A/N: Hello once again, Dearest Readers!
To the next episode!
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 continues being plagued by dreams-or rather nightmares-of her past.
Nabu and the true Youko assist her, though Akari believes it was the false Youko helping.
Akari and Kurama are assigned to work on a project together in class,
but the both of them are having trouble staying awake.
~!**!~
Hiei and Shikiyoku skirt around the edge of the next city at Hiei's demand,
finding themselves in the territory of fire worms, dragon-like creatures with no limbs.
After escaping being nearly swallowed by said creatures, Hiei discovers Shikiyoku had been swallowed as well,
and he attempts to track her via Jagan before being surrounded by more of the beasts...
Hiei moved, his feet easily staying along the worm's body as the other three spat flames at him and even tried whacking him from the air with their tails. Odd, he thought, but other than that he merely wanted away. He wanted to go bathe and rid himself of the stench that clung to him now, of the sticky disgustingness that, if he thought about too long, would likely make him physically ill.
"Enough!" He growled, turning and facing the nearest one with a flame all his own in his hand. The fire worm stared at his flame for a moment before pulling away, standing like a snake to regard him curiously. Then it released a sound of what he assumed to be curiosity, a puff of smoke leaving its nostrils in a slender stream.
Hiei took this chance to glance about, and found that Shikiyoku had appeared above ground now. Surrounded.
He'd had enough.
He turned and swiftly ran, hopping to the ground and dashing through the large bodies, making a quick grab at Shikiyoku as he passed by her, not even caring that she'd have to deal with his stench and the stickiness of his bile-covered skin.
He opened his mouth to speak as his feet left the ground, taking him across the body of another fire worm.
But this time, the tail came from nowhere, up from the ground it seemed, and out of precaution, Hiei released Shikiyoku, allowing her to fall out of harm's way while he himself was quite literally thrown across the clearing and into a large tree's branches.
Where, for a moment, he remained tangled, eyes shut from complete anger and slight pain from the brute contact.
~!**!~
Akari shrugged. "We could always come up with something fake. Say, play doctor and create something that would make wounds heal faster." She actually smirked at the thought of standing in front of a class and presenting something that literally did nothing, pouring a solution over a new cut and letting the class see how a demon's skin easily healed from something as small and insignificant as a cut.
They'd likely think Shuichi was a doctor.
Or a magician.
Another huff of a laugh.
That would certainly be worth doing.
Or course, she was only kidding. *
"Neither of us particularly need a home remedy like that." Kurama pointed out, holding back another yawn, "And I don't think Human World is quite ready for the secret to be revealed in the first place."
Of course he wasn't going to fake something like that.
"Now, a fast bruise reducer would be less...life changing."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku twisted easily in the air, and the head of a fire worm dashed just underneath her, catching her fall so that she landed feet first on the top of its snout as it passed below and kept moving.
Another fire worm was pulling itself up out of the ground in front of the tree she had watched Hiei ricochet into, and with a burst of anger at the entire situation, Shikiyoku felt her energy gather into her hand and she tossed it violently in the direction of that particular creature as her own fire worm approached and reared up next to it in a sudden halt.
The fire worm she had hit nuzzled at her and she batted it away with a hard smack as she almost lost her footing because of its 'affections', turning to where Hiei landed and extending a hand as her energy continued to weave into the air around her, the fire worm on which she stood lowering to Hiei's level. 3
Hiei stayed how he had landed, his arms- bare and now scraped and bleeding here and there- hanging on several different limbs, his backside sitting almost in a chair-like position, his legs sprawled and tangled in the red leaves. Disgruntled, he didn't move, deciding he'd gather himself before untangling himself from the branches and leaves and-
A creature crawled along his shoulder, moving across his back by his neck until it rested on his left hand, staring at him with wide brown eyes as its fur ruffled in the wind. Fur. He was reminded dully of a squirrel, though this creature had much more fur and no tail, and its coloring was that of a lemon. Perhaps a little darker.
By the time Shikiyoku had shown up, he had heaved a sigh and resigned to allowing the creature to sit there, not taking her hand at first and instead staring at her unblinkingly.
The creature chattered at him with a high-pitched tone, making him turn to look at it as it puffed its cheeks out and resumed scurrying about his body, little feet trailing across his bare skin in a way that reminded him of the lur'mog.
He scoffed, his body tensed from the odd sensation, only relaxing when the creature was gone, out of sight. Chattering loudly, but not in sight.
Finally, he disentangled himself and reached to accept the hand offered to him, saying not a thing about the situation.
~!**!~
Akari shrugged. He hadn't really gone along with her fun, and it almost seemed irritating. Maybe it was just because she was tired, and couldn't quite get over the-
"It was a joke. A musing meant for my own entertainment." she grumbled, turning her eyes even further away from him so that her hair acted as a curtain to hide her face from him while her left hand wiped at her mouth absentmindedly.
She went quiet again, resisting the urge to heave a loud, dramatic sigh. Maybe she should have stayed home. Listened to Nabu and got some more rest. She'd been sleeping so well and-
Foko.
She sat up straighter without thinking about it, suddenly remembering the appearance of the demon the night before. Don't forget to hunt him down later, Akari. Thank him for… whatever he'd done. That's twice he's helped with events that were caused by-
No pointing fingers.
She huffed at her own scolding. "Sleep remedy," she finally said, deciding she might as well go with something that would be useful for her as well. "Everyone needs it from time to time." *
"I...I apologize." Kurama said after her grumble, "The last few days have been...trying to say the least and I did not mean to come across as unpleasant."
He placed his elbows on his desk and interlaced his fingers to create a platform that he then rested his chin into, watching Akari but still not really seeing her. Or anything.
When she mentioned a sleep remedy, his ears perked up.
That idea was quite doable. And useful, Kurama thought ruefully.
"I think that is a most excellent idea."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku pulled Hiei up onto the fire worm with her, stepping back as she did so to give him enough room to join her.
She held his hand for a moment longer, lips pursed as she stared at him.
"Let's...never speak of this encounter to anyone." Shikiyoku declared, taking in how much worse for the wear the fire demon was and knowing that she likely looked just as bad herself. 3
Hiei moved and joined Shikiyoku on the snout of the fire worm, looking down briefly at the creature to ensure it wouldn't throw him as well. He looked up, meeting Shikiyoku's gaze squarely and nodding once at her words. He didn't need to be told twice on this one.
He took in the way her hair stood up in places, the way she still had saliva on her outfit or even in her hair. She looked as disgruntled as he felt, and after a moment, he looked down at himself, realizing he'd lost the shirt and the jacket, both of which he'd actually enjoyed. It had been an outfit he hadn't minded.
Now all that was left was his sheath, and a pair of pants that were both singed at the hem and weighed down by the bile he could still feel weighing his hair down as well. His eyes slid shut in a show of regaining any form of patience and calming himself.
It didn't do much good.
This time, he didn't speak up about continuing on. He simply moved on, cautious now of any other attacks likely being thrown as he simply continued moving in the direction they'd been heading before these.. these creatures had appeared.
Maybe they'd find a river or something.
~!**!~
Akari held back a snort. The last few days had been trying? Understatement, fox. You have no idea. The urge to simply leave was now almost completely unable to be ignored, and again she shifted her weight to further ensure she didn't simply get up and do whatever her instincts pleased. Her eyelids slid closed as she remembered the night before, waking up to see Foko after her dreaming. It hadn't started out with those dreams.
For the past three days, none of her dreams had started out with those. Instead, they each started the same way: in the gym in Spirit World, hitting a punching bag. Each dream had transitioned from the scar he'd given her to a memory of another scar.
And each time, Nabu had awoken her. Or, almost every time.
Suddenly, she swivelled around in the chair and simply laid her head down on Kurama's desk, finding that she didn't have the energy to play the game of don't look. She took a deep breath that transitioned into a yawn, pushing away each and every thought that crept to the forefront of her mind that had nothing to do with catching up on school work.
"Sleep remedy it is, fox." she grumbled into the desk, her forehead moving just a little until it was much more comfortable on the crook of her arm. "You're the one with the herbs, though." *
"I'm fairly certain my 'herbs' aren't exactly a 'home remedy.'" With Akari not looking, Kurama actually let himself yawn behind his hand this time. "But it shouldn't be too much work to see what's laying around that might do the trick. I'll come up with a list or something tomorrow."
~!**!~
After the fire worm dropped them down and Shikiyoku returned them to their habitat, she fell in step behind Hiei, staying a good two or three feet away as she felt more than a little self-conscious about how terrible she smelled at the moment.
Maybe it was a good thing we left our cloaks behind, Shikiyoku mused as she stared at Hiei's bare back. If they had brought them, there would be little salvaging them, what with how completely covered in stickiness Shikiyoku felt at the moment. On the other hand, how in the nine levels had Hiei managed to utterly destroy his clothing? It wasn't as if the fabric didn't have any resil-
Shikiyoku felt the ground underneath her shifting and she managed to take two more steps, her mouth opening to warn Hiei, before her words died away as the forest floor buckled underneath them right when she got a hand on his shoulder and managed one hard shove to try and get him beyond the edge of the trap.
She had no time to check and see if he avoided the trap entirely, head snapping downwards and her core racing once as she saw what awaited her at the bottom.
There was nothing she could do. Nothing to grab onto. Nothing but to fall right into the spike pit, a drop of at least thirty feet that only gave her enough time to angle her body so that nothing would impale her torso or go up through her foot.
Just as she felt the sharpened tips pierce through a knee, her mind erupted in a pain so indescribable that it only registered as a soft buzz, her brain unable to comprehend the pain in any other way. At the feel of a second spike bursting out of one arm from her own weight at the exact same time, her body dragging her down the wooden beams which impaled her, to the floor of the pit, Shikiyoku blacked out, not a single sound having left her lips. 3
Hiei hadn't been prepared. When Shikiyoku's hand was on his shoulder, he turned to look at her briefly, only to end up shoved away, stumbling to keep his balance and to stay on his feet. He recovered, registering the sound of dirt falling and something… sickening… crunching. Breaking? He wasn't sure, but by the time he realized Shikiyoku had fallen down a hole, of all things, he moved to peer inside.
Or tried to.
His foot pressed down on something that didn't belong to the soil, and not only did something trigger a metal trap that snapped around his ankle, but a pulley was also triggered, and in the next second, he was hanging upside down painfully, blood falling along his shin as his arms scrambled, a hand grabbing onto his katana as sounds of feet rapidly approaching caught his attention.
With his eyes on the mechanism holding him up and pulling at the skin of his ankle, he didn't quite see the hole Shikiyoku had fallen into. He pulled himself up using his stomach and with careful hands inspected the metal mechanism that had all but broken his ankle.
He hissed in pain when he tried pulling it open, receiving nothing. Not surprised, Hiei used his Katana to cut the line that held him suspended in the air, turning as he fell so that he would land on his good foot and-
His eyes caught sight of the hole, and what awaited down inside the pit. His core lurched at the sight he'd just glimpsed before Shikiyoku had fallen out of his sight.
Bandits. Hunters. It was a dangerous combination, and when Hiei landed, he was quickly working at the thing latched onto his ankle, knowing he wouldn't be able to move around much with it cutting into his bones.
"We've caught something!"
Hiei snarled, fully angry and, quite honestly, panicked now. He hadn't ever considered something like this. Creatures he could handle, but a gang of demons? Whose energy he couldn't locate?
The odds weren't looking good.
~!**!~
Akari grunted in approval of his words, but otherwise chose to ignore the redhead despite the fact that she was leaning on his desk, resting her head upon it as if it were her own. She gave another yawn, not even trying to suppress it. It wasn't like anyone was watching her or anythin-
"Why is it the pretty ones?" she heard whispered somewhere across the room.
"It's always the dumb ones too, who skip school and end up being tutored by the best ones. It's sickening."
Akari sighed, not caring for the petty conversation, but not able to block it out either.
"I mean, Shuichi deserves to at least have a partner who cares. Just look, she's taking a nap."
Akari slowly sat up, expression blank as she looked across the room at the two who had been speaking in hushed tones. She met their gazes squarely, earning wide-eyed stares of shock before they turned around again. She wasn't in the mood. *
"What they fail to notice is that I'm actually taking a nap myself." Kurama murmured, his eyes closed at this point and his hair just shadowing his face on either side of where he still sat with his chin rested onto his interlaced fingers.
~!**!~
Stalking out from the treeline, a small demon with a mop of brown hair pulled back into a short ponytail crept to the edge of the spiked pit and stared down into it, a softly glowing spear in one hand.
Were this demon in Human World, it would likely be mistaken for a four or five year old child, though the two red marks across either cheek would have certainly given anyone pause for thought.
Others of the bandits started emerging from the undergrowth, warily eyeing Hiei, but making no move against him. There were maybe ten of them. Enough that when they were all in sight, they had formed a loose circle around the fire demon.
They muttered quietly to themselves about how 'this wasn't exactly what they had in mind.' 3
Hiei had paused when the first demon had appeared, his red eyes cautiously turning up to see more demons flooding into the area, and before he could even consider moving, he was surrounded and a single demon was peering into the pit Shikiyoku had fallen into. His expression shifted from guarded to dangerous as he heard the whispers and noted that the demon still stayed near the pit.
The fire demon's hands continued fiddling with the trap that was enclosed around his ankle, though slowly, hoping none of the demons would notice until he was striking. Still, he could sense none of their energies, so his Jagan peeled open once more, this time actually burning away the ribbon of fabric that concealed it so that it was not hindered in any way, shape, or form.
And the energy that pulsated around him from the eye seemed to make him feel even more on edge. Finally, the trap fell from around his ankle, and Hiei was standing again, his weight on his good foot carefully as he assessed the situation.
For the moment, the area was almost silent. And he wasn't sure how to go about this.
He'd kill them all if he had to, but he would have to be quick.
Shikiyoku…
~!**!~
Akari gave a huff and rested her head down again. "You're the pretty and smart one. Makes no difference, you do no wrong in their eyes," she replied tartly, eyes sliding closed again as she got comfortable. "Common even in Demon World, no?" she finished with a dry laugh.
Of course a trait such as jealousy was everywhere. Humans simply expressed it a little differently. Not that they have much to be jealous over. It wasn't her fault they were paired together. *
"I cannot deny that I sometimes wish humans would be more inclined to simply brawl over their differences. Rather, I wish the female ones would do so instead of this petty wordplay they find so amusing. Yusuke and Kuwabara punched themselves into friendship after all."
~!**!~
"You." The child-like demon demanded of Hiei, pointing at the fire demon with the spear and turning to regard him. "Who is she? What is her name?" There was no denying the avid interest this demon had in knowing the answer. 3
Hiei glared at the demon that addressed him, his eyes narrowing even further at what was demanded of him. The information was not something he was going to give up, since trouble was easy to find around here. "She is in my company, and thus none of your concern," he responded tartly, shifting his hold on his katana, just in case. "Her name means nothing to you, and who she is is none of your concern."
~!**!~
Akari's eyes slid open, staring at the desk underneath her arm. "What?" she asked, moving her head so that she rested her cheek on her arm and was looking up at the redhead. "Yusuke and Kuwabara were not originally friends?" The idea of it was so… odd. But, it also kind of made sense, in its own way. They bickered like enemies at some points. *
Kurama smiled, his eyes still closed.
"Kuwabara claimed to be the baddest kid at school, though everyone knew Yusuke in truth held the title. The former would challenge the other at any passing moment, and Yusuke would proceed to kick the metaphorical stuffing out of Kuwabara in almost every situation."
~!**!~
The entire attitude of the demons surrounding Hiei tensed, most of them sliding their eyes over to see what exactly the reaction of the brown-haired demon would be to the impudent fire demon they gathered around.
The demon stared at Hiei unblinkingly, face unreadable. A couple of seconds ticked by, and the gaze shifted to the impaled body in the pit.
"Either she is who I think she is, which you can confirm, and I save her, or she bleeds to death in this pit. Unless you have some plan of extracting her from a thirty foot hole without further damaging the pierced limbs." The demon's voice did not change timbre, dryly stating facts and taking in the damaged she-demon before shrugging and looking back up at Hiei, "It makes no difference to me." 3
Hiei didn't like it. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, either not telling the demons and ending up fighting, wasting time, or giving the necessary information and risking just about the same thing. He didn't trust words easily, but he didn't quite have a choice. The demon was right, getting her out himself would be difficult, to say the least.
He ground his teeth together for a moment.
"Shikiyoku." he said finally, eyes flashing. "If you already knew, why bother asking?" He shifted his weight, slowly adding more of it onto his injured ankle to test its ability to hold him. It wasn't very steady, even with a small amount of pressure.
He'd have to plan carefully if something were to go awry.
~!**!~
"Hm," Akari hummed out, interested. She remembered first actually seeing the pair together in the tunnel, and how desperate Yusuke had been-
No, before that. He'd pursued the truck. On a bicycle, no less. And he'd done well in keeping up. She suddenly laughed and turned away, turning to her own seat and again resting her head down. Some friendship they've got there.
After a moment, she was thinking about Yusuke, and the gaming trip he'd lead her on. Interesting moron, that boy is. Not as dumb as he makes people believe.
Her eyes slid closed, and Akari could feel the edges of sleep threatening her mind, but she didn't resist. Not at first, at least. When she'd gotten close enough to sleep to dream, her head shot up and she was sitting upright, back leaning heavily against her chair and eyes pointed forward.
Not going there. Not here. *
Kurama's eyes lazily slid open at the abrupt movement of the demon across from him, but he remained quiet, taking to simply analyzing her face.
Sleep remedy, hm? What is plaguing you so that you need- Kurama's thoughts faded off and his stomach sank.
Surely not.
He couldn't have-
Kurama's eyes closed and his ribcage heaved in a giant sigh that he did not release audibly.
Shit.
~!**!~
"Because I did not know for certain, Champion." The brown-haired demon replied patiently. "The last time I saw her, we were both barely children and she looked much, much different than this."
The demon grasped the spear in both hands, orange eyes sliding closed and head tilting downward just slightly. One hand came off the spear shaft and waved over the pit, the slightest shimmer of blueish power sparkling in the air.
Shikiyoku's broken body came into view a few painstakingly slow second later, rising straight up out of the pit and coming to hover just in front of the smaller demon, who now looked at her with open eyes, reaching and removing the cloak around its shoulders with a silent flutter to lay it over her still-bleeding body.
"As you saved me, so I save you." The demon intoned near a reverent whisper. "A life for a life."
The demon turned to look over at Hiei, already having noted the injury he sustained, but not wishing to sacrifice his dignity by having one of the others in the clearing assist him, the demon simply nodded to him that he could follow, then caught the eyes of the others, and turned to walk back into the treeline with Shikiyoku's unconscious form floating safely above the ground alongside its path.
Without word, the other demons fell in step behind the smaller one, forming a V shape that was intended to have Hiei walking in the middle of as they forged their path back through the forest. 3
Hiei let his katana hang at his side as Shikiyoku came into view, the tip of his sword just touching the ground as he eyed the bleeding female who had, again, somehow ended up in trouble. And this time, her words of going into the city echoed into his mind, making his orbs turn from the brilliant ruby color they normally were to a darkened, deep red as he turned inward.
He'd caused it.
There was simply no other way he would, or rather could look at it.
When the demon turned to go then, Hiei placed every ounce of his weight on his injured foot, and without even a beat's hesitation at the pain that shot up even to his knee, he followed after. He didn't allow a limp, he didn't allow himself to even appear harmed, his sword being sheathed so it could not be used for assisting his own movements.
He simply followed, eyes on Shikiyoku the whole time.
~!**!~
Akari sat stock still for a moment before releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, her body relaxing just a little as she slid down in her chair, her eyes never even blinking. As soon as the bell rings, I'm leaving, she told herself, deciding that Nabu had been right about her catching up on sleep.
And sitting here did nothing to help her. Watching the clock would do no good, and closing her eyes was now considered dangerous to her. So she shifted and moved to the front of the room, deciding she would gather her work while there was time to do so.
"So, what are your ideas, miss Hanase? Did you two agree on something? I'd hope so, since you're both back there chatting and napping."
"We've already decided. It's just getting there that's going to be worked on."
"Good, good. I suppose you're here for your work?" She gave a silent nod, to which he replied to with a gentle smile. "I have no doubt that you'll catch up. Once you've set your mind to it, you can do anything. I've witnessed it first hand in you."
She didn't reply, only watched as his busy hands gathered papers from various folders. After a few moments, the papers were handed to her and she was glancing down at the variety of work. He'd even seen to gathering work from the rest of her classes too, it seemed. "If I run into any issues, I'll find you," she said briefly, earning a nod and another gentle smile. "Thank you," she said before turning and walking back to the seat that had been deemed as hers for the day, now left with nothing to do other than look over the papers. Still better than sleeping. *
No wonder her attitude towards him had been...cold. He had done nothing to alleviate the problem at all, only made it worse.
He certainly hadn't factored in that particular nuance. He'd been slipping as of late. And mostly where she was concerned.
Kurama felt a bit of purpose settle into this 'home remedy' assignment. It must not only induce sleep, but a dreamless sleep.
His lips quirked a little in a smile. He already had a concoction in mind.
~!**!~
The little band wove their way through the undergrowth with a practiced ease, eventually coming upon a clearing that bustled with the quiet activity of their small tribe.
Their tents appeared to be made of the skin of the fire worms, as well as many of their clothes to boot.
With no pause to greet the other tribesmen, the brown-haired demon swiftly moved across camp to a tent set slightly apart from the others.
The demons who had been part of the hunting party dispersed as soon as they reached the clearing, and Hiei was paid little to no attention by anyone.
A slender demon got up and started to walk to intercept the demon with the glowing spear, but the latter held up a hand to stop the intrusion.
"I shall see to this personally."
"But Shubou-"
"Personally." Came the more stern reply from the shorter demon, who had not stopped walking briskly for the tent, Shikiyoku's form still floating along. "Let none interrupt."
The glowing spear got jammed into the ground just outside the tent entrance, and Shubou held back the flap to allow the body to get inside before following directly after.
There were rugs of various creatures' pelts from the ninth level spread everywhere along the floor, though at the back of the tent, several were piled together to create a bed, and it was to this point that Shikiyoku's body floated, the cloak slipping off and fluttering down beneath where the injured portions would come to rest, before gently lowering to the ground.
All the while she came to rest, Shubou remained busy gathering small pots and bandages, a basin of water and rags. This was obviously a medicinal-related tent, as there were various herbs hanging from the ceiling and casting a comforting smell over the entire room.
Shubou wasted no time in ripping off the already useless pant-leg of the injured knee on her right leg up to nearly the end of Shikiyoku's thigh, using a swift, but gentle touch to remove the fabric without so much as disturbing her.
The wound beneath was horrifying, a gaping hole that could have likely been looked through to the other side, with muscle and sinew obvious, and even a white portion out in the open that could be nothing other than bone.
Shubou did not appear bothered by the blood and gore, quickly stopping the blood-flow first.
As Shubou worked first here at her knee, the hands that opened the various pots and reached for the various rags to dip them in water and clean the wound sent the same purple sparkles through the air that had been present before when Shikiyoku first came up from the pit.
Movements fast, Shubou dressed the wound, wrapping extra bandages around it as the hole was likely to bleed through on both sides and not just one.
Knee done, the brown-haired demon moved the things littered about across Shikiyoku's body with measured precision and then transplanted over to that side, some of the items that had not been picked up initially floating to join the rest when Shubou could not be bothered to gather them all at once.
These items remained suspended in the air about Shubou almost as if forgotten, though each one was used as the orange eyes never left their work.
The condition over here was much the same, a stake having impaled entirely through Shikiyoku's left forearm, revealing all the bits that were meant to remain under skin.
This wound was more delicate to work with, as it appeared the arm had almost been completely severed off by the bottom width of the stake nearly exceeding the arm's own width.
It posed no greater of a problem for Shubou, who worked just as deftly here as with the knee, though the purple sparks flew about in greater earnest as fingertips passed over jars and rags and the water basin.
In the middle of dressing the wound, having just finished applying a salve to the entire outside edge of the arm on both sides of the wound, Shubou reached overhead and plucked a small, dry leaf from an herb just within arm's length.
Quickly powdering between two fingers, Shubou let the majority of the leaf balance on top of the thumb handling it, stretching up to smear the powder across Shikiyoku's upper lip before turning back and finishing wrapping bandages around her arm.
The powder was obviously meant as a waking agent, made apparent by the grimace of lines that formed as Shikiyoku's eyebrows pulled together in a frown.
Once the bandages were in place, Shubou began quietly gathering the filthy rags and water basin, the jars and such lifting to return to their places.
Still kneeling on her other side, Shubou looked up at her as Shikiyoku's lips parted with a single, quiet word.
"...Hiei?"
Shubou glanced at the fire demon and started to stand up with the dirty rags and basin.
"I'll see to it you are not disturbed." Shubou murmured quietly, stepping around Shikiyoku's body and leaving out the tent flap without another word.
"Hiei?" Shikiyoku asked again, voice just as weak as the first call, her eyes starting to open and her uninjured right arm coming up off the bed beneath her as if searching for him, her brow furrowed together with worry. 3
Hiei had followed the smaller demon into the tent that he'd disappeared into, and with a simple look around, decided that he'd simply help himself to a bandage or two. While the smaller demon, whose name he'd forgotten for the moment, began work on Shikiyoku, Hiei grabbed a few of the bandages that flew by and took to addressing his ankle, just enough to stop the bleeding.
Nothing more was necessary, or deserved, he felt.
The only reason he was cleaning up? So Shikiyoku wouldn't stress over it when she awoke.
As he tied the cloth, perhaps a little tighter than necessary, he listened to the rustling of the objects being plucked from the air and then used on Shikiyoku, who, for the moment, he couldn't bring himself to look up at.
After a few more minutes of silence, Hiei had regained control over himself and his expression was blank, eyes now watching everything that was going on. Even as his name was called into the air and the shorter demon passed by, Hiei didn't move, aside from turning his head to watch the other leave.
His name was called again.
This time, he responded by moving across the tent and over to where she lay, standing over her and looking down at her with a blank expression, waiting for whatever she had to say, if anything.
He himself, however, had nothing to say.
~!**!~
Akari placed her paperwork down and spread out each paper before her, letting her eyes rove over each subject curiously. There were a few that she saw that she'd be able to work on at that very moment, if she so decided, but quite frankly, work simply did not appeal to her. Nothing appealed to her but a silent room with no other patrons inside.
That would be nice right about now.
Akari shifted in her seat so that her elbow was on her desk and she rested her cheek in her hand, eyes still pointed down at the work spread out in front of her. Mentally, she was working on one of the math sheets, but physically, she was literally staring down with half-lidded eyes, as if she didn't see it at all.
She stared down at the paperwork for what felt like an eternity, the buzz of talking students drowned out and replaced with the sound of the wall clock ticking loudly, her impatience and desire to leave making it thrum in her ears. Deciding she was simply too bored sitting there, staring, she grabbed a pen.
As she reached down to her bag, she paused for a yawn, her eyes closing for a moment with the force of it. When her eyes reopened, she wasn't in the classroom anymore. The sun was shining down on the dark green blades of grass that moved with the pleasant breeze, and her bag was sitting on the ground, the contents scattered as if she'd dropped it. She gave a sigh and crouched down, retrieving each paper, each book that had scattered and placed them inside again, as if the transition hadn't really been noticed, though she was entirely aware of the shift.
I tried not to sleep, dammit. At least it's a peaceful one, this time around.
Once everything was gathered, she heaved a deep, exasperated, worn-out sounding sigh and stood upright, bag in her right hand and eyes turning to look about. She was in the park, surrounded by yelling, laughing children playing games such as tag or hide-and-seek.
Even in dreams, there's no silence. *
Kurama didn't usually doze off in class, but when he realized somewhere in his consciousness that he was very nearly asleep, he slowly pulled himself back away from dreamland and reopened his eyes.
He stared at the back of Akari's head, a bit of a smile lifting part of his lips when he saw the deep breaths expanding her ribcage.
Lifting a hand to his forehead, Kurama wasn't surprised by the slight fever he found there, and he sighed, putting away the textbook he had been staring at and grabbing his school briefcase to talk to the front of the room.
The teacher looked up as he approached.
"I'm afraid I'm not feeling very well. I seem to have a slight fever. If it isn't too much trouble, I think I'll be checking myself out of school for the rest of the day."
"No trouble at all, Minamino! Please, go home and get some rest." The teacher smiled up at him.
"Probably from having to work with that lazy girl." One of the other female students whispered just a little too loudly.
Kurama made as if he didn't hear, simply nodding his thanks and moving to go out the door, making his way down the hall to leave the building.
Once outside, he took a breath of the fresher air and slung his bag over one shoulder, easing his free hand into his pocket and continuing down the sidewalk to home.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku knew Hiei was there on some level or another, but could not see him at first, and that induced a moment of panic and recalling of the drop into the spiked pit.
Did he fall too? Did he get hurt?
She had no answer for the first, as her memories faded from the time her body started hitting the sharpened stakes, and all of this combined led her sitting up very quickly.
Several things happened at once.
Her eyes opened first, and she saw but did not comprehend the tent around her, the last image her mind produced being one of the forest overhead. Secondly, sitting up meant that she moved her hands to help raise her. Of course, only one arm responded to her desire, and she found she could not feel the other. This was not entirely true. As soon as she sat up, a disembodied wave of pain scattered across the arm she could not move; her left arm hung limply from her shoulder.
None of these things particularly mattered to her, the pain getting beaten down by the thought that Hiei could likely be nearby and worse off than she. Namely because he had not answered.
Turning to the right, a flush of relief filled her mind when she recognized that Hiei stood next to her, though her gaze did not go higher than his ankles. Her eyes zeroed in on the bandage he wore about one ankle, and dismissing her concern about him not answering, she spoke up again.
"You're hurt!" The exclamation wasn't a particularly brilliant one, more of a statement-of-obvious that welled up from beyond her pain and concern.
As if there would be something around to help, Shikiyoku's head turned back to the rest of the room, still dazed and not seeing it yet, but looking nonetheless. 3
Hiei watched Shikiyoku sit up and quickly discover that one of her arms was just a little better off than useless. He could tell that she at least felt pain, but to him, it wasn't something he saw on the bright side, as it were. He watched her eyes move until they locked on his ankles, and her exclamation meant little to nothing to him at this point.
"Stop moving around." He wasn't sure what his tone sounded like to her, but in his own ears, Hiei sounded as if he were scolding a child. Impatiently scolding someone who'd listened to nothing he'd told them. "It's a ridiculous cut that means nothing."
~!**!~
Akari's eyes watched the scene unblinkingly, eyes following the many children that were running, screaming, chasing one another around a jungle gym and a set of swings, weaving through children in the seats that swung back and forth.
She turned to peer behind herself, looking for the dog that was normally with her when she ventured to these parts, but knew that he wasn't there. He would have been barking like mad by now if he had come with her.
So she turned around and decided to follow the dirt path into the shade of the tree line, knowing there was a specific spot that would be clear of any other people, as it always was. It had been deemed as her favorite spot, merely because once she was settled in, she was guaranteed a few hours of peace, unless a dog wandered her way or Kurama happened to be passing by.
He did that more often than she thought coincidental.
As she wandered, bag in hand and the wind rustling her school uniform, she listened to the fading sounds of yelling children, and her ears zoned in on the sound of birds singing. Their songs were so calming that she was able to ignore any unpleasant sounds of the daytime.
She reached her small clearing and looked up to the tallest branches of the largest tree in the immediate area, smiling with familiarity before she continued, pausing at the base of the tree and looking around again to ensure no one else would wander by. When she was satisfied, she made herself comfortable in the cool grass, laying so that the leaves shaded her from the threat of the sun's rays, the wind blowing by moving her hair gently and helping her relax fully.
Before long, she was actually laying in the grass, reclined against the tree and the warmth of the sun's rays was on her legs. She'd kicked her shoes off and turned to lay on her side, her head propped up on her arm.
This is it. This is what I needed.
She gave a deep, contented sigh that ended in an equally contented smile on her lips, her eyes sliding closed. Sleep wasn't anywhere near welcoming her, but her body was simply so relaxed that it didn't matter. She would feel completely rested in a few hours anyway.
She lay there for a while, listening to the rustling leaves and the whistling breeze, the birdsong having stopped some time ago. She might have actually fallen asleep, were it not for the sound of a breaking twig nearby. She shifted, ignoring the sound as she knew of the creatures that roamed in the bushes, harmless as they were.
But a few minutes later, unease set in as the sound persisted, loud enough that it certainly couldn't have been a rabbit, or anything else of the sort. She rolled to her back and sat up, blinking her eyes against the rays of the setting sun drearily. She rubbed at them to clear her vision before moving to stand, slipping her shoes on and patting herself down as her ears locked onto what she now recognized as footsteps leaving the area.
I'd been watched.
She moved to follow the sound, her ears keeping her on track for a few yards until her nose caught several scents that didn't belong. At least, not here, where no other human had been in a while.
Sweat was the first scent, making her wrinkle her nose.
Blood was the next scent, and she didn't really dwell on anything else after that, instead turning and moving at a trot towards the source of the bloodloss. From the potency of the scent, she could tell it was not a small amount of blood, and the person who had come to harm would be lucky to be alive at this point.
That thought sent her into a run at a speed that would have made her a little less than a blur to anyone passing by. And she ran, and ran, and ran, all the while the scent seeming to fill the air, making it harder and harder to breathe.
She pulled to a stop just short of a clearing, pausing to ensure no attack were to come should she advance. When she was sure she would not be ambushed, she parted the leaves of the bush she'd been ducking behind and moved forward, eyes searching for-
Her irises locked on a body that hung from a rope that was tied around the wrists of a male, who dangled with head bowed and red hair moving with the wind that was no longer a peaceful breeze. Her breath hitched in her throat, and when she tried to move forward, she found that her feet wouldn't move.
After a few seconds, she finally moved, feet carrying her forward until she was not only standing in front of Kurama, but her hands had hold of his face by the cheeks, and she was moving his head back and forth, inspecting each and every cut on his cheeks and simultaneously searching for any sign of life.
"Kurama, you need to look at me now. Come on, you can't be the one in trouble." she grumbled, her hands moving to let his head fall again to the rope above, using her energy to create a knife that would cut the restraints. "You are not allowed to die, fox."
She caught him by the torso, following the falling of his body until she was sitting on the ground, head leaning over his chest, listening to the sound of any sign of breathing.
None.
Her stomach dropped and her core twisted. Her eyes were suddenly stinging and her vision blurry as she placed her hands over his heart, taking to doing CPR as she'd learned as a child. "You're supposed to be the one who can't be killed, you asshole." she growled out, though it wasn't much more than a mumble that almost didn't leave her mouth. "You're the strongest, and you are never taken by surprise. You think of everything. You protect-"
Her words cut off with a hitch as she squeezed her eyes closed and sat back, hands simply taking to resting over his chest, her head bowing to let the tears fall to the ground.
He wasn't supposed to leave. He was supposed to be here, smirking at her and challenging her and making sure she stayed out of trouble.
She took a deep breath, hearing the sounds of people chattering. When she opened her eyes again, she was in the classroom, students moving about, gathering her things. The girl in front of her was staring at her with a look of sympathy, a sad smile on her lips. "Maybe you should go home." the girl commented in a low voice. "You look like you need the rest…"
Akari blinked and wiped at her wet eyes, confused for a moment. Hadn't she just been…?
She turned in her seat to Kurama, mouth opening, but when she saw his empty chair, her eyes widened and her breathing stopped. Her stomach dropped to her feet and she felt as if she would throw up at any given moment, her body going cold. He can't be dead.
She was abruptly standing, and the sound of the bell ringing in the room was lost to her as her hands quickly gathered everything at her desk and stuffed her papers in her bag, turning and moving for the door at a run before another thought even crossed her mind. *
~!**!~
Kurama found that instead of towards home, his feet had taken him to the block that Toriko's house stood on.
Since the demon had disappeared, Kurama would drop by to make sure Maneshi stayed fed, which seemed to be a pleasing arrangement for the black cat.
Getting up to the door, Kurama fished first in one pocket, then the other, to get out the house key he'd pilfered from the first time he'd picked the lock and let himself in since Toriko left.
He was not immediately greeted by the animal, though Kurama thought perhaps that might be related to the early hour of his visit.
He guessed perhaps the cat was napping, and as he slipped off his shoes and placed his bag down, leaving the door open to allow some circulation of air into the home. He quietly padded over the carpet to the couch nearby, leaning over it to see the pet far away in dreams, laying on his back with his paws twitching ever so slightly.
Unable to help himself, Kurama reached over the back of the couch where he had taken to leaning and rustled at the soft fur of Maneshi's exposed stomach.
Immediately the cat curled in on his hand, blue and brown heterochromatic eyes flashing open as he snapped his body around the intrusion, digging his back claws into Kurama's wrist. Maneshi chomped down on the nearest of Kurama's fingers, glaring up at the fox with wild eyes as he grasped onto the digit with his front paws.
"Interrupt something pleasant, did I?" Kurama raised an eyebrow as he tried to remove his hand only to have the fangs further pierce his skin.
He sighed, feeling that tiny trickles of blood had started slowly weaving down the inside of his wrist.
"Could I have my hand back now, please?"
Maneshi glared at him for a moment longer, then very meticulously released his jaw from around Kurama's finger and allowed the redhead to pull away.
"Well, now I have to take care of this first, so your meal will have to wait."
Maneshi huffed at Kurama, but did not move as the other slowly wandered over to the kitchen sink, pulling back his sleeve and running his hand under the water to start washing away the blood.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku sat staring blankly at Hiei's ankle for reasons she could not rightly understand. The pact within her was agitated, holding her attention, warning her in her bleary state of their possible danger. Of his capacity being lessened by the injury. Of the danger for her in him being less able to protect her.
A continuous pulsing reverberated through the portion of the pact she could feel in her mind, one that kept her attention-what there was of it-focused on the ankle in question, compelling her to...do...something, though she couldn't rightly at the moment accurate translate what.
"Why didn't you answer me?" She mumbled, head hanging a little as if she had not the strength to hold it up. "I need you..."
-to be whole. To be in fit condition. You are both vulnerable.
...
Shikiyoku's left arm did not respond when she tried to lift it up to her face, and so came the right hand to cover her forehead as she frowned. 3
Hiei didn't respond to Shikiyoku. Didn't even blink at her. He simply stared, as if her question were not worth answering. After a silent moment, his eyes shifted to look at the tent wall, where a small hole allowed light to filter through from the dying rays of the evening sun.
His face twitched around his nose and lips, almost creating an expression of ire, though it would have been aimed at himself and the situation he'd placed them in. He'd gotten her into trouble that would have been avoided had he just, simply, listened to her request, no matter how much he despised it.
He couldn't bring himself to respond. Why? Because he couldn't bring himself to even look at her, much less speak without faltering in his facade.
~!**!~
Akari ran through the hallways, avoiding contact with the few humans who had filed in her way with ease as her eyes searched for any sign of anything that would prove her wrong. Her chest felt heavy and her core was thrumming with energy while she resisted the urge to be sick.
She burst through the doors that lead to the courtyard, ignoring the teachers behind her who shouted at her to stop. Her feet carried her to the sidewalk of the town, turning to move in the direction of the park, her mind showing her the image that she was afraid to confirm.
As she ran down the sidewalk, hair whipping behind her as she moved, her nose caught the smell of blood.
And the scent of roses to accompany it.
Her eyes began to sting again as she picked up her pace, moving until she was standing outside a house, the scent stronger now.
Her irrational mind didn't comprehend the fact that the scent was too weak to mean anything more than a small cut.
She simply moved into the house, not even slipping out of her shoes as she burst into the living area, huffing, wiping at her tears before looking around.
It was then she realized that there was no way it was true. Why? One, the setting was different.
Two, she was tired, meaning she must have fallen asleep.
Meaning she'd been dreaming.
Before another full minute passed, Akari was turning and leaving the house at a trot, now angry at herself. *
Even if Kurama hadn't heard the tromping feet over the sound of the water from the faucet, the tell-tale scent of rosemary would have caught his attention on its own.
Calmly switching off the water and grabbing for the towel he'd placed next to the sink, Kurama walked out of the kitchen as he wiped his hand off just in time to see the back of Akari hurrying out of the front door he'd left open.
His lips parted and he took a breath, at first intending to call out to her retreating form, but thought better of it and said nothing, letting out the air in a quiet sigh.
He'd start on the sleeping-aide that night.
~!**!~
"Will you at least-"
Take his injury away.
"-sit down." Shikiyoku reached over and gave two light tugs at the burnt hem of the pants Hiei wore.
Her mind went blank, and Shikiyoku's hand slid down Hiei's leg to the bandages without her complete consent.
As her fingers rested above the place where Hiei's skin had been torn, her fingertips began to grow colder, and her own ankle started to heat up. 3
Hiei continued to stare at the tent wall on his right, not moving despite Shikiyoku's request. Maybe it was a demand, he didn't know nor care. He simply was not-
Her hand on his ankle made his eyes snap over to her, sending a glare down at the female, though he didn't step away for fear of toppling her and creating more problems. "What do you think you're doing?" He growled out, her cold fingers causing goosebumps on his skin despite his tolerance for the cold.
~!**!~
Stupid. Of course he's not dead. she growled at herself mentally, arm dropping to her side as she proceeded to trot down the sidewalk, not daring look back. What had she been thinking, letting herself fall asleep in class? What in the three worlds had her dreaming about him anyway? Other than the normal dreams as of late, that is.
And what on Earth…
Had caused the thoughts that had crossed during the dream? She didn't need protecting. She didn't need him to be there. He was simply there when it convenienced them both, and he was simply there at random moments. It meant nothing.
She sighed as her footsteps slowed to a walk, continuing to the park, as she had been originally heading. She'd lay in the sun for a while. She needed to relax and do nothing, as she had intended yesterday.
She was going to do and think nothing at all, if she could help it.
And in her current state, she found it wasn't a difficult thing to accomplish. *
~!**!~
"You understand then."
"Of course, Youko. We completely agree."
"Our settlement will come later-" Foko paused, turning as he picked up a smell he knew quite well to see a familiar face dashing out from the campus gates nearby with a hunted look in her eyes.
"I'm sure it will not be a problem." The other demon finished, taking little notice of Foko's pause.
Foko nodded briskly once, "We'll be in touch."
The two parted ways, Foko following after the quickly disappearing form of Akari.
He feared no human here, as they would simply see him as a slender, silver haired young man, his ears and tail only visible to demons or those with a high enough awareness to make sense of them, and so it was that he walked with confidence in Akari's path, following her scent until he caught the last of her diving into a house, at which point he stopped and leaned against the opposite side of a tree casually, wondering at the expression she wore, but seeing nothing chasing after her.
Tilting at windmills? He thought to himself, using the human expression he'd heard.
When she exited the house no worse for the wear, Foko waited until she was out of sight before slipping off the tree trunk and taking to slowly wandering after the rosemary trail she left in the air.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku's eyes glazed over, but when she heard Hiei's question, her mouth dropped open.
No sound came out, as if she'd forgotten how to speak, and she stared blankly down at his ankle.
A strange heat-wave started to rise from the same ankle of Shikiyoku's that Hiei's injury was on, not quite energy, but something similar, and her fingers continued to drop in temperature.
Her body kept shifting as if to raise her other arm to join the first, and Shikiyoku would have begun removing the bandages had that arm obeyed her commands. 3
Hiei felt the restraint on his emotions become lost to him, his anger boiling enough that his energy began leaking into the air around him, swirling in angry tendrils that resembled smoke, almost creating a shadow over his person. He could feel what she was trying to do, and oddly, he found that he couldn't move, despite the fact that he wanted to move away.
His leg simply wouldn't move. It was like dead weight, almost.
He shifted his weight to his other foot and pulled away, though not going very far due to whatever bound him to that spot.
He snarled, now completely enraged that she'd heal him when she was the one who had been harmed because of his decision.
"Remove your hand before I remove it for you."
~!**!~
Before long, Akari was in the park and in the very spot she'd deemed her own, looking to the sky overhead and watching clouds roll by for a few moments before she moved towards the familiar tree, whose branches swaying with the cool wind that blew by. She sauntered forward until close to the tree, at which point she unceremoniously dropped her school bag and dropped to her knees, then proceeded to lower herself to lay in the grass on her back.
With the sun angled the way it was in the sky, there was no problem making sure the rays hit her face. She crossed her ankles, linked her hands beneath her head, and proceeded to stare at the waving limbs of the tree above her, refusing to let her eyes slide closed.
And she was going to continue to refuse herself sleep from this point on. *
Foko approached the dog-demon from an open position, making his presence well-known before he even got close.
"Might I join you, inu?"
~!**!~
The rapid shift of Hiei's power shocked Shikiyoku's attention away from the pact, finding that she had somehow become so very focused on its pulsations that she lost herself in the midst of it.
Shaking her head slightly as if that would more fully clear her mind, Shikiyoku meant to pull her hand away from him.
What am I doing?
She blinked, realizing that her hand would not leave his ankle and a panic set in for the lack of response of her own limb.
Fingers growing more icy and stiff, Shikiyoku's lips parted a little as her core felt like it caught in her throat.
Shikiyoku snapped her head up to look at Hiei, a wild and unsettled look in her eyes.
"H-Hiei, I can't." 3
The fire demon growled again, this time more loudly. "What do you mean, you can't?" He glared down at her, his weight shifting again. He knew what she was trying to do. Why play like she didn't understand her own prowess?
He shifted his weight again, this time so he could crouch down to her level and begin prying at her fingers. trying to pull them away from his skin.
And he found that her fingers would not budge in any way, shape, or form. Another growl, this one under his breath as he tried harder to peel her hand away. "You're not healing me."
~!**!~
Akari heard footsteps and was aware of a presence before too long, and for a second, she considered moving into defensive mode. But, she saw no point to it. Her senses were delayed anyway, it wouldn't do much good.
Even if it were someone who was attacking.
It wasn't hard to guess the person who had approached, even before he spoke. "Out during the day now, hm?" she asked him, tone light as if she'd been expecting him to appear. "Do whatever you like, I suppose. I have no reason to turn you down, Foko." *
"That is a most wonderful bit of information to hear, inu." Foko declared, starting to walk towards Akari again, and dropping to the ground next to her, laying down on the grass with his hands behind his head, tail and hair spread out beneath him.
"So, what's troubling you this time, if I may inquire. Anything I can kill for you?"
~!**!~
The very instant Hiei mentioned healing, Shikiyoku's eyes widened as she watched him try to remove her hand.
There had been a time...some time in the distant past of which she only had a vague recollection of a former Champion injured, a vague remembrance of a compulsion from the pact, one that led to...well...
"...it...it's not healing." She admitted, "It's...it's a mirror effect."
She could feel the heat radiating off of her ankle more clearly now, knowing now that the pact was attempting to remove the hindrance upon her Champion's ability to fight and place it upon her own body. 3
Hiei halted in all attempts to peel her fingers away, his glare harsh as she spoke up, informing him of what she was actually doing. Defeated, he realized he couldn't escape it. If it was possible, this fact made his anger rise as he simply sat on the ground, eyes smoldering as he stared at her expectantly.
He didn't deserve to have his pain taken away. She did.
And he couldn't do that.
But she could do that for him.
"Fool."
~!**!~
Akari didn't answer Foko, only staring overhead with blank eyes. She took a deep breath and slid her gaze over to him, analyzing his face for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I don't feel like talking about it," she admitted, turning her eyes again to the sky. "Thank you, though."
She took a deep breath to sigh again, but instead yawned. Loudly. "What's got you wandering around?" *
"Nothing for me to kill for you then? What a sad existence I must lead today." Foko's eyes stayed closed as he enjoyed the sunshine warming his body.
"Only business." He replied lightly. "And what of you? What has you leaving, what is it, school? In such a rush? Did you miss the bark of the tree behind you mayhaps?"
~!**!~
Shikiyoku had no answer for Hiei, subjected to keeping in contact with him for as long as the pact required.
The strange pulsations drew her attention back to the pact within her, though she did not become mesmerized again. She did not remember this pulsing from the time before, and so it was that when her hand started to thaw-at which she immediately pulled away from him-she felt herself unsurprised to find that the injury had not transferred.
A shudder passed over her as the heat on her skin started to dissipate, leaving behind a clear ankle where it normally would not have.
Shikiyoku felt her jaw clench together as she clutched her hand up to her chest, and in her anger felt the beginnings of tears start to well up at the corners of her eyes.
The invisible voice within her struck up its chorus again, resounding words inside the plane of her mind to remind her of something she had nearly forgotten...
Useless. Utterly useless.
You really are a fool. 3
Hiei remained seated, even after Shikiyoku had pulled away. He looked down at his ankle and found that his wound had not disappeared as he had expected, but that her attempt had failed. His expression turned blank suddenly as he forced himself to at least appear under control.
Finally, he moved to his feet, ignoring the chill that had remained over his ankle as he turned to head towards the tent flaps.
~!**!~
Akari almost smiled at his words. "Nothing to kill today." she said casually, suddenly rolling over to her side so that she was facing the fox, but her eyes were watching the area beyond his head. She'd caught the sounds of smaller creatures, and as per natural instinct, had felt the need to watch it as it moved, the rabbit now under her keen watch.
"School was irritating and I had something I needed to… check on." she replied, her eyes never leaving the bunny that was chewing on whatever was in its grasp. "I'd smelled blood, and it's part of my…. job to ensure it isn't something worrisome." *
Foko opened a single eye to half-lid until he realized she had only turned towards him, closing the eye again and listening to her words.
He found it amusing that they referred to their work as "business" and "job" when they both knew what it meant for the other, and the implications that they were likely not on the same side in this soon-to-be war Foko was attempting to stir up.
"Does your job only require you to sniff out blood, then? That seems like a dreadfully boring way to go about things."
~!**!~
"Hiei, my injuries are not your fault." Shikiyoku's tone pierced through the silence between them, her timbre grim as she admitted the next part with no small amount of anger aimed at herself, her bile-covered hair shadowing either side of her face where a single furious tear rolled down her cheek, "I saw the damn trap and thought you had already activated it. When I went to push you out of the way, I'm the one who sprung it instead. If I had just let you keep walking and avoided it in the first place, I wouldn't have-" She swallowed, teeth clenching together as she held back a tide of anger that manifested as another tear rolling down her cheek. "But I did spring it. Because I'm stupid."
It wasn't as if she had not come across things like this before. This was her territory. Her home! And in a moment where she might have assisted, might have rectified at least a portion of her mistake by removing his blemish...even that comfort was denied her.
Useless.
Her teeth gritted together for a moment.
"Just thought you ought to know."
She dropped back down onto the pile of fur, wishing desperately that he would just come back and watch over her while she healed, but guessing that it wasn't likely.
"If you're going to go kill things, kill lots of them. For me too." She finished, staring balefully up at the tent ceiling. 3
Hiei paused only briefly as Shikiyoku spoke, but her words did nothing to calm the anger he felt at himself. You're wrong, you fool. he thought before his footsteps resumed, the flap of the tent rustling back into place behind him as Shikiyoku's last words ended.
He planned on killing many, many beings.
"If I return and she's been disturbed," Hiei began telepathically to the entire populace around him, "There will be no mercy for you. Understand that." With that, the fire demon moved around the tent and walked around to the back, continuing past it and moving into the tree line, sword in hand in a flash and anger forming actual flames around his weapon now.
~!**!~
Akari's mind was entirely blank as her eyes followed the hopping rabbit as it moved, little cheeks moving with whatever it was chewing up. She adjusted so that her elbow was propped in the grass, her hand holding up her head calmly, her hair falling over that shoulder, moving with the wind that continued to blow by without pause.
"Mmm… not as boring as you'd imagine. I've killed several entities in the past few days. An Aswang was the latest. I hadn't thought they existed anymore, but it had appeared. Wasn't much of a challenge, except my close combat isn't as fast as an Aswang's is. There was also an entire group of demons who had taken over a warehouse. Those morons were fun to toy with. Especially the larger ones." She paused, flashing her eyes to him momentarily before returning to watching the rabbit keenly, smirk of amusement on her face at her next words that were entirely sarcastic. "I enjoyed being tossed about." *
Foko opened his eyes just enough that he could watch her movements out of them, and when she stopped speaking, he took the moment to comment.
"I think the real question is, what's a girl like you doing using her nose to sniff out blood for somebody else?"3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star