AN: Thank you all for (re)reading this story and taking this little quest with me again! I really hope you've enjoyed it. It does leave off with a few loose ends because I like to think their adventure continues.
Hiei burst into sight just as the slate started solidifying around Harou. Unlike the other two demons, the mountain didn't leave Harou anchored. It dragged him down and down. Sagaku could feel the quartz and garnet drawing from him, taking the properties that made him who he was and redistributing him through the minerals.
"Let go of her," Hiei's icy voice snapped at Hisakata. Sagaku wondered if he was a hallucination, something to ease her own way into the afterlife.
"I paid for her," Hisakata growled. Sharp claws pierced into the skin on her chin. He was tilting her head to the side, baring his teeth over her neck. Vaguely, Sagaku remembered Shoseki and Mineo saying that's how demons claimed their mate. More distinctly, she realized the mountain was dragging on her, trying to pull her away from any being that would dare hurt her.
"Wasn't she supposed to wait for us?" Another head popped up over the side of the mountain. Sagaku really hoped she wasn't seeing things, because if Yusuke was here also-
Sagaku shrieked in sudden pain. The mountain shook, struggling to defend the small creature that had fed it emotions. Struggling against the commotion, Sagaku tried to calm the mountain, soothing it with the feeling of family and friends. All the while, the pain at the joint of her neck and shoulder flared stronger and stronger as an alien force invaded her. It felt like the vaccinations Kurama had taken her to get before she went to America, the ones where the needle wasn't so bad but then there was too much pressure under her skin and the needles' contents burned her from the inside out, but ten times worse.
A thorny whip lashed at Hisakata's back again and again until he dropped the demoness and tried to spin on his adversary, forgetting in his dim excitement that the mountain had claimed him. Sagaku hit the floor in a dizzying thump. She rolled on the rocky surface to get away from him.
A blinding flare of light from Yusuke's spirit gun tore the second demon from the mountain's grip, killing him instantaneously. Nenriki, Sagaku thought dully, was avenged.
The mountain pulled at Sagaku, sinking her to her elbows and thighs as it pulled her into its heart of safety. She struggled to make it let go, to remember that she was not stone herself.
"Don't let it take you," Hiei commanded. His katana shone in front of her face-not in threat, but for protection she realized. Hiei kneeled beside her, watching the fight with one eye but turning to see her also. One warm arm, the one with the dragon tattoo wrapped in bandages, snaked around her waist, holding her firm against him. "Tell it to let go."
"I'm trying," Sagaku panted. The mountain tried to pull her deeper. Hiei refused to relinquish his grip.
Let me in, he directed Sagaku.
Sagaku opened her mind to Hiei, letting him follow the connection to the mountain, where thin veins of energy and emotion tied the two together. Hiei let his energy flow along the roots of the energy, trying to reinforce Sagaku's so she could pull back.
The mountain struggled to understand, confused by the fight that took place topside and the feelings that whirled violently through the demon girl and into the mountain's stones.
Mine, Hiei told the mountain, wrapping his arm tighter around the girl and deflecting a glancing blow from the giant wolf that had tumbled his way.
Hisakata yelped, pierced by Kuwabara's flaring sword. Yusuke took aim and fired.
The mountain released Sagaku into Hiei's hold, trying to share one last touch of family and protection before sinking back into the solid nothingness of stone. A pulse that hadn't been there before softened the mountain's loneliness.
"Stupid scum," Yusuke muttered vehemently. A long scratch traced the side of his face.
Kuwabara nodded in agreement, turning to where Hiei knelt beside Sagaku. Hiei hesitantly tightened his arm around Sagaku's waist, letting his heat sink through her battered skin. Sagaku let him stand, supporting her weight so she could stand also.
"Onna," Hiei said softly in her ear. "Are you okay?"
"Am I drowning?" she asked hoarsely. The mountains strength was gone, not even a memory in her body now.
"You're not drowning." Hiei frowned at the girl. She didn't lean closer to him, she didn't try to snuggle or latch on tighter. She just stood there, limply.
"Good," Sagaku mumbled, letting her eyes close. "I don't think I like water anymore."
"Hn," Hiei snorted. "Did you ever?"
Kurama waited at the base of the mountain with a deeply cowed Usagi. The Australian demons still flitted around, exploring and fighting when hiding demons were found. Together at last, the team took Sagaku home with her sister.
The first thing Sagaku did once her friends were done fussing over her (and Kurama decreed her body weight was back where it needed to be) was get her own apartment. It was in a building far from her friends. When they tried arguing with her, she told them firmly and immovably that she would not put Keiko or anyone else in danger. No arguments swayed her.
Botan met her at her small apartment with a laptop several days later, both to check on the girl but also to help her report to Koenma. Despite Koenma's honeyed elixirs, the salt water Harou had forced down her throat had done its damage. It would heal eventually, but in the meantime she sounded husky.
"We can't trace down your father yet," Koenma said from the screen, "but we're still working on it."
"Usagi's been a huge help," Botan added.
"The second we find him, we're taking him into custody."
A knock on the door sent Botan scuttling to check through the peephole (Sagaku's only concession to paranoia).
"Kurama!" she greeted, throwing the door open. "We're in here."
"How is she doing?" Kurama asked the reaper quietly. Sagaku still heard. Koenma, it seemed, did not.
"Jin's crew did not leave much in the way of survivors from the rebellion camp, but the few that did make it are in cells awaiting trial," Koenma continued. "Do you need details on any of them?"
"No," Sagaku said softly. "I watched Harou and Hisakata die. The rest mean nothing to me. Jitsu wasn't among the dead then?"
"He wasn't," Koenma confirmed. "We're stationing guards permanently around the mountain to avoid anything similar happening in the future."
"I wouldn't worry about that." Sagaku tried to shrug to hide the uncertainty of what she had done from him. "The mountain...it's different now. I think it might demand blood from those who step foot there now."
"Blood?" Koenma asked drily. "Duly noted."
Kurama waited while Botan bustled back to the table, translating what Sagaku said in a louder voice. After Koenma disconnected, Botan started babbling immediately. Kurama had no time to cut in.
"Usagi is doing really well at the temple," Botan told Sagaku, knowing Sagaku would be afraid to ask. "If she has a son, Genkai said she'd train him. But she said if it was a girl, Usagi would be better off bringing her to you."
Sagaku's quiet snort said what she thought Usagi would have to say to that.
"Usagi said she'd think about it. Her arm is still in a cast. It probably will be for another month, even with the jade you gave her."
After Botan left, Kurama sat beside Sagaku. He lifted his arm for the girl, but Sagaku just stared blankly at the table where the laptop had been.
"Everyone is trying too hard," she finally said.
"What do you mean?" Kurama asked cautiously.
Sagaku turned her head to smile wryly at the redhead. "I haven't had a moment alone since moving to an apartment...to live by myself."
Kurama smiled back, a blush faintly coloring his cheeks.
"I'll leave you alone tonight," he said. "But I have a surprise for you." He patted his jacket pocket before reaching in.
"A surprise?" Sagaku perked up, trying to stick her own hand in the pocket.
Kurama, laughing, knocked her hand away. The bag he pulled out was lumpy and red with a faded logo on it-Kurama's old school, maybe. He dangled the bag just out of her reach.
"What is it?" Sagaku asked curiously, stretching to reach past him.
"Something I couldn't help but filch when we were rescuing you." Kurama grinned impishly. It was a rare mood for him, playful and sly and teasing all in one. If it was meant to bring Sagaku's mood up, it was working.
Sagaku felt what it was the second the bag hit her palm. "My stones!" she gasped. She hugged the bag to her chest, and then opened it to pour the jewelry out into her hands. It was almost all there, and the two missing earrings would be easy enough to replace.
With a laughing sob, Sagaku threw her arms around Kurama and hugged him tight. He hugged her back. Finally, it seemed that all would be right in the world. She wouldn't heal emotionally in one day or the next, but if she could still laugh and hug and cry then she would be alright. He'd have to trust that for now.
"Hey Kurama?" Sagaku pulled back, the smile fading to a more serious expression.
"Yes?" he asked. A small frown graced his face as he wondered what caused this shift back to unhappiness.
"Does...Does Hiei care? About me, I mean?" Her face scrunched up, cheeks red in embarrassment. "He wasn't supposed to, but then on the mountain…" she trailed off.
Kurama didn't answer right away. He took a moment to think about how to respond and look at the watch on his wrist-class would start soon so he would have to rush to make it to campus on time. His honest opinion was that the fire demon had changed somewhat since the first day they'd been assigned to guard all seventeen hanshoku girls.
"I think maybe you should ask him that yourself," Kurama said. "After all, he's the mind reader-not me."
"You're right," Sagaku said. She smiled a little sheepishly. "I don't know where that question came from."
Kurama laughed and dropped a brotherly kiss on the top of her head. He hugged her once more before leaving for classes.
Sagaku stood there, bag of stones in hand, and stared blankly at the door Kurama had passed through. Terrifying thoughts and memories raced through her head. Thoughts of stinging water suffocating her tangled with memories of the pitch-black cell and the icy walls. Nenriki's accepting nod, letting her know that she had to do what was right. And then, hearing Hiei's voice, out of nowhere, the promise of protection if only he could get to her fast enough.
Cold chills shook Sagaku's body. Sweat soaked her skin and made the chills worse. Somehow, she found herself on the floor gasping for air.
"You're supposed to put those on, onna." The demon she'd just been thinking of stood in front of her. Unbeknownst to Sagaku, Kurama had left the door open for Hiei. When Sagaku just gaped up at him, still trying to draw in breath, he knelt in front of her. His bright red eyes traveled over her, taking in her disheveled hair and the still-healing bruises. It lingered on the mark that would have been a mating mark had the others not killed the wolf. Now it was just a painful reminder of what happened.
"Hiei," Sagaku finally managed to choke out. The panic attack lingered still, but faded with the distraction.
"You reek," Hiei wrinkled his nose in distaste, "you need to shower." It was true-she still smelled of brine and dust.
"I can't," Sagaku said meekly. She clutched her bag of stones closer to her chest.
"Why not?" Hiei challenged. He knelt, his knees brushing hers. Part of him expected her to pull away in disgust or anger. She didn't.
"I don't want to be in the water." Her already quiet voice dropped even lower. The personal admittance did not drop easily from her tongue.
"Onna, you have to clean sooner or later." Hiei started to growl but corrected his voice last minute so he wouldn't chide the stupid rabbit. She was quivering again.
"Don't wanna," she muttered stubbornly.
Hiei reached a hand out slowly and pulled the bag carefully from her grip. He kept it in his hand, helping her stand with his other hand.
"You reek," he told her again. She allowed him to lead her to bathroom, standing docile while he put her stones on the bathroom counter. When he reached for the faucet, though, she clawed at his hand.
"No!" she hissed. "I'll drown!"
The fire youkai stared at her for a minute in shock. She thought she would drown in the shower? That was...not stupid, he reminded himself. Kurama had lectured him at great length on PTSD. He'd seen himself, with his Jagan eye, that the demon had used water torture to gain compliance from her. So it wasn't stupid-he just didn't share the same fear.
"I won't let you drown," he told the shivering mass in front of him.
"It'll hurt," Sagaku countered.
"It won't hurt," Hiei promised.
"How do you know?" Sagaku asked him.
Hiei reached for the facet again, and this time she didn't stop him. She did press her shaking form against him and clutched spasmodically at his shirt, but she didn't stop him. The silver faucet hissed and spit for a second before raining down a steady stream of warm water. Hiei didn't give her any more time to worry; in one swift move, he scooped her up and lifted her into the tub. He didn't bother undressing her, thinking she might bolt the second the water hit her skin. She didn't. Her eyelids closed and her nostrils flared but she didn't run. The fingers twisted in his shirt clenched tighter, the knuckles turning stark white against the dark fabric.
With a sigh, Hiei undid his belt so he could remove his katana and sheath, kicked off his boots, and stepped into the tub. They stood under the fall of water together.
"I just do," Hiei finally answered the question she had asked.
He'd heard her frank question to Kurama, had known it was inevitable. The fox had told him to fix things, and he had promised he would though the solution wasn't so obvious then. Now, his thumb traced the almost-mark of another demon and the water steamed a little around him. The onna was his. Or he was the onna's. He wasn't sure which.
Sagaku kept her eyes squeezed shut even when Hiei reached past her to grab soap and began scrubbing any showing skin with a little more force than necessary. Confusion swamped her, nearly negating the pounding in her ears as adrenaline flooded her system.
"I don't like the water," she muttered to Hiei again.
The chuckle, low and warm, was startling enough to make Sagaku open her eyes.
"You've already told me that, onna," Hiei said, meeting her startled gaze with a smirk.
The hand that soaped her shoulders and arms slowed, pressing warmly on her shoulder blade without forcing her to move.
"Hiei…" Sagaku hesitantly brought her arms around waist where the t-shirt clung to both his skin and hers, fighting the urge to look down.
"Yes?" he drawled insolently. His red eyes burned into hers.
"Does it mean anything?" Sagaku asked, biting her lower lip. She struggled to keep her gaze on his.
"It means everything," the fire demon answered. He tilted his face down the scant inch, pressing his lips to hers. It was a gentle kiss, their lips barely touching. His arms pulled her closer, uncaring of the soap that now clung to his clothes.
"You're never gentle," Sagaku accused. She rubbed her head against his chest, praying that the blush would fade from her cheeks before she looked up. Hiei chuckled again, the sound rumbling against her ear. It was true, he mused. He wasn't exactly known for being gentle...but that hadn't been so bad.
"I wouldn't want to hurt my future mate," he said in a low voice. His hands reached for her face, turning it back up towards him, away from the spray of water. If she expected another gentle kiss, she was in for a surprise. Heat seared her, pouring from his lips to hers and lighting up veins she didn't even know carried enough blood to get warm.
"Why future?" she panted when his lips trailed away from hers long enough to catch her breath. This time the sound Hiei made was somewhere between a growl and a chuckle.
"It can be now," he growled. Strong arms lifted her out of the shower, drawing a fluffy towel around her shoulders.
"It should be now." Sagaku nodded sagely at him, dark hair clinging damply to her face. She looked ridiculous, with the fluffy yellow towel surrounding wet fabric. The towel dropped to the floor. The clinging, wet tank top followed. Hiei breathed in sharply, eying the girl as she hooked her fingers under the hem of her skirt. The smell of soap and something a little primal, a little urgent, permeated the room.
Sagaku's hands reached for Hiei, pulling him towards her now.
"I'm hanshoku, you know," she said against his lips. "I have needs."
"None I can't take care of," Hiei growled, accepting the challenge with another kiss that sent the need soaring in him, too.
THE END...MOSTLY.