A/N: Hello once again, Fellow FanFiction Fanatics!
The next installment is here!
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 continue entertaining themselves at the arcade,
Akari getting to play Goblin City as well as a racing game.
Yusuke tells her there's one last game he always liked,
but he stopped playing it for 'reasons.'
~!**!~
Shikiyoku and Hiei go back downstairs after a while,
the bar having cleared out so that only a few patrons were left.
When Hiei is distracted by the wrestling of the lur'mog and Ryou,
Taka swoops in and snatched Shikiyoku away to speak with her.
He warns her about Hiei being the Cursed Child,
and even though she already knew, she refuses to call him that.
That particular portion of the conversation is overheard by Hiei,
but as Taka leaves, Hiei goes back inside
and Shikiyoku is left by herself on the rooftop...
The door of the bar slammed inward against the opposite wall and Shikiyoku stalked inside, Kafu calmly raising his gaze to check on who it was.
Her face was obviously flushed with drink, and she was scowling deeply, a dark cloud across her vision. She grumbled angrily to herself as she nearly stomped over to where her drink still sat on the counter.
At her entrance, the lur'mog and Ryou both stopped their wrestling in mid-fight, turning to stare with wide-eyes.
While Ryou definitely regarded her with his usual affectionate ruby-color, upon sensing her mood a starburst of sapphire-worry started from his irises and shot out to consume the entirety of his pupils and he and the lur'mog quickly untangled themselves from one another in order to stand, both coming to attention and staring at her while she moved.
"I could almost kill someone right now." Shikiyoku was muttering dismally there at the last as she threw back her head and downed the rest of her half-full tankard in a flash.
She slammed the tankard down on the counter, still standing next to it, and began glaring at Kafu when he didn't immediately take it from her to refill.
"Kafu…" She said warningly.
"You know as well as I do that this stuff is potent." His calm expression had not changed, though he did not look up from where he stood wiping glasses down.
"Kafu…" She growled it from her chest this time.
"I see that it's had time to take effect." He replied lightly, give the blush across her face a pointed look, "You ought to restrain yourself. You seem to have forgotten that this stuff takes at least twenty minutes to kick in. And you've had a lot already."
In one smooth motion, Shikiyoku jumped up and planted one hand firmly on the bar, holding her body up-her feet finding the middle support across one of the stools and bracing there-as she snatched Kafu's apron and pulled him across the counter to meet her face half-way.
Again, he did not seem phased, even as he found himself staring directly into her obviously displeased countenance, glass in one hand and rag in the other.
Her voice did not shout, but seethed out from between her teeth like so much ice-cold murder, "You will give me more or I swear I will come over there and strangle you with your own twelve hands." Her eyes glimmered with power and Kafu shrugged in response.
She released him, continuing to stand on the support of the stool with one hand planted on the counter as she glared daggers at Kafu while more Demon's Fire from the jug was poured into her tankard.
As soon as it was filled, Shikiyoku snatched it and threw it back over her head again.
"How was your talk with Taka?" Kafu asked politely.
The tankard was lowered just enough for the flow of drink to halt so that Shikiyoku could speak around the edge of the mug still in her mouth.
"I hate that accursed demon." She went back to downing the beverage.
"So, about like usual, then?" Kafu appeared to be talking about nothing less than the weather outside.
Shikiyoku slammed the mug down on the counter a second time, viciously wiping the back of her hand across her lips, and pronounced probably a little more loudly than she would have normally, "He's a fat, smelly, putrid excuse for a bird-"
When Shikiyoku stopped suddenly and glowered at Kafu, the tankard got filled again, though he surreptitiously only gave it half this time, which Shikiyoku did not appear to notice as she went for it again.
"-and I hope his feathers drop out of his wings and never grow back!" She finished as she slapped the tankard down again.
"And how do you want to see him die this time?" Kafu asked, appearing to have heard all of this at an earlier date.
"He can- He can go...die in a fire!" Shikiyoku snarled.
"You've used that one before."
"Fire!" She repeated forcefully.
"You never mean that."
Shikiyoku growled, but didn't actually disagree with Kafu's point.
The lur'mog had cautiously made his way across the counter from where he was on the other side of Hiei and at the lull in the discussion, he placed a tiny paw on the hand Shikiyoku still had planted firmly on the countertop.
The gesture did not go unnoticed and Shikiyoku's wrathful gaze sunk down to see the large eyes widely looking up at her. Her shoulders visibly relaxed as she reached over with her other hand and scratched at the lur'mog's cheek gently with a single finger. Her eyes lost a little of their ire.
"Maybe not a fire." Shikiyoku grumbled as she removed both hands from the lur'mog's reach, climbing down to stand back on the floor. "But he can sure go screw himself for all I care."
"Mmhm." Kafu replied as Shikiyoku strode with baleful steps back up the staircase and out of earshot. His eyes only flickered after her retreating figure once and he gave a little sigh. "Well, that was certainly more low-key than usual." He appeared to be speaking to himself, placing the glass in his hands down and picking up another. 3
Hiei had his eyes down on the bar while his hand toyed with the mug casually, his tongue rolling in his mouth as he assessed the slight change in taste compared to before with another large gulp. He felt calm, but his mind was anything but. It was stuck on the conversation he'd heard earlier, making his lips pull downwards slightly in the smallest hint of a scowl. He just…
For some reason, he couldn't let it go, Taka calling him cursed.
Another drink, and Shikiyoku was standing nearby, grumbling angrily under her breath. For a moment, he ignored her mumblings, but when she continued ranting about Taka, his eyes slid over to her calmly, as if he too had seen this more than once.
Though, his calm demeanor was only achieved because of the slight delay between his mind and the muscles in his face, which, a moment later, made his lips twitch only slightly upward before the expression returned to neutral. Accursed.
For the moment, he didn't exactly understand the amusement and odd amount of respect that grew within, causing him to take another drink.
It's a little sweeter.
He eyed the barkeep suddenly, wondering if the drink was supposed to do that. The taste seemed to change subtly here and there, but enough that he himself could notice. Was it Kafu's doing?
He turned back to witness the last of Shikiyoku's moment before she turned and walked away, disappearing from sight up the stairs. He scoffed once and turned back to Kafu quietly, his now empty mug coming to rest on the counter.
"I don't need more," he informed quietly, deciding he should stop while he still could think clearly. His words about her rant being muted wasn't lost on him, but he didn't reply to them either. He wouldn't know, after all. "You do well in putting up with her… mood swings.." Hiei mused, his expression shifting only slightly to mildly amused. "Comes with the experience, I suppose?"
~!**!~
Akari raised a brow at the pause Yusuke gave, a smirk on his features as if he paused only for her anticipation. And when he was moving, sliding out of his chair and quickly moving around her and through the arcade. She followed, at a slower and more leisurely pace, eyes staying trained on him this time.
"Y'know, when school lets out, this place is going to be cramped and loud." she said to him, more musing to herself however and trying to decide how long she would want to be in the building.
She wasn't in the mood for large crowds. *
"Whyddya think I come around while school's in session?" Yusuke pointed out, making his way to another corner.
He stopped short of the machines he sought, putting one hand on his hip and gesturing to them.
They seemed simple enough, a box about waist height with what appeared to be a sort of round punching bag stuck on the end of a pole right about where the shoulder is.
"I'll let you guess why I had to stop using them." He waggled his eyebrows at her, grinning.
~!**!~
The tankard got swept away from Hiei, as did the one Shikiyoku left. Hiei's got placed out of sight, but Kafu held his hand palm up as Shikiyoku's came to hover over his awaiting hand.
A rather large amount of coinage tumbled out of the mug and Kafu assessed it with half-lidded eyes as the tankard went the same route as Hiei's.
Hmph. She actually paid for all of it. Even the stuff earlier. The hybrid's too.
His expression never changed as he lowered his hand to place the coins somewhere behind the counter.
"You might be surprised to know that most demons don't change all that much when they've consumed more alcohol than is wise for them." Kafu replied as the coins were put away and he wiped the portion of the counter that Shikiyoku had been drinking at. "The loud ones are still loud. The angry ones are still angry. Shikiyoku is…" How did he sum up such an apparition in one word? He shook his head, "Certainly a handful. You've got your work cut out for you, Champion." 3
Hiei made a sound akin to a scoff, shrugging his shoulders lightly as if he wasn't worried about the handful Shikiyoku posed to be. He eyed the money that had tumbled into Kafu's hand before it was placed out of his sight, easily noticing that all drinks had been paid for- even his own. He didn't move out of Kafu's way as he wiped down the counter, since it didn't seem that he was going to continue his way with the rag anyway.
"I'm sure I can deal." He paused, glancing to the two animals still sitting on the bartop. "I've seen a lot."
~!**!~
Akari followed until she was standing in front of a machine that, at first, seemed kind of pointless. But, as Yusuke swept a hand before it in a showy fashion and said he had stopped playing the game, she knew it had to do with punching, especially since there was a pad on the pole that resembled that of a training pad.
She smiled at him mischievously as she eyed him. "A punching game?" she turned back to the game before fishing into her pocket for change. "I guess it won't hurt, though I'm not sure it's going to matter. Your punches are worse than any other I've experienced."
As the game fired up with music that boomed with bass, as if preparing the player for the single punch they would get. She took a deep breath and moved into an offensive stance, readying her muscles and adjusting so that when she did swing her fist at it, she hit it squarely in the center and sent the pad flying backwards, hitting the screen with enough force to make the machine rock back and forth slightly.
It flashed the high score, showing it to be over a thousand, then flashed her score to be at 812.
"See what I mean?" she said, assuming the high score belonged to the detective. *
Yusuke gave a laugh, "Well, you asked what else there was around here that I liked as much as the racing one!" He pointed to the high score, "That one isn't actually my high score though. I, uh," His hand went up to scratch at his face self-consciously, even as he showed his teeth with a sheepish smile, "I might have accidentally broken the one I had the high score on. I wanted to see if it'd go higher than just filling up with all nines."
~!**!~
Kafu finished cleaning Shikiyoku's spot and flipped the towel back around in his hand and went back to drying more glasses as he stood there in front of Hiei.
"Of course." Kafu readily agreed, "I can tell that you have and I'm sure she can tell as well. Did she seek you out specifically for the position? If you don't mind my asking." 3
Hiei raised a brow at the barkeep's curiousness, but otherwise didn't really react. At this point in time, he didn't much care. "Not quite the way you'd think," he replied with a shrug all his own. In truth, she hadn't actually looked for a Champion.
She'd simply… earned one. At least, in her point of view, she did. "Circumstances called for it, I happened to be nearby," he found himself wondering why he was talking so cordially with the bartender. Normally, he wouldn't tell anyone much of anything they wished to know. He supposed it was because of the inviting air, though it hadn't ever made a difference in the past.
~!**!~
Akari smirked at Yusuke as he nervously admitted to wrecking a machine. She herself hadn't thought she'd be able to break it, but the fact that Yusuke, a human, had smashed one… well, she found it both amusing and annoying that she, a demon, wouldn't be able to hit him hard enough to make a difference.
Not that it mattered. They were, after all, on the same team. Plus, she didn't enjoy fighting him the first time, why would she do so again?
"Maybe next time you should think before doing things like that." she taunted, turning to move to another machine she'd eyed earlier. "My turn to choose." *
"Hey," Yusuke protested her first comment, "My philosophy is to punch first and ask questions while punching." He grinned and followed after her, curious as to what she would pick.
~!**!~
"Ah." Kafu understood what Hiei meant more than Hiei probably thought he did. "I thought perhaps she sought a hybrid from the Koorime line specially. There aren't many demons with more raw power than the non-Koorime twin who comes from such a mating, as I'm sure you're well aware."
Both Ryou and the lur'mog had settled down together within arms reach of Hiei with the dragon curled up and the other creature nestled near Ryou's middle. Even though the lur'mog appeared to be asleep, Ryou's eyes were staring up the staircase from where his head lay the counter, swirling with the same worried blue as before. 3
Hiei wasn't much surprised by this demon's insight and easy following of the conversation. Quite frankly, he'd realized the demon must be much older than any he'd met in his lifetime and had seen just about anything the three worlds had to throw at him. So the fire demon didn't much react when he went on talking about the powers of Koorime and the children born from actual matings.
A scoff left his lips, more out of amusement than scorn. He was beginning to feel rather tired now… "'s not much of a big deal," he said slowly as he moved to rise from his chair, glancing at the two creatures on the countertop and touching both of them with his index finger only once before letting his feet touch the floor. "I used to loathe it, being her Champion." he admitted suddenly, a sneer on his face now as he glanced once more at Kafu. He didn't have to continue on to say that now he rather enjoyed the challenge, because the sneer on his face should have said it all for him before he turned and retreated up the stairs, deciding now was a great time for some sleep.
~!**!~
Akari lead the way through the arcade until they were standing almost in the center of the building, in front of a machine with two joysticks, six red buttons, and two yellow. The yellow buttons appeared to be for choosing single or multiplayer, while a red button said "start" and the others seemed to be for playing the game that she could now read as being labeled "Galaga". She had eyed it earlier and decided that it looked interesting enough.
"Galaga was so popular that even Demon World had heard of it, since a few demons had been able to slip by the Kekkai for a short while when I was younger. But since then, demons haven't been able to slip through worlds very much and I'm sure there are likely some places that are trying to come up with this game, even as we speak." She smiled as she put in a few coins. "Wanna play?" *
Yusuke couldn't help but stare after Akari as she told her story, and even once she asked her question he didn't answer for just a second longer then, not exactly staring at her, but more at the fact that she was a demon, stirrings of things going on behind his strange gaze.
"You know...we're not all that different. Demons and humans. I don't know if I ever thought we were all that different, but the longer I've been doing this job, the more I've come to realize it." He stepped up beside her, intending to play the game as well.
~!**!~
Kafu's eyes left the mug he held as Hiei started to get up, watching the apparition interacting with the two creatures who appeared to have finally calmed down, but staying quiet even as Hiei began to walk off, considering the retreating form in a thoughtful manner.
"She still thinks you loathe it." He murmured down to the glass in his hands, "And if you don't figure out some way to show her she's wrong, there's no telling what she'll do." He raised the glass up to the light to check for water marks, not particularly caring if the fire demon picked up on his words, but voicing them to himself all the same.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku clomped up the staircase and tromped down the hallway, muttering angrily to herself the entire time.
"Nasty, stinky, smelly bird...always ruins everything...can't keep his mouth shut...could just kill him..."
Stopping in place, Shikiyoku blinked a few times before turning around to go back, having gotten three-fourths of the way down the hall without considering which room she was trying to get to.
"And that's your fault too!" She shook a fist angrily at the ceiling as she stalked back to the correct door. "You numbskull!"
She threw it open with as much gusto as she had the entrance to the tavern, and it slammed against the wall, swinging forward just a little but staying wide as she thudded her way through it.
The light shining in from the hallway made the room appear almost as clear as day in spite of its lackluster glory, though there would have probably been enough from the dirty window to do the same without being so invasive.
She practically ripped her crimson cloak off of her head and threw it against the dusy chair in the room, where it splattered like so much paint and then mostly fell off, only the edge managing to drape over the piece of furniture.
In her "rage," Shikiyoku's entire body shimmered with power, her scalp tingling as it released energy through scent into the air, but instead of it being a welcome feeling this time, it just made her feel much too hot for now and as she made her way to the bedside, her long-sleeved black shirt got pulled off and tossed in the general direction of her cloak.
The spaghetti-strapped tank top underneath nearly came off with it and she didn't bother adjusting it, blaming Taka for that too as she threw herself down on the bed and snatched both pillows to put under her head. She ended up, of course, with her head up on the right side of the bed and her feet slanted away and touching the wall near the end of the bed, in essence taking up the entire thing and grumbling wildly about Taka's heritage, parents, fighting-style and how everything in relation to him was terrible and needed to go die in a fire.
Somehow, in the middle of all of that, she actually drifted off to sleep, likely from all the alcohol more than anything, lying on her side and facing the door which she'd completely forgotten about and left open, snarling at Taka and blaming him for that without so much as trying to get up to close it even as her eyes refused to stay open. 3
Hiei paused only momentarily at the words he caught from Kafu, but recovered and continued on towards and up the stairs, making no indication otherwise that he had heard the barkeep. His mind simply didn't want to mull over the fact for now, as it was beginning to go numb with what felt like sleep deprivation.
As he moved up the stairs, he suddenly realized that he may not remember which door had been the one to their room. He supposed he could follow Shikiyoku's scent, but even now he couldn't find the trail, as if it had disappeared entirely with her.
So he meandered, taking his time to glance at each door on the second floor until he spied one wide open. He made his way to it very cautiously and peered inside, probably looking rather comical if anyone had been watching.
He spied Shikiyoku inside, on the bed, and immediately straightened his spine to enter the room, pulling the door closed behind him as he caught only the last vestiges of Shikiyoku's grumblings that seemed to die away and turn into breathing that indicated sleep.
He approached the bed with half-lidded eyes of sleepiness, taking in the way Shikiyoku took up the entirety of the bed. He stood over her with a slight frown, trying to decide how to go about this. After a moment, he decided he didn't care, and he merely slid his hands under her body and adjusted her so that she lay closer to the wall, adjusting her position until there was just enough room for him before he joined her, laying on his side and facing the door, his back against hers out of mere laziness.
And within minutes, he too was sleeping, snoring lightly because of the drink.
~!**!~
Akari blinked and turned to Yusuke, staring at him with a coin between her index finger and thumb, hovering in front of the coin slot. She listened, taken by surprise from his sudden admission.
After he was done, she continued to stare at him, her mind going over several things before she finally turned back to the machine and placed her coin into it and standing upright again, not looking at him.
"No, we aren't. The only difference is that you are prey to a stronger species, who is, for the most part, unorganized." She blinked slowly at the screen and gave a small sigh. "Maybe one day you'll visit Demon World and see first hand how alike the worlds really are." *
"You know, you hear tales about times long ago when humans and demons interacted regularly." Yusuke kept talking as they played, his mind only half paying attention to the task at hand, "It makes me wonder if, at one point, instead of three worlds, there was only one, and something happened that made that one realm divide into three different ones."
~!**!~
Being moved stirred Shikiyoku enough to realize when someone else came into bed with her, but nothing else. It took her a minute to be able to shift around, but out of habit, her eyes refusing to open at first, she threw an arm over the body of...whoever, and drew herself up against their back, her mind lost in some dream or another of ages past as she slowly started to nuzzle her nose against the back of her bed-mate's neck in greeting.
Without honestly being aware of it, her lips replaced her nose three...four times against the skin she found there as she began to pull her eyelids apart slowly, the tavern room around her doing nothing for the time period her brain sleepily provided for her in the midst of the relaxation in her alcohol-drugged state.
The arm she had around the torso of them slid up over the front of their chest and to the shoulder, moving the white scarf in her way to the side so that she could plant kisses further up-
Shikiyoku's eyes widened and she froze in place as the realization dawned of just exactly who the owner of said scarf was. Even as she blinked several times laboredly, she bit her lip and stopped moving, wondering if it would be better just to stay still at that point or not. 3
Hiei's mind had been blissfully blank, his body sinking into the mattress and his arm supporting his head while the other simply had his hand resting on the elbow of his arm underneath his head. His hands felt warm, even to himself. Even in his sleep, he realized that his body felt warmer than usual.
But he didn't think about it long. His mind told him that there was something going on outside his dream state, and curiously, his eyes slid open for a moment. His skin felt weird here and there, at the back of his neck, and he could feel that his cloak had been shifted or, in the very least, his scarf.
He moved his head to glance backwards, though his eyes didn't appear to be open more than just a slit. He was still asleep in his mind, so he didn't really register… whatever had happened…
He slowly resettled and went back to sleep.
~!**!~
Akari nodded once, her eyes on the screen of the moving gaming avatars as her ship was captured. "I… honestly don't know." she finally replied, though the thought of one big world was a rather curious one. She went quiet again before releasing a small sigh.
"But, there were also times when demons hunted humans for sport. And sometimes, though it's rare, you hear about humans doing the same to demons. I think that's the main reason the worlds were split. Now, however, things are different. While there are still things like that going on, more and more demons, while intolerable of humans, wouldn't actually step out of line because they know of King Enma's rule being almost… indefinite. If Enma knew of what I had done, simply with aiding Sensui, my head would be gone. Koenma wouldn't have had a say, I'm sure." *
"You know," Yusuke said thoughtfully, "I haven't ever really gotten to meet the big guy. Koenma certainly makes it seem like he's a terror, but I guess he's just got to keep the welfare of three realms in mind. I would go crazy." He finally smiled again, "But I'm not cut out for that kind of work."
~!**!~
Holding her breath, Shikiyoku remained frozen for at least an entire minute before deciding she had done no harm and relaxing again.
She did, however, scoot closer, and lay her cheek on Hiei's head, his hair making for a soft pillow, her mouth almost touching his ear.
As she felt her body slipping away again, she smiled and mumbled, "You should find reasons to laugh more often, fire-prince." Her eyes slid closed again, her words barely whispering out her lips, "I think...it is my favorite sound."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku was running, but her legs were giving out on her, her core beating wildly in her chest and her lungs burning as she kept heaving air into them. She wasn't even sure what she was running from, but it was behind her and quickly catching up. There was no one nearby, no one to save her, and she couldn't even save herself.
Shikiyoku shivered, having at some point during her sleep let go of Hiei and turned over to face the wall behind her.
Glancing back, her veins froze at the sight of the giant wave of black demonic energy that threatened to overtake her.
"Looks like her majesty is in a bad mood." A voiced echoed around in her head.
Shikiyoku turned to see Taka standing in front of her, gorgeous brown wings coming out from behind his back and his eyes distant as he appeared to be staring off at the wave. She kept running, reaching out to him, but never getting there and she panicked, thinking that perhaps she wasn't moving anymore.
"Taka! Taka, please!" She cried out.
"...please..." Shikiyoku mumbled into the wall, her body beginning to twitch as if about to take off at a run.
He didn't appear to hear her, make any indication that she was even there.
If she could just grab onto him, he could fly them away, they could find her Champion together. They'd gotten separated, and she couldn't feel him anymore. She'd woken up and he wasn't there, and she'd looked but she'd never found him.
The image of Taka shimmered away like a mirage and Shikiyoku yelled out again.
"No! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone again!"
Images of lonely wanderings, forced to avoid all things, flashed briefly in her mind's eye.
"Don't...alone..." Shikiyoku shivered again, her body pulling into a small ball.
The black wave of energy was getting closer no matter how fast Shikiyoku pushed her body and she tried to shake herself awake, hoping it was only a dream as dark tendrils of power started to circle around her limbs, pulling her backwards in order to engulf her.
~!**!~
In the back of her head, something began to pound incessantly and at first Shikiyoku found she was able to ignore it, but there were words happening too and she found she could understand them.
"...this...right now...whore!"
"Not...nice."
"...get her...lazy...up-"
"-and OPEN this door right NOW!"
Shikiyoku's eyes slid apart and she yawned sleepily, pulling away from Hiei and climbing out of the bed.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," She mumbled, still half-asleep, "Rude."
The pounding and name-calling continued until Shikiyoku stumbled over and opened the door.
Two pairs of eyes stared down at her as Shikiyoku reached up to rub one hand on her own.
"What." She asked bluntly.
The eyes stared for another second before the more timid pair turned to the other.
"S-see? I told you she was here!"
The first pair of eyes glowered down at Shikiyoku.
Shikiyoku returned the stare equally even as her core sank into her stomach in a rush of fear.
The two women at the door were twice her height and easily twice as muscular, giving off an Amazoness air, and even with the modest uniform they wore, weapons hanging at their sides and likely more out of sight, it was easy to see exactly how fit their bodies were.
The one that was fuming at her had long pink hair to her waist in a ponytail, and the one standing more sheepishly next to her had a shock of short yellow hair that seemed to stick an inch or two straight up off the top of her head, but was also slightly taller, if not more slender, than her companion.
"Why you GOOD-for-nothing little piece of sh-"
The blonde put a restraining hand lightly on the other's arm, silently reminding her that they were here for a specific reason.
The other visibly grimaced, but back down from where she had started to tower over Shikiyoku's smaller frame.
"It's good to see you too, Taikou." Shikiyoku stated cooly.
"Her majesty..." She obviously struggled to keep her temper, "Her majesty requests that you attend her at the ball today."
"She would be delighted if you would agree!" The blonde turned down to Shikiyoku with a smile.
"Rae? Rae's still alive?" Shikiyoku appeared stunned.
"That's Lady Rae to you, shrimp." The pink-haired one bristled. "If not, Queen."
"She's not my queen." One of Shikiyoku's eyebrows quirked. "Last I looked, she's not queen of anywhere."
"I outta just-" Her arm came up as if to deck Shikiyoku, but the blonde stopped her.
"Taikou." She said with a little more force than previously.
Taikou grumbled, but lowered her fist.
"Yama." Shikiyoku nodded to the blonde, "I only just arrived. I'm not quite sure how Rae learned of my presence so quickly." She tried to keep the dry regret from her tone.
"I can't BELIEVE you would come into town and REFUSE to pay tribute to the Queen!" Taikou growled.
"She only just arrived, Taikou." Yama reassured her, knowing privately that it was doubtful Shikiyoku planned to do any such thing no matter how long she would be in the city. 3
Hiei didn't dream. He was fairly certain that he hadn't slept this well in years, even when he'd worn himself out from an intense fight with another. His entire body, albeit a little warmer than normal, was extremely relaxed and he hadn't moved even once since he'd fallen asleep.
And he hadn't planned to, not even when he was pulled from peaceful slumber to hear the loudest sound that seemed to echo in his mind twice as loud as it should be. A small shift in the bed later, and Hiei was rolling over, turning his back to the door even as he became aware of voices and the door being opened.
Only when he felt a slight change in his chest did his mind awaken enough to register the words being said. Only when he became aware of the quivering of the bond did he sit up and place his feet on the floor, sitting so that he could watch the doorway cautiously, easily forcing the sleep from his eyes, but not quite as easily from his mind.
But when one of the women moved to strike, Hiei was standing and moving across the small room, hands carefully at his sides so that he didn't appear too much of a threat. Not yet.
He stood a couple of feet behind Shikiyoku, expression blank as ruby eyes stared at the pair, one seemingly cordial while the other was only a little more than irate.
"Problem?" his calm voice rang out over the sudden silence.
~!**!~
Akari frowned, but didn't look at Yusuke. "It's a good thing if you haven't met Enma. Anyone who ever sees him either dies because of his rage, or becomes a part of Spirit World's staff. In case you haven't noticed, they both seem to equal one another." She was only mildly joking here.
"As for Koenma, it's expected for the son of the king to be treated with extremely high expectations and harsh reprimands should something go wrong. It's to ensure things don't go bad. Like… with Sensui." *
"Yeah..." Yusuke tailed off, his eyes staring downwards, but his mind turning gloomy.
Suddenly he jumped back from the machine in front of them with a grin and a laugh.
"Hey! What am I doing? I was trying to lift your spirits and here I am bringing myself down and ruining the party! Now where were we?! What game should we play next?!" He marched off through the arcade after his hasty announcement, humming loudly to himself and looking for another arcade game they might be able to crash.
~!**!~
He's awake. A wash of thankfulness swam over Shikiyoku, but she refused to look back at him as she didn't know how much longer she could maintain her confidence. And she thought of her shirt and cloak. They needed to get out of there, sooner rather than later. Before these two gave up on their conversation and snatched her up right then and there.
Yama's eyes narrowed slightly at Hiei's words as she glanced over Shikiyoku's head and into the room.
"What is this? Another one of your toys, whore?" Taikou jeered.
"Lieutenant Taikou Kusara." Yama's back had straightened and even Taikou jumped a little at the title, "Need I remind you that our delegation here is to extend the invitation to the seductress and not incite her ire?"
The two women did not look at one another, Taikou scowling and Yama's expression equally as fierce.
It took Shikiyoku a moment to realize that they each had a dagger at the other's back, pressed against one another's clothing.
The air remained tense for another split second until both women relaxed their weapons away at the same time.
"Yes, Captain."
Yama's eyes flickered back to the present, at Hiei first, then down to Shikiyoku.
"I-I know she will be most upset to find that you have yet another...Champion."
"I don't know why." Shikiyoku was quick to respond, "I've never shown Rae favor of any kind."
"Perhaps that is why she continues to remain interested."
"She really needs to get over it. Isn't she happy with her mate? Gotten lots of children from it?"
"Her halls would be all the more grander should you deem her worthy of gracing them."
"So she can use me in furthering her House?"
Taikou's jaw clenched together.
"She's obviously not going to come willingly, Captain. I don't see the point in continuing this conversation."
"Besides, Rae knows that I'm looking different nowadays. Otherwise you wouldn't have recognized me in the first place. Not right off the bat." Shikiyoku leaned up against the doorframe lazily, crossing her arms together. "Has she taken that into account? She may not want me around anymore."
"I-I must confess that I am not sure how she will take your...vast change in appearance once she lays eyes on you, but, yes, she does know you've a more human form and no, it must not get in the way of her opinion terribly much otherwise we would not be here." Yama pointed out abashedly. "I mean, you are still doing the same sort of thing no matter what your looks, right?"
She appeared to be not sure, but Shikiyoku had her powers as muted as possible as soon as she recognized the pair at the door, so it was hard for Yama to tell.
"I certainly am still the same Shikiyoku." She allowed, tilting her head a little.
Yama looked a little shocked, "You are still doing courtesan work, aren't you?"
"I'm not really in the market for it, no."
"Once a whore, always a whore, seductress."
"Taikou!" Yama said sharply, "Be civil!"
Shikiyoku only appeared amused. "And what happens if I refuse to come with you?"
"There is half a legion of the High Guard who will take you there." A wicked grin finally crossed Taikou's face. "So you can either come peacefully or they can drag you off."
"We don't have time for this." Shikiyoku thought about halfway through the conversation, continuing as Yama and Taikou talked with her and hoping Hiei would catch it. "I don't want to make time for this."
There was no disguising the fear she had in accompanying these to back to their House. Damn.
"The High Guard are some of the most powerful apparitions of the level. My powers do little to nothing to them unless under specific circumstances, and without my demonic form…
"We could be stuck in this city for decades if they manage to get us back to Rae. Not that I would mind being stuck in Demon World, but only on my own terms and not as a lackey under Rae's household." 3
Hiei's mind was fully awake now and he had no problems with listening intently to the women at the door, his core moving in time with the pulsing bond that had his muscles slowly tensing up out of reflex. His teeth momentarily clenched together before unclenching again at the name one of the demons continued to call Shikiyoku, an odd part of him growing a bit angry at the name calling, though at this exact moment, he didn't know why.
But he remained silent, his arms hanging at his sides tensely, hands balled into fists that slowly clenched and unclenched in synchronization with his jaw. And his own tension seemed to grow with the tension of the moment that seemed to create even more tension in the bond, and after a few more moments, Hiei's eyes were narrowed.
She was borderline panicking, it seemed. And the threat that was issued did nothing to help the situation, only creating Hiei's own personal sense of needing to get the hell out while they could.
I hate cities.
Suddenly, his mind was being tugged at, almost as if someone were calling him. He turned inward, then let his mind follow whatever trail it was that had grabbed his attention.
"I don't want to make time for this."
Hiei returned to the present, having understood as soon as he'd zoned in on her thoughts what she felt of the situation. She was afraid, perhaps a little angry, but mostly the fear had him reacting, stepping forward to join Shikiyoku in the threshold of the doorway, meeting the gaze of the calmer of the two demons.
"As interesting as a gesture such as that sounds, we are, in fact, here on business and only passing through. We have no time to stop other than when necessities get in the way. You are interfering with business. It simply is not a possibility at the moment." He paused, turning to the more aggressive one. "Tell your majesty that we, or rather Shikiyoku, would like to visit, but we have no time to stop and… what's the phrase? Smell the roses. Do understand that business comes before pleasure. Always."
He wasn't sure this would work, but he wouldn't dare send Shikiyoku into a place where it was obvious she would not be comfortable.
~!**!~
Akari turned to face Yusuke with a raised brow as she stepped backwards and away from the machine that now asked for more money in order to continue. "You were trying to cheer me up?" she asked, disbelief on her features. She'd been out of it enough to not notice this was an obvious attempt at such a thing?
Smooth, Akari.
"Well, I can assure you, I don't need it now. I'm simply here because I quite like your company, despite your smart mouth." Her lips turned into a teasing smirk. "IT's likely the most amusing thing about you, detective." she called after him as she followed at a leisurely pace.
Is he humming? She thought to herself, raising her brows even more at the boy's back as she followed him. That nervous, or simply that scatterbrained? Either way, she found herself amused at him some more.
"You have a lovely voice," she commented teasingly. "Maybe you should play a karaoke game." *
"Ah ha ha," Yusuke laughed, "If that's what you think we should do, I mean, I'd be happy to join you. But I'm not singing by myself! You'll have to do a round or two as well!"
~!**!~
Taikou drew herself up to her full height, "Perhaps you didn't understand, Champion. This proposition is also 'business.' And the Queen requires Shikiyoku's presence at this ball. The whore does, in fact, owe this to us, unless she's forgotten about how she broke the terms of our last agreement." Here Taikou glared at the shorter demoness.
"Queen Rae was quite upset when you skipped town on her without so much as a by-your-leave." Yama added.
Shikiyoku nearly laughed in her amusement at Taikou and Yama's assumptions about the agreement between her and the Queen to which they were referring.
"Hiei, how likely do you think our chances are of out-running the High Guard if we agree to travel with them to the manshion?"
Shikiyoku was thinking perhaps if they simply let these two lead them out of doors, that she and Hiei could take off as soon as they saw daylight and leave this city behind.
"And surely she understands that there were...extenuating circumstances." Shikiyoku responded to the two in front of her in the meantime.
"No, I'm afraid she doesn't." Yama's eyes grew hard, "Because you didn't bother telling anyone what you were doing. Or why you left in such a hurry."
"My business is my own." Shikiyoku's voice took on an edge. "Despite what you seem to assume, I was not under contractual obligation to your so-called queen." 3
Hiei had had more than enough. His patience was much less than lackluster, and that was in no small part due to his awakening. His stature shifted from tense to suddenly very, very loose, his weight shifting from his toes to his heels before resting in a natural stance of nonchalance.
It was a deadly moment for the other two if they didn't understand the reason for the transition in appearance. He was about ready to strike.
After another moment, his mind was again tugged at and his eyes, along with his mind, turned to Shikiyoku almost curiously. Truthfully, there was no way of knowing at this point if it were possible. He only knew the looks of the two before him, and simply gauging them, he didn't see much problem outrunning the women. The rest, however many there were, might pose as a problem. "Unsure."
He turned back to the duo and sneered, eyes flashing with impatience. He was almost tempted to utter the name that would have had the pair turning tail and running, but the idea of saying he was under Enma's thumb was not an appealing one.
"She will have to be disappointed once more. Your form of business does not even come close to caliber with our current business, and her requirement will simply not be met. There is no changing that, no amount of threats or otherwise."
He gave way to a short pause before moving again, this time between Shikiyoku and the duo at the door. Might as well not give any chances. "If circumstances were different, perhaps it would be considered. However, you are being a nuisance and are hindering our current line of work."
In a sense…
This was their very last warning.
~!**!~
AKari gave her own dry laugh, then immediately sobered with a strong and definitive, "no." There was no way she would be singing. Even if she enjoyed such a thing, she knew no music from this world.
"You're the guru at the machines in this place, and all you can point to is a singing game? While your voice is, as I said, rather lovely," another laugh, "that won't do. Anything else you have in mind for me to try? Or are you out of ideas?" *
Yusuke pivoted to face her and crossed his arms over his chest with a grin.
"Well, it isn't as if you're giving me much to work with here, woman!" He stuck his tongue out at her, "I don't know what you like, so how am I supposed to know what to steer you towards?" He gestured openly to the rest of the arcade, "It isn't like you couldn't just pick a game and sit down your own self, yah know!"
~!**!~
Both Taikou and Yama stared down at the much shorter demon who suddenly decided to impede their access to the she-demon of whom they had been sent to fetch.
Taikou's eyes narrowed into a glare as soon as he did so, Yama's expression revealing none of her inner thoughts at his intrusion.
Taikou scowled lips opened to speak, but Yama threw an arm in front of the Lieutenant, causing her mouth to snap shut.
For her part, Yama let the air remain silent with a pause as she met Hiei's eyes, assessing him, recognizing his stance, sensing his unspoken intentions, and immediately filing away every inch of information that she could glean about him in her single, miniscule glance. Her ability to form such quick opinions of an opponent is what had kept her alive and allowed her to rise to her position of Captain. She wasn't stupid. And she knew this fire demon was not stupid either. He was not a match for them in strength or energy, he was nowhere near their caliber of fighter; his power level was much too low for that. What did that leave him?
Speed.
Now it was Yama's turn to narrow her eyes at him, a dangerous smile creeping up the corner of her lips only slightly as she ran her thoughts over those stationed outside, recalling each strength of each single member of the battalion.
Neither woman before him had moved, and even Shikiyoku stayed silent, watching.
"Run. If you like." Yama's voice barely rose above a whisper, but the room had fallen deathly quiet anyway. "Do you think we will not give chase?"
As if to make her point, she took a single step back, never looking away from him. 3
Half a legion? Hiei wasn't sure why that had not slid past his consciousness before. During the moment of silence, the words echoed across his mind and he took quick inventory of the world outside this room, and found himself very displeased, very distraught, though he made no physical show of such emotions. The demons hadn't been lying.
And each and every one of them were of nigh-equal status almost to these two, the two who he now eyed much more carefully.
His mind seemed to have jolted into a much more awake, much more aware state. Perhaps he hadn't been as awake as he'd thought he had been. Now that he had taken the demoness's words and found them to be true, he was much more wary.
And his wariness only grew when she stepped aside.
Too many unknowns.
He couldn't tell if he'd be able to outrun them. His eyes slid to Shikiyoku again, eyeing her with a neutral, very calculating expression. While she had been able to keep up, it certainly wouldn't be enough if the situation called for his absolute best speed. He wasn't sure how long she could endure a run, since most demons, especially those of S class, could go on for days without a stop.
He turned back to the pair in silence, taking very quick stock of what they did and did not know.
It was obvious they knew nothing of his telepathy. Good. It was also obvious that they didn't recognize him as the fire demon in which destroyed an entire stadium and devoured the dragon that now colored his arm with a dark tattoo. Even better. But, that also meant they didn't know he was a lackey of Spirit World. He'd keep it that way for as long as necessary. It could create much more trouble here, he knew.
Or it could solve it.
No, he wouldn't try it.
Now, what did he know of them?
S class. Definitely not worth trying. Speed? These two, not much. The others? Unknown. He paused in thought and glanced at the various places weapons could be concealed. His own would mean nothing in a fight.
"We have no other choice," He said telepathically to Shikiyoku, but cut the communication short there, deciding to not give the others a chance to see such communication happening.
"Details of the queen's business?" He requested after a moment, never moving from his stance.
Overall, he'd only remained quiet for a few moments, as if having considered only running. He didn't want to give any information out if he could help it. "We'll need to inform our previous business partner, to explain the delay. That much is necessary, as I'm sure you understand."
~!**!~
Akari shrugged, pausing before she could bump into the boy. "I figured you'd show me games you liked." Of course, she said this simply so he'd continue on, thinking if she said that, he'd have a hayday towing her around.
Her mind had wandered again, and it was, again, a bit harder to stay concentrated on one thing or the other. *
Yusuke pursed his lips out at her.
His plan at a distraction wasn't working very well.
...Now he was seriously curious. What had that fox done to drive her so very crazy?
"AH!" Yusuke exclaimed suddenly. "I know some place even better than this!" Yusuke grabbed Akari's wrist and started to pull her out of the arcade towards the street.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku could feel herself tense, even as Hiei's thought brushed over her mind, a tightening of her muscles settling around her ribcage.
Images of the palace faltered over her mind and she swallowed nervously, but did nothing more.
If they take us there, we'll never be let free, no matter what she tells him.
Taikou's smile became more genuine, "Shikiyoku is to attend her majesty at the ball that is being thrown at the palace this evening. Naturally, you being her Champion would automatically afford you an invitation should you wish to join her." 3
Hiei raised a brow. That's it? He didn't like it. Too simple. There was obviously more to it that he wasn't being told. However, again, he was reminded that they had little to no say in the matter until he could assess the situation much more.
He wasn't going to take unnecessary chances here. It simply was not worth the cost.
"We need time," he stated automatically. "To contact our most recent employer, which is not an easy feat here, as I'm sure you understand." A light sneer, and in the next second, his hand was around the door handle and the whoosh of the air from it slamming shut made the tips of his bangs move.
He had done this for a very, very specific reason: the wards.
He rounded on Shikiyoku.
"I will not make unnecessary moves against these two, for now. There are too many unknowns," he stated simply, tone low and voice filled with venom at the prospect of abiding by another's rule. "Do you trust my judgement?"
~!**!~
Akari's eyes wandered to the side for a moment before she knew what was going on, the machines she'd been eyeing moving out of her view as she rounded on the detective, looking down at the hand around her wrist and forcing herself not to react as she normally would have.
Her mind caught up and she realized he'd spoken.
"And where might that be?" she intoned as her feet met the asphalt of the sidewalk. He had done very well in grabbing her attention this time. *
"You ever heard of a thing called 'laser tag?'" He asked simply, continuing to move down the block.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku blinked as Hiei turned to her, her natural reaction to lean back ever-so-slightly from his intensity.
She had intended to respond to his first statements, to shed some light on what he considered 'unknowns'-since she knew these two demons in particular quite well, and this level and its 'queen' to boot-but he did not ask for her advice, and instead presented her, and their pact, with a very poignant question that shattered any previous thoughts she might have mustered up.
Even though it was only at half capacity, the pact within her thrummed warmly and she met his gaze with an openness and evenness that only it could only afford between those bound by it.
"With my very life." The words spilled past her lips as if rehearsed, tumbling out of the hum within her in a plain, simplistic response. As if it were the most obvious answer in the world; as if there was no other answer to his question. 3
Hiei stayed quiet for a moment, staring at Shikiyoku and assessing her expression after her answer, as if searching for any moment of hesitation after. But none came, and he nodded once. "Obviously, we cannot contact Spirit World, and doing so would be more trouble than it's worth. However, they do not recognize me, as most demons would have by now." He paused, suddenly amused by something Kurama had said once, about fortune.
It seems to be on our side.
"I do not want any information on these demons," he stated bluntly, eyes glittering only slightly. If he knew anything more than he did at the moment, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep a calm composure, if he were to be enlightened of things that would otherwise cloud his judgement.
Good 'ol recon, is how he would consider this.
"I have ideas, but they aren't in full bloom." He stated once before turning his back to her, assessing the door and hearing nothing from the other side of it. Though, he didn't have to check to know the pair were still there, waiting. "You will simply have to keep in mind that trust."
He gave another moment of pause, deciding another few moments with the door shut would not do harm. After all, he was feigning contact with another demon by other means.
So he'd wait just a bit longer.
"If you have anything to say, now is the time to do so. Telepathy will be minimal."
~!**!~
A slender brow raised high enough to disappear into strawberry bangs. Laser. Tag.
Never had she heard of the two words being put together.
"Is that supposed to impress me, detective?" *
"Me?" Yusuke replied innocently, "Impress you?" He let out a whoosh of disapproving air, "Perish the thought."
He led them to the establishment he sought and strode inside without much of another thought.
There must have been some school field trip or another happening since there was a bit of a line of kids they were forced to step into, but Yusuke still had that same impish smile on his face as he let go of Akari's wrist to wait until they could get up to the counter.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku's green eyes shimmered with power for an instant as she replied.
"Rae will most assuredly regret bringing me under her roof again." Her expression was one full of mischief and chaos, but her teeth clenched together at even the thought of being captured and caged once more and the slightest hint of fear shadowed the place behind her eyes. 3
Hiei nodded once before reaching for the handle, not touching it until he finished with his next words:
"Prepare yourself."
With that, he moved so as to have appeared to have moved about the room, and when he opened the door, he was standing much further away from the threshold than before, red eyes calmly moving up to the pair he could now see again.
It was almost impossible to ignore the thrumming bond that continuously tried getting his attention with her emotions.
"We're limited on time." he said simply, nodding once to the calmer of the two to lead the way. He felt she was more dangerous than the other, less predictable. And he only imagined how he and Shikiyoku would be lead away from the building.
~!**!~
Akari huffed once through her nostrils at the boy and simply let him lead her along, eyeing the busy building ahead as they walked and hoping like mad that that place was not his destination. She wasn't in the mood to deal with so many-
Of course it was.
Laser Tag, whatever it is, better be worth this.
She took to standing beside the boy and sighing, crossing her arms when he released her wrist and glancing up at him with as much patience as she could muster. "Care to explain?" she asked, deciding she might as well at least try to understand what all the fuss was about. *
"What, and spoil m-your fun?" He made it obvious the slip was meant to be caught as he winked at her, the line moving rapidly up to the desk so that it did not give him a chance to actually answer her question before he had to turn to speak to the man standing behind the counter who waited expectantly for the black-haired boy to speak.
"How about S, P, R, T...D-T-C?" Yusuke told the guy.
Turning to his monitor, the man nodded smartly and ran his hands over the keyboard.
"You'll be thirty-five."
"Seven letters." Yusuke said to Akari as he stepped to the side to let her speak, "It'll be your player name."
~!**!~
"They will not make this easy on us, Captain." Taikou growled.
Yama said nothing, eyeing the closed door in front of them.
One way or another, the seductress in the room beyond them would be coming back to Queen Rae's palace. Yama preferred it to be of their own accord. The Queen would not approve of damaged goods.
She was surprised then, when the door reopened the the pair appeared willing to be led away.
Yama spared no further words, turning to leave.
"Pull your hood up, whore." Taikou spat as she fell in step just behind the blonde captain, who led the group back down the stairs.
The tavern was devoid of anyone save Kafu, who appeared to be cleaning glasses behind the bar.
The bartender did not so much as look up as they trooped past him, but he missed nothing of their exit, and wheels began turning in his head as they walked outside.
Greeted by the brightness of day, there were more than a hundred demons milling about in front of the entrance to the Niiro Kaga, and as soon as the door opened, they took up a tight formation around it, allowing only enough room that the captain and her lieutenant were able to continue to walk forward.
Other demons appears by various means, and their numbers grew much larger until they filled the entire street, remaining close enough around the four in their midst that none of those with prying eyes could see the two they were escorting to the palace.
Their path was unhindered, even as more city-demons scrambled from the woodwork to watch the legion pass, wondering what on earth would have called such an army from the halls of the palace.
The march was not a slow one, but they did have to travel almost to the other side of the city, so the time it took was long, if unidentifiable.
There was no way to see through the multitude of bodies that surrounded them, but soon the ground beneath their feet changed from the red dirt of the ninth level to a smooth, sparkling-red surface, and overhead the red-tinged sky changed to that of a blue ceiling.
Shikiyoku contented herself during their trip by devising various schemes that she could implement while they were forced under Rae's roof.
She was surprised when she felt their direction change away from where she knew the main hall where the Queen and her prince would greet people, and towards the more intimate greeting quarters where she and Hiei would likely be imprisoned for the duration of their stay.
They were practically driven into a room, led by Taikou and Yama, the door remaining open, but the other demons behind them not entering, staying past the threshold of the open door.
The chamber they found themselves in was extravagantly decorated with tapestries on the walls and luscious rugs scattered over the tile-like floor. Most things were red, though there was a smattering of blue and gold and purple, things obviously important from other levels of Demon World. The room wasn't all that large, but there was a backless couch with pillows in the middle of it surrounding a low table.
Yama and Taikou turned.
"You will wait here until her majesty can be pulled away from her duties." Yama told them, slipped past the pair with Taikou to get to the door they had entered from. 3
Hiei had not been surprised to see the formation that had taken place for the trek to the palace, as he assumed they were being led. He did keep tabs on the bond, however, since so many demons would at least lessen the attention on himself specifically and he could afford to do as such.
Each time he was met with distress, and each time it added to his own a fraction, though he did his best not to show it as his eyes assessed each and every demon around himself and Shikiyoku.
As he had thought, it hadn't been worth the attempt.
There were even a couple he thought he might not be able to outrun, and that was a first for him.
By the time he was inside a new room, he had gathered as much information as necessary and had collected himself, resigned to appearing calm as he stood in the middle of the room he and Shikiyoku had been ushered into.
He watched the pair disappear before his eyes wandered the room, finding the couch that was obviously either to make them feel as if they could be comfortable here, or for the queen. He was not sure yet.
"Not as spacious as initially thought," he mumbled to himself, referring to the fact that most palaces he'd heard of were much larger than this one. His hands momentarily touched the cloth of his cloak, almost considering hiding them away in his pockets, but thinking better of it as he turned to look at the threshold of the room again.
It could be seen as a threat.
Cities. I despise them. he thought to himself for the umpteenth time since he'd awoken. If only they'd avoided them, then this wouldn't have happened.
No use in dwelling over it, he supposed.
"Ideas?" he asked Shikiyoku telepathically, deciding he needed something to distract himself. Plus, his own were still missing bits and pieces. Input would help greatly, should she have any ideas that would add onto his own.
~!**!~
Akari paused at the counter, listening to the letters Yusuke sputtered out before stringing them together and turning a stare of disbelief onto him. Really? her expression read. That's what you go for? With his basic name, she'd understood what she was meant to do.
But, did she have to?
Ridiculous.
She couldn't think of anything, especially since he'd given her no warning whatsoever. Another huff that turned into a long-suffering sigh blew through her nostrils.
"R, i, d, c, l, u, s," she said slowly, deciding to go with what she thought of this moment. Might as well. *
"Thirty-six." The guy at the desk told her.
Yusuke graced her with a shower of laughter at her expression and subsequent letter choices, waving her to join him on the other side of the room near a set of doors that opened as soon as the students behind them finished submitting their names.
The room filled quickly with the students and Yusuke and Akari, the door behind them shutting and leaving them all in the darkness of the black lights that made every inch of white glow unnaturally.
The moderator of their game launched into a schpeal at the front of their group that Yusuke had heard many times before and tuned out. He knew how to play the game. He knew what not to do. He felt anxious to get out into the game arena and start shooting at people. 3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star