A/N: Hello once again, Dear Reader!
To the next chapter we go!
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 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!
Akari and Yusuke make it back to Akari's place so she can change,
and Yusuke sees the bed of roses that the false Youko left behind,
but naturally he thinks it's Kurama's doing,
and bursts out laughing as he assumes Akari's "problem" is directly related to the bed.
Once Akari is properly changed, the two of them head back to the arcade.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku headed upstairs to the room she had gotten for herself and Hiei from the bartender,
Hiei following after, and when Shikiyoku lays down to rest Hiei settles next to her.
The lur'mog tumbles out of Shikiyoku's hair and Hiei begins entertaining himself with the creature.
After a few moments of simply petting it, Hiei begins tickling at it...
The tail around Hiei's wrist was long enough to be wrapped twice with some slack and it shifted between tightening right up to the skin and releasing as the lur'mog was tickled. He batted again at Hiei's finger with no progress being made except for more of its chattering laughter filling the air as it kept squirming under his touch.
Finally, the lur'mog got his hands and feet both clutching at the finger lightly, but with his senses being overwhelmed and slightly drunk in the first place, did nothing more than that, mouth opening wider as his throat kept gurgling with noise.
Shikiyoku had been pulled from her rest the first time the creature giggled, and she lay quietly watching with half-lidded eyes, the alcohol in her veins making her completely relaxed even if no longer flushed, but the scene unfolding before her leaving the whisper of a smile on her face, especially to see Hiei mirroring her amusement, until Hiei actually laughed outright.
If possible, Shikiyoku grew even more still than before as if that would help her hear the sound better, going so far as to shut her eyes again as he did it a second time, carefully recording every nuance of the chuckle and storing it away in her mind.
She must think of a way to thank the tiny creature who appeared to be bringing Hiei this private moment of joy, and she felt grateful to him for tagging along, even if he only graced them with this one precious moment out of all the time he stayed. 3
Hiei continued for a few more seconds until all of the lur'mog's feet were on his hand, an obvious but very weak attempt to get him to stop. He chuckled once more before he stopped, curling his finger inward to get it away from the belly and allow him to breathe. For the moment, he considered repeating the action, but his body shifted just a little and his arm that had been propping his head up slid away from the pillow, resting on his stomach just behind the lur'mog.
He went to move his hand to scratch at a very small itch on his nose, but the lur'mog's grip on his wrist and hand was enough to bring it with his hand, dragging its back along his cloak and only slightly ruffling the fabric.
He eyed the red creature with a smirk of amusement still in place, watching the berated breathing of the creature make its chest move rapidly. As if in apology, Hiei rubbing a finger on the smallest paw and pulled his hand up higher until it rested, lur'mog and all, on his chest lightly.
~!**!~
Akari raised a brow at the glint in Yusuke's eye before he was up and moving, the dog demon scrambling to get up and follow after, walking along the row of games quietly, eyes roving curiously. But as she passed an older boy who looked as if he might be a university student, she paused at the music she heard blaring from his machine.
"Rejoice, for the goblin king is dead!" the machine yelled, music of triumph sounding underneath the monologue. She took two steps backwards until she was standing behind the boy who was stretching his arms in the air, her eyes not on him but the screen.
The scene of the fallen king's grave stirred emotions within her that made it difficult to keep her expression blank. So that's how it'd happened? She had known that the boy's game would become real with his energy, but she hadn't known the game, and thus, hadn't known how the boy would get by. For the longest of time, she'd even thought Aminuma would have been able to live.
But with this scene, she knew better. After all, the detective and his friends had come to the tunnel, unharmed…
She blinked slowly at the screen before turning away, hands retreating to her pockets as an odd stinging beginning in her eyes that she quickly rubbed away with her hand. The stinging stopped and she glanced at the screen again, eyeing the human who was now moving to leave the gaming station.
She'd liked the boy. Game Master had been her favorite of them all- aside from Sensui, at the time.
And his favorite game was his end…
Akari took a deep breath and turned away from the game, not moving away just yet as she sorted her thoughts. *
Yusuke sensed Akari stopped behind him, and his ears did pick up on the proclamation from the console she stood in front of them and he slowed, stopping and turning around to gaze sadly at the victory screen he could just make out.
He hadn't gotten much time to consider the implications of Game Master's death when it happened. He doubted any of them had since right after that they'd been forced into another fight to save the world and all. He lifted a hand to rub self-consciously at the back of his neck.
Even if it was Kurama who had struck the final blow, they all had a hand in the untimely death of the human boy.
...too young.
Caught up in the aftermath, Yusuke had almost forgotten about the boy until things settled down and his brain slowed enough to remember the cost of their win. And remember that there was probably a mother somewhere wondering where her little boy had gone.
His own mother's cries rang silently through his head and he grimaced. At least he'd gotten to come back.
What was the old saying? Needs of the many or something?
Yusuke scoffed. As if one life was more precious than another. Each life deserved a chance, but...Aminuma just didn't get that chance.
...much too young.
~!**!~
The lur'mog's chest heaved up and down, the tiny creature out of breath for the first time in his entire life. The flush across his face had grown more prominent now, casting a strange darker red blush there that contrasted with the rest of the red of his body.
He didn't take much notice of Hiei brushing up against his paw, his eyes still closed, but the moment did seem to coincide with another chuckle as if a remnant from before remembering the tickling that had only recently stopped.
Ribcage still huffing to try and catch up on oxygen, the lur'mog opened his mouth wider and bent his head to take the tip of Hiei's finger delicately inbetween his teeth, chewing on it twice without puncturing the skin as his hot breath moved over the finger before pulling away to close his jaw and rubbing his cheek against the finger affectionately, nose-slits rapidly expanding and contracting as he continued to inhale and exhale at a fast rate. 3
Hiei eyed the lur'mog as it nibbled twice at his finger then proceeded to rub against it in a way that made the demon smirk a little wider than before, finding that he actually did like this creature. A lot. He supposed this was what fondness was like to the extreme, without crossing over from fondness to admiration.
He rubbed his finger against the side of the lur'mog's head as the creature rubbed some more, showing his own form of acceptance of the show of affection. He gave a small sigh of relaxation, making his chest rise and fall more than his normal breathing would have before he resettled back into his normal breathing rate.
"Curious thing," he murmured to himself as he continued to rub against the creature's face.
~!**!~
Akari stood there for a single moment longer before forcing her feet to move forward, spying Yusuke not too far away, also paused. She forced her expression to stay neutral as she approached, hands still in her pockets and she glanced at Yusuke.
"You just gonna stand there, detective, or are you gonna show me the game you are so excited about?" *
Yusuke blinked, pulled from his thoughts by Akari's brusqueness.
"Uh, yeah!" He came back to the present and turned, leading once again the way to the corner he'd been going for.
There were four or five arcade machines set up back in this corner that were all playing the same game. A racing one. The chairs were high-backed and gave the feel of actually sitting down in the driver's seat of the car, complete with steering wheel, gear shifted and gas/brake pedals on the floor.
Yusuke slid into one of the seats, one hand curling over the gear stick as he leaned forward and put money into the machine. He grinned at Akari.
"Wanna?"
~!**!~
The lur'mog began gurgling appreciatively, quickly settling into the low thrum that had vibrated its throat when he pet it before.
Shikiyoku sat up slowly, stifling a yawn, and began scooting off to the edge of the bed where she shifted her hips to get both feet hanging off the end and gave a small hop to stand, meandering over to the door as she waved a hand absently in Hiei's direction.
"Goin' downstairs." She stretched as she put a hand on the doorknob and turned, stepping out of the room.
He'd join if he wanted to or stay if he didn't, but Shikiyoku could feel the relaxation of her muscles filtering away and she meant to remedy that since they would likely be off in the morning and she probably would have to wait another fifteen plus years to get a drink half this good. 3
Hiei's eyes slid over to Shikiyoku when she suddenly stirred, interrupting his small moment of appreciation with a small amount of surprise. He hadn't known she was even close to being awake. He watched her, finger still idly rubbing back at the cheek of the creature wrapped around his hand and wrist.
When she said she was leaving, he stayed for a few moments, eyes turning back to the lur'mog that was again making a sound akin to a purr that made him watch it, taking in the odd expression on its face.
Most creatures weren't as expressive as this one. At least, not with him.
After a few more moments, he moved, sitting up and setting his feet on the floor, contemplating following after her like he had planned to do earlier that night. His eyes again shifted to the creature on his hand, weighing his options.
Without another thought, he stood and followed, his hand that held the lur'mog close enough to his cloak that if the animal were to fall or even decide to unwind itself from his wrist, it could easily latch itself on his cloak and find another comfortable spot while he walked to and out the door. Silently, expression now entirely blank, he followed the trail that Shikiyoku's scent made down the stairs.
~!**!~
Akari followed Yusuke until he slid into a chair that reminded her remarkably of a car, which she realized the next second was exactly what it was meant to look like. When he turned to her with a smile, she mustered a raised brow and a ghost of a smile, pushing away all thoughts of Aminuma- after making a mental not for a to do later.
She eyed the game and gave a sigh. "Racing is your favorite, isn't it?" she questioned as she slid into the seat next to his, hands gripping the steering wheel and feet playing with the petals idly. After a moment of playing with the controls, she was set, and placed a few coins into the system before rounding on Yusuke. "Against each other, I assume?" *
"You know, if I didn't already have ideas about what I want to do when I'm old enough, I might have wanted to get into professional racing." Yusuke admitted. "And sort of." He tilted his head a little at the screen. "We'll be racing against each other and computers all at the same time."
As he talked he was flicking through the different sorts of cars and drivers, not paying particular attention to the stats and instead going for whichever one he thought looked the best.
~!**!~
The lur'mog had little trouble righting himself around Hiei's hand, deftly using his strong prehensile tail to his advantage and scrambling up along the inside of the fire demon's sleeve, his movement only detectable because of the drunkenness that slowed his world down as he wound around and around Hiei's arm up the loose clothing.
Getting up to Hiei's shoulder, the creature kept moving until he reached Hiei's neck, popping out of the top of the cloak, still behind the white fabric and therefore unable to be spotted, and curling up in the folds of the scarf against Hiei's skin, lightly extending his tail across the front of Hiei's neck for leverage and then relaxing with a tiny sigh, his nose-slits puffing soft bits of warm air against Hiei's neck where his head nestled comfortably.
~!**!~
The tavern portion of the building downstairs was almost completely silent this time around, with only a handful of patrons sitting together or alone talking in hushed voices.
Easy to spot without the crowds was the bar area, which only had one demon at it on the far end closest to the door, sitting by himself and staring into the glass in front of him.
Behind the bar stood a very old demon, though he was handsome enough as far as looks go. If one didn't know they were in Demon World, he looked almost like any other well-bred elderly Japanese man, though he was maybe six feet tall and still had a broad chest and shoulders under his simplistic clothing which was covered with a reddish-brown apron whose color matched the worn, red wooden floor of the establishment.
The most prominent features of the bartending demon, Kafu, were the two extra arms that appeared to sprout from his back somewhere and extended just above his head where they hung down at the wrists. These hands appeared insubstantial and were just barely visible and even then only from a certain angle, hovering like ghosts. They disappeared about halfway down their length, giving no indication of where exactly they sprouted, though it was obvious they were from Kafu.
He stood cleaning a glass with a rag, but did glance up at the sound of feet coming down the stairs.
"Back for more already, girl?" He asked once she was closer.
His voice was a light baritone, and it was easy to sense in the way it reverberated in the air about him, even at the low register, that if need be he could have gotten the attention of the full, loud bar earlier that night at any moment.
"Making up for lost time, old man." Shikiyoku slid into one of the barstools and leaned onto the counter, putting her face to rest in her hands as she set her elbows down in front of her and looking into the old demon's bright amber-orange colored eyes.
"Should I keep a running tab?"
"It's not about the money for you."
Kafu didn't disagree. He was...different as far as demons go.
"But go ahead." Shikiyoku finished. "If it'll make you feel better."
He laughed, "Is it going to matter?"
"Mm, maybe." She smiled.
He just shook his head, "What'll it be?"
"What do you think?"
He raised a single, grey brow, "More?"
"Gotta stock up. Can't get Demon's Fire just anywhere, you know."
After a laugh, Kafu's smile stayed and while he looked back down at the glass he still cleaned, it was easy to spot movement from one of the high shelves behind him.
Up near the top of the ceiling, a plain brown jug came down as if by magic, moving swiftly towards Shikiyoku where a worn, red tankard from behind the counter floated and got set down.
Kafu glanced at the demon at the other end of the bar and the bottle that had been left with the glass lifted in the air as Kafu turned away. The bottle tipped and poured deftly without spilling a drop, refilling the glass the patron had just put down as empty. At the same time, the contents of the jug hovering in front of Shikiyoku were being poured into the tankard, the cork that had been in said jug floating nearby.
"You won't be here long, then." Kafu made the statement as the red tankard filled to the brim and moved towards Shikiyoku, the cork being placed back in the jug and set nearby.
Shikiyoku reached out to let the tankard come into her grasp, lifting it to her lips for a drink before nodding as she lowered it again and swallowed.
"And for you?" Kafu made eye-contact with Hiei. 3
Hiei had watched the little creature run up the inside of his sleeve before it was out of sight and he continued on down the stairs until he was in the main room of the tavern. It was much, much quieter than before, and he found it much, much more tolerable. He glanced around the room before moving towards the bar and taking a seat on Shikiyoku's right.
He watched the bartender for a moment, curious as he saw things move around the room without much prompting. Impressed, he leaned forward on the counter with a blank expression, eyeing the different drinks behind the bar with contemplation. He knew little to nothing about the drinks, but still, he did find himself a bit… parched.
He hadn't been listening to the conversation, only glancing about calmly until he was addressed, his crimson orbs moving up to meet the barkeep's. He wasn't sure what to answer with, so he let his eyes wander for a bit longer before glancing over at Shikiyoku's drink, eyeing it speculatively before deducing that it was either similar or the same thing as she'd drank earlier, the very drink he had ignored.
He finally looked up again, tilted his head towards Shikiyoku. "Same," he said simply, arms crossing on the bar's surface as he leaned forward.
~!**!~
Akari glanced at Yusuke, taking in his expression as he spoke about an idea he had for what he wanted to do after schooling. She turned back to the game after a moment though and proceeded to scroll through the vehicles, much the same way Yusuke was, and looking at all the statistics of the cars. There wasn't much of a variety, she found, but after a moment, she chose a red car with black stripes, pressing down on the gas pedal to confirm her choice.
"What is it you want to do, Yusuke?" She scrolled through the maps that were available, turning to glance at Yusuke's screen to see which one he chose to race on. *
Choosing a sleek green car, Yusuke steered through the course selection and found one with a couple of good round curves and picked it, waiting as the game loaded and searched for players from among the other consoles.
"Open up a business." He answered simply, shrugging a little.
~!**!~
Another tankard came up from underneath the counter where Kafu stood and the jug moved over to fill it before it scooted closer to Hiei.
In the meantime, Kafu placed the glass in his hands down where it belonged on the prep table one level below the counter, picking up another of the wet ones he had in a group in front of him and beginning the same process.
"So, can you tell me what kind of job or would you have to kill me?"
"The second one." Shikiyoku grinned.
Kafu didn't seem phased.
"One of those, huh?"
Shikiyoku shrugged noncommittally, taking another drink.
"Anything like what you used to do or have you moved on?"
"I...you know actually it's a lot like what I used to do, now that I think about it."
Kafu gave a nod, "You've always been most excellent at information gathering."
Shikiyoku snorted into her tankard, "That's putting it mildly."
Kafu raised and lowered one shoulder, flitting his gaze over to Hiei.
"And what business brings you to the area?" He had guessed the two were together, but perhaps they had only just met for other reasons. Kafu had learned long ago to make no assumptions when it came to his customers. 3
Hiei surveyed the liquid that had been poured for him, the liquid a rather odd scent. It smelled like a mixture of things he couldn't name at first. His hand closed around the handle of the mug-like cup and lifting it to his mouth, pausing for a moment to take another experimental sniff of the drink. After the slight hesitation, he took a small sip of the drink, the taste unique and, at first, almost undefinable. But after the liquid slid down his throat, burning slightly, a bit of a sweet taste left on his tongue to counteract the burning in his throat.
It was a pleasant taste, despite the burn that continued down even to his stomach. It settled there and was automatically expanded when he took another drink, eyes looking over the brim to meet the barkeep's again when he was addressed.
He set the tankard down onto the countertop after his second swallow, hand never leaving the handle as he assessed his body's reaction to the liquor.
The question made him raise a brow, but it quickly resettled into place again. "Guard duty," he replied simply, not really in the mood for an extensive conversation despite the good mood he was in. He looked at the liquid again, taking another drink before setting the tankard down again and glancing over his shoulder, as if he would be able to see the lur'mog underneath his scarf.
~!**!~
Akari matched the map Yusuke chose easily, watching a countdown begin as other players were being searched for, as the screen said. "Sounds interesting." she replied naturally as the game began another countdown, this one for the start of the race.
She went quiet again, eyes now focused on the screen as the word "go" flashed in large yellow letters on the screen, her foot pressing down on the gas pedal so that her car shot forward with the others, though a little slower since she hadn't revved up. *
At the back of the pack, Yusuke shot forward too fast and ran into the rear end of the car in front of him, grumbling as he adjusted his gear speed and slowly accelerated again until he hit top speed, taking the corners easily with drifts and an easy handle of the steering wheel.
It wasn't the course that was terribly challenging, but for some reason the other cars seemed to be out to get him this game and he spent the first lap continuously having to slam on the breaks to swerve around them.
~!**!~
"Heh." Kafu let the air huff out past his teeth with amusement, "So you two are together."
The sound of him swishing the cloth around the glass was a muted one, but the rest of the tavern was so quiet they could hear the motion.
Kafu let his eyes glance back at Shikiyoku this time.
"What happened to the last one?"
"You mean-"
"No, I mean the last one, not the one you had last time."
Shikiyoku downed the rest of her drink and shoved it towards him, grumbling as he obliged her request and the jug moved again seemingly on its own.
"You always were too perceptive for your own good." She commented as she watched the jug fill the tankard again.
"What was his name again?" He acted as if he had to think about it, but Shikiyoku didn't even bother to pretend like he didn't know, waiting for him to come around with it. "Let's see, was it Kurama something? No, wait, he went by...Youko Kurama, right?"
Shikiyoku scoffed, a light smile touching her lips as the tankard moved back her direction and she lifted it again.
"As if you didn't remember."
On silent wings, Ryou wheeled into the open door of the tavern, soaring around the room once before clattering lightly onto the bar top on Hiei's other side within arm's reach.
His eyes swirled a vibrant ruby-red at the sight of Shikiyoku, turning to Hiei and melting into orange as his mind brushed against Hiei's.
The impression he sent was distinctly one of "Fire-brother!"~ flames and kinship moving through their brief connection, which appeared to be his greeting to the fire apparition as he stepped closer with a dragonish smile. 3
Hiei didn't reply to the man behind the counter, his eyes returning to his drink that he found himself enjoying, likely faster than he should have. But it didn't feel as if it had much of an affect on him, aside from the burning that still seemed to be warming his stomach more and more. The taste was just sweet enough to keep him wanting more, not so sweet that he didn't enjoy it. As for the flavor, it was almost like a variant of a type of fruit, though he wasn't sure.
Hiei hadn't noticed the dragon landing next to him until the impression was brushed across his mind, at which point he turned his eyes to Ryou and he returned the mental communication with "Indeed."
Another drink, the burning sensation seeming to grow not only in his stomach, but in his throat as well.
~!**!~
Akari's vehicle, for the most part, went untouched in terms of other players. As for the course… well, she hadn't ever actually driven before, so there was no explaining how bad she was at the game. Occasionally, she let out a small growl of frustration when her car hit a wall or another car, making it hard for her vehicle to get going again.
By the time the first two out of the three laps were over, she was in last, though she was adjusting as the game continued, not hitting the wall as much. When she felt her handling was a little better, her eyes took in the screen, seeing an odd metal-looking tank at the right hand corner of the screen that had the word nause bouncing over it animatedly. She raised a brow, curious about what it would do and pressed the button it indicated.
Her car shot forward, miraculously missing four or five cars as the speed drove her car forward, setting her in fourth and just barely able to keep the car off of the walls of the course. *
It was easy to see why Yusuke had considered professional driving, even though this was only a game. Once he got clear of interference, he took the curves of the course masterfully, shifting gears and adjusting speed with an inherent smoothness.
He didn't win by much, only a second or two, but it was a win, and when he ruefully considered the poor start and the aggressiveness of the computers, he shrugged and turned slightly to watch Akari finish the last of the course.
~!**!~
Kafu and Shikiyoku continued to exchange small-talk back and forth, Shikiyoku steering the conversation away from Youko Kurama and Kafu having enough sense to leave well enough alone and following her lead.
During that period of time, there was no telling how many tankards Shikiyoku had downed, Kafu filling it back up for her every time without fail.
At one point, Shikiyoku had one hand pressed firmly against the bar top even as the other gripped tightly at the tankard's handle as she carried a heated discussion with the bartender about some trivial subject or another and even when they conceded each other's views her hand stayed and it was at that point that their conversation lulled briefly.
While their conversation had been going on, Ryou attempted to slyly steal drinks from Hiei's tankard at different intervals, sitting innocently nearby when he wasn't.
In the meantime, the lur'mog at Hiei's neck awoke.
The lur'mog nuzzled at Hiei's neck once or twice, chittering quietly to himself and happy with how accommodating the fire demon had been in the arrangement, until he remembered the 'prodding' the fire demon had done earlier and a mischievous thought-likely the first of its kind to ever occur to the creature-led to the lur'mog scurrying all about the skin of Hiei's torso, his back, chest, sides, and abdomen, out of sight underneath his cloak and shirt in the hopes of discovering sensitive areas that might make the fire demon's muscles twitch underneath his dainty claws.
His attempts were such that he left no mark on the fire demon, and after a while he shot out of Hiei's sleeve onto the bar top, bumping into the dragon that sat just beyond Hiei's hand.
This encounter led to the pair wrestling with one another on the bar, neither intending to do true damage to the other, but their grappling and consequent rolling around near Hiei-intermixed with trills from Ryou and chattering from the lur'mog-certainly was loud enough to have Kafu and Shikiyoku each giving a good-natured laugh at the show somewhere in the midst of their conversation.
While the wrestling occurred, Shikiyoku found her hand that rested on the bar snatched up in another and she released her other hand from the tankard's handle before it spilled as she was pulled from her seat, stumbling once to maintain her footing when she almost fell from the stool with the jerking motion that set her to following, a firm hand keeping her from actually falling down. All of this happened rather fast and she didn't even bother making any noise about it.
"Taka, what are you doing?" She asked patiently as he kept dragging her away, only a few feet from the door by this time.
"I haven't gotten to spend any time alone with you." He replied stubbornly as he kept moving, brushing past the one or two patrons coming inside.
"Taka, I hadn't finished my drink." Shikiyoku growled irritably, the flush of her cheeks warmed by the touched of Taka's hand just as much as the alcohol she consumed, and her eyes glanced back at her half-full glass that was being left behind, already almost out the door with him.
"Too bad." He pulled her along outside where there appeared at first glance to be not a soul out in the streets.
Kafu was watching the wrestling pair rolling about while he continued to clean glasses, and each time that they appeared about to spill off either side of the bar top, the pair somehow changed directions under Kafu keen eye.
Even with his attention on the interlocked dragon and lur'mog, he did not miss Taka entering, striding with confidence up to Shikiyoku and half-sneaking her away, but he was used to Taka whisking her off and did not think much of it.
Once outside, Taka made two more strides and gathered Shikiyoku into his arms, looking upwards as a pair of gorgeous brown wings emerged from his back, flecked here and there with white feathers.
He ruffled them once before stretching out and lifting the two of them from the ground with only a couple of beats, moving quickly up into the air and over the top of the roof.
When he grabbed her, arms wrapped around her shoulders, Shikiyoku had enough sense of mind to step on the tops of his feet, knowing exactly what was coming next and knowing it wouldn't be a long flight given how he held her.
She felt her stomach stay on the ground below and she actually moved her hands up to clutch at Taka's shirt.
Feeling her do so, Taka let out a laugh as she squeezed her eyes together, keeping his feet flat like a platform to help hold her up though he didn't normally fly that way.
"S'not funny, Taka." She grumbled into his clothes.
It only took maybe half a second to get up the two-story building before Taka landed easily on the slanted roof, getting his balance and then slowly relinquishing his grasp around Shikiyoku so that she could take her time getting her own.
When she stepped off his feet, she glanced at the ground and the sign with the red flower below them.
"Really?" She turned back to him. "That was a big production for nothing."
Taka had his hands on his hips now, wings fully extended as he let the breeze blow through them. He pulled them back towards his shoulders and they grew smaller until they disappeared. He made a show of shrugging at her as he did so.
Shikiyoku stuck her nose in the air and marched about halfway across the roof, past the small collection of chimneys that were bigger than her in both width and height, plopping down on the roof and scattering bits of it around as she reclined, legs bent at the knees in front of her, hands propped up behind her where she leaned into them.
Taka laid down beside her with his arms behind his head and his legs crossed at the ankles.
"So, how'd you get back in Demon World?"
"Is that really any of your business?"
"Maybe it's exactly my business."
"I'm simply doing a job, Taka."
"What job is that?"
"It doesn't involve you."
"How am I to know that?"
"Because I just told you."
"Your Champion said the same, in so many words."
"He isn't stupid."
"Well, how am I supposed to know that either?"
This banter continued on for a while as the breeze swept by them, two long-ago allies enjoying-perhaps one more begrudgingly than the other-the other's company.
Shikiyoku eventually gave up on besting him and fell silent after an exasperated sigh, Taka grinning as he counted it as a win.
The lack of spoken dialogue between them was not an awkward once, instead companionable as each of them became lost in their own thoughts of the past and previous times such as the one they were sharing now.
Somewhere in their witty repartee, Taka had risen to make some point or another, sliding up until he sat in much the same position as Shikiyoku, though he had his right knee up with an arm resting across it, the other hand supporting him on the ground, which made his position more open and towards Shikiyoku next to him.
Off in the way distance on the other side of the city there started the spiking of powerful demonic energy and a couple of buildings were set aflame, a giant blast of black energy shooting off into the sky as a third crumbled to the ground.
A grip of fear took Shikiyoku's core in hand at the color, especially as several more shots of black intermittently disappeared upwards with a couple of pink ones when another demonic aura spiked up from a closer distance than before.
"Looks like her majesty is in a bad mood." Taka noted mockingly.
"Looks like it…" Shikiyoku could not mask her uncomfortableness, another set of blasts firing off even closer. Even though they were blessedly more than a couple of miles away, she shifted around, her core starting to beat faster, wondering how visible she was up against the dark crimson of the rooftop.
After coming closer one more time, the sky grew silent and Shikiyoku released a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, core still pounding in her chest.
"Sweetheart…"
The hesitation in Taka's voice, different than any she'd ever been privy to in his presence, made Shikiyoku look up at him suddenly to see that he was in fact looking over at her. Her previous fears vanished into curiosity.
His faraway gaze kept her silent as he slowly came back to the present, eyes darkened with his thoughts, and yet revealing nothing hidden behind them.
"You do know your pact-mate is the Cursed Child?"
Well...even if the All-Fire had not revealed that to her less than a day ago, she certainly would know now, wouldn't she?
"I know he is born of the mating between a Koorime and a fire demon." She replied cautiously.
His brown stare did not appear surprised by this revelation-his concern would have increased if she hadn't known-though something stirred behind them when she refused call him 'cursed.'
"And that the fire portion of his heritage is muted by the Ice Maiden blood? For now?"
She nodded.
"And what will you do when it awakens?"
Shikiyoku shrugged, "Should we still be pacted, I'll simply...be there. Whether he wishes it or not."
"You would willingly put yourself in harm's way for this...demon?" It sounded more like a statement than a question, as if he already knew the answer.
"He will need someone there, and it will be me even if he does not ask for help." Which he won't. Her answer came with no hint of hesitation, as if she had already considered the options. "Should that specific situation occur, then to answer your question: of course."
Taka gave a short, dry bark of laughter.
"I guess I never understood your kind."
Shikiyoku's nod seemed a little sadder this time, but it was a nod nonetheless. "No, you never did. Most apparitions don't." Hell, I don't understand me half the time.
Taka's expression grew thoughtful somewhere behind his concern as he studied her face and then spoke up again.
"...what is it?"
She heard more than just those three words. What makes her kind different? Why don't most stronger demons understand why they pause when she walks by? She gave a small sigh. What is it indeed, hm?
"Tell me." He encouraged gently, "Even if I don't understand what you're saying."
A laugh nearly bubbled up from inside her and past her lips, but she only smiled.
"I...I think..." She didn't actually know, really. She had not been raised among others of her kind. "It is not just desire, Taka." She shook her head, smiling a little, "Behind all the lust, all the...the craving..." Something deep within her stirred a little, as if she spoke ancient words inherent in her very being, "I see the beauty in all things. We are the only demons born with the natural instincts required to love. Unconditionally and without cause."
"That word is foreign to me." Taka did not seem sad about it, merely making the statement of fact.
Shikiyoku knew exactly which word he meant, and while she had not ever put any of this into so many words, it all just seemed in that moment the right thing to say.
"Creatures that can express so much directed, passionate hatred like apparitions do have just as much of a capacity for love. They are, in essence, the same emotion. Any demon can learn to love, if given the proper environment. But where I lack in fighting...where other demons come naturally to battle, I come just as naturally to...to love, I suppose." Her expression grew thoughtful. "Any other demon will react almost strictly to the instinct of survival. Kill or be killed. Our strongest instinct is love, in every form of the word. And other demons fear that without allowing themselves to understand why, because they fear realizing that love is stronger than hate, preferring to believe it is a weakness when it would actually make them all the more powerful."
Taka let the silence grow between them, though he found himself very lost in thought with her strange points.
"And what if you are not loved back?" He wanted to know.
She shrugged, "It makes no difference. That cannot, nor does it, stop us."
"...even when you receive nothing in return?"
"Strange concept for a demon, no?" Her eyes twinkled a little.
"Very." His voice faded off again into silence as they sat there and Shikiyoku let him think.
"Did you love him, sweetheart?" He asked quietly, thinking of the Champion she left the city with all that time ago.
"There are many different types of love, Taka." Her voice was no louder than his.
"Did you love him?" He pressed.
"I told you, we love all things."
"Sweetheart." He knew she was skirting the subject.
A slight pause.
"Of course I loved him." Shikiyoku replied gently.
He pursed his lips and Shikiyoku tried not to smile as he sorted through exactly what he meant, what he was really trying to ask.
"Did you...did you love him...more than what you inherently do?" Taka became very aware, as he tried to ask his question, of the fact that there had to be more than one type of love, and that the one, blanket word used to cover them all was simply not...specific enough.
Shikiyoku hesitated, and it turned so long that Taka came to think she had not heard him.
"...Shikiyoku?"
"No." She finally replied after only a second more. "I do not think so."
She had not had a chance to put all of this together at once before, but the more they spoke of the subject, the more she realized she had a great many thoughts about it.
The tension around Taka broke, and he sat back, unsure of when exactly he had started to lean towards her.
"And he loved you?"
"Perhaps love is too strong a word for that."
"Do you love me?" His roguish smile returned.
"Yes, Taka." Shikiyoku resisted rolling her eyes at him.
The smile faded a little and he opened his mouth to ask her again, in the more different way, like before.
She sensed his intentions and cut in before he could ask.
"...No."
He nodded, smile gone now, but there was no clouding on his face at the knowledge.
"That's good, then." He finally responded.
She arched a brow at him.
He flashed a small smile in her direction, "I don't love you."
Her other brow joined the first, a hint of a smirk on her face.
"Oh?"
"Nope. Not at all. I think I'd just feel bad if you did and I didn't." He stretched a little as he sat there looking up at the sky.
Shikiyoku just shook her head, "I think you just don't know what love is, bird-brain."
"So, you're saying I do love you?" Another grin, "Or is that just wishful thinking on your part?"
Shikiyoku let out a scoff, but she was smiling nearly as widely as he. She did have to resist smacking him though, knowing the gesture would either get her into the kind of trouble she did not wish to bring on herself from him at that moment or further egg his teasings on. Neither of which she particularly wanted to do.
"Or is that what this spell is? The one that drives me crazy any time I'm near you? The one that makes me want to bed you? Surely that's not love." If it was, then yes, all demons did love. He thought the concept rather hilarious.
"It's one aspect of love." Shikiyoku explained, patiently, but with that silly grin still on her face at his questions. "But just like touching isn't the only way to expression affection, wanting to mate isn't the only type of love. And the love you keep asking me of is not one I can manipulate with my power. You may desire me, sure. And yes, that is a sort of love in and of itself, but I can no more manipulate you into loving me than anyone else."
Taka grumbled nonsensically to himself. This was all getting too confusing.
"How do you know the difference?" He seemed very interested, as if he himself was suddenly not sure if he 'loved' her.
"Love is...as unique as the one who feels it. To put a strict ultimatum on it as being one thing or another would take away from that uniqueness, but...one viewpoint is there is all-love, friend-love, and fire-love. Loving all things no matter what. Loving in that you mutually have one another's back. Love that is passionate, physical, sometimes consumed by the other in thoughts and desire." Shikiyoku shook her head, "I think it is much too simple, to have only these three labels. You will have to discover the difference between all the types there can be for yourself."
"That sounds like a challenge."
"Maybe it is." She teased. "It might take your entire life though. It's probably the most difficult challenge there is."
"Mm." He intoned noncommittally. He didn't often get challenges directly from the mouth of the female next to him.
A breeze picked up and her scent carried over to his nose in a more powerful dose and he shook himself from his thoughts, feeling suddenly that his self-control was slipping and that if he stayed much longer with her he was liable to take her right there on the rooftop whether she liked it or not.
That thought didn't help. He mused grimly. Bird-brain.
"You're leaving in the morning, aren't you?"
She nodded, "As soon as the night sleeps."
Shikiyoku could hear the roof crackle as Taka started to stand up.
When he got to his feet, he looked out over the relative quietness of the city.
Taka started to stroll away from Shikiyoku over the rooftop from where they'd come before he paused and turned back, a bit of a suggestive smile falling across his countenance.
"I'm sure you're aware, seductress, that demons of fire rarely mate with any outside their kind because of their brutality between the sheets."
"I'm perfectly aware of most all apparitions' habits in regards to that particular subject, bird-brain." Shikiyoku stuck her nose in the air and turned her head away. "Including your species' own ridiculous ones, not the worst of which involves nests in the least accommodating way possible and the bizarre notion that everything is better in trees."
"That's because everything is better in a tree." Taka began walking away again, waving a hand at her as he left, "Just thought you needed to be reminded, sweetheart. Before that Champion of yours goes berserk with his fire heritage."
"Taka, shut up." Shikiyoku's words did drip with a venom, but it sprouted more from her irritation with him at the turn the conversation had taken than anything else.
He just let out a laugh as he leapt into the air and winged out of sight, leaving Shikiyoku to make a noise of disgust at his 'warning.'
Not that it mattered what Taka had to say, but Hiei wasn't a full-blooded fire apparition anyway.
She actually couldn't help groaning again as she sat there a moment longer by herself-That idiot-and gave another snort at the subject Taka had just brought up, shaking her head. It hardly seemed like a point of contention in the first place because...well...
"He doesn't even like me, bird-brain." She grumbled to herself, wishing she'd smacked him when she had the chance. 3
~!**!~
Hiei's body had tensed as the odd sensation of a small creature running around his body began, his teeth clenching together hard enough to make his muscles flex in his jaw. However, he refrained from looking down, concentrating instead on the odd sensation that made the most alien feeling take over his core. It made air bubble up in his throat, as if to make a chuckle, but with much more force. The sound, however, never escaped his lips.
He only relaxed when the lur'mog ran along his shoulder and down the length of his arm, appearing from under his sleeve and running smack into the dragon he hadn't really paid much attention to- unless it came to sharing the drink he was rather enjoying. He'd occasionally allow the creature a sip or two, but more often than not he pulled his tankard away from the reach of the dragon that was now wrestling, in its own way, with the lur'mog.
His eyes remained trained on the pair even as he finished his drink and set the mug down, which promptly slid away from him, was refilled, and then slid back into his hand in a matter of moments. He quickly lifted his drink from the countertop as the fighting creatures threatened to ram into it, their sounds loud enough to keep him from, at first, noticing Shikiyoku's disappearance.
His eyes shifted to the side, curious about the silence, and found her seat empty. He refrained from reacting outwardly, turning to the bond he could feel inside his core and, for the moment, finding it peaceful. His momentary worry drained away and he turned back to his front, lifting the alcohol to his lips again and enjoying the burn.
It reminded him only slightly of the fire in his stomach. The fire that had been given to him in the valley, the difference being that the drink had an actual definable taste.
He was halfway through another refill when he felt the bond quiver inside his core, making him pause with the tankard half-way to his lips, eyes going unfocused as he assessed the bond that immediately had grabbed his attention.
Fear.
Hiei slowly set his drink down and stood to move, without saying a word to the barkeep about returning or otherwise. His feet moved with dangerous precision, mind centered on the bond to help find Shikiyoku- who wasn't really that far, surprisingly. He stepped outside into the night and, as soon as the door shut quietly behind him, his eyes pointed up, searching for any sign of struggle.
The fear was still there, but the only thing he heard at first was silence.
"Looks like her majesty is in a bad mood."
He recognized the voice, that it belonged to Taka not escaping him since he'd done very well at memorizing the voice with the face of the demon who had irked him earlier that night.
But, the fear he felt in the bond dissipated as light conversation ensued, and he realized that something else must have caused the reaction that had him standing out here now. His eyes turned to look around himself, though from the ground, he didn't find much to worry over.
Aside from the faintest of glows in the distance. It wasn't hard for him to identify the glow of fire, and he was very quickly uninterested.
Yet, he lingered, listening to the conversation the floated down to him on the light breeze with an unimaginable amount of curiosity. Perhaps it was the drink that had him standing here, reacting on a mild emotion that normally didn't take this much control of his actions.
At the turn of conversation onto a cursed child, Hiei found his eyes shifting and turning to his right, his lip twitching in the struggle to keep the scowl from his face. But for a reason he didn't understand, when Shikiyoku refrained from calling him the same name everyone else had dubbed him, even himself, the scowl that had won over his features disappeared and he found himself leaning against the outside wall of the tavern.
As the conversation continued, he found himself receding into his own thoughts, though he didn't miss anything being exchanged above him either.
He knew that fire demon blood was dangerous. It had been the very reason he'd been tossed from his birthplace, over a cliff and left for death. His aggression had always stemmed from that, he assumed, and his need for fighting had, over the years, increased with ferocity. This had been mainly fueled by his anger that had always been present in his mind, in his body, and perhaps even in his soul. Not even bandits had wanted him around after they found out of his aggression.
He was feared by most who knew of his blood. And fear had always driven him into anger at the other, accompanied by, on some level, satisfaction at having been given the reaction. It always lead to him killing the other, no matter their pleading or their excuses for life.
After all, if he hadn't had an excuse for his life, why would another be allowed the privilege? At least, that's how he'd thought for a vast majority of his life.
When had that aggression changed? Sure, it was still there, but… quieter?
Right. Yukina.
He'd found his sister, even released her from the grasp of a human who had deserved to die, but hadn't been killed by his own hands.
Only after that did he begin to realize how much he loathed being referred to as the cursed child, whereas before he had used it as fuel to his rage and a reason to prove entities right about his kind. He had been wanted to be feared. But over the time he spent in Human World, it seemed that aggression muted, and his loathing of his nickname had grown exponentially.
Enough that he actually felt sick when he heard the name.
"And that the fire portion of his heritage is muted by the Ice Maiden blood? For now?" A small pause. "And what will you do when it awakens?"
"Should we still be pacted, I'll simply...be there. Whether he wishes it or not."
"You would willingly put yourself in harm's way for this...demon?"
So, Shikiyoku not calling him by "cursed child" made an odd form of… some emotion or another move through him. Relief? He wasn't sure. And her words seemed to offer an odd sense of comfort, though he wasn't sure of the meaning behind his reaction to those words. He'd never been spoken about like that before.
"He will need someone there, and it will be me even if he does not ask for help."
Hiei's head bowed as he immersed further into thought, his eyes sliding closed. He'd never really thought about asking another for help. Why would he, when he was very capable on his own? He had heard rumors of how fire demon energy was dangerous, how once it took over, the demon would either go insane with rage or simply… go mad with the amount of energy that tried taking over.
Demons who couldn't handle the amount of power and rage that came with it often went insane to a level that would lead to, eventually, the demon destroying themselves. Not with their own energy, since its obvious lackluster in affecting the wielder of power, but by… other means.. Normally, by sending themselves into battle that would require every ounce of energy, or by simply…
Ending it…
A deep scowl formed on Hiei's face. He hadn't forgotten the stories. He hadn't forgotten the different possibilities that came with being born of fire and ice. He had simply… stopped thinking about it.
The anticipation of that kind of moment alone could lead a demon to his death, if he were weak minded enough.
When he came back into the present, another conversation had begun, about… another. He had his eyes slid open to stare the ground as the conversation turned to love, something he didn't know the concept of.
"Did you love him?"
Hiei could only guess who was being referred to. But he listened, curious for her answer, and when her answer did reach his ears, he wasn't sure what to think.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes, Taka."
Hiei stuffed his hands in his pockets and pushed away from the wall, ears listening to the lull in conversation before the word "no" was barely heard.
As the door was pulled open for his return to the bar, he briefly caught the "Well that's good, then. I don't love you."
The door shut behind him just as quietly as before as his feet whispered against the wood to the bar, sliding back onto his barstool and peering into his cup, which had been refilled to the brim. "Thanks," he grumbled to the demon behind the bar, his hand closing around the handle and bringing the drink to his lips for a long swig of the sweet drink that now seemed a bit more bitter than before.
Or maybe it was because he'd stopped drinking it for a while and had momentarily forgotten the taste, the burn.
~!**!~
Akari's car was almost impossible to control as the pause shot her car at an impossible speed forward, only slowing to the normal speed again when she passed the car in fourth place, putting her in that position on the track until her car crossed the finish line. She smiled at the screen despite her earlier struggle with learning how to play, turning to Yusuke with teeth flashing.
"That's pretty cool. How often do you play this one, anyway? Any other you like as much as this one?" *
Yusuke leaned back in his seat once Akari crossed the finish line, smiling when it seemed like she actually enjoyed herself.
"Often enough." He responded glibly, "And…" He hesitated, though he seemed to find his hesitation humorous. "There's one." His smile grew a little more sheepish, "But I gave up on playing it a while back for...reasons."
He got up and started to lead her to another portion of the arcade, calling out, "Come on!" And gesturing for her to follow as he did so.3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star