A/N: Hello once again, Fanficdotnet Lovelies!
Your friendly, neighborhood Star here, with another chapter for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
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!
Akari resists Kurama's request to enter the room on her own,
and as a result she is pulled in via thick vines coming from inside,
suspended from the ceiling.
Kurama activates nearby plants that give off sound as if they are fighting,
and lowers her down into his arms,
confessing that he missed her the night before.
Kurama questions Akari about her ghostly jaunts,
explaining that "stepping inbetween" is actually using a "tenth layer,"
otherwise known as the Veil, which separates the living and the dead.
Since Spirit World began dissolving when the three worlds started to merge,
it appears as if the Veil is weakening as well,
culminating in a portal being opened due to a ritual finished by Otento's blood,
one that allows the previously dead to pour through,
though it appears their only interest is attacking the realm of the living.
He reveals that Takeo's blood opened a portal in the room,
and that he convinced Yomi to let him keep the plants he had used during the battle there,
as well as taking Takeo's place in reawakening the ability to walk inbetween within Akari.
Akari realizes that she all but died when facing Takeo,
and somehow managed to run from her fate.
Kurama mentions a third party involved in the ritual required to open the portals,
though it seems likely the party does not know blood falling inbetween is needed to finish it.
Akari remains shook up by the entity she saw while she was dead,
Kurama musing on the effect the dissolution of Spirit World might be having everywhere else.
Unsure who might have teamed up with "the dead" on this side of things,
Kurama continues comforting Akari,
talking about how all three would-be Kings are gathering up layer-walkers
and that things have reached a stalemate between them,
now that whatever barrier between the eighth and ninth now-layers
can be by-passed by simply walking inbetween.
Continuing to walk around the room to distract Akari,
she calls him "absolutely ridiculous,"
and Kurama informs her that he isn't sure whether to be insulted or pleased...
~!**!~
Embracing Hiei and admitting she does not wish him to die,
if only he would let her remove his marking so that he would not,
Shikiyoku continues to crumple under Hiei's stare,
her energy unwieldy as he manages to without fail call it out from her.
Taking advantage of the ability to do so,
when none of the other marked demons appeared to be able to,
Hiei does not let her go and her energy fills the room around them
until finally Shikiyoku finds that under his fiery gaze
all her other worries seem to slip away,
and even when he loosens his grip,
she does not step away, only relaxing into his arms.
Eventually he lets her go,
but they remaining standing in front of each other,
Hiei gazing up at the mirrored ceiling above them,
and finding that he almost did not recognize the expression on his face.
"Are you sure you're not a fire demon?" He asks her,
and when he doesn't tell her why he asked,
she unintentionally flexes her energy in the air around them,
and pressing him as to why he asked.
"Your fierceness. Determination... Your will to fight."
"Hm." One of her brows lifted a little, her lips pulling up on that same side at the compliment. "I was unfortunately not given the pleasure of being born an elementalist like yourself. I'm really a rather untalented apparition. The only thing I can do is change how everyone sees me." Her smile widened.
The glimmering eyes, the almost shining skin, the gleam of her hair. All of it. Not quite an illusion, but a manipulation of herself intended to draw the eye, to gain the attention.
She understood that clearer now. 3
Hiei kept staring at her with a blank stare, expression giving no reaction to her words, to her reply of being boring in power. His head did twitch a little as if to tip to the side, eyes on the widening smile she gave, but otherwise he gave no visible indication that he particularly heard all of what she said. Not until he spoke.
"Boring isn't the word I'd use." he said simply, still not moving. He continued to eye the smile with a steady gaze before his eyes slid back up to meet her gaze calmly. He remembered what Kitoushi had said, about that smile of hers.
"People see you as you. Not for your power- though it does get you where you need to go, should you need it." His eyes flickered to the smile again. "That's what people notice." What I notice. "The smile."
~!**!~
AKari's eyes searched Kurama's smiling face, the last thought of what she'd been explaining earlier dissipating entirely, leaving her eyeing the smile he issued. "I wouldn't insult you in that way." Her lips twitched. "I might curse you from time to time, but never would I intentionally insult my fellow warrior princess." *
There was this brief internal moment where Youko expressed confusion about what Akari was saying.
"Well, that is most certainly a relief." Kurama admitted. "I don't know what I would do if my partner suddenly decided to take to insulting me." He gave a long-suffering sigh, "Probably think she was being serious and be terribly hurt by it all."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku gave him a bit of a grin, "I do tend to make it as dazzling as possible when the cause arises."
Even if I miss how much finer the expression looked when I had a demonic form. 3
Hiei's stare locked on Shikiyoku's gaze as she spoke, holding her eyes with his own as they flashed a little with an unreadable thought. He held the stare for a few moments, picking his words carefully, making sure he had that gaze locked before he did so.
"it's never as dazzling for anyone else as it is for me." He went quiet again, holding that stare indefinitely, not even daring to blink.
Because that was the most ridiculous- no matter how true it was- thing he'd ever said.
...But he really, really needed her to take him seriously, because it was clear he still wasn't there. And he had already told himself he'd do whatever it took to make her see it.
Because he wasn't going to let her walk away without a fight.
~!**!~
Akari's smile widened and she tugged on his shirt a little with the hand that had curled around the fabric. She didn't say anything yet, only wanting to get his attention first. *
Kurama made an amused noise and turned to look at her, his expression, eyebrows raised and all, saying a very clear 'what?'
~!**!~
Just when you think you have the upper hand...
...he goes and pulls the rug out from under you again.
She couldn't help herself, the smile widened at his words even if she didn't really understand them, lips spreading far enough to give her what felt like a stupid sort of grin where if she had her old fangs, one of them would have been seen.
And her teeth parted like she was going to say something. Like she had something to say about it.
But her hair rustled a little as a more powerful surge of energy sent it moving, a rustle that couldn't be completely accredited to how she shifted her weight over to the other foot.
She took in a breath, stopped with nothing to say, and breathed further, more audibly this time, before she came up with anything.
"Maybe I do it on purpose." It was supposed to come out loftily, as if she really did mean to imply that her intent was to draw him closer, to get his attention, but she blurted out the next part, "Maybe I think you don't look at me enough," and at least the last portion was meant teasingly, because under that stare she found herself unable to move much anymore, though if he didn't stop soon there was going to be a thicker haze around her that would give her this golden glow she didn't think would be particularly inviting to anyone. Just terribly strange. 3
Hiei raised a brow just a little at her words, as if he'd already guessed she'd say that. And, really, he supposed he had guessed she'd say something along those lines. And At her second 'maybe', his stare seemed to become heavier, focusing on her much more than before, intensifying in color and the gleam dancing in his eyes as he did so.
"I'm looking at you now."
Was she still not taking him seriously? And was that all she really meant?
If that's what it will take, then so be it.
At least now I know where to begin.
~!**!~
"What's on your mind?" she suddenly intoned, smile never wavering as she reached up and tapped his cheek with the hand that had tugged at his shirt. *
"Lots of things." He admitted, looking back at their path, which he still occasionally would have to turn a little in order to pass through, though really it seemed almost as if the plants were parting to let him by at this point.
~!**!~
Her first couple of thoughts fluttered by like butterflies caught in a windstorm as her arms dropped to her sides and her entire body froze in place, rendered incapable of movement under his smoldering gaze.
If Youko saw that look...
But Youko's not...
All at once her core gave out what felt like a contented sigh, tightening all at once and then releasing, and her body flooded with energy, wiping away anything else in her mind but a fleeting thought that had something to do with Hiei living on the edge or taking his life into his own hands or maybe something else entirely that got snatched out of her head as it filled with power.
What do you desire?
Her skin buzzed merrily, her scalp tingling and setting her hair nearly shining, her eyes cascading a brilliant green that coalesced with the previous, more muted sparkle and then...
And then she took a single step forward, the rest of her body relaxing, her bare foot making no noise on the shining, marbled floor, a strange haze of yellow almost setting her aglow as if some otherworldly being made of gold.
What do you desire?
There was only one thing she could think of, and that one thought echoed continuously in the empty corridors of her mind as he stared at her and as she took another step towards him.
What do you desire?
"Is that all you desire to do? Look at me?" Even her voice had changed, lighter as if to match the aura around her, but the question was low in tone, and simple.
What do you desire? 3
She was all he could see as Hiei's stared became just a little more intense, encouraged by the haze that filled the room, that colored the air around her as she took a single step forward, an unspoken string of words dancing in her eyes. Words he couldn't remember the last time she'd said. But they were there, and even if he wanted to he couldn't bring his eyes away from her.
And she took another step, he saw the flash in her eyes as the glow around her brightened, spreading around her further, the scent filling the room thicker than before.
And his stare remained locked on her, watching her every move as the rest of his senses kept track of the energy in the room, amused and completely entranced. Rooted where he stood.
And at her question, his lips gave a twitch, two different answers conflicting in his mind. Yes, because he was enjoying it oh so much. No, because he wanted to make her take him seriously, to not throw him away, to not toss him over the cliff.
To stay.
He couldn't decide which was stronger.
Which was more important in that very moment.
So his lips twitched a little more, stare never wavering.
~!**!~
"Hm," Akari hummed, hand coiling around his shirt again as she considered asking if he had anything he intended to share. But in the end, she didn't ask, deciding that they had plenty of time, and she knew no one would come in the room with Youko Kurama inside.
Yomi had probably ordered all to stay clear anyway, and the only demon she could see being dumb enough to barge in with or without orders was Satchi.
"You gonna walk forever?" *
He half-expected her to press him on it, and truthfully several of the thoughts revolved around her, but he let it be.
"Do you wish for me to walk forever?"
~!**!~
What do you desire?
His answer was too convoluted for her to sort through without concentrating. And she meant for him to answer aloud in any case.
She had not stopped moving, but her steps were measured until she was close enough to have to tilt her head back a little to look up into his face, close enough that the energy rolling off of her was pushed back to create a negative zone between them, like it refused to envelop him without his permission. Close enough to feel his breath on her face.
What do you desire?
"Hiei Jaganshi." As if she didn't already have his full attention and needed to say his name to get it. Her hand came up to hover over where the heart-shaped mark was underneath his cloak, but she did not touch him. "What do you desire?" 3
Hiei followed her every move, not even blinking when her lips said his name when he didn't give her an answer. He allowed the space she put between them, not leaning closer nor leaning away as she stopped before him, her breath rolling across his skin and her hand just hovering over the place he knew to be the epicenter of the mark he had been adorned.
The question she posed was different than the last, and yet just the same. It did, however, suddenly make it easier for him to answer, and he leaned closer, moving to the right a little so he could speak into her ear, but not so far as to be able and break the stare.
"You to stay. And for you to let me stay."
~!**!~
Akari shrugged a little. "Personally, I think it would be pointless to walk around with me in your arms for no reason other than to do so." She finally let her head rest against him, eyes closing. "And while I'm aware you likely got about as much sleep as I did, if I keep rocking back and forth, there's no guarantee I won't be wandering the room." She let out a small breath. "And frankly, I don't much enjoy that anymore." *
"Pointless? Isn't having the honor of holding you in my arms point enough?" He paused. "We are actually going somewhere specific now. Though I hadn't planned on letting you down until...until I was sure nothing was going to happen once you were in here. Have to plan for every possibility after all." He glanced at her. "It did confirm a few things when nothing happened, though."
~!**!~
Her eyes followed his motion, her core giggling in her chest under his stare.
If she had not been so free as this, his answer would have made her shudder, would have made her sad.
Because her desires were in direct conflict with his.
Assuming his led to his own death by association with her.
As it was, nothing about her changed, not her calm, open expression, nor her steady energy that filled the room and filled her.
The energy, however, did remain stopped in the space between them, almost appearing to be held back by the hand she had lifted, the one that had yet to come down over the mark. It started to circle around him like a permeable wall, leaving him free of its touch, but surrounding him with it.
"Stay?" She echoed, watching him, "Is there nothing more?"
I would give you anything you asked. 3
Hiei didn't move from where he stood, eyes on her still even as she spoke, even as her energy moved between them and in front of his eyes, around his shoulders, behind his back and around his arms. Around his ankles. Never touching, he knew, but still there, hovering.
He finally gave one blink at her before he let out a small breath. Of course there's more.
He didn't speak for an entire minute, watching her, lips twitching a little.
"To be your Consort."
He couldn't bring himself not to say it, much less say no.
~!**!~
Honor? I don't really think-
She sighed and peeled her eyelids open to look up at him curiously. "Confirm?" She was curious now. "And what exactly would that be?" *
"Why, everything I've told you up to this point." Kurama finally came to a stop and looked down at her. "Having only one portal of data to go off of doesn't particularly mean another won't act in a different way."
~!**!~
She blinked at him, but his admission seemed to make the soft smile on her lips grow, pleased.
"Really?" The look in her eyes meant the question rhetorically as her energy bloomed around her once at his words, knowing the truth of them. "What on earth would that gain you?"
This question was...more curious than the others. She did not even know herself what he would gain, what would make the union equal since she would get a demon capable of transitioning her, and Renai had made it explicitly clear that a Consort, as opposed to a Champion, made for an even playing field. 3
Hiei didn't answer the first question she asked, the one-worded question that he saw no reason to reply to. She knew the answer- if the question really wasn't rhetorical as he suspected it to be. The second, however, had him pausing.
He hadn't thought about it very much. Only that he didn't want to leave her, or her leave him.
And yet, that seemed to answer his own question just as easily. Seemed to give him the answer as if he'd already known.
"A companion."
Because somewhere in his lifetime, he'd been told that waking up in the mornings was easier when there was someone to wake up for. He hadn't understood it at the time, sitting in that little campsite with the girl who'd decided to attach herself to him.
Perhaps… this one would let him grow to understand it more.
Because he knew no one else would. Especially when no one else deemed him worthy of anything in the nine layers.
~!**!~
Akari's brows came together briefly as she thought about it, but quickly lifted again into a calm expression and she gave a little hum that said she understood. She wouldn't have really thought about it before he'd said it.
Not that he'd been letting her think of much of anything that would trouble her, or bring her back to the earlier topic.
Which she was very grateful for.
"Good point." *
Kurama glanced around for a moment.
"The ground is very soft here now. But if you'd prefer a bed of roses, or any other flower for that matter, it could be arranged." He gave her an unreadable look, still standing in place.
~!**!~
For the hybrid demon before her, his answer seemed to almost suffocate her with how right it was, how true it was, and it was all she could do to just stand there, looking up into his face with one hand poised over his core.
Funny how she never even thought to ask any of the others.
What do you desire?
This time the question was aimed at herself and she appeared taken aback, blinking a couple of times, suddenly becoming unsure.
What do you desire?
She didn't know...she...no one ever asked her that question, she never really got to think about it.
The idea left her dumbstruck, but the voice in her head changed and the next time it sounded like Douji.
What do you desire?
Her energy continued to flow around in the air in a foggy sort of haze that held nothing of the heaviness or thickness of the steam on the other side of the door behind her.
Hiei's answer echoed back to her, bringing her back to what she had been doing, and this time, though she didn't know it, her smile was that one she only ever gave him, the one only he got to see. 3
Hiei had moved just a little, pulling back from her enough that his cheek wasn't next to hers anymore, but so that he could stare directly down at Shikiyoku, watching her, waiting for a reply or even another question. And He found himself amused at the way she blinked a few times, at the way she seemed to turn inward with her own thoughts, yet simultaneously still watching him.
And then that smile formed, and he found himself unable to move, hardly even breathe. It was the smile he hadn't seen in so long, the smile that had been smothered by grief and fear and desperation that it hadn't had the chance to even twitch at her lips the same way.
"That's the smile."
His hand twitched at his side, and then his arm slowly lifted, his fingers wrapping around the wrist that was closest to him, the wrist of the hand that was inches from his chest, from the mark. And while he wanted to tug on it, wanted to feel the warmth of the mark, he didn't force it.
He merely stood there, staring at her, waiting for… something. He didn't know what.
~!**!~
Akari made a small sound as she stifled a laugh. "The soft ground will do fine." Though, at the thought of roses, she suddenly remembered she'd lost the seed so long ago. The thought was brief, however, and replaced with the thought of how comfortable a bed of flowers would be.
And how much easier it would be to fall asleep on such bed, and more than likely roam the room.
Which she'd learned made her feel icky, and was a no go. So she gave a little nudge at Kurama's chest with her knuckles, silently saying he could put her down here, and she really didn't want anything else but to be there. *
Kurama gave out a little chuckle and set her down.
"Before you decide that's what you really want, I have a couple of things for you. One that belongs to you, and...a gift." He reached into the pocket of the grey pants of Yomi's uniform and held out a seed for her.
A rose seed.
~!**!~
At Hiei's statement, Shikiyoku lowered her face a little, her cheeks blushing the barest pink as she let out a small laugh, but...the smile didn't go away either.
Her attention moved to Hiei's hand just as it wrapped around her wrist, and his touch sent several of those little sparks up her hand and down her arm.
The contact brought her eyes back up to his.
"Is that...what you desire?" The question held the image of them standing there as they were now, and the two of them moving her hand forward, where it would light his markings aglow. 3
Hiei stared at the mental image she provided for a few moments before he decided that yes, in that very moment, it was what he wanted. A small desire that still stemmed from the major one. So after another moment, he tugged on her hand and pressed it over the place he knew the heart to be, quickly feeling the warmth begin to move along each section of the mark, each swirl, each curl starting from the heart and spreading in many different directions.
His eyes remained on Shikiyoku as he kept track of the warmth spreading, his own skin seeming to even tingle where the warmth moved. And as the glow moved along his skin, he became aware of her energy moving, enveloping him in its scent, in its warm, cheerful glow as it moved around him, encasing both himself and her in its color.
And for the second time since he'd known her, Hiei turned her own question onto her. "What do you desire, Shiki?"
He went quiet again as he noted the glow coming to the ends of each mark, where it had stopped earlier, but now was… continuing, inching along his skin even slower as the mark continued to move along his body. He felt the warmth spread further up his neck, up to and behind his left ear and even to follow his jawline. It also grew down his arm, reaching his wrist and curling around it, not yet moving further than the joint and creating an odd bracelet-like ring around his skin.
It even moved further down his back, spreading to cover his shoulderblade and follow his spine to the center of his back.
And even as he felt it crawl to an end, his stare gleamed in amusement as he never let his eyes move from her face.
"What do you desire, Shikiyoku?"
~!**!~
Akari kept hold of Kurama's shirt until she was sure she had her balance, at which point she smoothed out the wrinkles on his chest before letting her hand fall, her eyes turning up to him curiously. Both things confused her, made her curious, so her eyes followed the motion of his hand with a raised brow.
When his fingers uncurled to reveal a seed- the rose seed- sitting on his palm, her smile returned and she paused, eyes flickering up to him.
"I hope you don't expect me to do the same thing you did. I'd rather not have a seed in my mouth." She reached forward, carefully grabbing the small thing between her forefinger and thumb as she gave a breath of relief. You visited Manami, I'm sure. "Thank you." *
"Manami gives you her regards." Kurama told her as she took it from him.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku's eyes had gained a faraway look to them as she watched in her mind's eye the swirling patterns of the mark the demon before her bore. And her eyes widened as she watched it, felt it, bloom further, the energy almost encouraging the growth.
She blinked a few times, brought back to the present by a question she only barely heard flowing over her mind the second time.
In the openness between them, there was no mistaking how impressed she was, the recognition bordering on admiration for what she had just witness.
For some reason...she had not really taken note of just how much there was to the mark. Not until now.
Her energy swirled around them like the glowing lines on Hiei's skin, enveloping them both in the haze and leaving them standing there together in it.
When his question hit her, still hanging in the air between them, she blushed again. 3
Hiei didn't move a single inch, his fingers still curled around her wrist, his eyes still locked on hers, the energy around them glowing as if they were in a whole other world of their own. And it was probably the most surreal, the most serene and most calming thing in the nine layers. To feel the glow on his skin and the energy around him, mixing.
And when she didn't answer, he sent the question silently, a mere impression of curiousness as they stood there amidst the soft pearlescent glow of her energy.
~!**!~
Akari let the seed fall into her palm, her fingers curling around it as she brought her eyes up to smile at Kurama. She makes a good Alpha, knows what to do and how to handle the pack. ...glad she's doing well.
And aside from the soft smile of fondness, for both the girl he spoke of and Kurama, she didn't have a reply. *
"The second is...still in a rather experimental stage." Kurama looked up and the vines above him dropped down with something he took from them before they disappeared back towards the ceiling. "But it's hard to see what will work without you." He held in his hands what could have been a necklace made of daisies and started to place them over her head.
~!**!~
There were many things she desired, she found. Almost too many to rightly register them all, so her mind had instead twisted the question to be more specific, to give an answer for what she desired right now.
That provided her with two things. Two immediate, relatively easy answers that proved...harder to admit than to think up.
And she didn't know if it would be easier to admit them out loud or into the awaiting warmth in her mind that patiently expected her response.
"I..." Her eyes lowered to his neck, if only to escape the stare for a second. The fingers of her left hand fiddled with the soft material of the towel.
She went with the one that came to mind second.
"...want you to call me Shiki." She wasn't sure if she meant to add 'again,' but she did nearly say 'and,' but managed to stop herself short, the thought quickly pulled back from the connection out of embarrassment. 3
Hiei didn't mind that her gaze shifted away from his. It amused him, actually, that in order to form an answer to give him- very likely out of a few- she had to break the holding stare they'd created for one another. And he waited patiently for an answer.
When she did provide him with one, his lips twitched. It was a simple little thing, a simple and easy request to fill. One he'd already taken to filling without actually directly meaning to do so.
"Is that all you desire, Shiki?"
~!**!~
Akari's head tilted to the side a little at Kurama's admittance, her eyes following his upwards, but not sure what she was looking for other than the vines that slid downwards and then disappeared in the darkness of the ceiling again.
So she brought her eyes back to his face, smiling curiously as he continued. She would have made a curious sound, but her eyes moved to the string of flowers in his hands as he lifted the colorful ring up and over her head, to which she responded by ducking just a little, to make it easier.
"You're absolutely adorable, you know that?" she said without looking up, smile twitching up a little more. *
"Am I?" Kurama asked, "I hadn't the faintest idea."
He finished placing the necklace over her head and took to adjusting it a little, eyes intent on the blooms.
~!**!~
At his actually doing it, she pulled her lips into her mouth and bit down on them a little, trying not to smile.
But at recognizing his question, at being asked again, the energy around them bubbled happily, though Shikiyoku shot it the closest thing she was going to get to an irritated look when she felt so very wonderful.
"I-" Her eyes shifted the other direction, "No?"
It was a long shot. 3
The buzz of the energy around him seemed to encourage the fire demon in listening intently, waiting for her answer this time as if he could feel it coming. And even when she gave a 'no', his lips twitched into a smirk and he stood up a little more, spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
"Was that question tacked onto that 'no 'for me or yourself?"
~!**!~
"Oh, but I think you do." Akari lifted her eyes to look at Kurama again, her smile turning mischievous. "And you use it to your advantage every time. I'd say it isn't fair, but not once have I ever heard you say you were fair." She glanced down at the blooms around her neck now, eyeing the flowers. "There's another adjective for you, by the way." *
"It's because I'm not." He told her, one hand dropping from the necklace. "Fair, that is." He gave her a smile, the other hand coming up to brush the top of her nose briefly.
~!**!~
She found herself with a pleasant smile on her face in spite of herself as she looked back up at him.
Shikiyoku didn't answer except with a coquettish shrug, the fingers at his cloak just slightly shifting in the fabric beneath them. 3
Hiei stared at her, noting the shrug she gave and the smile she offered. One that said she wasn't going to answer right away. He figured she was playing a game, seeing how many times he'd repeat himself, so he remained silent, waiting. Watching.
Smirking in amusement.
~!**!~
"I'm aware of it." Akari replied calmly, eyes closing briefly when his finger touched her nose. She took a deep breath through her nostrils, taking in all the scents around her and noting the way Kurama's scent almost seemed to vanish amongst the aroma of the flowers and ferns and other foliage around him.
When her eyes came open again, she took the step that would close the space between them, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"I'm not going to want to leave this room, I hope you know."
And how did he achieve making me want to be inside instead of fearing it? *
Kurama let his arms slide around her body to her back as she hugged him, holding her close.
"And you think I'm going to want to leave it myself?" He didn't wait for her to answer, since he felt it rather obvious, but he did pull far enough away from her chin to look at her and to be able to reach up with that same hand and tap the tip of her nose again. "It is, however, time for some sleep, I think. That's what the necklace is for. We're trying to keep that spirit of yours from wandering around unchecked. It's only a prototype. The real thing ought to be much smaller. Able to hide it under your clothing."
~!**!~
Her energy thrilled around them.
Answer him.
But it was...too weird.
Answer him.
It was as if the hazy glow itself were talking to her, dancing merrily, encouraging her to tell him what he had asked.
And what if he says no?
Answer him.
Stop that.
His eyes certainly weren't helping matters, because she could still see the question behind them, even if he hadn't asked her again.
The energy seemed to hold this sort of calm joy at having the two of them in its midst, and for a moment Shikiyoku was reminded of the true fire.
Answer him, the energy sang, delighted to have the question turned.
But he doesn't have to fulfill it! And she felt she always had too. It wasn't fair. Because what if he didn't? That would be embarrassing. And he wouldn't want to anyway. And if he didn't desire it, she didn't want to desire it.
Answer him.
Stop it.
Shikiyoku found herself giving a little laugh and leaning forward to put her face up against Hiei's chest.
Was this how everyone else felt when she asked? 3
Hiei's fingers unfurled from around Shikiyoku's wrist, moving so that he could wrap that arm around her bare shoulders as she moved forward, the laugh she issued ringing in his ears just as merrily as the energy around him danced.
He raised a brow, still amused at her refusal to answer. But he was a patient demon these days, and frankly, he felt they had all the time they wanted to have. He could stand there as long as it took.
This is the Shiki I want to be around.
The thought caught him off guard, made him blink once, and then he released a sound through his lips that was nothing more than a breath of amusement.
And he had the most bizarre feeling to say I told you mind, now you tell me yours.
~!**!~
Think, or know?
She almost voiced the rhetorical question, but instead her eyes drew downwards, to the flowers around her neck almost curiously. She trusted him, trusted that it would work. And even if it didn't, she knew he'd do what he could to fix it, to make it work.
After a moment she pulled away from Kurama and lowered herself to the grass, sitting first and looking around herself. Daily rendezvous for sleep? I can deal with that.
The thought made her give a small laugh. "I've got another adjective for you." She suddenly voiced, watching him with sparkling eyes,, but not going on. *
He was about to warn her that it might not work and-
"Oh?" He stopped himself and drew his gaze to her eyes, "With that look, I'm not sure I want to know, do I?" His smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
~!**!~
Answer him!
Answer him, answer him, answer him!
It was insistent, though not demanding or harsh or...it was everything but all those things, all the negative ones. Encouraging and delighted still at having been asked.
Her energy continued to dance around them jubilantly, continuing to drag her resolve down.
"I-" Augh, I can't. 3
"Don't hurt yourself, woman." Hiei said after a moment, amusement clear in his tone, in his gaze, in the way his stomach tightened with a silent sound he didn't release. She didn't have to say it if she didn't want to, though he was extremely curious at this point.
She'd get to it.
Maybe not now, but she'd get to it.
And as he noted before, he was a patient demon where she was concerned.
Mostly where she was concerned.
~!**!~
Akari continued shifting when he paused, turning so that she lay on her stomach on the soft grass, arms near her head and cheek resting on the greenery. Her smile widened and her eyes found Kurama again.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you want to know." Her eyelids slid closed. "I was only informing you that I had another adjective at my disposal. I never said I was going to use it." *
Kurama sat down and stretched his legs out in front of himself, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back into his hands that propped him up from behind.
"Hm." He intoned with amusement, going back to what he had been meaning to say earlier. "You should know that I'm not for certain that will work." He glanced at the necklace. "It's hard to know without being able to test it."
~!**!~
"Oh, didn't you know?" Shikiyoku pulled back so she could look up at his face again, grinning a little, "What's hurting is not telling you. Is it always this bad? When I ask you?" 3
Hiei raised a brow even higher at Shikiyoku, his smirk growing to show a pointed canine on one side. He watched her for a moment, considering her as the energy in the room bounced and played in the air, the soft glow moving around and around.
"No, because I don't fight it." he admitted. "Not anymore." Before, he hadn't known what was happening. And then by the time he'd come to realize, he hadn't cared enough to fight it, to argue with an energy that was meant to pull answers from people. To reel them in without a fight. "Also, I pick my battles better."
~!**!~
Akari's eyelids slid close. "I know what the word 'prototype' means, fox." She felt her smile twitch wider. "I'd already thought of it." She shifted a little, pulling an arm to rest under her cheek and she glanced through one open eye at Kurama. "You're not allowed to sit there and not sleep. Because I know better than to believe you slept." *
"And how on earth am I supposed to know if the necklace is working if I'm not awake?" Kurama asked her. "I got plenty of rest. I did not have to worry about my soul wandering off."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku gave another lingering laugh at his answer, her eyes closing as the laugh ended with a sigh.
...and then she mumbled something into his cloak. 3
Hiei's brows furrowed a little as his ears caught the smallest of sounds from Shikiyoku. He stared at her in silence for a moment, wondering if he'd just not been listening hard enough.
As if.
"Shiki." he chided. "I didn't catch that."
~!**!~
"Because I'll tell you." Akari said calmly, both eyes open now as she looked up at him with a frown. Liar. "I mean, you could always pretend to sleep, since you're a fantastic actor, but I'm not fooled by your words, fox." *
"I'll know the instant your spirit leaves your body if I'm awake." Kurama said, "And while I may not play fair, name one time that I've ever lied to you."
~!**!~
The energy around them bubbled again, reflecting the moment when she heard him call her 'Shiki.'
She gave a sigh into his cloak and pulled away, actually frowning a little that she was having to say it or be tormented forever.
Answer him.
I'm trying.
There was no hiding her reluctance. She didn't even look at him, though she was far enough away that she could have easily met his gaze again. One of her fingers started making absent circles against the black fabric under her hand that was still making his marking glow.
"I...want you to...kiss me." It was said so low that she may as well have mumbled it into his chest again, but without her face buried in it, the words were clear enough to fight past her lips and into the air.
As soon as they did though, she was blushing madly, a deep red going across her nose and cheeks. 3
Hiei raised a brow, his first thought on the words he heard, of the admittance being that she hadn't switched. He stared at her for a moment, looking over her face curiously, the energy around him thrilling through the air, as if it were humming happily in his ears and waiting for his reply.
Well…
She asked.
And instead of asking questions, he decided he'd just… do it. Because even though she'd been reluctant, she'd still said it.
Not hiding from me.
So he leaned down and paused for a moment, watching her before he moved closer, lips gently touching hers just as they had earlier. And after a few beats, he pulled away, eyes suddenly moving to the side as his core gave a funny little motion.
"Happy?"
~!**!~
Akari let out a sigh. "Did I say you'd ever lied to me?" Obviously I'm not getting anywhere. "I was just-"
Never mind.
She gave another sigh and slowly scooted closer, a hand reaching out to him. "At least come here." You pain in the ass. *
"I am 'here.'" He replied cheekily, grin widening as he did go ahead and scoot closer to her, taking a hold of the hand she stretched out to him.
~!**!~
There was this part of her, a rather large part in fact, that honest-to-goodness assumed he would scoff or call her foolish or-
Well, it didn't really matter now did it?
When he started to lean towards her, it had been an almost automatic response to look up at him, blinking through the darkening blush across the mask of her face, and she was certain she was holding her breath.
He can't...he won't...
When his lips first touched hers, her eyes widened in surprised, then just as quickly closed, appreciating this for what seemed like the first time, given that she hardly remembered any other kiss or they had been interrupted for her with spaces of blackness separating one form from the other.
Of course, when he kissed her, sparks were sent flying from her lips in several different directions around her face, and she couldn't see them, but she could feel the prickles of energy scatter about.
Not to mention the fact that being 'awake' for the whole thing made her core jolt, the hairs at the back of her neck standing on end, and left her breathless when he pulled away.
Almost as if it were a delayed reaction, the instant Hiei asked if she was happy, her energy swirled around them madly as if they were in the eye of a maelstrom, and the soft yellow glow intensified in thickness, actually making the air heavy like it had not been before.
Still blushing, still unsure if that had actually happened, Shikiyoku blinked and her eyes shifted back and forth to the wild energy that whipped around them as if a great wind.
She looked back at him, one eyebrow slightly raised and a barely restrained smile trying to belie her next words.
"Maybe?" 3
Hiei stood upright now, his eyes intently watching the energy around him thicken and swirl, billow and blow around as if stirred by strong winds. He found his eyes following it as best as they could, not turning to Shikiyoku even when she gave an answer.
He didn't know why, either.
Never done it before.
Oh, right.
"Hn." was his only reply.
~!**!~
Akari made a small sound of irritation. "Ha ha. Very funny." Using my own explanation from yesterday. She continued to scoot closer, though she shifted herself around and instead of laying next to him, she gave a huff and lay perpendicular to him, resting her head on his thighs and staring up at him with a frown. She pulled her knees up, planting her feet on the grass below, and twined her fingers together over her stomach, her elbows resting on the grass.
"Since you refuse." She shifted a little, turning her face away so that her cheek rest on his thigh. "Stubborn." *
"Almost as stubborn as you." Kurama calmly replied, reaching out with his closer hand to idly pull his fingers through her hair.
Once she was settled, a wave of foliage rose from the ground behind him and he leaned back into it.
~!**!~
It took a good deal of concentration, and intense staring at the scarf around Hiei's neck, for Shikiyoku to pull the energy back inwards before she really did bring the entire customer base of the bathhouse down on them.
And when she did, the haze lessened and the rushing around them stopped, settling back down to the shimmering, warm glow that circled them before.
She was...breathing hard, but from the combined effort of reigning in her power and the previous kiss both. 3
Hiei felt… odd, standing there, watching the energy for entertainment purposes and… other purposes he didn't quite understand at that time. It had him frowning a little when the glow dimmed and the swirling stopped, though he waited an extra moment before turning to look at Shikiyoku, expression neutral.
And the longer he stared, the quicker those odd emotions fled, leaving him with a calm stare and amusement filling his gaze all over again, as if nothing happened.
What now?
~!**!~
"I would argue, but that would only prove your point." Akari pointed out, still giving a small pout. "Since you're supposed to be training me, don't let me forget to tear up the armor. Might as well make it believable, hm? Because everyone knows you can heal wounds for the heck of it."
She turned her head so she would be looking up at the ceiling, though she couldn't see much of what was up there. "Also, as much as I hate that you're stuck here, I'm rather glad you're here." *
Kurama continued stroking at her hair, his ankles crossed again.
"I don't think causing our favorite blacksmith any more trouble will be necessary. It would be believable enough that I was not keen to strike at it, don't you think?"
When she turned her face upwards, he leaned down, moving a bit of hair away from her forehead, and planting a kiss there again.
"I am glad too."
~!**!~
The blush across Shikiyoku's face had not decreased as she stared forward, and especially not with Hiei looking at her again.
In fact, the energy around them had lessened in power as she was endeavouring to forget the...what had just happened...so she could go put her clothes on or something, but when he turned her way again, she lost a little control and it flared up a bit more.
She gave a little sigh, but it wasn't an unhappy one, exactly.
"I can't do anything with you looking at me like that." 3
Hiei's smirk widened as he noted the slight influx of energy again, it still moving around him, touching him here and there, encasing them both. And when she spoke, it made it that much more amusing. "You're the one who said to look at you more." he pointed out almost loftily, but he turned his eyes away anyway.
~!**!~
"Whatever you want to do. You're the 'trainer'." She gave a shrug, her eyes closing as he bent over her and his lips touched her forehead. And after a few moments, she gave a deep breath and relaxed even more. "If I don't end up wandering around as soon as I'm asleep, will you at least try taking a short nap?" Akari asked, expression only a little bemused. You deserve some too, y'know.
I just hope I do only sleep. *
"It doesn't always happen the instant you fall asleep." Kurama commented, "Or at least, any time I've witnessed it, you don't leave yourself immediately. But...we'll see."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku closed her eyes and smiled when he looked away, starting to reel in more of her energy and unaware that she still had her hand over his core.
"I suppose I did say that, didn't I?" She gave a little hum, "It's not that I don't like it. It's just that you tend to stop me in my tracks when you do it." 3
Hiei took keen note of what she enlightened him of, and he kept his eyes pointed to the side despite wanting to glance for a moment. It would make a fun game, glancing just long enough to make her pause, then looking away. Repeatedly.
Later.
His hands found his cloak pockets.
"Amusing."
~!**!~
AKari mouthed the last two words with a hint of a mocking air, though her lips twitched upwards in good humor. "Fine. I can't convince you otherwise." She went quiet again, stifling a yawn as she began to feel how tired she was all over again.
That bread hadn't lasted long, after all.
Not that I'm hungry enough to eat more than that.
Almost immediately following that thought, she gave a small sigh and began feeling the edges of sleep begin to creep in. *
Kurama sat patiently, stroking his hand through Akari's hair and, simply, waiting.
~!**!~
"Oh, like you didn't know." Shikiyoku said, managing to get control and dissipate the energy in the air as she finally pulled her hand away from him and took a step back, giving him that smile before bringing a hand up to where her towel was still blessedly tucked together and turning away.
She left her clothes out near the hot spring, though she only just remembered them, and as she walked off she reached up to tuck part of her black hair behind her ear. 3
Hiei waited until Shikiyoku and managed to reign in her energy and turn a smile at him. Still, he didn't look at her, not even when she passed. He listened to each step she took, waiting a few moments before he turned his head to look over his shoulder, his body following a moment later and turning towards his pile of clothes, his eyes still staring at Shikiyoku's back as she adjusted her hair.
That calm, even, unguarded stare at the back of her head.
And should she turn to look at him, he would be sure to be facing away and doing something else.
~!**!~
Each stroke of Kurama's hand through her hair had Akari's mind numbing quicker and quicker, the darkness creeping in from the edges of her mind until it was the only thing she knew. Her lips parted to give a small sigh, head turning a little towards Kurama's abdomen, and then she settled into the darkness of sleep. *
~!**!~
Her mind was already on her clothing outside the door, on the payment for Meijin, and she had just gotten her hand behind her ear when her stomach froze up and her core lurched in place, sending a buzzing through her veins as she blinked at the floor for a second where her vision had fallen, feeling the energy start to lick into the area around her.
Her shoulders slouched as if in defeat and she groaned.
"Hi-ei..." She lengthened the last syllable. 3
Hiei noted her pause with an immense amount of satisfaction, his eyes turning away just before she complained at him about it. He already had a boot in one hand and his other hand on the wall, making quick work of sliding it over his foot before planting it firmly on the floor.
"Hn."
He continued what he was doing with the other shoe, and then the necklaces he had hidden beneath the pile, tucking them under his cloak and scarf.
~!**!~
It felt like forever Akari was floating through that restful darkness, no dreams to disturb her. It was blissful while it lasted, though.
She became aware of the tiniest feeling inching over her consciousness, of the slightest tug at her awareness, and then her eyes were open and she was standing to Kurama's left, frowning and looking down at him and herself.
"Well, there's your answer, fox." she grumbled, knowing he wouldn't hear her. She continued to stare for a minute, watching as her own breathing seemed to slow, almost until she wasn't even sure if she was breathing, and her own core's beating mirroring that with a slower pace.
That is so weird.
She looked up and around the room, lips twitching a little in unhappiness. Why did this happen? Surely there was a reason, right?
She took a few long strides forward, and suddenly found her feet becoming heavy, and she wasn't able to move any further. With a frown, she tried moving further by going another direction, and only ended up going in a straight line for a few feet in that direction.
She frowned and glanced back.
The necklace.
She sighed and moved towards Kurama, taking to crouching a foot or so away from him, close to where she'd found herself standing when her eyes had opened. And she watched. *
The wall behind Kurama rustled quietly as he shifted a little and let out the slightest sigh, watching his hand moving through Akari's hair.
[There.]
The motion of his fingers stopped and his hand came to rest on his thigh.
Her breathing had slowed, her core nearly stopping.
Kurama waited a beat, then let out a heavier sigh, though he did look around himself as if he might be able to see her.
"Akari..." He leaned over so that he could see her face better, smoothing the back of his hand down her cheek gently, lifting it to see if there was a reaction.
~!**!~
Shikiyoku shook her head, a breathy laugh sneaking past her lips as she kept moving forward, sucking her energy back into her core where it rightly belonged as she reached for the sliding door and stepped back out into the steam, closing the door behind her.
It only took a few seconds for her clothing to be in place, dark crimson pants that looked black unless you examined them for a moment and same colored tank-top both tight so that they wouldn't snag while running. That and the color were both things she had picked up as a habit during her decade or so of time in Demon World, and habits that stuck with her even when her only thoughts were to feed. The shoes were dark as well, made of cloth, and slipped over the bottoms of the pants, which actually wrapped around her feet through her first and second toes.
It made her look...more like a fighter in some ways. Certainly more like one that she really felt.
Reaching for the band her hair had been up in, she placed it in her teeth as she gathered the strands together and put them in a ponytail.
The towel was left on the bench as Shikiyoku put one hand on her hip and stuck her other up in the air by her ear.
The hand in the air blurred and Shikiyoku's faced shifted a little as if she were looking for something that she couldn't actually see.
Her expression brightened after a moment and when the hand came out from inbetween in her palm was a nondescript brownish sack tied at the top and the coins in it clinked together. It spilled over the edges of her palm a little, and grabbing it by the top, she went back into the other room and moved with purpose for the closet door that had gone unopened, sliding it back, counting shelves and tapping at a hidden drawer which opened so she could put the sack inside before closing it, and the closet and turning away. 3
By the time Shikiyoku had entered the room again, Hiei was completely dressed and was calmly looking up at the mirror overhead, eyeing the mark that now decorated his neck and jawline, even curling behind his left ear. His eyes gleamed with amusement at the thought for not being able to hide it, as he had wanted to do when he first found out. Not out of shame, or even anything bad, but simply to be the one no one expected to be in the running, to be the one who would crop up unexpected and be uninterrupted because it doesn't matter, he isn't involved.
He released a breath of a scoff. That advantage is over.
Then again, he remembered running around in the inbetween, slicing up demonic souls every which way, shirtless, after the rift had opened up. They'd all seen the mark then, likely. The 'charade' had been put to rest then.
The mark wasn't near this widespread at that time.
Perhaps that was why he was so amused. He had disappeared for a while, and when he would return for one of the others to see, he'd suddenly be adorned with markings on his face, when there hadn't been any mark seen before his leave of absence.
And, truth be told, he didn't see a reason why those who were left wouldn't have already known he was marked, since it seemed her previous Champions were all included. Which made it almost embarrassing that he hadn't thought of that before finding out he was marked.
Hn.
He heard the closet door close and turned his eyes down to Shikiyoku calmly, waiting to know where she wanted to go next. Likely home.
~!**!~
Akari gave a small sigh when Kurama looked up and around, even right through her before looking back down again. "You know, I don't know how to go back. It just happened the other times." she admitted, though mostly to herself since she knew the redhead wouldn't hear her. "I just thought I was dreaming, and now that I know I'm not, I don't know what to do."
I can try a few things, though.
She gave another sigh, this one heavier.
Akari closed her eyes and began to imagine herself waking up with her head in Kurama's lap, with a hand reaching up and grabbing his so that he might stop worrying so dang much. She even imagined her soul sliding back into her body, as if absorbed by her skin.
And when she opened her eyes, she was disappointed to see she was still crouched nearby, a hand outstretched to her own body and even touching her own skin, but no progress had been made. Her face hadn't even twitched from Kurama's touch- one she almost thought she could feel in this state of being too.
Just great.
"You realize how vulnerable you are like that, don't you dog?" It was a very matter-of-fact question, almost not meant to be answered.
Akari turned her head to look at the demon standing at least ten feet away, arms crossed over his chest and lips pulling up little by little. She stared at him, expression unchanging, not even moving away from where she crouched.
"I wonder how Yomi would react if he was enlightened of this scene." His tone this time reflected the brief flash of mischief in the demon's eyes.
"You wouldn't have the chance, Takeo." He shifted his weight, moving noiselessly closer until he stopped right where Akari knew she wouldn't be able to reach him even if she tried. "...You've been watching."
"For a while, yes.."
"Why are you here? The portal closed."
"Because when I got by your friend the first time, he didn't see me. Before I could get back, there were too few to keep him distracted. So I stayed. I'd rather wander as a spirit than become nonexistent." Takeo's eyes flashed over to Kurama. "That's what happens when you attack a spirit in their realm."
She stood and moved closer to him, leaving two feet between them. "You have no power here, just like I can't manipulate my own energy." She moved to step between his line of sight of Kurama, earning a darkening stare.
And for a while, that's all they did. Stand and glare at one another, Akari watching his every move and Takeo seeming to assess every little thing he could about the situation. And then his lips stretched into a calm smile and he stepped backwards once. "I'll see you around, wanderer."
Akari growled as the demon disappeared through some heavy foliage. And after a few minutes of that sound slowly dying away, she turned and returned to where she'd been, this time sitting crosslegged on the grass and eyeing the place where she should have had a shadow, even in the dim lighting.
Her smile reappeared, bitter and sarcastic.
I can't control them, but that doesn't mean they are unaware of any threat to me.
I wish you the best of luck, Takeo. *
He had hoped she might simply wake up from a gentle brush of his hand.
"Akari..." He called for her again, a little louder this time, running his fingers along the other side of her face. "Akari, I know you're around. And can hear me. You-"
Kurama blinked, then his gaze shifted to the left, watching her shadow disappear from underneath her and slink away.
"Akari-" The hairs at the back of Kurama's neck stood on end.
He shifted a little to watch it, seeing it stop for a moment as if waiting, then shooting off into the distance.
Really?
He felt for sure the necklace would prevent her from out and out leaving, even if he wasn't sure if it would keep her spirit in her body completely.
Dammit.
He turned back to the girl still mostly in his lap.
I know she can hear me.
Kurama leaned down and started kissing at Akari's face, over her cheekbones, on her forehead, avoiding her lips, and stopping for a moment to murmur quietly into her ear.
"If you don't come back soon, I'll let Youko out..."
~!**!~
Shikiyoku blinked at Hiei, her head tilting a little to the side as her gaze fell on the swirls that were new, the ones she could see, the ones that came up beyond the white fabric around his neck.
And for an instant, her eyes met with his, narrowed just a little as the edges of her lips tugged into a possessive smirk, an expression she had never worn before, accompanied by a single thought shooting across her mind:
Mine.
The expression passed in a split second as if it had never happened, though her head was still tilted.
"Where do you wish to be?" 3
There was a change in Shikiyoku's expression that Hiei saw, but it was so quick he wasn't even sure he had seen it, much less decode what it meant. And in reaction to that slight momentary confusion, his brow raised, remaining there even when he let go of his curiosity and only took to considering Shikiyoku's question.
Where?
Doesn't matter, really.
He didn't know of places such as this, places that would be extravagant like the place they stood in now. He only knew of places he'd been, some entertaining, some simply detached from the rest of the world it seemed, some packed with merchants and things that would look interesting simply due to their shine.
Heh.
It wasn't like he was going to take her to the icy cliff he'd been thrown over and say look where I began my journey.
Thought that thought certainly was entertaining.
He blinked, realizing he'd been entertaining himself instead of thinking of places to go.
He blinked at her calmly, silently saying 'I don't care where we go'.
~!**!~
Akari frowned at Kurama as he leaned over her face again, the slightest sound catching her ear with each touch of his lips. Not fair. I can't enjoy it when I'm not in my body, jerk. She blinked once at herself in slight surprise before giving a huff. Just gonna go with it, I guess.
She reached her hand towards him, pausing when he issued a threat she didn't enjoy.
An eye twitched. "That's not funny. I'm defenseless, you jerk." She passed a hand through his shoulder, as if it might get his attention. "Don't you even."
Another huff. "It isn't like I'm not trying anyway!" She acted as if she hit him again. *
Kurama stopped for a second, small smile on his lips as he looked at her.
"Oh, don't like that thought, hm? Then I suppose you ought to figure something out. I'm not even sure myself what Youko will do once he gets his hands on you."
Gently, Kurama took her chin in his hand and shifted her face away from himself and when he leaned down again, instead of saying anything into her ear, he started nibbling at the edge of it.
"But I can assure you he won't be as nice about it as I."3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off! BOOP! -Star