A/N: Hello once again, Denizens of the FanFiction Realm!
Well, here we are again. A little late too! This one took longer to edit than I thought. I also went back and check the last chapter now, so it should be better.
For followers of the kitten story, he has the rest of this week on medicine and since he is now in his breeder's care I can't exactly give you a blow-by-blow update.
In other news, I will be going out of town at the end of the month and have TONS of preparation to do for this trip.
It's funny to me how much time it actually takes for me to go back through the previous chapter and do a sum-up (sometimes longer than looking over a chapter to post!), and since I need to spend that time doing other things, the lack of said summary will continue to be a feature in the chapters the rest of this month. If anyone actually misses them, I apologize for that but it currently can't be helped.
Happy reading!
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.
Nabu stopped after a few more minutes to scratch at his ear, only moving again when he decided he didn't want to sit around. He wanted to run, to play. And while this demon was not the person with whom he wished to do things like this with, it would have to do.
So he was moving again, this time back the way he'd come, hopping and running, ears at attention. He wasn't even trying to hide at this point. *
The rustling of the fur caught Kitoushi's attention before the smell did and his ears twitched as he determined the exact direction from which the sounds were approaching. He trotted off to the side, trying to remember the size of the dog coming in his direction, and increasing his own form accordingly. As close as he could manage.
Pulling his limbs inward, Kitoushi came to a stop, paws pressing back and forth underneath him as he tested how much strength he would need to exert to spring on the pup when Nabu came into view.
Kitoushi grew very still, hind end slightly raised so that he might uncoil faster when the time came, and he did not so much as blink, waiting for the dog silently, patiently, a cat-grin cover his features.
~!**!~
It took another few moments for Shikiyoku to be able to steady her breathing out again, her efforts at rendering her mind blank, for the moment, working.
The result meant her entire body lost its tension, but to say that she had relaxed would be too mild. And too kind. It was more like everything had gone out of her, creating this foreign stillness in which she only breathed, internally struggling against the emotions and the ache that threatened to crack the little peace she managed to gather. 3
~!**!~
Hiei awoke to the warmth of the sunlight on his face and a particularly odd feeling. Even before his eyes opened, he was aware that he was alone in the room, alone on the bed. And by the time his eyes did open to view the room, he was well aware of the fact that no one had come in or out during the night, meaning he'd slept alone.
Which was rare these days.
….Odd.
He rolled over, turning so that his eyes saw the door instead of the window above the bed. It was still locked, as it always was these days.
She must've stayed out. Kept busy all night. It wouldn't surprise him. Shikiyoku had been out of sorts lately.
Rightly so, he thought.
He sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed, planted his feet on the floor, and was pulling his cloak over himself as he moved for the door. In a swift motion, he had the door unlocked, open, and locked again as he stepped out into the hall, hearing nothing throughout the house. No quiet conversation. No television.
Nothing.
It would be a perfect opportunity to grab a snack before anyone decided to pop in.
So he moved down the stairs, eyes down for a majority of the descent. When his feet touched the last three stairs, he slowly lifted his eyes up, his body coming to a standstill at the bottom of the steps when he saw Shikiyoku's sleeping form on the couch, her hair resting on the arm of it, her head on a basic couch pillow.
A frown came to his features.
...Odd. *
If Shikiyoku had the wherewithal to even consider the sense of déjà vu from the last couple of days, she would have known her attempts to block the emotions that threatened to spill over into her mind left her in a very similar state to all those years ago when Demon World was still a separate dimension and she had wandered listlessly throughout the Ninth Level.
Depression.
That was...the most accurate word to describe it.
No feelings, no desires, no...no anything.
Except for a sharp sense of never wishing to place Hiei in such an uncomfortable position again.
Which was why, even when she felt him returning to her room each night, she did not herself venture upstairs.
Youko had been missing.
Kitoushi too, though the cat had at least come to her and explained his absence before he left.
And the strange sense of being alone-even if she went out of the house and walked among the denizens of the First Layer-lost somewhere in the ache she tried to ignore and the blankness of her mind, overwhelmed her senses.
...though it would be lying to say that she had not woken up each morning with her arms around a couch pillow that was wet with tears she never remembered shedding.
This one had been no exception, but she hadn't found the strength to move yet, instead staring out at the wall, mind devoid of thoughts and barely conscious of her own existence even, rarely managing to take a breath, and even rarer still were the times she actually blinked.
She didn't even find she had the strength to sigh. 3
He… didn't like it. The fire demon's brows furrowed and his lips pulled downward, his feet unable to move from the spot they'd planted. She'd slept down here, instead of up there in her own bed.
His frown deepened before he took control of his expression, forcing it blank.
I don't like it. At all.
He turned and moved for the kitchen, as he'd originally been doing before he'd caught sight of her on the couch. He wouldn't bother her. Clearly, she needed space.
That didn't mean he was exactly quiet when he pulled open the refrigerator door to look inside, nor was he discreet about his rummaging. There really was no quiet way of rummaging anyway. *
How long had she been laying there? Minutes? Days?
At the very least all night, but she couldn't remember sleeping.
Couldn't remember much of anything, really.
Couldn't care enough to do so.
The noises in the room had her blinking at the wall, but she only took note of them on some level that simply told her they were occurring, finding that she...well that she didn't care.
Blink.
That time the little breath she heaved could have been a sigh were it not completely silent.
Should I do anything today?
Did you do anything yesterday?
Another, slower blink.
For all she knew, she could have been laying here forever and likely not known the difference. 3
Hiei's hand rummaged, moving containers around and shuffling bowls to the sides as he eyed the contents of the fridge, his mind almost entirely elsewhere as his red eyes scrutinized another bowl. He slid the covered bowl back onto a shelf and stood upright, letting that door close as he opened the freezer door. There wasn't even any sweet snow.
I don't like it.
At this point, he wasn't exactly sure what it was he was referring to: Shikiyoku sleeping on the couch, his odd feeling on the matter, the lack of interesting food, or…
There was too much.
I don't like it.
He shut the freezer door before turning to look in the cabinets, finding absolutely nothing of interest there as well.
Perhaps he only wanted sweet snow.
Perhaps he only wanted the room to stop being so damn quiet.
He shut the pantry door and moved towards the living room again, arms crossing over his chest.
Did he dare demand her to stand and go with him?
She could always just tell him "no". She hadn't said it very often to him before, right? Not for things so simple and mundane. Surely…
His brows furrowed as he concentrated on the thought of wanting to go out, to find something to do.
Better yet, to go get some sweet snow. Perhaps… take some, if she was up for it. He remembered how amusing it had been.
Yes. That's what he'd concentrate on. Going to obtain sweet snow. *
Blink.
...
Blink, blink.
When was the last time you had something to eat?
The answer didn't particularly matter. Because she didn't feel particularly hungry.
...didn't feel much of anything, really.
Except, perhaps, being a little cold.
Was it worth getting up to grab a blanket?
No idea.
Probably not.
Shikiyoku heaved another silent sigh from her nose and somehow managed to muster up enough strength to get up all at once, eyes staring blankly at nothing as she moved around the side of the couch towards the door to the closet near the stairs, opening it lifelessly, barely taking a step in to grab for a blanket on a shelf right near the door, and turning back to lay down again, appearing to notice nothing in the room, not so much as flinching when something fell off the shelf as the blanket got dragged off of it, and apparently not remembering to close the door either, sort of grabbing at the knob and pulling it behind her, but not managing to get it shut.
And not caring, either. 3
Hiei felt a sense of relief when Shikiyoku suddenly moved, pushing away from the couch and moving around it. However, when she didn't look at him, didn't even seem to know he was even in the room, all the tension returned in his shoulders, magnified tenfold.
I don't like it.
He watched her as she moved away from the closet, the door moving only an inch or so before stilling, something hitting the floor as she dragged the blanket away. He didn't know what this was or what to do with it. She seemed an empty shell, incapable of even seeing her current surroundings unless it had something to do with something she wanted in that exact moment.
And even then, he'd noted the lack of light in her eyes. The lack of acknowledgement of her surroundings.
Her lack of glance in his direction. Her lack of attentiveness all around.
By the time she was settled on the couch again, his eyelids were closed, his thoughts no longer moving around.
What should he do? He didn't want to leave her, but clearly he was incapable of helping in any way.
She hadn't even come to him the night before.
….
Perhaps she wanted to be alone?
He couldn't tell. *
Curled up, she took up maybe a cushion and a half of the couch. Stretched out, the blanket tucked under her feet at one end and under her eyes at the other, her legs reached the third cushion.
She didn't notice any of this, however.
She didn't notice being any warmer either.
"Yoku? Yoku, I think I'm going to need you."
...
"Yoku?" The voice sounded more confused this time, as the owner realized once touching her awareness that he...wasn't actually for certain he had touched her awareness. He was only getting this...grey color for a lack of better term. A haze, or a cloud maybe, through which he could feel no emotions, or even an acknowledgement that she felt his call. "What-"
The presence in her head was most obviously frowning, but he also was in the middle of something that he could not drop and leave immediately.
"...my lady, what's wrong?"
Still nothing.
Kitoushi ground his teeth together, unable to quicken the process at his fingertips without endangering both himself and the demon in his care.
A process which could quite possibly take days.
An aggravated sound washed over her mind, accompanied by a wave of emotions that were also unable to penetrate the blank recesses of her mind.
"I...I'll come to you as soon as I'm able."
And then the presence was gone. 3
He was torn. Unsure. He didn't like that she was laying there, doing nothing, seemingly unaware of everything except.. whatever was going on within her mind. And it was even likely that she wasn't even aware of that. He could easily grab her by the wrist and pull her from the blanket she'd tucked around herself. He could easily pull her from where she lay and drag her out of the house, to the store for sweet snow or to another layer for… something.
But…
She hadn't.. she hadn't come to him the night before. She hadn't returned to her room, hadn't even come up the stairs, he was willing to bet. And she didn't acknowledge his presence now. Which could very much be intentional. She could very much be telling him to go, indirectly saying she didn't want him around, that she didn't want to be bothered.
But he was torn.
Unsure. Hesitant.
A thought suddenly occurred: She didn't… need him. He couldn't do anything for her. He'd proven as much the day before. She didn't need him. He wasn't even sure if she wanted him around at this point.
His lips twitched downwards.
He was… less than useless here.
He turned and moved between the layers, leaving her alone on the couch.
I don't like it….
But I am not…. adequate. *
~!**!~
"Is that so? And what exactly am I going to get in return?"
Kitoushi's teeth clenched together and he struggled not to let that tension creep up his hands, taking a deep breath and forcing it out from his lips.
"What you're going to get, fox, is me not finding your ass and beating it to a pulp."
"Touchy."
Kit sighed.
"Look, I can't exactly up and leave what I'm doing, and you know I would if I could. So, I'm being nice and giving you the opportunity to go when I cannot."
"I must admit I rather enjoy your current helplessness to assist her."
"Get. Moving."
"I'm already on the way, cuz. Let your little mind rest knowing I'll have everything under control."
"And how quickly are you going to be able to get there?"
"Mm...eventually."
Kitoushi growled at him.
"Don't raise your hackles at me. I've been...busy."
"With what, exactly?"
"Haven't you heard? There's a war brewing." 3
~!**!~
Hiei spent the whole day doing absolutely nothing, as his mind had been otherwise occupied and he hadn't been sure what to do about it. So he'd camped out in a tree, let his mind mull over things aimlessly, feeling the sun on his face until he realized it had dipped below the horizon.
He waited a few minutes longer before his eyelids came open to view the lit streets of the city nearby and the darkened skies, the only light being provided by the buzzing electricity in the lamps along the sidewalks.
Hiei moved away from where he had been parked the whole day, eyes set forward as he moved towards Shikiyoku's home.
He didn't hesitate to pull the front door open and step inside, eyes landing very quickly on the girl still curled up on the couch, staring forward.
She hadn't moved.
Without saying a word, he turned and made his way up the stairs, not really expecting her to follow when she didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence.
This time, he didn't lock the door behind himself.
There was no need. *
She drifted the entire day on absolutely nothing, being neither asleep nor awake, hardly moving or thinking.
When night fell and the house was covered in darkness, she found that she had stood up, though she didn't know why, and without prompting, her legs took her up the stairs towards her bedroom.
The door swung inward quietly, her feet moving silently across the floor to the desk at her left. She stared at it for a moment, eyes moving over the drawers, on the surface unaware of why she had gone to the trouble of moving and unsure what the next step was supposed to be.
The lowest drawer on the right slid open without noise, the hand that had curled around the knob of it lifting to move things aside as she searched through it. 3
Hiei was comfortable. Or, as comfortable as he could be considering he felt… off kilter. Strange. He'd just rolled over when he became aware of the quietest of sounds. He stilled, laying on his side now, and peered with one open eye at the open door.
He turned both eyes to Shikiyoku now, momentarily glad to see her up and about.
Until he noted that she still had yet to even look at him. Going about her business as if he weren't there.
A frown colored his features, and even though a very large part of him wanted to speak out, to point out such a thing, he did not.
He let his eyelids slide close again and simply took to listening to her rummaging. She'd either acknowledge him, or not. *
Standing up again, leaving the drawer open as if she forgot she even reached into it, Shikiyoku paused another moment and it took a great deal of power to start moving again.
When she actually saw Hiei laying on the bed, she stopped as she passed the edge of it and blinked at him, apparently asleep on top of the covers.
Her hand lifted from her side, moving towards him before her eyebrows knotted together over her face and she quickly turned away to leave the room. 3
Hiei heard her slowly moving away from him, and he only opened one eye to glance briefly at her back before he shut it again, not allowing his expression to change, to show his emotions. He simply lay there, one hand curling around the blanket underneath him momentarily before he forced himself to relax again.
I… hate it. *
...because...she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable.
It was probably the first actual thought she had in days. And the one that originally led to her not bothering him, to her sleeping downstairs instead.
"What do I do?" His question echoed in her mind.
...nothing. You do nothing because I would never ask you to do anything.
She almost floated back down the staircase, her other hand clutching at the three, brown feathers she had retrieved from the desk.
Not for me.
Why?
You can't say you don't want him to.
And he doesn't know.
So, why can't you just tell him?
...
"I think allying yourself with someone who can challenge even you in matters you were practically born to fulfill might be the greatest asset of them all."
...but I'm so tired. I'm exhausted. Teaching takes time. And effort. And-
As she lay back down, her lips almost twitched.
And he's so stubborn.
~!**!~
If there had been wind inbetween the layers, it would have been rushing in Youko's ears.
As it was, the silence was eerie, and Kitoushi's words kept running through his mind.
"It was nothing, fox. Literally nothing. Like I wasn't even there."
He couldn't help the smirk across his lips. Had the great and mighty cousin never dealt with her depression before? It was nothing new for him in any case.
Yes, but he likely didn't have to be separated from her for any great length of time.
And Youko had. More than once.
Only to come back each time to exactly what Kitoushi described.
It's only fitting. She hasn't seen me in...what, a week?
The thought that he might once again be the source of her despondent mood only further encouraged the smirk on his face.
Like old times.
I'll be her Consort yet.
When Youko slipped out into the living room of Shikiyoku's home, his eyes first flashed over to the couch, the glance telling him that she had in fact been sleeping there if the pillow and blanket were any indication-just like old times indeed-but she was not there now.
The second pass of his eyes to the other side of the room revealed the woman sitting at the table with a box of...something that Youko could tell came from the freezer, though as he moved to sit in the chair next to her, he realized there was only one of the things open and sitting on the table and she was staring at it as if she had forgotten she opened the treat, it having already started to melt in the wrapper.
"Yoku..." He called softly as he slid into the seat near her, pulling his chair closer so that his knee touched the edge of hers.
He didn't expect a verbal response, though she blinked. He slowly reached over with one hand to take a hold of her chin, resting his other arm on the table.
As she sat there, her eyes starting to waver, Youko caught sight of the one hand she had resting on the table, clutching at the feathers she had in her grasp. There was no mistaking exactly who the feathers had at one time belonged to.
With difficulty, Youko let go of the irritation of the source of her sorrow, only caring that it was not him, but as he felt her tears start to roll down the side of her face, his eyes drew back up to hers, noticing the redness, the puffiness, the dark circles under her eyes.
He could not know, could not empathize with how she felt, remembering with startling clarity the deep the etching of the heart-shaped scar was around her mouth and the few swirls across the lower part of her face and thinking after that of how she lost two Marked beings in a shocking manner within hours of one another.
She didn't have a chance to mourn the first before the second fell.
"Yoku..." Her name came out more murmured this time as he leaned forward to began kissing at her tears.
He had never once told her to stop crying, and he did not intend to start now, instead reverting as he always did to slowly smothering her with affection.
And, as always, it took several minutes of him gently pressing his lips around her cheeks and forehead, having turned her face to him, before she reached up with the hand that held the feathers to rub the bottom of her palm into an eye.
He drew back from her when she did this, reaching up with his other hand to catch a tear he missed, and she finally blinked, aware of him as her eyes finally focused in on his face.
The difference in the sadness that Youko was used to seeing when she met his gaze had his own core jolting once in sympathy, somehow knowing that this was no normal heartbreak he could see in her still-shining green eyes.
When she did not pull away from the fingers he still hand at her chin, Youko's eyes flickered towards her lips.
As if that wasn't obvious enough for her, Shikiyoku found she could feel what he desired even as he lowered his face down to hers to kiss her.
...she couldn't remember the last time she wasn't the one doing the kissing.
Not that she didn't kiss him back, but considering how most of her interactions lately had involved removing Markings, there was a pleasant strangeness to the gesture for her that she did take a moment to enjoy before he pulled away.
Much sooner than he desired to, she noticed.
The thought had her eyebrows flickering upwards on her face a little.
Youko almost made a little noise of protest at her, though he hadn't honestly expected something so simple to completely rid her eyes of that heartache he could still see shimmering just below the surface.
"What?"
Her question came out quietly, murmured into the air between them.
"You can hide nothing from me, Yoku." He gave her a small smile.
"Is that so?"
He gave her a little nod even as one of her eyebrows shot up with curiosity.
"Have you forgotten even that much, seductress? Surely it hasn't been so long."
The amusement in her eyes did not reach as deeply as he wished.
The hand at her chin dropped smoothly to her side, where he rested it at the small of her back as the other hand which had wiped tears from her left cheek moved to her neck as he leaned down to her ear with a crooked grin.
"I don't like it when you get this way." He informed her. "In case you've forgotten."
"And what if I have?" Her eyes narrowed a little at what she could see of his face. "What on earth do you think you're going to do about it?"
"The same thing I do every time, you silly demon."
It was the first time since he had sat next to her that her expression faltered, because she could not recall what it was he did 'every time.' In fact, she couldn't remember what he was talking about in the first place.
I suppose it really has been 'so long.'
Her eyes were still cut as far to the side as possible, though with one hand at her neck and his face near her ear, she couldn't exactly move her head to watch whatever he planned, or even get an inkling of his intentions from his face.
For that matter, she felt nothing from him at all.
And it was in that moment her core froze in place, suddenly aware of how disconcerting not knowing could be.
After all...surely masking one's desires was more difficult.
Unprepared for anything the fox had planned, the sudden squeak of sound he pulled from her lips when his fingers began prodding at her ribs immediately sent Shikiyoku squirming in her seat when he did not stop, instead stealing a kiss on her neck before letting out a laugh as she tried wriggling away.
Her hands came up in an attempt to defend herself, pushing at his arms, which had shifted her around to face him, and losing most mental faculties, incapable of doing much else besides shoving at what she could reach of him and beginning to giggle in the midst of trying to tell him to stop.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" He turned his head slightly so that one ear was pointed even more directly at her, unrelenting in tickling her even as he felt her lungs underneath his hands starting to desperately heave in air.
"Yo-" She couldn't even finish his name as she started laughing again, leaning back as far as possible and only succeeding in getting Youko to move forward as she tried to get away.
In the next second, her chair had slammed against the floor and she was scooting back as quickly as possible as Youko crawled over the piece of furniture in her direction, having allowed himself to be pulled down with her.
She scrambled back, face red and breathing heavily as snippets of laughter still snuck out of her lips as she tried to keep her feet out of his reach until she found her back pressed up against the counter, at which point her eyes widened as she felt Youko's intention to lunge forward and she spun to the side, clambering to her feet as his hand just missed her ankle.
Undeterred, Youko smoothly rose and started after her, earning himself another nervous laugh as she glanced over her shoulder at him that quickly turned to a more delighted one as she dodged around the outside of the couch only to see that he dashed after her.
She made it around the other side of it, laughing again as he reached for her and missed, making the small leap to get on top of the table to slide over the surface of it on her hip into the kitchen and run for the other of the tiled room, letting out an 'eep' when Youko appeared in front of her with a grin, having gone around to cut her off.
Making no hesitation in changing directions, Shikiyoku managed to lead the chase around the living room and through the kitchen twice more before Youko snatched her into his arms just as she had turned to dash up the stairs, her now-squeals of laughter echoing in the house as he wrapped an arm around her stomach from behind her and leaned his head over her shoulder to plant a kiss on her cheek while she attempted to break free, part of his silky hair falling over her shoulder and her struggles only egging on his tickling and actually pulling laughter of his own from his lips at the unsuccessful roughhousing she was attempting to get herself free. 3
He'd been drifting in and out of sleep, dozing off only to be awoken by some dream or another, or sometimes even a troubling thought that would pass and ruining the peaceful darkness of slumber. At one point, he'd even been having a decent dream that didn't seem to take away any rest from his sleep.
And that dream had even begun to fade into peaceful slumber when something… something pulled at his consciousness. Something grabbed his attention, pulling the fire demon from his sleep with a small sense of alarm.
When Hiei's eyes came open, he was already standing, moving for the door, pausing with a hand on the doorknob.
He wasn't sure what had woken him, but he was very sure of sounds downstairs now. Laughter, loud footsteps. He was very tempted to turn around and leave, go find sleep somewhere else.
But for whatever reason- perhaps out of grumpiness at having been disturbed, or curiosity at the source- he pulled the door open and let it shut on its own, moving for the top of the stairs and turning his eyes down with irritation shining.
He'd seen Youko and Shikiyoku pass by once, and an eye twitched.
Too much noise.
I don't like it.
He blinked only once, but didn't move from where he was, watching the pair as they came into view again. Another twitch of his eye, more irritation. He didn't so much as make a single sound.
Why was he standing here again?
Oh right, they woke him. *
Shikiyoku's laughter started fading into spurts and her struggles grew weaker as Youko stopped, freezing a look onto the fire demon at the top of the stairs that made it plainly obvious the fox had not intended for there to be witnesses to his techniques.
How long has he been standing there?
Long enough to appear overly irritated.
If I had done this on purpose, I might find it amusing.
When her giggles had slowed enough to see how heavily her breath came, her cheeks flushed and her ears pink from the exertions, Shikiyoku's eyes opened, the tears leaking out from the sides the very opposite of the ones that she had been shedding previously, and she raised her face to look up at Youko, who had ended up with his chin almost resting on the top of her head, silver hair cascading over either of her shoulders.
Her eyes closed again, giving a half-smile as she nudged her nose against his jaw, thankful for the reprieve, but equally as thankful for him. 3
Hiei's eyes caught those of the fox's, and his chin lifted just a fraction, to showcase the fact that he acknowledged the expression on the other's face. An expression that read he hadn't been aware of the fire demon's presence.
I don't like it.
His expression gave a small twitch, but he regained control very quickly. He wasn't stupid; he knew what the fox was doing. Making her laugh.
He didn't like it. It reminded the fire demon of just how incapable he was around this woman.
He made a small sound of disdain.
"You're too loud."
With that, he turned and began moving towards the bedroom again. He wouldn't, however, stay there. He had no intention of staying.
I hate it. All of it. *
"Yo-chan?" Shikiyoku's eyes had opened, feeling that Youko still had not moved, and she looked up the stairs but saw nothing, thinking perhaps the voice-and whatever it had said-had only been Youko murmuring something at her.
For his part, Youko narrowed his eyes at the retreating fire demon.
Dammit.
"What-"
As if to make himself feel better, Youko stopped whatever question Shikiyoku was about to air by turning her just enough so that he could kiss her again, pulling them inbetween the layers before she was able to protest.
He picked her up and dashed off as her arms wrapped around his neck, though she did not miss the look of irritation coloring his features and this time it was her planting a kiss on his cheek, noticing immediately that his severe expression softened into a short smile.
Youko dropped them back into the world once they arrived at the meadow, setting Shikiyoku onto her feet.
As she turned to face him and frowned up at him, noting the distractedness in his eyes, Youko leaned forward menacingly.
"Do you want me to start chasing you around the meadow?" He growled playfully.
"Maybe."
"Then keep frowning."
She did. At least until he took a step towards her, at which point she held up her hands and let out a laugh in defeat.
"Okay, okay. I don't really mean it."
"Lies." Youko reached for her wrists and pulled her down as he lay on the heather, keeping a hold on one of her hands as he settled onto his back, one hand underneath his head to prop it up.
Shikiyoku only grinned back at him and let him move her, laying down over part of his chest with her free hand under her chin as she watched him move their hands back and forth as if he inspected them.
"I didn't mean to be gone so long." Youko admitted. "Things are getting...difficult."
She said nothing, only waiting for him to continue.
Youko let out a sigh, "I got a letter from Yomi. He wants me to join him. Help him win the war."
Several thoughts turned over in Shikiyoku's head.
"The same Yomi that you-"
"Yup."
She made a noncommittal sound.
"He thinks he's strong enough to challenge Mukuro? And Raizen both?"
"Apparently."
"I think he's finally become more arrogant than you. The other two have well-established claims in the Eighth, uh, Layer?"
Youko nodded.
"Things haven't changed much down there, except for the fact that he's managed to get a good foothold in the territory. Went after land that was stretching the other two too thin. Did them a favor, really, but it also let him stake his claim. Be in the running."
He paused, voice quieter this time when he went on, "Come with me?"
Shikiyoku only blinked at him and Youko finally tore his eyes away from their intertwined hands to look into her face.
"Youko, you know I can't-"
"Make me your Consort."
She blinked at him again, "What?"
"Make me your Consort." He repeated. "You're going to anyway. Get it over with and we can go down there together."
"Youko- I-" Her protests faltered, her mind still reeling with how serious the fox appeared to be.
"I have to go." He said with a little shrug. "I don't see any reason why you can't come with me."
"You haven't cured my disease yet, kitsune." Shikiyoku finally pulled herself together enough to give the demon a mischievous look.
"And you think Yomi doesn't have the facilities to instigate curing you? You come with me and you'll be rid of it within twenty-four hours."
"Correction. Yomi could never be as arrogant as you."
"I'm glad you've seen the light."
Shikiyoku quieted for a moment, and Youko let her think, seeing the wheels turning in her mind.
She sighed.
"You know very well the reasons why I can't go with you." She told him.
"Won't." He corrected. "It isn't that you can't."
"Won't, then." She allowed. "If Yomi figured out what I am-"
"He wouldn't."
She gave him a look.
"He's not stupid, Youko. Arrogant, maybe. But never stupid."
"Arrogance often lends itself to stupidity." He replied airily.
"Is that so?"
Youko gave her a little growl when she looked at him pointedly.
"Ruling the Ninth Layer means nothing, Yo-chan." Shikiyoku finally said, "You know that."
He gave a little shrug, "Try convincing the three kings of that."
"I'm not going to bother." Shikiyoku rolled her eyes, "But if any of them knew I held the birthright to claiming the throne, do you have any idea what they might do to me?"
"Use you in every way possible to secure their own desires?"
"Or kill me and hope to inherit it."
"It doesn't work like that."
"Try convincing the three kings of that."
He gave her another look at having his own words turned against him.
She let out another sigh, "If you leave, fox, you leave without me."
He made a face, "But I could be gone for a long time." He whined.
"And?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"And I want to be your Consort now."
"So sure of yourself, aren't you?"
He gave her an impish grin, "You'll wait for me."
"Really."
"You have no better choice."
Shikiyoku could think of one in particular. One deep within the layers that she planned on visiting soon if time allowed.
"I believe I have several." She responded loftily.
"None as good as me." He pulled at her hand to draw her closer to his face, reaching out with his other arm to wrap it around her as she braced herself against his shoulder, peering down into his yellow eyes with a slightly irked expression.
"Cheeky little fox."
"If I'm wrong, correct me."
"I've tried."
He only laughed at her.
"And you're sure you won't let me remove the marking before you go?" She purred at him.
"Why on earth would I do something as ridiculous as that?" He appeared truly curious.
Shikiyoku let out a long-suffering sigh, "Because I'm not likely to wait for you, Youko."
His eyes almost narrowed.
"Something could happen while you're gone. You don't know." She informed him, "It would make it easier on you if you let me remove it now."
"I will not give up my rights on such a whim." Youko replied with just as much straightforwardness as her last words.
"Suit yourself-"
"I will."
"-but I promise nothing, Youko."
"You don't have to." He gave her a knowing grin.
She let out a sigh of resignation.
~!**!~
Youko had left, Kitoushi still hadn't come back yet, and it wasn't long before Shikiyoku felt her previous melancholy beginning to return.
Without a distraction, she found herself smoothing her fingers at the place where Otento's mark scarred her face in pain form, her thoughts turning over to Taka, half-wishing the bird scarred her and not the other demon.
...that would mean having had to kill him.
...she wasn't sure if that wouldn't haunt her twice as much as Otento's death did.
She fell asleep two nights in a row with the television on as she sat on the couch, attempting to use the moving pictures as a distraction.
On the third day though, she felt restless, knowing the cloud that had slowly been building up in her mind would only get worse, and while she had the good senses to do so, she needed to move.
It was with these thoughts in mind that she found herself slipping between the layers and walking over the threshold into the Niiro Kaga just as the last of the night crowd was leaving, putting her in the bar at closing time, the waitresses cleaning the tables and floor as Kafu stood behind the bar cleaning mugs.
"It is good to see you in one piece, lady."
Kafu didn't have to look up to know who slid into the barstool across from him.
Without her asking, a clean glass was filled with Demon's Fire and set beside her.
"Service after hours?" Shikiyoku gave a little grin as she reached for it and took a large gulp.
"Only for customers as prestigious as yourself."
The waitress snorted as she passed a handful of trays up into what looked like empty air.
"So you're what's been on his mind, seductress." She stood for a moment in place, a smile colored with chagrin on her features.
"I never said that."
"You never had to." She replied to the old demon, giving a little laugh and a wave as she moved on.
"I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get down here." Shikiyoku mumbled after taking another large gulp that had the glass sitting with only a fourth of the drink left in the bottom.
Maybe it was her heavier mood, but the alcohol set in to her system much faster than she remembered it doing, her skin starting to buzz pleasantly.
"I'm sorry I appear incapable of visiting you." Kafu replied with a blithe tone.
He pulled a snort from Shikiyoku's lips, "Doesn't sound like you're sorry."
"Perhaps you should look again." He set the mug down and she looked up at him, seeing that he meant it.
The last of her drink disappeared and without hesitation Kafu poured her more, going back to drying off the awaiting mugs.
This is a bad idea.
The thought didn't seem to make much of a difference as she downed another half of it.
"What I don't understand-" Shikiyoku started, struggling to make for certain that her words did not slur together, "Is why exactly you want your Mark removed, hm?"
Kafu only paused for a moment as he cleaned, though Shikiyoku was beyond noticing it.
"You deserve...more."
"You were gonna say 'better.'" Shikiyoku leaned forward, trying to look up into his face. "That's...stupid."
Kafu looked up at her, suddenly sensing the haze that had settled over her, the gleam of her skin, and the scent of the flower tucked behind her ear, which only seemed to enhance what he knew to be drifting his direction from her scalp.
Before he could gather enough awareness to stop her, Shikiyoku had gotten rid of the rest of her drink, though this time Kafu did not fill it again.
"I...would not wish this lifestyle upon you, lady." He said quietly, still looking at her.
She blinked at him in a manner that broadcasted a warning across his mind, and he stiffened, feeling idiotic for offering her the second glass without first talking to her, feeling her state of mind.
"And why not?" She leaned heavily onto the bar. "What's so wrong with it?"
"Because you deserve-" He stopped when she interrupted him by raising a finger and glaring at him, her eyes shimmering.
"No." She stated. "You don't know. None of you can know. Just...no. I'm allowed to think like that. You're not."
Kafu's expression lightened, "And why have you been thinking that way?"
"Because I'm-" Her eyes shifted to the side, remembering something someone had told her and not repeating the phrase. Damaged goods. "All messed up now."
"Oh?" Knowing he wasn't going to get anymore work done for the moment, Kafu leaned forward and rested an elbow on the bar, putting his cheek in that hand as his other arm came up to lay down across the red wood. "And who told you that?"
"I did."
"And what if you're not allowed to think like that either?"
She blinked slowly at him, "That doesn't count."
"And why not?"
"Because I said so."
"And why does it work that way?"
"Because I said it does."
"That's not exactly fair."
"I get to make the rules." She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Kafu's eyebrows to raise.
"And what if we want to make a few rules ourselves?"
"Nu-uh. Don't get to." She shook a finger at him.
Kafu let out a single chuckle, "You're drunk."
"And you're...adorable."
His eyes shifted to the side, "That's hardly comparable."
"I make the rules." She stuck her face in his, scrunching her nose up at him.
"Of course you do, lady." He shook his head a little as he looked back at her, unable to pull his eyes away from hers for the next moment, forcing himself to shift, looking over at his arm where swirls of her mark had extended down from the heart on the outside of his shoulder.
Shikiyoku reached over and placed her hand over the Mark, immediately setting the black ink-like tattoo aglow, and Kafu could feel where it stopped just short of his neckline, going instead to move down his shoulder blade.
Just as Kafu turned his head to look at Shikiyoku again, he found that she closed the last bit of distance between them and kissed him, freezing him in place as her eyes closed once her lips found his.
Really, really drunk.
The thought passed over his mind the instant she got a hold of him, but he lingered in the position when he realized something strange that he had never considered about her before, and as she kissed him, he almost found himself regretting his decision, finding in her kiss that she had the oddest power he had ever come across...
The ability to make another feel...loved.
As Kafu slowly pulled away, gently putting his own hands on Shikiyoku's shoulders to set her back down on the stool, he regarded her with a look she had never seen on his face, one that she found she had no name for.
As she struggled with his reaction, he reached over to where the Mark was hidden beneath the rolled up sleeve of his shirt and pulled the fabric farther, turning the arm towards her as Shikiyoku slowly reached out to take his arm in her hands.
She hesitated once the marking was before her, eyes flickering up to Kafu.
He shook his head, "I am not the one who needs you the most, lady. And even if I spend my entire life regretting that I let you go, I don't think it is the wrong choice."
She stared at him a moment longer.
"You should at least know that I don't think it's the right one." She murmured as she lowered her face down and pressed her lips against the heart, causing the marking to glow again before the swirls dissipated into thin air.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku hadn't let Kafu stop her from leaving.
He had offered her a room, actually nearly pleading with her to stay as if realizing how drunk she was, but once the mark was gone, it was that much easier to ignore him anyway.
She didn't exactly stumble down the streets of the city, but it was dark and the few lights around didn't betray her features to any of the night-crowd passing by her, and neither did it betray the scent of drink on her lips.
However, it was quite likely that the truth was she didn't realize demons were passing by, though any of them within arms length became aware of her, her energy untraceable but definitely noticeable to anyone that happened to step near the haze of power she could feel around herself. It had many of them continuing to look back at her even after they passed. Especially once she entered the guild district.
She managed to find her way to a particular guild building, a newer one that had not been in this city when she and Hiei first arrived on their mission from Koenma, and storming through the entrance.
"Horu!" She announced as she made her way through the main room towards the door of his office, bursting through that door as well to stand there defiantly with her hands on her hips, "Horu, your guards are terrible."
Horu let out a laugh as he took his feet off of his desk and stood up, placing down the papers in his hands he had been examining and pulling her farther into the room as he closed the door behind her.
"Is that so?" He asked as he shut it.
She took a few more steps into his office before leaning a hand on one of the chairs in front of his desk and speaking up.
"Yes."
If he hadn't already sensed her slight drunkenness, the manner in which she said the word would have given it away.
He turned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"They let me waltz right in here!" She gestured with her arm to the room around her.
Horu frowned, his eyes glimmering with mirth, "Really. That's terrible!"
"It is! You should...hire better ones."
"I should."
"Or punish the ones you have!"
"Probably that one."
"Definitely that one." Shikiyoku told him after a second of consideration, "I like that one guy. He's nice."
Horu finally laughed again, and even a little harder when she pouted at him.
"You're delightful, did you know that?"
"No. Yes." She blinked. "Then why do you want me to take off the mark?"
"Oh, princess," He made a noise of admonishment and scooped her up from where she wavered in place, going to sit in his chair and placing her across his lap as he put his feet up on his desk again, tapping her nose with a finger, "It has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with m-"
"No." She didn't let him finish, "I don't wanna hear it. You all keep saying this stuff and it's not true. I don't like it."
Horu raised an eyebrow, "Well, I assumed you had visited Kafu, given the...smell."
"I did." She told him, frowning. "You guys are...stupid."
"All the more reason then, hm?" He moved his face closer to hers, narrowing his eyes playfully.
She didn't answer for a moment and he pulled back, studying her features.
"...am I really why you want to?" Her eyes were glassy when she looked at him, but before he could speak up, she went on, "Don't you like me?"
"Did Kafu say he didn't like you?" Horu raised an eyebrow, "Because I'll go beat him up right now if he-"
Shikiyoku let out a laugh as Horu moved his feet off his desk and made as if to stand, and she put a hand on his chest as if to stop him.
"Noooo," She giggled, "Don't do it. He's not that bad."
"Just sorta bad, huh?"
She nodded, "For wanting to mark off. I almost changed his mind."
"Oh?"
Another nod.
"Dare I ask how you managed that?"
When she turned her eyes onto him, Horu suddenly realized that perhaps he shouldn't have asked as he found himself staring back into her shimmering gaze unblinkingly, her scent washing over him all at once.
"I retract my question." He told her quickly.
She tried to laugh, but it came out as a huff and she turned away.
Before she really could change his mind, Horu lifted Shikiyoku up until he could sit her on the desk, where she rested with her hands on either side of her, looking at her feet as she kicked them back and forth.
He stood up and reached behind his shoulders to pull off his tunic, revealing more of the light-colored tattoos he had that decorated his torso, as well as where they mixed in with the black of her mark starting around the upper portion of his arms.
Horu made a brief glance over his shoulder at the mirror behind him, seeing in it that the mark spread like wings along either side of the upper portion of his back, and when he heard Shikiyoku shifting around, he quickly looked at her, seeing that she started to stand up.
He took the step towards her to help steady her as she wavered in place, smiling a little as he realized what she was doing.
Her hands had come up over his shoulders to catch herself, and she nudged him a little with one of them to get him to turn, which after a moment to make sure she wasn't going to immediately fall, he did.
When her strangely cool lips touched his skin, Horu found his eyes closing as a warmth spread, tingling, over the markings for a single moment before he could feel them almost peeling away, the yellow glow dissipating into the air. 3
Hiei slipped into the bedroom window, having left it unlocked for this very reason. He'd been sleeping out in the tree as of late, observing, thinking a few things over. He'd noted Shikiyoku sleeping on the couch, in front of the television, but hadn't acted.
He'd also noted that she left earlier today, and Kitoushi had returned. Youko hadn't.
Meaning he could slip into the kitchen without being bothered, because he was more than certain that the cat was too exhausted to be awake at this time. It's just what he'd noted upon the other's return.
So he shut the window behind him, locked it, and moved through the layers to phase through the door and down the stairs, landing on the first layer again to pull open the freezer, sights set on the sweet snow.
~!**!~
Blissful, wonderful sleep. No dreams, except one much earlier in the night, but even now she couldn't remember it. She didn't have to worry about the soreness in her muscles, about the occasional thought that sometimes berated her mind, telling her things she didn't want to consider.
But she wasn't exactly surprised to feel the covers ripped away from her, light suddenly shining in her face and a voice yelling, loud and obnoxious, its words lost on her as she rolled away, grumbling something along the lines of "shut up".
She was just getting comfortable again, just releasing a sigh, when something very cold, and very, very unpleasant jolted her awake. She was sitting up, snarling, spitting water away from her lips and nose as the ice slid down her head.
This was possibly the nicest way she'd been awoken as of late, but that didn't make it any more pleasant.
"You're walking a fine line." she growled out as a hand wiped at her face, her teeth chattering just a little as she opened her eyes to see that the light in her face was not sunlight, but artificial light. From a flashlight. "Seriously?"
"I told you I'd make up for lost time. Get up."
Akari ground her teeth to keep them from chattering, breath coming fast through her nostrils as she gave a very pointed, very defiant glare towards Takeo. She wanted so badly to tell him to shove it. To stick it where the sun couldn't shine and roll back under the covers.
Covers that were now soaked, no doubt.
The demon turned, not waiting as he made for the door. "Ten minutes. If you're not there, I'll make sure you get no sleep, in the very least, for a week."
I want you dead.
"Yes, but you can't do that now, can you?"
Oh, but I will.
"Until then, you'll be in the training quarters. You have yet to move to the Ninth Layer, and Yomi's getting impatient." He slammed the door behind himself, but she knew he didn't go further than the next corridor.
He never went further than that.
She looked about the darkened room as she drew in a deep breath, a hand rubbing at her face. What time was it? How long had she slept? Not long enough. It didn't matter. She didn't have time to think on it, or to even grab a quick shower, or even a towel for her hair.
Another deep breath as she pulled drawers open, finding many, many outfits she hated to even look at, and completely refused to wear- even if the armor would hide it.
She settled for the usual black pants and black shirt to go under the armor, and was pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she stepped into the hall outside her room, eyes turning to the guard standing nearby. Her eyes narrowed at him before she turned and went the opposite direction; she didn't trust that one for….
What was she saying? She didn't trust a single person here.
Sometimes, she wasn't even sure she trusted herself, and it took a lot of restraint not to act on impulse here. BEcause every single fiber of her being screamed at her to strike in any way possible, to take down every demon she could before she herself was more than likely killed.
Patience.
She took a deep, calming breath.
You are calm. You are patient. You are not going to give in to it today.
A small scoff.
No promises for tomorrow, though. *
~!**!~
When Shikiyoku's eyes opened, it was to the darkness of a room she did not recognize, and the only reason she did not panic was because of the alcohol still coursing heavily through her veins.
She sat up, blinking through the blurriness and remembering someone saying something about 'Ogre Killer,' which had her briefly cursing Kafu inside her mind.
"Mm, are you still drunk, seductress?"
She hadn't noticed until she heard the sleepy voice, but the bed underneath her shifted as the shape laying next to her turned to face her.
Horu reached up and pulled Shikiyoku back down beside him, knowing the instant she got close that her breath still smelled of the stuff Kafu had somehow managed to slip past her. Not to mention the fact that the very air around her buzzed with her energy, uncontrolled.
Probably got her drunk thinking it would make removing the mark easier.
Horu huffed and fell back further into slumber.
Blinking in the pitch-black of the room, Shikiyoku realized the demon next to her hand no shirt on and she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about it until the arms that had encouraged her to lay back down started to gather her up in their strength-Horu meant for her to stick around until she was coherent enough to get home on her own-and she found herself pressed up to Horu's chest, her hands pinned between them, flattened against his skin.
The energy already buzzing over her entire body was easy to slip in to as he kissed the top of her head.
"-and don't even think about shifting between the layers. I can do that too you know." He muttered, half-asleep.
She had missed the first part of whatever he had been saying, but she was fairly certain it was a threat about leaving.
She had no intention of that now.
Her hands easily slid up over his collarbone to find the back of his neck, going further until her fingers were buried part-way in his white hair and her lips began planting kisses up over his collarbone until she reached his jaw.
Horu made some noise or another, taking a deep breath of her scent before his eyes flew open at the reminder of her energy in the air as it started to encircle him and his hands found her wrists and gently removed them.
"Ah-huh. Sorry, princess." He mumbled, still mostly sleeping as he eyes closed again, thinking of the kiss he'd given the top of her head as he shifted her around, weaving his arms about as he turned her to face away from him, ending up with his hands crossed over one another firmly over her chest and pulling her up against him so she couldn't escape. Or move much, really. "Not used to...having to restrain myself with bedmates." He hadn't considered kissing her on the top of the head a bad idea, only meaning it as reassurance.
She did not let him turn her quietly, making a sound of protest, though his strength at the moment overpowered her even as she struggled against him and he shifted his arms so that she could not reach them with her lips.
"Mm, just sleep would you? Trust me: if our situations were reverse it'd be just as hard for me." He let out a sigh too tired to be aggravated with her and buried his face in her hair. "S'hard enough as it is anyway." He grumbled, drinking in her smell and finding this direction made it more difficult for him not to start kissing at her neck in very much the same way she had just been doing to him.
Being sleepy helped a little at least, as he forced himself back under the tide of slumber and away from the rather willing seductress in his arms. 3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!