A/N: Hello once again, Audience.
I've only got a second or two to post today, so, sorry about the lack of previous chapter summary. When I get a minute I'll go back and do them all!
Ciao for now!~
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!
[Will be updated soon]
Hiei felt her move, and for the first time, was able to sense what she was going to do, what she wanted to do. His lips gave the barest of twitches at the memory of the last time she'd made the gesture, but the smile was short-lived as she began to slide away, in the opposite direction, her nose never even making contact with his jawline.
Naturally, he protested, having been looking forward to the contact and having been absolutely robbed of it- clothing or whatever could wait. His arms tightened around her, his chin tucking a little closer to her head and his throat making a noise of protest.
(You didn't finish that gesture.) *
Her thoughts of what Kafu might have procured for her in such a short amount of time had piqued Shikiyoku's interest, but a sudden wash of desire swept over her senses as Hiei locked her in place so that she could not leave, a strange dip in her stomach telling her before he even said a word what exactly he was protesting.
For a second, she simply sat there, trying and failing to recall a moment in the past where Hiei had reacted to her in such a way, but quickly coming to the conclusion that as she had not done the thing yet, and seeing as how it had been ages since she had, he was possibly searching for some semblance of return to the way things had once been.
There was that one time-
Her mind brought up a memory that seemed so very distant, and as such distorted and untrue, where it had been only Hiei in the room, but she would have sworn he had wanted her to kiss him.
In a similar situation to this, nonetheless, whereas in the previous time she had considered doing so, but did not follow-through and here where she had almost done so, but stopped.
In any case, both mind and stomach reeled for a second as she realized Hiei was all but directly asking her to do what she'd been about to do, even drawing himself closer to her as if it might encourage her.
There was no doubt that the clothing could in fact wait for such an anomaly.
A sense of almost overwhelming satisfaction at being able to provide such a simple desire overtook Shikiyoku as she most willingly settled back into Hiei's embrace and closed her eyes, taking no pains or attempts to disguise the most pleased smile on her face as she gladly repositioned herself and raised her face up to nudge Hiei's jaw, nuzzling it briefly as a this-time-welcome blush settled merrily across the mask of her face and scattered down her neck. 3
Hiei watched Shikiyoku with expectant eyes, waiting for her response to his request for the gesture she had almost completed. It was fun for him to see the thoughts running across her brain, not having to utilize his telepathy to be able to guess what she was thinking.
So when she did indeed settle back into place, smiling as she lowered herself down again, he felt rather pleased that not only was she obliging with his demand, but that she seemed happy to do so. It was a smile he didn't think he'd ever seen her wear before, and he found himself staring at it for as long as he could, for her face disappeared from view just before her nose nudged at the underside of his jaw.
It was the most pleasant feeling that grew at his core and made his eyes close again and his arms relax around her, content. Now he would not mind if she scampered away to see what she'd been given, because he'd finally experienced one of the things he had only dreamt about for years.
(Now you may go.) He informed her tauntingly, his lips forming a sidelong smirk and his eyes sparkling with mirth when he did reopen them to look down at her. *
(Mm.) Shikiyoku let her face rest against him, eyes coming open as she unwittingly accepted the buzz of her energy and a shimmer fluttered into place over her eyes as the tingle along her scalp grew subtly more pronounced.
(And what if I don't want to go?) 3
Hiei's brow raised ever so slightly, a sound rumbling in his chest. (Then don't.) He felt no small amount of satisfaction in the moment, and found it really hard to tell himself that, eventually, they would need to leave this room. (I'm not going to protest.)
Especially not with that energy of yours doing that thing it does.
More and more recently, Hiei had begun to recognize when Shikiyoku's energy came to life. With each time her eyes began to glimmer, his own would have an odd itch sensation. With each moment that her energy came to life on the more subtle end of the spectrum, his skin would rise with gooseflesh and his scalp would crawl. To top it all off, each time he felt her reaction from the bond, he himself found that it was more than just a little pleasing. *
If she hadn't things that needed to be done within the next hour or so, she might have found herself most unwilling to leave the place in which she found herself.
(You're not?)
Shikiyoku felt her lips pull apart as her breathing evened out, and though she did not yet move, either to get up or otherwise, she found it increasingly harder to lay still. 3
(Mm, not particularly.) He didn't, however, tighten his grip either, have a sense that she had things that she wanted to do before midday, and figuring that she should be free to get those things done when she wished to do so, now that he'd had… enough to last him for a while, he supposed.
There would always be more Shiki time later; there would always be another time for him to get a rise from her again.
(If you're so anxious, then you should get started.) Hiei hadn't missed anything since waking, not even the fact that she didn't seem to have slept. He'd simply tucked it away for later, when it would be relevant. *
It was under great duress that Shikiyoku did not do what she wished to in the pause following, which was completely unrelated to anything having to do with the chance of her leaving right then.
In truth, she fought with herself in any case, for many reasons, all of which tied back to the demon in her arms, though having been pulled underneath the tide of her energy certainly did not make things easy on her.
To that end, she did go ahead and brush her lips against Hiei's cheek, but in a short gesture that she hoped would appease the tirade of energy within her as she once more pulled away from him before she found herself completely incapable of doing so.
Getting her energy under control was likely the most difficult part. 3
Hiei took to appreciating the warmth against his cheek when Shiki awarded him a kiss, the moment short but the sensation seeming to last longer than it actually did. His appreciation for it lasted even longer than the remaining warmth did, his lips remaining in a soft smile of content, even as the bond took that moment of her contact and translated it back to her.
He could also feel her energy on the air, and that she wrestled with it to gain control again, to reel it in and tuck it away unseen. He himself didn't mind it, in fact he rather liked it.
Later.
(What did Kafu send for you?) The question was meant to distract, so that she may get on with what he could sense to be important matters. It would do neither of them any good to continue going in this circle of one affecting the other. *
(Clothing, of course.) She had only just began to move across the room when he asked. She paused for half a second, finding it strange that for some reason she felt a warmth at her cheek, but finally stepping out of both her pants which were too large and cloak which was likewise. It left her in the shirt she had scrounged up, but in her current state it was something akin to a dress that hung to her ankles, much to her chagrin.
She still felt cheated out of having her "demon form" returned to her.
Deftly tearing into the package, everything in it was the same dark crimson that she preferred to wear for everyday sort of interactions on the Ninth Level, sturdy enough to survive most forest travel as well as light enough to cause her little issue otherwise.
Wasting no time, she was quickly changed and adjusted her new cloak about her neck and shoulders as she moved over to reach for Hiei's where it had been tossed at some point over the back of the only chair in the room, taking to inspecting rather closely the hem at the bottom, as given his increase in height he must have had all his current clothing-which seemed the very same in appearance to what she always remembered him wearing-tailored at some point in time, and she was interested in who exactly had done it. And whether she liked them or not. 3
An unspoken duh seemed to hang in the air, a playful thing that Hiei found himself rather amused at as his eyelids slid closed, imagining the things he himself would need to get done before the end of the day, assuming they would be gone from this level by then. Pay Kafu, visit his sellers, grab any money he'd earned…
Stay with Shiki along the way, because there was no way he'd let her out of his sight again. Not anytime soon.
There was a silence in the room that had Hiei's eyes drawing open again, immediately falling on Shiki as she eyed his cloak, noticing that she inspected the hem. He made a sound of amusement.
(It was more expensive having a tailor do it. Kafu recommended this one.) *
More expensive?
The statement seemed obvious when he said it, and yet so out of place to hear from him of all people.
However, if it was one that Kafu recommended…
After another pass at the seam, Shikiyoku realized she did recognize it, and that Kafu hadn't decided to send Hiei to the tailor she despised above all others. Wisely, on the old demon's part, as who knows what she might have felt necessary to do to him had he chosen poorly.
(Worth your money.) Shiki advised. (Especially given the nature of your clothing.)
She nonchalantly tossed it over his face, lifting a hand up to her lips as if to stifle a giggle as she turned away. 3
Hiei let the fabric fall against his face, not seeming to mind its cool embrace as it draped over his head and shoulders, hanging to one side as he propped himself up on an elbow. The other hand tugged it away from his features however, his eyes flashing at her back as he shifted to sit up, the cloak finding its way up his arms and onto his body before he was even standing. He had his sword in a moment's notice, retrieving it from where he'd concealed between the bed and the nightstand, and then promptly hiding it in its usual place beneath the cloak.
(I trust the bartender a great deal- he's not steered me wrong yet.) The admission was one of amusement, really, imagining what would have happened if the demon had sent Hiei to the tailor that Shiki had an obvious distaste for. (The tailor was very accommodating over the years.) For a moment, he felt as if he were appreciating art as his fingers toyed with the end of his sleeve. (Not quite the same as you, however. You're faster.) *
(Well, I hope not as accommodating as I.) Shikiyoku had moved across the room, kicking the discarded clothing to the side. (Otherwise I might have had words with him after all.) And opening the door to move into the hallway. 3
Hiei's eyes stared at the back of her head as he followed after the woman, sensing on some level that what she meant was not immediately what he understood, and yet not quite finding that he understood the actual meaning. It made a brow raise, but he brushed it aside.
(No one's as accommodating as you, obviously.) *
While she didn't exactly intend for it to traverse into the territory of her bond, Shikiyoku nonetheless felt her next thought transmit itself to him.
(I should certainly hope not.)
I would likely be in trouble or upset, otherwise. At least where you're concerned.
When Shikiyoku began walking down the stairs, she most certainly scanned what she could see of the bar in the hopes that the fire demon with the bluish-white hair to whom she felt she owed more than just her life would be sitting somewhere among the smattering of patrons.
She was not disappointed.
He sat at the bar, somewhere in the middle where Hiei had been the night prior, and this time when Kasai looked up at the sound of someone descending the stairs, he was not disappointed.
In fact, he could not directly deny that his core gave this strange sort of jostle in his chest.
He lifted whatever drink he had in front of him in Shikiyoku's direction and she gave him the sort of smile that would have stopped most demons in their tracks at being the receiver of it.
As it was, Kasai's drink stayed in the air a tick longer than he meant for it to as she finished climbing down the rest of the stairs, struck somewhat dumb by her expression, now completely free of the turmoil that it had, up to this exact moment, held.
The nod Shikiyoku gave to Kafu expressed her gratitude as she approached the bar. 3
Hiei followed Shikiyoku the way down the stairs, his cloak flowing about his ankles, wearing it for the very first time in weeks. It felt nice wearing the material again, its cool texture smooth on his arms and his hands, which he had folded into his pockets.
(Hn.)
When he'd stepped foot on the last step and then into the bar, he immediately turned to Kafu again, remembering the tab that needed to be paid and deciding to take care of it first and foremost, so he wouldn't forget. It had become a routine, anyway.
His hand came from his pocket and held out the cash he had previously been storing away, his brain working over the math and finding that it should be close, if not a little over what he owed. Oh well, either extra for the keep or the ladies.
"Pleasure doing business." He would've said something along the lines of I appreciate the accommodations, but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to do it. *
As Shikiyoku felt Hiei pause behind her momentarily to interact with Kafu, she brought herself up to Kasai directly as the fire demon stood up from his place and found himself struck with just how free she was with her smiles now.
Something he wish he had gotten to enjoy sooner.
"I owe you my life, Kasai." Shikiyoku said frankly as she looked up at him.
He opened his mouth as if in protest, but Shikiyoku held up a hand before he could say anything. "A fact from which you cannot wriggle away. If you hadn't been there to pick me up, the-" She falted for a moment, having not quite faced the facts of her situation so directly before.
"Please, it- You would have done the same for me." He reassured her, picking up where he knew precisely why she left off and finding that she smiled at him again.
"And I would do so in the future if the opportunity arose. Which is partly why I asked you to stay at least the night. I would grant you a boon, fire demon. Anything you asked either now or in the future. My life is worth at least that much. And I have many connections of my own upon which I can call for you, if you have need."
Kasai felt his stomach give a strange sort of dip as he had to restrain himself from immediately asking the first thing that leapt into his mind.
He knew she was not mated to this Hiei, though he couldn't rightly say what their relationship was. Something he did not understand most certainly. And in the heat of that moment, he found himself wanting nothing more than being the reason she smiled in such a way for the rest of their lives.
"Well, speak up, demon." Kafu had finished his exchange with Hiei and had turned back to the situation at hand. "At the very least accept. You do not have to spend it now you know."
Kasai looked to Kafu, seeing that the old demon had mirth dancing in his eyes.
"What she offers is a great thing." Kafu reassured him. "Having one of the Kuraku in your debt is no small task."
Shikiyoku seemed slightly embarrassed at Kafu's frank appraisal, but the word with which he used to refer to Shikiyoku was not lost on Kasai and when he turned to look back at her, it was with wide eyes.
She waved away his look of surprise. "It is nothing-"
"You are not nothing, Kuraku." He reassured her in a quick interruption. "I had no idea-"
"And I am not the one who told you, which ought to speak for itself." She sent a brief, non-threatening glare in Kafu's direction, but the demon only gave her a little smile. "And the term is much too kind to one such as myself."
Kasai only nodded, but Shikiyoku reached up and clasped one of her hands at his elbow, expression serious.
"I know it is not a light thing which I offer you, but neither was I particularly light to carry for those thousands of miles either."
The brief twinkle in her eye offset the severity of her tone.
I would have carried you as far as necessary. Farther.
"I...gratefully accept, though I...have nothing now to..." He shrugged, at a loss.
Shikiyoku waved his concern away, releasing his elbow, "Not now. Perhaps not soon. But someday." She tossed her head in Kafu's direction. "If you're down here, he'll know where to find me."
Kafu tilted his head slightly in agreement, though his lips twitched in good humor. "Though I'd be most interested to know how you found this one." He tossed a thumb in Hiei's direction.
Shikiyoku shifted around to face and assess Hiei for a moment, looking softly, happily, into his crimson eyes.
"How?" She finally said quietly before shaking her head a little. "I walked every mile of every level until I got here."
"That easy!" Kafu exclaimed as he swiped his drying rag through another mug, not looking up this time. "And how exactly did you come to think you were getting close?"
Shikiyoku still looked at Hiei, remembering now how calm and serene it felt to be near him like this, where she had once upon a time forgotten the feeling.
"I dreamt of you, you know." She said it as if only speaking to him, her voice soft, though both Kasai and Kafu could clearly hear her given that the tavern had few patrons at this hour. "No, not dreamt." She corrected herself with a tiny shake of her head, but she didn't look away. "I had nightmares. Every time I closed my eyes, you were never there, torn from me, lost, killed. It was the not-knowing that started to slowly kill me. From the inside-out, I was dying and I didn't even know it."
Shikiyoku finally looked away, appearing to stare at the bar, but not seeing anything at that moment aside from her dreams.
Kafu waited patiently for her to continue, to answer his question which he doubted she had forgotten.
"And then...you started coming to me in my dreams. Holding me, comforting me, wiping away my tears." She looked Kafu directly in the eye. "That's how I knew." 3
When Hiei was relieved of the bills in his hand, he nodded another thanks to the bartender before turning to step closer to Shikiyoku, staying behind her out of respect for her conversation, but not allowing any certain amount of space come between them. His eyes roved the other demon, obviously a fire elementalist as he was, and found no small amount of gratitude for the other, who had carried Shikiyoku from one end of this level all the way to this pub. if he remembered correctly, he'd also been the demon who the bond had enlightened him of- one who kept her company and safe in her travels to him.
His eyelids slid closed as he considered the bond, which hummed at him pleasantly at his core. It felt… stronger. Perhaps it was just part of his imagination, where it only felt stronger because he hadn't felt its presence in so long.
The fire demon only tuned into the conversation when Kafu spoke, ears twitching ever so slightly and his eyes opening to watch the scene, a simple specter from the side.
With the conversation turning to him, however, Hiei couldn't help the spark of interest in his eyes as he looked down unto Shikiyoku's features, meeting her gaze squarely with the most serene of expressions.
As she went on to explain her nightmares, something within him rolled, and though his expression never wavered, he couldn't help but remember his own nightmares, where he had begun to wake with little gems around his person in the morning hours. How those gems had lead him to creating a ring that she now unknowingly wore at her collarbone, and then to other pieces that served to keep him distracted until it was no longer enough to distract him.
She had come to him in dreams too.
But, hearing her telling of it had his core giving occasional little jolts, little rustlings of something that he'd only recently become aware of. An itch. Perhaps the beginning of a desire.
And as she finished speaking, his lips gave no hint of the smile that twinkled in his eyes for a moment.
(I would not leave you alone in this world so easily.)
Despite his cool response, he could feel a barrage of emotions that he'd never before felt, never before now even known he could have. And not a single one of them could he name; he could only place the source. *
Ever since she had come down the stairs that morning, Kasai had found himself struggling to hold back. Struggling from taking her up in his arms once again, but this time to never let her go.
And there was something in the way that she looked at him that made him realize that she knew. Each time the urge struck him, she knew.
But he restrained himself. And he wasn't really for certain why.
The one thing of which he was certain? That he already knew what boon he would ask of her.
As she answered the bartender's question, he felt his core quickening, for he had been there. He may not have started her journey with her, but he certainly traveled the majority of it by her side. He was there for the nightmares, for the long nights of silent weeping, had held her until the morning dawned, comforting her and drying her tears until they waned in his arms.
If he didn't quite come to terms with it then, he realized now as she spoke that she had been dying, withering from the inside out.
Until he joined her.
It had been him coming to her in her sleep, taking this hybrid demon's place when the shorter demon had been unable to do so.
Kasai knew there was something deeper going on between the two of them, on some level no one else could hope to penetrate, and while he could scent that the younger one was just starting to come into his own, Kasai could also tell that the way in which she beheld him was much different than the way in which it appeared he was beginning to see her.
There was much about them he did not know. But he knew much about her in any case.
Kafu only gave Shikiyoku that same irritating little smile she knew so well once she finished talking, and Hiei's interjecting into their bond led to her looking over at him, into his eyes, seeing the smile he, for reasons she still didn't understand, kept hidden within them.
Before she could conjure up a response, Kasai began to speak and Shikiyoku returned her attention to him, finding that he was staring directly into her eyes with an inborn sense of passion that caught her off-guard.
"I may not ask anything of you now...but you will wait for me, won't you? For my question?"
He could not bring himself to ask her directly, to throw himself at her feet at that very moment as he very much found he wished to do and bare his soul for her to do with as she chose, because there was still the part of him that didn't have a clue what he might do if she rejected him, and in a sense he feared she would reject him then and there in front of everyone.
Strangely enough, he found in her expression that same odd sort of understanding that he had so quickly come to associate with her. As if she knew everything he wasn't asking. And she didn't appear to...immediately dismiss it. Or him.
In fact she looked downright kindly at him, though he could tell at first she didn't know how exactly to take him.
Shikiyoku felt as though his eyes had her locked in some sort of spell where she couldn't look away if she wanted to.
It had been a long time since she interacted with a full-blooded fire demon, at least while in her right mind, and she remembered just how very quick they were with their emotions, easily driven in any number of directions, though notoriously their tempers were what had the shortest fuse. Quick to anger, quick to reconcile, quick to seek physical comforts. And this constant tirade of emotion that came hand-in-hand with their power over fire is what drove many of them into madness and self-destruction.
And she could see all of those things whirling inside his eyes. Not yet dangerous, but a whirlwind of passion in which one could become happily swept away.
Shikiyoku had gladly immersed herself, or perhaps "became entangled with" fire demons on more than one occasion in long-time past. But this one was asking more of her than any of the others combined.
To wait.
He had...some things to work out. Loose ends to tie up. Self-searching to do.
But...he would seek her out. Come back to her and ask the question she could almost taste floating into the air between them.
And...perhaps then both of them would be ready.
She gave him a single nod, never once looking away from his fiery gaze, and quietly replied, "As you wish, hot-head."
Watching the exchange between the two, and noticing the way in which Hiei also now regarded Shikiyoku-an expression on the hybrid demons face being one that Kafu had never seen before-Kafu quickly made a few decisions.
"Kasai-"
The declamatory manner in which Kafu spoke up drew the heads of those nearby, mainly Kasai and Shikiyoku.
"-I hear you've never been down this far before."
"No, sir." Kasai gave a bit of a grin.
"Well, I may have a few things for you to try before you leave." Kafu's eyes glittered briefly as a jug made its way down from somewhere up high on the shelves behind him.
Shikiyoku took the opportunity with a grateful glance in Kafu's direction-he briefly acknowledging her thankfulness by meeting her eyes-and seized Hiei's hand, ducking behind Kasai towards the door.
Sensing her movement, Kasai's attention momentarily became distracted from what Kafu offered, but Shikiyoku gave him a quick nod and reassurance, "We won't leave the level without you," as she pulled Hiei along behind her and out into the street.
Something about the joy of the moment overtook Shikiyoku as she burst into the daylight and tore something of a playful giggle from her lips as she snuck into the nearby alleyway first. The same alleyway where, seemingly an eternity ago, she had collapsed and coughed up blood, her memories of Hiei distant though he had at the time found her.
(I never wish to be parted from you.)
She had been missing this piece of her for so long that finally recovering it again lifted her spirits in a fashion that she had not experienced for a long time as she let the darker alleyway cast its conspiratory shadow over them, hiding them from plain sight.
As Shikiyoku turned back to Hiei, her green eyes glimmered with energy that filled her to the brim, dancing beneath her skin and setting her senses buzzing.
"You know," She murmured, "I haven't exactly had a chance to thank you properly for waiting for me."
And I don't particularly care at this moment if my way of thanks isn't exactly your style.
Her eyes flashed and she let go of his hand to reach up and pull his face down to meet hers, planting a grateful kiss on his lips and feeling a spark flurry up her face to her scalp from where their lips touched.
When she released him, her eyes glimmered with power before she blinked and it disappeared, and seeing the stunned look on his face she stuck her tongue out at him and dashed out into the relatively busy street, stopping when she got to the middle to flash a grin in his direction.
The toothy grin waned as something appeared to catch her attention behind her, head tilted as if listening.
Get that out of the street.
Hide your face.
Don't touch me.
The ugly desires twisted their way through her body, and they came from any number of demons around her. Any that took note of her.
There weren't many demons walking around, but those that were passing by stayed on either side of the wide, main dirt path of the city, and she promptly attempted to ignore the thinly veiled glances of disparity and the waves of roiling malcontent of harsh desires.
Shikiyoku turned back to Hiei and renewed her smile, waiting for him to join her. This time, though, her teeth remained hidden behind her lips as a silent expression of contentment and happiness at even just looking at him washed into their bond. 3
Hiei very willingly let himself be pulled from the bar at the hand of Shikiyoku, his eyes watching the way her choppy hairstyle bounced about her ears. His feet kept him in good pace behind her, only a step behind the woman as she pulled him from the light of day and into the shadows of the alley- something he hadn't really expected.
The giggle, though, was a marvelous sound to his ears. He didn't register much for a moment after that, so when she spoke through their bond, it was a beat before her lips touched his that he registered what she said, and after she had bounded away from him when he actually understood. With that understanding came a spark to his irises- a spark of something fiery as he watched her spin to face him from the middle of the street. A spark that was accompanied only by an odd little quiver that his spine gave, running along his entire body before settling again.
It took him a few beats to recover, not really sure where the full-body shiver had come from. He dismissed it all at once to focus again on the woman.
(I won't let you get too far anytime soon, my Wind.)
Within the few steps it took for Hiei to step to Shikiyoku's side, he became aware of several things at once. One, Shikiyoku was distracted by something around her. Two, demons were suddenly skirting the street, seemingly avoiding its center. Three, there were whispers.
Four:
Those whispers were ugly, twisted, and aimed at one of the two who now stood in the center of the street. And he knew it was not aimed at him- not any longer.
Infuriated, but under complete control of such an emotion given the moment, he grabbed Shikiyoiku's wrist and tugged her closer, his other hand reaching for her collarbone. A finger slid underneath the string that rested against her skin and tugged on it, freeing the jewel and ring from where she had inadvertently hidden it during her clothing change.
"It cannot serve its purpose underneath articles of clothing," he whispered at her before standing upright again and pulling her in the direction she had intended to go. *
A part of her wished she had stayed in the alleyway where her heart had felt lighter, giddier. Where for a moment she thought she felt something stirring in the bond between them, a reaction from him at her kiss where she could not recall him particularly responding in any manner before now. Or perhaps even they could return to their room.
That was the part of her that lurched as another demon passed behind her and wanted her to move to the other side of the street. And it was the part of her that was momentarily silenced when Hiei closed the distance, somehow immune or able to ignore the obvious distaste for her from those around her.
She glanced down, uncertain of what he meant until she saw the blue jewel sparkle in the daylight, an almost inaudible tink as they came together after resting upon the outside of her clothing.
Begone Tainted One.
Her eyelids came together and she swallowed.
The last time she had been here, in this city, she had been in pain form-mostly went around cloaked-and therefore not a walking advertisement of her betrayal as she was now.
She stumbled after Hiei as he tugged her away, eyes flying open to watch him as he stayed close, and her obliging his wishes by remaining at his side when all she really wanted to do was run and hide.
Even he is not as abhorrent as you.
They did not wish her to be in even his presence, and he was still, regardless of his accomplishments, only a Cursed Child. That was how low they considered her, she who had chosen to embrace her opposing force-the Cursed Child had been born into it-and master it.
How dare you trick him into wearing your mark.
Somewhere, Shikiyoku attributed her particular keenness to those around her to the fact that it had been very long indeed since she had been around so many people at once. And most of her time with Kasai had been spent in the blankness of the emotionless state that had kept her sane.
Now, with her emotions raw and almost wildly dancing inside the bond so great were her feelings of relief and joy, she could not manage to pull that blanket of nothingness around her. Not with the source of all her efforts holding onto her wrist and taking her down the street.
But even they could not stop the expression of affection that rested upon her face as she looked up at him. Happy, finally, to be-
(Home.) 3
"I heard somewhere once that 'home is where the heart is'," Hiei commented lightly, both verbally and through the bond, glancing over at Shikiyoku only briefly as he tugged her along. For a moment he let silence settle, as if he had nothing else to say on the matter. He did, however, continue.
"Well, my heart's with you."
The words rang true in his entire being, whether she knew it or not, and he wondered if there was any way to one day prove that he meant what he said in this moment. Prove that it was not just to keep her occupied and her mind away from the others nearby.
(Always.) *
After initially looking at him, Shikiyoku had dropped her face, feeling for the first time in her entire existence that she did not wish to be the center of attention, a feeling so very foreign that she remained in its alien emotion as she got pulled along.
She blinked as Hiei began speaking, trying to focus in on his words, but finding that they resounded within her, within their bond, as well.
It did make her blush for certain, feeling how true in that moment his words were, how much he meant them. And on some level she just thought it incredibly adorable of him, of the youngling, to be so devoted to someone at his age. The fact that it was her is what made her blush.
And she couldn't really say anything about how she wasn't worth his time, or how perhaps he should reconsider, because she didn't honestly want him to do so. Not at that moment anyway, not when she very much needed him to be there, to provide some sort of buffer between herself and hostility that was fighting to overwhelm any thoughts he attempted to distract her with.
(I missed you.) 3
Hiei's steps slowed as they neared a barber shop, his hand tugging gently at hers so that she may enter the building first, his free hand pulling the door open so that the door was between her and anyone to his right, and his own body acted as a shield from anyone else who might have been looking on from the street.
(And I you, my Wind.) *
If she thought she could have gotten away with it, she would have just buried herself into him and stayed there, as if being unable to see anything around her might stave off some of the heady, if harsh, desires of her to leave.
I'm trying. As fast as I can.
If she didn't fear the Eighth Level as much as she did, she would have grabbed Hiei and Kasai and left right then.
She swallowed as she let Hiei move her inside the building first, suddenly overwhelmed by how much freer she felt inside, especially when the head barber immediately walked over and stopped in front of her, arms crossed over his chest.
"Who. In the Nine Hells. Did you let touch your head?"
"I didn't do it on purpose, Atama." Shikiyoku mumbled, still recovering from the outside world as she took a few more steps in the door.
"Who did you let touch her hair?" He turned to Hiei. "It's a disgrace. An absolute disgrace." 3
Hiei's expression shifted only a smidgen towards amusement, his eyes finding a few pieces of jewelry that he more than recognized- such as the earring in one ear, the ring on his left middle finger, and a necklace. All of which had been payment for the few times Hiei had allowed this one to cut his hair.
He gave a shrug at the barber with one shoulder, but did not respond to the question at hand with an answer in kind. He only went on to say, "Obviously, she came to you to have it redone."
He turned his eyes to Shikiyoku again, still sparkling with amusement. *
"Well, I mean I can probably do something about it." He acted as if it would be nigh-impossible. "But good grief, seductress. Even I might have trouble."
Shikiyoku scoffed, still having not met his eyes as she cast her gaze off to the side.
Without any ceremony, he marched up to her, the rest of the shop workers and patrons having already returned to their business with little pause, and reached out to run his fingers through what was left of the hair at the side of her head, making disapproving clucking noises with his tongue.
"You always had such long, pretty hair too." He mumbled, still obviously just about to go and beat whoever had managed to do it. He made one last noise of displeasure before his gaze softened and his hand moved down to her chin to tip her face up. "It's not a complete loss. It's...what, a few months longer than when they got it? Our time anyway. It'll grow back." He blinked and seemed to realize something else, glancing at Hiei for a moment but not voicing whatever it was.
"Alright, well, come here I guess." He blustered, grabbing for her free hand to pull her towards his chair. "Let's see what I can do." 3
Hiei remained by Shikiyoku's side, even when she was pulled in one direction by Atama. His hold her hand never even so much as twitched as he matched her steps until he stood at her side, knowing that inevitably he'd have to step away so that Atama could do his work.
He watched Shikiyoku get settled in, his lips tilted ever so slightly upwards at one corner as if admiring her. But the moment he was given a look from the barber, Hiei gave a gentle shake of Shiki's hand before releasing it, and he moved to sit in the nearest vacant chair.
He considered very briefly stepping from the barber's shop to collect his earnings for the week out in the shopping district, but very quickly decided that he would not leave Shikiyoku's side, even to a trustworthy barber.
Because she needed him, and he her.
So he settled in his chair with one knee crossed over the other. *
As any good hairdresser or beautician is capable, Atama managed to keep a fairly one-sided conversation going as he worked in which Shikiyoku had ample opportunity to reply or respond as he spoke, but was neither obligated to listen or answer.
After a few minutes, he paused in mid-cut, blinked, and went back to work, but from then on a metaphorical vein began straining at his forehead as he kept frowning, his conversation with her faded into teeth-gritting silence though he never hesitated once as his hands worked.
Around them, a few of the other patrons and even more of his workers were glancing over at him, expecting the usual flash and sparkle that accompanied his work, murmurs starting that wondered why he did not just poof her hair back to its supposed former length-if his outburst upon her entrance was to be of any indication-or even style or color it in his usual flair.
Finally, Atama let out the largest, most dramatic sigh as he dropped his hands down at his sides and threw his head back, eyes closed as he announced, loudly, to the entire shop, "I can't do anything about it, alright? I've never been able to, not that any of you would know that since you're all so new. Her hair is a source of her power and it can't be influenced by anything I could do to it, even if I wanted."
"But he's the best stylist I've ever known and I've worn his dos on many occasions in the past." Shikiyoku piped up with confidence, eyes glittering as she looked in the mirror in front of her and dared anyone to say otherwise.
"It's a damn shame, really." Atama continued, his voice still carrying. "Stuck with one color all the time. Boring!"
The others in the room slowly started to go back to what they had been doing or talking about or concentrating on.
"Two colors now."
"Well, sort of."
"I do miss the old."
"Still have that luster problem on the alt-side?"
"You know, the last time I shifted, it was the strangest thing, but I was back to my old self again."
"Really?"
"Bereft of my usual glamour-"
"Still an alt-side attribute."
"Yes, but dark skin and all."
Atama gave a sigh, "I know I'm not the only one that would pay to see you restored to your former glory, Kuraku."
"You wouldn't pay for that, I can promise you. Scars and skin's all dry and-"
"Sounds fierce."
"It's a disgrace is what it is." 3
Hiei sat back in his chair, an elbow on one arm rest and his eyes wandering the room the moment whispers started. He glared at any who met his gaze, silently telling them to shush, but finding none who really cared. He'd been about to say something himself when Atama spoke up and commanded attention from the whole room.
And just as quickly, things were running as they should be. Hiei felt fine with tuning into the conversation between the pair nearest him, his eyes following the comb and scissors that moved about Shikiyoku's head.
And he only piped up once.
"It is. Terribly fierce. Nothing else like it." *
Shikiyoku's eyes nearly bugged out of her head and it took a great deal of restraint not to drop her head as she felt a deep red flush cover most of her body.
"Says you." She managed to grumble through clenched teeth as she dropped her eyes.
(Stop that.)
"I'm sorry about how short it's turning out." Atama didn't appear to notice anything strange about the exchange, and kept on to a different subject, "But you know I-"
"Just make it look good. You know I know."
Atama gave a little grin and settled back into his work.3
Hiei's eyes shifted to Shikiyoku, his expression calm, a brow raised as if he had no idea what she meant. His head turned to one side for effect.
(Hn.)
He couldn't quite hide the twinkle in his eye, however. *
The series of grumbles in her head managed to stay in her head, but Atama made quick work of the rest of the issue at hand and was soon whipping the cover off of her with a practiced panache and spinning her to hold a mirror in front of her face so she could see the back.
After exchanging pleasantries of a job well done, he lowered the mirror in one hand and gave her his other to help her rise.
When she made move to slip away, he squeezed her hand once and she sensed he wished to look her in the eyes, and he bent down closer, his next words lower than any he had said in that time.
"Be careful, my lady. I know as well as anyone, perhaps better, just how vulnerable you are right now."
Shikiyoku's eyes glimmered and she gave the barest nod in response, "I assure you I have self-protection, Atama. Or have you not met my Consort? Gouka?" She gestured with her free hand towards Hiei, a warm smile meeting Atama's as he chuckled.
"As you say." Atama allowed. "Though I'm fairly certain no one can doubt his relation to you given those gorgeous lines across his face." He stood up and made as if he were going to perform a turn in a dance with her as he lead her around himself in Hiei's direction, extending her hand to exchange her with him. "I'm sure you're aware, but we would hate for anything to happen to our seductress." He winked at him. "And we'd be very put out with you if something did."
It wasn't quite a threat, but Atama's eyes flashed in a way that seemed to express universally the emotions of anyone like he who knew her true identity might have, that they all would be up in arms, even if they trusted him explicitly, and exclusively, with her.
"She is well loved." 3
As things began to wrap up, Hiei pushed himself to stand in one fluid motion, sending the cloak fluttering about his ankles silently before it stilled as he waited. He watched the pair have their conversation, momentarily allowing his mind to traverse elsewhere, to the market street and the jewelry he had made only just last week.
Needless to say, he hadn't really been paying attention until the word "Consort" alighted on his ears, pulling him from his thoughts and to awareness of the area around him. The fire demon could only tilt his head slightly when there was mention of his marks from Atama, though he did seem to grow a few inches taller to stand with a straight spine when the barber lead Shikiyoku to him by the hand.
And as Hiei reached out to take Shikiyoku's hand within his own, his gaze met that of Atama's, and with all seriousness, he listened to the words spoken at him until the last four words were said. Only then did Hiei choose to speak.
"You have my word."
He gave a respectful nod to Atama, his head remaining bowed perhaps a second longer than was necessary for such a gesture, but when he lifted his head again, his eyes reflected the fierceness of his determination to keep that promise- not only for Shikiyoku and the barber, but for himself as well.
He looked to Shikiyoku next. "Where to?" *
Shikiyoku blinked up at him as they stood there, Atama moving to the next patron.
(You're cute.)
"Horu. Is he still in the same guild house as before? And was there somewhere you needed to be?" 3
While normally Hiei would have argued that he were fierce in this situation, he decided to, for once, let her get away with the word- not without a knowing smirk of course. He moved on quickly though, turning and leading her to the front of the shop, but not yet opening the door for her.
"It will be along the way." He didn't seem to really answer her questions, though in his mind, it was answer enough. *
Shikiyoku nodded and led the way out the door, not particularly thinking of anything other than the next step she had mapped out while they were still lying in bed. The one that consisted of her seeing if through Horu she might get in contact with...with a group she had honestly hoped to never have to speak with, but the only one she could picture getting them safely out of the Ninth Level and on their way home.
Home.
She hadn't had one in so long.
She gave Hiei a sidelong glance as the continued walking down the one side of the street, Shikiyoku closest to the buildings as if she had intentionally placed herself where Hiei blocked her from general view.
She closed her eyes for a moment as the strength of the desires of those who saw her still permeated her body and she let out a sigh.
(At least I know you do not mind being seen with me. I don't even have to ask.) 3
Hiei lead the way with Shikiyoku at his side, his eyes roving the streets before occasionally turning to Shiki to gauge her expression, though whatever conversation they had struck up never seemed to have an end. It was a casual conversation, of which the topic was really of no importance to either of them, but it sufficed in what it was meant to do.
Though, at her most recent implication through the bond, the fire demon gave a lofty smirk.
(I'd be seen with you any day, any way, any how.)
He stepped up to a booth along the road, the first among many in a line in the shopping district, and met gazes with the merchant. Only a second passed before the other reacted, the scrawny old demon reaching beneath the booth and producing a leather bag of which he passed to Hiei, which he pocketed without so much as a sound. He turned and continued on, doing this several times during the walk through the shopping district, his focus ever remaining on Shikiyoku. *
While somewhere in her head Shikiyoku took note of money exchanging hands, she filed it away as whatever Hiei had found to do to amuse himself while he waited outside of drinking himself into a stupor, and simply allowed him to steer the conversation as he pleased, finding the words, while inconsequential, did stave off the worst of her awareness, though it still roiled across her in disgusted waves.
She felt sad in that the sensation made her never want to return to her home level, and hoping she sought the quickest way out.
As they entered the guild district, the number of bodies increased, though among them perhaps only half truly took notice of her and steered clear, the rest too busy to care.
Shikiyoku was not disappointed to discover she remembered the way to Horu's door, opening it and stepping inside and out of the crowd.
She waited patiently as he stood near his desk talking contracts with two other demons present, the pair of which did not notice her in the slightest.
Horu did appear to at least be aware of her on some level, as the deals were quickly wrapped up and he escorted them to the door, waiting until it was closed to turn and face her and her Consort, hands on his hips where his trio of swords hung from his belt.
He grinned and tossed his head a little to clear his eyes of his mess of white hair.
"You."
"Me."
"Pardon, Consort, I promise I mean nothing in particular by it but-" Horu leaned over and grabbed Shikiyoku in a giant hug, lifting her from the ground as she protested in a half-laughing voice and struggled against him, all of which he masterfully ignored even as he set her down again, hands on her shoulders.
"The last time I saw you, you were drunk and extremely difficult to talk to. You seem to be of much sounder mind now." He seemed eager to drink in her fairer features, though he finally released her and stood back up to nod his head at Hiei.
Shikiyoku vaguely remembered the night she came to remove his mark, including trying to kiss him as he attempted to keep her chastely in his bed for her own safety.
"I told you she'd come for you." 3
Hiei followed Shikiyoku inside, until he was standing behind her, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe as they waited on Horu to finish up whatever business he was wrapped up in. His hands slid to the pockets of his cloak when he saw Shikiyoku relax, his eyes watching the other male as he sized her up just before lifting her from the ground in a hug.
He didn't quite so much mind, to be honest. It likely helped her feel better as well, which added to his own tension releasing- tension he hadn't realized had been slowly building. He reminded himself to keep his own posture calm, so that it may help her as well.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Horu turned to face him, and the fire demon's chin lifted every so slightly in acknowledgement, in hello.
His lips gave the slightest twitch at the words spoken, his eyelids coming closed as he fought off an amused sound. Instead, he gave a hum.
"Indeed." Not that he hadn't had any faith in her, really.
His eyelids opened again, and he met the gaze of the other for a moment before glancing at Shikiyoku from the corner of his eye. *
"However," Horu held up a finger as he turned and went to sit behind his desk, Shikiyoku moving to follow, "It is in my experience that she never appears without a price." Seated, he leaned forward, eyes glittering as he placed his elbows down, laced his fingers together and rested his chin atop them. "What this time, oh venerated Kuraku?"
"You know me so well." Shikiyoku murmured, looking as if she glanced over the papers scattered over his desk.
He did not have to answer.
She let out a sigh and finally met his gaze.
"Birds."
"Birds?" A eyebrow immediately shot up his face.
"Birds."
"Mm." He seemed to consider it. "I know you wouldn't even mention it if you had any other choice."
"I despise them."
"Understandably so." He sat back in his chair and seemed to consider her seriously for a moment before letting out a little sigh of his own. "Well, it isn't like I can't find them for you. Actually, I hadn't seen one in years since-" He blinked and quickly moved on. "But there is one. Recently for whatever reason. And where there's one, there's more." He leaned forward and started to rustle through the disorganization atop his desk.
"One will be sufficient." Shikiyoku replied stiffly.
"Slight, uh, problem. It's one of the brown ones."
Shikiyoku visibly tensed before managed to release it, "It doesn't matter." She shook her head. "It's the only way I can think of getting out of here."
Horu stopped and gave her a searching glance.
"That bad, huh?"
"I will have nightmares for centuries."
Or I'll go sleepless for at least that long.
"Well, I'll see what I can do, but getting ahold of him is likely going to take a while."
Shikiyoku nodded, though her mind reeled with the thought of having to be in the city until the "brown one" could be found. 3
Hiei stood at the threshold of the room, never moving away from where he leaned against the doorway casually. Sure, his eyes followed Shikiyoku's movements, noted when she tensed and how that tension remained at her shoulders and jaw, but he made no indication that he paid them any actual attention.
To some, he likely seemed to be spaced out.
His hands played with the various bags in his pockets, yet somehow keeping the change within them from jingling. He waited patiently, knowing Shikiyoku didn't have the energy to stay out in the public long on this day. *
Horu finally found the piece of paper he was looking for and slipped it from the pile, glancing over the contents and nodding.
"Mm-hm. Brown. That's my note about him."
Shikiyoku finally gave up and laughed at him, earning herself a grin from him as well.
"Shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll make it work." He stood back up and came around the outside of the desk to stand over her for a moment with that same smile on his face.
"Thank you, Horu." Her expression shifted to gratefulness, though she did have a slightly more business-like air to her as she continued, "I'll express my true thanks properly upon delivery of your promise."
"Of course, seductress. As always." Horu allowed as the door opened again to let in another handful of demons who needed to speak with him, ones that he nodded at to acknowledge the presence of before at the last saying to her, "You'll know as soon as I do." 3
If he were honest, Hiei wouldn't have been able to recount the conversation at hand. Sure, he'd been focusing on Shikiyoku, but his thoughts had remained not on her current conversation, but on her tension and how he could help with it. How the demons of this level had begun to regard her in terms of her energy, how they seemed to find even his presence tolerable in light of her.
And it positively infuriated him .If he'd had the strength to do so, not a single demon who so much as glanced in her direction the wrong way would survive the day.
He forced the thoughts away, his ears tuning into the conversation just in time to hear Shikiyoku give her word on a proper thanks to the other male in the room.
It had his mind momentarily blank out.
And then a sense of denial washed over him. Not denial in the sense that he didn't believe that she'd said it, but that he wouldn't allow a thank you kiss to go to anyone else.
Because that was his. And his alone. the Consort's.
Somehow, Hiei miraculously refrained from making a sound, and even more miraculously did the bond give nothing away of his thoughts on the commentary.
No.
Mine. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!