A/N: Hello once again, Audience.
Alright. So I leave for Italy this Wednesday. What I am going to try and do is at least have chapters ready to post for the next few Mondays while I am gone, but don't expect them to have/say anything aside from the contents of the chapters themselves. I plan on catching up on everything when I get back, but that won't be until mid-July!
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]™
The rest of the time up to opening day seemed to fly by as final preparations were made.
And really, it couldn't be said that Shikiyoku didn't make sure everything would be ready, that the shelves were well-stocked and the speakers for music worked and there were places to sit and places to dance.
With Hiei gone in the days leading up to it, Shikiyoku hadn't slept, or even given a thought to sleeping really. Her mind was filled to the brim with last minute adjustments, and while she herself had accounted for everything that could go wrong, it did not mean that all of her instructions had been followed through. And there was nothing more frustrating than telling someone to do something and finding out it had not been done.
Suffice it to say she had the luxury of banishing an individual as such from the premises, though that didn't mean whatever it was had been done and she still found herself picking up the slack, knowing that if it were possible, she would have done it all herself and finding not for the first time that she wished she had been able to get in contact with Kurama.
Everything fell into place for the most part, but for some reason even after the doors finally, officially opened and the demons began pouring in, she found herself running back and forth, not only greeting all those that came in, but having to fix other problems that had not until this exact moment came up. 3
True to his word, Hiei had stayed with Shikiyoku for a week or two after his return to a massage. He had helped where needed, picked up slack here and there, and even occasionally found little problems here and there and fixed them before anyone else seemed to notice them. And as he'd promised, for those two weeks, his guild members took care of any requests that came up.
Inevitably, though, he'd been pulled away. He would run the Levels with the group he'd somehow ended up with, either until the job was done or he simply couldn't stand being away from Shiki any longer, at which point he'd return for a few days and nights before being called out again.
Frustratingly enough, he'd been pulled away longer this time- gone from the bar for almost a week. Opening Week. The very week that he'd tried his damndest to remain around the bar to help with final touches.
Instead, he found himself making a mad dash for the establishment on the very day of opening, finally reaching the First Level and setting his course for the bar. With each step, he drove himself faster, further, until he was close enough to the bar to see a line out the door of demons trying to get in, looking around one another and talking about the new place.
It wasn't hard to get by the crowd, the way he carried himself telling the others that he was not to be stopped. Even the staff didn't stop him as he passed by several waiters and waitresses, until he came upon Shikiyoku- whom he stopped in front of.
He could hear music, could smell freshly-poured alcohol, and found himself disappointed to not have been the first to order a drink. Instead, he held a hand out for Shikiyoku in offering, an apology for his lateness translating across the bond in tandem with his words.
"Dance with me?" *
The bar was bursting from the seams with supporters and newcomers alike, a place such as this heretofore unseen at this level.
One of the barmaids had stopped Shikiyoku for a question, only to have a handful of other admirers and well-wishers gather around them.
When Hiei appeared next to her, she took note of the offered hand in the midst of a sentence and took it, but had her attention caught up in whatever else was being said.
The others around them made no fuss over Hiei's approach, recognizing instantly the markings upon his face and partnering him with the owner. 3
Hiei didn't quite mind the crowd around himself and Shikiyoku, other than the fact that one, it demanded Shiki's entire attention and two, he could sense her stress at the situation. The fire demon first focused on the barmaid, his eyes finding hers and his ears hearing her words above all others in the area, to which he gave an answer that was the quickest fix without either he or Shiki to physically do it themselves. He said a hello at the people nearby chattering, not particularly caring in that moment for pleasantries, and proceeded to pull Shikiyoku by the hand away from said crowd with an excuse us to the others.
He pulled the clipboard from her hand and planted it on a tray of a passing waitress, not giving her a chance to argue as he moved for the dance floor. *
When Shiki opened her mouth to answer, she found Hiei replying as succinctly as possible before starting to pull her away, her other hand losing its clipboard as she began to stammer in protest.
"Hiei- I-I can't- It-"
(Too busy) 3
Hiei waved his free hand in dismissal, though the look he gave Shikiyoku was one of understanding, yet firm. He eyed her up and down before reaching for her other hand, pulling her to the dance floor until they stood amidst the dancers already present.
(There are plenty of demons here in your care that can handle anything that comes up for just a few minutes.) He paused, pulling her closer so that she may find his gaze- firm and yet somehow soft in his understanding and decision.
(So, shut up and dance with me, woman. Enjoy your opening day just for a little while, and then we will both work. Together. All night if need be.) *
(I- It-) She gave one last little tug as if he might actually release her, eyes bouncing around the room and catching sight of a handful of things that had unfortunately cropped up, that had not even the few days before when they had the few pre-opening metaphorical "Guinea Pigs" to do a trial run been an issue.
She let out a partially exasperated sigh, knowing that Hiei would get his way in this particular instance and trying to relax into his hold.
Looking up at him through glasses covered eyes, she stuck her tongue out at him as if it would help. 3
As Hiei pulled Shikiyoku closer, at first unmoving from where they stood, he took the time to gaze down at her with a calm look- one that showed the last vestiges of his former grumpiness that was beginning to ebb just by being in her presence- despite her argument.
Her tongue sticking out at him, though, was quickly reciprocated without any forethought, his expression unchanging despite the gesture.
(Nyeh yourself, woman.)
With that, he pulled her into a spin not unlike the beginnings of their very first dance, which may or may not have completely countered the music playing in the establishment. *
Shikiyoku fell more trustingly into Hiei's arms, wondering briefly how long it had been since they danced like this and at what point she'd forgotten how good it felt to do so.
Feeling the turn just as readily as she had always done, she spun away from him and back, rather oblivious at the moment to any actions being taken around them, as he had successfully pulled her into his own little world.
Returning her hand into his own for a moment, the other going back to his shoulder, and feeling a bit of a reddened blush to her cheeks, a sudden tension of 'Oh!' struck her as if she had remembered something, and her free hand left him as she looked down and gave a tug at the strip of dark leather around her neck, pulling it out from under her blouse to let it rest in plain view before resting her hand where it had been moments before. 3
Hiei's entire countenance changed, relaxed, as Shikiyoku came back from her spin, all earlier worries melting away so that he could enjoy this moment with the woman who looked up at him.
He had noticed the necklace the moment he'd laid eyes on Shikiyoku, but had preferred to simply pull her into a dance at the time. To see her pull it into view made the fire demon blink, honestly having thought she wouldn't remember.
His pride swelled however, and he pulled her closer as he took the next few steps around the floor, content with the moment and more than willing to immerse himself in her. *
Satisfied, Shikiyoku returned her complete attention to Hiei with a smile.
(Though really-) She gave the slightest wriggle to either side with each of her following words. (As if anyone had any doubt.)
(Especially right now.) 3
More than satisfied after their dance, Hiei had stepped in to help Shikiyoku with the bar, the pair working alongside one another and her hired help like a well-oiled machine. Little by little, problems were being fixed- some before anyone even noticed they were a problem.
He had intended to pull her away for rest at some point. Truly, he did.
But as the night began to turn to morning, Hiei's guild members all returned- most looking a little worse for the wear, the rest staggering as they carried the others. They'd gained his full attention, and before long, Hiei was giving Shikiyoku a quick kiss- hoping it would stay him until his return- and he was out the door.
Thankfully, things had come under control enough that he felt confident that things would run well in his absence.
So he left the bar, alone, leaving his worn guild members behind to recuperate. *
I never know what to expect with you.
Shikiyoku watched Hiei's back as he darted out the front door, blinking for a second as she tried to get her mind together again before she noted the newer arrivals in the bar and recognized them, and subsequently the reason why Hiei ducked out.
Without hesitation, the mercs were all brought drinks as Shikiyoku herself either mixed or served them or both. And while she may not have realized it, she made just as much fuss about them as if they were in her own charge, up to and including wrapping various injuries that they had troubled doing themselves.
When she finally finished attending the last of them for a moment, a fresh batch of patrons entered and she became swept up in her work until she couldn't really say when.
Sometime in the midst of it all, she had a couple of demons come whisper in her ear about the last of the other room upstairs being finished and she passed her current orders in hand to the nearest worker, seeing the pair of demons that spoke to her sit down to join some others as she made haste towards the door opposite the main entrance and began climbing the stairs.
Sticking her head into Hiei's room-his door was open-she made sure nothing within had been touched and then shut it behind her as she moved for the other room.
Stepping inside, she scanned the contents, flicked the overhead lights on and then off again, seeing that the furniture had been placed satisfactorily, and immediately moved towards the bed, checking first the side nearest the door and then circling around to the other side, where there had been placed a bedside table.
The lamp here also got turned on and off as she sat down and bounced the bed a couple of times before going ahead and shifting to prop her feet up on it.
It's actually...really comfortable.
And while she had only meant to lay her head down on the pillows to experience it, her eyes immediately shut and she dropped off to sleep. 3
Hiei ran the levels at full speed, the Jagan wide open and set on a target that had quite a lead on him still. Time seemed inconsequential to him, as if no longer than a second passed since he'd left the bar after conferring with the guys who'd enlightened him on the demon who'd intruded.
It only seemed like minutes passed before Hiei was heading back to the bar, money in pocket and the smell of blood on the air- nobody attacked his guild members and got away with it.
It seemed only moments before he was passing coins around the table where his men had gathered in the center of the room, each enjoying tall glasses of whatever they desired, clinking them together every so often in merriment for this or that.
They hadn't needed to thank him verbally- their thanks was shown by the respect in their eyes and the smirks on their faces as they told jokes and stories of times before now.
He left them to their storytelling and moved for the stairs, having known the moment he'd stepped onto the First Level again that Shikiyoku had changed from one form to the other. So it was with this knowledge that he did not hesitate to push the door to her room open and step inside the darkness. It was without hesitation that he closed the door behind himself before he turned with every intent on laying next to her to ease her slumber.
It was not his intent by any means to pause just inside the room to stare at the bare back of the long, white-haired demon lying on the bed. *
It seemed as if they were waiting for her this time, waiting for her guard to drop and sleep to render her defenceless against them, the shadows, the groaning, the unseeing eyes that only held the desire to consume.
And all at once she was running back among them, diving into their midst for reasons that did not have to be explained, and almost instantly driving them back as her dark energy erupted around her, both within the dream and without, leaving behind a scar-ridden body and a light-haze of her energy in the waking world.
Her body twitched once before it appeared as if nothing were wrong, though behind her lids, her eyes darted back and forth as she swerved and ducked and danced among the mindless, countless, attackers who sought her energy, who craved it, who took it from her without second thought.
Strangely enough, in such a state the nightmare appeared to bother her less, as if a single-minded determination replaced any fear there might have been, leaving her to do the only thing she knew, and executed as skillfully within the limitations of imperfection as she could.
Eventually the nightmarish dream faded, and she grew still once more. 3
Hiei stood within the darkness, silent as the rest of the world that was the upstairs of the bar. His eyes took note of scars he hadn't before laid eyes upon, some older than others, the very oldest ones being slashes across her back that he almost, maybe, might have been able to identify were this another situation.
He knew he should probably cover her up.
But the thought of moving closer seemed to be what held him where he stood. He didn't at first understand why, only that this was the first time he'd ever been so struck.
When the understanding did cross him?
….
He still had no idea what to do. *
All at once Shikiyoku shifted over onto her other side, pillowing her head with the arm underneath her, the curtain of her hair draping over across her skin and coming to a rest as it started to shift over in front of her. Her clothing had ripped apart with the dramatic change in size, and laid in pieces around her, some of it under her and some scattered behind or on the floor.
Her hand slipped out from under her hair and reached for something it did not find, crinkling into and gathering the blanket between her fingers as her face gave the slightest change in expression as she huffed out a quiet breath from her nose and her light-colored brows drew down further over her scarred face.
It was this absence of person that had her eyes blinking open to see that, yes, the one she had been in sleep reaching for was not there, but as she caught sight of the darker shape near the door she found the one she searched for there, staring at her in a manner she did not, or rather could not, currently understand.
After a beat, it hit her, and while she still couldn't fathom why he stared-this body had once been so very much without peer and now sported scars the likes of which in her mind ruined what had once been exalted-she did start to push herself up, knowing that as in long time past her hair covered a great deal of her from view, and turned to swing her legs over the edge of the bed away from him, tugging free from underneath the comforter the sheet and wrapping it around her as she stood up to her full height, the material gathered into her hand as the rest of it fell to the floor, leaving the majority of her back and torso exposed as it draped lazily behind her, her long hair over her shoulders.
She only barely turned her head towards her shoulder as she stood there for another moment before speaking up.
"...I am sorry, little fire." She rumbled quietly into the still air. "I did not mean to...make you uncomfortable." 3
Uncomfortable?
Was he uncomfortable? Was he necessarily comfortable? Was there anything that might help him form words in this moment?
The only thing that Hiei could do was stare at the taller female who shifted until she stood, the blanket she had commandeered covering only about half of her back- the scars peeking at him from below the material.
The fire demon made a small sound, though really there was no meaning behind said response.
Because he still didn't know what to do.
He was just…
She was…
Hn. *
Shikiyoku finally turned to walk around the side of the bed, coming to a pause for a moment as she assessed things downstairs.
She wasn't exactly needed, but perhaps the excuse would free Hiei from his...uncomfortableness and allow him the chance to return to his quarters and rest.
"There is a shift to cover." Hiei was standing in front of the doorway, which made it difficult to pass, so she only took the few steps towards him as she spoke. "If you'll excuse me." 3
Hiei's eyes followed Shikiyoku as she circled the bed, noting the hand that held the sheet at her collarbone before looking further up to catch her gaze. He blinked once, at first not really realizing what she'd said.
Though instead of a lightbulb popping over his head when the realization dawned on him, there might have been a spark or two that probably, maybe would have lit a fire on anything nearby, had he not been just far enough away from the door.
Another little spark turned to a small flame nearby before dissipating.
"You're not excused," came his cool reply with a shake of his head. "Not like that, you're not." *
Shikiyoku stopped and blinked down at the fire demon who remained standing in her path.
The sparks flitting into existence confused her, as under normal circumstances she likely would have attributed them with his anger. But within the bond she felt no such emotion, and in truth felt just as confused by the curious "white noise" effect passing from him to her within it.
A single, white eyebrow rose higher on her face and she blinked at him again.
"And how exactly would you propose excusing me, then?" 3
"There is no excuse for you," came his immediate response, another spark or two flying into existence before disappearing. And really, that's about all he could come up with to say. *
She wasn't about to leave the room, not when she still was unsure as to whether he was actually angry at her or not. She didn't think so, but whatever buzzed between them in their bond made it difficult for her to read.
"...are you...upset with me, little fire? Have I done something wrong?" 3
Hiei found his brow raising a little; what on the Nine Levels made her assume such a thing? He blinked once, making an attempt at gathering his thoughts before he opened his mouth.
"You have not kissed me hello yet." A smaller spark flew this time, and a slight smirk found his lips. "I'm terribly disappointed in you, Enchantress." *
Shikiyoku's head tilted to the side and she blinked again before giving a shake of her head, her eyes closing for a moment before she stepped forward.
"Your enchantress is not here right now." She murmured as she bent over to plant a kiss amidst the hair at the top of his forehead. "So I will have to do." 3
Hiei did not so much as inch in any direction, not even closer to the woman who stepped to him. His eyes remained open, watching as much as he could of her leaning forward even when her hair curtained at his side. Part of him considered touching it.
Instead, his mouth moved.
"I disagree."
There was a pause, as if he thought of his next words, though his mouth did an odd little open-and-close motion.
(...rather enchanting as you are.) *
Shikiyoku paused where she leaned over him, her eyes closing once more as if she might smile into the white star of hair gleaming in the low light of the room.
"I'm afraid your flattery is misplaced." She murmured again before standing up again, a distant sadness flickering across her brow. "Would that you knew why." 3
An odd sense of sereneness swept over Hiei, an understanding of what she meant on a deeper level than she likely would divulge to him out of fear. Fear he might turn and walk out the door. Fear that he might see her as all the others now do.
In a way, it made him…
Sad.
Instead, his expression mellowed to a calm one as he extended one of his fingers and reached forward, eyes softening the slightest bit as he looked to the scar from the trap she'd pushed him from many years ago.
"Woman, you don't treat yourself right."
(But I want you to.) *
Shikiyoku only watched as he reached towards her, and she felt her arm tense for a moment as if he might touch her, her eyes drawn down to see the scar for which he reached.
She remembered shoving him out of the way all that time ago, images flashing through her head of the partner scar on her leg, as well as Shubou, and Hiei's later reaction to her having done so once she regained consciousness.
A sigh escaped silently through her nose and she only stared down at the ashen-grey skin and the many scars that covered her arm.
"Such a thing is difficult to ask of me." Her voice cracked, though as much from her state than the situation. "Of someone like me. Even my energy is no longer alluring when I am like this." The arm that had twitched now briefly clenched its fingers together. She shrugged, somewhere amused that even in the midst of her emotionlessness this particular subject managed to irk her. "I suppose none of it matters in any case." 3
Hiei matched the small sigh that Shikiyoku gave with one of his own, though his eyes never left the scar at her arm. He didn't touch it, having noticed the twitch she gave at the prospect, but it did hover there, tracing the air around it.
You are not your appearance, my Beloved.
He didn't notice it right away, but after a few minutes he realized that the room had taken a slightly lower temperature than before- or rather, he was a lower temperature- and he let his hand fall to his side again so that maybe she wouldn't notice the change.
You are so much more.
"It matters to me."
The words were quiet, but when he looked up into her eyes again, his own were filled with a fierce sincerity with the words.
He did not, however, go on any further. *
She almost asked him why, but instinct otherwise drove her response.
"Then I suppose I shall have to do so." She felt her eyebrow lift higher on her face as she let her gaze shift from where she stared blankly at her arm to rest upon his features. "Given that it appears to be what you desire." 3
Hiei did not so much as blink at Shikiyoku, his stare unwavering as she turned to look down at him. His eyes did, however, brighten with his private thoughts on the matter- thoughts that he quickly wrapped up in a neat little bow and tucked away for later.
His lips, however, did twitch into a smile- one that perhaps nobody had ever seen before now. Not even her.
"Indeed." *
With little emotion at her disposal, Shikiyoku only noted his reaction in a passive sort of way that for her simply translated into her answer being agreeable to him and she gave him a slight nod.
"Now, as to my presence being needed downstairs, I believe I have fulfilled the requirements of 'being excused' and should leave." 3
Hiei's head tilted to the side ever so slightly, his eyes looking her up and down before he shook his head at her. He didn't quite understand her need to get away, or perhaps he did and just didn't want to admit it, but he bypassed it anyway.
"You'd be too far away." *
Shikiyoku's face remained blank as she looked down at him, watched him sweep his gaze over her and finding that she did not understand the meaning of it.
"Would you prefer I only step into the other room?" 3
Hiei frowned.
"Still too far." *
Standing there holding a sheet in one hand to keep herself covered, none of Shikiyoku's questioning actually passed over her face, though she had found herself interested in his response to her question given that she would have been going into his room after all.
"Then I suppose I should invite you into my bed." She gestured with her free hand to her left. "I'm certain you need your rest." 3
Hiei glanced to the bed to the side, realizing that this was indeed not his own room. Determined not to let that confusion show, he turned back to her with a nod before moving around her and towards her bed.
He couldn't remember if he'd seen her room yet or not.
"They did well." he remarked, speaking on the demons who'd put the rooms together.
He took one half of the bed, stretching out to relax after a moment before settling in. *
"It was only just finished." Shikiyoku replied mildly, watching him as a moment of silence grew. "I...came up to make sure things were in order and...fell asleep." The dip of her head seemed to indicate her current state of being as if to leave it as answer enough as to what had happened. 3
Hiei bent one arm at the elbow and propped his head there, his eyes staying trained on the woman that still stood near the doorway. The silence in the room that grew seemed echoed by the silence in the bond, but for once, he thought that it likely was best it was quiet in that moment.
He wasn't sure how she would actually react to the battle going on within himself this day.
He raised a brow at her.
"Well?"
As if his intentions weren't clear, the fire demon gave a little motion with his head that said come on. *
Any thoughts going through Shikiyoku's mind remained hidden behind a passive, if rather savage looking face.
Initially, she did not move, only taking a step towards the other side of a bed after a beat had passed.
She had no clothing here suited for this taller, larger form, but did not find herself caring one way or the other as to her current state, only slightly curious as to Hiei's intentions, and unsure what to expect.
Still holding what of the sheets she had gathered to her sternum, she crawled on top of the bed with her other hand assisting and lay down, sliding her legs to extend them towards the end of the bed as she dispassionately swept the remaining shreds of her clothing to the floor.
Lowering herself the rest of the way, finding that she had ended up facing towards Hiei, she slipped her legs back underneath the sheet, wrapping it around them so they remained hidden from view. For a moment, the hand curled at her chest stayed there, but she quickly adjusted the sheet so that it stayed tucked underneath her body and her fingers could go free, resting on the bed next to her.
Her eyes caught sight of the heart-shaped mark on the back of her hand and her fingers shifted into a fist as it along with the mark at her lips began throbbing more insistently than normal, enough that even she noticed. Without thought, she drew those lips into her mouth briefly and pondered as to whether this particular pain she could use against another. 3
Hiei rolled onto his other side as Shikiyoku circled the bed a second time this night, turning to face the spot where she got comfortable after a moment. He watched her shift around, noting still the emotionless of her countenance and finding how strikingly different it was from the more human-oriented form.
He stared for a few moments, taking in each scar on her face and the way the lack of light in the room made her eyes stand out against the stark darkness of the night.
He didn't miss the moment she let her hand fall to the mattress, or when that hand clenched into a fist. Nor did he miss her pulling her lips into her mouth.
Without hesitation, the fire demon reached out and grabbed the fist between the two of them, tugging it away from her and towards his chest as if to hold it as close as possible. *
Shikiyoku found herself surprised that where in her other form she might have sensed Hiei's intention, in this particular case she had possibly been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she missed it, eyes momentarily growing wide at the gesture first and then at the touch second.
She wasn't sure if she would have, or could have, held her own hand like this, knowing all that she did.
For some reason the sentiment mine passed over her mind as her hand was drawn closer to the demon lying next to her, as if he had spoken the word into the air between them.
Without knowing it, her face, her expression, softened a little as she lay staring at the warm hand that covered hers.
"You saved me, you know that right?" Her gruff words were spoke low. "Rescued me...from myself."
Had chased her down on many occasions, not just the one that moved passed her mind's eye at the moment, which was recalling him following all the way to the Ninth Layer and becoming her Consort.
The hand in his relaxed and her thumb moved to stroke gently what of his skin she could reach.
"And for that I am eternally grateful." Her skin may have been cold, but even in spite of the blunt tone, the warmth of the truth swirled around in her words and within their bond. 3
Hiei bowed his head over the hand that he held, his chin almost touching the long fingers that were oddly cold to the touch even for him. His eyelids slid closed as he listened to the cracked words from the woman.
"Hn."
A slight smirk alighted his features for a few moments before it fell away from his lips again, though the peacefulness remained.
I'd do it time and time again.
..My Beloved. *
~!**!~ ~!**!~
The silver fur of the spirit fox who approached the stream rippled pleasantly in the wind as he lifted his nose and scented the air, an ear twitching towards the nearby sound of prey that would live at least until the next time he grew hungry.
Stepping far enough into the stream that the water covered his front paws and washed away the fresh blood so that it would not stain, he lowered his head and drank his fill of the water, dipping his muzzle far enough in that it too would come away clean.
The kitsune blinked and felt a gaze upon himself, raising first his eyes and following with his head to see standing on the other side of the stream another fox, another like himself, but larger than any he had ever seen in this their "normal" size, even himself, who was large for his type.
Its head was raised high, its own fur a color he could not pin down as it seemed iridescent, the fur coalescing over its body to create an elegant form the likes of which might have in some manner intimidated the fox or caused his hackles to raise if he somehow did not feel absolutely safe and serene around this other of his kind.
With a flick of its tail, the other fox turned and took off into the trees, and without at first giving direct orders to himself, the silver-furred specimen followed, feet digging into the soft earth and launching him over the stream to dash after the other.
He never caught up, never got any closer than the other wanted, even as they made their swift way through the woods, ducking under logs and darting past low brush.
The creature did not leave footprints in the ground, nor could he hear the other as they ran, and in one heartbeat felt as thought he followed a ghost for reasons he could not explain, and then in the other felt the joy of running in each stride in a way he had never fully appreciated until now.
He did not know how long they ran, only that eventually the trees had disappeared and they were making their way across an open plain.
The figure in front of him did not slow, but in one fluid motion was bipedal, iridescent hair and tail streaming behind a tall body.
And in the next few strides, he was doing the same, closing the last of the distance between himself and their destination with his yukata rustling in the wind he made while running.
And then he blinked and the figure was gone, leaving him to slow to a jog and then an abrupt stop as he finally took in his surroundings.
The ground was flat in all directions and gave off the strangest sensation for which he had no name.
"Welcome, my children."
There was a man standing not ten feet from him and it was to this man he felt himself being drawn closer.
The man's arms were opened wide, but not just to the kitsune. Strongly built with hair a color the kitsune currently known as Kurama the Youko recognized, the Father's eyes gleamed with an inner incandescence and jollity.
Others that the fox had taken no note of until this moment were slowing like he had, a few he did not recognize, but others that he did.
"And my kin." The man continued, nodding deeply to Yusuke and Kuwabara.
The Alpha Ookami gave a satisfied nod towards the "man," finding that this form better suited the Alpha's mental image of how the First Father might appear. He and the small entourage of his people had been lead to this place along with Akari, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, by a wolf of the same color as this man's hair.
"I did not take this shape so that you would approve, child." Father lifted an eyebrow at the Alpha, who coughed uncomfortably as he leaned over to set down the old wolf-woman. "And even still, you would not be capable of comprehending it as it is. That is why you cannot tell me what my own coloration is currently even."
"What you are feeling, the strange sensation, is the fact that you are at the center of all things." He told them. "This, this is the heart of Sekaiju, the sacred grounds, where the Oracle resides. And this shall be where we tear asunder our lands and return you to your home." He nodded at those from the other time.
When Kuwabara was finally able to tear his eyes away from the charismatic being before him, he felt his soul give a quiver within himself.
Lying unconscious at the feet of Father were two forms, the female one with hair the color of midnight that Kuwabara immediately recognized as the one to whom he had extended his hand and his help and the much smaller male the one in possession of the remnant piece of his soul.
"Ah, yes. I forget myself. I believe this is yours." In what was likely an unnecessary pass of his hand, Father gestured over the body of the smaller male, which convulsed briefly, eyes ripped open, and then Father seemed to make a flinging motion at Kuwabara. "I cannot join the pieces of you. You will have to wait for the Kami for that much."
Kuwabara felt that bit of himself which had been missing return, but the sensation was as if he cradled the missing portion carefully, like it might leave him in the next moment, flutter away in a stiff breeze.
All at once, a mighty vortex of flame whirled into existence just behind Father, and next to it a similar spout of water, with a giant gust of a whirlwind and one of earth flanking them.
He turned as they appeared, taking a step back.
In the midst of their entrance, the small demon with grey hair blinked where he lay breathing heavily after Father's work. His head lolled to the side and his eyes lit up in recognition as he mouthed the word 'inu' with questioning on his face in Akari's direction before he appeared to lose consciousness again, growing very still.
When the tornadoes of elemental fury vanished out of existence, in their places stood four noble beings taller even than Father, who stood above everyone else.
Long in form, if recognizably humanoid ones, it was not difficult to tell to what element each one belonged.
"Madam Fire." Father bowed low to the one with roaring flames for hair that danced above her scalp, her hands disappearing into the sleeves of her solid red kimono as she inclined her head to him, her eyes shifting and swirling as if an inferno were contained within them.
"M'lady Water." The same exchanged occurred between he and the woman with skin the color of a babbling brook, her crystal blue eyes dancing merrily with the inner power of an ocean's tides laced by the joyous lines of her face and her long, vibrant hair waving over her shoulders and down her back like the most delightful of waterfalls.
The final two apparated at the same time, Father bowing to the one that stepped out from the flourish of earth first.
"Lord Earth. Greetings."
"And to you, son of us all." The long brownish green hair and etched features of the Element of Earth were well-complimented by the vastness of his tone, which seemed to vibrate with the very ground around them.
"And to the rest of you, children of our children." Perhaps the noblest of them all and fairest of features stepped forward, his hair short and white and standing straight up off the top of his head, deep wrinkles etched into his ageless face, his long robes whispering around his body as he moved and his eyes as fierce as a tempest. "As well as those of you are not from here, exactly." He almost smiled. "We know you just as intimately in your time, though you do not know us."
"Oracle." The word was said with more reverence than any other name and Father bowed more deeply.
"No longer, my son." Was the reply. "With our temples freed, our bondage to the title too has lifted, as had been decreed by our greaters many ages ago." He gestured to indicate the area around them. "That is how you all came to arrive here on foot without meeting resistance along the way. The holding place in which the Oracle once resided has disappeared, and with it the position itself."
"Thank the Kami." The lady of Water breathed almost in reverence, her voice sounding much like the running river from which she came.
Both Wind and Earth chuckled, for none of their number particularly enjoyed any time they had been called to Oracle, for they became stripped of their essence, of their very being as Elements, for the duration of their time as such.
"You greatly please us, my only son." Came the voice of the Element of Fire. "We cannot interfere in the lives of you mortals, cannot speak with you even. And so we tell you now. Well done." Her eyes ignited with great passion as she regarded him.
The others gathered were too overwhelmed by the presence of these legendary beings to do much else besides bask in their greatness, eyes flitting from one to the other and onwards, feeling with each glance that they saw something new or different in each.
"And what of me, parents of all?" The voice echoed from near Father, though it had a distant quality to it that seemed to be explained as the upper body of what could only be described as ghostly faded into view. Below the waist there was only a sort of mist where legs might have been.
The Alpha and others of the time present knew this to be a spirit, as the transparent and colorless appearance of the newcomer indicated to them as much, for all spirits appeared as this when in their semi-corporeal form.
"My fallen comrade!" Father exclaimed congenially, giving a sort of indication that he might have clapped the other on the back if the action wouldn't have simply passed through the other.
"I do not believe it is I who has fallen, so-called Father."
He took the jab in stride with a grin and a, "Debateable."
"Mm. And what of your sister, you of the elements? Will Chaos herself not reside over that in which she took part? As the first death, I might find myself insulted should she whose hand did slay me were not to appear."
The questions resulted in an uncomfortable exchange of looks between wind, earth, and water.
"She has been banished for her crimes, as you well know." Fire's eyes had taken on a dangerous flame. "Crimes you had a hand in, and crimes which you paid for with your life, though I am certain you needn't be reminded."
"All this cryptic talk!" Father tagged himself in as the tension rose to a palatable level. "And of things none present but ourselves understand. Do you see how you have made the little ones upset? Let us keep our quarrels to ourselves."
"That is easy for you to say." The spirit replied, "But truly I have no quarrel. I have drifted too long to care any longer."
Father was just about to repeat his 'debateable' comment, when something else caught his attention and he turned to look behind the others who were gathered, waving his arm at something in the distance.
In just a few more steps, the distant one approached, looking confused and distressed and otherwise a perfectly normal human being.
"My human comrade!" Father stepped forward as the others gathered parted to let the human through.
"I-I do not...I do not know why I am here, only that..."
"Only that you are supposed to be." Father finished for him, resting a hand at his shoulder and guiding him towards the Elements.
"Akio." The Wind Element took another step forward and gave a small bow of his head to the human who appeared astonished this awesome being knew his name.
Akio bowed deeply at his waist, and opened his mouth to stammer once more.
"I am called Eldred." The white-haired embodiment of Wind said. "And you were called here by the Kami themselves to be the savior of your people."
"But I-" He raised himself enough that he could look up. "I am no great man."
"You are strong, child of love."
Akio appeared to be ready to argue, though he appeared as strong as any man, his limbs wiry and well-worked.
"Strength of soul is not measured by the means of man." Water told him kindly.
"It is that strength with which all your kind shall be bound to you and you shall rescue them." Earth added with a smile.
Returning to his lower bow before rising, Akio accepted their words. "Let it be as you have said."
As if timed with his consent, the air all around them hummed with a warmth that stirred something behind Kurama the Youko's eyes, the emotion it awoke within him a familiar one that seemed so alien to the current state of his mind that he could not comprehend it at present.
Yusuke and Kuwabara felt an expectancy rising within them as their heart rates doubled, and images of Keiko and Yukina, respectively, filled their minds seemingly out of nowhere and they half-wondered if either would appear suddenly before them.
Other apparitions began appearing out of thin air around those gathered, the immediate area around them flooded with a sensation akin to a glow before each one appeared.
If the Elements were noble, these were just as much so, graceful humanoids with magnificent white hair that appeared soft as the clouds might be, but with dark, smooth skin that had a sort of pearlescent appearance and somehow beckoned to be touched.
"Mother." The Alpha breathed as if it were an oath. He could feel within himself a strangeness, an emotion, that never before had he experienced. "What are those things?"
"When gifts were given to the firsts of creation," Father responded, "And the Kami saw those with magic could not love, they gathered together one final time and took those within whom love ran the strongest and empowered them like us in the hopes that where we could not innately love, these newly risen beings might teach us and in so doing save us from ourselves. Half of those chosen did just that, becoming greater even than the Kami had wished as their magic embraced their love and the two became one."
"And what of the other half?" The Alpha wanted to know, his tone nearly reverent.
The Father seemed sad for a moment. "Every coin has two sides. And where there is pleasure...there is also pain."
When the last one materialized, it was just in front of the gathered Elements, facing outwards to everyone else, and it was then that Father dropped to one knee before her, his face and head leaning in deference towards the ground.
Anyone else could barely stand to look at her for very long, as the majestic creature's amber colored eyes rested upon each of them in turn, gleaming with a power none could rightly describe, and yet all found so alluring that neither could they keep their gaze from her either.
Her robes rustled briefly as she reached out with her hand to Father, her surveyance finally finding him genuflecting before her.
"Champion of us all...you bow to no one." Her voice rang in the air like so many brilliant bells.
"What else are we to do before you, my queen?" He gave her a mild grin as he reached up to take her hand in his, but motioned with the other to everyone else around them, all of whom found themselves without quite understanding why also on one knee.
Only the Elements stood, but even they bowed at the waist in deference to her.
The dazzling laugh she gave brought smiles to all those gathered, even the spirit present, who had lowered towards the ground in his own sort of obeisance upon her arrival.
"All of you, stand. Please." It was not an order, but at the same time rise everyone did. "It is not for my sake that we are here."
"And yet it is because of your sake we will be delivered." Father said, his words almost devout and yet somehow laced with an overlying sadness.
Before she could answer, the young child sucking on a thumb, clutched to the robes at her leg, finally released them and scurried towards him, at which he squatted down once more as the tiny girl blurted out, "Father!"
"Hello to you too, princess." He replied as she threw her arms about his neck and he hugged her in return.
Where the air around them before had been filled with a warmth with the arrival of the newest group of apparitions, it now took on a divine quality as Father rose, his hand holding one of the young girl's.
"It is time." Eldred said as he bowed his head, his eyes closing and his palms turning upwards.
The other three Elements mimicked his movements and the four of them started to shed a sacred light, golden and holy and otherworldly as unseen entities joined the ranks of those upon the ground via the vessels into which they now descended.
When the Elements opened their eyes again, now gleaming with that same golden light, and raised their heads, this time the queen herself gave an elegantly low curtsy, her people following suit with that or bow.
At first the four only looked out among everyone, but for an instant their collective scrutiny rested upon Kuwabara and he heard them speaking to him.
What was torn shall become whole. Do not fear.
"Are you ready, chosen souls?" Eldred's voice was now superimposed with another as he spoke.
The spirit standing next to Father gave out a wistful sigh, "I have wandered these lands for countless millenia. It will be good to finally have a place to go."
Akio and Father nodded, the latter releasing the little girl's hand as they all started to move.
The four Elements took up standing in a diamond shape, leading the other three-demon, human, and spirit-to stand in a triangle within them, enough space between each body that if they held out their arms, none of them would touch one another.
The tiny princess did not seem at first to notice that Father left her, nor immediately realize her mother had started to move forward as well, but all at once she found herself alone, and she gave a cry and scampered after the retreating back of her mother.
The rest of her people had begun breaking off from their positions to create a giant circle around the Elements and the other three, a few of them gesturing at Akari, and Yusuke, and Kuwabara, to join them, others moving to pick up the two unconscious forms who also did not belong in this time.
Upon hearing her daughter called out to her, the queen stopped and looked over her shoulder, turning all at once to drop to her knees and embrace her daughter, murmuring something in her ear as tears started to fall from the smaller one's eyes.
Whatever passed between them was too low to be heard, but the mother finally pulled away, hands gently at the girl's shoulders as she spoke, the younger nodding and sniffling even as one of the other exquisite apparitions approached, the girl finally breaking off to clutch at this one's robes, moving off, but constantly glancing back at the queen even as they went to stand in the circle together.
The hum of power from the earlier Kami-entrance had not stopped and now seemed to be coming from the very earth beneath them.
When the queen took her place in the middle of the triangle of souls, those of her people in the greater circle began to sing. Their song wove into one another patterns of harmonies of which there were no words, instead emotions: joy, peace, and happiness.
And she began to dance.
Spirals of energy flowed outwards from her body with each flick of her wrists, and she moved among them before they encircled the three around her first before in the next spirals released moving on to do the same with the Elements.
As the strands continued to appear, she left her place at the center of the bodies to circle herself around first each of the chosen, then all three, and then each Element, and then all four at once as with the others, her energy pure and golden and shimmering like so many stars and her form beautiful and perfect with each step.
Her steps from the Elements began to widen, her circling doing the same as more energy spun into the air and started winding around her people.
Only when each individual in that outermost circle had been wrapped in her energy and she had passed in front of them all did she pause, the song stopping abruptly as from the middle of the three pulsed a gleam of energy, the same pure and golden as the rest, encompassing all of them before disappearing.
As soon as it had done so, both song and dance started as before, the queen continuing her pace and direction, but now drawing closer with each circling to the Elements once again.
This time, however, the song shifted, reflecting in it pain and suffering. And it was then that something dark started to take shape within the triangle.
A crack of lightning shot down from the clear sky above and struck that very spot and the darkness whirled, a form starting to take shape in the black fog, and starting a solitary dance of its own.
Another batch of strands glimmered into the air, each still moving to circle one of those present in the ritual.
The change did not happen all at once, but the golden energy in the air slowly started to be pulled towards the dark shape. So slowly, in fact, that it was difficult to tell the difference until the moment when the queen released more energy and instead of immediately weaving its way for those involved, it sluggishly changed direction and snaked back towards the center of the gathered.
No one could move from the position which they had taken up, and it was from this frozen position among the dark-skinned people that Yusuke and Kuwabara anguished as they felt the queen grow weaker with each cluster of energy she released, and the dark being in the center grow stronger.
She was quite literally dancing herself to death.
In her final movements, she wove her body back around the Elements, her energy quickly being absorbed into the now-distinctly feminine form, which while it had not moved from its placed in the middle, danced its own confined steps where it stood.
As the queen passed around each in the triangle, the last of her energy appeared and immediately vanished into the darkness next to her, and she collapsed all at once, falling into the dark form which had fed upon her and upon consuming her whole emitted a blinding pulse of energy with enough strength that it lifted and threw back all those gathered around it, and sent those belonging in another time spiralling down into the pitch blackness of unconsciousness. 3
"Sometimes, Aka, you just need to… get up and move. Get those feet moving, girl, because there's definitely better than what you're currently facing."
Akari raised her head from her knees, bleary eyes turning up to a girl who had been sitting silently for the past few minutes, watching her friend. She sniffled, though gave a smile to Manami.
"Oh, and y'know, that saving myself is the only option thing? Yeah, that won't help, my friend. You're going to have to get over that someday. Just a fair warning."
Akari's eyes blinked open, though they quickly closed at the harsh rays of the sunlight overhead. There were sounds that accosted her ears that, for a moment, registered only as a cacophony of noise that was almost unbearable to her ringing temple. And the smell of the place around her definitely was not the same as the smells of the place she last remembered being.
For a second time, Akari let her eyelids slide open, though she didn't immediately reject the idea of the sunlight this time. Instead, she slowly let her eyes adjust, as if this sunlight was brighter, harsher than the previous she'd seen.
Oh, and the leaves overhead? They were… different. No longer in simple hues, but in bright, vibrant color that seemed almost… dreamlike. Unreal, in its own way.
What was the name of the color again?
….
Green.
Yes, that was it. Green.
The color of the sun's rays were yellow, she remembered. Or maybe… golden? Both seemed like they fit, though in the moment, she couldn't quite remember. Everything was simply… too bright for her sensitive eyes.
She rolled onto her side, and slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, her head bowed and her eyes on the dirt, on the grass below. She stared at that spot for a few minutes, registering an odd feeling in her stomaach, at her core, that had every inch of her being wishing to curl into a ball and go back to sleep. It was a pain, she knew, but she also could tell it was not her own. It was a distant pain, one that called out to her, begging her to follow, to get closer, and to rid of it.
It made her heart hurt for reasons she didn't immediately understand.
When she finally did lift her head to look around, it was with squinted eyes and a dull gleam in her irises. Her first thought was that she didn't know what to do, or where to begin from here. So when her eyes found Kuwabara sitting nearby, she simply took to staring.
Are we… back?
She couldn't remember anything after running into the two boys and talking to the Pack Mother. It was all hazy, a blur.
Almost like Kuwabara was.
Except his haziness was… prettier, she thought. A halo of light that seemed to emanate from the human, embracing him in warmth and an odd otherworldly feel around him.
"Kuwabara," she began, but found that her voice was cracked and hoarse. And, anyway, she didn't know what else to say to the human anyway. So instead, she found herself sitting there, staring. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!