A/N: Hello once again, Audience.
So, this chapter in turn is a bit longer than the others have been, to make up for the shortness of the last chapter. I am taking a bit of time tonight (as I have the evening off) to play catch-up on the "previously" portions of previous chapters, though I do not expect to actually make it to this one.
CHANGE IN POSTINGS ANNOUNCEMENT: While I have been posting roughly once a week for a while now, I am going to switch to a twice a month regimen. My reasoning is twofold. Since CM and I have not been writing on this main story as often as we were once able to, that actually means that we are fast approaching the end of what she and I have done. This factor plus my upcoming (and already quite busy) schedule has led me to this decision. Chapters will be released on the first and third Mondays of the month.
Look for the next chapter to come out in two weeks!
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 job this time around hadn't really been a job, per say. It had been more of a meeting, really. Only Hiei had gone, the rest of the guild remaining behind to enjoy their day playing cards in the bar, or whatever it was they decided to do to entertain themselves.
He'd run all the way to the Fifth Level to meet with the previous contractor, who had responded to Hiei's correspondence much faster than the fire demon had ever thought would be done. Likewise, he had responded in kind and reacted just as soon as was able, and had been in the little shop within forty-eight hours.
He'd talked to his business partner and explained the hitch in their little project, just as he had in the letter. Having been expecting such a thing, the other had set aside one of his men for this particular task, even had him familiar with the schematics within the hour.
Introductions had been made, and at first, Hiei hadn't been sure of the choice of partner. He was spacy, his eyes always glossed over as if he saw another room, another place, another person. He sometimes acted as if he heard another conversation happening, and responded with something off-the-wall that had him raising a brow in speculation.
And yet for some reason, Hiei decided to agree to partner with the demon who didn't even seem to know what was going on around him. Despite the air-headedness and the lack of focus, the fire demon's instincts told him to roll with this one, to at least give it a chance. So he did.
The pair had worked together for only a day, gathering parts and beginning the puzzle of metal that would take months to put together, and then longer than that to perfect. His hands had been busy for the entire day, never once empty of an item or still.
Surprisingly enough, or perhaps maybe not so surprising to him, was the amount of knowledge his new partner had on the matter. He fit pipes together as if he'd done so millions of times, and then connected those to valves without even so much as glancing at the blueprints Hiei continuously referred to.
And while the other's explanations of things weren't always clear to him, Hiei began to understand the thing he was working with.
It was at that point he'd called it a day and turned to leave, but only after shaking hands with the other. He'd run all the way up the Levels until he was on the First, at which point he sped up a little more.
More and more often of late, the fire demon had begun looking forward to running home to Shikiyoku, to finding the necklace hidden under her shirt so that he could pull it into view of the world and kiss her his greeting. He looked forward to the attention she still gave him without pause, the utter devotion she had for him when he returned to her from his jobs, hunts, whatever it may be that had pulled him from her.
It was with those thoughts that Hiei pushed the door to the bar open and took the first few steps inside, his eyes sweeping the bar for first Shikiyoku, and second for signs of where she might be.
What he found first was a vase of flowers on the bar, out of place and certainly not natural within the environment. Second came the opening of the door across the establishment, revealing the third, Shiki herself. *
The frequency with which Shikiyoku found her front covered with booze had certainly decreased over time, but often enough there was no accounting for the actions of those around her, as it wasn't exactly as if they meant in their drunken state to lose control of their beverage.
That had unfortunately happened this evening, and Shikiyoku had momentarily excused herself to disappear upstairs and exchange once blouse for another, actually catching sight of herself in the mirror on the back of her closet door as she slipped her head through a new shirt and untied the apron around her waist to reposition it.
The vision of herself had given her pause as the gems around her neck twinkled at her from the mirror, and once the apron was properly secured, Shikiyoku reached up and gave a little tug at the necklace, pulling it out from under the blouse and fiddling with it as she moved back down the staircase until it sat just right atop the garment.
Both her ears and eyes perked up as she moved through the door back into the noise of the bar to see Hiei had just come through the main entrance, and stood staring at something near her.
She had been given the flowers that morning, coming downstairs to find the bouquet sitting at her station, but in the morning rush had done nothing about them.
They were from Kurama, though they did not strictly say as much, complete with a handwritten tag from him that simply said "My thanks to you, dear one" without an actual signature.
In hindsight, she could have taken them upstairs with her since they were right there, but she had not directly considered it at the time of becoming soaked with alcohol.
Regardless, despite Hiei's obvious stare at them, she paid them no mind, sweeping herself across the room to the hybrid who had paused, reaching up to place a hand upon the place where his neck met with his right shoulder, and gently pulling him closer as she rose to her tiptoes to plant a solid kiss upon the cheek that was not swirling with her lovely markings.
She frowned up at him as she retreated back from his face and stood scanning his countenance. 3
Hiei's eyes turned from the bouquet when Shikiyoku had come into sight, though not having noticed his own pause, he didn't meet her halfway. Instead, he watched her cross the room with graceful steps. He'd almost not noticed the little bauble hanging at her sternum, until the lighting of the room had bounced from its surface and called his attention to it.
He wasn't sure if he was disappointed that his excuse to kiss her was gone, or glad to see that she'd remembered this time to keep it in view.
And when she tugged him down for a kiss on the cheek, he obeyed, giving a small blink at her because this hasn't happened in a while. It felt… good.
So when she frowned up at him as he stood upright again, he raised a brow at her as if unsure of the reasoning behind the gesture. He gave her a once-over, searching for an immediate reason for the expression, even doing the same to the bond, and finding nothing.
"Why the frown, my wind?" *
"You have not kissed me hello yet." The air around her briefly shimmered in response to the nature of the energy that flowed from her hair, despite it being securely pinned in its usual bun. "I'm terribly disappointed in you, fire prince." 3
At first, Hiei didn't seem to register the words she said, the gears behind his eyes cranking as he realized the words were familiar, and yet he could not place them. Instead, he found himself focusing on the invitation of the gesture, and the fact that she wanted him to kiss her. This being the first time she'd verbally admitted as such- or admitted to it in any way other than her energy fluxing- sent a sort of thrill down the base of his neck to the bottom of his spine.
He blinked once at her before his lips gave a twitch and he reached forward with both hands, doing as he usually did and planting his lips against hers in a welcome kiss that he did not break away from immediately. *
If she were being perfectly honest, Shikiyoku had suspected Hiei would only make some smart remark about her beating him to it or some such, maybe embracing her in greeting, and then they would move on.
The fact that her response had sent a sort of charge down his body immediately caught her attention as she quite literally felt it with him as if it were her own, and before he had even moved his hands up to her face, the hairs on her arms were standing on end, his kiss in response making her core flutter as she found herself momentarily smiling against his lips, shifting the hand at his shoulder up just a little so she could feel the warmth of his neck beneath her fingers.
For a second time in so many moments, he caught her off-guard again by not just giving her the equivalent of a peck, and as the shiver of her own energy skittered down her spine for real this time-as the ticks of time that he remained in place increased steadily-her eyes actually closed, a waft of power buffeting over the two of them and filling the space around them with her scent.
While she did not directly notice the sensation what with her attention so caught, in the midst of the cloud of her energy she felt strange blips of a not-quite-so-foreign energy come to life like sparks of flame discharging upwards from a campfire below.
But to say that she was not distracted enough to take notice of them would have been giving her too much credit as their bond surged and informed her that he was enjoying the contact just as much as she. 3
Hiei hadn't noticed the feeling of the hairs on his arms rising, or the itch at his skull when Shikiyoku's energy burst to life from her hair. He didn't even notice his own energy reacting in a similar way to hers.
He did, however, take direct and complete note of the second shiver that ran his spine, knowing at once that it was not his own, but Shikiyoku's. He felt the odd sensation similar to the itch at his skull just reaching his eyes, making him almost pull his hands away from Shiki in hopes to rub it away before he realized that too was from her energy coming to life.
And the bond wasn't so quiet either, the connection he held with the woman he still kissed reverberating with not only his happiness at the situation, but hers too. And the longer he held himself in place, the more it seemed to pump those emotions through, as if between him and her was a river receiving a steady rainfall.
And finally, when he did pull away, it was only far enough to look her in the eye. "Better?" *
If asked, she wouldn't have said the kiss wasn't long enough when he finally inched away from her-
She opened her eyes, feeling the energy within them whirling madly from behind her glasses as she found herself completely lost in the swirl of emotions dancing just behind his crimson stare.
-but she most definitely would have been lying if she said she didn't find herself wanting another.
And when he breathed his question into what little space he had made between them, she felt her scalp begin to prickle as she suddenly found herself daring him to do it again.
"No." 3
As it was, Hiei'd been fighting himself to stay put, knowing that if he moved even a millimeter, it would be closer to her instead of further as he likely should have done. But he wanted oh so badly to close that distance again, to repeat the earlier action because she'd asked for it.
So, when he felt the itching at his scalp again, he tensed just a little, the urge even harder to resist.
The moment she answered him? All tension melted away at once, replaced with raised brows and a smirk in acknowledgement of her dare, of her goading. The feeling he got from the bond? It was an equivalent to her crooking her finger at him to come closer.
Any resolved he'd had melted.
"Better fix that, hm?"
And once again, he kissed her. *
In these very moments, if not ever before, Shikiyoku actually found herself with an ache in her core. As her other arm circled itself behind his neck and the first slipped back to just barely bury her fingers at the base of his hairline, she felt it pulse once almost violently inside her chest.
Wrapped up so completely in him that the rest of the bar, the rest of the world even, had faded out of her awareness until it was only her and him and his fiery lips finding hers a second time, a burning ache throbbed within her once, starting from the very center of her being and radiating out to the tips of her fingers and toes.
And it was an ache that spoke briefly of her desperately wanting to have him as her mate.
Even in the midst of his welcome compliance, his perfect reaction to what she had desired him to do, she knew if she had thought for an instant he truly wanted her as he had asked, she would have posed the question to him herself this time. 3
Hiei revelled in the contact more now than he had the first time around, which at the time, had seemed impossible. He'd let himself lean forward into the woman who curled her arm up and over his shoulders, his hands moving from her face so that he could wrap his arms about her middle and hold her how he could only imagine she wanted him to do.
And then all at once, something rang through the bond that seemed to tear the moment away from him, painful and demanding in a way he didn't understand fully. It started with his core and from there slowly slid its way through his veins, almost venomous in nature as it caused a different kind of pain that he'd never felt before.
It made him slowly straighten the both of them up, his hands finding her face again so that when he did pull away, it was to look over her in search of the source of the pain that still ached at his center. It created a sadness that had a source he almost, almost related with in a way he couldn't put a name to.
And it created a concern, a confusion.
Despite all this, his lips held their smile for her, gentler maybe than she'd ever seen before. Despite the throbbing within his being that was not initially his, and yet somehow became his even as the one from the bond dissipated, he gave her one last peck, this one on the cheek.
"All you needed was to ask, my wind." *
Her hold on him tightening as she felt him leaning into her, she relaxed it as he returned to standing straight, the last vestiges of the ache finishing their distant echo through her limbs as she shifted her arms away from his neck and rested her hands lightly against his chest, still looking up at him as his warm hands moved back to her cheeks from where she suddenly remembered feeling them embracing her body.
She blinked, the edges of her lips tugging into a small smile as she replied softly with, "I'll keep that in mind." 3
The ache at his core still throbbed quietly behind the scenes, causing the fire demon to remain where he stood with searching eyes as if she held the answer to the puzzle. The smile she had for him though- that wonderful, bright smile despite the darkness that had somehow moved in- was enough to remind him of his request of her. It was enough to remind him that this was what he wanted for the rest of his days, that this was the best part of his days. It was enough to remind him that without her, he simply would not be standing here this day.
And it dragged the question from his lips with a quietness unlike any other he'd ever used.
"My Wind, will you be my mate?" *
For a split second, Shikiyoku's entire world froze, waiting, the expectation making her core skip a beat, until for her in the next beat, life went on.
And he still had not meant what he said.
It was as if in the timelessness of that second, she hoped what she did not feel constantly from him like she now did from Kurama would suddenly ignite the usual tingles within her body.
However, when it did not, despite the tick of disappointment, she could not rightly find herself removed from the thrill of their current encounter, and instead gave him a playful little smile that held within it somehow every bit of the unspoken finger crooking that the bond had held earlier, tipping her chin down so that she could look up at him over the tops of her glasses as she reached up and curled her fingers around his wrists just long enough to remove them just far enough from her face that he was no longer in contact with her.
In the fluidity of her doing so, all a part of the same motion, she simultaneously let go of him and slipped out from between his fingers, her eyes-which were positioned so that her glasses did not shield them-suddenly filled with an influx of glamour meant to hold him in place just long enough for her to get away and spoke a single word in the same tone she had used previously.
"No."
And in the next moment she was already sashayed halfway across the room, her apron untied and held out next to her at the precise step in which she passed the counter, where it looked as if she stopped in place for exactly a single tick, nearly looking over her shoulder at him as she watched her wrist give a single flick and let go of the apron so that it dropped to the counter, in the next blink of an eye the last of her disappearing behind the door to the stairs. 3
He'd been ensnared. The very moment Shikiyoku had begun to move, he'd known that he himself would not be able to do the same. He'd seen the energy swirl, even felt himself be drawn to it just enough to keep staring, and he'd just known that she was going to get away. It was crafty, really, and quite irritating that he had no say in the matter of her slipping away from his grasp like so much sand. So by the time she'd disappeared behind the door leading to their living quarters, he'd only blinked once, and was still fighting to get another word in.
A second later, he was turning one way, his eyes staying on the door for a few moments longer before they finally shifted to the guild sitting around the table in the corner of the room.
And each one of them had open jaws and bug eyes. Some eyes stayed on the door the woman had gone through, some turning to him.
Decision made, the fire demon turned and went back out the door he'd come through, his core giving a little throb, but still finding himself inexplicably amused and inevitably impressed at the manner in which she'd slipped away from him.
(Woman.) *
As the door slid shut behind Shikiyoku, she had one foot on the first staircase and never took another step.
Oh. OH! ...right...
She reached up and rubbed her hand across her face, shifting her glasses up to the top of her head as she reached under them to get at her eyes.
Any other demon would have been rushing across the room behind her the instant they recovered, but she felt Hiei moving away from her and she honestly froze in place because she didn't know what she was gonna do now.
Go find Kurama? She had thought, until the truth blind-sided her all at once and stopped her foot on the step and she remembered how young Hiei was still. Or rather, how his Koorime blood was likely interfering with his rate of maturity. And how she had at one point realized he might remain asexual forever.
That's when she had plopped her palm against her face, reprimanding herself for even considering for an instant of leaving to go somewhere else when he did not have anywhere to be himself.
Shikiyoku felt his word slide across their bond and her lips pulled upwards into a grin, feeling how he could appreciate the craftiness she had used to escape him.
And yet she knew now that he had not appreciated it in the way she had meant it, which had resulted in him leaving.
Which in and of itself was unacceptable in her eyes, she sniffed primly at the thought.
(You have absolutely nothing to be impressed about, flame boy.) She informed him, taking one more step up the stairs. (After all, it obviously didn't work.) The information that he should have after that followed her accompanied the statement. The next sentence she made pass between them as though she were speaking aloud to herself, contemplating what went wrong and how she might fix it next time. (I must have used the wrong dazzle...)
Continuing on her way, she put her hand on the knob to Hiei's door and let herself inside, waiting to see if she could feel Hiei coming back before she stepped inside, fully intending on having her finger tapping at her lips as if she were in deep thought about the occurrence and had accidentally gone into the wrong room in her absentmindedness. 3
The silence of the group was deafening, each pair of eyes either pointed to one door or the other of the bar. In their little corner of the building that each one of them had helped build at least a little bit, the members of the guild were baffled. If one's jaw wasn't open, it was likely because they were too busy calling their boss a moron. Probably frustrated for the demon who had completely missed the invitation given by the very woman that took care of them.
It was almost cringe-worthy to even consider.
And yet it had happened. It was the reality.
Their boss…
Was a moron.
A beat or two passed as the hybrid demon turned and disappeared out the front door, and then one more before the eyes of all eight demons turned to look at each other in turn. Silent messages were conveyed through looks, all of which were incredulous. All of which couldn't believe the absolute nonsense that had been the demon in the cloak turning and leaving.
A couple even considered going after him and dragging them back themselves.
In the end, none of them so much as moved. Not even when the front door opened again and a breeze blew through, the second door opening just before the first shut.
And the only other indication that Hiei had come back through was the collective release of breath from the guild in relief, and a couple of chuckles.
Perhaps the only demon who seemed unsurprised by the turnout of the whole thing was the only demon who knew Hiei well enough to understand the situation, to consider the fact that his leader was young and naive to the whole ordeal. And perhaps he was the only one who hadn't watched the entire scene.
The second in command leaned forward, gathering his cards again as if the game had never paused. "Alright ladies, let's get back to the game."
~!**!~
Hiei dashed up the stairs at full speed, his toes catching on one stair on his way and causing a slight stumble from which he recovered with ease and continued on his way. His speed slowed despite the stutter-step, and at the top, he missed the step and seemed to crash his foot onto the platform above it.
Which caused the stumble into his own room, and subsequently the crash into the body who had been standing nearby. A body who Hiei's arms quickly grabbed hold of so that she would not tumble into something, in an instant twisting the both of them until finally, after what seemed an eternity to the speed demon, they came to a crashing, booming stop on the hardwood floor.
The fire demon let his head rest where it had hit, his chin just barely brushing the shoulder of the woman he'd landed over, his arms still wrapped around her as if they continued to fall.
Finally, he let out a breath and turned his head, his nose brushing her cheek.
"Well, hello there." *
Unfortunately for all of Shikiyoku's strengths, if there was not the intention behind an action, she could not respond properly. Whereas in a fight she would be exceedingly hard to hit despite her lack of training in the art, when it came to accidental circumstances, she was just as vulnerable as anyone else.
Which meant that though she turned around at the first strange noise that had been Hiei's initial stumble, curious as to what had happened, she had not been prepared in the slightest for his body to slam into hers in the out-of-control manner that it did.
The result was her on her back, with metaphorical stars obstructing her vision both from the impact of the back of her head coupled with the pain of the place on her forehead where Hiei had hit his.
As she had fallen, her amused thought pertained to the fact that no one downstairs had heard the ruckus and resulting impact given that their little apartments didn't actually exist in the same area as the bar itself.
Any other coherent thoughts were immediately banished from her mind as her stomach gave this extremely pleasant dip, her energy fluxing into the air around them, as Hiei's gentle caress sent a thrill across the back of her neck. In the next instant, the mask of her face had blushed pink as he accompanied what was practically him nuzzling her with a phrase she recognized all too well.
Her eyes still closed, Shikiyoku's lips came apart, but she initially found she could not think of something to say until her cheek moved one click in his nose's direction and she finally retaliated with a soft, breathy, "Hello yourself." 3
The sensation Hiei felt from Shikiyoku was similar to the feeling of someone running their fingers up the back of his neck, the tremor almost a tickle in reaction to the slightest touch from his nose just grazing her cheek. The feeling of heat across her face was well known across his own, as if he too gained that color across the bridge of his nose.
It was satisfying to know that he could get such reactions from the woman he currently lay on.
As she gave the slightest of twitches in his direction, the urge to kiss her again was met with an odd feeling at his core when she responded in kind to his greeting, his lips fighting the smirk he wanted to give her.
"It seems I've fallen for you, My Jewel." Finally giving in to the urge, Hiei planted a kiss on her cheek for a mere second before pulling away just far enough that his nose still brushed her skin. *
If she acknowledged the absolutely awful joke he had just made, she had a fear it would just be encouraging to him, and given that she currently felt as if she really had stepped onto the set of one of those terrible romance dramas Toriko used to watch, it was a moment she wasn't entirely prepared to endorse.
Especially not given the rather obviousness to her since it had been pointed out once again very clearly to herself that he was still too young to have any actual interest in the urges he had started to call forth from within her.
"That is absolutely ridiculous." Her mouth apparently had different ideas than her brain, but her blush from before had deepened seemingly all the way to her toes, especially at him calling her a jewel. His jewel. "You are absolutely ridiculous."
By the time she had finished saying practically the same thing twice, he was doing the thing again and her hands tightened into fists where they were pinned at her sides as she attempted desperately not to shiver as her entire body wished to do, despite the fact that the hairs at the back of her neck were now standing on end and the sensation had quivered down the length of her spine. 3
The fire demon allowed himself to feel every sensation that swept between the bond from Shikiyoku, his lips finally twisting into that taunting smirk and his nose crinkling just a little as he waited for a response.
And when at the last she did respond, he was ready to continue.
With a small intake of breath and the shifting of his head closer so he could nuzzle his nose to her cheek, Hiei whispered, "and yet you've seem to have fallen too." *
Hng. I've fallen and I can't even get up.
...
And you are NOT helping.
Shikiyoku still hadn't opened her eyes yet, having two separate but equal moments in time pass over her mind: the first of which being herself atop him nearly in the instant they'd met, and finding out that he was in fact too young. The second was of a very similar situation that seemed nearly as long ago as the first when he had a portion of her energy and she had struggled to resist him.
Frankly, she felt the second to be more applicable. Because she couldn't rightly deny how very much she wanted him right now. Almost painfully so.
You will make someone very happy someday.
She clenched her teeth together, trying to get over what were surges of her own desires not strictly tied to her energy any longer, but instead to herself and the sudden burst of want that he had not so subtly awoken within her.
...for the moment she was extremely thankful that her arms were pinned to her sides as they both twitched and she recalled the phrase "wandering hands" that had been used to describe her on more than one occasion in the past.
It was a situation she found herself so very willing to be in, and yet so very much wanting to remove herself from.
In regards to the first, she had said from the beginning he was an extremely attractive demon, and the idea that he had never done anything like this before to anyone else except her pleased her in a way that she couldn't rightly describe. But...
But that someone is not me. And that day is not today.
With her eyes still closed, it seemed as if she were even more acutely aware of his paradoxically welcome and unwelcome attentions, of the affectionate nose against her skin and also of the warm breath that teased down her cheek and made her lips once again barely part, though this time anything she might have said, objection or otherwise, never made it up her throat where she worried she might say something that would egg him on.
The tingle that buzzed furiously along her veins became partnered with a different tingle that did not stem from her energy at all, and her chestbegan to rise and fall faster as her pulse quickened.
And yet despite all of her thoughts to the contrary, she found she could not bring herself to say any of what she had managed to decide on the matter, because all she really wanted him to do was what he was doing right then.
She just barely shifted her cheek towards him again, beginning to sink beneath the tide of the waves of energy that were crashing against her. And when she breathed his name the single time, it passed over both her lips and the bond simultaneously. 3
It came in waves, the sensations that began to wash over his skin, that began to radiate from somewhere at his core until it worked its way to the outside of his body. It was first an emotion he didn't know, or perhaps simply could not place, and it worked its way through his veins. It surged through him until it seemed to seep up and out from his skin, only then turning into a sort of heat that seemed different than his usual warmth.
Sure, it had come from the bond and worked its way through him as if it were his own, but to the fire demon, it was his own emotions that he felt. They were just as much his as they were Shikiyoku's, despite not really knowing what it was.
But as she'd breathed out his name, which brought its own tingle to his core all its own, he found himself almost satisfied with the results of his would-be blunder. He was happy that she'd replied in kind to anything he'd said, whether it be directly or not.
And even though he considered pressing on, considered continuing in the game he'd only just found, he took a deep breath and swallowed the tantalizing words that sat on his tongue, brushed away the desire to continue on and see how far she'd let him go before she finally slipped away as she had the first time.
He realized that by her not doing so, she either enjoyed where she was, or did not wish to play the game. Oddly, both seemed to feel right to him, which almost, almost made him want to egg it on, to find out which rang louder than the other.
Instead, he lay absolutely still, his nose no longer touching her skin but his arms still pinning hers, his body still atop hers.
"Are you absolutely sure you will not be my mate?" The words were in the tone of teasing, not really asking the question but presenting the notion in hopes that maybe this moment would change her mind. *
Shikiyoku struggled to remain in place, the breath moving out her nose at the same, increased rate as before.
When he blessedly backed off, a portion of the sensations skittering up and down her body lessened, and she felt thankful for his sake: she was not sure how much longer she could have truthfully only sat there-or lay there, rather-if he had continued in the direction he had chosen to pursue.
It was bad enough he still remained on top of her.
As he spoke once more, her eyes opened to look up at the ceiling before her lids fell again, concealing the still-agitated energy there that whirled almost frantically throughout her body.
At this point, she wasn't even sure he actually understood that being a 'mate' would mean 'mating,' a concept she felt for certain he had first of all not experienced and second of all apparently had no concept of.
Mate with you? In an instant. Be your mate?
...
If only you held such desire. 3
Hiei went quiet as if waiting for an answer, yet knowing that he'd never get one. He could sense the scattered sensations that were not his own skittering along his skin, and was aware that she was still recovering from his advances.
After a few extra seconds of silence, Hiei finally began to unwind himself from her, untangling the arms that had fallen asleep underneath her so that he could plant his tingling palms on the floor and push himself away, and then up to stand.
He stood to her left, a hand reached down in a silent offer to help her up. *
Mentally, Shikiyoku heaved a giant, silent sigh of air as she felt Hiei's weight lift from her an instant after she felt his intention to get up.
She heard his cloak whispering around him, sensing his hand moving out with intention to assist, and she grasped it, allowing him to pull her to her feet, where she stood in front of him as she let go.
For a moment longer, she kept her eyes closed partially because her glasses still miraculously sat on top of her head, metaphorically swallowing in an attempt to settle the buzz within her veins.
When she finally opened them, she gave him a nearly wicked grin as she reached up and firmly took hold of his chin in her other hand, gently moving it back and forth as she spoke.
"I don't think you quite realize how dangerous it is to put me in such a situation as that." I have only so much restraint I can exercise when it comes to you, you handsome little devil. She dropped her hand to cross it with her other over her chest to glare at him. "I wouldn't suggest trying something like that again, flame boy." 3
In the moments that he pulled her to stand, Hiei considered hugging the woman simply because he could, simply because she enjoyed the contact. Instead, he'd left it alone, and let her move to stand where she wished.
Hiei wasn't expecting the hand that shot out and took his chin, moving his head this way and that. His eyes never seemed to leave her though, no matter the strain, and when she finally let go, he was looking at her with a slight gleam in his eye. Again, he considered hugging her, if only to wipe away the serious expression she wore.
He just didn't like the frown as much as he did her smile.
And at first, he thought she was challenging him. Likewise, his expression shifted, his brows raising as if considering the challenge, his lips giving the slightest twitch as if accepting it, but his body remaining unmoved.
"Not many a demon get away with that look towards me, Enchantress." *
"I find that exceedingly hard to believe, flame boy." She didn't so much as flinch when he all but winked at her, only arching an eyebrow back at him as the implication of him doing so went unspoken over their bond. "After all, I hold the market on this look." Her eyes glimmered. "There's only other one being in existence capable of using it." 3
The brow that had risen slid back into its usual place, recreating his natural expression of neutral as he realized he was out of ideas, out of commentary that might continue his fun that he'd quite literally stumbled upon. He found himself only staring, his gears working for a few moments before he finally dropped his chin a tick and gave the smallest of smirks, all of that accompanied by a breath of a laugh.
How was he supposed to not test her when she was simply so…
So…
Her. *
~!**!~
The morning was a typical one, not varying in any way from the days before it, really. An alarm had gone off. Dogs had been fed and Akari had a piece of toast. The closet had been opened, and black slacks had been pulled out alongside a white button-up blouse. Hair had been put up in a somewhat messy bun for work, and by the time the sun had risen, a bakery was occupied and ovens had been turned on, being prepped before unlocking the front doors.
That's where things did begin to change, to look different from the days prior. She didn't know why, but Akari had turned on the television that hung behind the counter. For a while, she listened to music as she wiped down countertops and Mimi, who had shown up for work early this morning in a volunteered double shift, clanged pans in the back, making quite a ruckus in her rush to get fresh pastries and such made before the opening hour.
As she moved for the door with the intention to unlock it, Akari paused, her eyes following a vehicle that sped away and her ears picked up on the sounds of shouting. Thinking it was none of her business, she unlocked the door anyway and returned to work.
Dawn broke and the sun peaked over the horizon in time for the news to break in to whatever song had been playing, and at first she didn't much care. Yeah, sure, she heard bits and pieces about local residents being worried about something or another, and that investigations were picking up 'again', but she was simply too busy to listen in.
Pretty soon, the coffee shop grew busier, and Akari had her hands full with a bulk order that was to go- a business occasion, the woman had said- and she didn't have the time to look up when Mimi slid next to her and mumbled something about a man standing around outside, talking to passersby and scaring away customers.
"He'll leave soon," the demoness said, shrugging it off for the minute so she could run over the order in her head again. Why wouldn't the customer just choose the easy route and get all thirty cups of joe the same?
She couldn't complain much about business though. It wasn't often they had bulk orders like this.
"But he's lurking." Her coworker enunciated, this time earning a sidelong glance. "It's creepy, writing in a notepad and watching people. And sneaking pictures with that camera of his."
Akari gave a sigh. "Take this," she passed the two paper cups in her hands to the human and stepped away, nodding at a sheet of paper that hung from the coffee machine. "I only have ten more- you're on the Americanos now." The girl nodded and Akari turned to face the counter, a smile on her face as she addressed the woman in the grey pencil skirt and blazer. "Mimi will finish up the last of your order. Thank you for your patience, it won't be much longer."
"That's fine, sweetheart. I left early for a reason." The woman waved her away, and Akari wasted no time in moving around the counter and towards the door, her eyes set on the man she saw standing outside her business's front windows, talking to a young girl.
But alas, she was pulled away for other things, and did not make it out the doors to shoo the man away. *
~!**!~
The next morning was very similar, with Akari doing her usual morning routine, getting to work and turning the television on to the music station. This time, when the news broke in, Akari did turn to watch with interested eyes, if only to give herself something to focus on. Her night had been extremely eventful, including four pack members being tossed into seclusion and those ties being severed. It had been more taxing than usual, it seemed.
Her hands remained busy with cleaning the machines, but she never looked away from the news report on the happenings of the day before. Pictures were shown of rough sketches of a male, and the news anchor talked about a kidnapping alongside a possible homicide- both of which happened on this very avenue. After a spiel about taking precautions to not be out late into the night or early in the morning, the news broke off and the program returned to the music station she'd been originally interested in.
So, when she finally opened the doors and allowed the few waiting people in, she found herself not surprised to see the same man from yesterday standing outside her doors, this time looking in. She held the door propped open in invitation, watching him for a bit as he in turned watched her.
"If you're going to loiter, at least buy coffee first." From the approximate five feet between the two of them, Akari could smell alcohol on the man, clinging to his black vest and his breath. "While you're at it, sober up." She turned away from him and began to walk away, saying as she went, "and stop scaring away our customers."
She knew this man to be a demon- a canine demon at that- and thus wanted no sort of turf war to brew up. She didn't want to fight- didn't have the will to do so- and thus settled on simply inviting him into her territory without pause, hoping it would dissuade him from stalking strangers on the sidewalk.
"You're Akari." His gruff words were far from a question, and for a moment she forgot she wore a nametag. "The owner of the shop?"
Now that question she hadn't expected. "Just a barista." She didn't find herself surprised when he followed her inside. "What can i get for you?" She glanced over her shoulder, noting very keenly the lack of ears and tail on this one. Like me.
"How about a minute of your time?" The other slid a leather-bound wallet from his slacks pockets, and flipped it open with a gloved hand to show a badge, holding it low to his hip so no other would see. The badge very clearly inscribed Private Investigator on it, and was inscribed with what she presumed to be something from the local police department. And for as long as she looked at it, he held it for her to scrutinize.
Akari sighed and waved her hand at him. "I don't have the authority to give you anything you might need without the owners here." She moved around him and the counter, giving a small nod to the other girl who was busy at the coffee machine and register. She repeated her question to the man, "What can I get for you?"
He shook his head. "Only information. I don't want to get you into trouble, but I only need a moment of your time."
Akari sighed, shaking her head again as she poured a cup of plain, black coffee and extended it to the other. "Like I said, no authority."
"Well then, I'll see myself out." He dropped some change onto the counter before turning and walking away, back out the door, and returning to the spot he'd lingered in for the past two days.
At least he took the coffee. *
~!**!~
Day four of the demon being outside her shop, asking customers for information on whatever he was wanting to know and scaring off business, and Akari had had enough. When a Saturday morning was dead in the shop, she knew his presence was too big to allow outside the shop any longer.
So, an hour after opening, she pushed the door open and called out. "Hey, you." When he turned to look, she waved her hand to indicate for him to follow. "Let's go. You're scaring off the business." And I'm too tired to deal with this today.
She lead him through the coffee shop and into the back room, where a very small office stood to the side. With her keys meant only for opening duties, she unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing it behind them before moving to sit in the chair that belonged to Grams. She watched as he took a seat in the only other chair in the room on the other side of the desk.
"First off, I'd like to apologize for scaring your customers away. That was not my intention." He sat on the edge of his chair, planting both elbows on the tops of his knees as he looked at her, strands of his messy hair falling in his eyes for what she internally thought to be dramatic effect. "Second, i haven't introduced myself. My name is Yuuichi, and as I'm sure you've noticed, I've been asking around for information on the latest development in a case."
"You mean the kidnapping and/or homicide case?"
"What do you know about it?"
"Only what the news said the other morning: a woman being kidnapped and a man found a few blocks away dead in an alley."
Yuuichi nodded and looked down at the notepad he had pulled out sometime before now, a pen between his fingers and his eyes roving words previously scrawled there. And when he looked up again, Akari felt a sudden wave of recognition that resonated deep within her core, her own eyes seeing his flash an odd color so briefly that she almost didn't think she'd seen it. In response, she felt her own do the same, and the silence in the room was suddenly heavy, almost crushing as the amount of electricity on the air rendered them both without words.
Akari blinked a few times before sitting back in her chair, her head bowing as she remembered just how chaotic her world felt at the moment, how painful her ties with her pack was. How it was almost unbearable to think of their suffering while she sat in the chair, perfectly healthy.
She would've stayed on that train of thought if the other Alpha in the room hadn't cleared his throat and looked up at her again. "As I was saying-"
"I don't know anything," Akari answered before he could ask, shaking her head at him. "The only thing I've noticed in the last couple of days was a traffic violation- speeding, really."
"Speeding vehicle?"
Akari raised a brow at his sudden interest.
"Was it blue?"
"Yes?"
"Two-door?"
"Mm-hm."
"Do you have any footage? Security tape maybe?"
Akari blinked and turned to look at the nearby computer. For a few moments, she thought. She knew it was not her place to get into the system, to look at security footage that did not legally belong to her in any way, shape, or form.
But she also knew this one would not leave until he was satisfied, which meant business would continue to dwindle until he got what he wanted. In a way, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Say no, and lose business? Or say yes, and possibly get reprimanded for stepping out of line?
The last hardly seems worse than lack of business.
I hate making decisions for others.
Finally, her fingers typed furiously on the keyboard, a hand periodically moving from keyboard to mouse until she had several little windows of video pulled up, one of which was pointed to the doors from the inside of the shop. She rewinded the tape until she found herself moving for the door a few mornings prior, and paused it when she saw the speeding vehicle run by. "I do."
Suddenly Akari was aware of pressure on the back of her chair, tilting it ever-so-slightly backward as Yuuichi planted a hand there and placed his other on the top of the wooden desk, standing to her left so that he could see the screen. "Rewind it."
She did as asked, and rewound the tape again, playing it from about two minutes before the car sped by so he could see, pausing it again just before it was out of the frame. "There's no license plate," she stated, turning her head to look up at him where he leaned over her. His eyes remained focused on the screen, and suddenly he didn't look quite as… dull as he had before. He suddenly had life to his eyes, a light that stemmed from opportunity and hope at accomplishing a task.
It made her stomach give a little twist of envy- she was only beginning to feel those things for the first time in a long time. And at the same time, she found herself smiling at him- a soft smile that said she knew what was happening, and where it all stemmed from. And when he turned to look at her, his mouth opening to say something, she watched as his eyes widened and he blinked at her before closing his agape jaw, his expression turning stony after a moment. Finally, he pushed away from her and the desk to stand upright, a pen poising over his steno pad and his eyes roving to and fro, his hand jotting information down.
"What's your last name, Akari?"
"Hanase."
He blinked once at his paper before continuing on. "What number can I best reach you? For investigative purposes."
Akari rattled off her cellphone number without a thought and gave a turn of her head. "Is that all, detective?"
He looked down into her face for a moment before nodding once. "Thank you for your time. I'll give you a call if anything turns up." His fingers deftly found a card in his vest pocket, and he held it out to her. "All I ask is that you do the same."
Akari took the little business card and nodded once at him. "Will do." Without another word, she watched as the other demon turned and evacuated the little office, her eyes following his back until he was no longer within eyesight. *
~!**!~
Akari lounged on the couch with Kiyoko in her lap, her eyes trained on a spot on the wall as voices drifted in and out of her awareness. A hand stroked down the white dog's back out of habit, the demoness thinking herself initially an unwilling partaker in this event despite it being in her own apartment. But, Botan had talked her into it, saying Yukina needed a little girl time outside of their apartment. And really, it was getting harder and harder to argue with the former ferry girl.
"So Akari," came the quiet voice of the ice maiden, pulling hazel eyes over onto strikingly calm red ones, "How long have you been in this apartment?"
The copper-headed female gave a small smile, "A few weeks, I think. It's pretty quiet, and Nabu and Kiyoko enjoy it despite the four flights of stairs."
"It's wonderful. Big enough for all three."
Akari thought the ice demoness too polite, making conversation with someone who was clearly feeling uncomfortable in the face of so many people in her domain. "It's been fun decorating it, if I'm honest. I've found I rather like shopping for things like this."
"You like decorating? Have you tried decorating anything other than the apartment? You work in a bakery, right?" Keiko asked, which seemed to relieve the Koorime.
"Not really. We have cupcakes and stuff, but no one really orders them. My job is more attuned to coffee and breakfast stuff." She gave a short pause and a shoulder shrug, "It's neat, actually, meeting all the different kinds of people that come through."
"I know what you mean. Yusuke gets some real characters in the shop sometimes. You'd be surprised how many he's thrown out." Keiko gave a small laugh, Akari giving a tilt of her head. "Oh, we own a ramen shop now! He seems to enjoy it, but not as much as he likes fighting. He's just itching for a fight I think."
Akari blinked. She hadn't really considered visiting Yusuke since she returned to this world, having been too wrapped up in her own world to consider anyone other than those who came to her. Which, she realized, was probably the only reason she made it through day-to-day life outside of work. Oops.
"But Keiko's kept him in line!" Botan added with a cheeky grin.
"They really do suit each other well," Yukina added, a small smile touching her lips.
Akari blinked, finding the sudden silence stifling. Suddenly, she shook Kiyoko, who hopped from her lap. "Alright, let's go!"
"Where to?" Yukina asked in her tiny voice.
"To the Ramen Shop! I haven't had Yusuke's Ramen yet!"
"Yay!" *
~!**!~
While Akari had pitched the idea to go to the Ramen shop, really the only thing the public place had leant itself to was an easier atmosphere for the girls to chatter. Yusuke, who stood behind a counter, had been too busy to chat, which Akari was partially grateful for. She really hadn't been sure if she'd wanted to face the detective yet, and had been blessed with more time to gather herself before facing said man. After all, the last time she'd seen him, she'd… disappointed him. She knew that.
She just… didn't know how to fix it.
So, the evening went smoothly, the four girls chattering about this and that until the group seemed comfortable with one another. And then everyone parted ways, the trio going to their apartment and Akari going back to her own. She hadn't let them walk her back.
She didn't know what possessed her to do so, but on her way back, Akari stopped to browse an electronics store, hands in her pockets and eyes roaming everything she passed by. First, she grabbed a small radio, deciding music would probably be good in the apartment.
But when she got to the television section? She found herself walking, eyeing each individual one for quality, listening to the sound and how well it played on her ears. Each one had a unique something about it, but Akari found that she liked the medium-sized ones, mainly because she could imagine Nabu and Kiyoko laying in front of it while she was away.
It wouldn't be so bad.
And she'd get to see the news once in awhile.
She contemplated for a bit, considering how much she had left in savings and how much she was willing to spend on such a luxury. The apartment did come with a few free channels, she remembered.
Finally, after enough time passed that she began noticing employees lingering around the nearby aisles, she pulled one of the boxes from the shelf beneath the displays and hauled it to the front. Gently, she placed it on the counter, side by side with the small radio she had chosen.
A few words were exchanged before Akari was able to pay and leave with her new belongings, making a mental note to not spend anything else for a while. She walked the streets with the thirty-two inch box in one hand, and the other holding a medium-sized radio that she was most excited about. Red in color, and had a CD player should she decide to find CDs she liked. A radio tuner. A clock.
She hauled both boxes all the way to the apartments, refusing help from the man standing outside his apartment with a polite shake of her head, noting that he was without his girlfriend. Pity. Botan's not here. She climbed up the four stories with heavy feet, suddenly feeling worn out from the day's events. Add to that her hunt the night before, and she could hardly keep her eyes open long enough to get the key into the lock and twist the knob.
The door swung itself open, and Akari only moved far enough into the apartment to drop the boxes on the couch and turn to close and lock the door, before turning and heading for her bed.
"Welcome home, Akariii," came Nabu's yawned greeting. "How was dinner?"
"It was okay. Yusuke was busy," she replied as she plopped face-first onto the mattress, the blankets ruffling a little with the jostling.
"Next time, I'm going too."
"Sure, sure."
"You work tomorrow?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay. Kiyoko and I wanna go to the park while you're gone."
"I'll wake you up when I leave, then." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she was falling into sleep.
~!**!~
The next morning, Akari was up and showered before her alarm even went off, and was dressed long before she even needed to be out the door. So, that left her with extra time to pull her new play-things from their packaging and begin connecting cords to the back of the television. Curiously, she read the manual before setting it up, deciding to use her coffee table as a stand to sit the television on top of.
Once she finally had it plugged in, she began playing with the remote, setting all the controls and playing with the settings until the display was clear and rather appealing to the eyes. Curious, she hit the channel change button and blinked when the volume had the television practically yelling at her.
"Sorry!" She yelled at the dogs she could now hear stirring, scrambling forward to silence the object before it woke the neighbors.
Once it was quiet enough that she could hear everything else too, Akari gave a sigh. "Stupid thing," she grumbled as she began flipping channels, noting how many she had and the types of channels there were. She even changed the time that was displayed in the upper right hand corner, only to realize she was running a few minutes behind and drop the remote. "I'm heading out!"
"Let us out first!"
Akari smiled, almost having forgot. "Let's go, sleepy heads!"
"You're the one who woke us up."
"Hey, you asked me to." She waved her hand in a 'hurry' motion as the duo passed, then turned to lock the door before she began running down the stairs, waving behind herself as she went. "See you two later!"
The whole way to the cafe, Akari jogged. Sure, compared to her run, it was a leisurely pace, but it got her where she needed to be on time. She unlocked the front door and let herself in, finding herself surprised to see some lights already on inside the building. She glanced at her watch.
Mimi doesn't come in until later.
After locking the door again, Akari turned and meandered her way into the kitchen, where two people sat in chairs that had been dragged to the back. Akari blinked at the older couple, then again checked her watch. "Good morning Grams. Gramps." She finally greeted the pair with a small smile as she turned to retrieve one of the aprons hanging by the door.
"Not yet, child," came the woman's voice, still fraught with sleep. "Grab a chair and have a seat, dear." When she glanced to the man, he only smiled at her.
"Okay," she finally answered, turning and moving back into the foyer, picking up a chair and hauling it to the back room, where she positioned it to create a small triangle once sitting beside the couple. She waited, wondering why they pair were here.
Probably because of that detective or whatever. Wouldn't be surprised.
"We've been thinking about this for a while, Akari," came the man's baritone voice, "and we've finally decided to bring it up. As you know, My wife and I are getting up there in age, and aren't quite fit to do the things we used to do."
Akari raised a brow. Since when has that stopped the pair from doing anything?
"And as I'm sure you've been told, our granddaughter doesn't wish to own this lovely establishment. And, truth be told, her skills would be better utilized elsewhere, where more people will admire her work. She's quite crafty, our Mimi."
"Grams, I-"
"Just listen, child." Akari nodded, and the woman sighed. "You've been a great help these past several weeks, dear. And you fit in so well that all three of us have felt as if you are a part of our little family. You've changed quite a bit since your first day here. You're happier, and the customers adore you almost as much as we do."
"It's not often we come across someone with your kind of work ethic, Akari," Gramps picked up, a smile making his old eyes sparkle. "You're talented, and a fast learner."
There was a pause, Akari looking from one person to the other as she wrung her hands in her lap, confused as to if they were firing her or commending her. Surely if they were firing her, Mimi would have shown up to take the shift?
"To get to the point, my dear… We are getting ready to sell the shop. It is simply too much work for the both of us to keep up with, even with yours and Mimi's helping hands. And we can't afford to hire another person- don't really want to either."
All of Akari's breath left her, and she let her chin fall. "You're selling?"
"Yes, my child."
A brief moment of silence passed, Akari feeling as if she'd been punched. She'd really begun to like this place too.
"Now, it won't be this week, or maybe even this month. We haven't found a decent buyer yet, and want to choose very carefully. If all goes well, we want this place to live on, to flourish."
"And if you'd consider it, we would like to ensure that you run the business."
Akari blinked, lifting her head after a blank moment and blinking again at each person in the room. "Do what?"
"Like she said, it won't be soon. You have time to consider this offer, but we would be pleased if you took the reigns. We would simply grant you… a business partner, really. Someone to help you handle the funds, is all. It would essentially be yours."
When Akari did not at first answer, the man leaned forward, reaching across the space between them and patting her knee. "We would not ask if we did not believe you were up for the challenge, my dear. You've come a long way in just a short amount of time."
"And," Grams continued with a warm smile, "Mimi will be here until the next spring, before she ships off to school in the West. She will be able to help you with everything should you decide you want to embark on this journey."
Akari swallowed, finally mustering up a few words for the couple. "I appreciate the offer. Really, I do." She paused, suddenly feeling as if shooting down the opportunity here and now might not be what she wanted. "I'll… consider it. I really do love this place, and you guys as well, but I'm not sure yet that I could commit so fully to a business."
"That's understandable, dear. Take your time in considering. We will let you know before any major changes are finalized. In the meantime, keep up the good work. Deal?" The man held out his hand for her to shake.
Akari couldn't resist the nervous smile as she reached out to shake his hand. "Deal."
"Good. Now, child, get to work. We set you a little behind, so you've got a little bit of time to catch up. We believe in you!"
Akari stood and watched as the couple gathered their belongings and turned to leave, both with reassuring smiles on their faces. She let them out the front door, making sure to lock it behind them, before she turned herself into business mode and began firing up ovens and stovetops to get ready for the morning. *
Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off!