Chapter 40 - To Whatever End

A/N: Friendly reminder that this chapter is in Hiei's POV. It's been awhile since I've written him so I have to brush off the cobwebs, be gentle with me. For those that have asked, the baby is great! She's really a wonderful addition to our little family! Now onto the chapter!

. . .

The Makai - Meiō Era (1497)

"Hiei, what the fuck are we gonna do man?!"

I could count on my fingers how many things in my life had turned my world upside down. Being thrown off the island, the bandits, learning of my sister, the Jagan - they had all changed pieces of me.

"Hello! Earth to short scary dude!"

I never thought meeting this human woman would even rank close to those things. She was just a girl, much younger than I - a fragile human. But I should have realized the power of humans. Yusuke had brought on changes as well. His natural ability to be a leader who saw the grey in between a world of black and white. He brought out the best...and the worst in people.

"Have you gone deaf?!"

I didn't answer him, his pointless blathering didn't require a response. We'd lost Kasumi - the one thing her sister had made me promise not to do. I wasn't the type of man that went back on his word once I'd chosen to be in an alliance. I had let my foolish male pride get in my way. I should have held onto her…

But what she'd done...what she'd done. My blood boiled and I saw from the corner of my eye as the detective took a step back. If we weren't standing in the middle of a wasteland I would have set the plant life on fire. I would kill Amano Ren. I vowed to not allow anyone or anything to get in my way. I would have his head...and I'd be sure to place it on display just for Kasumi to see.

But I had a bigger problem to deal with now. If Kasumi died all the work everyone had put in till now will have been in vain.

I tore the band from my Jagan eye, tossing it to the wind. I didn't need to hide it here. It opened, its power washing over me and then I began my search. I ignored Yusuke at my side, his presence only a distraction. With meticulous care I spread the Jagan's power out as far as it would allow.

Kasumi's energy was nowhere to be found.

I swore loud enough to startle Yusuke. That could mean one of three things - she had landed out of range, she was in a territory that was warded...or she'd fallen into a different time.

The last option I did not dwell on. If that was the case I would not be able to do a damn thing. The other two I could work with.

"Please tell me you can find her."

I finally turned to the detective with a snarled, "No."

"We have to find her...Hiei the Makai's air is toxic."

Did he assume I did not realize that? Did he take me for an imbecile? The air was poison to a human, even one with spiritual energy. But Kasumi was no longer quite human, was she. There were far worse things to worry about than the air. Even if it affected her it would take weeks for the sickness to register. We would find her by then.

I wouldn't accept anything less.

I began to walk away. There was no point standing here in a panic. I had too many things to think about...I needed my body to distract me. If I had just held her hand…

"Where are you going?"

My eyes scanned the horizon. By the looks of the terrain we were in Tourin...which meant Yusuke's ancestor Raizen ruled these lands. He would still be in his prime. We must avoid him at all costs. If he found who Yusuke was too early…

But then again...perhaps that was the way of things. Raizen had sensed Yusuke as soon as he'd entered the Makai during the Sensui battle. He'd known who the man was.

The timeline was so convoluted, any wrong step could affect things in our time. For now I turned to Yusuke and snapped, "Hide your energy."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "I've been doing that since we crash landed here. You think I don't recognize my own lands?"

I hadn't even noticed. Fool. I was an utter fool.

It was all that girl's fault.

I nodded and continued my brisk walk towards a patch of woods I could see in the distance. Tourin was mostly mountains and deserts and stone. But it did have its occasional vegetation. Night was drawing near, the sun dipping in the ruddy colored Makai sky. We'd need a place to camp and hunt.

For the first time in recent memory I despised the smell of the Makai's wind.

. . .

I'd allowed the detective to whittle me down and start a fire. It had grown cold and after an hour of pathetic whining from the other man I'd lit a fire that wouldn't smoke. I didn't require any wood to keep it burning and it never grew bigger than I wanted it to.

Now, I sat fingering the torn section of my cloak. I was restless. I didn't know if she was alive or dead...and I hated that it mattered to me in someway.

I wanted to hate Kasumi. A part of me did. But a much bigger part that I couldn't ignore was drawn to her. Even now...after what she'd done. The thought disgusted me. I told myself over and over she only mattered for one thing - the permanent closure of Purgatory.

The ever shifting colors of the fire drew my eyes. Yusuke sat on the other side, tearing off pieces of meat from a stick. He'd gone hunting immediately and had caught several woodland creatures. He'd cooked off most of the meat and wrapped it into his pack. The rest he'd left on sticks nearby the fire.

He was brandishing one at me once he'd noticed my gaze. But I waved him off. The thought of food was…

I looked away off into the woods. It seemed we had company.

My eyes flicked back to Yusuke. He was still casually eating his meal but he'd noticed. "We have to be careful who we kill here," he said through a mouthful of meat.

The corner of my lips rose in a grin. "One less moron won't make a difference."

He grinned back and stood, cracking his knuckles and neck. "Well, how about we say hello then?"

The bumbling idiot who'd come stumbling out of the woods was dead before he could even open his mouth. It wouldn't do to let the fool scream and attract even more attention. I disposed of the body a ways from our campsite. A warning to any others who might stray too close.

I couldn't deny that it felt good to be able to kill indiscriminately. There were no humans here to be careful of.

When I returned to our fire I found Yusuke laying on the ground, his arms behind his head. He cocked his head towards me. "You taking first watch?"

I nodded and he settled into sleep. It always amazed me how the idiot could sleep anywhere, no matter the amount of danger he could be in. His soft snores and sounds of the night weren't enough to keep my thoughts at bay.

Where was the girl now? I knew she was in some kind of trouble. She always was. It followed her everywhere she went, like a black cloud.

I couldn't believe we'd lost her. The mission had failed before it had even begun. If I had done what she'd wished...and stayed behind…

Yusuke would have held onto her with both hands. He wouldn't have lost her…

I growled softly to myself. These deprecating thoughts would do me no good. What was done was done.

And if anyone were to be blamed it would be her.

My hands clenched into fists until my nails dug into my palms. She'd gone back to her old ways - bedding any willing man, drinking, smoking. She disgusted me.

She'd so willingly dragged that worthless excuse for a man to her bed. And why? Because she had some deluded thought in her head that I was sleeping with her sister?

She didn't know me at all. The soulmate bond was a sick joke.

The thought of the bond brought on another string of memories I'd rather forget. The day she had died...it had been like a fist had grabbed my core and crushed it. The only other pain that could compare was the surgery I'd underwent to obtain the Jagan.

And when she had awoken...cold and different - I grew to believe my tie to her was a curse. The bond did not look the same as others, it was not a thread but a rope - a tether tying me to a fate I did not want.

I had thought she felt the same.

But that hadn't meant I didn't want her. I hadn't planned for us to go our separate ways. She had once again decided things without me.

And I had grown tired of it. I was tired of the constant games. I was too old and demons played by different rules that she would never bother to understand. In the months that I had known her, stood by her side, defended her - not once had she made an effort in that regard. Even the books of information she'd been given hadn't done any good. She'd read through them drunk and half delirious.

I put my head in my hands, the tips of my fingers digging into my scalp. She had betrayed me. It had taken every last shred of my sanity to step into that circle and come here with her. And I was still trying to rationalize with myself as to why. At first, I believed it was because the fate of the three worlds hung in the balance. But I owed them no favors, held no compassion or kindness in my heart for them.

But there were still people who mattered in those worlds. I did it for Yukina. I did it for Mukuro and Kurama and Yusuke...and even the oaf.

Every part of me was screaming to walk away - to never look back...to never think of the red haired woman again.

But I couldn't. It was irrational. A malignant disease that had settled in my brain and begun to chip away at my sanity.

I reached into my pocket, my thumb and forefinger searching for a bit of silk there. Red silk that felt smooth to the touch. I ran the pad of my thumb back and forth across its length. I stared into the fire, the color so similar, and then lifted the bit of silk from my cloak.

I paused, if only a moment, and then tossed it into the flames. The pungent smell of burning hair scorched my nostrils...and then it was gone.

. . .

Three days had passed. We'd stolen burlap cloaks to wear in order to hide our faces. We traveled from town to town, avoiding the more populated areas. It wouldn't do for Raizen to discover his prodigy five hundred years too soon.

In each town we listened for clues, someone should have seen something. The vortex hadn't been exactly subtle. It had made a god awful noise upon opening and we had rocketed out of it like falling stars. But I was growing frustrated. These backwater districts were filled with paupers and bandits, none of them had any information.

That was until we'd wandered into a quiet town on the outskirts of Tourin, near the border of Gandara, Yomi's lands. A lot of traders came through here, along with the usual bandits and scum. Yusuke and I had decided to take up a spot at the only tavern in town.

Yusuke had brought coin with him, though I'd planned to thieve what I needed. He paid for drinks and we took up a corner near a window, away from the rest of the people. Silently, we watched and listened. The mead Yusuke had purchased might as well have been piss in a mug, but we made a show of drinking it anyway.

I was eyeing a group of bandits that were sitting around a long table in the center of the room. They were loaded with weapons but had weak energy. Their raucous behavior is what had drawn my attention and I was about to move on when one of them held up their mug and said, "To luck and glory! May we find King Yomi's fallen star and reap the rewards!"

The party cheered, smashing their mugs into each others.

"What do you think they mean by that?" asked Yusuke. And before I could say a word otherwise the idiot made his way over to the group.

He slammed his foot down on the bench and yelled, "Hey!"

I slapped a hand to my face and got up to diffuse what would surely be a fight, but I never had to. Yusuke, acting as if he'd had one too many, clapped the nearest guy on the shoulder. He was growled at but my idiotic companion just grinned.

"What's this about a fallen star?"

The bandits mumbled amongst themselves for a minute and then turned to Yusuke, all with equally large grins on their faces. "Guess it don't matter if we tell you. Whole damn town knows."

As they told Yusuke a story about a comet that had come shooting from a bright colored hole in the sky I read their minds. I wanted to be sure they weren't lying.

When their tale was finished Yusuke sauntered back over to our table and plopped down across from me. "Get all that?"

"Yomi is offering a reward."

"We have to find her before he does. Or anyone else for that matter."

I swore beneath my breath, "It had to be Gandara."

"At least we know she's here though," Yusuke said. He took a swig of his mead and made a face.

I rose from the table and Yusuke looked up at me, a question in his eyes. "No point in wasting time," I said.

It took another two days worth of travel - which might have been shorter if we didn't have to sneak over borders - before the Jagan picked up traces of Kasumi's energy. It lead us to a forest covered in snow. Gandara was cold and unforgiving, the exact opposite of Tourin's heat.

We searched for several hours when a loud shout from Yusuke had me shooting through the trees. At first where he stood didn't seem any different than the rest of the woods...until the smell of blood hit me - Kasumi's blood.

"She was injured…" I scanned the area. I took in the broken branches of the trees. She'd fallen through them to the ground.

"She fell...but the branches should have slowed her descent. It doesn't explain all this blood."

Yusuke crouched on the ground and pointed. "Paw prints. Looks like wolves."

But they wouldn't have been ordinary wolves, which were formidable all on their own. Demonic wolves, especially the vicious breed that roamed the lands of Gandara, would hunt their prey to the ends of the world.

"And these are Kas' tracks." Yusuke pointed again.

"She fought," I said. The footprints were smeared, scuffed. She'd struggled. And then ran...they led further into the forest.

"Let's follow them."

I followed Yusuke as we both tracked the girl's footprints. The wolves had pursued her, she'd left a trail of blood behind her. A brighter, larger patch and more smeared prints. She'd fought again and been bitten.

Even injured she had continued to run. Except the fool was headed further in instead of out. We followed the tracks until I slammed to a halt, holding up a hand to stop Yusuke as well.

"What is it?" he asked.

"New prints," I said.

These were bigger - a man's. Several others joined the first, but had hung back. They came from another direction and had converged on Kasumi and the wolves. A battle had taken place here...and then…

"Her footprints are gone," said Yusuke.

"Damn!" I growled, wild, angry. Someone had taken her. Someone had found her. We were days too late.

"We were too late." Yusuke voiced my thoughts and set me further on edge.

Just as I had suspected upon first arriving the foolish woman had gotten herself in trouble. She hadn't even lasted a day. What the hell were we supposed to do now?! Tracking whatever demon had taken her would not get us far if that bastard had already taken her to Yomi.

But what other choice did I have? "Come," I said. I opened the Jagan and, following trace energies from both Kasumi and the demons that had taken her, I flitted away.

. . .

It took another three days of travel. I threatened, maimed, and stole for information. We'd lost the trail once we'd hit the first large city they'd come through. So far, between Yusuke and I, we had gathered only minimal traces of her.

Some were just rumours, others were truth. But none of it had helped. I should have been able to find her with the Jagan...but I hadn't had any luck in that regard either. Each day that passed, each hour, each minute - drew her farther from me.

Whoever had taken her had grown smart. They'd learned of the others looking for Yomi's "fallen star" and had taken precautions. They were hiding her energy...hiding their own. They'd warded her from my Jagan. I was losing more of my sanity by the second.

I was starting to wonder...if I hadn't just gotten her killed.

"She's not dead, man."

Yusuke, as if he was the mind reader. He'd grown more calm with each passing day. I didn't understand it. But as for me...it was all I could do to keep from burning every city in Gandara to the ground just to find her.

"They haven't taken her to Yomi," I snarled.

The hunt was still on, the bounty still in place for Kasumi - dead or alive. If someone had come to collect they would have heard about it by now.

"Which means they're either holding her for a bigger bounty - "

"Or they've found some use for her themselves," I ended for him.

Slave trade was alive and well in the Makai, even in our time. There was no King Enki to put a damper on things and force the traders to keep to the shadows. A virile woman like Kasumi, who could handle pain well, who was strong, would catch a high price. Perhaps even higher than Yomi's reward.

The thought made me sick.

"We have to find her," I breathed.

"We will," Yusuke answered.

I held onto what little hope we had. The more pessimistic side of myself told me, over and over, to give up. She was dead...gone. It would be a waste of time to continue searching. We had a dragon to be looking for. It had already been a week and I hadn't bothered even once to garner information on our true target.

I should take the heart for myself...kill Ryuunosuke and put an end to this.

In the past I would have done just that. But I had made promises, I had given my word to too many people.

I had told her...she wouldn't die alone.

"Come on, let's try the next city."

And so came more traveling, more hunting for even the tiniest shred of information. While it was grueling and often times frustrating, it kept my mind from straying. It did no good to dwell on things outside of my control. Kasumi had made her choice. But that didn't mean I could leave her to die because of it.

I hated to admit it...but she would do the same for me. No matter what I had done to hurt her...she would not have abandoned me. She would not have abandoned any one of us…

Another week passed. And then another. We were circling the drain now. There were only so many towns, so many cities. We had tried to avoid the ones closest to Yomi's fortress. But now...we had little choice.

It was on the tail end of the third week when we received an actual lead.

I was sitting in a tree on the outskirts of the city closest to Yomi's fortress. Yusuke had gone without me. He'd demanded that I needed rest. I had not stopped searching since we arrived in the Makai. Even now, I sat on the branch, my body tensed and ready to spring into action. I hated waiting when I had something at stake. Three weeks in the Makai was a long time for her to be on her own…

I'd hoped she might have escaped her captors, for she was never taken to Yomi. That much we knew. But I thought we would have found some trace of her by now, no matter how small.

"Oi! Hiei, I got something!" Yusuke was jogging towards me. He was waving a paper in the air and had a grin on his face too large for my comfort.

I jumped down from the tree just as he reached its base.

"Hn, what is it?" He held the slip of parchment out to me and I snatched it from his finger.

I scanned the paper quickly and then my eyes shot back up towards the detective, "Where did you find this?"

"It was posted on a board full of a bunch of notices and ads."

"Did you check the shop?" Yusuke shook his head and I glared at him. "Why?"

"I figured you'd recognize it better than I would."

That was true. Yusuke had no knowledge on weaponry. The slip of paper had held a rather detailed drawing of a sword for sale, but it was one I recognized immediately. I had only glanced at it once but the runes emblazoned on the flat of the blade were not easy to forget. It was the long sword Kasumi's uncle had gifted to her before our departure.

"Well, let's pay this blacksmith a visit," I said, my voice vicious. They'd dared to claim it was forged by their own hands - don't make me laugh. The blacksmiths able to create a blade of this caliber were few and far between.

It didn't take long to find the shop in question. It was no wonder the demon had decided to use the sword as advertisement. His shop was shabby to say the least. The weapons and armor on display were lackluster and poorly made. I sneered at a particularly awful shield - if anyone were to use that for protection they'd end up dead.

I barged in through the front door without a word, Yusuke behind me...and there it was. The moron had hung it up on the wall behind the counter for all the world to see. It was a great way for someone to rob him. In fact, that's exactly what I planned to do.

"Welcome, welcome! What can I do for you gentlemen!" The proprietor was a sleazy, thin looking demon with obsidian skin. His nose was hooked and crooked, as if it had been broken one too many times. A pair of tiny dark sunken in eyes stared at the two of us. I returned the owner's greeting with a glare and pointed at the blade.

"Ah! You've come to enquire about my latest masterpiece!" He smirked, "I'm afraid it comes at a rather high price...and neither of you look as if you have the coin."

"You have no business putting your filthy hands on it!" I snarled.

"Yeah, what he said," Yusuke said from behind me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Excuse me?" The demon's beady eyes narrowed and he bared a set of razor sharp teeth. If he was trying to intimidate me he was about to regret it.

I flickered behind him, the fool looking around wildly for where I had gone. Yusuke stood by the door, the building's only exit, smirking. I grabbed the demon by the back of the throat and slammed his head into the counter. I heard his nose crack and the scent of foul blood brought a smirk to my own lips.

"Where did you get it?" I growled.

"I made it!"

I picked his head up and smashed it down again, "Did you?"

When he didn't answer right away I created a small flame on the tip of a finger. I waved it in front of his eyes and held it there, "Talk or you lose an eye."

He spilled everything then. A blacksmith, no matter how poor, was nothing without their eyesight.

He'd received the sword two weeks ago. A man had come in wanting to sell it. He'd paid a hefty price which is why he hadn't found a single soul to buy the damned thing yet.

"And who was this man?" I asked.

"I-I don't know," he blubbered.

I paused, my smirk stretching just a bit farther...and then plunged my flaming finger into his right eye. I could have just read his mind...but where was the fun in that?

The blacksmith howled in pain, clawing at me, thrashing against the counter. I held him down and leaned over his body so I could speak in his ear. "You're lying...I do not like liars."

"You might wanna do what he says," said Yusuke. He was leaning against the door now, his pinky digging around in one of his ears and his eyes closed. He looked as if he were bored.

"I-I don't know the guy personally...just who he works for. Everyone knows him!"

"Well I don't, so how about you enlighten me," I said, tone menacing, promising pain if he lied again.

"H-he's the big boss around here...rules the city so to speak…"

"Get on with it!" I snarled. I was two seconds away from ripping out the man's throat

"His name is Konstantin! P-please don't kill me...please!"

I shoved him away from me, making sure his face smashed into the wooden counter one last time. It knocked him out and I flickered back over to Yusuke, Kasumi's sword in hand.

"Shouldn't you have asked where we can find him first?" Yusuke asked.

I pushed passed him and out the door. His hand on my shoulder had me turning with a snarl. I was too heated, too angry. I needed a release for my pent up aggression. If he wasn't careful I would turn him into a punching bag.

He gave me a cocky grin, as if he knew what I was thinking. I glared at him, in no mood for his jokes. I wrenched my shoulder from his grip and said, "Touch me again and you'll lose your hand."

His grin only grew and my lip curled in disgust. I watched him reach into the pocket of the loose pants he wore. He produced another sheet of parchment. He held it out to me.

I read it once, quickly. "A tournament? We have no time for foolishness."

"Read it again," he said.

My eyes narrowed at the order but I obeyed. When I was finished I tore the paper in a half and let the wind take it. "Why didn't you show me this sooner?" I snarled.

Yusuke shrugged. "I didn't know anything for sure. I knew you wouldn't listen to me unless I did."

I pursed my lips, counting to ten and trying not to kill him. "Let's go," I ground out.

The paper had been an announcement for a battle royale that was to be held in two days. It was the demon equivalent of dog fighting...except they used human slaves instead of beasts. Bets would be placed, money would be had in abundance. But what had drawn my attention was the person who sponsored the fighting - the man named Konstantin. He was a lord, a ruler under Yomi's control, but with authority over this city. His "champion" was currently undefeated according to the advertisement. Such a statement could draw demons from every city, perhaps even the other regions. And that alone would bring in more coin.

"You think it's Kasumi?"

My voice turned to a low growl, "I don't think. I know it is."

I would put an end to Konstantin's entire operation. And take back what was mine.

I had waited too long. I would not let her slip through my fingers again.

And I didn't care who I had to kill to make that a reality. To whatever end...Morimoto Kasumi would be mine.

. . .

A/N: Next chapter you'll get to see what happened with Kasumi. I also have plan for a chapter to be in Hitomi's POV, which will be a first for this story. But what is happening back in the original timeline is important too! Thank you for reading, see you next time!