A/N: Hello once again, Beloved Yu Yu Hakusho Fans!
As with the last chapter, this chapter also consists of only interactions between Hiei and Shikiyoku.
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 Youko/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.
[Anything written in italics inside square brackets is Youko speaking to Shuichi/Kurama inside their mind and is private conversation, unable to be picked up by telepathy.]{Anything written in italics inside curly brackets is inner dialogue by Shuichi/Kurama to Youko, and is also private conversation, unable to be picked up by telepathy.}
"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!
Hiei carries Shikiyoku up to the room they once shared the last time they were together on the Ninth Level,
and when he goes to lay her down, she refuses to let him go so he relents and lays down with her in his arms.
Downstairs, Kafu dismisses the waitress for the night and examines a heart-shaped mark that has appeared on his upper arm.
Taka enters with his usual brusqueness and it's revealed that the bird demon has a similar marking on his neck,
and that the marks are related to Shikiyoku herself, Taka admitting he hadn't thought of Shikiyoku in decades.
After a few quiet minutes with Hiei, ones in which Shikiyoku finds herself able to remember,
their peace is interrupted by the abrupt entrance of Shubou, leader of the Central Tribe,
and the shorter demon demands she remove the marking he bears on his forehead:
a heart-shaped tattoo.
Shubou leaves once she removes the marking, and as Shikiyoku falls back asleep,
Hiei once again uses the Jagan to influence her dreams and keep the nightmares at bay.
While he starts with the memory of her overcoming her mother's mesmer,
he shifts them to the moment she had danced for the Northern Tribe.
The Jagan allows Shikiyoku's dreams to shift the memory to the night the ritual went wrong,
revealing to Hiei the massacre of the tribes, a night that set them back thousands of years.
Continuing to transmit the dreams between them, the Jagan shows him several things:
the night at the healing springs near Central Tribe, when Toriko introduced him to 'sweet snow',
when Toriko had flung a spoon at him, when Hiei had opened the tub of ice cream for Shikiyoku,
moments from their time at Rae's Palace in the Ninth Level, and finally, the most recent moment:
when she had lost her temper with the demons downstairs in the Niiro
at the drink which proclaimed him little more than a worm to be used and tossed away.
Hiei blinked, and the next thing he knew he was feeling a fury that, while it was not his own, easily matched the magnitude of complete anger he felt here and there, more often in the past few months. And, quite frankly, it was an astonishing thing, because he'd never seen her angry the way she had been the night before. Especially not from her perspective, where it seemed magnified and each and every one of her thoughts were projected to him as if they were his own.
And for a moment he wondered how such a small demon who thrived on fulfilling desires and bringing demons together, thrived on her own hopes and the need to be needed, could hold so much… fury.
The thought made him remember that she'd once admitted to never having killed.
A lot must have changed and-
Wait, what?
After another moment, the fire demon realized that her thoughts, her entire reason for slaughtering the demons had been for him. While he'd noted that earlier, he didn't really understand at the time what had been the cause for her to stand up for him. He hadn't known the meaning of the drink, hadn't paid any mind to the talk that had ensued when he'd entered, because really, he hadn't cared. He'd been with Shikiyoku, who seemed to very easily distract him from such things when he reminded himself that she was there.
By the time the image began to fade, he was rendered completely, entirely… speechless. Thoughtless.
Stunned.
What? *
Her eyes opened to the dark room, the bedding under her, the dark shadow of a body in front of her eyes.
She felt the rumbling in her chest disappear just as she became aware of it, just as she woke up.
She could almost taste the wrath, though. Whatever she had dreamed about...lingered, her mind almost blind with rage for reasons she could not remember, for the dreams faded as quickly as her eyes had opened.
As if whatever angered her might be in the room, she sat up and looked around, but saw nothing that triggered the need for her fury.
She shifted around silently, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them, resting her chin on top as she frowned.
She never remembered being that angry in her entire life. Well...what of it she could recall. Which, she supposed, wasn't much at all. 3
Hiei felt Shikiyoku shift about and his eyes shifted to the side. He blinked only once at the door he could now see, as if expecting someone else to come barging in. But really, he wasn't sure what to do, say, or even think.
She'd wanted…
To mate…
with him?!
What?
He still didn't know what to think. *
She finally glanced over, taking note that the demon was...Hiei. Which made her feel a little better...but the expression she caught in his eyes.
She cut her eyes the other direction.
"You look like you've eaten a-" ...what was that called again? "Huh." She made a disinterested sound, and then mumbled as she buried her face in her arms, "Can't even remember what it was called." ...sour thingy? Yeah, sure. That's it.
She sighed. 3
"Lemon." Hiei supplied naturally, focusing on the only thing he could really focus on. He let his eyelids slide closed, his nostrils flaring when he huffed out a long breath of air. There was a moment where he considered turning to look at her, but then he remembered the thoughts she'd relayed, seemingly without her notice at all, and he simply couldn't.
Instead he moved an arm behind his head and shifted about, to make as if he were resettling into sleep again. *
"No," She said impatiently, "I don't know what that is."
She lifted her head, staring intensely at the wall. "That sour thing. That...that fruit."
Her eyes darted to the side again in thought. "The one you ate, and you made such a horrible...face..."
She slowly turned her head to look at him as she faded off, her eyes brightening and her face growing a bit lighter.
"Hiei..." She said slowly-funny that it's the awful look on his face that I remember first. "Where...where did we eat fruit like that?" 3
"It was on the Ninth Level in demon world. You called it 'home', where the first fire demon fell." He still didn't look at her, his eyelids even sliding shut as he crossed one ankle over the other. "The sweet was my favorite. You threw me the sour when I asked for sweet."
How long ago was that? *
"Well, I didn't mean to." She shot back, eyes narrowing a little before she widened them in surprise.
"Hiei...Hiei, I remember that!" She seemed excited, as much as her fairly neutral expression could be, though her eyes glinted in the darkness.
She turned and hopped off the bed, taking a few steps towards the door and then pausing. 3
Hiei didn't reply to Shikiyoku, didn't even look at her when she crawled across him to get off the bed, her footsteps almost silent as she continued moving. Though, when she paused, he raised a single brow, as if he expected her to say something more, as if he expected her to be looking at him. *
"...I want to go there," She started, turning back around and actually wearing a sheepish expression as she looked at her feet, "Only...I do not remember the way. Would..." She appeared to work her jaw around the question.
Why hesitate? If he says 'no,' you'll go anyway.
"Would you take me?" 3
Finally, Hiei let his eyelids slide open and his gaze slide over to peer at Shikiyoku, his expression calm and collected, mind carefully avoiding any thoughts on the most recent dream she'd showed him, the most recent memory, the most recent happening.
Then again, he noted somewhere that she had quite the restraint, if-
He blinked once, clearing his mind again.
He focused on her question, thought back to the first time they'd traveled to the spot.
Would he… be able to recall where it was…?
Hiei finally shifted, moving until he was sitting, and just as calmly moving to stand. He took one step, paused to assess her expression, then continued past her and was pulling the door open before he spoke.
"You'll remember it along the way, I'm sure." With that, he took the lead. *
"...maybe." She answered skeptically, falling in step behind him as he left the room.
For the first few feet, she was lost in thought, lost in memory to be exact, recalling taking a bite of the sweet fruit and being...surprised since she thought she had thrown Hiei the sweet fruit. She had hidden behind a tree, only to have him follow and pluck the fruit from her fingers.
As she got to the top of the stairs though, Hiei half-way down, she looked up when she felt herself being watched, and met the eyes of a male demon walking up the stairs, staring at her with a wicked grin as she started following the fire demon, her own expression devoid of emotion, unsure of his motives.
The instant he parted his lips, his eyes lewd, she felt her ears twitch, "How was the fu-"
His head fell from his shoulders to bounce back down the stairs, his body toppling forward up them.
The single strand of wiry energy that had separated his throat neatly from his head whispered back towards her hand as she continued to nonchalantly walk past what was left of him, her eyes black and her teeth clenching together behind her tightened lips.
She felt her stomach contract with a cough, which she managed to hold back, but the darkness in her eyes faded into confusion as she held her hand up to her mouth and kept going down the stairs. 3
Hiei ignored the demon he passed, even when he heard the other's sentence cut off, smelled the life essence of the demon. He couldn't care less, really. He'd already guessed, as now it was all too easy to know what they'd be thinking after he'd learned the meaning of the drink he'd been given hours ago, after he'd seen Shikiyoku's side of everything.
Really, he wasn't sure if he was glad to have learned, or if it made it harder for the fire demon to ignore it.
A part of him would churn in anger, his mind momentarily contemplating his own way to murder the demon he'd passed. Another part of him, however, genuinely couldn't care less.
The only thing was:
Which half of him was stronger?
It didn't matter. She handled it for him anyway.
His feet finally touched the bottom stair and he paused, turning back to Shikiyoku with a raised brow. "Try not to massacre everyone this time. No matter the reasons." *
She froze in place, eyes wide, hand still over her mouth and she fought against whatever it was that threatened to come out her lips, only swallowing and nodding to Hiei when he spoke. 3
Hiei raised a brow in silent question of the gesture she made, unsure of its meanings. He considered turning and continuing on his way, as if he'd never said anything, but instead he turned to face her, calm eyes watching her. He waited for a moment, watching her with a steady gaze, a bit perplexed at the hand that covered her mouth. *
She had fully expected him to turn and keep going, and her weight had shifted accordingly. It was only when he continued to stare at her unmoving that she felt a warmth unrelated to her fever settling on her neck.
She slowly lowered the hand, her expression blank and expecting him to continue, swallowing again and resisting the tightness at her abdomen.
She pulled her lips into her mouth, snaking the very tip of her tongue to the corner where she felt blood starting to pool.
Before either of them could say anything more, a voice from the now busy room they were walking into called out in a loud voice, "Done with him already-"
The demon didn't get to finish whatever he was going to say.
She had wrapped herself inbetween the layers and appeared instantaneously in front of the fool who stood next to the bar. He had just been leaving it with his two friends to go sit somewhere in the room, each with a drink in their hands, when he had caught sight of them on the stairs, thinking himself funny.
With the thin, wire-like strand of dark energy around his neck, his tall figure bent over as she held it as if it were a tie to jerk him down to her level, he found himself without air, unable to finish what he had started, mouth gaping open and forced to look her in her pitch-black abyss-like eyes.
His two friends, while they had themselves been grinning at his joke in regards to the Forbidden Child and the obviously battle-hardened female demon coming down the stairs together, were now staring in shock at how the scene had turned.
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear, worm." Her voice was low, but the buzz in the entire room stopped as if she had shouted, each word articulated with icy clarity. "I am not involved with him, but that does not give you the right to your idiocy." She snarled at him, "And I would never treat such a worthy ally in whatever half-cooked manner your half-wit brain has thought up."
He was gasping for breath now, his drink fallen forgotten to the floor, both hands at his neck trying to scrape the offending energy away as his bulging eyes could do nothing but stare into hers.
"And no longer will you." She gave a tug and her energy cut clean through his neck as she stood and impassively regarded his two former friends while his body and head fell to the floor.
Her lip twitched with a scowl as she narrowed her eyes at both of them, frozen in place as they were.
"Find better friends." She snapped coldly, making them jerk as if she had cut their cheeks with that strip of energy which had by this time disappeared.
She stepped over the body inbetween them and they looked at her and then at one another as she passed, leaving their friend on the floor and hurrying to an empty corner to sit.
Her back remained ramrod straight and she walked stiffly for the door, pausing only when a folded piece of parchment appeared before her path, hanging invisibly in the air.
"A letter came for you." Kafu said calmly from behind the bar.
She nodded, but did not turn back, taking the paper and stuffing it deep in her pocket, brushing past the place where Kafu's invisible hand had extended to her the letter and managing to get out the door. She half-heard it start to shut behind her, moving quickly to the right into the darker alley next to the Niiro before she brought her hand up to her mouth a second time and could not hold back the cough, this time blood spurting out from behind her fingers.
A haze of dizziness took her to her knees after only a few feet into the thankfully empty alleyway, the fever sending out chills that shook her body as she doubled over, catching herself with both hands before she hit the ground.
She couldn't even see the dirt beneath her palms as her head swam and her body convulsed to send more blood splattering out from her mouth to the path beneath her.
What's wrong with me? 3
Hiei had seen her tongue snake out and lick away a liquid he hadn't smelled until that moment. He'd assessed her just a moment longer, contemplating saying something, but before he'd even had the chance to decide whether or not to speak, another voice had cut into his thoughts and Shikiyoku had disappeared from the spot she'd been standing.
He'd guessed where she'd gone, turning to witness the scene with uncaring eyes. The very silent room was filled with patrons holding their breaths, as if afraid of breathing loud enough to gain the angered demoness's attention.
And they were right to be afraid, because Hiei himself felt as if he had had enough. The fire demon only stood where he was, hands in his cloak pocket, because Shikiyoku had beat him to it. She'd disposed of the demon before he'd even had the chance to locate the male.
And when she was gone from the room, all eyes, wide and staring, turned to him. For a moment, he merely stood there.
And then his expression shifted to bitter amusement, a spark lighting his eyes with flames that his energy was tempted to release on its own.
But he didn't. No matter how much he wanted to, killing them all would do nothing. Not even make him feel better about it.
So after a bitter sneer, a dark glare to any who dared meet his gaze, he turned and exited the Niiro himself, fists clenched in his pockets hard enough to make his nails bite into his skin, almost enough to draw his own blood.
But the moment he was out into the darkened streets, as soon as the door shut behind him, his expression was again blank, eyes their normal ruby color, even if a bit more of a flat color.
He heard the cough in the alleyway nearby, and without a single beat's hesitation, he turned and followed the trail he knew Shikiyoku had taken. But instead of approaching, he merely stood at the end of the alleyway, both blocking access to anyone who dared follow him, and offering his silent presence as he witnessed the blood hitting the soil, the heaving of her body as she coughed again.
He didn't say a single word, because really, what was he supposed to say to her?
Not even a thank you was appropriate at this time.
After another moment, Hiei slowly approached to stand at her side, then lowered himself to crouch at her right, snaking his left hand out and offering silent assistance by sliding her hair out of her way.
Perhaps this would be thank you enough. For now. *
Her entire body was tensed from the convulsions that sent more blood to the ground, though when she cut her bleary eyes over to the right, wide, watery, and tinged with embarrassment at having been caught in such a weak moment, the strain across her shoulders lessened upon seeing Hiei there, expression softening in gratefulness before returning attention to the final shudder that had her spilling up the last bit of blood from...wherever it originated. Her efforts had paled her ashen face, making her numerous scars stand out even more.
Her lungs expanded and contracted at a hyper rate, pronounced by her likely malnourished form, her arms shaking from holding herself up, but after pausing for a second and feeling no more indication of further upheaval, she reached up with her blood-free hand to wipe at her eyes as she started to sit back.
She scooted over to the wall of the building and collapsed into it, moving her legs around until they were bent at the knees, her elbows resting on them as she let her head fall back until it rested upon the wood-work. Her nostrils flared with each breath as if to drag in more air, her mouth finally opening to help.
After taking a few seconds to gather herself, she lifted her head back up, twisted her wrists to look at her hands, the right one covered in a fine layer of now-dried blood.
Feeling blood start to drip from her nose and the corner of her mouth, she reached up with the already bloodied hand and wiped it away. 3
Hiei scowled when Shikiyoku moved away, not sure what was going on. He assumed it was from the illness that he knew was rampaging through her. An illness he didn't understand. An illness he didn't know anything about. An illness he didn't know how she'd come to contract. Or its effects.
Anything.
So when she sat back, head against the wood of the building that had been to her left, he himself sat back a bit, leaning back on his heels and resting his elbows on his knees, eyes watching her carefully as he saw more blood begin to fall from her nose and lips again. His scowl deepened, edges of his lips pulling downwards and wrinkles forming between his brows.
"What happened?" He asked after two days of waiting. After two days of avoiding asking what she'd been through, now he felt it was a question he should've asked in the first place. Because now she was covered in her own blood and he didn't know what to do. *
"I-" She made a face and cleared her throat, turning her head to the side to spit more blood out, expression lost as she leaned her head back again. She let out a sigh.
"I can't remember anything beyond the last couple of days. Beyond when...well when you showed up." 3
Hiei's lips drew down further, his eyebrows mirroring the movement as much as his expression would allow. He turned his eyes to the side, as if someone it held all the answers to… everything. He almost opened his mouth to speak, but chose against it in the end and simply took to sitting there, shifting until he was sitting on his backside in front of her and his eyelids shut, hiding his darkening irises.
That… was a problem.
At least she was making some sort of progress, right?
He gave a small sound akin to a sigh, suddenly realizing he himself hadn't actually eaten anything in a while.
Two days, actually. It simply hadn't crossed his mind to stop for food, other than the few scoops of Sweet Snow he'd allowed himself.
Speaking of which…
"Can you move?" *
"Probably." She gave him a sidelong glance. "What did you have in mind?" 3
"You need to eat," Hiei responded easily, almost lazily. And while Sweet Snow sounded delicious at the moment, he decided that what she had asked for earlier was likely better for her than the sweetened substance of artificial flavoring. He'd carry her if he had to. *
"Probably." Her lips twitched, but she didn't actually smile, still giving him the look out of the corner of her eyes. "But likely no more than you." 3
Hiei's eyelids finally slid open to turn a raised brow over at her, his expression being one that said Oh really? He shifted, pushing himself to stand despite his thoughts of waiting for her to move, which he half expected to be quite some time if he allowed her to call the shots.
So he moved to stand over her, extending a hand out to her to offer his aide in getting to her feet. "Perhaps I'll remember the way." *
Out of habit, she reached up with her dominant hand, but before getting it close saw the blood and made a sound of discontentment, switching and grasping his with the other one.
As he pulled her up to stand, she grimaced, quickly blurring between layers to make it to her feet without much effort before landing on the ninth layer again.
She nodded her thanks to him as she wiped her bloodied palm on her pants, starting to let go of his hand. 3
Hiei's hand grasped Shikiyoku's, and he pulled gently. One moment, he was looking at her on the Ninth Layer, and the next he felt himself being pulled from the layer into an odd space in between, something he hadn't done ever, simply because he hadn't had to, and he was seeing double. He felt as if he were floating on a substance lighter than air.
And then it was over and he was standing on his own two feet again, on solid soil with a single brow raised at Shikiyoku, not allowing her hand to slip away from his yet.
His gaze narrowed at her slightly. "How long have you had to do that?" *
She paused in the middle of wiping her hand off, feeling her other one being met with resistance when she started to pull away, then looked up at him with a blank expression before she went back to cleaning off her hand.
She didn't think she'd be able to get away with acting stupid about it, though her first reaction was 'Do what?'
"...more often of late." She murmured without meeting his gaze. 3
She was weaker than he'd first thought. Not in power- never in power- but physically. From the illness. And the fire demon did not enjoy that thought. It troubled him a little- okay more than a little- that she had to rely on the in-between layers to move freely, to move with a speed greater than a walk, to move with any sort of force.
He continued to stare at her for a moment, not sure of what to do next. He thought for a minute, considered several things.
And then he tugged slightly on the hand he still held, took a step forward, then simply scooped her up from the ground.
No use in her wasting energy, especially if it lead to moments like the one he'd witnessed a few minutes ago. He shifted his hold on her ever so slightly before turning to begin on his way to the clearing he had in mind, the place she'd asked about earlier. *
The quick pull at her hand had her nearly stumbling forward, but before her off-balance could turn into a stumble, she found herself swept off her feet, as if that second of her being unprepared was all he needed to follow through with the action he intended.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The question actually came out quite sincere, even as he started to move away, her dark eyes staring at him. 3
Hiei didn't even look down at the eyes he could feel boring into him, much less give her an answer. Because, really, what did it look like he was doing? Playing a prince and carrying the princess over the sunset-lit hill? The thought had him almost making a scoffing noise.
And he continued on, expression giving way none of his thoughts, nothing of what he thought of her rather ridiculous question. *
"Put me down."
She almost went on, almost said something about not needing his charity. She could...walk...on her own two legs. In some fashion or another.
...but there was this other part of her that had her lips snapping shut, refusing to go on; this other little part that...maybe wanted his charity, as much as she would have never admitted it aloud. 3
Hiei only glanced down briefly, showing Shikiyoku he had heard her, but made no absolute indication that he cared about what she'd demanded of him. He didn't answer still as he moved through the streets that were beginning to bustle with early morning activity, demons coming from their homes and flooding into the streets in groups, normally twos. He didn't acknowledge a single one of them, though he could feel their gazes on him, could feel the air moving with their quiet chatter, chatter he didn't care enough to tune into. *
She kept staring at him, but did let out an exasperated sigh that did not reach her eyes as she relented and moved her arms until she had them encircling his neck.
"You are positively the worst person to try and have an argument with, did you know that?" 3
Hiei fought with himself for a moment as Shikiyoku shifted, her arms moving around his neck. He fought with the amusement that bubbled forth, that threatened to actually show itself in something other than his normal sneer.
And the battle was lost as his lips twitched, the corners winning over his willpower and turning up, his chest rumbling with one single laugh before he gained control of that.
And still, he didn't even look at her as he passed through the very heart of the town he'd once evaded with his entire being. *
She dropped her gaze, giving a half-hearted growl that sounded more like an incoherent grumble.
"It's only funny because it's true." She sounded like she was still upset, but for the first time in many, many years there was a sparkle deep within her dark green eyes. 3
Hiei felt the threat of another sound of amusement, his lips twitching even more than before and eyes still locked on the path ahead, though they too sparked as he remembered something from times long past. "Nothing comes easy with me." he stated calmly, voice never wavering. *
She lifted her eyes back up to stare at his profile.
"You know," she started thoughtfully, "You'd think I would have learned that by now." 3
Hiei finally looked down at Shikiyoku, the spark in his eyes growing to a light that shone with great amusement. "Foolish woman." He turned away again, leaning forward slightly before he suddenly took off, finding himself tired of walking through the crowded streets where he was stared at, tired of others listening in to his conversation, despite the fact that it wasn't supposed to feel like a private conversation.
And he was ready to blur between the levels should Shikiyoku display any form of discomfort. *
"I'm the fool?" She arched an eyebrow at him, "If I'm a fool, what does that make you for insisting upon keeping my company?" 3
He answered without thinking, without even a beat's hesitation.
"A fool who has no idea what he's doing." *
"A bigger fool, then?" She nodded once in agreement. "Appropriate."
She turned her eyes outwards, finding that somewhere in their conversation he had smoothly dashed forward, and she became amused with herself for not noticing.
"Finished parading me through the middle of town, mm?" 3
Here, he did hesitate with his answer, the fire demon not wanting to admit that he'd begun to feel their relentless stares, their ridiculous talk. Because, really, what would it make her if she was allowing the cursed child to carry her around like a doll? Either a saint, or an insolent being in their eyes. And while killing a few demons in a bar was amusing, he figured burning an entire city was not recommended.
Because if it were only about him, he could get over it.
"They are not worth parading through." *
"I could just kill everyone in the city. Then we could parade all we wanted." 3
"Then I'd be hungry and murderous." he mused, expression serious suddenly. "I don't believe it would be as productive as it sounds. Just a mere distraction." *
"Oh no," She corrected, "You'd just have to content yourself with watching." Her face did not so much as twitch, "No need to soil your hands with the business." 3
Hiei's lips finally turned up into a bitter sneer. "We're known for our destruction." He didn't have to elaborate, didn't have to explain what he meant by 'we', because it was implied, everywhere he went, that his kind were nothing but creatures of pure, unadulterated anger that went unchecked, destroying one thing after another.
"At least they got that right." *
"Tch," She turned away from him to watch the blurred scenery, "They're only 'right' because you let them be right. Why not define yourself for yourself? They're miserable cretins; where do they get off telling you how to act?" 3
"I act as I please, and killing is actually quite satisfying, as I'm sure you've learned recently." He passed through the gates of the city walls, his feet making a smooth and easy turn in direction and heading due West, relying on pure instinct and blurred memories of the in-between trip from one place to the next.
His voice lowered slightly, as if giving an afterthought without realizing. "Though, it is annoying waiting until their bones turn to ash." *
"Fair enough." She allowed, "But I feel I should make it clear that I hate killing. And I'm terrible at it besides." 3
Hiei kept a nice and steady pace, the wind making his hair almost lay flat atop his head despite the normal lack of such a thing happening. He even had a few strands hanging in front of his eyes that he had to shake his head at to disengage from his lashes.
Irritating.
Again, he made a mental note to cut it later.
He found Shikiyoku's statement odd, that she hated killing. After all, she'd killed countless demons since the worlds had merged, enough that even he wasn't sure how many had fallen at her wrath.
Though, he found it more characteristic of her, more like the Shikiyoku he knew. Or, had known.
"Terrible isn't the word I'd use." he said slowly, in an even tone. If she were terrible at it, then those demons at the bar would still be breathing. The thought made him scoff. "Not when you've got your mind set, anyway." *
She gave a little sigh, "That is my precise problem. Knowing that you can kill someone in an instant, but having the self-restraint to walk away and leave them to continue on with their miserable life. Killing is a mercy and should not be handed out to those who are undeserving of it. That is what I am terrible at." 3
Hiei didn't reply, instead deciding that, by her standards, he was terrible at killing as well. Because, in the end, he'd much rather rid himself of the problem than let the other live with stupidity that never ceases. Why should he put up with another when he could so easily kill the problem, remove himself from it entirely?
"There's a thin line between mercy for them, and mercy for you." He just so happened to ignore the line and draw his own every time. *
"There are...other ways to handle the mercy you speak of." Her tone darkened a little. "Death may be the immediate choice, but it is the least self-gratifying in the long run. There are other options that are...more satisfying than simply severing a head from its neck." 3
The sneer that pulled Hiei's lips was dark and bitter, because she had brought up thoughts he hadn't had in a while. She had reminded him of the demon who'd gotten away before he could… exploit his other options, as she put it. The more satisfying options hadn't had a chance to be tested, because his test subject had gotten away from him via teleportation.
It took a lot of self control to wrangle in his sudden flash of anger, his sudden desire to drop what he was doing and hunt down his second objective, to finish what had yet to be resolved the way he so dearly wished it to be. So much effort, actually, that he hadn't spoken a word in a while, his eyes forward and expression beginning to become blank again, his thoughts being forced to shift away from the blonde that had so easily escaped his grasp like sand through his fingers.
It took a while before he regained his inner control, putting a lid down on the ferocity she had inadvertently pulled forth from the depths of his being. A ferocity that had once been used to wipe out entire tribes, when he had been younger.
Once he was calm again, he looked down at Shikiyoku. If she had spoken before now, he didn't know it.
"Did you remember the name of the fruit yet?" *
She didn't answer him for a moment, having felt his tension, having seen him pass through a gamut of emotions. She didn't look at him; didn't have to in order to know.
Her voice fell flat, expression as blunt and serious as ever, "You're cute when you're all full of bloodlust." 3
There was a beat where Hiei wasn't sure what to do or say, so he said nothing and continued on, eyes flickering down to her only briefly in consideration before he turned his eyes up again, lips twitching in a slight smirk again. A smirk that didn't stay long, because he still didn't know how to react.
"I am not cute." he finally said, tone even. "I'm fierce." and he couldn't help but admit to himself that he was completely amused. *
"My apologies." She quipped without batting an eye. "You're terribly fierce when you're all full of bloodlust." 3
"And deadly at any other time." Hiei continued, giving a sneer of amusement when he made a turn, taking another path through a forest of trees and underbrush- an area he remembered well. "But never am I, a fire demon, cute." *
"Of course not." She was quick to agree. "My mistake. Dreadfully deadly at all other times, without a doubt." 3
"It'd be in your best interest to remember that." Hiei made another turn, this one a bit sharper than the others as he remembered last-second where the path would eventually lead if he followed, deciding to avoid the areas where tribes often hunted and such. He continued to move through trees and brush until he was able to see the peaks of mountains over the trees ahead.
Peaks of mountains that very quickly came into better view, very quickly began to tower over him.
And he didn't hesitate to scale them the same way Shikiyoku had shown him the first time, his feet expertly gaining traction as if he'd done this a million times over until, after another moment, he could feel the peaceful air he was beginning to intrude upon.
A few minutes later, and he was peering down at the darkened crater between the mountains, pausing to look down on it as he had the first time she'd shown him her home. And for a while, he found himself unable to move, left staring at the darkened soil and mountainsides with awe. *
She followed his gaze, stoically taking in the view before her curiosity won her over.
"...what happened here?" 3
Hiei finally seemed to remember he wasn't alone to stare at the clearing below, and he turned his eyes to Shikiyoku with a single brow quirked. In the next moment, his lips stretched into a knowing smirk and he turned, beginning to hop down from where he stood until his feet touched the darkened soil of this peaceful place. He lowered Shikiyoku to her own feet, eyes set on a specific tree with a very specific fruit he'd been craving for months, but hadn't had the time to satisfy. *
Once let down to stand on her own, her eyes darted about, frowning at the blackened foliage around her as one hand absently moved over to rub at one of the scars on her bare arm.
She really wasn't sure what to make of all of it. 3
Hiei waited only one moment before turning and disappearing into the top of a tree, grabbing himself a couple of fruits before he moved to another, hopping branches and gathering more fruit as he went about until he had his arms full of them, and a single, very sweet fruit stuck between his teeth, the juice running down his chin when he finally stopped in front of Shikiyoku again.
He shuffled his hold on the mass amount of fruit he'd gathered before he sniffed at one, put it back in the pile and sniffed another, made a face at it, then extended it to her with nothing more than a small sound from his teeth tearing into the fruit he had been holding between his lips. His other hand quickly caught it before it fell, but didn't wipe at the juice that continued to roll down his chin. Instead, he moved the chunk of the sweet fruit into his left cheek and ran his tongue as far over his chin as he could, catching most of it before it dripped down onto his cloak. *
She eyed both him and the fruit he offered to her skeptically.
"Why would I want the fruit you just so obviously broadcasted a dislike for?" 3
Hiei chewed on his fruit almost cheerfully while he extended Shikiyoku another, different one. At her question, he raised a brow. HAdn't she shown him that memory earlier that day? He opened his mouth to speak, remembered he was still chewing, and promptly closed his lips around the large bite he'd taken, instead accessing the Jagan to show her the memory she'd dreamed up earlier that morning.
The memory of her tossing him the wrong one, tossing him her favorite, instead of his favorite, and his reaction to the sour taste he hadn't very much appreciated. *
"Oh." Came her quiet response as she took the fruit from him delicately, then held it in her hands, turning it over and over.
She sat down before she fell over, cross-legged on the black grass and putting one elbow on a knee, propping her face up with her fist and holding the fruit up in the other hand, not looking at it, but really beyond it.
Why can't I remember? 3
Hiei continued to watch Shikiyoku as she lowered herself to the grass, following shortly after to sit in front of her and allow his armful of fruit to fall with a small thud to the ground as well, several different flavors and many of each flavor. He stuck his fruit to his mouth again, taking another bite and this time wiping the juice away with his sleeve, completely content to do nothing more than sit there and eat.
"Jus' ta'e a bi'e." Hiei grumbled around the fruit in his mouth, tone nothing more than encouraging as he nodded his head at her once. *
Her gaze focused back in on the fruit and she shuffled it around in her hand a bit.
"But what if I don't like it?" She asked softly.
Then who am I? 3
"Then you'll try another." Hiei replied easily, just as nonchalantly as if he were telling her about the changes in the weather. "If you don't like that one, then you're free to either stop trying or to keep sifting through them until you find one you like." He paused, his tongue again roving over his lips and down over the parts of his chin it could easily reach, tasting the sticky sweetness that lingered there.
"Your choice."
He took another bite. *
She scrunched her face up, trying to put words to what she really meant.
"But what if..." Her eyes shifted to the side, her voice lowering further. "And what if I'm not the same person as before?" 3
Hiei raised a brow. He'd thought of that, a lot actually. He'd thought of how she could be changed permanently from the Shikiyoku he'd once known into this Shikiyoku. He'd thought about every single thing he could when it came to those changes, the possibility, even, that she would one day simply glare at him and tell him to leave her.
He'd considered her trying to kill him if he stepped over a line.
But really, lingering over thoughts like that…
What good was it for?
"Then I'll just have more to learn." He gave a shrug. "As will you." *
Her eyes lifted from the fruit to the crimson-eyed demon in front of her, and his words cut her to the core, leaving her blinking and speechless at him.
I...you...
Why would he do that for me? Why act like he wants to stay around?
Well, why does he stay around?
I don't know; that's why I was asking.
She quickly lowered her gaze to stare at her hand again.
"Why go to all that trouble?" She hadn't raised her tone. "Why...why stay?" 3
Hiei's chewing slowed and his eyes shifted down to the fruit in his hands. He'd asked this same question to himself, and hadn't really been able to come up with an answer. Not a definitive one, at least. He thought over her question again, as if by her asking, an answer would come clear into his mind.
And like the first time, he found a vague feeling, an odd emotion he didn't understand making his stomach churn, his core… react.
That was the only way he could explain it.
So instead he gave a shrug and looked up again. "Why would you trust me when I nearly got you killed?" *
She had lifted the fruit to her lips, but stopped before actually taking a bite, turning to consider him.
As far as she could remember, he hadn't done anything to put her life in danger.
Which wasn't saying all that much.
But, assume it was true, then. He's obviously convinced what he speaks is truth.
"Because," She began slowly, "In the end, I'm rather obviously not dead. And...and I cannot see you intentionally putting me in harm's way." She admitted, "Even now."
"Not when you've been so-" She paused, blinking down at the fruit in her hand and almost considering laughing as she wished to place the word 'fierce' into the sentence, instead having to sigh and settle with: "So...kind." She finally filled in softly, shrugging as if she could not come up with a better word to use, even as her profile lost a bit of its savageness afforded it naturally by her scars at the admission. 3
Hiei gave the same shrug Shikiyoku gave, the cloth of his cloak rustling about his shoulders and making very little noise as he lifted the fruit to his lips again, paused, and looked up at her once more. "Just eat the damn fruit. If you don't like it, spit it out and get another. If you do, take another bite. Your taste has nothing to do with who you are. That changes." He took another bite finally, a much larger one than normal to keep himself from talking anymore. *
She hardly heard him, for something in the question he asked her had set her mind stirring and her eyes drew into that same faraway look as she tried not to force whatever wished to surface, letting it float up from what seemed like some distance place in the landscape of her head.
"But you did what you thought was right, what you thought was best. How could I not place my trust in you for even just that reason alone?" She did not realize it, but her mouth moved with the words as she recalled them and her eyebrows drew sharper over her nose.
Where had that come from? When had that come from?
She tightened her eyes shut, but the more she struggled to picture anything, the farther away the memory grew until the only thing she could recall was the clear smell of water, cloves, and...cinnamon. 3
Hiei blinked only once before he looked up, a calm expression on his face as if she hadn't just repeated words he'd heard three times now, as this time she had almost broadcasted them from her thoughts, regardless of whether she spoke them aloud or not. He fought the twitch his face made, not allowing the feelings he felt towards her progress to be shown. It was something that would come with time, he knew. Something that he assumed would have to be worked diligently towards before she remembered even half of her life.
The thought was odd, helping another because he wanted to, because he actually enjoyed doing so. And what did he gain from it?
Unlike other times, he hadn't considered what he'd gain from the situation, because really, he couldn't care less what he gained. It was not about him.
So instead of speaking, he stayed silent, wondering if she'd recall anything else. *
She sighed as she completely lost it, the moment from before gone until she could no longer even remember what had started the stirrings of her mind.
"This sucks." She said grumpily as she bit into the fruit in her hand finally, hardly noticing the flavor in her dark cloud of irritation. 3
Hiei popped the rest of his first fruit into his mouth, chewing the small bite and swallowing before he raised a brow at Shikiyoku, who reminded him of the descriptions of her energy-coveting. The few who had known of her had called it "energy-sucking", a few calling her just that: an energy-sucking demon. A vampire.
Interesting word choice.
He turned his eyes to the pile of fruit he'd dropped to the ground, eyeing each one in turn before reaching forward and grabbing a random one, deciding to try it since he couldn't remem-
What in the hell is that?
He was quick to spit out the odd flavor, promptly tossing the fruit over his shoulder before he grabbed for another, this time more tentative with the bite he took and was glad to find the meat-flavored one.
Though, it really didn't help the very bitter taste in his mouth. A taste he knew not the origin of. *
She kept her mind as blissfully blank as possible as she slowly chewed the only bite she'd taken from the fruit in her hand.
It wasn't until she started feeling the other sort of hunger that she checked herself and quickly spat out the bite, dropping the fruit as if it were on fire.
The last thing she needed was to stir that particular aspect of her body, though she could already feel it starting to awaken again just by inching back into her awareness. 3
Hiei looked up in time to see Shikiyoku let a piece of fruit fall from her lips, finding himself only slightly surprised. He turned down to the pile of fruits again and rifled through them, his own held in his right hand and to his lips as he chewed the second bite he'd taken, ravenously attempting to cloud the bitter taste with this new one.
His left hand encircled another fruit and he held it out to her silently, expression calm as he tore another bite. *
She drew her knees up to her chest, eyes darting to the fruit offered and then away, shaking her head as she wrapped her arms around her legs and let her chin rest on top of one knee, looking anywhere except in the direction of the food. Either kind. 3
There was a pause where Hiei held the fruit out to her and she silently refused, and the only thing the fire demon could do was give a slightly irritated expression at her. He let his right hand fall to his lap, half considering tossing the fruit at her, but thinking against it. "You have to eat." He let his other hand lower now, though he didn't exactly retract his offer to her. *
"I don't have to."
Though I want to.
"I'm not hungry."
I'm starving.
Her stomach is not what grumbled at her, for it remained blessedly silent. Instead her mind roiled in her head and she shut her eyes, refusing to let them see anything that might...move her to action. 3
Hiei let the fruit drop to the pile again, his other hand lifting his own to his mouth again. "Suit yourself."
Though he seemed nonchalant, he continued to watch her, continued to assess the tenseness that had suddenly appeared in the lines of her forehead, in her shoulders, in her white knuckles. He wondered if she was even aware of those things, of how her mental fight against herself made her physically fight herself as well.
He knew she had to be hungry by now, because he hadn't seen her eat a single thing since… since Yukina had found her. Since he'd torn Shikiyoku away from Yukina.
A frown pulled at his lips, which he easily hid behind the large fruit he poised in front of his lips as he readied for another bite. *
She reached up and rubbed absently at a place at the back of her neck, her eyes, darker now than before, fluttering open to shoot the barest of glances at Hiei before looking away and letting out a puff of air that was the closest to amusement she was going to get.
"You...you forgot to put the spoon away." 3
The words Shikiyoku spoke were so random that he didn't even know if she was speaking to him or herself. He gave a confused stare, even a slight turn of his head in curiosity.
After a moment, after he swallowed his mouthful, he inquired with a simple: "What?" *
She opened her mouth to answer, but found herself at a loss for words.
There was just...something floating around, some image or impression of...of leaning over papers? A-And a sudden blunt pain stabbing into the back of her neck.
She raised and lowered one shoulder as if dismissing the thought. 3
Hiei's brow raised even higher at her dismissal, now genuinely curious about what she'd meant. He'd left out a spoon? When? He thought back, but really, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had sweet snow aside from the day before. And he'd tossed the spoon in the sink.
Right?
Suddenly, he couldn't remember.
She hadn't been home since then, right?
So he simply stared at Shikiyoku, waiting for her to continue despite her dismissal. *
She felt his eyes on her even though she had looked away, and she opened her mouth to try again, but only a frustrated sort of sound managed to get out of her throat.
"It's...nothing. Forget it." 3
Hiei continued to stare, fruit in his hand momentarily forgotten as he tried to pick through his own brain to find a time when he might have forgotten something so small and simple. But, still, he couldn't recall leaving out a spoon of all things.
And yet it continued to irritate him that he couldn't remember, but she could. He worked his jaw a little, and then suddenly gave up and decided it wasn't important.
It wasn't like a spoon was going to turn up at random and declare his forgetfulness as a sin, right? Heh.
He shifted around a bit, turning himself until his legs stretched out in front of him on either side of the pile of fruit between himself and Shikiyoku. He leaned back on one hand, head tilting back so his eyes could view the red sky and even darker red clouds.
And suddenly he was very amused at the fact that she remembered something so trivial. A spoon of all things. *
Well, it wasn't exactly nothing, now was it? There was something there, floating in the back of your mind.
Yes, but…
Then, stop trying to remember and just remember.
She opened her eyes, attempting to shove everything else away and letting her gaze settled on Hiei, reclining back and simply watching him without any thoughts passing over her mind.
She hadn't even heard him enter the room, or even come up behind her, lost in her school work as she was.
She did however, feel the stabbing pain in her neck, her hand going up to cover the spot as she shifted around to see Hiei's obvious expression of pain, his lips curling away from the metal as he spat the utensil into a hand and held his jaw open in discomfort to glare at it.
She shot up and spun around to face him, her own pain forgotten, "Are you hurt?"
That question was dumb, but she followed it up as she continued to move towards him, "Did you break a tooth?"
She grabbed the lower part of his jaw in one hand and forced him to look at her, using the other hand to slip her glasses up onto the top of her head and yanking his mouth open farther as she did so, getting as close to his face as she could and squinting down his open maw to check.
If anything sounded like a laugh coming from her mouth of late, it was the nearly silent air that her stomach contracted in several quick bursts that skittered out her nose as her vision focused back in on the fire demon across from her and she buried her face farther in the crook of the elbow propped onto her knee. 3
Hiei acted as if he didn't hear the sound Shikiyoku was suddenly making, as if he hadn't noted the way she buried her face into her arm out of the corner of his eye. He assumed she remembered whatever it was that she'd been talking about a minute or two ago, but he didn't ask. If she wanted to share, she would.
If not, then who cared?
Though, the sound she'd emitted made it difficult to keep from turning to look at her in curiosity. *
"You aren't my mother, yet you act like a worried human."
Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she lifted her chin to rest it on her elbow, the only indication on her face that if she could remember how, she would be smiling at that moment.
"Doesn't everyone need someone to worry about? And someone to worry about them?"
Her eyes widened at that and she got that same far-seeing look as the phrases, spoken in a voice much like her own, continued to echo across her mindscape. 3
Hiei continued to stare up at the sky for a moment longer, until he felt his neck give a small twinge from the way he sat. He shifted, moving to sit upright again with his eyes coming to rest on Shikiyoku again, his hand reaching out without thinking and grabbing another fruit. He noted the lines by her eyes, the way she seemed to be lighting up a bit with what he could only assume to be amusement, as she seemed rather awkward about it.
Which in turn had him turning his eyes away to keep control of his own amusement. He lifted the fruit to his mouth and took a hunk from it, more to give his mouth something to do other than twitch with a smirk. He didn't even notice the bitter taste this time. *
"You..." She started, "You jabbed me in the neck with a spoon...and I checked your teeth to make sure you hadn't busted a tooth." Her eyes were still fixed on the horizon to her right. 3
He hadn't expected her to speak, really. So Hiei blinked once at Shikiyoku, turning his eyes to her curiously because, really, he didn't understand what she was on about. He thought for a moment, a single brow raised and his eyes trained on her, but not seeing her in the least. He was sifting through memories, thinking back to times when he might have stabbed her with-
Oh.
A small sound threatened to rumble in his chest, but he swallowed the sound easily and focused on her again. He'd forgotten about that. Jabbing her when he'd been curious of her paperwork, of her books and why she cared about it enough to sit down and look at it for any amount of time. He'd forgotten the spoon that day. In his mouth.
His eyes turned to the side.
He'd also thought she pulled a Kurama and hid strawberries in her hair, though that thought was only vaguely remembered. He remembered the twitch his fingers had made when he'd considered the thought of strawberries being hidden, coveted by her. He'd been curious.
It was a very serious battle for Hiei not to show any of his feelings on the memory, of the moment he'd long since forgotten.
"I was curious…" *
She blinked and fell back into the present, shifting her gaze to him, her hunger momentarily muted.
When he faded off, she prompted him, "Curious? ...about what?" 3
The fire demon still couldn't bring himself to look at her. Which should he answer about? The reason for the neck-jabbing, or the reason his fingers had twitched? The reason he'd almost decided to rifle through her locks and-
"The papers. You'd been so concentrated I'd thought they were important." I didn't understand them, however. *
"At the time, I suppose," She grew thoughtful, "They were important. They were due later that week."
Another huff of amusement, "I'm curious as to why you let me do that to you. Tch."
"Stupid girl." 3
Hiei raised a brow only slightly, then gave a small shrug of his own at her. "It wasn't like I had a say in the matter." Normally he would have gotten as far away from such contact as possible, but he'd been too..
Too…
Entranced. Yeah, that word fit. *
"You had plenty of opportunity to pull away." She pointed out. "But you didn't. I sincerely doubt you were worried you had actually damaged something." 3
"Hn."
Hiei didn't respond more than that for a moment, still not looking at her as he took another bite from the bitter fruit. A taste he still didn't seem to notice as his mind was elsewhere. Contemplating what he should and should not say. And in the end, he decided not to speak. *
"Actually," She mused, voice growing softer as if she spoke to herself, "I know you weren't. Because you called me the worried one and-" Her mouth stayed open as if she was going to speak further, but she let her lips come closed, unsure if she really wanted to repeat what she had said that day in response.
"Doesn't everyone need someone to worry about? And someone to worry about them?" 3
"Strawberries," Hiei finally said, deciding that he'd let her in on his thoughts of that day. Of his thoughts even now. "Your hair smelled like those little red fruits." He gave a one-shoulder shrug and forced the rest of his fruit in his mouth. And that was all he had to say about that. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star