Yu Yu Hakusho: An Alternate Reality

by Last of the Star Makers

What if Shinobu Sensui had one more bad guy? And what if Kurama's classmate got caught up in the whole saving the world mess? Starting in the midst of the Chapter Black Saga, Episode 73 of the anime, join CrisicMelody and Star's on-going roleplay full of action, adventure, and a little romance along the way. There's probably gonna be fun too. We think so. AU. OC/Kurama, OC/Hiei.

154. Episode 238

A/N: 'nother "chapter," as it were. Continues right where the last one left off.

Symbols Guide:

* : Written by CM; She writes primarily 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 primarily for Shikiyoku and 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 became 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.

---

Raion's irises gleamed with a new sort of interest.

"Such fire in those eyes!" He lifted the shot glass that he'd been holding against her and drained it of its contents. "I do believe you would do well in a pride, my favorite little Jewel."

~!**!~

A brief smile of thanks passed over Akari's features in response to their sympathies.

"I hope so too.

"I have about all I need to make some trial cupcakes at the shop, I just don't have a working kitchen there." Her head ticked to one side for a breath before she straightened up again. "I don't want to dirty your kitchen! I would happily open my apartment for you guys and dirty my own kitchen for this."

She moved towards the sink with her dirty plate, grabbing the few set around so she could wash them all at once. *

Yukina laughed cheerily, "Well, we'd be happy to have you over while you made them, but only if you wanted. I don't know if we have everything you would need here, but I'm sure the apartment would smell wonderful from it."

Botan moved to help Akari with the dishes while Keiko began to put the other food away with Yukina's assistance.

"In either case, taste-testing some treats would make for great fun!" Botan grinned.

~!**!~

Still sporting a half-smile, Shikiyoku only shook her head at Raion and dropped her gaze from him.

"Alright, kitty-cat. You've had your fun."

The rumbling baritone voice had Shikiyoku looking up again to spy the bright yellow gaze and dark hair of one of the guild's more casual, on-and-off members, Raitoningu. His smile offset the ferocity of the scar on his face, a pair of triangle-shaped ears at full attention on the top of his head.

"Leave some for the rest of us."

~!**!~

"It most certainly is not." Yusuke agreed, only taking cursory notice of Hiei's exchange with the waitress. "Dare I say you've grown somewhat attached, yah little softie? Even beyond what was once just duty?" He took another drink. 3

Hiei finished the drink Yusuke had poured for him and set the empty tankard onto the table nearby, using that as an excuse to give himself time to think over his response.

A part of him so very much wanted to mention this or that, and yet that stubborn side of the fire demon was just as tempted to say nothing more on the subject of his and Shikiyoku's… whatever it was.

He wasn't really sure how to describe the recent happenings. He thought about his struggles with wanting her to be his and her not quite understanding that. Her wave-aways of his vocalized desires.

Hiei gave a little chuckle to himself as he turned to Yusuke. "I can't imagine what makes you think such a thing." He took a long and deep drink from his glass of his mixed favorites, almost emptying its contents completely.

"I don't think the words 'somewhat attached' is large enough," he stared at the last of his ordered drink, "to do it justice." He downed the last of his drink.

~!**!~

"And it's always the dog who comes to ruin the cat's fun." Raion gave a long and dramatic sigh. "How cruel."

The lion dramatically leaned down and planted a kiss on Shikiyoku's hand before he turned and passed that very same hand to Raitoningu.

"I suppose I'll go find another mouse to play with."

With a flick of his tail and a sidelong smirk at Shikiyoku, Raion moved further into the dancing crowd.

~!**!~

Akari started the tap water and dripped some of the nearby soap. "Well, I'm just happy to be of help." She lowered the dirty dishes to the soapy water. "If all else fails, I could just bring what I need for that here. I won't need much to make a few of each flavor."

She thought about transporting the ingredients.

"If you've got cupcake or muffin tins, I can bring the rest…?" *

"Sure!" Yukina exclaimed. "Any time!"

"Just let us know and we will absolutely invite Shizuru to drop by as well." Botan added.

"She might be upset if she misses out on something like eating cupcakes." Keiko grinned.

~!**!~

A somewhat deep sigh from the wolf demon next to her as he watched Raion leave gave Shikiyoku a chance to look up at him as he took her hand and then began dancing with her.

"Seeing you as another one of his mice... ...That demon's arrogance never ceases to amaze me." Raiton noted with a toothy grin, "If you are indeed a mouse, you are one he greatly underestimates, Mother."

Shikiyoku laughed.

~!**!~

"No?" Yusuke queried rhetorically, then gave a laugh himself, "No, I guess it's not, is it? I don't think Keiko let me kiss her like that in public until..." He binked, "Well, actually I don't think I ever have." A grin. "Not quite like that anyway. Or if I have, I was too drunk to remember it after the fact."

Himself at this point a little buzzed, he gave Hiei a sidelong glance and the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could consider his entire goal of broaching the subject with the fire demon might be prevented before it had hardly began, "But I do know that I've hardly seen you smile up to this point, let alone hold someone in a way that wasn't meant to kill them." His grin seemed slightly self-aware of the ridiculousness of his following question: "You asked her out yet?" 3

A slight frown settled over his lips as the fire demon eyed the empty glass. He glanced at the bottle on the table, saw some left inside, and decided that it would be enough to tide him over. He poured the last bit into his glass and took another drink.

He was finally beginning to feel some of the alcohol when Yusuke got around to his question.

"First of all," he pointed at the detective with the hand holding his glass, "I'd still kill anyone but her who gets too close."

He paused to eye the other, considering his next words.

"Second of all, if you're not referring to a date, then I have no idea what you mean by that question."

~!**!~

Akari passed plates to Botan to be rinsed and dried. "Well, right now I'm waiting to hear back from the building owner of my shop, so I've got time. I'm not sure about what will happen when or if I do hear back from them though."

She glanced over her shoulder at the other two in the room. "Is there any time that isn't good for you guys? Since you work and all…" *

"Well, weekends are usually best in general." Keiko said.

"I only work mornings," Yukina added. "So after noon is fine for me."

"Usually one or more of us free come the evening." Botan finished.

~!**!~

Yusuke laughed, knowing Hiei likely spoke truth about Shikiyoku being the only one he'd let get that close to him in the first place.

"Well, I mean, yeah, that's basically what that question means." The grin was still on his face, surprised Hiei knew the word, but less surprised somehow after talking with him. "If you haven't, I feel like I gotta tell you to go for it, three eyes. I would eat my shoes if she said no." 3

Hiei raised a brow at Yusuke's laughter, but found himself fighting a smile that completely contradicted his mock annoyance.

He ended up losing that battle. A smirk flew across his expression.

"It's too bad I won't see you eat your shoes, Detective. That would be quite the story to tell later."

He realized that he hadn't really talked so casually like this with anyone other than Shikiyoku, and he found that an odd emotion settled somewhere in his chest. It reminded him somewhat of his guildies and the camaraderie that they had with one another.

"Truth be told," he began, his lips moving without his permission, "that's what was interrupted by Crusnik."

~!**!~

Akari nodded. "Weekends. Got it."

She passed the last plate to Botan and pulled the drain from the sink.

"Actually, how would next weekend sound?" She pulled a hand towel from where it hung on a nearby drawer and dried her hands. "The only plans I have right now are to go to the park with Nabu and Kiyoko." *

"I don't usually have much planned that far in advance!" Botan piped up, "So it sounds good to me!"

Yukina nodded, "That ought to be enough time to get Shizuru to come back this way too.

"I think it's settled, then." Keiko smiled at the others.

~!**!~

"A date? Really?" Yusuke's eyes widened a bit, processing this new information.

There were a few demons who knew of the concept, he'd learned. Picked it up from the humans after being in this close of proximity with them over the years.

He looked at the fire demon a little differently, gaze lifting to the woman across the room who seemed to be enjoying herself as she danced with a wolf demon. Hiei was the last individual he would have guessed to know of such a thing, much less arrange one as Yusuke imagined he had.

"Well..." He started carefully, but genuinely wanting to give Hiei room to talk about it if he wanted, "How did it go? I mean, before the interruption." 3

Hiei gave a brief nod at Yusuke, finally lifting his gaze from his glass. "It was fun."

He thought back to cooking dinner with Shikiyoku and following it up with sweet snow. And then the clothing bumble.

He gave a sudden bark of laughter at himself. "I was a mess. She had to tie my tie, among other things." His gaze drifted to the woman across the bar as the bond fed her a bit of his amusement and genuine happiness. "I think she enjoyed it, but haven't had the moment to talk to her about it yet…"

~!**!~

"You know, I don't think I've ever been around Shizuru."

She blinked, suddenly remembering a time that felt like eons ago when she and Kurama had been kidnapped and had their energy sealed.

"Correction, I've seen her once. That was…. A long time ago now, it feels like." Her smile fell away from her expression as she remembered the redhead.

"I missed you."

"Your energy is better spent elsewhere…"

She blinked and found the room again. "I can't wait to actually meet her. I honestly haven't been socializing much, as Botan knows." *

"Well, you are most certainly always welcome around here!" Botan reassured her, echoed by the other two women.

"Shizuru is wonderful." Yukina added. "She's been such a big help on what we can have prepared for Kuwabara's side of things."

"I don't know how she has time for it all." Keiko added. "Between running the dojo and helping us prepare, she still manages to make sure any world-ending crisis is averted."

~!**!~

"I don't know how to tie a tie either, if it makes you feel any better." Yusuke admitted, trying to gloss over Hiei's 'fun,' and having difficulty doing so. It seemed there was no end to the surprises. "Keiko's always trying to get me to dress better, but she usually only thinks of it when we're going out."

"If it's any consolation, if she didn't enjoy it, I highly doubt you would have gotten away with a kiss like that. But Keiko's really good about telling me stuff nowadays, talking stuff out and not just being upset for reasons I can't fathom. I for one am not a mind-reader. It's taken some work on both our parts, but we communicate better than we ever did when we were younger. It can be hard to speak up sometimes, like when I know I did something wrong or am ashamed of something. I want her to think highly of me. She's the one that knows me best, and that's scary if you think about it. Someone knowing you that well." He shrugged, "But at the end of it, she's the one that knows me best, and she's stuck it out this long, so what do I have to hide?" 3

Hiei turned to Yusuke and gave the detective his full attention, listening to everything the other had to say about his relationship. He nodded here and there to show he was listening, and even took a sip of his drink once or twice.

He had never heard about 'relationships' in this way, he realized. Sure, he understood all those things about Keiko knowing Yusuke best - Hiei felt the same about Shikiyoku, after all - and about communication. The bond did force him to communicate most days.

...Oh.

He blinked once and glanced around the room, watching people talking for a moment. When his irises landed on Yusuke again, he was nodding in understanding for a whole different reason.

I don't usually say much.

He stared at Yusuke for a moment as he mulled that thought over.

"She…" He frowned and pressed his lips together in thought, Yusuke's last few sentences resonating somewhere in his mind. "She knows me better than I know myself," he finally admitted. He realized he'd never thought about it before.

~!**!~

Akari smiled at the ladies in the room, grateful for their hospitality and willingness to include her in their little world. It made her feel welcomed and happy. "The one time I actually met her, she took care of me and Nabu, who chased the cat - I can't remember its name - around the house." She laughed briefly at the memory of puppy Nabu.

"I meant to ask, actually. She runs a dojo now? Where at?" *

"Well, there's a branch of it downtown where she holds classes." Botan said, "That's an offshoot of the main dojo she built out on a portion of Genkai's land. The students who show more promise outside of average human capabilities live there. A couple of those wayward kids she was looking after when the layers were still in place are Masters themselves now and they trade off duties."

~!**!~

Yusuke gave a nod of complete understanding.

"I get that. I really do." His eyes drifted back over to the woman, a second wolf with piercing blue eyes approaching her, bowing, and after a moment of some sort of conversation between them and the first wolf who kissed Shikiyoku on the cheek before leaving, began dancing with her.

"I don't know if I'd gotten a good look at those tattoos before now." He gestured with his drink to Hiei's arm, bare from the nature of the foreign tanktop. Yusuke scanned briefly over the swirls there, curling up the neck and part of the face. "They're pretty sweet."

~!**!~

The pair danced in silence, enjoying the pulsing rhythms of the bodies and music round them.

They had not looked away from one another, though. Shikiyoku found her eyes locked with the uncannily blue eyes that stared right through her as they always did when Tsundora turned his gaze upon her. It gave her a slight chill, if not an unpleasant one.

When that particular song ended, after a moment or two of trying to catch her breath, Shikiyoku found herself caught up in Tsundora's embrace before he retreated to hold her at arm's length and peered deeply into her eyes.

"Are you happy, Mother?" He asked softly, sincerely, as he always did when they had a private moment, searching her face for her answer.

Her expression lightened, and she seemed to take a moment to seriously consider her answer, her circumstances, her life, before replying with, "How could I not be happy, when surrounded by such affection?"

Whether or not he was expecting her to say as much, after a beat, Tsundora pulled her into another hug. 3

Hiei had turned to watch Shikiyoku for a few minutes, his lips finding a small smile of content as a couple of his guild members switched out. He turned to look at Yusuke as Tsundora hugged Shiki - something that was not uncommon for the wolf demon.

When Yusuke mentioned the tattoos, Hiei turned to look at his bare arm, his eyes following the dark swirls and twirls. He clenched and unclenched his fist, making his muscles and, subsequently, the black marks move.

"They are pretty glorious, huh?" he huffed out a laugh as he recalled Tarou's descriptions of recent events and the people in the tale.

~!**!~

Akari sucked in a breath. "Right! I'd forgotten about those kids. I'm glad to hear that Genkai and Shizuru are still taking care of them." She thought back to the single kid she'd walked to Genkai's, and how that kid had greeted her the one time while carrying logs much too large for the normal human to heft.

She couldn't remember his name or even what he looked like, but she did remember Nabu wanting to play with him and the hug she'd received.

"Those kids were cute."

She shook her head as if to dispel the distracting thoughts. "That sounds wonderful!" *

"You know," Botan looked thoughtful, "It's kind of funny, but we all seem to find our way back to each other."

"Well, some of us live together." Keiko pointed out.

"I guess that's true."

"We've been through a lot together." Yukina said quietly, looking at each of the others in the room.

Botan nodded and return to her usual cheery self, "I suppose saving the world gives you a lot of things in common!"

~!**!~

Yusuke smiled and nodded, "Well, and from what little I understand of it all, they're a testament to your station in life as well." He took a drink. "I could understand keeping the dragon under wraps. I don't doubt there are those what would still fight you just to see if they could take it somehow. But I think you'd be surprised just how much clout those symbols would get you. Respect, even. Shikiyoku's just as bad as Kurama these days in having her hand in everything on the First Level, and even I've taken care to make sure people know she and I are affiliated somewhat. The network is vast." 3

Hiei's grin turned wicked and daring at Yusuke's mention of demons fighting him for the Dragon. Indeed there had been a few since his guild's founding, but only one had lived to tell the tale of their fight and their lack of success in the ordeal.

His grin faded to an interested sort of smile at Yusuke's elaborating of his other markings, and he turned down to regard them some more. Truthfully, he hadn't thought of them in that light. He hadn't considered them being able to pull more respect and recognition for himself.

Maybe the guild would get more work if he did walk around without his cloak.

...Or maybe he'd be happy with just seeing them more in his own day to day life and reminding himself of Shikiyoku's constant presence in his life, even when he's away from her.

"Perhaps a cloak is no longer necessary," he commented, more to himself than to Yusuke. He turned to the detective again in time for a waitress to pass by. She paused long enough to silently offer him a couple of drinks on her tray - all of which were sent to him and none of which sent by Shikiyoku - and he waved her away with a short nod of thanks.

"I haven't mentioned it to Shiki yet, but I've got too many things sitting around in my room not going anywhere. I've been meaning to talk to her about opening a shop here on the First, since I've got no actual knowledge of human buying patterns." He could see the mess in his jewelry room now, his desk overflowing with completed sets that he just couldn't sell quick enough here at the bar.

~!**!~

Akari leaned back into the counter and watched the exchange between the women in the room silently, thinking about her own experiences after meeting the people tied to this group.

Ever since Sensui, she'd slowly been allowing people in. Sure, she'd lost a few - Manami had been a surprise loss - and she'd perhaps locked a few out. But even now she found herself surrounded by more people.

For the people she felt she'd 'lost', another found their way behind her walls.

And maybe that wasn't so bad.

Her lips stretched in a smile that teetered between sad and reminiscent as she continued to glance between the trio. "I like you guys," she mumbled without thinking. *

"Heeeey! I knew she'd come around!" Botan grabbed Akari in a giant hug, leaving Yukina chuckling at her and Keiko shaking her head, if with a smile.

~!**!~

"There's a reason her symbol is up on one of the walls of my stand." Yusuke nodded when Hiei mentioned losing the cloak. "Those swirls carry a lot of weight. And have saved me a heap of trouble on more than one occasion."

"She'd be the one to talk to about something like that." He grinned, "Knowing her, she could probably have a place like that up in about a week. All yah gotta do is ask. You're a lucky guy to have come by her favor naturally." He gave Hiei a wink, "From what I hear, that's pretty difficult to do." 3

Hiei raised a brow. He hadn't known Shikiyoku had been giving her mark out to people for their various businesses. He tried to imagine the symbol up on the walls in the detective's stand, though he wasn't sure he had ever paid enough attention to notice the few times he'd visited.

After all, his visits had been as brief as he could keep them at the time.

"I'll have to keep my eye out, then," he said to himself as he glanced around the bar in search for one such swirl. When he didn't find one, he turned down to the ones on his skin instead.

"I'm the luckiest," he said with a whimsical little smile to himself. When he looked to Yusuke, his expression was one of content. "This bar took about a month." He thought about its size and how many people had been working on it day and night. When he compared that to the possible little jewelry shop - fully staffed and all - he couldn't imagine it taking nearly as long.

He suddenly turned a glittering gaze up at the other. "You've got some good ideas, Detective. You're operating less on luck these days."

~!**!~

Akari gave a little sound of surprise at Botan's hug, but found herself immediately returning the gesture. She squeezed the other in a hug that made her shoulders feel a thousand times lighter, as if all of her stress rolled away at the gesture.

Her smile widened. "It's kind of hard not to. Your attitude is infectious," she laughed. *

"You're welcome." She said as she pulled away and gave a playfully lighthearted punch that gently tapped Akari's shoulder. "Glad to be of service. Any time." She winked.

~!**!~

Yusuke spread his hands wide and shrugged his shoulders, "I own a business. More than one, strictly speaking. What can I say? My earlier luck has influenced my present position in a way though."

A particularly rowdy corner of the bar, the station closest to the far wall, cheered about something or another and when Yusuke glanced that way, he saw between the bodies the dark-haired woman the celebrations were all about putting one shot glass down of what was at least three in front of her and wiping the back of her hand across her lips with a side-long grin.

A blonde-haired demon with a peculiar looking tail and eyes a touch brighter than likely usual was on her other side and Yusuke watched for a moment as he took hold of Shikiyoku's face in his hands and planted a giant kiss on her cheek, probably in congratulations of some kind or another. 3

"It's done well in establishing your reputation," he joked as the bar grew louder. His eyes followed Yusuke's to spy the kiss Raion planted on Shikiyoku's red-tinted cheeks. He spied the sparkles hanging around her head and eyes, and for a moment he considered approaching and giving in to that golden sheen.

Instead, he stayed planted where he was and watched the celebrations from afar, not missing the tall demon who shoved his way through the crowd with two large drinks in his hands.

Tarou approached with the sloppiest of grins and thrust a drink at Hiei, hitting him in the chest with it even as he hugged the fire demon and extended the second drink to Yusuke. "Boss, you're not shtill mad abou' our little dansh are ya? 'Cuz you're missing out on a damn good party, you shober shonofabitch."

Hiei pulled the tankard from Tarou's hand and took two steps forward and away from the over-the-shoulder hug. "If I were mad, you'd be dead."

Tarou turned to Yusuke. "You shee that?" He jerked a thumb in the fire demon's direction. "That'sh his denial face."

The fire demon only stared. "And what am I in denial of?"

"EVERYTHING!" He turned to Yusuke again, suddenly looking much more sober than before. "He's clueless and hopeless." *

"Is that so?" Yusuke said it as if he absolutely believed the other, story-telling demon. "I mean, clueless I knew." His eyes glimmered with mischievousness as he teased the shortest of the three. "I think anyone could take one look at the little punk and know that. But hopeless...? Convince me." 3

Hiei's lips stretched down into a frown at Yusuke.

Tarou ignored the visual protest. "Listen, Mazo." He turned and pointed from Hiei to Yusuke. "You come hang around the bar for a day and you'll see what I mean by hopeless. This one," he pointed at Hiei, "got one of those looks- Boss, no matter how hard you glare, it ain't gonna save yah - and he just..."

Hiei glared as Tarou shook his head sadly.

"Yah just gotta see it man. Ain't nobody gotten that look from Mom before. The damn fool." He gave a deep, soul-shaking sigh. "In the words of Chisai, boss…" He turned and settled Hiei with a stare. "You're disappointing Mommy." *

Yusuke was just looking back and forth between Hiei's guildie and Hiei, mostly unable to follow the conversation.

A resounding echo of several voices joining together in a reverberating, "Ooooooh," of a turn of events like a solid diss and an accepted challenge about to go down drew a few more faces in their direction over in the corner where Shikiyoku stood with a raised eyebrow and equally brazen expression in comparison to the lion demon standing over her.

Narrowed audacity in his eyes, Raion reached over to the bar without looking, grabbed the filled shot glass and in one motion threw it back and had it back where he'd taken it.

He closed the distance, eyes still locked on her, and anyone who cared to notice would realize he hadn't swallowed.

Regardless, in one more swift motion Raion had stepped up to and then grabbed Shikiyoku's face, leaning down over her and all at once enveloping her lips with his own in a kiss that lasted much longer than necessary as the crowd around them surged with more noise and Raion continued to kiss her deeply.

While those standing around them knew what was going on, few others would have even known to look for the fact that in the midst of the moment Shikiyoku was the one who actually swallowed, lest she suddenly choke on the shot which had been forced into her mouth with his tongue by the one was absolutely enjoying this moment.

A second longer and he pulled just far enough away from her for them to glare into one another's eyes.

His tongue snaked out to lick his lips.

"You taste of sweet honey...Mother."

She could barely hear him above the noise around her, his wicked, toothy grin and equally insolent words only for her in that moment. 3

"Tarou, I will sever your head from your shoulders if-"

Whatever Hiei had been about to say, it was interrupted by the growing excitement in the bar, and the fire demon turned just in time to catch the look on Raion's face before he threw back a shot glass.

"Uh oh," Tarou mumbled just before Raion dipped Shikiyoku in a kiss that lasted much longer than the kiss Hiei had shared with her.

Shock rocketed through his body and rooted him to the spot. One brow twitched over his eye while the other raised in surprise, his expression not settling between one of the two different emotions.

He didn't realize that Raion had been sharing his drink with her until he noticed Shiki swallow, and another wave of shock rocketed through him.

"Yah see Boss…" Tarou gave another long sigh. "That's what happens when you sit on the sideline. Raion gets to have all the fun…" The demon disappeared for a moment before returning with a tall glass that he shoved into Hiei's hands. "You're gonna need more than that." *

Yusuke stared across the way at the scene unfolding before them, suddenly missing Keiko, but nodded now in understanding.

"Well, I...see what you mean." He admitted, the barest of glances at the fire demon at his elbow who had yet to move. "You think if I go after her it'll wake him up?" He asked Tarou with a wink. "I've probably done a few things you guys haven't ever seen." 3

Tarou turned with renewed enthusiasm to Yusuke. "Mozaku, how much would it take to pay you to up that?"

Hiei snapped to attention and glared between the two. "No." The fire demon took several hesitant steps towards the bar before they became more purposeful. When he approached, he had the barest hint of a smile on his expression as Raion righted Shikiyoku and hovered around her.

He stepped to Shikiyoku's side with a fiery gleam in his eyes and offered the glass in his hand to Shikiyoku, its swirled contents a mix of gold and green that reminded him very much of her eye colors in her two different forms. "This party looks fun," he commented.

Tarou, still standing next to Yusuke, shook his head. "...gotta work on his delivery." *

"As long as you could keep word of it from leaving these four walls, I wouldn't charge you a thing." Yusuke watched carefully as the fire demon left them, ear twitching to hear what Hiei would have to say.

He sighed. "Yeah, he used to be pretty cool. This is...new territory for him."

~!**!~

"Well, here he is. The hero of the hour." Raion gave Shikiyoku a wink. "Finally come to join his own party."

Shikiyoku took a sip of whatever Hiei handed her as a chaser to the shot she had received.

Raion had made a gesture to the bartender and a third pair of glasses appeared next to the two already present.

"Care to join us?" 3

~!**!~

Tarou turned his head to the side at Yusuke. "Him? Cool? ...Not a chance." He frowned. "He's been in this territory since I met 'im. He needs to start learnin'." He sighed for what felt like the fifteenth time. "Oh!" He rounded on the other and threw his hand out to shake. "The name's Tarou. What's your name, Mazo?"

~!**!~

Hiei raised a brow, "Only if you keep those," he pointed at Raion's lips, "to yourself, cat."

Hiei turned to assess the drinks sitting on the bar, recognizing that they were to be mixed and immediately drank. He glanced briefly around the group of drunk partiers before he shrugged, set down the tankard in his hand, and reached for the glasses meant to be his.

He mixed the two drinks together and watched the sparks that flew from the concoction briefly before he tossed it back and swallowed. The alcohol coursed through his veins with a burn unlike that of what he'd been drinking.

By the time he slammed the glass down on the bar, three others slid into view, each a swirling request that he ignored even as more slid into view for others around him. *

"You don't want a kiss, boss?" Raion pouted a little as he turned away, grabbed the two glasses and turned back. He held them out a bit in a gesture, "But I'm giving them away for free this time. What do you have to lose?"

Raion and Shiki mimicked Hiei's movements so all their shots fell in the second glass at the same time, and they threw them back in tandem.

"Besides, she was practically asking for it." He leered at Shikiyoku who was in the middle of another sip from the drink Hiei handed her.

"And I could in fact drink you under the table, cub." Shikiyoku shot back into the face peering into her own, not backing down. "Of that I have no doubt." 3

Hiei motioned to the bartender to have another of those, "I have nothing to lose. You however will lose that mouth." The bartender set a pair of glasses down and Hiei repeated his earlier motions, this time taking no time to admire the beverage and instead diving straight into the drink.

As the subject of drinking someone under the table came up, Hiei's brows rose higher. He glanced between the two as an idea popped into his head and the fire demon turned to the bartender.

They made eye contact and the demon nodded in understanding at Hiei's telepathic request. When he produced a drink, Hiei took it from the other and extended it to Raion, its swirling reds and blacks an offer of a drinking contest.

"I propose this." He tipped it slightly at the other. "With the added stipulation that," he glanced at Shikiyoku, "If you're willing, of course," he turned back to the lion, "Shikiyoku set the wages." *

Raion's grin turned into a smirk and he did not hesitate to take the offered drink, though he turned his gaze onto Shikiyoku and held it out in her direction as if waiting for her approval.

The air around her shimmered more strongly for a moment as she gave a certain smile at the pair of them.

"Gladly." She stared at Raion, "Your favor? I will return it only if you win. And if you do not, then it goes to Hiei."

Raion's eyes flashed viciously and he threw back the shot in acceptance without another word. 3

Hiei turned to Shikiyoku when he was relieved of the drink in his hands, knowing her answer would sway the game this way or that. His unwillingness to let her be the prize is his sole reason for turning to her for the wager.

When her energy fluxed around the room, he had no doubts that she'd agree. But her announcement of a favor from her being the prize, he gave a little sigh. He should have known, he supposed. She knew them better than they knew each other, so she'd pick the prize that would drive them both forward.

Damn woman.

"Alright then, it's set." He ignored the onlooking crowd and moved through the bodies to go behind the bar. He began pulling glasses and setting them on an unused tray nearby, counting until he had thirty total shot glasses. He plucked a couple of bottles from the wall and set those on the tray too.

He hefted the tray into one hand and balanced it on his palm. He tested its weight distribution before he moved back into the crowd.

Wordlessly, he set the tray onto the nearest table and began to stack the glasses in a neat pyramid, one on each end of the square table. Then he proceeded to expertly fill the glasses, spilling none of the Ogre's Blood on the table.

As he did this, he remembered his time on the Ninth with a wicked little smirk to himself.

Once the glasses were full, he carefully produced fire and let it tumble - much like the time Shikiyoku had passed him a piece of the flame on the Ninth - onto the top glass. It poofed and sparked, growing larger for a moment before settling into a calm little flame.

He lit both pyramids before finally turning to Raion, not noticing the waitress take off with the bottles and empty tray. "This is a speed contest. The first to finish them all wins, and if you pass out or anything of the sort, you forfeit your win to the other." *

Raion had his arms crossed over his chest and lifted a hand to waggle a finger in disapproval.

"Ah, ah. I was not born yesterday, oh forbidden one. Your little contest stacks the odds too greatly in your favor to afford me half a chance of success." He glanced at Shikiyoku who gave the slightest of shrugs as she took another drink to hide her smile.

"We will drink your drinks." Raion proposed, "But once finished, if Mum would oblige," He gestured to the other side of the bar, all the way down at the other end where the stools stopped and the bar ended before the door in the wall which lead to the pair of apartments, "Whoever can walk the straightest path to the other end, to her, at her judgement, is the winner." He lifted his finger again, "Running...is too easy. We all ran before we could walk." He turned again to Shikiyoku.

"I think you have a deal, my lion." Shikiyoku turned with her drink in hand to make her way to the other end of the bar, her purpose-filled strut catching the gaze of patrons who started to gather as word spread like wildfire throughout the bar of the coming competition.

Shiki would nurse her drink as they downed theirs, placing the empty glass on the nearby bar when she eventually finished, and awaiting whichever of them would make it to her with open arms and a vested interest in the victor. 3

Hiei nodded and waved a hand at Raion to step up first, having no arguments about his addition to the game. As Hiei stepped up to his own tower of drinks, he realized two things.

One, he hadn't eaten within recent memory, simply because he'd been ready to get home from the Eighth..

Second, he was not willing to give up whatever prize Shikiyoku was willing to give. He'd already lost one kiss, and his pride was not going to let him lose another.

So as he stood across from the lion demon, he stared with an intensity that spoke of all the emotions he had not up until this point allowed anyone else to see.

Simultaneously, the two demons reached for the first drink at the top of the tower. The pair counted down from three simultaneously, and when they hit one, both demons threw back the first drink.

Hiei tunnel visioned in on his drinks, knocking them out as fast as he was able. The heat from the fire mixed with the burn of the ogre's blood, and before he reached the bottom layer, he could already feel the world moving around him.

Internally, he growled at himself to stay focused as he threw back the last layer of drinks. He slammed the last glass down and turned to position himself facing Shikiyoku, aware of the path that would take him to her the fastest, but remembering that the objective was to walk the straightest line.

So he put one foot in front of the other, at first unaware of the demon who walked next to him on the same path.

Each step felt heavier and more unsteady than the last, and it wasn't long before Raion passed Hiei enough to have a half-step lead. Determined, the fire demon narrowed his line of sight and awareness and focused his entire being into his destination, hoping to cancel out the swaying and the alcohol.

At the last step, he was aware of some sound or another next to him, but he ignored it in favor of taking that very last step to Shikiyoku and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"I won," he announced to her with a sloppy kiss to her cheek, followed by another at the edge of her lips. Relief flooded him as the realization sunk in that Raion would be getting no more kisses from her today - or, ever, if he could help it - and he hugged her tighter. *

Shikiyoku almost laughed as she braced herself for Hiei falling into her arms, holding him up as his kisses sent more sparkles into the air around them.

"Barely." She teased into his ear, "Did you know he was walking much straighter than you?" 3

Hiei took in a deep breath of her scent and released it in a sigh. "Yes, I'm aware." He hugged her tighter. "I was so adamant on getting to you that I couldn't slow down and walk straighter."

He stood upright a little and gave her a small frown. "I didn't want him to get the next kiss. Or any other kiss. It makes me…" he thought back to that moment, trying to find the word. "Angry, I guess." He stared at her. *

Shikiyoku's eyebrows rose higher on her face as he continued speaking and then they suddenly lowered all at once over her eyes which glimmered with something akin to mischevery.

"Are you...jealous, Hiei?" 3

Hiei didn't even hesitate to give a short nod.

"I just…" his frown deepened as he looked for the right way to say his next words. "I just really like you, and sometimes I don't know how to tell you so I get frustrated and-"

He took a deep breath as if that might help him sober up and think straight.

"The only way I know how to say it is to ask you to be my Mate. And I really want you to be my Mate." *

For the moment, it seemed they were blessedly being left alone, the others having broken off or tending to Raion who had passed out on the floor.

"Mm-hm. Mm-hm."

Shikiyoku was making affirming sorts of noises as Hiei spoke, confirming her little suspicion as to his jealousy, but her grin had not gone anywhere.

"Boss! Boss, you won!"

Amongst the familiar voice, others were starting to gather around them now to congratulate him. Others were there because they were dying to see her 'favor,' bestowed. They weren't about to let either one forget it. 3

Hiei scowled as voices came into his awareness, calling for him and congratulating him. He had half a mind to shoo the others long enough to have this conversation, but he knew that once the guild and other drunk demons were excited, there was no waving them away.

His frown disappeared all at once so he could actually smile at Shikiyoku. "Thanks for catching me when I fall." He kissed her cheek again before pulling away and turning to look at the converging demons. *

They all crowded around before Shikiyoku had a chance to respond to anything Hiei said and Shiki huffed at them to no avail as they gathered.

"I think he's gonna feel that one for the next week!"

"I've never seen him drink that much in one sitting!"

"Well, I'm certainly glad no one made a fool of themselves this evening." Akihiko dryly added from somewhere near Hiei's elbow. 3

As demons grew closer, Hiei found himself gravitating closer to Shikiyoku, his vision of the world unstable even when demons were standing still. (Can I lean on you?) he asked in the bond even as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. If she said no, he'd lean into the wall… or something.

"Dammit, no one made a fool of themselves!" Tarou yelled from further back in the crowd, grinning at Akihiko. When Hiei spotted him, the taller demon gave a thumbs up. "Great job, boss!"

Hiei turned his nose up in the air. "As if I'd let one of the guildmates beat the guild leader."

"I bet I could take him," Ikigai piped from the back, earning a few chuckles when Hiei shook his head in protest. "What's the prize, Mom?"

Hiei turned to look at Shikiyoku with a raised brow of curiosity. *

Shikiyoku wrapped an arm around Hiei's waist to hold him steady as he warned her when he leaned into her.

"Well..." She began when asked, her eyes darting off to the side. A part of her had wished that little tidbit would have been forgotten.

As intrusive as Raion had been, she more than knew him to be comfortable with the idea, and part of her had honestly hoped the both of them might pass out before getting to her.

"I mean, I suppose that would be the favor Raion made a bet with me about earlier." 3

I need food, Hiei thought in the middle of the chaos. As demons were yelling out suggestions around him - Yusuke and Tarou included in their 'helpful hints', he caught the eye of one of the bartenders and motioned with his hand to his mouth, miming eating. The one that caught this action nodded and set to work, giving Hiei time to catch Akihiko's whispered advice to Shiki.

"-since you're not sure, I can tell you that he isn't going to not like it."

"It's a baby bird," came the smooth and cool voice of Chisai from the crowd, instantly silencing most demons. "That's what the bet was."

The silence was broken with Tarou's long and loud laughter, and it was echoed by a few others as Chisai glanced around with furrowed brows. "Oh, this'll be good!" *

(Hiei...we don't have to do this...) The sensation of the words were swirled with unsurety as to his reaction to the 'favor.' And maybe a hint of embarrassment at how the entire situation at hand turned out.

(I didn't honestly expect either one of you to win.)

The pair of wolves who had gathered with the others exchanged glances themselves upon learning what exactly was to transpire.

"I mean, I have other suggestions if people don't want a repeat performance." Yusuke provided.

Shiki's eyes widened slightly at the ideas she could just imagine swirling through the detective's mind. 3

(Well, I was determined.)

Hiei looked to the crowd to see no one protesting a 'repeat performance', as Yusuke had put it. And, really, Hiei himself had never been in that situation, so he wasn't sure what to think about it at all.

But… (I trust you.)

He nudged her with his shoulder and turned a lopsided smile onto her. (I've no objections, so long as it's you.) *

Shikiyoku's mouth came open as if she might protest aloud versus the conversation occurring in silence between them, but promptly gave up.

If her arms had been free, she would have thrown them in the air.

"Fine! Fine. Let's get this over with so you lot will stop bothering us." And tossing her long dark hair behind her head, she took Hiei by the hand and led him over to the nearby bar where she had him stop as she gestured to a bartender and climbed up into one of the stools, seated herself, and reached out to pull Hiei closer so that he stood as near as he could get between her knees.

Before she could let herself think much else of it, talk herself out of it, she had thrown back the provided shot and reached out to Hiei so that when she had her hands resting gently on either side of his face she could more easily turn his face up to meet hers as she leaned down to kiss him from her slightly elevated height in the chair.

Unlike Raion, who had all but forced the drink down her throat, after a moment of genuinely kissing Hiei, enjoying the sensation of their lips moving over one another, Shikiyoku quite lovingly parted his mouth with her tongue and passed the shot that had been held in her mouth into his own, feeling by this point that the mask of her face had flushed completely red, intense sparkles of her energy dancing over her body to set her skin abuzz as a discrete puff of fairly invisible energy filled the air between them, and keeping her eyes closed if only so she wouldn't be able to read any expression he might have on his face as she did so. 3

Hiei made no complaints or protests to Shikiyoku's leading him by the hand, nor did he hesitate to stand just as close to her as he could. He balanced himself with his palms resting on the sides of her thighs so he could keep his balance.

The thought struck him that maybe she didn't want to do this, but before he could mention the thought and ask about it, her hands were at his face and he was consumed by everything she was. His world narrowed down to her lips on his, her scent filling his nostrils, her hands on his cheeks.

Surprised as he was when her tongue gently parted his lips, he found that it was not an unpleasant feeling, and he swallowed the shot as if he'd done this many times before. The burn traveled down his throat and joined all the other drinks he'd had this night, and an amusement suddenly filled the bond as he realized that he'd never in a million years thought of this himself to use on Shikiyoku, and yet he almost thought it better that she was the one delivering the shot to him.

He definitely didn't mind this.

He leaned into her kiss and his hands squeezed her thighs gently when the world threatened to tilt too far to one side. *

Not for long, but for a little while at least, Shikiyoku's fears took a backseat to the sensations and body language feeding into her from the fire demon whose face her fingers still gently cupped.

Her already excited energy continued buzzing along her veins, making her scalp tingle as the scent of her energy continued to grow thicker in the air around the two of them.

She didn't even notice the rowdy, probably baudy, cheerings happening nearby from various guild members and bar patrons alike at the demon finally receiving the reward he had rightly earned that night.

As the awareness of everything else began to settle back over her, Shikiyoku carefully pulled her face away from Hiei's, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders and her eyes practically awash with the yellowish energy at her disposal.

"Well..." She said quietly, looking into his eyes. "There you are. Favor earned, favor returned." 3

Hiei followed Shikiyoku's retreat for all of two seconds before he let her pull away. He rocked back slightly in an attempt to stand upright again, and when he opened his eyes, he was aware this time of the little white flurries that had begun to swirl through her yellow energy. The snowflakes mingled with her golden sparkles, reflecting the sheen as if it were sunlight on a snow-covered hill.

He blinked and turned to stare at Shikiyoku despite the odd dryness that made his eyes itch from the cold. His lips stretched into a smile at her. "(Just so you know, I'd let you know if I didn't like something.)" He said the words in a whisper between them and in the bond. "(And so far… I haven't disliked anything at all.)" He blinked against the snowflake that landed on his lashes and he reached up to rub it away from his eye, only dully aware of the dry chill over his fingers here. *

Shikiyoku watched Hiei as he replied, smiling at the shimmer of icey energy gathered briefly behind his eyes and reaching up herself to tenderly brush some bits of snow from his hair.

The touch of his cool fingers sent goosebumps running alongside the ones her energy had already excited.

One of her hands sweetly cupped his cheek again as she gazed into his eyes with that same little smile.

"Whatever happened to the cruel little demon I used to know?" She asked softly. 3

Hiei felt so enraptured with the gaze she held him under that he couldn't help but to return that same look to her. He watched as little snowflakes landed in the midst of her dark hair and he reached with the hand he'd rubbed at his face with to brush away the little snowflakes.

He didn't know what to think about the little flurries, so he filed it away for later.

"Well," he began in a murmur as his gaze returned to hers, "he met a rather enchanting demon." His smile widened and softened all at once, filled with whatever emotion that swirled somewhere around the heart-shaped marking on his chest. *

Shikiyoku's eyebrows raised in a sort of 'Oh?' expression. She shook her head a little and let out a soft chuckle.

"Did he? He certainly wouldn't recognize you any longer, I don't think." 3

"That demon wasn't truly living," he responded without thinking, and he realized that it wasn't untrue.

His hand fell away from her hair as the little flurries slowed and finally came to an end, their glimmering reflections of Shikiyoku's energy disappearing with them. A part of him felt disappointed - it'd been so pretty to see.

"I've been meaning to ask… did you enjoy our date? Before the 'interruption', of course." *

"You mean the interruption wasn't planned?" Her face colored with pseudo-shock, "But that was my favorite part!"

She smiled and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yes. It was lovely. ...thank you." 3

A weight that the demon hadn't realized he'd been holding onto suddenly seemed to fall from his shoulders. "I'm glad." He closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy his moment of peace, to enjoy the fact that they were home and safe and that she'd had fun despite his bumbles and the Crusnik and-

"...I'm gonna do it again," he announced in the space between them as he opened his eyes to look at her again, "and I hope you like the next one too."

The sound of something being slid across the bar got his attention and he turned to glance at the basket of food the bartender had made sure he noticed before they went about their business.

And just like that, the world caved in around him again, and he became acutely aware of the demons drinking and laughing and talking around him, each one having gone back to their own fun after he had received his favor. *

"Oh, w-well, you don't have to." As the food was slid his way, Shikiyoku quickly dropped her hands from him. "I'm sure it was a lot of trouble a-and it's fine, you don't have to...I don't need another." Her eyes darted towards her hand at the bar which had found her empty shot glass and began to fiddle with it. 3

Hiei pulled the chips and sandwich closer to himself so he wouldn't have to lean away from where he stood between Shikiyoku's knees. He stuffed a few chips in his mouth, a frown quickly taking form over his expression at Shikiyoku's denial.

He quickly realized she wasn't saying no, but that he didn't have to.

Despite this realization, he wanted clarification. "Is it because you don't want another?" *

"Uuuuh-" Shikiyoku's face, which had somewhat recovered from earlier, flushed wildly as her eyes widened a bit while staring at her glass. "Well...no, it, uh, it was nice, I, um. Hm." Her mouth snapped shut for a second as she tried to gather her thoughts on the matter.

She finally sighed, unsure of what she really wanted to say to him, as she turned the shot glass a little in her fingers, "You really don't have to, Hiei. It's nice, but I'm sure your time is better spent on other business." 3

Hiei waited patiently for a response, taking the time she needed to get him an answer and using it to put food in his belly. He eyed her as she finally gave a sigh and took a moment to gather her thoughts, and he wondered briefly on if this was difficult for her to communicate to him.

He wouldn't understand why it would be a difficult thing to talk about, but he could just imagine a certain detective telling him to be patient.

So he did.

And when she finished, he turned to his food.

"I don't believe any business I have would ever be better than spending my time with you." *

Shikiyoku's mouth opened to reply before shutting again without saying anything.

"That's not true." She said half-heartedly as a bit of a smile was testing its way across her face, though she still hadn't looked up. "There are loads of things that are better. Hunting monsters. Fulfilling contracts. Saving the world. Besides, we're never all that far away from one another." She finally looked up and gave him a cheeky grin. 3

"Then let me rephrase," he said around a bite of his sandwich, "I enjoy spending my time with you more than I do when I'm out… hunting monsters or fulfilling contracts." He swallowed. "I do enjoy those things, but not so much as I do when I'm with you."

A drink slid its way into his view and he disregarded it, instead ordering something from the bartender - something much weaker than anything else he'd had all night.

"So if your only objection to another date is that you think I'd be wasting my time and energy, then I think I'm going to have to ask anyway." He turned a smile onto her that mirrored one he'd had when he'd been making his first drink. *

"Well..." She seemed to size him up for a moment. "Alright, then." She gave a defeated sigh behind which she could not hide the glitter of a smile, "If I'm how you wish to waste your time and energy, then I suppose I can't stop you. But I'll warn you now: I think it unwise."

By this time another round of what she'd been sipping on earlier was exchanged for the shot glass and she lifted the new drink to her lips to hide her grin. 3

Hiei frowned a little to himself. He didn't feel like he'd won this 'debate', if that was what it was to be called.

He chewed thoughtfully on the last of his sandwich and chips as he watched her. He never thought of her as a waste of time, so he wondered why she thought that of herself.

"Obviously, you're welcome to say no if you truly don't want to go," he gave a small smile at her, as if to say that he wouldn't mind her rejection. Not that that would be the truth, he realized.

His drink arrived in front of him and he turned to sip from it, one hand holding the glass to his lips and the other resting on the edge of Shikiyoku's chair. He didn't want to pull away from her yet, and she hadn't told him to move, so he stayed planted as firmly as his swaying body would let him. *

"Am I?" Shikiyoku's eyes flashed with good-humor. "How could I ever say no to you, hm? I don't think I'm capable of it." She took another sip, watching him from over the edge of the glass. 3

Hiei turned his head to one side, his smirk finding his lips again. That was all the reassurance he needed from her.

"As long as you say yes, I'm going to keep asking."

He turned to order more food from the bartender, this time two - one more for himself and one for Shikiyoku. *

Shikiyoku let out a bit of laughter, "Well then, ask away my Consort. It would be difficult to ever refuse you."

Her eyes lifted to the rest of the room and she caught the icey blue gaze of a certain wolf on her and they stared at one another for a moment before Tsundora finally broke from her.

Shikiyoku's mouth opened as if she was going to say something else, but she closed it quietly and turned back to take another drink. 3

When the two sandwich baskets arrived, he slid one to Shikiyoku before he turned to his own and began going after his second batch.

He opened his mouth to respond, but a large hand dropped a tankard of what smelled like Demon's Fire in front of him before that very same hand slammed into his back, forcing him to brace himself against Shikiyoku's chair lest he fell into her.

"Boss, that," he pointed at the drink Hiei had ordered with his sandwich, "ain't strong enough to be celebratin' with! Drink up!"

The demon was gone just as quick as he'd arrived, leaving Hiei shaking his head. "Never a moment of peace.." His smile contradicted his wry comment. *

"He's not wrong." Shikiyoku glanced over at Hiei as she turned to accept the food presented to her. "You just saved the world, after all." 3

"We just saved the world," he corrected as he downed his ordered drink then reached for the Demon's Fire. "And I haven't had this much to drink since my time on the Ninth," he chuckled to himself as he remembered his drinking days with Uryo and other Ninth Level demons. *

Shikiyoku gave out a bit of a laugh, "Yes, well, I suppose at one time in my life, the attention would have pleased me, though I never would have strived for anything quite so benevolent as saving the world. And even still, unless there is a direct conflict to me, I doubt I would bother." She smiled at him and reached out to fondly caress her hand over his cheek briefly as he spoke of a time in his life when they had been separated, her reaction perhaps in some way an attempt at providing a moment's comfort at the remembrance.

She turned thoughtful as her still somewhat drunken attention steadied on her food.

"You've saved the world on several occasions. I would imagine you're used to the sort of attention it brings." She sighed. "I don't particularly care to work quite so directly in the spotlight. Not anymore. I would rather that fame be reserved for others and continue to tend to business that involves me from behind the proverbial throne."

A group of patrons passing by shouted her name and lifted their glasses to her.

Mouth half-full, she reached for her own drink with a wry smile and lifted it to her lips in response, drinking before letting out another self-aware laugh.

"I guess I shouldn't have opened this bar if I really wanted all of that to be true. That sort of word fame I can appreciate though." She shrugged. "I suppose I can live with being contradictory. Been doing it all my life." 3

Hiei gave her a little smile at the contact of her hand at his cheek, the warmth there lingering even after her hand had left. A drink slid in front of his basket of food - an offer to celebrate by simply drinking - and Hiei turned to glance at his group of guildies at their usual table. Tarou lifted his drink and winked.

The fire demon shook his head and accepted this drink with a small sip.

"The times before this, though, the Detective got all the fame. I wanted none of it."

He wasn't so sure that he didn't enjoy it now, though. Maybe he just wasn't used to it, and wasn't sure what to think just yet.

"I used to prefer the shadows, or to stay out of it entirely." He took another drink. *

"Did you not? I'm not sure I knew that."

She let out a bit of a breath and looked around at the rest of the establishment thoughtfully before giving a small smile, "I do know one thing. I am very glad to be back."

~!**!~

It felt like something was buzzing in the back of Shikiyoku's head, but as bits of her awareness trickled into place, she did nothing more but shift more closely to the warm demon next to her.

Vague remembrances of all the drinks from the night before and eventually pulling Hiei after her upstairs into her room where she had quickly shucked the clothing from The Last Stand and pulled on a nightgown before crawling up over top of the covers to collapse started to coalesce into her thoughts.

It all reminded her of the awful hangover she was likely to have if she did awake and she buried her face further into Hiei's chest and squeezed her eyes tighter shut, one arm thrown over top of him and the other tucked between them on the bed. 3

Hiei ran, his eyes focused forward at the back of some shadow in the distance. He pushed himself to his highest speed, kicking up dust that somehow seemed to keep pace with him and settle around his vision until all he could see was the dark hair flowing behind the running shadow in the distance.

The world seemed to shake beneath his feet and the sound of the earth crumbling made him stumble.

The sound of the world shaking and crumbling continued in intervals, keeping him from getting to his feet again. Frustrated, he let himself watch the shadow grow further away, unsure suddenly why he was chasing it.

The sound grew louder and Hiei mumbled something about shutting it off, whatever it was, just as it went silent. Then Shikiyoku moved and he turned his head towards hers, instinctively finding the top of her head.

He let out a long sigh, aware on some level of the headache he would have upon waking, and settled into the almost-asleep state he'd been in.

And then that sound happened again, and slowly he peeled his eyelids open and searched what he could see of the room. "...th' hell is tha'?" he grumbled, not immediately finding the source of the vibrations. Shut it up. *

Unfortunately, Shikiyoku heard the ping this time, the only notification she ever needed to know her phone had received some sort of message, whether text or voice.

Her entire body ached from all of the drinking of what was probably not all that many hours ago and her lips were dry.

She'd lost count how many shots the guild had started taking with her, trading off throughout the night. Raion was probably the worst offender, and that was even after he had stirred from his own passed out debacle.

There was a growl somewhere at the back of her mouth that didn't particularly make any noise. Or maybe it was a groan.

The phone was still going off, rattling against something in the drawer of the bedside table Hiei had his back to.

Making a noise somewhere between contempt at the phone and pain at her own movements, Shikiyoku started shifting around to push herself up as best she could manage, feeling the weakness in her bones and the pounding of her blood in her head with a clarity she did not appreciate as she tried to half-lean, half-crawl over Hiei to stretch her arm out for the drawer. 3

Shikiyoku moved next to Hiei as the sound continued, making Hiei want to block out the sound, grab her, and go back to sleep. Sadly, as long as that awful sound continued, he knew he wouldn't sleep.

And she was likely moving to turn it off.

So, to make such a thing easier, he rolled to his back so it would be easier for her to reach for whatever it was…. Wherever it was. He did place a hand on her arm to help steady her though, not quite minding that she had to crawl and reach over him for the thing she looked for.

It's too early to deal with… anything.

He closed his eyes again. *

When Hiei rolled over with her in tow, it gave Shikiyoku the extra foot she needed to reach the handle of the drawer of the bedside table and she opened it, shuffling her hand around inside until her fingers found her phone.

She made the mistake of pulling it up far enough that she could see the number across the screen, squinting in its light.

Another noise, this one of unintelligible protest, managed to escape her lips as she all at once had answered the phone and pulled it up to her ear, her forehead dropping to sit against the very edge of the table as she slumped the rest of herself back down across Hiei's chest.

"Yes. Inyoku, Toriko speaking."

The amount of effort it took to sound like the usual Toriko proved nearly too much and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

The rapid fire amount of information she was suddenly bombarded with did nothing to help her headache.

"...of course. I'll take care of it."

Her arm dropped from her ear down over the side of the bed, thumb hanging up on the call in the meantime and for a moment, she did not move. 3

The second the vibrations were away from the wood of the bedside table and whatever had been rattled by it, Hiei felt relief that flooded through almost every inch of his body. He relaxed further into the bed , his hand sliding down from Shikiyoku's upper arm and to her hand, and he let out a small sigh.

Her answering the phone, however, threw a wrench into that relief. His eyes came open to stare accusingly at the phone she lowered from her ear. They hadn't been home a full twenty-four hours and she was already being summoned by someone else.

Which in itself seemed odd, since it was usually him who was called away.

He opened his mouth to remark on his dislike of her leaving so soon, but decided against it and let out a long sigh instead.

How many times had he left and she waited on his return? It wouldn't hurt for him to do the same for her, no matter how bad he wanted her to stay.

"Business, hm?" The fire demon tugged on her hand lightly and pulled her so that she lay atop him, which was likely more comfortable than across his torso. "Don't they know we just got back from saving the world?" His smile was a dry one.

~!**!~

Akari poured food into Nabu and Kiyoko's bowls, earning a happy little tail wag from the latter and a loud thanks from the former before the two delved into the freshly made delicacy.

She pat each dog lovingly and turned to rinse out the bowl, humming a little tune along to the radio on the nearby kitchen counter.

She dried that bowl, put it in the dish drainer to her left, and was reaching for her broom when she became aware of the energy coming closer to her apartment from a few stories below.

She turned to eye the door; this was new.

By the time Yuuichi knocked on her door, akari had changed from her pjs to everyday wear, and she pulled her ponytail tighter on her head as she shuffled towards the front of her apartment. "Coming," she called, her hands falling from her hair to close the doors she passed, though careful to leave the door to the dog's room open.

When she finally did open the front door to greet her uninvited guest, she gave a small tilt of her head. "Morning, Yuuichi. What brings you by?"

He extended a bag between them with a logo from some nearby shop in one hand, and the other he gestured to her with a cardboard tray balancing two paper cups. "I hadn't seen the shop open for a while, so I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing." *

~!**!~

Shikiyoku put the phone down on top of the end table as Hiei pulled her back to him, and she grumbled something into the pillow next to his ear, finding herself growing more comfortable.

Unfortunately.

She turned her head and sighed a little, feeling the breath move over his skin.

"I don't think anyone really cares, flame boy." She murmured, deciding she'd allow herself another minute and not a second more. 3

Hiei wanted to grumble something about the world being ungrateful, but he instead gave a little huff. Talking was too tiring, and all he wanted was to roll over and go back to sleep with her in his arms.

Her getting comfortable for a moment was nice, but he could sense in the bond that she was not fully comfortable. He turned his head and gave her a patient kiss on the cheek; he could wait for her here while she was out. It wouldn't be so long.

Probably.

Hopefully.

~!**!~

Akari hesitated to take the bag or to even move, realizing all at once that if she invited him in, the only place they could sit and eat was her couch. That alone likely wouldn't have been an issue, except for the fact that the last time she'd seen him, he'd definitely showed interest in her in ways she herself did not reciprocate.

She glanced back over her shoulder, looking for an excuse, any excuse, to turn him away.

Nabu and Kiyoko moved past her and out the door, the male canine glancing back at her for a moment before the pair took off trotting away.

Traitor.

"Well, I was just about to clean my apartment, so how does the park sound?" she asked suddenly, her eyes finally meeting the watchful gaze that Yuuichi had all but pinned her with.

His smile was a knowing one, "Oh please, I'm sure it's nothing like my place."

You're not gonna make this easy on me, are you? *

~!**!~

Even with her head turned away from it, Shikiyoku could tell the moment the phone screen lit up the room. Silently, thankfully, but it still made her frown, where moments before she had appreciated Hiei's affection.

She started to get up, to turn away and grab for her phone, one hand raising absently to hold her head as she squinted down at the screen with her legs hanging over the edge of the bed.

Her body didn't want to comply with the numbers she saw on the screen.

Texts. Calls. Voicemails. Emails.

Many, MANY things she had apparently missed while she had been gone.

For another moment more, she groaned, unable to even recall the last time she let herself get as drunk as she had been not even four or five hours ago. 3

Hiei forced his eyes open and turned to watch the frown that formed on Shikiyoku's face. He pushed himself up and shuffled to sit behind her, ignoring the many protests he felt in his muscles and bones. He glanced over her shoulder at the notifications on her phone.

He'd never seen so many before.

His frown very nearly mirrored hers. "You should eat before dealing with that, whatever it is," he mumbled before he slid away and from the bed. He made a sound at the back of his throat as he reached for the chest of drawers nearby and just as quickly pulled his hand away.

Not my room.

He ran a hand through his unkempt hair and shuffled from the room and to his, not caring to close the door behind himself as he changed into fresh pants and put on a tank top.

That door stayed open as he forced himself to move down the stairs and into the bar, where the noise bounced around the inside of his skull like a ball. He wiped at his face and said a few hellos to nearby patrons.

He assembled a quick sandwich and a glass of water before disappearing up the stairs again with the intent to offer it to Shikiyoku. He'd get something for himself later, after a nap.

~!**!~

Alright, fine.

Akari's lips stretched into a wide smile. "Great, just one second!"

She disappeared into her apartment and returned a second later with her phone in her pocket, keys in hand, and shoes on her feet. Ignoring the look Yuuichi gave her, she locked the door behind herself and turned to lead the way down the steps, smiling.

"I haven't gotten out much since the shop closed, so let's take advantage of the pretty day, hm?" She followed the steps Kiyoko and Nabu had taken.

"So the shop is closed, huh?" Yuuichi stretched the two coffee cups out to her, and she took the tray from his hands. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well," she sniffed at the two drinks before choosing the latte for herself, "I'm waiting on a few decisions before I make the choice between leaving that shop or remodeling it."

"Oh? Is it just not to your liking?"

"Actually, it's so old that the wiring gave out."

"Hm." He took the other coffee from the tray and sipped from it. "If you don't remodel it, will you go back to Demon World?"

She eyed him. "There is no Demon World and Human World, remember? Just the Levels."

He cut his eyes at her. "You know what I mean. Will you start a new pack?"

"No." She sipped at her coffee. *

~!**!~

There were lots of things she needed to do before dealing with 'that,' as Hiei put it. Namely getting out of the bed.

Shikiyoku put the phone back on the little table near her.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Hiei leave the room and she let out a giant sigh, her entire body still feeling like it might break off and drop to the ground at any moment, especially as she got up onto her own two feet.

Usually she would have taken better care of herself. Usually she wouldn't have gotten that drunk in the first place.

By the time she had shucked her nightgown and managed to change into her usual professional outfit of pencil skirt and blouse, her phone had buzzed twice more and she had given up on tucking the blouse in for the moment, going to sit in front of the vanity.

The next thing she knew, her head was pillowed on her arms amidst the tubes of makeup and hair styling accessories as she had next to given up on any sense of normalcy for the day. 3

Hiei took the steps slowly and carefully, acutely aware of every muscle's protest and the slight shake of his hands. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be hungover, and he'd forgotten how much he disliked it.

He'd have to remember. For next time.

He reached the top of the stairs and turned to Shikiyoku's door. When he didn't hear movement inside, he let himself in, half expecting her to still be sitting on the bed, half expecting her to somehow have gotten herself put together before he'd gotten back.

When she was at the vanity instead, he paused to stare for a moment, eventually deducing that she'd been about to do her hair and makeup for the day.

He shuffled closer and carefully balanced the little basket on the very edge of the vanity so he could rest that hand on her shoulder. "I brought water. And breakfast."

He set the water down in front of her, taking up the smallest space he could find so she wouldn't knock it over.

With both hands free, he picked up the brush and began to brush out any tangles in her hair, careful to be gentle so he wouldn't stir her headache too much.

~!**!~

"How is that anyway? Your pack bond, I mean."

Akari shrugged as she turned the corner of the second story landing. "Same as ever."

"I could teach you, yknow. Severing that bond isn't hard, just draining."

Akari glanced briefly at Yuu from the corner of her eye. She would be lying if she said she hadn't considered it before, and she had been considering it even more as of late if she were being completely honest.

Without having the shop to distract her, it was hard to sleep when the bond was so active and filled with suffering.

"I don't know, Yuuichi. It just feels like abandoning the pack."

The other demon turned to look at her, pausing on the steps. "Well, yes. If someday someone finds a 'cure' for the Infected, they're going to need an Alpha. But, Akari, from what I hear, there is no cure. They're being hunted and-"

"And dragged to the Eighth."

He nodded. "If you want a healthy pack so badly, your best bet is to find or make a new one. Holding on to a dead pack does nothing but kill the soul of the Alpha." *

~!**!~

Shikiyoku only stirred when she felt Hiei's hand on her shoulder, managing to pull herself back in the chair and at least reach for the water.

She wasn't entirely certain she could stomach the food just yet, though it smelled nice.

When Hiei moved to pick up a brush from over her shoulder, she watched him in the mirror with a strange look on her face as he tenderly began to stroke through her long hair.

You...don't have to...do...

The statement never got further than her own head as she continued to watch him while he wasn't looking. She blinked at him a little at first, thinking about how long it had been since anyone had offered to do what he was doing, and suddenly remembering how nice it felt when someone did so.

"...thank you..." 3

One hand held long black tresses off the back of the nice shirt Shikiyoku picked out while the other carefully, gently pulled the brush through the tangles. Even though her hair had been mostly up for the run back to the first level, he could tell that it had been a bit since its last brushing, so he took great care in not pulling too hard on the tangles.

For a moment, he'd forgotten where he was, he'd been so consumed by this one task. So when Shikiyoku spoke up, he blinked a couple of times before giving a short nod and returning to his focused state.

When all of the tangles were out, he imagined her updo from the last time he'd seen her wear it up and he slowly, carefully began to attempt to recreate it, though he made sure to tuck any stray strands into the updo in the way she seemed to prefer it.

No loose hairs. No stray strands.

It was difficult to do this without making it too tight, he realized about halfway through. He reached for another pin on the vanity and carefully slid it into place at the very back of her skull, making sure to secure a stray lock of hair that had tried to escape the bun he'd ended up crafting. He took a moment to inspect it, then set to work on polishing it a bit and fixing this or that.

~!**!~

Akari kept walking, forcing Yuuichi to have to catch up when she didn't stop to continue their stalled conversation. She took the last few steps before he did catch up to her, and she turned to head towards the park. "How often do you leave the First Level, Yuu?"

He took a sip before answering. "Not too often right now. I used to leave as often as I could to get away from the humans, but I'm used to them now."

"If you're so adamant about a new pack, why haven't you looked for other canine-like demons on the other levels?"

"They're pretty scattered last I heard. And most of them are in the business of Hunting, or in guilds who dabble in that."

"Not a fighter, hm?"

"Not anymore." He went uncharacteristically quiet, and Akari took advantage of the silence to soak in some sun and drink in a large breath of fresh air. *

~!**!~

There were definitely too many pins. And several of them were poking into her scalp uncomfortably, despite his best efforts.

But all Shiki found herself doing was staring at the demon behind her as he worked meticulously, his face scrunched in deep concentration.

I love you. She admitted to herself not for the first time.

How ridiculous that simple things like this moment reminded her of her devotion.

Her phone buzzed again and she started in place, thoughts scattered as she reached for what she knew would be the quickest things she could put on her face to make her presentable in the standard she set for herself. 3

Hiei adjusted one of the pins, loosening it a little but making sure it still held the strand he had intended it for, and he'd just been about to let it go when Shikiyoku jumped, and he instinctively let go of the pin, startled from his concentration and wondering if he'd pulled on her hair.

When he saw her reach for something on the vanity instead, he turned to inspect the bun again. "Does anything need adjusting?" he all but whispered, feeling very drained all at once and yet wanting to help in any way he could.

~!**!~

The pair walked together in silence for a while before they reached the park, and Yuuichi took the lead. He took up residence at the first available table near the park entrance, setting the brown paper sack between them and offering for her to look first.

"I wasn't sure which you felt up to today, so I got the two things I know you like."

She smiled gratefully, genuinely impressed that he'd been paying attention. She reached for the bag and peered inside to spy the croissant and… something she didn't recognize.

She glanced up at him with a raised brow, unsure if he'd been serious now when he said he'd picked two things she liked. When he only gave a large grin, she plucked the croissant from the bag and slid the… other thing back in his direction.

"Thank you for breakfast." *

~!**!~

In the midst of leaning forward to put on the little makeup she would for the day, Shikiyoku glanced up at Hiei as he appeared to finish.

She gave a little chuckle, "Go to bed, flame boy. You drank more than I did." 3

The fire demon gave a little frown at her in the mirror, wanting to argue that there was more he could do to help, but knowing that all she likely needed now was to put on makeup and her shoes, and fix whatever he undoubtedly got wrong in her hair. Not that she'd let him see her do that, he knew.

He blinked, and it took an extra amount of effort to open his eyes again.

He lintered for a moment, wanting to tell her to come back soon or to not push herself, but not really having the energy to say both things.

So instead, he leaned forward and gave her an odd, almost awkward hug around her shoulders. "I'll see you when you get back." He pulled away and took two steps towards the door, towards his own room, before he paused again to look at her in the mirror. "Have a good day."

With the last of his energy sent to her in those words, he turned and shuffled to his room, resisting the urge to just flop onto her bed and sleep there.

~!**!~

Yuuichi tore his cream-and-fruit-filled thing in half before taking a bite, leaving Akari to her flaky croissant. The flavor wasn't bad, she thought, but she almost remembered having a better one elsewhere. Is it because the other one was handmade? That might be fun to look into for my shop...

"So, what will you do if you decide not to remodel the cafe?"

Akari blinked and turned a stare up at Yuuichi. "I don't know, honestly." She took a sip from her coffee. "I've basically decided that remodeling and/or rebuilding is exactly what I want to do, especially since it's the only thing I've ever done myself. So if it falls through, I'm not sure what I'll do."

"I'm sure I could help you find something on the other Levels to keep you entertained." He gave a lopsided, toothy grin.

Akari narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this all this is going to be?" she asked before she could stop herself.

He blinked at her. "What?"

"You're not going to convince me to leave the First, Yuuichi. Not for you, not for some 'job' elsewhere. Is that all you want these conversations to be about?" *

~!**!~

As quickly as she could manage, Shikiyoku had finished getting ready-blouse tucked in, pulling a few pins a little looser, grabbing her blazer as she pulled on a pair of shoes-and darted downstairs with part of the food Hiei prepared hanging out of her mouth as she slipped her blazer over her shoulders.

A quick phone call moments after Hiei left the room meant a taxi was waiting to pick her up and she climbed in with bag in tow, telling the driver her needed destination as she pulled out her phone and began orientating herself to the issues of the day.

Several phone calls later and she was up in her administrative office at Minamino Corp in front of her computer, Shuichi himself busy with countless other tasks which thankfully did not require her.

Several papers spread in front of her, and other necessary documents open on the computer, and finally Shikiyoku made the one call she knew had been waiting on her for longer than she would have liked to admit. 3

As Yuuichi sputtered, obviously caught off guard by Akari's sudden outburst, she wondered briefly if she'd been too confrontational or temperamental. She shifted in her seat, realizing just how antsy she felt in that moment to be up and moving, to be doing something other than sitting and talking.

Yuu finally gave a long sigh. "Look, I-"

The sound of a ringing phone immediately halted any conversation; Akari was no longer listening. She reached for her phone and glanced at the number, recognizing it as a number she'd given up on calling a couple of weeks ago.

She gestured at Yuuichi with the ringing cell. "I've gotta go. It's a work call."

Before he could respond, she was up and walking away, the phone to her ear. "Hello. Hanase, Akari speaking." *

As the phone rang, Shikiyoku reached over for the coffee she had at hand to take a long sip, hoping maybe this time the supposed caffeine would do something for her. She really needed to talk to Kurama about finding something stronger to brew.

"Mz Hanase? This is Inyoku, Toriko from Nakamura Enterprises. I see here you are the current owner of Corner Café, correct? ... I want to sincerely apologize to you for our lack of communication in regards to the issues you have been having with the building. It seems not only was the initial paperwork you submitted misfiled by our system, but up to this point it has also been bogged down by others who then manually mishandled it. I only learned of the situation this morning, but have taken it upon myself to go ahead and complete the necessary avenues required according to your original submission so we may move forward in the operation. That sort of mishap will not happen again. I will personally be your advocate and advisor in this situation from here on as needed. ... Now, it looks like there was a major power failure due to a likely over-aged wiring system? I have the inspector's analysis here. What are your current plans for the future?" 3

Akari picked up her pace until she was all but jogging towards her apartment, thinking about the paperwork she'd stored on the desk in her bedroom. Her steps faltered briefly with the name from the other end, momentarily reminded of a Toriko she'd met what felt like eons ago.

She recovered with a nod to the phone and making a small sound of affirmation when necessary. Part of her wanted to be frustrated at the mishaps with the paperwork on their end, but really, she was just relieved to be hearing from someone who could fix her problem.

She listened as the woman on the phone talked, though it took her an extra minute to remember that this person's name had come up online as one of the higher ups for this company.

This should be quick, then.

Her smile was filled with relief at the thought.

"Thank you," Akari began as she pulled her keys from her pocket," for getting back to me. I'm looking forward to working with you on this project." She unlocked her door and rushed to her room, only just remembering to close the front door again at the last second before she went back towards her room and sat at her desk.

"As for future plans, I want to focus on the coffee and tea side of life, with small, easy breakfast foods. The business plan we were running with last was fine for consistent sales, but it didn't draw in many new customers." She silently thanked Ryouta for helping talk her through these processes and what to do/say when she heard from the building manager. And, she realized as she shuffled through papers, her excitement was genuine. "I also have a few hand-drawn models of what the shop itself could look like, but my knowledge of usability and efficiency in these builds isn't certain, so I was hoping to get some input on these and figuring out what works and what won't work during rushes." *

Shikiyoku smiled, glad for the answer as if she hadn't been sure what to expect.

"So, what I'm really hearing is you aren't willing to give up on the property yet, is that correct? And you'd just as soon tear down the building and start fresh."

Privately, Shikiyoku knew the better option to be tearing down the building entirely and starting new. The current structure on the lot was not up to date on many of its sanctions, as she had discovered while digging for information, and was exceptionally old besides. They were lucky the entire place hadn't burned down around them.

"Obviously, we will have to come to the same conclusion, so I will need to visit the site myself in order to approve tearing down the current building."

Shikiyoku's eyes were rapidly scanning the sheets in front of her as she almost absently continued, "You say you have ideas for the new structure? I am sure they can be taken into account once the approval process is complete." 3

Akari nodded emphatically, but she didn't verbally respond to anything until Inyoku gave a long enough pause to indicate she could pipe in. She really didn't want to interrupt this person, but she was just so excited that she couldn't help her little 'mmhm's and 'of course's.

"That's correct. I have no desire to leave the property. I've been there for a while, and it would be a shame to just let it go to something else after the years the previous owners spent on the lot."

She remembered the couple with a fond little smile.

"From what I understand, tearing down the building instead of simply repairing what's there would cost far less."

She nodded and rested the phone between her shoulder and her ear, freeing both hands so she could thumb through her little pile of papers. She made a quick note on a nearby notepad to call Ryouta - if Inyoku wanted to visit the site, she'd like to have someone next to her who could navigate the business side of things. She was learning, but she was sure there would be things she wouldn't understand.

"Of course. I'd rather have the approval of the building's true owner so that it all gets done properly, anyway." I don't know nearly enough about this to do it all on my own. "Whenever you'd like to see the current building, I'll happily meet with you and walk through it with you."

She scratched through her note about Ryouta; she needed to stop relying on him so much. Gotta be independent sometime. *

Given how drunk she had been last night, and how checking her phone had obviously been the last thing on her mind for the last several weeks, Shikiyoku had not had a chance to go through the building on-site, which normally she would have already done.

But given the amount of paperwork she had to go through for this particular job, it was something that could be done at a later time.

"I'm sure you're as eager as we are to get things moving again. I...do not have time today to look things over-" There was still a lot Shikiyoku could have in place to make this go as quickly as possible. "-but if you are free at nine a.m. tomorrow, I would be more than happy to drop by the lot and look over things myself." 3

Akari gave another nod. "I understand completely." She wondered briefly what paperwork she'd have to go through for this process, and the paperwork that would come after, when she found a new coffee roaster. "Nine sounds great."

~!**!~

Time couldn't have moved slower even if it had tried. After the phone call with the Nakamura Enterprises exec, Akari had cleaned her apartment from top to bottom in the hopes that she would be distracted from her excitement, that maybe time would move faster and she'd suddenly realize it was time to meet at the building.

Of course when one watches the time, it tends to move agonizingly slow.

She finished cleaning in what felt like record time and spent the rest of her day reading up on coffee shops, on local coffee bean roasters, on anything and everything to do with coffee - which, really, wasn't much different from the past week or two.

When the sun finally set and she went to bed, it took her much longer to fall asleep than usual, and halfway through the night Nabu complained at her for not laying still.

She woke at dawn and had breakfast, showered, and got ready to go, only to look at the time and realize she still had about two and a half hours before the designated meeting time.

She spent those hours on the couch thumbing through magazines she'd picked up at the bookstore. She didn't really see the pages, though.

Finally she gave up and left the apartment, saying a brief goodbye to her companions before setting out a good forty-five minutes early.

Needless to say that when she arrived at the cafe a good half an hour early, she was surprised to see someone inside. She blinked at the man through the locked glass door and tilted her head curiously.

"Ryouta?" she called to the raven as she turned to close the door behind her. "You're here?" She hadn't called him about the meeting.

He raised a brow at her. "Obviously."

"Why?"

"I had a feeling about today. Since you're here, I assume you got a call from the building owner finally." He set down the box he'd been carrying from counter to counter and it clanged loudly.

She thought she'd grabbed everything worth saving. "...Of course you 'had a feeling'." She shook her head to herself and set her folder down to lean over the counter and peer into the box. "Decide to keep those, did ya?"

She didn't see the look he gave her. "Of course not. They're filthy." He tossed more canisters into the box carelessly. Where he got them from, she didn't know. *

~!**!~

The rest of Shikiyoku's day, and most of her night, was spent needling through the necessary avenues of preparation.

She already approved of the decision to tear the old place to the ground-the meeting would purely be for show-and so besides getting up to date on the paperwork as far as that route went, she also went ahead and lined up meetings for herself with an architectural consultant already associated with Nakamura, as well as lining up prospective contractors to make bids on this new building project.

Managing to drink enough water throughout the day to stave off her aching body from its dehydration of the previous night's drinking, Shikiyoku worked well into the morning until just before any others would arrive at the office building.

She left her place in front of her computer, various bits of paperwork stored away securely in her chique messenger bag, and took the elevator upstairs. All the way up.

While Kurama hadn't actually been in the building all day, she did not hesitate to use his apartments at the top of the tower to shower and otherwise clean up and prepare herself for the outings of the day, making it all the way down the elevator to the bottom floor to climb into the backseat of a private company sedan in good time, and giving the chauffeur the address of the lot at which she was to meet Akari.

At precisely nine o'clock, Toriko Inyoku was climbing out of the black sedan that pulled up to the building moments prior, adjusting the glasses on her face as she already started looking about the outside of the building before completely removing herself from the vehicle and beginning to walk towards what had been the main entrance. 3

Akari moved around Ryouta as he did whatever it was he was doing. She busied herself with double checking the files in her office, ensuring that most of them were no longer there and that the ones that were there were specifically about the building itself and any contracts she signed about it. She kept those organized in case she needed to grab them for any reason, and then emerged from her office again to see Ryouta tossing his box onto a pile of boxes she hadn't noticed by the back door.

"Thank you," she pat him on the shoulder as she passed him by. "I'll toss them today."

Walking through the almost bare-bones building was weird to her. For the most part, all that had been left were the bigger appliances and countertops. Things she hadn't had the resources to move.

Of course, she'd already begun to compile the necessary items to replace the things she'd thrown out.

Those thoughts passed in a blur as she propped the door to the back room open with a box.

She stood upright and her eyes landed on the black vehicle outside her shop. She watched until the door opened and a professionally-dressed woman stepped out before she moved to the door and to greet who she knew to be Inyoku.

"Good morning," she greeted with a smile and a bow of respect. When she stood upright again she held the door open for the other woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Inyoku." *

Toriko gave the red-headed girl a rather professional nod of acknowledgement as her eyes left the outside of the building and found the open door, moving inside.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Hanase." The somewhat severe expression of the moment prior softened and she gave a small, if charming smile. She stepped out of the way of the door and then gestured inward for Akari to lead.

"Please, why don't you go ahead and walk me through the building." 3

Akari followed Inyoku inside, momentarily taken aback by not just the smile from the woman but also the prospect of 'walking her through the building'. She didn't know what do do! Hell, she wasn't quite sure that she hadn't expected to just follow the woman around and answer questions.

"Of course," Akari gave a smile that she hoped hid her inner panic. "Anything specific you'd like to know?" Forgive me Ryouta, I'm trying not to rely on you., she thought as the male stepped into the front of the shop and paused for a breath. *

"Well," Toriko let her eyes examine the space where they currently stood. "I'd like to see each room. As well as the area that had the short."

The green gaze behind the frameless glasses finally came to rest on Akari with something of a glitter of understanding and Toriko tilted her head just a trifle as another one of those smiles played across her lips.

"This is mostly for show, you understand, Ms. Hanase. I'm on your side." Another glance around the space. "If there is anything in particular that you found to be aggravating or annoying or otherwise unsatisfactory with the building you have inherited, by all means take special care in pointing it out to me." Toriko lifted a single dark eyebrow. "It will only help my report for later."

Hoping to put the girl at ease, Toriko gestured then once more to the rest of the shop, taking particular care to not so much as look at the dark-haired, sharp-eyed individual she caught intermittently staring at her ever since he entered the room. 3

Akari watched Inyoku look around the room, taking note of any lingering glances she had here or there and wondering briefly if she was seeing things Akari herself had never noticed before.

Though as she too looked around the room, she couldn't help but to compare it to the newer, much nicer looking shops around town. It definitely made this one look… dirty. And old.

Dated. That's the word she'd been looking for.

Her eyes drifted down to Inyoku again as she spoke about the showing be just for show, and relief flooded her every cell. Her smile became more relaxed and she almost let out a little chuckle.

"I'll be honest with you: I'm super appreciative of you right now." She turned away from Inyoku and the subject entirely and, as if it were suddenly natural to her, she began to lead the other through the room, describing how she liked the sun coming in through these windows and how open the space seemed during certain times of the day.

She lead Inyoku next to the counterspace, where the baristas usually worked. She paused when Ryouta did and gestured a hand between him and the woman next to her. "Inyoku, Toriko, this is Ryouta. He's my assistant manager. He's been a big help in navigating this process."

Ryouta gave a polite nod of his head. "It's a pleasure, Ms. Inyoku." *

Toriko took the appreciation in stride, "Well, I don't tend to repeat myself, but we are most certainly dissatisfied with how your situation has been handled thus far and will do whatever we can to make amends."

She dutifully followed after Akari. At one time, she might have had a clipboard out and pretended to make notes on it, but she no longer felt restricted by a need to uphold those sorts of charades any longer and simply listened attentively, storing the information away for later.

It wasn't until the very moment in which it would have been considered rude to not acknowledge this 'Ryouta' that Toriko did so.

She had known the very instant of his appearance just what exactly he was, and knew that he without a doubt knew similarly of her. Until now, she had not yet personally met one of the Raven clan, but she knew of them through Taka-a name she had not truly thought of in what seemed like too long a time-and knew of their trained, if uncanny ability to see the truth in all things.

And his gaze unnerved her in a way that felt too personal. Too close to home.

And strangely enough in that moment as she met his eyes, she realized he felt similarly of her and a sudden thought occurred:

I don't know if we'll get along.

"Likewise...Ryouta, was it?" A strange occupation for one such as yourself to be found in. I wonder what the rest of your clan would think of it if they knew. "I am sure your continued insight into the state of things will be appreciated." 3

The very moment Ryouta had entered the front of the building and laid eyes on the woman Akari was showing around, he felt a certain sense of resignation. Part of him thought he'd be able to do what he was doing and let the ladies go about their business unbothered, but Akari's introduction had him pausing and turning to fully take in the woman who was definitely not as she seemed.

And definitely a huge piece in the game the world was playing.

He gave a raise of his brow at her, acutely aware that she likely knew what he was thinking and feeling, what he wanted in those moments, which even he himself wasn't too sure about.

She was much too closely related to the level that was once his home for him to be immediately comfortable.

So he smiled pleasantly. "I'm looking forward to the changes to come." You do your thing and I'll do mine, and we'll be fine.

Akari, not missing the odd smile Ryouta had for Inyoku, felt oddly like a child standing between her parents who had been arguing moments before but didn't want her to know.

Or something like that.

Ooookay then. Moving on.

"As you can see with the space behind him, it's hard to work with more than one person behind the counter, and it has definitely made it hard to be efficient." Ryouta moved to the back room, finally letting the two women see the open socket on the wall that had been behind him. "That's where the shortage originated." With a gesture of her hand, she lead Inyoku around the counter to show her this and that, and talk about the electrical shortage of the whole wall. *

Shikiyoku moved about her business with Akari, immediately trying to ignore the bird demon who made her so unnervingly uncomfortable in those moments, despite the silent exchange of a similar understanding of duty first in regards to the situation at hand.

She did pause and examine more closely the electrical issue, as best she could, and then let Akari continue pointing out this or that to her, thinking of what things she might adjust last minute on the paperwork she had already nearly finished drawing up.

It would take her another day to finalize everything, but she planned on taking Akari to lunch so she might have a look at whatever plans the owner had in mind and then bring them with her to the meeting she had scheduled with the architect so he could draft the blueprints for her and then-

Shikiyoku blinked and drew her full attention back to the present. Once Akari finished with her tour, she would suggest lunch. 3

Once Akari was back on track, she navigated the building the same way she had thousands of times before. Her steps followed what her muscles remembered as she talked, making it easy to focus on the person she showed around and the important bits that she hoped wouldn't be in the final building.

At some point Ryouta dipped out the back door, taking a few boxes with him and locking that door behind him. Akari noticed his leaving with mild interest, but otherwise overlooked the unusual behavior displayed by the raven.

When Akari finally took a breath and lowered her hands to her side, done with the 'tour', they pair had ended in the center of the front room again. The natural light in the room made the place look closer to how it usually was, even without the normal barista station being assembled and the holes in the various sockets.

She let out a long, satisfied breath. "That's it, really." *

"You already seem to have a lot of ideas about how things should be." Toriko gave the room around them one last look-over before giving Akari a smile. "That's commendable. I wouldn't be able to give my support to your proposal to start anew if I didn't think you were capable of making it better than it was before, but..." She nodded, "I'm quite satisfied with supporting you."

Toriko glanced down at her watch, seeing it was close to noon.

"If you aren't otherwise engaged, I would be more than happy to take you to lunch. I know of a cafe nearby where we would have a chance to continue our discussion of your plans. If you have them on you, I would like to go over your ideas for the new building and possibly take them to the consultant I've hired for the architectural matters." 3

Akari blinked once at Inyoku, her smile slow and perhaps the most genuine she'd shown all morning. Or, maybe, the most genuine one she'd shown in days. She too looked around the room, almost feeling as if she should be telling it goodbye.

She thought about the changes coming and how they seemed to coincide with her own personal changes, and her smile widened as she turned to Inyoku again, almost worried about her pause but not given enough time before the woman expressed her satisfaction and willingness to support the changes.

In the time it took Toriko to glance at her watch, Akari's eyes glazed over and she turned focus to the very active Alpha bond, assessed its unusual amount of activity, then refocused on her current objective before the other could even get halfway through her first sentence.

Akari's smile widened. "No ma'am, I have no other obligations. I'd love to share my ideas with you." If she had a tail, it might have been wagging in excitement as she all but skipped to the front counters to grab her little manilla folder of papers and rough sketches.

"Admittedly," Akari rotated the folder in her hands almost self consciously, "my designs are mostly about the interior." She looked up again, her smile that same smile of excitement despite the touch of self consciousness. "Since it's what I work with everyday. I don't know much about structures themselves or exterior design." *

As Toriko moved for the door, opening it for Akari to pass through as they started to move towards the black sedan waiting for them, she nodded.

"Don't worry about it too much. I would simply like to take into account what notions you have about the end result as you've imagined it and we'll let the one responsible for making it possible worry about the rest."

The chauffeur had gotten out of the driver's seat as he saw them approach and opened the back seat, Shikiyoku climbing in and telling him as she went by where he was to take them. 3

Akari locked the door behind Inyoku and followed suit, sliding into the sedan with a sense of amazement at the driver as he closed the door for her and circled the vehicle to get into the driver's seat. She half wondered what it'd be like to have a driver all the time, but quickly decided she liked her walking lifestyle better. It kept her from getting too antsy.

Akari made idle chat about this and that, asking mild questions about the business as the vehicle moved down the road. When the sedan came to a stop outside of a cafe, she gave a small smile at the familiarity of it; she'd visited almost every coffee shop and cafe in town at least twice, and this one had been one of her favorites in the beginning.

Once she'd decided on a coffee shop for herself, she'd come here less, only visiting once every other week or so to snag something for dinner.

She let Inyoku lead the way inside, and she gave a short 'hello, good to see you again' to one of the workers passing by for their break. Much to Akari's delight, the ladies were seated next to one of the windows, and she happily took the seat in the little sunshine that made its way through.

She ordered her drink and meal before thumbing through her file and picking out the sketches she'd worked on for the last week. She surveyed them for a moment before she passed them to Inyoku, finding herself unexpectedly proud with her work and hoping they were decent ideas. "I compiled several different ideas since I wasn't sure of how much space I'd end up with, but for the most part-" she shuffled the papers until there were two different groupings, "this group is for a smaller space," she passed that trio of papers first, "and this one is for a larger space." She passed the last two sheets, knowing that if she wanted to, it'd be easy to combine any of those ideas together for any size of building.

"I'm particularly fond of the ones on top of each grouping," she added.*

Toriko took the drawings as they were passed, adjusting her glasses farther up her nose as she carefully looked over all of them individually, and then laid them down to spread them between herself and Akari.

She took into consideration the plot of land they were working with, located in a more suburban and residential area of the city that frankly was on the decline. People were leaving for the opportunities the city proper had begun providing under she and Kurama's meticulous care and they couldn't afford to even consider a commute. The changes Akari was suggesting were going to be a shock to any regular customers, as the dog appeared to want to wipe away any semblance of the former establishment in ways that were going to make the endeavour more problematic than less.

She wasn't sure the area was ready for such a change as this quite yet-in fact she was positive it was much too early for it-but thankfully for the woman across from her who seemed enthusiastic about it, Toriko could afford to have a few businesses running at a deficit without interfering with the other cogs in the machine.

"I am no expert on architecture," Toriko said finally after they had gone over the sketches together, "So I'm not certain myself exactly what sort of proportions we're working with in respect to your ideas, but I will take whatever you'd like with me when I see my consultant tomorrow and we will see what they can cook up from there."

"Have you completely gutted the building of whatever you need? It seemed like you had still left a lot of the larger major appliances inside." It would definitely be much more expensive than originally projected if Akari was really going to update everything as her pictures suggested, and there would need to be workers paid to come and haul away what was left properly before permission could be given to tear it down. 3

Akari nodded along to Inyoku's talk of the proportions, momentarily wondering what it'd be like to talk with someone who did know about architecture and the like. But the things she'd drawn up had been discussed with Ryouta, who seemed to know enough to tell her what definitely would never work and what might maybe work.

She nodded again, "Everything inside the building now is left to be hauled away. I could easily do that myself overnight, if I knew where to put all of it." She thought briefly about letting the shadows simply swallow all of the inside 'debris' that would be no longer necessary, but she didn't think they'd appreciate the extra 'junk'.

It's just as easy to transport all of that stuff through them, though. And she wouldn't be using nearly as much energy and time as a team of people would to move everything by hand. *

Toriko gave a short nod, though she sensed something of a desire from the other at first, "Well then, if you can think of anything else you've yet to discuss with me, now is the time." A rather charming smile settled over her features. "Otherwise, all there is left to do for the moment is for you to sign a bit of paperwork."

She pulled a couple of sheets from her bag and placed them on the table. "The second one is a copy you may keep if you like. It's...something of a release form. A bunch of legalese that amounts to your agreeing to let me help you directly. This will allow me to essentially take care of the dirty work in regards to the building. Things an owner of a shop shouldn't have to worry about themselves. Seeing to the disposal of the old machinery. Putting up a bid for contractors. Finding a demolition team. That sort of thing."

Leaning back a little to allow Akari a moment to look the paper over, Toriko continued, "With your permission, everything will be set into motion right away." Another smile. "I work quickly, you'll find. If that is what you wish. Tomorrow: the architect and hauling away what's left. The next day we will tear the building down. Possibly two days for construction proper and by the end of the week I fully expect to be able to begin moving things back in."

"Once we have the building finalized, I think we will know more exactly what there will need to be inside it. Would you like an assistant to help you with purchasing when the time comes?" 3

Akari did briefly consider asking to be part of the meeting with the contractors, if only to see how such things went on behind the scenes, but she thought that she might be able to get more stuff done outside of those things. She still had to talk to someone about possibly using their beans in her shop - something she also needed to talk about at some point with Inyoku - and that would keep her busy for a couple of days, she was sure.

She slid the paperwork closer to herself and began to read it over, only pausing to glance up and nod to show she was listening.

"A week!" She sat back and blinked a few times. "That's awesome!" Her smile was almost childlike in her excitement; she had thought this would be a month long project.

She reached for the pen she'd had in her ponytail and, once she read through it all, signed the proper pages. "An assistant for buying?" She thought about the mild window shopping she'd been doing for the inside equipment and furniture. "Yes, please," she finally answered. "Having someone to help make sure everything goes together in a way that makes sense would be wonderful."

She passed the signed paperwork back to Inyoku and kept the extra for herself, making a mental note to grab the last filing cabinet from the shop on her way home today and reorganize it. *

"Excellent. I will make a note of it." Toriko took back the contract, noted the signature and nodded before putting it away.

She then addressed the desires she continued to feel from the other, "Now, if there is any part of this process that you'd like to be present for, you are more than welcome. Most of it will just be phone calls and paperwork, but things like the meeting with the architect, tearing down the building, being onsite while construction is occurring... However, I also know that there are likely things you will need to square away yourself—" That same charming smile, "—Especially given how quickly things will be moving from here on out." 3

Akari held off on answering as their orders were brought to their table, using her drink as an excuse to mull over the offer of being there during the different meetings. Curiosity was really the sole reason she even considered going - if she could learn more about the behind the scenes stuff along the way, she thought it might be fun.

On the flip side of that, being in those meetings would take her away from anything else she needed to do outside of her shop.

But… really… all she needed to do was to talk to the one gentleman about a new roast and, when the time came for it, shop for interior objects with whatever assistant would be present.

Amusingly enough, she wouldn't be surprised if Ryouta were to be the one to show up.

She brushed that thought away as she set her cup down with a little nod to herself. "I won't deny that I'm curious about the contractors and how that comes to fruition, but," she met the green gaze of Inyoku with a smile, "I've already planned to visit a gentleman about changing stock in our coffee beans and using his local roast instead of our current, imported ones." Inyoku reminded her of Ryouta in some ways, especially where she seemed to know just what Akari was thinking. "Speaking of," she leaned back in her chair, "would I need permission from you to make changes like that in our stock?" *

Shikiyoku shook her head, smiling, "The short answer is no. You're the owner of the establishment, that's up to you to decide. The land may not strictly be yours, but once the building is approved, whatever commercial food-service you choose to provide within it will be.

"However, part of my job will of course be to assist you in acquiring the proper permits and certifications in accordance with the area's zoning laws, which does mean procuring the correct equipment within regulations so you will garner approval with the Board of Health, but similarly as to the plumbing and electricity requirements, there will be an assistant available for you to run over the basics if you'd like, since this will be a completely new building."

At this point, they had reached the end of their meal and Toriko paid after flagging a member of the staff down for the check.

"I will call you tomorrow evening once the architect and I have finished." Toriko said as she signed the receipt.

She fully expected to meet Akari the day after for something of a brunch to go over plans before taking her to see the building torn down. At least one of the construction days would likely be spent assisting Akari in choosing the interior items required. Moving things in should not take long, perhaps a full twenty-four hours, and then they would be getting everything inspected before the official grand re-opening of the shop. 3

The next morning came quickly, the first sound of the day being a loud alarm that woke the apartment. Akari stepped into her normal morning routine with a meal for Kiyoko and Nabu, and while they ate she took the opportunity to shower and get ready for the day.

With her hair braided and resting over her shoulder, light makeup on her face, and a new dress flowing around her knees, she bustled around the kitchen, throwing together a breakfast.

"You know, Akari," Nabu piped from the next room, his little huffs louder than even the television, "I miss him being around."

Akari's brows furrowed and she turned to glance over her shoulder at the television screen. She wasn't surprised by the celebrity news channel he had chosen, though she was surprised that he'd decided to broach the subject of the redhead on the screen. He had yet to ask her since their reunion of his whereabouts, and a part of her thought he might have known all along.

"Whatever happened with you guys? You disappeared, and then he did too, and when you come back you don't even smell like him." The shiba turned all-too-knowledgeable eyes onto her.

"Well," she began as she turned to the little sandwich she had been assembling, "Nabu... " She thought about her time at Yomi's, and all the events that lead to where she was now, and for the first time since she'd been back in this time, she second guessed her own view of those events. "To be honest, I'm not even sure how to answer that."

"Or you just don't want to." Kiyokok piped as she emerged from the bedroom, the toy she'd been gnawing on now forgotten.

"...You're not wrong there."

Silence followed, too loud for her to handle almost. Just as she was reaching for the radio to turn it on, Nabu piped again. "Remember when you'd go to that one bread shop and they let me in and gave me treats? I wish they still did that. They had the best in town." Akari split her sandwich in half and took a few bites, and she turned to look at her long-time friend. "And then you really liked their breads too, and when you shared those, it was my favorite too!"

"Well, that's because she liked it enough to share," Kiyoko moved to sit by Nabu, head high and chest out in her usual regal pose. She, however, paid no mind to the screen in front of her.

"You would have loved it! And we spent a lot more time together then too! They were super dog friendly, and never turned me away just because I have fur. And Flowers was around a lot too! You'd like him.! He and Akari spent a lot of time together until.."

Akari tuned out their conversation as she finished off her sandwich and reached for her phone. She sent a text out to Ryouta, updating him of her plans for the day, and then made a few phone calls to set up the meeting with the man she hoped would supply her shop with coffee beans.

And in the midst of this, she began to mull over the thought of Nabu and Kiyoko being in her shop during business hours. *

Shikiyoku and Akari parted amicably after their little meeting, Shikiyoku dropping the other back off at the shop, and then immediately on her phone the entire ride back to Minamino Corp.

Meeting already having been set up with the architect earlier, Shikiyoku settled back into her desk in her administrative office and was a flurry of activity for the rest of the day, seeking not only the permits that would be required for this endeavour, but going ahead and scheduling all the other individuals she knew would be needed, now that they were fully committed to all the changes to be made.

Bids and contracts were sent out, with Shikiyoku giving her best guesstimate in regards to numbers, and she made an appointment for people to gut out and haul away anything left on the inside of the building that evening so everything could be ready for deconstruction the next day.

The next time she actually looked up, she had worked through the entire night and without pause set about gathering her things to prepare for the architect, absolutely intending to call Akari just as soon as she was done with the meeting to set up a brunch for them for the following day before deconstruction was scheduled. 3

Once she'd heard back from the appropriate people, Akari had set out just before lunch to meet with a gentleman about roasted coffee beans. Just as she had with Inyoku the day previous, she met the man in a place of his choosing, though instead of a manilla folder this time, she had the appropriate paperwork folded neatly in an envelope, tucked carefully into the purse she had hanging off of her shoulder.

He was nice enough, and when it came to business, he was more than willing to work with her on prices, cuts, and the like. He even went over his roasting process with her - something she greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

They discussed this and that for a while before he walked her just down the street to his own place of business, where he showed her the machines he used and had a cup of coffee made for her, at her request.

Byt the time evening had come, a price had been set, and a contract had been signed by both parties. When they parted ways, it was with a smile and a handshake, and promises to be in touch just before the opening of her shop to pick up the first supply.

She walked home with her head and spirits high, almost skipping were it not for the fact that she was wearing heels. Nabu and Kiyoko met her at the door, the shiba asking his usual twenty questions and Kiyoko silently listening.

The call from Inyoku was a welcomed distraction from Nabu's ever growing list of questions, and short as it was, it gave her even more excitement for the week.

The next morning was just as typical as the morning before, the routine an easy one that let her think about the brunch she'd be having and the idea that Nabu had given her the day previous.

"I want to go see the shop torn down!" Nabu complained as Akari pulled her hair into a clip and sorted the curls into something less 'hastened' looking. "And I want to see it rebuilt!"

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be there during deconstructions, Nabu. You get too excited, and I'd hate for you to get hurt."

"Akari!"

"I'll tell you what. I'll bring up that I want the shop to be Dog Friendly to Inyoku today, and if that goes well, we'll see about you being there to supervise the interior being put together."

"REALLY?"

Akari pat him on the head as she moved for the door. "Really, really."

"YES! AN ADVENTURE!"

She shook her head as the pair of canines bounded past her on the way out the door, Nabu barking his excitement and Kiyoko simply keeping stride with her companion. Akari's smile was a fond one as she locked the door behind her and set on her way to the shop.

This time, when she opened the door, Ryouta wasn't inside. A part of her had wondered if he would make an excuse to be there, but she also felt a bit of relief to know that he wasn't. After her introduction of him to Inyoku the other day, she wasn't sure she wanted to stand in that awkwardness.

She took in the sight of the empty shop, reminiscing about her beginnings inside just as the company vehicle came to a stop outside the shop. Her smile this time turned perhaps more polite as she moved out the door to meet Inyoku. *

The driver of the vehicle got out and moved over to the side of the car closest to Akari as the young woman made her way out of her old establishment, and he bowed and opened the door so she could climb inside.

Once she was in, Shikiyoku handed Akari the architectural designs almost immediately.

"I was going to wait until we were already there, but I thought you might want to look these over now." Her smile spoke of a vicarious excitement as if she knew Akari would be thrilled once she saw the results of yesterday's meeting. 3

Akari thanked the driver as she slid into the vehicle, mindful of the skirt she wore as she settled into place. She took the papers from Inyoku and immediately turned down to the designs, her eyes going wide as she surveyed every mark on the paper.

If she had a tail, it likely would have been going just as fast as Nabu's had this morning. Thankfully for her, she was able to keep her excitement contained in a toothy grin that she beamed at Inyoku.

"This looks amazing! And it only took you a day to get this?" She turned to the designs again and imagined walking through the shop. It's even better than I imagined! *

Shikiyoku's smile remained quite satisfied with the results.

"He was the apprentice to one of the best architectural designers in the world, and he's constantly working to surpass her. This was just the sort of challenge he relishes.

"I'll be sure to let him know you're quite pleased." 3

"The apprentice to the best in the world, hm?" She continued her little mental walkthrough, not really noticing that she was voicing her thoughts. "You don't mess around, do you?"

She blinked and looked up at Inyoku again, her smile somehow wider than before. "That's incredible! I-" She blinked, suddenly realizing she'd perhaps not filtered the less-than-businesslike rhetorical question. Uh. She turned to the designs again in an attempt to recover. "I feel quite lucky to have you helping me with this endeavor." *

"Well, I know she's over in Paris working on a building herself at present and I didn't particularly want to deal with a video conference on such short notice." Shikiyoku said mildly, looking over Akari's shoulder at the papers. "She's much easier to speak with in person."

"It's been something of a sore spot to have you put in such dire straits, truth be told." Nevermind the fact she had been a bit preoccupied 'saving the world.' "Think of it as my way of making it up to you. I'm sure you wish to be back at work nearly as much as I wish for you to be able to do so." 3

Akari was very appreciative of the little skip over her 'observation', and she felt quite a bit less embarrassed about it when it wasn't addressed directly. Though, she still felt a bit stunned at the thought that Inyoku had attempted to get her the best architectural designer in the world. She couldn't even begin to fathom the ties that Minamino Corp. had now that one such as that was brought up.

Granted, she also was aware of the person running it, and was…. Not surprised.

Akari opened her mouth to respond, or change the subject, she wasn't sure. Before she could do so, however, the vehicle came to a stop and the driver had her door open. She thanked him as she slid from the seat and turned to let Inyoku lead the way, mulling over several thoughts at once.

She realized she was comfortable around this person. Inyoku was easy to talk to, and provided plenty of opportunities for Akari to ask any sort of question she had, whether it be about the shop itself or the processes going on behind the scenes.

So when the pair were seated, perhaps it was because of that thought that she found herself staring down at the menu, speaking in a sort of quiet tone. "Truth be told, I wasn't sure what I'd do if I didn't hear back from you." Her smile was gentle, holding no resentment. "I'm not usually very fond of change, good or bad. Generally speaking, I am much more comfortable staying in an environment that I know well."

She set the menu down and finally turned her eyes up to Inyoku. "So… Thank you. For making this easy." *

Making sure they brought the designs with them in case they would need to go over them during the brunch, Toriko lead the way into the low-murmuring establishment, nodding to the various employees as needed along the way before they were seated somewhere in the middle of the rather swanky, crisp surroundings.

It had been a bit of a drive from the site, but she felt their celebrations were a cause for it.

And their coffee wasn't half-bad.

"Order whatever you like." She indicated briefly to the menu Akari was given.

Her eyes glittered a bit behind her glasses as Akari spoke.

"I can assure you, it is my greatest pleasure to make sure my clients receive whatever it is their heart desires." That same charming smile which won her many a patron at her very own bar settled over her features, though she continued somewhat more seriously, "If you were not ready for this change, then your initial designs would have indicated as much and we would have proceeded accordingly."

For a split second, her eyes flickered over Akari's shoulders and were distant, but she returned her attention to the other almost immediately as if it had not happened.

"However much I would enjoy taking complete responsibility for the ease of the transition," Her smile softened as she returned her gaze to her own menu, "It is as much your fault as mine, dear." 3

The gleam that lit up Inyoku's eyes pulled the entirety of Akari's attention from anything else going on around her, and for a moment she thought about Ryouta and the looks he gave her when he knew she had something to say and was hesitating.

Or, maybe it was a little different. But it definitely held that knowledgeable gleam that made her feel both self conscious and at ease all at once. As if she could trust this person, because perhaps this person knew her better then she knew herself.

She blinked the thought away and her smile widened just a bit, holding only a hint of the sudden excitement and emotions that filled her.

She really did like this person. And a part of her wondered what Inyoku would be like outside of working environments.

When the waitress came by, Akari did as Inyoku had said and ordered what she wanted, though she did give a grateful smile to the person sitting across from her.

Her eyes caught glass windows behind Inyoku for the briefest of moments, long enough to see a dog on a leash pass by with its human, and she was suddenly reminded of her promise to Nabu.

"Oh! I meant to mention this earlier when we were looking at the designs," she turned her smile back onto Inyoku, filled with the same excitement from before. "Do you think it'd be possible to have the shop be dog friendly, and still keep up to health regulations?" *

For her part, Toriko felt a sudden surge of desire overcome the woman across from her and her own expression unknowingly softened.

She could not remember the last time someone simply wanted to be friends with her, after all. But it was quite possibly the strongest wave of anything Toriko had sensed from her throughout the entirety of their endeavours so far.

Giving a nod of appreciation to the staff when her coffee was brought to her, there was only a slight hitch in Toriko's movements as she sensed a second desire wash over Akari and she nearly chuckled to herself.

"That's perfectly fine. There will be more forms for you to sign, but consider it done." Of course it wouldn't be nearly as easy as Toriko made it seem, but she had so far delivered and had no doubts she could in this instance as well. 3

Akari's eyes lit up with the knowledge that Nabu would be spinning in circles to hear that his reminiscing had turned into a dog-friendly establishment that he could visit her at any time. She knew she spent a lot of time working and not enough time with him and Kiyoko, but she would be happy to see that change. And she was certain he would be too.

"Of course. Whatever you need from me, I'll happily oblige."

When the coffee that Inyoku ordered was set down, Akari glanced at it briefly and made a mental note to get her own cup after her meal. It smelled nice, though a part of her was a bit proud in the fact that the coffee she'd had the day before smelled better than the one Inyoku sipped at.

She was excited to see how the changes would go in the neighborhood, though she knew she would be losing her regulars due to the drastic changes. *'

While it would certainly require a few drastic changes in the direction Toriko had been herding things at present, it might be an interesting pitch to make in the current market.

And it wasn't in her nature to get upset over what were really quite minor shifts. She'd had much more difficult clients make much more trying requests at the least opportune moments.

She took a thoughtful sip of her coffee, "I don't think there are any such establishments on any of the land owned by Nakamura Enterprises at present." She smiled over at Akari, "So, you'll be the first." 3

If Akari could feel any more excitement, she'd have to go run the block to get the energy out. In itself, it wasn't a bad thought… except for the skirt and heels she was wearing.

So she settled for that same toothy grin from before. "I'm excited to see it come to life," she admitted, though she was more then sure that the other already knew that.

Akari sipped at her water and took a moment to look around the room they were in, eyeing the greenery lining the stairs across the room and the various decorations around them. It was definitely an interesting place to be, and she quite enjoyed the greenery inside. *

There were a few 'cat cafés' already in the city proper, and at least one 'dog café,' but nothing quite this far out from the center of the metro. People had a little more room out here and might be more likely to have dogs, so a place for them to gather could save a bit of the falling out Toriko expected from the vast changes Akari wished to make.

Polite conversation continued as their food arrived and they partook of the exquisitely prepared brunch, and afterwards Toriko suggested they had some time before demolition started, so they should try a couple of the pastries the café was known for.

Leaning back a bit in her chair after the first couple of bites of her chocolate eclair, Shikiyoku let her hand curl around her coffee cup sitting currently three-quarters full at the table, and appeared to be thoughtfully considering it.

Just as she started to shift forward to reach again for her fork, a hand rested with familiarity on the back of her shoulder.

"Yoku, you didn't tell me you were back in town."

The amiable words were followed by a pair of lips that pressed themselves to her cheek, which she turned her face upwards to meet once it happened.

"I..." Her gaze shifted quickly to the right and she blushed as he stood back up. "It's only been a couple of days." She murmured, taking note of one of the members of staff who had a chair in hand and brought it to the table.

"Hanase, Akari, this is Minamino, Shuichi." Toriko said quickly by way of introduction, gesturing from one to the other. "I am working with her on behalf of Nakamura in regards to the café of which she has ownership."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hanase." Shuichi bowed deeply, exuding nothing but the sort of charm that was part of the reason he remained in his current station in life. 3

Ever the adventurous one, Akari ordered a simple latte and a chocolate croissant as her dessert. She sipped and chatted with Inyoku, enjoying the exchange and the atmosphere quite a bit. Every once in a while, her eyes wandered from the person she talked with to look around the room again, noting the people coming and going, and the amount of staff members here and there.

Because of this, it was easy to note the moment the employees of the restaurant changed their demeanor, if only slightly. She watched as a young lady bustled by, professional but still welcoming as she moved up the stairs and disappeared behind the greenery to greet whoever had come through.

She glanced away for a moment, uninterested really at the newcomer and more interested in the croissant she pulled apart delicately. And when she did glance up again, she was chewing on the dark chocolate swirl, a hand in front of her mouth.

The woman appeared again at the bottom of the stairs and gave a little wave in the general direction of the room, gave a bow, and then bustled up the stairs again. Had Akari not already been about to swallow the bite she'd had in her mouth, she might have choked a little when a familiar stranger stepped from around the greenery and glanced about the room.

Grass-green eyes alighted on her, and Akari watched as a smile stretched across his lips and lightened his expression. That coupled with the short hairstyle he wore, and Akari almost wouldn't have realized it was him.

...if not for… everything else about him.

Stunned and perhaps a little distracted by the smile on his lips and in his eyes, Akari watched Kurama smoothly make his way across the room, unsure of how to react or even if she should.

So when he did finally reach the table and he rested a hand on Inyoku's back, Akari felt a mixture of relief and confusion. She turned her eyes quickly to the coffee cup she reached for, pretending not to notice the exchange and instead noticing the gleam of a ring on the other's engagement finger.

And its familiar, rose-like shape and color.

OH.

She didn't miss the nickname for Inyoku from the other, and when she looked up, she was almost surprised at the red tinge that colored the other woman's features. It seemed almost out of character for Inyoku, though Akari was well aware that she didn't know the woman at all.

And then a waitress produced a chair, and Kurama took his seat between the two. Instinct had Akari glancing about the room, looking at the exits and for the restroom, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of the situation.

Nope. I can't deal. I can't do this. Nope, nope, NOPE.

She almost missed the introduction from Inyoku, and Akari did her best to gather her panic and shove it into a bottle, only to hide it behind a diplomatic, overly-polite smile just before she gave a bow. WHY IS HE SO CHARMING. STOP IT. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Minamino."

And boy was it difficult not to call him by the name she'd known him as. *

While Toriko may have been a bit uncomfortable with Shuichi's attentions, it was a drop in an ocean compared to the abrupt shift in Akari's desires in the moments following that nearly had Toriko go cross-eyed from the intensity.

Shuichi gave Akari a smile as he sat down at the table, his chair slightly shifted in her direction so he might look at her, but in a way that had him closer to Toriko.

"This is the café to be demolished this afternoon?" He inquired, his calm and quiet voice no different than it ever was before.

Toriko gave a nod as Shuichi smiled at the staff member who brought him his coffee.

"I expect congratulations will be in order before the end of the week, then." He added sincerely before taking a sip of the warm beverage.

"She wishes to make it into a dog café." Toriko prompted, giving Akari an encouraging smile.

"Is that so?" Shuichi's eyes moved back over to Akari with interest. 3

Akari did lay eyes on the sign pointing to the restrooms, and she was getting ready to excuse herself when Inyoku mentioned Akari's request to allow dogs inside the cafe, doing so with a smile that told Akari that she probably wouldn't get to escape quite as quickly as she wanted to.

She reached for her water and took a sip, giving herself an extra moment to reorder her thoughts and gather herself. If she was to converse, she would need to be able to think.

Neither of which she wanted to do.

By the time she lowered her glass to the table, she'd resolved herself to seeing the conversation through, and her smile was perhaps a little more genuine in appearance, though perhaps not in nature.

"Well," she began, not really enjoying the pairs of eyes on her at the moment, "I have a couple of dogs that I hardly get to spend time with, so I thought it'd be… interesting to have them able to be a part of this establishment." Nabu is going to freak out.

She glanced briefly at Inyoku, not sure if she was thankful for the encouragement or not. *

"Ah, I envy you." Shuichi admitted. "It's a brilliant plan. I don't exactly have the sort of lifestyle that would permit animal companionship in any form."

"He's gone too much." Toriko added under her breath.

Shuichi gave her a pointed glance and she blushed again, eyes staring at her coffee and lifting it to her lips in the next moment as if it were the most necessary movement in the world.

"I do travel frequently." He allowed, "But not as much as some in present company." Word had most certainly reached him of Shikiyoku's recent dance down the levels, a story he had no doubt would turn quickly into legend amongst their kind.

Turning back to Akari, his eyes sparked with interest, "Have you decided which shelter you might ally with? Or were you thinking of going strictly a puppy route?" 3

Akari fought to keep her expression neutral at his admittance of envying her. She wasn't sure if she so fully believed that, but she definitely didn't want to remark on it. Especially not when she might have remarked negatively.

Instead she sipped at her latte and observed the… lover's quarrel as it unfolded in front of her. Though she wasn't even sure if that's what she was witnessing. In any case, she decided not to remark on the travels of the two, whether to ask after their destinations or anything else on the subject.

With the question about a shelter, Akari felt her head turn to one side, the pieces falling together when she remembered Inyoku had mentioned a dog cafe. While that hadn't been exactly what she'd meant, she found she didn't mind the idea of it as much as she might have this time last month.

She lowered her coffee cup to the table, though her hands stayed glued to its sides as an excuse to keep from fidgeting. "I haven't decided," she replied after a moment, her eyes trailing away from his glittering gaze and to the ring on Inyoku's finger. "I only had the thought this morning, and I wasn't sure it was something we could go through with." *

"Dog friendly might be a bit easier than a dog café." Shuichi replied thoughtfully.

"You could do both." Toriko added, nodding at Shuichi, "Have a few dogs from a nearby shelter that are up for adoption. Keep postings online of profiles of the animals currently in-house. People can come in and make sure the animal is a right fit for them, and you'd have a chance to see for yourself if you thought they were compatible."

"It'd be a little more costly to keep them fed throughout the day. You would probably want a staff member or two dedicated just to the animals' upkeep. But you could have some dog-friendly food choices for people to purchase-"

"-for their own animals and applications for people to fill out after your assessment of their compatibility. Your adoption coordinators can check on the home when they deliver the dog after approval. And there could be a grace-period of a couple of weeks before they finalize adoption."

"But then you would have less surrenders."

"It's not something the other café in the city does. Most of their clientele are from puppy mills."

"I can't imagine there isn't a shelter or two that wouldn't appreciate some relief."

"But dog-friendly would be much easier." Toriko reiterated at the last. 3

Akari nodded first at Minamino's thought, but gave a slight turn of her head at Inyoku's point. And from there, Akari felt like she was watching a mock tennis match. The pair played off of one another, completing one another's thoughts and then adding onto what the other had said.

Her eyes shifted back and forth, and as they continued in their brief discussion about the pros and cons of each, Akari felt the need to excuse herself growing. They're the same.

Finally, when Inyoku concluded the little… discussion, Akari gave a short nod and an appreciative smile. "I'll have to think on it. Both are wonderful ideas." At this point, she felt exhausted and almost as if she wanted to skip watching the shop being torn down and just go home.

But surely Minamino had his own things to do, and wouldn't be at the demolition, right? So it wouldn't be that bad. She could relax when he went back to whatever it was he was doing, and she could watch the destruction of her past in peace.

Whatever panic she felt before was gone now, completely replaced with the simple thought of getting through this brunch and to the demolition.

"Thank you for expanding on both points." she moved to take a sip of her latte, only to find it gone. She reached for her water instead. *

Having returned to form, Toriko's eyes briefly alighted on Akari and sifted through the various desires of the young woman with practiced ease.

"Sorry." She gave a small smile and for a moment the gaze that darted over to Shuichi was something of an affectionate one. "It's easy for us to get carried away. The dog café idea isn't one we've come across before ourselves."

"However, I think even simply being dog-friendly could be quite advantageous to you. That part of the suburban outskirts has nothing resembling a dog park, and the nearest park itself is an above average walk away."

Toriko glanced down at the watch on her wrist, "We should probably start to head that direction."

"I'll take care of it." Kurama began to rise as she did, "Don't want you to be late. I'll meet you there."

"Is that so?" Toriko's eyebrow rose dryly on her face, but the ghost of a smile was dancing across her lips. "I hadn't the faintest idea you had any interest in demolition."

"I don't." He glibly replied, bowing to Akari and turning to head back towards the entrance.

"Ready?" Toriko asked Akari. 3

Akari let the pair talk, giving a small smile when necessary to show she was listening, if only just. When the pair stood, Akari followed suit, thankful for the parting of… the…

Crap.

She fought hard not to frown at Minamino as he mentioned meeting them there, and instead forced a smile onto her face that was meant to resemble some form of gratefulness.

At least he didn't pretend to be interested in my shop's destruction, she thought wryly, mirroring his bow as he turned and disappeared up the steps she'd seen him emerge from earlier.

Not for the first time, Akari thought about skipping the demolition and walking home. She thought about the bed she could crawl into and disappear from the world.

She also considered a bar somewhere to help her forget this meeting.

In the end, she turned and gave some semblance of a polite smile and nodded. "Ready." Her shop was going through a change, and she knew she'd regret not seeing it through from one process to the next. So, she pushed aside everything else and focused on that. "Thank you for lunch, by the way." She followed after Inyoku out the door and to the car. *

Knowing Akari would likely shy away from the knowledge that what Kurama had just gone to do was take care of their bill for them, Toriko only replied with, "You're quite welcome," as the two of them made their way back to the car.

Shuichi was not there when they arrived, thankfully, Toriko thought, but the demolition crew was and their process began in a timely fashion, the pair of watchers stationed well away from the work.

It took several hours, but Toriko remained, vigilantly watching the process. Eventually Shuichi showed up, parking his car down the block where the workers had parked the vehicles they arrived in, but when he got out of his car to watch, he stayed leaning up against it instead of coming any closer.

Toriko noted ruefully her own company car had left the premises at some point after dropping herself and Akari off.

When she and Akari parted ways, Toriko assured her she would remain in contact and send her a schedule of the construction just so she would know, inviting her to come and watch at any time.

"Let me know when you'd like to purchase the rest of the decor for your shop." She added.

Eventually, she couldn't put it off any longer and made her way over to Kurama.

"I suppose you must be my ride back to the company." She sighed as she approached and went to climb in the passenger side.

"Naturally." He gave her a grin.

Their ride back was almost uneventful.

He asked her about her most recent adventure, of which she was difficult to extract too many details and explained in no uncertain terms she found the sort of fame to be an annoyance.

Pulling into the private, underground parking garage of Minamino Corp, Kurama finally kissed her once the car was stopped in his parking space.

"When are you going to be finished with this little project?" He murmured as he moved a hand to tuck any stray piece of hair he could find behind her ear if only so he had an excuse to rest his hand against her neck.

"The grand-reopening could easily happen Saturday, though I'm not sure if Akari will be ready." Shikiyoku replied with a bit of a smile.

"What if it happened Friday?"

"Why do you ask?"

He let out a sigh, "Scott Irvine is coming into town-"

Shikiyoku's eyes widened a bit. Scott Irvine was the former owner of the huge merger the two of them finally acquired not all too long ago.

"-so there's going to be a bit of a get-together-"

"A bit?" Shikiyoku raised an eyebrow.

"There's going to be a rather extensive dinner party and I would really rather you accompany me to it."

Her energy weaving softly, invisibly in the air around her, Shikiyoku leaned just a touch closer to him, though they had not moved much away after their kiss, and watched as he took a deep breath when she did so.

Her own breath moved over his lips as her gaze flickered downwards briefly before she replied, "I'll think about it."

And then was abruptly climbing out of the car leaving him staring after her. 3

~!**!~

Akari was more than a little thankful when they arrived at the shop and Minamino was not in sight. And when the destruction of the shop began, she briefly forgot all about it. She forgot about her exhaustion and her earlier thoughts. She forgot about everything that wasn't the coming future, the changes that were sure to bring much more light into her life.

It was a cleansing thing to see the old building torn down. In a way, it felt as if a piece of her old self crumbled with it, nothing more then falling debris and memories of times past that would, eventually, be replaced by new ones.

She didn't notice Minamino parking down the way, and even if she had, she likely wouldn't have given him a second glance during the destruction anyway.

And when it was all said and done, she felt… better. Not completely, but at least not as drained. Inyoku handed over the schedule and mentioned interior decor shopping, and Akari promised to follow through with those plans and give her a call when needed before she turned and made her way towards home.

Or, really, she meant to head home. But once she left the premises of her shop, her mind began working again. She thought about her brunch with Inyoku and how excited she had been, how great the food and the company had been.

And she thought about how, when Minamino showed up, she'd thought he was smiling at her.

Stupid.

She didn't know when she changed directions, but the thought of having a drink crossed her mind at some point, and she'd simply acted on that thought and walked… however far it was… to the most popular bar on the first level.

She didn't see the room, nor did she see the denizens. She saw the lone open seat at the bar, took her chance, and slid into it before anyone else could claim it. She didn't see the bartender, but she did order two of whatever was strongest.

Those shots burned, but she was definitely more welcoming of that than of the intrusive thoughts of her day. So, she ordered two more.

~!**!~

Hiei slid a drink down the bar and filled another, only to send the second after the first. Just as quickly he had another swirled mix thrown together, and as he set that taller glass in front of the proper patron, he ignored the fingers that traced the swirl on his arm.

He wiped his hands on the towel he'd had on the counter, and then tossed that towel so it rested over his shoulder just as another demon took the last open seat at his station. She murmured her order and he had it ready almost before she'd gotten the words from her mouth.

He turned to serve another patron, this one batting her lashes at him in a way he'd begun to recognize happening more and more often. He raised a brow at her by way of asking for her order, and promptly filled said order before he turned to the new patron again.

He finally looked at this one, and for a moment he wondered what brought this somewhat familiar face to his and Shikiyoku's bar specifically.

The thought was gone almost as quickly as it had come, and he had two more shots on the bar for her. He didn't miss the immediate downing of the drink, though he didn't quite care.

"Hey, Boss!"

Hiei lifted his eyes to spy Tarou sitting at the usual table across the room. The man held up five fingers, and the fire demon nodded once before he set to making that order for his guildies.

He again ignored that one patron that reached out to him as he passed, pretending as if she didn't even touch him. *

The band at the far end of the room started their next set and a rather large shift of patrons moved over to that side of the room.

This particular set did not feature their singer, giving Misaki a well-earned break and she began to skirt her way around the edge of the building in an attempt to manage the crowd.

She'd nearly gotten free when a blonde-haired demon she'd seen around several times stepped up to her and handed her a drink where she stood back against the wall just at the edge of the crowd. 3

Akari downed the second set of drinks almost as quickly as she had the first, though she didn't immediately order refills this time. Instead, she lifted her head to look at the wall of bottles behind the bar, her eyes finding the different labels and reading them as a welcomed distraction from her thoughts.

When the music changed, it filtered into her awareness for the first time and she turned to spy the moving crowd and the band on the other side of the room, curious about the people playing the music. They were an interesting bunch, and she wasn't sure she'd seen a band quite like this one at any other bar.

...Not that she'd been to many as of late.

She took a moment to look around the room and finally see it, everything from the dance floor to the tables, to the bartenders lined up all along the wall. She noticed a hand refilling her beverages and she glanced up to thank the demon, only for Hiei to turn a glance at the woman sitting next to Akari.

She didn't miss the stiffness in his shoulders as he retreated from the hand that had reached out to him, nor did she miss the markings that that hand had tried to trace.

She shook her head, and when the demon passed by her again, she watched him send a drink sliding down the bar, ever the busybody.

"So this is where you've been, hm?" she asked when he paused in front of her to grab a glass.

He glanced at her briefly. "And?"

Nabu's voice in her head calling him a grouch almost made her laugh. She stifled it with a drink as he moved away.

I wanted a distraction, and this will be an interesting one.

~!**!~

The fire demon moved further down the bar, a drink in each hand that he set onto a tray waiting just on the edge. He whipped up three more and set those on the tray as well, and even before he could lean away it was whisked off and carried towards his guildies.

He glanced about the room again, not missing a single thing going on in the establishment.

He eyed Raion and Misaki for a brief moment, contemplating telling Raion to leave the girl alone, but he decided otherwise. The Shiki lookalike knew what she was getting into, and could handle herself.

He picked up a telepathic order from a table in the far corner of the room and set to work on it, and he set it in front of the dog demoness who'd just attempted conversation with him.

He eyed her for no longer than a moment, but that was all the time it took for him to be reminded of the Otento days, and his time as a Champion instead of Shikiyoku's Consort.

"What's this?" she asked as he turned away, eyeing the swirling contents.

"A request for… company," he responded, and was quite amused when she pushed it away from herself and opted for her own drink instead.

"Those sorts of drinks are sent around here?"

"Obviously," he replied as he set another drink in front of the flirtatious demon, and this time he levelled her with a look when she reached for him. She set her hand palm-down on the bar, though her smile widened into a more cheeky one. *

Down at the last seat of Hiei's station, new blood quietly slipped into the stool and eyed the alcohols that lined the wall behind the dark-haired demon working it.

The top button of his white shirt was undone and what had probably been some kind of bowtie was just hanging around his neck, the navy jacket of his suit haphazardly hanging off his shoulders.

He seemed well-dressed for a demon, if perhaps already a drink or two into his evening, and he absently tossed bits of his longer, fair hair out of his face as he decided what he wanted and indicated to Hiei he was ready.

"I hear you actually have Ogre's Blood here, so I'll take a shot of that if you're not out, and a Winddrivver as well. Whenever you get the chance." Seeming for the moment satisfied with what he saw on the wall, he immediately set his light-colored eyes to roaming over the rest of the room. 3

Hiei turned from the women at the bar and was in the midst of making another drink when a new patron took his seat. Hiei noted the easy-going pace and the cursory glance about his options, and he finished what he was doing just as the newcomer motioned for his attention.

Hiei nodded his head and set to work on the drinks, and had the two set in front of the male within seconds. He turned and passed two more drinks to a waitress as she stopped at his station, and he nodded at her unspoken question before sending her off again.

"I see they keep you busy," came the comment from the dog demon as she waved him down for a refill.

He wondered briefly if she was one of those chattier drunks. "Busy enough."

He refilled her drink and moved away again, leaving her to look about the room some more.

Akari eyed the dance floor for a few moments, noticing that the crowd had grown a bit larger, but not sure she quite wanted to go that direction yet. So she eyed the dancing demons, taking note of one here or there when she thought she might have seen familiar faces.

One did stick out though. Against a wall, a demon with light hair and a similarly colored tail chattered with a girl who looked strikingly similar to the woman she'd left back at her cafe. She blinked and sat up straighter to try and get a better look, but quickly decided it was none of her business and turned to the bar again.

It wouldn't be unusual, she thought.

This time when she ordered a drink, it was one she could sip on. When that one arrived, she downed her last shot and let Hiei sweep those two glasses away and put them… wherever they went. *

After a few minutes, having downed his shot when it arrived and content to sip at his drink and let his eyes wander around the room, the demon in the last seat at Hiei's station got his attention again, though he indicated it was not for a drink.

"Truthfully, I'm here because I heard the Kuraku owned this place. Is she here this evening?" 3

Hiei bounced from order to order, filling what felt like a hundred glasses before the newcomer got his attention again. Though, when he indicated to desire for a new drink, he continued making drinks and sliding them in their proper directions.

"Owns. She owns this place," he corrected mildly, though he did raise a curious brow at the one asking after Shikiyoku. "She's out for business reasons." He set a glass in front of a demon, and that same hand from before grazed his skin lightly. His stare this time was not quite so kind, and she only winked at him before vacating the seat and finding another place to be.

~!**!~

Akari watched the exchange with the demon next to her and Hiei thoughtfully, finding herself surprised at the tolerance the fire demon had for such things. And then the woman was gone, taking Akari's amusement with her.

The seat was filled quickly enough by a tall man who gestured at Hiei. "Boss, one more."

Boss? She eyed the demon's profile curiously, not caring to notice the drink that was set in front of him, and then a second that he hadn't verbally ordered finding his other hand.

He turned to glance at her from the corner of his eye, and it crinkled as he turned dazzling a smile onto her. "Like what you see, miss?"

Akari raised a brow and gave him a once over, but no answer.

He only laughed and set a drink in front of her. When she didn't even glance at it, his grin widened. "Must be new." *

~!**!~

The disappointment was clear on the demon's face once it seemed he would not get to speak with her.

He had just enough drink in his system to nod thanks for the information and continue by saying, "So she is alive?" He let out a huff that could have been a chuckle of relief as one of his hands moved up to move his fingers over his brow.

"I hadn't... I thought..."

"Too drunk to think, Mister?"

It appeared as if Misaki had extricated herself from Raion and appeared at the very end of Hiei's bar, standing and asking the demon for her usual.

"Kuraku?!" His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and he almost spat out the sip he had just taken.

The familiar green eyes and long, straight dark hair with the features of the female he sought frowned at him in confusion before she laughed and waved him off.

"Oh. I know who you mean. No, no. I get that a lot around here, though."

He didn't seem completely convinced, but he saw no spark of recognition in her eyes as she peered back at him.

"What's your name, Mister?"

"Nikolai."

"Misaki!" She provided without prompting. "You're new."

He nodded.

"How doyah know...whaddya guys always callin' her? Kuraku?"

Another nod, "I was...in a war with her." 3

Hiei raised a brow at the other's relief of Shikiyoku's living status, and he almost asked what the other meant. But he figured if anything, the demon likely had heard of Shikiyoku's dance through the levels, and had come to ask after her.

He certainly wasn't the first to do so.

Tarou's presence at the bar gave him an excuse to shuffle a few steps to the side, and Misaki's making conversation with the newcomer was all he needed to filter out the conversation almost entirely.

He made the first drink for Tarou, then the second telepathic request before his ears perked at the words 'war' and 'with her'.

Hiei was at the end of the bar again, another drink in the works. "Which war?" he asked curiously, his brows raised.

~!**!~

Akari raised a brow at the man and unknowingly began to mirror his infectious smile. She met his dark blue gaze calmly, and instead of taking the drink he'd offered her, she took her own and lifted it to her lips.

He tossed his head back and laughed. "Definitely new." He offered a hand, "Tarou."

Akari took his hand expecting him to shake, and instead was surprised that he lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Her brows disappeared behind her bangs and she shifted in her chair to cross one leg over the other. "Akari."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Akari. Should I give you the lowdown on how things work with the drinks?" He lowered her hand to the bar, but didn't immediately let go.

"I would appreciate that," she replied as she smoothly pulled her hand from his, surprised to find no resistance. *

~!**!~

Nikolai glanced over at Hiei as he took another drink, "The War of the Three Kings."

Misaki sucked in a breath through her teeth, "I've heard the Battle of the Four Armies was one of the most brutal in demon history."

Nikolai nodded, "I met her inside Mukuro's Fortress on assignment. I was the first one to escort her through the halls. And I was the first one to escort her when she danced across the battlefield that day." His expression spoke of his respect for her. "She's the only reason any of us made it out alive, but-" His gaze dropped to his glass and his voice got quieter, "When others started to join her, I moved off to find my brother whom I'd lost when the fighting broke out. Then there was that flash of blinding light and-"

His hand had been tightening around his drink and he finally relaxed his grip. 3

Hiei's brows disappeared under his bangs as the man - Nikolai - brought up the Three Kings war, and he rifled through his own memories for a moment in search of the other's face.

The more the other talked, the easier it was to narrow down possible places he would have seen the other. The fire demon wouldn't have remembered someone walking Shiki through the halls… Most of that time was clouded by his 'training' sessions. And Shiki being blind.

And those damn scientists.

But the moment Nikolai mentioned her being on the battlefield, recognition sparked and he let out a little 'ah'. "You were there when the portal opened," he surmised even as he turned to respond to one of the waitresses passing by and hand her a drink. He turned back to the conversation. "I can assure you, she's well and alive."

Hiei broke away for no longer than ten seconds to make an order for someone further up the bar, and he returned. "Where did you end up? After the explosion, I mean."

~!**!~

"Well then, buckle up, because this is a long ride!"

Tarou launched into explaining the drinks and the layering system, and how each drink had its own meaning and each color had a different meaning even from that. He explained down to the letter how the system worked, pointing out different drinks moving about the room.

When he came around to explaining the drinks in front of her, she realized he's inched closer during his little lecture, and was leaning an elbow against the bar and leaning forward in her direction.

"And this one," he pointed at the first drink she'd gotten, "is a proposition." He glanced up at her to gauge her reaction, and he didn't seem surprised when she gestured to the one he'd handed her himself. "And that one is a request for simple company."

Akari gave a thoughtful hum as he watched her. She contemplated the drink before she turned to contemplate the gifter. "And where would you take my company should I give it to you?"

His smile grew and turned lopsided. "Well, Akari, there's a table where me and the rest of the guild sits. I'm sure you're more than welcome to drink with us." He met her gaze evenly. "Of course, that's entirely up to you."

Akari reached back to adjust the claw holding her hair up as she considered her options, and instead she let her curls fall around her shoulders. The relief from the clip's pressure was immediate, and she let out a little breath. "Alright then," she grabbed his offered drink from the bar and threw it back.

"Alright! Come on, you're about to have the time of your life!" He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her from her stool and towards a table in the center of the room, though he paused long enough to place an order with a passing waitress before he led her to the group. *

~!**!~

Nikolai nodded to Hiei, "I lost sight of my brother when the initial onslaught from the Realm hit us. My battalion got scattered and I at least ended up fighting by myself." The same relief from earlier settled over his features at Hiei's words.

"That's... I'm glad to know it." He reached up and pushed his hair out of his face again, letting out a chuckle at the question. "You know, it took me the longest time to figure it out? I didn't even recognize it. I'd gotten thrown all the way over into Raizen's territory. I'd never been over there. Lucky for me, he must have been tossed somewhere else. I didn't meet another soul until I got up to the Seventh."

He took a drink, then gave Hiei a curious look, "Where did you end up?" 3

Hiei nodded in understanding, thinking back to the moment the portal had opened and the dead had begun to spill out into the battlefield. "Most squadrons were scattered the very second it opened up." He remembered his dragon and its rampage through the crowds, how happy it had been to devour as much as it had. "No one was ready to face an unkillable army."

He slid several drinks down the bar all at once, their assembly taking less than five seconds each as he caught up to the orders he'd delayed on. He went quiet as he worked on a few others and thought about his waking up on the Ninth, and how he'd immediately known Shikiyoku was not with him.

His smile was perhaps tinged with a mix of sadness and fondness as he remembered their reunion. "I woke up on the Ninth," he finally answered as he passed a drink to a nearby patron, who nodded their thanks. He didn't miss Tarou taking off with the dog demon, but he was used to the man's antics. "I set half the level on fire trying to get out," he admitted with a wry smile. "They don't care for me much down there."

He made a drink for Nikolai, fully intending it to be on the house. "Waited a decade for Shikiyoku to pull me out. I'd much rather be in the war leading armies than stuck on a level where only those born there can leave."

~!**!~

Akari found herself seated at a table with various other demons and their company. Tarou sat to her right, and a quieter, perhaps older demon sat to her left. He offered her a welcoming smile, and she returned it politely. "I'm Akari."

He took her outstretched hand. "Welcome, Akari."

"That old geizer is Akihiko," Tarou introduced, earning a look from Akihiko that was promptly ignored. And he continued to introduce her to various men around the table, letting the women speak for themselves since they were likely not a permanent part of the group.

"Alright, who wants to get their asses kicked at cards!"

Akari turned an amused smile at Tarou. "Careful which game you chose. You might end up getting your ass handed to you."

"Ah, a woman after my own heart! Alright, sweetheart, let's go!" *

~!**!~

"Gouka!" Nikolai finally exclaimed, the suspicion having slowly grown on him during their conversation. He waggled a finger at Hiei and gave him a wink, "I thought so. You seemed to know too much of the overhead in that battle. You were using well that Jagan, eh?

"We never interacted directly, but I doubt there was a demon in that Fortress who didn't know Kuraku and Gouka were to be joining us. You caused quite a stir. And then you had to go and off Mukuro's best general." He grinned. "I think that was my favorite moment."

Nikolai frowned at Hiei being on the Ninth and then sighed, rubbing at his forehead again, "Most folks down there don't want to leave, as I understand it." 3

Hiei nodded a few times in succession, his lips stretching into a knowing smile. He slid his finished order down the bar and gave a little shrug with his palms up towards the ceiling. He returned to making drinks after a brief pause to recall Shigure and his death.

"It's quite useful for things such as that, the Jagan," he remarked about the battlefield awareness. "Keeps people in line too, when they think you're not watching."

He set a line of glasses on the bar in, in a flurry of motion, had ten beverages made that he passed to a waitress as she leaned across the bar and offered her tray.

"The demons on the Ninth… are of a different breed," he remarked. "They don't care what happens to the rest of the world, because the rest of the world can't get to them. So when I was stuck, it was nothing more than a mild inconvenience to them that I set fire to the realm." He shrugged briefly, though he almost chuckled at the memory of the sheer amount of demons he'd interrogated.

"My advice: If you're ever down there, just find the Niiro Kaga. They'll take care of you…. For a price." *

Nikolai listened quietly for the moment, reaching for the drink Hiei had replaced to nurse at it for a bit.

"You were her..." He appeared to be searching for the word, "Consort? Is that right? Consort for a Kuraku?"

He frowned, "And you say she pulled you out of there? How did she manage that?" 3

Hiei gave a nod. "I hadn't been her Consort for very long, actually. I believe that developed less than a week or two before Mukuro's summons." The memory of chasing down Shikiyoku was almost fresh in his mind. Her loss of Kit, and how they'd been laying together when the letter was left.

He shook his head to himself.

"Ah." He glanced at Misaki, suddenly remembering she was there before he turned back to Nikolai. "She's from the Ninth. People born there are able to come and go as they please. I don't know much about how it works, really." He passed a drink to the woman standing quietly nearby, but kept the conversation aimed at Nikolai. "By the time she'd gotten that far, the Crusnik had spread and were being thrown onto the Eighth."

A demon nearby leaned forward. "You were there for ten years?"

Hiei nodded. "It goes by when you're drinking and gambling," he joked, and the other demon blinked, unsure of how to handle the more amiable side to the usually silent fire demon.

Hiei turned to Nikolai. "Your brother. Have you found him?" *

Nikolai was surprised to find Hiei had not been her Consort for very long at all before they ended up at Mukuro's, and meant to say as much, but the thought of Shikiyoku being from the Ninth itself floored him.

"Wh-" He seemed confused, "Why would she leave? If she was born there, what would possess any one of them to go?"

Momentarily distracted from his earlier ideas about how it was possible his brother had been thrown to the Ninth and unable to leave, another plan began formulating in his mind upon discovery that this person he had at least loose ties with might be the very one who could get him down there...or get his brother back.

His silence at Hiei's question spoke volumes and he didn't meet the other's gaze.

"...no. I never have." He sighed. "Frankly, I...I assumed he was dead." He shook his head. "Especially after all this time..." 3