The cold rain poured from the heavy dark clouds, which were slowly moving with the wild wind upon a big group of dog, wolf and fox demons. The army – males and females – were standing in rows, their faces dead serious.
Just as the thunder had lighten up the area, another army appeared; its amount of demons was nearly the same as the dog army, but its members were only cat demons. Just the leader – a tall, slim neko with gray hair and fur – had a circle of bull 'bodyguards' around him.
I was sitting at the top of a mountain far away from the two armies, on one of the rocks. Thanks to my mother, my body was growing much slower than the bodies of other demons. I was something around 80 years old now, but I looked like a 12-year-old Ningen kid, except the ears and tail, of course. They all considered me as a child.
Parents, who loved their children, had built an underground chamber, which was as big as half of the village. They've put some adult guards to protect the little demons from danger. The adults wanted the children to be safe, so they could avenge the village one day, if the dogs will lose. Because of my ridiculous looks, I had to sit in the chamber as well, acting like one of those brats.
But, thanks to my new pal, Youko (who nearly flirted the female fox to death) I've managed to escape.
My eyes were set on the two armies, which looked like ants from the mountains, and I was so excited, that I almost hadn't feel the heavy rain drops landing on my body. I knew my father was there somewhere, getting ready to kick some cat ass. I wasn't worried about him; I had no deeper feelings towards the demon. I didn't love him, that was forbidden for me. I wasn't aloud to talk to him. A dog demon, who was someone like a shaman and was able to cast spells on others, had put up a mental leash on my mind. Usually, that kind of things weren't aloud in that village, but the 'shaman' was my father's best friend. Connections...
However, I didn't hate my father, although he refused to accept me as his child. It wasn't my father's fault, that he fell in love with a mortal woman. It wasn't his fault that he was afraid to tell her the truth. It wasn't his fault that her parents were killed my demons, and she'd despise them. It wasn't his fault that I'm such a failure...
"Hey. Ready for the show?" my ear twitched as a familiar voice rang from behind. I smirked, glancing at Kage through my shoulder.
"Let the game begin," I said calmly. Just as the words left my lips, another thunder flash cut through the tense air and the two armies lunged forward, the first row of fighters crashing against each other.
----
They say that when you're looking into death's eyes, your whole life is flashing like a movie in your mind. I wasn't sure if it's true, but the sudden memory of the beginning of the Rebellion made me think. I was looking into Shimofuri's dark gray eyes, my insides twisting and shaking in fear, my whole body was stiff and my muscles were tense.
Shouts, cheers, clapping... I heard none. Only my hear, which was pounding in my chest. My fist gripped the handle of my sword as the neko's eyes flashed and a cruel smirk sprouted on his lips.
'Inu-onna,' an electric impulse ran through my body as I heard Hiei's voice in my head.
'Any last words?' I tried to joke, but he hadn't found it amusing.
'You promised me something. I want it.'
I felt a small smile tugging on my lips. '... Okay.'
The connection faded away and the announcer gave us the sign to begin. Shimofuri wasn't hurrying. He started to calmly walk around me in circles. I've learnt that a dog cannot let the cat to be behind him, so I mirrored him and we were circling on the mat, gazing into each other's eyes. My brows furrowed slightly as I began to wonder what weapon will he use.
"It's YOU, who should learn something about your opponent,"
He was right. I should've prepared myself better, a lot better for this fight. But I hadn't. And now, I'll have to pay the price for my foolish ignorance.
"Did you enjoy watching Set fighting?" Shimofuri spoke up, taking out a small dagger from his sleeve.
"To be honest, I liked Hiei better," I said, feeling weird vibrations around me. Out of instinct, I raised my sword, just in time. The Gray Neko jumped forward with the dagger in his hand and clashed it against my blade. He jumped back in a blink of an eye and continued to walk in circles, his eyes on me the whole time.
"Of course you did," he smirked "Jaganshi is a very good fighter. Well, it isn't that big of a surprise," the cat shrugged a bit "He is a fire AND ice demon, after all. There's no human in him."
I frowned. He was insulting me again.
"Hiei Jaganshi is a full demon. Inuko-chan is a human. Tell me... Who are you, Kikyo-chan?"
"Stop yapping and fight!!" I growled, feeling my blood boil in my veins. I lunged at the cat, my sword high above my head, and aimed at his head. He easily blocked, using the little dagger.
"For the last time, Kikyo," his face was really close to mine and his deep growl vibrated in my ears painfully "I don't like it when I'm being ignored!"
He pushed my blade away with so much force, I flew through the mat and desperately tried to land on my legs, but Shimofuri appeared behind me and kicked me on the spot behind my knees. I fell on my all fours, the tip of his dagger touching my neck.
"Who are you, Kikyo-chan?"
'Don't answer!!' my mind screamed as I tried to push myself up. I rolled my body away from the dagger and straightened up, but two hands grabbed my wrists from behind and twisted them backwards, a foot landing on my back. One push and my arms were doomed. And so was I.
"Who. Are. You?"
His voice was calm, but I could feel Shimofuri's losing his temper. I closed my eyes shut. Not even 5 minutes had passed and I was already loosing. Shimofuri was amazingly strong and fast... The pain was unbelievable...
"Don't be ashamed of who you are, Kikyo!"
My eyes opened as I felt a soft wave of a strange sensation flowing through my body.
"I am a half dog demon." my voice was sharp, even in my own ears. The grip on my arms loosened and the foot had disappeared from my back. I twisted my body around, my blade slashing through the air. Shimofuri was gone.
"See? It wasn't that hard now, was it?" he grabbed me by my shoulder and spun me around, his dagger once again blocking my sword. A fist made contact with my cheek and I fell to my knees, warm blood pouring from my nose and the corner of my mouth.
He was far from being serious with me. He was toying with me, wanting to break my concentration and make rage blind me. Somewhere in the back of my head, a thought began to form, swallowing all the hope like a black hole.
'I cannot defeat him...'
I shook my head and charged at Shimofuri, my soul burning with fury.
'Yes, I CAN!!!'
I began to punch and kick around blindly, hoping to strike at least once. No luck this time. The neko blocked all of my attacks smoothly and after a long time, when I ran out of breath, he kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying across the mat. I did some back-flips, not letting myself loose balance and fall. When a dog falls on the ground – it's dead.
Slowly regaining my composure, I gripped my sword and raised it. Suddenly, I felt weird vibrations which the sword sent through my palm. I felt a great wave of power, but as soon as it appeared, it'd vanished. Narrowing my eyes, I re-focused on the battle. Shimofuri was walking calmly towards me, the soft smirk never leaving his eyes. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as if it wanted to break my ribcage and set itself free... Free from the pressure I was feeling...
I couldn't stay calm, regardless to how hard I've tried. My insides were twisting in fear. 'You cannot win this fight...'
My eyes never left Shimofuri's dark ones as the cat stood two feet oppositely to me, his dagger in his hand. He flashed me a small smile and... Vanished. I hated it. It made me... Unsure... Out of instinct, I started dodging, ducking and blocking the invisible punches, depending only on my ears. I did receive a few minor injuries, but what was hurting more, is that I hadn't managed to hit him even once. As panic and frustration was building inside of me more and more, my punches were less accurate.
All of a sudden, the air stopped moving. I froze, trying to catch the slightest movement. After a short while, I felt a gush of wind behind me and I turned around, my muscles tensing. Before I had the chance to do anything, a palm compressed on my forehead. A slight pain shot through my head and a white light blinded me. I fell into it, in a state very similar to unconsciousness.
A woman was sitting on a chair near the window, her long wavy black hair moving along with the cold winter wind which was pouring in through the half-open window. Her hollow dark brown eyes were set on the pure white snow behind the glass. The woman was looking like a ghost, which absolutely doesn't care about anything anymore. Inside, she was empty, she hadn't feel anything. Yet.
There was a soft knock and the door opened. A young girl in a nurse outfit came in quietly and stood behind the woman, looking at her back worriedly.
"Mariko-san..." the nurse started shakily "I... The baby... It's..."
"I know, Sai," the woman, Mariko, cut her off and added flatly, "It's a demon."
"Mariko-san..." Sai, the nurse, repeated in a whisper "What will you do...?" she asked softly, gripping the material of her snow white skirt.
"If you cannot face something, run away from it. "
The nurse blinked, surprised by the dull statement. She bowed uneasily and left the room.
Mariko tore her gaze from the winter scenery and glanced at a small table in the corner. On the table, a knife was laying, its sharp blade shining dangerously.
"Yes... Run away..."
My body made contact with the ground and continued to roll towards the edge of the mat. I was too weak to stop, but fortunately, I somehow landed on my knees and elbows, panting heavily. Cold sweat drops rolled down my face and fell on the ground as I tried to focus my thoughts and stand up. I felt greatly disturbed, black dots danced infront of my eyes, like annoying ants. My forehead burned in pain, it was horrible. Like someone had cut through my thoughts and ripped out a certain one, which was far in the back of my head.
I couldn't gather my thoughts, everything was slipping away. My stomach was twisting from time to time and I felt like throwing up. I coughed a couple of times.
"Did you like it?" Shimofuri whispered in my ear. I didn't dare to look up. The state was horrible and made me practically harmless. I couldn't even stand up, I was shaking so much. The cat's hand landed on my head as he continued, "That woman, Mariko, was your mother. Filthy human..."
I received a blow on the stomach which made me breathless. The mat and everything before me swayed in my eyes. The neko grabbed me by my hair and lifted my head painfully.
"Aren't you curious what happened next?" he whispered lowly and touched my forehead again "I'll show you..."
The blinding white light surrounded me once again.
Mariko was holding the knife with both of her pale, delicate hands. The tip of her blade was aimed at her chest, where her heart was beating rapidly. She was scared, but she knew that there's no other way. Demons had killed her parents and she couldn't bear the thought that she fell in love with one. What's more, she became a mother of a demon!
Mariko was disgusted, she couldn't live with such a shame. She breathed in, calming herself down. She forced herself to remember what came out of her. A child... With a while tail, white dog ears and white fur instead of hair. And big, horrible golden eyes which were prying into Mariko's dark brown ones, as if begging for forgiveness.
Mariko closed her eyes and gulped, her snow white face covered in a thin sheet of sweat. The tip of the knife twitched slightly and... Dug into her chest.
"GAAAAAAAHH!!!!" I clutched my head, afraid that it would explode. "STOOOOOPP!!!" I struggled with the pain and with Shimofuri's hand on my forehead.
"Enough already?" the cat smirked down at me. He couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed; he wasn't about to stop yet, he wanted me to see my mother's death till the end. But something in my mind had stopped him. Like a barrier, it started to push him out. The neko wasn't expecting any sights of defense, so he wasn't ready for that. 'Oh, but I haven't finished JUST yet, Kikyo...'
I felt a jolt of power spreading through my body, pumping strength into my muscles. I bolted up and aimed a punch at the cat's right side of the face. He seemed to be distracted a bit and, luckily for me, he didn't block my punch. My fist crashed against his jaw forcefully, making him fly away from me, but quickly regained his composure. I threw another blow at his face, he caught it and returned the hit. It made contact with my hand and I squeezed his fist. We began wrestling like that for a while, not being able to do any movement because of the pressure. The mat cracked slightly under our feet and, as if on cue, Shimofuri's head flew towards mine. Out of reflex, I've backed away my own head, avoiding the crash. The cat wasn't ready for that type of action and his legs relaxed. Within seconds, I raised my own leg and before I fell down, I kneeled the neko on the face.
We released each other and the Gray Neko groaned in pain, wiping the blood from his probably broken nose. I didn't waste the precious time. Temporarily forgetting about our weapons which were laying somewhere on the mat, I started to throw punches and kicks, this time more precisely.
At first, Shimofuri couldn't block nor dodge some of my attacks, but he recovered pretty soon. He grabbed my arm and flipped me through his shoulder. I landed on my back, but quickly stood up on my feet, twirling around. My opponent's back was facing me, so I aimed a punch at his head. Just as I was about to reach him, the cat had disappeared. A millisecond later, I felt his breathe on my skin. And then there was awful, blinding pain. Almost immediately, my lower body turned limp from it. My legs shook warningly, not being able to support my weigh for too long. My vision blurred slightly, but then, everything sharpen. The pain was familiar to me, I had felt it many times before, but still, I wasn't able to fight it.
My tail. My weak point.
The cat was holding my tail firmly, with a calm smirk on his bruised face.
"Look here, Kikyo-chan, " he spoke up silently, raising his free right palm, the same which caused me the two previous headaches. I winced, preparing myself for another one, but the palm hadn't touched my forehead.
There was a black tattoo on Shimofuri's right palm, a kanji symbol, 'memory' , and a chain of thorns around it. I've heard some rumors about the 'mark, which could dig through your head', but the impulses of pain my sore tail was sending left me slightly lightheaded.
"Have you heard of that sign?" the cat asked calmly. My voice froze in my throat, so I just shook my head. Shimofuri sighed shortly before continuing, "It's a sign, which allows me to do a powerful attack," he explained calmly "By touching it with someone's forehead, I am able to pry into their minds and find the deepest, darkest and even long forgotten memories. Or, if I add more of my youiki, I can recall the memories of someone related to my opponent by blood. Like, for instance, your mother..." I let out a silent whimper as he squeezed my tail a bit "Of course, I don't have to add that the bad, dark memories are making the person weaker – mentally as well as physically."
My heart skipped a beat; there it was again. A strange wave of power washing over my weak body. My sword, along with the cat's dagger, were laying too far away, I didn't have time. I grabbed Shimofuri's right arm firmly, careful not to loose my grip too easily, and threw myself backwards, sending my whole bodyweight to crash against him. Caught off-guard, the cat had let go of my tail and as soon as I felt his fingers slipping away, I flipped him through my shoulder. Not letting go of his arm, I used all of my newly found strength and threw him in the air, his knees on my head level, and, with a deep, loud growl, I slammed him back down.
Shimofuri let out a frustrated cry as he pulled himself up and glared at me, blood pouring out from the deep cut on his cheek.
"Bitch," he hissed "You will pay for that!" with that, he disappeared.
Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and kept my mind wide awake. Without thinking, I threw myself towards my sword, my hands compressing on its hilt firmly. My ear twitched and I raised the blade slightly, only few inches above the ground. A second later, blood tickled from the tip and another hiss was heard. 'Yes!' I cheered in my mind. It was the neko who ran into my sword.
Then, everything was a blur, the action had rolled so fast, I was only able to see Shimofuri's dark gray eyes and his palm made contact with my forehead. This time, the pain was 3 times worse. As if a powerful lightning cutting through my head like knife through butter. The next thing I knew, whiteness and only whiteness...
A small girl was sitting in a dark room, her petite silhouette shaking slightly. Her short brown hair was shadowing her pale face, her dark brown, dull eyes were fixed on the dusted floor. Her clothes were covered in dirt and blood. Her small, pale lips parted as she heaved a sigh.
"Where are you... Kikyo-san...?"
I felt a metallic taste filled my mouth and I began coughing, spilling blood. I could hear Shimofuri groan beside me, but I paid no heed to the background. My head was spinning.
"Why... What are you doing, mutt...?" the cat groaned, rubbing his palm and glaring down at me. I, however, focused on the vision I've seen. It was Inuko. She was bleeding. She had been beaten. All... All because of... Me.
Clenching my jaw painfully, I charged at the gray cat, my blood boiling in my veins, sending heat through my body. A moment later, I felt a palm crashing against my chin. The blow sent me flying across the mat, but I've managed to do a back-flip and land on my feet. However, the neko was faster, I could sense a bit of anger from him. More than usual, at least. But, before I had the time to think about it more, the painful white light consumed me again.
"Any last words?"
Inuko glared weakly at the dark figure before her. She took a deep breathe and spilled blood right on their face. The silhouette growled, wiping off her blood. "You little bitch," they said with disgust "You deserve to die. Now."
A sharp blade shone in the darkness and swished through the thick air. Inuko's piercing scream cut through the silence like knife through butter. Then, there was quiet. Gravely quiet.
"NOOOO MOOOOREEEE!!!!" a hidden power forced Shimofuri's attack out of my head. Something snapped quietly in the background. Unconsciously, I threw myself away from the panting cat, literally blinded by the pain. I felt something smooth and cool under my fingers; the dagger.
----
Shimofuri growled lowly, massaging his palm. A second before the mutt had pushed itself away, a jolt of unusual pain had hit his nerves, immobilizing him. Fortunately for him, it'd lasted only half of a second. However, things were getting worse. Kikyo was defending herself. Somehow. 'What the hell is happening?!' he yelled in his head, biting his lip. 'How is that... low-life defending?! My attack is impossible to block!!' glancing at the panting heavily Kikyo, Shimofuri frowned. 'Time to end this, filthy half-breed!'
----
"I haven't finished yet!!"
My ears twitched as the cat yelled out, running straight at me. I had no idea what to do, but I felt something sparkle in the back of my head. As Shimofuri'd been coming closer and closer, the very unpleasant feeling that if I won't do anything, the hit will be the last one... For me.
The gray cat was inches away, his damned hand aimed at my forehead. I closed my eyes, my mind completely blank, trying to calm my nerves at least a bit. My fist clutched onto the dagger, waiting for the right moment.
"Die, mutt!!"
Snapping my eyes open, my muscles jolted. 'Now or never,' I whispered in my head and raised my hand; the one with the dagger.
The blade cut through Shimofuri's palm, its soaked with blood tip was shining with faint white light. The cat's pupils shrunk, and, to be honest, so did mine.
The dagger went through the middle of his palm, piercing right through the tattoo.
Shimofuri's scream pierced through the tense silence like knife through butter. I winced, putting my hands on my fallen ears. The noise made my vision blur slightly; the scream could freeze blood in my veins, it was filled with so much pain, I can't describe it. Somehow, I knew it; the tattoo was his strongest and weakest point.
The yell caused the mat to crack under my feet and I blinked; the fight hadn't end, yet. I ran up to my sword and grasped it, finally feeling safe and being able to fight back properly. I slowly looked up, hearing that Shimofuri had stopped yelling and was now panting heavily. I surpassed a gasp of shock; his usually dark gray eyes turned completely black, reminding me of two bottomless holes in his face which was stretched with anger. Fury. Wrath.
Blood was pouring from his mouth and his gray hair was spiked up, his cat tail was stiff as a broomstick. Furiously, the neko pulled out the dagger, causing the dark crimson liquid to flush from his wounded palm; the tattoo had vanished.
I knew I should've attack, the opportunity was more than perfect, but the cat's eyes had hypnotized me. My legs were paralyzed, my face was milky white. I could've sworn my blood was as cold as ice water.
"Y... You..." the cat hissed venomously, slowly calming down his trembling body "I'll... You... You're DEAD!!!"
"No, I'm not," I heard my own voice and a smirk crossed my face 'Am I insane?!' "I told you, you shouldn't underestimate me. You have no right to roam across my head!" with that, I charged at the kneeling neko.
"You deserve only death!!" was his reply, as Shimofuri stood up and gathered reiki in his left hand. My ears perked up, alarmed; the reiki ball was bright white with a gray flame inside, a black aura around it. I stopped dead in tracks as I watched Shimofuri raised his bleeding right palm and toughed the weird ball with it.
A loud crash, explosion, earthquake and whiteness – that came next. The gray neko slowly faded away, his black pupil-less eyes never leaving mine's. I looked around trying to follow his scent or sound, but I couldn't. It was as if I'd been in the middle of a typhoon; the eye of storm. A wave of hot air hit my face and I remembered the vision. Dodging blindly, I missed a fist aimed at my head. I did some back-flips just to be as far away of the now invisible opponent as it was possible.
I glanced at the sword in my hand and remembered the person, who'd given it to me. 'I could really use some help now, Kage...'
All of a sudden, the sword pulsed in my grasp, sending shivers through my arm, then the whole body, all the way to my toes. I tensed, wandering what was that, but it happened again, and again. Soon, the pulsing was like a heart-beat, steady and calm. It's silver blade was standing out in the whole whiteness, but then I've noticed that it's getting even darker and darker. Soon, the metallic color completely faded away, being replaced by pitch black. My eyes went wide, but I've solved the mystery quickly; a smirk appearing on my lips once again. I remembered Kage's words, the ones I thought I'd forgotten:
"Where's light, there must be a shadow"
'Shadow... "Kage"... Hn, why, thank you, my friend' I raised my gaze sharply, meeting Shimofuri's wide eyes; I noted a hint of surprise, shock and fear.
"Ready?" I asked cheekily, taking a full swing. The cat didn't respond, only lifted his left hand, once again focusing reiki and creating a shield. "Well, here it comes!" I stopped breathing, gathering my whole strength on the blade. The sword vibrated, filling up with strange, but familiar power. Kage's energy.
"SHADOW SLASH!!" I swung the black blade and a wave of dark reiki hit the white wall, making it break. I sensed a wall of defense, so I pushed forward desperately. I knew that if I fail now; I'll loose.
We both struggled a while, wanting to defeat the other; light fought darkness.
But, something went wrong. The mat cracked even more, the surrounding of our battle broke in half before shattering into millions of black and white daggers which flew into the air and... came crashing down at us.
----
"How is it, Tataru?"
"You say 'it', as if the child wasn't yours, Ryoku-kun,"
The silver haired man scowled at his friend. "Just tell me."
The brown haired male scanned the small child before him with his deep dark brown eyes. The baby demon opened her eyes and stared right back at him. A tight knot formed in his stomach. "She's ready. The question is... Are you?"
Ryoku eyes the girl. Her huge golden eyes met his and she let out a small whimper of happiness, her little tail wagging. A cute bark left her throat. The adult demon frowned, turning his head away from his daughter. "Proceed." He uttered sternly.
Tataru sighed. "As you wish, my friend," he glanced up, studying Ryoku's features "Would you like to give her at least a name? A last gift?"
"... Kikyo."
"Kikyo-chan, huh?" the brown haired dog demon whistled lowly "The name of your very firs mate..."
"Tataru!"
"Okay, okay! Sheesh... What bit your tail?" Tataru rolled his brown eyes "Sleep well, Kikyo-chan," His index finger touched the girl's forehead gently before his whole palm covered her face – mainly eyes. A flash of icy blue light came next, followed closely by the baby's scream.
----
Here I was, standing on the cracked mat, facing the enemy of my life. The cuts the daggers gave me were burning, but I paid no heed to them; to be honest, I've never felt so calm during the whole fight like I was at the moment. Staring into Shimofuri's still black orbs, I've sensed that, while I was calm, he was growing frustrated. His dagger which somehow grew longer and looked ore like a sword was shaking in his hand.
"You filthy... Unworthy..."
"Cut the crap, Shimofuri," I cut him off, a small, confident smirk forming on my lips "This is the end. I may be a 'filthy' or whatnot half-breed, but I sure know, how to kick your ass."
This had drove the cat over the edge. The previous situation had made a 180 degree circle; it was me, who was pushing him further and further, making him loose his mind to wrath.
"DIE, MUTT!!!"
"Oh, deja-vu?" I mocked, raising my pitch black sword "Pathetic."
Then, without anymore mindless talk, we charged at each other, jumping high in the air and taking a full swing. I could feel adrenaline pumping through my veins painfully.
"GHHHHAAAAAAH!!!!" our scream echoed through the tense, heavy silence and, in the exact same time, we slashed.
Piercing pain shot through my body and I clutched the deep wound on my stomach, feeling the cold blood flowing out through it, between my limp fingers. I landed on the ground shakily, falling to my knees and panting heavily, exhaustion running over my slowly going numb body. I knew what that meant.
"I won."
----
Hiei's eyes went wide as he felt a sudden wave of power from the mat. He saw two blurs in the air and a fountain of blood shot from them. His heart skipped a beat as he tried hard to see, who's who. For some reason, the fighting area was fogged up, making it difficult. 'Probably the waves of their youki,' he mused to himself. 'Inu-onna... Kikyo... What the hell's happening?!' he tried to contact her telepathically, but when she didn't respond, the knot which formed in his stomach tightened.
"Where's Kikyo?" Kuwabara was staring intently into the mist.
"She's taking too damn long in there!" Yusuke shouted out, curling his fists. Already 3 hours passed since the beginning of the battle and still nothing. 'That cat... He's something... But Kikyo should do it!'
"Shut up, idiots!" Hiei snapped, narrowing his eyes, but still not turning his gaze away from the mat. 'You promised...'
"Hey, don't snap at us, Shorty! It's not our fault that your girlfriend is stuck in there!" Kazuma defended himself. The fire demon sent him a fierce glare.
"What the hell are you talking about, idiot? Kikyo is not my... WHAT?" Hiei demanded, noticing that both, Yusuke and Kuwabara were staring at him, as if he'd grown a second head. Even Kurama, who was silent for the whole time, sent him a curious glance before hiding his smile.
"Dude.. Did he just..." Kazuma started, looking deeply shocked.
"He just... Said her name... For the FIRST time since he'd met her!" Urameshi uttered, his wide eyes never leaving Hiei's more and more embarrassed face. Ten, a cheeky smirk formed on his lips. "Whatever happened to the good old 'inu-onna', huh?"
"Idiots..." Hiei repeated, avoiding their eyes.
"Aaaw, Shorty's embarrass-"
"There," their attention focused abruptly on Kurama, who was staring at the mat, disbelief and joy washed over his face. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei followed his gaze; the fire demon had the impression that his blood turned icy cold in his veins. However, every single feeling vanished, melted away thanks to the hot wave of relief; his wide eyes landed on a shadowed silhouette. His heart-beat increased; he'd recognize the figure everywhere..
Kikyo was walking towards them, limping slightly. She was clutching onto her stomach as blood flowed from the deep wound, her face was covered in cuts, blood and dust, her hair was messed up and dirty. The dark blue outfit she wore was ripped in several places and soaked with red liquid. The right sleeve was completely cut off, showing her bruised arm.
As if completely oblivious to her current state, Kikyo was moving gracefully, her figure straightened up proudly, a soft smirk of satisfaction on her lips. Only her eyes showed, how much she was exhausted.
"Yo,"
----
"Hey, doggy! Good job!!" Yusuke laughed whole-heartedly, smacking me on the back. I gasped as sharp pain shot through my body.
"Moron," I hissed, feeling tears gathering in the corner of my eyes.
"Whoops..." Urameshi sweat-dropped, scratching the back of his head sheepishly "Sorry..."
"Magnificent fight, Kikyo." Kurama smiled and I returned it weakly. My mind hadn't analyzed the information yet, letting it sink slowly and carefully.
"Woot! Good girl, Kikyo!" Kuwabara shouted, making me wince slightly.
"Yeah! Want a reward? A bone maybe?" Yusuke chided in cheekily, bursting with laughter once again.
*SMACK**SMACK*
The two backed away, massaging the large bumps which were forming on their heads as I gritted my teeth, my curled fist shaking.
"Hn," I turned to Hiei, but he wasn't looking at me; he was facing the opposite direction, his arms crossed.
"Hiei Jaganshi is a full demon. There's no human in him."
My ears dropped as I lowered my gaze to the ground, away from the fire demon, suddenly feeling very sick. It was true. Hiei WAS a full demon. But... Why did I felt so sad...?
'... Congratulations' I blinked, surprised upon hearing Hiei's quiet voice in my head. Still not facing him, I smiled to the ground gently. 'Thanks,'
"So, you have won," Kurama stated, putting a hand on my shoulder, carefully avoiding my bruises. Reality came down crashing on me; I almost bent down under its pressure.
"I didn't... They did... I..." tears blurred my vision as I squeezed Kurama's warm hand. My throat was as dry as the most merciless desert "I... I lost..." 'Inuko-chan...'
'Kikyo-saan~!' her soft, joyful voice echoed in my head.
'Kikyo-san!' it became louder and more desperate.
'Kikyo-san!!' it seemed so real...
"Kikyo-san!" my heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds and my eyes grew wide, the tears already gone and forgotten. That voice... It didn't came from inside of my head...
"Inu... ko?" I whispered harshly, lifting my head. Someone was running towards us. It was a girl with short dark brown hair, deep, sharp brown eyes and pale face, thin brooks of crystal tears running down her cheeks; she appeared hardly 13, but her aura was much more mature. On top of her head, a pair of dog ears were twitching, I noted a dog tail wagging at the end of her spine. Her reiki was much higher that Inuko's, but her scent was the same. However, the scent can be very deceptive, I should know. Still, seeing her, my heard began pounding in my chest, painfully pushing on my ribcage. Surprisingly, the feeling wasn't all that unpleasant. Quite the opposite, actually; I felt warm waves of fresh energy pumping through my tired body. A bond...
"Kikyo-san," the demon girl panted out, coming closer to the stunned group "I... I don't know what happened... I just..."
I fell to my knees and pulled the panting girl to me, wrapping my arms tightly around her shaking figure in a warm embrace. Fresh tears started to roll down my cheeks, but they were tears of joy. The relief I felt was almost painful, but I'd live through it again and again if it was necessary.
"Inuko-chan..."