing strength from the warmth she tried to hid in, Shikiyoku swallowed what felt like a giant lump in her throat and took one temerous step to the side after lowering her hands, head down and her long black hair veiling the sides of her face.
"H-hello." The openness of the office scared her. There were no places to hide. No where to run should they descend upon her.
It took every ounce of willpower she had not to turn and speed from the room.
She recalled Hiei's face in the darkness above her, his warm thigh underneath her head as she gazed into his crimson eyes when he told her what he desired most.
Home.
Shikiyoku swallowed again and looked up, only seconds having passed since Koenma first addressed her.
"Y-you...you wished to speak with me?"
Koenma's eyes softened at her temerity, and while he had no doubts that Hiei had indeed brought him Shikiyoku, and not Toriko, she was certainly putting on a good show of it, should anyone have chosen that moment to watch them.
"Yes, Toriko. I have a mission for you." He said kindly. "Now, I realize you are not in my employ, so I can only ask that you do this for me. I can order or require nothing of you, but I need your help, if you wish to assist me."
Shikiyoku pulled her lips into her mouth and licked them with her tongue, still frightened beyond much thought. Should this Prince so desire, at any moment, he could reveal her and end her life. Was he to be trusted?
For the first time since they left Toriko's home, Shikiyoku looked over at Hiei, searching his face for some indication that this would be okay, that this princeling would not betray her. 3
Hiei hadn't had much to say after his brief explanation, his hands sliding into the pockets of his cloak as his eyes searched Koenma's face, fully aware of the situation, should it go wrong. Sadly, if it were to go south, he wouldn't have a way out other than causing more trouble. The thought made his eyes slide to the side briefly, but quickly return to Koenma in a watchful, careful warning.
And he saw nothing there that would jeopardize the demon he'd sworn to protect. He addressed her as Toriko, acting as if she were the human counterpart to the demon he so desperately needed for this task. He felt no sense of danger, and his Jagan made quick work of inspecting every nook and cranny of the room, even so much as just reaching out to sense the air around the prince, not daring enough to actually touch his mind.
Again, all seemed as the prince had promised. Quiet, secretive.
He felt Shikiyoku's eyes on him, and for the first time since he'd stepped foot in the room, he felt his muscles begin to relax, though he stayed on guard. He forced his shoulders to slump into a more comfortable stance, his weight shifting from the front of his feet to his heels, as if almost bored.
He finally turned to her, meeting her gaze evenly, squarely, and silently reassuring her that all was fine. *
"I..." Shikiyoku paused as she turned back to look up at Koenma, preventing another stammer, "I would be happy to help."
Happy. Right.
Koenma nodded approval and hopped down from his chair, "Follow me, please."
He led the way into the room that he and Hiei had used previously, toddling along and reaching up to turn the handle, letting the door swing inward silently and stepping over the threshold.
This time, however, he moved to the side to let the other two through, closing it behind him before leaning heavily against it and wiping a hand across his forehead.
"Well, I think that alright, don't you?"
As soon as she got into the room, Shikiyoku could feel her body's tension slipping away, the protective charms she could sense permeating the air causing her caution to turn into curiosity as she looked about at the piles of tomes littered about, some of which were stacked taller than any of the current occupants that stood inside.
Koenma hurried over to the other desk and hopped up into the chair behind it, opening the drawer just over his lap and pulling out a sheet of paper.
"I don't have much more than a name and location for you." He apologized, holding the paper out to Shikiyoku who had wandered after him, her eyes taking in the room with a sense of wonderment before being pulled back down to the present.
She stood on the tips of her toes and reached up over the desk to take the paper and looked at it.
"And honestly," He hesitated, "I can't even tell you where that location is for sure. I've privately arranged to get you down to that level of Demon World, which was a hassle as I'm sure you can see by how deep you're having to go, but-"
"I know exactly where this is." Shikiyoku interrupted quietly, her voice grave. "And I understand better now why you needed me to get there. Those of us born within the Ninth Level covet most closely the secrets behind entering the lowest level of Demon World." She glanced up at him, one eyebrow rising in question. "Granted, I was not even remotely aware there was a portal from Human World leading that low. And I won't ask how you discovered it, considering Demon World is closed to your people past the half of the first level you claim to control."
"Eheh." Koenma laughed nervously, "Let's just say I've run out of resources for the next few quarters and leave it at that."
Shikiyoku made no response, eyes coming back down to the paper she held.
"You'll be seeking out Gekijou, as I'm sure you see. I need any information you can get from her on Otento and what he wants with her and her brother."
Shikiyoku did not so much as flinch at Otento's name, but she did raise her head to catch Koenma's eye.
"I will get you information on Otento," She assured him, "But there's something you must do for me in return."
Koenma nodded as if he'd expected this. "Of course. I want you to know that-"
"No." Shikiyoku shook her head before he could go further. "Not that."
It was her turn to reach into her pocket for a piece of paper as she continued, "I doubt you could grant me my freedom even if you wanted to, which I personally find difficult to believe." This time, she passed a piece of paper to Koenma, who took it and unfolded it, his eyes scanning the page before they started to widen.
"That is what I want, should my information prove to fulfill my side of the bargain."
"Your price is high." Koenma glanced up over the paper at her before returning to it.
She inclined her head a little, but did not disagree.
"Am I not allowed to be selfish?"
Koenma did not answer, instead leaning back in his chair, his eyes still trained on the paper.
"You sure you don't want the warrant out for you lifted?"
Shikiyoku shook her head, "You cannot promise me that."
"I don't know if I can promise you this." He shifted the paper a bit as Shikiyoku trained her eyes on him.
"I am going on this mission for you regardless of your answer to my demands." Shikiyoku stated, knowing that she had many other reasons for wanting to return to Demon World.
Well. Mostly just the one person. Err, reason. She glanced over at Hiei before Koenma cleared his throat and drew her attention back to him.
"I cannot promise you this request will be granted. But if it is within my power, I will see that it gets done."
"That is all I can ask, I think." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other before taking a step forward and passing the piece of paper back to him. "I have no need for this."
Koenma took it from her, his curiosity compelling him to question her.
"May I ask how you know of this place?"
"You may ask." Her lips teased upwards in a coy smile, "But you will not receive an answer."
Koenma couldn't fault her for that.
"When can we leave?" She wanted to know.
"As soon as you are ready."
Shikiyoku turned to Hiei, silently wanting to know if they were ready to go. She was. 3
Hiei followed the pair into the room he'd previously been debriefed in, the objects in the room gaining his attention for a mere moment before he was standing a little behind Shikiyoku, who seemed to have relaxed visibly once inside this room and taken over. He himself found that he relaxed entirely as well, his hands in his pockets unclenching from the fists they had formed and simply resting inside the smooth fabric, idly listening to the conversation at hand.
He didn't need to see the files. If Shikiyoku knew where to go, then he would simply follow her lead, act as a guard for her trek through Demon World. Wasn't that his purpose here anyway?
His mind wandered, conjuring up images of Demon World again for him to admire silently, the possibility of returning now actually within his reach, within his sights. Nothing stood in his way now, and pretty soon, he'd be smelling the air he had missed so much.
By the time his mind resurfaced, refocusing on the others in the room, he realized Shikiyoku was looking to him in question. He raised a brow at her, as if asking why she was waiting, then gave a small nod of confirmation that he was indeed ready to go. *
~!**!~
"You're the ones needing the...escort?"
The demon in front of them was wrapped up completely in dark robes, the cowl over his head revealing nothing of his features. His power level was nothing to cause concern for the moment, so Shikiyoku merely nodded up at his tall, imposing form, his shoulders at least twice as big across as she was wide.
It seemed as if even Botan didn't know exactly what their mission was, having only dropped them off in Human World at the edge of a desert.
Nighttime noises were still in full cycle around them, the cold air lifting over the dry sand and sending its deadly chill down Shikiyoku's spine.
She'd had Botan drop her by Toriko's house first in order to change and gather a few things from the closet for the trip. There would be no sense in walking around Demon World in the pink school uniform of Meiou High. As if Shikiyoku wasn't already upset at having to make a return home without the ability to change into her demonic form. She took comfort in the fact that Hiei didn't appear to be looking anything more than human either.
She pulled the front of her dark crimson cloak tighter together in an effort to block out the invading winds, their escort having turned to do something to the side of the mountain they stood next to.
The three characters were merely silhouettes on the ground what with the moonless sky betraying nothing more than their vague shapes as shadows against what would have been grey rock.
Their escort stepped back and the mountain seemed to slide open. He moved inside without looking back to see if he was followed and took a flickering torch from the wall, holding it up to light the cave-path that led deeper into the mountainside.
Their trek took an unspecified amount of time, as if time had no meaning in their steps, and Shikiyoku had no sense of how far they had gone in all of their twists and turns before their escort stopped and placed the torch in another hook in the wall.
He stepped forward again to the rock-face that seemed to indicate they were at a dead-end, blocking whatever he did from their view.
Shikiyoku sensed no changes even when he stepped back and reached within his hood with both hands to pull something over his head that had presumably rested about his neck and made to give it to her.
"This bring you back here and open portal if you decide to return by the same path." He explained, "Way is open for now. Will close behind." He gestured to the wall, which seemed no less insubstantial than before.
With the briefest of glances back over her shoulder at Hiei as she slipped the necklace on and tucked it underneath the shirt she wore under the cloak, Shikiyoku stepped forward, finding that the rock was no longer rock per se as it let her pass right through it.
The other side of the rock face left Shikiyoku in a pitch-black darkness that even her adjusted eyes could not penetrate and she came to a standstill after the first step, blinking and attempting to make out shapes of any kind.
Given that the ground underneath her feet suddenly felt smooth, unlike the cave floor she left behind, Shikiyoku took a cautious step forward, ears perked and other senses at attention in lieu of her blind vision.
The second step felt the same as the first, and with growing confidence, Shikiyoku continued forward.
A distant, yellow glow rapidly approached and Shikiyoku only slowed upon reaching it, finding that it was some sort of giant net that extended infinitely upwards as well as to either side.
Startled to find it here, she stopped, unsure if it would deter her progress or not. 3
Hiei had taken in his surroundings every step of the way, silently observing their escort and the placed he and Shikiyoku were lead. His eyes had stayed well adjusted to the dark, but what he saw gave no indication of where he was. For all he knew, he could be a thousand miles away from the town that he normally resided in, where Yusuke and the others of the team stayed. The darkness gave no hints of their location, and quite frankly, he didn't care at the moment. When they were to get back, however, he would make sure to take note of their surroundings again, just in case.
Even now, as he stood in front of a seemingly solid rock wall, he took in each nook and cranny of the dark, each shadow as if it had a story to tell him of their location.
He waited a moment before turning and nodding his silent appreciation to their escort, and then turned on his heels and followed after Shikiyoku.
His lip curled when he noted they were walking towards the Kekkai Barrier, but he wondered at Shikiyoku's pause. Had she not encountered it on her way out of Demon World the first time? Perhaps she was too keen on escaping to notice it. Hiei did not realize it covered the entirety of psuedospace between Human and Demon World.
Stepping up next to her, he sent Shikiyoku a brief glance.
"Spirit World doing. Demons below what they consider A-Class have no trouble traversing it." As if to prove his point, Hiei stretched out his hand and waved it casually through one of the bands of the net, appearing to meet with no resistance as the back of his fingers passed through.
For half a second he pondered what class the she-demon might be, and if it would be possible for their journey to end before it even started simply because her power level was higher than his.*
A-Class? Shikiyoku wondered, only casting her eyes at Hiei for a moment before turning back to the barrier. What is A-Class?
She almost voiced her question, but kept it to herself. No need to appear more ignorant.
Whatever it meant, Hiei had no trouble with this yellow net-like thing, so why should she?
In a similar manner to the fire demon, Shikiyoku reached up with a single hand, albeit slower, moving it forward until she almost met with the energy before pausing as if to gather herself, her brow turned downwards in a frown over her eyes.
All at once, Shikiyoku shoved her hand through the middle of one of the bands of energy.
The sensation flooded back to her as she vaguely recalled fleeing through this same barrier over fifteen years ago, but at the time had barely taken notice of it.
Brightening a little when she passed her hand through it, the Kekkai did not crackle or keep her at bay, but Shikiyoku felt that same slight resistance tug at her body as it had all the time ago, but just like before she continued through it, going ahead and moving forward to pass the net entirely and noting that Hiei had waited until she cleared it before following silently after her.
A few steps beyond it and the Kekkai Barrier winked out, leaving them in darkness again.
This time, however, the darkness felt familiar to Shikiyoku and she pressed forward with more confidence.
Without even bothering to pause, she silently addressed the seemingly empty air around her.
He is with me. Let him pass by too.
A few more steps and a brightness of demonic daylight caused her to cringe and pause, the second thing that hit her being the smell. The third: the sounds.
As her eyes adjusted to the inexplicable daylight that filtered down through the foliage around her, she couldn't help the contented sigh as her eyes took in the deep red of the huge leaves and bushes and trees themselves, all around her their shades seemed to make one question if any other color existed.
Blood. The color of her home.
"It's been a long time." She murmured aloud to no one in particular. "It is good to be back."
Her cloak held hues of the living forest around her, and now that they were no longer in darkness, one could see the black was in fact a dark crimson, one that would let her disappear among the flora should she stay still for too long.3
The first sensation he was hit with was the smell. Blood and toxins, giant creatures and even larger plants. Even the smell of rotting flesh- from creature or demon, he didn't know- made him feel like he'd finally reached a goal he'd been attempting at for a lifetime.
Next came the sight, the color that bombarded his vision, the red hues challenging even the hue of his own eyes. The plants were each red, the more dangerous ones tinted much darker than the rest, but he knew better than to assume the light red, almost pink, plants were not of a hazard. Everything in Demon World could be considered a hazard, if used correctly.
The glint that flashed across Hiei's eyes was a glint of satisfaction, and he took a deep breath inwards, inhaling the scent he'd missed so much. They were finally back. He was home.
The air slowly left him through his nostrils, his expression almost a peaceful one.
"Indeed."
And for the moment, he only stood there, appreciating the sights, sounds, and smells of the place he'd been trying to return to for what felt like an eternity. *
Something settled strangely in Shikiyoku's stomach-now what would he have me do?-but she dismissed it for now, turning instead to the magnificence of satisfaction that returning home had swelled up inside her.
Shikiyoku turned back to see where they had just left, noting the arrangement of the foliage around them and giving a short bark of a laugh.
"I must have passed by this very space on many occasions without ever guessing that it led to Human World." She reached inside her cloak and pulled out the necklace to examine it.
She frowned down at the small, circular gem that looked incandescent like a pearl, but one that she knew came only from an Ice Maiden's tears. This one glowed strongly, an attribute Shikiyoku associated with it being near the gate they came through and she couldn't help staring at it longer than she meant to, a small smile forming on her lips as she recognized another attribute of the tear that she hadn't known before that moment: it resonated with its own peacefulness. A strange thing for something that came from a demon to be sure, but perhaps that only served to reflect the fact that its origins lay in sadness.
Before she became too enraptured, Shikiyoku put the tear away, knowing all too well the effects such a thing could have on a person.
She took a moment to stretch her arms up above her head, her cloak parting to reveal the snug, dark clothing she wore underneath. And as she stretched her arms, she also stretched out her energy, which she had kept pent up for so long.
It filtered into the air around her invisibly like a perfume, unable to be seen or sensed, but it seemed to shimmer on her skin and into her eyes, her scalp tingling as she felt it rummaging through her hair.
As she lowered her arms and relaxed again, a small rustling sound came from her left and she felt a sharpness touch her shoulder briefly for her attention.
A wicked-looking plant had lowered itself from somewhere above them, much larger than her hand which she took and scratched along the bottom jaw of the eyeless maw. It made a cooing noise at her in appreciation, shivering its leaves at her touch, then made another more inquisitive sound.
"Yes, I'm back." She took her nose and nuzzled it onto the large upper lip of the jaw that opened in a many toothed smile at her. "But don't go telling everyone, right?"
The plant tilted its head as if trying to understand and she laughed as she let go of it, her eyes scanning the trees above her as she searched for the path she somehow remembered from what seemed like ages ago.
"The ground is riddled with some nasty creatures around here." Shikiyoku easily made the leap into the safety of a ruby-colored tree over ten feet above their heads, almost blending in with the branches and leaves around her. "So, I suggest we stick to the high ground."
At that, she took off, demonic speed leading her with assurity along the branches from tree to tree along a path that was almost etched in her mind. 3
Hiei calmly turned to look around himself some more, this time assessing the different hazards he could see right off the bat. He identified the more prominent ones first, then just as quickly identified the smaller problems that, if combined, could lead to a very disastrous journey.
But Shikiyoku gained his attention, and he turned to see her communicating with a not-so-small plant, and he assumed she had made acquaintances with it long before retreating to Human World. He watched for a moment, amused, but the moment ended quickly and she was in the tree before he even had time to blink.
Not that it mattered, he followed her every motion with ease.
"Pests," he commented lightly as he joined her up in the leaves, easily keeping up with Shikiyoku as she took the lead. After all, he didn't know this area, and she would have to lead the way for this particular adventure.
Hey, at least he saw a new place he'd never seen before, right? *
"Pests is a rather mild way of looking at it." She continued the conversation with ease even at their rapid pace. "They'd just as soon eat me than look at me."
She fell silent, her sense of "completeness" having been fifteen years in waiting.
What Shikiyoku only knew on some level to be her scent in the air around her-since she could not smell it herself-was actually her energy permeating the immediate space about her body at much too high a level for even her to sense. It remained a constant, invisible, perfume-like aura that she only recognized as so much tension at the back of her neck that she had the freedom to finally release now that she stood back in the relative safety of Demon World.
As such, any hostility from the minor creatures around them dissipated when they maliciously approached her and Hiei, left frozen in place staring after her in wonderment until the "scent" around them faded. Any hazardous plant-life in their path simply parted to let her through, vines and leaves and everything else leaving her a passage free of snags and tears, neither them nor the creatures being fully sentient demons and as such being affected by her energy much differently.
Shikiyoku's thoughts bent towards their mission once they had set off at a fair pace, and towards the promise that Koenma might fulfill what she had written on that little slip of paper. Should she get for him what he wanted, perhaps he would in return get her what she wanted.
Or...at least...what she felt Hiei wanted.
"We have three cities between us and our destination." She spoke up finally, "We should go straight through, since going around will take much longer. It's surprisingly less of a hassle to deal with the demons within the walls than it is with the inhabitants outside of them.
"Naturally, we came out at the farthest point from where we need to be. Even at this pace, we won't reach the first city within twenty-four hours." She glanced upwards to gauge the time as the sky occasionally flashed into view between leaps and bounds of their path through the branches. "I'm not sure what week it is, so there's no telling how much of this daylight we have left. We probably have enough to reach the Keppan Mountains, and there's a valley in the middle of where they circle in which we can take refuge for rest. It's the safest place for miles." 3
Hiei's feet moved almost without his own thoughts about doing so, as if they'd been waiting to be able to run at such a speed and no longer cared what the mind had to say about it. It wasn't difficult to keep up, merely difficult not to pass Shikiyoku as she lead the way, plants even parting for their passing with what he assumed to mean her energy was freely doing whatever it took to keep the path ahead clear of danger.
At the thought of going through cities, a part of him shrunk, thinking of the many possibilities some cities held for distractions that could keep them off their course for several days. But, for the moment, he decided to trust her judgement. "Simple enough," he replied easily, as if he had no doubts at all in his mind.
Of course, his doubts were not in the leader. He held full confidence that she knew the area best. However, something nagged at the back of his mind, pulling for his attention, but he completely ignored it and concentrated on their path ahead.
"Assuming there are no such thing as delays, what's the estimation of time before we reach the place we were sent?" *
Shikiyoku smiled, sensing that the fire demon near her had much more to offer in speed than she was setting for their pace. Even so, she maintained her miles per hour, knowing there would be opportunity ahead for her, at least, to run full-tilt.
She made some quick calculations in her head.
"Three or four human days." There was no telling how much actual time would pass in Human World, of course, but she guessed it would take a little over seventy-two hours of the realm. She didn't look back, but she couldn't help the grin that spread over her features, "Of course, if you carried me, we could probably do it in less than two if we only stopped this once."
She had no intention of letting him carry her. 3
Hiei said nothing more about the time it would take; he wasn't surprised by how long this trip would take, since there hadn't been a deadline set to get back. In truth, he wished the expedition would take longer, give them time to fully take in their world before being sent back to the place he hated so much.
He pushed the thought away, along with the underlying thought that they could simply disappear if they wished. That would be something he would wait on, something he would consider once it was closer to time to leave.
Hiei's attention was pulled back as he almost missed the branch he hopped across, only just hearing Shikiyoku's words as he smoothly adjusted his stride through the branches of the trees.
A scoff escaped him. "If you can't run on your own two feet, then what would you be without me?" Of course, he was only half taunting. Plus, the longer they were here, the better off he felt. *
"Maybe I can fly." She fired back. "You don't know."
The air was getting to Shikiyoku's head and she nearly laughed at him.
As she ran a seemingly stray leaf fluttered into her path and stuck to her forehead, kept there by her forward motion. While her eyebrows moved downwards into a frown, the grin from before stayed at the amusement of the leaf that could now not leave.
Without pause she reached up and plucked it from her face, holding it in front of her eyes.
The edges of it were whipped around as she kept moving and she glanced at the ground underneath her as she ran, the leaf now wriggling between her fingers.
Whimsically, Shikiyoku leapt down to the forest floor, continuing her forward motion for a few steps along the ground, and held the leaf out to her right, dropping it and grinning as she easily made the return to the branches above just as a giant maw snapped shut around the leaf which squealed in pain and fell silent as the mouth came back open and spread back out onto the ground.
Shikiyoku had started jumping backwards from branch to branch in order to watch the trap do its work, a wild look in her eyes that did not pass as she spun back around in midair, laughing into the leaves around her as she did so. 3
Hiei turned his eyes down to the ground as he passed the trap that Shikiyoku had enticed, a shrill sound filling the air only for a moment before the only sounds were of himself and Shikiyoku again, and the leaves that moved with the wind that picked up. The dry air was hot, throwing dirt and various debris around and around, including the branches that occasionally swat down at him, but otherwise moved from his path.
Hiei's eyes moved skyward, looking through the breaks in the branches and leaves, searching for the creature that had begun making loud squawks from above. Their energy levels were low, as weak as most demonic creatures were, and while they posed no actual threat, he knew that even the lowest level of demon would not hesitate to make a swoop at him or Shikiyoku.
For the moment, the creatures were only moving ahead, seemingly uninterested, but he was careful to keep his senses aware of the creatures all around, occasionally moving away from whatever would have stood in his way. Might as well ignore the pests.
After all, he didn't work for pest control. *
The trees around them began thinning, though this did not slow their progress any, simply forcing their leaps to be longer ones between the trees, most of whom almost seemed to stretch to catch Shikiyoku in their embrace, her feet never allowed to falter or slip.
"Lake ahead." Was all she said in explanation of the trees that continued to lessen in density around them.
When in front of her eyes she could see the end of the treeline, Shikiyoku took one final leap as she broke out from the branches, the leaves whispering around her body as she escaped from them, hair streaming behind her along with her cloak as she shot upwards past the forest into the clearing.
The treeline extended in a giant circle to the left and right, indicating that the forest was not gone, simply staying out of the reach of the lake in the middle of them. The far shore was distant indeed as the enormous trees seemed only ten inches tall from this side.
Shikiyoku's feet hit the ground steadily and she took off running without pause, heading straight for the lake itself.
The water, if it was indeed water, looked like it could have been jello for how smooth the surface of it stayed, but here and there bubbles rose up from the deep to disturb the glass-like consistency, indicating that the lake was not a dead one, but had activities going on in its depths that were unseen from above.
Its waters were purple in color, a stark contrast to even the red shades of the grass over which Shikiyoku sped. As they approached, it became obvious that one would not be able to see much more than twenty feet down before the water became too dark for even demonic eyes to penetrate further..
At about fifty feet away, Shikiyoku burst almost instantaneously into full-speed, giving no hesitation about how she meant to traverse this lake.
Her dark hair still swept angrily about in the air behind her, her cloak covering her shoulders and upper body but flapping madly outwards from beyond her waist as she became just a crimson blur in the air.
Shikiyoku's eyes flashed with excitement as she neared the waters' edge, letting out any stops as her speed increased even just a little more, her first step so quick upon the water that she did not break through the surface's tension, but instead ran confidently along the surface leaving barely a ripple behind any time her foot contacted with the water.
Her path stayed straight over the top of the lake as she made a beeline for the other shoreline and the trees beyond.
The inhabitants of the water, made specifically for attacking anything that disturbed from above, stirred as she started across, here and there tentacle-like appendages, ranging from what could have been octopus-sized to a much more imposing kraken grasp, rising up and wriggling about, a few striking out at the places she had been moments before, but always missing her mere streak of a figure.
Shikiyoku could see a much larger disturbance of water in front of her, the lake starting to roil and shift into a bump growing steadily in size as something from below started rapidly approaching the surface.
A gigantic, carnivorous fish-creature burst out of the water and launched into the air with Shikiyoku in the path of his return, his jaws open and at least thirty feet across, lined with several rows of sharp, meat-tearing teeth.
Smirking, Shikiyoku lowered her body even closer to the water to streamline her wind resistance and allow her to speed up just fast enough that she practically flew under the belly of the beast as it passed over her, its trajectory missing the top of her head by mere feet.
His tail came down in an attempt to swipe her down into the water when he knew he missed his initial attack and Shikiyoku crouched further, her grin dangerous.
She silently dared the tail to hit her, but the timing was such that she simply dashed below it and out of the creature's shadow back into the daylight, not once pausing to look back. 3
Hiei had kept his senses almost entirely trained on the path ahead, the little bit he didn't use on his running and jumping used for searching for threats, none of which worried him in the slightest. Branches had fallen in his path, but instead of simply cutting through them as he normally would have the last time he'd been here, he merely ducked under them and around when he could. No need to harm the forestry within the first few moments of his return, right? They weren't attacking, merely moving back into the position they'd been in when disturbed by Shikiyoku's energy.
The second he heard her call about a lake ahead, His eyes turned back down to his path from the skies above, his steps becoming more measured as he began assessing Shikiyoku's reaction to such an anomaly.
But she didn't even pause, much to his amusement. While she ran over the water, Hiei decided to simply pick up his speed and go around, skirting the edge of the trees and lake easily, eyes all the while trained on Shikiyoku, just in case.
He had, of course, considered following, but she seemed to have it all under control, so he simply met her on the other side, batting away a few insects that emerged when he disturbed the grass area, the insects left as nothing more than limp bodies in his wake, their size almost as large as he was tall.
"Seems like you're rather amused," he commented lightly. *
Shikiyoku grinned impishly at him, her eyes sparkling, but she said nothing, leaping up into the treeline again once they approach and taking off into the overgrowth once more.
~!**!~
Mountains loomed before them after several more hours of running just as a dusk began settling across the sky. From far away, they did not appear to stretch very far in width, but the illusion was broken as the demonic pair came closer.
The giant peaks, though seen from the air to be merely a circle, extended as far as the eye could see in either direction from the ground.
They appeared a dusty orange and burnt yellow as the light began to fade, though in truth they were simply grey stone. Rising majestically out of the earth, they towered above even the highest of the trees in the surrounding forest, commanding the attention of all the area. They appeared still, no movement to be seen on their sides, frozen in time, sentinels gazing out ever-watchful of the activities happening beneath their monstrous peaks.
As with the lake, it was almost like even the trees stayed a respectful distance from the foot of the mountains, the closest ones at least fifty feet out.
Shikiyoku did not stop as she broke out of the trees again, arcing through the air to land confidently upon the reddened dirt outside the range of the treeline where even the grass did not try to grow.
She finished the distance to the mountains without pause and began scaling the side in leaps and bounds, zig-zagging back and forth higher and higher up, the ground falling away behind her.
The outside of the mountains was covered in a red dust that got kicked up each time Shikiyoku landed before taking off again.
Twilight had settled across the Ninth Level just as they reached a place inbetween the mountains, a shoulder where they could start to make passage into the interior that the mountains encircled.
With just a score more in feet, they reached a place where the mountains dropped back down and the valley opened out before them and Shikiyoku at the sight did stop for a moment, resting a hand against the mountain and standing still as her eyes took it all in.
This side of the mountains was blackened as if burnt, as was all of the foliage of the valley below. The trees here seemed different, of varying sizes some of which did rival the red ones they left behind, but much stiller compared to those before. The air felt less menacing, and there were no creatures in sight, and in fact there were no creatures at all, nothing of danger to worry about.
In the distance, between trees, there was a slight twinkling that indicated water, but they were still so far away that nothing more could be seen of it immediately.
Shikiyoku smiled and said nothing to Hiei at first, but this...this was home. Or it had been. A very long time ago.
"There's a story demons tell about this place." She began as her eyes scanned the valley beneath them. "The first demon, the one who fell from above, broke through all eight layers of what would become known as Demon World and landed here, on the final level. He fell so fast that he became sheathed in fire on the way down, and he hit so hard that the ground rose up around him. There was much blood spilled from his impact and it flew up so high into the air that it showered down on the Ninth Level for six days, which is why everything here is red. It took him all six of those days to recover, and he spent every minute of it with his entire body encased in the flames from his descent. That's why this side of the mountains is black. And everything that's grown here since then has been black as well."
For the first time in her life, Shikiyoku felt a sudden shyness as she gave a sidelong glance at Hiei, her lips turned upwards in a small smile that reflected that same shy feeling.
"You're the only other being that's ever been in this place." She cast her gaze back out over the valley. "If we don't count the first demon." She added quietly as an afterthought as she began hopping down the side of the mountain to the ground below. 3
Hiei pulled to a stop beside Shikiyoku, crimson eyes taking in the scenery below. For the first time in what felt like ages, he'd had a little trouble keeping up, the terrain having been something other than he'd initially expected, but he had adjusted enough to only put him a few seconds behind Shikiyoku.
So by the time he stopped beside her, she was telling a rather interesting story, one that he hadn't heard before. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and then back down to the darkened mountainside, taking everything in like a sponge with water.
Curiosity hit him, and he glanced at her just in time to catch her soft smile. For a moment, that smile threw him off guard, and he stared before turning back to the land outstretched before them. "And why might that be?"
He wondered why she would take him here, if no other being besides herself had passed through. Was it a closed-off territory, meant for no trespassers, or was it simply because of the terrain difficulties? "Rather interesting," he admitted in a quiet voice, more to himself than to her as he followed after once more, feet swiftly adjusting to each step he made. *
As they descended, Shikiyoku thought back to the circumstances that drove her here.
She had not been very old for a demon, hardly more than a toddler. Her mother banished her from the place she had been born, compelling her to avoid all contact with other demons.
For good reason.
As it was, she'd been forced to wander the outskirts of the ninth level, nearly getting caught at one point and retreating up one side of these mountains, leaving the demons who chased her behind as they appeared hesitant to so much as approach, much less climb, the side of the mountain.
"I think because...demons are scared of this place because of the story, as if a demon big enough to make a crater like this was something to stay away from, both it and the valley it made alike."
Fortune had smiled on her that day, and she'd practically grown up in this peaceful valley.
On this side of the mountain, once they went down far enough, there were trees scattered sparsely along the slope, as if defiantly attempting to climb out themselves.
A cool, comforting breeze starting blowing through the leaves below them as Shikiyoku jumped down off the side of the mountain, this time to the ground beneath the trees.
Nothing here reacted to her presence, and her running slowed as they reached the far left side of the valley, a small clearing opening up that had one extra large tree growing up out of the middle of it.
Shikiyoku stopped here and stood, hands on her hips, looking up at the tree that could have rivaled a Yggdrasil in its size, the trunk so big around that it would have taken ten of her to encircle it with her arms. The roots made a sort of small cove that she fondly remembered laying in, her head resting up against the trunk as she slept with no fear, a truly deep sleep.
She absently took a bite of the fruit she'd pulled down on their way, tossing a second in Hiei's direction as she slipped off her cloak, the black of her outfit making her blend in more appropriately with their surroundings as opposed to sticking out like so much crimson blood against the dark ground.
She pointed lazily to a particular tree across the way as she took another bite, not bothering to swallow before she spoke up.
"Any of the fruit here is edible. And safe. These ones grow in those trees." She regarded the fruit curiously. Its meat-flavor was one she hadn't forgotten, but its juiciness had always struck her as an odd combination.
"And that one," She pointed to a different tree on the other side, "Has especially sweet fruit." She kept pointing. "That one is sour. That one is spicy." She swallowed, pausing before she took another bite, "Don't mix up which is which." She advised wryly as she bit her teeth down into the juicy meat-fruit again, sounding like one who had experience with such a notion. 3
Hiei had followed to the very bottom of the clearing, his eyes scanning the area or any danger, though he could already tell there was no such thing here. Even the plants were peaceful, and he figured no demon would dare disrupt such a haven. It made even him feel as if this place could be called home, if he so desired to call it such a thing.
With lazy ease, Hiei caught the fruit that was tossed at him, grasping it from the air and inspecting it curiously, taking in its texture, its appearance, and its smell before deciding to even try it. He was quick to look up and follow the direction Shikiyoku's finger pointed, memorizing each tree and the type of fruit it bared as he lifted the one in his hand to his mouth, taking a small bite and finding himself unsure what he thought of such a thing.
His expression shifted, nose crinkling and eyes narrowing at the strange flavor, the strange texture of the fruit that he now stared at. He rolled it over and over in his hand as he chewed and swallowed the small bite he'd had.
"Interesting," he commented for the second time in the past half hour, lifting the fruit to his mouth again and taking another bite, this time finding it satisfactory. Curious, he turned and made his way to the tree that held the "spicy" fruit, plucking a small pear-like fruit from the branches and inspecting it as well before taking a bite, eyes widening with surprise at the amount of heat that immediately burned at his lips and tongue, the texture gruffer than that of the smooth meat-like fruit. Together, it was a rather delicious taste.
"I assume we're staying here for a bit?" he asked, not caring that his mouth was full. *
By the time Hiei turned back around, Shikiyoku had finished the one fruit and now held three more, standing in the same spot looking as if she'd never left to snatch them from the trees nearby.
She only nodded, contemplating the fruit from which she'd just taken a bite thoughtfully.
She did answer after swallowing this time, still staring down at the fruit, her voice only a murmur, "I wanted to stop here. At least for a little bit. It's been so long." She lifted her head and gazed dreamily off into the distance, enjoying the peacefulness that she always had associated with her former home.
Seeing that Hiei had nearly finished what he held, she absently tossed him one of the two in her hands, "Here's a sweet one."
She didn't realized she'd actually tossed him the sour of the two that she had in her grasp, promptly walking forward to lay her cloak over one of the roots that bent upwards out of the ground from the tree before them. 3
Hiei had taken turns biting once from both fruits until he had nearly finished them off, the spicy one being devoured much faster due to its smaller size compared to the meat-like fruit. He swallowed another bite and glanced at the tree that he had harvested the spicy one from, considering grabbing another despite his burning lips and tongue, when Shikiyoku called to him.
He turned to face her, mouth full of the meaty fruit again when he realized she was tossing him another, finding that the idea of a sweet taste after such a combination he'd just had sounded very appealing. He could only imagine what it tasted like, though it could be completely different than what he had thought. He was expecting an immense amount of sweetness, so he finished off the meaty fruit before tearing a small part of the fruit away from the skin of it, inspecting it between his index and thumb before tossing it into his mouth.
And the shock he received made his entire body jerk and then promptly go still, his eyes wide as saucers as the intense sour sensation filled his mouth, making his lips pull inward and his eyes squeeze shut with the sensation he experienced with his tastebuds.
A cough shook his chest, but he did not spit out the fruit. He bravely swallowed it, the sour sensation lingering, even seeming to strengthen once the bite was gone from his teeth.
His eyes narrowed once they were reopened, a glare being sent over to Shikiyoku. He opened his mouth to speak, but the air that he sucked in reacted almost violently with the sourness that still coated his tongue, making him turn and spit out as much of the vile liquid as he could in utter disgust. It took everything in his power not to retch at the awful combination he'd just experienced.*
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star