A/N: Hello once again fellow, Dearest Yu Yu Hakusho Lovers!
Another chapter, just for you. Yes, you.
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!
Yusuke takes Akari to the arcade in town,
and the two of them play a fighting game together,
Yusuke eventually pulling out a win.
~!**!~
Hiei and Shikiyoku make their way through the first city on their trek across the Ninth Level of Demon World.
Shikiyoku makes friends with a Guild Leader of one of the mercenary guilds,
and Hiei takes a fire-attuned sword for himself, stirring up some trouble.
Shikiyoku retreats to the top of a nearby building as Hiei takes care of the chasing authorities,
but ends up needing Hiei's assistance as a snake demon becomes enthralled by her energy.
In a fit of anger, Shikiyoku attempts to revert to her demonic form,
(most demons would see her connection with her Champion that way and leave her alone)
but fails and instead only catches the attention of any demons on the street.
Hiei picks her up and retreats out of the city...
When Shikiyoku felt Hiei's arms moving underneath her, she relaxed into his hold, knowing her weight would be of little consequence to a demon even as she leaned forward into his back and shoulders to help counteract the balance issues she might cause at his rapid pace.
Her thoughts remained dark and murderous, wrestling for the first time in her life with visions of actually killing another being, something she had never done with her own hands.
At that very moment though, she desired nothing more than to annihilate her other side, to wipe her from existence, to obliterate her, to-
Shikiyoku squeezed her eyes tighter together where she had her face hidden against Hiei's neck, loosely burying her fingers into the white scarf around his neck, violent thoughts filled with blood and gore running through her head until she was awash in a sea of red, her entire body strung taut. She wished to tear the very face off that she knew Toriko shared with her, as if somehow underneath it would be her true form that had only been waiting to be freed in such a way.
It wasn't as if all her problems would vanish were she in demon form, but the pact between her and her Champion would be obvious to any other demon no matter the distance that separated them, and the vast majority of Demon World would avoid her as to be accidentally enraptured would mean death by the hand of he who watched over her, the higher level ones only approaching her for work. Or pleasure. Or both; they often coincided for her anyway.
She sighed and felt herself relaxing again, the rhythm of the fire demon, both his core and his feet, steady and strong underneath her, his warmth cutting through her disjointed and angered thoughts and lulling her into a calm. 3
Hiei's feet continued in the steady rhythm he had created, making a beating song all its own against the ground that transitioned from dry dirt that kicked up with each step to grass that quieted his steps only a little. When Shikiyoku shifted around a little on his back, he glanced over his shoulder at her, only just realizing she had her face buried in his back and fingers hidden in his scarf.
His eyes turned forward again, his Jagan periodically making a sweep for threats in the area, but for the moment, all seemed well. He was simply moving too fast for most demons to even sense his presence, much less get a look at him and land a strike.
As time wore on, Hiei began letting his feet slow to a jog, no longer worried about any threats from the city that was now miles and miles behind them. His grip on Shikiyoku loosened enough to keep her seated comfortably on his back, but it also conveyed that there was now no need to continue any form of escape because there was no longer much threat aside from the creatures in the underbrush that they would have to trek through.
And still, he didn't say anything. He could feel the anger that she was sifting through as if it were his own, and he didn't want to interrupt.
~!**!~
Akari gave a shrug as she tipped the stool backwards, toying with the balance for a few moments, a single hand on the machine to keep herself from falling backwards. "Surely you don't need company to stay amused?" she asked as she set the legs on the ground again and placed her own feet on the floor, standing up and retreating from the machine.
"While I'm sure you had valid reason to skip class other than video games, I do have my own reasons for doing the same." She tossed a smirk over her shoulder at the boy before turning to continue on, sashaying her way around the machines with complete intent on leaving.
But she wasn't really sure what she'd do next, honestly. While she did enjoy the distraction Yusuke provided, she didn't enjoy the games as much, likely because of her mood. She paused and turned to face the direction of the detective again. "Unless you're hungry, perchance?" *
Yusuke raised his eyebrows as she spoke, having already guessed at the reason why she had skipped classes for that day. A certain other red-head attended the same school as she, after all.
"I could definitely go for something to eat." Yusuke admitted. "You gotta place in mind?" He stood up and trotted after her to catch up, sticking his hands in his pockets and remembering the licorice from earlier, slipping a stick of it in his mouth before putting his hands behind his head as they walked, looking up into the sky.
~!**!~
The feeling that had fueled her escape earlier from the city had faded completely, and when she experimentally felt about them, she could sense no demons in the area and knew that with her presence removed, those behind her who had given chase would die to the dangers outside the city walls.
As if echoing her realizations, she felt Hiei beneath her grow less concerned with their speed as well, loosening his grip and slowing to move along at a more comfortable pace.
She could honestly admit to herself that she didn't really want to get down, despite her observations during the beginning part of their trek that she was adamant he would not be carrying her. It felt...nice.
All of the things that made her wary to let him do so at first seemed far away, somewhere beyond the sturdiness of his body as it never faltered along their pathway as well as the warmth afforded him by his kind.
Finally though, after letting several more miles pass, she pulled her head up, sighing as she leaned it against Hiei's with her eyes closed still because of their speed and murmured into his ear, "You can let me down now." 3
Hiei glanced back at Shikiyoku as she again shifted, her head just lightly pressing against his and very quickly gaining his attention. He raised a brow at her request, but he did slow down until, after a few more moments, he was standing still and uncurling his arms from underneath her knees, crouching just enough that when she moved, her feet would just touch the ground and she would be standing.
"No more cities," he said in a low voice, his tone even as he considered her for a moment. "I dislike them."
~!**!~
Akari gave a lopsided smile at Yusuke as he caught up, fueled by the idea of food to walk by her side and follow her to wherever she decided to eat. The first place that popped into mind was the shop that Toriko had shown her once before, when they'd gone to eat in "celebration" of her test grade.
"Ramen stands are rather popular around here," she commented casually, glancing at him again as he stuck candy between his lips and laced his fingers behind his head lazily. A small huff of a laugh left her and she turned forward again, eyes on the sidewalk she followed. "There's one I particularly enjoy more than the others." *
"Always an excellent choice." Yusuke agreed as he walked alongside her, catching her spying the stick he spoke around as he pulled one out and held it out to her, interpreting her glance as one that wished to have a piece. "Wan' it?"
~!**!~
Shikiyoku didn't feel as if she had the strength to argue with him at that moment, though neither did she particularly blame him for his dislike either. Not after what they had just been through.
She did know, however, that the areas surrounding the cities were some of the most hazardous within the ninth level and that the trek through a city, even if chased by countless demons, would be much less dangerous as there would be little to actually catch them should it come to that. Outside the walls? There were things that were much, much faster than even Hiei.
After standing on her own legs, she immediately reached within her cloak to the inside layer, and tearing a long strip of the black fabric that lined it from the part that faced her body where the missing piece would be unnoticeable, held it out to Hiei, refusing to look him in the eyes, saying nothing. 3
Hiei let his arms hang at his sides when Shikiyoku was standing on her own, immediately turning to face her as he considered several things. If it weren't for his own need to amuse himself, he'd still be able to see the inside of the city he'd just distanced himself and Shikiyoku from. He actually did enjoy looking through trading stands, and the one that had interested him most had, inevitably, lead to a city-wide chaos, in a sense.
All aimed at them.
The thought made a very tight-lipped frown pull at his lips and his eyes turn back to look in the direction they'd just come from. He hadn't minded cities before, since he hadn't had to account for another person with him when he acted as he desired, but now that he wasn't sure what would happen with another person with him, particularly Shikiyoku and her type of energy, it made him wary of cities altogether.
He heard a ripping sound and his eyes slid back over to Shikiyoku, eyeing the the strip of fabric being offered to him. He didn't have to ask to know what it was for. And he didn't hesitate to accept it either, swiftly tying the thin material around his forehead as the Jagan slid closed for its own type of hibernation.
"Which direction?"
~!**!~
"Hm?" Akari hummed out in slight confusion as her eyes slid back to Yusuke, her eyes considering the candy he held out to her. After a moment, she gingerly took it from him and lifted the stick to her nose, sniffing at the licorice curiously, cautiously. It wasn't too bad of a smell, but it wasn't one that automatically told her she'd enjoy the taste either.
So she stuck the end of the candy into her mouth and tore off a bite, chewing thoughtfully as the odd flavor coated her tongue. It wasn't so bad, she supposed, despite her definitive lack for a sweet tooth.
"Thanks," she grumbled before tearing another piece away from the candy and chewing. She fell almost completely silent again as she munched. "It's good." *
"It's fairly easy to snag." He explained, "And it fits in my pockets so I can take it in anywhere." Here he shrugged as if uncaring whether the answer sounded lazy or not. His thoughts wandered to the ramen they would soon be eating and his stomach let out a hungry growl that made his face break into a smile. "I hope it's not that far."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku didn't say anything at first when he asked, her gaze trained steadily on him with an unreadable look before glancing about them.
The spot he had placed her down in was clear enough, surprisingly safe, at least at that moment.
She turned back to him and slipped her cloak off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground a foot away from her, not answering his question.
"You might want to step back." She warned, closing her eyes as her hair began to whisper around her shoulders just enough to make one think it were alive, her entire body starting to tingle from her scalp to her toes.
She deliberately turned her head away from him as her energy manifested in her eyes as the same green glow that had hidden her pupils previously, opening them once he was not in eyesight and letting them stare unblinkingly forward as her hair started to almost float in a wind that wasn't there. 3
Hiei blinked once at Shikiyoku's warning before turning to do as she had instructed, retreating into the tallest branches of a tree a few yards away from her, so that were something to happen, he could still swoop in and interfere in a moment's notice. His crimson eyes took to looking about his surroundings, the wind moving around him at a stronger push up in the tops of this tree than on the ground, making his hair move atop his head and cloak whip around his shins.
Nothing seemed out of the norm. Nothing seemed to stand out from here, his eyes searching each and every shadow he could see in the trees, on the ground, and anywhere else he could see them. But inevitably, his eyes turned downwards to Shikiyoku again, observing, wondering what she was doing this time.
~!**!~
Akari gave a small smile at the path ahead of her, picturing Yusuke smuggling more than just a handful or two of this candy into buildings that wouldn't allow such a thing to happen if they were aware of it. Movie theaters, for instance, would have him throw it out in a heartbeat.
She stuck the last bit of the candy into her mouth and chewed, at first not noticing the slight change of the scent in the air. It wasn't a very prominent change, something only a demon would have picked up. But when she did finally notice the smell, her feet stopped moving and her eyes began searching the area, her nose flaring with each test of the air she inhaled, trying to find the direction the smell came from.
"Yusuke," she mumbled out, that being the only thing she did in order to grab his attention as her eyes followed an invisible trail that only her nose paved for her. She turned to follow the smell, crossing the street at a jog to avoid traffic.
With the smell of the blood so weak from here, there was no telling how far the danger was from the town. So her feet continued to pick up in pace, despite the protest her torso gave to her swinging arms.
The scent lead her weaving through alleyways, behind houses, around shops until she was standing just outside of town, the scent strong enough to make her nose crinkle. No human would survive that much blood loss.
Yet, there was no body in sight. Only a small, wrinkled old woman passing by. At first, she thought nothing of it, but her eyes did follow the elderly woman that turned to look at her, eyes much older than the skin she wore. *
At first Yusuke only glanced over at Akari when she murmured his name, but when she took off across the middle of the street he scrambled after her, calling out, "Red?! Hey, Red!"
She didn't appear to hear him, or was ignoring him, but the abrupt shift in her demeanor made the hairs at the back of his neck stand up and he stopped trying to get her attention, taking to keeping apace with her and noting the strange look in her eyes.
He didn't even see the old woman, but he did accidentally shoulder into her and he muttered an apology when he took note of her age as she looked over at Akari.
~!**!~
The last time she'd tried this her mind had been fueled by the fury she felt with her current form, and this time she approached the attempt at change with a much clearer head.
It had only been because of her anger that such a forceful and uncontrolled wave of her energy had captured the attention of the entire city, though here in the blood-red forest around them there was no chance of capturing the attention of thousands of demons all at once anyway.
As she slowly accessed the demonic energy within her, the motion deliberate and measured, a yellow aura of the stuff began shimmering around her and while there was still a pulsing of a wave out from her body, it was much more within her grasp, extending not much farther than a foot or so, but it steadily continued pulsing as if reflecting the beat of the core within her.
The yellow energy started becoming more concentrated around her body even as the rest of it wove into the air like so much fire, hiding the details of her form from view as it made a heavy veil that continued to darken until her body looked almost completely black.
Her image shuddered at that point, as if trying to shift, and the pulsing waves faltered.
Within her, that same wall, that same sense of Toriko blocking her, rose up and Shikiyoku felt the same flash of anger ring through her body that had spurred her onwards before and she rushed headlong into that wall inside her head, the next pulse of energy out of her body stronger, the next two following the same before Shikiyoku smacked into the wall.
Her energy fell away all at once and she stood still looking normal, black hair, green eyes.
Her fists clenched together and in a blast of energy she was at the point she had just left, her breath coming faster than before and the pulsing waves more intense and closer together in time from one another, her eyes clouding over as she looked within.
The same thing happened as had the previous two times and Shikiyoku could feel her ire rising as she was forced to cut power once more, a line of sweat around her hairline before she tried again, this time with much more force than previously.
Things were stirring in the forest about them by this time, and a small scaly creature hopped out from the undergrowth and sat not inches away from her feet, staring up at her with wide and almost innocent eyes if not for the too sharp teeth that were visible as its mouth hung open while trying to look into her face. 3
Hiei watched with his head tilted slightly in curiosity, his eyes taking in the energy that amassed around her, blocking his very view from her in a sense he didn't quite enjoy. Her energy continued to move about the area, even making the grass and plants around her move around and around in its own swirling typhoon of power.
He had to admit the sight was rather impressive.
But the thought that she had so much energy, and no ability to fight, made him scoff at the irony. If she could harness that power to fight, she'd be among the strongest demons he'd ever seen, if not the strongest. Her energy level was remarkable, but its purpose made the effect of seeing such an amount of energy dim.
He hadn't noticed the small demon right away that had approached Shikiyoku's feet, looking up at her. But when he did, his own eyes trained on the creature, his irises hardening in a silent warning that he knew the creature wouldn't see from there.
As soon as he had become aware of the creature, his mind became much more aware of the stirrings around the area, especially those closest to himself. Wings began to beat as demons were awoken, creatures began scurrying around in dazed confusion.
But still, the only one to have approached Shikiyoku was the one at her feet, and he watched as he slowly began moving down the branches of the tree. Admittedly, he was somewhat wary of approaching her, but if something happened, he'd be there in a millisecond.
~!**!~
Akari stared into the blue eyes of the elderly woman, noting a small film that covered the gaze that stared back at her with unease.
"E-excuse me, doll," the woman croaked as she brushed by Yusuke.
Akari reacted, pulling Yusuke away from her immediate reach as the woman had lifted a hand to grasp at Yusuke's arm. She placed herself between the two, avoiding the hand carefully as every hair on her body began to stand on end, her skin crawling as she realized this human had no spiritual energy at all. It was almost as if she had no source of energy, no life energy to speak of.
"You do not belong here," she whispered to the woman, glare harsh at the smile she received. It seemed so innocent.
"I was just out on a walk, sweety."
Akari's nostrils flared as the smell of her breath hit her nose, disgust quickly evident on her features and her energy instinctively moving about in her body, rapidly filling the area as she stepped away from the woman. Close quarter combat with this creature was not advised, so as she stepped backwards, she pushed Yusuke back as well, a low growl forming in her chest and rumbling in her throat. "Where is it?"
"I don't know what you're referring to.." *
Yusuke hadn't had time to react to Akari grabbing him, but he wondered at her addressing the old hag that way, not having taken her to be so harsh with her elders.
I mean...I'm a delinquent. But she's got no excuse.
When her energy burst from her body, stepping back and shoving Yusuke along with her, that he did notice and his eyebrows raised at her.
Granted, he could have just blasted the woman with a Spirit Gun, but what on earth was Akari thinking? They weren't supposed to harm humans. That was in the job description.
Somewhere.
Not that he had been given a manual.
Not that he would have read it.
Psh.
~!**!~
When Shikiyoku's energy cut off this time, her breath was coming much harsher out of her lungs.
She didn't even notice the creature who still sat staring wide-eyed up at her, nor did she take notice of the others that were crawling out of the woodwork to form a sort of peaceful circle around her with the same expression that the smaller one wore.
As she blasted out again with her energy, this pulse the largest so far, none of the creatures that were surrounding her seemed to be harmed by the high concentration that they were being exposed to, whereas if it had been any other type of demon hitting them with such waves of power, they all likely would have been disintegrated just by the exposure.
Some of the smaller ones wove their way out to come closer, and the littlest one, the one who had been standing in front of her the longest, closed his eyes as he hopped right up to her foot and began rubbing his scaly head against her ankle affectionately, the noise he made akin to a cat's purr as it gurgled in his throat.
A strange vine-looking one that slithered along like a snake slipped up her body until it wrapped around one arm, both of which were held out from her body at this point, fists clenched tightly and bent at the elbows.
One of the flyers, something like a miniature dragon, landed about her shoulders and first ran around the front of her neck before diving into her hair, his tiny black body invisible except for his fiery eyes that were half-lidded as he came to rest tangled up against her skull with his tail hanging out over one shoulder and draping in front of her neck like an onyx necklace.
She let go again, her breath coming no slower, a bead of sweat dripping down her back as the creatures around her being cooing and snarling and growling encouragingly at her efforts, all of them wearing expressions of contentment that they had likely never experienced in their lives.
Her concentration completely on the wall within, she did not hear or be aware of her audience as she tried again, beginning to rage at the wall Toriko held up with a strength Shikiyoku could simply not seem to match. 3
Hiei's eyes moved around as he paused halfway down the tree, witnessing many different types of creatures slithering, wobbling, crawling, flying from the tree all around him. He blinked and watched each and every single creature make its way to Shikiyoku, some curling at her feet and some actually curling around her body as if she were charming them into doing so for her own amusement. In truth, the sight was an interesting one.
None of the creatures seemed ready to do harm, only curl up as close to her as could be and to soak in the energy that radiated from her in stronger doses than before. They each looked to her with happiness, appreciation, innocence. It was starkly different from the look the demons in the city had had when her power had touched them.
And for the moment, he was almost completely sure his own expression turned to one of wonderment at the scene. He sat back, watching her and the creatures interact, seemingly without Shikiyoku noticing. But he felt no immediate threat. So he stayed on the branch he had occupied, completely taken with the moment.
~!**!~
Akari watched the old woman that smiled at her with closed lips, as if the woman noticed how keenly Akari searched for the last telltale sign of what she needed to know. "Why don't we part on good terms, deary?" the woman spoke, holding a hand out as if to shake. The distance that stood between her and Akari was only enough that if Akari so desired, she could actually reach out and take the hand with a fully extended arm.
And despite her caution earlier, she did just that, reaching her left hand out to take the hand just as a sound reached her ears, a hissing almost, and the woman swiped at her with speed she had trouble keeping up with. Claws had formed and the image of the elderly woman gave way to the image of a very leathery-like creature with wings, the same hand that had tried to strike at Akari swiping in another attempt as she stumbled backwards.
"Move, you moron!" she growled at Yusuke, breaking away from his proximity and moving to the demon's left,
"You've been very rude to others," the creature said in an almost dreamy tone, the s enunciated only slightly as a his with a long, round, thin tongue that showed itself through very sharp, very dangerous teeth as the creature ran at her with blinding speed, backwards feet not even slowing the creature that not only swiped at her, but threw a gurgled attack of acid from her throat over at Yusuke. *
It did take Akari's words to pull Yusuke from his stare as the old woman began to change, but he did manage to dodge away from her.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed as he spotted the flying spew of grossness coming his direction and deciding that he probably shouldn't let that hit him either and back-pedaled a few steps so that it fell to the ground in front of him, hissing as it ate into the concrete.
"What is that thing?!"
~!**!~
Shikiyoku repeated the process several more times: hair waves, eyes glow, energy pulsates outwards, aura forms, body darkens...wall rises.
She yelled angrily into the air, her fury giving her another hard shove of more powerful energy at the wall as her body kept shimmering and trying to morph.
This time when she cut power, her knees almost wouldn't hold her up and she took a step backwards before they could collapse underneath her to give herself a more sturdy stance, breathing heavily with the effort she'd been exerting.
It wasn't fair. How in the three worlds could this...this human, or near enough to disgust Shikiyoku into using the term, have more defensive power than the 'attacks' Shikiyoku mustered against it.
The very thought drove her into blasting out energy again as she could feel her body beginning shaking, enraged.
Again, she met the same wall, ever-passive, ever-resistant to anything she threw against it, again feeling her body trying desperately to bend to her will and change as she wished it, but to no avail as she could not get past that blasted wall.
Her anger made her so mad that as her body trembled with the emotion, she could feel tears of wrath stinging at the corners of her eyes that did not fall, but were still there nonetheless.
This time when her power fell away, her body actually wavered. She took no notice as she very quickly recharged.
This last attempt was short-lived as she collapsed to her hands and knees on the ground, shoulders tense as she started to rise, pushing herself up into a stand, body visibly shaking not just with her anger any longer.
Lost in her mind, taking not into account the very obvious protests her body tried to warn her over, she shoved away whatever itch it made at the back of her head as distraction and once again erupted with power. 3
Hiei's eyes widened just slightly as he was able to see the strain Shikiyoku was putting her body through now. His mind quickly shifted from his thoughts about the rather impressive and enlightening scene with the demonic creatures to thoughts over sudden worry that she would push herself too far, that she would collapse and become comatose.
He didn't want that, and he figured she didn't either. So Hiei dropped the rest of the way to the ground in only mere moments, his feet touching the grass and moving across the clearing until he was stepping around the animals at Shikiyoku's feet. His eyes zeroed in on hers, still with a harsh glow that made his thoughts falter for a moment, leaving him standing still as her energy beat against him to his very core.
He stood there, dazed, for a few moments before something shook him free of the charm and he reached forward, grabbing Shikiyoku's arm to keep her body still.
"That's enough," he spoke telepathically to her, knowing his actual voice would do no good. "Your body cannot take much more."
~!**!~
Akari was stumbling around, her footing unstable as she continued to back away from each strike the demon made at her, claws elongating ever so slightly with each miss. A continuous hiss escaped the demon's mouth through the sharp teeth in a sound that almost resembled a snicker.
"You're too slow!" The demon cackled as the claws just tore at her shirt and the bandages underneath, missing skin by a hair and making Akari growl and create shadows that enveloped her hands, something she had yet to test.
It was true, she wasn't as swift, but Akari swung out anyway, blocking the strike that had been aimed at her stomach with a shadow-encased arm. Surprisingly, the creature screamed and recoiled.
"What, shadows do harm? I thought you were friends with them."
She glanced over at Yusuke when he yelled at her, the creature turning and spitting again in his direction since he seemed to be a larger threat than Akari was. "A-"
Akari ducked and swung her arms at the creature again, striking the stomach of the Aswang that sucked in its belly to avoid her strike, allowing the girl to continue past and towards Yusuke. "Don't let it bite you, scratch you, spit on you, nothing!" She instructed as she passed him, her energy forming a shadow creature that resembled a large dog, eyes red and snarl louder than one she'd ever been able to produce. "No close combat!"
The shadowed figure had the Aswang by its ankle, snarling and pulling at the let, its head whipping from side to side as loud screeches filled the air, each swipe that hit her shadowed companion actually causing slight pain within Akari's core.
"Just kill it, would ya?" *
"Geez," Yusuke exclaimed again as the next shot of acid nearly brushed the toes of his shoes when he moved back again, arms out from his sides to maintain his balance.
"You realize," He yelled out at her, "That close combat is kinda what I do, right?" He found his back against a wall of the alleyway and grumbled to himself, his spirit energy flowing to his fists as he weighed whether or not to listen to Akari and stay back.
His eyes quickly glanced about them.
There was no one 'around,' at least not in the alley itself, and it wasn't like normal humans would be able to see his spirit gun, but they would see if it smacked into a building and blew the top of the thing off.
But when Yusuke noticed Akari had the thing pinned in place, he rolled his eyes and stepped away from the wall, pulling up his hands and pointing the first finger of the right one at the demon.
Spirit Gun!
The blue blast shot through the air, heading straight for the thing Akari had caught.
~!**!~
Within her head, the wall Shikiyoku fought with suddenly took on Hiei's face and aura and she started back just as she would have hit at it again, hearing his calm voice echoing through her mind and becoming aware that he had taken a hold of her arm.
Another pulse of energy escaped in the time it took for her to comprehend that he had approached her, and she turned her head away from him to close her eyes, a frown making her eyebrows clench together as she gave up her power all at once and it blipped out of existence save for the usual, high-leveled scent that wafted invisibly about her out of her awareness.
Without the energy coursing actively through her veins, she could feel her knees collapsing, the exhaustion of her constant tirade sweeping across her limbs as she wavered just between standing and sitting. 3
Hiei waited patiently until her energy disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared, creating almost a pause in the clearing as time seemed to stand still for just a moment. In the next moment, creatures were moving and Shikiyoku's body was trembling, her muscles giving way to the strain she had placed herself under.
His hand tightened around her upper arm just a little as he held her upright, unable to get much closer without practically kicking away the creatures at their feet aside. He eyed her slowly, keenly. "Don't make sudden movements," he warned quietly, eyes slowly moving to the creatures that perched on her body in various places. He hadn't a clue what they'd do.
~!**!~
Akari spun to stand behind Yusuke, watching her own handiwork with a sense of pride. Normally, that attack didn't do more than run through a person, demons under middle D class being paralyzed by the attack on their nerves. But this… This was odd, since the creature was actually a creature of the night.
Makes no sense. Why's it out anyway?
The Aswang swung at her creature, and the shadows separated as acid was spat simultaneously. Just as Yusuke fired his shot, the creature was up and moving again, just missing the shot and charging underneath it, screeching as it ran with a limp, one foot that had been originally backwards now facing inward. Akari moved almost immediately to the side of Yusuke, going for the Aswang's dominant side and aiming another strike with her shadow-encased hands at the ankle that wasn't harmed. With a single swipe down at her, Akari lost a few strands of hair and the last of the binding of the bandages underneath her shirt, though her shirt was only torn in four places.
A snarl and strike later, Akari had the demon on the ground again. "Shoot again!" she growled out while more shadows slid across the ground, acting as bindings as Akari crouched to the side not caring much if she were close enough to be struck by the edges of the attack. But she did move away, more so to avoid the acid spit at her than to avoid Yusuke. *
Yusuke refrained from grumbling, taking the opportunity again to shoot a second blast.
"If I miss this time," He shouted at her as the energy blasted from his finger, "I'm just gonna start wailing on it with my bare fists!"
~!**!~
Shikiyoku's eyes came back open from where they'd closed as she felt her body wanting to collapse as Hiei gripped her arm tighter.
She had not taken note of a single one of the creatures that surrounded her when they first approached, but as her vision cleared and focused back onto the outside world, neither did her expression particularly change at the sight of them.
The countless pairs of eyes trained on her did nothing for her dark mood and her lip lifted in a snarl.
"Go. Away."
The larger ones in the back almost immediately turned away, as did the others who were the most recent among their number and the group thinned, the creatures apparently not willing to attack one another for as long as Shikiyoku's energy lingered within them.
For the littlest one, he stayed where he had sat on top of her foot, his scaly tail wrapped around her ankle and his expression pleased as he stared up at her in his version of a smile.
Shikiyoku shook her other arm with an irritated look as the vine-snake did not remove itself at once.
"Get off." She growled again as she felt it loosening and then finally dropping to the ground, the last vestiges of her anger still simmering just along the surface of her emotions.
The slightest bit of movement just at the outskirts of her vision over her eyebrows caught her gaze and she found herself straining her eyes upwards to spy a tiny black-scaled dragon-head bent upside down from over the top of her head with two glimmering eyes set like rubies on its face staring at her.
Realizing the dragon was woven tightly into her black hair, Shikiyoku pursed her lips together and glared back at it.
Sensing her unhappiness, Shikiyoku could feel the dragon's belly expanding as it took in a breath, then trilled a sounded from its throat that sounded so much like Maneshi's pleased murl that a sudden smile broke out over her face and she reached up to stroke a finger along its scaly neck, which made it gurgle in pleasure.
"It's hard to stay mad at something so eager to please." She admitted to it as it closed its eyes, enjoying her attentions. 3
Hiei let his grip loosen just a little on her arm as Shikiyoku shook her opposite arm free of the creature that had latched onto her. His eyes turned downward to see most of the creatures had left, aside from a few that lingered, even closer to her than before now that the area had thinned of creatures considerably.
He eyed the creature around Shikiyoku's ankle. It was a rather odd looking thing, a type of creature he didn't know how to classify. He hadn't ever seen anything like it, and quite frankly, he was half tempted to reach down and touch it to test the scaly look of its body.
But he didn't do it though. Touching a creature he wasn't familiar with wasn't something he would do, since he wasn't sure of what type of attacks it could have. If it bit him, he could die on the spot for all he knew.
"Perhaps we should continue on."
~!**!~
Akari rolled her eyes at Yusuke as she danced around the continuous clumps of acid shot at her like cannonballs. Yusuke's blast lit up the alleyway again, blinding Akari for a moment and she pulled an arm up to cover her eyes, her back pressing against the building she had accidentally pinned herself to.
The screeching in the alleyway stopped abruptly, replaced with the sound of sizzling skin as the blast died away. Akari's arm fell to her side again and she looked down at the remains of the demon.
"That, my dear detective, is called an Aswang." she said slowly, turning to look around herself again as her nose refocused on the smell of human blood. "They're notorious for their poisonous bite and their claws that are coated with the same acid as their spit, which could burn through skin before you even realize you've been hit. Oddly enough, clothing goes unharmed by the acid, hence the reason my shirt is still intact. They're not very popular with even demonworld. They hide a lot and normally hunt at night."
She paused, drawing in a deep breath. She didn't want to tell him what they preyed on. "The old lady disguise is something they adapted when the three worlds separated, so they could hide here without being noticed and hunt all they wish."
She didn't look at him as she turned to walk away, her nose twitching as her eyes moved around and around the alleyway. There was no sign of blood in sight, so it was very clear the creature had done well in learning the tactic of hiding the remains. "I'm surprised you can't smell this." she commented as she continued down the alleyway and out into the open area between the town's buildings and the trees, not slowing at all as she continued following the stench. *
Yusuke laughed nervously as he followed after Akari, putting a hand up behind his head and scratching at his hair in a motion reflecting the type laughter he loosened.
"Sniffing things out isn't really my speciality. I'm usually following Kuwabara's nose."
~!**!~
"I..." Shikiyoku started to speak, realizing as she tried to move forward that her legs weren't going to respond, unsure of how she'd been able to stay up this long on them in the first place. "I think I need to sit down." She was going to have to rest before they kept moving, as delicious as resuming her position on Hiei's back and letting him do the running work sounded at the moment.
A pang from their pact jolted her as the tempting thought of forcing him to do so flitted across her mind.
I know. I know. Can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do. I get it.
Hiei waited for the rest of that sentence, hand still lingering below her elbow just in case. He could see the muscle strain seem to become worse, her legs shaking more as she finally continued talking. He wasn't surprised by her observation. In fact, he actually agreed, aside from the creatures that were still attached to her. He wasn't sure what would happen when the effect of her energy wore off.
He weighed his options carefully for a few minutes. If they stayed, there was a possibility that she would recover, regain her strength in time that they could leave without any incidents. But, if they stayed and her energy wore off from the creatures before she recovered, he would still have to make an escape for the both of them.
Might as well stay ahead of the game.
"Shake them off," he said slowly, eyeing the two creatures left on her body. He himself wouldn't mess with the one at her hair, because he didn't want to mess with her hair, but he did crouch to pull at the one around her ankle just as carefully as he could. "We're leaving. Staying in one place too long isn't what I do."
~!**!~
"I don't actually think his nose would have picked this up either." Akari continued walking, surprised by just how far away the blood was. Silence followed after her now, and for a few minutes she continued to walk, following her nose. But she paused as the air seemed to even taste like blood, heavy and thick. She paused and looked around, realizing this must be pretty close to where the body was.
"Prepare yourself, detective," she said grimly, her ears picking up the smallest sound of dripping liquid above them. She looked up into the nearest tree, unable to see the cause, but she began pulling herself up into the branches, climbing with care and completely ignoring the stinging strain of her torso that began to not only sting now, but almost feel as if it were on fire. I shouldn't be doing this.
When she paused, she heard the sound again, this time much closer, and she turned to see the child's body, lifeless, on the branches a few meters to her right and up. It was very easy to see the hole in the carcass where the heart and liver had been stolen, devoured by the demon Yusuke had just killed.
"Yusuke," she called as she popped her head between branches to look down at him. "Call Botan, if you can." *
Yusuke pulled the compact out of his pocket and flipped it up, Koenma's face buzzing onto the small screen.
"Problem, Yusuke?" His face fizzled a little with interference, but did not appear to be breaking up.
"Uh, sheah." He turned the camera towards the tree dripping with blood.
He couldn't see it but Koenma leaned forward in his chair as if that would help him get a closer look.
"My goodness, Yusuke! What on earth is going on?"
"It's uh, what was it called again, Red?" He called to the demon up in the tree.
~!**!~
The tiny demon with its tail wrapped around Shikiyoku's ankle did not protest when Hiei started to reach for it, but instead its eyes got big and sad and it wrapped its tail about his wrist when he had it in hand, letting its clawed paws rest lightly on his fingers, chittering quietly at him.
Shikiyoku started to reach her arms up to gauge how badly the dragon was woven into her hair and as she dove her hands in just past her ears, she felt it thrash about a little and her arms gave out.
She had to sit down before she collapsed.
She shifted her weight around to sit as the tiny creature that had been on her foot attached itself to Hiei, pulling her legs into a cross underneath herself and taking a breath before reaching up for the dragon again.
This time one of its claws caught in her scalp and she smelled blood as it scratched her when it began wiggling about trying to get away from her fingers. Its tail had retracted to join the rest of its body within the mess it was making of her hair and she sighed.
"Get out." She tried ordering.
The tiny head peeked out over her eyebrows again and trilled a note that reminded Shikiyoku of Maneshi's negatory 'mrow' he often gave her when he had no intention of doing something she asked of him.
"Please?" She tried, moving her hands up again.
Same note, though this time the head had retracted out of view and its leathery wings sprouted out of her hair briefly and flapped once before getting pulled back in, miraculously without further entangling themselves.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Shikiyoku commented, noting that the wings did nothing to further its 'trapped' position.
This tone was higher, an affirmative that purred when trilled.
Shikiyoku actual let out a growl at this point, but it wasn't exactly threatening as she had a hard time being mad at something that seemed so pleased with her.
A few of the smaller critters had closed the distance when she sat down and she swept an arm outwards, pointing away from herself.
"Nu uh." She warned, "One hitchhiker is bad enough. The rest of you can go away. Now."
The collective group considered her a moment and then did as she told them. 3
Hiei frowned at the creature that wound its way around his wrist, eyeing it with slight disdain. It wasn't such a bad creature, he thought as it looked up at him with wide, unblinking eyes filled with disappointment. He almost found himself moved by the expression.
Almost.
His opposite hand moved and began working at the creature again, trying to peel the long tail from his wrist and the clawed feet from his fingers. "Ridiculous." He didn't enjoy that it wound itself tighter around him in determination to stay with the one who had entranced it, the creature obviously smart enough to know that wherever Hiei went, Shikiyoku would go as well.
"What kind of creature is this?" he inquired with a tone of irritation, more of a rhetorical question really. His eyes turned to Shikiyoku as she spoke up, motioning for all other creatures to leave, which they promptly did so. He eyed the dragon that he could just make out in Shikiyoku's black hair, suddenly curious about how it would react in relation to the dragon the fire demon had sealed inside his body, wound around his arm in a dark tattoo.
~!**!~
Akari moved to sit on the branch closest to the child's body, from this spot just barely able to see the detective. She was mildly relieved that the detective couldn't see the child, only the blood that fell from branch to branch in a small trickle.
She glanced down at her black shirt, a hand just touching the place where the bandages had previously been, her hand feeling wetness below the fabric. Well, this sucks.
"Aswang!" she yelled back to Yusuke, eyes turning back to the detective to eye the compact in his hand, almost amused by the sight. "He'll know what it is. Tell him there's one casualty." *
Yusuke turned the face of the compact back towards himself, seeing that Koenma's expression hadn't changed so the toddler likely hadn't heard Akari's words.
"An Ass-wang?" Yusuke repeated experimentally.
The unsureness of Koenma's expression nearly took actual form as a sweatdrop on his hat.
"You mean an Aswang?"
"I guess."
Koenma coughed.
"She says there's only one casualty."
"Anything else she can tell us?' He was tempted to ask Yusuke to just put her on the device, making a mental note to get Akari her own. "Location of the demon?"
"Took care of that last question already." Yusuke described the location of the alleyway in which the fight had taken place.
"Well, that's certainly a relief. Any other signs of ones its killed?"
~!**!~
The creature began chattering with Hiei as if holding conversation with the fire demon and Shikiyoku glanced up, unsure if her feet could bring her even to a stand yet.
"It's called a lur'mog." Shikiyoku observed it clinging to Hiei and she reached out her hands in a silent offer to take it from him. "Like this one," her eyes shifted up briefly, "Fairly harmless to anything larger than it is. Would simply attempt to escape from a would-be oppressor."
The dragon made a peep noise at Shikiyoku's 'attempt' word specifically.
"Well," She started, "Obviously all of your attempts have been successful since you're still alive."
She could feel its warm breath sigh over her scalp in a little huff of protest, apparently still not satisfied. 3
Hiei eyed Shikiyoku as she spoke, the creature she called a lur'mog resting its body down against his skin as close as it could be now that he had stopped prying at it for relief of its presence. It sat still, eyeing him and Shikiyoku as they exchanged brief conversation.
"They're rather annoying," he said, though he wouldn't admit that he actually didn't mind their presence, aside from their reluctance to peel away from one or the other. He reached the hand down to her that held the small, red, scaly animal while his other hand, his right hand, slowly reached towards the dragon in her hair, his curiosity winning over.
He wanted to know if this dragon would react to his own dragon.
~!**!~
Akari listened to the detective below, fighting the urge to whack herself for his awful attempt at saying the word. Instead, she released a heavy sigh that said she was giving up on the boy. He just wasn't living up to her expectations very well, she realized.
Slight exasperation hit her when Koenma continued to ask questions. She was tired of yelling, and just wanted to get out of here. So, her energy swirled just slightly around her, creating another string of shadows that slithered down the tree and towards the detective, wrapping first around his wrist and then covering the device he held and pulling it from him. "Thank you," she grumbled, more to her shadows that did her bidding than to the detective as the compact came up to her face.
"There was no sign of any other Aswang in the area, but then again, we haven't had the chance to look around much. The smell of this one casualty was strong enough to go across town, meaning the attack happened just before we found her." She paused, giving a small sigh and glancing down at her torso in contemplation. "I can search the area, but I haven't told Yusuke that it takes children yet. I'd prefer him not know, since he's rather emotional."
She turned to look at the child's carcass. The poor girl couldn't have been older than four. "As far as I can tell, it's just the one casualty, but it wouldn't hurt to look around." *
Yusuke's mouth dropped open slightly in consternation as he couldn't help but relinquish the compact to the shadows that reached for it.
Exasperated, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, putting more licorice in his mouth as he wandered over and looked up in the tree.
The gore of the scene made his nose scrunch up.
Somewhere inside of him he did hold a bit of pity for the family of the dead girl who would likely search for her to no avail and that led him through a couple of trains of thought that ended in a certain question he decided to voice.
"That what they feed on?" He jerked his head at the remains. "Or was this just for fun?"
~!**!~
At the movement, the lur'mog started jerking his head around rapidly, chittering with concern until he caught sight of the second pair of hands reaching out for him.
At their appearance he immediately released his grasp on Hiei and crawled very slowly from him to the other set of fingers.
As soon as he got his whole body away from Hiei, he blinked out of sight, appearing a millisecond later at her neck where he clutched at her skin and rubbed his cheek against it, rapidly blinking in and out of sight multiple times as he did the same thing to a shoulder, and her arm, and her knee...
"Are all signs of affection 'annoying' to you, Hiei?" Shikiyoku asked quietly, eyes softly tracking the creature as he kept moving about, unable to spot his movements as they were so quick most demons assumed the thing could teleport, but Shikiyoku knew from experience they were merely the fastest runners in the entirety of Demon World. They had to be to survive.
They did no sneaking up on their prey, just running so fast that they were invisible. They did no fighting with their predators, blinking out of sight before one could do much more than spot it. The slowest of them would only leave after-images of themselves when they moved, though with their color one would hardly make out the blur, and the fastest simply disappeared from one place and reappeared at another. Much like the one that continued flitting about her seated body.
The dragon Hiei now reached for did sense his movements and turned its sanguine eyes upon him, the jewels trained upon his person the only part of its visible in Shikiyoku's hair. It made no signs of protesting his reach, simply waiting to see what would happen, whether or not he would actually touch it, though it did not appear to mind the thought. 3
Hiei gave a small shrug at Shikiyoku. Her question was one he normally would ignore, but quite frankly, he didn't ever really seem to ignore any question Shikiyoku asked. Perhaps it was due to her prowess, or perhaps their bond. He wasn't sure.
"Clinging to one person or another is not affectionate. It's suffocating." he paused, eyeing the creature in her hair curiously before he let his fingers just touch the dragon's small head. "And I don't do affection." He pulled his fingers away from the creature again, not lingering long enough to chance a reaction causing thrashing by the creature that could do more harm to Shikiyoku.
"I know about as much of affection as I do children and puppies." He gave pause as he stood up straight, eyes turning to the side. "And I have no desire to even consider beginning to care for it now."
The fire in his stomach swirled angrily, burning inside him as if he'd done something to anger it. He flinched without thinking much about the motion, turning inward for assessment. But the sensation vanished and he refocused on the area he had been watching.
~!**!~
Akari hadn't noticed Yusuke moving away from where he'd been standing. She eyed the child's body for a few more moments before sighing and turning to the compact, opening her mouth to speak before Yusuke called for her attention. She frowned and looked straight down, slight panic immediately welling up from the height she hadn't realized she sat in.
"Mainly the heart and liver…" she replied to him ruefully, her expression shifting to a grim one. The mere idea of a child, innocent as they were, being prey to a demon made her feel upset.
Despite her own trick she'd pulled against Kurama that one instance…
"Koenma, I assume you'll send Botan for this?" she asked into the communication device quietly. "I can survey the area, but I don't see any evidence pointing to another casualty. Or smell anything else, for that matter." *
Yusuke shrugged at Akari's assessment of the heart and liver consumption, glad to know that the killing occurred out of a survival need and not for cruelty's sake. A body's gotta eat.
"I'll definitely have my people look into it." Koenma asserted, "We've already sent a cleanup crew. We'll check to see if this is an isolated incident or if there are other souls who have come through recently from that area ahead of schedule." He chewed on his pacifier. "Let me know if you find anything. Good work, by the way. Spirit World out."
The screen fizzled out and went blank.
~!**!~
"Clinging is clinging." Shikiyoku replied as she held up at eye-level the fingers the Lur'mog had intertwined himself around. "But in the same way that not all clinging is affectionate-if it can even be called that-neither is all affection expressed through 'clinging.'"
Shikiyoku didn't even bother to comment on his last few statements as she leaned forward and nuzzled her nose against the nose-slits of the tiny creature, who closed his eyes at the touch and returned the gesture as he chittered in a more relaxed manner, opening his eyes after a moment and parting his lips to nibble gently with his wicked teeth on her nose as he kept murmuring noises at her.
His statements were ones she felt were painfully obvious, at least for her, about the fire demon and warranted no further observations on her part.
When Hiei's hand touched the dragon, its head slowly rose away from her scalp as he pulled away, its onyx-colored neck elongating away from the woman to stare at the hand most intelligently, its forked tongue slithering experimentally out of its closed mouth, never blinking as its wings expanded a little from where it clung to her before pulling back together and resting against its body. 3
Hiei didn't reply to Shikiyoku. He didn't feel the need to. Instead his eyes turned back to the dragon creature again, watching the tongue move from the mouth of the dragon. The wings that expanded were interesting to him, reminding him of his dragon attack vaguely. He considered extending his hand to the dragon again, but refrained from doing so and merely sat there, looking into the creature's eyes evenly as he considered the gaze it had on his hand that now hung at his side.
He wondered if it would be curious enough of him to approach him instead. Likely not, since Shikiyoku had explained that these animals normally fled rather than approached.
"How're your muscles?"
~!**!~
Akari blinked at the screen as it went blank before turning her eyes down to Yusuke. She was surprised by his definite lack in reaction. She had expected the Spirit Detective to go postal, angry that a small child had been not only killed, but quite literally ripped apart from the inside out.
Something nagged at her mind, something Nabu had said once.
"The one with the markings on his face."
Akari stared down at him keenly, expression blank as she thought over it. "Yusuke," she called slowly, but changing direction with her words entirely and deciding on another topic, "are you still hungry?"
Even as she asked the question, she shifted and began to lower herself from branch to branch, completely aware of her reopened gash across her torso, and not allowing her thoughts to turn to the source of the wound other than one, single thought that she had repeated a million times today.
Stupid fox. *
"Well...I can't say the thought of eating a child hasn't completely ruined my appetite." Yusuke stepped back from the tree, looking away from the gore it had in the branches, "But neither have I eaten anything today and I probably need to. Once we get away from here maybe I'll be able to consider a bowl of ramen as something besides an intestinal meal."
The smell wasn't exactly the best thing he'd ever been exposed to and he kept moving away from the tree. Now that he'd noticed it, he tried not to gag. Blood in a fight and blood in...whatever this had been...smelled completely different from one another.3
I won't lie..."Ass-wang" STILL makes me crack up every time I read it. I love writing for Yusuke!
lur'mog - the word actually started out as an anagram of 'murloc,' but I replaced the C with a G to try and hide that fact.
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star