A/N: Hello once again, Lovers of Yu Yu Hakusho!
Slightly shorter chapter this one, but the place to stop was just too good to pass up. And the next part of the RP starts the next day and a whole bunch of stuff happens and...yeah it was just better to stop here instead of making it twice as long as usual, heh.
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!
Laying around in Youko's meadow with Kurama, Akari admits she is now incapable of moving through the layers without her shadows.
Their conversation centers around the buildings on New Human World that exist on all the layers.
Akari seems to believe that there is someone going around with a spell and etching it into the building materials,
turning quickly into more playful banter between the two as Kurama studiously ignores Youko,
who is telling Kurama to hurry up so he can get to Shikiyoku.
~!**!~
The cat Maneshi that Toriko had rescued all that time ago is revealed to be Shikiyoku's second Champion.
His name is Kitoushi, a cat demon with an uncanny resemblance in both dress and appearance to Youko Kurama,
who just so happens to be Kitoushi's cousin, though the two have never met face-to-face.
When the conversation between Kitoushi and Shikiyoku turns to flirtatious commentary about the nature of Kit's kisses,
Hiei begins to feel uncomfortable and leaves, heading to the Fourth Level and what had once been his home of sorts.
Along the way, he runs into Taka, who is being jerked through the layers out of control and, like Kit, also has a heart-shaped mark.
Meanwhile, back at Toriko's home on the First Layer, countless demons show up at the door requesting to have their own marks removed.
It is towards evening that Shikiyoku retreats up to the roof of the house, sitting inbetween the layers,
and Taka finally alights on that same roof, still searching for her. When she reveals herself,
pulling him inbetween with her in order to get him out of the rain, he asks her to remove his mark.
Just about the time that Shikiyoku starts chasing madly after Taka down the street -
he most definitely stole a kiss from her instead of letting her remove the mark -
Hiei reappears on the First Layer and Shikiyoku gives up on her chase to follow him back to the house.
Thoroughly disgusted with both the rain and the length of his hair,
after introducing himself officially to Kitoushi, Hiei decides to do something about his hair...
Hiei wandered into the kitchen and, after a beat's hesitation, began to pull drawers open, one after another as quietly as he could, in search of something other than his own blade. Because, really, that was more trouble than it was worth. Hence the reason his hair had grown as long as it had.
Long enough so hide his eyes on occasion and, when wet, to slap his nose and cheeks. It was long enough to rest on his collar of his shirt, should he decide to show it. His scarf usually did well in hiding that factor. But the rest…
The itching of his nose and ears was where he drew the line.
He opened the fourth drawer and stopped, eyes landing on a pair of scissors at the bottom, which he quickly retrieved and snipped at the air twice to test the sharpness.
It will do.
~!**!~
"All you have to do is ask," she repeated, voice muffled and almost inaudible now. "I can't guarantee an immediate response some days, but I'm sure you'll find me like you always do." *
Kurama reached over and moved a strand of hair away from where it was fluttering over her mouth as she spoke, his hand hesitating for a moment.
"I might...do that more often now. Now that you might be more free."
~!**!~
"Those will make a terrible mess of it, you know." Shikiyoku leaned against the counter, arms crossed over her chest and her eyes taking in the condition of his hair with a small smile. 3
Hiei turned an impatient stare onto Shikiyoku as she took to leaning on the counter, giving her that stare for a moment before turning to the scissors again. It would be easier to manage than his blade, that was for sure. "I've used worse." He admitted with a sneer, but placed the scissors in the drawer again anyway. "But, since you're so picky, how about you handle it."
~!**!~
Akari's eyes slid open slowly again, peering at Kurama for a few moments before she gave him a sleepy smile. She didn't respond verbally, only letting the smile be her answer as her eyelids slid closed again. He'd do what he wanted, and quite frankly, she wouldn't mind it. *
Kurama lifted his head and leaned over, planting a gentle kiss at her forehead before his face came back down to rest near her arms, too sleepy to move himself further away.
~!**!~
"Worse than your katana?" She stood up. "I'll try not to imagine it."
She considered him for a moment, then she gestured with a finger for him to follow before uncrossing her arms and turning to head back into the living room, moving for the stairs. 3
Hiei gave a slight sneer. "It's easier than you'd think, but a pain nonetheless." He slid the drawer shut before turning to follow after Shikiyoku, hands already pulling his scarf loose again. He slid it away from his shoulders almost lazily, knowing that it would be in the way anyway.
"Just a fair warning: you cut me and I'll behead you, woman."
~!**!~
Akari's eyes slid closed with the contact issued by the male, a pleasant hum reverberating in her chest just before he pulled away. She opened her mouth to say something, realized she rather liked the silence and let her mouth come closed again. She peered over at the redhead with a single eye open for a moment before making a hum of amusement and sliding it closed again. And by this time, her mind was beginning to fall into the darkness of sleep. *
[I'm going to murder you. I hope you know that.]
Kurama sighed, finally listening in to the words Youko had been trying to get across to him.
{You have had every night to yourself for months. And you cannot let me have this?}
[It's different this time. And you know that.]
{I fail to see how that answers my question.}
[...I swear...if I so much as had the slightest inkling that we might be able to separate ourselves, that is what I would be seeking every night.]
~!**!~
Shikiyoku couldn't help the small, breathy laugh that sneaked past her lips as she got to the stairs.
"Believe me when I say I've had more than enough experience with this sort of thing."
An image of Youko Kurama saying as much the same thing to her on the same subject soon after they met passed over her thoughts.
"And more often than not while blindfolded." She heard the front door begin to open and quickened her steps so that she might be out of sight upstairs before the demon at the door entered.
Taka came inside out of the rain and shut the door behind him, dripping onto the tile at the entrance and having to resist shaking himself, mostly his wings.
Before he had a chance to look up, to clear his hair from his eyes, a towel smacked him in the face and he made a half-hearted growl, but reached up and used the thing to wipe down his face, running a hand with it through his messy brown hair and finally catching sight of the black-eared demon sitting on the couch.
"I-Iro?!"
The cat-demon turned to look at him.
Taka gave a disbelieving sort of laugh, "I thought you- no, you know what, I'm not surprised." He grinned crookedly and went back to drying his hair.
"It's been a long time, Taka."
"That's putting it mildly, cat." Taka hadn't stopped grinning, though his face was mostly covered by the towel. "I don't even have to ask why you're here now."
"As well you shouldn't have need to." Kit blinked once at him, then turned away. "Please don't drip your nasty wing-rain on the carpet." 3
Hiei ignored the energy he felt approaching the house, his eyes staying trained on Shikiyoku's back even as she made a few extra steps to get out of view from the door. He used the moment of Taka's distraction to continue up the stairs, not bothering to even quicken his pace a fraction.
Birds…
Hiei actually scoffed to himself, but otherwise showed no signs of even noticing Taka's entrance as he stepped on the landing of the stairs and continued after Shikiyoku. *
Turning almost immediately to the left after getting up to the second floor, Shikiyoku reached for the doorknob of To- of her room and stepped inside, hearing clearly the soft, steady rhythm of the rain tapping against the window.
She went over to the desk and knelt down, opening the lowest drawer and fishing into the bottom of it for a small leather pouch which she promptly placed on the desk, turning on the lamp there and closing the drawer with her foot as she unzipped the pouch and was accosted with more memories of Youko as she ran her fingers over the scissors and brush implements inside, each etched or engraved with various symbols of Demon World.
Downstairs, Taka defiantly spread his wings as far as the space would allow and gave them a decent shake, earning a wicked glare from Kit that he returned with a daring grin.
"You missed me. Don't deny it."
Kit let out something between a laugh and a scoff, starting to stand up.
With the towel around his neck, Taka lifted the edge of it and wiped more water from his face as he shivered his wings again, sending a pleasant rustling noise into the room that disappeared as Taka's wings started to grow smaller before going out of sight completely.
He found himself caught up in a hug, surprised, but less so when he saw it was the cat demon, grinning and returning the gesture before pulling away with his hands at the other's shoulders to look him in the face.
"I'm sorry." At first Kit didn't meet Taka's gaze.
"For what?" Taka raised an eyebrow. "It's my understanding that you did what needed to be done."
Kit gave a long sigh and met Taka's gaze, "That doesn't make it any more right."
He shrugged, "Sometimes choices are hard. I can't say I'm unhappy you decided to leave instead of killing me." His grin returned.
Kit did actually give a scoff that time, his lips pulling apart into a wry smile.
"You did what you thought was best. For her." He tipped his head back and forth a little, "And maybe for me." He allowed.
"Don't let it go to your head." Kit pulled away from his grasp and turned back to get to the couch, Taka following after.
"Don't I always?" 3
Hiei stepped into the bedroom and moved to stand a step or two behind Shikiyoku and curiously watching her. He listened to the sound of the rain outside, which didn't help his mood in any way, and the voices he could hear downstairs. He didn't listen to the conversation- he didn't particularly care to- but he did note that the air was similar to when Shikiyoku had seen Kitoushi: friendly and pleasantly surprised.
"So what's the story?" Hiei asked suddenly. "Companions downstairs, I mean." And yes, he was genuinely curious. *
"Between Kit and Taka?" She asked, sliding the scissors out from the pouch and pulling the chair out from the desk into the middle of the room, gesturing that Hiei should sit down, though she went over to shut the door before returning.
"Taka ran around with us a lot." She shrugged, "We three were nigh inseparable for the most part." 3
There was a pause where Hiei merely glanced around the room, as if contemplating letting her cut his hair. He raised a hand to run over the strands of hair at the back of his neck, and when his fingers found his hair was long enough to rest on his cloak's collar, he resigned himself to removing the clothing, which he did in one smooth movement, even tossing his cloak and scarf onto her bed before he moved to sit in the chair she pulled out, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up at her patiently. *
She wasn't really sure why she wanted to go on, to explain more, but she found that she honestly just plain wanted him to know, whether he cared to or not.
"Kit was...Kit was the one who rescued me the night the ritual went wrong." Flashes of the night passed over her mind: the blood, the screaming, her helplessness. The body that stood over her, the rough tongue that had licked at her back, the soft fur underneath her.
She moved over behind Hiei and absently pulled her fingers gently across the back of his neck in the midst of his hair, hardly even noticing the gesture as she made note of the length out of habit, at the same time giving his head a slight push so that he might dip it down to make her job easier before starting to methodically cut at it.
"He pacted with me as soon as I was coherent enough to form the contract." 3
Hiei refused the urge to nod, instead dipping his head lower as she prompted and closing his eyes, imagining what she explained and how it came about. Honestly, he wasn't very surprised, as he knew anything could happen with this woman.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had the thought of something along the lines of: three musketeers, though really he didn't exactly know where he'd heard it.
Perhaps it was something he'd picked up from the humans.
"So what mess brought them back?" *
Lost in thought, somewhere in the middle of the extravagant ball in which she had first met Taka, Shikiyoku didn't answer at first, only realizing after a few moments of silence that Hiei had asked her a question.
Going through the motions of pulling her fingers smoothly through the hair at his neck and snipping at it with the scissors, she considered her response.
"They sought me out because they're Marked." She said finally. "Like Shubou was. If they wish to try, instead of my removing it manually, they can attempt to grow their Mark, which removes it from others. Which helps me out considerably, to be honest." She thought of the countless demons who had found her just today, and by judging the Marks on the others, knew that they had all saved her from having to 'unmark' many others. She made no claim to understand how some of the random demons came to bare their Marks, as most of them she only vaguely remembered. Others...well, for others the answer was much more obvious. 3
Hiei's lips twitched downwards and his nostrils flared just a little in impatience. He'd known they were marked, and that it had everything in the world to do with Shikiyoku, but he didn't know why they were marked and what it meant. Of course, he figured she'd answered him on the assumption that he hadn't noticed the markings, which would make her response valid, but it still irritated him that he already knew that much.
Well, except for the part where the mark removed itself from other demons. That was new to him.
Meaning there were likely many more than just the few he'd seen.
Instead of giving his impatient retort, as every inch of his being wanted him to do, he settled for a milder: "I'm aware of the marks. What do they mean? They help you out with what, exactly?" *
Renai had told her from the beginning that he wasn't exactly sure what would happen for her. When he had gained access to pain energy, his mate-Champion had become his mate-Consort. Which had seemed like a natural progression for them at the time, especially considering she was also the one who helped him unlock the ability.
For her, she had no such equivalent. And, thus, really could only make guesses at the process, reinforced by what little Renai was able to tell her. Seeing as how they were the only two demons of their kind that they knew of, and he the only one with a Consort...her access to information was rather limited.
She answered his second question first, "If I remove a Mark, it returns to me. If another's Mark grows, it removes it from someone else. Meaning I don't have to seek out the keeper of the mark myself, nor do they have to find me, which is, as I said before, helpful for me in the long run."
She took a breath, "Someone who is...marked in such a way...has met the minimal requirements necessary to become...my Consort." 3
Hiei listened to the sound of the scissors snipping at his hair, and quite frankly it was the most musical sound in the room at the moment. It meant he was going to receive sweet relief from the awful itching sensations and the tickling of his ears. Thank the heavens for that.
Another snip, and Hiei was again paying attention to what Shikiyoku was explaining, and with the simple way she put it, he wondered what all she didn't know of the situation. After all, as he understood it to be, her breed of demon was even rarer than his own lineage these days.
Or… close to it.
"Someone who is marked...has met the minimal requirements necessary to become my Consort."
Consort. What kind of title was that?
He felt as if he had heard it before, but couldn't exactly remember where at that moment.
If he had to guess, he assumed it was associated with what he witnessed earlier, when Kitoushi restored each and every one of her memories and brought life to her being again. When Kitoushi did what Hiei wouldn't have considered doing- not in that fashion anyway- because of how odd it seemed to the fire demon. The fire demon who'd been attempting to the same through tamer methods.
And it wasn't like he would have thought- even if he'd had the thought to do the same- that Shikiyoku would have allowed it.
"Interesting concept." Hiei commented, deciding he had no other inquiries about the matter. He'd learned what he needed. He didn't want to know the requirements, didn't need to know them. He didn't care to ask how many were marked, and who those demons would have been to her in a time when he hadn't known her. Because really…
He wasn't involved. Just a bystander curious of the events unfurling about him. Watching with only slight interest.
Another snip.
"You have fun with that turmoil." *
Shikiyoku moved around to his front and bent over to look into his face, batting at the long bangs hanging over his eyes.
"Not even an offer to rescue me from the turmoil?" Her lips were pulled into the slightest smirk as she stood back up and stepped closer. "What a cruel demon you are, fire-prince." 3
Hiei's eyelids slid open and he lifted his chin to look up at Shikiyoku, irises flashing in amusement and lips twitching. "As amusing as it would be, there's the fact that Taka was pulled from layer to layer for it. It wouldn't do any good. You're on your own…. to an extent." His sneer flashed for a second. "Though it will be rather entertaining to witness." *
She clucked her tongue, "Cruel." She called him again, "He's stuck on the First Layer now after all, since he's found me."
She deftly worked on the hair over his eyes, glancing to either side of his head and seeing the long hair still mostly covering his ears.
"So, really-" She went on, "We could run anywhere else but here." 3
"What a poor and helpless bird, to be stuck on a layer he doesn't enjoy or understand." Hiei mocked. "Pity I couldn't shove him through the layers myself." The fire demon shifted his legs around a bit, stretching them just a few inches before pulling them back up under the seat he sat in. "Such a cruel fate for such a wise creature."
When he looked at her again, his expression lacked the sneer, the amusement. "If you truly wanted to run, you would have done so by now." *
She recalled running through the rain, chasing after Taka, and knew that wasn't the 'running' Hiei referred to.
She frowned, opened her mouth and closing it again before mumbling under her breath, "I didn't know where you went and...and I thought you might...come back to the house."
He had disappeared on her after all. She wasn't about to go anywhere when he knew where she was and she didn't know where he had gone. 3
Hiei eyed Shikiyoku calmly for a moment before releasing a long breath through his nostrils, deflating entirely and giving her a lopsided smirk. He felt no small amount of amusement at her admission, and even more amusement that she'd waited for him when he'd made no indication of returning at any near future. "You're a strange demon." he commented, eyes following her steadily.
"Where do you wish to be?" *
She stopped her work for a moment to look at him, a small smile tugging at her lips that seemed to ask if he expected anything other than strangeness from her.
"So I've heard."
After all, she embodied something few demons could comprehend, and even fewer had the capacity to learn.
At his question, another set of memories were sent scurrying across her mind: sitting with him after he had jointly completed the ritual on the Ninth Level with her and he had asked her the same question. She remembered her response, responses really, easily enough.
With you.
By your side.
Wherever you wish me to be.
"Right here."
She set to working on his hair again, unsure of how to answer him.
Did she still feel that way?
Well, yes...
"If I am being truthful," Shikiyoku started, deciding she might as well dive in and admit it and deal with the consequences once he knew, "My previous answer to that same question still stands, should you remember asking it of me all that time ago." She delicately cut at his bangs, turning them this way and that to get them even and out of his face, cognizant of the bandana and the Eye beneath it. "However, if you desire a geographical destination for a response, that answer might take longer to come up with."
...but he was no longer her Champion, an odd admission that was followed by the even more mind-blowing concept of her not needing a Champion any longer, the titular figure of her entire life. Now what she needed was...both vastly different and yet rather the same in concept. Renai had explained that to her. In some fashion or another.
"At its most basic, a Consort can be only a companion, should you both wish it. An equal. Someone capable of drawing you back into your true self," Here he had placed two fingers to his lips, a reference she only now understood after having Kitoushi kiss her earlier. Renai was like that sometimes. "As I can assure you I have never figured out how to do so on my own."
"Ah, but I recognize that look."
She had been incapacitated on his table when he had begun to wax poetic at her.
"That looks says to me, 'But Master Renai, what if I desire more than just a companion?'"
He had leaned over the table to look more closely into her face, a grin plastered across his features.
"Allow me to say that there are many reasons as to why my mate is also my Consort."
He didn't have to extrapolate, and he stood up straight in a pose she recognized even in her half-dazed state, even before he cleared his throat: he was about to expound gloriously again.
"The Kamis gave each creature on earth a purpose, my dear. Some are meant to seek enlightenment, some are meant to teach. Some are strife-makers, some are peacemakers. Some are meant to lead, some are meant to follow loyally. Some are meant to dabble in each of these things, some will embody more than one at a time. But you," Here he turned back to her. "Your original purpose, just like mine, was to love."
He leaned back over the table, hands planted upon it.
"You have no idea how satisfying it is to teach a creature such as her to love." His eyes flashed dangerously, the room pulsing once with his power and drawing her eyes towards him when before she could not focus. "Someone so vastly against it, someone so polarly opposite to such a concept, such an emotion. To be able to take her hate, like so much pain, and teach her that there is another, more fulfilling side to it: that there is love. And pleasure." He held two of his fingers up again, crossing them together, "Hate and love. Pain and pleasure. Two sides of the same coin, you will find." He got a far-away expression in his eyes, and a fond smile grew over his lips, and Shikiyoku knew he was thinking of his mate in that moment.
"That, my dear," He came back to the present and tapped her nose, "Is what we were meant to do, is why the Kamis created us: to love among creatures who do not naturally know how. At least not many of them do anyway. Not enough of them. And there are too few of our kind, which is why you did not die that day, as much as I may have at the time desired to exterminate you. Your incredible capacity to love unconditionally and without prejudice did in fact catch the Kami's attention. They have been weaving your fate for a very long time."
Here he smiled again, "And because of that great capacity for the one," He picked up a small dagger from the table, "You can also hate like nothing I've ever seen before."
When he drove the point into her skin, her eyes darkened and would have smoldered holes in his head with their gaze if they could have.
He only laughed at her, "Yes. Just like that, in fact. So much wrath in such a tiny body. Fascinating." 3
The pause Shikiyoku gave had Hiei looking up at her curiously, with an even stare as he made an attempt to read her mind without the use of his Jagan, or any other telepathic abilities he possessed. The smile on her lips was one he hadn't seen what felt to be too long of a duration of time, and really, it was what he actually found himself focused on, even when she set to work on his hair again.
So it took an extra second for him to realize she'd answered him, and he took yet another moment to consider her response; to think back to the only other time he'd asked her that question.
Right. It'd been then, after he'd granted her access to his energy for the Northern Tribe. When he'd admitted the only thing he'd wanted of her was… well, her. When he'd still been her Champion.
When she'd still needed him.
He blinked up at her once before letting his eyelids slide shut. How odd it was to realize that she didn't need him, and yet here she was, just telling him she wanted him to stay. Even hoped he'd come back after his abrupt departure a few hours ago.
It felt odd. And he couldn't explain why.
And it left him unable to form any speech whatsoever. So he remained silent and reveled in the sound of her snipping away at the locks of hair that he'd put off for so long. *
Her mind raced with thoughts for a while as she continued adjusting the length of his bangs, pausing once in a while to check that she didn't make them too short.
"I really did miss you, you know." She admitted quietly, a bit of wistfulness sneaking into her tone as she reached over for the comb she'd left on the desk. 3
Hiei's eyes didn't open to look up at her. He didn't have to look up at her to know the expression on her face, to see the little gleam in her eye that meant she was being sincere in every way. It was in her voice, in her words.
Words he'd thought he wouldn't hear.
"I know," he responded after a pause, lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk before it disappeared. He opened his mouth just a little in consideration, then let it fall closed again, finding no words equivalent to the months he'd spent hunting her down, killing demons left and right when they dared to even cause a slight distraction in his search. He couldn't find words equivalent to the months he'd spent looking for any sign of her presence, for any rumor considering a seductress, or even a surreal-looking demoness with bizarre energy.
How could he explain such things in a simple word or two? How could he explain that he went weeks without sleep, for a while thinking she'd died. And when he did sleep, he'd dreamt of things she'd told him about her 'mishaps', as if they happened without her having any protection whatsoever.
There was no way he could explain such insanity, when he himself didn't even know what it meant to its full extent. *
"Thank you." She added after a second or two of his silence once he'd responded. "For finding me."
Her hands paused and she blinked, eyes far-away and seeing him in her room, in this very room, only days-has it really only been days? Seems like months-before. She really couldn't quantify how long she'd been lost and wandering the new world, as each day blurred into the next in the repetition of activity. It hadn't taken long after Kyonshi had succumbed to the disease that she contracted from him for her to go insane from it herself, consuming demon after demon in subsequently larger amounts to feed her ever-growing hunger. 3
Hiei didn't respond right away, his mind months away to the first demon who'd tested him, who'd died within seconds of angering the fire demon. Kafu hadn't stopped him, and really, Hiei had done the demon's bar no harm. There hadn't even been a mess to clean up by the time Hiei had had his fill and taken his leave. It was a wonder the demon had even allowed Hiei to return a few weeks later, for the exact same result to occur.
After that, he'd steered clear of the Niiro.
That is, until He'd found Shikiyoku.
Hiei's eyelids slid open to stare up at Shikiyoku again, not giving way to any of his thoughts. "You're not easy to track down when you don't want to be found," he commented in an even tone. *
That earned him a bit of a laugh and drew her back to the present where she starting cutting at his hair again, a small smile settling over her features.
"I'm fairly certain I wanted to make sure there was only one demon who would be able to track me down." Even with her mind completely devoid of any thoughts save her hunger, she had continued to return to this house. Even when she had been set on running, she always found her way back here, though she hadn't realized it. 3
Hiei's lips twitched slightly in amusement and his eyes crinkled just a little at the edges. "Even when you don't know me, you wait for me." He let his eyelids slide closed again, and suddenly the smirk on his lips was gone, along with his amusement. Was he distracting her from finding this… Consort she needed?
She may want him around now, but she didn't need him, and he was very likely serving as nothing more than a distraction from the chaos brewing even just down the stairs. In this very house. And what exactly was he supposed to do about that?
Especially when he wanted to do nothing about it but continue as he was? *
"Doesn't that seem to confirm that I know you quite well actually?" She appeared to be concentrating on his hair, but her eyes gleamed in spite of her neutral expression.
She took a step back to examine her work and tilted her head, gently encouraging Hiei to tip his face upwards in her direction by the way her fingers came underneath his chin and lightly pressed into it. 3
"Perhaps," Hiei responded calmly, his eyelids sliding open again and his head tipping back at Shikiyoku's prompting. He eyed her for a moment while his left hand came up to run over the hair at the back of his neck, testing the length and finding it exactly the length he'd wanted it to be. It was satisfying, to say the least, that his neck no longer itched and his eyelashes no longer caught his bangs. He took in a deep breath of satisfaction and let his hand fall to his lap again, and he leaned further back into the chair.
"Much better." He commented. "My thanks." Of course, he was aware she wasn't finished yet, but at this moment, it didn't matter much because the most irritating part of it all had been dealt with. *
She dropped her hand from his chin, finding herself unable to resist the smile his words pulled from her lips. Not that she particularly wanted to resist it, mind. It had been a long time since she'd been able to even make the expression.
"Any time, flame-boy." She shifted her stance a couple of steps to his left and started cutting there again. 3
Hiei sat in pleasant silence while Shikiyoku moved to continue her work, his eyes staring ahead blankly as he listened to the scissors cutting, to her calm breathing and to the rain outside that, oddly enough, didn't bother him anymore. Then again, he wasn't out in it, was he?
His lips suddenly twitched. "It'd be faster with a blade."
Of course, he was only poking fun at her. *
"But of course." She quickly replied, face serious. "Why do you think I decided to use scissors?"
As if she'd pass up on an opportunity to lengthen the time she could spend alone with him. Not that she trusted herself to not lop off one of his ears should she have used such a device.
Heh. 3
He tried to look at her from the corners of his eyes, and only gained vision of her arm. "Tired of bird-brain already? He hasn't been here long, I'm sure." His lips twitched into a sneer. "Quite the fool, if I do say so myself." He paused to turn his eyes forward again, blinked once, then released a small huff of air. "Birds."
He'd never had a good experience with the species. *
"If you truly think him a fool, then he hasn't changed a bit. You're supposed to think he's a fool. It made our work that much easier back in the day. People tend to let things slip while you're around if they underestimate you." She ruefully thought of how that exact situation had led to him teaming up with her and Kitoushi. "He's not as dumb as he looks. He's actually quite-" The word caught in her throat and she tried not to laugh. Fierce. She wasn't about to use that word to describe anyone else anymore, even if Taka's hawk/falcon heritage lent itself to such a descriptor. "Ruthless." 3
Hiei didn't reply to Shikiyoku for a while. How could he, when he knew the only reason he called Taka a fool was because of the conversation he wasn't supposed to have overheard. He shifted in his spot just a little at the thought, at the remembrance of that night so long ago. Just thinking about it had him feeling… odd. Because she still didn't know he'd heard, and he still, to this day, trusted her with his entire being for it. Still wanted to protect her, to repay her for it simply because…
Because she'd been the first he'd ever heard defend him in such a way, to someone she'd known much longer than he, no less. She'd shot down a close friend for a demon who'd pacted at the most random of times, who'd quite literally not given a damn about her for the longest of time, and even after the pact still hadn't been sure how he had felt about her in any way. Some days he'd wanted to be rid of her. Other days he'd enjoyed her presence.
And, well, needless to say, after that night at the Niiro, he'd had no problem performing as her Champion. He'd even enjoyed it, to the point where, sitting here without the pact, he felt odd and out of place. As if the pact had always been there.
And he'd be lying if he said he was glad she'd broken it.
Lying through his teeth. *
She wasn't sure if she should tell Hiei that he and Taka were actually a lot alike in some ways, but quickly decided against it given that it appeared Hiei's predisposition towards the bird-demon was a negative one and the comparison would likely get her into unnecessary trouble with the fire apparition. She was enjoying the simplicity of the current moment too much, one where she didn't have to think about the days she had ahead of her.
...she'd never thought she would ever reach a point where she quite possibly never wanted to have to kiss another ever again.
Granted, none of these kisses were romantic in nature. She could barely remember the last time that had happened.
She tensed briefly as her lips tingled, recalling the feeling of Kit's own lips pressed against them only hours ago. Soft and warm. Just as they had always been.
She heaved a rather large sigh inside her mind, wishing Renai had told her straight-out about the fact that she would need to be kissed to return to her true self.
Do you really think Hiei would have obliged? Better that you didn't know rather than be disappointed.
Ain't that the truth. Like he'd be caught dead doing something like that to her.
For her.
...
Whatever.
She quickly focused back in on Hiei's hair in an attempted to derail her train of thought as it was making the tips of her ears pink.
Tch. Like some human schoolgirl. 3
Hiei remembered standing outside the Niiro that night, only for a minute or two, before turning and heading back inside to order a drink. And the brief conversation he'd had with Kafu, who'd told him that Shikiyoku had thought the fire demon didn't wish to be around her, didn't want the pact or anything to do with her.
He wondered if she still felt that way sometimes, even now.
He opened his mouth to speak, but became distracted by the odd feeling of the temperature around Shikiyoku going up just a hair, around the area of her head. His eyes turned to the side to make another attempt at looking at her face, but as earlier, he couldn't.
"Is the fever back?" He suddenly asked, slight concern knotting in his gut because, for all he knew, she could revert back to her previous state of mind at any moment. He didn't know what caused it. *
"Hm?" She intoned, distracted for a moment before her mind played back his question for her. "Uh, no." She quickly followed up. "It, uh, I'm not affected by it when I'm like this."
The problem will be when I inevitably switch. She frowned.
Also, please don't ask what that spike in temperature was just now.
Not that she expected him to. 3
Hiei raised a brow. "You mean, you're not affected by it when you're normal?" Hiei paraphrased, not even slightly amused by the way she danced around the wording. Though, he recognized that she did it merely because she likely didn't enjoy the thought of it. Which, really, made two of them.
"Good." He finally intoned, deciding that he was fine with her answer. And, relieved. *
She let out a small chuckle, "I think the correct terminology would be 'true form' as opposed to 'normal.' But...yes...'good.'"
At least until she got into a situation where she would switch and-
So why haven't you talked to Kit about it?
She was frowning again, as she had begun to do when repeating Hiei's pronouncing the situation 'good,' which she found a relative term, seeing as how she was still technically sick.
And she hadn't talked to Kit about it because he would probably suggest something insane, like insisting that she let him contract the disease just so he could analyse it and come up with a cure like he always did.
He hasn't failed yet has he?
The crease between her brows deepened.
It's the yet I'm concerned about. 3
Hiei crossed one ankle over the other underneath the chair, resisting the urge to shift in his seat and prop his feet on her desk, mainly because it would halt Shikiyoku's work- and likely mess it up. Which he knew would make the process twice as long.
Which he wouldn't mind, except that he rather liked his hair.
And his ears., might he add.
So he sat still, patient. Calm. *
Settling into a rhythm of combing, holding, cutting, and repeating the process, Shikiyoku found her mind wandering, her thoughts centered around the demon under her hands, her mind patterning into memories of her time with him that she could only now recall in completion, finding herself more than once resisting a scoff at the actions of the one called Toriko.
She came across one she lingered upon, one that happened not all that long after Hiei had accidentally pacted with her.
"I do not understand." She found herself confused, "How does one make snow 'sweet?'"
"Sugar..."
"Shu-gahr." The word was the weirdest one of them all.
...her 'first' encounter with-heh-sweet snow. One she cherished with a fondness she could not rightly explain.
"Mi'lady, are you doing alright?" The velveteen thought brushed around the edges of her mind, respecting her too much to completely invade.
"Quite alright." She replied silently into the silky smooth presence she felt in her head that awaited her answer.
Almost as if he melted out from the shadows cast by the lamp nearby, a small, sleek black cat sat a foot or two away from the chair in which Hiei sat, tail curled neatly about his paws, though the tip of it lifted and rested back down onto the ground in time to some internal beat of the animal.
The blue and brown eyes each seemed to glow a little in the low-light, regarding the scene before him with unblinking eyes. 3
Hiei's eyelids slid closed, and for a moment, he could have sworn he could just tilt his head back and… and just sleep. Because he hadn't slept when Shikiyoku did. Nor the night before…. perhaps. He couldn't rightly recall at the moment.
He took in a slow breath through his nostrils. For a few moments, he let that air out through his lips, and for the first time in what felt like years, his mind was blank and his entire body was relaxed, and he was pretty sure that if he allowed it, if he let himself sleep now, it would be a dreamless, very restful sleep.
If he allowed himself.
Which was rather difficult to resist at the moment.
"...woman." Hiei huffed out, in an almost impatient way. How did she make it so easy to feel so tired and relaxed around her? *
"I'm almost done." She murmured, moving over to his other side smoothly. She had no way of knowing the last time he actually had a chance to rest. And now that his self-imposed quest was at an end, it came as little surprise to her how easily he was starting to slip away, though she took his word and impatience in such a manner that he wished her to finish so he could take such rest.
"I wonder when Youko will show..." Kit commented so that Shikiyoku could hear him, his tail still slowly curling and uncurling up and down over his front paws.
"Hm?"
Kit blinked at her once before his eyes slid to the mark he could see just starting to extend down the fire demon's left shoulder, a portion of it having just begun to climb up his neck.
It came as little surprise to Kitoushi that her most recent Champion should bear it as well as he. And he felt assured in thinking it quite likely his fox-cousin had been marked in much the same way.
"This will be...most interesting." His eyes flashed briefly at the thought.
Shikiyoku glanced up as the cat unwound himself and turned to slip out the room the same way he entered and she followed his path with a puzzled expression before he seemed to melt back into the darkness and disappear.
Quietly, Shikiyoku made sure with her last cut that she caught a lock of Hiei's hair, turning to place the scissors and comb inside the leather pouch and pressing the hair against a smooth stone in one of the other pockets.
It glowed softly, the other hair from her work silently joining its brethren on the surface of the rock, where it disappeared.
She smiled at the easy clean-up, zipping the pouch closed and placing it in the bottom drawer, readying herself to leave the room. 3
Hiei made a sound of acknowledgement at Shikiyoku's response, though it hadn't been what he'd wanted. He didn't mean to tell her to hurry up or anything of the sort, but…. Well, it was probably better that she did, so he wouldn't actually fall asleep and suddenly loll his head one way or the other. That wouldn't be good.
Before he knew it, she was stepping away, and Hiei's eyes were open halfway, his feet on the floor and moving him to the bed silently, grabbing his cloak and scarf. He tossed them both onto his body in a lazy manner, his cloak fluttering in the silence as it settled around his body once more, his scarf hugging his neck the moment he was done winding it around the way he liked it.
And without further prompting, he simply let himself get comfortable on her bed, which included first simply falling onto it, and then rolling until he was comfortable on his side, facing the door. His eyes slid open again to glance at Shikiyoku, fully expecting her to join him, and making a small sound of impatience when she moved to leave.
"You're too far away, woman." he grumbled across the room at her. *
Shikiyoku froze in place, her hand in mid-reach for the doorknob and fully intending to open the door. She only realized after he spoke that she had in fact heard him get up from the chair, though she honestly thought before this moment that he had just fallen asleep there.
Despite the fact that she blinked a couple of times, conflicted-perhaps confused-she couldn't help but hear herself in those words, if at the time she spoke them her tone had been more emphatic. His still had an eerily similar portion of demand to it though.
"The part where shut up you're too far away."
As she turned away from the door, taking a step in his direction, a smile fought to win-out over her puzzled expression, much the same one she'd given Kit a few minutes ago.
She took another step, gaze flickering over to the chair he had previously occupied and the thought of pulling it over to sit in occurring. 3
Hiei's irises flashed just a little at the confusion on Shikiyoku's face, his lips twitching to show slight amusement at her predicament that he imposed upon her. He considered the words I don't bite, but quickly dismissed them and took a deep sigh of comfort, where his body sank into the bed some more. He considered repeating what he'd said, but knew it wouldn't help her.
He gave another small sound of content, though he wasn't fully able to slip into sleep just yet.
And he had the sudden thought that he did not want her to leave the room, or go down those stairs. Because then he'd be giving up his time that he could have with her, and that would mean that time would be going to, very likely, Taka.
No.
"You're being ridiculous. Just come here already." His hand hit the mattress once. "Please." *
She...almost wanted to...laugh. And it wasn't at him, though he had certainly never acted quite in this manner to her knowledge.
It was at herself, and for freezing in place again at that look he had given her before speaking, leaving her blinking at him until he spoke up.
And at his 'please,' her resolve at...whatever she'd been resolved to do-probably grab the chair if you'd had enough sense of mind to do anything with him looking at you like that, eh?-melted and she moved forward without hardly realizing it, her feet padding softly on the carpet as she closed the distance between herself and the bedside, hesitating only for a hitch when she reached it before climbing on top of the covers and laying down next to him, facing him, with a relatively neutral expression on her face through which she attempted to mask her confusion.
Had it been anyone else asking for her presence-Taka, Kitoushi, even Youko-she would have known what was acceptable. Had they given her a similar look to the one Hiei wore moments ago, she would have without hesitation gathered them into her arms and fallen asleep easily.
So...what was it about this one that made her feel so completely awkward about being asked to remain nearby? 3
Hiei blinked only once within the time it took Shikiyoku to move across the room and lay upon the mattress with him, facing him with an expression he took as guarded, if only mildly so. His lips twitched in amusement and he pulled his arm closer to his body, as if afraid she didn't have enough room to lay with him.
Suddenly, he was so comfortable that his eyelids were too heavy to remain open, and every ounce of his body relaxed further into the bed, so much so that he felt light as a feather. His lips twitched once and for a moment, he wondered what about this person made him so comfortable.
Because every time he was with her, it was… normally, peaceful. And if it wasn't peaceful, then one of them would resolve it some way or another. And, in the end, it ended up like this.
How?
"You…" he began in a mumble, taking a moment to refuse a yawn. What was he saying? He didn't even know. "You're comfortable." There was a pause, and suddenly he felt the need to elaborate. "Like… like home." *
That was...that was it, really. All it took. Something so simplistic as that to tell her all she really had to do for this one right now was be there. Next to him. That it was all he wanted of her at that moment.
"Home, hm?" She murmured, wondering if it was possible for someone to consider another 'home,' instead of say an actual building or the like, no matter where they ended up.
Strangely enough, she didn't remember having this sort of affect on anyone else, to just sort of...be nearby and lull them into sleep as he seemed to be so very near at that moment.
With his eyes closed, it afforded her a chance to look at him without his direct knowledge, something she couldn't remember having done in a long while.
She felt rather smug about his hair, which looked nice if she did say so herself.
And I do. 3
Hiei made a sound of affirmation, a sound that just barely made it to his lips. There was another beat of silence before he gave another sleepy sigh.
"I didn't know that this is what it felt like."
He was sure half of those words came out gibberish, that his sentence had been nothing more than scattered sounds, but hey, whatever. Now that he'd said it, he was entirely content to just go to sleep now, and face whatever she had to say about it later. That is, if she did say anything. *
Her mouth came open as if she had something to say, some comment to make, but her lips came back together and she only smiled at him.
Home, huh? She resisted the urge to actually scoff, her next thought containing more fondness than the words themselves would have indicated. ...foolish demon.
As if watching him somehow transferred his apparent exhaustion, she found her eyes growing heavier, her smile softening but never completely going away as she followed after the fire demon into a dreamless sleep. 3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star