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.

169. Episode 253

Hiei's lips followed after Shikiyoku's as she pulled away, protesting her departure for a beat or two before he finally let her leave him. He did, however, enjoy the affectionate bump of her nose against his and the closeness that followed.

His eyelids slid shut again as he relished in their closeness - physically, mentally, even in the energy around the room - his own flurries now dissipating and leaving behind only her brilliant golden haze.

(I didn't have enough time to enjoy them, my Beloved. It's hard to enjoy those kisses when I'm only half aware they're happening.) Despite his teasing rebuttal, his hand smoothed along her thigh almost reassuringly, no doubt producing more of the little glimmers that hovered around them, and a small sigh of content left his nostrils.

~!**!~

Akari shifted in place to lower her leg over the edge of the walkway and pull the other up against herself, shifting her weight from one side to the other as she turned a page in her book. Her eyes drank in the scene splayed out along the pages in her hands, her mind blessedly distracted from the nightmare that had woken her many hours before.

She didn't notice time passing around her, or even when she went from reading the book to rid her mind's eye of the afterimage of the King of the Realm of the Dead to genuinely being immersed in the storyline. All she knew was that the book was ending, and yet she had too many unanswered questions about its plot.

A silly grin faded from her lips as she turned to the last page of the novel, the characters' touching confession to one another interrupted by a single phone call, the contents of which not expressly written out for her to understand.

And as the last line revealed that the lead female character's best friend had been kidnapped, Akari realized that she would be left with not only an unanswered confession, but on a cliffhanger of all things, and-

She slammed the book shut, partially frustrated at the cliffhanger and yet somehow not upset about having been introduced to an all new series. A fluffy, yet somewhat dramatic, action-y series that had definitely done its job in leaving her wanting more.

She finally looked up from the book to take in her surroundings, her senses coming to the present all at once - birds chirping, critters running around, people talking in various parts of the compound, and finally, the warmth of the morning sun rising above the horizon.

She blinked at its light over the trees, realization dawning on her that she'd had a maximum of two hours of sleep that night, and had spent the rest of it obsessing over the book she'd just finished.

...I regret nothing.

She set the book down beside her and stretched her arms over her head, a brief yawn turning into a groan just before she dropped her arms back to her side again. And for a few minutes, she let herself simply sit and soak in the morning air, and process the ending of the now-finished novel. *

Conspiratory giggling barely broke the stillness of the morning air, even as the rest of the compound was waking for the day's chores.

There were more than usual, what with the company and the requests of Genkai in regards to the wake, funeral, and its proceedings.

But chores were of little concern to the youngest-and smallest-of the occupants, specifically the ever-mischievous demon-children enamored with the presence of the Queen who had a hand in rescuing them. They knew that if they could entangle themselves in her proximity early enough, they would remain unbothered by anyone looking to employ them to their assigned tasks.

They were not so young that there weren't things about the temple grounds they could do, but if yesterday's playful coup was any indication, they were few enough in number compared to the true disciples that they had not been missed. Or punished for their absence.

This time, there were four brave ones scrambling across the courtyard in the direction of her room, the original two adding another pair to their number, and eventually they were all but crawling over Akari in their hurry to get up onto the walkway, completely ignoring any paths and only taking the most direct route.

Scattered greetings and at least one wave-but no apologies for all but using her as a ladder-were including in a couple of half-coherent and fully babbled 'O-ha-g'ai, Ba-san' as at least one of them tried to wish Akari 'good morning,' and two others echoed the final 'Ba-san!' but didn't stop.

~!**!~

Eyes open, Shikiyoku watched her Consort settle against her once more.

She'd never had him this close before.

She'd never thought he wanted to be this close before.

And yet it was comfort beyond comfort for him to be here.

His hand at her thigh continued stirring her energy slowly in the air around them, even out from underneath the covers where they had slept to permeate the air directly around them, himself so wrapped in her bond that he would know he was the source of its languid 'agitation.'

He could do such things any time he liked.

"Well..." She replied after a moment of assessing him.

She leaned closer.

"Luckily for you, it seems as if my work isn't quite finished anyway, mm?" More slowly this time, she started pressing her lips against his face again, first at his nose and then across his cheekbone and her marking on him.

As she continued measured affections across the planes of his face, the energy softly wafting from her half-closed eyes gently caressed over Hiei's face, the tips of her fingers trailing in large, lazy circles down his back.

Somewhere in the midst of having found his lips again somehow and continuing the series of kisses to them Hiei had all but asked her not to leave, as Shikiyoku's fingers finally trailed to his waist and slipped between Hiei's waist and the bed just above his hip to curl around it across his back, the door behind Hiei rattled once, then a second time, smaller voices discussing something amongst themselves before a second, adult-like voice appeared to herd them away and out of earshot. 3

Hiei could sense everything Shikiyoku felt in this moment. The bond whispered to him of how much she enjoyed how tangled they were in one another - and even that she would be more than happy for him to be this way with her whenever he so wished to be - followed by the warm affection that accompanied each kiss against his skin.

He leaned into her kisses when he could, letting his own happiness in their current entanglement permeate the bond and grow with hers.

He'd never known he'd wanted to be this close before either, and it was somehow a sort of relief to have this closeness for such an extended period of time.

In fact, he'd almost gotten lost in her affection when the sound of the door rattling caught his attention, and he pulled away from Shikiyoku's kiss to glance over his shoulder and check that his 'lock' had stayed in place.

When he spied the door still closed and even heard the children retreating, he turned to Shikiyoku with a satisfied smile, his eyes finally clear of the sleepy grogginess that had earlier clouded them.

(That reminds me, you had a story about the kids to share?)

~!**!~

Akari didn't miss the excited footfalls of the running children as they approached, so it was no surprise to her that she had just enough time to pick up the hard-back book from the walkway beside her before a child was climbing up that ledge next to her, even brushing against her as the little demon scrambled to its feet and continued on its way with a hurried greeting.

She turned and watched the group sprint along the way, a smile dancing across her features at their liveliness.

After a moment of watching their backs disappear into one of the buildings, she finally pushed herself to stand and followed after them, aware that they were definitely moving in the direction of one of the buildings filled with the guest bedrooms.

It was no surprise to her, then, when she stepped into the doorway of a still-open sliding door, and her eyes landed on the group hovering around a door that had no doubt been blocked from the inside.

She moved past the group long enough to slide her own door open, set the book inside, and then turned to face the grouping with a genuine grin.

Shekept her voice at a whisper, considerate of others who may still be sleeping, "So, if you think you can keep up with this 'oba-san', I have a game to play."

The kids went quiet and turned to stare at her, curious and yet unsure if they wanted to play her game.

"But we have to play outside this morning, okay?" As she spoke, a couple of shadows in the hallway came to life in the shape of a medium-sized dog and a large dog. "Whoever catches one first gets an extra treat today." Before the kids had even a moment to react, the shadow-canines took off, running by them with wagging tails.

She watched as the group scrambled after the shadows, her smile widening. *

The tallest of those grouped together was the first to react, yellow eyes widening beneath a mess of bushy black hair and a single horn in the middle of his head.

Already obviously the strongest of them, the red-skinned oni child immediately scrambled against the wooden floor almost on all fours to turn around and give chase, two of the others reacting moments later and with more giggling.

The last one, the smallest, but with a familiar intelligence in his dark eyes, blinked up at Akari, not immediately falling for the distraction and instead giving her a small frown bordering on pout at having his schemes so easily scattered.

A dark-ringed, fluffy tail nearly half his height swished back and forth behind him, bringing attention to how his childish appearance was likely just a disguise to make him fit in better with the other more humanoids of his age.

After a huff and a glance at the door next to him, he pointed up at Akari and with a declaratory 'Ba-san,' held up his arms to her in an obvious request to be carried after the others.

~!**!~

Hiei left her blinking at him, golden eyes wide and watching his glance over his shoulder and only afterwards realizing there had been an attempted entry.

She hadn't even noticed.

She reached up to move a strand of white hair back behind an ear from where it had shifted across her face just as he turned back to her, and her eyes widened again at his statement.

(Uh...) She was surprised he remembered. Surprised he asked.

Surprised he cared.

Mostly because she was immediately embarrassed at the thought of discussing it.

The tips of her pointed ears twitched and darkened a little to match the slight blush at her cheeks as her gaze shifted away from him and the hand that had been paused at her ear and hair slipped back under the blankets to lay down her side, flinching away from the hand she found at her thigh at first as if to apologize for bumping into it before slowly resting her long fingers back over it as if she weren't sure it would be okay to do so.

"Oh, uh, it's, uh, it's nothing, really." She seemed flustered, "There's a, uh, I had to go get them." She'd rescued them. "Genkai was kind enough to open her doors to the orphans." They'd been enslaved by humans with nefarious purposes. A crime ring in the city. Little ones separated from anywhere or anyone they'd known when the First Level joined with Human World. "Until we either find where they belong or the Shinobi take them as prospective members." Since Jin and Touya's group specialized in Elementalists, a lot of the others were in limbo. The refugee camp the Shinobi had established on their island could only take in so many, and the overflow was here for now.

Shikiyoku had stopped talking fairly quickly, but Hiei's inquiry had brought up all the information to the surface and it flowed over and around him where he still lay immersed in the bond between them. 3

Hiei's brows furrowed slightly as Shikiyoku's emotions filtered through their bond unrestrained, not liking her surprise at his "actually caring" about what she'd been up to and involved in. He immediately let his own silent reassurances warm the bond - of course I care, and of course I want to know.

And as she talked, he took in her spoken words and the full truth of the situation, suddenly very glad that he was able to get the full story from her in their current shared space and contributing it to just how much of her he had access to while she remained in her 'true' form.

As he took it all in and processed the information - along with the realization that he had no idea when she would have accomplished this feat - he let his hand smooth over her thigh with his full palm resting against her, both warm and reassuring as she grew silent.

He wondered idly what else she'd done while he was out with the guild that he had yet to hear of.

He also couldn't deny that he disliked her downplaying of her own accomplishments. Rescuing children from trafficking rings was no small feat, and going so far as to find even a temporary solution to their lack of homes was even more indicative of her love for those she'd reached out to help.

He let out a small hum as he pulled his hand away from her thigh to rest it on her cheek again, his thumb stroking along her cheekbone as he leaned his forehead forward to rest against hers.

(You're amazing.)

~!**!~

Akari eyed the little one who stayed behind, taking a single glance over the demon she suspected to be a Tanuki with no surprise. The watchful, calculating gaze that looked up at her was met with a raised brow, welcoming any response he may have for her even as his tail swished in agitation and he glanced at the door again.

She half expected him to protest.

The very second he raised his arms at her, her smile softened into a more gentle one, and she wasted no time in obliging the little one. She scooped him up into her arms and shifted to hold him against her right hip, and as she took the first steps forward, she nudged her nose against his cheek.

"I know, but they need their rest. You see, he was very sick for some time, and Shikiyoku helped care for him and is helping him recover." She nudged him again and took an unexpected turn toward the kitchen. "I'll get you a snack and a drink to enjoy while you wait for them." She winked at him as she pulled her nose away from him, "It will be our secret, hm?" *

The tanuki-child huffed the word 'Kiki' at her in disappointment and glanced at the door they were leaving behind, but seemed at least a little pacified once in her arms.

In the next moment, the ears at the side of his head popped away and reappeared round and on the top of his head as he yawned and settled in a little further into Akari's grasp, the rising sun seeming to drain the hold he had on this form until eventually Akari held the magical raccoon dog pup in her arms in his furry form, reaching up with one tiny fist to rub at his eyes as his nocturnal instincts started to kick in without all of the excitement to distract him.

~!**!~

It didn't really matter. Not like the stuff he did. She hadn't even meant to get involved in the first place. But she'd stumbled across the one the first time and got swept up in rescuing the others and now it was a whole thing.

Hiei...had been gone a lot, even back when they were building the bar. And she didn't mind! But she'd started up several other ventures, and one of them happened to put her in closer contact with what humans considered to be more of the unsavory types.

But it wasn't anything particularly amazing. She couldn't even fight like he could, having to leave the exacting of vengeance to others better suited to such matters.

By the time Hiei's hand found her cheek, she was full-on flushing from head to toe in her embarrassment at him having found out she was occupying herself with other things while he was gone, and if the bond itself hadn't made Hiei privy to her feelings, it was certainly an emotion that stirred her energy in the air around them in a way Hiei hadn't likely seen much before, the bits of glitter between their heads shifting in a particular pattern that reflected it, charged with the emotion in a way that made where it caressed against his skin even feel different.

"I-...if you say so..." 3

Hiei's eyes remained open and he watched her as the bond force fed him all of her thoughts and feelings about the topic and his interest in it, his interest in her, and how, underneath it all, she somehow felt guilty that she'd done something without him or his permission, and-

He pulled his forehead away from hers and took in a breath, suddenly very aware of the spark that came to life nearby and nearly caught into an actual flame on the tatami flooring beneath them.

(Shikiyoku.)

His tone in the bond had shifted from the calm one he'd had since waking to a very serious one laced with a sort of restrained frustration. The bond whispered of an inner conflict as his mind raced:

She shouldn't feel bad about doing things without me. How dare those who taught her these habits lay such vile thoughts in her head.

(You do not need my permission to do things when I am not around.) His gaze hardened briefly, (I do not own you. You are your own person with your own interests - you are allowed to pursue those interests without even telling me, if you so wish.)

He took in another steadying breath, realizing that he hadn't made clear that he was not mad at her, or even frustrated with her in any capacity, and that he did not want her to think he was feeling any of those things in response to her.

And a part of him realized that, at one point, he'd gotten upset with her when she hadn't told him of things - the more prominent one he could think of being the time he'd found her nursing Kurama back to health from the Infection.

He let out a sigh and carefully rearranged his emotions and priorities.

This time, when he said her name in the bond, it was accompanied with love and warmth, and appreciation for her as a person. (Shikiyoku, let me be clear: I am not angry with you. I want you to have things outside of me to keep you happy, content, busy, whatever it is you want. I know there was a time when I…) A bit of shame briefly colored the bond, (reacted negatively to finding out about your adventures with Kurama, but I do not want to covet you from the world.)

Not like he used to.

(I used to fear that if you left my sight, I'd lose you. But that's no longer valid; I am your Consort, and I am going nowhere. That does not mean, however, that I should control every aspect of your life, my Beloved.) Hiei kissed her nose briefly, then pulled away and resumed gently caressing her face with his marked hand.

(I want to know what you're doing so that I know you, not so I can regulate what you do or who you see. Rescuing those kids is no small feat, and you should be proud of that, not ashamed that I found out.)

He slid his hand further up her face to push her hair behind her ear, his eyes following the motion.

(I want to be your partner, not your keeper. And you deserve to have a life that is not just waiting on my return from my jobs with bated breath.) He kissed her cheek this time.

~!**!~

Akari nodded in understanding at the little one's frustration, murmuring an 'I know' in his direction even as her hold on him shifted as he did until he rested against her. With her free hand, she gently stroked the boy's head soothingly, hoping he would find her presence a safe and comfortable enough one to rest as he needed.

She only stopped to open the door to the kitchen, glad to find only Botan inside.

"Botan," she whispered her friend's name, "can you help me get some snacks together? I've got a few kids to occupy, or they may disturb those still resting." *

Botan turned around, still in her pajamas and holding a cup of coffee that might have had more than a little alcohol in it, and stared wide-eyed as if she hadn't expected to be interrupted on her little trip to the kitchen.

Glancing at the sleepy tanuki in Akari's arms, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she nodded as she tried to smooth her teal-colored hair down.

"I'm not really sure where Shizuru keeps anything?" She started opening cabinets at random, "But I don't mind looking!"

~!**!~

Hiei's not-permission permission swirled around in Shikiyoku's mind, unable to process anything the bond was telling her about his feelings on her previous partners' manner of handling her.

He's allowed to change his mind, isn't he?

Kurama's words echoed in her brain not for the first time that morning.

(I think I used to fear if I left your sight, you'd forget me.)

"I know now that's not true." She whispered between them, finally opening her eyes where they'd closed when he kissed her nose and finding his gaze, the hand that had been resting on her leg reaching over beneath the comforter and finding his torso to spread her fingers against his warm skin.

"I-" Her eyes flickered away from him again, "I hardly think anything I do is of any great interest, but- ...thank you." 3

Hiei nodded almost imperceptibly, his hand resting against her cheek again and his thumb resuming his earlier calming rub against her. (I could never forget you.)

"I did very little to reassure you until recently, and I'm sorry about that." His lips twitched ever so slightly, though whether to smile or frown, even he wasn't sure. (And I'm glad I've come to my senses in that regard. I want you to be happy and free to do whatever you desire, whenever you desire.)

He kissed her nose again. "And if you want to tell me, I'm more than happy to listen, to learn about what you get up to when I'm otherwise occupied. If you choose not to share, that's okay too. You are your own person, and I…"

He finally frowned.

"I don't ever want you to think you have to ask my permission to do anything."

(I want us to stand together, side by side.)

"And I will always enjoy hearing your stories about what you're doing - whether you think they're interesting or not. It's you that interests me, and all you do."

~!**!~

Akari did not miss Botan's disheveled appearance, and neither did she ask if there had been any escapades that might have left her in such a state. Instead, she smiled her thanks and began to rummage through the fridge and pantry with her one free hand, quietly working to gather various fruits, chips, and other snacks.

"I'll add a couple of the cupcakes I brought too, since there's still quite a few left last I saw," she whispered, mostly to herself.

And as her hand worked to put things together, her mind wandered briefly to Kita, who she realized may or may not be looking for these kids if they were needed for other preparation things.

...And the conversation she suddenly remembered she needed to have with the human. *

The tanuki in her arms very quickly fell asleep there, Botan stealing glances at him and finally shaking her head.

"There are so many more people here than I remember." She frowned, "But I guess I haven't been up here in a while. Been too busy with the shop."

She seemed somewhat regretful of not having been to visit in a while.

~!**!~

"I have no idea why." Shikiyoku huffed her disbelief at him wanting to hear anything she had to say about what she was doing, "I'm so different from you. I can hardly quantify how we even ended up together."

She stared at him for a long time, the bond simmering between them with his admissions, though the embarrassment and guilt her energy had been charged with had faded away to its usual easy glimmer as she thought about all the things he'd done and said since waking from the Infection.

"I thought I had you figured out, Gouka." Her lips fought and twitched against her wishes as she struggled not to smile, very aware that she'd never particularly felt confident about knowing who he was in the first place. Not without the ability to read him as easily as she could others.

"It seems you continue to be full of surprises." 3

Hiei didn't respond to Shiki's commentary on not understanding why he had any interest, not sure he'd be able to put it into words in a way that would encompass all of his thoughts and feelings on the matter. He simply remained silent, letting her ruminate over their conversation as they watched one another, his hand slowly making its way back to her thigh to resume his earlier circle-making.

It wasn't until she commented on 'having him figured out' that his expression softened to one of quiet understanding.

"Well, when you wake up and realize that you almost lost the most important thing-" (Person.), "-in your life…" He let the thought trail away, the bond filling in the rest:

You tend to change so that you may keep the most important person around.

~!**!~

Akari nodded at Botan, her own lips falling into a small frown as she remembered her reaction at seeing Kita in person for the first time in so long. "Life gets so busy and time flies by…"

And things change all the time.

"I'm sure she understood that." Akari grabbed one last bag of single-serving chips and put it next to her pile, then turned to help Botan find something to pack the snacks in. *

Botan's smile was a little sad and a little self-aware, "Things were a lot easier when we were just saving the world all the time."

A small snuffling sound from around the edge of the sliding door Botan had left open revealed a soft-yellow eye peering around it, one greyish wolf ear on top of the head of similarly colored hair in plain view that twitched as a second eye and then the other ear came into view. The eyes darted around following the smell of the food the still sniffing nose continued to catch wind of.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku's expression immediately flickered at Hiei's admission, tears quickly gathering in the corners of her eyes that she blinked trying to dismiss.

"You-" Her voice hitched and she suddenly didn't trust it.

(I would do anything for you...Ka-chan.) 3

Hiei smiled at Shikiyoku, the bond telling him of the full truth of her admission and of the feelings associated with his nickname she'd more recently given him. He leaned up to kiss her again, reassuring and gentle and warm.

(I love you too, my Beloved.) He let that love flood the bond, accompanied with the implication that he, too, would do absolutely anything she ever wanted or needed him to do.

~!**!~

Akari's smile twitched into one of amusement, remembering that she'd met this crew while actively trying to doom this world. "Well, I'm sure if you ask Yusuke, there's more world to save," she teased lightheartedly.

"...but you're not wrong. It was easier to be connected with the excuse of going on those excursions. Easier to band together." Easier to share in burdens and worries when we all worried about the same things. "I get it."

As she closed a cabinet door, she caught the smallest sound in the doorway and turned to spy the pup sniffing about. Her smile returned, welcoming and warm. "Hey, Kiddo. I'm sorry it's taking me so long." She held her hand out in the pup's direction, inviting them closer. "Will you help me carry these yummy snacks outside to share with our friends?" *

The wolf cub's eyes grew larger when Akari gestured to him as if he hadn't realized he could be seen, and his gaze darted between the two women in the room in his hesitation, recognizing the invitation in her hand, but not understanding much else of what was said.

Botan's sad smile hadn't gone anywhere, and she was careful not to make any sudden movements, slowly finishing putting the things on the tray.

"I heard Shizuru talking to Jin and Touya. Apparently..." Her eyes flickered over to Akari as she remembered the dog demon's past, "...the little ones that are still here aren't perspectives for the Shinobi. Just orphans that the camps can't handle yet. Things still haven't settled yet from the joining of the worlds. They, uh..." She set about carrying the treats herself, motioning for Akari to lead the way as the wolf cub disappeared and only stuck his head back into the kitchen to see if they were following, "They've seen some things, these kids."

~!**!~

Shikiyoku smiled, only just able to kiss Hiei back as her lips kept spreading too wide and she chuckled a little between them, features brightening into an expression Hiei'd only seen on her human form, a smile she never had for anybody else but him, but one he'd gotten from her for a long time.

While some things about those two forms were very different, others were very much the same. 3

Hiei pulled away and stretched out along Shikiyoku as he watched her smile brighten her face, beautiful and full in this form just as it was in her human form.

He settled next to her again with the intent to stay where he was, but then he felt the soreness from his sparring yesterday seem to settle further into his muscles the longer he stayed laying on the floor, and that coupled with his earlier conversation about wanting to do and be better for Shikiyoku motivated him to stretch out once more.

Then, once he let the bond tell Shikiyoku of his decision to get up and move around, to work out the stiffness, he began to slowly disentangle himself from her.

(Let's lie together like that more often,) he told her with a mix of amusement, mischief, and appreciation for the closeness as he pushed himself to his feet.

~!**!~

If Akari had expected anything other than the pup keeping their distance, she made no show of it. Instead, she turned with the intent to grab the tray that Botan had procured, only to find her friend had already nabbed it and turned to follow her lead.

She smiled gratefully as the other spoke, nodding slowly in understanding of what Botan hadn't fully said.

She'd guessed as much.

"Well then, I suppose that means we'll just have to give a little more kindness and love, hm?" Her free hand gently reached up to smooth the fur on the sleeping Tanuki's head, softly enough that she didn't threaten to wake the little one. "I've always been good at distractions," she said with a smile in Botan's direction as she followed after the little wolf.

"Oh, by the way, I finished the book you lent me, and I am absolutely hooked. Thanks again for letting me borrow it!" *

"Oh-my-gosh," Botan immediately intoned through clenched teeth in a whispered attempt not to let her excitement overflow too loudly, "Isn't it the best? Can you believe that ending, though?!"

The enthusiastic gestures she would have been making without her hands full were easy enough to see happening anyway.

"I read it, like, twice back to back the first time just so I could go back and catch the hints." She was straining against herself not to make too much noise.

~!**!~

Shikiyoku shifted her leg off of him and sat up to stretch her arms above her head, shaking out her hair behind her as Hiei also began stirring more completely and finally stood himself.

While she meant to make a reply to him out loud-the bond shimmered with her obvious acquiescence-she instead blinked as one of her pointed ears twitched at the quietest noise and she spied a small hand resting against the paper of their door for several seconds before lifting away.

"Um..." She glanced his way, the energy around her body giving the tell-tale flux and by the time she stood next to him, it was back in her human form, "This one's...really shy. Could you...wait a minute before you leave? And I'll get him out of line of sight. Men...make him nervous."

Men make most of them nervous. 3

Hiei stretched his arms until he felt his shoulders pop, and relief instantly cascaded across the back of his shoulders and down his arms. He turned and lifted the wooden training staff from where it had jammed the door shut, and just before he made as if to head for the door, he turned to nod at Shikiyoku in acknowledgement of her request and explanation.

"Whatever you need me to do."

And without a second thought, he stepped back further into the room so that when she opened the door to meet the little one, he wouldn't be up close and intimidating to the child, and would more likely be out of sight.

~!**!~

Akari nodded emphatically, her smile growing. "I may or may not have finished it in like one night once I really started it. I'm definitely going to have to invest in the series for myself; it's such a refreshing change from magazines."

As they moved through the compound, her eyes bounced from place to place in search of Kita, until they reached the courtyard where the smaller of the two shadow dogs sat, waiting for her and the children to return - one child missing and presumably back at the door they'd been waiting for Shikiyoku at, and the oni-kid still playing with the largest shadow dog.

"Don't let me forget to return the novel to you today, otherwise I may accidentally hijack it for eternity." *

The tray in Botan's arms shifted like she meant to wave a hand at Akari in reassurance and she stifled a laugh.

"Don't tell anyone, but I have three copies of it." Her eyes gleamed mischievously, "You're welcome to keep it if you think you might read it again."

The last child darted into the courtyard dragging another and excitedly pointing and indicating the "In'!" as the two of them ran up to it, the wolf pup meanwhile running in circles near-ish to them where he thought might be a good place for that tray to come down to the ground.

~!**!~

The image that passed to Hiei's side of the bond as Shikiyoku slowly slid open their door and folded herself onto her knees was of a boy even smaller than the two who had invaded their space the morning prior, though his scaly lower half from the waist down extended into a curled up tail next to him.

(He's stuck.) A brief explanation of how the humans had figured out a way not only to stunt the growth of the children to keep them smaller longer, but also to force some of them into these "inbetween" forms, neither a fully humanoid one nor their complete animal one passed from her to him as the almost completely black eyes, sclera and all, peered up at her from underneath tousled, dark reddish-brown hair that matched the color of his scales, some of which were in patches on his slightly lighter colored face, neck, and arms, though his torso was covered with a simple shirt just a little too big for him.

His experience had left him much quieter than the others, to the point of silence and often keeping himself slightly separate from them.

Shikiyoku waited, seeing in the widened eyes that the boy had caught Hiei's scent coming from the room, though the other had only frozen in place instead of otherwise responding to the information.

The moment she sensed from him his desire for her to take him away, she scooped him and moved off as he finally unfroze, wrapping arms around her neck and burying his face into the messy braid of her hair as his tail went to encircle her waist as completely as it could.

(Thank you.) 3

Hiei hovered in the back of the room even as the door shut behind Shikiyoku, his eyes and mind trained in her direction as the bond conveyed her story to him about the child in front of her. His admiration for her work in rescuing the children increased tenfold, followed by a sadness at imagining the sort of ordeals the children had been put through.

(Anything for you,) he responded as she moved away from the door, presumably with child in tow.

Even still, he waited a few more moments before finally moving to lean the wooden staff against the wall with intent to employ it again that night, then turned and after retrieving a shirt to pull over his head, made his way out of the room. He glanced each direction to check she truly was out of sight, then slid the door behind himself and shifted gears.

He hadn't forgotten the conversation he'd wanted to have with Kurama. So, after a short trip to the kitchen to get water that he gulped down, he made his way toward the fox demon's energy signature somewhere out on the grounds.

~!**!~

"Three copies, Botan?" Akari grinned as the wolf lead them to the 'perfect' spot in the courtyard to snack. "Well then, I feel just fine with hijacking the one you lent me then, and I'll thank you for my new addiction to novels."

She lowered herself to sit near one of the shadow dogs, giving the children enough room to settle wherever they wanted to around her and the tray that Botan lowered to the ground.

She glanced at the Tanuki in her arm again, and gently shifted the boy from one arm to the other. "Do you think I should wake him for food…?" *

"Trust me, if he's hungry, he'll wake up." A youthful, if somewhat dry voice piped up from Akari's elbow.

Dressed in the usual uniform of one of Genkai's acolytes, a girl with soft brown hair this side of black settled onto her knees in reach of the tray, beginning to grab for something off of it as the oni-boy started to climb into her lap, making her shift to crossing her legs at the ankles in front of her to make space.

He clapped and turned to smooch her on the cheek as she sighed, rolled her eyes, and started to help feed him, which consisted mostly of her holding a strip of meat so he wouldn't drop it as he grasped it in both hands, opened his mouth just wide enough to be clear of the tusks, and started chewing on it with gusto.

The wolf cub shyly sat on the side of her between Akari, still giving the dog demon the side-eye, but at least within reach.

The others also started to gather around, less than ten or so, some of them deciding sooner than others that the two newcomers weren't all bad.

"Thanks for taking care of them, by the way." Her gaze had softened even as she leaned an elbow onto the knee not occupied with the oni and beef stick, though she mumbled through her lips, "That's two mornings in a row I've lost them."

~!**!~

Shizuru had been right in asking him to look at the kitchen garden 'even though he was here for other things,' and it would be there Hiei would find Kurama kneeling, in the middle of tall, swaying vegetables with sleeves rolled up past his elbows, looking as if he'd been in the area for a while.

He caught Hiei's scent on the wind before he actually saw him, charcoal wafting disruptively across the earthy smells he was currently immersed in.

He cursed to himself for even having a hope that the other's late departure this morning from the room where he shared a bed with Shikiyoku meant the woman had taken his advice and made a move on the other, remembering his initial thought upon seeing the two of them walk into the park together and smelling once again the charcoal of Hiei and nothing else the slightest bit promising:

Has she seriously not done anything about this yet?

I'm so disappointed with her. 3

As Hiei made his way around the outside of the compound in search of the fox demon, he mused over the change in Shikiyoku's side of the bond. As soon as she'd shifted to her human form, he'd sensed a sort of veil fall between them - not of her own accord, he knew, but he couldn't help but wonder if the lack of specifics in the muted, quieter emotions was similar to how she felt when unable to read him.

He tucked the thought away for further speculation at a later time, a more important matter taking precedence as his eyes finally landed on the redhead crouched in the middle of a garden of some kind.

He came to a stop just outside the vegetable patch, not wanting to step on the plants or disrupt Kurama's work.

"I never did thank you," he said after a few beats of watchful silence, "for caring for me and Shikiyoku when I fell ill. Thank you."

~!**!~

Akari smiled at the girl who joined them, welcoming her and the group she brought with her to their little makeshift picnic. With so many around, she let go of her hold on the shadows still hovering nearby, sending them back to their places at Nabu and Kiyoko's side where they belonged.

She shifted the Tanuki in her arms until she cradled the sleeping boy instead of resting him against her side, carefully lowering the arm holding him until it rested over her crossed legs.

"Well, I'll be sure to save a snack or two if he decides to wake up for them," she snagged a few little things from the pile and set them in her lap, careful not to wake or jastle the one she held.

As the girl mentioned 'losing' the group, her eyes swept the area in time to see Kita passing by, his eyes sweeping over the gathered group of demon kids until his gaze met hers. He smiled and waved as he continued on his path, and she smiled and nodded her own greeting back just before he disappeared into one of the buildings.

"I'm not surprised," she murmured to the girl. "The safest place for them, in their mind, is with the very person who pulled them from their nightmares and gave them a safe place to be."

She picked up a small sweet treat and slowly extended it just far enough toward the wolf cup to be a gentle offer, though she did not look at him when she did so.

"It will take some time - more for some than others, as I'm sure you've noticed - but they will eventually be able to open their hearts to others. With how many followed you here, I can already tell you're doing everything you can to let them feel safe and loved, and…" She glanced briefly around the group, glad to know these children were in a nurturing environment that would allow them to begin healing. "You're doing wonderful." *

The girl's expression darkened as several thoughts passed through her mind.

"I...was awake when they were brought in, but she had to leave pretty quickly once she knew they were safe enough. And she'd had to pump them so full of power just to get them out of there that it took days for them to even blink or realize they were in a different place." It was hard to tell if she was irritated with how things had been handled, the circumstances that brought them here, or even that she'd somehow ended up with the little ones in her charge.

Either way, she was definitely young enough to only be a handful of years older than these, and in truth was probably the youngest of the acolytes Akari had seen so far, despite how mature she sounded for her age.

A tiny snuff with just the hint of the beginnings of a whine at her elbow and she caught sight of the wolf cub leaning into the arm holding the jerky, but staring at the offer he was being given.

"If you set it down and push it his way without looking at him, he'll take it from the ground. A couple of them had it worse than the others, I think, but most of them try and steer clear of any of the guys around here." She gave the unmannered oni in her arms a wry look before reaching up to bury a hand in his wild hair and toss it around, "And then there's this guy, who doesn't seem to remember anything at all." She huffed. "She'd hit him hardest though. With the spell or whatever."

In response to her tousling, he looked up at her with possibly more food on his face than in his mouth and began babbling words at her that obviously had meaning, but were so slurred together it was hard to pick apart anything except maybe 'nē-chan.'

"Don't talk with food in your mouth." She told him, shaking her head, but sounding more long-suffering than saying it with any sort of actual reprimand in her tone.

~!**!~

As Hiei finally spoke up, Kurama sat back and wiped his arm across his forehead, surveying his work for a moment before eyeing Hiei.

Kurama was fairly certain Hiei did thank him, at least twice. But there was definitely something different about this one.

"You're welcome. Thank you for not turning on me."

He gave another silent sniff of the air as if he thought maybe he was wrong and the seductress had finally done right by her Consort. He was certainly acting different.

Kurama turned back down to the garden, "That hardly seems like reason enough to come find me, though. What can I do for you, Hiei? You look more like a demon on a mission than merely a thankful one. Come to drill me about the job on the Seventh?" He was definitely smiling. 3

Hiei raised a brow at Kurama, realizing in this moment that he'd completely forgotten about the job on the Seventh until the other had brought it up. He hadn't even considered the idea of doing anything other than being with Shikiyoku in the bar once they left the compound.

He opened his mouth as if to ask for such details, but just as quickly decided it could wait until he was sure he was ready to run out on that job with his guild before asking for more details.

"Actually, I'm coming to you as Shikiyoku's Consort asking her previous Champion for advice," he finally answered, his eyes briefly glancing around them as if searching for eavesdroppers. "I've noticed Shikiyoku acts more… freely when in her demon form, but worries about her energy and its effect on others if she's in that form for any length of time." He frowned briefly as he considered her energy being calmer since the day before, "I'm well aware of how to bring her energy out, but not of how to help her maintain it. She also had no answer for me when I asked."

He looked down at Kurama again, his stare settling on his friend. "I want her to be able to be her true self whenever she so pleases, so I've come to ask: How did you make her energy so calm yesterday?"

~!**!~

As the little human suggested, Akari set the little cupcake on the ground and nudged it ever so slightly in the pup's direction, then retreated and brought that hand to rest against the Tanuki's back gently.

You are far too young to be caring for such harshly traumatized children, she thought at the girl. She may talk like an old soul and act mature, but from her guess, Akari couldn't imagine the girl being any older than ten years of age.

A piece of her heart fractured for the human girl too, knowing a portion of her youth had become dedicated to caring for others in a motherly fashion.

She glanced briefly at Botan, who had been listening quietly to the side while interacting with one of the more trusting of the children.

When she turned to look at the girl again, it was with a warm smile. "Well, if you need it, I plan to be here all day with these kids. You're more than welcome to lean on me for a while. I imagine you haven't had many opportunities to truly rest." She lifted her hand again in an offer for the girl to quite literally lean into her if she liked, "I'm Akari. What's your name?" *

The girl nodded to the wolf cub when he looked at her once Akari put the cupcake down, sighing as the cub didn't move unless he had to, stretching out his little hand as far as he could until he could snatch it and retreat back into the girl's side before eating the entire thing in several messy bites.

"Ow!" She jerked her hand away from the oni kid, who had eaten the jerky and now had her wrist and fingers in his sticky hands and had promptly bit her thumb and was now smiling up at her even as she visibly resisted telling him off, letting it all go in another sigh.

By the look on the oni's face, the act was some kind of affection or another, and he hadn't even broken the skin.

"You're welcome." She managed to say even as his clutch on her didn't loosen. "You'd think I'd learn to pay attention," she grumbled to herself as she switched him to her other side and reached for another snack to occupy him with, giving it to the new hand without protest from him.

The expression on the girl's face wavered at Akari's offer, fracturing as she swallowed and blinked a couple of times, but her eyes flickered past the hand to the "tanuki" in Akari's other arm and she seemed to zero in on him before turning quickly the other way and bopping the actual tanuki on his forehead with the jerky in her left hand, catching him reaching out to steal the jerky.

A leaf fell from his forehead and the "tanuki" in Akari's arms gave off a poof of magic and turned into a small log roughly the shape of the creature with his arms crossed pouting up at the girl.

"Get your own."

The oni protested only long enough for the girl to return the jerky closer to his mouth, but she kept glaring at the tanuki even as he rubbed his eyes as if very sleepy.

"You're not fooling me."

He grumbled at her when she didn't fall for it, eyeing the food in the other children's hands.

"Get. Your own."

The girl sighed again as there was more grumbling and the tanuki crawled forward closer to the tray and got 'his own' serving of snack.

"I'm Shizuka. It's nice to meet you, Akari-san."

~!**!~

Definitely acting different.

Kurama sat back on his knees at Hiei's acknowledgement of Kurama's former position as Shikiyoku's partner to give him the attention such a statement deserved and listened carefully as the fire demon continued speaking.

His face carefully neutral as he listened, he kept his thoughts to himself, only nodding his agreement with Hiei's assessment of her 'freedom' in her demon form being partially clouded by her awareness of its influence on those around her.

In Kurama's experience since being reacquainted with her, her energy had yet to make anyone do anything it seemed they did not wish to do in the first place, but his previous occupation as her Champion had also seen how too much of a good thing could be disastrous where she was concerned and always colored his awareness of her work in the former realization.

Something about demons and obsession. And territorial possessiveness.

"Yesterday?" Kurama repeated, an eyebrow raising higher on his face and perfectly aware of exactly what Hiei knew and did not know about his encounters with Shikiyoku specifically yesterday.

He frowned, "I'm afraid I'm not certain what you mean. You think her energy was calm yesterday? I admit I can't see it quite like I used to be able to, excepting a shimmer here and there."

Feel it, certainly. And aware of its effect on him, for sure. He hadn't exactly stood of his own will in the meadow when she'd shifted forms, regardless of whether he'd indeed wanted to or not. 3

Hiei nodded once at Kurama's question, his mind already bouncing between the two times he had seen her in her demon form and the stark difference in how her energy acted on those different days.

"In the meadow, when she was in that form, she was very aware of her energy and how it free-floated about, spread out, and it occasionally reached out to the others around her." He blinked once, "It wasn't so pronounced as when she danced on the Ninth and it specifically reached out in tendrils to bring people in for unity's sake, but it did hover around the others.

"Last night, however, she wasn't quite so aware of it, and while it did free-float around her, it didn't fill a room like it has in the past, nor did it seem to specifically float any direction away from her immediate presence."

He glanced around them again, though perhaps a bit more distracted this time. "If I can, I'd like to help her be able to be in that form more often without worrying about her influence on others," he admitted quietly.

~!**!~

Akari watched the girl's interactions with the kids around her, not missing the break in her expression or the want that had briefly shone in her eyes. She turned away from the girl to allow her time to consider the offer, her hand reached out instead turning to grab an apple from the tray.

If she were surprised by the kid in her arms turning into a log, she made no show of it. She simply glanced down at the shape in her arm, smiled fondly at it, and then set it up next to her, sitting it on the ground between herself and Botan.

"Well, Shizuka, the offer for rest - whether it be through a hug, a nap, or any other kind of peaceful moment you may need - is open to you." She took a bite from the apple, chewed, swallowed, then turned her warm smile back onto the girl. "Those who care for others also need to be cared for from time to time." *

Shizuka sniffed and turned her face to wipe her nose on her shoulder before mumbling something about, "that's what Kita-senpai always says."

She distracted herself for a moment shifting around as if to get more comfortable with how she had moved the oni boy about in her lap.

She stayed quiet for several seconds before replying softly.

"I try not to let them see me cry. It makes them uncomfortable."

~!**!~

Kurama didn't mention how he'd never seen Shikiyoku dance.

He nodded.

"Her energy could certainly fill a room back in the day. Used to keep her in her bedroom because of it when we were especially busy."

He made a thoughtful noise.

"Worrying, huh? ... Yes, that does seem like her, I suppose. She never talked about it much, but I think she feared her energy changed people's perception of her. Like she could never face them on her own merits, or be liked without it." He gave a small huff like he might chuckle, "I never understood that. Why she cared so much what it was they liked about her. And she'd never believe me, but as far as I can tell, her energy has never made anyone do anything they didn't want to do in the first place."

He shifted in place a bit, rubbing his hands together over the ground to remove some of the dirt there before he let out a breath.

He knew he was trying to tread carefully, that this might be his only shot to come at the situation from the other side of things, what with Shikiyoku being so stubborn and set in her ways.

"Look, Hiei," he turned back up to the other, "I know what you're asking me. When she wore my mark in the past, my energy in her system helped dilute her energy directly, and unless she worked to suppress it, would shine and ward off those in danger of being snared. The time for a true Champion's pact has passed, as I'm sure you're well aware by now, and the mark she wears at present is nowhere near as strong as it needs to be in order to do anything remotely like what you're asking."

Kurama finally smiled and shook his head, "Truly, Hiei, you've more of an iron will than I. You've been running around with the most potent aphrodisiac in at least eight of the nine levels for, what, three decades now at least? I didn't even last a year, hell, a few months, and I was trying. That Koorime blood of yours has truly done you a disservice. Though I suppose I should thank you as your presence has been very informative for me after all these years:

"I always assumed the scent of charcoal on the air meant maturity in a fire demon, or signified they'd already 'come of age.' I can finally say without a doubt I know that not to be true. That scent is cinnamon. You, my friend, finally smell of charcoal. And I assume at the very least realize you want something from Shikiyoku-since that's who it happens around-even if you don't know what 'it' is?" 3

Hiei's gaze swung back to Kurama as the other spoke, attentive and observant even as he processed the information being given to him. He did specifically note what was said of Shiki's energy, and how it didn't make someone do something they didn't already want to do, and after a brief moment of considering his own moments where he'd 'given into' it, he nodded in agreement.

He might have voiced his agreement if the fox didn't continue on, making a comment that he could have sworn he'd heard elsewhere before about Shikiyoku being 'the most potent aphrodisiac', but he didn't have time to place the memory as Kurama continued on without a breath's hesitation.

Truthfully, once Kurama spoke of Hiei's 'iron will', he slowly became more and more lost as to the direction of this conversation, of the advice he'd come for. It was only with the understanding that Kurama always had a reason for bringing something up in relation to the original question that kept the koorime from doubting his friend's intentions with the final questions aimed at him.

Though he hadn't the faintest idea how Hiei's own wants - and his lack of understanding of them - had anything to do with Shikiyoku's energy. With brows furrowed, Hiei gave a slow nod in response to Kurama's question, and as his hands found the pockets of his pants, he finally answered truthfully, "A few times - more often of late."

But he said no more, instead waiting to see where Kurama was going with this.

~!**!~

Akari nodded in understanding and, after moving her apple from her right to her left hand, she reached out to gently, reassuringly pat Shizuka's head. "It's hard caring for others."

She smoothed a few hairs flat against the girl's head, then retreated and returned to her apple.

"If there's a moment when they're occupied - or asleep - and you want to, feel free to come find me." Her energy fluctuated just a little around them, and the girl's shadow twitched ever so slightly. "Just ask your shadow, it will lead the way." *

Shizuka nodded, but didn't appear to trust her voice enough to say anything about it.

In a similar manner to when she noticed the "tanuki" earlier, Shizuka looked up and around the courtyard for a moment before spying the dark-haired woman who had settled on the wood floor across the courtyard some distance away from them.

It was difficult to distinguish the dark shape she held against her from underneath the absolute mess of the braid of her hair whose color helped camouflage it, but once Shizuka recognized the arm wrapped around the other's neck, it was easy enough to spot the naga child who clutched at Shikiyoku and hid himself beneath her hair.

With an unreadable, more stoic expression than before, Shizuka lowered her gaze again.

It was about that time the other kids around her all started turning their noses up as if they'd caught a whiff of something, the wolf cub first, and as their eyes traveled across the way, each one of them had a pause when they saw her, maybe blinking a time or two and seeming to decide something for themselves as they would then relax and turn back down to their food.

~!**!~

Kurama noticed Hiei attempting to connect the dots between subjects, aware that eventually he'd have to fill in the blank space for the other just as he was aware of Hiei growing more uncomfortable.

He tilted his head down a little as he reached up and rubbed at his forehead with his fingers for a moment, "Twice in the same day, I find myself having to admit to you that I was wrong. I hope you understand how significant that is for me.

"When I first realized you hadn't mated with Shikiyoku, I was initially surprised, but I suppose it's that Koorime blood again. I'd just assumed even if you were a bit reticent for a fire demon that you'd figured out what a brothel was long before I met you in Human World.

He finally looked back up at Hiei, appearing to have decided something, "I suppose if you have any questions, a kitsune would be your best bet at decent answers anyway, though I certainly never imagined I of all beings would be the one explaining this to you. But if you haven't stumbled your way into it by now, it isn't likely your fault. She's kept herself from you for so long, it's a habit at this point.

"I discovered a long time ago an alternate means of managing Shikiyoku's energy outside of our pact and that lay in getting her to involuntarily expend it in greater quantities than is her norm. And to my knowledge there's only one way to do that with any sort of efficiency whatsoever.

"You have to have sex with her, Hiei." 3

Kurama admitting to being wrong twice in one day definitely was significant, and he couldn't remember if he'd heard Kurama admit to being wrong so much in a short time in… well, as long as he could currently remember. Granted, his mind was rather occupied with still trying to piece together the path of this conversation, so he didn't give it too much thought.

As Kurama continued on, the fire demon picked up on certain words that made him realize that all of the things he 'knew' of, but didn't know about were connected, and somehow also connected with Shikiyoku and his want of something from her.

Mated. Brothel. Sex.

Sure, he'd asked Shikiyoku about being "mates", and come to the conclusion that "mating" and "being mates" were not mutually exclusive, and on some level he understood that it also related to "sex". Words he'd heard many times in his life, and even more frequently during his time on the Ninth when he spent his days drinking and waiting on Shikiyoku.

Propositioning was another way he'd heard it called, but beyond the actual words themselves, once the demons he'd observed referencing it disappeared behind closed doors, his knowledge ended there.

And brothels?

Yeah, Tarou had mentioned more than a few times spending his own time in them, but Hiei himself had never asked what the establishments were or why it was of such great interest, nor had he ever bothered to enter one.

He'd never had reason to.

There was no doubt in his mind that Hiei had come unprepared for a conversation so loaded with new information, and that his lack of understanding of all of those keywords that Kurama had used made him even more aware of just how little he knew - of the world and, apparently, of himself.

And realizing he lacked so much knowledge did have Hiei staring at Kurama in silence for a few moments, not really sure what to say or ask so that he could get on the same level as the person who had made it very clear that such knowledge would be beneficial to both Hiei and Shikiyoku.

He weighed his options silently, unsure if he wanted to continue this conversation with Kurama or wait and ask Shikiyoku, who had established once before that he could come to her with any question without judgement.

Not that he felt judgement from Kurama either, he realized.

Finally, Hiei let himself lean into the trust he had in his friend, knowing Kurama had yet to steer him wrong, and admitted, "I'm afraid I have no frame of reference or context for what that means." He let out a breath and turned his eyes to the side, watching a squirrel run by in the distance. "I've heard the terms 'sex' and 'mating' - especially when I was trapped on the Ninth - but had no interest in finding their meaning before now."

~!**!~

The shift in the air was so obvious that Akari didn't even have to look up to know who had come within at least eyesight of the group, as any lingering tension all at once disappeared from the air and left the ambiance lighthearted and cheerful.

She glanced briefly in the direction that she'd seen the other kids watching, looking just long enough to confirm Shikiyoku's presence before she turned back to her apple, quietly continuing to munch on it as her eyes finally moved around the group to take in the sight of the kids enjoying their snacks. *

"You sit right back down here and finish your snack."

Shizuka's hand had reached out almost instinctively as the tanuki boy passed behind her back in Akari's direction, sneaking away.

He looked mortally offended that she'd managed to grab hold of his tail, but also completely out of his depth on what to do about it, finally making pleading eyes at Akari and holding his arms out again to her as if that's what he'd meant for this entire time, one of his hands still grasping a half-eaten snack.

~!**!~

"Indeed. And I suppose any time you have been propositioned you made the mistake of turning them down, mm?" A smile played at his lips as Kurama seemed to size Hiei up, aware on some level that humor was going to be the poor fire demon's ally in what could be a somewhat messy, not to mention clumsy business, especially with no experience in it.

Luckily for him, he had Kurama to at least give him some perspective on it-all of it, and not just what some demons would call 'good enough'-and with a partner like Shikiyoku, he'd find his way more smoothly than he would with anybody else.

All of this to say that as Kurama began his explanation still kneeling in the middle of the temple's kitchen garden and gesturing for Hiei to sit nearby as he was perfectly aware this would take a while, it at least started out more delicately, explaining to Hiei what exactly the physical signals his body might have been sending to him lately when he looked at Shikiyoku were and what they meant, as well as telling him-without explicitly mentioning Shikiyoku's name in any of his dialogue-how it would be different for her and why 'preparation' was important.

The actual act itself was pretty simple by all accounts and while Kurama didn't directly point out how some of the stalks and things around them in the garden were moving into particular shapes related to his descriptions, already aware of the various reactions sometimes quite literally sparking off of the fire demon next to him, he had no trouble maintaining concentration on the matter at hand, as well as making sure they were not going to be interrupted by any unintentional passersby.

And he was fully prepared to douse Hiei with the bucket of water he had nearby should he seem to be about to set all of his hard work on fire.

This is going to be much easier for you than I thought, my dear.

A part of Kurama hadn't really been sure Hiei would be so...okay with the ideas at hand.

"-but really, Hiei, there's nothing for you to worry so much about. It's going to be messy and it's going to be clumsy and there's not really any better teacher for you than the one you're trying to make love to, if you're planning on it becoming a habit. You were already on the right track, she's just better at deflecting than either you or I could have imagined she'd be. I said it before, but the fact that you'd still had your clothes on when I came across the two of you in her apartment a while back is practically miraculous. But I suppose if you hadn't followed up on any accidental advances you've made in the past, then she's already built up a tolerance level."

Kurama glanced Hiei's direction as the plants around them began unwinding more fully back to their previous states.

"Her inability to read you and your desires is going to make her so much more hesitant than she's ever been with anybody else, but I think she would follow your lead as long as you know what you're after. And if what you want is for her to lead, she's not half-bad at that either." He shrugged, "She's taught me plenty of things and sometimes a chaser wants the thrill of being chased and she knows that, it's just that with you she can't 'know' that cuz she can't read you like she does anyone else. So figuring out how to tell her is going to be important for you. Maybe the most important thing."

Kurama hadn't considered until this moment how much communication came naturally to Shikiyoku, and how difficult it must be for her to try and learn to do something she'd always been able to do, with someone she could not do it with the only way she knew how.

"Kurama the Youko. What are you doing to my Consort?"

Kurama barely even had to look up to see Shikiyoku, whom he'd felt approaching, standing farther back at the edge of the other side of the garden with her arms crossed and an expression he knew to be a frown of concern.

Frankly, he thought she looked beautiful, even wearing the same clothing she'd been in since she arrived and with only a small portion of the hair over her shoulder actually even still in anything resembling a braid.

But the wind was lifting the strands around her face and the concern had darkened her green eyes just a little and he found himself giving her a small smile in spite of the circumstances she'd unwittingly stumbled across.

"I'm just trying to educate him on what exactly his duties as such are."

That really made her frown, as she couldn't imagine what 'duties' he could have been explaining to Hiei that would have made the bond between them fuzz in gradually intensifying static.

And frankly, she didn't really want to ask. 3

Hiei didn't even deny the notion that he'd turned away any propositions; if he were to think about it in any capacity, he'd have been able to count at least a few even in recent months he had gotten while out on jobs, even if he didn't know what such propositions entailed for him if he had chosen to accept.

But that thought was filed away as he moved to sit when Kurama had motioned for him to do so, crossing his legs in front of himself and resting an elbow on his thigh, then his chin on his hand.

When Kurama launched into the explanation of all the things Hiei hadn't ever even considered exploring before this moment, the fire demon slowly shifted to sitting upright with his hands around his ankles, his expression turning very blank and unreadable as his emotions began to blend together, messy and tangled.

Awkwardness, embarrassment, self-consciousness mingled together with a sudden rush of understanding, hints of aversion broken up by the thought that perhaps those things weren't so bad, only to be interrupted by the concept of all of it being absolutely too much when he couldn't even handle seeing what Shikiyoku had exposed to him the night before in the forest, and… and…

And finally any coherent thought left him, replaced by the tumultuous emotions warring against one another and turning into nothing more than white-noise that he didn't even have the ability to consider being able to traverse the bond, much less worry about restraining it to keep Shikiyoku from sensing it.

And then Kurama followed all of that information up with reassurances that, yes, he'd been on his way to discovering all of it himself if not for Shikiyoku's inability to read him, and that he very well could just ask Shikiyoku to 'take the lead' - something he knew he'd wanted from her more than once without knowing what she would have been leading him toward, and then the realization that he'd been 'wanting' her for so long that he didn't even know when it began-

A larger spark came to life briefly, more threatening than the others before it, but still, it died on the air just as its predecessors had as his brain finally stopped, no longer allowing him to go down the sudden rabbit hole of thoughts, feelings, and wants that were now making so much more sense to him.

Because if he was this overwhelmed by just the thought of doing any one of the things spelled out to him, then he couldn't even imagine actually reaching out to Shikiyoku and-

Her voice cut through the air and his thoughts, and almost immediately a thrill ran down his spine and he turned to look at Shikiyoku. He noticed her expression of concern and tried with all of his might to focus on that, but his brain instead saw the messy braid and somewhat tousled clothing and the curve of her lips downward as she frowned and-

All at once he felt water rain down over him, starkly cold against the heat in his face and down his neck, somewhere dimly aware of the sound of the fire he'd erupted into being extinguished in a hiss, only smoke left behind as evidence of his combustion.

And even still, he couldn't even bring himself to breathe, much less open his mouth to reassure her that he was, after all, physically fine.

~!**!~

Akari hadn't missed the Tanuki making a move behind her, but hadn't moved to stop him as Shizuka did. She only took another bite from her apple, chewed on it, and raised a brow down at the little one when he turned to ask for her to hold him.

Her lips twitched into a playful smile. "Not if you're going to replace yourself with another log, little one. Nice try." She took the last bite from her apple and set the core to the side, next to the previous log she'd been holding. *

The tanuki frowned up at her and crossed his arms, pouting again before trying to steal a glance over his shoulder in the direction of Shikiyoku.

There was no one there now except for a small, curled up naga-boy, his upper half lying comfortably across part of his snake tail watching them from a distance.

Looking up at her again, the tanuki managed a soft, "Ba-san?" and without specifically intoning his 'please help me get away,' held his arms up to her a second time, this time waving the little snack clutched in his paw and glancing at the naga again.

~!**!~

"Please don't burn my crops. I just fixed them." Kurama said calmly from next to Hiei, a bucket still in one hand, now empty, as he gestured with the other hand at Hiei and looked pointedly at Shikiyoku as if to say 'See?' about some imaginary point or another hanging between them.

There was no hiding the sudden blush to Shikiyoku's cheeks, the pink a stark contrast on this pale complexion as opposed to looking like a deepening of color on the darker, toffee colored skin in her other form.

Something about Kurama's expression made her jump to a conclusion regarding exactly what 'duties' had been the topic of conversation.

"Well...if...nothing's wrong...then... I suppose I'll leave you to it." 3

Hiei felt the water that dripped from his hair and down his face quickly dissipating, leaving him dry in a matter of seconds even as Kurama and Shikiyoku had their brief exchange.

And then Shikiyoku was gone, and Hiei felt at least a small portion of his tension shift away. His eyelids closed and he took in a short breath, and the 'thanks' he meant to say to Kurama aloud ended up dying on his tongue as his emotions swirled around him again, this time unable to do anything but let them rage on so he could work through them little by little.

~!**!~

So. Cute.

The thought ran across Akari's mind as the Tanuki pouted up at her, and she did her best to not let it get to her and crumble her resolve; She had definitely noticed Shikiyoku holding another child, and assumed that one needed her full attention at least for the moment.

Though the Tanuki calling out to her with his soft little voice did bring her hazel eyes back to him, a soft "hm?" hummed curiously back at him.

She followed the waving snack in his paw, then the little gaze that flickered behind her and toward the compound again to spy Shikiyoku no longer there, and the child she'd been holding curled up quietly, alone.

Her lips twitched, threatening a frown as she turned to the Tanuki again, and while she did reach a hand out, she did not immediately pick up the little one. "You want to share your snack?" she asked him, her lips again finding the smile she'd worn before. *

He huffed at her again, sitting down and turning to tug at his own tail still being held in Shizuka's firm grasp, though the girl was too preoccupied with both the oni and now the wolf cub who had started vying for his own space in her lap only for the oni to growl at him like he was going for the jerky, which might have only been part of the motivation for being there.

~!**!~

Seeing Hiei settle in beside him, Kurame preemptively went to fill the bucket with water again before rejoining him, saying nothing else and deciding to let the fire demon either vent it out himself or ask his own questions if he needed. 3

~!**!~

Akari watched the Tanuki for a moment longer before finally giving in. She tapped Shizuka's hand with a finger lightly to let her know she was taking the little one, then slid her hands under the boy's armpits and lifted him from the ground and toward her lap.

She nudged her nose against his little cheek. "Okay," she murmured, "but be quick. Don't get me in trouble."

She leaned forward, grabbed another of the same snack in the boy's hand and put it in his free hand with the intent to have both given to the naga boy, and she set him on his feet to her left.

Before she fully released him, she lifted a finger to her lips in a "shh" motion, winked, then turned and grabbed another snack, this time for herself. As soon as he left her, she turned to watch the interaction over her shoulder curiously. *

The tanuki started wriggling in her arms just as soon as she'd gotten ahold of him, pausing only long enough to accept the food which he promptly took a bite of as if he'd forgotten the other bit in his paw.

As soon as he was out of her grasp, he'd disappeared in a small puff of smoke, though with the sun out, he was nowhere near invisible as he darted for the other side of the courtyard and clambered up on the wooden floor several feet away from the naga.

Plopping down, he took another bite of one of the snacks and put the other one next to him, turning his head away in a big show of not looking.

When he tried to sneak a glance over his shoulder and saw the other hadn't moved, he picked up the snack and scooted closer, then set it down again, stretching out as far as he could to get it away from himself before settling back down again and taking another bite, looking away once more.

The scalier one had certainly noticed by now, maybe shrinking a bit as the tanuki got closer and sat back down.

The tanuki reached out behind himself looking for the snack he'd put on the ground, taking a bite of it and putting it back, trying to nudge it even closer to the naga.

As he left it alone again, the naga shifted in place, obviously interested this time, and slowly started to uncoil as the tanuki made another big show of busying himself with his own treat.

Putting his treat down on one side of him, he reached for the second snack and took another bite, but when he went to grab for his own snack, he actually stood up and looked around at his feet as it had gone missing.

Patting around on his fur like he thought he misplaced it, the second snack got set down on the floor forgotten until he spun in place a couple of times, suddenly unable to find either one.

When he caught sight of the naga back where it had started with cheeks full and eyes wide, the tanuki looked like he might throw a fit for a moment, but only sat down again, hunching over and genuinely looking a little sad at being empty handed, but looking up to see if maybe Shizuka had been watching.

"He always does that." Shizuka knew he was looking at her, though she'd refused to acknowledge him, "It's like he wants to do something nice, but he's too greedy, so it never turns out like he means it to."

The tanuki scrambled to his feet and started to hop down the walkway waving his little arms excitedly as Shikiyoku reappeared from the other side of one of the sliding doors along the path.

She reached down to rub her hand between his ears as she went back to the naga who uncoiled himself and silently requested being picked up again.

When Shikiyoku sat down with him, the tanuki sat himself on the other side of her lap and appeared to be doing a lot of talking until eventually falling asleep in her arms, herself looking content with her circumstances.

The rest of the ones on the grounds finished preparations for the dinner Genkai requested, to take place before the sun set in a field nearby the main buildings. By the time everyone else was called to the meal, there was a funeral pyre erected as well as several blankets and things spread out including a few long, low tables carried from various places for people to recline at and some raised canopies to gather under.

Between Shizuka, Shikiyoku, Botan, and Akari, they managed to wrangle the kids into a little area more secluded from the main arrangement that even the small naga boy seemed content with when, after getting them settled, Shikiyoku left and began slowly weaving her way through those gathered. Still silently keeping to himself, at least when he settled into a resting position, he seemed relaxed enough to lightly snooze in a place in the sun.

When Kurama heard the call ring out over the grounds, the redhead reached over and cleaned his hands and arms in his latest bucket of fresh water.

"I don't know if you're hungry, Hiei, but there should be a nice last meal together with Genkai arranged for us before the cremation ceremony begins. Either way, I'd appreciate you moving from the garden proper."

Once it seemed like everyone had gathered, there was a quiet moment where in the midst of some chanting, Genkai's coffin was carried by several disciples to the main canopy where the pyre was and laid on top of it, brought out from where it had spent the day in the dojo amidst some more sparring.

A meal was placed at the small, temporary altar-along with a pack of cigarettes courtesy of Yusuke-and then after a bit more ceremony, everyone was encouraged to eat.

Generally, Shikiyoku knew the names of those gathered and greeted them by such, easily introducing herself to any she hadn't met and getting their name just as readily in return.

While some of her discussions consisted of exchanged condolences, there were actually quite a few encouraging conversations happening. Many of the older disciples seemed to realize they could do a lot of good in the world, and were already making plans of spreading Genkai's teachings, having never considered leaving the Master before then.

Generally, the atmosphere was positive, and at Genkai's request, none were wearing black. 3

As the day wore on, Hiei remained firmly planted on the ground, unmoving from his criss-cross sitting position as he worked through the information Kurama had given him and all of the thoughts and feelings he had about them. Slowly, as the sun moved across the sky and finally below the horizon, his side of the bond had quieted to a steady hum of his churning thoughts, giving no indication of any specific emotion he had.

He'd lost count of the number of times Kurama had thrown water over him to keep the area from catching fire, though at some point he had managed a small 'thanks' mumbled after one particularly cold double-dousing he'd earned back-to-back.

At the last, just before Kurama spoke up about dinner, Hiei came to the conclusion that, yes, he did feel those things for Shikiyoku and, much to his surprise, had felt them for longer than he could even begin to try and guess. With that realization came the memories of the times when she'd been "too much" for him and he'd leaned away - like when he'd retreated from a kiss and she'd followed him instead - or the moments where it had almost been "too much" but he'd most definitely wanted more.

And those memories came with an acceptance, an acknowledgment, that it would likely be some time before it wasn't too much for him to consider, despite his obvious wanting to not be so overwhelmed by the thought of-

He cut that thought short and finally settled on his emotional exhaustion from working through the absolute upheaval he'd experienced. He knew he'd have to be with Shikiyoku again, but between the numerous buckets of water thrown over him and the time he'd taken to reflect, he was sure that he'd exhausted himself enough to not instantaneously combust at the sight of her.

So, when Kurama's voice did call out to him, asking him to leave the garden, Hiei blinked his eyes open and finally looked at his friend for the first time in many hours. Then he looked around them to see the time of day, not having really noticed time passing.

When he sighed, all remaining tension melted away from him, and Hiei slowly pushed himself to stand. He stretched and his back popped, relieving some of the stiffness from his rigid sitting position he'd maintained throughout the day.

Finally, he turned and trailed after Kurama, who had left Hiei alone to decide whether to join the others or not.

Without so much as a sound, Hiei slipped into the gathering crowd, his hands in his pockets and his eyes roaming from face to face until he found Shikiyoku making rounds, interacting with each person in some way or another. Then, after a beat of admiring the evening light on her face, he shook himself mentally and searched for the quietest, most secluded place in the gathering, knowing he would be far too exhausted emotionally to engage in any lengthy conversation or antics.

He spied Akari standing to the side, her eyes trailing after one of the humans also making his rounds through the group, doing this and that, and a part of him recognized the look on her face as some sort of waiting expectation. Of some kind of want.

He moved around the outskirts of the group until he came to stand on Akari's right, not looking at her. His eyes found Shikiyoku again in the crowd, and he watched her quietly as she moved about.

The smallest sigh left Akari's nose next to him, and he only nodded in silent agreement, his own thoughts briefly spiraling from quiet observation to a brief want of the woman across the crowd.

Akari blinked as the faintest scent of charcoal fluctuated around her and she glanced at Hiei next to her in time to see his little nod - though who he nodded to or why, she didn't know. She only saw the muted expression on his face - no longer seeming to be 'unreadable' so much as he looked 'tired', and she gave a brief smile at him.

"Long day, hm?"

He didn't even glance at her. "Yeah. You?"

She nodded, though if he saw it she didn't know.

A few beats of companionable silence passed between them, the charcoal smell wafting away on the breeze after a couple of seconds before returning again, stronger this time, and just as she thought to look at him and see what was up, he let out a breath next to her.

He shifted and turned to move behind her, surprising her by briefly patting her shoulder as he passed. "I'm getting a drink. Want one?"

Akari blinked, her eyes trailing after the demon and noticing again the scent of charcoal that followed after him and his gaze that occasionally flickered to Shikiyoku as he maneuvered through the crowd. "...Yeah, I'll have whatever you're having."

"You sure? It may be strong."

Akari's lips twitched into a ghost of a teasing smile, and she turned to people-watch the area again. "Surprise me." *

As Shikiyoku continued stopping along at the different groups and either listening into or being included in the conversations, she hardly noticed her varying levels of affection, some of those gathered wishing for any kind of gentle contact with someone and being relieved with a touch on the arm or a hug they hadn't realized they needed.

And she left in her wake these smaller groups here or there who suddenly felt more relaxed, bumping shoulders with one another during a joke and more unconcerned about their circumstances.

She wasn't exactly sure who was watching her at first, looking around those gathered briefly when she didn't immediately get a sense of any specific desire and only felt the telltale shiver at the back of her neck that left her unwittingly gleaming more than before.

When it happened a second time, and released more of her energy into the air, she made a more intentional job of looking around, subconsciously reaching over and-as she rejoined her current conversation-loosening her hair from its braid only so she could smooth it back over and redo it more neatly than before. 3

Akari stood with her arms crossed lazily over herself, her eyes following random people at first, hovering on Kita every once in a while when she caught sight of him and was reminded of the conversation she had yet to have with him, until she noticed some people looking more relaxed than others and, once her eyes followed the trail of people slowly unwinding, she let her eyes fall curiously on Shikiyoku, watching as the woman hugged this person and rested a hand on another as she made her way around.

When Hiei rejoined her, she noticed the charcoal scent to be lighter this time even as he extended a glass in her direction. She took it from him with a slight raise in his direction - her silent thanks for his making it for her - and she turned back to watching Shikiyoku maneuver around the gathering, occasionally sipping from her glass.

A couple of silent minutes passed before Akari scented the charcoal again, and she cut her eyes to spy Hiei out of the corners, watching his expression as he lifted his glass to his lips and took a drink.

Realization dawned on her and she turned to her own drink, scrutinizing its contents and wondering if his was stronger than hers, or the same. "So. Any trips to the Ninth since we last talked, Hiei?"

The fire demon lowered his drink to his navel, his stare softening to a quiet gaze that continued to follow Shikiyoku. "...Obviously not," he replied after a beat, wondering why she thought he'd had the energy to do so after being ill.

After a few more beats of silence where she did not respond, he glanced over at the dog in time to see Akari turn to watch Shikiyoku just as he had been, and the remembrance of the conversation they'd been having when she first asked him that question blinked by his mind's eye.

She'd asked 'how far' he'd gone, and the conversation had turned to his interactions with Shikiyoku, and-

He felt his face suddenly flush, and the air around his head briefly sparked with a single ember that died just as quickly as it came to life, and he didn't miss her lips twitching in amusement.

He turned away from her and took another, longer drink from his glass, and it was her turn to reach over and pat him on the arm. "Sorry Hiei, I'm not making fun of you. Promise." *

When the sensation continued happening intermittently, Shikiyoku became more and more aware of her appearance, or rather her disheveled state of day old clothes, and especially as she kept giving off little poofs of energy of varying intensity, she suddenly missed the glasses she'd left behind in the room and felt somewhat silly for not bringing any hair pins to an event where there would be this many people.

Given the nature of it, she hadn't thought it would be a problem.

The truly confounding thing is she couldn't figure out where it was coming from, and the idea that she knew the one person nearby whose desires she couldn't typically feel didn't actually cross her mind as she'd get that sensation of being watched crawling up to her scalp and sending her energy buzzing through her veins without her direct sayso. 3

The two fell into silence again, neither seeming bothered by the quiet presence of the other as Hiei and Akari took intermittent sips from their respective glasses. Both let their eyes trail after Shikiyoku, observing the effect she had on those she interacted with throughout the dinner and ceremony, both interested for very different reasons.

Hiei finished his drink at about the same moment he realized Shikiyoku's eyes had begun to dance around the area, her hands occasionally straightening out her shirt or adjusting her braid, doing anything to make herself look more 'neat' and, if he had to guess, less inconspicuous.

He realized in that moment that she'd likely been sensing his staring at her and became aware of herself in relation to how those around her viewed her, and he turned inward, toward the bond.

(Sorry, Shiki.) His lips twitched ever so slightly, threatening a small, albeit tired smile. (It's me watching you. I didn't mean to make you self conscious.) His smile faded. (And I'm sorry for making you worry earlier today.) *

(Oh.) The amount of relief in the bond was palatable and Shikiyoku finally searched for him in the gathering, spying him more removed from the main area. (That was you?)

She smiled before turning away again. (I can't tell what you want, but I knew someone wanted something. I should have known. Did you need a drink?)

(I just didn't know what was going on, but you- ...you seemed okay.)

Shikiyoku was blushing again. 3

Hiei made a point this time to turn his eyes down to his empty glass, his emotions briefly going to war again despite just how emotionally exhausted he felt. (Yeah, that was me,) he reassured her, glad to hear the relief in her voice.

But at her mentioning knowing 'someone' wanted 'something', a small little ember flickered to life near his head and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to broach the topic or not, though he remembered Kurama telling him she would follow his lead.

He noticed she hadn't gone into specifics, and a part of him felt perhaps even more embarrassed that she knew - or at least had some idea - about the topic Kurama and Hiei had discussed to make his end of the bond be so full with scattered information before.

He had a feeling that if he brought up the subject, they would need to leave so he could express himself without worry of others noticing his little sparks - as he currently worried about them anyway.

On the other hand, the longer he ruminated over it, the more exhausting it all felt.

The bond gave a little sigh that he didn't outwardly voice as he swirled his empty glass.

(I don't need a drink; I've already discovered it's less than helpful.) He hesitated, his eyes slowly lifting from his glass to wander the area, purposely skipping over Shiki this time. (...If you could be in your demon form without worrying about your energy going 'unrestrained', would you prefer that?) *

Thankfully for Shikiyoku, she had reached the group of demons who had gathered together under one of the canopies and didn't require her full attention, having been with them that first day.

There was a bit of that static feedback in the bond between them which was, needless to say, distracting.

If you could be in your demon form...

The question echoed in her head and the bond between them simmered with her considering the question.

A small part of her immediately said yes. If she didn't have her energy, she felt like she would be a much happier camper in life. But she knew that wasn't exactly what Hiei meant.

(I...um...) She was blushing again, but this time at how quickly her answer had been 'yes,' and how hesitant she was to admit it. (I don't know. It's hard not to imagine worrying about that, Hiei. And most people know me like this nowadays anyway, so I'd probably stay in what makes them more comfortable?) 3

Hiei was reminded in this moment of the difference in their bond between that morning and the current conversation, where in this odd non-answer he'd received, he had no other context about it from the bond about her feelings and thoughts, unlike when she'd answered his question about rescuing the children earlier that day.

He again wondered if this 'incompleteness' in the bond that he'd never experienced before was similar to how she perceived his desires - or lack of them, from her perspective.

(If I knew of a way to help you manage your energy in that form so that it stayed close to you like it did last night and this morning, instead of free-floating and reaching out to others like it did in the meadow, would that help?) *

(Um...I- yes?) Shikiyoku blinked, the bond alight and rushing not only with wondering at him noticing her energy acting different but also with her worries about her energy and how Hiei even had to worry about it, too, like in the meadow, and if she had just done their pact right to begin with, maybe she'd have his marking now still...

She seemed confused. (But you asked me.) And she hadn't had an answer for him. 3

Hiei nodded to himself, his eyes lowering to his empty glass again as he took in her confusion, her wondering about her own energy changes, and her worries. He let them roll over him, adding just briefly to his own worries and awkwardness about the conversation and the direction it would eventually take, if he so wanted it to.

And he knew this would likely be the last moment to back out and save it for a later time.

But when he looked up and spied her in the crowd again, he knew he wouldn't be able to put off the conversation without the bond leaking his worries and various other emotions in her direction.

His eyes swept the area, aware of how many eyes could turn to him if he combusted here like he had been doing in the meadow.

"Akari."

"Hm?"

Hiei turned and passed his empty glass to her. "Could you-"

Without a beat's hesitation, the dog demon relieved him of the glass and nodded. "Go. You look like you need some time away." She smiled briefly at him before throwing back the last of her drink.

Hiei nodded his thanks before he turned and landed his eyes on Shikiyoku again, and in the blink of an eye he'd crossed the path between them and came to stand behind her, a hand gently reaching for hers.

(Can I steal you away? I…) he hesitated, sensing his energy giving the slightest flux, threatening a spark as he twined his fingers through hers. Where his words wouldn't form, the bond told her of his not wanting to draw attention to himself while they conversed, and how so very aware he was of his own energy in the moment. *

This was definitely not one of the moments in her life where she knew what Hiei was going to do, so when Shikiyoku suddenly felt the heat of him at her back, she blinked again and looked up as she felt him come to tenderly hold her hand, his grasp sending a batch of sparkles skittering up her wrist to dance briefly along her arm.

(Of course.)

Just as the sun truly began to set below the horizon, some of the disciples starting to light torches as another chant began and they gathered around the pyre, Kurama watched as Hiei suddenly appeared behind Shikiyoku, the woman silently turning away to follow after him into the growing darkness in the next moment while Kurama took another sip from the drink in his hand and turned his gaze back up to the ceremony just beginning.

He'll get there. 3

The moment Shikiyoku agreed, he took a step back, turned, and began to silently lead her away from the gathering, glad to sense fires being moved around behind him for the ceremony that was beginning and, hopefully, acting as a good enough distraction to let them slip out without notice.

He waited until they were in the shadows before he turned, scooped her up into his arms - very aware of every place they touched - and took off at an unrelenting sprint toward the treeline, his eyes focused on the path ahead even as the bond whispered some of his thoughts toward Shikiyoku:

His worry about his energy flaring as it had earlier and possibly starting a fire, his self-consciousness about the topic he wanted to bring up, his hesitation in admitting his lack of knowledge…

All of that, tinged with the tiniest bit of static, filled the bond steadily as he ran.

As he ran, he found that it helped expend some of the nervous energy he'd had pent up so that, by the time he slowed to a walk and set Shikiyoku on her feet, he wasn't quite so unnerved as he had been before.

He stared at her for a long minute, taking in her features as he thought about what he wanted to say and how to say it.

(I… asked Kurama if he had any ideas about helping you with your energy today, since I noticed you are so much more of yourself in your 'true' form.) *

The only response Shikiyoku really had for Hiei and the thoughts he was having as he ran pertained to him starting a fire, and how if he was really worried, there was a lake somewhere on Genkai's property.

This response was tinged with her amusement and she squeezed her arms around his neck tighter briefly with the notion of trying to relieve some of...whatever tension he was feeling.

It was all...weirdly different than before, in a way Shikiyoku couldn't quantify, even the way he'd picked her up, and something about it was stirring in the bond just out of her reach and out of respect for his privacy, she didn't delve further.

Set on her own feet before him, her features glimmered a bit under his gaze, transfixed by whatever emotion she'd never felt from him before that was something more than just hesitation.

The bond told him she didn't really understand about being 'more herself,' but the hand at her side twitched like she wanted to grab for his as a mix of his worry at her being upset at him having asked Kurama passed over to her.

(If...if I get to...do other things-) Her eyes darted away from him as the memory of that morning's conversation made her blush again. (-then you get to ask other people about me, Ka-chan.)

There was an accompanying approval and acknowledgement that the kitsune must have had something for Hiei as her gaze returned to him: (I would never have thought to ask him myself.) 3

As aware of her as he was, Hiei did not miss the twitch of her hand at her side and, despite his own hyper-awareness of how much he enjoyed her touch and the things it could lead to if it were his intent for it to do so, he reached out to take her hand in his again, gentle and warm.

His eyes remained on their hands as she responded, his heart feeling lighter in that moment as he registered the approval she had for his seeking help elsewhere.

The bond definitely didn't let him keep such relief to himself either.

After a few beats of hesitation, his thumb stroking across her hand as if to comfort himself, he drew in a long breath as if to speak aloud, and held it.

(I told him how I had noticed your energy in the meadow had free-floated away from you, even going so far as to seeking out the others with us, and how you worried about its influence over those who were there. I also noticed - and told him of this - that when I joined you in the forest last night, your energy remained around your body and never really reached out to either of us when we were together, and it stayed that way even this morning when we were laying together.)

His face flushed and a brief ember came to life as he remembered laying with her so wonderfully tangled that morning, and that while he definitely wanted to enjoy it again, as he currently was, he would be too lost in his thoughts to fully be in that moment with her if he didn't address it all now.

And he wasn't quite sure yet if his talking with her about it would make it better or worse for him in that regard, but he barrelled on before he could talk himself out of it and into quietly brooding for the next few days.

(He mentioned that he'd found a method outside of having the Champion's Mark.) He finally lifted his eyes to her face again, though he didn't quite meet her gaze and instead stared at her cheek, her nose, her mouth… anything but meeting her gaze head-on. (And that it was by mating.)

The breath he'd been holding left him all at once as the bond finally seemed able to pick up and share to her the emotions he'd been trying to reign in all day, his awkwardness, self-consciousness, and even his wanting of her and the accompanying fear of not being able to handle it if it was 'a lot' finally allowed to come to her awareness unrestrained. *

Despite all of her initial reactions as he started speaking-the spark that flew up her hand when he grabbed it, the sudden widening of her eyes as she pieced together Hiei's endgame even as she came to terms with the fact that she'd never thought she would have a conversation with the man in front of her about her sex life-Shikiyoku's gaze softened as the rest of Hiei's pent up emotions filtered between them and at the last she put her other hand up to his cheek, gently smoothing her thumb over it.

At least at this point there was no doubt in her mind he knew what that word meant.

(You know...somewhere I always thought you didn't want me.) She gave him a small smile. (That I wasn't the right one for you. But that we'd find whoever it was, if you wanted to.)

She shook her head a little at such thoughts sounding a little silly now and found herself repeating words she'd told him the night before, reminding him of just how much she meant it.

(There's nothing wrong with taking things on your own time, okay? I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you.) She stretched up and briefly kissed his cheek, the one with the markings. 3

Despite his nervous energy, the bond bubbled with the beginnings of a laugh at Shikiyoku's admission of helping him find someone. He'd known for a long time that there would be no one else, even if he didn't know what all he could have with or from her.

(I've… wanted you for a long time. I just didn't know what that 'want' meant,) he admitted. (I can say with certainty, however, that it has only ever been you.)

As she continued on to remind him that here was no hurry, that she would take whatever time he needed her to, he let his eyelids close and his emotions slowly wash between them, finally able to be let out and, with her reassurances and kiss, be soothed enough that he no longer felt absolutely consumed by them.

He leaned into the kiss on his cheek, able to enjoy the contact without worry about all of the information he'd learned or that she'd be disappointed in him in any way.

He finally found his actual voice for the first time in hours, "Would you… teach me?" He opened his eyes again and finally met her gaze. (If it does become 'too much', your energy is also an option. Kurama also mentioned - and after thinking about it some today, I've come to agree - that it doesn't coerce anyone to do things they didn't already want to do.) His lips twitched as he thought about the times he'd actively let her energy in, and how it had encouraged him to reach for her, to kiss her, to be there for her when he hadn't really known how, and those memories briefly flashed across the bond for her.

Such as the time they made out on the couch in his room - something he'd 100% enjoyed doing before he'd let her energy in, and even more so after.

The time he'd kissed her as she'd walked backward up the stairs…

And a few others that flashed by so quick that even he didn't quite catch them. *

Knowing what he did, at the mention of teaching him, Hiei would suddenly recognize the curve of Shikiyoku's lips and slight spark to her eyes, the suggestiveness in them and the immediate reminder of the seductress nickname he had for so long found distasteful as she went to reply,

"I suppose that depends on how good of a student you are...Gouka." She thought better of even mentioning Kurama's name right now, but the echo of his words about Hiei being a 'quick study' and only having 'a terrible teacher' in her certainly entered her realm of ideas.

She could certainly sense that Hiei believed himself and Kurama to be right, though she definitely still hesitated even as she gave him a small nod. (If...you...think that to be the case, we can certainly try that route if it comes to it. I-)

This time she blushed and looked away a little.

(I-it sort of...just happens, though. M-my energy. You already make me...sparkle.) She moved her hand still in his just enough to bring attention to how his fingers made little gleaming golden glitters of her energy shimmer where they were in contact with her, but couldn't quite manage to give coherent form to the implications and how they likely couldn't avoid it anyway. 3

The smile on Shikiyoku's face reminded him instantly of the one other time he'd received it along with what he now recognized to be an invitation, a proposition, from her that he'd literally walked away from.

And here she was, not saying the same words but definitely giving the same look, smile and all.

He felt a mixture of intimidation and excitement, both of which mingled together and traversed the bond between them even as she seemed to make a complete one-eighty and become more bashful about her energy and his idea of using it in moments where his own confidence lacked.

Without thinking, the hand that did not hold hers reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and he tucked it back into place along her windswept braid, taking the briefest step closer despite his earlier flustered emotions and he returned her kiss from earlier to her left cheek.

"I have been told I'm an exceptionally quick study. Maybe it won't be necessary," he murmured against her cheek. *

A sliver of laughter puffed out from Shikiyoku's lips, feeling the scattering of energy along her skin from where he kissed her as her eyes shut and she got to enjoy his continued closeness.

The laughter kept her lips twitching in a small smile, as she replied softly, "Well...if I'm as terrible a teacher as they say, I suppose I'll just have to be thankful that it seems I have no choice in the matter anyway."

She leaned her face gently into his, wanting him to kiss her again.

"You can already stop me with a look. We discovered that a long time ago." She figured he'd done it before then, but the bond reminded him of the 'game' he had played a very long time ago indeed when they were picking their way through the old arena. 3

Shikiyoku's leaning into him was very quickly rewarded with another kiss, this one lingering longer against her cheek even as she reminded him of their time at Hanging Neck Island.

He paused briefly and pulled away far enough to look her over once, his eyes catching the never-ending sparkles that burst to life wherever he even so much as brushed against her, a new understanding falling over him as he realized it was likely very similar to how he'd gone up in flames in the gardens earlier.

He leaned in to kiss her cheek again, then pulled away far enough to kiss the corner of her mouth.

(As long as I'm clever enough to follow the one who leads, I'm sure there will be very few… 'issues'.) He closed his eyes and finally covered her lips with his own, his free hand playing with the end of her braid almost idly. (Who better to learn from than the one who holds all of my interest?) *

Shikiyoku almost laughed again as she felt her energy continuing to respond to his attentions, instead letting go of Hiei's hand to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck when he found her lips.

(And we've already well established that you're a very clever demon.) She smiled and for a moment couldn't kiss him back. (Are there any other compliments you would like to hear about yourself while I'm at it? I could say something about how incredibly fierce you are.) 3

Hiei leaned further down into the kiss as Shikiyoku's arms circled around his neck, sinking himself deeper into her - her presence, her kiss, even her response in the bond - and fully committing himself to this moment with her.

A part of him - that newly-defined part that wanted more than just these kisses from her - ignited, sending a few stray sparks flying around his head that mingled with the glitters just barely rolling from Shikiyoku's skin.

(Fierce?) he repeated the word as if she'd never called him by it before, though the amusement accompanying it belied him. (Am I as fierce as you are beautiful?) *

There was a sound at the back of Shikiyoku's throat that she barely suppressed behind suddenly clenched teeth as she swallowed it, the strange tension countered by the energy Hiei had been coaxing into the air wafting suddenly against him in a more intense shift of glitters as Shikiyoku took the moment to collect herself before reminding him as she had the night before from that same, low and inoffensive place between them:

(Compliments...will get you everywhere, Ka-chan.) Though this time he likely understood exactly as much as she meant by it even as it murmured to him from her side of the bond, if in a slightly strained manner that spoke as much of her own sense of restraint wavering. 3

If Hiei hadn't been aware of her energy before this moment, he definitely was now as it washed over him in a wave of golden glitters that smelled of strawberries and something else he didn't have the capacity to define in the moment, too distracted by the confirmation that yes, her energy reacted similarly to his own little fiery sparks, if only more pronounced in his eyes.

And perhaps more impactful, as somewhere in the back of his mind he became aware that he hadn't made any effort to 'keep it out', and had let her energy slowly soothe whatever nerves had lingered after her reassurances and left him with nothing more than his love for and want of her.

So when she broke the kiss just enough to put the slightest space between them, a part of him wanted to protest.

And he did so with a quip back at her before he'd even considered the outcome of his next move:

(I know. I learned from the best teacher around.) *

The growl she'd nearly given him a moment ago only huffed out of her nose between them this time as she hadn't quite given up on clenching her teeth together when she wasn't sure how much longer she could genuinely exercise whatever iota of restraint she had left.

While the bond-not to mention her energy-did give him an acknowledgement for knowing exactly what he was doing, she only pulled her lips between her teeth to work at them a little with her tongue before letting them go and finally finding her own voice.

One of the arms around his neck slipped back down until her hand found his collar bone, shifting beneath his shirt and resting against the warm skin there as she caught a whiff of the lingering scent of charcoal on the air.

"If you...don't...want this, Hiei. ...Then I strongly suggest you stop." 3

Hiei retreated just a fraction from Shikiyoku as she huffed between them, his eyes coming open to watch her pull her lips into her mouth in a way he'd never noticed her do before.

Even before she'd spoken up, he'd come to realize that he'd reached the point where if he was not ready, or in any way wanted to back out, this would be it.

But her energy pulsated around them again, filling the air and his nostrils with her scent and further removing him from any hesitations that he'd even considered having before, leaving him only with the knowledge that he'd wanted her for a long time, and now that he finally knew what that meant, he could learn from her about all the things he'd been missing.

All the things she'd offered when he hadn't had a clue about the possibilities.

He slowly stood upright, his eyes coming fully open now as he surveyed the area, more little embers coming to life around him to mingle with her sparkles, larger now and more stubborn than the previous, easily-snuffed sparks.

"...You mentioned a lake nearby." *

Shikiyoku released her hold on him as he shifted, letting him move as he liked, if not in any way vacating his immediate presence, but not quite relaxing herself, eyes still closed and finding she was wound too tight to do much else.

At his prompting, that tension at her shoulders and neck immediately released and she actually laughed this time, looking up at him again and watching for a moment how he seemed in some ways in very little control of himself at present.

The hand at his collarbone shifted back and forth across it like it was going to do any sort of soothing of his predicament.

"Yes, my love, there is a lake nearby." While she had intentionally steered clear of fantasizing about this life partner she'd acquired, there was nowhere in her wildest dreams that she would have considered any initial encounter with him happening outside, and at the same time...she would feel terrible if the two of them accidentally burned any one of the actual buildings somewhere behind them.

"I suppose it's good to know we are more than prepared for survival outdoors together. If I thought you had any sort of aversion to it, I would say it's not ideal."

They'd spent much time traveling through the Ninth in the past, as well as many of the other levels. 3

Her use of the words 'my love' spread warmth at Hiei's core, and for a brief moment he only stared out her, reminded again of his love for her. Between her earlier absolutely adorable request for another kiss on the cheek and her response to his question, he couldn't help but stoop down to kiss her again, this time with all of his affection and love permeating the space between them.

Though he did pull away to answer her commentary about having an aversion to the outdoor escapade, his lips turning up into a wry smile. "I spent the entire day having buckets of water thrown over me. The lake won't be an issue."

Without another beat's hesitation, he took her hand in hers and met her gaze again.

(Take the lead, my Beloved.) *

"Ah, hm. I'm sorry, what? Buckets of- I-" Shikiyoku absolutely began leading Hiei away just as soon as he'd put his hand in hers, and at a pace that was not quite a jog, but clearly indicative of her actual impatience that she'd otherwise quite hidden away from her features by now, "Hiei, I somehow doubt your...lesson, as explicit as must have been, included the perils of water, no matter how many buckets of it you had thrown over your head. We're already pushing it being outdoors, and that's only because I know you don't mind being outside. We've slept next to each other on some pretty hard ground as I recall. Water activity is not as fun as you might think and there's no way I would recommend it to someone for a first time. Not unless you just really wanted to.

"Besides, you're a fire demon," she gave him from over her shoulder quite possibly the wickedest grin he'd ever seen from her, eyes flashing and so full of gold their green was nearly gone, "You're supposed to burn." 3

Hiei kept pace with Shikiyoku, letting her set the tone of the conversation and the speed with which they moved, wholly and truly giving her the lead. And as she spoke, he considered the fact that she most certainly was giving him the options along with her recommendations, and he nodded almost to himself.

"Whatever you think is best, I will follow your lead."

Though at her mentioning of him and burning, his earlier unease crept into his awareness again, absolutely aware in that moment that should he combust as he had earlier in the day, there was the very real possibility of hurting her. He pulled his energy closer to himself, muting the little sparks that had been flickering to life.

(If I burn you, tell me. ...So I won't keep burning you.) He knew he'd burned her before, but this new worry stemmed from a more long-exposed type of burn or, even more frightening to him, an even hotter burn than the one he'd left on her thigh before.*

Shikiyoku was fairly certain she'd never actually done anything in the water with a fire demon before, but until Hiei had context enough to decide on his own, she wasn't going to subject him to it.

As it was, when he reiterated how he'd just as soon put himself in her care for now she reached up with her free hand and rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

"Very trusting of you," she barely managed between a tight set to her jaw, surprised both at how she didn't just pin him to a nearby tree but also wasn't sure they would actually make it where she meant for them to go.

If she didn't think being near water would make him feel better, she would have already pulled him to the ground. Therefore, there was no way she had patience enough to wait the entire run back to his fire-proof apartment, a thought that hadn't occurred until he spoke just now.

Her head popped up and her hand dropped from her nose when she sensed him growing self-conscious about his own energy and she gave his arm a little shake where she had a hold on his hand.

(Hey...) She stopped and moved in front of him, free hand naturally coming to rest over the marking at his chest.

She gave him a small smile, (Now's not the time to be practicing self-control, alright? You decide you wanna work on your discipline later and we can try some stuff.) She grinned. (Maybe put that ice side to work for you finally.)

(But right now,) she let go of his hand to reach up for his neck and pull him towards her, stretching up and planting kisses at his jaw and trailing them back towards his neck and ear and purposefully intending to get him to flare up again as she kissed down his neck a ways, (you're every bit an awakened fire demon.)

She moved back and kissed him just in front of his ear before murmuring to him, "So trust me, alright?"

She settled back on her feet so she could look him in the eyes, "If it all becomes too much, I promise to speak up-" (-okay?)

"Now...you have to promise me something..." Shikiyoku's eyes flickered away and it was her turn to feel self-conscious. "I- ...I can't read you. Not like I do everybody else. I've...never been with anyone like that and...I can...do things that I think you'll like, I think I know you well enough to try at least-" She let out a humored breath, "-otherwise I wouldn't be nearly so...eager." She finally looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow and smirk, but dropped her eyes away as she reached back to rub at her neck, "But you said...you'd tell me if you didn't like things and I...need you to say that again." 3

A small chuckle slipped past his lips at her commentary of being so trusting, his eyes seeing her energy become more agitated on the air around her even as she came to a stop and turned to face him.

He kept his eyes on her face until she leaned up to trail kisses along his skin, at which point he leaned ever so slightly into her touch as his energy almost immediately fluctuated and sent a few more sparks into the air.

An even larger spark danced to life nearby when her breath washed over his ear, and all he could manage was a nod as he released what little control he'd tried to have over his energy.

(I trust you.)

When she pulled away from him slightly, his hands quickly placed themselves on her hips, the sudden thought of her taking another step back being unappealing and, even as he became aware of his want to have her closer, he gently tugged her in his direction, never breaking eye contact.

Again, he nodded at her, glad to have something he could reassure her of at this moment.

"If I find that I dislike something, I will let you know." (I promise.) He leaned over her and placed a brief kiss on her cheek, then another one on the edge of her mouth. (I love you.) *

As Hiei pulled her closer, his touch finally after all this time one with the understanding of what he wanted and why, the golden energy of his partner he could call forth on a whim that was by now gently lighting the darkness around them, visibly shimmering across Shikiyoku's skin, thrilled through her veins and shivered in the air just as she settled on her feet, just before his hands began to reach for her.

For a moment her own worries about doing right by him vanished as for what felt like the first time, Shikiyoku responded instinctively, reflexively, and without second thought to quite naturally press herself closer to meet his warm body with her own.

As she continued talking and he kept staring at her, her energy continued building, licking off of her growing aura into the air around them like its own sort of dancing tongues of fire that would curl upwards and retreat and swell again.

Her palms were just about the only thing between them now, both planted at his chest, and as she felt him lean over her, Shikiyoku's face lifted a little to present it to him like she had done so for him many times before.

She didn't quite come back to herself until his proximity left the heat of his face caressing across hers without touching her and he didn't actually plant a third kiss to her lips.

Shikiyoku shifted her face just far enough that she could briefly draw the corner of her lips across the corner of his before murmuring,

"Do you really want a lake?"

The wisps of energy around him, the ones that had always sought to circle him since that very first day he made their pact, were slowly creeping their way past his shoulders, his sides, his legs, his face, but like always, didn't touch him, insinuating the loving brush across his skin, yet never quite doing it, sending the barest bit of effervescent contact scattering across his body as an old question sought to prompt him:

What do you desire? 3

Shikiyoku's energy might have been distracting if not for the fact that it called for him, tempting him to reach out to touch her skin and cause more of it to dance to life, beckoning him to lean down and kiss her again like he knew he already wanted to do. Without even realizing he'd wanted it or acted on it, Hiei's left hand toyed with the edge of her shirt until the pads of his fingers brushed against the skin under its hem, idly drawing nonsensical patterns against her just as he had that morning.

He knew the question she meant to ask.

To hell with the lake; even one step from here is too far.

Instead of verbally answering her, he focused solely on his desire for her: her kiss, her touch, her very presence that, despite being up against him already, still seemed 'too far away'. And just in case he couldn't focus on it enough to make it a strong enough desire for her to read naturally, he let those thoughts and feelings traverse the mental space between them and fill the bond, his happiness and excitement multiplying and joining with his complete trust in her to overshadow the quiet nervousness that had been present since he'd first approached her that evening.

"We can deal with the aftermath later," he finally murmured between them. *

Each little answer that whispered to her of 'you' sent her energy flaring around them like a fire being stoked, and by the time she went to kiss him, he'd been accepted into its warm embrace to the point of feeling it quiver across his skin directly.

But as she kept kissing him and their bond also flared up between them-emotions of his joy bouncing back and forth and entwining with the sort of desire he'd felt the heat of from her on a night in the bar where she'd walked up and kissed him-instead of any of those emotions fading away like they once did, they ignited together into a larger spark that had Shikiyoku's energy flux intensely against them before she had a chance to flinch away from the bond.

Behind her eyes in that same moment came a threatening whiteness she'd experienced before, a glow of her energy so bright it could blind her, and instead of jerking away from Hiei's lips, she slipped her hands over his shoulders and pursued that kindling passion more directly, even as she did her best to tuck the bond away for now, letting its growing storm rage in the background.

Knowing his hand already found her skin on its own, his unspoken cue sent Shikiyoku's hands beneath his shirt to press against his skin at the front of his waist and let him know that was more than okay and she would take more, please, raising the edge of it with her wrists as she slid her hands up far enough to give him a taste of her skin against his.

Maybe...maybe it didn't matter that she didn't know. He told her not a handful of days ago that sometimes it wasn't as bad as she thought or made it out to be. And the way she had no control over her energy when he did surprise her certainly made it seem like she actually rather enjoyed it.

He trusted her. She loved him.

She only put enough space between her lips and his skin to calm their connection enough to feel confident that it would allow her to speak to him through it without boiling over.

(I told you once that the closeness of our bond didn't compare.) Behind her statement roiled the sort of deepening passion that was a match for the roaring inferno of anger inside of him he'd once been well acquainted with, but that it didn't seem like such a tiny body should be able to hold.

Her hands smoothed themselves along his torso to his sides to pull like he still couldn't be close enough.

(Let me show you what I mean.) And before she could drown him in the sea of her emotions, she backed away from their connection again even as she stretched up to kiss at his neck below his ear, trailing a path of kisses down to his collarbone.

"Your first lesson..." She murmured all but against his skin- shifting away from him only far enough to lift his shirt so as to avoid wrenching his necklace but also prompt him into the shirt's removal with the unspoken phrase about this particular part being 'VEry imPORtant' and quite possibly even a 'take it off, flame-boy' echoing somewhere between them in how she suddenly seemed amused at the circumstances, lips smiling where he could feel it by how she'd kept them as close to him as she could-as she continued lower and kissed at him again further down, this time at the epicenter of the swirling marking above his core. "...is to enjoy yourself."

~!**!~

Kurama didn't ever spy a hair of either Shikiyoku or Hiei for the rest of the night, and quite frankly he was almost relieved.

He'd embrace that emotion the moment he'd scented them next and had his hopes for them confirmed.

Then I won't have to worry about Hiei accidentally burning down any of my city.

As far as other sorts of burning went, the ceremony went quite well, with a named list of those "family" Genkai wanted to gather around to pick out the bones from the ashes for the urn, and amidst the cleanup of the picnic, more drinking after they'd sent the younger ones off to bed.

Of course 'younger ones' was relative, as the acolytes did what they were told, but the demon children seemed to come alive beneath the moon, generally causing harmless mischief and mayhem, though for the most part it was amongst themselves, even if out in the crowds.

Before it got too late, Kurama found his way over to Akari to bid her good night.

"The lawyer arrives in the morning and I want to make sure I'm awake to greet him. We'll all be gathering in the dojo after lunch, and I'm in charge of making sure those pertinent to the will's reading are present. I'm sure I can count on your promptness, can't I?" 3

~!**!~

As the evening wore on and the ceremony came to an end, Akari had finally made her way to the food and drink, refilling her glass at least a couple more times before the ceremony had truly met its end.

For the most part, she'd kept herself more removed from the larger groups, her eyes scanning the crowds and watching as demons and humans alike mingled together and shared their memories and jokes.

She had yet to commit to any one thing on her mind - approaching Kita to address the conversation that had been cut short between them the night before, or going to bed, or actually letting herself mingle with others - and only remained standing there, sipping at her drink when Kurama stepped to her side.

She turned to give him her full attention, aware that a part of her definitely appreciated that he'd approached, even if the subject matter may not have been a 'happy' one.

Though she did raise a brow at him. "Me, be late? I wouldn't dare." She lifted her drink to her lips again, pausing just before taking a sip to say, "I'd rather not chance you stringing me upside down in a vine again." She took a sip. *

"No?" Was his mild reply, "And for some reason here I was thinking you rather enjoyed that bit. Though perhaps you preferred the parts that came after.

"In either case, just so you know, I brought along some tea with me if you have trouble sleeping again. My door is always open to you."

He nodded his good night to her and slipped away from the crowd for his room. 3

She lowered her glass to her navel at his response as she eyed the fox, her lips twitching ever so slightly.

He wasn't entirely wrong.

And remembering being able to lay with him the way they had back then caused a sort of ache at her core, remembering how safe she had felt even in the midst of their circumstances and how a part of her had missed those moments.

She pushed the thought away as he continued on to mention tea, she gave a short nod of appreciation. "Goodnight, Kurama," she said just as he moved away from her.

Her eyes followed after him for a brief moment before she turned to scan the crowd again, finding Kita still busy with something or another in the middle of the hubbub and not quite in a place where she felt right about pulling him away for a chat.

But the idea of staying there any longer was exhausting.

…yet not so exhausting enough to give her confidence that she truly would sleep that night.

She weighed her options for a few seconds, her eyes drifting around the crowd until she found the back of Kurama's head again.

…tea sounds nice.

She took in a breath and called across the short distance he'd gained between them, "Hey, Kurama?" She threw back the last gulp of her drink, unfolded her arms, and jogged to catch up to the kitsune. "I'd like to take you up on tea, if it won't keep you from being up early enough for that lawyer." *

Kurama paused as she called his name, turning his body back as he stopped to wait for her and wearing a small smile.

"Now?" It wasn't quite surprise, but when she reached him, he went ahead and nodded and started walking towards the room he'd claimed off by itself on the other side of the grounds. "Did you want to actually try something to help you sleep or were you just wishing for some company and something to warm yourself?" 3

Akari fell in step beside Kurama, though she kept her eyes forward on their path at his question.

Truth be told, she didn't know what she wanted. She hadn't thought that far ahead, and had only acted on impulse. All she'd known was that tea with Kurama sounded far better than lingering outside being unsociable or even attempting to rest in her own room.

But she definitely didn't want to keep him up if he needed the rest. He did ask which I preferred though...

"...Maybe a bit of both?" she finally admitted. "I would definitely enjoy your company, and could use some help getting to sleep, but I don't want to keep you up since you mentioned needing to be up and around early." Maybe drinking the one cup while sitting with him would be enough, and then she would leave him to rest and to hopefully get some for herself. *

"Well, your answer only really affects what sort of tea I prepare, if that changes your reply. If you'd like some good rest, I'd be more than willing to help in whatever way I can. If you'd just prefer some easy company for a time, I am equally at your disposal."

~!**!~

Neither Jin nor Touya bothered looking up from their drinks as Chu's arms, heavy with his usual weight of drunkenness for this time of night, slouched over their outside shoulders and he all but collapsed between them.

"Tell me you sh'aw what I sh'aw!"

"Probably not there, yah fumblin' demon." Jin took a drink, thinking nothing else of you.

"Especially if you're been hallucinating again, Chu." Shishiwakamaru added.

"No! Thi'sh wa'sh no hallu-see...hallushi... I saw what I saw!"

"And what do you think you saw there, big guy?" Yusuke wanted to know, eyebrow raised and the one among the group who hadn't been a buddy from the war.

Everyone else groaned.

"Please don't encourage him." Suzuki requested.

"No! It'sh important." Chu leaned in further, pulling Jin and Touya closer together where he face hung between theirs, "That 'sune...just walked off...with ole Red."

Chu's eyes got really wide and he stared at the rest of them as if he'd made some fortuitous proclamation.

Jin let out a sigh as he was pulled back again when Chu leaned away, "Now how the fuck are we s'pose to know who you're talkin' about when yah put it like that, yah looney? We kin hardly understand yah when you're sober."

Meanwhile, Yusuke had a thoughtful finger tapping his chin before he raised it in his eureka moment.

"I've got it!"

The rest of them looked at him.

"He just figured out Kurama the Youko is also Shuichi Minamino."

Everyone else nodded as if they agreed that sounded about right, with Chu standing up and taking a breath as he meant to disagree.

"No, I mean, yes, but-" He made a noise of frustration and concentrated really hard. "A-ka-ri and Red. Red and Ku-ra-ma."

A sudden sound of understanding filtered through the group and Chu nodded, "I know, right?"

"I mean, I'm not surprised they're back together." Jin admitted as Yusuke joined him in nodding.

"I ship it." Touya finally said as he took another sip of his drink.

"Really." Rinku gave Touya a look that Touya ignored. Out of all of them Rinku seemed the least amused, but he had drawn the short straw on babysitting Chu for the night.

"I bet you're very disappointed, Chu." Suzuki said knowingly, "You've been eyeing her since she showed up the first night."

Chu made a little shrug and raised his hands in the air where they were still slung over Jin and Touya and barely keeping him upright, "Ehhhh...?"

"He had other company last night." Shishi intentionally murmured into his glass as he lifted it to his face.

"No shit." Rinku echoed dryly as if he too had been privy.

"Really?" It was Yusuke's turn to be disbelieving, surprised when Chu pointed at him with one of his long, bony fingers and winked.

"Yes." 3

Akari's lips twitched ever so slightly as she considered the options he gave her, "Then, some tea to help me sleep, please." She glanced at him briefly before she turned her eyes away again, her smile fading. "Preferably a dreamless sleep if possible." She tugged on the end of her t-shirt as if to straighten it out, though it hadn't been out of place even a little. "Truth be told, I've been dreaming pretty vividly lately - some nonsensical, some good, some not so good." *

"Sleep without dreams, hm?" Kurama looked thoughtful, slipping off his shoes as he stepped onto the walkway and slid open one of the doors that lead to a hall before turning left.

"It's not particularly healthy, so I wouldn't recommend it all the time, but I think I could make something with what I've got on hand."

"Dream trouble, though...just recently?" He frowned. 3

Akari shrugged and a brief smile flashed across her features again, her hands briefly coming up to shoulder-height to accentuate the motion in a flippant manner. "Oh, you know, the usual menu for me. Angst, personal issues, blah blah blah."

She stepped up onto the walkway and, with her shoes now in her hand, followed his lead along the wooden path. "Sometimes it's the King of the Realm of the Dead or whatever-he-was-called, and other times it's the pack I hunted after the war. Sometimes it's mundane things like work or a walk with Nabu and Kiyoko."

...Sometimes it's you.

She kept her eyes purposely pointed forward as she continued, "Most nights it's manageable, especially now that I have the shop to keep me busy and no more pack ties up here," she tapped the side of her head, and then shrugged again as she fell into silence, finally glancing in his direction. *

"Ah...then...this has been occurring for a while?" Kurama got to the end of the hall and slid open the door.

This room was much like the others, simple tatami mat flooring and all, if maybe a little bigger, but it definitely smelled of him and besides the usual storage cabinets in the one wall had at least one extra storage sort of separate, rectangular container left to one side, likely sturdy enough to sit on if need be that he quietly moved over to and knelt in front of.

"I apologize for my vagueness. I did not want to presume these were...dreams I knew anything about. I can explain, if you like, and I don't mean to make any leading questions, but you haven't seen yourself in these dreams lately, have you?" He rolled up one of his sleeves that was threatening to fall past his forearm as he began pulling out various bits of tea-making accoutrements. "Or...something that seemed like you, but wasn't exactly you?" 3

Akari waved her hand dismissively as she stepped into the room behind him, though he didn't see it. "No need to apologize. If I didn't want to answer any questions you might have had about it, I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place."

Once the door was shut, her shoes placed near the door, she made her way further into the room and lowered herself to sit near its center, watching as he pulled this and that from storage.

"No, I haven't seen myself in these dreams. I haven't had anything like that since…" She tilted her head to one side as she considered the brief time where she had 'wandered' from her body after encountering the place Between, and she realized she didn't know exactly when that had stopped. "The battle on the Eighth, I think." She definitely didn't remember much of that large fight, only that it had ended with her waking up in the distant past.

In fact, she'd almost forgotten that soul-separation had happened at all, if not for his reminder just now. *

"Well, that's one small relief, then, isn't it?" Kurama made his way to her with his arms full, placing out a tray with a canister or two and cups and saucers on it as well as a kettle on a stand. "Not everyone seems to be so lucky at present."

A thermos had its contents-the water-dumped into what looked like an electric boiler that he flipped the switch on and prepared the concoction of leaves for the kettle while he waited.

"Though I am sorry to hear you've been plagued by some not so pleasant memories. Good rest can be difficult to come by these days, apparently." 3

"I imagine those who actively work on the levels outside of the first struggle most, what with the Infected and such. I'm… rather grateful to be where I am currently." She shifted around until one leg was crossed in front of her, that foot pressed against the inside of the opposite thigh, and the other extended, though angled away so her foot was not by Kurama or his tea-making area. "Sometimes it helps if Nabu, Kiyoko, and I go on a run before bed, or play in the park for an extended period of time."

She watched his hands work, half curious if she would recognize any of the loose leaf teas he used that may be similar to the ones she sold in her shop, but would not be surprised if she recognized none of them. *

Just as the water next to him began making noise, Kurama lifted it seamlessly from the floor and it turned off as he poured it in a clockwise motion over the hanging strainer already in place and full inside the kettle, collecting a cup and saucer and putting them together next to it.

"Ah, that's...not untrue, I'm sure, but also not exactly what I meant. There's...some trouble brewing beyond our usual fare these days, and I was hoping you weren't caught up in the middle of it." He smiled down at his work, "And glad to hear that you aren't." 3

"Mm, to be honest I've done a pretty good job of staying out of trouble. I've all but buried my head in the sand and have been letting the world move on around me most of the time."

She lifted her eyes to study his expression, his smile making her own lips tug up at the corners briefly before a touch of concern replaced it. "Though, if I can help in any way, I'm more than willing to." *

"Many demons prefer to simply...do as you are doing when something doesn't affect them directly. But I appreciate the offer." Kurama relaxed back into a more reclined position, waiting for the tea to steep, and finally looked up at Akari, giving her a grateful smile.

"I don't suppose you've heard of anyone with dreams like I mentioned? A not-self? Doing exactly what they do except just a little different somehow?" 3

Akari shook her head, "Not that I've been made aware of. Is it only relating to demons, or demons and humans?" Her head tilted slightly to the side in consideration. "Is it actually a dream or is it more similar to what happened to me when I opened that portal between the Layers?" *

Kurama made a noise of acknowledgement at her first statement, bending his leg up at the knee and resting his elbow on it to put his chin in his hand and stare back down at the kettle.

"It's...complicated. And I don't know much. But something's got the new RKT in an uproar and I have a sneaking suspicion it's related. I've only gotten a hold of a few reports myself, but it seems like this is affecting not only humans and demons, but possibly those denizens left behind from Spirit World, too.

"As far as I know, there have been multiple accounts of people claiming they've seen themselves, or something that looks very much like them, doing the same things they do except not exactly." 3

"That's… huh."

Akari truly had no words for the situation Kurama described, as she'd never heard of something like that before. She definitely would have remembered if someone in her shop had mentioned something like this phenomenon, if only because of how peculiar it seemed to be.

And the fact that Kurama himself couldn't get much information on it meant it could be kept under wraps by the RKT and whoever else worked on it, if there even was anyone else other than them were looking into it more than the kitsune in front of her seemed to be.

"If I hear anything even remotely similar, I'll let you know. Is there anything else I should be listening for other than this strange… mimic… running around? Do you know if it does anything other than 'copy' whoever it looks like?" *

He flashed her another smile and a, "Thanks," before turning back down to the tea and gently pouring some out for Akari, setting the kettle down and then scooting the saucer her direction before sitting back again.

"Well...so, the RKT only gets itself worked up if it thinks someone is contacting the 'other side,' right? Which means right now it's doing its damnedest to shut people up. The story goes these people 'wake up' in the middle of doing something they have no recollection of starting to do, or are claiming they watched themselves do it, but weren't actually the ones doing it. So obviously they're slipping through the Veil or something. Despite the fact that everyone knows that path is closed now." He shook his head, "Ridiculous."

"Anyway, I've gotten to talk to someone who had it happen before RKT got to them and they described it as...walking along a windowed storefront? And out of the corner of their eye seeing their reflection in the windows stop and look in the store. Or even being in the window itself and seeing themselves outside stop to look even as they actually kept walking." 3

Akari murmured her thanks as she reached for the tea he passed to her, quiet enough that she didn't interrupt him from talking and yet loud enough for him to hear as he explained in more detail what he meant.

She took a careful sip of the hot beverage, her eyes peering briefly down at its calming yellow color before flickering back up to watch him over the rim. Her brows furrowed and she lowered her cup to rest on top of her right thigh, carefully balanced in her hand as a chill raced down her spine at the visual he gave.

"That is eerie as hell," she finally commented, the idea again running through her mind to commit it to memory so she would listen for it later. "I can see why it's a concern…"

She pursed her lips together just briefly before she raised the tea to her mouth again, taking another careful sip of its contents.

"If I happen to come across someone saying something similar happened to them, what would be the best way to reach you and let you know? Cell phone?" Her lips twitched into a somewhat teasing smile. "I doubt you let your shadow be easily accessible for messages to be passed through at any given time." *

Kurama nodded at her commentary about 'eerie,' giving her a sidelong glance at first when she went on.

"I do prefer to keep my shadow free of any meddling shadow demons, yes. But what on earth gives you the idea that I carry a cell phone?" 3

As a meddling shadow demon, she did not blame him for keeping his shadow strictly underwraps from shadow demons, and she nodded her head in a way that conveyed, 'that's fair'.

Though she did raise a brow at him incredulously at his question. "I mean, doesn't anyone who made the First their home have one? Except maybe Hiei; even I have one, Kurama, and the only people calling me are my employees in the shop. I would be surprised if you, mister CEO and largest territory-holder in the country, didn't have one. Especially for business needs." *

"99.999% of technology created on the First crumbles the instant it leaves the First, I'll have you know." He gave a derisive sniff, "Anything Hiei ever bothered to carry would just be wasted.

"As for myself," Kurama opened his arms wide as if inviting her to check him herself, reaching down and patting at his pockets to show their emptiness. And he wasn't even so much as wearing a watch that was connected to a phone, which many people had recently taken to doing. 3

She blinked owlishly at him as he pat his pockets, her eyes watching them flatten, empty of anything that she might have expected him to carry in them. You've got to be kidding me.

She opened her mouth to say something - to call him a liar, to voice her confusion as to how he'd gone without one, to ask how he should be contacted if he truly did not have one - but found herself unable to choose just one thing and instead closed it again, her eyes sweeping him over head to toe a second time.

"I-"

…

She set her teacup down on its saucer on the floor in front of her, then leaned to her left to pull the phone from her back pocket - Shiny, new, and no longer the flip-phone she'd had before. Instead, this one's open-faced design was sleek and, when she pressed her thumb against the bottom of its screen, it unlocked silently. It may not be the newest version, or even the second-to-newest version, but it was hers, and new to her, and she kept it on her person most days.

She turned it in his direction.

"You seriously don't have one of these? Or a similar brand?" *

Kurama hadn't even looked at it yet, staring at her face with just the barest hint of enjoyment gleaming in his eyes.

"Have I ever told you you get even more beautiful when I've completely confounded you? I didn't particularly think that was possible."

He lowered his gaze to the phone in her grasp, and had originally planned on saying something about her being behind the times with that clunky thing, but it didn't have the same sort of meaning to it when he saw that she did not in fact have the "latest" one.

Looking for her permission, he reached for it and would take it from her if he let him, turning it over in his hands for a moment before looking back to her and shaking his head no, still holding it.

"Is that disappointment, Akari? Was this all a ruse just to try and get my number? Agreeing to help and all? Allow me to reassure you that all you'd have to do to get my digits is ask." 3

She puffed her cheeks out at him at his compliment, then let the air out through her lips in a sort of exasperation. When he reached for it, she let him take her phone from her hand without a second thought on the matter.

"Kurama, if you tell me I have to email you or send a letter if I came across this information, then I'm going to look far more beautiful than I already do, because that would be…"

She didn't even have a good descriptor word that would encompass all of her feelings about even considering those methods of communication when he literally was the richest person in the country in the moment, with more connections than she could even dream of.

Though at his mention of 'disappointment', her cheeks puffed again and she made a face of disbelief, though that expression quickly shifted to one of surprise.

She genuinely hadn't even considered the idea of using it for personal reasons until that moment. That's a great idea. Why didn't I think of it?

She let out a long sigh again, deflating. "You think too highly of me, fox. I'm not so cunning as to take such roundabout methods." She reached for her teacup, her eyes only leaving his face long enough to make sure she didn't drop it as she sat upright again. "Though now that you mention it, I can't deny that I like the idea." *

"Oh, a letter?" Kurama seemed to perk up a little, "A handwritten letter from you would be very nice. Scented with lavender, maybe?" He looked hopeful at the thought.

"Though I don't think being cunning is something that deserves to be so highly thought of as you seem to think it is.

"But if you're serious and do want my number, you should say so directly as I'm going to have to make some adjustments to this...ancient piece of technology you have here." He spoke of it more like it was a stone tablet than making any particular jab at it not being the "latest" model. 3

She blinked at him as he expressed interest in receiving a letter - specifically from her - and her immediate thought was not to turn the idea down, but rather how much fun it may be to receive one back.

Before she could give it too much thought, he'd moved on to the original topic, and she found her earlier confusion rising to the surface again as he insulted her little phone that she'd worked hard to get her hands on. Though, at his prompting, she didn't even hesitate to say, "Alright then: I want your number."

"Wait…" she lowered her cup from her lips far enough to let him see the confusion on her face. "If you don't use a cell phone, then what the hell do you use that would make this 'ancient'?" *

Kurama held a finger up to give him a moment to answer as he quickly flipped the phone around in his hands, waited for it to power down, and with a look of focus had, in a matter of half a minute or so through a combination of dexterous fingers and the gentle pulse of his energy concentrated at his hands, the pieces of it apart and held in various bits of delicate vinery that had sprouted from his mostly green skin to the wrists.

With another subtle flux of his energy and flick of his wrist towards the inner workings of the open phone, another, tinier sort of vine also glowing with his energy sprouted and seemed to immediately take root and grow with his silent coaxing until it had spread almost like a web, or maybe a root system, curling around the pieces he hadn't needed to take out to just open it.

The whole process took about two minutes, and he had the bits and bobs all back where they went, he booted it back up again as the vines seemed to meld back into his hands and they returned to their normal color and appeared more than capable of unlocking it without needing Akari.

He finally added the initials KY to the 'first name' of a new contact, which included a number listed under the label 'main' that didn't actually look like a normal number.

Without missing a beat, he looked up as he handed it back with a smile, "I don't let just anyone see my secrets. And I certainly don't give my real number out to any woman I don't think highly of." 3

Despite her confusion and curiosity, Akari silently watched Kurama pull her phone apart and 'tinker' with it, using the time to not only observe him and what he was doing but to also enjoy the drink he'd made for her now that it had cooled some more.

By the time he was powering it on, she'd managed to get halfway through the beverage, her eyes never having left him as he worked.

She only blinked again when he turned the phone around in his hand and extended it in her direction. She took it from him without missing a beat, looking over the contact information curiously even as he spoke.

She also noticed her battery now showed to be at 100% charged, where it had previously been down in the 30% range due to her not charging it since her arrival on the compound. What's more is that where her previous cellular network information had been, it also was replaced with a 'KY', and she had full signal.

When she did look up from her phone, a faint spatter of pink had risen across her cheeks at his compliment. "Thank you."

She glanced down at it again, considering the changes he'd made. "So, does it still charge like I normally would charge it? I notice it's at full charge now. Also, if I decided I wanted to change from this phone to another, I assume you'd have to do the same to the next one? ...Not that I plan to change anytime soon, since I got this one very recently." *

"Ah, yes, a bit of instruction would be helpful, wouldn't it?"

"My only request is that you leave the contact I've put in there as it is. Otherwise, I think you'll find it works much better than before. Built-in obsolescence be damned." He shook his head as if disappointed at the notion.

"I know the humans used to call it...'jailbreaking' several years ago, but I'm happy to inform you that your phone has been 'planthacked.' You don't need to worry about it getting wet, it kind of likes that, and so long as you remain in contact with something that is touching the ground-trees, buildings, it all counts-you should no longer have any trouble with service or find yourself lacking battery. At least if you remain in the country. Travel outside of it and you should probably pick up a prepaid phone or something temporary once you get there. I don't have any plans to expand any farther at present."

His eyebrows turned down, "I also may have modified your plan with your provider. They have nothing to do with what's going on in there now."

"My only real caution to you would be about breaking it or dropping it. It's still using the pieces in there, as well as the screen and such, and so far I haven't had any luck figuring out how to get the plant to mend any damage back together except anything done to itself, though it's certainly something I'm working on." 3

As Kurama explained the changes in her phone, along with anything to be aware of outside of its maintenance, she tip-tapped through different apps, absolutely amazed by their instant load-time and, of the applications that had an effect on the device's storage limits like photos, now no longer seemed to have a general limit.

"So cool," she murmured to herself as yet another app instantly loaded up, unbothered by her location so far removed from the city like it had been just minutes before.

"Got it. Don't break it, don't change your contact. Charges on anything that's grounded to the Earth, and isn't bothered by water. If traveling outside of Japan, get something that will work." She lowered the phone to her lap and looked up at Kurama again, curiosity shining in her eyes. "Anything else? What about on the other Levels - not that I leave the First often anymore. I assume the parts manufactured by the humans here would still crumble even if the parts you added and modified don't?" *

"Correct. The whole phone crumbles apart and the plant is very sad to have lost its home."

"There's nothing else I can think of, really, though you're welcome to ask if you come up with anything." He started to get up, "I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I have to excuse myself at this juncture. I may be greeting the lawyer in the morning, but I actually left the party because I have some rounds to make on the property tonight and I haven't had a shower today.

"You're more than welcome to join me at the lake for that, though I would understand if you'd rather stay here." He left everything at their feet and only stepped around them to head for the door, "The bed things are in the cabinet over there if you want to make yourself at home. I'll be back in a couple of hours." 3

"Well then, I'll just make sure that the plant doesn't lose its home," she responded with a small smile down at the device. Her attention shifted back to Kurama as he moved to stand, her eyes following him as he stepped around the tea-making devices and such and toward the door.

For the first time since their last interaction at Yomi's, Akari didn't immediately recoil at Kurama's offer for her to join him at the lake. Instead, she only nodded in his direction, her lips still holding the small smile that had formed, and she lifted her nearly-empty teacup in his direction. "Thank you again for the tea. And for the upgrade." Her smile threatened to widen just a touch, "And your number.

"Have fun on your rounds. I'll finish the tea and likely head off to bed."

Once he was out the door - giving her a wave and a 'you're welcome' on his way out - Akari settled into the silence of the night and let herself sit and enjoy the last of the tea he'd brewed.

As she sipped at it, she tapped around on her phone with her left hand as it rested atop her thigh, adding in her notes app what Kurama had told her about how to care for it now that he'd modified it.

Once that was done, she locked the device and set it to the side, tipped back the cup to polish off the last of the tea, then pushed herself to sit forward on her knees to collect the tray of tea-related items together.

Not knowing if he reused his leaves, she opted on leaving the strainer in the teapot for him to do with as he wished. But the other items that he had used she gathered together.

She poured the remaining water from the electric boiler into the thermos he'd poured it from initially, then screwed the lid back on and set it to the side. She set the teapot on the tray with the thermos and container of tea leaves and then stood, moving to take the tray along with the electric kettle to rest it on top of the storage box she'd seen him pull it from, not sure if he would do anything with it before storing it away. Then, once that was settled, she turned and grabbed the teacup and its saucer, eyeing it for a moment before deciding to go ahead and make that trip to the kitchen.

She padded along the walkway, enjoying the relative silence of the night, the sounds of the ongoing celebration of Genkai's life nothing more than a distant murmur of sound.

It took her all of two seconds to enter the empty kitchen, wash and dry the teacup she used and its matching saucer, then turn to make her way back to Kurama's room, her feet growing heavier with each step and a yawn finally escaping her.

By the time she had returned to the room and was setting the clean cup down near the tray, she had tears in her eyes from her yawns. Her one good night of sleep over the last few nights certainly hadn't been enough, and while she did consider going back to her own room, the thought of making that trip across the compound sounded almost impossible.

She hovered in the center of the room, her eyes on the cabinet Kurama had indicated to before, weighing her options.

When another, somehow larger yawn overcame her this time, she caved and moved for the bedding tucked neatly away just where he'd said it was. In the moments where she spread out the futon and its corresponding linens, she thought nothing of there being only one set of bedding, or that it was definitely large enough for two people.

In fact, she made a point to grab both pillows from the cabinet and she dropped them haphazardly in their spots on the futon. As she lowered herself to the bedding and made herself comfortable, she allowed herself the thought that she had missed feeling so comfortable around Kurama, and as her head hit the pillow, she couldn't help but let out the smallest sigh of relief.

She really had missed him, and she was so very glad she'd taken him up on tea. *

True to his word, Kurama made his way back into the room a couple of hours later, though with significantly less clothing on than he wore leaving it.

Hair still wet and not particularly caring that parts of him were leaving droplets of water across the floor, for the sake of the redhead in his bed, he moved over to the cabinet in the wall and grabbed for a pair of pants before he settled cross-legged on the floor nearby the futon facing her, actually going so far as to move a bit of the tatami mat aside as he came to rest.

Unworried about her waking-he knew she was knocked out for the night thanks to his alchemical work-he flicked his wrists up and out in front of him with a flexing of his energy, a network of plantlife started to hum with power and extend from his arms through his hands, even out from his wrists and palms and fingertips, fractal shapes forming as they began weaving a network together like his arms-skin green as the plants he was manipulating-were the branches of trees, the result resembling their form in the natural world that echoed the structure of the branching in one's lungs.

With another small manipulation from his energy, the veins began to crackle with electricity, a thin membrane folding over the top of the, for lack of better term, organic computer, even as roots began to intertwine and extend downwards from the flat screen and accompanying hardware into the floor in front of him, hardening and growing brown like a tree trunk as the green of his arms began to fade away and the last of the growth left his limbs completely.

It wasn't his favorite way to work, but it would do, and as he adjusted the makeshift screen and leaned an elbow onto his knee, the pads of his fingers grew green again and he started rapidly flicking through information long into the night.

As the early hours of the morning dawned, he had retrieved the tea kettle and things-noting how Akari had appeared to organize and clean what of them she felt comfortable messing with-and quietly brewed a morning cup. 3

~!**!~

Hiei shifted ever so slightly, his arm curled under and around Shikiyoku pulling her to lay on top of him instead of tucked up against his side as she had been for the past few minutes. He settled again, his fingers resuming the trails he'd been tracing along her back to her shoulder, then down her arm, occasionally hovering over a handprint here or a line there that he'd left on her.

Laying skin-to-skin with her in this manner fulfilled that part of him that hadn't ever really gotten enough of her before, and he couldn't help but lean his head down to kiss her at seemingly random moments - sometimes on the head, sometimes on her face or lips, and even occasionally her shoulder.

He took his time in admiring her, noticing first the smoothness of her skin and how her energy continued to glimmer wherever he touched. He eventually trailed his finger back up her shoulder until it just brushed against her hair, now a mess and no longer in any semblance of the braid she'd previously had it in. He pushed it over her shoulder so that it trailed along her back, revealing the mark on her skin that, upon closer inspection, had just become just a touch less intense where it trailed from her neck and along her shoulder, until the tails were no longer in his view due to her lying chest-to-chest with him.

In the quiet moments of the early morning, as the barest hint of sunlight just began to threaten to illuminate the otherwise dark forest, his eyes finally began to take stock of the places where he'd burned Shikiyoku, scrutinizing each hand print, line, or even small dot, and more closely assessing the more dramatic looking ones.

He lightly, gently, trailed a finger over those more intense burn areas, curious to know if he could draw the heat from it for her, but otherwise finding that despite his fears of doing her harm before, he rather enjoyed seeing them peppered along her skin, even if the more minor ones had already begun to heal and fade.

The worst one of them all, much to his quiet amusement, rested on her thigh in the very place where he'd first flash-burned her by accident, and this one he only dared to trace the outline around it. "Does this one in particular hurt?" he finally asked, his voice hardly even a murmur. *

Though they hadn't exactly stopped in a clearing, the area immediately around where Shikiyoku and Hiei were presently at rest was certainly clearer now.

Laying stretched out next to where he was on his back on the ground, Shikiyoku had propped her head up by her elbow with her cheek in her hand leaning into him so far that her torso was almost over his chest, long, dark hair spilling down over her back and waterfalling in front of the shoulder over him to pool in places along his skin and the ground beside her. One leg resting on top of his closest to her, her free hand moved absently, sometimes intentionally, all along the planes of his body within easy reach. Sometimes that meant smoothing it up the side of his neck and other times there were featherlight touches with the front of backs of her fingers down and swirling along his ribs and side before she might focus more on the affection in other moments, testing the muscles beneath his skin and giving them more firm attention, switching back and forth without rhyme or reason.

Currently, the completely golden glow in her green eyes from just earlier had faded, a bright, if contented, gaze surveying the damage around them, not taking particular note of what amounted to a low hanging mist of her energy that was spread out around them a ways and in her relaxed state still floated in a halo of gentle light around her body.

Without being cognitive of her movements, Shiki easily slipped on top of Hiei at his directing of her, curing her face into the warmth of him even as her chest was pressed into him when she relaxed her weight before she so much as blinked and realized where she came to rest. She let out the sort of sigh Hiei had never felt from her before that night, but had gotten many of in various, similar situations since they started.

Her hand reached up for the trinket in his hair on the other side of his head and played with it and the scalp and hair around it, and having unfurled the bond back out once again from where she had continued tucking it away from him as needed, it pleasantly hummed with a constant gentle simmer between them with her appreciation for the affection he was giving her, regardless of what form it came in. If it wasn't already obvious by how he could see her positive reaction in the scattering of glitter across her skin each and every time he did so.

Shiki shifted her face up to kiss Hiei's cheek, giving him a teasing grin as she stayed there and let her breath wash over him.

"Only when you touch it." The playful lilt seemed to dare him to do so. 3

Hiei acknowledged her tease with a little hum, briefly too distracted by her kiss and the lingering warmth of her breath against his cheek to give an actual verbal response. He did, however, brush his fingertip lightly across the mark, light and careful despite the thought that she hadn't had any sort of aversion to that particular pain.

Mirroring a habit he had noticed throughout the night, the fire demon tilted his face ever so slightly closer to her lips, quietly requesting another kiss.

His eyes left her to take in the surrounding area briefly, watching the golden glitters that danced and pulsated around them with each touch, now knowing that its reactions would tell him of her own response to his various explorations.

Despite knowing that she had enjoyed mating with him due to her energy's positive reactions throughout the night, he found himself quietly thinking over the moments where he'd hesitated for this or that reason, and the moments where he'd stumbled his way through her instructions.

His eyes turned to her face finally, noting the smile that rested there.

"Did I do okay?" *

There was a huff of air from her nose at the discomfort of his touch, but the shiver of energy across his skin revealed the truth of it not being an unpleasant sensation.

She didn't even open her eyes when she felt his cheek brush against her and she rewarded him with first one kiss and then a second one where she pressed both her lips and nose against him for a beat before retreating to trace the tip of her nose randomly against him there.

At his question, several things happened at once.

The energy floating around him gave a brilliant, shimmering effervesce against his skin almost immediately as she remembered the events of the night his question reminded her of, places along her flesh like her neck and arms where the hairs stood on end, and her eyes flying open and darting off to the side away from him like she could hide her reaction as she flushed across her face and down her neck.

With anyone else, she might have made some comment about 'that being answer enough for you,' but Shiki was too keenly aware of her partner for what would be a less direct, and more dismissive, response.

It was when her eyes returned to his face, his expression, that in spite of the self-conscious smile tugging at her lips, the bond whispered to him even as she went to speak aloud.

(You are so fierce right now it's not even fair.)

"More than okay, my love." She dipped back down and kissed at the side of his mouth, staying close enough to feel the heat of his face against her and smell the musky cinnamon and cloves scent of him. "You are...an exceptionally quick study."

Her eyes glimmered, a little more like herself, as she pulled back a little to look for his eyes, "But did I not shower you with enough compliments as we went along? I could keep going if you like." 3

It would have been impossible for Hiei to miss the response her energy gave at his question, the intensity of it wafting over him and brightening the area around them more than it already had.

At her commentary in the bond, the slightest bit of amusement joined with his appreciation of her, and the moment she gave the initial response of 'more than okay', a sort of relief just whispered through him and the bond, minute but present.

His eyes closed briefly at her kiss, allowing him the moment to enjoy the feel of it before she pulled away again and he opened his eyes once more to meet her gaze.

His left hand lifted from where it had come to rest on her thigh and moved to brush a stray hair from her face before coming to rest against her cheek reassuringly, and he shook his head. "I've learned that your energy tells me when you like something but," his eyes darted briefly to the sparkles that came to life when his thumb moved against her skin, "I needed to hear it too, I think." *

She closed her eyes when his hand found her cheek as she gave a happy smile and leaned into his touch while her lips hummed together.

"Mm..." Her eyes blinked open, getting that same sort of glimmer to them as a moment ago, "And what about me?"

She lifted her nose up into the air, but not so far that she threatened to leave his hand.

"Will you make me beg for my own affirmations? I've never actually had to teach anyone anything from the ground up, or I guess generally from the waist down," she allowed, lowering her face again, but looking off thoughtfully into the distance.

"Not to mention the fact that I don't think I've actually been with anybody while in this illusory sort of form I've got going on, and it was at least a little different given the changes in length." She extended an arm out to the side of her somewhat gracefully, turning it this way and that and wiggling her fingers as she considered it. 3

Hiei raised a brow at first as her nose lifted higher in the air, his lips twitching up into an amused smile. As she went on in her explanation, his smile quieted to one of admiration, and the bond told her of his thoughts about how much he enjoyed her in this moment.

His energy fluctuated briefly, but no actual flame came to life as it had periodically throughout the night, "Well, if the scattered burns aren't enough evidence that you know me better than you seem to think you do, then I will be more than happy to tell you as many times as you need me to:

"(I absolutely enjoyed every second)."

He leaned up to kiss her briefly, lingering long enough to accentuate it with the absolute truth of his previous statement in the bond echoing a second time before he pulled away to look at her again.

"As for which form you're in… While I do enjoy your demon form - a lot, might I add - I..." He remembered the moment where they'd been walking in the forest and she'd stopped to show the mark on her shoulder and collarbone, and how he'd all but shut down at just that small amount she had revealed to him. "...As much fun as I'm sure it will be to experience all of you in that form, I'm not quite sure it wouldn't be overwhelming right now."

Even the thought of laying with her in that form, chest to chest as they were now, was daunting. Intimidating. ...A lot.

"But let me reiterate: I thoroughly enjoyed this." His right hand, which had at some point come to rest against her lower back, trailed along her spine - palm flat and fingers spread wide to touch as much of her as he could with the action - to indicate he meant 'this form'. *

He'd feel the slight buzzing of her lips this time against his when she hummed again at his kiss, along with a sort of 'thank you' in the bond for humoring her.

She blinked at him when he kept talking, eyes growing wider for a moment indicative of how she hadn't intended in the slightest to make him think she'd wanted to be in demon form.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. I know. I didn't even mean it that way. I-" the edges of her eyes crinkled a little as she gave him an understanding smile and tilted her head a bit, "-well, you know this form best, and it's how I know you best, and-" there wasn't exactly a sparkle in her eyes, but she smiled again and seemed so very happy, "-and I wanted to share it with you."

He could probably pick out at this point what he made her skin feel like when he actively touched it, though all the places where they touched were in fact gleaming between them, but she closed her eyes again like it would help her feel the hand at her back better as she relaxed more of her weight into him, and if she had been a cat demon, there would have been a definite purr rumbling between them. 3

(No need to apologize. I just wanted you to know that it was a thought I had, and that I'm very aware of the possibilities.)

His right hand smoothed up her back until he reached her hair, at which point his fingers began to slowly detangle the mess he'd made of it, gentle enough to not disrupt her enjoyment of his touch and yet firm enough to actually loosen the knots he did come across.

He'd thoroughly enjoyed her giving him the opportunity to take it down himself.

His fingers continued to weave through her hair. "Well, I definitely enjoyed you sharing yourself with me." He considered the sensation of her energy bubbling against him wherever they touched, even between his fingers as he played with her hair. After a few beats of silence, he murmured, "I love you, Shiki." *

Shikiyoku chuckled a little at his response and as he sought her hair, she gave a big stretch of her arms out over his head that lengthened the rest of her form for a moment before she settled with her elbows on the ground to either side of his neck, distracted for a moment by the slightest of sounds where the tear gem of her necklace bumped into his and sent one of them rolling off over his shoulder where she smiled at it.

She rested her cheek on one fist as she lowered her other hand to play with the strands of his hair, pausing only long enough when he'd said it to lower her face briefly and give him a sweet kiss.

"I love you, Ka-chan."

~!**!~

Kurama stretched a few kinks out of his neck as he felt the sun truly begin to rise over the horizon and, still having other things he wanted to do before the lawyer showed up, slowly began the process of recalling the plantlife he'd sent forth back where it came from.

Taking it apart was always, surprisingly, more difficult than weaving it all together.

Standing to stretch after replacing the bit of the floor, he actively sought to reach out to the fire demon elsewhere on the grounds, almost hoping he wouldn't get an answer so he'd have to fetch them himself, but aware that his Jagan would probably not be too distracted to alert him of a request to contact him.

He thought of their faces when he'd stumbled upon them in Shikiyoku's apartment and that had been accidental. Though it would be just as amusing if Hiei was too asleep to answer.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Hiei," to Kurama's credit, he was the best at sounding sincere, "but there will be a lawyer here in a few hours to present Genkai's will. I'm supposed to make sure those relevant are in attendance. We'll be in the dojo promptly after lunch, and your Queen should be there, too."

Meanwhile, he changed into something more appropriate than just sweatpants. 3

True to her request of him, Kurama had managed to make a drink that had not only let her sleep throughout the night, but to keep it a dreamless sleep that was far more restful than any sleep she'd gotten in recent months.

Regardless, her body had an inner clock, and the biological alarm that typically woke her up long before sunrise had been going off for a while. It slowly managed to pull her from her restful sleep until she became distantly aware of some sort of movement in the room around her, though she could not hear or sense the person moving about.

When her eyes came open, they immediately spotted Kurama at the cabinets, pulling a shirt over his shoulders - though he wasn't much more than a blurry shadow at first. She shifted around and curled into herself, her eyes closing again as she contemplated trying to go back to sleep.

She knew as soon as she stilled that her brain was awake enough to keep her from falling back into the deep sleep she'd been in. She rubbed at her eyes, clearing them of an itch that had begun to pester her.

"G'mornin'," she finally grumbled to the room, though she didn't otherwise move or even open her eyes to look at Kurama.

~!**!~

Hiei hummed against her kiss this time, but as she pulled away, his left arm moved to circle her waist and he hugged her to his chest- the bond warning her that he intended to move the both of them around - and his right arm guided her legs so that her knees rested against his sides. As he rose to sit up, he crossed his legs under her to support her weight.

He kissed her shoulder as he stilled, though when the Jagan alerted him of someone reaching out to him, his lips didn't quite leave her skin like he'd originally intended.

At Kurama's mention of Genkai's will, Hiei's eyes scanned his surroundings as if only just remembering where they were or why they were there in the first place, and he lifted his head and pulled back to kiss Shikiyoku on the cheek, the bond telling her of his brief distraction as Kurama continued.

Again, Hiei glanced around himself, this time to gauge the time of day to get a feel of how long it would be before he and Shikiyoku would need to be present at the dojo, and found himself somewhat relieved it was still early morning.

He suddenly realized how bare the area around them looked compared to when he and Shikiyoku had entered the forest.

"We'll be there," he replied nonchalantly to Kurama, then just as quickly turned his attention away from the telepathic communication and back to Shikiyoku, his eyes glittering with amusement.

"Do you think I destroyed enough of the forest to warrant telling Kurama he may want to replant some of it?" *

Generally when Hiei warned her of something like this, she was able to move as if she'd read him herself and without giving it much thought. With her elbows already to either side of his head, as their weight shifted, she easily counterbalanced them by circling her arms at his neck and then only stretched her hands out behind him as he settled with her to drop them to his shoulders and let them rest there.

She found it funny when he spoke up that they had been on a similar train of thought.

To her credit, there was only a couple of trees who had burned away completely, all but a foot or so of a stump in the ground left of them, and while the underbrush in their immediate area was similarly just gone, the grass only actually looked black in less places than even Shiki expected as she glanced around, catching sight of where a sudden spout of flame just completely took with its brief flash small bits and pieces of the lush greenery, any ash immediately carried away on the wind.

She raised her eyebrows and looked back at him, slipping her elbows down and pulling her arms closer to herself until she rested her hands in front of his shoulders, fingers shifting around lazily.

"I thought we weren't trying to burn the woods down. In which case I was about to say I did a pretty good job keeping you from it. My interactions with Kurama tend to be purely transactionary, which is an old habit we've never quite shaken, so I won't be saying anything to him of the kind." A hand slid down his chest to where the tear gems around his neck had come to rest together, and she tangled her fingers in the cords of them and then spread her palm out against him.

"Besides," she leaned a little closer to him with a slightly veiled, wicked look and lowered her voice, "leaving it like this means anyone who stumbles across it will know it's ours."

~!**!~

Kurama was absolutely disappointed to hear Hiei's exceptionally coherent reply, though an ear twitched when in the more immediate vicinity he heard Akari stir in his bed behind him and then give him a greeting.

"There's some tea left in the kettle if you want it," was his reply, "whenever you feel up for it, if you do. It should help clear your head, though." He finished adjusting his clothing into place and padded silently for the door, adding as he slid it back to step through, "Oh, but please don't feel as if you have to clean up after me. You can leave everything where it is when you go." 3