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.

168. Episode 252

Rinku, for one, found himself mirroring Shikiyoku's slightly eyebrow-raised look at the cocky smile that suddenly spread across Hiei's lips.

Like Chu, Shishiwakamaru, and Suzuki-all of whom spent most of their time elsewhere and not on the first level-Rinku was at least aware such a position could only be held by someone of great power, and it wasn't so much that Hiei was occupying it that surprised any of them, but just how content he seemed to be with being...well...owned for lack of better word.

It wasn't a state the teenage demon thought he'd ever see the fire demon in, much less enjoy.

He had to admit that it wasn't just the physical changes about the other that surprised him. That stare didn't hold nearly as much ire as it used to, and like many of the others when the fire demon entered the room earlier, he had even felt comfortable exchanging extraneous greetings with Hiei, double taking after the fact when he realized the fire demon had looked so unlike himself and felt so approachable that Rinku hadn't even second-guessed the pending interaction.

"Well, fuck me dead." Chu finally replied as the glow began to fade, "How long you had 'em?" 3

Chu's explicit exclamation made both Hiei and Akari blink and take a second look at the demon, and after a brief moment of the pair meeting gazes, Akari couldn't help the little smile.

"Sound like anyone you know?"

Hiei, briefly musing on the similarities between this demon and a certain weapons master back home, gave a brief look over Chu before his head tilted slightly in Shikiyoku's direction, considering the question asked.

"They became permanent just before Mukuro summoned us for the War of the Three Kings." He lifted his drink halfway to his lips, "But they started forming long before then." He took a drink of his beverage as he contemplated how long he'd had the first marking, and if he even really knew the moment it first appeared on his chest. *

The fading of the glow from Hiei's markings was just as indicative of Shikiyoku's idle mind than anything else as she reached for her nearly empty drink on the table in front of her.

On the one side of the table, Shizuru had been in conversation with Jin and Touya about the refugee work Genkai had been equally as involved in, and such talk became more interspersed with questions from the others about how the school of the shinobi was doing. Meanwhile, Yusuke was reminiscing with his side of the table about the harsh-if effective-training methods the "old bag" liked to employ, and from there the conversations continued rippling back and forth across the attendees with various interjections about personal lives.

Eventually, Shikiyoku gave Hiei's hand a discrete squeeze-her glass sitting empty now on the table-and she loosened her grip to let it go.

(I need a breath of fresh air.) There were a lot of people and a lot of smoke hanging about from cigars and cigarettes.

Drawing her presence in closer to herself, Shikiyoku unfolded her legs and stood up from the table with the intent to draw no attention to how she walked for the door of the room they hadn't entered through and slid it back just far enough to slip out into the night before closing it back.

Immediately, it was quieter. Here in the middle of this area of the compound was something more like a meditation space, open to the sky and surrounded on all four sides by walls, doors, and walkways one could easily see the other side of.

Shikiyoku silently made her way across a small path weaving through the middle of it, moonlight reflecting off a koi pond opposite her beneath a small bridge she stopped in the middle of and leaned into the railing to watch the water as a bamboo fountain made its titular, reflective 'tock' noise on the stones nearby. 3

Hiei did not mind when the glow faded from his marks and the attention he had been receiving similarly faded, turning to other subjects of discussion and other people. It left him able to enjoy his drink and simply sit next to Shikiyoku, who he had quietly been keeping tabs on within their shared bond in case there was a moment when things became 'too much'.

And just as he'd become able to notice with Akihiko, the fire demon found the very moment that Shikiyoku decided to quietly make her exit even before she physically moved to do so.

Her telling him as such in the bond was met with quiet understanding, and he squeezed her hand back in reassurance before she retreated from him and the room.

He waited for about ten seconds after the door closed behind her - his eyes glancing at it every so often - before he turned further inward. With the implication of it being only himself, Hiei let the bond translate his offer of companionship: (Do you want company?)

Even before he received an answer, he was up on his feet, his and Shikiyoku's empty glasses in his hands and moving first to refill his own before deciding where to go next. *

(Your company is always welcome.) 3

A quick glance up and around the room told him that he could slip out of the door unnoticed if he was quick enough, save for Yukina who had glanced in his direction briefly when he'd gotten up before turning back to her conversation with the others.

So he filled Shikiyoku's glass and followed her path out the same door, his feet simply moving on instinct until he was standing next to Shikiyoku and extending one of the two glasses he held in her direction.

(If you want it, I still have something to give back to you.) *

~!**!~

Chu turned back to Hiei like only a demon who is drunk can, finger raised in mid-thought-process regarding something about Mukuro and the War, only to lower his hand slightly and blink at the empty space Hiei had been occupying across from him until...recently? Frankly, Chu hadn't the faintest idea when the other got up.

Instead the hand slammed down on the table accompanied by the other, which until this moment had been slung across the back of Botan's shoulders.

"Ahl'right. Somebody spill. What 'appened to that bloke?"

"I believe he went outside." Kurama replied calmly.

"No, no," Chu dismissed him with a hand, "I mean: 'oo is that and wot has he done with Hiei?"

~!**!~

(Oh. Sure. Thank you.) Shikiyoku absently took the proffered drink and leaned that elbow back onto the bridge with the other one, holding the glass between her two hands and staring down at it now as she took another deep breath of the air. 3

Hiei relinquished the drink and watched Shiki as she leaned against the railing, knowing instantly that she did not quite pick up his meaning regarding what he wished to return to her.

He eyed her for a moment as he stood facing her, slowly leaning to the side until his elbow came to rest against the same railing she leaned on, his drink in that hand as it rested along the wooden structure. He crossed one foot over the other and finally leaned his side into the bridge, settling where he stood for the moment.

He turned his eyes from her to watch the fish in the pond below them, contemplating her state of mind and general being and simply letting himself feel her energy reserves, not having forgotten the mark that was on her skin.

(How do you feel? Physically, I mean.)

~!**!~

Akari set down her refreshed spiked coffee and lowered herself to sit in her spot once more, her legs crossed under the table. Once she was comfortable, she leaned across the way and set a drink in front of Kurama - her silent return of his making her first two for her.

She settled back into place and had her mug half raised to her lips when Chu's hands slammed onto the table, and at his question regarding 'who' Hiei was and 'what' he'd done with the original, she pointedly kept her gaze away from the other and lifted her mug to her lips.

It may have hidden the smile on her lips, but it really did nothing for the crinkling next to her eyes and the gleam in her irises as no one in the room seemed willing, or maybe even able, to supply an answer. *

"I hadn't realized I was talking to him before I was already talking to him." Rinku supplied with something like a shrug.

Several of the others provided similar points of contact.

"He's never been so...approachable." Shishi grimaced at even using the word in association with the other.

"It's cuz he's shackin' up with that sheila, ain't it?" He slapped the table, "I knew it. I called it, didn't I? Told a'yah." He pointed at the various other members of the table who had been with him at Yomi's, after which he looked up and around again as if trying to figure out which direction the pair of them went.

~!**!~

(I'm fine.) Shikiyoku put her drink in her other hand and reached over to run her hand up and down his side in reassurance, turning to give him a little smile. (I'm not usually quite so involved with people anymore, so today was just a lot, and that room is just a lot. You didn't have to come with me.) 3

Hiei nodded in agreement with her assessment of it being 'a lot', having felt similarly for the brief moments here and there when so many people at once had their full attention on him, despite their attempts to be discreet about it.

Her smile and the contact she initiated to reassure him did soothe the part of him that had been quietly worrying, quietly debating if he should just snatch her up and take her to the nearest room to rest unbothered.

(I wanted to,) he told her, the sentiment of his company coupled with his simple enjoyment of her presence.

After a few beats, he found himself again wishing to kiss her - something she hadn't understood the first time he'd intended it and instead took the drink from him - and he lifted his eyes to her face again.

(If you're okay with it, I'd like to give you that kiss back now.)

~!**!~

The sentiments going around the room regarding the fire demon were definitely relatable, Akari able to fully understand what they meant about Hiei suddenly being so approachable, and all the weird realizations that came after that.

She'd definitely had similar thoughts after her first conversation with him in the bar, though it hadn't been until much later that she had reflected on those conversations.

She took another sip of her drink, half contemplating adding her own observations to the conversation if only because she'd been so quiet for so long, only for Chu's commentary on Hiei's "shacking up" with Shikiyoku to completely catch her off guard, and to keep from spitting it back into her mug or choking on it, Akari had to hold the liquid in her mouth and slowly exhale through her nose before she felt safe to swallow her drink and turn slightly away from the center of the table.

She did not want Chu to see her expression of complete and utter amusement at his assessment, and she even more so wanted to avoid any prodding he might have regarding any information she so obviously had on the fire demon and was not sharing.

He wishes he was 'shacking up' with her. *

The only other person at the table with the same sort of amusement on their face as Akari's at Chu's assessment was Kurama. But frankly, the rest of them in the room wouldn't have had as keen of senses as the animalists and without an intentional sniff or two might assume that, yes, Hiei and Shiki were...an item.

Yusuke did raise an eyebrow, however, as one of the other few in the room more aware of the relationship between the two, but was left blinking as Chu had suddenly scrambled to his feet and made for the door he deduced Hiei had snuck out of, resisting throwing it open and instead trying to get a sneaky look of the inner courtyard.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku blinked as Hiei's admittance filtered between their bond and she turned to face him more fully, pushing herself up onto her elbow to better mirror how he leaned against the railing next to her.

(Is that so?) She raised an eyebrow at him, eyes all but gleaming behind the glasses he'd replaced earlier. (Are you sure?) 3

As Shikiyoku turned to face him, Hiei lifted his glass to his mouth and took a sip from his beverage, his eyes watching her from over the rim of his glass. As she settled into a similar pose to his own, he watched her with keen interest as if her answer was the most important thing in the world to him at that moment.

He took another drink, acting as if he contemplated her question carefully.

Slowly, Hiei returned his elbow and the drink to resting on the bridge's railing.

A small glimmer danced in his gaze, "Would hearing the request aloud make it more believable?"

~!**!~

Akari lowered her mug to the table and finally turned to watch the rest of the group, her eyes following Chu as he managed to get himself standing and 'tiptoed' - as well as any demon who'd had too much to drink could - to the door.

A part of her really wanted to pull him back to his seat; if Shikiyoku and Hiei were having a private moment of any sort, he would need all the chances he could get.

But as someone who did not want to have any attention on herself, she simply stayed put, choosing to remain a spectator. *

Chu stuck one eye between the slit in the door that he pulled an inch or two from the frame, spying after a moment of adjusting to the darkness outside two darker shapes standing facing one another on the bridge across the courtyard.

"Well, shit look'a this!" Chu leaned back far enough to make an inviting gesticulation to the rest of the room before pressing his face to the opening again.

~!**!~

In the darkness, it was easier to make out the moment the glimmers of energy started gleaming into the air around her, winking in and out around her hair like so much starlight as her scalp began buzzing under the look Hiei gave her over his glass.

"I somehow doubt it." She replied, feeling the bits of energy curling down the hair he'd braided over her shoulder before she left the bar earlier. "But if it's more gratifying for you to say it that way, far be it from me to tell you I wouldn't enjoy hearing it." (Since I know it is the truth.) 3

Hiei did not miss the sparkles that burst to life around them, though his eyes never did leave hers.

The bond rang with the truth of her observation regarding his own honesty within their connection, and in the next second he sensed his own amusement and general sensation of 'want' slip from his side to hers within their shared mental space.

"Since there's no refusal on your part, then I'll return what you've given," he murmured as he released his glass so that it remained undisturbed on the railing - or so he thought - and he reached with both hands to first take her face in the palms of his hands as he leaned over her.

As he pressed his lips against hers, the relief - from what, he didn't know - and satisfaction he felt in the contact filled the bond, as if this moment made him the happiest he'd been all day.

~!**!~

Akari was not surprised when several of the others in the room scrambled to join Tarou - uh, Chu - at the door, leaving only a handful of people at the table.

Akari's eyes passed over Keiko, Yusuke, Kurama, and then landed on Yukina, and for a moment she saw the ice maiden let out a small sigh as she too watched the demons at the door press themselves in various positions to get a glimpse through the crack at whatever was going on outside. *

The heads lined up at the crack in the sliding door as Chu gestured for them to join him and after a moment where it seemed like they were holding their breath trying to hear the words being said, and Keiko starting laughing on the one side of the room as she watched Botan scramble up to join them. The brown-haired woman made some comment about not realizing there were so many romantics in the room, Yusuke countering with something about voyeurism and demons.

Kurama unfolded himself from his pillow to join them.

"Not even a closet romantic, then, Akari?"

~!**!~

Shikiyoku rose to meet him when she saw him stepping closer, her own drink forgotten on the railing as both of her hands found his waist and pulled him closer as if he needed any encouragement.

His hands stirred more energy at her face, sending it shimmering across her features as she took back what she'd given him earlier. 3

Hiei didn't necessarily need the encouragement - from Shikiyoku's pulling at him physically or her energy tugging at his senses - but it definitely served to guide him into deepening the kiss and stepping just about as close as he could get to Shiki in that moment.

~!**!~

If Akari had had her canine ears on her head, others in the room would have realized that she wasn't truly keeping to herself as much as she wanted them to think. Even before Kurama stood to join the others, she had turned the majority of her attention to listening for things outside, occasionally hearing snippets of conversation too quiet to make out over the shuffling of the people inside the room.

She hadn't realized her eyes were following the redhead until he addressed her and she returned to the room, her sight focusing on him and a small, knowing smile lifting one corner of her lips.

"He'll tell me later," she responded, her tone just barely above a murmur so that anyone not listening for her response would never know she even spoke. She did not miss the self-satisfied smile he wore, and for a brief moment, her eyes gleamed and that knowing smile stretched just a little.

And in the distance, she heard this odd plooop sound somewhere in the direction she had heard the voices coming from, and she just as quickly checked out of the conversation in the room to listen instead to the happenings outside. *

They had stopped talking. That much was obvious.

But it was dark and all they could see was what they thought was Hiei's back, and then when that strange noise reverberated into the growing silence-

Chu slid the door open just enough to slip his lanky frame out onto the porch, despite the mostly silent protests of the bodies around him-some not wanting him to ruin the moment, some getting stepped on in the interim, and others giggling and starting to follow-and made his way around the outside of the courtyard as quietly as he could manage.

Though once he got close enough to see the strange warping of the air around Hiei, even if originating from the demon in his grasp, Chu leaned forward from where he'd wrapped an arm around one of the supporting pillars as he chucked the bottle in his other hand at Hiei's back amidst various sudden noises from the other demons and yelled, "GET A ROOM YOU TWO!" 3

Akari had her suspicions of what was going on outside the door and, finally deciding to 'give them space' as it were, had just begun to bring herself back into the room when she heard the door slide open further, and her attention instead shifted to Chu as he not-so-quietly 'tiptoed' his way to the courtyard.

"Chu, come back."

"What are you doing?"

Several other hushed whispers followed the demon braving the dark, and then giggles followed as a few people decided to take their chances and trail after Chu outside.

Then Akari heard the thwack of something solid hitting flesh, and Chu's shout, and then just as soon as Chu's words were out of his mouth, Hiei's voice:

"That's fucking rude!"

She pulled her lips into her mouth to keep from laughing - half feeling bad that his moment was so obviously interrupted and he was not happy about it, and half amused that he hadn't sensed the 'attack' coming.

~!**!~

The fire demon reacted much faster this time than the last time something slammed into his back, and without a second thought, Hiei pulled away from the kiss with Shiki and threw a glare over his left shoulder.

There was more force in his voice than perhaps he truly intended, but in that moment he almost felt himself flare off a few sparks as he yelled without regard to whoever may be listening or watching, "That's fucking rude!"

Only then did he really see the perpetrator, who most definitely was not the same person who had done that in the bar just the day before, and his glare darkened just a touch as he thought of more than a few curses he most definitely wanted to at least mumble at the other.

Instead, he turned back to Shikiyoku and gave her another brief kiss, ignoring the jeers and the catcalls and - (I haven't had enough to drink to deal with these people.) - his left hand searched for the glass he had left on the railing of the bridge.

When he didn't immediately find it, he broke away from Shikiyoku again and turned to see that his glass was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn't quite sure what had happened to it.

So he turned his gaze back to Shikiyoku and let out a small breath. (This happens too often.) *

When Hiei didn't make to move from their spot, Shikiyoku stayed put, only continuing to shift her fingers and thumb back and forth over the skin beneath his shirt near his waist where her left hand had somehow ended up.

She for one didn't really care about the others watching them, vaguely aware of the infighting occurring, where finally Suzuki and Rinku were working on dragging Chu back to the other room amidst laughter and the non-help of others like Kurama and Botan who were still, now in full view, standing outside.

Shikiyoku reached for her drink on the railing and handed it to him after humming pleasantly when he kissed her again anyway.

(This isn't exactly a private space.) She replied, reminding him in that moment how the bar hadn't been a particularly private place either. The thought of Tarou and Chu having the same idea for them was tinged with amusement. 3

He accepted the glass that Shikiyoku passed and took a loooong drink from it, until he lowered the now-empty glass to his side where he held it by the rim.

At her response, Hiei nodded his head this way and that, conceding to her point and acknowledging that, yeah, ok I made that decision, and that maybe he'd kind of...probably… overreacted. Just a little.

He only pulled his right hand away from her face long enough to lean over and pick up the empty bottle that had been thrown at him, and a tinge of disappointment filtered through the bond at its lack of contents.

He propped it under his left arm and reached with his right to play with a few strands of her hair that remained loose from the braid he had tied the night before.

(Then where is our room?) *

(I did ask if you were sure.) Shikiyoku's lips twitched. (But I am not one to dissuade you.) She let her hand leave him when he shifted, dropping it back to her side and leaning her elbow on the railing next to them, resting her cheek in her hand and looking tired again, though she gave him a small smile when his touch at her hair sent more energy into the air.

(You don't have to share a room with me, you know. There's plenty of them.) Her shoes and duffle bag were still at the entrance to the designated "party" room and she briefly considered going to gather them. 3

The moment gone and past, Hiei let his eyes follow the little glimmers that came to life as he lightly played with her hair, aware even without looking at her that she had become aware of her tiredness once more.

At her mention of him not needing to share a room, the fire demon simply leaned forward and kissed her cheek in reassurance. (I don't do things because I feel I 'have to'. I do things because I want to.)

He stood upright again and gave her a brief 'wait here' before he turned and took off for their shoes and bag, only just remembering she had packed a bag and guessing it had clothes she would prefer to change into for sleeping in it.

He popped into the room long enough to set the empty bottle and glass down at his spot at the table, and then was gone just as fast without even looking at anyone else in the room.

If they saw him, it would have been for the briefest of moments.

When he appeared in front of Shiki again, he was holding her shoes in his right hand, and their bag rested over his shoulder so that when he held his left hand out for her to take, it did not fall.

(If you want me to, I don't mind carrying you. I know you're tired.) *

Shikiyoku blinked slowly at his kiss, shimmers of energy sparkling over her cheek as she felt him leave and come back before she could do much more than gather herself into standing.

When he reappeared with shoes and bag, the phrase echoed through her mind again:

I do things because I want to.

She let out a silent breath from her nose.

(Well, I needed you to hold something for me.) She pointedly took his hand and started to lead him further along into the grounds. (I can walk.) 3

At her mention of needing him to hold something for her, he glanced at her shoes and the bag he carried and - in the moment just before her hand touched his - he wondered if he'd forgotten something. But the moment her hand landed in his, he curled his fingers around her hand and let her lead the way, understanding and appreciation at her fun response permeating the bond between them briefly before his adoration of her overrode all other emotions and thoughts.

~!**!~

Once it became clear that Shikiyoku and Hiei were leaving the immediate area and going elsewhere - probably as far from this group as they could get - the others had filtered back into the room and took their seats again.

For a while, chatter regarding Chu's interruption of what had been going on outside was the main topic of choice - some admonishing and some laughing at the situation as a whole - until, finally, the conversation naturally turned back to the reason they had all gathered.

Stories were passed around the table with drinks, and, after enough drinks had been had that she felt she had the energy to do so, Akari even chimed in with her own story pertaining to her time working with Genkai when the Lost Ones first became an issue among the layers.

The only indication of how much time had passed for the dog demon was the number of empty bottles growing, and the volume of the room going ever higher.

Even still, she stayed and found herself glad to have not missed this opportunity to see the group again.

Keiko was the first to tap out, at some point standing and, after a quick 'good night' to Yusuke, she left the room and made her way to wherever it was she would be sleeping for the night.

Akari passed one last drink in Kurama's direction - having noticed that he'd continued to slide her drinks on occasion if she seemed to put off getting more herself - and she finished her own beverage just as Yukina quietly stood from where she sat and dusted herself off.

Akari set her empty glass down and unfolded her legs. She pushed herself to stand and, after a brief stretch, circled around behind Shishiwakamaru, Botan, and Chu.

"Yukina," she called the ice maiden's name as she grew closer, not wanting to yell over the group, "do you mind if I go with you? I'm not sure where the guest rooms are."

Yukina smiled, "Of course. This way."

As she turned to leave, Akari took an extra moment to go back the direction she had come and she came to a pause on Kurama's right just long enough to pat him twice on his shoulder - thank you for the drinks. *

"You do realize I accept such invitations." Kurama murmured to her quietly as he rose beneath the hand at his shoulder before it completely removed itself. 3

Akari half turned away and almost didn't realize Kurama had spoken before she felt him shift under her hand. She blinked down at him as he shifted and got so far as to half-standing before her brain finally registered what he'd said.

Before he could rise any further, she pushed him back to sitting with the hand that had still rested on his shoulder, and she even lingered for a moment longer once he was sitting to more firmly get the silent 'no thank you' across, unable to really form any words to verbally turn down such advances.

Because internally, she screamed. *

"You would do well to keep that in mind, pup." He hid his smile behind his glass, but remained in his seat. 3

Confident that he would not get up, Akari pulled her hand from his shoulder and let out a small breath.

"Noted," she finally managed to respond, fully aware that she hadn't been able to really give him a more firm - or even a verbal - 'no', and she very quickly turned to follow Yukina out the door and toward a bedroom, glad for the escape.

I... am not... nearly drunk enough for that... today.

~!**!~

Once Shikiyoku had all but collapsed onto the mat and settled, Hiei had laid down next to her and pulled her as close as he could. He waited until she fell asleep before he too, finally, drifted off into a dreamless slumber.

He hadn't the faintest idea what time of day it was when he did open his eyes again, and there definitely was a little fog in his brain from the previous night's drinks. He laid quietly in the room, letting his eyes rest even as his mind became more and more aware of where he was and who he was with and where they were.

After a few hours of simply resting, his eyes came open again and he turned his head so that he could watch Shikiyoku, her chest rising and falling with her rhythmic breathing as she caught up on the sleep she had missed out on.

After a few minutes of watching her, he became aware of the hand she rested over his core, her head resting on his shoulder, and where she lay against him even as he rested on his back.

He turned his head to kiss her in the middle of her hair, appreciating the contact with her and realizing, once again, that he had craved the contact more than he'd even realized.

"Being touch starved is a thing," he remembered Akari saying, and in this moment he finally understood what she meant.

He curled his right arm up behind Shikiyoku's back until his hand came to rest on her upper arm, his thumb tracing patterns against her. He watched his thumb for a while, small sparkles coming to life around that area, before he remembered the mark on her neck and collarbone and he turned his eyes to observe it for the moment.

Only then did he remember Kurama's pointing at the tattoo's face, indicating a specific spot that Hiei had apparently kissed to garner the very specific reaction he'd received from Shikiyoku that morning.

And he also remembered how much he'd enjoyed it.

On impulse and without a thought in the world, Hiei kissed the top of Shikiyoku's head again, then her forehead, her nose, her cheek, and continued on that path to her lips until he pressed featherlight kisses in various places on her neck, up to and including the face of the fox tattoo. *

Shikiyoku hadn't even bothered changing clothes the night previously, her and Hiei working together on pulling the bedding out of the closet and arranging the mattress and blankets together only to collapse on top of them without even bothering to change and gratefully being scooped into Hiei's arms when he joined her.

As Hiei turned towards her and began kissing her that morning, Shikiyoku shifted against him, hand at his core starting to move back and forth over his skin and down his side as the other which had been trapped between them while he was on his back slipped up to his neck.

Not even awake yet, his name murmured past her lips as she started to shift herself beneath him.

~!**!~

Kita made his way down the hall, knowing the others were up very late-and some of them still up from the night before-with a tray in his hands holding coffee and breakfast, and made a stop at the door Yukina had told him was Akari's, knocking gently on it and calling her name before going inside to offer her the tray. 3

Akari rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets higher up over her shoulder, sleep beginning to fade away from her and bring her to waking. As she settled again, she became aware of the mattress under her, and how it wasn't as comfortable as the one she typically lay on.

She stretched lengthwise, a small groan slipping from her lips as she finally opened her eyes and let herself wake up.

She had only just began to sit up when a knock and a voice calling her name sounded on the other side of the door, and while she did not recognize the voice, she did recognize that one of her shadows had been anchored to the body of that person.

She rubbed at her eyes as a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy stepped into the room, a tray of food in hand, and after a moment, she remembered a child who had looked very similar to this boy many years ago, and a sleepy smile touched her features.

"Kita, you've grown!" She looked him up and down, completely forgetting he carried a tray in his hands. "A lot."

~!**!~

In the moment, Hiei simply let his impulses direct him from one kiss to another. As he rolled to his side to better reach the right side of her neck, he let himself experience the little poofs of energy that flittered to life around him, warm and inviting and tempting him to come closer, to let it in.

He hadn't truly been tempted to invite her energy into his system like this in a while, and while a sort of curiosity bubbled about what would happen if he did, he instead decided to turn his full attention to the feeling of his lips on Shikiyoku's skin, and the strange tickling of her energy bursting to life with each smooch he placed along her neck and down to places he had touched previously - her shoulder, her cheek, her jaw.

And even when he realized she had said his name even in her sleep, he wondered if that happened every time. *

Blinking now and almost feeling as if she were half-dreaming, Shikiyoku's core continued fluttering and pulsing within her chest at Hiei's attentions, her cheeks starting to flush with her power, sending energy into the room around her curling about Hiei's body even as it fizzed through her veins while he kept sending glimmers sparkling across her skin.

The second time she said his name, it was much more coherent as she blinked again and her vision started to clear and realize he was above her, completely unsure how she ended up in this situation and quite frankly-laying in the midst of her energy-realizing she didn't mind it in the slightest.

It happened, then, that this time when the door to their room was thrown open and a couple of smaller bodies tackled into the pair with shouts of "Kiki!" that it was Shikiyoku's turn to express with irritation how she felt (This happens too often.)

~!**!~

As Kita stepped forward with the tray to kneel down at her mattress-side, a broad smile on his face, the token red-head stuck his head in the door, "Akari? Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company. There's talk of sparring today, in celebration of Genkai. Keiko wants to know if you'd like to sit with her." 3

Akari shifted in place and pulled her legs up to cross in front of her, eyeing Kita and wondering how many years it had been since she had actually seen the boy, realizing on some level that she had lost contact with him for quite a while during her time in Yomi's, and everything that followed.

She opened her mouth to say something as Kita situated himself nearby with his breakfast, but Kurama's voice caught her attention and she turned to see him just poking his head inside the open doorway.

She almost made a face as she remembered her accidental suggestion the night before, but quickly pushed the thought out of her mind as he rolled into talk of sparring and Keiko's invitation to watch.

She nodded in his direction, "Yeah, of course. I'd be more than happy to watch with her and anyone else who decides to join us."

~!**!~

In the midst of her energy as he was, able to keep himself from 'accepting' its influence due to his own curiosities and enjoyment of the moment, Hiei found his hand seeking her skin just under her shirt at her waist, and he had just pressed his lips to hers when he heard the rattle of the sliding door just as someone's hands touched it, and before he could even react, he found himself being slammed into by smaller bodies, and it was all he could do to let himself be knocked over, recognizing on some level that these bodies were small and most definitely fragile.

He shuffled himself to sitting up, crossing his legs in front of himself and firmly planting his hands on the floor between his thighs as the children who had run into him turned their attentions to 'Kiki'.

He had to blink a few times to clear his thoughts and separate himself from the bond ever so slightly, if only to separate himself from his own wants and desires revolving around the person who complained at him.

On any normal day, he might have said something snarky in agreement.

In this moment, however, Hiei could hardly manage a short (I miss privacy) in the bond as he gathered his wits about him and finally forced himself to focus on the little children in the room.

It took him about a minute before he was able to clear the fog from his eyes and brain, and only then did he become more present in the room.

(...'Kiki'?) *

(Should have figured out a way to lock the door.) Shikiyoku replied to Hiei's commentary about privacy as she sat up and the pair of kids tumbled around the both of them, talking quickly and one of them with a definite lisp, but her name certainly being repeated with excitement.

Upon having a brain cell to see them, they were quite small, and very young.

(They have difficulty with my name. Most of them have taken to that version because of it.) Both 'they' and 'them' were in reference to more than just these two bolder ones who had interrupted them.

The bond was still tinged with the emotions of his near-entanglement with her, including the chagrin of being interrupted, though they were beginning to fade. The desire to reach out to him, touch him, filtered across their connection even as her attention turned to the little ones.

~!**!~

Yusuke passed Kurama and gave him a solid slap on the back in greeting as the fox stepped more into the doorway to give him room to pass.

For Kurama's part, he sent Akari a wink at the slightest flinch of her features and the origin of it which he could most certainly guess at.

Yusuke stuck his head inside with a grin and a "Yah comin'?" before he continued on down the hallway to Shikiyoku and Hiei's room to extend the offer to Hiei to participate.

For his part, Kita seemed slightly irritated, but still offered the food and drink to Akari if she made to leave. 3

Akari pointedly ignored the wink Kurama sent her way, as well as any emotions that distracted her from the actual conversation going on around her.

Yusuke's quick in-and-out extension of Kurama's original invitation had Akari finally moving to stand. "Oh, you meant now," she said with a small laugh as she pushed the blankets from her lap and uncrossed her legs.

She thought nothing of stretching in place - her arms over her head and her body rocking forward until she stood on her tiptoes before she dropped back onto her feet again - and she unceremoniously pulled her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head in an attempt to hide the fact that she'd literally be just rolling out of bed and joining the others.

She glanced down at herself briefly and decided that the gray sweatpants and black t-shirt she had changed into to sleep in wouldn't look out of place in the dojo, and that she definitely would not mind the comfort of this outfit instead of changing into the pair of jeans she had brought along.

And as she moved as if to pass Kita, she paused with the intent to wave him along with her so that they might chat while he ate breakfast, only to blink at the tray that he raised up in her direction.

Oh no.

"I didn't realize that you brought that for me, Kita! Thank you," she relinquished it from his hands and gave him a soft, grateful smile. "You didn't have to, but I appreciate that you did." She gave a slight tilt of her head toward the door, indicating she would not mind him coming along if he so desired.

~!**!~

Hiei sat unnaturally still as the children bounced from Shikiyoku to him, and then back to Shikiyoku in animated excitement, though he definitely heard nothing of the words coming from their mouths.

Shikiyoku's mentioning of locking the door had his eyes trailing to the sliding door, though he did not immediately see a way to lock it, and resolved himself to find a way at some other time.

Because even as he sat silently trying to gather his wits about himself, the bond continued to feed him Shikiyoku's not-so-quiet sentiments about wanting more of what had been interrupted, and the fire demon had to withdraw even further from the bond to save his sanity.

He closed his eyes briefly, and it wasn't until one of the two demon kids bumped into him and pulled at his pants leg that Hiei opened his eyes again.

He finally moved, breaking from his statuesque posture and reaching a hand out to the child in a silent question of what is it?

The little one babbled nonsense at him, gestured at Shikiyoku, then turned to scramble his way up into Shikiyoku's lap, where he turned to watch Hiei with a curiosity that gleamed in his eyes.

The fire demon let out a breath and forced the tension at his shoulders to lighten, and after a few moments of shaking himself of his tension, he finally let himself turn to look at Shikiyoku, the smallest hint of a smile just teasing the edges of his lips. "They certainly seem excited that you're back."

Though, when she'd been here last, he didn't know. *

Shikiyoku was absently moving the child's hair about their head from where they sat in her lap even as the other stood up and wrapped arms around her neck, trapping the disheveled braid of her hair against her.

"I don't get to visit, and usually I'm on rescue, not delivery." Her energy was still prominently hanging in the air around her, sparkles shifting about, and her eyes were gleaming unfettered by her usual glasses.

Yusuke stuck his head in the door, guessing at the situation somewhat quickly-or at least part of it-and gave Hiei a nod.

"There's gonna be sparring at the dojo, if you wanna join?"

Resolved that she wasn't going to get another moment alone with Hiei, Shikiyoku would let the kids pull her out the door after him if he followed Yusuke.

~!**!~

Kita tried not to let out a sigh, only glancing down at Akari as she took the tray in her hands.

"Of course. Don't mention it." He stepped out into the hallway with a smile, looking left and right, but seeing nothing of the fox who had apparently been on his tail moments before. 3

Akari let Kita go ahead of her, hanging back long enough to eye the breakfast on the tray in her hands before she let out a small yawn and trailed after the others.

She slid the door to her room shut with an elbow, her eyes landing on Yusuke in front of a door a little ways down the hall, and just as she heard her door meet the doorframe, Yusuke took a step away from the room and turned to lead whoever was inside to the dojo.

Hiei stepped out of that room next, shirtless and more than a little disheveled - perhaps even a little grumpy if she was reading the slight narrowing of his eyes correctly - and she might have turned to continue on her way if not for the fact that Shikiyoku also came from that room, though fully clothed and accompanied by children.

She blinked a few times as she tried processing this new information.

After a couple of seconds, she managed to turn and follow Yusuke down the hall, fighting the urge to glance back over her shoulder.

~!**!~

Rescue?

Hiei opened his mouth to ask what she meant when Yusuke's face appeared in the doorway, and he turned to nod almost immediately in agreement to joining the sparring session.

He definitely could use the outlet for the frustration.

He was on his feet in the next moment and, despite his wanting to reach out and offer to help Shiki from the floor, he took his first steps toward the door, fully aware that he wouldn't want to let go of her once he had her again.

He did glance back over his shoulder at her though once he was in the hallway, watching as she took the kids' hands and led them from the room.

(Remind me to ask you about this later,) he told her, curiosity tinging the bond even with how far he'd pulled himself out of it. *

Once it seemed obvious the pair of them were leaving the room, the children tugged as best they could at Shikiyoku's hands, getting her up off the bedding and dragging her out in the hallway after Hiei, still in her clothing from the night previous and little otherwise done to make her look presentable after the wakeup call. She didn't seem to notice how her energy still floated in the air directly around her, only getting tugged after the kids in a different direction than the others were going.

She acknowledged Hiei's commentary to her in the bond, though his curiosity was met more self-consciously from her side, as if she couldn't fathom why he would be interested or want to know.

Meanwhile, Yusuke and Kita led the way to the dojo towards the back of the compound. The large, roofed building had once been the location of the very first trial Yusuke and Kuwabara undertook as Spirit Detectives, and it looked very much the same, though this time the doors were open and the interior was brightly lit by the afternoon sun. More than a few disciples were gathering around as well as students, all human psychics who had been training at the dojo under Genkai and Shizuru, all of them going inside where there were already a few groups of matches occurring in the corners of the room, spectators spread out around the outside of the mat. There were one or two demons there as well, though they were fairly young, running around with similarly aged children, all wearing the sort of attire that set them apart as in-training, similar outfits as to the disciples and older students.

At one point, Kita dropped back to walk next to Akari as everyone continued filing inside, "It's been a while. How are things for you?"

A sound of excitement and clapping boiled up from the one side of the room as Shizuru threw down a fellow disciple and after a pause bent over to give them a hand up.

Yusuke pointed in that direction, "Looks like they're finishing up. You wanna go on deck with me, Hiei?" 3

Hiei may have been following Yusuke through the compound, but his mind was definitely not in the present moment. Try as he might, he simply could not make his thoughts turn away from his entanglement with Shikiyoku, and that was especially true as he heard echoes of his name murmured from-

Hiei sensed someone's attention turning to him in a way he'd never noticed before, and his eyes snapped from the blank space just over Yusuke's shoulder to the back of the mozaku's head. He raised a brow at Yusuke and, after following his line of sight to see what he meant, the fire demon turned back to Yusuke with a ghost of a smirk on his features.

"Isn't that why we're here?"

He followed the former detective to the specified area, suddenly very glad for the distraction.

~!**!~

As she walked, Akari occasionally picked from the tray she balanced against herself, starting first on the various fruits that had been set apart from the rest of the breakfast.

She swallowed just as Kita fell into step beside her, and as they stepped into the large room, she turned and led him to where she could see Keiko and Yukina already sitting.

"Things have been...interesting," she told Kita after a moment, not sure how to sum up her time since their last visit. "I have a coffee shop now, and find it to be enjoyable and challenging." She shifted the tray from one arm to the other. "What about you? Still training, I see." *

"Uh, eheh, yeah," Kita seemed to rub the back of his neck a little self-consciously, "I, uh...I really took to it. And once everything settled back down and I could go back home no problem, I realized maybe I needed to be here instead." His eyes got a bit further away from their approach of the other two women, "Genkai...went to talk to my parents herself. Said I had a lot of potential." He blinked back to the present, smiling shyly again, "I had actually just started teaching a little myself."

~!**!~

"Alright, you two." As Yusuke approached purposefully with Hiei, Shizuru met them and placed a hand on their shoulders, giving them each a small smile, "Nothing super flashy, alright? I already know it's asking for trouble with that street style of yours." She gave Yusuke a look and he grinned at her, but said nothing, "Hopefully they'll all just call you sloppy and leave me alone about it." She turned to the fire demon, "You okay with a fist fight, then, Hiei? I guess you know what you're getting into." 3

Hiei raised an eyebrow at Shizuru, not entirely sure what she would consider to be 'flashy' in terms of fighting styles. Though, as she turned to Hiei, the fire demon only nodded.

With it being Yusuke, it would only be fist fighting, since the other did not know swords and the building was not built to withstand either of their energies.

~!**!~

Akari's smile widened just a touch as she watched Kita's eyes glaze over briefly, remembering the event he told her of with what was an obvious mix of sadness and some form of happiness at his being able to stay.

At his mention of beginning teaching, her smile widened even further, "That's fantastic! I remember the last time I visited, you had quite a sizeable log over your shoulder, and quite the strength behind your tackle." She laughed a little as she recalled the young boy's excitement at seeing her again.

It seems not much has changed.

"Genkai hasn't ever been wrong where potential is concerned."*

Kita flushed bright red and stammered, "Y-You remember that?"

~!**!~

"I mean, I won't stop you." Shizuru added. "Heaven knows this dimwit can hardly do anything but fist fight. Try not to break shit, yeah?"

"Sure thing, old lady!" Yusuke replied cheerily only to have Shizuru glower at him as he moved to stand where her fight had been going on a minute ago. 3

Hiei's eyes flashed briefly as he considered the thought of 'the only thing breaking will be either of us', but he said nothing and instead turned to stand across from Yusuke on the mat, rolling his shoulders a little.

He realized this would be his first 'fight' since he'd fallen ill to the Infection, and he was suddenly very glad it would not be energy-driven for this particular sparring match.

"Don't go easy just because I was sick, detective," he finally told the other, his earlier grin finally reaching his eyes.

Like old times, hm?

As soon as he thought the other to be ready, Hiei would jump into action with the first punch.

~!**!~

Akari laughed delightedly at Kita's stammering, her laughter quieting after a few moments as she lowered herself to sit next to Keiko and Yukina, who gave their greetings.

"Maybe he won't destroy the place if he's focused on Hiei," she heard Keiko say of Yusuke. *

"Maybe Hiei won't destroy the place if he's focused on Yusuke." Yukina countered as the pair of them made little ceremony of absolutely whaling on one another and Yukina took a calm sip of her tea.

Kita sat down next to Akari, but was still trying to recover from his embarrassment and for the moment was quiet.

"Have you had a chance to ask him about the date?"

Yukina shook her head and Keiko gave a small sigh as she kept both eyes on what of the fight she could see.

"Yusuke told me very little, though apparently Hiei did mention it to him at some point." 3

Akari lifted a cup of coffee to her lips, glad that Kita had included the drink even if demons felt no effects from the caffeine. Her eyes followed Yusuke and Hiei as their spar ensued, neither seeming to be holding back.

She lowered her cup to the tray and glanced over at Yukina and Keiko, interested in the fact that these two also knew a little of Hiei's escapades with Shikiyoku. "He mentioned it to me not that long ago, but I didn't ask for details. He did, however, say he wants to go on another, which is telling enough I think." She popped a berry in her mouth, her eyes never leaving the tattooed demon across the room. *

"I didn't want to pry..." Yukina sighed as if actually hearing the news relieved her, and she smiled a bit, "...he seems really happy." She remembered the expression on his face when she caught him carrying Shikiyoku up to the clearing in the park the night prior and how he'd blushed when she caught his gaze.

Kita raised an eyebrow where he sat on the other side of Akari. Certainly Yukina did not mean right at this very moment, as her brother and the taller detective were exchanging blows to the growing encouragement of the quickly gathering crowd.

"'Didn't want to pry,' she says." Keiko elbowed the koorime with a teasing look, "I know you better than that. You've been absolutely dying to know how it went, just like the rest of us."

Yukina flushed at the edges of her cheeks, but gave an indignant reply, "Wanting to know how it went and not wanting to pry aren't mutually exclusive, I'll have you know."

"Well, I for one don't mind a bit of harmless gossip." Keiko asserted as she leaned a bit closer to Akari, "Did he tell you anything else?" 3

Akari watched Yukina out of the corner of her eyes, curious about what they knew of Hiei's struggles, and yet so very aware that they had just as many details about the date as she herself did.

And as much as she wanted to share details with the people who she was more than certain would be of help for the fire demon, she couldn't quite convince herself that Hiei would be happy with her telling them things he'd opened up to her about only recently.

And she especially didn't want Hiei to withdraw from any of them due to her own divulging of information.

So when Keiko leaned over, Akari had already resolved herself to share only surface-level information, if anything at all.

"To be honest," she wiped the back of her hand against her lips, "what he's told me hasn't been very detailed, and he hasn't shared all that much to begin with." She glanced briefly at Yukina, "It's only recently that I've worked my way into his awareness, and I all but strong-armed my way in."

"I doubt he would have opened up if he didn't really want to," Keiko countered, a small smile on her lips.

Akari shrugged. "From what I know, he's still not very confident in what he's feeling, and really isn't sure where to go from one moment to another. He's been very…" Akari's eyes slid to Hiei again. "...uncertain." She paused for a moment, considering. "...He's very much a demon learning to feel human-like emotions."

~!**!~

Hiei didn't know how long he sparred. He traded blow after blow with Yusuke, his first few hits definitely missing their target as his mind tried to wander elsewhere. However, as time wore on, Hiei found his mind slowly quieting down, slowly retracting away from his earlier frustrations and thoughts and wants and… well, anything else.

His awareness of the room dimmed, leaving him only within the fight with Yusuke.

And the longer it went on, the more aware Hiei became of himself. Each step slowly became heavier, each breath becoming more labored, and even each punch slowly lost its power.

Finally, after what could have been minutes, hours, or even days, Hiei took two extra steps away from Yusuke to break their sparring session, and as soon as Yusuke too fell back - wiping sweat from his brow and standing tall to suck in as much air to his lungs as he could - Hiei let himself all but drop to the floor.

He sat with his legs stretched out in front of him for a few seconds, sucking in air himself, before he let himself fall backward onto his back, his arms stretched on either side of himself. He didn't even bother to wipe the sweat from his face; he simply let it roll across his skin and onto the floor.

In this moment, it was painfully obvious how much he still needed to recover from his days being sick, and a part of him felt the smallest bit of happiness at having an excuse to not go on a guild-related job for a bit longer - and an excuse to spend more time with Shikiyoku.

"Done already, Hiei?"

The fire demon huffed out a raspy laugh, feeling lighter in this moment than he had in days. "Just wait until I recover."

He heard the other chuckle. After a second, Yusuke shuffled closer, and Hiei turned his head to watch the other lower himself to sit criss-cross on the fire demon's right. "It's good to know you're able to be up and around so long, you punk. I was worried the fight wouldn't be fun."

Hiei rolled his head and turned his eyes to the ceiling again. "You've grown delusional, detective."

Yusuke laughed again, but said nothing in response.

Hiei stared at the wood overhead for a while as the pair lapsed into silence, the fire demon enjoying the company of the former detective even as random little thoughts swirled in his head, his mind finally clear enough to process things he otherwise would have ruminated over for far too long. It wasn't until Shizuru - standing on the other side of the room - announced mid-day break for lunch that Hiei finally moved.

He shuffled and pushed himself into a lounging position, and was halfway through working out how to get himself standing before Yusuke's hand dropped into his view. Hiei accepted the offer and, once pulled to his feet, he turned to the former detective and gave a short 'thanks'.

"Hiei?"

The fire demon glanced briefly in Akari's direction, and she met his gaze for the smallest moment before she turned to follow the crowd toward the kitchen.

"I just wanted to let you know that Yukina and Keiko were asking about your date with Shikiyoku...In case you wanted to talk to one or both of them, since it seems they already knew about it beforehand."

He might have thanked her for letting him know if she hadn't just as quickly put up a mental wall between them, effectively ending the conversation. He did, however, understand why she'd mentioned it as soon as he realized Keiko and Yukina were hanging back from the group, obviously waiting for Yusuke and himself to catch up.

"Yusuke, if you don't hurry, there may not be anything left for you," Keiko teased.

"You should be more worried that I'd eat it all before someone else got to it," Yusuke laughed even as he jogged the rest of the way to the woman. He threw his arm across Keiko's shoulders, took two steps, then glanced back over his shoulder at Hiei. "Let me know if you want me to kick your ass some more later, punk."

He only nodded at the other before Yusuke turned and steered Keiko away, the two talking in hushed tones as they followed the group ahead of them. Yukina took a few steps to meet Hiei, then fell in step beside him, then the two walked in companionable silence down the hall. *

"You seem really happy," Yukina said quietly, finally breaking the silence between them when they were left in their own sort of bubble behind the others. She would slow down her steps if he wanted to talk. "I'm glad."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku lay in the midst of the pile of children, all exhausted out of their minds. Running around with them had been tiring in its own right, but every time Shikiyoku closed her eyes she could feel the heat of Hiei's body as if he were still above her, warm lips trailing warmer kisses over skin that literally shimmered at his touch.

She'd left the room without her glasses, and making any sense of her hair when she had the kids about was similarly the furthest thought from her mind, but now as her eyes flew open again as just her thoughts sent her energy tickling at her scalp, she missed the muting of her power.

She would have reached up to rub the bridge of her nose if the arm she meant to move didn't have at least two of the tiny creatures practically attached to it.

She spent the next bit of time extricating herself oh-so-slowly from the pile, trying not to disturb them.

While unaware that others were heading for the mid-day break, Shikiyoku slipped into the kitchen area to grab herself a glass of water, moving quietly back outside to go and sit on the edge of the porch around the courtyard. 3

Despite having hung back to reach out to Hiei as she did, Akari found herself somehow being one of the first people to reach the kitchen. Kita, who had been chatting with her the whole way, excused himself to do a few chores around the compound. As for the others, she wasn't entirely sure where the disciples went, though she figured Shizuru was leading them somewhere to actually sit and eat instead of crowding the kitchens.

She did, however, catch sight of a black-haired figure just slipping out the door when she'd first entered.

After a few beats of deliberating, the dog demon busied herself in the kitchen with grabbing another cup of coffee - whoever kept this going is my favorite person right now - and she put together a quick sandwich.

Just as Keiko and Yusuke were drawing nearer, Akari managed to slip out the same door that she'd seen Shikiyoku slip through, and after a few seconds of glancing around, she decided to actually follow and sit next to Shikiyoku.

She crossed her legs underself and set her coffee down next to her left thigh, then quietly took a bite out of her sandwich, for the moment remaining a silent companion for the other.

~!**!~

Hiei kept his pace slower than his usual strides, glad to be able to visit his twin after so long of not having the chance to even drop by for a quick hello. He enjoyed the cool energy that radiated from her, so opposite his own fiery energy that he couldn't help but notice the atmospheric difference between them.

When Yukina broke the silence, Hiei glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He searched for something in her expression, but only found the gentle happiness she emanated.

He turned his eyes forward, his hands finding his pockets self-consciously. "...I am," he responded after a moment, knowing without a doubt that she not only meant 'in general', but also 'with Shikiyoku'. "A lot's happened since we talked last."

He thought for a moment about the absolute relief he'd felt when she'd told him she loved him, and the absolute joy he'd shared with her when he'd told her the same. Since then, each time he'd told her as such in the bond, he'd felt as if his own truth behind it had grown stronger.

He'd even noticed his wanting of her growing stronger since, though that particular trail had so far left him in this dead-end of sorts, where he never seemed fully satisfied even as he spent more of his time with her than he had in a very long time.

After a beat, he glanced at Yukina again. "What was it like for you, realizing that you loved Kuwabara?" *

"When I-?" Yukina gave a self-conscious sort of chuckle and didn't finish, the edges of her cheeks turning pink.

"Well it...it took me a long time to understand even half the things he meant when he spoke to me. I was...pretty dense about all of that. I knew when I left the village I was searching for something. I thought maybe you would have the answer, but I didn't even know what the question was."

She fell silent for a moment, and then spoke more carefully as if she hadn't put it to words until Hiei asked.

"It was very gradual. I mean, it didn't happen all at once. I don't think I could tell you a specific moment when I knew. A touch here, or a word there. But before I knew it, I was caught up in the middle of something I didn't understand, and at first that was scary. But he's been so good to me. And he never-" She tilted her head to the side, "He never...actually expected anything from me. I think he would have loved me even if I'd never come to understand what exactly that could mean." She gave another soft laugh, "Sometimes I'm still not sure exactly what it means.

"I'm sorry. That's probably not very helpful."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku was so wrapped up in not thinking about anything, that it took her a while to even realize the other had sat down next to her.

Blinking back to the present moment, however, and Shikiyoku gave a little smile down to the glass in her hands.

"The easiest way to make friends-" she began, having felt something of the other's 'desire,' "-is to get the other person to talk about themselves. We spend time with people we like, we learn more about them, and that's all it takes to begin a friendship, really." 3

Akari munched on her sandwich for a while, at first simply enjoying sitting in the shade from the afternoon sun and listening to the birds chirping around the compound. When Akari got about halfway through the sandwich, Shikiyoku broke the silence.

A sort of sheepish smile crept across her face, though her tone when she spoke was definitely one of amusement at herself. "You mean to tell me that forcing my way into someone's life and surroundings doesn't breed friendship?" She reached for her mug of coffee. "My whole life has been a lie."

She took a sip from her coffee, then lowered it to her lap.

~!**!~

Hiei listened as they meandered through a door and down the wooden path around the compound, his eyes pointed forward as Yukina recounted the beginnings of her journey with Kuwabara. As she talked, he found himself relating to a lot of what she said - from 'looking for something' to not even knowing 'a single moment' where she'd come to realize her feelings.

And then she said the one thing that stopped him in his tracks.

"But before I knew it, I was caught up in the middle of something I didn't understand, and at first that was scary."

As she continued on for a few steps more, still talking, he simply stood in place, staring at her. He couldn't help but recall the moments he'd been afraid of losing Shikiyoku - to himself, to someone else, to the world - and how he hadn't known how to handle that emotion. He remembered the very beginning, where Shikiyoku reached for him and he hadn't known how to respond, hadn't known what it meant to be reached for.

He closed his eyes briefly as he remembered the time he'd turned to her with an aggressive 'what does this mean, woman?'

His eyes came open again as Yukina apologized, and the fire demon shook his head at her. "You've answered more than I even knew how to ask." He let out a small breath, then took a few steps forward to catch up.

"He never… actually expected anything from me."

"She is very similar to Kuwabara, in that regard." He took in a breath. "In the times that I've asked her what she wants, she always tells me that she's happy as she is, with what she has." His lips twitched briefly, "Sometimes I think…" he paused, trying to find the words. "There are times when she…" How do I put this?

Hiei let out a semi-frustrated breath, then let go of those thoughts and moved on. "Lately, I've realized she enjoys when we just spend time together - though I'm sure some of that is because I got sick." He glanced at Yukina. "She's teaching me to read and write." *

Yukina hadn't even realized she came to a stop soon after Hiei, only turning part way back to him to continue speaking thoughtfully. And when he told her she answered more than he could have asked, she seemed to relax somewhere around her shoulders.

"I did? Oh, good." She genuinely seemed relieved, and then admitted in a rush that grew faster as she went, "Everyone else just seems to sort of...get it. I've had no idea what's really going on or what to do with all these feelings I started having." Her eyes grew farther away as she sort of stared at the ground without really seeing it, starting to picture the sorts of things she talked about, "I watched Keiko and Yusuke a lot, so I kind of see how- And her and Botan like 'chick flicks?' Shizuru also. And it's so weird because Kuwabara was already doing a lot of those things- But I suddenly felt like I was melting and I don't even really know what that means, but that's what it felt like and-"

In the midst of her speaking, Yukina's cheeks kept growing redder and as she blinked and returned to Hiei's side, it was in the middle of a few flurries that had kicked up around her head, though they settled as her heart seemed to return to its proper place in her body.

She shrugged, at a loss for words other than, "I love him. And he's told me the same."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku immediately raised an eyebrow and replied, "No, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I said." 3

"Oh." Akari glanced at Shikiyoku, then laughed a little. "Well, friend, I have to be honest and say that I've been curious about something all morning." She lifted her mug halfway to her lips, then paused to continue, "How often do you and Hiei share a room? I was honestly surprised this morning when you left from the same room, since I've always perceived him as a very private person who doesn't share with others well."

She pressed the mug to her lips, blinked, then said into it, "Not that that's a bad thing, of course." She sipped at her drink.

~!**!~

As Yukina talked faster and faster, Hiei's eyes caught sight of the very first little snowflake to fall, and then he watched in amazement as one turned to two, then five, then countless snowflakes that fell around her the more she spoke.

A different sort of relief washed over him in that moment: I'm not the only one who does that.

As her eyes came back to the present, the softest smile spread across his lips, understanding all of the emotions she no doubt had been feeling and why the flurry had happened.

Hiei didn't even realize he'd stopped in front of Yukina until she moved to rejoin him again. He nodded at her conclusion as he took a few steps forward again, a weight he hadn't known he'd been carrying suddenly gone.

"I'm glad he makes you happy," he said after a few moments of silence, glad that he'd asked what he did. After a beat, his smile faded and he considered her. "...How are you?" *

Yukina seemed to consider the question for a moment, "You know, it's so strange. Everyone seems to be so worried about it, and I'm not really sure why. It's not that bad. Maybe they think he isn't really coming back. That I'll just be waiting forever. But that's not true." She said it so simply, without the passion anyone with the conviction might have said, but also without the fear that same passion might be hiding.

"I-" She let out a small huff again, "I don't know why- I haven't really told anybody, but- I think he visits me? I dream about him sometimes. And it feels like he's really there."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku let out a breathy laugh at 'friend,' still smiling even when Akari went on.

She figured she had many who would call her as much. She wasn't sure if she would actually give the title to any but the one...

"Ohh," She shook her head a little, "I told him there were plenty, that he didn't have to."

I don't do things because I feel I 'have to'.

There were too many thoughts swirling around actions Hiei had taken over this past week for her to want to dwell on the sentiment their bond had asserted as truth.

"He followed me in anyway." 3

Akari smiled into her mug as Shikiyoku laughed, aware enough that while she called Shikiyoku 'friend', the friendship had yet to actually develop. So, when Shikiyoku did not actually answer the question and instead gave a sort of half-answer, the dog demon considered the other thoughtfully, unsure if she wanted to push for more information or let it be.

Of course, Hiei choosing to be in that room with her of his own accord was telling enough, but…

"Well, I imagine he does so because he wants to. He doesn't seem the type to do something just because he thinks someone else wants him to. Though," she turned forward and tipped her mug up to hide her smile again, "I was surprised to learn you've been sleeping together, even if in the literal sense."

~!**!~

Hiei nodded, a sort of relief settling over him once he was sure Yukina was not feeling anything near what he'd felt when separated from Shikiyoku.

"When I was trapped on the Ninth Level, the only thing that got me through it was the nights when I dreamt of Shikiyoku. I think those became more frequent the closer she came to the Ninth." He turned forward again. "I'm sure his visiting you before departing helped, and I have no doubt that he visits when he is able, since you dream of it." *

"I can't even imagine ten years." Yukina finally said, very quietly, perhaps not even realizing that she took a hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze. Her expression lightened a little, "A single year will be hard enough."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku tried her best not to flinch when Akari voiced the thought that had been floating through her mind about Hiei doing things because he wanted to.

She frowned a little, taking a thoughtful sip from her glass, "I guess we've been doing it for so long I hadn't really thought about how it looked from the outside." 3

Akari shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think it really matters what it looks like to others. As long as you're happy, yknow?"

Of course, they both want more and only one of them knows what that even means.

"Though I will be honest and say I have no idea how you manage it. I don't even like the guy in that way, and-" she shuddered in place as she remembered the look he'd given her in the bar, and how he had absolutely no idea what it meant.

~!**!~

Hiei glanced down at their joined hands briefly before he turned his eyes up to her face again, the slightest twitch happening at one corner of his mouth. "I figured out a lot about myself during that time. I think I am who I am today because of that separation, and her coming to find me."

He squeezed her hand back.

"The reunion will be worth the wait," he finally told her. *

Yukina gave him a soft smile as she let go of his hand to step up towards the kitchen, moving past a couple of other bodies on her search for something to eat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room had suddenly gone quiet, as if in the middle of a conversation their topic had just stumbled within earshot.

Which...he had.

~!**!~

"That's fair." Shikiyoku replied, still frowning a little, "I guess if he cared, he would have said something... I just agree with your assessment about him being more private than most. He...didn't seem bothered by it, so I suppose I've never been either."

For the first time, Shikiyoku actually looked over at Akari and tilted her head a little, giving her an obviously confused, "How I manage what?" 3

Akari shook herself of the mental image of the fire demon she absolutely had no interest in, and took a long drink from her coffee, suddenly thinking it would taste better with alcohol. As she upended the mug and finished the last of it, she listened to Shikiyoku's agreement, followed very quickly by a question that stopped the dog demon.

She slowly lowered her mug to her navel and turned to stare at Shikiyoku, wondering if the other was pulling her leg or actually being serious.

When it became obvious that the other was genuinely not sure what Akari had meant, she let out a small sigh. She thought about what Hiei had said in her apartment, about how he'd told Shikiyoku that he 'had not found anything he disliked yet', and how he'd repeatedly told his companion this information.

That, coupled with the looks on their faces when they'd left their shared room this morning, and Akari wondered how long the other had put up such a wall between herself and her Consort out of self-preservation.

She suddenly wished Tarou was there to talk to about this particular conversation.

Ah, crap. If I push too far, I push too far.

"Well," Akari let out another sigh and began to unfold herself from where she sat, gathering her mug and her half-finished sandwich in one hand so she could push herself to stand with the other, "it seems I wasn't the only one making a fool of myself, hm?" She gave the other a rueful smile before she turned and walked away, following the wooden porch around the building and continuing along the path.

~!**!~

Hiei let go of Yukina and followed her into the kitchen, thinking nothing of the silence as he turned and slid the door closed behind himself. However, when he turned around with the intent to grab a drink, he found himself being stared at by every person in the room except for his twin.

He stalled by the door, not sure what to make of Keiko, Botan, and Shizuru staring at him so openly. The girls made no attempt to hide their stares, and he became very aware of the tension in the room.

His eyes bounced from one face to another, and he realized he'd been in this very position before, back when he'd visited to talk to Yukina about date ideas.

In that moment, he remembered that these three had also given him ideas, though they'd been far more excitable about it than Yukina.

Right. The dog said Keiko also had been asking…

He let out a small breath before he nodded in their direction, "Go on. Ask." *

Keiko's eyes darted over to Shizuru who met her gaze, the two of them aware the attack of the Crusnik had in fact 'interrupted' the date.

Keiko had gotten that much out of Yusuke, at least.

"How did it go?!" Botan blurted out as Yukina turned to realize the other three had him in an almost uncomfortable stare-down.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku stared at Akari with that same expression of confusion as the other got up and walked away from her.

To her knowledge, Shikiyoku felt like she made a fool of herself rather often, she was just so bold about it no one called her out on it or realized how she'd beat herself up about it later.

She has no idea how I sleep next to Hiei? Falling asleep isn't that hard. I mean, I can hardly sleep without him nowadays.

Since he'd gotten sick, she certainly hadn't slept apart from him and even before then, her nightmares didn't allow for much sleep if he wasn't there.

Instead of calling out to her, Shikiyoku just sat there trying to connect dots Akari apparently made, genuinely stumped until she straight-up admitted to herself:

I have no idea what she's talking about. 3

~!**!~

Hiei blinked at Botan as her excitement burst into the room and washed over him, and after a moment he let his head tilt ever so slightly in one direction. "You mean the date." Before any of them could answer, he drew in another breath and continued:

"I enjoyed it, and," he paused for a brief moment, "she seemed to as well. I…" Hiei shifted a little in place, still half considering going back out the door he'd just through, "I struggled a little but she didn't seem to mind when I stumbled.

"I most enjoyed cooking with her, so thank you for that idea." *

Shizuru gave an impressed sort of whistle, "Cooking on the first date? That's a pretty bold move."

Botan just laughed and gave Shizuru a friendly tap on the arm, "Just because you didn't do that on your first date!"

The other fended her off with the hand not holding a cigarette, "Nah, but that kind of thing takes a lot of work! Eating out's easier." It was Shizuru's turn to laugh, "No pressure on you if the food turns out awful. Then you can just commiserate on how terrible the experience was."

"Well, a little struggle is to be expected, in any case." Botan waved a hand dismissively at the thought, "You'd never been on one before!"

Keiko nodded, "You don't even want to know what a disaster Yusuke was on the fifth, much less the first."

"I HEARD THAT!" Yusuke shouted from outside the door, slipping in behind Hiei and scrunching his nose up at Keiko playfully as he put a pile of dishes in the sink and started the water running on the one side, grabbing for the dish soap.

"Am I wrong?"

"No. Still hurts, though."

"The fact that she took whatever stumble you had in stride is pretty impressive, Hiei. She must care a lot about you for it not to matter to her." Shizuru lifted her cigarette to her lips again. 3

Hiei let the group talk amongst themselves as he finally stepped further into the room, searching for a glass and then filling it with water. He listened almost idly, though his mind became preoccupied with wondering if he'd ever asked Shikiyoku if she'd enjoyed the date.

Some part of him felt certain that she'd enjoyed it, and he had a vague notion of having promised her another, though he could not rightly recall when that conversation had occurred, or if it had even been a dream.

He might have said something about having gone out for sweet snow, if not for Shizuru's last comment. He nodded at her in agreement, and for the briefest moment, his eyes glossed over as he recalled the way she'd helped him fix himself - tying his shoes and helping right his vest.

When his eyes came to the room again, he realized just how many people were there with their input on the situation, and for the first time, he thought about how they'd given him ideas and responded without any sort of expectation from him.

Hell, they'd even waited to ask him anything until he'd told them to.

He glanced at Yukina briefly, then at each person in the room, feeling obligated to give just a little more information to the people who had helped him the first time around.

"I plan to ask her on another. I just hadn't been able to plan one since then." *

With a very serious expression on his face, Yusuke pointed a finger gun at Hiei, the hand partially covered in soap suds, "That's fucking cute, dude." He turned back to the dishes, "I always knew you were a little softie. I'm just glad to see you finally embracing it."

Keiko had her head tilted at Hiei and said something about what she'd noticed before, "You should trust your instincts, Hiei. I think you know more about what she enjoys than you think you do." 3

Hiei raised a brow at Yusuke, for a brief moment fighting his initial response about being 'fierce' and not 'cute'. Once the urge passed, he turned his attention to Keiko next, giving her a nod. "I'll remember that."

After a few beats of silence, Hiei turned to make his exit, not quite sure what to do next when Yusuke's voice followed him out the door:

"You still up for round two, Hiei?"

The fire demon glanced over his shoulder, an excited gleam in his eyes. "I'll meet you there."

~!**!~

Akari sat on the edge of the wraparound porch for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, one foot propped up on the wood with that knee up against her abdomen while her left foot hung lazily over its edge. She leaned into her right leg and wrapped her arm around her thigh and shin, her hand falling to rest over the top of her foot as she watched the various critters of the night run about.

She couldn't get over just how peaceful it was out here, or how calm even the breeze seemed to be as it whispered around her. When she looked up to the sky, she wondered how she hadn't ever seen just how full it was of stars and galaxies. Even at the bar, she hadn't been able to see this many stars at once.

She lowered her chin to rest on top of her knee, on some level aware of a door sliding open and then closed again just down the way. She waited, unable to read the energy to know who it was or which way they'd gone. She fully expected whoever it was to continue on their way and leave her in the silence of the night, if they even noticed she was there.

She was surprised, then, when Hiei was the one who silently lowered himself to sit to her right. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him let his legs hang over the edge of the porch and that he leaned to rest back on his hands, lounging casually next to her as if he'd done so a million times before. He breathed a little louder than usual, but otherwise was a quiet presence next to her.

After a few moments of companionable silence, she turned to rest her left cheek on her knee so she could watch Hiei. "Needed to get away, hm?"

"I sparred a little too long with Yusuke. I feel fine, but I was definitely being watched," he told her.

She nodded. "You did just begin recovering from being sick. I'm sure they're worried about you overdoing it."

He made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat, but otherwise said nothing.

The silence stretched on between them for a few minutes more, neither one seeming uncomfortable with the lack of conversation. They simply stayed where they were, each looking at this or that until Hiei broke the silence once more.

"Thank you."

Akari watched a bird fly by. "For?"

"For letting me know about Yukina and Keiko - and for not…"

Akari turned her head to look at him, her cheek coming to rest on her knee. She was suddenly very glad that she'd been as cautious with divulging information as she had been when sitting with the girls earlier that morning. "Of course, Hiei."

"They wanted to know about the date, and it was… interesting… sharing some of that." He shifted a little, and she watched as he scratched his face."I've...never had someone to tell things to before." He blinked. "Except Shikiyoku, of course. And the guild… but they're…. Well, the guild."

She gave a soft laugh, "it's weird to adjust to, isn't it?"

"...I'm not yet sure how to be... a 'friend' with anyone that isn't Shikiyoku." She caught the slightest hint of a frown on his face. "I'm still learning."

"Right?" Akari let out a small sigh. "Having friends - or people who want to be your friend - is weird."

He turned to stare at her, an expression almost reflective of bewilderment on his features. "Haven't you always...?"

Akari sat up and met his confused stare with her own calm one. "What, had friends?" When he didn't answer, she only shook her head. "You forgot that I was with Sensui before this group. He's hardly the type to make lasting friendships, and I definitely did my best to be as guarded as possible even after he was gone. The closest person I ever let in was Kurama." She shrugged. "And then the war happened, and we were blasted all over." When he only blinked at her, she gave a wry smile. "What?"

He turned forward, but didn't answer her.

She gave a short laugh and turned to rest her chin on the top of her knee again. She stared at the full moon hovering just above the treeline behind the gardens, thinking about nothing in particular.

A few more minutes passed by in silence, and Akari turned to look at him again. "So, how long have you and Shikiyoku been sleeping together?"

He didn't answer her at first, and she wondered if he was even going to. However, when he turned to look at her, she saw him considering the question, trying to come up with an answer.

"That long, hm?"

"I was still her Champion; she needed the reassurance and, at the time, I saw it as part of my 'duty'."

Reassurance? "So you've been pretty comfortable with her for a long time."

He shook his head. "At first, I wasn't sure what I thought about it. It took a while, and I can't even say when I became 'ok' with it, much less came to prefer it."

"Mm." Akari sat upright and lowered her leg so that it hung over the edge of the porch, casually swinging her feet back and forth. "Have you had a chance to be alone with Shikiyoku yet? Not just for sleeping, I mean."

He shook his head again. "Not since this morning. I can sense she's here, but I haven't seen her since the kids dragged her away."

"Well…" She leaned forward to look over the edge of the porch, her hands curling around it so she didn't fall forward while she watched a lizard run under her feet. "It's a beautiful night, Hiei. I think you'd enjoy a moonlit stroll with her."

When he didn't answer, a smile crept across her features and she turned to look at him again.

"You'd be away from everyone else, even if for a little while."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"It's something romantic that some people do when they're interested in each other."

Hiei let out a breath. "Alright, I'll go."

Akari chuckled at him. "I haven't told you wrong yet, have I? No, go. Get going." She waved a hand at him as he dropped to his feet on the grass, and when he raised a brow at her, she only shooed him more enthusiastically. "You don't get to get away like this much, so take advantage of it, Sparky."

He waved a hand dismissively at her as he turned to leave, following the bond in the direction he could feel Shikiyoku. *

Kita didn't even realize when he plopped into place next to Akari that he was occupying the space Hiei had been in a few moments ago, himself breathing heavily and skin glistening a little from the sparring matches that had been going on all day.

"Enjoy yourself today?" He gave her a grin.

~!**!~

The moonlight filtered in through the trees over the duo with whom none of the denizens of the forest had dared come close to as they walked side-by-side through the territory that wasn't strictly their own.

Every so often, the light would catch and glint off silver hair or white rustling long and straight down their backs, but aside from the little height difference between them, the similarities ended there.

"All I'm saying is, he's allowed to change his mind, isn't he?"

Shikiyoku puffed a bit of air out of her lips, and watched the golden aura of her energy filling the air around her as if it could distract her from the conversation at hand she hadn't particularly wanted to have in the first place.

Kurama the Youko was not one to be so easily dissuaded, "Just promise me you'll think about it, dear one. He isn't the type to look for anything else when he's found exactly what he wants. You of all people should know that by now." 3

Hiei didn't feel the need to rush to Shikiyoku's side. He walked casually across the grounds and into the forest, and as he drew closer to Shikiyoku, he reached out in the bond with his quiet wanting to join her, to walk with her.

Now that he was out in the thicket of trees, he found himself appreciating Akari's suggestion; it was quiet and peaceful, despite the various creatures that lurked in the shadows.

"-that by now."

Hiei stepped from behind a small cluster of trees and finally caught sight of Shikiyoku - still in the outfit she'd sparred in at the meadow - and Kurama, and he briefly remembered what Akari said regarding 'people interested in each other' taking 'moonlit strolls'.

He pushed the thought away and continued moving closer, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

~!**!~

Akari's ears caught the smallest sound before Kita dropped down next to her, and she turned to smile welcomingly at him as he got comfortable. She gave him a once-over, again taken aback by how much older he looked than she'd remembered him to be, and tried to guess how long it had been since she'd been here last.

His question distracted her from her thoughts, and her smile widened ever so slightly. "I did. It's peaceful here, and as much as I enjoy the cafe, I don't spend nearly as much time outside as I did before." She turned to look at the various plants and flowers around them. "How was your sparring?" *

He nodded and replied, "Good. A good day. For both of us, it sounds. It feels like the celebration it ought to be. It is sad she is gone but...we do similarly to how we did when she was here and it feels like we're honoring her memory in it."

Kita tilted his head back and caught sight of the moon above them, considering it for a moment, "Would you like to take a walk? Have you been to the forest yet?"

~!**!~

"Not currently, no." Kurama mildly replied, unresponsive when Shikiyoku purposefully elbowed him as they stopped and shifted back to face him.

"Never, my love." Shikiyoku's smile for him as she reached out with her left hand in his direction fully filled her eyes when she caught sight of him.

(I love you.) 3

Hiei eyed the two for the briefest moment at their exchange, all at once remembering something else Akari had said of Kurama and his 'having Shikiyoku in his own way' when they'd been in her apartment.

He made a mental note to ask Akari what she'd meant later, then filed the thought away as Shikiyoku smiled and reached out for him. Almost instinctively, the fire demon took the next step forward and rested his hand in hers, letting her pull him to stand next to her.

The bond rang with the truth behind Shikiyoku's words, and he squeezed her hand in his even as he returned the sentiment wordlessly between them.

~!**!~

Akari nodded along as Kita talked of his day and how their routine helped with the loss in its own way. She let him talk, not missing how much energy he still seemed to have despite his day-long workout.

When he asked her about a walk, however, she turned and looked at him again, this time searching his face for something that might tell her of his thoughts, his motives. Before this moment, she truly hadn't considered Kita's age - mentally or physically - and with him asking her for the very thing she'd sent Hiei on, she couldn't help but notice how much older he looked, and where he would be in his maturity.

...Surely not.

After a beat, she shook her head, "I haven't seen the forest yet today. If you want to go on a walk, I wouldn't mind moving around a little. I've stayed here most of the day." *

Kita stood up and turned to offer Akari a hand, "It'll help me cool off, too, I think. Dojo gets pretty hot with all those bodies in there. More than usual."

~!**!~

The now-trio turned back and continued walking in the direction the first two had been headed to begin with, still meandering through the trees and the nighttime noises.

Kurama had raised an eyebrow at her that Shikiyoku was ignoring until she felt his intentions.

Don't.

"Don't you agree, Hiei?"

Shikiyoku let out a sigh. 3

Hiei didn't realize he'd come up between the two until he sensed the slightest tension from Shikiyoku, and Kurama turned down to address him. He glanced first at Shikiyoku and then Kurama, not really sure how he'd come to be between them.

And Kurama's question was confusing in and of itself.

"...Are you asking if I agree that I'm not interrupting anything now?" I don't understand the question.

~!**!~

"Well," Akari turned and gathered her empty mug from her lunch and the paper towel she'd wrapped her sandwich in, "there was a fire demon sparring in there too. He may not have been using his energy, but he does expel quite a bit of heat naturally." She shifted the two items into her right hand and, just as she turned to slip from the porch and onto her own feet, she caught sight of his offered hand.

She paused briefly to consider it, a part of her wary and part of her understanding that not everyone struggled with such decisions as she did.

The moment she came to terms with this being the human boy who had trusted her to lead him here all those years ago, she reached out and took his offered hand long enough to land on her feet before they let go at the same time.

She motioned with that hand in an 'after you' motion. "Not to mention that there's more people in there than usual too, since your added guests have taken advantage of their surroundings." *

He gave her a self-aware grin and nodded, "Yeah. That's what I meant. Also, it's hard not to have a bunch of nervous energy with all these new people watching? And they're all really strong, too.

"You wanna drop that stuff off at the kitchen first? It's kinda on the way."

~!**!~

The slightest smile twitched the edges of the kitsune's lips, "No. That would be a bit self-serving, now, wouldn't it?

"All I mean to ask is if you agree that, when confronted with new information they had previously been ignorant to, a person is perfectly within their rights to change their mind about a subject? Perhaps that even doing so might be indicative of the sort of intelligence within them that eludes many?" 3

Hiei immediately opened his mouth to comment about Kurama's self-serving tendencies, but closed it as the fox demon continued on, giving little room for interjection as he rolled into the actual question.

As Kurama finished his question, the fire demon eyed the fox in silence, considering the questions asked.

After a moment, he raised a brow. "First, let me just remark on the fact that even the true question seems self-serving, fox. Second," he nodded, "regardless of who is involved," or whoever you're speaking so vaguely about, "if they've come across new information and used it to adapt and make a more informed decision, then what's to say that their first decision was even the 'right' or 'best' one?

"Those who continually adapt to new information have a better chance of survival or success in all endeavors."

~!**!~

Akari glanced at the things in her hands and then back up to Kita, "Sure, if it's along the way."

As she fell in step with him, she let her eyes wander over their surroundings - if only to keep from staring at Kita in mild suspicion the entire time. "As for being nervous, it's normal to have a sense of 'stage fright' when you're performing in front of so many others, especially if you perceive them to be better than you at it. I've found it more beneficial to watch those people, see what they do differently and if it might help me improve as well." A soft smile touched her lips. "It's a great distraction from the nerves of being judged." *

Kita rolled his eyes as he led the way over to the kitchen, lifting his arms up above his head and lacing his fingers behind it so he could breathe a little easier for a bit.

"Well, honestly, I felt a lot better after seeing some of them fight." His grin returned, "There's not a ton of finesse with those guys. From what I heard of the stories they were passing around, even Genkai raking them over the coals couldn't change their lack of discipline."

He grew a little more sober at the thought, "Mostly, anyway. She was a great sensei."

~!**!~

"He certainly has your number, doesn't he, Yo-chan?" Shikiyoku teased over Hiei's head, lifting the arm still holding Hiei's hand so that she could drape it across his shoulders and pull him closer to her side with their fingers still interlaced near his neck. Thumb free this way, it traced back and forth over his skin.

Kurama nodded thoughtfully, though it was uncertain whether he did so in agreement with her or Hiei, "Adaptability is certainly a highly sought after skill. It comes more easily to some than others. Though, might I say that I have found over the years that your capabilities in regards to adaptation have been most impressive." 3

Hiei might have narrowed his eyes at Kurama if not for the distraction that was Shikiyoku's thumb moving against his skin. Instead, he glanced down at the hand over his shoulder, watching that thumb move for a moment before he turned back up to the conversation.

"Now that I've settled whatever that was," he said, more than aware that Kurama had been trying to prove a point to Shiki using vagueness and a lack of details, "I'm going to steal her away now."

Without another thought, the fire demon dipped just a bit further into the bond to telegraph his want to go a specific direction with Shikiyoku - further into the woodwork - before he nodded his farewell to Kurama and took the first step in that direction.

"Have a good evening, fox."

~!**!~

Akari couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her lips. "You're not wrong about that. Demons don't particularly change their ways easily, especially when it comes to their fighting styles that they've developed over the course of their lifetime."

As they neared the kitchen, she slid the door open and moved straight for the sink, intending to wash the mug she'd used. On her way, she tossed her napkin in the trash.

"For some, it's easier to learn what not to do." *

Kita looked thoughtful as he waited for her near the door, "I guess I'd never really thought about it like that."

He led the way back outside once she looked to be following, "It's generally just psychics here. Not many demons, and the ones that we are hosting are just the little ones until homes are found."

"Which was easier for you?" He wanted to know, still looking thoughtful.

~!**!~

Kurama would have narrowed his eyes at Hiei's proclamation of stealing his prize away from him if he hadn't already known it would have been futile.

Don't bother.

Don't remind me.

Shikiyoku only sent him back a grin as she let Hiei steer her away, leaving Kurama standing and watching after them.

She laughed a little and bent down to press a kiss into the side of Hiei's head as they moved off.

"Did you have a nice day?" 3

Hiei's lips twitched into a ghost of a smile as Shikiyoku kissed him, enjoying the contact even as they continued moving forward.

He glanced up at her briefly as he considered her question, debating what to answer with first. "It was productive. Sparring with Yusuke helped me gage how much I've recovered, and I had the chance to catch up with Yukina." His lips finally stretched into the softest of smiles. "I'd been meaning to visit for a while, but…"

Well, she knew what had kept him from doing so.

~!**!~

Akari washed and dried the mug, then turned to follow Kita back out the door, shutting it behind her.

At his question, she gave a small, almost bitter-sounding laugh. "Well, I'm stubborn and don't learn the first time, so I primarily learned what not to do through personal experience." She fell in step next to him and tipped her head back so she could look at the stars. "Much of my life was spent learning things the hard way, and only recently have I been around people who had anything worthwhile to teach, though I haven't taken the time to learn from them, admittedly."

She stretched her arms over her head for a moment, working out a stiffness in her shoulders from sitting in one place for too long. "In truth, I'd prefer to avoid fighting. I've never particularly enjoyed it, and I've had to fight for all of my life." She let her arms drop to her sides. "It's only been a few months since I let myself enjoy the quiet life."*

Kita lowered his arms back down as the edge of the forest came into view.

"You said you were running a cafe? Do you mean...like coffee and stuff?"

~!**!~

"Yeah." Shikiyoku said quietly, knowing all about what he wasn't saying.

A few steps more and she appeared to notice the trees around them and get a sense of their direction, which was not back to the main part of the estate like she thought it would be.

She blinked, but didn't say anything.

"I'm glad you got to talk with her, though." Letting go of Hiei's hand, she stretched her arms above her head and the energy around her swirled a little faster for a moment and began to tuck closer in towards her body. 3

Hiei nodded and took one more step forward as Shikiyoku retracted from him. "I never had the opportunity to see how similar we are." He turned to watch her, "It was-"

He blinked as he watched her energy swirl around, slowly making its way back to her. In the next half second, he realized she intended to change from her demon form, and he reached out without hesitation to rest his hand against her side to get her attention.

"Don't feel like you have to change forms just because you're with me."

~!**!~

Akari nodded, "I started working there after I got back to the First level, and the original owners sold it a few months after I'd started." She remembered the conversation that had happened, where the contract had stated that she would be the one in charge if the deal went through.

In that moment, she realized something that, in hindsight, should have been very obvious: the person who had been behind the whole ordeal, and how she had come to 'own' the place.

"The company that bought it essentially named me the owner and put themselves as a sort of… benefactor, I suppose. I'm not sure why the CEO decided to put me in charge, of all people, but I do enjoy it and am glad to have it. It's been a welcome challenge."

As they stepped into the treeline, she lowered her gaze to watch the path ahead of her. "Do you enjoy teaching at the compound? Training others?" *

Kita opened his mouth like he had an immediate answer, but closed it for a moment and slowly nodded after thinking it through, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. It's a lot of responsibility. And I still don't really think I'm qualified for it." He chuckled self-consciously and rubbed at the back of his neck.

His eyes darted off to the side, "But Genkai herself is the one who passed me, and I trust her judgement, so I try really hard to remember that when I start thinking that kind of thing.

"It's just that I feel like I hardly know anything at all, you know? Like, the more I learn about her practices, the less I understand."

He grew quiet for a moment.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku paused mid-stretch and looked down over at Hiei, the edges of her dark cheeks deepening slightly in color as she blushed a little, arms starting to lower.

"Oh. What?" She looked confused. "But I-" She turned speechless, like she couldn't make the words form the way she wanted them to, but she hadn't finished her intention, either. 3

Hiei raised a brow, his hand unmoving from where it had come to rest against her waist. "You like being in this form, except when it may affect others. There's no one else out here for it to influence, Shiki." He met her gaze.

~!**!~

"Mm," Akari hummed, knowing what he meant without him really having to go into it. "The fun part about these things is that you get to learn for the rest of your life, if you really want to. The lessons never stop coming, and you're continuously given the opportunity to grow - in power, knowledge, strength."

She hadn't expected to relate so much to Kita, but she couldn't help but think about her own moments in the cafe when she just goes with something, hoping it's the right decision.

"It's scary, but also fun, don't you think?" *

Kita gave her a goofy grin at the last, "...yeah. It is. I'm really enjoying it.

"I'd never thought that day you found me would have led to all of this." He made a wide gesture at the forest around them.

"...thank you for that. By the way." He'd grown more serious again and looked over at her. "I didn't realize...I was too young to understand what was going on. If you...If you hadn't found me, I-I don't know what would have happened."

He suddenly closed his mouth and kept walking forward.

~!**!~

Her pointed ears twitched a little under his stare and she blinked at him from behind the golden glimmer in her eyes as she continued lowering her arms.

"I- Are you sure? I don't mind. I'm not...usually around you like this. I can change back." 3

Hiei's brows furrowed, not sure why she seemed hesitant when it was just himself around. As she lowered her arms, he held his left hand out for her to take.

"Shikiyoku. I'm your Consort for the rest of our lives. I don't intend for you to avoid being in your true form for our whole lives." He frowned. "That would be cruel, since it would be denying you."

(And...I want to know you. All of you, not just the you that you created for everyone else to see.)

~!**!~

Akari couldn't help the smile that stretched across her features when she saw his grin, glad to see his insecurity shaken off for the moment.

But as he turned serious again, Akari made a point to maintain her smile, if only to counteract the suddenly grim atmosphere around him. "You don't have to thank me, Kita. And you were young - no one expected you to understand anything that was going on, especially since demons had been so far removed from humans."

She linked her hands behind her back as she walked and kicked a rock, sending it tumbling over roots and fallen branches. "You adapted well, and decided to make a home for yourself out of a foreign environment." She kept her eyes on the rock she kicked even further this time. "You did well, and I'm sure Genkai is proud to have you as her student no matter the circumstances that led to it." *

"Yeah, well...I know you said you don't fight anymore...but I just want you to know...you're the real reason why I wanted to become a superhero." He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eyes, but didn't actually steady his gaze on her and let it flicker away again.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku's cheeks were fully that dusty pink color now, all the way to the tips of her ears as her eyes widened when Hiei extrapolated on the sentiment in their bond.

(But I- I always thought- That's who you know, so- I didn't think you wanted-)

She reached out to take his hand and slowly lowered her other one to rest on top of the arm already stretched in her direction with the sort of measured approach that watched for his being okay with the gesture as she went to complete it and brought her palm down to meet his skin. 3

Hiei's frown deepened ever so slightly. (You didn't think I wanted you?)

As she slowly let her hand come down to rest on his arm, he let his energy fluctuate just a little, enough for her to feel the extra warmth there if only because he wanted her to.

"(I want you, no matter the form you take.)" His frown lessened, slowly turning into a more gentle smile. "I want to know you - not just the human-looking form meant to hide away your power, but also the you that you're most comfortable in." He slowly pulled her closer, tugging with the hand at her waist for her to close a little more of the space between them. "If the form you're most comfortable in is this one, then I'd prefer you to be in this one."

(I've noticed how much more like 'you' you are in this form, and if I knew how to help you with your energy so you could be in this form all the time, I would gladly do so.)

At the last, he pulled her closer so that he could hug her. "You are you, and I love you."

~!**!~

Akari blinked and turned to look at Kita fully, her eyes zeroing in on the red tinge to his ears and cheeks, and she did not miss how he couldn't look at her for very long.

A sort of sadness just touched her core at the realization that he did indeed have some form of romantic feelings for her, and that while she had hoped it would be perhaps a silly little crush, she had to admit to herself that he was too old for 'silly little crushes' at this point in his life.

He'd grown a lot since she'd been gone, and in this moment, she knew that he'd put a piece of his heart out for her.

She might have considered him in another lifetime.

Her smile shifted into a calm one. "Kita, I imagine you're well on your way to becoming the super hero that you always imagined for yourself. I have no doubt that you're working hard, and I can see that it's paying off." She took a brief moment to assess the human and his energy, how it fluctuated and flowed around him, and how his muscles had built over time.

She took a small breath in through her nose, "You've already accomplished a lot, becoming a teacher under Genkai at your age."

But…

She hesitated, not wanting to spoil the happy mood or distract him from his accomplishments, but now that she'd become aware of his feelings, of the small piece of his heart he'd already shown her, she wanted to direct him to find someone else to admire.

Someone who wouldn't agonize over losing him once they did commit to one another.

Someone who was not her. *

Kita let out a small breath and actually smiled a little, eyes tracking the trees around them and the moonlight scattering shadows all around them, though after a moment he did tilt his head to the side.

"You know, I was hoping nothing bad would happen out here. Not that I didn't think we could handle it. But it's weirdly still. There's usually something around stupid enough to attack anyone who gets in far enough beyond the treeline." He scanned the area again, and when he realized there was no response from the woman beside him, he turned to repeat himself as if she hadn't heard and found she wasn't standing next to him anymore.

"Akari?" On the second turn around, he spotted a rose stuck into the ground near where she'd been and he reached to pick it up.

~!**!~

Kurama didn't look down at Akari in his arms at first, swiftly leaping silently through the tree branches until he knew they'd at least be far enough away that the boy wouldn't hear them talk.

"I sensed some unrequited sexual tension. Are you alright?" He asked mildly, not even glancing in her direction.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku didn't resist the hug, though it was obvious she was still trying to process everything Hiei had been trying to convey to her.

She could barely sift through any of it with enough sense to form a proper response.

"Hiei...you don't need to worry about- I-I just...I don't know you very well like this, so I-I just thought you'd be more comfortable if I was the other way," Shikiyoku stammered as she watched how the glittering of her skin became more pronounced in all the places they touched, wafting into the air around the two of them.

"I'm shorter like that." She finally said lamely. 3

Hiei raised a brow, but didn't look up at her.

"Well, if I don't know you in this form, and you don't know me in this form, then wouldn't it be best for your Consort to get to know you in this form, and vice versa?"

(As for height…) the thought trailed off, followed with a vague sense of happiness and enjoyment at her current height.

~!**!~

Akari sucked in a breath, her words finally sorted for her rejection of the other, and then she was suddenly gone from the place where she had been standing with Kita. The dog demon tensed as she became aware of arms holding her, her feet no longer on the ground and her having no real grip on anything.

She blinked at the trees moving past her and the wind that tossed her hair - formerly in a secure bun and now falling to the back of her neck - into loose curls that occasionally smacked into the person carrying her.

She clutched her hands together against her sternum as she looked up at and over Kurama's face, and as he spoke, she wasn't sure if she felt more relief or disappointment at not having addressed the situation with Kita, and her surprise at having been plucked from the ground didn't exactly ease.

She blinked at his question, not really sure how to answer.

"I think so?" She frowned. "I mean, he wasn't being a bother or anything, it's just-" She pursed her lips together, still processing.

Where the hell did you come from? *

"Don't worry about it. I could tell. It's a kitsune thing. We have a nose for it. You're just lucky I like you. I don't rescue just anybody, you know."

~!**!~

"Well, I-I mean, I guess. If...if you're sure that's what you want." Shikiyoku's lips snapped shut, unable to find any other response readily come to her and left watching the energy around her continue to fluctuate in the air. 3

Hiei pulled away far enough to look up at her again, taking in the red in her cheeks and the gold in her eyes, and he nodded in a sort of satisfaction. He linked his fingers with hers and tugged at her, leading her forward with the intent to resume their walk.

He let their joined hands fall between them, giving hers a gentle squeeze as he quietly meandered about, allowing her time to process the things he'd said.

After a while, he broke the silence between them in the bond. (I love you, Shiki, and I want you to be who you want to be, not just who I want you to be.)

~!**!~

Akari stared at Kurama for the longest time, her lips pursed together as she studied him and considered the fact that anytime she'd ever needed saving, he'd somehow been there.

It was a strange realization, and after it settled over her and she finally let go of the tension she'd been holding during her conversation with Kita, she let out a long breath and relaxed in his arms. She let herself trust the person carrying her, fully aware that he'd done so many times before now, even if it had been a while.

"Y'know, if you keep saving me, I may end up relying on you to get me out of all of my bad spots in the future, fox." She turned her eyes to watch where he was running, "So far, you're my most consistent escape route."

She unclenched her hands and finally let the very last vestiges of her tension fall away from her, though she became acutely aware of all the places he touched her and where she in turn came into contact with him.

The relief at being given extra time to consider Kita and how she should address the situation washed over her, and she let her head rest against Kurama. "...Thank you." *

Kurama didn't answer for a beat or two before his bright yellow eyes flickered in Akari's direction briefly, the hint of a smile on his lips, "You know, you started saying that as if it were a bad thing and, quite frankly, I don't see what the trouble with it is."

He hadn't stopped moving since he captured her.

"You're welcome."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku had done a lot of not thinking today. She was really becoming quite good at it.

And besides, she wasn't for quite certain she was the most comfortable in this form. She felt too exposed, too...much. Especially around Hiei, whom she had always feared turning away.

(I want you.)

The earlier truth of it sent her energy wafting more strongly in the air around her again, sending her into another self-conscious, blushing mental spiral of confusion where she fought with what she now knew to be true and what her perceptions of the world around her had been for...some time now.

Hiei's touch at her hand was sending stronger glitters of energy twinkling up her arm and she had nearly stopped blushing when their bond warmed with him again.

"I don't understand why." She mumbled, unable to look at him, "I'm apparently just a giant mess."

She meant to add 'today,' but it didn't quite make it past her lips.

She hadn't been able to think straight since this morning.

Erk. 3

As he walked, Hiei's eyes began to watch the sparkles that twinkled to life around him, shimmering in the darkness alongside the occasional bug that twinkled in what he thought to be a cheap imitation of Shikiyoku's energy.

As she broke the verbal silence, he continued to watch the glimmers that hovered around them, amused that she hadn't replied within the bond. "Being 'a mess' or, as you've put it in the past, 'a lot', is not reason enough for me to not love you." He trailed his thumb over the back of her hand, feeling the sparkles that came to life there. "If 'being a mess' is reason to not love someone, then I'm certain you would never have loved me." His lips twitched into a smile. "I've been a mess - and made many more messes of things - since the day I was born."

~!**!~

She didn't quite have a response, because truthfully, a small part of Akari didn't mind - even enjoyed - the moments when he simply appeared, swooping in to 'save' or 'help' her. A part of her quietly hoped it would never stop.

It reminded her of all the times she'd let him in before.

She closed her eyes, acknowledging the emotion she'd ignored since her last 'talk' with him at Yomi's castle, letting the sting of it wash over her instead of pushing it to the back of her mind and bottling it to deal with another day.

After a few more beats, she opened her eyes and reached up to lightly poke his cheek, a soft smile ghosting across her features. "As I thought, you haven't changed." She let her hand fall to rest on her stomach again. "I'm glad." *

One of his eyebrows raised at her and his eyes cut to their corners again to glance her way, but he said nothing for a moment and similarly did not otherwise react to her touch.

"I would argue...that I have changed quite a bit." He let out a small sigh through his nose, thinking of their conversation in the meadow not too long ago, the apologies that were exchanged. "But I appreciate your kinder perception of me being the one you choose to remember. And I truly hadn't the faintest idea what I was doing then, anyway."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku lifted their hands again, elbow going over his head to drape her arm over his shoulder as they'd walked earlier with Kurama, though this time she let her wrist dangle somewhere near his sternum, long fingers intertwined with his, but the tips of them brushing intermittently over his chest in absent thought and her lips hummed together in a similar expression of it.

"Well, I have never thought of you as a mess, otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't have bothered." She finally replied, fighting a smile. 3

The feeling of Shikiyoku's arm resting across his bare shoulders made Hiei's smile spread just a fraction wider, glad to have the contact once more. He didn't respond about him not being a mess to her. He only walked on, enjoying the night and the person walking with him.

"So, why exactly would you being in this form not work for Kurama's mark?" he asked, only just remembering their departure at the bar the day prior.

~!**!~

"Well, I look forward to discovering those changes then," Akari replied nonchalantly. "We both had our moments, and to be quite honest with you, it would be silly of me to hold any of those against you." She turned to watch the trees fly by them again. "As it is, I'd rather have you as a friend than a stranger."

Her smile widened into a wolfish grin.

"Life seems more interesting that way." *

"Well, you're certainly more than welcome to come find me at the office any time." Kurama told her as he lowered her back down to the ground, having reached the edge of the trees with the lights of the estate bright in the distance, the silvery kitsune form shimmering away until the redhead stood next to her.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku made a noise similar to an 'ah' at the reminder, and glancing around for a moment, she took a few longer strides towards a tree with a lower hanging branch and let go of Hiei's hand only to turn and lift him by the waist to sit him on it.

From here, they were much more comparable in height as she stood in front of him practically eye-level now, and she spoke as she pushed her hair over her left shoulder, the top of the mark just visible over the collar of her outfit, about which she made no hesitation to begin unhooking first at the neck and then the following two latching places further down the fabric.

"Kurama was not incorrect. The ratio of his energy to mine is lesser in this form, as I have access to all of it, so his can hardly do any sort of damage, or even move much at all. My assessment was also right, however. It would do no good to stay like this in light of the original purpose of receiving it."

She flipped the top portion of the fabric back behind her shoulder and pulled the front of it down and across a ways.

Now unhidden, it was easy to see how what were dark, black lines across her pale skin in her other form were in fact greatly faded in this form until hardly visible unless pointed out, spanning down the side of her neck as she turned it towards him, over her collarbone, and disappearing beyond the edge of where the clothing wouldn't lower any farther down her chest, still held together by the first ribbon under her right arm. 3

If Hiei were to protest anything in this moment, it would have been the second she let go of his hand. He didn't protest, however, once he realized that she continued moving with the intent to reach for him, and if she surprised him by lifting him from the ground and setting him on the tree branch, he didn't show it.

He raised a brow at her as she talked, his eyes only leaving her face once he realized her hands were unbuttoning her collar. He knew her intent was to show him the mark and he tried to focus on that thought, but the more she revealed, the more he found himself wanting to touch it, to send glitters bursting to life from her skin.

When she finally stilled so that he could see most of the faded mark, he realized that he didn't really see the mark specifically - not because it was so faded, but because he'd never seen so much of this form.

He didn't know he'd wanted to see more of her demon form until this moment.

"You should trust your instincts, Hiei."

The fire demon didn't realize he'd reached out to touch the edge of the mark until he saw the shimmers come to life under his index finger. As soon as he became aware of the action, he went still.

The first snowflake landed on the end of his nose, though he didn't notice it. Finally, after all the events of the day and all of the moments where he'd kept himself held together when things threatened to become 'too much', he simply… stopped.

He stopped thinking, even stopped breathing for a half-second, though he managed to mutter out a short, "I- I see."

~!**!~

A part of Akari was disappointed that she could see the lights of the compound coming into view, though she didn't let it show even as Kurama slowed to a stop and let her onto her own two feet again.

She straightened her shirt out as if it had wrinkled, not looking at Kurama for the moment. "And any time you want to visit, my door is open." *

Kurama turned his head to level a stare on Akari, quiet for a moment as he let her carefully consider how she'd phrased that offer before leaning closer and lowering his voice.

"You do realize I accept such invitations."

~!**!~

When he'd touched her, Shikiyoku had genuinely expected him to trace the mark, or at least part of it, and when he stopped, her eyes lifted from where they'd been staring off to the side to catch sight of his face, tinged red even in the moonlight, and her eyebrows lifted a little as she felt her energy continue to stir beneath his touch.

"You know..." She murmured softly between them as she slowly lifted the hand folding her hair over her left shoulder and put her palm over the back of his hand, uncurling the rest of his fingers out from under it until the tips of them were all summoning the golden shimmers like the first, "You're the only one who does this." With that same measured slowness she lifted her hand with, she gently pulled his hand across her skin so his fingers left trails of the glitter behind. 3

It took a lot for Hiei to drag his eyes away from the tip of his finger against her skin and up to Shikiyoku's face when she spoke up again, some part of him knowing that his response had been rather lackluster. As her hand rested over his, he blinked slowly at her then turned his gaze down to their hands, watching as she directed his touch against her smooth skin.

Even as her voice whispered between them, he could feel himself wanting more. More of her voice, her energy… More of her. And with that came the thought that he didn't know what that meant or what that would entail, and a small part of him almost recoiled from the unknown.

He became aware of that uncertainty and pushed it away, on some level knowing that whatever it was he wanted would be so worth overcoming the self-doubt for.

Unable to speak, unable to really even process much else other than the tide of his own emotions, Hiei could only tap her skin three times with his index finger, his 'I love you' almost completely drowned out in the bond for the rest of his… non-processed mess.

~!**!~

No surprise filtered through Akari as Kurama leaned closer to her, though she did finally lift her eyes to watch him. Her expression turned neutral; she knew what he was going to say as soon as she saw the expression on his face, but for all of her usual reservations, she didn't find herself immediately wanting to escape as she had even the night before.

Maybe it was because she'd finally admitted to herself that she had developed feelings for this person, but as he warned her for a second time, she didn't find herself immediately coming up with a response.

You should tell him no; correct the misunderstanding.

...but is it a misunderstanding? Do I want it to be?

As she stared at him, she became very aware that he was serious - not that she had thought him to be joking, really - and that, like Tarou, if she gave the word, he would be more than happy to oblige her.

Finally, she let out a breath, apparently coming to some sort of conclusion. "I would be happy to visit with you at any time - at the shop, in your office, at my apartment,or anywhere else. That offer still stands." Her lips twitched, though she did not actually smile this time. "If one day I want more than a friendship, you will be the first to know." *

Luckily for Akari, Kurama had yet to genuinely make any sort of move, only staring at her as she articulated her thoughts.

In any case, he felt more than satisfied in those waiting moments and gave her a single nod of his head as if he'd expected her to be more particular than her first general invitation.

The nod turned into a slightly lower bow, "Then, I suppose as in all things, I am at your disposal, Ms. Hanase," and when he'd finished, he began moving away.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku took a step closer to Hiei when he made no immediate move to vacate her presence, pressing down on his hand with her own until it made contact with her skin.

"This." She emphasized as she felt the shimmering increase beneath his palm, only then realizing that perhaps he couldn't see what she meant. "No one else makes me shimmer at just a touch, Hiei. No one but you." 3

Shikiyoku could have done just about anything she wanted to in those moments, and Hiei would not have protested or even thought a single thing of it. Even as the palm of his hand came to rest against her, he couldn't have pulled away or moved in any direction even if he had wanted to.

Though when she continued on to explain about his making her shimmer, his eyes lifted from their hands and he watched a few snowflakes mingle with the golden glitter hanging around them, then he turned his eyes up to hers.

He finally found his tongue, "I've enjoyed watching them." It wasn't exactly all he meant to say - They suit you. They're pretty. I like making you glimmer. - but his tongue simply couldn't form the words.

A part of him wondered what that meant; if no one else could make her glimmer instantly as he did, then what did he have that they didn't? His Consort title? Her love? He didn't know, and yet he couldn't bring himself to ask.

~!**!~

Kurama's answer left Akari feeling far more satisfied than she'd anticipated. She watched as he bowed and then stood upright again, and her eyes even followed him as he continued on his way toward the compound.

He would let her take the initiative, should she ever decide to act on her thoughts and feelings. She would have time to sort herself out, to really come to terms with who she was and where she wanted to go in her life, and if she even truly wanted to pursue any one person.

On top of that, she would have at least been able to pursue this friendship without worry of her giving the wrong idea.

Akari let out a big, long sigh and turned to take a jog around the grounds, knowing that Kita also needed to be talked with eventually and she needed to think about what she'd say when she saw him next. *

For his part, Kurama had finished his rounds of the area for the day and returned to the company of the others, many of whom had gathered for more conversation in light of this somewhat extended wake.

He noted with amusement that neither Shikiyoku nor Hiei were returned yet, and by the questioning look Hiei's twin gave him-which he only returned with a small smile and shake of his head-Hiei had likely not been in their company for a while now.

Slipping into their presence with ease, he turned his thoughts to the event at hand, knowing he could finish his business in the gardens the next day.

~!**!~

She smiled a little, her head still turned away from him as if she knew he needed the space, and she finally let go of where she'd been holding back the fabric of her outfit to reach towards him, his own hand keeping it at bay now, "You've done this to me for as long as I can remember. I have never known someone able to summon my energy with a single touch."

Her hand found his side and began moving over the lines of his own marking there. 3

Hiei might have been a bit disappointed at her hand leaving his if not for the fact that she took to tracing his mark. He kept his own hand where it rested against her, and finally, after a few moments of enjoying her touch against his side, he felt his fingers begin to mimic the movement of her hand against him.

His palm remained where she'd placed it, and his index finger began to trace idle circles against her as his mind slowly worked through his emotions to allow him the ability to at least speak.

His other hand lifted and, without thinking, he reached out and placed that hand against her hip, resting there briefly before gently tugging at her, asking her to step even closer than she already was.

"You're too far away," he whispered at her. *

Smiling, Shikiyoku let out a huff of laughter through her nose, but let him pull her closer and finally turned her head to look him in the eyes.

"I don't think the branch can hold us both." She teased, letting her arms circle around his waist as she stepped up to him. 3

"It doesn't have to," came his immediate reply as she stepped closer, and the hand at her waist moved up to her face. Hiei's palm came to rest along her jawline and his thumb just brushed over her lips, sending sparkles flying there too that he'd never noticed before.

He slid his hand further along her jawline until his thumb rested on her cheek and his middle finger came to rest behind her ear, then he leaned forward and closed the distance between them to press a soft kiss to her lips. *

Standing in front of him in the midst of the aura of energy slowly moving through the air around her, Shikiyoku let her eyes close at his touch, following the sensation of effervescence he left in his wake across her face with a small smile that genuinely spoke of how he could just as easily do with her as he liked.

Her hands at his back shifted against him as she briefly met him for the kiss before breaking it, leaning forward into him and hugging him tightly as she pressed her cheek into his, finding she had no other words to say. 3

Hiei wrapped his arms around Shikiyoku's neck as she leaned in for the hug, his lips moving from hers when she broke the kiss to press instead to the top of her shoulder. He lingered there for a moment, enjoying the contact, and despite not being 'fully' satisfied, he did pull his face far enough away that he could rest his chin where he'd just kissed, and his eyes closed as he enjoyed the simple contact with Shikiyoku in her 'true' form.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, the only indication of time passing for Hiei being the slowing and eventual end to the flurries that had mingled with Shikiyoku's energy far longer than they ever had before.

As he held her, his fingers idly played with the hair at the base of her skull, occasionally brushing against the back of her neck if only so he could have the extra skin contact with her. *

She gave a low chuckle as she finally opened her eyes to the energy shifting in the air around them, encouraged there especially so by his fingers in her hair, but said nothing about it.

"Thank you," she punctuated the murmur with a kiss to the cheek next to her before she leaned her face into him again, "For being patient with me. I'm sorry. I've never had to be myself before. Some days I'm not so sure what that looks like. Not knowing what you want is...it's hard." 3

A hum reverberated in Hiei's chest, thoughtful as he blinked his eyes open and turned to press a kiss to her cheek as well. He leaned back far enough that his lips didn't touch her cheek, but not so far that he couldn't brush the end of his nose against her skin.

"I want you to be happy," he told her, the sentiment reverberating in the bond as if to strengthen his statement. "If that means re-learning what it's like to be in this form - especially around someone who hasn't had the pleasure of seeing it often - then so be it." He bumped his nose against her cheek. "I'll work toward telling you what I want more often, so that you don't forget how much I want and love you." He kissed her cheek one more time. "And I'll do whatever I can to help you in whatever way you need me to." *

Shikiyoku made a face, pinching her lips together and squinching her nose a little, "I've used the other form so long, I hardly remember what this one is like anymore. What if I like the other one better nowadays, mm?" She fought a smile. 3

Hiei almost responded with a simple, 'as long as you are happy'.

However, in this moment, he came to realize just how many times she had reached out to him, and how much more of her he could sense within the bond as well. With all of this in mind, he pulled away far enough to look her in the eyes, suddenly seeming very serious.

"If you truly prefer that form, then I won't stop you from taking it. However," he purposely trailed his fingers along the back of her neck this time, sending more of her energy poofing out around them, "you should know that I haven't missed how much 'more' you are in this form." He dipped a bit lower into the bond to confirm what he was about to say, then pulled from it again. "The Bond feels stronger when you're in this form, and you don't suppress yourself so much." His lips twitched and a spark danced in his eyes. "(I quite enjoy how much contact you've initiated today. You've reached out more in a short time in this form.)" *

The tips of Shikiyoku's pointed ears twitched a bit at his last admission, and she shifted her gaze away as her cheeks tinged that darker sort of pink her blush manifested in this form.

But more importantly, she didn't pull away from him or stop smoothing her fingers across his back where she'd started doing so a moment ago.

"I feel...really...exposed. Like this." She managed to say, still unable to look at him. "I can't control any of it. Not really. There's nowhere for me to hide." 3

Hiei nodded in understanding, "Your other form has been actively helping you 'manage' and 'control' your energy for a long time. I'm not surprised that you feel so exposed in this form, since your energy is more free flowing." He took a moment to look around them at her energy hanging in the air, noticing for the first time that it seemed calmer than he'd seen it in a while despite its volume.

"I know we've talked about this before, and that we thought that it was because of my lack of a mark on you as your Champion, but…" his eyes settled on her face again, a soft smile on his features. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help you manage or regulate your energy?"

(You deserve the chance to be comfortable as your true, full self, my Beloved.) *

Shikiyoku's gaze returned to him, knowing he genuinely meant the sentiment that rang between them, and she found herself thinking on it again in spite of her reservations about seeking to stay in this form in daily life.

She didn't answer for a while, the bond between them humming with a thoughtfulness as she seriously considered the question and, once again, only really came up with the possibility of a lifemate bond acting in a similar manner to her Champion one.

Which wasn't a solution she was willing to even toy with at present.

She shook her head, "I appreciate the sentiment, though." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, nudging her nose against that same spot and staying there. 3

Hiei left Shikiyoku to her thoughts as she ruminated over his question, his fingers still idly playing with her hair and occasionally brushing against the back of her neck. He felt he already knew her answer, and truthfully had only asked in case she had thought of something at some point and just hadn't had the chance to bring it up.

So when she shook her head, he only smiled at her, resolving himself to finding another source for that information.

"Just... don't forget what I said," he murmured as she kissed him. "It'd be a shame if you settled for hiding away parts of yourself for the rest of our lives." *

Shikiyoku smiled against him, eyes closing again as she murmured, "Yes...that would be...such a shame...wouldn't it..." and meant something different entirely by it.

For the first time since he'd interrupted them, she thought about the conversation she and Kurama had been having when he walked up, but quickly brushed it away, only nudging at him a second time and this time planting another kiss in that spot instead of elsewhere like she wanted.

"Should we head back now?" 3

Hiei eyed her out of the corner of his eye at her response, but said nothing even as she nudged at him again and continued on.

He considered her question as if it were a difficult one to answer. He didn't immediately move as if to head that direction, and he briefly considered how much he enjoyed this moment versus the fatigue he could feel just beginning to seep into his muscles from his day-long spar.

Finally, after a few moments of quiet deliberation, he pulled away from her. He unwrapped his arms from around her neck, then looped his left hand around his back to reach for Shikiyoku's hand. "If that's what you want." *

Shikiyoku leaned in very closely to Hiei, but didn't quite touch her nose with his, her eyes gleaming.

"Well, what do you want, my little fire?" 3

Hiei didn't move one way or another as Shikiyoku leaned close, his eyes finding her gleaming ones as he considered her and their proximity.

In truth, as long as he continued to have moments where she reached out to him, where they shared physical contact, he didn't mind where they were. So, he answered her honestly.

"As long as I have you, I don't care where we are." His lips twitched. "What I want is to have contact with you, like we have been," he finally smiled at her. "I haven't quite gotten enough of you." *

Shikiyoku raised an eyebrow at him, smirked, and briefly met his lips with her own before pulling away again.

"Well...that being the case, perhaps a return to our room is in order." 3

Hiei nodded, then dropped from the branch he'd been sitting on and landed on his feet. With a squeeze of her hand, he began to lead her from the depths of the forest, though he was definitely in no hurry to get anywhere.

He did, however, remember his thought this morning about figuring out how to lock the door, and if not for the fact he wanted to see if she truly woke up to his kisses like that every time, he might have ignored it.

"I do want to make a stop on our way," he admitted as they walked. *

His immediate response of dropping next to her had her laughing at him, but she followed compliantly as he dragged her forward, reaching up to dress herself properly again.

"Oh? And where would that be?" 3

The smile Hiei turned up to Shikiyoku was riddled with mischief, his eyes gleaming in the dark. "To the storage room," he admitted. "I want to find a way to 'lock' the door. I'd use my sword but, as you recall, it's broken and sitting in a corner of my room at home."

It didn't take them long to step out from the treeline, and it took even less time for them to make their way first into the training room, and then into the connected storage room.

He slid that door open and slipped inside, not even bothering to let go of Shiki's hand unless he thought she wanted him to. He rummaged from one section of training materials to the other, occasionally picking up this or that to judge its length before putting it back and continuing his search.

Finally, when he found a wooden staff that looked to be just the right length to fit behind the sliding door and effectively keep it from being opened from the outside, he lifted it to let it rest against his shoulder before giving Shikiyoku that same mischievous smile and leading her from the storage room and toward their shared room. *

"Oh, Hiei, your sword." Shikiyoku said sadly when he reminded her. "I had forgotten." She leaned over and kissed the side of his head, not really understanding what he meant about 'locking the door.'

His mischief, however, was catching, and she gladly went along with him, just as keen to avoid any eyes while in this form as he was likely to want to avoid any seeing him.

When they returned to the room, Shikiyoku let out a sigh and lost some tension at her shoulders, crawling onto the bedding and curling up underneath the comforter. 3

Hiei didn't respond to her comment about his broken sword until they were out of the training room without having been seen and entering their room. He let go of her hand and turned to close the door behind himself, then propped the wooden staff just right behind it so that anyone who tried to open it from the hallway would find it barred.

"Gai and I have already talked about making a new sword," he told her as she got comfortable on the bedding. "When the guild goes to the Seventh for Kurama's job, Ikigai and I plan to branch off on the way back to the fallen blacksmithing city on the Sixth; he says the metals there are top grade, and knows where to find some that he's pretty sure has yet to be raided by other blacksmiths."

He tested the door to make sure it actually couldn't open and, when satisfied, he turned and lowered himself to join Shikiyoku.

He didn't think much of her crawling under the covers at first. When he instinctively followed her lead and got comfortable under the blankets, he finally noticed her actually using them, though he said nothing about it.

"I plan to delay going on that job until I'm completely recovered, since Gai and I will be gone longer than the rest." *

Shikiyoku pulled Hiei closer and sighed again once she had him in her arms, covers tossed over the both of them at the shoulder as she rested with her lips against his forehead, giving him a kiss and staying there. She took in a deep breath, relaxing further.

"Well, I wish you to have a sword sooner rather than later, but...you are welcome to delay that job as long as you like." She mumbled against his skin. 3

Hiei slid one arm over Shikiyoku's waist and let his hand hang freely behind her, his fingers tracing long, loopy, nonsensical patterns against her spine. As soon as he stilled and became comfortable where he lay, he became aware of the physical fatigue from his last two days - from running with Shikiyoku in his arms, to the sparring he'd participated in all day today, and even his walk with Shikiyoku.

He closed his eyes as she kissed him, enjoying the warmth there.

"I do have another sword I plan to take when I do eventually depart," he reassured her. "It's not as suitable as my katana, but will work well enough, I think." A part of him didn't really even want to take the sword he'd stolen from the merchant on the Ninth, but now more than ever he knew it would be better to have some weapon on himself, if only so he didn't have to fully rely on his energy. *

The last time Shikiyoku held Hiei in her arms like this, in this form, she had taken him from Hiko to carry him home. Even in the meadow in more recent memory when he'd fallen asleep against her, she hadn't particularly been holding him, but now, through a combination of her Consort's continued strides making contact with her himself and their recent discovery of his longing for more physical connection, Shikiyoku's habits of reaching out to another were, in this form specifically, much less a cause for concern.

As most things in general were less of a cause for concern here with him where she felt safest anyway, something he had essentially pointed out to her earlier in the forest.

One arm beneath the curve of his neck stretched out behind him, the other, at his idle circles, went from merely resting over him to slowly smoothing her palm around on his bare skin, sometimes up to his shoulders or across the small of his back and anywhere inbetween.

She took in a deep breath of his cinnamon and cloves scent, but the sigh she let out over his forehead seemed to encompass the contentment of her entire body in being this close to him.

Their bond acknowledged having heard the words he spoke between them, but Shikiyoku only pressed her lips to his forehead again in reply. 3

As tired as he was physically, Hiei found his mind to be clearer, more refreshed than he'd felt in a long time - since his and Shikiyoku's Crusnik run through the levels, really. The thought had him appreciating this time with her even more, knowing that neither of them had really, truly rested since their return from that run.

They'd both been too busy - first with jobs for Hiei, and then with his falling ill and Shikiyoku's tending to him as he recovered. Sure, they'd rested together during the last few days, but…

It just wasn't the same. It wasn't like this, where he could sense the lack of weight between them for the first time since his waking from his illness. They'd hardly had time to just enjoy being with one another without this or that needing to be done or something else calling for one or both of them.

He trailed his fingers up and down her back for a few more passes but, upon deciding that what he really wanted was to trace those patterns against her skin specifically, he began to trail those loops and circles up her back and toward her shoulder.

When he continued to only find the fabric of her outfit under his fingers, he followed what he could of her arm before he had to trail his fingers back up from her elbow and to her shoulder, then up to her neck.

When he found the collar of her dress blocked his touch there, he continued on his search, not really wanting to just rest his hand on her cheek or the back of her neck, no matter how much he enjoyed also touching her hair.

He finally opened his eyes when he realized that their laying position kept him from even reaching the slit in her outfit at her thigh. He looked her over once, then finally reached up to rest his hand against her cheek as he lifted his head far enough to kiss her on the lips.

The tiniest bit of frustration bubbled beneath the serene warmth that had grown between them in the bond. (I want to touch you, but the only accessible skin is your cheek,) he told her simply as he became aware of the frustration trickling to her from his side of the bond. (There's too much fabric; It's in the way.)*

If Shikiyoku had been a cat, she would have been purring with her contentment.

As it was, while Hiei could not see the paths of shimmers he was leaving across her body, Shikiyoku could certainly feel them, and the translation of her appreciation for his attention was something the bond could definitely transmit, if the occasional hum at her lips his touch solicited weren't affirmation enough.

But something about the way his hand kept moving over her tugged at an old memory in the back of her mind she couldn't quite place. And as she strove to give it attention, she found a question beginning to form in her head even as the quietest glimmer of a desire cascaded over her senses. Nothing heart-stopping or attention-grabbing in particular, but this subdued sort of 'want' of something from her she couldn't quite quantify by the sensation of it alone. It felt like there wasn't enough of it coming through for her to make any great discernment as to its specifics, simply this one blip in time centered somewhere near her core.

Blinking open her eyes, swirling languidly with her energy, the desire certainly came from Hiei, for there was no one else in the room with them, and while by the time his hand reached up for her cheek she felt she could have guessed from his actions what exactly he sought, the question was at the tip of her tongue and he had smothered it as his warm lips met with hers and she gently, sweetly kissed him back.

What do you desire?

As he quantified between them his need for more direct access to her skin, Shikiyoku nearly smiled, continuing to kiss him for a few moments more and even shifting around to pull the arm beneath him closer to her, lowering the elbow down and getting it under him to raise and rest the hand beneath him at the back of his head and bury her long fingers into his hair to find his scalp as the arm resting over him pulled him up against her with a hugging sort of motion.

She was reminded of the moment between them at the bar recently where they had together inadvertently evaluated the lack of that sort of touch in his life. Privately, she had known it would be safest for him to explore everything that could mean with her at first, that he likely wasn't comfortable enough, or as comfortable, with anyone else to reach out and place a hand on their shoulder or extend a hug to them. Whereas Shikiyoku had earned the nickname 'Mom' for exactly that: bestowing such things on those most wouldn't dare consider offering them to.

Of course, she did have the distinct advantage of knowing which ones desired what.

But in this moment, it was a strangely comforting reminder that for all his uniqueness to her, Hiei really wasn't all that much different from any other demon in her life.

Or any other human, for that matter.

As she slowly broke away from him, just far enough to give him a small smile, the arm over him came up out from under the comforter over them and she covered the hand at her cheek with her own, her eyes lighting up the space between them with a soft, golden glow.

She recognized now that singular sort of searching aspect to his wandering hand.

On some level, the fact that he had not so much as considered undressing her certainly filled her with amusement. Even for all his innocence in such matters, it would have been a simple task for him to succinctly burn a hole in her clothing until he could reach in for what he so obviously wanted.

"And here I thought you to be the sort of demon who takes what he wants, my Consort, removing anything that stands in his way." Her eyes gleamed teasingly at him, lips curling in a complimentary coy expression even as she started to shift around again beneath the covers and her expression mellowed once more into an open, steady kindness.

"But I would never deny you access to anything you desire, my love."

As she spoke, if he would let her move his hand at her cheek, she would take ahold of his wrist while her leg came up to lay over his thigh and rest against his hip, stretching out down the back of his legs with the dress still between them, and slip their hands under the covers until she could place his hand at the gap in the slit of her dress where she had left the last two ties undone from the fight in the meadow and it parted to either side of her, sliding his hand up to her waist beneath the last couple of inches of fabric where he could now reach and then leaving the hand there to do what he would with it as she settled against him again, her arm draping back over him. 3

The fire demon did not mind Shikiyoku's hand wrapping around his wrist and guiding his own as she so pleased, giving no resistance to her even as he kissed the edge of her smile in appreciation of her answering his request so readily.

Truthfully, he hadn't considered for even a second to use his fire to remove the barrier between his hand and her skin. For one, he'd never done so before - not on purpose and definitely not with the very intent to simply make her more accessible to him.

Secondly:

"It would be a shame to ruin the outfit." (It quite suits you, my Beloved, and as much as I would enjoy the easily-accessible skin, I would also like to keep such a fine outfit intact.)

As his hand settled on her hip and she rested her arm over him again, he resumed his earlier circle-tracing on her skin, his index finger swirling idly, and yet somehow purposefully, from her hip to her thigh and back up again. He settled within her - in her embrace, her presence in and out of the bond, and her energy.

"I will remember the suggestion for the future, though," he murmured between them as his eyes closed again - this time in content. *

For the most part, Shikiyoku had been inadvertently avoiding their bond. Just as she had full access to all her energy in this form, she was similarly aware of how much "more" there was of her in the bond, as Hiei had put it.

Which meant it was much harder to hide herself like this, and she continued bouncing back and forth between the fear of overwhelming Hiei and the sensation of this being the safest place for her in all nine levels.

(Compliments will get you everywhere, Ka-chan.) A fact he likely understood less than what she meant by it, but it stirred at some low, inoffensive place in the bond, murmured between them.

Him seeing his two options as 'wear the outfit' or 'burn the outfit' did amuse her on some level, but as Hiei's touch continued intermittently coaxing more of her energy into the air, she blinked open her eyes to watch his face as she felt him sink more deeply into her and found she could do nothing about it.

Just as between her and the comforter she all but covered him physically, which he seemed to be curling into, on some level between them it almost felt like he sought to wrap himself up in their bond, a feat he could easily manage with little effort given how much of her he had access to. And Shikiyoku gladly took in as much of himself as he wanted to give her until he seemed content to be as surrounded by her as he could manage in this intimate, emotional space between them the bond provided.

It was here he would discover just how much his touch meant to her—(I love when you do this.)—a very calm and soothed sensation and affirmation of his affection which she returned in kind across his back that perhaps explained why his contact with her over the years had been so important for her.

And it was here Hiei would feel the truth about how much easier this was for her, content, even glad or relieved, to have him with her of his own accord. Because her deepest desire was simply to give him whatever he wanted. And she was never quite sure what that was. Not in the way she was sure with everyone else.

She had told him before her concerns of turning him away-which had festered since their earliest days together and were only now starting to heal by his love-but knowing exactly what he wanted from her, and his taking it, meant she had no means to worry about overwhelming him.

Or being rejected by him.

Which was probably her greatest fear.

Shikiyoku had returned to brushing her fingertips against his back and as she felt the glittering trails he left become more prominent on her leg, began following the winding arches of her marking all along his left side to make little trails of her own energy on his skin as the closest thing she could do to replicate what he did to her.

She gave him a little chuckle at the last; she hadn't honestly thought burning her clothes off would even occur to him at the present moment.

"I suppose simply removing them in the traditional way would be too easy for you, wouldn't it?" She teased.

Granted, she couldn't say she was used to laying with someone under a comforter like this with any clothing on to begin with. 3

Hiei's fingers played across her skin, first with just his index finger, and then the others slowly coming to rest against her thigh to create an even larger pattern against her that continued to trail from hip to just above her knee, endless in their swirls and imitations of his own marking on that very arm.

He could just begin to feel his own happiness at their intertwined intimacy beginning to slowly feed back to himself from her side of the bond when he realized it was coupled with her own appreciation of his attentions. With that appreciation, he came to know without a shadow of a doubt that this was what she'd wanted all along: to simply give him whatever he so desired in the moment, and to continue doing so for as long as he would let her - as long as he would tell her what that was. On some level, he began to understand the deepness of her insecurity with her inability to read him, and all of the fear that stemmed from that sort of blankness.

He'd never been able to imagine it before, but when faced with the absolute relief from her in this moment, he couldn't ignore that he hadn't been doing enough to tell her what he wanted.

...And that his not knowing what he wanted was far less than helpful, and would only serve to hinder their growth.

As he made a mental note to have a visit with Kurama as soon as he was out of bed in the morning, he became aware that Shikiyoku's voice just barely filled the space between them, and he had to make a concerted effort to hear it as he finally felt himself completely relax from his day's sparring. Even as he began to feel the full effect of his lack of restraint against Yusuke - his body becoming heavy and his muscles becoming sore - he made a point to stay awake to enjoy this moment with Shikiyoku.

"If I had that much of your skin accessible to me, Shiki, I'm not sure we'd get anything done or go anywhere."

He spread his hand to rest his palm against her thigh, letting the slightest bit of warmth radiate from where he rested against her. The bond filled with a sort of sigh - partially in content for their closeness, and yet in acknowledgement that if he could handle having so much of her accessible, he would be more than happy to lay with her and simply feel her skin against his.

But he knew, as they had both witnessed in the forest not too long ago, that he was not yet able to handle so much of her being exposed.

...And he didn't have the faintest idea as to why. *

Shikiyoku chuckled and shook her head a little, somewhere aware that Hiei had no idea just how right he was, and planting a kiss just above his bandana in the midst of his hair and breathing over him again.

Without directly acknowledging any of the sensations he was reading from her, Shikiyoku did realize she had never felt quite so close to him as she did in this moment.

Any other similar encounter to this one consisted of either Hiei being too ill to comprehend it, or her being in pain form and them unable to reach one another in the bond because of it.

Her nose nudged against him as she felt the cool contrast between them increase when his hand on her grew hotter-(Mm. You're so warm.)

She hadn't considered Hiei's reaction to her in the woods until she felt him dwelling on the notion for a moment, and realizing that in spite of her continued offers of herself to him, he really hadn't taken her up on much more than she'd exposed him to, too overwhelmed by the thought of any more than what he did accept.

She'd kind of just always assumed he wasn't interested.

Now, with the sense on some level that he was frustrated with how he hadn't been able to do much more in that moment than whatever she was willing to do with him...

Shikiyoku lifted her arm from over him and tipped his chin up to look at her as she searched his eyes for a moment.

(Hiei, this form has been a lot for many demons over the years. That's not to say it's a good or a bad thing. It simply is. My...fear has always been pushing you away. That if you left me, it would be my own fault for being too much. You...have made it abundantly clear by now that you wish to stay. And I want you to know there is nothing wrong with taking things on your own time. I'm not going anywhere either, alright?) She finally smiled a little. (Not of my own volition, anyway.) 3

Hiei sensed the intent behind Shikiyoku's actions just as her arm retracted from where it had been resting over him, and he blinked his eyes open just as her hand found his chin. He followed the upward motion without protest until his eyes found her swirling golden irises, and for the briefest of moments he let himself be distracted by the energy glittering there.

He blinked again, this time his attention turning to her reassurances while his eyes kept a steady hold on her gaze, seeing nothing but kindness and love as she spoke.

A small sort of relief bubbled through his side of the bond at her acknowledgement of his unwillingness to leave, and it was quickly followed by a sort of hum of his own acknowledgement at her reassurance of her own unwavering presence in his life.

His eyelids slid closed again, realizing in the moment that this was likely what Yukina meant when she'd said Kuwabara had never "expected anything" from her. That she had been able to "take things on her own time", just as Shikiyoku was saying here.

His energy fluctuated for half a second as he leaned forward to press his lips to hers, all too aware in the moment of just how much he loved this person and wanted nothing more than to be like this with her. Together, sharing in their contentment, joy, and quiet adoration and appreciation of the other. In their own little bubble.

Quiet and comfortable.

(I love you.) *

As Shikiyoku returned his sentiment, she felt him drifting beyond the realm of sleep and hugged him closer for a moment before relaxing again, happy to have him here and be with him even as the reverberating emotions continued to echo back and forth between them for a long while, even after she fell asleep.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku couldn't tell how long she'd been awake, but for a long time she didn't open her eyes, too afraid her current circumstances were a dream.

When she finally blinked and took stock of her "predicament," she smiled as her nose filled with the musky scent of Hiei's usual cinnamon and cloves aroma, feeling particularly pleased to find he'd not only fallen asleep in her arms, but within her side of the bond as well.

Which is where she felt the minutist of protests from the midst of his heavy sleep when her arm relaxed behind him and she realized she'd likely been moving that hand across his skin the entire night.

She huffed out a breath of amusement, but did pick up where she left off, fingers slowly skating over and around whatever of him she could reach.

"How are things going with Hiei?"

"He's doing well, I think. Recovering."

"It certainly took me a while. But that's not what I meant."

Kurama's eyes had glittered over at her, flashing with his foxy intention as his tail gave an amused swish through the air beside her, and Shikiyoku remembered how she'd raised an eyebrow at him, the conversation from before Hiei approached them the night previous starting to play over again this morning in her mind as she lay with the fire demon.

"Oh, please, 'Yoku." His tail swished again, his grin spreading further. "You can't honestly tell me you haven't noticed just how badly your Consortwants you?"

Shikiyoku scoffed and looked away from him, trying to ignore his stare zeroing in on the way her cheeks darkened a little now that she knew what he was talking about.

Kurama narrowed his eyes at her and didn't say anything for a moment.

"Just because you can't feel his desires doesn't mean he doesn't want you."

She should have known he'd been able to guess at it. But when that didn't get any other response from her, he continued.

"That man can hardly control himself around you at times." The 'man' got her to glance over at him, but he continued, "He's spent the last two days reeking of raging pheromones any time you're within his sight."

That got her to look at him, though her face was carefully blank, and the kitsune ran a hand down the front of his face as if to wipe his disbelief at her in this moment away.

"He has no idea why, does he?" The question was absolutely rhetorical. Kurama had already spoken with Hiei a couple of times prior, not to mention the fact that neither one of them smelled of anything more than the usual proximity-or the energy of her marking in the case of Hiei. "Would you please do something about it before he hurts himself? Or someone else?"

"Kurama-" She couldn't even think of anything to say, lifting her hands up to her temples like it would help her think.

"Charcoal, dear one. He smells of charcoal now." Kurama finally spoke up again, all but throwing his hands into the air. "You've lit a spark in him all on your own and you've done nothing to kindle it? What a shame. He would be good to you, you know."

Shikiyoku finally made a noise of frustration at him, "He's too young for all of that, silver-tail."

Kurama blinked at her as his eyebrows shot up on his forehead, "Excuse me?"

When she went to reiterate, he held up a hand between them, "No, I heard you, but you're fooling yourself."

She recognized the stare he gave her, that he had more to say, and he finally continued.

"First of all, I know for a fact you've never been around a fire demon coming-of-age, but I know you've been around them." He held up first one finger and then a second as he said, "It usually happens all at once and they never smell like charcoal until then." He lowered his hand. "His being half-Koorime hasn't likely helped his situation, but there's no doubt in my mind he's well past the hundred years that is his due."

It wasn't like there were any other kitsune at the wake Shikiyoku could consult about Hiei's scent, but she was aware they were especially sensitive to those sorts of things.

And she tried to ignore the fact that she could distinctly remember Hiei having given off a charcoal scent at least once before.

"If it makes you feel any better, he didn't look it, but he was older in maturity than my teenaged human form was when you and I finally met back up again in Human World. He's half-Koorime for kami's sake, the most asexual demons we've ever met. He's allowed to be a late bloomer, 'Yoku. His mind is allowed to finally catch up to his body. And whatever his reaction to you when you first met, he's allowed to change his mind. Even a drunken Chu noticed last night that he's grown significantly older than his twin at this point, from all his travels below. Perhaps two hundred is his lucky number-"

"Alright, I've heard just about enough out of you." Shikiyoku found her voice after hardly being able to stand close enough to the fox to hear all of this.

The agitated swishing of Kurama's tail calmed down as they continued forward for several steps until he broke the silence between them.

"Just promise me you'll think about it, dear one. He isn't the type to look for anything else when he's found exactly what he wants."

Shikiyoku let out a silent groan of air into the otherwise quiet room.

As usual, Kurama could guess at and poke holes in any argument she might have had for him, and worst of all she knew he had no reason to lie to her.

"Well, it seems I wasn't the only one making a fool of myself, hm?"

...

Dammit.

"Though I will be honest and say I have no idea how you manage it. I don't even like the guy in that way, and-"

Very carefully, Shikiyoku thought at the dog demon who wasn't even present at the moment.

When she felt the hybrid in her arms just beginning to stir within the shared space he'd cocooned himself into, Shikiyoku let the rest of her aggravation at everyone seeming to be against her slide away as she smiled down at the still peaceful expression on Hiei's face.

Amused by the sudden recollection of him waking her up the past two days with kisses, Shikiyoku was struck with the idea that perhaps Hiei had been doing as much in an attempt to express to her he wanted to be woken up in much the same way, and shoving any other thoughts plaguing her mind back down where she always kept them, she planted the first one just beneath his bandana on the side of his face amidst the swirls, continuing to shower him with half-curious, sweet little affections spanning across his features from there. 3

Hiei had fallen asleep not long after his kiss to Shikiyoku, and had fallen into the most calm, peaceful slumber that remained as such for the entirety of the night. He knew nothing, felt nothing, heard nothing even as the hours wore on and Shikiyoku had woken before him.

A part of him had realized the moment Shikiyoku's hand against his skin had stopped moving, but her lack of intention to leave him kept him rooted in his sleep, and he didn't so much as even twitch against her.

Distantly, he was aware of some emotion or another swirling around in the bond, not belonging to him and not directed at him. It just existed, and then eventually it too diminished into the peacefulness of his sleep - either ignored by his slumbering mind or no longer pertinent to whoever it belonged to.

Finally, some inner clock told him he'd slept just about long enough, and he began to slowly drift toward the waking world. He became aware little by little that he was warm, and that where he lay was comfortable in more ways than simply physical.

He then became aware of the softest little sensation against his face, first here and then there, then suddenly elsewhere. He twitched his nose as if it tickled.

As he finally began to blink his eyes open and become aware of himself and his surroundings, a part of him realized that what he felt was kisses against his skin, and a hum of appreciation reverberated in his chest and their bond. His hand, still resting against her thigh, twitched with the intent to draw the smallest of swirls against her leg, but the action remained incomplete as Shikiyoku kissed him again. He finally blinked the bleariness away from his eyes as she kissed him again and again, and the hand that had been resting against her slid away from her leg lazily and he reached up to find her face with the intent to kiss her lips.

While he had no verbal 'good morning' for her - his voice not quite willing to work with him yet - the bond told her of his sleepy, love-speckled hello as his intention to kiss her languidly traversed the space between them. *

It wasn't until Hiei's hand slid across her cheek that Shikiyoku realized he had his eyes open, and as she registered his greeting, still half-drowned in sleep and fully drowned in her, she fought against a smile when she pulled away from his face in time to see the bleariness he wore in his eyes.

She met his lips with her own for the first time since she'd started, an amusement swirling in their bond with the notion that she had every intention of kissing him awake and could tell she hadn't quite accomplished that yet. 3

His kiss against her lips was a bit clumsy and short lived, lingering there for a few seconds before he pulled far enough away to kiss her cheek before he continued on to attempt to wipe the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.

He wasn't quite awake enough to register the intent in the bond, only that she had intentions and had yet to fulfill those wants.

Though when she kissed him again, he could have guessed her intent.

The tiniest of flurries whispered to life in the room as he became more and more coherent and able to enjoy the attention. His hand found its way back to her thigh, his fingers spread against her skin and his palm resting there briefly, until his index finger began the slow circles against her again.

Finally, as the fog from his sleep began to clear his mind, he turned and began to return her kisses where he could, starting at her cheek and peppering here and there against her face between her own affections. *

When Hiei's affection grew more coherent, Shikiyoku found his lips again and kissed him, (I'm not the one who needs waking, Ka-chan.)

When she pulled away, her smile was teasing, though she said nothing else about it, only murmuring low between them, "Did you sleep well?" 3

Hiei smiled a little wider at her teasing, but she left the kiss too soon and he blinked once at her as he registered her question. After a beat, he finally nodded his head, somewhat distracted from giving his answer by his enjoyment of how he'd been woken up and his slight disappointment at its having ended so soon.

"I slept better than I have in months," he admitted, his voice gravelly.

He leaned up and kissed her again. (I want more of those.) *

(More?)

The air around them had long ago filled with Shikiyoku's energy, though it shimmered briefly when he asked, and she gave him her continuingly teasing reply.

(But you're awake now, aren't you?)

She returned his kiss for several moments before pulling away, her expression softened somewhat as she considered the reason as to why he might not remember the last time he slept so well.

"I'm glad." She just touched the tip of his nose with hers and snuggled closer to him with a contented smile, "You're very warm." 3