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.

164. Episode 248

"Maybe I should..." Tarou grumbled, still looking at her somewhat jealously as he reached for his drink, "...be more comfortable over here and you know it..." 3

Only catching the last bit of the conversation, Hiei lowered his bottle of water to his navel and, after a brief glance in Shikiyoku's direction, turned to Tarou with a raised brow.

"Feeling lonesome, are we?"

"He does look a little lonely," Raion agreed.

Hiei's expression flattened into an unreadable stare that remained steady on the weapons master. "I have yet to procure a seat." *

"I- You- Hmmm." Tarou stared up at Hiei and lost what he was about to say.

"I bet he wouldn't." Raiton took a drink.

"I bet Tarou couldn't handle it if he did." Chisai met Tarou's glare with a grin.

"Can we make a bet that doesn't involve me for once?" 3

Hiei kept his stare steady on Tarou even as he took another drink from his bottle.

A waitress passed by and dropped a drink in front of Tarou, swirling with its request for a seat. *

As a result of the timing, Raion nearly spewed out the gulp of drink he'd just taken and joined in the laughter that scattered uproariously around the table as Tarou turned pink when the request dropped into place.

"Aw, boss, you know you don't have to send me a drink for that." Tarou grinned in spite of himself and without thinking shunted the drink across the table, half-rising out of his seat until a collective intake of breath from the other side of the table and following intoned 'ohhhhh,' had him glancing up in time to see that it had been Shikiyoku who caught the drink before it slid off the edge and was drinking it while staring over the glass at Hiei, eyes gleaming. 3

Hiei's eyes glittered at Tarou, not surprised the bigger demon made a motion to get up and offer his chair, but just as quickly the fire demon's gaze flickered over to Shikiyoku, meeting her stare with his own steady one.

This turned out far better than I expected it to, he thought as he shrugged and moved around the back of Tarou's chair.

He waited for Raiton to get situated before he dropped into Shikiyoku's lap, turning so his back leaned against the arm of the chair and he was facing her with the beginnings of a smirk. "Hello."

He turned up to Raiton, "Good to see you." *

Seeing Hiei actually make his move around the table, Raiton had shifted around a bit but made absolutely no indication that he intended to get up, settling further into the seat with his arms still wrapped around Shikiyoku's middle so she wouldn't slide away from him.

For her part, Shikiyoku moved to embrace Hiei when he stopped moving, staring up at him with a sidelong smile, but not saying anything.

Tarou let out the biggest sigh and sat back down in his chair as he watched Hiei settle in with Shikiyoku.

He waved a hand at Akihiko when he knew the other meant to say he did it to himself, drowning his defeat with more drink, "I know, I know."

"I must have missed the memo." Kurama looked around the others, "Is Tarou's lap an open invitation?"

Tarou choked on his drink. 3

Hiei settled in, "I thought it was an open invitation, but it isn't very open, apparently." He slipped his legs on either side of Shikiyoku so they could hang from the side of the chair behind her, his eyes glittering at her briefly before he turned to Kurama. "You might have better luck, though."

He turned back to Shikiyoku and shifted forward a little, and finally, after seeing it but not truly registering it the first time, Hiei's eyes landed on the fox mark that stared at him with a rather intense gaze.

Akihiko, knowing well enough that there was a fox mark on Shikiyoku's neck, watched Hiei as he turned and made to kiss her, but paused and stared for a few moments. He wondered what the fire demon would think, or if he would even consider asking its meaning.

Because kami knows Hiei doesn't know what it means.

To his surprise, Hiei recovered relatively quickly - he almost thought he'd imagined the pause - and he watched as the fire demon turned back to look at Gai.

"I haven't mentioned it to you yet, Gai, but," Hiei waited until the younger demon turned his full attention back to his boss, "when we wrap up his job," he nodded in Kurama's direction, "I'd like to get your help in crafting a sword."

"On the way back?"

"If you're available."

"Of course, Boss! I know some great places for the best metals." *

"Boss." Raiton said in greeting.

He was only grinning down at Hiei who was rather unwittingly causing the energy in the air to swirl more intensely nearby as he moved around and kept looking at Shikiyoku.

(Hello yourself.) She kept hold of him, truthfully somewhat surprised he had actually followed through with the drink. A smile played across her lips as she looked out around the table and the bond admitted to him with amusement, (I didn't think you'd actually sit with us.)

"Tarou," Kurama was admonishing the loudmouth, as if disappointed in him, and he frowned, "If you don't mean such things, you really shouldn't say them." 3

Hiei's eyes caught sight of the energy swirling around in the immediate vicinity, watching it puff and expand just a little, though he found none of it truly came into contact with him.

He hadn't had to fight it off too much; he'd only had to tell himself he didn't want it coursing through his awareness, and it seemed to respect the desire.

That didn't mean others in the room had the same ability, however, and he made sure to keep an eye on anyone nearby who continued to glance their way.

His eyes dropped briefly to the fox that stared at him from her neck, but he just as quickly shifted his gaze to the table again.

Now was not the time to think about it.

(Well,) he sent a glance her way, (you did drink the drink. It would have been rude to not follow through.)

He turned to look at Tarou, who finished off the last of his drink before turning and frowning at Kurama. He opened his mouth, then quickly shut it again.

"I'd have paid to see him drink that one," Raion grinned wickedly over the rim of his glass.

"He'd have just weaseled out of it anyway."

Hiei raised a brow. "I never said which seat I'd take." *

"And now he's already got one so, nyeh!" Shikiyoku hugged Hiei tighter for a moment like he might even consider leaving her and stuck her tongue out at Raion again.

The lion's eyes narrowed as the slight wickedness to her expression did seem to indicate she was doing it again on purpose, and he didn't take the bait, though he did continue staring at her for several seconds.

As usual, Raiton came to the other's rescue, "I mean honestly, Tarou has taken four or five bets already-"

"Which is twice as many as the rest of you lot!" He quickly returned to form and glared at the rest of them.

"-so it really should be on someone else this time." The wolf looked around the table.

"Is that you volunteering, Raiton?" Gai jokingly wanted to know.

He shrugged, "I mean, I would, but I've currently got my arms full."

"Well, we've all done at least one." Chisai pointed out.

"Yoku hasn't." Kurama flicked his gaze over to her.

"Can't. Arms full." She piped up almost immediately.

The damage had already been done and more than one of the guild members were glancing her direction.

"What about you, fox?" Tsundora wanted to know.

"If you'll recall, pup, I've already done two." He held up two fingers. "So that still puts Yoku as lowest." 3

Hiei sat silently in Shikiyoku's arms, his own finally coming to circle around her in a hug he hadn't realized he'd wanted until he had it.

As the topic turned to who had the lowest amounts of bets under their belts for this evening, his eyes slid around the table, accounting for each person even as Shikiyoku came under the spotlight.

He considered his options as the debate sparked, and after a moment he turned to look at her with glittering irises. "It is part of sitting with the guild."

"It's almost a tradition now," Gai said with a grin. *

"And what about you, flameboy?" She stuck her nose up in his direction and gave him a playful glare.

"He's sent one and drank one." Tsundora reminded her.

Shikiyoku flushed at the reminder of the one he had earlier, but kept going, "I've sent one and drank one too, Tsun!"

"Yes, but he sits at the table with us more." Chisai added.

"He's way ahead of you." Raion nodded. 3

Hiei met her glare with a glittering stare, his defense already being spouted by the others around him. "Perks of being boss," he told her with a wink and a squeeze of his arms around her.

"You don't sit with us enough to get a weasel, mom," Tarou rejoined the conversation as a waitress moved away.

"Always too busy working," Gai agreed.

Akihiko glanced out the corner of his eye at Kurama, remembering all too well the meadow, and how he had been pointing out Shikiyoku's redirections then. *

"She deserves it, don't you think?" Kurama murmured behind his glass to Hiei's second as he caught the glance. "She gets away with many things. It's one of my greatest joys in life to be her foil." His own gaze stared intently across the way as she continued trying to fight this losing battle, smiling into his drink at the marking on her skin.

I enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoy helping her.

Shikiyoku finally let out the biggest sigh and rolled her eyes upwards, "Fiiiiiiine. You guys are no fun."

"On the contrary, I would argue we are loads of fun." Raion replied, trying to quickly come up with something for her to do that would definitely get her into trouble.

Tsun shot her a mischievous look, glancing between her and Hiei as if he might be able to get any clues as to the state of the earlier drink between them. 3

Akihiko nodded his head from one side to the other, not agreeing but not exactly disagreeing with Kurama. "Someone has to keep her on her toes," he finally mumbled back, his eyes steadying on Hiei.

He certainly has that potential, but hasn't figured it out yet.

Hiei took another quick, discreet look around the room, but his gaze inevitably returned to Shikiyoku as she caved. (Giving in to the masses, hm?)

"We have the most fun out of everyone here," Tarou told her with a grin. "It's always a party."

"Except maybe Aki. He doesn't like to party," Chisai mused.

"And Hiei," Gai added with a nod.

"So, what'll it be, mom?" *

"I dunno!" She would have thrown her arms into the air if they hadn't been around Hiei already. Instead she squeezed him a little and stuck her tongue out at him instead of responding outright to his commentary in the bond.

She looked out across the table, "You're the ones that want me to take a bet so badly you think of something!" 3

Hiei thought about grabbing the tongue she stuck out at him, but she turned to look at the others before he'd acted on it. (Want to lose that tongue, woman?)

"That's no fun," Tarou told her with a grin. "Get creative, mom, because if we come up with it, it'll likely be Raion's idea."

"I do have the best ones."

"Or the worst."

"Kurama's would be hilarious," Raion's eyes glittered at Shikiyoku. "He's probably got tricks even you couldn't think of." *

Shikiyoku ignored Hiei's response since if she were being honest the answer was an obnoxious yes, and leveled a stare onto Raion.

Even Kurama hadn't spoken up to confirm or deny the Raion's observation.

"I think, my lion, you should perhaps consider who the oldest among us actually is and that perhaps she taught the fox everything he knows."

Kurama took a sip of his drink and continued to say nothing.

Raion was not dissuaded and leaned forward a little, "Then perhaps she should be the one to come up with something herself, mm?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You're treading on dangerous ground."

"I laugh in the face of danger."

If Tarou could remember where exactly Raion's legs were under the, he would have kicked them, "Stop toein' the line, kitty-cat, and make it something good."

Raion's eyes had not left Shikiyoku's face and she seemed to be daring him to actually contribute a worthwhile idea and he turned thoughtful.

"I'd bet..." He looked around the rest of the room, trying to see if he could spot a sucker, "...it would take you more than ten seconds to have him kiss you."

When he nodded at someone in the corner, the rest of the guild turned to look and Shikiyoku nearly stood up from her seat in her indignation, shifting like she would until Hiei's weight reminded her he was sitting on her lap and she settled for glaring at Raion.

"I can make any idiot in this room kiss me before ten seconds are up!"

"I'd bet less than five." Kurama added blithely.

"Hell, I'd kiss her now." Tarou wanted everyone to know.

Like they doubted it. 3

Hiei's hold on Shikiyoku tightened the moment she tried to move around, all at once vetoing this particular bet with a look in Raion's direction, and then an accusatory you're not helping stare in the fox's.

Not that he'd expected Kurama to be of any help.

Not wanting to poke her with any sort of gloating you have to get through me first type of comment, the fire demon merely settled into his place a bit more solidly, leaning less into the armrest of the chair so his weight bore down on her lap just a bit more than it had been.

"Seconds are ticking by, mum," Raion told her with a grin, earning another withering stare from Hiei. *

Shikiyoku clenched her teeth together as she let go of Hiei and glared up him, as she tried to get up again, "Goddammit, flameboy, if you don't let me up right now-"

"Hiei, you're heavy," Raiton made a face at him the moment he felt the other go more slack. "Warn me next time!"

"Gonna make 'er lose the bet, boss." Gai was grinning at the other two.

When Shikiyoku really thought Hiei didn't mean to let her get up, she grabbed a fist full of his shirt in one hand and tugged trying to get him to look down at her as the energy in her gaze swirled faster for a moment with her frustration at him and her indignation at the thought of losing this bet.

"(Get UP dammit!)" 3

Hiei stayed all commentary as he sat, his eyes turned away to survey the room in search for whatever 'idiot' Raion had pointed out to her.

He'd been expecting it, the slam of her energy coming down around him. What he hadn't expected was for her to pull on his tank top and get his attention in the exact same moment.

He met her gaze, which definitely did not help his case, and he used every ounce of his willpower to fight off her energy so he would only sit and simply stare instead of any number of things that crossed his mind, including her demand for him to get up.

Not to mention the fact he was certain she wouldn't accept his kiss as a part of the bet.

Not even half a second after her energy slammed around him, Hiei realized how much energy it took to fight her when faced with the full brunt of it, and before he found himself giving in and getting up for her, he instead wrapped his arms around her tighter, shifted until his feet were on the ground, and then hauled her up over his shoulder.

"And, good night," he told the guild as he turned and almost jogged away from the group and the bet he did not want her to participate in, if only because he didn't want to kill the poor fool who gave in to her. *

As Akihiko watched Hiei start to get up, he was quite frankly surprised the fire demon lasted this long.

Kurama's eyes were twinkling madly as Hiei stood up, himself wondering if Hiei had thought far enough ahead to realize he might have to kill whatever poor fool fell under Shikiyoku's sway.

Most of the rest of the guild were too busy stammering about the sudden kidnapping of their company away from them to recall the bet that was being made.

"My lap is cold." Raiton frowned as he turned to let his gaze follow after Hiei's retreat.

Meanwhile, Gai's frown came as he tilted his head at the pair of them, "What is she doing?"

"Who knows." Raion grumbled, turning away grumpily. I wanted a kiss.

The moment he gave into her demand and got up, the brunt of Shikiyoku's concentration on him relented, but she had certainly not been expecting the demon to suddenly have his hands at her waist and lift her to hang over his shoulder, staring back at the table they were leaving for the first few steps and blinking in surprise as she realized it was getting farther away.

"Hey- Wait- I-" She shifted against him in protest, her hands hanging down over his back grasping at him like she could push herself forward off his shoulder. "What is- Why are you-" She couldn't see any part of him she might be able to reason with and she tugged at his shirt as he moved across the bar, "Hiei!" 3

Hiei kept an arm curled around her waist so she wouldn't fall from his shoulder, each step calculated as he weaved through the crowd even as her energy continued to hang around him.

Her tugging at his shirt made him pause for a half step before he picked his pace up again.

Hiei turned his head over his shoulder as if to look at her. "What are you doing?" *

"I'm trying to get you to put me down." She said through clenched teeth, tugging at him again.

The bond made him very aware of what would happen if he put her down.

Something else spiked across her awareness for a second as she realized maybe he was taking her upstairs and she actually grinned, completely fine with it, and instead of tugging out like she had been doing trying to get him to comply, she started to lean over him as far as she could reach and scrunch up more of his shirt in her hands. 3

Hiei's hold on her tightened as he felt her weight shift further down his back, and he jostled her a little as if to reposition her properly over his shoulder. His other hand came up to grab at the back of her leg, adding more pressure so she wouldn't slip through his one arm.

He could feel her reaching for and untucking the back of his shirt and he picked up his pace just a little.

"What are you doing?" He asked her again, this time his eyes staying forward. *

Having completely forgotten the entire reason why she was being hauled off in the first place, Shikiyoku's grin had flattened somewhat in her look of concentration as Hiei's movements forward kept putting things into her already wobbly field of vision and made it hard to stay on her current task.

She let out a huff when she felt him secure her more tightly in his grip, unable to move quite as freely as she had been moments ago, but she continued going at it anyway, the notion suddenly very important to her.

"I'm taking off your shirt." She grumbled at him like he should have already known that's what she'd be doing. 3

Hiei finally laid eyes on the door to the apartment and a slight bit of his tension lifted, its proximity and her being distracted enough to keep him from worrying about anyone who might approach because of her energy.

The bond, however, conveyed a wordless sense of confusion about why it was so important for her to get his shirt off that moment.

He half shrugged. "Alright."

If she wanted to be distracted with it, he would be okay with that. *

(Because it's VERY imPORTANT.) Came the reply to his confusion, likely clearing up nothing except for the state of her mental faculties, which were definitely still bubbly with the effervescence of her rather freewheeling energy.

She grunted with dissatisfaction as she found she couldn't actually get the shirt to do what she wanted, given she couldn't reach much of it and was in fact laying on top of part of it herself.

"Hiei..." She reverted to tugging at it again, "Take it off." 3

Hiei lowered the hand at the back of her leg and managed to pull the door to the apartment open, taking one last glance over his shoulder to see every patron in the bar staring after them as the door slowly closed between the owner and her customers.

Not without hearing her protest, of course.

Amusement flooded the bond, and without ceremony, he dropped her to her feet on the first stair, his hands steadying her by resting on her shoulders.

Her energy seemed far more dense in this small space at the base of the stairs.

"And why would I do that?" *

Her world wavered around her for a second time as he put her back down and at first she almost fell forward, reaching out for the nearest thing and finding that her hands against him and his on her shoulders kept her in place.

Being on this first stair made her taller than him and she leaned forward once she knew she wouldn't fall, her eyes whirling freely with the golden energy that still sparkled and gleamed around them on occasion as she grinned at him and grew closer, but only said:

"BeCAUSE." 3

He raised a brow at her as he met her gaze, seeing the swirling, gleaming, sparkling energy that commanded his attention even if she didn't intend for it to do so. His thumbs began to move back and forth over her skin without his direct notice as, for a brief moment, he wondered how long he could withstand so much of her energy around him before he cracked under it.

He hadn't ever truly invited it in before, and there was a sort of curiosity behind the thought.

He raised a brow at her. "Surely that wasn't the drink you sent. You see me without it all the time." *

The energy in her eyes swirled faster for a moment.

"Noooo~" She trilled back at him, still all smiles even as her hands absently folded bits of his shirt into her grasp, "It wasn't."

"But that doesn't mean I don't like it." She added, giving him a toothier grin. 3

He raised a brow at her, half tempted to oblige and yet more curious about the meaning of the drink he'd accepted.

He leaned closer until his nose almost touched hers, finding he didn't want to move her up the stairs just yet. He was quite content with being trapped between her and the door as he was.

"Is it truly so important?" His eyes glimmered at her. *

Her eyes narrowed at him as he came closer, and then remained like so as if she actually had to consider whether it was or not.

It was much more difficult to think straight with him willingly having come so close.

She pursed her lips a little as her brow furrowed and she couldn't rightly come up with an answer.

"Maybe? ...I can't decide." She admitted. 3

Letting himself feel a bit of her energy's influence, Hiei's hands slid up her shoulders to take her face in his hands and, after a brief smile, he pressed a kiss to her lips, unable to really deny himself the desire any longer.

"Hm. Must not be so important," he said against her, "if you can't immediately decide." *

Shikiyoku blinked at him when he kissed her, too surprised by it when she had been thinking up a proper response to his initial question for her energy not to stir around her when he did so, this time part of the glimmers dancing over her skin outwards from her face.

"Tha's not true." She mumbled, hands shifting against him when he didn't immediately leave her proximity, "I's very important." 3

"Is it?" he asked as he guided her a step up the stairs, mirroring her movements with his own careful ones.

The warmth of her energy around him pulled him in for another kiss and he guided her up one more step.

"Your next shift will be interesting after tonight's events," he murmured, recalling not just the stares he had gotten while carrying her here, but the ones he and Kurama had gotten after his entrance. *

She nodded when he asked, at first unsure what he was doing, but just as unwilling to stop being so close to him as he apparently wanted to be to her.

And as a result letting him move her back and up as he wished.

"Mm, yeah?" She blinked at him a second time, smile crooked from when he kissed her again and her energy shivering slightly just as it had with the last one, "Wha' makes you say tha?"

She almost leaned forward to kiss him this time, but only nudged her nose against him. 3

He guided her another step up.

"Well, for starters," he gave her a brief kiss, "you accepted drinks, which isn't as often as your customers would like."

Another step up, another kiss.

"Then the owner of the establishment is removed from the room by someone else for the first time."

This time when he leaned down to kiss her, it was a few beats longer before he pulled away and guided her up another step. *

At remembering all the drinks she had accepted-which, to be fair, were all from Kurama at the very least-she nodded a little and repeated a, "Hee, Yeah," that had a tacked-on noise of amusement to it.

She forgot about it again as soon as her energy tingled through her at the next kiss, left grinning up at him as she remembered he'd only just vacated the room with her over her shoulder.

She only had an amused chuckle for him at that last bit, which he'd silenced pretty quickly anyway.

"And what about you, flameboy?" She countered as she let him move her up one further, being just taller than him again from here and grinning down at him.

"Drinking drinks when you don't know what they are?" She tugged at him to follow her up the stairs, but when he took a step, she backed up one so she'd still be higher.

"Sending drinks when you don't know who they might end up with?" Another step.

"Brave of you." 3

"To be fair," he began as he followed her up, his irises sparkling with the smile he'd been wearing almost all evening, "you have yet to send me something I didn't like, so thus far, I've no reason to not trust you."

They took another step up.

"Second of all, that particular drink was vague enough I could have just stolen anyone's chair." He narrowed his eyes playfully at her. "As it is, you drinking it was the best possible outcome, though certainly one I hadn't predicted."

He kissed her again, but pulled away quicker than the last.

"Back to the first point: you have yet to tell me what it means." *

"If I hadn't grabbed it, it would have slid right off the table! Wasteful!" She protested, almost sticking her nose in the air with momentary indignation before he kissed her again and she forgot to.

"I- You-" She let out the rest of the breath she took and stared at him, knowing she was long past reconsidering her earlier bet with Tsun and honestly not certain he and Raiton wouldn't ask her about it later assuming they weren't so drunk as to not remember next time they saw her.

Her gaze finally darted to the side away from him, "I still can't believe you drank it without at least asking me to begin with. Do you even know what it's for?" 3

Hiei shrugged nonchalantly, "You caught it, but you didn't have to drink it." Not that I minded. "I certainly am glad you drank it.

"I could have asked you what it meant, but quite frankly, I don't think it would have changed my response." He guided her a step up and realized they were pretty close to the landing. "Its purpose is for 'making out', and, knowing it is not one of the many negative drinks that could be made, I accepted it."

Because of the drinks he knew, most of them were negative.

...almost all of the ones he knew without a doubt were negative. He'd gotten many of those during his time on the Ninth. After a while, he'd stopped asking meanings of drinks.

Positive ones were few and far between during his time there, and, in most cases, he wouldn't have agreed to any of them unless it was Shikiyoku.

"I've yet to find something from you that I disliked. And I still stand by the promise to tell you should there be something I dislike." *

To be honest, Shikiyoku hadn't actually expected him to know the phrase of the request, so that did surprise her.

As he got her up another step, she let her gaze settle on him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and continued smiling at him.

She let out a bit of a chuckle, "You did say that, didn't you?" She murmured as her eyes gleamed and flickered down to his lips again, though they returned to his crimson stare just as quickly. 3

"I did," he asserted with a brief nod of his head, though he didn't miss her gaze flickering away. "And I'll remind you as often as needed."

He kissed her soundly on the lips as he guided her up another step, his eyes closing this time as he enjoyed her general warmth against him.

One more step and he pulled away again. *

Since Hiei had yet to not kiss her, Shikiyoku continued to remain content letting him do it for himself, especially since she was so very sure of her own consent to present circumstances, which had always been for her the same steady answer since practically the day they met.

She also never protested when he left her, either, though likely tempered by the fact he had continued in such a short amount of time to come back.

Each kiss would send little ripples of her energy radiating across her face, and there was similarly no mistaking how the hanging glitters would twist and swirl almost as if in answer.

He'd been guiding her up the stairs almost exclusively and a wave of the disorientation swept across her features when he pulled away and left her grinning up at him, admitting, "I drank...so much."

(You're so handsome.) 3

Hiei's eyebrow lifted just a hair at the expression she made before her smile took over, and for a brief moment, he wondered if his moving her backwards had been too much. So, at her admission of having drank 'so much', he bobbed his head up and down once with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I see that."

And the compliment she gave him in the bond sent the same happy little thrill singing through his core, just as it had earlier that night. His lips stretched into a wider smile, and for a brief moment he was conflicted on how to answer - in thanks, reciprocation, or joking retort?

Realizing he had never told her as such, he chose the second option.

(And you are very pretty.) *

"I-" She blinked at him, taken aback before it melted into this stupid grin, her energy accompanying his honesty with a more noticeable shift around them, "Nooo, how can you mean that?"

She couldn't not believe him when he said it like that, but she also couldn't remember a time when he'd said it to her to begin with. 3

"Hmmm, let's see..."

His head moved side to side as he considered his response and where to start, because even as he thought about it, there were many reasons and ways he considered her pretty.

Most of which he'd known for a long time, even if he hadn't realized it.

"My favorite is your smile," he finally said, his eyes following the curve of her lips even as he told her. "Welcoming every time I come back from a job, amused any time Tarou says something dumb, or even just content as you work behind the bar.

(It's been my favorite for a long time, I think.) *

She wasn't sure whether to kiss him or try and stop smiling just to see what he did.

Shikiyoku pursed her lips together and stared at him, particularly certain she actually needed him to stop saying such things before he got her in trouble, but uncertain how exactly to say as much to him.

"Nobody compliments smiles, Hiei." The bond made it very clear between them that she certainly enjoyed the compliment in any case, but she was trying very hard to pull her lips into her mouth to stop even as her eyes twinkled. "You should stop." 3

Hiei shrugged, but didn't really argue her point of him needing to stop - her energy was floating about quite freely, and he'd already opened himself up to it, even if just a little. If she continued to pour it out because of his attentions, he wasn't sure he'd be able to maintain what little influence it might have on his current state.

Though, if he were honest, the only 'influence' it seemed to have was that it let him act on thoughts and feelings he'd already had.

He guided her up the last step to stand on the landing, and he leaned in to kiss her cheek, still standing a step below.

(I'd tell you all the things I like about you if you wanted me to.) *

She gave him that same crooked smile as before when he kissed her cheek, having forgotten now efforts to hide a smile from him.

Shikiyoku shook her head and admitted, "You really shouldn't."

(I'd really enjoy it.)

She laughed and hugged his neck while he was still lower than her, "I'm already in enough trouble when it comes to you, flameboy." 3

Hiei's hands lowered to rest on her hips, and he lingered the step below as she hugged him.

He wasn't sure if he fully believed her being 'in enough trouble' with him, if only because he knew he had room for vast improvement where their relationship was concerned.

The mark staring at him from her neck seemed to remind him of that fact, but he kept his gaze trained on her eyes and his smile twitched ever so slightly.

"There isn't a single thing about you that I don't like," he murmured to her. "Especially not on days like today, where you're so freely happy."

He thought about kissing her again, but instead he found himself staring in admiration.

"I love you." *

She made a face at him about having nothing he didn't like about her, as if she couldn't fathom it, and stuck her tongue out at him at the last part, though the bond couldn't help but echo the sentiment back to him.

Shikiyoku blinked at him when he caught hold of her tongue and she only closed her eyes as her shoulders shook when she tried not to laugh.

(I'd forgotten that. You're the worst.)

Her eyes gleamed at him. 3

Hiei had reached out almost instinctively to catch her tongue between his fingers, holding it there for a second before he realized he'd even done so. Nonetheless, his lips twitched into a smirk and his eyes gleamed at her.

(You're absolutely right.)

He held her tongue for a few moments, watching her, before he let out a little breath.

"So, about that drink you keep steering me away from…"

His smirk grew more mischievous.

(What does it mean?) *

Her eyes widened and Shikiyoku's tongue shifted like she meant to say something, almost laughing again at him having hold of it and not hurting her, but also not relinquishing it back to her.

(Uh-) Her gaze darted away from him for a moment before coming back, still full of the energy that was swirling around their heads. (Hiei, it-) She honestly was too drunk to genuinely steer the conversation in any particular direction, especially when he literally had her tongue.

She let out a breath that moved across his fingers and seemed to relent, though as opposed to the last time he'd pushed her on the subject of a drink, being drunk left her much less wary of his possible response to it and much more willing to actually tell him.

They'd come a long way since then, regardless.

(Well, it's kind of like what you were doing just now.)

That is, the kissing her repeatedly part of when he was moving her up the steps.

(Except...more of it?) She tilted her head a bit and seemed sort of unsure how to explain it without actually doing it. The bond rifled through her mind for the other times they'd kissed, trying to emphasize the difference between a kiss-like the one he used to change her form back all the time when they were in the Mobile Fortress-and the request the drink of hers he'd consumed was for, which was more like, many of them...or maybe one long one? Or several different kinds of them one right after the other?

Her being drunk certainly didn't help any attempts at explanation and she ended up frowning and completely sure she had done little to actually get her point across. 3

Hiei watched Shikiyoku's expression as she tried to explain it to him as best as she could in her drunken state, the bond telling him about her struggles with it here and there. He kept his smile mostly contained, though the amusement danced in his eyes.

He tilted his head ever so slightly as she frowned around her captured tongue, a sight that almost made him chuckle if not for the reason he held it.

After a few beats, he let go of her tongue.

"Not so bad, was it?" he teased.

(I am more than happy to fulfill my drink's request.)

He took the step up to the landing he needed so he could stand over her and he leaned down to kiss her again, this time not breaking away. *

She pursed her lips at him again when he teased her, trying not to smile as she took her tongue back and told him, "No, it was the worst."

And before she really registered the bond making the statement between her, she'd almost taken a step back when he came up the stairs to join her in the actual hallway.

His kiss set the shimmers of energy rippling over her face like before, and then when his words between them resonated in her understanding it sent the bits of it in the air swirling around him again as she realized what he meant to do and blinked up at him for a moment before she started to kiss him back.

Somewhere behind the haze of drunken energy, a sober thought floated...

I'm in so much trouble.

It translated between her and Hiei in the next breath having mixed with not only the drinks but his apparent willingness as a grin and a warning.

(You're in so much trouble.)

She rose up to meet him for a second, arms wrapping around his neck, and then she was back on her feet again and pulling him along with her as she started taking steps back towards the nearest door in the hallway. 3

Hiei almost chuckled against her lips, finding only truth in her warning as she stood taller against him.

He almost told her that he didn't mind being in trouble with her, if not for the fact she dropped back down and began to lead him along. He mirrored her steps carefully, his hands still on her waist to keep her steady as she moved, and he let himself fall into the kiss almost wholly.

Whatever they'd been talking about, it vanished from his mind. Whatever thought he'd been about to have, it dissipated.

As she guided him along, he found himself so wonderfully happy to be where he was.

(I live for trouble,) he finally managed to express. *

Though she did let out a chuckle or two between them as she reached behind her to open the door, the bond itself rang with her pleasant laughter at him as she managed to swing it open into the room and not quite fall as the hand returned to him and pulled him through with her.

(I had no idea we were so alike, flameboy.)

She kept going until the back of a leg met with the couch and genuinely forgot what she meant to do as her energy continued moving over and between the two of them, similarly welling up inside of her through her veins in waves. 3

Hiei smiled against her as he shuffled along with her, her laughter contagious in its own way as the bond seemed to echo the sentiment for her from his side of things. At first unable to come up with a response other than a short hum of amusement, he opened his eyes long enough to see that she'd bumped into the couch in his room and stalled, as if stuck in place, and he genuinely chuckled at her.

(So many drinks.)

He took the lead and moved around the couch until he was between it and the coffee table and, once the back of his knees just brushed one of the cushions, he fell back onto it, bouncing lightly against the padded seat even as he guided her close enough that she could stand over him.

He didn't pull her much farther than that, instead letting her have the freedom to move as she wished.

He broke away long enough to take a breath.

(This has been the best day.) *

There was nothing particularly coherent in the bond from Hiei's observation about the number of drinks Shikiyoku had that day, though the way her energy translated to the pleasant buzzing between them without her direct say-so was definitely answer enough.

Shikiyoku opened her eyes to look at him when he left her, the green of them almost completely overtaken by the gold and she gave him an exceptionally sly smile as the tendrils of energy around her had long ago reached in his direction as if to encircle him completely, the glittering cloud of it that had already started to perfume throughout the room twinkling in the lowlight of one of the lamps they'd left on earlier.

She raised an eyebrow at his commentary and moved to sit on top of his lap with a (This day is not over yet.) passing between them as she started kissing him again. 3

Hiei smiled up at her as she moved closer, his hands finding her face this time as her lips came to meet his again. A sort of incredulity blossomed in the bond at her response to his declaration and, before he could stop himself, the next thought he had seemed to careen across the bond.

(You mean it's going to get better? I can't imagine it getting worse.) *

While there was the distinct impression from her side of the bond that it could get much better, Shikiyoku tried not to let the impression actually come to any words between them as she settled on facing him and continuing to kiss him.

This time when her hands met with his shirt, she did actually move it out of the way to rest them against his skin and after a time started pressing kisses along the side of his face until she reached his neck and stopped and pulled back, her face flushed and her energy still moving around them in the air as she looked away from him.

"Hiei...is...is this really okay?" 3

The bond's impression of possible improvements was met with more laughter from Hiei's side, though he was quickly distracted by any such notion when Shikiyoku's lips moved away from his.

He might have mirrored her kisses if not for how difficult it was at first, unable to kiss her cheek as she kissed his before she was on to a different part of his skin. So as she progressed, he simply took to kissing whatever he could reach of her skin, from her cheek to the side of her head and, just before he pulled away, he bowed his head to kiss her shoulder on some whim he didn't immediately notice.

What he did notice was her retreat and, curious, he lifted his head so he could watch her.

He didn't miss the hesitation this time, and the hand that had come to rest at her elbow at some point during their moment slid down the rest of her arm until he took her hand in his.

"This is more than okay," he told her. "Though, I must admit," he frowned at her a little, "that the question has me confused." He wasn't sure why she might have thought it wasn't okay with him, or maybe he may not have been enjoying it. "Did I do something to indicate it wasn't okay?" *

Eyes still cast off to the side, Shikiyoku let out a puff of breath, stirring the strands of hair that had fallen over her shoulder and almost in front of her face in disarray, "Well...no..." Not exactly anyway.

"I just..." She sunk a little, shoulders drooping as she admitted with a mumble, her hands moving from him to rub up and down the tops of her thighs once or twice, "I can never tell with you." 3

Hiei let her hand go so she had the freedom to wipe it against the top of her legs as she wished, waiting patiently for her response when a part of him feared he'd get one that wouldn't be fixable on his part.

And, really, what she said definitely clicked into place as something he couldn't 'fix,' even if he knew how.

"I'm unreadable to you," he said after a brief pause of contemplation, as if that weren't the answer. It made too much sense to him now, as he realized all the times he thought she was ignoring his desires - especially those about her - were really moments where she didn't know he had them.

He blinked at her again.

"That… makes so much sense."

Too many memories surfaced where he'd been frustrated, discouraged, even downright sad and jealous when he'd thought something he'd told her was obviously the truth.

But it wasn't so obvious to someone who had spent her whole life reading desires and not body language or minds. She never had been in the business of believing people at their word, and he certainly was no exception to that, he realized.

He pulled her into a hug, previous moment of kisses and 'making out' forgotten and replaced with the much more important task of reassuring her.

"How can I make this easier for you?" *

Shikiyoku let out another big sigh of air as she leaned into him, head facing to the outside and away from him when he hugged her but was still frowning at herself for feeling so inadequate.

"I don't...you're not...unreadable," She grumbled, "I just can't read you. Mostly. A lot. Almost all of the time." She let out some noise of frustration or another with herself.

"I don't know." She pouted and tucked her face against his shoulder. "I feel dumb." 3

Hiei let out a sigh similar to hers, if not quieter, and his hand began to rub circles around her back comfortingly.

"You are not dumb," he told her almost immediately. "If you can read every other person in the bar, on the First Level, and all of the other levels, then it obviously isn't you."

He didn't know why she couldn't read him, nor did he have any way to get ideas on how to become more readable. He knew how important it was for her to be able to read people, especially if they were to have any sort of permanence in her life.

He sighed again and rested his head back against the couch, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

"I...don't know how to fix it, because I don't know why I'm apparently difficult to read." *

"Well, but-" She started to protest, "I-" Huff. "I never felt anything from the two scientists at Mukuro's. I've felt stuff from you before." She shifted her face until her lips were almost kissing his shoulder and mumbled, "Just...not right now..." 3

Hiei turned and planted a kiss to the side of her head, realizing this must have been eating her alive for as long as she'd known him.

He didn't blame her.

"Those lab monkeys were… unnatural," he commented, though his tone was filled with more amusement than anything. "...Threw you down a pit…"

He let the thought go and turned to rest his cheek against the couch, his eyes on Shikiyoku's hair.

"Would it help if I told you what I wanted? I know it isn't the same, but it's… better than nothing." His lips twitched. "And I haven't been the best at communicating." *

"I-" She let out the rest of the air she'd taken to speak as she found she didn't have a direct answer for him.

"I dunno." She mumbled again, this time saying it as she turned her head to lay her other cheek on him, staring forward somewhere near his neck but not really seeing it.

"I don' know anything. Like-" She tried to think of things specifically and her breath moved over his skin, "Like I guess you want to sleep next to me. Kept pulling me closer when I tried to stay away. And-mm-" Her brow had furrowed lower on her face, "-don't mind me sitting here? Or like holding my hand. I dunno, Hiei, I've just been letting you do things lately, cuz I know I don't care, but I just...I guess I've always been afraid to reach out to you cuz I didn't want you to push me away or make me leave. ...momma made me leave..." 3

"Shiki…"

The fire demon frowned at the side of her head for a brief moment before he sat upright and shifted around a little, his arms tightening around her so she wouldn't think he wanted her to get up. He crossed his legs under her so that she properly sat in his lap, and his arms held her as close as he could get her in that moment.

"I will never make you leave." He turned and pressed his lips to the side of her head, keeping them there as he continued, "Not only do I not want that, but I would never force you to do something you don't want to do. You mean far more to me than anything else in this world."

He lifted a hand and began to stroke her hair with it, smoothing it down her back. "I'm sorry I made you fear reaching out to me," he murmured next, his core throbbing with the thought that he'd caused such fear, and yet knowing in the same instant it would have been more surprising if he hadn't. So much of their time together in the early days had been so iffy, and he'd been so unsure and indifferent of all things, especially her…

"I want you to reach out to me. I want you to be able to be yourself freely with me. I'm…"

I'm ashamed I was that way.

"I'm your Consort. If you can't freely be yourself with me, without worry, then who can you be that way with?" *

"...But I'm scared." She mumbled again. "What if you don't like me?" 3

Recognizing the drinks in her system with this admission and its follow up question, Hiei fought not to give a small smile against her hair. Instead, he kissed her again.

"I understand that you're scared… However, I can assure you that I not only like you, but that I also love you, my Beloved." He rubbed more circles against her back. "There's no other person I like more in the world than you." *

She grumbled something like she didn't believe him before huffing out another bit of air.

"I'm...I'm a lot, Hiei. I-... I don't wanna be too much for you." 3

For the first time in a while, Hiei's eyes scanned the energy floating around the room, taking in the fact that it created a golden haze that hung around, thick enough that he almost couldn't see through it.

"You may be 'a lot,'" he began with a small smile pressed against the side of her head, "but I'm enjoying you. I'm enjoying this." He kissed her again. "And even if I thought you could be 'too much,' I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to talk about. I promised you I'd tell you if it ever got to that point, and I intend to keep that promise - not for my sake, but for yours.

"I want you to be secure in me, and our relationship." *

Shikiyoku shifted, sat up to look him in the face and she put her hands on his shoulders at his neck, her eyes narrowed as she considered him and finally pronounced:

"I like you."

But...

Her gaze shifted away for a moment, "But...it's hard. To ask that of me." She looked back at him. "It's hard reading you. I don't know what you want or what is okay for me to do. And," She pouted, though it was a frown at herself, "And it's gotten harder cuz you said you loved me and I-" She let out another huff. "Hiei, not doing things is really hard." 3

Hiei sat up so she could do the same, his eyes watching her face for any and all emotions as she spoke, his own expression one of quiet listening.

As she spoke, he nodded a few times.

"I can't imagine how hard it is for you that I'm so difficult to read while everyone else is… not." His lips twitched into a frown, but it lifted into a reassuring smile just as quickly. "And I'm glad we're talking about this."

He paused.

"The only answer I have for you, then, is to stop not doing things and let us work it out." He knew this was also hard to ask of her, especially after so many years of his lack of interest in her, but… "I know that's probably harder, but the only thing I know I can do is to voice what I want, what I like, and what I don't like."

He smoothed his hand down her hair again.

"And, truthfully… I don't know what I will and won't like, but what I do know is I won't blame you for anything I may not like, because that wouldn't be fair of me." He lowered his voice just a little, and his eyes turned to the floor. "You deserve the best, and I want you to have it. I want to be able to be the best for you, so you can have the best of all things." *

Shikiyoku's brow furrowed this time because she was concentrating very hard on what all Hiei had to say because she knew it was very important, the energy in the air still curling around him, around them both.

"But sometimes when you say things, I don't know if it's true." She blurted out, turning a little pink around the ears as she admitted it. "You don't look like everybody else."

She huffed and the face she made indicated that wasn't exactly what she meant, it had just popped out. As she was thinking, her eye shifted to the side and her fingers absently took the trinket hanging down behind his ear from his hair between them and began fiddling with it.

"You don't...I..." She wasn't sure how to explain it, but in the next breath she was suddenly hit with the notion she liked it when he played with her hair and then jumped to, "I mean I can't read you. I'm sorry." She looked more mournful, "It's just so hard." She leaned forward and kissed him. 3

I am not expressive, he thought to himself, wondering if that's what she meant.

But before he could open his mouth to offer the words and then his solution, her lips were on his and a slight chuckle slipped past his side of the bond.

The hand that had been smoothing down her hair slid to her cheek first, then, after a beat, slipped around to the back of her neck so his fingers could still feel the softness that was her hair.

(If it helps, I could always repeat those sentiments in the bond,) he told her, continuing their conversation. (I would not be offended if you asked me to repeat it this way.) *

She'd been wanting to kiss him again since she stopped, and when she'd come back around to her original statements without being able to provide him with anything remotely resembling a solution, she leaned forward to do so.

The energy still glistening in the air caressed warmly over their skin as he started to kiss her back, moving once more strongly when his hand found her neck and stayed there.

Shikiyoku suddenly pulled away from him once he'd spoken to her and sat blinking at him.

"I- That's-"

...

Her head tilted to the side as she continued staring at him.

After another breath, her eyes narrowed with thoughts.

(Do you like kissing me?) 3

Hiei almost frowned when she pulled away, though her stare gave him pause and he found himself simply watching her, his hand still resting at the back of her neck and his fingers idly playing with her hair.

He raised a brow at her question but, as he'd said he would, he answered in the bond.

(I do.)

…

(Do you like kissing me?) *

Her mouth flattened out as if she found the question ridiculous in regards to the obviousness of her answer and the sentiment shot into the bond before she could pull it together in any other way except for (Duh.)

(Do you love me?) 3

He smiled at her. (Fair.)

Her next question made his lips twitch and his smile widened ever so slightly.

(I do love you.)

He knew what she was doing, and he approved. ...but he also wondered how many times she'd answer the same question he did.

(Do you love me?)

He already knew the answer, he just liked hearing her say it. *

She was considering him thoughtfully as the bond gave him an almost knee-jerk response she noted but had very little to do with since the emotion was almost a constant in the private space between them.

(More than anything.)

She sat there and blinked at him again, trying her hardest to focus and finding she was fairly certain all of the admissions rang in the same manner as one another:

True. 3

The absolute truth of the statement rang within him just as it had when he had answered her, and his smile only grew slightly as he watched her blink, drunkenly trying to focus.

He'd always assumed it was harder to lie in a bond like theirs, but he hadn't ever thought about testing it the way she was.

So as she sat in silence, registering the last four answers that rang true, he shifted a little in place.

(I hate strawberries.)

The statement felt cold to him, ringing with a clear, hollow sort of falseness to it that starkly contradicted the previous truths.

(I also hate sweet snow.)

The same feeling of falseness rang through the bond, and Hiei only shrugged at her.

"I suppose I can't lie to someone in my head." *

Her gaze narrowed at him again, but this time it was laced entirely with mischievousness as she raised an eyebrow, lips twitching at the edges like she might smile.

(Do you want a strawberry?) 3

Hiei blinked at her expression and almost sat back, unsure of the wickedness that danced in her gaze.

He didn't know what sort of trap he'd set for himself.

(Are you offering a strawberry?) *

(Maybe.)

(Only if you want one.) 3

He gave her a long look.

(...I didn't know I did, but I do.) *

She hadn't lifted her gaze from him, but finally smiled and reached for one of his hands, happily putting one into it. 3

He let her freely move his hand as she liked until, after a beat, he turned down to see a strawberry sitting in the palm of his left hand.

He stared at her for a long moment as he lifted it to his mouth to eat, scrutinizing her.

(Where do you hide those?) *

(I don't hide them, Hiei.)

She stuck her nose in the air briefly before looking down at the Hirui stone necklace he'd made for her and quickly tucking it under the edge of her blouse before going back to sitting innocently in his lap. 3

Hiei looked her over again, searching for wherever she stored them, or whatever it was she did with them. He finished off the strawberry and, with an arm around her so she wouldn't fall, he leaned forward to drop the leaves on the coffee table to dispose of later.

He leaned back again, but his arm remained around her waist.

He watched her store away the necklace under the collar of her shirt and, after a brief puff of air, he reached out as if to remove it, except he instead just fiddled with the chain between two fingers.

(Is this a request?) *

Her eyes flickered down to where he sat toying with it and she shook her head.

(Definitely not. That's a chain, Hiei.) She reached up and put the back of her hand up against his forehead, (Are you sure you're not the one who's drunk, flameboy?) 3

Hiei shrugged, his eyes sparkling at her with amusement.

(Definitely not drunk.)

He leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips before he pulled away again. *

She smiled at him as he left her and then made a face as she looked down and pulled the necklace back out into view again.

The impression he got through the bond was she didn't like it being put away, her wish to always have it in view. So that everyone could see.

(...I don't think I'll ever forget.)

Shikiyoku leaned forward and wrapped her arm around his neck, burying her face against him.

(...thank you.)

~!**!~

Shikiyoku's eyes blinked open and accompanying the very strong sense of mental disorientation was an equally overwhelming sense of physical affliction as she blinked again and tried to figure out where she actually lay.

Hiei's room.

Every bone ached.

Keeping her eyes open for even a second was difficult, headache pounding and resonating through her entire body with each pulse of her core.

She was thirsty.

And she knew the water would help more than just her overly dry mouth.

Not coherent enough to think through the previous day and the circumstances that led her to her current state-or perhaps ignoring them and realizing on some level she might not want to remember anything-Shikiyoku slipped away from Hiei's side and slid her way off the bed just enough to be able to push herself to sit up, legs hanging off the side and hand coming to hold her head like the pressure would help while the other arm propping her up shook and almost gave way from the effort.

She knew there was a pitcher of water on the bedside table.

Ever since Akihiko had brought it upstairs once Hiei recovered, someone had been keeping it refilled up until a couple of days, whether her or Akihiko.

It was likely stale, but also convenient.

Taking a gathering breath and trying to force away her pain for at least long enough to complete this task, Shiki tried not to squint at the pair of tall glasses within arm's reach, but the muscles around her face wouldn't relax and give her any sort of relief from the headache even as she forced herself to lean forward, reach over, and grab for the pitcher, pouring whatever was left in it into the nearest of the glasses.

It almost took everything she had just to do that, the pitcher barely making it back down on the table and a shaky hand managing to circle the glass and bring it towards her face. 3

At some point in the night, Hiei had woken up on the couch, sitting upright with Shikiyoku still sitting in his lap, her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. After a bit of stretching and some carefully slow movements, he managed to slide himself and Shiki across the room and into his bed, where he'd laid for a while, staring at the mark on her neck that stared straight back at him.

He didn't exactly notice falling back into sleep, but his own irritation at himself for not having thought about any repercussions concerning making any deal with Kurama to dissuade other 'pursuers' seemed to seep into his sleeping state and invade his dream world, for even in his sleep that mark continued to stare at him.

And maybe that was why he sensed her leaving him on some level.

He shifted in his sleep ever so slightly, rolling to the side where she had been resting against him and reaching out as if he might drape his arm around her. He settled for a bit, his eyes moving behind his eyelids as he dreamt.

After a few more minutes, his subconscious whispered to his dreaming mind the arm circling Shikiyoku was not, in fact, circling anything but, instead, it simply lay stretched across the comforter, grasping at nothing in particular.

Whatever dream he'd been having faded into nothingness, leaving his mind peacefully asleep even as his arms circled the closest part of Shikiyoku he could find, unaware of the hand that slammed into the boney elbow in its quest to pull her closer even as he pressed his forehead into her back. *

All of Shikiyoku's concentration had been on attempting to ignore the aches pulsation through her body long enough to get water, so any of Hiei's movements behind her had gone completely unnoticed.

Right up until he knocked his hand against her arm, the unsolicited movement itself already painful enough, but the action in the midst of her tilting the glass to her lips dumping the last of the water from the pitcher all over her person: down her shoulder and back and stomach and leaving her sitting more so cringing at the pain than the wetness, which would take several more moments of settling into the fabric she wore before she might notice it.

...dammit...3

It wasn't exactly cold, but the sudden feeling of water dropping onto the side of his head and dripping down his face definitely threw the fire demon from his previously peaceful sleep.

His eyelids flew open and he sat up all at once, a hand coming up to wipe the water from his face so he could look for the idiot who dared to throw water at him to wake him instead of-

He blinked first at the wall furthest from the bed, recognizing it as a wall in his room instead of the open area of wherever the guild might have stopped to rest - because only Tarou would think to do something so dumb as to throw water at Hiei - and he blinked again when his eyes fell on the back of Shikiyoku's head.

He wiped at his face again, his lips moving with words that just barely breathed out, though incoherent from his sudden wakeup call.

He realized his shirt now stuck to his side, uncomfortable even with so little water soaking into the fabric. Without thinking, he pulled the shirt up and over his head, then unceremoniously tossed it across the room and into the hamper, where it hung just over its side.

That moment brought the realization that he felt pain, and yet the pain itself wasn't his.

He slid silently from the bed and grabbed the empty glass from Shikiyoku and the pitcher from the nightstand and, without saying a word, Hiei shuffled from the room and down to the bar. *

Shikiyoku made no response when the glass was relinquished from her grip, and likewise when Hiei actually left the room.

Still fighting off the fatigue in her bones the dehydration caused, she gave up and lay back down.

...sitting up hurts... 3

Hiei stepped wordlessly behind the bar station, his hands first going to the bin of dirty dishes before he turned to grab a clean pitcher and two glasses. He looked around for a moment, briefly forgetting where everything was, and was just turning to fill the pitcher with water when a bartender swooped down the way and plucked it from his hand.

You're not working, was the impression he got from the look given, and Hiei raised a brow. The bartender only shrugged, unphased by his stare.

"Yo, Hiei, what do you-"

Whatever look Hiei had on his face as he turned to look at his guild member had Tarou immediately throwing his hands in the air in surrender.

"Nevermind, not important." The brute half turned to leave, but glanced back over his shoulder and, after a pause, gave a quiet little, "nice," before he proceeded on his way back to the table, his louder-than-usual thoughts circling around something about never having seen the full tattoo before that moment.

Hiei turned and, with a brief nod of thanks, relinquished the bartender of the now-full pitcher of water, then he turned and quietly made his way back up to the apartment.

As he stepped into the room, he glanced over at Shikiyoku, unsurprised to see her laying down again, and he half contemplated nudging her and offering her the fresher, colder water.

Instead, he set the pitcher and glasses down on the nightstand before he crawled back into bed just where he had been that morning, careful to not jostle her even as he settled next to her again.

Except instead of falling back into sleep, Hiei found himself staring first at the dark bruise on her face - stupid dog - then at the mark on her neck - damn fox.

...I agreed to it, but that doesn't mean I like it…

….It would look better as a dragon. ….and with the nose pointed up at her ear. *

Out of deep-seeded habit, Shikiyoku had turned back over to lay on her left side facing the other direction almost the very instant she actually fell back asleep, which was fairly quickly all things considered.

Even underneath all of the exhaustion of her extravagant drinking, Shikiyoku sensed the irritation stewing in the bond from him and her hand crossed what little space Hiei left between them to find his skin, searching upwards for the center of the mark on his chest as her face shifted forward to nudge at his own before replacing her nose with her lips in a gentle kiss. 3

Hiei let out a little huff and tore his gaze away from the mark, fully aware he should have asked Kurama how he intended to dissuade any would-be prospects for Shikiyoku's lifemate.

Not that he genuinely thought any one random demon could achieve such an honor.

He stared at the bruise darkening her eye, though, admittedly, a small part of him still felt amusement at the fact that she hadn't felt the need to turn, even after his fist had connected and-

He raised a brow down at her as she shifted closer, too distracted by the hand on his core and her kiss against his jaw to realize why she'd done those things.

He reached out to gently rest his arm over her side, aware in this moment of the pain that was not his own, and he settled again with his eyes dropping to that annoying stare from the black fox decorating her skin.

His only experience with marks being the one he wore on his own skin, he found himself wondering - irritatingly so - of the meaning of the little fox, and if it was tied to whatever it meant to be a mate. *

Unable to make a conscious decision to set the mark aflame in her sleep, the hand at Hiei's core slide up behind his neck as Shikiyoku leaned in to kiss him again, aware on some level of his brooding and still seeking to grant him solace from whatever it was even while asleep. 3

He couldn't rightly say he wouldn't have done the same, given he had the knowledge and opportunity that the fox did.

Maybe that was what truly made it so irritating.

So far behind.

The second kiss, this one to his cheek, pulled him from his thoughts again and, without thinking, Hiei returned the kiss with one to her forehead, hoping she might go back into a proper sleep and ignore his inability to do the same.

As he pulled away, he realized why she'd been shifting around and had kissed him, and he wondered briefly if it happened every time.

He frowned at her, this time purposely staring at the bruise on her face. *

Shikiyoku stilled, her hand still at the back of his neck, though her fingers sought to slowly move back and forth through his hair, fidgeting with the ends of it absently in sleep as if to soothe him further, though she didn't otherwise move. 3

While her hand playing with his hair was pleasant, it wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for, and for a brief moment, his frown deepened. He closed his eyes, deciding in that moment maybe staring at her wouldn't let her rest and, if he truly wanted to, he could wait until she was awake to get the kiss he wanted. *

A huff of breath left her nose as Shikiyoku's face twitched with the smallest frown and she shifted closer again to place a peck of her lips against Hiei's and when leaving them not straying very far. 3

Hiei's eyes blinked open to stare at Shikiyoku as she kissed him again, and this time, instead of wondering if he could get another, he felt genuine amusement at the fact that she only gave him one when he genuinely needed a distraction from this or that.

Groggy, he couldn't quite help the little chuckle that bubbled passed his lips in his true amusement at the prospect.

I don't deserve you, my Beloved.

He smoothed his hand comfortingly up and down her side, hoping to lull her back into a restful sleep.*

The laughter made Shikiyoku's ears twitch this time and she smiled and hummed her lips together at Hiei's attentions in the moment before her eyes blinked open and she suddenly frowned at her consciousness, which sent the awareness of her hangover crashing back across her senses.

As well as the realization that her shirt was still almost completely soaked through from earlier.

Her hand stopped moving and lay heavily on Hiei's neck as her body sunk further into the bed beside him with the weight of her aches and pains. 3

Hiei's hand stilled against her side as he watched her eyes come open, and again, he found himself frowning at her.

You were supposed to go back to sleep.

He didn't mind the weight of her hand against him or the wetness of her shirt against his skin, though he did toy with the idea of sliding out of bed to get her one of his own dry, clean shirts to replace her wet one with.

Instead, he leaned down to kiss her forehead again, this time lingering against her skin.

(I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.) *

Shikiyoku's eyes opened at a squint and she stared forward, but the accompanying pleasantness in the manner and reason why she'd awakened drifted across the bond despite the fact that her brow was etched in a deep frown.

(You can wake me like that anytime, flameboy.) 3

Despite his actual regret of waking her instead of soothing her back into sleep, her response pulled yet another chuckle from his chest, his earlier grumpiness almost forgotten.

(I meant to lull you back to sleep,) he admitted. *

(Oh?)

Her fingers started to fiddle with the trinket she woven into his hair the other day.

(Well, you'll have to try harder, then. Maybe more laughter will do.)

Shikiyoku quickly cut off a light groan of discomfort as her fingers stopped moving again and a wave of the pulsing ache overtook her again.

Her fatigue and the slight sickly feeling that accompanied her hangover washed between them in the bond unchecked. 3

(I'm pretty sure it would be counterproductive, actually.)

As she stilled, he reached up to take her hand gently in his and, once the wave of pain passed, he kissed her one more time - a sort of apology - before he guided her hand to rest on the comforter between them before he maneuvered away from her just as carefully as he had slid into the bed before.

He poured water into one of the clean glasses and turned to offer his help in her sitting up.

(I know you hurt, but I got you fresh water. And I'm sure a clean shirt would help alleviate at least some discomfort.) *

(I'm pretty sure I'd still like it.)

She was fairly sure she knew his intentions when he rose, a long breath of air slowly being let out in a silent groan before all at once she had managed to at the very least turn onto her other side in time to hear him pour water.

Shiki genuinely grunted at him when he mentioned a shirt, acknowledging the statement once she'd sat up and taken the water, but honestly not giving a single damn about it in the moment.

Getting the water to her lips and drink was going to take enough power mentally and physically without considering the next step.

(...you'd think I would have learned my lesson...) The notion crossed the bond before she could rightly consider it. (...and at least would have thought to drink some water before passing out...)

Now that she considered, she couldn't even remember where she'd passed out, which explained why she hadn't drank any water. 3

As soon as Shiki took the water from him, Hiei turned and moved for the dresser in his room. He pulled it open as quietly as he could manage and began to rifle through the various shirts and tops folded neatly inside, pausing every so often and turning to glance in her direction before turning back down.

He nodded, though said nothing about her not drinking water before going to bed.

(Last time you had to run off to work on a project, too. This time, you're here and I've no plans to let you leave this room until you feel at least a little better.)

He pulled a shirt from the drawer finally and let it fall unfolded in his hands. He gave it one last look over before nodding to himself and turning to move back toward Shiki, leaving the drawer open.

He waved one of his hands in an upward motion. (Arms up for a second.) *

Her complaints at his request immediately reverberated in the bond between them, the glass barely resting in her grasp in her lap without falling and her hardly capable of fathoming how to acquiesce to his request.

She would lean forward and put her glass on the bedside table and do as he asked, but she was going to whine about it the whole time.

(I caaaan't, it hurrrrts, this is the woooorrrst...) 3

Hiei fought a smile as she slowly moved, waiting patiently until she sat again and lifted her arms over her head before he reached out to her. He took the end of her shirt and carefully lifted it over her head, doing his best not to jostle her too much even as he pulled it over her arms then proceeded to lower the clean tank top over her arms.

He almost commented something about it in relation to her pleas for him to remove his shirt the day before, but he held it to himself in the form of a small smile.

As soon as the shirt was over her arms, he let it fall and lifted his hands to guide hers down to his shoulders, just as he'd done when wrapping her wounds, before he continued to lower it over her head and situate it as it should be.

(Better?) *

A distinct 'no,' passed into the bond in a grumble as the hands at his shoulders slid down and then around him to circle to his back and clasp together, pulling him up between her knees where they were hanging off the side of the bed and burying her face against his torso and letting out a huff of breath once settled that she felt move across his skin as well as her cheeks.

Now, the bond told him, it was a little better. 3

Hiei let her move him as she wished, his arms circling gently around her shoulders as if he could hold her any closer to himself than she had already accomplished. His hand smoothed comfortingly down her hair, remembering she'd enjoyed it the night before, and his amusement at her nose being squished against him filtered through the bond.

(Is this why getting my shirt off was so important last night?) *

As Hiei's fingers shifted across her hair, he left trails of Shikiyoku's energy gleaming after them and she let out another tiny huff through her nose as she felt its buzz at her scalp that currently couldn't override the ache of her limbs, but was still a present enough sensation for her to notice.

(Yes.) The immediate response came with the understanding that it was always a pleasant circumstance for her to be in with him, and her palms moved to rest against his back as he stood there and she shifted just enough to plant a kiss against him.

Her eyebrows twitched as she realized what she'd said and quickly corrected with (Maybe.) as she was suddenly unsure, and realized she'd answered as if he'd asked if this is why it was important to have his shirt off in general.

...wait...

As she actually considered his statement, she froze in place and realized she could not remember demanding he remove his shirt, which was the distinct impression she got from Hiei's statement.

...oh...oh no...

The bond fell silent as she slowly grew more mortified at the possibilities. Could she really not recall if she'd started ordering Hiei to take off clothing?

...that's...

He seemed amused by it.

...maybe she'd only mentioned the shirt.

Kami, I hope so, she thought desperately. 3

Hiei's side of the bond flooded with the sudden amusement at her immediate response, and the just as quick correction, though he only continued to carefully run his fingers through her hair, avoiding the tangles if only so he wouldn't cause more discomfort.

He let her ruminate over it for a bit, listening to her breathing and silently letting his own amusement cycle through even as he remembered carrying her from the bar.

After a moment, he refocused on her with a small smile.

(Shiki?) *

Shiki could feel where the strands of her hair between his fingers would shimmer beneath his touch, the action relaxing to her as well as agitating in regards to continuing to stir up her energy.

Meanwhile, she was desperately trying to consider exactly how mortified she needed to be in these moments, and while she could remember certain things, there was a vague haze around it all: something about him lifting her over his shoulder and another thing about sitting on Tarou's lap...?

She could remember bits about the beginning of the day. Hiei leaving. Her working. Getting that first drink from Kurama.

...later being abandoned by him to her Consort's 'capable' hands.

(...yeah?...) 3

Hiei's lips twitched, not surprised she didn't look up but not unamused by it either.

He contemplated simply staring at her until she looked up at him, but after a few beats of watching her, he realized considering their conversation the night before it wasn't exactly what he'd told her he would do.

(...I want you to kiss me.) *

Shikiyoku's core felt as if it dropped into her stomach when he answered her, suddenly flushing as her energy genuinely started buzzing through her veins where it had only been gently glittering through parts of her hair before.

There was no room in the bond between them for her to simply kiss him where she had a moment ago, Hiei wanted an actual kiss from her. On the lips. And frankly, while the notion hit her blindside completely, after only that single beat of realization, Shiki turned her face upwards in reply and leaned away from him just a touch, fingers pressing into his back gently as if to make him lean down and meet her.

(Well, c'mere, then.) 3

He wasn't sure why he hadn't truly thought it would work, but the moment she turned her face up to look at him and he felt her fingers put a bit of pressure into his back encouragingly, a sort of happiness filled him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.

He leaned over her after a second's hesitation - caused only by his happiness at her obliging him - and he pressed his lips against hers. *

There was a strange satisfaction to her at obliging his request, one that, as the moment lengthened, Shikiyoku realized came from a place of reassurance in what Hiei wanted from her.

She blushed.

His kisses always made her blush.

But she'd never thought he'd wanted her kisses before. Or maybe this was the first time he had ever wanted one.

In either case, trying to ignore the deep ache in her bones, Shikiyoku continued kissing him until it seemed like he'd had enough. 3

Hiei would have kissed her forever if not for the fact that he could feel her aches. Even so, when he broke away, he didn't go far before bending back down for one last little peck, finally understanding in that moment what she meant by 'never getting anything done.'

He'd thought he'd understood then.

This moment, however, definitely proved him wrong. He only just figured out how long she meant, and even as he pulled away the second time, he fought the impulse to lean down again.

As much as he'd like a replay of the night before, he was pretty sure she wouldn't be exactly comfortable. Instead, he only let himself bask in the happiness that continued to run through him, some of which managed to pass over the bond.

He turned and reached for her glass and held it out for her to take, holding it by its rim so that his energy, as he released it, wouldn't warm the drink itself even as he let his own warmth course through his body so it might give her some relief. *

Her energy glittered across her features when he leaned over and kissed her a second time, leaving her blinking up at him as he pulled more fully away and she let her embrace of him fall more slack as her arms protested at being held against him.

Despite her distinct pleasure at fulfilling a desire she hadn't known he'd had, her gratefulness to him ruminated in the bond as a shaky hand took the glass from him to drink again.

After a sip or two, both arms ended up resting in her lap and she stared down at the glass and gave a little sigh.

(Thanks for getting this for me.) 3

After a few beats of watching Shikiyoku - the way her muscles twitched and protested each movement, how stiffly her arms moved, and the general lack of movement because of her pain - Hiei moved to sit next to her on the bed, then shuffled until he sat behind her.

He stretched his legs out on either side of her, his thighs touching hers as he carefully leaned into her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, but not resting there.

His energy ran through him, carefully controlled so that his own body temperature rose, but not enough to burn her.

His nose twitched as her hair tickled his face and he carefully pulled his arm back over her shoulder and moved her hair, draping it over her shoulder so it wouldn't be stuck between them.

He brushed it away little by little, his eyes spotting a redness to the skin of her neck that, as soon as her hair was completely out of the way, he realized was a burn in the vague shape of a hand.

He frowned at it, remembering he'd rested his hand there the night before, but not his energy reacting.

His frown deepened and he leaned into her again, careful not to press into the irritated skin or to lean too much weight into her tired body.

(I'm sorry, I didn't realize I burned you last night.) *

Shikiyoku slouched a bit into Hiei's arms, a sense of appreciating his offering of warmth moving through their bond as she strove to take another drink.

She blinked at his apology, aware on some level that he referred to a burn at the back of her neck and she reached up to touch it as one does when presented with that sort of information, and immediately found the unnaturally warm section of her skin that stung when she brushed it.

Trying to quantify that happening, surprised she didn't specifically remember a moment where he had his hand at the back of her neck and burned her since the last time she got a burn it had been such a jolt, she lowered her hand and let out a semi-amused breath.

(If it makes you feel any better, I don't remember you burning me either.) 3

Shikiyoku's leaning into him was more than welcomed by the fire demon, who adjusted his weight accordingly and even let his energy warm him just a bit more so she would get just that much more relief.

He let out a breath through his nose, not really sure if he wanted to be amused or not.

He turned his head to give her a brief kiss on the cheek before he rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyelids sliding closed.

Even with the fox's mark hidden behind her hair and his eyelids, he could still see it.

(I'm curious.)

He turned his head to rest his cheek on her shoulder and he peered at her through one eye.

(My mark means I'm bound to you as your Consort, but what does it mean when someone else has a mark that is not a Consort marking?) *

Shikiyoku had her face resting against Hiei until he moved to put his cheek on her shoulder, slowly endeavoring to drink the water in her grasp.

(Mm...it could mean a lot of things, Hiei. You're marked by the Darkness Flame you wield. I used to wear the markings of my Champions. It just kind of depends on the context.) 3

The faint impression of a nod slipped across the bond.

(Let me rephrase…)

Hiei thought for a few moments about the wording, thinking about the different markings and tattoos he'd seen in his lifetime - as few as they were - and how he could specify which ones he meant.

After a brief moment, a little ah whispered its way through the bond.

(What I mean is: what does it mean when one person marks another?) *

(Well...) She considered it, both her experiences and what she knew in general. (In that case, it's almost always...something like marking your territory.) The markings her Champions put on her fell into that category.

The impression of the smile her lips were starting to dance into moved between them. (Which includes the lovely marking I gave you, in case that wasn't clear.)

A very affectionate, and proud to have him, 'mine' sort of emotion passed into the bond. 3

Outwardly, Hiei gave no real reaction to the information he received from Shikiyoku about markings, except maybe a raised brow at the last part.

Inwardly, he cursed Kurama, calling the fox several names before finishing with, simply, sneak. Though, truthfully, the fire demon realized his ire was not entirely aimed at the other, but mostly at himself for not having the forethought to ask about his plan.

He'd been too happy to be alive to think of anything else.

That, however, was not entirely all of it.

He realized, really, he would have done the same.

No doubt about it.

After all, he was almost completely sure at this point one of the drinks Shikiyoku had drank had been a request for it, and he didn't genuinely find himself surprised with the idea she might accept such a drink from Kurama, who most definitely knew her better than anyone.

He had a long way to go.

He blinked back to the present, realizing in that moment she didn't seem to remember the marking on her neck from the fox. He opened his other eye to look at her briefly, assessing her expression and, after a moment, seeming to switch gears.

Hiei lifted his head from her shoulder and moved to the other side of her face, his hand moving until he held it away from her neck.

(If that's the case, then I want you to know - since you've said you don't remember things from last night - you have one here.) He lightly poked the skin just above the fox's head, his feelings about it shoved away. *

As she made a thoughtful sort of noise, Shikiyoku turned to look in the direction of the shoulder Hiei poked and realized while, yes, she could see a few lines that likely made up a larger image, some of them disappeared beneath the collar of the shirt Hiei gave her and she really couldn't make out much of the rest of it.

(I remember that.) She remembered getting it, she reassured him.

It would be hard to forget the initial sensation of Kurama's energy coursing alongside her own.

Energy that would eventually fade from her limbs without making the mark permanent since the two of them hadn't followed up on it.

(Kurama told me he was gonna make a big production about it. It...) She let out a snort. (If it works, it'll be worth it.) Some grumble out 'idiots' and 'wasting my time,' passed over to him.

She eyed Hiei for a breath, having assumed up until this very moment the other knew the reasoning behind it. (He told me you agreed to let him do it. ...you did agree to it, right?) She raised an eyebrow, the implications or possibility that Hiei didn't know about it becoming suddenly very important to make clear. 3

With the reassurance Shikiyoku had remembered and agreed to the marking, Hiei let her hair fall over her shoulder again and moved to rest his chin on her other shoulder again, his sudden seriousness gone.

A sort of affirmation floated across the bond as she mentioned the 'big production' of it, the impression of a nod making itself known.

(I did,) he responded firmly, leaving no room for her to misunderstand he most definitely signed up for the plan itself. (He brought the idea to me after my being ill.) He paused. (Truthfully, I'd forgotten about it.)

He could see how marking her as his territory would ward off any other demon, especially the ones with even the smallest brain. One didn't have to exactly be intelligent to know encroaching on a fox demon's territory was death, and it was even more so the case with Kurama himself.

The only one who would be willing to challenge that would be Hiei himself, he realized.

After a few more moments of thought, he turned to her again, realizing if he wanted to know, now would be the time to ask.

(Does it have to do with becoming Mates? The mark itself, I mean.)

After all, that was what Kurama and himself were after. *

Shikiyoku settled back into Hiei once he answered, letting out a contented breath and enjoying being so close and so warm.

She blinked and dropped her gaze when he asked, suddenly realizing perhaps Kurama hadn't fully explained his intentions to Hiei.

She nodded.

(That's...honestly just about the only reason I can think of for one demon to mark another like this.) She reached up and absently moved her fingers over the dark line across her collar bone on the right side. 3

This time, Hiei physically nodded, not surprised by her answer.

(And if demons think Kurama the Youko wants to be your mate, then they'd be fools to say the same of themselves.)

Not many could contest him for the title and live to tell the tale, he thought to himself. Not to mention the fact they'd be far less worthy than he.

…

And even less worthy than I, for that matter.

He reached up to scratch his nose.

(So at what point does the mark transition from 'marking territory' to 'this is my Mate'?) *

(As far as anyone who sawit happen knows, he is my lifemate.) Shiki let out a breath. (There is no 'transition.' They'll just assume we went through with it because a demon would have to be out of their mind to willingly let another put something like this on them.) 3

Hiei raised a brow. (So, you're out of your mind,) he summarized, most definitely teasing. He kissed her cheek before moving on.

(However, you're not his…) He thought about the word she used, (lifemate. So, simply marking the person does not make them your lifemate.) He wasn't quite sure if it was a question, but he didn't phrase it as such. (What does make the mark become one of lifemates?) *

The 'yes' Hiei got about being out of her mind was just as assertive as the one from earlier about his shirt.

(Right. Not his lifemate.) She realized as she mused on not being Kurama's lifemate that there was a lot here Hiei was probably missing. (So...you can...mate and be mates and even be mates for life with someone without it being so...official? Ah, hm, a demon being marked is...kind of like the rings married humans wear?) Or the ones Gai had for Airi, or the one Yukina wore now from Kuwabara. (The rings are a pledge, a promise. A union. Marriage. For humans it's flimsy. Just a piece of jewelry. A written contract, signed and easily discarded later if convenient. The sort of lifemate situation we're talking about is much more permanent. A genuine mate for life. A Lifemate, really. Most demons wouldn't even consider it, you know. You have to be willing to exchange ownership of your soul with another, and giving up something like that is unfathomable to just about any apparition.) 3

(Ah.)

The bond relayed the sensation of his nod to her, though his head did not actually perform the action. He certainly didn't want anyone else's mark on his skin, for any reason. Shikiyoku's marking was enough, and any other was most unwelcome.

(I, personally, don't find it quite so unimaginable.) He told her frankly. (At least, not with you.) He'd already told her once he would give her his soul. (You're welcome to my soul should you decide you want it.) *

Shikiyoku felt her neck flush at Hiei's admission, turning the slowly healing burn on the side of it a deeper red as she took another drink of water trying to hide her sudden uncomfortableness with the notion.

(That's ridiculous, Hiei. You don't even know what you're saying; I have no business to any part of your soul. It's better off staying right where it is.) The hand that had been lightly grazing across Kurama's mark lowered to pat Hiei's leg. 3

Hiei kissed her shoulder.

(Just thought you should know the offer still stands.)

He tilted his head to rest his chin on the place he'd kissed, his eyes closing as he took a moment to appreciate the person leaning back into him, and he let his energy pulse through him again, adding just a bit more warmth to the area for her.

He took a small breath in as his mind wandered to the conversation he'd had with her the night before. *

Shikiyoku smiled a little as she let out a contented sigh, leaning her face towards his as she kept her one hand on his leg.

(And my answer remains the same, my love: you honor me greatly by saying as much, but I am in no way worthy of being made keeper of a grand soul such as yours.)

She turned to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. 3

Hiei let out a breath from his nostrils, but otherwise did not pursue the subject further, deciding to simply agree to disagree.

He remained in the silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying her presence and energy and-

He suddenly remembered her energy the night before and how it had hung around the bar in a thick haze, just as it had in the meadow with Kurama and the guild. While nothing had come of it, he could remember a time when an entire city chased them with far less energy in the air.

He didn't know what that meant.

(Shikiyoku?) His eyes came open and he lifted his chin from her shoulder so he could turn to look at her. (How can I help you manage your energy?) *

Shikiyoku tilted her head in his direction a little more when he called her name, meeting his gaze as he asked as much.

(I-)

She stared at him for a moment, a slight furrow to her brow indicative more so of the ache to her bones than anything particularly significant.

It wasn't...exactly a desire. His question.

Not in the traditional sense. Not the way she was used to.

It didn't wash over her from head to toe, or feather across her awareness, an intuition that at this point in her life instinctually let her know what someone wanted or meant to do.

But all the same, his expressing the question in this way between them, in the bond, came across to her as very much the same thing in a roundabout sort of way.

Not a sensation for her, not physically, but the manner in which the inquiry ruminated between them had accompanying it a certain honest wish to know how he might be able to help her.

And the only way she knew how, exactly, was implemented in the initial Champion ritual-of which the only equivalent she could possibly think of, rather ironically, was that of mates where they exchanged demonic energy. Which, for her brain, for now, was too big of a burden to consider for more than the passing instant it occurred-that is, the opportunity to mark her, which Hiei had been robbed of in their initial, exceptionally botched, binding.

She wouldn't know without asking Renai himself if such a mark persisted between the pact transitions between Champion and Consort, though she had to admit at the time Hiei became her Consort she was only acting on instinct. And for Renai, Shikiyoku imagined the moments of moving from one to the other happened fairly quickly back to back.

And for Shiki, it had been years.

In any case, it didn't matter now or for the question Hiei posed.

(...I'm really not sure, Hiei.) She turned away and stared down at the glass in her hands to fiddle with the edge of it. (I messed up our Champion contract pretty royally.) This was the part, he would pick up from her, she referred to when he asked this question of her back at Toriko's. (If I'd initiated it correctly, you would have had a chance to mark me at the time and that would have made a world of difference for you while in that position. Those marks all had a unique property where the demonic energy my Champion had infused in my blood would stir to the surface when I was in danger. I don't know much about this whole Consort business, but it might have been possible for a marking like that to carry over if I'd had one from you to begin with.)

She couldn't remember much from the previous night, but now she could only assume it wasn't good.(I'm so sorry you've had cause to worry about it. I'll just be more careful from now on.) 3

Hiei's eyes flickered briefly to the hands around the glass, noting the movement of her hands as she talked before turning his eyes back to her face to read her expression. He thought about her answer, realizing that while she didn't exactly have one, he may be able to find one elsewhere.

Her apology, however, caught his attention as a more important thought and he nudged his cheek against hers.

(You have nothing to apologize for.) He rested his chin on her shoulder again and squeezed his arms around her in a gentle, reassuring hug. (Nothing happened while your energy was around except for staring,) he told her, the revelation accompanied with a touch of curiosity and confusion and, after a few moments, the sense that he might continue the sentence faded, leaving instead his contemplative silence.

He turned inward, thinking about the last couple of times her energy had been free like that and realizing perhaps the lack of reaction was more… confusing. He wasn't quite sure what to say about it, or even what it meant. He might have thought it had something to do with Kurama's mark on her skin, if not for the fact she didn't have one when they were all in the meadow.*

(I guess we're probably lucky, then.) Shikiyoku responded, letting out a bit of a resigned sigh.

It had been a long time since she'd been brought face to face with the reality of her energy. First in the meadow and now while drunk in her own bar, for goodness' sake.

Yes, there had been something freeing about being in her "true form," but she'd just about convinced herself it was more trouble than it was worth.

Hopefully her staff would just associate last night's behavior with her relief at Hiei's wellbeing. She certainly didn't particularly care if they were drunk on a shift, but most of them weren't able to function up to her standards and refrained from more than just a recreational sip or two between moments.

(I used to get stares all the time, but things were much different back then. I wanted people looking. Makes them easier targets when their attention is divided.) The commentary was accompanied by a distinct indication of how different her line of work had been with both Kitoushi and Kurama than it was now.

Nowadays, she worked almost as diligently to remain behind the scenes as she once did at the fore of them. 3

(I'm… not so convinced that's the case,) he told her after a few moments, missing her commentary about wanting people watching. (I'm not so convinced 'luck' had anything to do with it.)

He remembered a time when he'd carried her out of the city with a mob at his back, and how she'd worn gloves simply to hide her hands.

(The stares are not the same as they used to be.) Sure, he had been vigilant, but upon reflection, he wondered if there really was a threat at all. The stares had been nothing more than watchful ones, or perhaps wistful? (They lacked… intent, I think.)

The only way he would truly know was for it to happen again where he could observe, and while a part of him most definitely enjoyed her energy, another part of him was almost unsure he wanted to chance being wrong on the matter.*

She huffed out a breath at his last comment, unaware her line of thinking trailed after his own in regards to being unwilling to test it.

(I'm not sure what you mean by 'intent.') She shrugged a little. (I'm always aware of the stares on some level. Of the desires. They all still have them and they've changed very little over the years. I'll concede though that...demons willingly living alongside the humans on the First are almost a different breed than those on the Ninth from what I can remember. Maybe it has to do with the air and how it's mixed with Human World's. Generally, demons remain largely unchanged, but I have come to notice things here and there between the ones who have endeavoured to mingle with the natives and those who remain in the pockets of demonic society or retreated lower down.) 3

Hiei stared at her for a few moments, his thoughts bouncing around in different directions about her energy, his being unreadable to her, the difference in responses to her energy now versus when he was her champion, and, finally, his own reactions to her energy.

He couldn't rightly say he remembered the details of his own reactions to her energy, though he definitely did remember his reactions to her, especially during their time on the ninth the first time. Though, suffice to say the difference for him was not location.

His lips pulled down into a frown.

(I've been meaning to say this for a while,) he began, his eyes turning to stare at the wall across the room, (but I want to apologize to you.) His expression flattened out, her words from the previous night about not reaching out to him echoing in his mind. (I've been terrible to you in the past, especially when I was your Champion, and you most certainly did not deserve it.)

He let out a heavy sigh.

(I'm sorry. You should not feel fear at the thought of reaching out to me.) *

Shiki hadn't the faintest idea where Hiei was going with his apology until he mentioned his Champion days.

Looking back, she understood on some level how his age, his lack of having genuinely established a place for himself in the world like Kurama and Kitoushi, and even her First Champion, already had, definitely attributed to his complete disregard for her as a tool at his disposal. He didn't know what to do with her because he had nothing for her to do. And she wasn't of a whole enough mind at the time to press him on his intentions when she first pacted with him.

Most of his time, therefore, was spent in a line of duty more associated with a protector than anything else. Which had certainly been neglectful of him at the time, but he hadn't known any better and she hadn't exactly known how to explain it to him.

She'd never had to explain it before. Not the way he needed it explained.

Up to his sighing against her, Shikiyoku was all for reassuring him that his apology was unnecessary. From what she could remember, the both of them were equally at fault in regards to navigating their relationship, if not her more so for failing to be forthcoming as she felt she ought to have been.

But then he actually apologized and Shikiyoku had the vaguest sense of association with something the pair of them conversed about the night prior and she tensed briefly.

But she couldn't deny it.

And that made her suddenly blush at the neck at having been found out, blinking up at one of the walls of his room.

(I- You- -weren't supposed to know.) The bond admitted to him without her direct say-so and she flushed further with embarrassment. One of her hands lifted to hide her face against her palm.

The next sentiment that passed between them was a mix of wanting to know if he'd found that out, then 'how else did I embarrass myself' and 'I'm never drinking that much again.' 3

The bond quickly filled with her wordless response of embarrassment and Hiei immediately turned to look at her, (I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you.)

He let the bond do the talking for her, listening intently to the waves of emotion and wordless 'thoughts' even as he continued.

(But it was a good conversation, and I'm glad we had it - even if you don't seem to remember it - because I love you and I want to help and be the best Consort I can be.)

The pause in the bond translated as a sort of intake of breath, as if he'd spoken too fast and ran out of air.

(...I hope I don't have to get you that drunk for you to talk to me about things.) His frown twitched ever so slightly, threatening a teasing smile. (I will get you drunk as many times as necessary to get you to talk to me, but I also wish I wouldn't have to.) *

Shikiyoku had hunched over a little in his arms as if the weight of her apparent admission took literal form across her shoulders.

That same vague recollection of him saying similar words to her, apologizing for her fear of reaching out to him, was fuzzy, but there.

She was trying not to think about it though and mumbled into her hand, "Did I admit to anything else I should know about?"

Still mortified, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know, but then she'd at least know how much trouble she was in... 3

Surprised she spoke aloud and not in the bond, Hiei tilted his head slightly away from her, but just as quickly turned to look intently at her, judging her question with a quiet seriousness that took away from his earlier teasing.

Truthfully, he hadn't decided if he would tell her about that particular conversation, if only because the only resolution he could come up with was his use of the bond when being more vocal about things he liked and wanted.

But, since he'd said he wanted her to talk more, he realized it would be better suited for him to do as he was asking her to do.

(We talked about a workaround concerning my lack of readability in relation to desires.) He hugged her tighter, knowing this would be a more difficult conversation for her than perhaps any other they might have at this moment. (The bond apparently is well-suited for strengthening truths and revealing untruths said within it.) *

Shiki wasn't sure exactly what she had thought he might say, as apparently she had been drunk enough for him to discover her feelings on him being shirtless as well as the fact that, in short, she was too afraid of pushing him away to let herself do much of anything when it came to the inherently physical part of her nature.

Even if the bond hadn't been able to ring true with what he told her, the blow to her pride certainly would have confirmed it, regardless of the fact that she was intimately aware of her incapability to discern his wants and needs.

(You're not...unreadable, flame boy.) She grumbled between them, the sting of his knowing this particular shortcoming an almost palatable sensation of wounded ego between them. (I just can't read you.) She sighed. (Or, I can, it's just...rare.) If pressed, she could likely count every one of them. Which, their bond indicated, was frankly worse than if she simply couldn't. This way made her blame herself.

If she'd been capable of it, she would have pulled away from him, but the source of her confoundment was also that of her comfort in these moments. 3

Hiei echoed her sigh with his own.

(Yes, you said that last night too. That does not mean, however, that you are at fault.) He kissed her on the cheek. (There's no way to confirm that, and I'm unwilling to believe someone able to read every desire of almost every other being is only able to read a handful of mine.)

He shifted around a little, one of his legs going numb from having sat so still, though he didn't so much as twitch in a way that might indicate any sort of want to pull away.

(In any case, the bond can and will help with that if I use it properly.) *

(Of course I'm at fault, Hiei, how could I feel otherwise?) The pent-up emotions she'd been carrying on the subject, her all-encompassing shame and guilt and sorrow for the one thing she felt she'd been put on this earth able to do and subsequently couldn't do for the most important person in her life just sort of poured over the bond in one giant stream of thought.

(The one being in the three worlds I wanted to read from the very beginning and I can't. I never know what you want or need, from me or anyone else, I don't know what you're going to do or how to help you and that made me so scared because you were so important to me and if you left I just didn't know what I was going to do, but how am I supposed to act around someone when I can't tell what they like and I really want them to like me and you're the only person I really want to be able to do things for and I just don't know what's okay-)

The emotions were starting to spill over onto her face and the transmission stopped as she took a super shaky breath and reached up to wipe at her eyes which had only just then started to well up with tears.

She filled his initial, somewhat stunned, silence with a word of apology.

(I'm so sorry. I always feel like I must be doing something wrong and I don't know how to fix it.) 3

Truth be told, Hiei hadn't expected her to open up about it a second time, especially not so soon. He'd expected her to kite the conversation elsewhere, or simply apologize and move on. He hoped she would open up about it again, so he could have the conversation with her where she might remember his responses, but…

The wave of emotion that slammed into him from her side of the bond was so much more than the night before, and her response even more so. He found himself almost reeling from the bulk of it, not because of how heavy it was, but because of how much there was to process.

Between her spoken response and her emotional one, there was, quite simply, a lot.

He blinked at her a few times as she apologized, taking a moment to process the things said and the emotions that had been expressed and, after a few moments, he finally moved. He raised a hand to wipe at her face, seeing the beginnings of tears, and he placed a kiss against her cheek.

(You have no reason to be sorry, my Beloved. You're doing what you can with what you have, and I would never ask more of you than you could give.) He shifted so his legs rested alongside hers and the arm he'd lifted came to rest across her collar bone, the hand that had wiped at her face now playing with the hair he could reach over that shoulder. (I feel honored to be so important to you, and I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, or a true fix. However, I can say without a doubt I would never push you away, and that I do enjoy when you reach out to me, kiss me, and everything else you've done with me so far. I want you to reach out to me, kiss me, whatever comes to mind, because then I can also do those things with you too.)

He let out a breath and a soft smile formed on his lips.

(I would never blame you if I disliked something, because you have no control over what I like or dislike and I have no way of knowing until I experience it. And I want to experience things. With you. From you. I…)

A thought hit him, and accompanied with it was shame when he realized he'd perhaps known this for a while…

(I want to know you as you are, not how you think you should be with or around me.) *

(Of course you're important to me, Hiei.) The bond told him at his assertion as she sniffled a little through another unsteady breath but never really started crying. (You've saved me more times than I can count and I just feel so useless when I can hardly figure out how to repay you, much less know with you the things I can intuit from anyone else at a glance.)

(I want to be someone who's worthy of you and instead I-) The bark of laughter in their bond only bubbled up as a huff of air into the room around them. (-I've always felt so cursed.)3

Hiei blinked at her in quick succession as he replayed the last line over in his mind, unsure if he'd heard her right.

But after a beat of silence he shook his head and pulled away long enough to shuffle around.

He plucked her glass of water from her hands and pulled his legs up until his feet were on the bed. Then, he pulled his arm from her shoulders so when he shifted his weight to half-crawl to her side, he didn't take her with him.

And then he unceremoniously sat himself on her thighs so he could look her in the face, his gaze unwavering as he placed his hands on her cheeks.

"(Of all the people in the world, I don't believe for a second that you are cursed.)" The bond filled with as much love and adoration for her as he could possibly transmit, along with it his want for her to understand he fully counted her as more than 'worthy of him'. (I have met some demons who were truly cursed, and you are not among them.)

His thumbs moved back and forth over her cheeks a few times as he stared at her, his legs wrapped around her waist as if to keep him situated on her.

(I see not a single cursed entity in this room.) *

Shikiyoku didn't look at him at first, only wrapping her arms around him when he seemed keen to sit on her lap, and if he hadn't all but forced her to look up at him, she wouldn't have been able to meet his gaze.

It was hard enough to do as it stood.

(Have you, Hiei? And do you not?) She peered into his face, a smile tugging sadly at the corners of her lips. (Because I have. And I have heard stories. By all definitions, my circumstances are as theirs. What else would you call this burning desire to know the man I love like I do everyone else, only to find that I cannot? Only to be given fleeting moments where I have a glimpse of what that might be like if I could? The Kami must find it amusing to toy with me so...) 3

Hiei stared at her, his smile unwavering even as he realized there truly was no convincing her otherwise. He thought about the times she advocated against his own status of 'cursed', deciding she had been so adamant not just because he truly was not, but that she felt herself to be the truly cursed one of them both.

He could argue with her for the rest of their lives and she wouldn't believe him.

His smile softened and he leaned in to kiss her, his warmth pulsating in the air around them briefly, though he did not kiss her for long.

"So, you're cursed."

He wiped at her eyes again, though there were no tears to catch.

(Well it's a good thing I know how people feel when they are told they're cursed.) He met her gaze again. (It means I can love you right, all the way through it.) *

Shikiyoku's cheeks were shimmering slightly with energy at Hiei's touch, her eyes closing when he kissed her and her hands shifting against him comfortingly when he left her smiling at him a little.

As a storyteller, there were plenty of examples she could give of those who found themselves in circumstances too eerily similar to hers for her to be able to call it anything else.

"How else did you think I could remain so assured you are not if I did not know what it meant for myself? It's always been so insulting to hear others call you as much." Her lips twitched again.

She let out a puff of half-hearted laughter as he spoke of his love, but her smile remained.

(I don't deserve you.)

(I...I'm sorry I never told you; I was afraid you'd hate me. I was at first too proud to think it true, then too ashamed to admit it. And...And as your Ward, I thought you'd hate me if you knew. One less thing you might have found me useful for, and I couldn't even do that for you.) Her smile twitched for a second time as she confessed: (I've never been particularly capable of much rational thought when it comes to you.) 3

(I could never hate you, Shiki.)

He leaned forward and kissed her again, as if doing so would reassure her of his feelings on the matter.

(Especially not for something out of your control.)

He pulled away again, noticing for the first time the little sparkles that trailed her skin where his thumbs moved. He watched the little glitters as he purposely traced a circle against her skin, intrigued by the reaction.

(I want you to be able to tell me things without fear. After all, I'll be with you for the rest of our lives.) His smile grew as he met her gaze again. *

His kiss made her blush this time, becoming more aware now of his location atop her lap and while it hadn't registered for her initially given he appeared to mean nothing by it, by now her hands had just come to be clasped together behind him so she wouldn't do anything else with them.

(I feared many things when we first met.) She admitted, feeling a slight swirl to the energy at her cheek as it left a glittering, circular trail across her skin, but not immediately associating it with Hiei intentionally doing as much specifically. (But you could have left at any time and I wouldn't have been able to stop you.)

She let out a breath.

(Now I- ... I'll try. At the very least, you deserve anything I can do for you.) 3

Hiei's head tilted to one side as he considered her, his thumb still making circles against her skin in a fashion that was almost too distracting.

(What you can do for…?)

He thought about it for a moment as his eyes followed the glittery trail his thumb left, torn between wanting to tell her all she needed to do was to rest and wanting to provide her with something to help with her feeling 'useless', despite his never seeing her as such.

The feeling of her arms around him though, her clasped-together hands against his back, reminded him of the fact that, one, she had been drinking water due to hangover and, two, he'd pulled said water from her grasp in the middle of his attempt to get her full, undivided attention onto his response to her admissions.

Thirdly, he couldn't imagine his sitting on her was comfortable, given she was not only hungover, but that it also tugged the shirt he'd put on her down against her neck and shoulders.

He passed a look over her, half assessing her state and half appreciating her, then turned and reached for the water he'd placed on the night stand. "I'm sorry if I'm heavy," he told her as he slid away from her lap so her hungover body wouldn't have to deal with his added weight. "Here," he passed her the glass he'd taken from her after filling it up again, then slid back to where he'd originally been sitting behind her, though his arms came to rest gently over her shoulders so the warmth could seep into her full back this time. *

Hiei being remotely any sort of burden on her lap had little to do with the tension at her neck that released just as her hands did to let him get up and away from her.

She did shift his tanktop around a bit, catching sight of the new mark on her skin briefly before Hiei passed her the water.

I am out of my goddamn mind.

...I just hope it works.

She truly had very little in her life to complain about, but worthless low-lives interrupting her work for their ignorant pleas was certainly one of them.

Shiki let out another breath as Hiei rested over her, simultaneously used to and unused to how his skin-to-skin contact with her generally resulted in those same little shivers of energy.

Trying not to think about it, she took another drink. 3

The rest of the day passed quietly, Hiei laying with Shikiyoku as she rested and occasionally taking a trip downstairs for this or that until, eventually, they got around to his learning to read and write.

A couple of days passed where the pair only stayed in the apartment, Hiei taking lessons from Shikiyoku and, when she wasn't looking, putting those lessons into practice in various self-amusing ways.

When she'd gone for a shower, he'd left notes in various places in the apartment, starting in her room and then simply traveling around the area. After he'd amused himself with that and she'd returned, they resumed his lessons until they either got tired of doing them or they fell asleep.

Over those two days, Hiei discovered her skin did the glittery trail thing almost any time he touched her, and he'd endeavored to make it happen more often.

Finally, after two or so days of being up in the apartment, he found himself too antsy to sit around and do lessons, and he and Shiki made their way down the stairs for work in the bar.

Before he could end up at his station, however, Aki pulled him aside to talk about guild business, and Hiei parted ways with Shiki only after kissing her one more time with a promise to work beside her as soon as things were handled.

"Here." Akihiko produced an envelope from his pocket once Hiei sat at the table next to him, finding, for the first time in a while, Aki was the only one already there.

"What's this?" He turned the closed envelope over, finding no information on the outside.

"It's a job request from a guy on the Fifth. I couldn't get it open; runner said it was enchanted."

Hiei raised a brow as he turned to look up at Aki, noticing nor for the first time the lack of sleep under his second's eyes. "Did you tell the runner we're not currently taking requests?"

"Of course."

"Great. Then this can wait until the one we already have is over."

"And Gai came by earlier. Wanted to talk in advance about getting with Tarou about your katana, though he said he had some errands to run before lunch."*

Shikiyoku stared after her Consort as he left her near the door to their apartment with bits of energy shimmering over her features from his kiss.

Like always, she hadn't expected the affection, despite the fact that it seemed as if Hiei was using any excuse he could to do things like it of late.

She shook her head as she turned to relieve the early morning skeleton crew of their positions, not really sure what to make of his more avidly seeking physical closeness to her. She certainly couldn't complain him deciding to run his fingers through her hair or draw his thumb back and forth over her hand when he grabbed for it, but his brushing up against her skin when she'd been working with him on writing had certainly seemed too intentional for her not to notice when it'd happened the fourth or fifth time.

He certainly didn't seem aware of the effect he had on her.

And while she did promise to try and tell him things, for some reason she felt leery about telling him how he could stop her in her tracks whenever he wished.

As she reached into one of the cabinets behind the bar for an apron to cinch around her waist, something in her pocket crinkled as she bent over and she glanced distractedly at whatever it was, seeing a bit of paper sticking out of the top of her shorts and frowning, certain it hadn't been there earlier.

She grabbed for it as she stood up and unfolded it, frowning briefly as she scanned the somewhat uncertain kanji penciled in an already familiar hand.

to be-loved mine

Shikiyoku blushed almost immediately as she flipped the page to see it was the only thing written and quickly stuffed the paper away, trying to busy herself with her apron before anyone questioned her on it.

The syntax was certainly not correct, and frankly the second one was two words he'd mashed together perhaps thinking that was how to create the one he meant, but he'd used the symbols to get across his meaning just fine, at least for the one it had been addressed to. 3

Hiei nodded as he pocketed whatever request had been sent, genuinely not caring enough to open it in the moment. "What do you want to eat, Aki?"

The other raised a brow, "I just had breakfast about an hour ago."

Hiei opened his mouth to say something, but the front door of the establishment opened and Tarou's laughter disrupted the early-morning silence, and Hiei turned to raise a brow at the demon who was not usually so…not-hungover in the mornings.

He steered Akari to the table, one arm around her shoulders and both hands holding coffee cups. "Look who I kidnapped for the day!"

Akihiko sighed next to Hiei and grumbled something about 'morning people' under his breath.

"Yo! Aki!" Tarou extended one of the two cups in the second's direction as he crossed the establishment. "I bought you coffee."

"Don't let him lie to you, Chisai bought it," Akari told him from under the weapons master's arm, holding a couple of cups herself. "Hey, sparky, here."

Hiei blinked at the cups suddenly under his nose, then up at Akari. "Sparky?"

"Yeah, you. These are for you and Shikiyoku. I didn't know if you would be up and around, or if you'd even like it, but I figured it would be nice to have something other than alcohol and water this morning." *

The red-haired wind kitsune only looked up when Shikiyoku moved over to touch his shoulder, and he passed the drink he'd been working on over to one of the few demons left in the bar.

"Go home, Kaze." Her lips twitched a little.

His gaze dropped almost immediately to the rather prominent fox-shaped marking on full display this morning, Shikiyoku's choice of emerald-green strapless blouse not only being more risqué than the kitsune was used to seeing on her, but also rather calculating a choice as far as he could assess.

His eyes lingered on more than just the Hirui stone necklace at her chest and she only gave him a raised eyebrow and a small, knowing smile in return.

There would be little mistaking the image he'd seen rise to the surface of her skin that day Kurama the Youko came into the bar last. She even had her hair pulled over the opposite side of her neck in a low ponytail as if to emphasize it.

"You finally gave in, eh, Za Joie?"

His toothy grin was especially telling.

"Me? What gives you the idea I'm the one who gave in?" She only raised an eyebrow at him at first.

"Well, he's certainly given the rest of us hope, that's for sure."

"Indeed. Go home before I do something about that smart mouth of yours."

"It can be sweet too, Za Joie, if you'd just let me show you." His eyes glimmered in that very calculating kitsune manner.

"I already have one fox in my life, Kaze," She said, dismissing him as she turned to start to make her check on the inventory, "I hardly think I need entangle with another. Besides, you ought to know just how possessive your kind can be. Do you really think he'd let you just sweep me off my feet?" 3

Hiei raised a brow at Akari, not immediately taking the beverages.

"Thank you for the coffee," Aki took the one Tarou offered and turned to sit right in his chair, leaning into the table. "So, he 'stole you away,' hm?" He looked up at the dog demon with a raised brow.

She shrugged. "I only went in for my own drink. I don't have a machine at home yet."

Hiei took one of the two cups from her finally, still frowning at her. "Tarou."

"Yeah, boss."

"About a couple of swords-"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Akari sidestepped as Tarou all but threw himself into the chair next to Hiei, smiling to herself that the fire demon still gave her looks. Apparent he would not be going to the bar anytime soon, the dog demoness took it upon herself to shuffle the rest of the way through the establishment until she sat in a stool in front of Shikiyoku, not listening to the conversation and instead simply waiting.

She looked at the wall of bottles behind Shikiyoku at first, truly not looking at anything or anyone in particular, but as the one bartender moved away, she finally looked up to smile her greeting at Shikiyoku.

Of course, her eyes drew immediately to the dark lines that formed the fox on her skin as the other turned, and while several emotions tangled in her about it and her understanding of it, she lifted her eyes to Shikiyoku's face and gave the other a genuine smile.

"I brought you coffee." She set the cup down in front of Shikiyoku. "Nabu also wanted me to give you his love." *

Knowing the dog demon moved across the bar for her, Shikiyoku slipped the small notepad in her hand into the front pocket of her apron, trying not to let show that her fingers brushed against another folded slip of paper she could hardly mistake for anything but Hiei's doing, and turned around just as Kaze kissed her cheek and passed her by as he pulled his jacket on over his shoulders.

She gave a little smile to his back even as her awareness focused in on Akari and a few things passed over her senses.

Huffing out a breath, she put her hands on her hips, eyelids hiding her green irises for just a moment when she scoffed and muttered, "Don't bother," with no small amount of irritation before she reached for the coffee and took a sip, nodding her thanks.

It tasted quite good, even if it did nothing particularly useful for her in regards to the caffeine.

She raised an eyebrow in Akari's direction, "Though, 'congratulations' isn't exactly what most demons might say about it. I expect to hear a lot of boo-hooing before they completely drop the subject, but if it works then that damn fox wins the bet and I owe him what I promised." Granted, that just meant her watching over their territory solo while he escorted the guild to the entrance of the Third Level, which was no small task, but still. "I can't get through a single day's work around here without some punk-ass low-life thinking he's got a chance and as much as I'd love to see Hiei split each and every one of their tongues for it, I figured out a long time ago asking him would mean he'd never get anything done either, there were so many."

Another sip and Shikiyoku gave Akari an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, cupcake. I don't usually get so worked up about it, but I've been dealing with it almost since I opened the place and I guess I'd just as soon everyone leave me alone about it. I look forward to this working." She pointed in Akari's direction with one of the fingers wrapped around the cup in her hand and narrowed her eyes playfully at the other, "But if you so much as breathe to Kurama I said as much, I'll have your hide."

Naturally, she'd protested as much as she had to Kurama's face because she DID think it would work and what better way to get the fox to try and persuade her, after all. But he had no need to know of that. 3

Shikiyoku's abrupt 'don't bother' didn't really make sense to her at first, but as the other went on, Akari realized the other had known as soon as she had she meant to congratulate her on the marking.

Her lips twitched into a smile, not really disagreeing about her 'congratulations' being out of the norm for most demons, though she only shifted around to lean against the bar to listen as Shikiyoku revealed her trouble and subsequent solution to said trouble.

It wasn't until the threat to skin her that Akari finally responded. She lifted her hands from the bar, palms skyward, and gave a nonchalant shrug. "I have no reason to tell him anything." She leaned her elbows against the bar again, ignoring her quieting emotions and the little relief that settled within her. "It's more fun I can finally say I know something he doesn't."

She crossed one ankle over the other. "It's convincing enough. I'm sure you'll be able to work in peace after today, tomorrow at the latest. Word about that will spread fast."

~!**!~

"What'ya mean a couple of swords? Katana? Butterfly swords? Ya gotta be more specific, boss, I've got a lot of weapons."

Hiei raised a brow. "Have I ever used a sword other than a katana in front of you?"

"No, but you've never dual-wielded either."

"They're just temporary, until Gai and I get a new one made."

"Alright then, if you insist." Tarou leaned his chair back on two legs and held both hands up over his shoulders, where a couple of golden crests formed on the air. From the center of the intricate knotwork in the spellwork, a sword each slowly slid from the sigil, neither in a sheathe and both at different lengths.

And both seemingly too long for Hiei.

"These are the shortest I have, boss."

Hiei stood from his chair and took the blades from Tarou, balancing them in his hands and testing their weight. "Good quality."

"One of 'em I stole from a Lord."

"You what?" Aki growled.

"Relax, it was from way before I met you guys and started working with the guild. It isn't like the guy lived to tell the tale. And even if he had, it isn't like we'd ever work for 'im. He was on the Sixth." *

~!**!~

Shikiyoku glanced down at the mark as Akari spoke of its convincing nature.

I'm out of my goddamn mind. I can't decide if having it is more or less humiliating when people know versus when they don't.

"Well, in either case, it'll last longer than just a couple of days, so I'm sure everyone will get the point long before I take pains to make sure no one ever notices it's missing."

She gave Akari a sidelong glance as she put the coffee down and bent to check a few things below the counter.

"I wouldn't go blabbing about knowing something he doesn't, if I were you. Best case scenario he thinks you're lying and still comes after me because I'm the only one who'd have been able to tell you." 3

"Of course not," she responded with a smile. "I learned a long time ago some things are best kept to myself." She sniffed. "Especially around foxes."

Akari lapsed into silence for a few moments, glancing over her shoulder to watch Hiei swinging a couple of swords, presumably testing their length. She didn't miss he glanced in Shikiyoku's direction as he came to a pause, and he didn't miss her noticing either.

She raised a brow at him before he could turn to talk to Tarou.

"So, if this isn't something you're willing to answer, I completely understand and will drop it, but…" She turned to watch Shikiyoku again, fighting a smile. "How did Hiei react? When he saw it, I mean."

~!**!~

"You almost could make those work."

"You sound surprised."

"Well… yeah. They were made specifically for someone of normal height, Boss."

Hiei pinned Tarou with a stare. "I'm borrowing both of them."

He only shrugged. "Alright. Not like I have any sentimental attachment to them."

"You said they're both from the same guy?" Akihiko asked after a prolonged silence.

"No, I said I stole them from a Lord. Not that they belonged to him."

"So, you stole stolen pieces?"

"Yes."

Akihiko looked him up and down. "Alright then." *

~!**!~

"Well, stick with me, kid, and you'll learn all sorts of things that fox wished he knew. Withholding information from him is but one of my many talents. I take a particular sort of joy in letting him think he has the upper hand."

"I guess that must have been what possessed me to hire two of my own." Shikiyoku grumbled fondly over Akari's commentary as she rummaged around below for a moment. "I'm just used to having kitsune around to keep me on my toes, and they're definitely the only ones of the canines up for the task." She paused. "No offense. Most animists aren't very devious in general, it's not just your kind. Animal instincts tend to override all that unless they're Kitsune or Tanuki. Or a Ten. And even then they can still be just as possessive as the rest of you. As the rest of us. It tends to be a trait we have in common, I suppose."

She stood back up but kept bent over the station and working at something, apparently oblivious to the look Hiei sent her direction.

"Hiei?" She repeated absently, and then shrugged, "He's the one who agreed to it in the first place. Kurama's not dumb enough to approach me about something this severe without covering his bases, and I sure as hell wouldn't commit to something so drastic without my Consort's approval." Something of a smile danced across her features. "Kurama isn't stuck with me." 3

If Akari still had her tail, it would have been wagging a thousand miles an hour.

As it was, she could only smile a little wider and listen more intently, curiosity about the things Shiki withheld from Kurama for her own amusement.

"No offense taken," she said with a wave of her hand. "You're absolutely right." As Shikiyoku went on to answer her question about Hiei, the word 'Consort' caught her attention, being that she didn't quite understand the connotation with their relationship.

Kurama asked Hiei for permission?

That thought alone was funny to her.

"You know, I never have understood your relationship with Hiei, even back when Hiei was running around with Yusuke and the others. What I know of a Consort is usually in palace settings." She paused. "But y'know, he's changed a lot since then. He'd have killed me for even considering calling him 'sparky' back then, and I don't blame him." She grinned to herself. *

Shikiyoku looked up and blinked at Akari.

"You didn't know he was my Champion? Or even what that was?" Shikiyoku flashed her a smile, "How long have you been living under that rock, hm?" She did let out a little sigh, "It's as much my fault as anything on that count, I guess. I should have had a marking from him back in those days and I completely botched the pact, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me most people weren't aware of our relationship, but it always does."

"Consort's...the same and also different than the palace setting you suggest, but-" She gave Akari a curious look, "I'm not really sure why a demon who doesn't already know would care to know." 3

Akari shrugged, "I knew he was… tied to you? But I didn't think to question how or why, if I'm honest. I was just along for the ride because I had to be after that business with Sensui."

She suddenly realized just how long she'd been among humans, and how so very little she truly did know about the world, especially the one of demons.

I am so very close to human.

At the look Shikiyoku gave, Akari shrugged again. "Because I live under a rock? Always have. It wasn't until recently I gained the ability to move around as I pleased, and even still I just sort of settled into something that caught my attention."

A bitter smile fought its way to her features. "I wasn't exactly groomed to be knowledgeable." Her smile faded and she thought about her time with humans versus her time with demons. "There's so many things in the world I don't know, that I have no idea where to begin. So I started with coffee and baking." *

"Well, I'm not really sure I ever actually knew how you ended up with Sensui. Something to do with the Black Black Club, I'd imagine." Shikiyoku glanced up at the other to see if she was right. "It sounds like you weren't terribly fond of your pack before then, though. Or in any case, you weren't too eager to return once Koenma had you on his leash." 3

Akari nodded.

"The Black Black Club… I honestly don't know how long I was there? Before Sensui showed up and unearthed the whole operation. And then I was on his leash for at least a decade before Yusuke came along."

She tilted her head to one side.

"The pack was… Hm." How do I put this? "A lot. And once I was no longer around, I realized how little I wanted to do with it all." She let out a breath. "I only returned to the pack after they searched me out." A sort of regret, or perhaps it was sadness, briefly touched her core. It ruined such a great day, too.

She blinked her thought away and raised a brow at Shikiyoku.

"Easiest way to put it is they were all very similar to the dog demon who was in here however many days ago that was." A grin blossomed across her face. "Not gonna lie, I really enjoyed you seeing him out." *

Shikiyoku eyed Akari not for the first time since the other approached, saying with a certainty that lended itself to the presumption that she knew well enough to assert, "I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but you're very well adjusted for someone who spent time among the club's number. Scenes like I am sure you witnessed would be enough to drive a lesser demon to complete madness."

Another tiny huff of air from the shorter woman, "Yes, well, if that had turned out like I'd hoped, the message would have been made more abundantly clear. As it was, I had to satisfy myself with escorting him while he could still stand on his own two feet instead of being allowed the great pleasure of watching him writhe on the floor in agony." 3

Akari opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again as she remembered going home with Tarou after losing it in this very establishment. After a beat, she shrugged, having no response for her about her 'well-adjusted' state. "It makes living among humans very interesting, that's for sure. Though, I honestly don't think I could live among demons either, I've become so much like a human."

She almost laughed, "And to say he deserved it would be far too understated. I don't think I've ever seen so many demons stand to back one person so fast before that moment. And Hiei's laugh was great, which I assume has something to do with how the guy was not, in fact, writhing on the floor in agony." *

Shikiyoku's lips twitched, "Yes, well. There has been a lot of effort by many hands put into making this something of a sanctuary for our own kind away from the prying eyes of those who might be not quite so ingratiated by our presence. It stands to reason those who take comfort within its hallowed walls would seek to defend it from unsavory types. Even against one of our own, no less."

As to the other, Shikiyoku briefly scratched at her cheek with a finger where there had been a bruise a week ago as her eyes moved askance, "Ah, indeed. If he had been a genuine threat like I'd assumed he would be, my plan would have worked. As it stands, only my Consort knew the humor behind such a happenstance when I could only take his blow to the face and mesmer him to follow me." 3

"He never really seemed to be a real threat," she agreed. "I've seen a few alphas, and he certainly didn't seem like the usual type." She shrugged.

"I've been wondering… what made you think of a bar? I mean, it's great, but I certainly wouldn't have thought a bar would be a 'sanctuary' had I not stepped foot in here myself." She looked around at the walls, as if they might give her some answers. "And the drink-sending is creative." *

"You weren't familiar with the language of booze?" Shikiyoku raised her eyebrow at Akari. "I suppose I should stop being surprised, but it's practically our native tongue. Some demons can hardly string full sentences together, but they know a message when they're sent one."

"As for the bar, that answer is simple enough. Everything I knew when I started I picked up watching a strange old demon while away his waking hours behind a bartop on the Ninth. Nowhere else can quite compare to the Niiro Kaga, but I've done what I can." 3

"That's pretty awesome," she replied after a moment, referring to both the 'language of booze' and the bar Shikiyoku had spent time in. Though, for some reason, Akari found herself unsurprised to know the bar she preferred was on the Ninth.

"Well, I just want you to know I like it here. Sometimes I forget I'm not a human, since I've spent…" she thought back for a moment, attempting to quantify her life, "...probably half of my life among them? Maybe not quite so much, but in any case, the only interaction I get with demonkind happens in these walls."

…

"Except for the occasional visit from Tarou or the others in my shop, of course." *

Another look from Shikiyoku, "Well, you still smell of demon at any rate. I love 'em, but I can never quite get that wet sheep sort of scent humans seem to have out of my nose."

Shikiyoku smiled a somewhat secretive sort of smile, "I think if you took a second glance, you'd realize you get quite a few demonic patrons passing through. The caffeine doesn't do much for us, but there's still something of an appeal to most. Granted, if you wished, you could have all the interaction you wanted. You'd only have to stay open all hours to do it." 3

Akari actually laughed this time. "Y'know, I got so used to their smell there for a while I didn't notice it, and then Kurama showed up and smelled like his usual rose and forest scent and now I can't unnotice it again."

At the mention of turning into a 24-hour shop, a sort of internal conflict boomed and she found herself staring at Shikiyoku as she considered the thought. A part of her didn't like the idea at all, if only because she hadn't originally intended to serve the demonic populace. Or rather, she hadn't expected to.

On the other hand, it could mean more profits, and she already had one demon on staff she could balance the workload with. She didn't think it would be difficult, per se. Just different.

"So, I tossed a thought in Kurama's direction… what was it, last week? When we were all in his meadow?" She honestly didn't know what day it was, she'd been so caught up in work lately. "I haven't followed up on it yet, but I've been musing over the thought of working with him to engineer a coffee bean that has enough caffeine demons could drink it for the effects, as well as for flavor." She leaned her elbow onto the bartop and rested her chin in her hand. "The only thing I can think to offer him in return is a cut of those profits, which doesn't seem quite so...meaningful when you take into account how much he already has." Her lips twitched a little.

She wouldn't mind keeping an overnight hour for demons if they had their own brew too. *

Shikiyoku nodded, "If anyone could do as much, it's probably him. Do not doubt the power of profits, however. If he can come up with something, he'll also find a way to enterprise it, I'm sure. I would not doubt he's already come up with several ways, in fact.

"However, there are certainly other options if you wish to endear yourself to him. He works just as readily under the rules of goods and services as he does with the abstract concept of profit. I think you'd find the choice in this particular endeavour would be yours in regards to how you approach it with him." 3

She hadn't thought about the possibility of him already running with the idea, though now that Shikiyoku had mentioned it, Akari realized she would likely be more surprised if he hadn't already decided to at least play with it.

Though, at the mention of having the choice between swapping favors instead of giving profits, her lips tilted into a more wry smile.

"Ah yes, I've always wanted to sign my soul away to a kitsune through the exchange of goods and services. I imagine it would be quite thrilling, owing the most powerful fox demon in all the levels a few favors in exchange for my request." She grinned. "I already owe one powerful entity for the wonderful upgrade for my shop, what's one more?" *

Shikiyoku steadied a long look at the dog demon before her, the barest of smirks just insinuating at one side of her lips, and she kept that gaze zeroed onto Akari's face for several beats after the other finished speaking before finally turning back down to her work.

"If you wanted to interact with him in the demonic currency of favors, I am certain you would find him most agreeable. I, on the other hand, find it equally interesting those were the terms you jumped to, when I had in fact been only referring to the human practice of exchanging, for example, coffee beans for pastries." Her eyes flickered upwards, "Perhaps you are not quite as in touch with your humanity as you first insinuated, cupcake."

Relenting her previous stare, Shikiyoku went on.

"As for a 'powerful entity,' I must confess to my knowledge there has not been a single exchange between the two of us that resulted in such a demonic agreement as favors." She looked up again, this time her gaze gleaming a little golden as if with the color of greed like a dragon might covet, "If you wish to engage in such a contract with me, you would, however, find me similarly affable to the notion. I am, after all, well-known among humans and demons alike for being able to provide whatever it is your heart desires." 3

The stare that leveled on Akari almost made her flinch back in her chair, though she didn't quite understand her own reaction at first. As Shikiyoku went on to call her out for jumping to such an idea, she only stared back at Shikiyoku, sitting up straight in her chair and her expression turning quickly blank as an internal battle raged once more.

She might have argued she didn't mean it if not for the fact she wasn't quite so sure that was the truth.

After a beat, she seemed to return to herself and she shifted in her chair a little, her lips twitching up into a small smile again.

Why would I even consider musing on such thoughts and feelings when the one he's obviously wanting is you?

She opened her mouth to say something about her ability to get whatever she so desired - the things I want are either so simple it would be a waste of time to ask you for them or so outlandish it would be dumb of me to even consider asking it of you - but Hiei was suddenly moving behind Shikiyoku, reaching for a tray and some glasses from her station.

As he reached below, he brushed his arm against hers as if to let her know he was there, and when he stood upright to grab a bottle, he kissed her on the cheek before moving on with what he'd been doing, taking the tray of empty glasses and the bottle with him to the table where he rejoined Akihiko, Tarou, and now Raion and Chisai.

And all the while, Akari watched Shikiyoku's reaction, curious. *

Hiei's sudden approach beside her had Shikiyoku's dragonic glitter fading away as she blinked over at him in surprise of him suddenly being there, having not known he was even nearby until he left the usual sort of gleaming trail he always did when he touched her.

Intending to ask after what he needed, she dismissed him after that when he helped himself, paying little attention to his movements, but when he came back and kissed her cheek, the unexpected affection drew her eyes his way again and her brows twitched over her features like she might frown, feeling briefly the kaleidoscope of sparkles that rippled across her face and left her slightly pink and staring back down at whatever she had been doing. 3

As Akari watched the interaction unfold in front of her, she took mental note to thank Hiei later for his interruption.

And as she noticed the color blooming across Shikiyoku's face, soft and hardly noticeable if she hadn't been looking for it, the canine demon let her own stare settle on the other in a similar fashion to the stare she'd been given not moments before.

And how exactly do you explain that, hm? *

In the next breath, Shikiyoku's ears almost twitched as she listened to Hiei moving out across the floor and she watched him for just a moment before returning to the project at her fingertips.

After a beat or two of Akari's stare, her gaze flicked up to meet it and for once the demon behind the bar almost looked wistful as she let out a puff of air from her nose and couldn't quite smile as she murmured quietly and pushed her glasses farther up her nose, "I'm not trying to fool myself." 3

Shikiyoku's words had Akari deflating entirely, a sort of resignation suddenly falling over her shoulders as she leaned her elbow against the bar again. For a moment, a very brief second, she considered changing the subject to get away from the fact that she was now facing the things she'd been ignoring or brushing off for so long.

Instead, she let out a sigh that held all of the acknowledgement she hadn't allowed herself to have about the subject, taking with it her will, or perhaps her ability, to fight with herself about it any longer.

"You're far more brave than I am." How long had she been telling herself no, she didn't mean it? Her eyes fell to the wood of the bar, though not truly seeing it. "I've been running from it for a while."

Was it at Yomi's where she'd begun to fight herself about it? Or before?

"How do you deal with it?" *

Shikiyoku turned to start removing dishes from the dishwasher when it beeped quietly at her, setting them within reaching distance and beginning to wipe them down with a cloth so they wouldn't have any water marks before she stacked them with the others.

"There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity, cupcake." She replied off-hand as she otherwise left Akari to her thoughts.

The question sent something of a pulse across her core and she meant to look up at Hiei again, but kept her eyes on the glass and cloth in her hands.

"Every aching moment." She finally said, barely above a whisper and wishing she had a different answer for the dog demon, but having found none. 3

Well, that's no help, Akari thought at the last. Make me face it and then say something like that.

She glanced over her shoulder at Hiei drinking, sitting with his guild members. Oblivious. Clueless.

She turned to watch Shikiyoku work, all at once glad to have been able to sit in front of her station and talk with her like this for the first time, even if she wasn't sure she wanted the emotions swirling in her chest. "So, how long?" *

Another huff as if she might laugh.

"I didn't say that was how you should deal with it. My circumstances are...somewhat unique, let's call it. To say the least." I suppose I'm not exactly living up to my position as helpful bartender, but neither are you asking.

Shikiyoku continued quietly drying the glasses.

"How long have I been aching? Is that what you wish to know? For most of his life. Long before I had any right to. Long before I should have. There is no bravery to be had here on this side of the bar, I am, quite simply, exceptionally stupid." 3

Akari might have argued, but she almost thought she related to the last half of the last sentiment. She glanced back at Hiei again, contemplating the demon who sat with his back to the line of bar stations and his actions she'd seen since her first step into the bar.

At least he can be coached. Her lips twitched.

She turned back to Shikiyoku again. "I imagine it's quite complicated with that one." Being so...uneducated and all.

She stared at the wall of bottles behind Shikiyoku for a moment, her eyes glazed over, unseeing as she mused over a few things.

"You think he has already started on stronger coffee beans already?" *

Shikiyoku was torn between rubbing at the bridge of her nose and saying 'complicated doesn't begin to describe it,' and shrugging for 'there's nothing complicated about it.'

"Didn't say complicated. It's really rather simple. I made a choice a while back in regards to something forbidden to our kind and I've spent my life since then reaping the consequences." Now she shrugged. "I probably deserve it. I've done some pretty nasty things in my time, even for a demon."

"Mm. When did you say you asked him? A week ago? I'm sure he's thought about it plenty, but he probably hasn't put anything into practice yet. He's been busy."

Busy recovering, if nothing else. 3

Akari's gaze refocused on the wall of bottles and she turned her gaze back to Shikiyoku, considering the other for a few beats.

She wondered if Shikiyoku would believe her should she say something about the looks Hiei had given her.

"You never did answer my question about the Consort thing. Is it related to the…" she frowned, realizing she didn't know about this particular subject either, "...your relationship before." The hand she didn't rest her chin in waved around nebulously. "Before this, and before the war." *

Shikiyoku's brows twitched with thoughts at assessing just how much Akari might know, or care to know.

"There was a...most call it a 'job,' Hiei qualified for many years ago, back when Spirit World held claim to his fate, and the position is widely known as 'Champion.' My understanding is that over the greater course of time it had come to be revered as one of the highest rankings a demon could achieve in their lifetime, though I honestly couldn't tell you exactly how that was decided." It was always possible her First Champion spread the statement himself, regardless of actual truth to it.

"Most simply put, it is in fact only a position of protection, no matter what the rumors say. A binding contract initiated through pure instinct between my kind and one capable of providing such protection. I believe you are aware now of the fact that I had something of a disconnect, a schism, within myself when we first met? The Toriko side of me invoked the power of said contract with Hiei and he unknowingly agreed to take up a mantle I was incapable of explaining to him, so our contract, while sealed, remained imperfect. That is the relationship of which you speak that came, as you put it 'before.'" Shikiyoku smiled at her. 3

Akari listened intently to the explanation provided to her, thinking about how she had seen Hiei and her around at the very beginning of her time with the Spirit Detective group. At the time she genuinely hadn't cared about what the relationship had been called, though she couldn't say after the whole Otento incident, she hadn't at least considered digging into it.

After a few moments of pause, Akari nodded her understanding, though the whole 'contract' thing she didn't really fully understand. That, however, didn't seem quite so important as the rest of it, as Hiei's involvement of choosing to become her protector.

"That's pretty interesting, honestly. I don't think I knew he genuinely was 'connected' to you by form of job? Though I admit at the time, I didn't care enough to look for details." She gave a wry smile. "I hadn't wanted to get too involved with the group, truthfully." *

"My memories of that time remain somewhat fuzzy, though I'm more aware of them now that I am whole: I believe when you first met him, he was not my Champion. It was...certainly by the time I had become kidnapped when you all came to my rescue and faced my double we had been bound, but off of the top of my head I do not remember if you had seen him before that moment when we were, and even if you did, likely not in quite so drastic a predicament as what you were faced with."

She let out a breath of a sigh, "Had we been properly contracted, many things would have been different in those days, including that encounter in particular." 3

"Well, it seems you've definitely had a positive influence on him since those days," she commented with a little smile. "I didn't think he'd be the way he is now." She almost laughed. "His stare is far less intimidating, and he didn't threaten to kill me when I called him 'sparky'." *

Shikiyoku laughed, "I think that depends on your definition of positive, then. An intimidating stare and willingness to commit murder are most certainly requirements of being my Champion." She still smiled at the thought and did not hide her amusement, "Lucky, then, that Consort does not have quite so strict prerequisites as the contract prior."

She eyed Akari for a moment, gauging the continuation of the conversation, "You are...aware? Of my title as Kuraku? Or no?" 3

"Well, I have no doubt he's still willing to commit murder, if only for different reasons than what I used to know.

"I think I've heard the term used around the bar a time or two?" She thought about the word, her lips moving with her silent repeating of it. "If I have, it isn't often, and I don't know what it means." Her smile turned sheepish. "I live under a rock still." *

Shikiyoku nodded, though it was not condescending.

"You might know the word itself, and it is in that definition I now reside: pleasure and pain. I-" Her gaze shifted over to the side of her work briefly before returning, "Similarly, I am considered a demon of duality myself, having been born as one and embracing the other. The title came to me while on the Ninth in more recent years and it is, like its contradicting definition, both revered and despised. More often spat in awe than spoke with the remotest respect." The edges of her lips twitched a little, "If Imiko, the Forbidden Child, born with what they call diluted blood, is seen as lower than dirt, then I, who willingly sought after my foil, am not remotely worthy to be the scum on his shoes." 3

Akari scoffed.

"Well, I disagree." She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head, a few points in her shoulders and back popping before she let her arms fall again. "Becoming a person who utilizes both is a point of strength, and those who think otherwise would probably do best to avoid you anyway. I don't imagine they'd like the results if they happened to end up on either of your bad sides." She already knew well enough Hiei was powerful on his own. Give him Ice, and she was sure he'd be nigh unstoppable once he had control.

And she thought much the same of Shikiyoku, despite not quite knowing the depths of her power. *

Shikiyoku tilted her head back and forth once or twice to indicate she didn't necessarily agree with the assessment, but could see how it might be made.

"Most would say that by embracing both, you vastly weaken yourself and will never remotely live up to the potential you might have had pursuing only one or the other. This is partially why they view Hiei so poorly, particularly Elementalists, and why an Imiko rarely gets a second glance, and one of disdain at best. They see me as worse because I chose it." She shook her head, "The title means less here among those on the First as they do not understand its meaning, though this is most often how they address me. Lower down, it is not the case. My presence tends to incite revulsion if they are aware of me. I have been afforded more leeway as this form you see is not well-known outside of the Ninth, where they recognize me on scent alone."

"My kind are inherently incapable of killing another with our demonic energy. As I understand it, Champion contracts are enacted to provide us with a means of protection: where our energy would easily ensnare, and cannot spurn others, a Champion can see to it such snares, whether intentional or circumstantial, are broken. With this new duality came certain consequences. While I am now capable of protecting myself-and can no longer invoke a Champion contract as a result-if forced from this or the other form you saw into my second, I cannot escape it without the express desire of a Consort. In my case: Hiei." 3

That's… a lot.

A lot of information, and a lot of puzzle pieces to help fill in a picture that had, until this moment, seemed unable to be whole. Though, as Shikiyoku wrapped with the end of the Consort description, she realized Hiei's presence alongside Shikiyoku made much more sense.

It might have afforded her the ability to see how Hiei had changed from the demon he once was to the demon he seemed to be now, though.

And it definitely helped her to understand a lot of things that happened in the past, too.

She left the conversation about dual energies alone.

"That whole Otento business makes sense, now that I know this," she admitted finally. She did almost say something about her surprise at Hiei being the one chosen for those jobs, given Shikiyoku and Kurama's relationship and history, but she decided not to press on that particular subject, if only because she didn't want to pry too much. "...and Hiei's reaction the last time I was here makes much more sense."

She'd already asked a lot of questions, and she didn't want to overstep.

Akari glanced around at the establishment, still quiet with the early-morning hour, "I really do enjoy your bar. It's a great break from my usual work-home routine." *

Shikiyoku nodded at the mention of the purple-eyed demon's name. His marking permanently etched on her face meant there was not a shift into her pain form that went by without him coming to mind, along with Kitoushi.

"Otento had been a pain whose death was long coming, a poorly enacted plan when I still lived on the Ninth in which my second Champion realized too late our error when the bastard proved much too strong to kill at the time, and while we escaped, his pursuit of me was unrelenting to the very end."

Another nod, and a faint smile danced across Shikiyoku's features, "Ah, yes. I think we were both surprised to find the punch actually landed. I felt it coming, but did not expect it to be allowed to follow-through."

The coffee Akari brought to her was nearly gone, and Shikiyoku took one of the last sips as the other took a moment to look around.

"I am glad to hear it. You are not alone in your decision to try and live peacefully among the humans; there are many patrons who are attempting the same. These walls are a reprieve for some of them. A sanctuary where there are now so few in existence for us on the level. Not everyone has had as easy a time of it as you." 3

"I don't doubt it," came her instant reply. She knew intimately how cruel humans could be to those who were not like them, and she counted herself fortunate to look similar enough to them she normally went unnoticed. "Not so many are able to 'blend in,' and usually for reasons they themselves cannot change, even if they wanted to."

The turn of the conversation reminded her again of the demon-made coffee she was wanting to achieve and, in turn, the possibility of her shop being open all hours. Her establishment was most certainly open to demons, though she wondered if it might somehow be somewhat similar to the bar for that specific clientele, if she did decide to follow through with it.

"If I were to open my shop overnight for demons, assuming there would be enough traffic to warrant it, what would you suggest for staffing? I certainly can work all night, as could Ryouta if I asked, but I have no idea how I'd go about finding other demons for such a job." She made a face. "Because if I do end up with a demon-strength brew, I don't think I would want to really and truly serve it during the daytime hours anyway, since I'm sure the bean would be much too potent for their hearts if served in any sort of quantity..."

Not to mention the fact that she wondered how she would keep her human staff from adhering to any rules she put in place about serving it during the day, if she chose to go that route. *

"Anything but kitsune." Shikiyoku promptly replied in regards to staffing. "Their personalities tend to clash with the sort of workplaces you and I run, and you have to keep them on a tight leash or you'll often find them to be much more trouble than they're worth."

Shikiyoku looked thoughtful, "If you're asking for advice, I always have plenty of ideas. It would likely behoove you to remain in sight during the day for the humans' benefit and let your raven take over the establishment at night. His presence will be more than enough to keep the rowdiest of customers in line, even if they don't understand why, and I think you'd find the foot traffic to be well worth the effort of remaining open. A vast majority of demons tend to make themselves scarce during the day, but come crawling from the woodwork at night. What you see here are usually the ones who work during the day and it might surprise you to find I don't service even a quarter of those who have attempted to remain, as nighttime is their prime time to be out and about, and they see the day as too dangerous for them to visit. Especially in well-established human territories like this city where very little has changed from how it was before the merging. There were many displaced from their homes, as I'm sure you remember." 3

Akari almost had a comment about one kitsune being more than enough in her life, but she only smiled and nodded as the other went on, listening intently to the advice and information being given with no small amount of interest.

At the last, she found herself regarding Shikiyoku thoughtfully, wondering if her own establishment might be able to afford a similar sense of security to any would-be customers during late hours of the night, and if she truly wanted to commit to it.

She couldn't rightfully say she disliked the idea, and if asked, she would admit it would make sense to go ahead with it, especially when considering her adventure into the specialized coffee.

She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, playing with the curl as she worked it over.

"What advice do you have for finding demons who would work in my shop?" she finally asked. "As it stands, I imagine Ryouta would be more equipped and adept at finding potential employees than I would, and quite frankly, I can't keep relying on him to do the actual work for me." Her lips stretched into a wry smile. "He thinks I haven't noticed, but I definitely owe him quite a bit." *