A/N: Hello once again, Dear Reader!
Get to the chaptah!
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 finally wakes up in Kurama's arms on Kurama's bed,
with the avatar weaving vines into her hair out of partial boredom.
After a brief conversation in which Akari tells Kurama she got his point about her scars,
she leaves and ends up heading to Spirit World in an attempt to discover what became of Sensui's psychics.
Kurama, meanwhile, can't sleep after having mostly slept himself while watching over Akari,
and he subsequently is caught off-guard by Otento, his energy sealed away.
Foko was expecting Otento to return with Kurama, and the psuedo-fox goes looking for the pair,
and he finds Otento brutally torturing Kurama for information.
After removing Otento's arm and sending him away,
Foko sets about stabilizing Kurama's condition.
~!**!~
Hiei and Shikiyoku leave the lounge in which they had taken refuge from the acidic rainfall of the First Level.
Hiei takes them to a bazaar, a trading post, specifically seeking out a glove vendor for Shikiyoku.
They manage to find a pair that will fit her, and also glean information from the vendor:
there have in fact been demon disappearances as of late,
and an Aswang went missing most recently from a nearby town.
They journey there to find the town in a state of solemn caution,
not a single being on the streets.
Hiei catches sight of a telepath whom he cannot read,
and decides Shikiyoku will interrogate the demon...
Shikiyoku moved her bare hand up to brush against the cheek of the demon, eyes locked in his.
As she questioned him, she found herself moving and doing and saying things she had never even considered options before.
She knew somehow, without consciously acknowledging it, that her touch was more potent now, that each attention she gave even with that one free hand was somehow more effective than a thousand before it, requiring exponentially less energy to entice the one in her grasp.
And the demon before her moved his own hand up to place it on top of hers, longing for her touch, for her gaze, for her everything. In her were his desires manifest; without her there would be nothing.
He held her against him with his other arm wrapped firmly about her petite waist, staring down into her eyes where he nearly towered over her small form, and the moment would have been considered quite intimate save for the fact that now her energy was visible, wrapped about him and binding him to her in their own private cage of power, her eyes officially glowing and her scent rising invisibly from her hair to enfold the demon in its perfume.
"Anytime now."
The demon was leaning closer to her, eyes starting to close as he prepared to finally place a kiss on those lips he had long since wished to claim as his own. 3
Hiei had lost any and all train of thought by this point, watching the way Shikiyoku's energy move, swirling around and around the demon in question and even around herself. Occasionally, he turned inward, touched the bond with his consciousness and earned a hum of joy.
But in the next moment, he would always end up distracted by something or another, normally by a question or the way the demon would answer.
For instance, in this very moment, he was stuck staring again at the haze around the pair, lips pulling downwards at the sudden silence in the room. Then he realized that must mean it was his turn. The fire demon moved without so much as a blink of an eye, his sword appearing and then disappearing in a flash of light.
A moment later, the demon's head was literally rolling, falling from his shoulders and to the floor with the rest of him. Hiei, who hadn't even blinked, turned to Shikiyoku with a blank stare.
"We're leaving."
~!**!~
Akari had been taking her leave from Koenma's office and towards the gym before a very loud siren began ringing in the distance and a single light in the hall she'd been meandering down began flashing an angry red. It was at that point that several things happened at once:
One, an ogre ran by, barely keeping from running her over, and only because she'd made herself flat against the wall to avoid him.
Two, she felt her curls fall around her face again, the once green, leafy decoration in her hair falling to the floor in front of her. It was at this point she felt her stomach drop and her feet turn to begin their trek back to Koenma's office.
Three, Botan appeared and was pulling her away, one hand giving her the communication mirror Koenma had told him to remind her of before she left the entire building, the other hand closed tightly on her wrist.
Before she knew it, she was in Human World all over again, feet carrying her as if she knew exactly where to be. Quite frankly, she wasn't exactly sure why she was running. She hadn't heard anything Botan had told her. But, the only thing she found herself thinking about was the dead plants that had fallen from her hair. The same plants Kurama had, as she assumed, taken hours to fashion into her hair.
They wouldn't just die like that. She knew that if he put them there, he would have fashioned them to stay there as long as she desired. Why? Because… well, it was Kurama.
And the fact that they'd simply fallen from her hair after such a short amount of time… it left her more than just a little uneasy.
"You're going the wrong way, Akari! His energy was-"
"No, you're trying to pull me away from his scent. Shut up and let me do my job, Botan."
Silence as the reaper followed. She wasn't sure how long she ran, and the girl flew, before Akari broke through a line of trees. But when she did, she was aware of three things: One, Botan had left her be, let her handle the situation to watch from a distance, perhaps. Two, Kurama was hanging, white shirt almost nonexistent and whatever was left of it certainly wasn't white. But red. A very bright, angry, gory red that clashed with the wonderful red of his hair. She had the awful sense of déjà vu, but had no time to consider as her eyes shifted to the hands that were covered in red that pulled away from the form hanging from the tree.
And several emotions clashed, forming a large ball of swirling emotions within her, until she settled for one, solitary emotion: rage. Her teeth set as her eyes locked on Foko- no. The Pseudo-Youko. Her lip twitched, lifting only slightly to reveal a single sharp tooth.
"If you do not step away," she began, energy humming through her body, though not moving away from her yet. "you will find yourself without hands." She wasn't sure what kind of confidence she had in herself at the moment, but if it came down to it…
She'd simply fight long enough for Botan to grab Kurama and go, if she were still nearby. If not, well… She'd figure something out.
Because Kurama dying was not happening. Not with her here. *
As Foko methodically tended to clearing some of the deeper wounds of their debris, thoughts that he'd never had before started stirring in his mind. Realizations and images of plants and their properties, which ones would be useful for healing these cuts, cleansing them, removing the scars that would remain behind.
He became lost in the visions and the knowledge that threatened to overflow within his mind, forgetting to even cut the fox demon avatar in his hands down, though the position did make it easier to work.
Foko only had one such useful plant on his person at the time, and by now the seed had been slipped onto Kurama's bloodied skin near the bottom of his ribs and was being coaxed by Foko into its viney form, slowly spreading underneath the tattered shirt over Kurama's stomach and ribs outwards towards his chest and starting to, wherever it touched, stop the blood flow.
For a split second, he did not register Akari's words, but his ear flicked back and that brought his attention to follow, turning his head until he caught her eyes, his face blank and lost in the deeper thoughts he was attempting to make sense of, his golden eyes obviously distracted and far away.
Her glare pulled Foko from those thoughts and his eyes suddenly cleared, momentarily questioning her expression until he glanced down at his hands, which had come slightly away from Kurama's body.
They were covered in blood, as were part of his arms.
Mostly Kurama's blood, though he was sure there were specks from Otento mixed in there as well.
Foko turned back to look at Akari, and saw in her eyes no immediate chance of redemption for the situation she supposed to have caught him in.
And that's when his gaze hardened, something within him mixed in with all the thoughts and visions coming to the forefront of his awareness and making his face cold and calculating.
A fading wish to explain to Akari what had happened was quickly squelched underneath this tide of new emotion, and it was as if Foko knew now that there would be no turning back.
However...he had no desire to fight her. And with Kurama's energy locked away, this time as permanently as Otento had been able to manage, Foko knew somehow that the fox demon within would not be able to roam free.
And that was the point after all, wasn't it?
There was nothing more for him here.
"We are enemies, you and I." Foko said cooly, quietly. "On two sides of this war." He did not take a step back from Kurama, but he did whip his hands to the side, splattering more blood onto the ground. "And you would do well to remember it."
Something within Foko shouted at him, screamed as he seemingly cut off all contact with this demon whom he had come to cherish. Respect. Perhaps even love, in his own way.
But he made no flinch, no hesitation, face remaining in that same flat and emotionless expression that gave no indication of his own private war that he fought within himself as he looked for what he assumed would be the last time upon Akari's face.
Then he simply turned and left, disappearing into the mist that swirled around and ate him up, leaving behind no trace of the silver fox as it enveloped him in its otherworldly mask.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku's abruptly disgusted expression did not come from the headless body itself, or rather the beheading of the demon, but from being wrapped in his embrace, which she rapidly extricated herself from with a practiced ease, slipping out of the dead arms and letting the body fall mercilessly to the floor.
Her lip was curled as the body made a thud and she looked down on the empty shell with no small amount of disdain.
The demon's desires were still freshly singing their song inside her mind, and she felt no need to disguise her distaste at their parade, instead pulling her energy away from him and recalling it out of sight.
For the first time, the abrupt death stirred nothing within her. Where before she remembered mind-wrenching devastation at each sacrifice she took under her power, she felt none of that now. Only an aversion to the desires she somehow found disgusting that she had read from the demon now on the floor.
Her eyes stopped so prominently glowing, though they still retained a sort of inner light, and her exposed skin did much the same thing, settling back down, but still whispering of a smoothness of touch that beckoned to be tested.
Shikiyoku wiped her bare hand on her clothing as if that would help remove some of the invisible gunk of desire the demon had left behind in her head, and then slipped the glove back over her fingers and up her arm, pulling down her sleeves and turning to leave the house as she replaced the hood over her head and folded her hair to be hidden within it. 3
Hiei witnessed the way Shikiyoku's energy moved about, slithering around in the air and towards herself until his eyes could no longer see it. He could still smell it, of course, but it was only at this moment when he realized that her scent was from her energy itself, not simply her skin or hair. All of her.
By the time she had slid her gloves up her arms, Hiei had regained control on his own thoughts and was staring down at the body. Now that he thought about it, killing the fool likely wasn't the best idea. This town could likely see them as kidnappers. And that would certainly be a hindrance for their travels back to the Ninth Level, and thus, for their travels back to Human World.
The fire demon frowned at the thought, but turned his eyes away from the body anyway, instead pulling them up again to Shikiyoku, watching her hide her face and hair again beneath her hood. Instead of ridding of the body as he normally would have, he decided to leave it where it lay, to avoid others assuming he and Shikiyoku were a part of the group of kidnappers.
He wordlessly turned to go, silent steps moving towards the door and pulling it open, twisting the lock as he stepped aside to allow Shikiyoku to go out first.
He saw no need to look for more answers. He had everything he needed to know, and that left the male in a very quiet, withdrawn state.
It seemed that Gekijou was not lying about a single thing she had said to them.
At least he'd have a month to decide how to go about this…
~!**!~
Akari's energy had slowly begun to move about her skin in the moments where the Pseudo-Youko gave no indication of responding other than turning to her. She shifted her own weight only slightly, balled fists staying at her sides even as her nails dug into her own skin. Every inch of her being screamed at her to move, to fight, to let out the rage.
But she didn't. Instead, she was watching his every single movement, cold stare matching the golden glare she was now receiving from the other. For the first time in her life, she was planning ahead, searching for the twitching muscles that would indicate plant growth around her feet, or a vine manifesting from his hand. She was searching for any and all signs of a pending fight.
So when he moved, shaking the blood from his fingers and palms, her eyes followed the motion before flickering to his face again, catching his words with a twist in her lips that created a gesture that was often accompanied by a growl. You don't say?
For a moment, an image threatened to pass before her mind, but she paid it no mind, not allowing memories of anything distract her. And she said nothing to the demon who turned to leave. She merely waited until his form was completely gone from her immediate eyesight.
And she waited a few moments longer before turning her eyes to the male that hung from the branch of the dead tree, her expression suddenly blank and eyes guarded as she took quick steps across the clearing. With swift motions and sure hands, Akari's energy formed a small shadow blade that cut through the binding around the male's wrist, her other arm quickly creating support for the dead weight of Kurama until her first could gently aid in lowering him to the ground.
Silently, her fingers waved before his slightly parted lips, finding the whisper of a breath there and slight relief. Still breathing, good. Her energy moved again, this time to the vine she could now see underneath his shirt, cloaking it until her shadows simply rotted it away, after which they carried it away from herself and Kurama.
I'm sorry. I'm so stupid and-
She shook her head once in a jerky motion. Now was not the time to get stuck in her own mind.
"Kurama?" she called out to the male as a finger brushed away blood from his cheek and then moved to his eyes, peeling back an eyelid to check the reaction his pupil would give. "I'm moving you. Don't fight me." She didn't think he could fight her, even if he was still conscious in any way, but it was a precaution.
Without another word, she moved to stand, carefully pulling the male up with her until she had the entirety of his weight on her back, his arms over her shoulders and her own hands wrapped about an unharmed portion of his arms. Even when Botan silently appeared in front of her, expression of shock before she offered a helping hand, Akari took to moving silently away from the area.
"Akari, he-"
"No. I caused this, I'm fixing it. Just… get me the necessary supplies, if you will. And if you see any other demon in the area, let me know. I can't fight."
"But-"
"Now." She turned her eyes to the girl before giving a short sigh. "Pease. Just gather the necessities."
With a frown and a silent nod, Botan was again leaving, and Akari was making her way to her own home, deciding it was much closer than Kurama's. *
"Where IS she?! Answer me!"
"I will spare you your life..."
"Moving will make it worse...please remain still while I do what I can. You're bleeding out. I need you to stay with me."
The voices kept bringing Kurama back from unconsciousness, though they seemed distant, but with this last one he found his pain lessening and that it was easier to latch on to the voice, such a familiar voice, that continued to murmur quietly to him.
It took a moment for him to realize this voice was speaking through remedies he already knew of, creating a steady lull of sound that Kurama tried to make sense of, but only caught the bits and pieces.
"If you do not step away..."
Another voice.
He tried to say her name, but his lips parted and no sound came out.
"We are enemies..."
No. No, that wasn't true. Otherwise he would be dead.
Kurama opened his mouth again, mind unable to reason any thought as to why, if they were enemies, he had been kept alive.
He could feel the blood coating his throat and could not manage more words.
"Kurama…?"
He tried to speak, unable to open his eyes or make much sense of things, and swallowed fiercely as he felt himself being moved.
"Please…"
"A-Akari?" His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears, and he attempted to find his own feet underneath himself. 3
Akari paused at the sound of her name being breathed into her own ear, but after such a brief pause she continued on anyway, leaning further forward as she felt his struggle to stand.
"Don't." she said simply, keeping her voice even, keeping her own thoughts and emotions veiled as her energy moved about her, searching for threats in the area. "You're not stable enough to stand, much less walk. The bleeding has stopped for the most part, so there's no need to reopen the wounds."
She gave a small frown, eyes staying trained forward as she moved with relative ease despite his weight on her back. "For once, let me help you."
Rather, let me fix what I started. Let me help so later, maybe you won' kill me. At least let me make it up to you. *
Kurama made no further movements of protest, knowing that while his size compared to hers might make the position slightly awkward, his weight would be of little to no consequence for another demon.
In the midst of all the blood and gore, the faintest scent of rosemary wafted through his nose as her hair rustled in time with her steps.
She hadn't been captured.
Kurama didn't know what to think at the moment, though there were few thoughts actually occurring besides breathing, but the welling up of relief from that simple fact flowed over him as he relaxed, fighting once again with slipping into unconsciousness. 3
Akari stayed quiet, mind roving over several things at once. When she felt Kurama was too relaxed, too close to unconsciousness, she would adjust her hold on him as she walked.
How could I have been so stupid? What made me think that this time, it would be different?
Well, it is different.
This time, I wasn't the one who came to harm. Someone else was. Someone who'd helped multiple times came very close to death because of me.
Those thoughts swirled over and over in her mind, making it impossible to keep her expression blank as she methodically pushed open her front door, using a foot to easily shut it behind herself before continuing on.
She wasn't surprised to see Botan sitting on the floor, talking to Nabu, who said nothing as he eyed the clean sheet and bandages and a whole array of things meant for Akari's use.
"You live here, of all places?"
Akari didn't answer, only moved until she was able to lay Kurama on the clean setup Botan had prepared. And she was quick to begin dressing wounds, starting at his arms.
"I told you," Nabu suddenly piped in a small tone. "No one who-"
"That's enough, Nabu. Botan, I can handle this. Tell Koenma that if he has questions, he knows how to find me." *
If he had the strength, Kurama would have protested the attentions that Akari had started to give him, but his half-lidded green eyes gave every indication that he was having trouble staying conscious, and couldn't see much past the length of his arms, which had since been picked up and started to be cleaned.
Not to mention the fact that he was feeling very...human at the moment. He could not feel the avatar within himself, and without Youko's presence or the ability to access his demonic energy, it left Kurama feeling much the same as he had the first time Otento had locked everything away. Except perhaps more pronounced what with his injuries, which he knew would be healing at the same rate as a mortal.
Hence not actually protesting the help. 3
Akari took her time with each and every wound the redhead had, eyes staying carefully trained on her work even as she swapped from one arm to the other. She hadn't watched Botan leave or Nabu get comfortable near Kurama's face, as her attention was solely on Kurama and the wounds that were the worst, the ones that still threatened to bleed.
Once she was absolutely certain no wound would begin bleeding again, her hands slowed their work and her mind picked up on the thoughts she had tried to leave behind.
It should have been me. What was I thinking? Why didn't I think about this being a possibility?
Because I'm stupid and acted like I didn't care for the others. I acted as if I thought nothing of their safety.
But it was true, she hadn't considered the others being attacked anymore, because she'd put herself in the hands of the enemy, let them get into her head and fool her that maybe she was doing something better than she'd previously done. She'd never considered the fact that others would be affected by her own actions, her own choices.
Then again, she hadn't ever cared about the others before now. Before this group, it had been only her. She hadn't worried about others because there had been no others. She hadn't…
She hadn't cared before now.
And now that she had, she'd put them in harm's way.
Her hands suddenly paused their work, hovering over the bandages she'd robotically tied together. She stared at it, not really seeing the bandages around Kurama's bicep or anything in front of her. She clenched her teeth together.
"We are enemies, you and I….. And you'd do well to remember it."
Why? Why had she stupidly ignored everything that was so obvious? Why did she ignore every single hint? Nabu had even warned her, but…
She leaned away from Kurama now, hands dropping to her lap and head bowing, eyes sliding shut. You're so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.
She suddenly moved again, resuming her work with tender fingers, tying more bandages around wounds that were already clean.
"Akari?"
She ignored Nabu's small sound, forcing her expression and mind blank all over again.
"You still conscious?" she asked coolly, tone even and words quiet despite her inner war. For the moment, she wouldn't let her thoughts show to the fox. *
Kurama remained awash in a sea of pain, intermittently closing his eyes completely and opening them just enough to look in the direction he knew Akari was supposed to be.
His eyes had been closed when he felt her stop working, and he had slowly lifted his lids in time to feel her start again.
She hadn't said anything in a long time, and being unable to see her face, Kurama noted nothing of the inner turmoil she felt, but as soon as she spoke he felt something quiver inside him as if noting a strangeness to her voice.
"No." He answered, the corners of his lips tugging upwards a little with the threat of a smile. 3
Akari glanced at Kurama's face, noting the very small twitch of his lips before she turned her eyes back to her work. While she would have found his response funny in another situation, she didn't even consider a smile or a retort for the moment. Nabu shifted somewhere nearby, but again the demoness made no note of anything else aside from the motions of her own hands and her own thoughts.
And for a while, she was just as quiet as before, until she sat back again, this time sitting back on her rear and crossing her legs underneath herself. She rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward until her hands were propping up her chin, the dried, crusted blood of Kurama rubbing off here and there along her jawline as her eyelids slid closed.
She considered laying down, but her shaking hands were only the first hint that she wouldn't be able to sleep.
You have to tell him.
"I," she began, giving a small pause, a small hesitation, until she suddenly decided to not say what she knew she was supposed to say, "wrapped up all your wounds. Sleep isn't recommended, but if you were to, I won't be going anywhere." *
Kurama's breathing had steadied, though he still found it difficult to pay attention to anything but the pain, which he felt was only magnified by the fact that he could not feel his body actively seeking out and healing his wounds.
On the plus side, he also felt as if he was no longer bleeding out, thanks in no small part to the demon who had sat back from her work next to him at that very moment.
He opened his eyes half-lidded again, not remembering when exactly they had closed, and found that his vision had cleared a little more, letting him see just the edges of Akari's face in the low light.
"...thank you." He managed after taking a shaky breath. 3
The churning in Akari's gut increased tenfold when Kurama spoke up, and it took every ounce of willpower to keep her expression blank. "Don't," she responded in a flat tone, eyelids finally sliding open to allow her to stare at him blankly.
What was she supposed to say? You're welcome for getting you almost killed?
"Just… don't." *
Besides a single eyebrow lifting in question, Kurama's expression did not otherwise change.
"You wrapped my wounds when I was unable to do so." Kurama murmured, "Am I not allowed now to be grateful to you for this?" 3
This time, the flinch was not only internal, but external as well, and Akari was turning her face away. "No." she answered simply, eyes closing again.
"She's mad because I was right and she was wrong, and…. Akari?"
For once, Akari hadn't told him to shut up when the dog had begun boasting about her being wrong, because for once, she knew without a doubt that not only had he been right, but listening to him could have prevented so, so much.
"Shut up and sleep, will you?"
"But he's not supposed to sleep, remember?" *
Kurama's gaze moved over to look at Nabu, then back to Akari's face.
"I do not think sleep would be wise at this juncture." He noted, hesitating for a second, "Akari…" He moved his closest hand towards her, finding her knee and resting it there. "Why do you frown?" 3
"Why do you sound like a character from a human's literature book?" she suddenly retorted, slowly shifting away from the hand that had reached out to her. Akari's thoughts were jumbled, mixed into a swirl of nonsense that had long since been this way.
She wasn't sure she could answer him correctly, even if she wanted to. *
"You're going to have to tell me eventually." Kurama noted, pulling his hand back and masking his reaction to her pulling away. "Or I might do something we both regret." 3
"Threats mean little to nothing when your energy is sealed away and your body is incapable of moving on its own."
"You're being mean again, Akari."
"Shut up, Nabu."
"See, there you go again."
Akari huffed a sigh out at the dog before opening her eyes and turning her gaze to Kurama again, watching him with a dull gaze that no longer shielded her emotions. It just wasn't a possibility anymore. She felt like she'd been running a marathon of fools, and had lost the entire thing. She opened her mouth to speak, but slowly shut it again. How would she even begin to say it? *
When Akari did not go on, Kurama started shifting about, testing his muscles and the strength that they held, and slowly started to push himself up, his stubbornness, as well as his high constitution, starting to show. 3
For a mere moment, the dog demon watched the fox move, shifting his weight and shuffling about in an obvious attempt at sitting up. An attempt that she didn't think was wise.
"Would you stop? You're in no condition to move about and you can't afford to have reopening wounds." *
Her words went unheeded, but Kurama did speak up, his voice steady and normal as if he had not just practically gone to Spirit World for last judgement and come back.
"If I can sit up and look you in the eyes, maybe you'll tell me what's troubling you." 3
"Or maybe you'll die, like the moron you are." she grumbled back at him, feeling the flinch at her own words. "It's not going to do you any good if you're dead, you stupid fox." *
"If you hadn't noticed," Kurama had himself up on his elbows by this point, "I'm much harder to kill than Otento apparently thinks." 3
Akari's teeth were gnashed together now, her jaw muscles flexing in time with her fingers that curled around them. She moved, and in a swift motion, she not only had a pillow where his head would hit the floor from such a motion, but she had a hand on his shoulder and pushed not-so-gently. "What did I just tell you?" *
"I'm not sure." Kurama actually let a small smile cover his lips, "But I don't think it had anything to do with my original question." 3
"You're acting like a child." She retorted, still avoiding the question as she forced him to lay back on his back again. Her hand, despite her earlier motions to get away from his reach, remained on his shoulder as she leaned forward, head bowed so that her hair fell over her shoulder as her eyes slid closed.
"Just… stop moving, okay? Please, just lay still. I don't want to see you hurt anymore."
In truth, a small part of Akari had changed, though she wasn't sure what that change entailed. All she knew was that it centered around this one, solitary person, and he was possibly the most stubborn, irritating being in the three worlds. *
"I don't know if you knew this, but someone has taken care of my injuries, so really there's no need to worry about them." He moved the shoulder she had her hand on up as if to rise again, though he did no other movement. "However, as I have yet to receive an answer, I might be forced to more drastic measures." 3
The frown the pulled Akari's lips down was one of irritation mixed with unamusement and other emotions. Emotions she herself still hadn't sorted through entirely. She knew she felt embarrassed at her own blunder, nervous at how he would look at her after she told him, betrayed because-
Not going there.
Disappointed. She'd thought she was doing better, but she'd just repeated history.
Angry.
And so much more. Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed and she drew away fro Kurama, as if saying he could do what he wanted. She wasn't in charge of him anyway. If he wanted to reopen wounds, so be it.
She rubbed the back of her hand roughly against her eyes, as if wiping away the stinging sensation behind her lids. The cause, at the moment, was lost on her.
"You could have died." she suddenly spoke up, voice shaky even in her own ears. "You could have died, and it would have been my fault because I'm an idiot." *
"Akari," In a swift motion only Kurama could have managed after being injured thusly, he was turned over on his side, leaning on one elbow and reaching for Akari's face with his other hand, where he took her chin and moved her face towards his, attempting to get her to look him in the eyes, "Akari, listen to me." He searched her face, green eyes now bright and filled with the years of life he had vicariously lived through his avatar, "None of this is your fault." 3
As soon as Kurama's hand had hold of her chin, Akari was yanking away, batting her hand at his wrist and leaning as far as she could from the male without toppling over. She wasn't sure what the sound was that she choked on, whether it was a growl or something else, but in the next moment, her mouth was open.
"No, you listen to me." She took a deep breath, suddenly very aware of her next words and how he would react. "You can't say it isn't my fault, because you don't have a clue." An image suddenly crossed her mind and she paused, blinking once before returning to reality. "Youko was not in that illusion. I haven't even met Youko, because there's been no need for me to meet the real deal." Her breath hitched for a moment. "You were nearly killed because I amd the same moron I've always been and it should have been me and, and…"
Suddenly, she was unable to speak, her throat now thick and breaths coming much faster now as she rubbed at her face again, swiping at the wetness on her cheeks.
Her next words were nothing but a whisper. "So don't tell me it isn't my fault." *
Kurama listened patiently, still propped up on his side, as several things made sense in his head all at once.
His first instinct was to laugh in relief, but for her sake, he discarded that initial desire.
That was her big secret? As if she was the first being in the world to be betrayed.
And for that matter, not even 'be' betrayed, but no, 'feel' as if she were betrayed.
Kurama slowly shifted again, this time with much more measured movements, until he sat cross-legged across from Akari, his expression solemn.
"Akari." He started, stating her name in a practical manner. "When you found me, what did you see?" 3
Akari hadn't even been aware of Kurama's movements until he spoke, drawing her eyes up from her hands that had stilled for the moment to peer over her fingers. The expression he wore had her feeling as if she should be ashamed, as if he were hiding his real emotions about what she'd just said. And his question was ridiculous.
Her expression turned from… whatever it had been… to a darker once, shadows seemingly forming on her face as her mind very easily produced the memory before her mind's eye. Again, several emotions hit her at once, but the most prominent one was anger. "You were all but dead." *
Kurama's head shook, just slightly, once, before he pressed her more exactly, "Besides me, who did you see?" 3
Again, emotions shifted, and when the mental image cleared, Akari was left glaring ahead, her expression remaining on the stronger of the emotions that had been coaxed forward. "What do you mean, who?" she replied, but giving him no time to answer. "Who? That- That," she struggled, colorful words crossing her mind before she settled on a simpler term, "fox." *
"I suppose there's no point in asking you what you thought he was doing." Kurama noted, "Allow me to guess: his hands were covered in my blood?" 3
Akari's stare locked on Kurama and hardened into rocks, his words feeling a bit like a challenge. "And?" *
"And what would you say if I told you that had the...'fox,'" Kurama went with her word for the pseudo-Youko. "Not chosen to stabilize me when he appeared, that even your wondrous wrapping abilities would have done no good."
He had not turned his gaze from hers, but he made sure his next words were clear.
"The fox did not do this to me, Akari." He gestured nebulously to his body, his injuries, "Truth be told, I believe he did not mean for this to happen to me. If you wish to be furious at someone, then your anger would be better spent pointed at Otento who-" Kurama's words caught in his throat as he suddenly realized he had been about to admit to exactly how the infamous kitsune-avatar had gotten...err...captured.
Because he'd thought they'd had Akari. 3
At first, the demoness had done nothing more than meet Kurama's even gaze with a steely one, as if challenging him to challenge her….. as much sense as that made. But as he spoke, words slowly began sinking in, and her expression gradually changed from a dark, irritated one to a look of surprise. Her lips parted in a small 'o' formation for a moment before sealing shut again.
And she sat in silence, hearing nothing more that the fact that the false Youko hadn't done harm, but…. helped?
Still.. A small voice filtered from the back of her mind, wriggling its way to the forefront of her mind. He may not have directly attacked, but he's still at fault.
Suddenly, her expression was blank, and when she blinked, so was her stare that lifted from the floor to Kurama's eyes again.
"It doesn't matter who." she pointed out. "He's to blame as well, because he-" she cut her own words off with a sigh. No use in sharing these thoughts. They're useless to someone who doesn't care about-
She cared.
That thought had her jerking just a little before returning to passive again. "It doesn't matter." she repeated, blinking once slowly at Kurama again. "How're you feeling? I mean, you can't be too hurt if you're making stupid remarks." *
Kurama let Akari's first comment slide.
He knew that the fake Youko was to blame for his capture; the fox had likely given the order. But...the memories he had of the exchange between Otento and his leader indicated to Kurama some sort of strife that had not been so prominent before.
He felt sure that the original intent of his capture had been strictly to restrict the true Youko's ability to be summoned. And Otento deciding to 'interrogate' him on the whereabouts of Toriko was very obviously something the fake Youko did not intend to have occur.
The question did remain, however, as to why the fake Youko did not want Kurama dead. Would it not be easier to simply kill him and be done with it instead of going to all the trouble of locking Youko away within him?
But the fake Youko very obviously did not want Kurama dead, otherwise he would have either not interfered, or allowed Otento to continue, or simply let him bleed out.
Kurama had considered the motives of this band of demons before now, but he looked on them in a new light, wondering at their real intentions.
"Actually, I'm not really certain if I can move any longer." Kurama gave Akari a simple, almost cheerful, reply, letting none of the thoughts that had passed through his mind in an instant darken the words. 3
The frown that pulled at Akari's lips was deeper than one she'd worn before, this time aimed at Kurama and not herself. She released a small huff of a sigh, eyes closing for a moment in order to restrain herself, keep herself from making a remark.
When she reopened her eyes again, she was staring at him. Her lips twitched just a little. "Maybe I'll leave you like that then. Serves you right." She made sure her tone matched Kurama's pleasant one perfectly, even adding a small tilt of her head. *
"It certainly would. Far be it from me to deny the truth." Kurama replied easily, "At least this way I can see you better." 3
"Frankly, I'm surprised you can see anything other than the darkness of unconsciousness." She admitted, smile still just as pleasant as her tone. "I could fix that for you, if you wanted me to." *
Kurama's eyes narrowed playfully, "And how, pray tell, do you plan on fixing that?" 3
"I guess if you really wanted to know, I could show you. But I don't know if you'd enjoy it as much as I would." *
"And I'm not sure you have any idea what I might or might not enjoy." 3
Akari rolled her eyes to the ceiling at Kurama, for the moment deciding not to answer because, quite frankly, she didn't know how to. And when her eyes rolled down to meet his gaze again, her smile was gone and she was releasing a long, tired-sounding sigh. "I've learned challenging fox demons aren't fun. I lose." she reached forward, placing a hand on his shoulder with the intentions to guide him back to a comfortable laying position. *
"A most wise lesson to choose to take to heart, pup." Kurama chuckled, but allowed Akari to help him lay back down, watching her thoughtfully. 3
AKari helped Kurama adjust until she felt his muscles relax under her grasp, at which point she retreated, taking to sitting just how she had earlier, legs crossed and elbows on her knees, chin in her hand. This time, she took to watching the other calmly, quietly. "You're no fun." *
"Is that so? Pity. I've been told I'm loads of fun." Kurama's expression remained dry. "It's absolutely terrible to have been lied to all these years." 3
"Well, I mean, I was able to recover from being thrown to and from treetops in an hour, tops. I even was able to play tag and-"
She stopped, frown suddenly forming on her features again. The memory of being thrown via rock platforms through the air, only spared by the fake Youko had her feeling rather… queasy. Sick. Ill. Whatever one wished to deem it as her stomach rolled. *
Kurama turned his head slightly so that he might be able to see the small dog nearby.
"Nabu," He said with faux-seriousness, "Whatever possessed you to let her run around playing tag after being hurt?" 3
Nabu stirred, lifting his head from where he'd been curled up, listening quietly before huffing indignantly at Kurama. "I can't tell her what to do. You've seen how she listens to me."
Akari mirrored the huff Nabu had made and turned her head to the side. "I do what I want to."
"And it leads to trouble."
"I've saved your butt more than once, or have you forgotten about the dog catcher?"
"We don't speak about that. Flowers, make her stop." *
"And just where do you think you would be were it not for your comrade here?" Kurama spoke up, eyes glimmering with both humor and the seriousness that such a question demanded. 3
Akari's smile suddenly returned, bright and wide and toothy as Nabu scrambled for an answer. "I'd be creating problems and likely being hunted down by Koenma, if not dead by now."
"I would be with a nice family, who had kids who let me lay with them at naptime and-"
"Now that is an exaggeration. You can't handle kids."
"Neither can you."
"Wrong. I can handle it if I need to."
"But remember that time when-"
"We don't speak about that, either." *
Kurama's eyes closed as the two continued exchanging banter back and forth, a smile fixed over his lips as he finally felt the weight of the last few hours settle across his body, finding that rest did not take long to fall over his mind and cause him to drift off to sleep. 3
Akari and Nabu both went quiet as they noticed the silence from Kurama, who, upon closer inspection, had drifted off. Nabu curled back into his ball of fur and went back to his attempt at slumber, and Akari…
For a while, she found herself watching the pair with gentle eyes and a kind smile. And after a few more moments, she found herself heaving a long-suffering sigh that almost transitioned into a yawn. She shouldn't be tired.
But watching the two males sleep made her feel as if she herself needed a nap. Maybe not a full night's- or rather, day's- rest, but… a small nap wouldn't hurt.
She shifted about, until she was laying on the floor where she had been sitting, laying on her side so that if something were to happen, Akari would already be facing the redhead who she had decided would be under her supervision for a bit.
At least until he can move again. *
~!**!~
Shikiyoku wasn't really sure what to think of the developments she and Hiei had discovered while here in Demon World.
She spent the month journey back to the Ninth Level in a much more somber mood than the trip down had been without really understanding why.
After all, the intel they gathered didn't particularly affect her.
What did she care if demons were being stolen from their homes and dropped into Human World, minds-wiped of all but aggression, with antagonistic purposes? And even if they were being taken by Spirit World's King Enma himself, again, why did it matter for her? She couldn't particularly care less, though she supposed perhaps that was because it had not affected anyone she knew or cared for.
As for Hiei...well...wasn't he technically in the employment of Spirit World? Perhaps that made things different for him.
Being a demon who spent the majority of her life out of the direct influence of Spirit World-considering that the 'offices' only had 'control' over the part of the First Level-she hadn't ever come across them, save for when they sent Hunters or whatever after Youko and subsequently her. But even then, it wasn't as if she could blame them for what they tried to do. In their own twisted way, they probably thought it was the right thing to do.
Though, if King Enma was overthrown, Shikiyoku supposed that the warrant out for her arrest would go away. That would be a plus. And she guessed something of a similar sort for the fire demon. But they seemed to have forgotten about her anyway, so in the end it didn't really matter, right?
...then why did she still feel so lousy? 3
He wasn't sure exactly when he had made up his mind, but some time during the trip back to the Ninth Level, Hiei had decided that telling Koenma anything was, as of this very moment, out of the question. There were, quite frankly, too many risks in telling the prince that the king was to be overthrown, if possible. While the fire demon still thought of it as something completely unable to happen, he realized that the possibility of such an event would mean nothing, but the simple threat could end in mass destruction of…. well…
Every one.
Every single demon who had ever once stepped out of line, and that would, eventually, lead to Shikiyoku and even himself being targeted.
And that was a no-go.
Even still, while the rumors of demons being taken from their homes and planted on the plane meant for humans was very obviously much more than a simple rumor, there was no evidence stating that Enma was behind such a thing.
There was no evidence whatsoever that even remotely hinted that it isn't simply just…. Demon smuggling. Slave trade.
In fact, he'd almost convinced himself that that was exactly what was going on.
But still, something continued to pull at the fire demon, make him retrace his thoughts and circle back to the very beginning all over again.
In the end, he had decided that it was now his responsibility to look into it. He'd talk to the smartest of them all first, see what the fox had to say about such a possibility.
From there….
Well, he'd just have to play it by ear.
Red eyes focused again on the path ahead, quickly adjusting his step to avoid a tree he'd been careening towards. Hiei narrowly missed the branch with a simple shift in his stride, landing expertly within the shadows of the tree he'd been moving through. He felt his hair resettle into place, along with his cloak and swords, and he turned to gauge their location.
Not that it helped much. He knew, still, nothing of the Ninth Level. Only that there was one particular place he wished to avoid at all costs.
But…
For now, break time was in order. *
~!**!~
A babbling river produced many a creature for consumption, and Uryo had more than hunted his fair share, conjuring a fire at his feet in front of the fallen log upon which he sat and roasting two fish in one hand on two separate sticks while simultaneously tearing into a third fish which had finished cooking a few minutes before.
Not a single beast disturbed him as he hummed to himself some snatch of a long-forgotten song and turned the sticks over the fire this way and that to spread his flame evenly across it.
Uryo had been hanging around the cross-ways for the past week or so waiting for the pair to come back.
Escaping the wrath of the palace was of little to no consequence for him as he had yet to meet his match in speed or strength. Angering the royalty was probably the most exciting thing he'd done for...a long time.
Chuckling to himself, Uryo tore into the cooked fish for another bite, tilting his head only slightly as he sensed them descending into the level, his body jolting slightly in a hiccup, his breath-as always-heavy with drink that made his world swirl slowly around him.
They were much too far off to detect his presence, but he stayed where he was, knowing he sat in relative closeness to their path, at least close enough that eventually they would know he was near.
Especially since he was broadcasting his energy for them to find.
They'd come. Soon. Ish. 3
~!**!~
Time seemed slower here than other levels, the fire demon realized as he stood. While the First Level had days that only lasted a few hours, this level seemed to have days that lasted…. much longer. And as he stood still in the branches, his Jagan swept for immediate threats, searching for unwanted attention before he turned inward, checking the bond that had, as of late, become rather quiet within his mind.
Almost nonexistent.
After another sweep of the area, Hiei decided that maybe it wasn't yet time for a break. They could have one when they found an abundant source of food.
Which was, obviously, not within the very dry, very silent area he'd stopped in.
So he turned and nodded once at Shikiyoku again and continued moving on, heading straight and never altering his path.
Not even when a source of very strong energy slipped into his consciousness and grabbed hold of his attention. In fact, he'd decided to stop by and visit the source, who was very obviously not within the city walls of the town that Hiei and Shikiyoku had broken away from.
After all, Hiei felt as if he owed the demon a thanks for all the help. How he would do such a thing, he didn't know, but he'd think of something. Eventually.
As he closed the distance between himself and the demon he'd been looking for, Hiei slowed to a casual gait, hands finding his cloak pockets and a calm air finding its way around the fire demon, who had previously been rather tense about… everything.
"Have enough to share?" Hiei called before he even saw the demon, having smelled the cooking grub and sensed that it was of the other's doing. Of course, he was kidding. *
A sloppy smile spread across Uryo's flushed face and he deftly tossed one of the sticks in his hand towards the other fire demon.
"I thought you'd never ashk!" He rejoined in good humor, watching the pair emerge from behind the forest of red-colored trees to his left.
He shifted the other cooking fish into his right hand with the one he had been eating from and reached inside the front of his tunic for a flask that he took a large quaff from before replacing it out of sight.
Shikiyoku nodded solemnly to Uryo who found her expression troubling as she closed the distance between them and sat on another fallen log arranged across from Uryo, staring silently into the fire that danced without fuel near Uryo's feet between them.
The river to Uryo's right laughed and giggled downstream happily, its red-tinted waters keeping hidden the creatures below, but Shikiyoku sat lost in her thoughts and did not seem to notice much until Uryo stuck the partially eaten fish in front of her face.
She startled back slightly, eyes wide, and Uryo blinked, quickly retracting the offer and giving her the proper fish he'd meant to. The uneaten one.
Unable to stand the silence, he spoke up again, frowning slightly.
"You haven't sh'een Ryou, have you?" He looked about them, half-expecting to see the tiny black dragon wheel out of the trees above with them. 3
The fire demon deftly plucked the fish from the air with a calm grace that made it very easy for Hiei to simply lift it to his lips, taking a bite out of it anyway despite his earlier thoughts of catching his own meal. After all, it was much too easy to simply stay here and eat what was offered to him. By the time he had swallowed, Uryo had asked a very simple question, but it left the fire demon momentarily thinking back.
Was even the lur'mog still with him and Shikiyoku? He wasn't sure.
But Ryou…
"No," he replied after a moment, moving to stand at the space that was between the two fallen logs, deciding that he didn't feel like sitting just yet. "Only a lur'mog." *
Uryo had taken to staring at Shikiyoku, and whether or not he heard Hiei was hard to say.
His stare was not the most polite or subtle either, but it held nothing but pure curiosity, if of the drunken kind.
Shikiyoku had pulled her hood back when she settled down to eat, her dark hair falling around her shoulders as she absently tore pieces of the fish off the stick to put into her mouth with a still-gloved hand.
In the light of the Ninth Level though, Uryo could see the pearlescent gleam that since their last meeting had settled over her skin.
It was...it was meant to be enticing. He knew that much. And while the previous time, like the first, he noted how much her energy wafted around her body like so much perfume, this time the power was so much more dense, in a greater quantity than before.
Her clothing did appear to constrain it a bit, as the majority of the energy was currently roiling about her head in a scent that would be dangerous with too long of an exposure.
But that's what a Champion was for, no?
"You're different, lady." He said around a large chunk of fish he had just taken his eyes off of Shikiyoku to rip from his stick. "Oh!"
He once again reached his hand into the gap of his clothes at his chest and pulled out...something, and held it out towards her.
"Hey!" He said, a little louder than his conversational tone. "Wake up! You've been bugging me for week'sh about them and now you've gone and fallen ashleep jusht when they've gotten here! You drank too much!" He hiccuped.
A small, scaly body curled up in Uryo's palm started to stir. The lur'mog had his tail up over his face, clutching at it in his sleep with both paws. He wriggled around a little, warm in Uryo's hand, but did not take much stock in anything else at the moment. 3
Hiei turned his eyes over to Shikiyoku once he noticed Uryo's lack of reply and complete interest in the female. He stayed silent even when the other male made a comment, all of which Hiei wasn't very surprised this demon could see or feel or whatever….
Nothing about Uryo would surprise him anymore, he decided.
"She's gained more power." Hiei stated in a very small tone, one that was almost considered prideful for her. He wasn't sure why, but the thought that she'd overcome even her own mother's power over her was something he thought was quite the milestone. "It's been a bit of trouble to keep under wraps." he said quietly, watching her for a moment before moving to sit on the grass, legs stretched out before him.
And then he was staring at the curled up lur'mog in Uryo's grasp. He raised a single brow at the sleeping creature before turning his red gaze up at Uryo again. He said nothing, only observing for the moment.
Because, for the first time in two months, Hiei felt rather calm. *
"It'sh dripping off of her." One of Uryo's eyebrows raised, but his eyes were still on the lur'mog in his hand. "You've made quite the sh'pike sh'ince the lash't time we sh'aw one another." Uryo hiccuped again, silently, and then took a deep breath.
His eyes clouded with worry, thinking about Ryou as he looked down at the creature that had just started to wake, sitting up and shifting to let his tail fall over the side of Uryo's hand and starting to rub at his closed eyes with his fist clenched into tiny paws.
"Ryou disappeared about the time we parted." Uryo's voice sounded darker, sad. "I haven't seen him since. I was honestly hoping he had simply gone adventuring with you, but I see now that isn't the case."
The thought was very sobering.
Uryo smiled and wiggled his fingers a little when the lur'mog was slow to see who Uryo meant for him to see.
"You must have...hic...drank quite a bit to be this slow on the up-take."
The lur'mog didn't seem terribly bothered by the jostling, but Uryo's voice drew his wide eyes upwards, his mouth falling open just a little as he gazed glassy-eyed at the older fire demon.
Uryo made a point to turn his hand so that the gaze would be facing Shikiyoku and the lur'mog gave a little start, promptly falling off of Uryo's hand in a little poof onto the forest floor, landing on his bottom and staring up at her.
A whispered smile passed over Shikiyoku's lips but did not stay long as the lur'mog slowly righted himself and stood up, bobbing over in a walk to her ankle, a faint flush across his nose slits.
He started talking once he reached her, throwing his arms around her ankle and beginning to chirr and chirp all at once, wrapping his tail lazily about her and telling her all about everything.
The world blurred around him as she gently reached down and scooped him up in one hand, placing him on her shoulder where he promptly rocked to the side and started to fall, Shikiyoku frowning a little and catching him, putting her legs side-by-side to create a platform and setting him in her lap.
Once sat down again, he stood and clutched at his tail, still looking admiringly up at her, blinking his large eyes, and continuing to chatter the latest news to her. 3
Hiei went quiet, listening to the lively sounds coming from the lur'mog who was perched in Shikiyoku's lap. He continued to watch the spectacle, though he wasn't really seeing the scene. His mind was far away, again trained on the days to come when he'd be standing in front of Koenma, telling the prince that nothing had been revealed, but that they still did have a spy.
And If they had come back with no information, as he would tell Koenma, would Shikiyoku still be released from her warrant? Surely an internal source was good enough, right?
Again, the thought of staying here, in this world, crossed his mind.
But it was quickly, and again, contradicted with his urgent need to learn more of what was going on, to speak with his comrades and find their opinions on the matter.
And to kill a very certain someone who was not in this world. He hadn't forgotten that. Not yet. Not ever.
Otento would pay dearly. Hiei would see to that personally.
But still. What would all of this add up to? If Enma was behind the happenings, then what would that mean for the group he was supposed to fight? Would that make them…. the good guys? No, not possible. Anyone with any sense of honor wouldn't do…. what has been done.
And, if Enma were overthrown, what would happen then? Would the three worlds merge? Would they collapse? Would things simply stay as they were?
Surely not.
We'd all be dead for opposing. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star