A/N: Hello once again, Audience.
I know, I know. I still don't have summaries of the previous chapters up. I'm getting ready to go to Italy summer and have been busy learning music for that trip. _ When I get a chance, I'll update the summaries, but for now we'll be going without. I figure you'd rather have a chapter without a summary than no chapter at all, ha!
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]
Shikiyoku excused herself as the other demons approached, one of them glancing at her and immediately sending her into a wave of get out.
She gladly skirted around them, moving directly for Hiei and staring directly into his eyes.
Horu did not miss the exchange, and without a beat, called out cheerfully as a final word, "Give me a week, Kuraku! At most."
Shikiyoku paused in place and shifted to look back at him, momentary questioning in her eyes.
All three of the newcomers stopped dead in their tracks and did as much as she, turning to stare at her.
She blinked, searching their gazes and realizing that suddenly she found nothing of the sort of disgust she expected. Instead she found surprise...and fear.
It was all she could do to give Horu a silent nod and continue her way out the door, this time reaching for Hiei's hand herself and not so much as tugging as wordlessly asking him to come with her as she stepped out into the street.
She did her best to ignore the immediate pile of questions the demons began asking Horu before the door was even shut behind them.
Letting Hiei lead as he appeared to have a destination in mind this time, Shikiyoku stayed quiet for a good many steps.
She couldn't decide which was worse: the fear or the disgust. In either case, what she really wanted to do was find some dark corner to curl up in so she could cry in peace about it. Never so keenly had she felt the loss of her ability to shift into her true form, the one that had been praised and held in high esteem. And now as if that wasn't enough, her other side had somehow been afforded the luxury of it, a grotesque imitation, a shadow of what had once been. An insult to injury.
Head bowed, she blinked back tears of frustration and anger and managed to not give the outside world the pleasure of watching her release her anguish in their presence. 3
There was no missing it, really, the way the three entering demons looked at Shikiyoku when they passed. After completely ignoring Hiei, he couldn't help but turn his eyes to stare at the three who passed him by, and brushed by Shikiyoku on their way into the room. Turning heads and all. Eyes that glittered momentarily with thoughts that Hiei recognized even without the use of telepathy.
He used to be the recipient of those thoughts, those glares.
His eyes narrowed to slits only briefly before Shiki's hand was in his, at which point he wordlessly turned to follow her lead. He didn't let her get too far ahead, however, tugging at her hand to bring her underneath his arm and against his side. He took the lead, first deciding to go back to the Niiro Kaga, but then remembering one last stop he wished to make. He thought on it, finally deciding that it was not quite worth his time right now- the money would always be there.
He guided the woman under his arm back through the shopping district, his eyes never really leaving the top of her head.
(They only fear your capabilities and how far you surpass them.)
The comment was quiet, fleeting, and was quickly followed by him sending her any and all thoughts he had of her- ranging from I missed you to they're only jealous because you're the best. *
With Hiei's warmth permeating not only the bond within them, but also her side at his sudden closeness, Shikiyoku shook more easily from herself the strange sorrow at what she had in others' eyes become, leaning into the fire demon next to her gratefully and even feeling her lips twitching in spite of themselves, recognizing her Consort's rather successful attempts at both distracting and comforting her in one fatal swoop.
You...have changed.
(I...am sorry.)
For letting something other than her happiness at having finally found him overshadow her. For losing sight of the importance of that. Of him.
In truth, how long and how far would their opinions matter once she removed herself and Hiei from this level?
She took a deep breath and blinked her eyes clear of other emotions, nestling closer to him as their forward movement would allow.
(You flatter me, fire prince. Perhaps well beyond my deserving. But I missed you too...dearly.) 3
Hiei couldn't quite hide his amusement at her apology- in his eyes, she had nothing to apologize for. This was likely the first time she'd ever been disliked, if he had to guess. It was sure to be a change from what she knew.
Whereas he knew it all too well.
Odd, how he felt as if the tables had turned in some way.
(If they had common sense, the only thing they'd fear is angering you.)
His lips gave a slight twitch at the thought.
(Because than, there'd be two fierce beings after them.)
He lifted his eyes to look about his surroundings, his expression stoic as if daring any to challenge what only Shikiyoku had heard him say. *
His amusement lifted her mood further, actually managing to stretch her face into a half-smile, though she kept her face almost buried in him and her eyes at the ground.
(I am not often moved to true anger, but they have made me too weary to be angry.) She replied, her tiredness manifesting in another sigh as her eyes shut when another who wished her to leave caught sight of her. (It has been some time since I was around so many.)
She stood up a little straighter and gave him a wry look.
(If anything were to rouse my rage, however, it would be my newfound empathy for how you as a hybrid are viewed.)
You and Taka both.
(They would indeed do well to fear myself should any dare to look harshly upon you, my Forbidden Child.)
She nudged her head into him, looking up from underneath her freshly cut hair with an actual grin.
As she meant to return her face looking downwards, something set up in a shop they were about to pass flashed in the daylight, and without particularly intending to do so, Shikiyoku perked up, recognizing a jewelry shop when she saw one-though a new one which she did not remember being there in her day-and for a second her eyes glittered as she remembered past days where she would have visited the finest jewelers the level had to offer, seeking the newest of their creations for the next ball and commissioning tailors to work alongside them. 3
Hiei only looked back to Shikiyoku when she nudged her head into his shoulder, where his eyes sparkled at her from above as she turned away. Any other time, he would have made some snarky comment of some kind towards the advantages of being a Forbidden Child, but today he could only come up with commentary on the woman at his side.
Really, it was hard to think of anything besides her, after so long of being apart and finally being with her again.
So, when he noted her interest in a jewelry store, he let her guide him closer- or maybe he guided her, he wasn't sure- while he commented, "This shop was established about six years ago." He eyed the jewelry in the window, most of which he recognized jewel by jewel. He didn't give her pause to look from the outside, however. He instead guided her inside the shop, where there were only three denizens meandering about, and none of which looked up to see the newcomers.
he stayed silent, waiting to see which way she'd want to go first. *
Struck earnestly by nostalgia, Shikiyoku did not resist the draw towards the store and their joint movement into it.
While she had never particularly found the time to create her own dresses and things, she had typically given a rapidly sketched design to various tailors-if they did not have something they wished for her to wear that they made with her in mind-and so had the experience in what sort of work was required.
And it was in this mindset that as she looked around the merchandise her eyes were set aglow with an immediate fire of their own, behind which images of taffeta and ruffles and sheers and pleats, textiles of all kinds, all wove into patterns in her mind as the fabrics and styles that would complement the necklaces and bracelets and earrings and pins and the like that altogether made pictures in her head that flashed in her mind's eye one after the other after each piece she saw.
The varying themes of the promenades that used to be held regularly drove her thoughts as various sets reminded her of the perfect moment in which they could have been worn and set the society talking for days after.
While the bond did not transmit her sudden internal labors, it did hum with a busyness that nothing else but her eyes expressed.
Finally she blinked and looked up at Hiei.
(I'm sure it will be here for many years to come.) 3
The fire demon allowed Shikiyoku to guide him through the shop, from one display to the other. He recognized some pieces from the artists he'd met over the years, some of which were decent people when face to face, but really he hadn't liked a single person he'd met in this shop aside from the owner.
Then again, there was reason for that.
His amusement, however, stemmed from Shikiyoku herself, the way her eyes lit up and gears turned in her mind as she looked from piece to piece, until Hiei began to find more than just a few he recognized.
He broke his silence after only a moment's pause at a enter table.
"That one has been around a lot." His finger touched the glass over a necklace that sparkled with jewels with sharp cuts and sparkles that made them almost seem as if they had a light all their own. He only momentarily glanced up at the marker that was meant to name the artist of the works in this location, reading "Local Artistry" before he turned back down to the glass case again.
"And this one." he added, pointing to a ring. "Even when the Level itself is red, the color seems a favorite among people." *
There were at least three different gowns that came to mind when Hiei pointed out the necklace in the case, each one long and elegant.
"I do not doubt it has been leant out many times." Her eyes glittered.
It was a way for jewelers to get their products seen by the general public and draw more patrons to them. She had done so herself for them many times.
"And red is all they know, really." She gave a little laugh, eyes taking in the rest of the case and finding that the handiwork was all the pinnacle of perfection, though she could not immediately see any markings on them that might give away their creator's symbol or name.
"They're all very pretty." She murmured half to herself, after a moment of appreciating them, lifting her gaze and seeing something off in a more remote area of the store that caught her eye.
Without hesitation she moved them in that direction, curiosity overtaking her as something about a piece that had been set out around the neck of a headless bust, a complete set with accompanying bracelet and earrings, all themed with a strange, blue jewel, drew her closer.
"Ah, I see the lady has an exquisite taste. It's one-of-a-kind."
Most of the things in this place are.
Shikiyoku kept her mouth shut, mostly ignoring the sales-demon that had slipped up to the display when she stopped in front of it.
He started spouting off about the piece, mostly saying things that she could clearly see with her own two eyes-though he did have enough sense to keep quiet about who made the thing-praising its delicate and meticulous workings and striking lines.
"You know," He said mournfully, "The only sadness is the incompleteness of this particular work. It is only missing a ring to be a full set." He grew quiet and gave out a little sigh, brightening and offering, "Would you like to try it on?"
Shikiyoku's eyes widened and she almost took a step back.
"Ah, no, I-"
"Just the bracelet. To see the color with your complexion."
Apparently he wasn't going to take no for an answer as his softly gloved hands smoothly reached out to pluck the indicated jewelry from its place, raised her wrist higher, and swiftly had it on her person before she could say anything else.
Shikiyoku blinked and it was there, and her expression softened as she gently twisted her wrist back and forth as she had done many times in the past so that the light around her might catch the gems and make them sparkle.
The demon was saying something about how lovely it looked, as if made for her, and while Shikiyoku did not doubt he said the sort of thing a vast majority of the time to further a sale, she couldn't help but silently agree.
Before he could convince her that he was going to let her try the rest of it, she shook her head, her response quiet.
"I...have nowhere that this could be worn." She held it towards him so that he could take it off. "Not anymore."
"If you were really interested," He said, moving to remove the bracelet but possibly ignoring what had been a subtle disengagement on her part, "I'm sure we could find something of a ring to go along with it amongst our other products."
She gave a little shake of her head, a soft smile on her features as she watched him unclasp and buff it between his fingers before replacing it.
"It's enchanting, but...no." 3
Hiei's eyes had shifted from the jewels in the case to Shikiyoku when she spoke, gauging her reaction to it and finding that the look on her face was more than enough to have him feel as if it were all worth it. He knew she found them rather intriguing, in anything, and really it was all he'd wanted to see.
The moment her head moved upwards so she could move on, and he saw her pause, he couldn't help but follow her line of sight. He spied the set at the far side of the room, in its own dim lighting as if not worth selling like the rest.
Or maybe that was just how he'd viewed the set up. He wasn't sure.
His pride swelled though, when Shikiyoku shot off in that direction, leading him almost forcefully to the set made with a dominantly blue hue of Dragon's Breath fire opals. They were cut in a fashion that would not usually be seen with opal, he knew, but it had been a daring move on the crafter's choice- made specifically with something, or maybe even someone, in mind.
Hiei's eyelids slid closed in satisfaction, for a moment not giving the salesboy even a part of his attention. He didn't intend to, either.
Not until the other spoke of the set being incomplete.
In that moment, Hiei's eyelids slid open just enough to form warning slits, and his stare turned onto the boy with a silent threat. The fire demon, however, was not surprised to be ignored by the person who seemed to only have the sale in mind- not that he particularly blamed the other. The set had been there for months, unsold due to its incompleteness.
An incompleteness meant to be fixed only by the ring that Shikiyoku herself had on her necklace at that very moment.
Not that any other but Hiei himself would know that.
His red eyes turned to the bracelet on Shikiyoku's wrist now, watching her turn it this way and that with a carefully blank expression.
And really, he wasn't surprised when she gave the final no to the sale. Really, he agreed with her in that a set like that was meant to be worn to parties, to dances, to formal events that would make it sparkle when she moved.
It was something he'd known when he'd crafted it, that she would only wear it to such an event. Part of him wished he could give her those events on a grand scale.
Instead, he turned his eyes to the salesboy who opened his mouth to press more, and spoke over him.
"As intriguing as the set is, it is- as you said- incomplete. And overpriced for such an incompletion. Even a thief wouldn't lay a hand on it."
He turned to Shikiyoku again, raising a brow as if to ask if she was ready to leave.
Internally, he thought of all that he'd give for her to be able to have such things as these and all that it came with. *
Shikiyoku nodded once at Hiei that they could go, though she had to make an extended effort not to narrow her eyes at him as they turned away, searching his crimson gaze for the truth that he did not speak.
Deciding she would rather be cautious, she made a comment to him as they moved together out of the store and into the street.
(You are not allowed to go back and purchase that.) 3
Hiei's eyes turned up from Shikiyoku as he guided her from the store, though he did not immediately look back down at her when she remarked to him about buying the set. It did amuse him, however, thinking about buying his own piece back.
(It wouldn't be fun if you had such a set without any cause to wear all of it at once.)
Because I can't give you a cause to wear it for.
(Also, it's expensive. Overpriced.)
Because I made it so.
(Not particularly worth it given that it's missing a piece.) *
Shikiyoku shook her head.
(I suppose if the creator intended it to have a ring, then, yes, it is incomplete. I'm not really sure why he would have made that known...perhaps...)
She smiled, finding that this time when the wave of hatred swept over her, it did not make her want to collapse, though she made sure to stay in contact with Hiei and lost in the little world he had created around the two of them.
(I am certain it is worth that cost to the jeweler, whether because they did not wish it to sell or some other reason.)
Even she had come across pieces she wouldn't have dared ask to wear because she knew the jeweler had someone else in mind. She would not have done it justice in any case.
(Regardless, the maker put that price and they do not do so lightly, and regardless of its completion, they obviously had a reason as to why the ring is not with its brethren.)
Accompanying her assessment of the situation was a supreme feeling of satisfaction with whomever had done so.
(Cost and incompletion: they did not want it to sell. Shrewd. That set is meant for someone very specific, that was the impression I got just by looking at it. It would not be the first time something like that has been done and it will not be the last.)
A blot of sadness mixed with longing floated into their bond as if she mourned that the right demon had not come along.
(Sometimes such things are done as an expression of unrequited love, or for someone that doesn't even know the other exists. On display for all to see and yet so private that no one may ever know.)
(I hope whomever made it finds their...) She searched for a word that might complete the expression she wished to convey. (...finds their Wind.)
While Shikiyoku felt as though her allotted number of kisses that she could give to Hiei had been met for the next-how long had she been gone? Several decades? Time had passed differently for the both of them anyway-century or so, she still tilted her head back just enough to cut her eyes in his direction as she found herself giving the smile only he ever got, resisting the urge to stretch up and press her lips against his cheek. 3
Hiei listened with rapt interest, as if he hadn't thought of this all before this moment. He walked her down the street, his eyes finally remaining locked on her with a keen gaze. Each word that came across the bond held more weight to it for him than she may ever know, really, but above all he found her satisfaction of it more rewarding than her being able to understand his intentions- not that he didn't think she would.
But really, he hadn't thought she'd ever lay eyes on the pieces, much less get to actually wear them.
Her Wind comment struck him, almost pulling him to a pause as he stared blankly at her, that expression slowly shifting into a wry smirk.
(I enjoy your insightfulness.) *
Shikiyoku gave a laugh, "I didn't mean to bore you."
(I'm not insightful. Just old.)
Her eyes gleamed. 3
For a while, Hiei didn't reply, only giving Shiki the smallest of smirks in her direction as they walked through the rest of the town with the world beginning to darken around them. He became more aware of the increase of bodies on the street, and with that, the increase of stares and whispers, which goaded Hiei into occupying Shikiyoku with images through the bond of his days without her- of the characters he'd met in the bar, of the demons he'd had slight skirmishes with here and there when he'd wandered away from Kafu's supervision, and of other things that he hoped would at least keep her entertained.
Especially when he recalled the one time Uryo had entered the establishment, and somehow, a game of cards had been struck up until a tournament had been started that lasted a whole week.
Hiei had started it.
Hiei had also won- though he knew that Uryo could have won if he'd chosen to do so.
So by the time Hiei guided Shikiyoku into the Niiro Kaga, it was full of demons already drunk and loud, and music played from somewhere in the room. He guided her to the stairs, knowing that she would not feel comfortable in a room full of staring drunks. *
It was never easy, the walk back to the Niiro, because she did not think that someone like her who had been the belle of many a ball could ever get used to the hatred now aimed at her, a hatred none of them could truly explain, and one that there was no point in attempting to make them understand.
Tainted or Kuraku, she would not be admired in their eyes.
But as a creature of love, while she may have embraced her energy's opposite, there was no room within her for such hate, and being the focal point of it hurt that much more.
She could not have made that walk without Hiei.
The warm lights of the Niiro did place a buffer of some sorts between her and the general public of the street, and she looked up long enough to find that Kasai was not there, though a reassuring nod from Kafu told her things were fine.
If not for Kafu, and for the busyness of the bar, there might have been more than a few looks in her direction, but her and Hiei were thankfully allowed to weave silently in companionship through the crowd towards the stairs.
A waitress passed in front of them with a drink Shikiyoku knew to be a proposition and she pulled her lips into her mouth and bit down on them to keep from laughing, her shoulders giving a brief shake, recalling the drink she had sent Hiei as a half-joke when she arrived.
Sadly, he had not actually consumed the beverage, so she was under no obligation to actually act upon the promises of it.
Sadly, indeed. 3
Hiei wove a path for both himself and Shikiyoku first through the streets of the Ninth, and second through the crowds of the Niiro Kaga, his fingers not so much as even twitching away from the hold she still had on his hand. Her sense of nervousness was palpable to him even without the bond warning him of it, thick enough on the air that perhaps any empathic-oriented demons would find themselves on edge for reasons the likely would not have been able to explain.
It was because of this that he made the trip a quick and short one, making sure that he kept the bond active with his own thoughts here and there. And even when the door to his board shut behind them, those thoughts continued on.
(-actually a very quiet night in the bar.)
Really, even he wasn't sure what he was on about at the moment.
If she had asked any questions about something he'd said, he wouldn't have been able to answer her. Not without using his telepathy to lift the memories of what he'd said from that brilliant mind of hers, anyway.
Thankfully, this room felt like a world all its own, shut out from everything else.
(You should rest.) *
When the door closed behind them, it left the pair standing just inside in blessed silence and Shikiyoku found her eyes closing as she took in a deep breath through her mouth and let it out her nose.
After all these years, the enchantments on the room had not waned.
It seemed almost an eternity ago that he had awoken in her arms here, on that bed. And thankfully her memories of times without him were far from her thoughts.
In no small part due to the rambling demon next to her.
She glanced at him, but refrained from making a comment about his talkativeness. After all, it had worked in keeping her occupied. And technically he had said none of it out loud, the impressions of his thoughts merely permeating the space of the bond that they shared between them.
It was almost cheating.
Agreeing with him with both a wordless affirmation in their bond as well as a nod, she moved towards the bed, not bothering to voice her opinion in that he should join her as that too moved into the bond as well. 3
Crimson eyes followed the woman who moved away from him, watching the short strands of hair about her ears bounce around with each gentle step she made. Only a moment after enjoying the little motions of her muscles, her hair, her steps did he follow a step behind her, sensing that she wished for him to join her.
If she'd asked, he'd say he wasn't really tired. His mind was alive with a buzz of thoughts that never really translated into something coherent, so when he did climb onto the top of the covers next to Shikiyoku and wrapped his arms about her middle, he didn't even try closing his eyes. He knew it'd be fruitless.
Instead he let his eyes roam first her face, and then her hair and the new style she wore.
He couldn't decide if he liked the short cut, or the long tresses better. *
As Shikiyoku went to lay down, scooting towards the wall so Hiei could join her, she paused to look back at him, realizing that he had been this whole time allowing the stream of consciousness from his mind full access to the bond between them.
Which meant that any private thoughts or feelings he might have had were not so private.
She did give him a small smile, knowing he watched and was enjoying watching her.
She slouched onto the bed, forgetting as usual the quilt and such, but filling their bond with contentment as he gathered her up, eventually scooting closer when she felt him still looking at her until her cheek found his cloak and rested against it, her hand moving next to it and over his core.
(I'm not going anywhere, you know. You watch me as if I might disappear at any moment.) 3
It was only after Shikiyoku spoke that he realized his mind remained open to the bond, allowing any and all thoughts to pass through without filter or guard. He blinked, wondering just when he'd actually allowed it to open as fully as it did.
He restricted only a few thoughts from passing.
Thoughts mainly centered around the jewelry store in the town, and anything to do with it that did not rightly involve just how much he'd enjoyed the glittering gems on her wrist. And other than those particular thoughts, anything was free to move from thought to bond as it pleased, remaining open for her to read if she so desired.
(In my defense, it's happened far too many times.)
He paused, making some sound or another in thought.
(Or perhaps I've just not yet recovered.)
Maybe both are true.
Across the bond, an impression of a shrug slid through. *
Shikiyoku pulled back to look into Hiei's face, studying him.
(Did I feel this warm in your arms in dreams?)
She briefly ignited her mark upon him, just long enough that it would spread over his skin and disappear at the ends.
(Was I able to light your markings?)
Still gazing at him, she paused.
(Or is there something I did not do that I could now? Simply to set your mind at ease?) 3
Hiei's eyes trailed down to meet the ones that gazed up at him, a brow raised in curiosity and a corner of his lips twitching upward in expectation. And really, with her questions being one after another, he decided to wait until the third to answer her.
On some level, he considered that she may be teasing him.
But at this moment, he was not going to taunt back.
"Your warmth?" He repeated first, just before releasing a breath through his nostrils in what could have been an amused huff if he'd allowed it to fully exhale. "My only source of warmth came from the light you brought to my dreams, to the words you spoke."
Verbally, this was the only answer she received.
Through the bond, she received images of himself lying with her, tangled in a mess of sheets only because he had been as such at the time. Images of her hand always at his core, of the light always gleaming with promise of her return to his side.
(And when those dreams would end, I would be left with the cold again.) *
Shikiyoku let out a kind-hearted chuckle, closing her eyes.
"Silly fire demon."
(If you were truly cold, you should have warmed yourself back up. I am not necessary for that. You, who can regulate your body temperature and the air around you...I doubt I truly feel warm to you at all.) 3
Finally, Hiei's lips parted to let out a small huff of amusement, a small smirk resting on his features and his eyelids sliding closed. He curled himself closer to her until his nose met the top of her head, where a few of her stray hairs tickled his nose when he breathed.
He didn't answer, finding that nothing seemed satisfactory.
And really, he couldn't decide how serious he wanted to be in the moment, so silence seemed a better option. *
It had been difficult to only give him that answer instead of doing the first thing that had popped into her mind-giving him a kiss-which while she highly doubted was anything he had dreamed about might have broken the moment between them rather disruptively.
In any case, she had been half-teasing him anyway since he had answered the question earlier when he awoke the first time.
Satisfied with his silent presence, Shikiyoku did let herself relax into his embrace, closing her eyes and resting.
As with the hours of that early morning, she merely drifted along the top of her consciousness, not actually falling asleep, but entering a just as restful sort of meditation, aware that a drop into actual sleep would allow the hungry eyes and groans of the Infected treading the edges of her peace full access.
So, to keep them at bay, she remained awake, knowing that eventually she would have to face her nightmares, but also having been unable to appreciate Hiei's arms in life instead of just dreams for so long, staying awake did not seem too much a bother and more an enjoyment of his physical manifestation. 3
Hiei let the silence overtake them, his consciousness slowly shutting itself away from the bond bit by bit until his thoughts were private, and only what he wished to traverse to her traversed across the bond. He lay there, eyes closed and a slight smile on his face as he thought of the past twenty-four or so hours.
And really, the only things Hiei's brain decided to linger on was the way the bracelet he'd made looked against Shikiyoku's skin, and how the demons of this Level had began to regard her.
And really, there was no room in his mind for much else, as the rest of him leaned closer to sleep, but never reaching that point. He lay awake for many hours, thoughts mingling together little by little.
The closer it came to dawn, the less Hiei was able to think. Sure, the emotions on those thoughts remained, but the words themselves didn't seem able to manifest anymore. He stretched his toes a little, as if that would work out the kinks in his shoulders or his back from the previous decade of sleeping alone.
And in response to that shift, Shikiyoku shifted a little closer, a hand moving to scratch at her face, making him realize that she too remained awake, and had been the entire time.
She'd been unable to sleep as well, he knew.
He brushed his nose gently against the top of her head, briefly wondering what kept her awake before he realized that he himself had been unable to sleep, and even felt a little restless were it not for her there beside him.
His eyelids blinked open again as a thought crossed his mind, and suddenly he was pulling away a little, tugging at one of Shikiyoku's hands in a silent show of come on, follow me. *
Somewhere at the edges of her unconsciousness came a familiarity with being so near the fire demon's warmth, though not for the first time that day did she find herself completely taken aback by the smell of cloves in the place of charcoal, and as equally surprised that the scent in her mind had changed so drastically.
It had been the one thing that time had not taken from her, whereas his face had towards the end become much faded from her memory.
Still feeling somewhat sleepy, even if the rest had restored her from the weariness the world had placed over her, Shikiyoku gratefully accepted Hiei's urging and popped open her eyes to follow after him. 3
Hiei uncurled from around Shikiyoku and slid away from her, gently tugging her hand every so often until he was standing, where he waited until she slid to her own two feet from the bed before he turned and lead her from the room.
Instead of going right, towards the stairs and subsequently, the bar, as most demons would, Hiei turned the other way, leading Shikiyoku further down the hall, eyeing the numbers on the doors he passed.
His free hand found a key in his pocket, and it only took a moment for Hiei to pause in front of the end door on the left and unlock it, at which point he turned to guide Shiki inside and closed the door behind her.
the room, usually meant to be another bedroom, had been completely changed it seemed. Where a bed had once been was now an L-shaped workbench with various tools strewn across the surface at the front, a large machine sitting in the corner at the right. On the wall above the desk was pegboard, lined with even more tools, each small enough to fit in one's hand, and a set of drawers hung just above the wooden surface.
Where a dresser had once been sat a red bean-bag chair, one that was noticeably worn from nights where Hiei himself had slept in it after finishing whatever required his presence in the large office chair between the far wall and the desk.
Hiei guided Shikiyoku to the chair in front of the desk, it soft and cushioned and rather new-looking compared to everything else in the room. He released his hold on her, allowing her the option to either sit in front of the desk or in the bean bag across the room, and he circled the desk to sit in the tall-back chair.
He opened and closed drawer after drawer in the desk, pulling things out and replacing them with various things that had cluttered the surface. He pulled out various plastic boxes and little leather pouches, none of which made any sort of noise at all, and then some sharp tools that, had one not known any better, would have been deemed almost too sharp to handle.
A few minutes passed as Hiei set up his workstation, never once looking up or saying anything to the woman in the room, though there was a new sense of warmth in the bond resonating from his end of things.
And finally, after about fifteen minutes, Hiei opened one of the little leather pouches and carefully slid out the contents onto the desk, several medium-sized black jewels landing in front of him.
He inspected each one, turning them this way and that. While one hand held the jewel, the other reached up to pull his headband away from his Jagan, revealing that it had opened sometime during his moments in the room, but did not seem to be interested in anything other than the jewels he held.
At the last, he set to work, grabbing the sharpest of the tools and taking it to the gemstones, slowly moving it around and around the jewel, slicing away bits almost as if it were made of butter, carving designs into the blackness that almost resembled a snake's scales. *
The soles of her shoes made no noise on the floor beneath them as she and Hiei went the other way down the hall, slipping inside a different door into a room that she knew Kafu must have assisted in outfitting, given the changes in decor.
The setup was a somewhat familiar one, though everything here smelled and felt like Hiei, a sensation that immediately set Shikiyoku at ease, as if he had somehow expanded to be the entire room itself and now shielded her himself from outside contempt.
When he released her, she at first let him move beyond her as she initially turned and stepped up to the various things in the room that were so very much his, knowing by looking how he had slept in this chair, or seeing which of the tools had remained untouched the longest.
Ears perking up to the gentle sounds of meticulous work, Shikiyoku meandered her way back towards Hiei, resisting an urge to circle the desk and lean against him-though her memories gave her plenty of options besides simply leaning from past encounters in situations much like these-though she at first only stood over the worktable.
She watched as the design took shape, the passage of time unimportant as she felt almost as if she worked with him, catching sight of the particular etching he meant to do or the shaping that needed done just as he adjusted to do so.
Eventually, something of a dragon's form was laying out before them, and it was only then that he once again shifted away from the center of the space to collect a smaller pouch and remove two more gems of a brightness and opacity that she recognized.
...oh.
She shifted in place, but did not sit down, her hand instead reaching up to fiddle with the ring on the leather around her neck.
That...makes sense.
She did feel a little ridiculous about all the things she said before though in regards to the jewelry in the shop, recognizing now the things that had been his which were most of the things, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.
And if that wasn't enough, she suddenly felt a second presence wash its gaze over her and looked up to realize Hiei had at some point freed the Jagan from its confines.
Being caught in her uncomfortableness coupled with the memories of the last time she had encountered the Jagan froze her in place, her body stiffening as it appeared to look her up and down.
It was in this way that she missed the last part of Hiei's minute workings as he linked the pieces in front of him together, her caught by the intensity of the Eye and unable to even shift her weight from one foot to the other. 3
Even though Hiei did not look up during his work, he knew that Shikiyoku watched, as the Jagan told him of her calm gaze on his busy hands, of her standing so utterly still that it thought she would make a rather lovely statue. Funny, how he'd forgotten what it felt of her. How it regarded her after the last time it had seen her.
Just as he was wrapping up, the Jagan made a comment.
"She seems uncomfortable."
Because you're staring.
"...should I blink? Would that ease her?"
Hiei almost let out a breath, but instead he finished the last touches of the bracelet and held it closer to a lamp nearby, a hand switching it on so that he may test the lighting on the cut of jewels.
The Jagan blinked at her anyway, having never turned away from Shikiyoku.
"She's grown."
Hiei pulled away from the light, simultaneously pushing his chair away from the desk so he could stand and move around the desk to present the jewels to Shikiyoku with clasp open, showing he'd place it on her wrist for her if she decided to accept.
"As have you." *
If she could actually form a thought-possibly a self-defense mechanism given the manner of being that currently had her in its thrall-she would likely have harbored some sort of confusion as to why she of all things in the room was being stared at.
Some part of her remained concerned that at any moment it would pick up right where she and it left off, which had been back when it absorbed her energy which Hiei had irritatedly injected himself with during her stint with Mukuro's scientists, and suggest a few things that she might do, any of which she felt certain Hiei would not welcome.
When it blinked and did not reopen aglow with her energy, Shikiyoku mentally shook herself and felt comfortable in any case assuming that the energy within it was long gone.
She felt strangely reminded of her first encounter with it. Though the circumstances were quite different indeed she felt no less wary with it staring at her now than she had then, perhaps more so given that she did not have waves of her energy spurring her onwards this time.
Her attention returned to Hiei when he began to move back towards her, and she felt surprised at the gesture he made, as if she hadn't until this moment actually realized he meant the bracelet for her.
And even as if out of an old habit her arm moved towards him in response and he placed it upon her skin, she found herself stammering and reddening further, disarmed already by the stare of the Jagan and further moved off kilter by this gift her Consort so freely offered.
"I-It's much too pretty, I-I couldn't..." 3
Hiei clasped the bracelet around Shikiyoku's slender wrist and then stepped back a couple of inches to assess it against her skin. The eyes of the little dragon glittered in the dim lighting of the room, as if it had an energy all its own, and he couldn't help but be proud of how it looked on her wrist.
He only hoped that if she changed forms the connections between each jewel would adjust accordingly, that he'd accounted for such a growth accordingly.
He and the Jagan both blinked at Shiki when she began, but never finished her sentence. While Hiei himself remained amusedly quiet, the Jagan took it upon itself to speak to her as if speaking to an old friend.
"Even the dragon could not deny you this gift. After all, it would look best on the wrist of the person it is intended for." It paused to blink one more time in an almost cat-like fashion, slow and calm. "You owe him nothing except what you've already given him." *
Shikiyoku didn't look up from the glimmering jewelry, as she had with the other bracelet put upon her that day slowly turning her wrist left and right to admire the handiwork.
"And what, exactly, is that?" She finally looked up to address the Jagan. "Nothing that he has not given me in return."
"Hiei...I..." She smiled through her words as she tried to collect them together, lowering her face and shaking her head. "A ring, a bracelet...and me without anything to offer. How unprepared of me. It is an excuse for my neglect, but as I recall you are want for nothing." She did finally grin at him. "Is that still the case?" 3
The Jagan did not at first answer, only looking her up and down in speculation as she went on to speak to Hiei.
The fire demon stared at Shikiyoku calmly, after a moment raising a brow as if he hadn't even considered her needing to return a gift to him in exchange for these. His head tilted ever so slightly, the tips of his hair leaning to the right with the motion.
"I already have what I want," came his reply after a few beats of silence. "However, I recall a promise made some time ago, that if I should find myself wanting anything, that I should get it at your behest. When the day comes- when I think of something more important than what I have now- I will ask it of you."
In truth, having Shikiyoku at his side was all he really wanted, and she'd already granted that desire- perhaps without her even knowing it. At least, it was enough for this moment.
What he wanted most to ask of her, something he'd battled himself about for a while now, the Jagan turned inwards with a cautionary tone aimed at him. "She is not yet ready, young fire."
Hiei let out a hum of amusement, as if he'd thought of something funny.
"You've done well, Femme Fatale," chimed the Jagan to the woman, the eye slowly closing as if to end the conversation. "More than you know." *
I did make that promise, didn't I?
She couldn't say she specifically remembered it, but upon being reminded, yes, she had granted him what amounted to a boon.
I do so hate owing anyone anything.
But I suppose for you, like Kasai, I will make an exception.
In truth, like Kasai, she owed Hiei her life. Her sanity, if nothing else, but Hiei had saved her life on more than one occasion too. And though any former colleagues from what seemed like an eternity ago would have held over her head both the boons as well as her faux pas of not being prepared with something tangible to give him in return, thankfully she had no reason to save face in front of the fire demon whose life had not been spent in the inner circles of society.
She wasn't quite sure what to make of the calm Jagan that spoke to her, neither it nor its name for her, however appropriate she felt it may have been for that age-old Shikiyoku and not the current one, so she simply raised an eyebrow at it before looking back at Hiei.
"Well, see that you do, fire prince. I do so dislike having my thanks go unrewarded. I don't often have to keep tabs on to whom I owe favors. I'm out of practice." 3
Hiei shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes remaining at Shikiyoku's face as she at first seemed to be thinking about what he said, and then turned to talking to him. For a moment, he wondered what the Jagan might have said to her- he'd seen the glance to his forehead she'd given- but promptly decided he didn't much care at the moment.
He did, however, wish that he could ask of her what had plagued him since months ago.
He'd wait, though. And in that time, he would stare at her as he did now, eyes roving from the tip of the strand of hair that stood on end from where the pillow had met it, to the tips of her toes that hadn't so much as twitched since he'd lead her to this room.
He eyed the dragon at her wrist, and then the gleaming of her own eyes when he'd again returned his stare to hers.
And suddenly he couldn't quite remember what had been said. *
As she spoke, Shiki took note of how he had started to look her up and down, and had the fire demon been anyone else, it likely would have been quite the invitation, and one which a demon like Shikiyoku would not have denied.
She sensed nothing of the kind, and proceeded to file it away as him reforming the image of herself in his mind, a reaction she could understand given how much he had faded from hers.
Then why am I doing that?
Below the surface of her skin, Shikiyoku's energy set her to tingling, her eyes dodging to the right as she tried in futility to get it under control before sighing, feeling the gleam cascading over her irises, though the energy released on the air was greatly reduced from what it might have been if her hair was longer. 3
As Hiei stared, he watched as she turned her eyes from his and to the side, avoiding his gaze. At first, he didn't quite know why, only that he found it both amusing and frustrating at the same time. He wanted to see that sparkle in her eyes, and the smile she always had just for him.
He inhaled a breath, suddenly realizing the room smelled just that much more of her, and at the same time, remembering that it was an indication of her unseen energy. Energy that usually sparked in her eyes. Energy that he could faintly sense from the bond.
And her eyes that were still turned away from him.
Oh.
For a split moment, he didn't feel as if he were in his jewelry-making room. Instead, he was in the bar, drunkenly looking around the room from person to person, sizing up each demon one after another, until his eyes landed on some demoness who he'd caught staring. He'd looked her up and down, taking in every inch of her, searching for weapons as demons on this Level were highly skilled assassins and Hiei had been rampaging for years up to this point. He'd turned away after identifying them all.
And yet in the next moment, the demon had slid into the chair next to his at the bar, facing him with a drink in one hand while the other reached out to toy with the end of his cloak sleeve.
When he'd ignored her, she had scooched closer, earning a stare from the corner of his eye to spy an odd-looking smile on her face.
He couldn't really remember the moments inbetween at this point, but the fire demon did recall it ending with the other assuming he'd wished to bed her, and then growling at him when he gave no further prompting.
"As if anyone would mate you."
Those had been the words she'd said. His following thought, he remembered, had had something to do with Shikiyoku.
With that remembrance came another oh. He turned his own eyes to the side, realizing that she likely thought the same as the first who had mistaken his stare- not that he thought she considered him repulsive or anything of the sort. Simply that, if the Jagan was right, she wasn't ready.
Here he realized that that was likely why she'd reacted to his stare every time before this one, where her energy had reacted to his gaze every time. And how she had kept a certain distance between herself and him in the beginning, as if afraid he might turn her away were she to get too close.
Everything seemed to fall together in his mind, like pieces of a puzzle with thousands of pieces. It created a picture that told him to wait, to turn his eyes away and not push his own luck.
There would be a right time and place. This time, and this place, was not it. *
Shikiyoku had made note of it before, how some things had most certainly changed in the fire demon that was her Consort.
This thing was not one of them.
This inability she had of controlling herself, or rather her energy, when around him.
Same stare as always.
Same reaction.
Maybe some things never change.
Her eyes caught sight of the gleaming bracelet at her wrist and her gaze, while still brimming with an energy she could not rightly help, softened, feeling transmitted between them something of Hiei's thankfulness at having her finally returned and finding that the pink at her cheeks also did not wane.
"Thank you, Hiei. It's beautiful." 3
Hiei did not respond, though his expression did shift to one of calm cheer. His lips twitched into the ghost of a smile, as if he fought the action, and his eyelids closed over his irises as if to curtain them from the world.
Through the bond was transmitted an impression of anything for you, as if he had been unable to say the words himself. *
The sentiment left Shikiyoku pink and her gaze still looking at the bracelet as if she could not bring herself to raise her head.
Sensing that neither one of them particularly felt as if sleep were an option, and checking her internal clock in regards to the time, she spoke again.
"You know, there is one thing that I haven't had in a long time." Finally managing to lift her face, her eyes still held her unfettered energy within them but now held a certain tinge of mischievousness that was not there before. 3
Hiei let out a small hn from his nostrils before looking up again, opening his eyes to give a curious stare at Shikiyoku, a brow raised and a corner of his lips moving further upwards. Her mischievousness brought out his own, something he hadn't felt since their separation.
"And what might that be?" *
She laughed and reached forward to grab his hand, knowing her intentions weren't quite as "terrible" as he might have thought.
"A drink." She reached up and touched her finger to the tip of his nose. "And I cleansed all of that stuff out of your system last night, so your addiction ought to be null at this point. Though apparently it-"
Runs in the family. Oop.
"-had a pretty firm hold on you, which is why you don't particularly remember much after I took you to bed."
She turned to leave the room, pulling him along behind her. 3
Hiei let Shikiyoku make a grab for him, only moving it slightly forward so that she didn't have to reach as far. When her hand closed around his, he stepped closer, anticipating the moment she would drag him to wherever she wanted to go.
At her mention of drink, however, an image passed by the front of his mind of a rather colorful glass being slid his way, though the rest after that long forgotten.
The moment she took a step forward, he was following after, a brow raised. "And which one will you be having first?" He asked, curious and amused all at once. *
Making her way down the hall towards the stairs, Shikiyoku put a finger up to her chin to tap it as if seriously considering the question before replying over her shoulder with an, "All of them. Or whatever is put before me."
Hiei may have spent most of his time drinking it away, but Shikiyoku hadn't had a drink since before they entered Mukuro's Fortress, and being in the prime real estate for remedying such a travesty meant such remedying needed to commence.
Was she not to celebrate her successful venture through the entirety of the Nine Levels in this manner? And making it alive, if a little worse for the wear, back to her Consort?
Oh right. Did have that drink with Kasai at The Last Stand. Or seven.
…
Doesn't count.
"Scratch that. You know exactly what drink I'm having first. And so does Kafu, I imagine!" The last line was spoken a little louder as she and Hiei started down the stairs.
Kafu glanced out to the rest of them room first before meeting her eyes.
It was all the warning she needed for the group of demons in the back, the only patrons at this hour, who set their steely gazes upon her person.
Internally shaking herself, and for the first time since Hiei activated it within her embracing her energy, Shikiyoku quite literally stuck her nose up in the air, hand still quite firmly in Hiei's, and marched across the floor to the bar to slide into a seat that already had a filled mug in front of it.
A second group appeared at the front entrance, and while a couple of them immediately turned and left, the rest merely scowled at her and kept going, the waitress approaching them once they sat down. 3
Hiei followed Shikiyoku all the way into the bar, where he took the seat to her right at the bar, glancing at Kafu with a raised brow in consideration before shaking his head once, deciding to pass on the first drink so that he may watch the others in the room if needed.
He turned to face her, one elbow on the bar and his weight against the countertop as he watched her.
(You deserve it, the drink.) *
Shikiyoku did reach for the tankard and wrapped her fingers around it, giving Hiei a look-
(I do.)
-but not actually taking a drink yet, instead turning to pout at him.
"Gonna make me drink alone? Rude."
(They're not worth the effort.) 3
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!