AN: There were a few errors in this chapter (repeated words such as "to"), so please let me know if I missed anything. Thanks!
Sagaku walked into the living room, and collapsed onto Kurama's feet. She played with the stubby fiber from the rug she lay on. Kurama sniffed the air surreptitiously, pleased to note he still couldn't scent the pheromones. He continued reading, and she continued toying idly with the carpet. It was the first time she had given in to the need of physical contact with one of the guys.
The third chapter touched on that-the need for physical contact. Inevitably, the clan would grow too large for the parents due to the breeders' high fertility rates. Extraordinarily high rates, in fact. As the Hanshoku clans grew larger, the parents would have a harder time taking care of the offspring. Because the parents wouldn't have the time or means to care for so many young, and because the young generally did not share the same mothers, they naturally turned to each other. Even the males did, in the beginning. It was a byproduct of the maternal instinct in the females; in the males, it was the need for acceptance.
Kurama closed the book finally and stood to go to the kitchen. Sagaku didn't move, but looked up at him from where she still rested on his feet. He frowned playfully down at her, lifting his toes briefly. With a heavy sigh, she fell to her side so he could step over her. After a moment of loneliness, she followed Kurama into the kitchen.
Hiei was in the kitchen, sitting on the window sill once again.
"Hi, Hiei," Sagaku greeted him. Kurama had explained early on that while Hanshoku found it acceptable not to acknowledge males in their presence, most others found it rude to ignore anyone, male or otherwise. Hiei, Sagaku decided, was very rude. He totally ignored her greeting.
That night, the men held a council of war so to speak. They couldn't reach Genkai, so their next course of action was to discuss a game plan once the girls were sleeping. The best course of action, it was decided, was to keep a healthy distance from Sagaku until Kurama finished reading the Hanshoku book. Plus, who knew? Maybe she wasn't about to go into heat. Maybe it was something entirely different. To be safe, they would keep their distance from the room Sagaku slept in, and maybe lock their own doors as well…
For a night, everyone was safe.
"Training again!" Tarento woke her sisters up by jumping on the bed. Iwaku, who slept too close to the edge, landed on the floor with an audible "whoomp!"
Sagaku groaned, trying to bury her face beneath the pillow. It was one thing for her sisters to be excited, but did it have to be so early? Plus, she was sore everywhere from yesterday's training-even muscles she didn't previously know existed were shooting pangs to remind her now.
"Breakfast first!" Sagaku ordered when her other sisters didn't show the same reluctance to get up as she did.
They rushed down the hall, undoubtedly waking anyone in the house who dared to sleep later than them. Sagaku stayed in the room, though, tugging her hair away from her face while she thought. It was warm in the room (stifling, in fact), but her body shivered spasmodically. Was she sick? Or was this another sign that she might be in heat? If only her mother hadn't died when she was still a baby. At least then someone could answer her questions.
Sagaku groaned again, burying her face in her lap. Fretting would do no good, but she couldn't help it. The men wouldn't say so to her face, but she was sure her fighting skills were abysmal. She could only flip her opponent a third of the time, and that only when they stood still for her! She had to do better. Her sisters were relying on two demons, a half-demon, and a human with high spirit energy to keep them safe. And her. They were relying on her. Hopefully she wouldn't let them down.
After Sagaku helped Kurama clean up the dishes from breakfast, they went back to the small clearing outside. Ririshii, with not a care in the world, kicked her feet into the air and watched the clouds lazily transform overhead.
Kurama and Kuwabara stood with Yusuke today, each facing one of the three girls. Passages from the old volume swam through Kurama's head as he faced Iwaku: the Hanshoku were not fighters. The males, who weren't even considered Hanshoku, could be great warriors. The females were simply child-bearers, trophies and tools. Nothing more. Fighting was outside of their realm. How much of that was true, he wondered, or was it just that no one had ever bothered training them?
Before training began in earnest, Yusuke went flying over Sagaku's hip. His face burned red (he didn't even realize what she was doing in time to dodge), but she plopped down onto the ground in front of him.
"Can I learn a new move?" she asked eagerly. "So I can protect someone other than me, I mean."
Yusuke gave her an appraising look, ignoring Kuwabara's sniggering. She met his dark eyes squarely.
"If you can flip me, three times in a row, I'll teach you something new," he finally relented. She clapped and bounced up, reaching down a hand. He accepted it. Before he'd finished straightening, he went flying again-this time in the other direction.
"Are we counting the first one, too, or just that one?" Sagaku crouched beside the dark-haired hanyou with an innocent smile on her face.
"Just that one," Yusuke groaned, standing up again. He didn't accept her help, wise now to her tricks. This time, he set his feet apart and balanced himself. When he twitched his fingers at her, invitation to attack, she eyed his stance. She dove in this time, crouching low and twisting her shoulder into his gut before lifting to her full height. He spun over her again, landing with a heavy "oomph" on his own back.
"I would just teach her a new move, Urameshi," Kuwabara guffawed. "She's just gonna keep throwing you around."
"One more time!" Sagaku pleaded. "I think I'm getting it now!"
"No, no!" Yusuke held his hands up in mock surrender. "Kuwabara's right. Time to learn something new." He flapped his hands at her, gesturing to stop her next attack before she began. She beamed at him, baring all her teeth in excitement. Whatever sores the day before had left her with were forgotten now.
Hiei watched from the trees. Yusuke was teaching the Hanshoku girl how to put the most force behind her kicks. She copied the moves over and over again until she could feel how gravity pulled at her and could correct her own stances without Yusuke's help. The Spirit Detective was taking it easy on the girl-very easy-but she was learning. Very slowly. Hiei snorted, and when he could stand it no longer (the disgrace that was supposed to be defense), he took off at a run to survey the perimeter. He would rather go check on his sister, but he couldn't leave the property without everyone in tow or a direct order. A mission was a mission, after all.
Kurama corralled the younger girls inside with Kuwabara when the heat and exhaustion started getting out them. They were worn out, and Ririshii fell asleep in Kurama's lap only minutes after requesting he read to her. Outside, Yusuke was busy teaching Sagaku another kick, a better one if she had less room to maneuver. Curious though she'd proven to be, none of them had expected her to start absorbing fighting stances and moves so quickly.
"Why do you want to learn to fight so badly?" Yusuke asked Sagaku when they paused to gulp at glasses of water Iwaku had thoughtfully left out for them. Hiei flitted down from the trees, standing near the two conversers while letting his eyes rove the yard. No activity whatsoever, save for the clumsy antics of these two.
"It's not fighting," Sagaku said, clearly startled. "It's too keep my sisters safe. What if something happens to you guys?"
They sat in silence for a minute on the back steps, finishing the last of their refreshments. Yusuke grinned then, and wrapped an arm around Sagaku in a friendly manner.
"Nothing's going to happen to us, Saga," he promised her.
Hiei didn't voice an agreement, but he was sure the Spirit Detective was right. How many demons out there were foolish enough to take on Koenma's prized team? And stupidity was easily snuffed out, in his experience.
When the sun started setting that evening, Yusuke insisted they go in. Though she was sure she could only get better if she kept practicing, Sagaku had to admit that her thighs and shoulders felt like rocks had been tied to them. Had she ever exercised so vigorously before? For the first time (other than the first time ever, when she'd been prematurely excited), Sagaku was looking forward to a shower. Kuwabara barely had time to vacate the room before she'd claimed it. Though everyone kept trying to tell her that warm showers were best, she twisted the knob far in the other direction. Cold rivulets of water ran down her body. She felt like she was burning now, such a change from the chills that had plagued her lately.
In the other room, Kuwabara played (and lost) a card game with the girls. It was a game they'd invented, and the rules changed frequently and with little warning when it suited them.
"What have you learned, fox?" Hiei asked Kurama. Kurama looked up from the book. He was more than halfway through now, plowing through at every given chance.
"What's the book even about?" Yusuke asked, straddling the chair he was sitting on to lean against the table.
"It's about the Hanshoku," Kurama explained. "Mostly their upbringing, but also some of the biology. I thought it could help our understanding of the girls." Kurama smiled at Tarento who had ditched the card game and was leaning on his shoulder now. It pleased him that the girls had broken their habit of never meeting a man's eyes.
"Is it interesting?" Tarento asked. Iwaku flicked her sister's ear.
"Don't be daft," Iwaku told her sister.
"It is," Kurama told her. "I haven't finished it yet, though."
A sharp buzzing interrupted the conversation. Yusuke groaned and patted at his pockets, dragging his cell out. "Old Lady" blinked at him on the screen when he flipped his phone open. Genkai.
"Hey Old Lady, what's this about?" Yusuke greeted his mentor.
"Don't you 'Old Lady' me, or I'll tell Koenma I think you need to go through training all over again," Genkai threatened. "I called to let you know there was an attack on the temple today. A-Class demon. Some old friends are helping guard for now. You better be on a lookout, scamp. Don't stick your head too far up your-"
"Got it, Old Lady," Yusuke cut her off.
"You were attacked?" Kurama asked in concern. At the same time, Kuwabara asked "You have friends?"
Genkai's frosty silence promised retribution for later, but she hung up instead of answering either question. Iwaku and Tarento hugged each other tightly. Ririshii, luckily, was too young to understand what was going on.
"Who in their right mind would attack Genkai's temple?" Kuwabara asked in a hushed tone.
"Was everyone all right?" Sagaku asked from the doorway. Her long, wet hair clung to her face and back. The nightgown Keiko had bought her all that time ago clung becomingly to her shoulders.
"Yes," Yusuke swallowed. He elbowed Kuwabara sharply in the ribs. Kuwabara jerked his face away, staring at the ceiling instead. "She didn't say anyone was injured. I'm sure they're fine."
Iwaku and Tarento ran to Sagaku who opened her arms to hug them. Ririshii, beginning to realize something was wrong, joined them. When Sagaku bent to be on a better level with her sisters, Ririshii whispered urgently in her ear. Iwaku looked like she was one word away from crying.
"Papa can't come, Riri," Sagaku whispered to Ririshii. She smoothed the pale hair from Ririshii's face. "As soon as it's safe he will. Just wait." But it was too late to make the little girl feel better, and sobs wracked her chest. It was the straw that broke the camel's back; Iwaku cried silently as well and even Tarento began tearing up. With a desperate look at the men, Sagaku gathered her sisters to her and led them to their bedroom. The bedroom door snapped shut.
When Kuwabara surged from his seat, rushing to comfort the poor girls, Hiei stopped him with a cold statement.
"Nothing you say will make them feel better, baka." Hiei shot a look around at all of them. "They're just now realizing their sisters are in danger. Idiots." That wasn't true; he realized that after the words were already out. Sagaku had, over and over again, tried to put on a brave face to keep her sisters in the dark. He might think the girls were foolish and hopeless, but he understood their pain now. Hadn't he been torn from his own sister a lifetime ago?
Sagaku let her sisters cry until one by one they fell asleep. The fan on the ceiling (she hadn't even needed Kurama to explain what exactly it did, once she'd figured out how to turn it on) was spreading cold air around the room. With a frown, she stood on the mattress to turn it off. It slowed, finally stalling, and left her standing with damp hair in the middle of the room. She was too cold. Climbing back under the covers, she attempted to curl up with her sisters. Her toes were numb again, and the numbness was spreading quite quickly up her legs. What was wrong?
Burrowing further under the covers, Sagaku squeezed her eyes shut. She brought her knees higher up. Ririshii mumbled something and then stuck her thumb in her mouth, cuddling into Sagaku's arms. Slowly, torturously slowly, Sagaku fell into an uneasy slumber. When she woke, it was to find her fingers entirely frozen and paralyzed with cold. Unpleasant tingles plagued her scalp. A panicked cry ripped its way out of her mouth. Biting down onto unfeeling fingers, she tried to stifle it. Her lungs felt like they were contracting, squeezed into the grip of an unforgiving snake.
Trying to be careful, though she was clumsy with her unfeeling limbs, Sagaku stumbled from the bedroom. She closed the door carefully lest she wake her sisters.
"Kurama?" she called quietly, frantically, into the hall. There was movement behind one of the doors. She didn't know if it was Kurama's. She'd never gone past the room she shared with her sisters.
"Kurama," she tried to ignore the tears streaming down her face and the pounding of her heart, something's wrong!"
She didn't like being cold. In fact, she hated it.
"What's wrong, onna?" Hiei's sultry voice came from inside a dark room at the end of the hall. Sagaku stumbled, falling against another door frame. Kurama, finally roused into wakefulness, opened his own door.
"What's wrong?" Kurama asked urgently, stepping out to peer up and down the hall. Hiei, too, stepped into the hall. Kurama had taken the time to wrap a robe about himself, but Hiei's bare chest stood out in the shadows, flat planes of pale skin in the scant light.
Kurama froze, his nostrils flaring. His head jerked to face Sagaku. Her pupils were constricted so tight, he could barely see them against the brown of her irises. Convulsions kept her from moving easily.
"Oh," Kurama said. A depth of meaning hung on his single word.
"What is it?" Sagaku cried. "It's so cold! Make it go away!" She pushed herself from the door frame. Awkward steps carried her to the redhead, but he backed up urgently. His own eyes were wide and afraid, though no where near as terrified as the girl's. Hiei watched his friend's fists clench. White spread over his knuckles. Curiously, Hiei breathed in deeply as well. In an instant, he realized what had provoked Kurama's reaction.
"I'm sorry," Kurama held the upset girl back by her shoulders, "I can't." Was he trying to tell her he couldn't make the cold go away, or that he couldn't bear her contact? Even Kurama didn't know. He fought to control his breathing. His more demonic instincts were begging to be let out.
"Onna, go to your room," Hiei snarled. He moved cautiously around her, forcing his body between Kurama's and her own. Kurama closed his eyes, glad for the second to stop his internal struggle.
"What's happening?" Sagaku begged for an answer. Her brown eyes, crazy and wide, focused on Hiei's gaze. The red anchored her, for just a second.
"Go to your room!" Hiei snarled louder at the terrified girl. Sagaku skittered back. Her hands raised against the anger in his tone. "Go!" he commanded again.
Sagaku disappeared back into her room. Fear burrowed into her brain until she couldn't stand the onslaught anymore and simply collapsed onto the floor. The cold was spreading, faster and faster, claiming her body. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms and legs did nothing to bring warm her. Finally, she was reduced to hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing quietly. Her sisters, ignorant to Sagaku's plight, slept on. But as the ice crept into her chest, so did understanding; this was it. Why it was called "heat" she couldn't say.
Out in the hallway, Hiei stood guard by the onna's door, watching the fox breath in deeply and shudder. At least there was no struggle in the kitsune's eyes, now.
"That was something," Kurama panted. He shuddered again, and then shook his head sharply to clear the lingering fumes from his nose. "I hope she's not too scared."
"Hn," Hiei snorted. He agreed with the fox's first statement. Her scent was heady and strong, a siren's call to his senses. The alluring scent would have drawn him in as easily as it had Kurama were it not for his hatred of...well, pretty much everything. Still, if her pheromones had been enough to attract even humans before, this would be much, much worse.
"We shouldn't have given them a room with a window."
"No," it was Kurama's turn to agree, "we really shouldn't have."