Instead of speeding off immediately, Hiei sat on the roof opposite Sagaku's room. Her back was to the window, but he'd seen her shoulders shaking until she was done crying. He watched when she pulled on her ridiculous pajamas with frills and long sleeves-she hadn't bothered wearing it when they slept together. And he hated himself all the more for his contradictions. He left, vowing to rid himself of whatever proprietary feelings he had for the damn onna. The next time the fox asked him to help out, he was saying no.
Hiei was only mildly surprised to find Kurama sitting on his couch, though the door had been locked. The fox was a career thief, after all.
"What are you doing with her, Hiei?" Kurama demanded to know. Emerald sparks lit his eyes with anger.
"She asked me." Hiei glared at the fox, willing him to back down. He was not in the mood to deal with the accusations to come-having it thrown in his face once that night was enough.
"And you did it? She doesn't even know what she's doing! So you hurt her for what, your own ego?" Kurama growled. The shape of his eyes was sharpening, gold leaching into the green. He stood, towering over Hiei who wrapped his fingers loosely around the hilt at his waist.
"She's not so innocent," Hiei told Kurama, "but if I'd known it was going to turn out like this I would have let her suffer."
"You should have!" Kurama snarled. "It would have lasted little more than a week and she would have gotten over it! Now she has to deal with complicated emotions and heartbreak instead!"
"It wasn't emotional!" Hiei gave in and yelled right back at the fox. Silvery strands were threading down the redhead's hair.
"Liar!" The transformation was faster now, the eyes nearly fully gold.
"I'll fix it," Hiei said, forcing conviction into his voice. He hoped Kurama would hold back his second half who had a quick fuse and fought dirty. "I'll figure it out. I won't go near the onna until then." It hurt-physically hurt-to sound so close to groveling.
Kurama's hair stopped lengthening and straightening, slowly fading once more to deep red as if the rest had been merely a trick of the light. He brushed past the fire demon, stalking out of the apartment and leaving anger and disappointment behind. Hiei stood there, dealing with the dull, throbbing anger. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. It was supposed to be nothing.
Koenma had a mission for Hiei and Sagaku early the next morning. For the first time that Sagaku could remember, he warned them to be careful; it was only two demons, but all reports suggested they were strong. Strong, and in the Makai where other demons could easily join the fray.
Sagaku stepped through the nauseating portal trying not to think about how long it had been since she'd last been in the Makai. Hiei had dodged through first without so much as a "good morning." As if she needed more reminders that whatever they'd done meant nothing.
There wasn't far to travel. Hiei barely waited for Sagaku's feet to touch the ground before speeding in the direction of bursting lights and screams. The screams ended abruptly before Hiei skidded into the destroyed village. Sagaku nearly fell into him, following so closely. They skittered apart-not to avoid touching each other, but to present two targets instead of one.
Two demons were wreaking havoc, just as Koenma had warned them. One was black-skinned, glinting with yellow veins that surged and faded against his skin. Red smoldered over him, either hair or flame. Sagaku couldn't tell which. His cavernous mouth opened, red glowing in his throat. Lava spewed out, burning the body of what had once been either a child or small demon.
The other demon appeared from behind the black-skinned demon. He was tall and thick, built like a human tank. So tall, in fact, he would have towered over Kuwabara. Light brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. He turned directly to the two of them, sensing them before they even moved. One eye was dark brown; the other was hazel.
Sagaku's gut twisted in familiarity. She'd never seen the man before, she was certain of that, but he looked like a favorite memory of hers. Two eyes, one dark as her own, the other a hazel-green. Two drums were slung around the demon's neck like a buccaneer's spare pistols. His palm hit against one of them. Two huts that hadn't succumbed to the lava shuddered and collapsed to the ground.
The knot in Sagaku's stomach twisted further. Her father used sound like that.
"I've got the drummer boy." Sagaku staked her claim. She started forward, picking up speed as she angled herself further from Hiei. Hiei sped down as well, knowing he had to engage the molten demon before the two ganged up on the stupid onna.
Hiei got there in time, turning the demon from his friend though he couldn't quite get close enough to strike.
Sagaku skidded to a stop several yards from her brother. He looked at her, puzzled, clearly wondering why she looked like someone he used to know.
He tapped one drum lightly. The resulting sound wave would have knocked Sagaku to the ground if the molybdenite quartz, which flared at her hips, hadn't begun pulsing strongly, rooting her legs.
"You look familiar," the demon said. He stepped closer. "Do I know you?"
Sagaku realized a second too late that he'd asked her only as a distraction. One of his hands clamped around her arm even as she danced back. The force of his grip sent white flashes of light off behind her eyes.
"You're a rebel," Sagaku gasped. She tried to focus past the pain, past that odd grinding and crunching-was that her bone making that noise?-and she forced her own energy into the garnet. The garnet flared beneath her brother's fingers. The boom that followed sent him flying back. Sagaku gasped, struggling to control the waves of nausea that followed the sudden flare of pain in her arm.
The demon was up again, so quickly, feinting left and right back at her. The drums bumped against each other. The resulting sound sent Sagaku reeling back. She called on the ruby and the blue sapphire, cloaking herself with strength and discipline and awareness. The sphene loaned her quickness on its own, soft thrums of energy flowing from her fingers all the way down to the balls of her feet.
The speed and awareness sent Sagaku skittering to the side before she fully realized that her brother sent another sound wave where she'd been standing.
"Why?" Sagaku asked. She flew forward at him before he could rally for his next attack, her kick barely sending him back two steps. The throb of the garnet on her arm, which sent another wave of pain through the broken bone, sent her brother tumbling. Nice to know the stones would do more damage against him than she could herself. If it scared her that the stones seemed to be acting on her own, which hadn't happened since she'd first learned what serpentine could do, she didn't let on.
"Allowing a human to rule any part of the demon world is absurd," her brother snarled. It twisted his features, ruining his pretty face. "Allowing a toddler to decree orders is even worse."
He leapt at her, his foot snapping out like a mule's hoof. Sagaku twisted past it, her uninjured elbow aimed at his throat. He backed away before it made contact.
"Who are you?" he asked. The serpentine, as if feeding on the other stones Sagaku wore, begin emitting a soft yellow light. With each pulse, the serpentine flared brighter.
"You won't know me by name," Sagaku gasped, unable to dodge his punch. She was nearly bent in half. Would she be able to straighten without piercing her own lungs? The mook jasper on her ankle gentled the thought, taking the pain into itself. Sagaku straightened somewhat, though she still bent forward like a crone. "But perhaps you know our mother's name."
"Our mother?" He cried out in pain. Sagaku's words had distracted him so he hadn't even noticed her left hand flying at his face, fingers forming claws. It was her left hand. If she'd had use of her right arm at this point, she would have tried punching. Instead, her nails left bloody gauges all the way from his eyebrow down the side of his neck.
"Hah!" her brother snorted, shaking his head to clear the blood from his eyes. The girl was waning, panting as she stumbled back. "You're not my sister," he said to her, advancing. A dagger appeared in his hand. He used the hilt to tap on his drum threateningly. Sagaku flew back into the ground, her back crunching against the remains of a hut. Light reflected off a stone in the hilt of his dagger. Sagaku's eyes caught on it as she struggled to push herself up with one hand.
"Father would never let one of his sluts fight," her brother continued. Did he know what he had presented her with? Obviously not. The yellow stone darkened slightly. Her brother continued speaking, obviously not realizing that he held his own demise. He landed on his knees beside her, one hand landing on her throat and forcing her back to the ground. "Maybe we do share a mother," he chuckled. "You do have the look of the whore."
The point of the dagger rested to the left of her sternum, tickling at her skin until he pressed a little harder. Sagaku gurgled something at him. He lifted his hand from her throat just barely, allowing a trickle of air down her throat.
"What was that, sister?" he taunted. His hand was wavering now. Blood leaked out of his nose. He shook his head, confused, trying to clear the sudden weakness from his body.
"I said," Sagaku gasped, "that you are a thick-headed numbskull."
Her brother fell back, gasping and clutching at his throat. The idiot didn't drop the dagger, trying to hold it up between them.
"Thanks for the zircon, brother," she said. She closed her fingers around his, forcing him to maintain the grip on the weapon. The zircon was nearly brown now, so darkened by the life force it drained. She held his fingers there until the last hint of light faded from her brother's eyes.
Sagaku stumbled to her feet, wondering if she dared pull on zircon to borrow the life force of her brother. Hiei and the molten demon fought still. The molten demon was sluggish, clearly not doing well, but Hiei couldn't get close enough to finish him off. Sagaku stumbled towards them, wondering what she could possibly do to help.
Hiei unwound the bandage on his arm, the one that he changed only in absolute privacy lest it ever get a hold over him. His own thigh was burned, something that shouldn't have been possible. He muttered under his breath, letting the last of the bandage fall to the smoldering ground.
Sagaku witnessed the large black dragon made of shadows and purple flame burst from Hiei's arm, leaving shredded flesh in its place. His fury directed the dragon, moving too fast and too fiercely for the molten demon to react. Sagaku froze in place, watching as the dragon ripped the demon to shreds. Even after the demon was demolished, the dragon shrieked its fury and tore into the surrounding landscape. Hiei shouted wordlessly, drawing on every last reserve to drag the dragon back into his control.
Hiei panted vigorously, trying to rewrap his bloody arm, before he collapsed into oblivion.
It was awkward, trying to rewrap Hiei's arm while using the unfamiliar communicator to call Koenma. Sagaku managed, though later she couldn't say exactly how given that her own body was on the verge of collapse also. She couldn't even muster up surprise when Koenma said the portal couldn't be moved closer, that it was anchored in place.
Sagaku struggled, ignoring her own pain as she half-dragged, half-carried the slightly taller fire demon up the hill. Every step brought a new protest from her body.
Yusuke waited on the other side of the portal, having been alerted by Koenma that help would be necessary. As soon as their bodies appeared, he took Hiei from Sagaku, relieving the pressure on her chest. Kurama met them at the apartment.
"He'll be okay," Kurama finally said after a thorough examination of Hiei's wounds. The burn was already fading. The tattoo on his bloody arm stood out more sharply than usual, but the shredded flesh was already knitting itself together with scabs and new skin.
Yusuke hovered over Sagaku, afraid to tell Kurama he was more afraid for the girl than the unconscious demon. Sagaku's pupils were dilated. Kurama turned, and finally seeing the condition of the girl (which he had been distracted from due to his other friend's near demise), cursed so fluently Yusuke had to stop himself from slow clapping.
"Let's get her in bed," Kurama said. The two men supported Sagaku all the way to her room where Kurama directed Yusuke to rip the sheets and blankets away and lay out some towels instead.
It was no easy feat, setting the broken bone in Sagaku's upper arm and plastering it in a thin cast. Kurama pushed her shirt up to expose her ribs. Yusuke hissed in sympathy. Her torso was one purple and blue mass, with mottled yellow for variety.
"It feels like there's only one cracked rib," Kurama said after pressing lightly against her ribs and trying to ignore her hissing. "I can't do anything about that."
"Take the jasper on my ankle," Sagaku told her friends. She kept her eyes clenched shut against the pressure, light though it was, of Kurama's fingers. "Put it on my chest, over the solar plexus chakra."
Kurama complied silently. Sagaku winced at the sensation of metal and stone against the tenderized skin.
"Tape it?" she asked. "Please."
Kurama cut two strips of medical tape, strapping the stone lightly to stay put.
"Thank you," Sagaku said softly. "I'll be okay. You can leave."
With nothing left to do, and feeling oddly like kids being dismissed from class, Kurama and Yusuke filed out of her room, closing the door softly behind them.
Sagaku dozed briefly, letting the mook jasper work its own magic. When she woke from her stupor, she pulled herself into the bathroom. Stripping was a chore. Finally, after being unable to lift her shirt over her head, she cut it with her brother's own dagger.
The cold water that jettisoned from her shower stung her with frigidness. It soaked the stiff bandages on her upper arm, probably against Kurama's orders but she'd been in too much pain to hear him when he was still there. The dirt and smoky residue and caked blood ran off her face and out of her hair. Finally, too exhausted to stand, she sank to her knees and leaned back against the wall. She didn't even have the energy to turn off the cold water.
Hiei woke in his own room. The smell of the fox lingered faintly, explaining how he'd arrived. His cloak, ripped and stained, lay on the bed beside him, and his arm was freshly bandaged. At least the fox hadn't removed his pants, opting instead to cut off one leg. Hiei struggled up. His arm throbbed, but upon his inspection he could see it was bound properly.
With a pang of anxiety he experienced only rarely, in relation to Kurama or Yukina and even more rarely in relation to Yusuke or Kuwabara, he wondered if the onna was still alive. He remembered nothing after unleashing the dragon. The anxiety ebbed only slightly when he realized that she must have survived since he had somehow ended up back in the Ningenkai.
Moving carefully to take stock of his injuries, Hiei left to see how she was doing. He pried open the window to her room, slipping in quietly. Her room was empty, but the connected bathroom light was on and the shower was running. Frowning, Hiei realized he couldn't hear her moving about.
Uneasily, remembering his promise to the fox and his own resolve, Hiei cracked the bathroom door open. The glass door to the shower was closed, but the shadowed form was crumpled on the floor. He flung the glass door open, turning off the icy water that pelted down on him. He scooped up her naked form, wincing at the pain in his arm, and carried her into her bedroom. He placed her gently on the mattress, searching for the comforter she usually slept beneath. It was on the floor. He turned to pull it on to the bed, and when he was facing her again shivers were wracking her body. The comforter buried the girl, and then Hiei sat and tugged off his boots.
Sagaku's wet body pressed against Hiei beneath the comforter. Icy cold lips pressed against his filthy shirt as she moaned in her sleep. A frown tugged at Hiei's lips as he tucked his arm gingerly over her waist, trying to avoid her broken arm and bruised torso alike. Finally, satisfied he wasn't hurting her, he closed his own eyes and allowed himself to sleep as well.
He had promised the fox he would fix it, and he would. It would just take a while.
Hiei woke before Sagaku. She was on her back now, her face twisted lightly in pain though upon his inspection the bruises that covered her chest were all a mottled, sickly yellow now instead of deep blues and purples. He expected the stone that was taped to her chest had something to do with that. There was no way for him to find out what was wrong with her arm while the cast was in place, so he simply looked over it.
There was nothing he could do for her now. She wasn't unconscious in the shower, and she wasn't shivering. With a mental shrug that even the fox couldn't chide him for this-he'd been entirely circumspect-Hiei took off after carefully closing the window behind him.