A/N: Hello once again, Audience!
The current plan is to switch to a Tuesday/Thursday posting schedule starting next month, and you're getting a warning now that there will be a week that month in which I will be gone and likely not have internet access so there will not be any posts then.
You have been warned! 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!
After drawing Shikiyoku into his arms when he awoke in the morning,
Hiei surprises himself by enjoying holding her as she draws closer to the waking world.
And even more so when he discovers, after she truly wakes up to find herself against him,
that her uncomfortableness at his closeness manifests as her energy activating.
The two of them make their way downstairs and Shikiyoku puts together two bowls of 'sweet snow,'
and as she prepares them, the quiet of the house is interrupted by the reappearance of both Taka and Kitoushi.
The former leaves once Shikiyoku indicates no interest in his shenanigans,
and the later goes to sit on the couch and watch television.
This means that Hiei and Shikiyoku are left to enjoy their treat by themselves at the table,
and Shikiyoku ends up thinking to herself about her strange displacement as no longer needing a Champion.
~!**!~
As Akari stalls on leaving the meadow, and Kurama,
Isamu continues to 'call' her through the shadow-mark on her wrist.
She wonders when exactly it was that she came to covert her time with Kurama,
asking him why he decided to change his mind about her when they were once enemies.
Kurama admits the acceptance of her presence to be attributed to Nabu,
as he doubted such an animal would have befriended her were her heart not truly pure.
Akari explains the significance of the marking on her wrist,
and that Isamu wishes her to come back to their pack.
Before she leaves, Kurama requests she meet him at the meadow again that evening,
and since they had been talking of getting food prior, Kurama asks if she is hungry...
Akari gave a single-shouldered shrug. "Not enough to complain." She looked up at the sky, looking for the position of the sun and the approximation of the time, and finding that it was still pretty early on this layer. "Even if I was, I have to feed Nabu anyway. Otherwise he'll crunch on a dead bird, and that is… unacceptable."
She turned to look at him again with the end of her tongue sticking out at him slightly. "You should've taken my offer earlier."
She hesitated some more, rubbed a hand against her thigh in absentminded thought, and then flashed a smile. "I guess if I'm going to get anything done before I have to be back here, I'd better get my tail moving, hm?" She pushed herself to stand, and proceeded to dust herself off. "I'd hate to be hunted down." *
Kurama ignored the immediate response Youko had about Akari moving her tail, and only smiled at her.
[Oh, come on. She practically force-fed you that one.]
{I refuse to make a comment about getting to watch as she moved her tail, for the simple reason that you are actually the one who force-fed it to me.}
"Hate is such a strong word. Wouldn't it please you in the slightest?" Kurama unfolded himself from the ground to stand in front of her.
~!**!~
How...strange she felt.
No pact. No tie to any other singular person, not feeling particularly bogged down by anything the other might require of her.
It was rather freeing, if at the same time absolutely terrifying.
She came to realize as she absently took a bite of the sweet snow here and there, that she really had no idea who she was on her own. Because each Champion had, in a way, dictated her personality as she molded to better suit them and whatever they desired.
It got her thinking about the first time Hiei released her, when she'd shot off in search of a human to exercise her powers on. She was acting as if still under the influence of Youko himself.
And of course, there was the more recent incident, where upon finding herself trapped in Hiei's embrace she froze up in both mind and body.
She equated that very much with how Hiei had interacted with her, which in turn had influenced her own interactions. Like Kit trying to kiss her again after reverting her and her refusing him.
Not to mention the fact that there were several...new things, like how she'd been able to sense Taka's desire to snatch her up into a hug upon first seeing her in the kitchen.
All of these thoughts passed through her mind and she mulled upon them, turning them over and over, her ankles crossing together beneath her chair as she stared with unfocused eyes at the bowl in front of her. 3
Hiei continued to watch Shikiyoku with a calm expression, not really trying to pick apart her thoughts or even deciding to ask on them, because really, he'd never seen her in this way. Staring, ignoring her surroundings entirely, delved so deep into her own thoughts that even the cold, melting treat didn't seem to matter much to her.
Yes, he was curious, but more so about how long she'd allow herself to stay in this way. How long she'd be comfortable being as blind to the rest of the world she was in that moment. And yet she seemed able to recognize what was going on around her in the same instant, even if she did not directly show it.
Because she still occasionally scooped icecream to her mouth. She still pulled bits of strawberry from the frozen treat and crunched on those first before taking in the melted cream.
He'd never seen her so stuck in her own thoughts before. At least, not in thoughts that didn't leave him irritated at her frame of mind.
So instead of inquiring as he normally would have, he turned his eyes down to his bowl again and continued eating in perfect silence.
~!**!~
"Perhaps… a little, knowing I could actually create a chase if I so desired one. I am a dog, after all." Akari gave a roguish grin before she tugged at her energy just a little, creating movement about the meadow as shadows began to slide towards her slowly. "But, I think I'd much prefer to meet in the middle, as it were. I'm not sure of the consequences of causing a scene."
Underneath her feet, shadows gathered to create a circle underneath her, a circle that opened up just a little, but she did not yet fall through. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bone to pick with an old friend." Finally, her feet left any form of solid ground behind and she was falling through dimensions, concentrating on the absolutely irritating, almost painful sensation at her wrist that lead her to the Third Layer. *
Kurama didn't find himself surprised at her exit, though he did watch the space in which she disappeared for a moment, a smile tarrying on his lips for a moment longer at really the mere thought of her.
{We have much to do.}
~!**!~
-because she always had to ask before, didn't she?
What do you desire?
Always had to get the other to tell her, which was an easy enough task once she set her mind to it. But still.
She wondered exactly how far that ability could manifest. She'd done it in some form or another with Hiei. On several occasions, actually. Did she have to be in close proximity? But then, why didn't she realize Taka had no desire for her to remove the Mark? ...or was that exactly how it sounded?
...how easy it seemed she was able to sense others wants or needs-so far-and yet...how difficult she found it to sort through her own.
She half-wished asking herself the question worked.
She huffed an almost amused puff of air from her nostrils, one accompanied by the slightest twitch of her lips in a crooked smirk that disappeared as soon as the sound had been made.
The thought of trying it out, using a mirror of some sort, left her at the very least humored by the consideration of such a thing.
Lifting her head from her hand, she leaned a little in the other direction, even as she scooped more ice cream from her bowl and took just enough onto the tip of her tongue to get the flavor, and stared with that same unfocused expression at her palm as tendrils of yellow energy wove out from her hand just long enough to extend past her fingers, weaving actively in and out of one another, as well as over and around her skin. 3
Hiei finished his bowl of ice cream soon after he'd taken to concentrating solely on it, and for a moment he contemplated getting up and scooping himself some more, contemplated eating just strawberries- if he could find them- and even contemplated just eating the whole tub of ice cream. But in the end, he merely sat there, lifting his eyes to Shikiyoku again as she made a small sound, then glancing into her bowl of almost completely-melted substance.
Expression neutral as every, he stated in a calm tone, "It's going to waste."
He just couldn't help it. None of this substance should be wasted. Ever.
~!**!~
On the Third layer, Akari stood outside a circle of demons conversing in loud tones, Isamu in the center before his eyes lifted at her sudden appearance, his lips twitching into an even wider smile as he broke away from the other demons who were very obviously not a part of the pack he was supposed to be watching over.
"You never went home, so I searched for amusement in the nearby entertainment areas." He said in a quiet voice after appearing at her side, tossing an arm over her shoulder and rubbing his other hand against her hair. "The First Layer is dreadful. How do you stand it? How could you have lived with them for so long?"
"You get over it, eventually." Akari responded as she batted his hand away and dropped through shadows again, landing on the First Layer with Isamu right behind her, as she'd expected. "You're going to get rid of this thing," she informed in a calm manner, throwing her hand up to gesture towards the mark and the red, irritated ring that had formed around it. "It's annoying."
"Did it wake you?"
"Yes."
"My apologies."
"Liar." *
~!**!~
She had begun twisting her wrist back and forth as if inspecting her hand, each sliver of energy probably half as thick as her fingers themselves and just about as long, each one making a lively dance in the air.
"It's only wasted if I throw it out." She replied, her expression one still rather far away from the present situation. 3
Well….
He couldn't exactly argue about that. Except that soupy, sloppy "ice cream" wasn't really something he thought would be appetizing, not even in the least bit. But, hey. Whatever.
He remained quiet, his eyes turning to the hand she twisted around and around, playing with lithe tendrils of energy that moved in graceful twists and loops about her fingers. He followed their every move, rather entertained at the gracefulness within these tendrils.
Tendrils that could have very easily killed another, if she so desired it.
Which was such an odd thought to begin with.
Nonetheless, he was rather entertained with her toying with her energy, and he continued to watch in silence.
~!**!~
Akari made a groan and threw both hands in the air, calling for immediate silence. "I can only answer one at a time, boys." She turned to Nabu. "I plan on visiting the park. If you're up for it."
"About time." he responded, though his tail swished several times in amusement despite his lack of such in his tone. "You deserve it too, you know. And as much as I like Flowers being your break, you need fun here and there. Active fun. Like a dog."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She turned to Isamu. "The bricks have-"
"Yes I know about the symbols. Why are you collecting them?"
She blinked once before giving a sigh. "Work stuff. Which you aren't involved in."
"What if I want to be involved?"
"Then you're out of luck."
"And hopefully out of here."
"He's mouthy, isn't he?" Isamu pointed a look at the dog's tail as Nabu disappeared into the kitchen.
"Only when he knows he can get away with it."
"Which is always, because you love me." *
~!**!~
Her hand suddenly froze in place and her energy disappeared all at once, winking out of existence without a sound, her arm lowering abruptly to the table and her gaze dodging down with it, darting to the side, all in the same instant as she was struck by a series of thoughts.
She had been tempted to weave the energy out, extend it around herself, but the idea reminded her of how she had once danced, loops and such moving with her, a part of her.
Something she doubted she'd ever do again.
Not now.
Not since she was...in a word tainted, embodying a duality only surpassed by the hybrid who still sat nearby.
Who was to say the ritual would even work right anymore anyway? She could see it being just like her first Champion to have a part of the spell-requirements be that the caster must never have spilled the blood of another or something ridiculous like that.
The phrase about blood had her eyes closing, head still tilted slightly downward and to the left as a fine line appeared between her brows.
Renai's voice echoed through her head.
"My mate would have adored meeting you. Such purity of energy would have served her purpose immeasurably. It makes it all the more delicious to rob her of it." 3
Hiei's gaze turned to Shikiyoku's face as her energy disappeared all at once, his neutral expression giving way none of his emotions towards her sudden display of… some emotion or another he couldn't quite pinpoint just yet. And as his eyes focused on her expression, he noticed the line of liquid that coated her top lip and gave her a milky-like moustache.
His lips twitched, because in that moment, he saw a childlike-moment. A moment where she didn't care what she looked like, didn't have any standards to set for another. She could do as she wished.
Even it that meant forgetting to clean her face.
His lips pulled into an expression of amusement, and he even released a small puff of air through his lips.
"You've missed something."
~!**!~
Akari moved around the coffee table, pushing the thoughts away for a minute and wandering into the kitchen, Isamu close on her heels. She paused and glanced about, a frown coloring her features. "You moved everything."
"I put it all back." Isamu responded in a calm tone. "I was just curious."
"You put it all in the wrong places. This," she reached forward to grab a bowl from the table, stirring the scent of disgustingly-fake dog chow Nabu enjoyed, "was on the counter, by the sink to be washed." She tossed the plastic bowl into the sink before reaching for a towel. "This is not for your hands, moron. It's for Nabu's ears, when the mites bother him too much."
"You made her mad."
"This," she slammed shut a utensil drawer, sending the silverware inside clattering around loudly, "is never left open, because it sticks and has broken multiple times."
"Okay, okay, I get it!" The male stood two feet away with his hands in the air and ears turned back. "Leave things as they were!"
"And the bricks? I don't want my house to appear on every single layer." This, she snarled at him and spun to face him with arms crossed. "I would rather not have random demons in my household!"
"Those wouldn't make your house appear on all layers. You don't have all the components. Can't you feel the holes in the energy?"
Akari huffed and crouched down to the bag of dog food on the floor, pulling it open and scooping the bowl inside the bag full before setting it on the wooden floor beneath, Nabu stepping up as soon as she released the bowl and crunching on the bits.
"It isn't like I know anything about those kinds of things. I've never seen marks like that before."
"They're older than I am. Probably older than your dad." Isamu gave a shrug. "They're like puzzle pieces. You're missing a few."
Akari turned to stare at Isamu silently, scowling at him. "W-" She gave a dog-like huff. "Nevermind. Not now. It's Nabu's fun day."
"Whatever you wish. I'm just observing, remember?"
"My ball is where we used to keep it." *
~!**!~
"I never miss anything, Hiei." Her reply sounded self-important as she rested her elbows on the table, both hands holding the bowl at a height just under her nose, from where she took another drink, eyes looking over the bowl at the opposite wall when she lowered it, the ice cream slowly falling back from the curve of the bowl to slosh quietly.
Her eyes flickered down, gauging how much she had left. 3
Hiei raised a brow at the reply he'd been given, and his sneer only grew. He eyed the moustache he could see over the bowl, and the more he stared at it, the funnier it became. He stared. And stared. And stared.
He made a sound of amusement again and turned his eyes to the side, not sure what exactly he wanted to do about it, if anything. He could stare in self-amusement. Or he could toss her a napkin. He could even wipe it away if he wanted, but really, he didn't want too. He was simply too amused.
So even after he'd turned his head to the side, he found his eyes looking to her again anyway.
~!**!~
"Take your time, Nabu. I'm hungry too, so just eat."
"How about we go for breakfast?"
"How about you go home?"
"But you're here."
Akari sighed as she stood upright and reached into an overhanging cabinet, grabbing a bowl and sliding it across the clean counter. She turned and opened another cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal, deciding to eat the frosted wheat cereal, which she dumped into the bowl and promptly tossed one into her mouth, not even bothering to go for milk. "You haven't gotten rid of it yet." She mumbled around the cereal as she stuffed the box away.
"You can't be eating that?"
Akari turned a glare onto the male and let the cabinet door slam shut. "Stop that."
"You know, after your earlier display of hypocrisy, I feel obliged to do absolutely nothing you ask of me." He declared as he turned his nose higher in the air. "You're such a dog."
"Excuse you?"
"A hypocrite dog, at that."
"I hope she stuffs you." *
~!**!~
It did take a moment for Shikiyoku to register something from the fire demon nearby, but it was so brief, and she was so unused to the sensation, that her reaction came much too late to understand.
The bowl tilted upwards again and she waited until the last of the sluggish soup that was going to make it to the edge of the bowl had done so before sticking her face into the dish and licking at the last pooling of sweet snow in the bottom curve of the dish.
She could feel where a portion of the treat had escaped somewhere between her lips and the edge of the bowl and was starting to run down towards her chin.
As the bowl came back down, her tongue snaked out and caught the drop, running over the entirety of her upper lip and getting rid of any stray ice cream that had been in the area.
Well. Almost all of it. 3
Hiei watched Shikiyoku finish off her sloppy ice cream, turning his eyes to the side again for a moment before his curiosity won over, and he had to see if she would lick away the rest. Which, not surprising to him, she did.
But what warranted the loud scoff he gave was the obvious dot of white on the end of her nose. He stared unblinkingly at it for a moment before his amusement won over and his lips spread wide, his teeth showing in the slightest bit as he leaned across the table. He reached a hand across towards her, his thumb touching her nose and brushing the substance away.
When he pulled away, he sneered at her in utter amusement.
~!**!~
"I am no hypocrite."
Isamu shrugged, then held his two hands up, creating air quotes as he spoke. "I don't come when called!" He mocked in a high-pitched tone, even bobbing his head a little. "I answer to no one!" He dropped his hands and turned to walk away, his tail moving with his amusement and his ears flicking back to focus on the sound of disbelief she made. "The only exception is a fox demon! Of all beings, a fox has you under his thumb. I thought the former-alpha's daughter was smarter than that."
Akari ground her teeth and chucked a piece of her cereal at him, huffing as soon as the breakfast food struck the back of his head. "I do not sound like that! And I am not under anyone's thumb!"
"And yet you fled the scene as soon as the fox did."
"I didn't flee. I left to meet with him."
"And yet you're in so much denial. You're trying so hard to hide it. I thought you'd remember the last time a fox demon came across our territories?"
"I wasn't even alive, moron."
"Doesn't change that they're all the same, love. Not in the least."
"And if I couldn't care less?"
"Then I can't even bring myself to pity you." the male responded as he disappeared around the corner, the sound of him flopping onto the floor echoing through the house. "But, I guess I can let you find out on your own. It isn't like I have any choice in the matter. You're as stubborn as the stories said you would be."
"Those stories are crock, and you know it. I am not the reincarnation of the first female alpha. I have no desire to be an alpha, and you of all people are aware of that." *
~!**!~
She only looked across the table at him when she sensed an inkling of something from him, but his action left her staring at his smile for a moment, taken aback by the humorous gleam in his eye.
It didn't take long for her to frown and attempt to look at the end of her own nose, blinking after the second in which she tried and muttering something inaudible to herself as she reached up with the back of her hand and wiped at the place he had as if he missed part of it, her lips setting into a thin line. 3
Hiei kept his amused expression as he sat back in his chair again, running his tongue over the finger he'd retrieved the cream from Shikiyoku's nose with. He quickly made a face at the odd, warm cream that tasted… dull in comparison to how it tasted when frozen. It was… bland.
"Did you hide all of the strawberries in your hair?" He suddenly inquired, deciding he wanted more of the fruit for now. If he wanted Sweet Snow, he'd get more later.
~!**!~
"yes, yes, I'm aware. I remember you giving that right to me, and I thank you for it." Isamu replied as Akari padded into the room, standing over him as she munched on her cereal. "Or, for intending to give it to me. The ritual still hasn't taken place, remember?"
"And yet you exercise so much control over the power you haven't developed fully yet."
"It hasn't been easy."
"It isn't supposed to be." Akari popped another bundle of the dry wheat bits into her mouth and crunched loudly on it, earning the twisting of the other's ear in her direction.
"Come home for a week and it will be taken care of."
"I have shtuff to do, and quite frankly, have no deshire to leave thish town except for work."
"And the fox."
"Shut up, no one ashked you."
"Love, you should remember my opinions are free. Then again, anything for you is free."
Akari huffed at him through her nostrils. "Except peace and quiet."
"You know, you would have gotten rid of me by now if you didn't want me here. You've changed a lot over the years, but that hasn't changed in the least. By the way, I haven't received my hug yet."
"Who says you get one?"
His grin only widened. "I thought it was understood." *
~!**!~
Shikiyoku set the bowl down on the table in front of her, only looking at Hiei when he began talking, watching him unblinkingly.
She crossed her arms over her chest, sitting back in her chair with an expression devoid of emotion, eyes still on the fire demon.
A single eyebrow rose at the end of his inquiry, her tone flat, factual, as she spoke up, "I don't hide strawberries in my hair." 3
Hiei stared unblinkingly at Shikiyoku, his lips forming a frown but his eyes gleaming in amusement still as he eyed her. He crossed his arms at her, mirroring the way she sat as if to mock, but not intentionally meaning to do so.
He scoffed once.
"Do you still have them on your person?" he rephrased, both genuinely curious and simply wanting to have a few.
~!**!~
Akari sighed and moved to sit in front of Isamu, bowl in one hand and the other digging around the cereal and tossing some into her mouth again. She kept a steady glare on the male, who smiled a wide smile and leaned forward, grabbing hold of her breakfast and taking a piece for himself. Within seconds of it hitting his tongue, he was making a face and spitting it out again, offering it to her.
"That's horrid."
"I don't want it back!"
"Take it."
"No! I have no interest in- NO!" She had to pull her bowl out of his reach to keep him from dropping it back into it, which she only managed to do by leaning away. "I don't want your disgusting saliva."
"But we used to share food all the time," he whined, leaning further forward in another attempt, which she stayed by placing a foot into his gut and keeping him at a good distance. "Come on, Aka!"
"I said no!"
"You're so fickle. Should I give it to the dog?"
"He wouldn't touch it."
"My name is Nabu."
"Well if you won't eat it, who will?"
"I don't know, nor care! Throw it away!"
"Come now, love."
"That tone of voice doesn't work anymore. I don't care for you the same as I did then. I'm not a part of your pack, and thus the only connection I have with you is-"
"The fact that I was your best friend at home. You know, the one who was there when your daddy decided you weren't worth it? Or when your mother had to leave for days? I taught you everything, and you're repaying me with harshness. How cold-hearted of you."
Silence filled the room as Akari blinked once, and Isamu's expression shifted to one of patience, a brow quirked as he waited for a rebuttal.
"I'm not here to be your alpha. I'm here to be your friend. To remind you what it was like to be a free dog, instead of a dog on a leash. Working for the new King of Spirit World? I wouldn't have thought that your style, love."
"I… do it because I want to, not because I have to."
"That's not how it actually is, is it? Being on a leash is so… disheartening. YOu don't deserve it."
"Don't act like you know, or care for that matter, darling." Akari enunciated the word harshly, as its meaning for the male had always been one of condescension to others. "I stay where I am because I enjoy where I am and who I'm with. I stay because I happen to like being here. And if you think you can convince me otherwise, then I suggest you leave this instant." She pushed herself to stand, waved her hand to the door, then looked down at him again. "I worked hard to get here, to get to where I could enjoy my free reign of the layers. Where I could enjoy working, because it's so much more complex than simple trade services, and so much more appealing. My family had nothing to do with it. The pack has nothing to do with my decision, and hasn't in a long time. I don't think by a group. I think for myself."
Nabu's claws clicking against the wood floor distracted her, pulled her attention to the sitting dog at the threshold of the kitchen. His eyes were curious, his ears turned back.
"You are welcome to stay, if, and only if you do not interfere with my comings and goings. Do not try and stop me from enjoying myself, because if you do, I can guarantee the pack will have no alpha to lead them. We may have been friends at one point, even arranged for.. whatever it was, but that means nothing here. You are a guest, and you will act as such, sir alpha, because you have no reign over me."
She slid her bowl onto the coffee table, half full still, and moved for the door, Nabu taking the lead with a ball in his mouth. "I apologize that you seem to think I'm that same person who went along with everything you wanted me to do then, but I won't apologize for my actions. Because each one is deliberate."
"I wouldn't expect an apology."
"Then you won't be disappointed." With that, Akari slammed the door shut behind her and took to following Nabu down the sidewalk.
"For an old friend, he sure doesn't know you well."
"To be fair, Nabu, you don't know who I was before this time."
"...do I want to?"
She gave a shrug. "It wouldn't matter anyway." *
~!**!~
She blinked at him once before answering in much the same way.
"Maybe."
After a beat, she picked up the bowl in front of her and stood up, the back of the chair pushed away by her legs as she turned and moved for the sink to put the bowl inside. 3
Hiei's amused gleam disappeared in his eyes entirely, leaving his expression one of slight ire as he stared at the back of her head as she moved away from the table. He considered her hair for a minute, considered sliding his fingers through the locks in search for strawberries, since she was obviously not going to give him a straight up answer right away.
He could likely wait and see if she reached for one. But, would he still want strawberries by the time she decided to reveal them?
Likely.
So he could wait.
It didn't matter one way or the other.
"Nice."
~!**!~
"You know, the park is going to be full of people and other dogs."
"I know, Nabu."
"Are you sure you don't want to wait, when your temper isn't so bad?"
Akari gave a loud laugh and tossed her head. "You're worried about me? Come on, Nabu. Take a break and play some dang fetch." She threw the ball into the air, down the almost-entirely empty sidewalk of the midday. "I promised a day, didn't I?" she called as he took off down the sidewalk, suddenly looking very much like the younger pup he'd been just a few months ago. *
~!**!~
As she set the bowl down into the sink with a slight clunk, her lips twitched slightly while she was turned away, the only indication of her true motive in the conversation.
She turned and did the same with the knife and cutting board she had put to use on the counter, placing them next to the bowl and then moving to close the lid of the ice cream, grabbing it and the now-empty plastic container of strawberries.
She didn't find it necessary to mention that the container had once held a large quantity of the fruit, many more than the number she sliced up for the bowls.
Amusingly enough, Youko had taught her the trick.
The container went in the trash and the ice cream into the freezer. 3
Hiei sat back in his chair and propped his feet up on the chair Shikiyoku had previously occupied, still watching her as he crossed his arms tighter over his chest and continued to search calmly for any sign of the strawberries that were no longer in the container she threw away. He could still smell them, but as to pinpointing where exactly they were…
Well, he was beginning to simply assume she had them on her person and wasn't going to simply hand one over. It was almost as if she was holding them ransom for… something or another.
But he was patient, and would remain that way. *
When Shikiyoku closed the freezer door and turned to step into the living room, she had a strawberry in hand, a chunk of it already missing.
As she passed Hiei, she reached her empty hand out just behind his ear, coming away with another strawberry that she palmed as she kept walking, turning towards the front door and beginning to phase between the layers. 3
Hiei frowned when Shikiyoku turned and walked by, a strawberry in one hand and producing another in her other hand as she passed. He turned his eyes to follow after her, giving a small glare at her taunting before he slid from his chair and moved to follow her out the door. Unlike Shikiyoku, however, he actually pulled it open and walked through.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't amused. *
She kept eating at the strawberry, moving between the layers as she got to the sidewalk, until she was positive Taka had left the immediate area entirely.
She wasn't exactly in the mood to put up with his shenanigans. Which she had a strange feeling he knew, and had made his retreat earlier for that very reason.
Unwinding herself from in-between, she stepped out back onto the First Layer with ease, walking along and eating at the other strawberry.
She eyed the various people she could see passing by, or even the ones across the street. None seemed to notice her, and while she knew the reason, at the same time she wondered how easily she could get one's attention.
The thought had her sifting through key-words and seeing if she could come up with a spell that might suit her interests. 3
Hiei found himself wanting nothing more than to swipe his hand through Shikiyoku's hair really fast and pluck a strawberry from her locks. And at the same time, he knew she could tell what he was thinking, knew that she knew what he wanted, and that was what kept him from doing so. Because if she suspected it, he wouldn't get away with it. She'd likely pull the same trick she'd used when Taka had tried… whatever he'd been wanting to do in the kitchen earlier.
In fact, Hiei slid his hands into his cloak pockets to ensure he didn't simply strike out and make a snatch for the strawberries he was now entirely certain she was hiding. Coveting.
He opened his mouth to speak, found he had no words, and closed his mouth again and took to simply following after her silently. As he had been before. *
Shikiyoku shaped the spell in her mind as she chewed on the last bit of strawberry thoughtfully.
She pulled her hand up to her mouth, fingers closed over her palm, and after a moment gestured outwards away from her lips, blowing warm air over her fingers, aiming it across the street.
Her hand came back down, and she watched as the pocket of air almost lazily drifted towards the other sidewalk, hovering about the face of a human who blinked as if awakened from a dream, gaze drawn over to Shikiyoku who hadn't stopped strolling along, hadn't even bothered to look, able to feel that the air-in truth her energy-had been inhaled by the other, immediately grasping their attention and directing it to her.
The human only had a hitch in a single step as they kept moving in the same direction as before, but even while continuing down the sidewalk a glance would be tossed in her direction until she was out of sight. 3
Hiei took three long strides so that he could walk alongside Shikiyoku, instead of behind her. He'd considered leaving her be, but decided that if she didn't want him there, she'd let him know in some way or another. So he went along anyway, eyes pointed forward and mind slowly but surely pulling away from his desire to have nothing but strawberries.
He felt the stir in the air and turned his eyes to the female at his side again, unable to see what she was doing but catching an odd shift in the air about her.
He turned forward again.
"Where exactly are we going?" *
Shikiyoku sent a single wink in the direction of the human before turning to face the front, honestly curious about what exactly she could do with her energy. Without being hampered-is that what I'm calling it now?-by a Champion, the possibilities seemed endless.
She sent a brief glance in the fire demon's direction when he spoke, smiling at him.
"Where do you wish to be?" 3
Hiei turned to peer at Shikiyoku from the corners of his eyes, his immediate response suddenly being withheld, as if he knew she'd make some sort of reply that was anything but what he would have actually meant. So he took a small glance around, found himself unimpressed with the people he passed and the First Layer in general, but not having any immediate destinations in mind.
He thought for a moment or two, then decided he didn't care one way or another.
"I asked you." *
"And I countered by giving you an opportunity for some input." She replied blithely, "Though it appears you have none. Do you really not care?" 3
Hiei raised a brow. "I'm sure the destinations I wish to avoid are the same one you intend to avoid." He replied calmly, hands in his cloak pockets and eyes forward now. *
"Is that so?" The only destination she could think them both having in common to evade was Rae's palace on the Ninth Layer.
...not that she was planning on returning there in the foreseeable future by any means.
"For all you know, I might want to make my rounds of the First Layer's demonic nightclubs." Something she felt certain he wouldn't bothering following her around for. 3
Hiei gave a scoff. It wasn't like his presence would keep her from doing anything she wanted to do. Though, it wasn't like he'd particularly care for the suggestion she just tossed in the air.
In fact, he'd likely just turn around and go find something else to occupy his time if that was what she wanted to do. But he wouldn't stop her, if that were the case.
"How enjoyable that would be." he mocked in a sarcastic tone. *
Shikiyoku gave a toss of her hair.
"You wouldn't even know, now would you? I doubt you have any reference for what the phrase means in the first place." 3
Hiei made another scoff, then followed it up with a huff through his nostrils. "I find the color of blood on the grass quite enjoyable. Also, setting things aflame is rather amusing." *
Shikiyoku actually turned her head to look at him, the strangest expression coloring her face.
She had no words for how utterly and completely he'd just proven her point.
She went back to looking ahead of them, taking a couple of more steps before she was able to open her mouth and get coherent words to move past her lips.
"It's a shame you have yet to realize how incredibly fierce you are." 3
Hiei waited for a response, actually unsure about the delay he heard hanging on the air as she took a moment to gather her thoughts and form words. And when she did speak, he raised a brow.
Yes, he knew he was fierce. He'd told her that himself in the-
Oh. Right.
His lips twitched.
"Only a fool would forget that." *
"Then I suppose it's lucky I am no fool, flame-boy." She told him loftily, her nose sticking slightly higher in the air.
Half of her still wanted to explain the whole nightclub thing, but the other half was still amused at his response. 3
"Indeed." Hiei replied calmly, glancing at her briefly before turning his eyes forward again. "If that's what you wish, I'm not stopping you." He kept his eyes forward and let his words hang on the air, not having to really tell her that he wouldn't follow her into anything of the sort, merely because he didn't care for anything the demons on this layer had. *
"Haven't been and already decided you don't like it. Where's your sense of adventure?" 3
"Gone with my sense of humor." He replied quickly. "They're on vacation." *
"No wonder you aren't any fun." 3
"If you're looking for fun, perhaps you should try finding a child. Or Taka." *
"Well, if you're going to be that way about it, perhaps I should." She stuck her tongue out at him. 3
"You'll come back." Hiei lifted his nose a little in the air, his eyes pointed at her from the corners and his lips twitching into a sneer. After a moment though, he dropped his chin and his expression became neutral again, his mind quickly turning to the mark he'd seen on both demon's bodies, which reminded him that he himself wouldn't matter, if she didn't seem to like his company so much.
"But I'll be around. Should he bore you." *
"But you'll still be 'no fun' in any case. For as long as your senses are on holiday, at least." Shikiyoku appeared to brighten in a sort of 'eureka' expression. "You know, it explains a lot, really." 3
Hiei didn't look at her this time. "And yet here you are." He kept his eyes forward and hands in his pockets, moving merely because she was and merely following her step for step even as she made her own step. An odd mood had struck him, and for a moment he struggled against it, before it simply settled over his core and had him giving a passive expression. A blank, unreadable stare at the path ahead.
Because the only thing keeping her here was… her. If she suddenly decided he wasn't worth it, she could just as easily step away and leave him wandering about, while she dealt with her "Consort" ordeal.
Still, he'd spend as much time with her as he could, no matter what happened. Because… he could.
"If I were no fun, as you say, you wouldn't be here." *
She nearly made a quip about his being born with his aforementioned sense on vacation, or at least asking him if it was the case, but the thought was overshadowed by his last comment.
The look she gave him came across as 'is that so?' and she resisted giving a reply along the lines of 'Maybe I'm a masochist. You don't know.' She remembered retorting as much in a similar situation in the past and glossed over it.
"Right. So you're 'no fun,' and I'm...what exactly does that make me then, that keeps you around and all?" 3
Hiei took a moment to consider her retort, took a moment to sift through words to use. Foolish didn't seem right in the moment, didn't seem… strong enough. It simply wouldn't do. And stupid wasn't a word he'd call her. Ever. It obviously wasn't desperation, because really, he had nothing to offer.
What was the word?
He thought for another moment before making a sound through his nostrils.
"A masochist." he replied after a moment, tone even and expression blank. *
"Me being a masochist is what keeps you around?" She asked mildly. "That certainly puts an interesting spin on things." 3
He wasn't sure how to respond. For a moment, he said nothing, merely looked ahead as if he hadn't heard her. He could retort in a rather sarcastic manner, but really, he suddenly didn't feel up to the task. "My sticking around has just about everything to do with your never-failing company. I prefer your presence much more than most others. And I hardly find it based solely on your masochism." *
"Perhaps," Her expression took on a slightly more serious aura, "But it was solely based upon a connection that started out only because of something that could really be considered a lie when it comes right down to it. Or near enough to one to be called little else."
The thought made her uncomfortable. Because, really, he wouldn't be here now but for the accident that had brought them together, no? 3
Hiei scowled. "Lie?" He repeated, not sure what exactly she was referring to. He couldn't exactly see what all was a lie about the bond, other than the fact that he'd jumped right in without figuring out what he'd agreed to in the first place. But he hadn't lied in the least when he'd agreed that night to be her protector. Toriko's protector? Didn't matter.
And she hadn't lied when she'd said she needed someone of his capabilities to be around. She'd be dead were it not for… several circumstances, he realized. Some of his help, some of other's. *
"Lie. Manipulation. Deceit. Call it what you want, I can't claim entirely in the end I didn't trick you into the pact in the first place." She paused for a second before going on, turning thoughtful. "It's the only reason we're sharing in one another's company now, is it not? After all, what interest would such a ferocious fire demon as yourself have in the weak and mild humanoid who couldn't even consider Demon World without having a mental breakdown."
She gave him a sidelong glance out of the corner of her eye, struggling not to smile as the next thought occured, "I suppose I should thank Toriko for that really, but I'd just be thanking myself, now wouldn't I?" The question was, of course, rhetorical. 3
Hiei didn't so much as make a sound, his thoughts turning as he considered the days before the pact, and the ones that followed the bond he'd tossed himself into. He could have just as easily said no, if he'd wanted to. What had stopped him from doing so, he wasn't sure. Pity? Not likely; he'd never acted on such an emotion before. Not in that way.
Though, he did have to admit that, without the bond, he wouldn't have looked at her twice, more than likely. He'd been curious of her, yes, but once he'd figured out her thing about demons, he likely would have scoffed at her and turned the other way.
Would he have ended up curious enough to return?
Really, he wasn't sure what would have happened without the bond. Perhaps Kurama would have taken it, taken up the responsibility to watch over her. He would have done much better at it than Hiei himself had.
Which lead to the thought that Youko had once been her champion too. Meaning it was very likely he would be marked as well, due to his… personality and their past relationship, which he had noticed that night when Youko had come out how familiar they were.
"Yoku" is what he'd called her. Just as Kit did.
…
Damn.
"It doesn't matter." he replied in the end, eyes forward still and thoughts suddenly churning over and over several things. *
Yes, it does. She protested to herself, almost immediately countering herself with 'no, it doesn't really.' Because in the end here she was and there he was and he was acting for all the world that he wanted to be there, at least for now. After all, he spent all that time looking for her. And chose to be with her for the moment above other things she didn't doubt he could be better doing with his time.
On an impulse, she turned in mid-stride and stepped up on her tip-toes to plant the softest kiss on Hiei's cheek before continuing to walk.
"Thank you. By the way." She watched her feet as she kept walking. "I don't think I ever said that." 3
Hiei gave the briefest of pauses when Shikiyoku twisted in his direction, eyes cutting to look at her blankly even as her lips touched his cheek. When she pulled away and continued walking, he too picked up his natural pace, watching her for a moment longer before turning forward, resisting the urge to rub at his cheek because it was such an odd feeling.
"The only thanks I need is simple: your company here and there." he retorted, his hand in his pocket twitching just slightly before it settled again, the urge passing just as quickly as it had come. *
Shikiyoku resisted turning her gaze to the sky, "Well, it's so good to know I'm so popular that you want me around every now and then. Heaven forbid you get tired of me and dismiss me from your presence." Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "Remind me to add 'at Hiei's beck and call' to my list of functions in life." She smirked.
"Thanks for the compliment, though." That actually sounded sincere. 3
Hiei fought back a quick reply and instead gave a scoff. A part of him seemed to take her words with ire, and another part merely took them as her form of a joke. Which part of him won out, though, he didn't know. So he took a moment before giving another scoff.
"I suppose if you wish I could demand all of your time and allow no other to be nearby. But I'm sure your consorts-in-training would have a few words to say about it." His lips turned into a dark sneer. "Not that I'd mind a good fight." His expression turned neutral again. "But I'll stick with every now and then and use the term rather loosely." *
"I would only wish it were it something you wished for yourself." She realized how confusing that seemed, but it was true. It was very easy still to only desire what another wanted, while at the same time she felt she wouldn't wish for anything that the other despised.
She needed to figure out a way to get over that. The Consort situation was much different than that of a Champion: they were meant to be equals, not one in the service of the other. Not all the time anyway. Give and take, as it were. 3
Hiei didn't turn to look at her. He pondered her words for a moment, took them into consideration before his lips turned up in a smirk that just ghosted across his features for the briefest of moments before turning neutral again. "I don't think wish to be the correct terminology." He pulled his hand from his pocket and rubbed at his cheek, where it itched just briefly.
Because really, he wanted to spend his time with her. As much as she'd allow him, if possible. But there were pesky obstacles, pesky little creatures that would get in the way if he let them. And, in a way, he'd be getting in the way of her own well-being. And that he didn't want.
Especially if his suspicions were right and Youko was to be involved. *
"Oh?" She replied, features settling into a smile, "Didn't you know? Haven't you been told? Your wish is my command." 3
We are not pacted. It isn't that way anymore, fool. You have things to do, decisions to make. I'd be in the way, though I will enjoy every moment of causing the trouble.
What a selfish fool I am.
"Still have strawberries?" He asked suddenly. "They smell… appetizing and I find myself wanting one." *
"As it is my duty to fulfill your desires, so too shall you have your wish granted." She announced with a flourish only off-set by her grin, producing for him a handful of strawberries, eyes sparkling. "Now, however, I fulfill for you because I want to, and not because a bond dictates that I must." She clarified. 3
Hiei raised a brow at her before reaching over and plucking three strawberries from her grasp, tumbling two of them from one hand to the other and sticking the other in his mouth, his teeth biting into it but not cutting it all the way through. He savored the juice that ran along his lip and into his mouth, the fruit bursting with flavor he'd been trying to ignore the smell of for what was entirely too long of a time.
AFter a hesitation, he bit down and began chewing on it, his fingers holding the fruit in place at his lips.
She is happier this way.
"Thanks." *
"My pleasure to oblige." She clasped her hands together behind her back as she continued lightly stepping down the sidewalk, eyes roving around the surroundings.
"Though if I'm being perfectly honest, I can't say things were not incredibly easy as a Ward." A bit of wistfulness crept into her tone. "Never having to think for myself because I always had another to think of."
Her tone lowered, as did her gaze, and she muttered, "I have no idea what I'm doing. Not in the slightest. I'm...I feel a little lost, really." Okay, a lot lost. Not even kidding. 3
Hiei crunched on the strawberry again and turned his eyes over to Shikiyoku as she began speaking, his tongue snaking out and retrieving a bit of the rogue juice that rolled from his lips and to his chin, catching it before his tongue disappeared behind his lips again. He made a small sound of acknowledgement at her words, saying he'd heard her, but didn't have a verbal answer at that moment as his mouth was otherwise occupied.
He swallowed a minute later.
"Do what you're capable." he said calmly, even giving a very slight, almost unnoticeable shrug. "and it's easy to say do what you want to." *
"The problem is I haven't the faintest idea of either what I'm 'capable,' as you so eloquently put it, or what exactly it is that I want to do." She mused aloud, finding it relatively interesting that she was bouncing ideas off of him of all people.
Had she always done that?
"And I really don't know how to figure it out for that matter." 3
Hiei scoffed quietly to himself. "If you're asking me for answers about yourself, then you're in the wrong place." He stuffed another strawberry in his mouth, this time whole save for the stem, which he tossed to the side. He chewed slowly at the red fruit, lips sealed to keep any from making a rogue escape until he swallowed again, his hand now empty and in his pocket, his stomach satisfied and mind settled.
And really, he had no ideas for her, because even before, he hadn't known what she'd enjoyed doing on her own time. Because, really, she'd given all of her time to him, her champion.
Which he hadn't realized until then. *
Shikiyoku gave him a searching look, "What? You mean all those absolutely ferocious looks and not a brain for a thought between them?" She appeared accepting of the information. "I suppose we can't have it all, now can we?" 3
Hiei was quick to react with a harsh glare from the corners of his eyes, narrowed to slits at her and his lips pulling into a thin line of irritation. His teeth gnashed together for a moment, his jaw locking up and the muscles giving a twitch here and there.
"You could go home and deal with Bird-Brain. I'm sure he'd enjoy that, and you'd learn a thing or two about what you do and do not want." *
She easily kept her amusement as his subsequently 'ferocious' look in her direction under wraps and refrained from commenting on it, though she did meet his rather baleful gaze with a brief, mild, and almost disinterested one meant to inform him that she found him neither 'scary' nor particularly intimidating. She knew him rather well, after all.
"Ah, see? That wasn't so hard was it? And that is an idea now, isn't it?" She appeared to consider it. "I'm not really sure why you would mention that specifically, however." There was a slight pause. "Unless you mean to be rid of me, in which case you should just come out and say, 'Woman, I wish to be rid of you.' I would oblige that sort request as well you know, and I'd much rather you come out and say these things as assumptions are-" What got us into this position in the first place. She bit back the end of her sentence, frowning. It was all actually her fault wasn't it? She'd be just as happy going and jumping off a bridge in this situation if she thought it would do any good.
At the moment, she really couldn't say that she didn't regret breaking their pact, as she currently could see nothing particularly good having come of it.
Except for the fact that you've got Taka and Kit around now.
Yeah, and where had that gotten her exactly?
You thought Kit was dead.
And maybe it should have stayed that way.
You don't really mean it.
On the whole, this entire Consort thing had really only provided a sort of bother, getting people-err, demons-crawling out of the woodwork when with most of them she would have rather that they simply stayed there.
In the woodwork.
And she had a sinking feeling that the mess she dragged them all into had only just begun.
After all, it wasn't exactly up to her how quickly the process went.
She held back a groan. 3
Hiei allowed Shikiyoku's sentence to go unfinished, noticing almost immediately the way she receded into her own thoughts and her own world, obviously not even waiting for a reply from him for a moment before she seemed to join reality again, even if just barely. He turned his eyes forward, expression neutral as it had been before, and silently he roved over a few ideas.
They could go back to the Ninth Layer. Visit Kafu again if she wanted, and perhaps she'd remember it this time.
Then again, it could easily turn into a sour situation, being in a rowdy, crowded bar such as the Niiro.
Better not.
A sudden thought occurred to him, and he stopped mid-step, eyes closing for the briefest of moments before he released a puff of air.
How'd he forget that? And he'd just visited the place too. Yesterday, actually.
Though, to be fair, he didn't linger long.
Because as another had warned, the area would "steal souls".
Heh. Fool.
And with another scoff and a blank expression, Hiei was slowly folding himself between the layers, eyes on Shikiyoku as he concentrated on the mere thought of wanting her to follow. *
Instead of a groan, she let out a sort of sigh, staring up at the sky and mulling over most of the previous thoughts she had, until she found herself lowering her face and looking in Hiei's direction, an uncertain expression in her eyes until she realized she could only half-way see him and she let out the smallest noise of amusement.
"Clever demon," She murmured with a smirk as she began bending herself inbetween the layers.
If she was being truthful, she hadn't really expected him to catch on quite so quick, and certainly not use it to his advantage. 3
The amount of amusement Hiei felt at watching Shikiyoku turn to him was almost impossible for him to keep under wraps. When she made a sound he barely caught from where he was on the Second Layer, his expression shifted to one of taunting amusement as he slid up another layer, and another, until he was turning and moving across the layer he so desired to be on, his feet carrying him at half speed merely out of laziness despite his internal excitement to show another this trick. This… form of amusement no one else but he had been granted for the longest of time.
But he could share the experience, if he wanted. And for once, he actually wanted to.
So he ran along the layer until he was standing at the very place he'd been at the day before, darkness having fallen over the old campsite that still had a very quiet hum of energy residing over it. Still had the quiet protection spell woven into the air, a defensive mechanism to any who dared destroy the area.
He slowed to a walk and moved amongst the trees, through the place where he clearly remembered sitting in front of a fire of his own creation, where he'd spent many nights sleeping.
The same place he'd shown Shikiyoku in her dreams, though he doubted she remembered it, really. And if she did, then all the more better.
He moved through the circle of the overgrown campsite and to the cliff's edge where he'd lost his jewel long ago, eyes slowly looking down over the edge and his toes just meeting the edge of the cliff.
He slid his hands into his pockets and stared down for a while, amusement gone for the time being and curiosity taking its place.
"Do you remember this?" *
Shikiyoku remained quiet as she followed after the fire demon, still wrapping her mind around what exactly he'd just done.
As if he needed any more excuse to be as taciturn as she knew he often was. She could see it becoming a problem.
For her anyway.
She could see him just doing it to spite her.
As they began walking through the campsite, she found herself having to resist reaching out to touch things as they went by, and she slowed to a stop a few feet behind him when he took up a position standing at the cliff.
She almost nodded at first in answer to his question, though he naturally wouldn't have seen it.
"I do." 3
Though she couldn't see it, Hiei's lips turned up in the most crooked, most wicked of smirks as he stared down at the little specks below that he knew to be trees, the wind blowing up from the ledge and making it almost difficult not to move with it.
There was silence for a moment as he reconsidered, but in the end decided he'd do it anyway. Because, why not?
"I can assume you know its significance?" In more way than one, really. His lips twitched again, and after another moment, he turned to Shikiyoku, his expression blank and unreadable, hands still in his pockets. *
Her head tilted slightly at him when he turned to look at her and she kept her face fairly neutral, if her lips did struggle a bit against smiling at him.
"I could hazard a guess." She replied lightly, completely unaware of the reason as to why he had brought her here and still trying to decide how she felt about it. 3
Hiei couldn't see the uncertainty, but he sure could guess at it despite her neutral expression. His facade remained in place, his mind blank of any thoughts other than the ones he presented to her, so as to not give anything away. He stared at her a few moments longer before he turned to look over his shoulder at the long drop again, expression momentarily shifting to and odd one as he recalled falling from the cliff, catching himself with his sword, but not his gemstone.
He'd lost something that day.
But he'd also found something else.
"I never did find it." He grumbled, momentarily lost in the memory of searching before his eyes focused again on Shikiyoku, red meeting green in a calm manner. "Scaling mountains isn't exactly… fun, per se."
His lips twitched.
But the fall is.
He took a single step backwards and dropped from the cliffside, eyes not leaving Shikiyoku until he couldn't see her anymore. *
Well, she knew that. The one he was wearing came from his twin, though Shikiyoku was fairly certain he'd never told the Koorime what he was to her. For whatever ridiculous reason he had for not doing so.
Just because she knew such things, did not mean she dwelled on them. It wasn't as if he had ever come out and told her any of this. But a wandering hybrid who just happened to have the same color and shape of eyes as a female demon with whom he shared aspects of a certain cold element she refused to chalk up to coincidence.
She's not the only one, either.
Her lips did actually twitch into a smile, which very quickly turned curious as she sensed the step Hiei took before she actually watched him do so, her head tilting further in question as she watched him disappear over the edge.
"I said bridge, not cliff." She mumbled as she stepped over to the edge Hiei stood at moments before.
A moment of hesitation overtook her and she glanced back at the rest of the campsite, turning and strolling towards it before making a noise something between a scoff and a laugh after getting a few feet, pivoting around and running full-tilt for the edge, beginning as she ran to unravel wide strands of her energy.
The almost golden tendrils emerged from everywhere along her body and as she jumped clear of the cliff's edge, there was a moment where she slowed in the air, letting the energy lengthen like kite-tails before she let more of it shimmer over the rest of her, creating a soft glow that covered her completely as she twisted around in the air, eyes coming closed.
Just like a dance, hm?
She gave a huff of laughter as she righted herself and opened her eyes, making sure she would be diving head-first.
And when gravity actually caught a hold of her and started to pull her down faster and faster, the threads of energy streamlined behind her as she fell, her hair and clothing whipping upwards in the opposite direction of her flight. 3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star