A/N: Hello once again, Lovers of Yu Yu Hakusho!
This particular chapter may have some grammatical-type errors in it as I just copy-pasta'd it right from our Google Doc and didn't go through to edit it at all. I am actually leaving for a weekend trip tonight and will be posting this chapter from my phone since I didn't prepare this ahead of time like I have in the past. Hence why there is no "Previously" section or title for your viewing pleasure either. You still love me though, right? Tee hee.
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).
The above rule also applies to Akari's old friend Isamu when he is in his dog-form.
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
As Youko, Kitoushi, and Taka get along like they've known one another all their lives,
Shikiyoku sits with Hiei to eat, though she is joined shortly by the others.
Kitoushi settles down with Nabu to sleep
as Youko and Shikiyoku begin exchanging wit,
and after a while Taka leaves the house.
Youko eventually slips off to sleep
and Shikiyoku goes to her bedroom to lay down,
Hiei following her.
Sensing her tenseness, Hiei offers to remedy it,
climbing over her to slide between her and the wall and face her.
He begins sharing memories with her via the Jagan,
distracting her from her previous discomfort.
When she turns away from him in a moment of faux-annoyance,
he grabs her back and turns her around to face him, pulling her close.
When Shikiyoku maintains that he doesn't have to do that sort of thing,
Hiei realizes that she still doesn't take him as a serious contended for Consort.
~!**!~
Akari sits around with Manami and a few members of the pack,
exchanging stories until Isamu wants to talk to her.
He says she and Hiyori will be going with him to make a deal on the Seventh Layer,
though Akari refuses and walks away from him.
Later, Akari asks Manami to go with her to help keep tabs on Isamu and Hiyori.
The next day the four of them travel around
and Akari makes a deal for information in exchange for weapons,
which she, Manami and two other pack members work on the next day.
Manami finds out that Akari asked for information on Isamu,
and later that day she receives the information for which she asked,
though it appears to be nothing good.
The past few days had been nothing but Akari keeping busy with random tasks for and around the pack, some of her own accord and others for the pack specifically. She'd gotten what she needed, and had been very distant with most of the pack up until today.
Where she was supposed to be leaving.
But instead..
I will leave after this.
Akari pulled to a stop mid-stride, creating a little groove in the dirt where her shoe had dug in as she rounded on Isamu. "Why are we here?"
"Because you know how to handle these creatures, and I do not."
"They're demons." Akari huffed. "You handle them just like any other demon."
"But I do not have the… charm."
Akari's eyes narrowed.
"We're wasting time," Hiyori piped, standing a few meters away from them. "It will be morning soon."
"And why is she here again?"
"Because Riki had to leave and didn't want her alone in the camp."
"She wouldn't have been alone. Manami was there. Seiji. The warriors. Come on, Isamu! You're getting ridiculously lousy with that lying crap."
His eyes narrowed at her. "You know perfectly well what I mean by 'alone'."
"Actually, I don't. Inform me. Educate me."
He opened his mouth.
"Guys…" Akari turned to Hiyori, staring at the girl who had a foot tapping impatiently. "By the time you two give it up, I'll have a mate and three pups."
"You're too young to be thinking that way."
"I'm also a dog. Part of my nature."
Akari scowled.
"Can we get this over with?"
"I see him now. In you." Akari seethed at the child. "Father."
"You should. You hated him long enough to recognize him." she countered.
Akari threw her hands up in the air. "I can't win with you! I tried being nice, I was insulted. I tried being distant, you looked for me. I tried being crude, and-"
"There is no winning. Only you getting out of here. You don't belong anymore." The girl took a step forward. "Your lack of ears, tail, and claws proves that!"
Isamu huffed. "We're wasting time."
Akari turned a glare at the male. I disapprove of your tactics. Your leadership role. You. I disapprove of you. "Lead the way," she said through gritted teeth.
Isamu turned and took off again, Akari in tow and Hiyori at his side. Pesky brat. Idiot male.
They ran through the seventh layer, silence ensuing again as Akari continued to monitor the male. You didn't answer my actual question… Evasive little shit. *
~!**!~
The next few days Shikiyoku managed at a much better pace than the overwhelming suffocation and drainage she felt at being around four different demons at the same time who were all vying for her attention at once in their own way.
There was still one other encounter with a mob of demons needing their marks removed, but Taka had afterwards taken her on a lovely late afternoon flight and they had napped together in a tree, after which he provided her with a picnic in the branches, prepared by himself. He presented her with a pendant that had a pink star diamond set in, with three small brown feathers grouped together to one side of it, the necklace itself the color of the deepest-brown earth like his hair.
Youko took her on a midnight run at one point, and neither of them would talk about exactly what happened, but their expressions were so mischievous as they stalked together back into the closet where Shikiyoku still kept various treasures locked away that it wasn't difficult to guess they were likely adding new shinies to the old.
Kitoushi, much to his chagrin, found his duty to curing the disease taking up more of his time than he wished, ruefully observing the others as they would spirit her away, though noticing that she very carefully made sure to spend time with each of them separately instead of all at once.
However, no matter how long she stayed away, or who she had been with that day, each night Shikiyoku would retire to her bedroom and lock the door behind her. 3
Over the past few days, Hiei had made a point in remaining in the house, occasionally sitting on the couch near Kitoushi- which he found he didn't mind too much- or laying around Shikiyoku's room. And on the rare occasion he left, it was usually with him returning and hiding a new stash of Sweet Snow or something else he'd eat at a later time.
Which, at one point, he'd hopped in before Taka and stolen Shikiyoku away- just as amusing as the first time, he might add- and he'd made a point to visit the most random of places, where he'd quite contentedly shared half a tub of Sweet Snow with her.
Aside from that, he hadn't bothered much in stepping in the way of the others. Not when her nights were very consistently his. He allowed them to each have their fun, only to make a point to be in her room and on her bed before she returned and lay with him. He'd learned that it was much easier to test his own limitations when it caused embarrassment for the woman, which he took full advantage of whenever it came to mind, and he'd actually found several things… enjoyable. Such as keeping an arm over her when he actually fell asleep. A hand in hers occasionally when she stirred due to dreams. Things like that weren't so bad.
He'd also come to realize that it was only him who could bring out such a reaction. Nothing the others did seemed to phase her.
Which made it all the more fun to simply stare at her.
Especially when the others didn't seem to notice he was doing as such when in the exact same room as them.
~!**!~
Several more hours of running, and Akari was thinking back to a conversation she'd had with Manami. One that very deeply entailed that the girl would take over as Alpha once Akari had decided to undermine the one who had been…
Selfish. Arrogant. Reckless.
The day before, he'd put three members of the pack in danger when he went on a trek on this layer. And she'd stayed quiet about it, but the warriors and the others hadn't.
It had revealed much about this demon.
Thankfully, Manami had agreed.
"Akari," Isamu suddenly called, making her blink and realize she'd sped right by him and Hiyori, who had stopped a few meters back.
She pulled to a stop and turned to face him.
"Lost, love?"
"Just a little."
"You had to have the brainless one come along."
"Enough, Hiyori."
As if it couldn't get worse.
Akari calmly made her way back to the pair, looking around her surroundings and realizing it wasn't a very open area. In fact, large, drooping trees hung over their heads, shielding everything from her immediate eyesight.
Alarms rang in her head.
"You're seriously meeting a client here?"
"His terms, not mine."
"You're terrible at negotiating."
"Which is why you're here."
Akari continued to look about. "This is dangerous. Especially since you brought Hiyori with us."
"You'll be fine. Why so nervous?"
Akari shot a glare at him. "If you don't have alarms ringing in that thick skull of yours, then you aren't fit for the status of Alpha."
He blinked. "Are you revoking it?"
"No."
He released a breath. "Don't scare me like that."
"I don't have enough energy to revoke it, Isamu. I'm not old enough to do so. Not without killing you, which would effectively place me as Alpha."
"Is that how it is?" His tone was amused.
"Yep."
"Well, since you're uncomfortable, let's move on. There's a clearing nearby."
"What's this deal of yours for?"
"The pack needs new hunting grounds. This layer is abundant with game."
"That's because the demons here don't give a crud about the game. And you'll likely kill the pack here." She paused. "There's a reason you aren't on this layer naturally."
"Aka!"
Akari turned, frowning at the voice. She stared in the direction she could hear Manami running from, a brow raised.
"How'd you get on this layer?" Isamu had stopped to turn and stare at the other, miffed at the surprise.
"I brought her. She asked." Akari glanced to Isamu.
Manami came into view, huffing as she pulled to a stop at Akari's side, bending over to rest her hands on her knees. "Is this the spot?"
"Well, I'm not meeting anyone here. I'm going further North, where I am certain I can see my surroundings."
Akari turned, Manami following without a word, Isamu and Hiyori hesitating before doing the same. "The client isn't very kind to sudden changes."
"The client can get over it." *
~!**!~
Kitoushi blinked at the television, and he never blinked at the television unless a thought had occurred strong enough to pull him from his analysis of the virus within him.
Youko and Taka and Shikiyoku were all gone, Youko on 'business' and Shikiyoku with Taka to search for more Marked demons. It seemed he had elected to be in charge of that sort of mess and as far as Kitoushi knew, the bird handled it quite well.
Glancing over at the fire demon who had adopted his customary position at the other end of the couch, Kit frowned and took a breath.
"Hiei, you're the one that was closest to her before all of this. Is she now acting any differently than she did while you were her Champion? Anything drastically is of course my main concern, but when you are with her do you sense anything of her other side?"
~!**!~
Shikiyoku sighed and collapsed forward into Taka's outstretched arms, the bird extending his wings as he shifted her around until he had one arm under her knees and the other at her back and she cuddled closer to his chest.
She had just finished clearing another giant queue of demons from their Marks, which she noticed left her feeling quite weary each time she did so, and she felt grateful at this point to just be flying home, letting Taka take the lead as he always did when it was required of him.
"Look at that sunset, sweetheart."
Shikiyoku lifted her cheek from where it had been resting against him and looked out from where he held her safely against his warm skin, feeling his wings beating steadily in the air behind them.
He had come to a pause, admiring the colors.
"Mm." She agreed, her eyes coming back closed as she leaned back against him.
Taka let out a quiet chuckle and kept flying, reaching the house in no time at all and hovering just outside the window of her room, shifting her just enough that he could open it-they had taken to leaving it unlocked for this express reason-and maneuvering himself inside with a practiced ease that had come from many previous encounters, his wings disappearing at just the right time.
He glanced over at the bedroom door, closed as always and locked he assumed as well, but kept moving around the end of the bed to set Shikiyoku down in it.
As he leaned back and took his arms out from under her, she reached up and grabbed at the inside edge of his coat, her small fingers wrapping at the fabric there and pulling him closer.
she leaned up with half-closed eyes and planted a kiss on his cheek as he came back down in deference to her unspoken request and smiled as her lips contacted his skin.
He reached over and untangled her fingers out from his clothes, laying the hand at her side.
"Thank you, Taka." She blinked sleepily at him.
He relented and leaned back down over her, kissing her forehead and murmuring, "You're welcome, sweetheart."
Without protesting, as he knew she did not like for anyone to stay in her room for any length of time, Taka turned and went back to the window, starting to duck out.
"Leave it open?" She muttered at him, turning onto her side towards the wall, watching Taka pause and look at her. She gave him a sleepy smile, "It smells nice."
"Weirdo."
"Bird-brain."
"I'll leave it open."
"You better." She buried her face into the pillow as he laughed and launched himself back into the air. 3
~!**!~
Hiei lifted his head from his hand and turned his chin just a little to look at the cat in curiosity. Until now, moments with Kitoushi had been rather silent, and they'd left the other be for… whatever they were doing. Hiei himself usually toyed with his energy on the down-low, while he assumed Kitoushi had other things he was concentrated on.
Which was proven correct when the cat spoke.
The fire demon considered this for a moment. He thought about every time he'd used telepathy.
After a minute, he made a negatory sound that was meant to answer both questions at once. "No, I cannot sense her other form. No, she is not the same." He shifted his weight as he continued thinking on it, trying to put words to it.
And failing.
"She's different in all three aspects."
~!**!~
Akari stood in the center of the clearing, playing with the rose in her hand and tapping a foot impatiently. An hour, and nothing.
Manami stood off to the side, leaning a shoulder into a tree. Hiyori was taking a small nap at Manami's feet. Isamu... had left to go find the demon they were supposed to be meeting. And he'd been gone for half an hour.
Akari looked at the bracelet on her wrist, noting keenly the lack of marking underneath it before focusing again on it, her thoughts on the gifter. She smiled a little at it, thinking she'd rather enjoy hunting him down and demanding a sundae. Extra cherries. No hot fudge.
Or maybe ramen.
"Akari?"
"Hm?"
"What is that, exactly?"
Akari looked up at Manami, then at the rose.
"I mean, I know it's a flower, but where did you get it? Where do you hide it?"
Akari gave a smile. "It was a gift from a long time ago. I usually hide it as a seed, in my pocket."
"How?"
Akari lifted the rose, stared at it, and then watched as it changed into nothing more than a seed between her forefinger and her thumb. "I simply picture it in either form, and it changes on its own."
"It's… pretty. Sentimental?"
'Only sentimental?'
She almost laughed at the question she heard in her head, said by the redhead a few weeks ago. "Very much so."
"Is it your Priority?"
"M-hm."
A pause. "I like it."
"I do too."
Both females smiled as she shifted the rose again, spinning it around and around in her fingers. When she heard movement, footsteps approaching, she turned it again into the seed and stuffed it in her pocket, aware that Manami had seen where she placed it. She smiled and winked at her best friend before looking in the direction the steps were coming from..
Akari shifted her weight. "Anything, Isamu?"
No reply.
Her eyes narrowed. "Isamu."
Nothing.
Alarms began to ring again and she turned to look at Manami. 'Get Hiyori out' she mouthed to the girl, who nodded and reached down.
The girl wasn't there.
"Like I said, sis, you don't belong." Akari turned around slowly to look down at the child, whose grin was wide. "You're not issuing the trade today. I am."
Akari's eyes narrowed and she took a step away carefully, energy beginning to move. "Hiyori, you're being stupid."
"Actually, she's quite smart for her age."
Akari felt a hand drop onto her shoulder, and she rounded to give an attack.
An attack that was brushed away very easily. "That wasn't very smart." The large, bulky demon grinned down at her, noting the hand that fled to her pocket, which he batted away. "Miss Hiyori, it was a pleasure. Tell your Alpha that he'll get his due."
"Gladly."
Akari growled, but before she knew it, she was out, her world darkened. *
~!**!~
It was almost as if a very thin shadow cast itself over the windowsill, growing longer and then coming into the room to stand warily at the end of the bed.
Shikiyoku had just started to dream when she felt on some level the bed shifting as if someone was crawling up from the bottom, and without even considering otherwise, she assumed it was Hiei and waited expectantly in her semi-awareness for him to settle down beside her and gather her into his arms as she had come to expect from him.
Her sleepy smile widened a little as she was not disappointed and she took a deep breath.
Her eyes snapped open when it did not smell of Hiei.
"You."
~!**!~
"Hm." Kitoushi knew Hiei meant all of 'mind, body, spirit.' "I cannot sense the virus taking root in her just yet, but-" Kitoushi made a sound of impatience, "I sincerely hope it stays that way." He glanced over at Hiei again, "Not that I doubt your having already done so, but I would appreciate it if you might continue to monitor her condition." 3
Hiei stared at Kitoushi, who provided the smallest of explanations, and yet just enough of one to stay any curiosity the fire demon had. "Naturally," Hiei replied calmly, turning his eyes forward again. On some level, he'd become aware of the presence upstairs, of Shikiyoku having returned. She he pushed himself to stand and moved towards the stairs.
He paused briefly.
"Should you find anything new, I'd ask of you to inform me."
He continued on his way.
~!**!~
She wasn't sure how long she'd been out, or really how long she'd been awake, but Akari found herself sitting at a long table, at one end of it, and a demon at the other. A demon whose eyes were closed and lips were tilted up in the slightest of smiles.
A knowing smile, if she could describe it.
She rubbed at her temple, where she could feel the bruise forming, but not healing as quickly as it should.
And she felt… sluggish. As if-
My energy.
She blinked and turned inward, finding her energy barricaded within her, rather similar to how it had felt when she had been grabbed by Otento so many months ago.
The silence remained heavy on the air until Akari spoke, despite her reluctance to do so.
"Might I ask where I am, and why?"
"This, miss Hanase, is my castle. You are the guest of honor."
Akari paused mid-rub and dropped her hand, staring at the demon. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed her mouth again. It was only at that moment that she realized that she couldn't sense this demon's power level.
Meaning he wasn't one to trifle with by any means.
"To what… and whom… do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself yet." She felt as if those words were biting, with a hidden meaning behind them. "My name is Yomi, and I am one of the kings on this layer."
Akari's breath left her in one small whoosh.
King?
She sat back in her chair.
"You, miss Hanase, will be very involved in the upcoming war."
War?!
"And you will be training here with my specialized personnel to move beyond the Ninth Layer, and to the veil. As it stands, I have been made aware you are not even capable of layer traversing at this exact moment, but have in the past."
No way…
"That will be fixed." *
~!**!~
A pair of amethyst eyes peered down at her, though they did not gleam. Blonde hair that was near-white streamed out on the pillow next to her, but did not shine. The jawbones were too gaunt to be attractive any longer, the skin dull and pale and withdrawn...
Shikiyoku was almost surprised she could have even for an instant mistaken the thin, cool arms around her for the strong warmth of the fire demon with whom she had chastely shared her bed for over a week now.
And the smell...it was so sharp, but so smooth, reminding her somehow of one of the edges of the jewel in the pendant around her neck.
All of this she gleaned in an instant, and along with it came the knowledge that all he desired at that moment was to simply hold her. Nothing more.
She did not think it was possible to look upon this one with kind eyes, but she did. Kind eyes for his state, for the brokenness which she saw and felt and...more than that...kindness for the dark, heart-shaped Mark that was tattooed over half of his lips and curving along his chin, the swirls spreading up the side of his face and just under his jawline.
He blinked at her, but said nothing.
...she wasn't even sure if he could have said anything, but she remained quiet nonetheless. 3
Hiei reached for the door, touching the handle just briefly to ensure it was still locked, as always, and then phased through the layers, head down as he moved through the door and landed on the carpet of Shikiyoku's bedroom, every intention being to move to the bed, crawl over Shikiyoku, and lay beside her as was customary now.
Except, when he lifted his head, he blinked.
Only once, he blinked. But within that millisecond, such a strong force of shock went through him that he froze.
Next, pure rage took over, making his muscles shake and his hand twitch for his blade.
Except… She was too close to the danger.
I will burn you alive.
~!**!~
"But first," Yomi spoke up, not moving as a demon stepped up beside him and set down a small cup. "A drink." She looked down to the cup placed near her, eyeing it warily. "You must be parched, after such happenings. Drink. Rejuvenate."
Akari looked up slowly, hearing in the tone of the other that she had no choice in the matter. So, her hand encircled the cup, just a little smaller than most, and lifted it to her lips, smelling the distortion of the contents before she even had her lips to the rim. In one swift motion, she downed the awful taste, refusing to make a face as she set the cup down.
Another demon entered the room. "You beckoned for me, sir?"
Akari didn't look at the demon heavily clad in armor, even when Yomi gestured to her with a nod. "She is your project for the day."
The newcomer moved towards her, offering a polite hand to help her stand. "May I?"
Akari hesitated.
"He will be making your armor, to ensure that you are not mistaken for a trespasser in my castle. He will see to it."
Akari nodded and turned to the demon, not taking his hand as she stood.
"I'll have this done by the end of the day."
"I look forward to your work." *
~!**!~
The instant Hiei appeared in the room, Shikiyoku moved, before he even landed on the layer, extricating herself from Otento's arms and standing right up in front of Hiei, putting her hands over his elbows calmly, firmly, feeling rage like fire burning through his bones in the form of his single, utmost desire.
"Hiei." She said, looking into his eyes, immediately pleading with him. "Fire-prince. Don't. I know what you want to do. Please. His spirit is broken. It would do no good. He would not understand. Look at him. You'll see it. There's nothing there anymore. Please." 3
Hiei's hand twitched again, eyes on the lounging demon for a moment longer, until Shikiyoku touched him. Spoke, her tone pleading. He ground his teeth together and turned dark eyes onto her, narrowing before they turned up again. Another twitch of his hand.
She's out of harm's way.
Now would be the perfect time.
"Fire-Prince".
Hiei's eyes closed, the muscles in his jaw flexing just as much as they could, his entire body rigid with the desire, the pure need to kill this one.
He didn't even breathe.
"Broken Spirit excuses nothing." *
Shikiyoku rested her head into Hiei's chest, still holding his arms, her entire body ready for him to act against her wishes and unsure how exactly she would respond.
"Hiei..." She kept her head against him, her voice quiet, "Look again. He...he's marked." 3
When her head touched his chest, the fire demon's eyes came open to stare down at her in disbelief. Both hands twitched this time, tempted to move her aside, so he could end it. For months he had wanted nothing more than to kill this being.
But now the one he'd attacked was standing in the fire demon's way.
He let a breath out through his nostrils.
"All the more reason." *
The demon on the bed was entirely aware of the fact that these two were talking about him, talking about whether or not he might live to breathe for the next few moments.
And it was with that cautious thought in mind that the demon slowly started to move, deliberately bringing himself to the edge of the bed and swinging his legs slowly over so he could stand up, his eyes wary, haunted, the look of an animal who had been hunted for too long and trusted no one.
Until his gaze fell upon Shikiyoku, upon her long hair hanging down her back. His eyes softened, grew calmer.
She could feel what the demon wished to do, what he desired to do, and she did not move, only repeating in her mind that she did not wish for Hiei to kill him, did not wish for the fire demon to have the blood of a Marked-One on his hands.
As soon she knew Otento would take his first step, moving for the pair, her grip on Hiei's arms tightened.
"Please." Her core was rushing faster than it had in a long time, and she barely even noticed how it set her skin shimmering now, felt it moving along her scalp to activate pheromones and release them into the air.
His long legs afforded him the need for only another step before he stood directly behind her, and much like Youko had done to her over the back of the couch several days ago, his arms slipped over her shoulders and had her standing back up with her head raised, his chin coming to rest on one shoulder and looking up at Hiei from it with blank purple eyes. 3
Hiei stared down at Shikiyoku, very aware of her energy in the room, moving around her body as she continued to plead with him in every way he could sense possible. His ears picked up on the sound of the other demon in the room moving, and his body became aware of the intense silent plea that seemed to scream on the air from the one leaning into him.
He drew in a long breath, releasing it.
The moment Otento touched Shikiyoku, he moved her from his reach, dark glare in the other's direction. And while his hand again twitched for his sword, he did not reach for it.
Anything for her if she asked…
He remembered that thought from a few days ago.
And it set his jaw in place again.
"Do that again and there will be no plea from her that will save your life." *
Otento only blinked and stood back up as Shikiyoku was slipped away from him. She appeared to make no protest to it, looking up at Hiei's eyes and simultaneously wanting desperately for him to look at hers.
The demon stood there and tilted his head as his eyes followed the trail of her hair down her back, the faintest of smiles pulling at his thin lips, but his eyes remaining as unemotional and empty as ever.
"...Marked?"
His voice was...almost painful for Shikiyoku to hear and she did not dare look away or move an inch from Hiei, but she nodded slowly.
"Yes. You both are."
Otento's eyes lifted from her to look at Hiei, his emaciated figure staying in place as he hollowly took in Hiei's death-filled glare. He blinked once at him, and then his eyes flickered for the door behind them.
"There is food down there." Shikiyoku responded to his sudden hunger, his desire to eat. She still did not let go of Hiei.
Otento took a careful step forward, eyes wide with what would have been fear as he looked at Hiei and then towards the door again.
When he took another step, several things happened all at once.
Shikiyoku's attention faltered for a second from Hiei's face, her eyes widening with shock as she looked down to see a razor-thin blade had pierced through from her back, her core, and out the other side. Otento had his arm around her throat and his head next to hers as she let go of Hiei's arms, the buzzing of her skin leaving her completely as she felt a dark coldness take its place over her core.
...I didn't feel his desire to stab me until just as he pierced my back...
In the next instant, her skin was erupting into an insatiable burn as her eyes narrowed and scars appeared all along her body. She blurred in-between the layers with the demon who held her as blood started pouring down from the wound, hearing his hoarse whisper in her ear, "If I can't have you, no one can have you," as she turned, grabbing his arm and ripping it away from herself, black eyes glaring at him.
Her other hand came up and jabbed over where his core lay, as she twisted his arm, fingers digging through his shirt into his skin, her breath ragged and labored.
His eyes had somehow come alive and he grasped at the wrist lodged around his core with his free hand, a clearly insane grin on his face, "Don't want to kiss it and make it go away?" He leaned in closer with the Mark towards her.
Her own voice rippled into the air like the edge of a blade, "I wouldn't give you the pleasure."
Her entire hand blackened and then the energy streamed off into his core from down her fingers, peeling away to reveal her scarred, ashen skin as it entered him and a second later erupted from his legs, his arms, his neck, blasting off his extremities and his head before the power disappeared in the next instant and blood started pouring from what was left of his torso, which slipped off Shikiyoku's fingers and dropped to the ground inbetween, spreading blood in every direction.
She had gotten splatters of his blood on her hands and part of her face, left standing by herself for only a moment before she started to follow after Otento's remains towards the ground.
Shikiyoku's vision wavered and her knees buckled, finding that she did not even have the strength to figure out how to unfold the layers from around herself and step back into the first layer away from the blood, her fever setting in and almost immediately putting her in a cold, shivering sweat as she dropped to the ground.
In less than five seconds, Otento lay in pieces between the layers with his blood pooling strangely and Shikiyoku was unconscious, trembling with fever.
If one happened to be listening, there was a single, distant cry, a dragon's call, that went silent and would not be heard again for a long while.
~!**!~
Kitoushi had made some sort of affirmative noise to Hiei as the fire demon left the room, but he had suddenly been struck with another idea with which to manipulate the virus and he turned back inwards, taking the thing in his metaphorical hands and starting to work his energy with it.
As always, he was still subconsciously aware of the area around him, his brain feeding him information through smell, through hearing, through feel.
He usually did not react to it, for usually there was little worth reacting to...
However, as soon as Shikiyoku's energy disappeared off of his radar from the room he knew she and Hiei were in, Kitoushi snapped back to reality and started moving for the stairs.
No...no, not now...please...not him...
~!**!~
Taka had gotten several miles above the house, looking down at the terrain below him, calculating which portions he and Shikiyoku had visited already and which areas they could still wander into and see about other Marked.
He gave a smile and a sort of quick, happy sigh that faded away as he became aware of something that was no longer there.
Shikiyoku.
Her energy had been stable below him and he tended to keep tabs on her whenever he was able, which had turned into this habit of constant checking to make sure he could always feel her nearby.
Kit had warned him about her switch, and while Taka wished for nothing more than for her to never have to switch, he was grateful to the cat for giving him a heads up.
Taka zeroed in to the last place he felt her and immediately took a head-dive, the absence of her energy sending his thoughts down another path he had not considered since Shikiyoku left the Ninth Level as the wind began rushing in his ears and the house below grew larger.
Shit. 3
It took a great deal of effort not to make a sound in protest to Shikiyoku's offer to Otento. He didn't trust this demon, and would much rather see the blonde bag of vile disgust tossed out the window. In bits. Without the ability to live from such a drop, other than to feel the impact before losing his last breath.
The mental image was almost satisfying, except that he wasn't acting on it.
He considered it very strongly when the demon looked to the door, took a step forward, then looked to Hiei again. He didn't like it. The demon shouldn't be allowed to stay. He wouldn't have it.
He'd just reached for his sword when the smell of blood filled the air and Otento was much too close. By the time Hiei had his sword drawn, Shikiyoku had her fingers buried in the demon's skin, her eyes darkened and her energy taking a drastic change.
A change that had the fire demon sitting back on his heels, watching with no small amount of amusement.
This would do, watching the demon die by the hand of the woman he'd tormented.
This would do.
He kept his eyes on Shikiyoku now, watching her wound and her body, waiting for a moment to step in. And, quite honestly, he was tempted to step in and see to her first, ensure her life was not in danger. But, he also knew that her life would remain in danger the longer this demon lived.
So he waited, sword in hand, just in case.
He waited, expression blank despite his personal satisfaction.
And then when he realized Shikiyoku was falling, he moved to the inbetween layer and made a very quick grab at her, moving her away from the pooling blood of the other she'd done away with when realizing he couldn't move from one layer to the next.
Which left him very confused for only a moment before directing his thoughts to the female in his arms, his eyes taking in the ashen color of her scarred skin.
He frowned, remembering that to switch her back, he would have to kiss her. Something he had yet to consider.
But, if it changed her back, stopped whatever virus made her fever set in for just a little longer, then he'd do it.
Hiei lowered himself and Shikiyoku to the floor of the in-between layer, holding her against his chest with one hand over the part of the wound her could reach in hopes of staunching the blood flow.
After just a split second's hesitation, he cast all thoughts away, all doubts and worries, and lowered his lips to hers.
Come back to me. *
The ashen color of her skin peeled back slowly at first, starting from her lips and moving faster as it passed over her face, shimmering down her hair and the rest of her body, ridding her skin of scars and replacing it with the healthy glow from before.
Unlike the last time, however, when the trail of the switch glimmered as it went, her entire body grew much smaller and as her consciousness returned, she could feel a darkness enveloping her core.
When her eyes blinked open, she looked very...normal. More like a human than even Toriko as the green of her eyes did not have their natural sparkle, and she felt strangely weak, her clothing baggy.
Kitoushi reached the door and didn't bother seeing if it was locked, quickly shifting forms and slipping through as any good cat knows how.
His nose twitched at the smell of blood as soon as he got through the door and he stared at what was left of Otento, tail lashing behind him and knowing that Shikiyoku's blood was on the air as well.
"Hiei, can you get her back to the layer?"
Taka landed back in the open window breathing heavily and, seeing nothing in the room, not daring to hope that Kit and Shikiyoku's first contract hadn't come back to get her.
"Kit?" He called, climbing into the room, knowing the cat could hear him if he was within earshot. 3
Hiei waited until he could feel no more of the hostile energy, the forming fever, or the cold skin of Shikiyoku's pain form before he pulled away, eyes remaining closed for the barest of moments after. He released a small breath and let his eyelids slide open, expecting to see Shikiyoku as she had been before Otento's strike.
He made dull note of the lack in energy he felt from her, knowing what it meant.
But he was in for quite the shock when he found himself staring at a child who has easily big enough to sit in his lap the way she was, her whole being gathered up in his grasp.
Hiei, can you get her back to the layer?
The fire demon just barely registered the question as he blinked once down at the girl in his arms. A second later, he remembered that the air still smelled of blood, and that the sticky liquid coated his hand that was applying pressure to the wound above her core.
Recovering from his surprise, the fire demon tried to move himself and Shikiyoku to the first layer again, and was quite relieved to find himself sitting on the carpet of her bedroom floor a moment later.
He couldn't even bring himself to make some sort of reply to the cat. He simply sat there, suddenly very unsure of what in the hell to do, and what in the hell was happening. *
"What the hell?"
Taka blinked and sudden there were three-no wait, two?-demons in the room and a...
"Is that-"
Kitoushi had bent himself out of the layers and changed back into human form, moving quickly over and to his knees on the other side of Hiei.
Taka's eyes narrowed, "Where's the blasted-"
"Dead." Kit replied quickly, putting his hand at Shikiyoku's back as she started to cough up blood, her eyes blanking out.
"Don't believe it. Show me the-"
"Taka, shut up."
Taka's eyebrow twitched as Kitoushi's eyes began to glow white and energy began pouring from his hands, one over either side of the wound.
Taka didn't appear convinced, eyes darting around darkly, and the energy he had gathered in his hand as soon as he landed in the window still glowing, the muscles in his arm just daring something to jump out so he could blast it.
"No, you can't go." Kitoushi could feel Shikiyoku's body start to relax. "You've got to concentrate. You go out now and even I might not be able to get you back."
Her eyes blinked as Kitoushi struggled with the blood-flow, with the blade stuck through her. He stared at it through the whiteness of the energy, unable to sense any poison or disease on the blade, tentatively thankful the wound might not be infected by that damn-
No. On her. He's dead. He doesn't matter anymore. 3
All over again, Hiei's emotions returned and shifted to anger. White-hot, boiling, dangerous anger that used to lead to countless deaths.
Except this time it was because he himself was stuck holding the girl up, unable to help her in any way other than keep her angled just right for Kitoushi and-
Taka spoke, and Hiei's head shifted, dark eyes landing on the bird.
"If the vile creature were alive, I would not be here, fool." The words were heavy and dark as the glare he sent, a glare that remained a moment longer before he turned away again and his eyes fell on the female who began relaxing.
More anger, this time accompanied with…
Was that panic?
His eyelids slid closed as Kitoushi spoke to her, the fire demon working very hard at pushing away his anger before his mind invaded hers, swift and deliberate.
"You are not allowed to leave. Understand? You will stay here." *
The room seemed to be spinning, though Shikiyoku knew she was being held still.
...it looked a lot dimmer than usual too.
It was a struggle to keep her eyes open and her head felt light enough that she knew it would be a relief to just pass out.
Each pumping of her heart released more blood, but Kitoushi could not do anything to prevent that until the blade was out.
Just a little wider.
"Taka, come here."
There was no hesitation and as soon as Taka had knelt at Shikiyoku's head, Kit nodded at the blade.
"I'm going to have to widen the wound to be able to remove that without any further damage. It's serrated and if we pull it out now it'll do more internal damage than leaving it." His eyes flickered briefly at Hiei, "I don't think I have to tell you to not move."
"Just tell me when." The glow around Taka's hand settled on the underside of it, making the skin appear even darker brown than normal as the glow disappeared and he flexed it once briefly, grabbing for the blade and taking hold of it without disturbing its placement.
"Make sure it's a straight pull." Kit released a quick breath through his nose and the white energy at his hands thickened as he simultaneously staunched the blood and widened the wound.
Taka kept his dry remark to himself as Kit's eyes flashed, and the bird could feel the blade wanting to drop out the other side.
"Do it now."
In one swift motion, Taka had it free and Kit's hands shifted to cover the openings, his eyes closing as he both assessed the damage and began knitting muscles and vessels back together.
Taka pulled back with the blade and dropped it with disgust where it clattered angrily on the ground, and he shook his hand a little.
"I hate that guy."
"You never even met him."
"I didn't have to."
"We were stupid, her and I, for doing it in the first place." Kit's eyes were closed, but he gave another little nod in Shikiyoku's direction. "We shouldn't have made our first target one of the strongest demons on the level, and we didn't figure out until after that killing the targets was the only way to-"
"...it...hurts." Shikiyoku cringed visibly, coughing again.
"Good. You won't go unconscious that way." Kit told her. 3
Hiei remained seated as stiff as could be, his mind slowly retreating from Shikiyoku's as he let his eyelids slide close all over again. Even after Taka had removed the blade, he didn't move an inch.
He didn't want to.
In his mind's eye, he saw the moment where just before Otento had struck, where Hiei had wanted to attack him the most. A moment he'd let pass because she had asked it of him. She had pleaded, saying he held no semblance of a whole soul, and that it would not have been worth it.
Oh, how worth it it would have been.
And while the mental image of Shikiyoku taking the demon's life in her own hands was certainly amusing, satisfying even on some level, he found that the anger at himself for not killing the demon was greater than that.
Because she'd nearly died due to his lack in action.
Still had that threat, too.
He forced his mind blank, instead concentrating on the sounds in the room. *
"...I wish I'd gotten to kill him myself." Taka grumbled.
"Even at his weakest, Otento," Kitoushi said the name with contempt, "At the time was stronger than the three of us combined, you idiot. Why do you think we had to leave him alive even after we found out targets she entranced tended to come back?"
"Taka..." Shikiyoku's eyes flinched and Kitoushi mumbled an apology.
"Mm?" The bird looked up as if he had retreated somewhere in his mind.
She opened them back up and looked over at Hiei, staring at him, concentrating on his face.
"...he was marked."
Taka managed to reign in his initial instinct, which was to yell the word 'what,' instead managing a more restrained, if darker, "What?"
Shikiyoku blinked and made a small grunt which had Kitoushi opening his eyes to look at her apologetically.
Taka's eyes shifted to the side, his jaw flexing fiercely as he clenched his teeth together.
Kit briefly tossed a passing glance between Shikiyoku, who still stared at Hiei, and Taka, who refused to look at anybody.
Not that Kit didn't feel the same amount of irritation at the thought that Otento was one of the Marked, but...the sudden shift in Taka's emotions indicated something else to the cat as well.
"What happened?" He turned his attention back down, closing his eyes again to filter energy through the strands of muscle, beginning to knit them back together.
Taka didn't answer at first, huffing air out his nose that seemed to take with it some of the tension at his shoulders.
"We-" He glanced over at Shikiyoku, and sighed, "A couple of weaker demons who were marked got into a fight today over her." One of Taka's hands went up to his neck and he rubbed it self-consciously. "We didn't really pay any attention. Didn't think it mattered much. They weren't hurting anyone but themselves." He paused and sucked in another breath, "The one that...lived, uh, dropped dead about five seconds later after his Mark disappeared without Shikiyoku's help." 3
Hiei had just released a breath and begun to force himself to relax when Shikiyoku repeated to Taka that Otento had been Marked. And for the first time, he became wary of what that actually meant. Any form of relaxing halted and his muscles stilled again as Taka began speaking, giving a very informative story that left the fire demon sitting in surprise.
It certainly… explained things.
She was protecting me.
Hiei's eyes came open and he dipped his chin a little, meeting the gaze on him very easily.
And for the first time in a long while, she'd left him without the ability to think, without the ability to consider anything but the mere thought that she'd known he would die if he killed Otento, and had done all in her power to stop such a thing.
Even risked her own life in the process.
What a foolish woman.
His eyelids slid closed again and the fire demon lowered his head, pressing his forehead to hers and remaining there, unmoving.
Foolish, foolish woman. *
Shikiyoku would have closed her eyes when Hiei began to lower his face towards hers if she didn't think she might pass out from the darkness that would place her in.
When his forehead met her, she sat still for a moment before nudging at him softly with her nose, wishing she had the strength to say anything, tell him what she wanted to, or at very least take him in her arms.
"Well," Kitoushi began philosophically, "I suppose that puts a damper on the battle royale I imagined." His lips twitched, and if he hadn't been so concerned about Shikiyoku's life hanging in the balance still, he might have actually smiled.
"Ha!" Taka gave a single dry laugh, lifting his eyes to see the cat almost smiling, and the fire demon resting his forehead against Shikiyoku's, thinking little about it. "You were gonna challenge me, huh?"
"It's a good thing we all have a decent head on our shoulders. One accidental beheading here or there and it would have been the end for us as well." An amused puff of air exited Kitoushi's nose as he continued to move inward-out from Shikiyoku's wound, carefully weaving his energy through the injury.
"You had yet to piss me off too bad, cat." Taka sneered.
"I must admit you've been quite annoying at times yourself."
"Though I doubt none of us have not envisioned removing that pretty little head from that confounded kitsune."
Kitoushi only grunted, grumbling, "I was more likely to relieve him of his precious voice box than anything." 3
Hiei didn't open his eyes again, remaining the way he was even as she nudged her nose against his briefly before stilling again. He let out a silent, slow breath from his nostrils, akin to a silent sigh, and pulled away after another moment, deciding that staying in such a position likely wasn't wise.
After all, she needed to be awake. And he was well aware how comfortable she could become with such contact, deciding not to take anything for chance.
His eyes came open when he was sitting upright again, turning to Kitoushi's work almost curiously, watching the energy that wove around and around. *
"Taka...I hate to ask, but will you grab the blade again?"
Taka gave out an irritated sigh, but complied, energy coming to his palm and the skin darkening again before he even bothered reaching over to grab for it.
He dutifully held it out beside Shikiyoku's head so that Kit only had to open his eyes and glance over to catch sight of it. Taka slowly turned it without Kitoushi saying anything as if they had done something similar to this before and after a moment Kit nodded and Taka lowered his arm until it rested on his leg, giving the stupid blade a silent snarl.
Kit wove his energy through the wound in the pattern of the blade, finally relaxed a little and shifted in place at the result he felt.
"It's not infected." He glanced over at Hiei.
"I'm never doing anything she says ever again." Taka grumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It makes it my fault that-"
"No." Shikiyoku said with more strength than she had before.
Taka gave her a look and her eyes had narrowed up at the ceiling.
"I asked you to keep the window open. You complied. Not your fault."
Taka frowned and growled at her, "I'm never doing anything you say ever again."
That seemed to amuse her.
"We'll see."
Kit's eyes came shut again and he grimaced, his core starting to falter.
He'd prolonged his body's nightly shift, and while he had up to this point been attempting to do so anyway, and needing less and less time in cat-form, he was reaching his outer limit of tested self-control.
And if he went any faster healing her, he could leave serious damage in his wake.
One of his tall, dark ears flicked in agitation and he clenched his jaw together, tail lashing angrily behind him once as very briefly the white energy at his hands flickered before he could steady it again.
Not good. 3
Hiei, on some level of his consciousness, began to feel the slightest need to pull his eyes away from the energy that wove in and out of Shikiyoku's wounds. And, after a minute, he managed to do that, turning his eyes to the side and glancing at the nearest window, easily hiding his thoughts behind a calm mask.
Night?
He hadn't realized it was dark out.
He turned his eyes to the cat again, this time to inspect Kitoushi's expression, very quickly noting the flick of his ear and the flop of his tail.
Not good.
He caught the flicker in the demon's energy from his peripherals, and within the same second spoke telepathically.
"How can I help?" *
Kitoushi barely gave Hiei a glance, his arms tensing up as another skip in his core struggled against him.
"If I shift...when I shift," He clenched his jaw together as he resisted again. "...put your hand where mine is at the back. ...you might have to...sear her flesh together again."
His ears were flat against his skull, and his tension brought Taka's eyes up, and the bird said very softly, "Oh."
"Uh," He blinked, "That's not good."
"Taka, come-"
The demon immediately shifted forward and grabbed Kit's shoulder, squeezing it, grinning, "You're not allowed to shift."
Kit nodded thanks, tail flicking again, managing to say, "It's...a matter of time."
Taka's eyes shifted to the cat's glowing hands and he blinked, "Are you...working both sides at once?"
The dark-haired demon's eyebrows turned downwards as he concentrated.
"Yes."
"You- Stupid-" Taka looked exasperated, "Stop doing two things at once, idiot."
Kit blinked as if the thought hadn't occurred.
"Hold the back where it is," He tipped his nose at her chest, "And close that one first."
Idiot, indeed.
Kitoushi's hand over her core glowed brighter, work going faster.
I'm still not going to finish.
"Hiei-"
Sending the fire demon an image, Kit indicated he would need mere seconds in cat form to finish the front, Hiei's hand preventing the blood from the open wound at the back. As soon as Kit's cat-form jumped off of her, he pictured Hiei shifting her up against him, Kit standing on Hiei's knee with his front paws on her back to finish.
The timing was going to be...quick. 3
Hiei's chin dipped just a little for a brief moment, indicating a nod at Kitoushi's first reply, one that he honestly should have expected, as he'd had to do it before. His eyes left the cat demon and shifted to Shikiyoku again, staring at her for another moment until his vision became clouded, overtaken with an image the dark-haired cat demon was envisioning.
He took careful note of everything being shown to him, taking extra care in recognizing the cues of each motion, the exact moment when Hiei himself would need to move and storing that knowledge at the forefront of his mind.
He sent an affirmative sound in Kitoushi's direction, eyes focusing again on Shikiyoku before he turned his gaze up to the other demon again, waiting. *
This is so not fair.
"Taka-"
"I got it." Taka released Kitoushi's shoulder and leaned back as the energy at the cat apparition's hands winked out and Kit shifted into the small, lean black cat who used to go by Maneshi.
Kit immediately leapt up onto Shikiyoku's tiny frame, landing softly and dipping his head down to the opening in her now-baggy tanktop, sticking his nose through it and beginning to lick at the wound, straddling it with his front paws, a much more muted glow returning to her skin as he made quick work of encouraging her cells to heal and reform.
Without bothering to admire his work, Kit jumped off again to the floor. 3
Hiei's hand quickly moved to replace Kitoushi's when the demon shifted, the fire demon's hand pressing firmly to the wound at Shikiyoku's back to at least slow the blood flow that continued to run over his fingers. At least his cloak would keep the blood from getting into her carpet.
Heh.
Hiei watched the cat, waiting for the precise moment when Kitoushi's feet hit the carpet before he pulled Shikiyoku up to his chest and moved his hand out of the way, eyes shifting to Shikiyoku for the briefest of moments in apology for discomfort and/or pain. *
Kitoushi immediately hopped back up onto Hiei's knee and stretched himself out to place his paws on either side of the wound again, this time at her back. He stuck his head in the hole of her shirt and had to push his way up to the wound before he was able to get his little pink nose anywhere near it to begin licking at it again, his tail moving calmly from side to side in the air behind him.
A rush of air left Shikiyoku's lungs when Hiei shifted her around and she leaned her head heavily into his neck, muttering 'very' threateningly, "You're lucky I like you, flame-boy." 3
Hiei made the barest of sounds, though it was only meant to tell the girl that he'd heard her. But he gave no reply, only watching the cat in silence, not allowing his thoughts to stray, to wander to other things as they so wished to do. Because right now, she was the priority. *
Taka appeared to almost be holding his breath, the room silent and tense. One of his pointed ears flicked a little as he picked up on the rusty scent of blood and heard the strange scratch-like noise of Kitoushi's rough tongue moving over the open wound.
The thought of it had Taka scrunching his nose as it sent shivers down his back with the thought of how painful that must be.
This side took longer, but Kitoushi did not back off until the work was done, and he pulled his head out from the hole, pausing for a moment with one paw against her and one held off closer to his chest, looking at Hiei and blinking slowly before leaning his weight back and twisting to get back to the ground.
Kit blinked a couple of more times and swayed in place, going ahead and hunching over, pulling his paws underneath him. He looked weary.
Taka gave the cat a crooked smile and reached over to pick him up around the middle, Kit's body elongated out for a moment before Taka arranged him over his other arm up against his torso and started to stand up, pausing for a moment as if he'd forgotten.
"Uh," He flashed Hiei much the same smile, "You don't mind seeing to her, right?"
Kit leaned heavily into Taka's chest and had begun purring, his eyes half-lidded and his tail hanging down limply in the air. 3
Hiei watched the cat sway until he was pulled from the fire demon's sight, at which point crimson eyes lifted to look at Taka briefly before turning to Shikiyoku again, sending a silent thanks to the feline in the bird's grasp.
With the first syllable leaving Taka's lips, Hiei looked up again with a neutral expression.
"Naturally," he responded simply. "Lock the door on your way."
And Hiei realized just how useful it was that Taka didn't know of the mark on his own skin.
The mark that he'd felt growing earlier. The mark that he'd easily hidden under his scarf with a simple adjustment of his shoulder position, because it had begin to climb up and over the material, and he'd very smoothly hid it when he'd touched his forehead to Shiki's.
Hiei slowly slid his other arm under Shikiyoku's knees, finding the difference in her frame now to how it had been the last time he'd held her a bit… unsettling. He moved to stand slowly, turning his back on the door and moving towards the bed to lower her onto the mattress carefully.*
Since I didn't get to reread the chapter (and only remember the basics of what's going on), I'm not sure if it is adequately explained here (and it might be explained in the next chapter and I'm just jumping the gun, ha) why Shikiyoku's body reverts to a childlike form, so I'm just going to throw the reason out there (because I always have reasons for everything, tee hee).
A demon of desire's abilities/energy are/is nonexistent until a certain age. While they don't go through the exact same type of puberty as other demons (in our AU, demons hit puberty at age one hundred and go through said puberty for their next one hundred years of their life), their powers don't manifest until they hit puberty, or at least their version of puberty.
By locking away her energy, Otento recreated the circumstances of Shikiyoku's childhood, so her body, confused by the absence of energy, reverted to that state once she returned to her "true form."
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! -Star