A/N: Hello once again, again, Audience!
Fourth chapter in this series of (nearly) constant postings for a week. This one earlier than some of the others simply because I will be busy the rest of the day and wanted to get this one out lest I forget-or have a tire pop and be unable to, eheh.
Reviews are most welcome. Do remember that as we continue to steadily approach the "current" of what CM and I have written, interest from our readers is just as good of incentive for her and I to take time to work on the story as any incentive. Perhaps better even since we would not only be making time for ourselves to write on this-which is an enjoyable time for us both-but also for you all so that you may continue to enjoy the fruits of our labors.
Hope you 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 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.
(Words in italics and within parenthesis is dialogue between Hiei and Shikiyoku via the bond between them after Hiei becomes Shikiyoku's Consort. As soon as the 'thought' occurs, it can pass between them, and does not actually have to be formed into exact words-feelings and sensations can pass through as well-in order to be picked up and the meaning translated immediately by the other. For the sake of the coherence by the reader, words and sentences are used as normal. It cannot 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 Nabu Exception also applies to anyone when they are in an animal form, if the dialogue is in italics and quotations, unless stated otherwise.
Previously on Yu Yu Hakusho!
At first Kurama's "game" mostly consists
of staring at Akari in a way that makes
her question everything she's ever known
as well as making her unable to recall
anything she's ever known.
Continuing to tease her with the intensity of his gaze,
eventually he relents and the two keep bantering back and forth,
talking among other things about how and what Yusuke
is doing with Raizen.
Kurama offers to help Akari attempt to regain her
ability to traverse the layers.
He starts by pulling her inbetween with him,
still laying upon the bed,
but moving them between the Seventh and Eighth Layers.
Flustered, Akari distracts herself with adjectives,
Kurama eventually talking her through
until she manages to do it herself!
Eventually the game of adjectives
turns into one where Kurama is using them
to describe other individuals,
with Akari guessing the individual.
~!**!~
With Shikiyoku's energy running through his veins,
Hiei insists he won't sleep,
even on top of her as he is,
until she kisses him.
Eventually she relents only by kissing the tip of his nose,
and he does slip into slumber.
Hiei wakes later in the day and bothers Shikiyoku
until she too wakes up,
him almost immediately starting to press her for a kiss,
and reminded Shikiyoku of the predicament she's in.
While he may not have anything to do that day,
Shikiyoku knows she is likely needed down in the labs,
but doesn't get off the bed before relenting
and giving Hiei a quick kiss on the lips.
A strong knock at the door
calls Shikiyoku away to begin walking to the labs,
and she attempts to get Hiei to stay in the room,
but to no avail.
Those demons at the door
are among those attempting to "court" her,
and when they attempt to award her with gifts,
Hiei burns the packages and things
as he and Shiki move through the crowd
towards the labs,
Shikiyoku giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek
for his pains, but tells him not to go to any such trouble
as burning the entire lot of them alive.
Hiei blinked once and sent his eyes to the corners, watching Shikiyoku from the corners of his eyes. His lips gave a slight twitch at her words. And, truth be told, he found himself a bit surprised with the kiss she awarded him with, his eyebrows quickly sliding up to hide in his hair and eyes glinting in the lighting a little.
A moment later, a sneer adorned his face.
(It's working then.) *
Shikiyoku's eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she rounded the last corner before the labs.
(What's working?) 3
The fire demon gave no answer other than the deliberate turning of his eyes to the forward path, expression becoming completely unreadable again, ears still hearing the followers but not really actually listening to them anymore.
They'd become irrelevant.
"I've not gotten to see you work yet."
(I'm curious.)
And looking forward to it.
"You should definitely kiss me again." *
"I'll-" Get right on it? Probably not the best thing to say in this situation. "-think about it." She finished, trying not to smile and realizing that too much more of this...mood of his and she'd likely do anything he asked.
As usual, the door to the labs was not locked and as Shikiyoku approached, and the demons following her stopped, dispersing once she crossed the threshold.
Shikiyoku almost smacked her hand against her forehead as soon as she walked inside.
Both the scientists in the room looked up at her, noting the fire demon only in passing, and just as she meant to smack her forehead, Iketeru spoke up.
"You left your clipboard."
"I know, I know." Shikiyoku grumbled as she came farther into the room.
"Had you even made any progress?" The question was not unkind really, just meant to point out that it was likely her clipboard wasn't going to be needed for the formulas on it. 3
Hiei stepped into the room behind Shikiyoku, making a point to not only slam the door in the faces of their pursuers, but to lock it as well, simply because he could. And he wasted no time in moving further into the room, easily finding a stool that would both give him the ability to watch what was going on, but be out of the way in case it was necessary.
"Nope," Hiei suddenly chimed, answering her question for her, "The lab monkeys depend on you."
Not sure how I feel on that, though.
(you never did make me sparkle either. Kind of a letdown.)
(...)
(Too bad.)
He pulled the wooden stool out from underneath the counter and made himself comfortable with his back against the table, elbows propped up on the wooden surface behind him and eyes on the machinery in the room.
"If it helps, I remember a few things. I had been watching, after all."
The stare pointed at Iketeru couldn't have been missed. *
As Shikiyoku moved further into the room, Iketeru let his gaze rest on Hiei for a moment before he turned back down to the monitor he had been working at.
"That will depend on her, really. She's the one that has to remember."
In about the middle of the room against the farthest wall, a slightly raised circular platform starting lighting up just as Rikei shifted over and adjusted a few of the settings on another monitor in the wall next to the platform.
When Shikiyoku neared it, Rikei eyed her for a brief second before turning back to that same monitor.
"Strip."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Shikiyoku mumbled, having already begun pulling at her clothing.
Iketeru left his spot to stand next to Rikei, the two of them almost appearing to work in tandem at a set of several screens as a low humming noise started to fill the room, electricity silently running up through the cables coming from the floor and disappearing below the platform.
When the only thing left on her body were the two Koorime tear-necklaces, Shikiyoku stepped onto raised bit of floor as a large glass cylinder started to lower over it, hissing slightly when it attached to the platform.
Rikei had stopped his portion of the data entry to watch and make sure the process went smoothly, taking no particular notice of Shikiyoku's grumbling as she tucked a portion of her hair behind her ear and stood there as if she had done so many times before.
As as thick, grey mist swirled into the tube from both the top and bottom, Rikei went back to examining his screen, Shikiyoku's grumbles stopping as she began to disappear from view, though the glass tube had muted most of it.
A series of words passed between the two scientists in reference to the readings they were getting, and they both continued rapidly working where they stood. 3
Hiei had silenced simply because he didn't have anything more to say, shifting around just a little until he had another stool pulled in front of him and was comfortable with his feet propped up on its surface, one foot over the other and his arms crossing over his chest.
And in the short time he'd been looking away, Shikiyoku had disappeared into a glass tube that had begun to fill with a type of fog that kept her from his view. With calm eyes and a curious mind, he watched in silence, wondering how long it would be until he could actually convince her to sit with him instead of.. whatever this was. *
It didn't take long for Rikei to move away from where he worked, though Iketeru continued taking tabs on the readouts.
Slowly the mist started to swirl away in much the same manner it appeared, and as the last of it was sucked away, the clear glass tube rose back up and Shikiyoku immediately clutched her hands at her arms and shivered as she stepped back down to the floor as Rikei walked back up and held out a similar set of exercise-type clothing as she had been wearing which Shikiyoku took from him and started to pull on.
Rikei crossed his arms over his chest and watched her impatiently, if appearing a little bored, as she dressed, on occasion her entire body quivering and impeding her progress.
While no part of her appeared damp, her hair seemed to hang more flatly around her shoulders and her skin had taken on more of a purple tint than before, somehow lending itself to a reaction to being cold.
"We have prepared another set of injections for you." Iketeru stated as his eyes continued to scan the monitor in front of him.
"My joy knows-" Shikiyoku stood back up, the 'clothing' leaving most of her skin bare and resulting in another shiver as she clutched her hands across herself again, "-no bounds."
"The other room will be ready for you in a moment." Rikei told her, finally turning away. 3
He supposed he hadn't been listening earlier, before Shikiyoku had stepped out of his sight and into the tube of whatever it was that was hiding her from his sight. So, when that go, mist, whatever it was, began to clear up and he realized she was rather bare, he found his eyes wandering away to other parts of the room, taking in the equipment, the scientists, the-
One of which who was paying apt attention to Shiki as she dressed.
A lip twitched.
(Lab rats.)
Ruby eyes returned to watching Shikiyoku once the scientist had turned away, locking on the jewels for a brief moment before taking in the small rigors her body gave from the chill from whatever she'd had to be put in.
And while he was curious, he decided to keep his question of 'what was that' to himself. *
Shikiyoku's eyes flickered over to Hiei briefly at his comment, momentarily amused and wondering if his insults came because he did not like them or because he did not understand them.
A small portion of the floor gave a slight hitch and Shikiyoku turned her attention away, taking a step or two in that direction.
A door frame, sans an actual door, rose up out of the laboratory's floor, and when it stopped, giving another sort of hitch, an energy field crackled to life across it.
After a second, the field appeared to settle down into a steadiness that Shikiyoku recognized and it was just as she started to move for it that Iketeru left his station for one on the other side of the room and gave her a nod.
Rikei handed Shikiyoku a couple of things as he passed her and went to join Iketeru, and one of the devices she put directly over her core, attaching a smaller piece to the side of her neck that appeared to be part of a collar that she snapped together on the other side.
The other device had a portion that went into her ear, a wire curving behind it to her jaw and then ending in another small square that got placed at the front of her throat as she started to step through the doorway.
She did not appear out the other side of said 'door' as one might expect, and the door frame fizzled as the energy cut off and it began sliding into the floor once more.
"Are you in?" Iketeru wanted to know as he slid his fingers over a few buttons and the wall in front of him almost appeared to pull apart like a curtain, revealing what looked like a long, rectangular glass window one could look through, though it was only a projection. However, the projection filled almost the entire wall from ceiling down to the monitors where the two scientists stood.
"Yes."
Shikiyoku's voice sounded as if it came from some sort of speakers in the lab set up towards the ceiling.
As Rikei took up a position at some screens set up in front of the window-projection, he appeared to look down into another room as the image on the wall filtered until it was clear.
From his vantage point, Rikei was looking down into another of Mukuro's dark rooms, similar to the one Hiei himself had fought in the first few weeks after his arrival, though probably not as large. It was difficult to tell.
Shikiyoku stood roughly in the middle of it, looking as if she were no longer cold. She was most definitely starting to glow a soft yellow color.
"First wave." Rikei announced, running his fingers across a few keys.
A low rumble from within the room Shikiyoku stood appeared indicative of doors opening, but she only closed her eyes and extended her arms with a flourish, tendrils of energy immediately extending outwards with her motion.
The steps she began taking were similar enough to be compared to the dance she had done for the tribes, but the moves were different. Her energy may have started to swirl outwards from her body in the same thread-like fashion as those nights, but the essence of the dance was in no way the same.
As the initial attacker came into view, it was not difficult to figure out what Rikei meant by 'first wave.'
The demon brandished a spear and made straight for her with clear intention of attack, but just as the tip would have pierced her bare stomach, her eyes flew open, glimmering almost golden in the low light, and the demon stopped in place as a strand of energy circled around him, appearing to caress his cheek as his mouth fell open, agape, as she kept moving, eyes closing once more.
As six more demons broke out of the surrounding darkness, similar things occurred, though she was not point-blank with any of them, and with each subsequent demon that approached with ill-intent, more strands of energy spiraled outwards to wreathe about them and coax them to a stand-still.
Quickly taken in by the steps, Shikiyoku lost count of how many demons she stopped once they were in her energy's grasp, the room continuing to be flooded with more and more of them as one scientist or the other continued to call out wave numbers that each consisted of exponentially greater numbers of enemies than the last. There had to be hundreds. Thousands. Many more than she had ever danced for when among the tribal people of the Ninth Level.
Then again, she had been doing this dance every single day since the second week she and Hiei had arrived.
And she had also lost count of the weeks they had been here.
"Everything you do here will be done to increase your power." Mukuro had said.
It appeared as if Shikiyoku was no exception to that rule.
"Wave one-two-six-zero." Iketeru warned her.
"Seven more waves than yesterday." Rikei murmured.
"Let's see if her pattern holds." Iketeru responded in kind.
She had begun to sweat long ago, and it covered her body in a slick sheen that seemed to only amplify the glow surrounding her more, a glow that licked into the air around her as she continued to move.
Not a single thought had passed over her mind during the entire process, but in her almost trance-like state she could not mistake the severe slowing of her core as she continued to pump out energy to stop her aggressors in their tracks.
Sluggishly another countless threads spiraled outwards, and as each wave had increasingly higher ranked demons, these ones came dangerously close before getting caught in her trap themselves, leaving her to have to maneuver carefully out from their surrounding bodies.
By this time, the room that had been dark before practically shined as if with daylight, the multitude of strands reaching every single body within the four walls.
When Shikiyoku tried to coax another set of tendrils, her core lurched within her and she nearly faltered.
Another two or three steps and she tried again, to the same effect.
In the lab, a small light had started blinking and was accompanied by a soft beeping noise and was the reason why neither scientist had released another wave into the room.
However, that did not stop Rikei from piping up with, "Next wave."
"Wait." Came Shikiyoku's immediate response.
"Are you into your life energy yet, woman?" He asked mildly as if they went through the same conversation every single day.
"No-"
"Next wave." Rikei's fingers moved over the keys with ease.
"Dammit, I-"
"Don't waste your breath." He seemed to almost cheerily give the advice.
Shikiyoku's mouth snapped shut as she made another pass by the demon who had nearly skewered her in the beginning.
She knew as well as they did in the lab that the beating of her core had slowed to dangerously low levels, hardly pulsing twice for every dozen steps or so she took.
When she heard the sounds of scuffling, of more feet approaching her, the momentary fear gripped her in such a way that had her core been beating normally, it would have given one of those hard lurches that almost always accompanied the burning shift for her.
In her desperation, she managed to release a few more strands of energy that caught the handful of stragglers dashing towards her that the scientists had released into the room.
Her core gave out another pump, sluggish in its beat, and like always she finally felt that wall spring up inside her, blocking her access to the life energy behind it.
Shikiyoku let out a little breath that was projected into the lab above.
"Now-" Rikei said, his voice bordering on kind, "-first wave."
His fingers passed over a different set of keys.
While only seven energy signatures entered the room as if starting over in numbers, unlike the original 'first wave' the power of this group seemed to pick up where the last wave left off, making these seven stronger than any others in the room.
They lost no time in zeroing in on Shikiyoku's position, speeding towards her in a manner that far surpassed even the final group.
There was no mistaking for her their desires. Whichever one of them killed her had been promised much, and each intended to make the fatal blow.
In a moment of desperation, Shikiyoku fought against the wall within her, her eyes flying open for the second time just as the demons drew close enough for her to see.
This time, with no other resources at her disposal, her core gave that sudden, lurching jerk that ushered in the shift in her forms and as that familiar burning sensation ripped across her body, leaving behind ash-grey skin covered in scars, the small light in the lab that had begun blinking and beeping minutes before stopped, the other sensors next to it filling up once more.
Out in the other room, the cheery yellow glow had darkened into an oppressive and dangerous one, casting shadows through which one could barely see.
Immediately, those demons already caught in the threads of energy began dropping to the floor, some of them writhing, most of them screaming as if they were in pain.
In the lab, Iketeru pressed a few keys and their noises were muted from the speakers, though the contorted expressions of their faces conveyed it all.
A shuddering breath from Shikiyoku came through the speakers instead now, one full of struggle, of her barely restrained hunger at the countless demons within her grasp.
"Focus." Rikei told her calmly.
Shikiyoku clenched her teeth together as she forced herself to continue the dance, the demons that had been approaching her now collapsed to the ground each with a yellowish-black strand of energy encircling them.
"Second wave." Iketeru announced.
It began all over again, but this time Shikiyoku could not sink herself down into the meditative trance that she had achieved in her other form. This time she could feel every struggle, every demon in her grasp as they were consumed by the pain she conveyed. This time she knew exactly how many demons her energy circled, knew precisely how many more entered the room each time another wave was announced into the ear piece she wore.
"Focus." Rikei said again at some point, his voice pulling her briefly from her desperate battle and making her realize that there had been a low growl rumbling deep within her chest as she fought against her instincts which begged her to end the lives of all those within her grasp.
The growl stopped for a moment as another shuddering, almost desperately anguished breath came over the speakers.
"She's only at wave twenty-two." Rikei noted.
"One more than last time." Iketeru allowed. "She's never been very good with restraint. You know this."
"I...haven't killed...you yet." The words were gravelly, seethed out between tightly clenched teeth.
Rikei gave the slightest shrug, "She's got a point." 3
While Hiei had been rather intrigued with the doorframe that slid upwards from the lab's floor, he had also been keenly aware of what it was, and its purpose. At least, a portion of its purpose.
And while he didn't like it, he stayed silent, eyes watching Shikiyoku until she was out of his sight, and then his eyes turned to the projection that was provided by the scientists.
And he watched, keeping a mental count of every demon she faced, of every demon that was beckoned to a standstill in their attempt at attack. The sheer numbers had him sobering, his earlier glinting eyes now flat and hard, concentrating on the screen and the bond within that he could feel tethering him to her.
And every beat of fear that washed over him from her had not gone unnoticed.
He knew this was for her cure.
And that was probably the only thing that kept him from crossing the laboratory and putting a stop to this little show.
Especially when Shikiyoku had protested. And when he could feel a sense of alarm that came from neither himself nor Shikiyoku herself, but from what he could only describe as his sheer instincts, likely stemmed from their kinship itself. Which had given him pause for thought the moment she had switched and taken to protecting herself in a different manner than before.
The fire demon was also careful to keep all of his own thoughts and emotions behind a barrier, so as to not distract the woman inside the fighting room.
Though, he did have to admit that her remark aimed at the scientist had his lips twitching in amusement.
"And you are draining her of her energy for what purpose?" Hiei finally asked the scientists in the room, merely out of curiosity of what was to come next. His tone was not harsh, nor was it biting. Merely… even.
Perhaps it was her lingering energy within himself that kept him calm in this moment.
Then again, who was to say?
~!**!~
Several days had gone by without incident. A week? Yeah, that sounded about right. It had been about a week ago that Akari had left Kurama's room after several hours of much needed down-time that didn't include naps. It had been a rather blissful evening, to do nothing but talk about various things that really didn't matter.
It had been the first time in a long time that they'd done that, she'd noticed.
And, of course, the day after that, Kurama had been deported out on a job for Yomi.
At least, that's what she assumed.
Nobody in this room actually knew anything about his absence.
"You don't really believe that, do you Chu?"
"I mean, the bloke's a trusted advisor of Yomi's. Anything's possible, I suppose."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean he'd be sent to Raizen's to meet with Yusuke. He would have told us first."
"And he certainly wouldn't have been sent alone." Akari sat back against the wall furthest from the door of the leafy room, hearing the third debate over the topic today.
"Who said he went alone?"
To say she was bored wouldn't quite explain it well enough. Her source of entertainment and sanity had been gone for a week now.
She smiled despite the topic, deciding to change gears.. "What happened to the fun talk?"
"Coming up with strategies for battle isn't fun," Shishiwakamaru piped with his nose in the air.
"Mhm. Well, you guys can continue this fun debate without me. I am going to go find something to do that doesn't involve sitting here."
She stood and moved away from the group, sending a wave over her shoulder at the various words of departure sent her way.
And for the fourth time this week, she found herself thinking about home. Nabu and that little bakery in the center of town they liked. Ramen, and Shyn's little shop. He was probably thinking she'd moved off somewhere.
Rolls sound amazing right now.
No.
The last thought to herself was harsh, and she shook her head at herself as the door to the training room shut behind her and clicked closed. There was no use in her putting herself in Yomi's line of sight again, after Kurama had-
But he's not here and there's nothing to do.
No.
She could almost smell the garlic-y, cheesy rolls that she so loved. It had her mouth watering, her stomach growling.
It would be nice to walk around another layer for a while…
As she shut the door to her bedroom, she again told herself no.
But to say her resolution wasn't crumbling would be a lie.
"So, we meet in the inbetween, the Tenth Layer, and then all pop up in the middle of the fight. Find Yusuke and Hiei, and make our own team!"
"We've talked about this already, Rinku. Its not that simple."
"That's because you're making it difficult."
Akari sighed as the battle waged on throughout the group. Yes, they were talking battle strategies. No, she wasn't technically listening to all of it. In fact, she could very easily guess what was about to be said next, word for word.
It was the same every day.
She tugged at the grass beneath and tossed it to the person on her left. Chu smiled at her, "Bored are we?"
She didn't respond, only pulling up more of the grass and tossing it in the opposite direction. Another heavy sigh. If someone were to ask her a question, she wouldn't even know it.
She'd given up on paying attention a long time ago.
It just wasn't worth it.
Silently, she stood and relocated herself to another part of the room, where she continued to do nothing more than stare at the grass or flowers around her and wish she were anywhere else. *
~!**!~
"It was her idea." Rikei noted, not looking up from his station.
"At the least, she is the one who came out and suggested it." Iketeru added, eyes fixed on the readings, announcing, "Wave twenty-three."
At least a hundred more demons were released into the room below.
Without pausing in his work, Rikei went on, "There is a possibility that new energy, energy that regenerates from the core, does not contain active Crusnik, and that they only become active because of the other already active Crusnik in the energy-"
"-which we are still inconclusive about since her injections were interrupted yesterday." Iketeru simply stated the fact as if it didn't particularly bother him that Hiei had stormed in and swiped the last needle, "She has been working on formulas in relation to the dance she used to do, the Odori Iro, attempting to change the original in severals ways: that she was not directly binding the demons, that she could release the energy while in pain form, etcetera. And ever since then, she has been daily attempting to put those formulas into practice-"
Rikei picked up the explanation again, "-and adjusting them as needed so that she can try again the next day. She has to 'drain' all of her energy from both pools, from both sides of her core, so that when the energy is regenerated it is with fully dormant Crusnik. The main issue now is, of course, the simple fact that before she manages to actually release all of her energy while in pain form she-"
A savage growl erupted from the speakers and Iketeru sighed as he flicked off the power to Shikiyoku's microphone and cut off the noise.
"-can't...stop herself...from feeding." Rikei finished, wearing a similar expression to the one Iketeru now wore.
Iketeru powered down the projection just as it started to become more shadowed by the dark energy in the other room and worked his jaw a little, knowing exactly what was going on in the other room at this point.
The demons in her power would be sucked dry, like they had every other day since they started. She'd go crazy with the hunger for a while until everything in the room was empty, and then she'd come out of it.
Where Iketeru put his elbows on the controls and planted his face in his hands, buzzing out air from his lips and waiting, Rikei crossed an arm over his chest and rested his other arm on top of it, his fingers covering his mouth in a thoughtful expression.
"The Crusnik is just too strong." Iketeru murmured.
Rikei didn't say anything for a moment. 3
Hiei shifted a little in his seat, eyes staring at the wall that the projection disappeared from, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. He could tell she'd come a long way simply by the way the scientists spoke about her while she'd been in there.
But she was still struggling.
And like most times she struggled, Hiei found himself unsure of what to do, and yet thinking that she shouldn't give up yet.
A slow blink.
"How many more waves do you have prepared?" He asked suddenly, mind working in a manner that very much resembled the ranking he'd been recently promoted to in Mukuro's little "army".
Another slow blink.
If they had enough demons, he wanted to keep her in there and try a couple of things.
~!**!~
Akari lay across her bed, her head hanging off the edge of it and hair brushing the floor below, eyes focused on the plain walls of the room and blood rushing to her brain. She could feel the redness growing across her cheeks and the headache beginning to form as she propped her right ankle on her left knee and rested both hands interlaced on her stomach.
Another two days had gone by, and she hadn't left this room once.
Simply because there was nothing to do.
She'd already tested the layers, and thanks to Kurama's guidance over a week ago, had been able to actually solve her problem pertaining to that mode of transportation, though it had been slower without him here.
She attributed it to how safe she'd felt with him there, and how unsafe she felt in the layers without him.
And of course, she'd rationalized it away by simply repeating what he'd said: "Don't die in between layers."
Heh.
Also, with the most recent necklace of vine and flower that he'd made, she didn't have any issues with random… 'trips'.
Though she'd been tempted to take it off a few times, to be honest.
How had her days gone from super stressful to so boring so suddenly?
This is stupid.
I want to go home.
She pulled herself up into a sitting position, her hair becoming a mess behind her and her vision becoming little colored dots from the change in blood flow. Another second later, she was up and moving for the door, deciding she'd go see Yomi's gardens, and laugh at the ridiculous color coordinations again.
Even though the mental jokes about it weren't near as funny without someone to listen to them.
Dinnertime, and the staff had actually allowed Akari to help them cook dinner, which was time consuming in and of itself. Sure, with demonic speed, shopping herbs and vegetables was easy, but it still took time when there were so many of them to chop up.
Another handful of veggies in the soup, making a little mess as she went.
A gamey meat for the flavor-
Plop. Plop. Plop.
A few more sshhkks through a couple more veggies.
The dog demon plopped the last of the vegetables and herbs into the boiling soup at her right, the liquid sizzling a little when it splashed over and into the burner,
"Almost done yet?" The head chef called.
"Give it ten," she called back, tossing her ponytail a little when she turned to look over her shoulder. "I timed it to finish with Uwong's side dish."
"Perfect."
Akari turned back to stir the pot, staring at the mucky-colored contents.
This is boring. And bland,
"I'll be taking my leave now," she suddenly announced, pulling the spoon from the soup and resting it atop the metal rim of the pot. "Thank you for allowing me to spend some of my time here."
She returned to her room and resumed what she'd been doing before: staring at blank walls with blank eyes. *
~!**!~
"We can always make more." Iketeru waved one of his hands nebulously before putting it back underneath his chin.
Rikei made a frustrated sort of noise, "If we could just...get ahold of one of the Crusnik. Change their directive, or...at least make it more manageable for her. They're not completely organic. They can't be. And even if they are, that doesn't mean we couldn't…" He let out another breath and then pushed his glasses farther up his nose, closing his eyes.
"I'm impressed, really." Iketeru admitted, though he sounded sort of bored about it. "The fact that she is able to suppress the directive for any amount of time is noteworthy." 3
Hiei made a sound of affirmation towards Iketeru's last commentary, though his eyes never moved away from the wall where the projection had been. He thought about the movements that he'd seen her use, the steps she'd taken, and he began thinking them over, mentally rewatching each step.
"Now that she has more energy, do it again."
Truth be told, he didn't think he would have much effect on the next outcome, but he sure did like to try. Because one never knew if it would work unless one tried.
~!**!~
Playing with her shadows had lost its touch.
No longer was she entertained by anything around these parts. In fact, she'd much rather be fighting Takeo than laying in the darkness of the early morning hours of this room.
Wide awake at the time she should have been meeting Kurama for 'training'.
She groaned.
This is stupid. I'd rather be in a prison cell. Or, hell, chains.
'Be careful what you wish for.' Of course the voice had to sound like Kurama's.
Yeah yeah.
She sat upright and released the shadow back to its usual spot, wherever it had come from, and took to staring at the curtained window.
It's probably daytime on the first layer. And Nabu is probably laying in the sun right now.
She let out a long breath.
I want to lay out in the sun and eat some fresh-baked goodies and have a sundae and…
What was it that was stopping her again?
…
She had two different means of getting to where she wanted to be, both being very easy to manage and quick to get where she wanted to go. It would be a simple matter of either dropping through a shadow or walking through the layers.
And she wouldn't be gone long…
She'd just…
Enjoy the park for a while.
Yeah, that.
And some cheesy bread too.
Maybe run home and grab something to keep her occupied on days like this while she was at it.
…
I'll be quick about it…
With that last thought, Akari slid away from the bed and grabbed a clean outfit, changing as quickly as possible.
She even took a moment to retrieve the rose seed from her pocket and set it on the bedside table, so she wouldn't lose it.
I'll be back before anyone notices.
And with that, she folded herself into the layers. *
~!**!~
"We can't." Iketeru replied. "She's gotta start out in her true form."
"Tried it the other way once. Didn't, heh, didn't work out so well." Rikei smirked just a little. "The steps were made for her true form and it doesn't really work the other way around." 3
Hiei gave a small twitch downwards of his lips in disappointment. Too bad.
I guess I could get her clipboard for her.
Suddenly, Hiei was on his feet and moving out the door, steps silent as could be as he crossed the lab. "I'll return shortly."
The door shut behind him, and he simply meandered through the halls, his destination being their shared room and the objective being to retrieve the clipboard he'd tossed into a corner the night before.
Because if he could get her to work next to him, then maybe he'd be able to keep her next to him.
The earlier glint returned to his eyes, indicating mischief and amusement at himself and the idea.
~!**!~
As soon as the layers unfolded from around her, Akari raised her arms far above her head and took in a deep breath of the first layer air. The breeze was cool and inviting, indicating either late spring or early fall, she wasn't sure, and the sun's rays beared down on her almost as if it were summertime.
Midday. There were very few people on the sidewalks, most being at work or school it seemed.
And the copper-headed female wasted no time in turning and heading towards her favorite bakery, deciding that the trek there would be more than enough and she would return to Yomi's palace without much complaint other than the fact that she couldn't stay here. *
~!**!~
The pair of scientists only exchanged a brief glance as Hiei left the room, and Iketeru stood up, smoothing his hands down his lab coat before turning away from the screens.
Without him saying anything, Rikei knew the other was going to finalize preparations for the injections.
Rikei took the couple of steps over and flicked the sound system back on.
"You done in there, woman?"
He did not get a response for several moments, but eventually Shikiyoku replied.
"Yes."
Rikei set to sweeping his fingers over several different mechanisms, one of which made the door frame in the floor begin to rise and crackle with energy once more.
When the scarred and grey skinned she-demon stepped through, her face devoid of any emotion and her eyes that deadened green color, the door started to disappear into the floor again.
Gesturing to his left, Rikei started to move for another corner of the room with Shikiyoku close behind, beginning to remove the devices she had attached to herself earlier and tossing them onto a nearby table.
Just as Rikei stopped next to the treadmill and began sticking other wires and pads to her skin, Iketeru stepped up with the first injection and stuck it into Shikiyoku's arm, earning himself a dark glance from her that he readily ignored as he stepped away.
"Can't you figure out a better way of doing that?" She growled, reaching up and running her fingers over the muscle the needle had been in moments ago.
"If you have any ideas, we're all ears." Iketeru replied, coming right back up to her with another syringe.
He waited until Rikei helped situation her on the treadmill and just as the power came on and she started walking, Iketeru pumped her pure energy into her a second time, moving away as the machine started to speed up. 3
The fire demon sauntered through the halls with the clipboard in his hand and eyes forward, mind blank as he closed the distance to the lab again, fully expecting to see Shikiyoku when he entered.
And he wasn't disappointed.
though, he didn't exactly go to her side either. He simply returned to his earlier seat, feet propped up on the other stool as they had been before, the clipboard raised in the air near his face for a moment before dropping it to his lap. "I retrieved your things."
~!**!~
Akari reveled in the feel of the sun's warm rays on her skin and hair, warming her from the top her her head to the tips of her toes. If she'd had the capability, she would have switched into her animalistic form and simply lay out on the sidewalk until the sun went down.
It would have been very satisfying to do so.
But, she'd settle for an hour or so in the park,
After she got her snack, that is.
The bell to the little family-owned bakery rang as she pulled the door open, alerting the elderly couple who sat in the corner of their guest. She offered the pair a smile when they turned to greet her, one that she reserved specifically for the two.
There were pleasantries exchanged, a few questions about how the days were going and things of that nature, and then Akari had her bread in hand, paid, and took her leave, making sure to leave a little tip in the glass jar on the counter simply because she could.
And once she arrived at the park, she stretched near the tree she'd deemed as her favorite long ago, though remained out of the shade and instead in the direct sunlight of the warm day as she chewed on her little slice of heaven.
Why hadn't she done this earlier, again?
At the moment, she couldn't really remember. *
~!**!~
Upon hearing Hiei's voice, Shikiyoku gave him a quick glance as she ran in place to see what 'things' he referred.
Almost immediately her eyes shot back forward to stare at the wall in front of her, the top of her lip twitching with a growl that did not actually sound.
I don't want to see that damn thing.
Rikei noted her tension in the readings the wires were feeding him and looked up first at her, then over his shoulder at Hiei to see to what Shikiyoku had responded.
He gave out a low chuckle.
"She tends to rip the thing apart when she sees it after-"
A low growl cut him off and he noted Shikiyoku's narrowed glare.
Iketeru picked up with, "Actually, I was going to say this is the best her mood has been since-"
"Shut. Up." Shikiyoku worked her jaw around once, clenching her teeth together.
"Losing control tends to make her a bit put out." Iketeru continued, unphased by her threatening glance. 3
Hiei made as if to shrug, but only one shoulder really seemed to move, and it barely did that. You're the one rubbing it in. He crossed one ankle over the other and turned his eyes down to the scrawlings on the paper, memorizing each number, each letter, each sequence and searching for a trend so that he might be able to do something other than sit there and wait for her to come retrieve the little thing.
He took the pencil and turned to a new page, rewriting everything Shikiyoku had written thus far, analyzing the numbers.
And while he knew nothing of science, he did know about patterns.
And that was what he was looking for, simply because there was nothing else for him to do.
"Hn."
Too bad we can't just lay around all day.
Stupid illness.
Stupid lab rats.
~!**!~
Akari stretched out as long as her body would let her, her arms over her head with her hands playing with the ends of her hair and her toes pointing out for a brief moment.
If she wasn't worried about keeping track of time, she'd take a nap.
Or hunt down Nabu.
Kurama mentioned Kuwabara.
She wouldn't see it too out of the realm of possibility, if the dog got lonely enough.
How long have I been gone for him?
Too long.
A heavy sigh left Akari's lips as her body went lax in the grass.
Well, I got what I wanted.
Might as well go back..
She rolled to her side and tucked an arm under her head and let her eyelids slide closed.
Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea. She didn't get to find Nabu and spend some time with him, let him know she was okay or anything of the sort. It was sort of… depressing, really, to not get to see her best friend while she was here.
She gave another sigh and let the layers fold around her again. *
~!**!~
Shikiyoku almost immediately began pulling wires off of her as soon as she felt the path beneath her begin to slow, and it took a lot of teeth clenching for her to not let out another growl at Iketeru when he came up to her again with the intention of sticking her again.
As she stopped in place and Iketeru plunged the needle in, Rikei reached over and stuck one of the sensory pads she had taken off back on her neck and she batted his hand away as he pulled back.
"Don't. Touch me."
"That's the only one we actually need you to have on while he does that and you removed it." Rikei replied, turning back down to his screen.
Shikiyoku grumbled something incoherent, but likely not very nice, as Iketeru stepped back to look over the other's shoulder.
Without the rhythmic pounding of her feet to concentrate on, Shikiyoku's thoughts rolled back around to the same subject they always did at this time of day.
The fact that she literally could not control herself was both unnerving and quite possibly the most frustrating thing she had ever experienced.
And it happened every damn time.
Their very existence made her blood positively scream to eliminate them while she was connected to those demons in that other room. And each time it happened, each time she lost it, she could never be sure if she would make it back to sanity or not. 3
Hiei only briefly glanced up from the clipboard to peer at Shikiyoku, gauging her with calm eyes and an unreadable gaze before turning to look down at the clipboard again, pencil scratching.
Yes, he was adding to what she'd already had, but on his own paper, so that if it were wrong- which he fully expected- she wouldn't have to erase his work.
Because he did find a numerical pattern or two here and there.
"It'll work," he said after a moment, referring to Shikiyoku struggling, "It just takes time."
He pressed his lips together, pencil paused and glanced up briefly, staring at a small spot on the opposite wall for a moment as he tried to think before turning down again.
And he noted somewhere in the back of his mind that he could actually feel her anger at it through the usually muted bond.
~!**!~
Akari stood between the Seventh and Eighth Layers, momentarily considering attempting a trip to the Ninth, as she had actually yet to try that just yet.
In the end, she decided to leave it for another time and let her feet instead land on the Eighth layer, standing in the very room she'd left earlier. There was light in the room now, meaning more time had passed than she'd intended, but she didn't really pay it any mind as she reached for the seed on the bedside table and slid it into her pocket.
She took a deep breath and turned, facing the door in consideration.
Training room, or no?
After a few minutes of debate, she decided to see who was in the usual meeting place. It only took three long strides to make it to the door, and a simple, fluid motion to pull it open.
Just as it clicked closed behind her, another in the hall called for her, and ass he approached, he never stopped moving by her. "If you will," he said, making a little motion with his hand to follow. *
~!**!~
Just as Hiei spoke up, Rikei reached over to take off the sensory pad he had placed on her and she knocked his hand away before he could get to it, her eyes flashing.
(You don't know what it's like.)
She released a quick breath from her nose, trying to let the frustration that started to boil lower back into a simmer as Rikei left her alone to remove the rest of the equipment on her own.
Her next words were tinged with apology at having snapped at Hiei, feeling that her anger at...well everything in general at the moment, was filtering through their bond.
He had never been nearby after the...procedure.
"It's...frustrating. I...cannot control my actions." She stood in place for a moment, pausing and staring down at the floor, her fists clenching briefly at her sides before she stepped down off the treadmill and closed her eyes, reaching up to rub at the heart-shaped scar that circled her lips. 3
Hiei didn't so much as blink at the harshness that filtered through the connection, unphased by it and, quite frankly, unsurprised by it. He knew she was a person who did not take failure well, as most were. He also knew that she tended to blame herself in these occasions.
Thus, he didn't mind the snapping.
In fact, he could recall a time or two when he'd snapped at her.
Perhaps it had been long overdue?
The fire demon pulled another stool close to him, glancing up at her briefly before looking down again, in a silent invite for her to join him. If she did, she did. If she didn't, then she'd either continue on with tests if Hiei was satisfied with their work or he'd change her back.
He wasn't particularly worried, in any case.
She'd get it. It just seemed the progress was slow, from what he'd gathered.
"I found patterns," he said after a moment of silence, his pencil resuming the scratching along the paper.
Though I doubt they actually mean anything. Coincidence.
(I hate science.)
~!**!~
Akari followed the demon through the halls, familiar with the path he took as if she'd taken it just yesterday. He lead her through three corridors, up four flights of stairs, and down six more corridors before coming to a halt, swinging a door inward and motioning for her to go inside.
Takeo had liked this room on days when they hadn't done any fighting for her 'training'.
"Since you will be transporting my troops before battle, I would like to test your reaction time to the layers," the larger male said as he shut and locked the door behind him. "That armor you're wearing is not necessary."
Akari glanced down at herself, eyeing the leather bodice that she'd worn every day since being locked away in this stupid place. And naturally, she complied, quickly untying and removing every little bit of the leather 'armor' she wore, letting it fall to the floor where she stood in a little pile.
The canine demon looked up and around the room, finding that the much larger demon had moved away and was now standing near a single machine in the center of the room, which she easily remembered to have been used for several different purposes- some mundane and harmless, others irritating, the rest rather unnerving.
"When you hear this sound," the other began, touching a button on the metallic console and causing a beep to resonate through the room from unseen speakers, "you will retreat to the layers. If you aren't quick enough- if you do not beat the timer I am setting- another sound will resonate that only you, a dog, can hear." He paused, looking up briefly to meet her gaze for gaze. "I rather like your 'spunk', as Takeo said it, so it's in your best interest to be quicker than that second sound."
Akari nodded.
"Good. There will be no warning, so between the first beeps, you will be dodging my throwing knives. The layers are only to be used when prompted, and dropping through a shadow will call for a shorter timer." He stepped around the device and moved to stand in front of it, creating a distance of about ten feet between him and herself as they stood in the center of the room.
Without warning, a few knives whistled by her ear, going unseen. She blinked, and moved only when her gut told her she was in the wrong place.
It seemed like forever before that beep resounded in the room the first time, but when it did, she pulled the layers over herself, making her surroundings blur. And if there had been a second noise in the room, she didn't hear it.
And for the rest of the day, this is where she was. *
~!**!~
Funny how quickly one could get used to having someone else in their head all the time.
It wasn't as if Kurama had forgotten what it was like before the Dark Tournament.
For that matter, if he was being honest, he had spent a vast majority of his life without someone else inside his head.
But now, it just felt strange.
Whereas before he rarely felt Youko's presence, now he felt the fox all the time, it was simply that the demon never stirred.
And while Kurama knew logically he couldn't be dead, it wasn't exactly as if he was sleeping either.
As Kurama finally phased back down into Yomi's compound, exhausted and heading directly for his rooms, he wondered at Youko's semi-absence, which had actually been a main topic of thought during the time he had been gone.
Up until a few weeks ago, there had always been someone else to talk to, and while it was difficult to feel 'alone' when one could still feel another's presence, there was something strangely isolating at the abrupt lack of communication.
He had thought through the subject more thoroughly in the last few weeks, but even as he swung open the door to his room, shucking off his outer coat onto a nearby chair and letting the door shut behind him, his mind still buzzed in an attempt to approach his ideas in a different manner.
So, even when his body hit the mattress and his eyes immediately slid shut, he found himself continuing to turn the matter over in his head up until his consciousness gave up for him and he slept deeply.
~!**!~
When Shikiyoku looked across the room at Hiei, noting his silent offer of the seat next to him, she knew that were she not in her current state she would have at least chuckled at both his proclamation of 'patterns' and 'hate.'
Since neither Iketeru or Rikei had said anything to her, and each appeared otherwise engaged, she went ahead and moved towards him, her expression losing some of its intense harshness as she let a breath fill her lungs and released it.
Sitting down, she leaned closer to him to look over at his work, feeling slightly tired.
"Patterns?"
(...I don't deserve your patience.) 3
The pencil didn't pause this time, scratching another number down, but leaving a large space where he didn't have a damn clue what was going on, only writing numbers where he saw patterns.
"Numerical ones." A pause as he erased. "Though whether it matters or not is for you to decide, since this is your work."
He went quiet again, pencil pausing on the paper as he came up blank. He hit a block, where he wasn't sure which way the pattern would go, which side of the fork in the road to take.
"i kept yours as it was. This is a different sheet of paper, just in case."
Still, nothing.
(Also, do you not think such patience is to be rewarded?)
At that, Hiei glanced at the corner of his eye to Shikiyoku, a yellowish glint flashing in his eye briefly before disappearing.
(Do you wish to switch back, or do you need this form?)
He turned back to his paper, pointing his pencil at what he'd written down. "The patterns are here, here, and here," he said, touching the lead to the numbers he indicated and then gesturing to their likes.
~!**!~
Akari had slept very well thanks to the workout of the day before. She'd woken up feeling fully rested, refreshed, and a little less bored. She'd passed the little inspection of moving through the layers that had gone on all day long, had been dismissed, and then told to be up early by another demon on her way to her quarters.
Which is why she was up earlier than her usual time now, walking through the halls in her usual armor and fighting style clothes. She wasn't the only one in the halls, but there weren't very many others up and about either.
She wasn't surprised, however, when a guard pushed open the door to Yomi's meeting room, revealing an empty room save for the blind king at one end of the long table. He had his usual smirk on his face even as he sat back a little in his chair, turning his head as if he could look at her.
"You're rather early." He paused, as if thinking briefly to himself before continuing, "Have a seat."
As usual when these little meetings happened, which wasn't often, Akari took the seat furthest from the demon, sitting tall in the chair with spine straight and hands in her lap, eyes on the king patiently, not saying a word.
She hated that she couldn't read him. But, really, she hated nothing more than she hated that smirk on his face. Dignified. Entitled. All-knowing. Arrogant. Ridiculously-
"I've noticed you've gained quite a bit of energy in your stay here, Akari. I can see your training with Kurama has improved your skills, despite your… differences." He paused, as if waiting on her to speak, then went on after a beat. "That energy has left you rather restless, I see. Your display yesterday told me that you have plenty of energy to spend, and that you aren't spending enough of it here now, are you?"
What do you want from me?
"And I've decided that since you have so much energy and are so audacious as to try and sneak out of my palace, you will be put to work from here on out, outside of the palace."
Oh…
"Starting today, you will be sent out on various errands on Kurama's behalf, and he will stay here to do the more important work."
Oh….
"And let me make this clear to you," Yomi shifted forward in his seat just a fraction, no more than a hair, but he didn't have to in order to get the threatening atmosphere charged around her, "if you return with a failure, I will take the appropriate measures of punishment."
….
Crap.
"Understood?"
Somehow, when Akari answered, her tone was even and there was no actual sign of her sudden distress, "Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, for today," a demon appeared at her side, sliding a piece of paper into view with a profile of a female on the front, "this is who you will be tracking. You have forty-eight hours to either bring her in, or kill her. Mukuro is not to have another layer-runner."
She took the paper in her hand, reading it over briefly.
"You will be on your own."
Well, crap…
"You are dismissed."
Akari looked up from the paper very briefly at Yomi, and then wasted no more time in rising to her feet and folding the layers around her, disappearing from the fortress altogether and landing on the sixth layer to begin her man hunt. *
~!**!~
Kurama shifted around in his chair a little, keeping his eyes on Yomi as he awaited the other demon to respond.
"Well, Kurama, I would certainly say that your efforts were appropriately fruitful." Yomi steepled his fingers together and leaned forward onto the conference table. "I've actually already taken the next steps necessary, so you'll be relieved of your duties for the moment."
What?
While he may not have been the highest ranked within Yomi's walls-though certainly through no fault of his own-such a dismissal was...felt...uncharacteristic.
"At least, you'll be relieved of those duties."
Ah.
"We've had a handful of new recruits in and I'm going to leave it to you to handle their training."
"As you say."
"I think it might be best for everyone if you shuck away your human form, Kurama. These recruits might quicker know their place should it be the fox instructing him."
Kurama paused long enough that one of Yomi's ears twitched in the silence as the other demon awaited Kurama's answer.
"Youko is...indisposed."
This time Yomi considered the words for a moment before replying.
"Can I assume that is why he has not been present since your arrival."
Not...exactly.
After all, Youko had been there when Kurama first got to Yomi's, the fox just hadn't really wished to get involved.
"Yes."
"I see."
Another minute of what Kurama could only assume was contemplative silence.
"In any case, you're to report to Training Room F from now on."
"As you say, Yomi."
~!**!~
Patterns...hm…
Shikiyoku leaned a little further over to take note of what exactly Hiei was motioning to, murmuring in the meantime, "Of course. But only because it's you. And I'd likely be too tired to do much of anything if I switched."
She frowned a little, her voice still low as she went on, "Patterns in this formula are usually sets of equations that are representative of specific steps I take, the steps having been reduced down into numbers, but-"
Something about the pattern he had found bothered her for a moment.
"-but that step…" Shikiyoku reached over and flipped the pages on the clipboard a few times, her frown deepening. "I...I do not remember putting that step in...it's…"
It's...everywhere.
It wasn't as if the handwriting wasn't her own. So the notion that one of the scientists had picked up her work was ridiculous. They didn't understand half of what she wrote anyway, though they could likely guess if given a moment.
And it...it's…
The slightest growl escaped from between her lips and she abruptly took the clipboard from Hiei and stalked over to where Rikei stood.
"What do you make of this?" She stuck it in front of him and pointed out the numbers in quick succession.
Without her explanation of what he looked at, it took the purple-haired demon a moment to figure out the significance.
Then his eyes widened slightly and he turned to look at Iketeru, who had just paused in his work to glance over his shoulder at them.
"They…" Rikei blinked, mind still trying to wrap around the concept, "The Crusnik...they're still…"
Iketeru had started walking towards them almost immediately and Shikiyoku held up the clipboard, though he only raised an eyebrow.
"The numbers. The patterns." Shikiyoku gestured at the papers a bit impatiently, "The ones my Consort found. I would not have put those in. Those steps are-"
A metaphorical lightbulb went on over Iketeru's head.
"Oh." He paused and blinked. "Oh! That's…" He turned and looked at Rikei who tilted his head a bit.
"If the Crusnik are somehow controlling you even when-"
"I remember when I worked on these," Shikiyoku started flipping through some of the papers in his hands, pointing at the patterns, "It doesn't matter what form I was in, that equation shows up. And it shouldn't- I can't-"
Iketeru picked up for her. "The problem...seems to be deeper than we originally thought. They're somehow rewiring you, in either form, your intentions being subverted and-"
"-creating a larger issue than the one we were originally tackling." Rikei's eyes widened with the notion.
Iketeru spun back around and went back to his station after handing Shikiyoku her clipboard, "It's possible that if we-"
Rikei did much the same, his hands fast moving over the keys in front of him, "And we could-"
Strangely enough, the two of them didn't even seem to need to explain just exactly what they were doing for the other to understand.
Left in the middle of the room by herself, Shikiyoku stared down at the clipboard for a second before starting to slowly move back towards Hiei to sit down, pulling a writing utensil off of a nearby table and beginning to flip from the first page to the newest blank one and copying things.
She scooted up into the stool next to Hiei, staring down at the pages. 3
Hiei had just touched the pencil to the paper when he registered her hand making a quick grab for the clipboard, and just as quickly lifted the graphite from the lined paper so there would be no streak across the work.
I wasn't done.
The fire demon let his eyes follow after Shikiyoku, blinking only once as he registered that she'd been talking while he'd been thinking. He took a moment to replay what she'd said, and promptly adopted a slightly smug air as she brandished the scrawlings to the scientists.
He didn't know why, but hearing her call him her Consort to another made it all the more… satisfying.
He found himself fighting a twitch at his lips.
He shifted around a bit, pulling his feet from the stool they'd been resting on and pushing the stool back to its rightful place, arms crossing over his chest again when he leaned against the table at his back once more.
(See? Not bored.)
…
(Can I kiss you now?)*
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!