A/N: Hello once again, Denizens of this FanFiction Realm!
Whew, this chapter was hard for me. I knew it was coming, but I had entire sections of my things to edit on this one and while I had all the changes up in my head, it still took longer than I thought it would.
Symbols Guide:
* : Written by CM; She writes for Akari and Hiei
3 : Written by Star (supposed to be the 'heart' symbol, but FF doesn't like the 'less-than' sign, so it's a 3 instead); She writes for Toriko/Shikiyoku and Kurama
~!**!~ : A universal transition between scenes or characters, sometimes used to indicate a passage of time, but most often used to transition between major scenes that are happening. As the story progresses, this will evolve into mainly separating the (usually two) scenes happening between authors/characters.
As a general rule, anything in italics is thoughts.
Unless it's used in a sentence like this, which merely indicates emphasis.
"Quotations are usually reserved specifically for telepathic dialogue being transmitted from one being to another, but sometimes this can also mean a character isn't being careful about what they're thinking and anyone with telepathy in the nearby vicinity can listen in without taking any effort."
The only exception to that last rule is for the Shiba Inu dog, Nabu. All of his "spoken" dialogue will be in italics and quotations, but is communicated through body language or dog-like noises, so unless a character is able to translate those they are unlikely to pick up on what he is saying any more than the average person might understand his general moods like aggression (bared teeth, ears back) or excitement (wagging tail).
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
Uryo appears to Shikiyoku and informs her that not only does Rae know Shikiyoku is back on the Ninth Level,
but Spirit World has apparently gone into crisis mode, completely shutting down,
and is closing all portals inbetween anywhere, including Demon and Human Worlds.
When she returns to the Elders' Tent, it's to a rather sleepy Hiei,
who informs her she's 'not so bad,'
but she waits to tell him anything until he's more coherent.
~!**!~
Akari and Kurama continue bringing Shizuru, Kuwabara, and Genaki up to speed,
explaining how Spirit World closed after a serious threat of attack.
Shizuru seems to get the feeling that whatever is going on,
demons being snuck into Human World or not,
it doesn't feel bad for Human World,
in any case not 'bad' like it did when they were dealing with Sensui.
Their plan seems to be 'mobilization with intention to gather more information,'
and Akari and Kurama part from Kuwabara's apartment
just as Genkai begins to sit with Shizuru to attempt to help the girl hone her power.
Akari has remembered Kurama's offer to remove her scars,
but tells him she needs more time to consider his offer,
ending up telling him that she would find him when she has an answer...
She relapsed into silence again, her eyes finding random things about their surroundings to note, such as the leaves on the trees, the people she passed, the dogs in closed fences or cats in windows. Shops. Food stands. Etcetera, etcetera… Whatever grabbed at her attention as her mind thought over his offer again.
If the scars are taken away, I'll look just as normal as I want to be. I'll look just as close to the person I was before. It's something I wanted for… a long time.
So why am I hesitating? Because of a couple of stupid ears and a damn tail? So what? *
Akari's mentioning of his offer led Kurama's mind to the procedure he would have to do in order to remove the scars as he promised.
...which lead his eyes absently over to Akari's head where he could just imagine the ears she once wore flicking at each sound they heard, analyzing and likely dismissing them without her direct notice.
Removing scars was one thing. One thing he researched heavily in to once his...mother...received hers from...him.
As to the restoration of long-forgotten limbs...
...it was something Kurama did not find himself surprised to be considering searching for a method to do. And something he felt would not be outside his realm of ability.
...once he and Youko were one again, of course. 3
It isn't like…
It isn't like I'm going to go home anytime in the near future. Or, likely ever, really. If I stay in this world, then the absence of such things would mean nothing to anyone except me. I've lived without them for this long, why do I need them now anyway?
Again, she wondered why she was still hesitating, what it was that she had to think about. The memories she could deal with, given the right moment. They were manageable, as was having no ears and no tail. She could still hear like a dog demon. She still had each ability that she'd been born with.
She absently looked down at herself, as if seeing the skin beneath the shirts she wore. The skin that itched here and there when she thought of the marks that colored her torso and various other places. The marks that sometimes stung when she thought of the weapons, the utensils that had been used against her.
She also thought of the fact that she hid them, despite the fact that others had told her not to. But, really, it wasn't a story she wanted to tell, a story she wanted others to see. It was a story she wasn't proud of, wasn't glad she'd made through. It was a story that used to leave her crippled for days on end, leave her unable to function for that same amount of time, sometimes longer. Even now, a decade later, she sometimes felt as if she wanted nothing more than to shut herself away and hide herself from this world.
So why would she show a story like that to someone who wouldn't understand? *
"Is living through it not reason enough to be proud?" Kurama wondered aloud, having caught Akari's glance and taken a guess at her thoughts, "Or is it that you wished you hadn't?" His second question was tinged with an innocent curiosity, thinking back to the complete and utter change of mind his mother saving him had bestowed upon his psyche. And how guilty he felt, over a decade later, each time he saw her scars.
...and recalling that as being the reason he did not remove them from her even once he discovered how. As if it were punishment for him to be forced to watch her live with those scars and the unending guilt he harbored for having been the cause of them. 3
Akari's eyes moved away from her torso when Kurama spoke up, but she didn't look at him. Her expression turned unreadable, if it hadn't already been as such, and her shoulders straightened just a little, not realizing she'd been hunching over just a bit from her own thoughts.
Truthfully, she used to wish she hadn't, as he asked. But admitting such a thing made her feel even worse about it. So, she didn't say that aloud. In fact, she didn't answer at all, because really, she didn't have one for him. At least, not one that wouldn't lead to a conversation she didn't want to venture into. *
He saw out of the corner of his eye that Akari had straightened up next to him at his question, leaving it unanswered and on the air between them.
He thought about how he had, at one time, attempted to transfer his mother's wounds to himself-so that the reminder would be forever upon himself as the scars he had known then she would receive from the injuries-and found out at the time that it was beyond his means, beyond his abilities; how he had knocked himself out for three days and caused her more worry than if he had just left them alone.
He hadn't tried it again after that, though it led his precocious mind to seeking out alternatives, and to unlocking the secret he now offered to Akari.
It had been more painful to leave the scars, and so that's what I did. What will Akari finally decide upon, I wonder. 3
She had half a mind at that exact moment to tell Kurama she wanted them gone, because the more Akari thought about it, the more reasons she found to accept his offer. Simultaneously, though, she seemed to find that the same reasons to get rid of her marks were also things she'd been ignoring for a long time. Working her way through slowly. Almost too slowly, she felt.
But, again, she hesitated. She thought of Foko and the way he didn't compliment them, but seem to accept them altogether. She thought about the way Kurama offered her a way out, first by adding another to the pile and then…
Lecturing her, it seemed. She couldn't decide, really, but a part of her almost wanted to deem it as pity, which was another reason she kept her scars hidden.
And the mere thought suddenly had her frowning at the sidewalk ahead of her.
I'm not pitiful. He has no room to lecture. *
He remembered how self-conscious she had been of her scars that day in the gym. How he could tell the age of the scars just by looking at them, and wondering why exactly she was still brooding over them, why she hadn't gotten past it yet.
He...assumed she only needed a kick in the pants, that those she had been around had likely nurtured her into the inability to move on and had not done such a thing.
Mentally he made a scoffing noise at himself.
We all know what it is to 'assume,' don't we?
It makes an 'ass' out of 'u and me.' 3
"I know I've said this," Akari suddenly spoke up, eyes turning to Kurama from the corners again, "but I really don't need a lecture from anyone." she grumbled at him, her gaze even and not betraying her own thoughts over the matter. "I've also said that it's my problem, and that I'll get over it."
She turned her eyes forward again, her hands digging deeper into her pockets as she shifted out of a man's way as he rushed by her. "So, needless to say, repeating myself isn't something I enjoy doing." *
Kurama felt his tongue sharpen and he bit back a scathing reply, settling on a calmer, "If I was ever to actually lecture you, I assure you that you would be aware of it immediately without question." 3
Akari chose not to reply, deciding that restraint was going to be her ally here, and likely get her through this without creating a toxic moment for the both of them. Sure, there were several things she wanted to say, but she felt that for the sake of both of their sanity, it'd be best to keep them to herself.
And, she noted somewhere in the back of her mind, for the sake of the odd relationship that had formed, she wouldn't push his buttons further. No matter the point. *
If Kurama had been less of a demon, he would have chalked up her silence as a 'win,' but the thought did not even cross his mind, as he felt at first a tension from her that denoted a desire to counter his words, and actually found himself surprised when she elected to remain silent, and he let said silence grow between them. 3
Akari stayed quiet for a few minutes as she bit back each and every word that threatened to move past her lips and into the air between herself and Kurama. And, really, it wasn't hard to keep the slight ire held back enough to keep herself at bay, to keep herself from saying something that he'd easily counter, as he always did.
Now that was more irritating than anything else, that he had a counter for every single thing she said, and ended up getting the last word every time.
She took in a deep breath and released it through her nose.
"Your ability to counter is annoying." she grumbled, stating it as calmly as if she were observing the color of his hair. "There's no winning with you." *
"Come back to me when you have a few more centuries under your belt." Kurama replied mildly, "I'm ahead of the game, as it were." 3
"Though the game isn't an enjoyable one. Not really worth playing." she grumbled on, his words irritating her more. He was taunting her because she was young. Wasn't that supposed to be a good thing in this world? *
"That's because you seem to think I always win. We're not keeping score." At least, not out loud. 3
"It's especially no fun when the other does the exact thing the first does." she suddenly pointed out, this time cutting her eyes at him out of the corners. "Makes a sore loser even more irate." *
Kurama only raised an eyebrow at Akari questioningly, actually unsure what she was talking about and waiting for her to elaborate. 3
Akari caught the silent question sent her way and turned her eyes forward again, her cheek twitching a bit as she chose her words… okay, maybe she didn't choose her words carefully.
"I mean, if I hide my marks, I'm ashamed of them. If you do so, it's perfectly fine. Quite the hypocrisy, hm?" *
"Do you really think I hide my many scars because I'm ashamed of them?" Kurama asked, his eyebrow remaining arched just as it had been, though its purpose seemed to convey a different emotion now than before. 3
"Did I say that?" she countered easily. She was sure he wasn't.. ashamed of them, per se. But perhaps… not proud of them. Maybe the reason she pointed it out was because she herself wished she were that far, not ashamed, but not proud either. *
"If I were ashamed of them, then your accusation of my hypocrisy would be well-placed. As it were, there is not an ounce of shame within me in regards to the scars scattered across my skin, rendering your indictment against me a moot point." 3
"The point was not shame," she said carefully. "It's simply what you locked onto." Her hands pulled out of her pockets and she pulled to a stop, turning to him as her fingers wrapped around the open button-up shirt she wore and pulled it outwards a bit, to indicate the subject. "The point was that people keep telling me that I shouldn't hide them, but those very same people do the very same thing, and I'm losing what little patience I have." *
"Give me a single, good, reason as to why you should hide your scars." Kurama allowed none of the edge he felt spike across his mind into his words, letting the sentence roll from his tongue calmly, with patience. 3
Akari felt the change in her core that hinted at the slightest bit of adrenaline at the challenge he'd issued calmly, at the fact that she'd just thought about another asking this very question. She had to fight not to toss her hands in the air in frustration, in anger almost. She huffed out a very short breath from her nose, and were she a dragon, it would have been fire instead of simple air.
"Because it hurts!" she growled at him. "It isn't the shame that keeps them hidden," she continued, voice low and barely restrained. "I feel the cause almost every time I look at them. Even your stupid whip stings from time to time, so to keep from feeling it again, I don't look at them! If I see them, I feel them. And in case you don't recall, the feeling of being cut open and lashed at is not an enjoyable feeling!" *
"And you sincerely, honestly believe that keeping them hidden behind clothing is helping? Have you ever tried looking at them? Not all at once, not for a significant amount of time, but actually seeing them for what they are? Pieces of skin drawn together in order for the body to survive? Have you considered that perhaps in order for their healing to begin, for the pain to stop, that you might have to allow them to breathe once in a while?" Kurama shook his head, "Medically, once dire blood flow has stopped, do you not give a wound access to oxygen to quicken the healing process?
"If after all this time you have felt no improvement in your condition, would it not be prudent to consider a different course of action than the one that isn't helping? The one that might, in fact, be hindering progress instead?" His voice never rose, remaining that steady volume he always seemed capable of using. 3
Akari suddenly stood up straight, smoothing down the sides of the shirt she'd bought earlier that morning and letting her eyes follow the action. This time, when she spoke, her voice was even, controlled. "You think I haven't tried?" Her eyes turned up to him again, blank as if not seeing him for who he was. "The only thing I haven't tried is getting a damn shrink, all of which you are not. And, before you say so, I will not be doing that." She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the very, very quiet sound of Nabu making a noise of concern at her feet.
"I've done everything I can imagine, just short of accepting your offer, which I did not ask for. You chose to jump in. Why, I don't know, because you hide your own scars. It isn't like you don't have something you haven't moved past yet, and don't you tell me otherwise because everyone has something they would rather not share with the world. Let this one be mine, and I won't press you about yours. Capiche?" With that, she turned and made to continue on. *
Kurama stopped and let her move on a pace or two before speaking up again in reply.
"I am for certain you haven't tried. I'm positive you haven't. Not really. Because I know you. I know how exceptionally stubborn you are, as I've been on the receiving end of that stubbornness many a time, and the thought of you allowing bits of flesh to own and consume your entire mind, is unfathomable to me.
"You wear chains of your own devising, and it is only you who will be able to break yourself free of them, no matter what outside assistance there may be offered, no matter what strength another may wish to allow you to lean upon should you deem them worthy enough to help you, should you truly find yourself in need of help." He did not appear to suggest an answer for her in either direction.
"The difference between you and I, your scars and mine, is that you haven't moved passed yours, and I never had anything to move pass in the first place. You remain stuck, wallowing in them, using them as a crutch to hide a beautiful demonic figure, while I keep mine from my mother's view because she simply cannot handle them. The mental strain, the worry, the absolute anguish it caused her to see her child with something so simple as a banged up knee...all of that because she wanted to take the injury on herself to spare her selfish boy from a cut-that for me healed within seconds-and couldn't." Kurama ruefully considered how his mother had dove to 'save' him from the broken glass he had caused, another injury he would have had no trouble healing; how she had 'gotten her wish' in the most aimless, fruitless, meaningless manner possible.
"That and only that, is the reason why mine are kept out of sight. For her. Because I am in fact a selfish boy and wish her to have as fearless a life as possible; a life without fear, without concern, without apprehension for where I am and what I am doing.
"However, I would agree: I am absolutely certain you have done everything you could have ever imagined, because I highly doubt you've ever taken it upon yourself to walk around your house naked until the pain stops." And with that he turned, leaving Akari to walk the rest of the way to her home by herself, heading back to Genkai's apartment.
Which is where I come in. To suggest things you could never dream up on your own. He smirked to himself as he moved, unable to prevent the mental image he'd just suggested to her from popping into his mind and finding that such a picture pleased him, even if he immediately dismissed it for her sake.
...for once it was as if Youko were there in his head still, and Kurama wondered at how intertwined their spirits had become. It was as if he still channeled the fox even though the fox was not there. 3
Akari pulled to a stop when Kurama spoke up again, keeping her back to him as she listened, but didn't even deem a glance worth sending him. But as he continued on, at first she wanted to say that he didn't know her. Then he continued on by making her feel as if he'd struck her. Her eyes turned to the sky, as if it would help her keep her calm in the sudden onslaught of Kurama, whom she now knew to be actually lecturing her.
He hadn't been lying when he said I'd know it.
She didn't react to his words about his mother- she'd already considered that, already assumed it to be the reason he hid his, because of his human mother. She hadn't seen the woman, had no idea what she looked like, how she acted, knew nothing about her, but from what she knew of human mothers, she hadn't found it hard to guess that he was-
What a funny way to say one was selfish.
"Stupid." she grumbled, almost not catching the last part. She wasn't sure why, but she felt as if he were slapping her with his words, as if he were actually attacking, his words sharp as his whip, though not from his tone. She opened her mouth to say something, turning to even look at him.
And then she registered what he'd said, and her mouth simply hung there, open as it had been, no words falling out. She blinked, not sure what to say, if anything. For a moment, she only managed to stare after him incredulously, arms still crossed over her chest.
There was something, just sitting, on the end of her tongue for a moment, but by the time she was able to remember how to speak, whatever had been ready to fly had been forgotten. Her jaw snapped shut, her lips pressing into a thin line as she watched Kurama continue back the way they'd come.
And instead of yelling at him- what she wanted to yell, she didn't know- she simply turned and continued on her way home instead, head down as she moved through the crowd that had parted around her and Kurama during their moment.
And then she remembered taking note earlier of tracking down Foko. She paused only a moment before deciding it could wait long enough for her to recover from… whatever had just happened. *
~!**!~
As Shikiyoku ran in Hiei's wake, she took note for what seemed like the first time of the invisible haze of energy that flowed behind and around her. Over the last couple of days she had gotten to feel it slowly seeping back into existence as the aftereffects of supplementing her energy with Hiei's during the Odori Iro wore off.
Her eyes flickered to the pocket she had found within Hiei's cloak two days ago the last time they had fallen asleep together in the Elders' Tent. He had yet to notice-or comment if he knew-that she had slipped the Koorime tear-jewel within that pocket once he had fallen into deep sleep, and with him in the lead she hoped he would not question it.
Once Shikiyoku spoke with Hiei about all Uryo had told her, he had made no hesitation in deciding that the time for them to return to Human World was, as Uryo had put it, "yesterday," and it was with full speed that the two of them made for the mountainside they first emerged from all those months ago.3
For the past two days, Hiei hadn't been able to think of much more than the fact that Spirit World had been shut down. Of all things, he hadn't considered Spirit World shutting down, because to him, that meant that all hell was going to be released soon, if it hadn't already. It meant that Kurama and the others would need an extra hand, that if he didn't return, a lot could happen and he'd never live it down.
So his feet carried him just as fast as Shikiyoku could go, eyes trained ahead and searching for the portal in the side of the mountain he vaguely remembered exiting through. Once he and Shikiyoku were back, they'd be able to fill in the others, get a step ahead of whatever was going on and end this ridiculous 'mission'.
And for the first time, he felt that Koenma had no hand in this, because why would the Prince, who had spared multiple demon lives, set up the death of numerous other demons?
As he pondered this, Hiei's fiery red eyes caught sight of the mountains, and the area from which they had come and he shifted gears a little, changing his course just enough to take the shorter route towards where the portal would be..
Before much time had passed, he was moving through the portal, not looking back as he crossed into the darkness of the portal, feet moving until he crossed the Kekkai Barrier and-
Something within him seemed to falter, deaden, and he pulled to an immediate stop and spun to face the Kekkai, seeing it flare up briefly before a sort of darkness took its place. There was the distinct feeling of a solid wall where once there had only been the shining yellow net of energy. His Jagan reached out, finding the bond he could only find a bit of and pulling on it, accessing it to create a moment where he could speak to the person he could no longer see, no longer hear, and no longer feel nearby, though he, for the moment, said nothing. *
There had been few words exchanged between the pair since they left the Northern Tribe, for which Shikiyoku found herself thankful. It was difficult enough to keep her reservations to herself, and had they not spent the last two days constantly on the run, she feared Hiei might notice her newly acquired solemnness that she tried desperately to hide, though without much success.
Shikiyoku had not thought about the Kekkai Barrier since she first passed through it, but now that they were heading back, her thoughts were consumed by it.
She remembered distinctly the tug it gave at her when she tried to pass through the first time, and while at the time she dismissed the sensation, it now alarmed her.
...because now...she was stronger. Stronger than her mother. And if the barrier had tugged at her before because of her power, if it had been directly related to how close she was to the 'A Class' Hiei told her about...
Shikiyoku let her feet mechanically follow the directional change Hiei made and she swallowed nervously, glad not for the first time that he had taken it upon himself to be in the lead. If he looked back at her, she was not certain she would be able to smile reassuringly, as if everything was going to be okay.
With him in the lead, and with the portal-opening tear in his pocket, Shikiyoku was sure he would get through. She wasn't sure how she was going to convince him to go on once he realized she got stuck. She could just see him marching right back up to the golden net with that scowl on his face, glaring at the poor thing as if he could intimidate it into letting her through.
She actually smiled a little at the image.
He had to go back, had to go help his comrades, go help Spirit World. Whatever mess he would emerge to would be one he would assist in fixing, she just knew it. They needed him.
You need him.
No, it...well, yes, but...
Shikiyoku held back a sigh and her vision suddenly cut off, pulling her from her thoughts as she dashed into the mountainside and into darkness where Hiei had just disappeared.
She caught sight of his back as they approached the Kekkai, looming brilliantly before them, and for a split second she let her speed slow so that Hiei might gain a bit of distance on her. When he did not appear to notice, she slowed further, unsure what the Barrier might do once she approached it and intending to not run headlong into it.
As she expected, Hiei passed by without trouble, and while she was only a second or two behind him, she pulled herself to a stop just short of the net, looking up at it and taking a deep breath before reaching out timidly, much like she had done the first time they approached it.
As soon as her skin came in contact with the energy, the Kekkai crackled at her, confirming her fears as she jerked her hand away to look at her fingers, seeing how they appeared singed.
Shikiyoku took a second breath and looked up, prepared to attempt something in the way of convincing Hiei to go on without her, only to find herself suddenly and completely alone in the dark.
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion, desperately trying to see, and she clenched her slightly burnt hand into a fist briefly before reaching up with it again and without hesitation moving her hand forward until her palm hit something solid and smooth.
She felt the half of the pact she had active within her head suddenly flooded with the warmth of Hiei's mind, feeling that he reached out to her in some strange manner through the pact with the Jagan as well.
Shikiyoku opened her mouth as if to say something, her mind suddenly strangely blank and uncomprehending of what exactly was going on.
This isn't...normal. I can't even feel the passageway in front of me anymore.
Something within her lurched and she shivered.
"Hiei, what's happening?"
Shikiyoku could feel somehow that parts of her sentence did not get through to him and a sudden rush of adrenaline made her core start pumping faster.
No...not like this...
"Don't-" Don't what? Don't leave?
She lurched again and it felt as if something behind her had grabbed a hold of her body and was about to fling her back out of the passageway.
She pressed her hand harder up against the wall of darkness as if she searched for some purchase that she might be able to hold onto, but at the third lurch even her feet slipped backwards and a strange sort of calm overtook her, even in the midst of the Jagan's fury.
"...don't forget me."
She took another breath and let her forehead rest against the wall as if she could feel him through it, letting her eyes close as even the warmth of Hiei's mind touching hers began to fade, though she could feel him struggle against it, trying to stay in contact with her.
Even the pact started to go mute, and Shikiyoku's hand closed into a fist again, her teeth clenching together as her throat went stiff and she bit back an angry sob.
We were supposed to talk. You were supposed to be stubborn. You were going to glare at me when I told you to leave without me, and I was going to smile at you and imagine leaping through to hug you and having you hug me back-
...
...not like this.
...
"...I love you." 3
Hiei felt her communicating through the Jagan, and waited for her to continue on after saying his name. There seemed to be a hesitation, or perhaps a lag from the barrier as he waited, because there was a beat of silence.
"...forget me."
Hiei blinked as a few more words seemed to make an attempt to filter through the sudden buzz in his mind, though they were disjointed, fuzzy, and held no meaning to him before the connection was cut off entirely. He hadn't even had a chance to say anything to her, and now he simply stood there, at the edge of the barrier, teeth grinding together. Why hadn't she gone through?
His fingers twitched before he suddenly felt as if a vacuum had opened up in the space behind him, pulling him away from both the barrier and Shikiyoku all at once, and throwing him out into the sunlight of Human World, where he sat on the sand in the middle of nowhere, staring ahead at the vast desert void of mountains and void of any and all portals that had recently been there.
~!**!~
Three days, and still, nothing. Three days of wandering with her nose in the air, and Akari had yet to find any sign of Foko, or any activity that might even hint that the demon was anywhere near the city at all. It was clear that the city itself was clean of any demonic activity, aside from those Spirit World had assigned specifically- such as herself and Kurama- but other than that, nothing out of the norm.
Though, she'd dealt with a small group of trespassers yesterday, who'd not seen her wandering by when they'd made to corner a camper some miles away from the city lights. It had reminded her why she was out there in the first place, because the demons seemed to know nothing but pure anger and murderous intent.
The human had gotten away, though only because she'd been able to use her illusions on the male to hide the actual scene and steer him clear of danger.
It hadn't been an easy task, but she'd done it. With minimal time loss and minimal injury, might she add.
Actually, the only reason she'd gotten the scratch was because the human had wandered too close.
After that, it'd been back to aimless walking and constant sniffing of the colder air, her breath coming out as puffs in front of her face now that the actual cold front had hit. Even now, as she stood in the middle of a bundle of trees and stared at her own breath, she wasn't sure where to go.
If they're bringing more demons, then surely I could feel their presence.
Her energy stretched out further around her, searching the immediate area and even a good distance away, and finding nothing as she probed the air. So, she adjusted her t-shirt, stuffed her hands in her back jean pockets, and continued walking again, eyes continuing to move about as she wandered, mentally keeping track of where she'd already been and where she hadn't been.
After about a half hour longer of simple wandering, she considered calling it quits for a while and returning home to Nabu, to a warm bed where she could nap after being out almost all night and all day, and back to… as much as she didn't like saying it… doing as Kurama had suggested and simply sitting around, fighting herself and actually sitting around in a simple t-shirt and shorts, allowing herself to stare at scars for a while before finding something to keep herself busy.
Which was why the shirt she wore now hung off her shoulder slightly, her hair pulled up into a ponytail to ensure that when she occasionally looked down, she'd be facing her own self. It seemed to work, though there were points where-
What was that?
Akari paused suddenly, feet planting in place and nose raising high into the air as she took in a long, deep breath of the crisp air. There, again. It was only a small whiff, but it was so much more than she'd gotten in the past two days that she turned and made way towards the source of the rotten flesh, the smell of a place she hadn't been to in over a decade.
Found you, Foko. *
~!**!~
If his sources were correct, and his sources were always correct, the Youko-who-was-not-Youko knew that the timing of this final influx of demons was going to be quite difficult to pull off.
It only made him smile that icy smile he had found himself using much more often these days.
He stood back from the wide mouth of the cave, arms crossed over his chest in waiting and not in response to the chill of the air, and could feel the fluctuations from within, his second lieutenant standing at his side and watching, feeling, the changes that were occurring on both sides of the barrier, changes that were being helped along by others of the gang, no, the army.
Youko pondered briefly upon Gekijou's unintentional betrayal. He had guessed as much when the demon of anger had so readily accepted the invitation, able to smell and even sense the power of the one they had 'lost' upon her. Calculating such a thing into their intentions had been of little consequence.
Plans within plans.
"Here they come."
Youko's lieutenant pulled the fox's attention away from his inner musings and to the mouth of the cave. The demons were beginning to pour through now, and Youko nodded to the demon at his side. The demon moved forward to begin greeting those that were just now marching out of the cave, a mass of demons that would increase the size of the army twofold, doubling their current numbers.
Pleased, Youko started to gracefully slip away on silent feet until a movement, and an energy, piqued his mind. He kept moving, getting beyond the nearby trees to hide his presence, and watched as demons started to go by before stalking into their midst, grabbing the arm of the female demon he'd seen attempt to merge herself with the others, and drag her away, only receiving mild looks from the other demons in the crowd as he did so.
"What do you think you're doing?" Youko growled at her as they broke free of the other demons. He led her without pause farther into the treeline until they would not be seen by prying eyes before releasing her roughly across from him, taking to glaring at her dangerously, arms folding over his chest once more.
~!**!~
Though she did not know it, Shikiyoku had gotten flung away from the wall in much the same manner as Hiei on the other side of it, and she currently sat staring blankly at the mountainside from the ground where she had been flung.
She didn't even hear the noises of the Ninth Level around her anymore, didn't particularly see the deep reds of her home-level.
All she could feel was the complete silence of the pact within her, unbroken, still intact, but dead and unresponsive.
As she finally blinked, Shikiyoku knew if she sat there long enough, the realization, the utter finality of her situation, would dawn on her and tears and grief would come. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the forest floor right there and give up.
But at the same time, other emotions stirred deep within her.
Not like this.
This is not how things were supposed to go.
That damn wall wasn't supposed to be there.
She didn't get to see him, to say a proper goodbye.
Not. Like. This.
And it all made her very angry.
Her teeth clenched together as the muscles in her arms tightened violently when her hands formed into fists and she finally stood up with a growl resonating deep within her chest.
The mountain before her did not even so much as have the dark opening where one might begin passing through to the other side, but that didn't stop Shikiyoku when her vision tunneled in and she began attacking it.
It took three cycles of day and night, of Shikiyoku hurling her energy at the unyielding mountainside in a fury unmatched, before she finally collapsed to the ground, completely spent and feeling no better off than when she started.
Just...
...more alone. 3
Hiei sat there for a while, until the sun was hidden behind clouds and he became aware of the chill on the air, though not really feeling it. After a span of time he wasn't sure of, he shifted to stand, glaring harshly at the place where he knew he'd been tossed from before turning away and heading towards the direction he knew to be of the town Kurama and the others would be in.
His energy expanded, his Jagan searching first for Kurama, and when he couldn't find his comrade right away, he searched for Yusuke. Of course, it was an automatic thing, to find the detective's energy, which would be enough to ensure he was indeed on the right path towards town.
And he ran, his feet moving just as fast as if he were moving through Demon World all over again, his eyes dead set forward until he was just where he wanted to be. He only stopped when he was standing outside Kurama's home, hands in his pockets and eyes on the house, searching for any sign of Kurama's energy.
And found none.
But he also found no signs of a human inside, so he simply moved forward until he stood right at the door, a hand grabbing the knob, turning it and finding it locked. He glared at the mechanism as if it did this purposely to him, before turning and marching around the house, until he found a window that seemed to be ajar just enough to indicate it being unlocked.
He quietly slipped through the window, shutting it behind himself before he turned and meandered his way up the stairs and towards the room he knew to be Kurama's- he'd done this many times in the past, after all- and not hesitating even a blink when he reached the bedroom door, pushing it open calmly and simply stepping inside as if it were his own room.
~!**!~
After locking onto the scent, it hadn't taken Akari long at all to reach the place she needed to be, finding that there was a small cave that seemed overflowing with demons. She hadn't hesitated in the least to move in amongst the ranks, sending a coy smile to the demons who noticed and tossing her hair slightly to rid her vision of her bangs.
Her eyes had seen Foko moving away, but lost him only until he was pulling her from the grouping, which didn't surprise her a bit. She allowed him to pull her along, positively growling at her as he hauled her away.
"Mm." she hummed out with a shrug. "Just.. popping in to say hello." she said casually before releasing her, almost tossing her a little away from him- something she'd also expected. She turned to face him, expression turning serious, but calm as she watched his every move.
"You're going after Enma, aren't you?" she asked him without hesitation, not even so much as blinking at him. "And before you ask, no, I haven't said anything about it to anyone." *
Besides his obvious ire, which he found himself unable to mask, Youko allowed nothing else to pass over his face as Akari spoke.
"This does not concern you."
~!**!~
It took seven days for Shikiyoku to stand back up.
When she had no tears left, when they had dried, shriveled away somewhere inside her, when they no longer stained her cheeks, she slowly pulled herself from the ground.
Feeling as if she were a husk, not truly a living being, missing whatever it was that used to make her whole, Shikiyoku turned her empty eyes upon the red forest around her...and started to wander, her mind made up, her destination chosen, but her path far from that of a sane one.
She felt...nothing.
~!**!~
"Well, that's quite an excellent feat, then." Kurama replied into the receiver of the phone, "I look forward to seeing it."
He sat at his desk, phone to his ear as he reclined with his back to the door, one leg crossed casually over the other.
"Naturally." He answered to the voice on the other end, "But did you expect any less of me?" 3
Hiei paused only after he slid the door back to its original position to being almost completely closed, no sound coming from the wooden object as he turned his red eyes onto Kurama's back. He raised a brow slightly before resettling back into place, only a small sense of patience left within him right now.
So, realizing the fox didn't seem to know Hiei was there, the fire demon continued to move, using his speed to disappear from one place and appear at his windowsill, lounging almost lazily as he normally would have, except every single muscle was drawn taut with the fatigue he felt over the separation of himself from Shikiyoku.
How the hell was he supposed to protect someone who wasn't even nearby?
~!**!~
Akari shrugged nonchalantly, gaze unwavering from the male in front of her as she took a calm breath inward before releasing it through her lips. "I figured you'd say that." She moved, stretching her arms over her head and glancing briefly down at the scars she could see on her left shoulder, fighting the cringe she felt and turning to Foko again.
"Before you decide to kill me for being in the way, at least answer my questions." she said, as if she fully expected him to do just that: slaughter her. "You had someone manipulated by Enma and dumped here to die, didn't you?" Her voice was small, her expression calm as she asked, but eyes kind as if she already knew the answer. "Because that's how he keeps his power, by making others believe he's in control of the three worlds, isn't it?" *
"Ha," Youko's laugh was dry, "Is that what you think you've got figured out?" He shook his head, his smile that same icy expression he'd worn earlier. His eyes had not changed, the same hard anger that he had begun to feel upon seeing her once more.
"Allow me to make myself clear: you understand nothing." His voice was as crisp as his expression. "Thinking that this is something as simple as an act of revenge is too innocent a reason for what it is our goal to do." His eyes narrowed, "And it does not concern you."
~!**!~
Kurama blinked, and suddenly found himself staring not out the window, but at Hiei.
He immediately took in the haunted look in the fire demon's eyes, and it unnerved him. So much so that he missed whatever Kuwabara said and found that the human had repeated himself, calling Kurama's name.
"Of course. I'll do that." He said farewell and hung up the phone, sitting back and waiting expectantly for whatever reason Hiei had decided to grace Kurama with his presence. 3
The fire demon didn't turn to look at Kurama when there was sudden silence in the room, not having taken notice of his friend hanging up with the oaf on the other line- not that he'd cared much in the first place anyway.
"Enma is plucking demons from the first level, wiping their memory and then sending them here to die. By our hands." His voice was even and expression, he thought, neutral when he turned to look at Kurama. "Spirit World shut down all portals an hour ago."
~!**!~
"I never said it was simply revenge." she said calmly, arms crossing over her chest to mirror Foko's stance, only… calmer. She met his hard gaze squarely with her own open one, so that should he choose to do so, he'd note that she was not there to invoke him.
Not that it mattered. Her mere presence seemed to do just that. Not surprising in the least.
"But, you didn't deny my claim of Enma simply having demons needlessly killed." she pointed out. "You may believe it's none of my concern, but I have a job to do, and that job includes making sure innocents aren't targeted. Not humans. And quite frankly, I couldn't care less on what your big picture is."
She gave a pause, shifting her weight as her eyes noted a muscle twitch. She took in a deep breath. "Also… I owe you both an apology, and a thanks. You didn't have to, but… you saved a friend's life and I jumped to conclusions." *
"I knew no demon stolen from their home, mind-wiped and exported to Human World." Youko almost spat it out at her, barely reigning in the aggravation he had at her presence that he could not rightly explain, "Though these are all true things that have happened."
Youko narrowed his eyes at her as he went on, "Overthrowing Enma is not our goal. It never was. Our fight is not with you. It's not even with the humans. We merely wish to reclaim what was once ours, and breaking the system apart will simply be a by-product of what we will do.
"If you are truly thankful," He went on, mocking her tone, "Then you will leave before you die. Run back to your little friends. Tell them what you have learned."
His eyes flashed dangerously, "Perhaps I intended for you to come here, to see what army we have begun to amass, and to tell them every single word I have uttered to you today. There are plans within plans at work, wheels inside of wheels that have been turning for longer than you have been alive. You cannot even begin to comprehend what there is in store, dog. But I would dare you to try."
His grin all wicked, all Youko, and he turned from her, rejoining the others at a pace Akari would not be able to track with her eyes.
~!**!~
"Unsurprising." Kurama replied, "But passing that news along is not why you've sought me out, is it?"
~!**!~
She didn't know how much time had passed between when she stood up and when she found herself inside The Palace of the Ninth Level.
Years? Decades? ...Centuries?
It didn't matter anyway.
As Shikiyoku walked up the deep crimson rugs that led from the huge ornate doors she had without ceremony entered, she took in the two thrones that sat just at the top of a few steps at the other side of the Throne Room of her former home.
While the path her feet took through The Palace had been without hesitation and without misstep, led by distant memories of the giant building in which she had once resided, the memories did not so much as stir behind her lifeless eyes.
The air was heavy, hazy, as if to lull one to sleep with its strange warmth, and somewhere within her Shikiyoku recognized the haze as if it were her own, permeating completely each nook and cranny of the room.
There were several demons spread about those steps beneath the thrones, languidly laying about all mixed together, a single body difficult to separate from another.
In the left throne sat a male demon who made her core stop for a single moment when she placed her eyes upon him.
His eyes were a piercing, bright blue, his black hair as deeply rich as a raven's wing, cut short, but shaggy about his pointed ears with a ponytail gathered at the base of his neck and bits of stubble here and there along his chiseled jaw.
He sat lazy across the throne, sideways with one leg over the arm, his cheek resting idly in his hand as he leaned his elbow on the other arm of the magnificent chair.
"Ah, she comes." His voice was rich, sensuous, able to make a weaker demon fall to their knees.
But she felt nothing anymore.
He took in her blank eyes, noted how gorgeously her skin reflected and refracted the light of the room, sensed the fully-scented aroma about her, how she too would be able to make even the most sensible of demons swoon with a mere look...were it not for that haunted expression on her face.
"What can I do for you, dear heir apparent? Abdicate my throne?"
There was laughter from the demons near his feet, but it garnered no reaction from the female demon that stood before them, her tiny frame cutting quite the figure even behind the dismal, dark clothing that she wore, obviously dirty and worn much like her appearance.
"It's me she wants, isn't it?" She said very quietly, eyes looking far away.
"So, you're giving yourself up? Just like that? How amusing." His blue eyes gleamed.
Shikiyoku found herself staring at him.
"Where is she? Your mate? ...The demon of pain?"
The demon male before her made a thoughtful noise, noncommittal.
"She is...somewhere." He waved a hand vaguely about.
"I am the one she needs. She would not sacrifice you to bring the three worlds back into one, to usher in the new era of Sekaiju."
"So, you figured that out, did you? About how she wishes to return things to the old ways? For demons to once more rule? For Human and Demon and Spirit Worlds to once again be one and the same like in days of yore? About how beings like us have that power, the power to bind them, when combined with what is hidden away, coveted away, by Spirit World? But it would destroy us to do so?" He seemed to grow excited, "Can you feel it inside you? How the purity of your ability to love like no other before or since would grant you the power to do such a seemingly impossible task? To bind three entire worlds back together by sacrificing yourself in return?
"Tell me, what was it that gave it away? Spirit World shutting down? The Youko impersonator?" He smiled a dazzling smile, "I truly wish to know."
Shikiyoku said nothing.
"Oh, come now. Surely it can't be as bad as you're making it out to be. I find it simply hilarious that she could not break you, bend you to her will. Tell me, how was her torture? Was it as riveting as ever? Did she make you scream?"
For an instant, Shikiyoku recalled the moments after Otento and Terepo had kidnapped, had whisked, her away from her Human World home. Remembered only now, as if from some distant dream that cut through an overwhelming pain, the eyes that peered down at her as she felt her body being ripped to shreds. Or at least, feeling as if it were ripped to shreds, though the healing of Youko afterwards did seem to reinforce that there had been her blood split.
He took a sniff of the air.
"I can still smell your Champion on you. Though by the looks of things...no one else can." He smiled with a secret understand of the visible mark that should have been obvious on her skin, the symbol of their union that she somehow did not have.
Shikiyoku did not react.
"Where is he?"
Nothing.
The demon finally frowned, though his face seemed just as beautiful for it.
"Ah." The truth dawned on him. "That...that is most unfortunate." He actually sounded upset, allowing the silence of the room to engulf them both for a minute or so.
"She could not use me, anyway." He said quietly, his eyes flickering to the floor. "Because I no longer have any need for a Champion. I am a being of pure desire no more."
At that, Shikiyoku finally looked at the demon, finally saw him.
"You think it strange, demon of pleasure?" He caught her gaze, a light smile peppering his lips. "She may be my mate, she may have once been my Champion, but she is now my Consort. She is who taught me," A beat of silence. "And if you desire, I will teach you. I will teach you all of it. But- There is one thing you should know. Without a Consort, you will be forever stuck within your pain, for the Consort holds the key to your true nature. ...you will have no need of a pact anymore. This will lift it from you. From the both of you. It will free you from the ability to make a pact ever again. Do you understand what that means?"
She did not answer, still staring at him and almost unable to comprehend what he suggested.
"Why would you do this?" She asked after the silence.
He tilted his head, a roguish grin spreading over his face. "Simply for the amusement. For the frustration and anguish it will bring upon my mate. You will be rendered truly useless to her, and it shall confound her most deliciously." He gave a happy little sigh at the thought. "My apology for it and the making up I'll have to do will make it all worth it."
Shikiyoku did not reply this time and it appeared to take a moment for the demon on the throne to come back to the present.
He regarded her with a gorgeous solemnity.
"The secret, my love, is to know pain." His voice was even softer than before. "Do you know pain?"
The question echoed over and over in Shikiyoku's mind, throwing memory after memory at her of how much pain she had endured in her life, how like a trifle each bit of pain had seemed until she awoke from Toriko's grasp, and how the human-side coveted that power and from then on pain had been unendurable. Her high tolerance for pain, her close connection to pain...
...the pain she felt now. The pain within her chest that felt tight as if bound by an iron band.
A different sort of pain.
She did not need to say anything, as the demon before her knew her answer.
"Then you will come to know pain as you have never experienced before." He rose from his throne, the picture of perfection, of desire, and regally waded his way down the stairs, through the bodies of the lounging demons-his children. "You shall become acquainted with pain, friends with pain, even lovers with pain." Upon reaching Shikiyoku he held out a hand, palm up, and bowing slightly.
"Do you desire to join me, my love?"
Shikiyoku's green eyes lifted, and she found no mesmer in his solid, blue gaze, and knew that this choice would be hers and hers alone.
In her future, she could see nothingness. Should she become the catalyst required to unify the three worlds, she would cease to exist. She would...never again look upon the face of the prince of fire.
She knew somehow that this demon would not allow her to give herself up to his mate in any case.
She was dead now anyway. Even either way; attempt to join his mate and he would kill her, but join the mate and she would die.
So, she picked the third option.
She placed her small hand within his.
"Yes." 3
~!**!~
Hiei shifted where he sat, pulling one leg up in the windowsill with the rest of his body and resting his right elbow on his knee. His ruby eyes stared down at his black pants, the ones that were not of his norm and thus were not fireproof. The material was slightly irritating.
Or perhaps it was just him. Irritated about everything under the sun and simply unhappy in general.
"The impersonator has also found a replacement for Shikiyoku. The replacement is one of a pair of twins, the other not having joined her brother's team until recently- after Shikiyoku ordered her to do so." he informed, still, in a roundabout way, avoiding the topic that he knew the fox was waiting for. "She, the twin, works with anger."
He paused again, eyes turning to the outside world almost casually, as if he'd heard an interesting sound.
"Shikiyoku's power was more than the Kekkai would allow to pass through to Human World. But the portals closed between us in any case." he finally admitted, going silent for a moment afterwards. His eyes searched for something amusing, something enticing in the outside world, but truthfully he wasn't sure there was such a thing at this moment.
So, he instead concentrated on his friend's energy. Or, rather, the lackthereof.
He turned to Kurama finally, a neutral expression on his face. "How long has Youko been sealed away?"
~!**!~
Akari's mouth moved to call after Foko when he disappeared, but shut immediately after when she realized it wouldn't matter. It wasn't hard for her to realize that he was completely channeling the fox demon's personality altogether now, likely not even thinking like the person he truly was, other than for his cause.
Then again, what did she know?
He hadn't really helped her much, other than the fact that they were taking back something. That was the only thing she hadn't considered- she had already known that Enma being dethroned was not the point.
She blew out air through her lips, around her clenched teeth. You're of no help. She turned and moved away quietly, calmly despite his threat. Normally, were circumstances different, she would have followed. However, today…
Today, she was feeling.. sluggish. While her senses were alert, her brain was only functioning at half-capacity, it felt like. She rolled her shoulder, effectively pulling up the collar of the loose shirt and hiding the bare skin entirely.
This is ridiculous. I skipped school for… nothing, it seems.
Her feet carried her calmly away from the area that smelled very much like home, very much like the place she suddenly wished she could be, very much like the place where her only duty was to oversee the trade between packs and-
Too bad. You have other things to worry about. Other things to do.
So she headed home, her mind no longer on hunting down Foko, but on words that had, at the time, stung a little. Now, they merely irritated her.
"...I know how exceptionally stubborn you are, as I've been on the receiving end of that stubbornness many a time, and the thought of you allowing bits of flesh to own and consume your entire mind, is unfathomable to me."
Irritating Fox.
But, really, she couldn't help but feel that he'd-
"However, I would agree: I am absolutely certain you have done everything you could have ever imagined, because I highly doubt you've ever taken it upon yourself to walk around your house naked until the pain stops."
….Jackass. Stupid fox. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star