**Standard Disclaimer Applies**
The Makai scenery wiped by him in a blur of colors. Trees blurred into smudges of varying green shades, none of them taking any distinct shape. As if knowing the repercussions of crossing his path, the Makai vegetation stayed out of his way. Anything that didn't was instantly reduced to ashes.
Hiei prided himself on being a fast learner. He had quickly picked up on how Mukuro and Youko Kurama managed to hide their ki so well. The trick lies in spreading one's ki signature so thinly that it permeates an entire area. The ki must be so omnipresent that those who don't recognize the signature would simply assume it was part of the environment, and those that did recognize the signature would never be able to pinpoint the exact location of its bearer.
How handy that he acquired this new skill just before this new reconnaissance mission.
It had been over three days ago since they had put a halt to that ridiculous game of tag, when they had noticed King Yusuke's unmistakable ki signature of freshly cut grass and zingy ginger. (No, he hadn't lost. They are simply on an intermission.) Realizing that they had veered too close to Tourinese borders, Mukuro and Hiei ceased their sparring. By then Youko Kurama had vanished. Neither Hiei or Mukuro knew when and where, they had been too absorbed to notice his departure. Mukuro had shrugged it off as foxes having short attention spans, but Hiei felt there was something suspicious.
When they returned to the castle, Hiei took a roll call to find twelve of his captains missing, and presumably killed by Yusuke and his men. This was an affront to Hiei, but Mukuro stopped him before he could challenge Yusuke, preferring to deal with this mess herself. But as far as Hiei could tell, she hadn't taken any real action.
With Youko Kurama finally gone, Hiei had expected Mukuro to return to her old self, training with him and the troops, presiding over council meetings, and reverting back to her dark and callous personality. Instead, she once again retreated to her quarters, wrote some letters, and sent her generals on strange missions. Shigure, finally released from his dank prison, was sent to gather demons that have barrier creation abilities. Hiei was dispatched on this current mission.
He was to search for signs of unusual activity on the borders between Gandara and Alaric. He was also specifically instructed not to kill anyone he came across. Hiei had spat at her, the one thing he hated more than ambiguous assignments was repressing his instincts to kill his enemies.
At least the assignment was easy. Hiei simply employed his jargan to find all areas of suspicious activity and then flitted to each hot spot to investigate. A majority of them revealed nothing of significance, having just been innocent fights among the common folk. However, he had come across three small camps of Gandaran demons spread out evenly on the Gandaran side of the border. Each camp contained no more than four or five demons and judging by their conversation, they were waiting for something - a signal perhaps. This was not an invading force, none of the demons were particularly strong and would never be able to cause any real havoc. Hiei marked down each camps' location in his mind map as he continued to flit to the next hot spot.
As he discovered another Gandaran camp, Hiei - to his surprise - noticed a faint smell of roses, cedar, and fresh dew. Remembering that he still had a game of tag to win, Hiei drew closer to the camp to see if the incorrigible fox was there.
He wasn't.
But Hiei did noticed strange little seeds scattered around the perimeter of the camp. He picked one up and sniffed it. The scent was faint but it was definitely smelled like fox. Hiei flitted along the trail of seeds, still cautiously hiding his ki, until -
There he is! The vain silver fox was kneeling next to a small stream preoccupied with washing himself.
Hiei drew his katana. He needed to do this quickly and quietly without alarming the Gandaran camp. Instantaneously, he had his katana on the youko's bare throat. Hiei fisted a handful of long silver hair, yanked it back and whispered into a pointy ear, "Gotcha."
The fox reacted quickly. Within moments, Hiei's arms were immobilized by a mass of vines that had appeared out of no where. Just before he incinerated the vines, the fox cautioned quietly, "don't use your ki or they'll notice us."
Hiei froze. Was the fox hiding from his own troops? The jarganshi regarded the fox suspiciously. Despite his tangled hair, disheveled tunic, torn ear, and a katana at his throat, the fox's body language spoke of composure. His fringe and forelocks were wet, dripping beads of spring water onto Hiei's blade and onto the his own white tunic, rendering it translucent. Reluctantly, Hiei allowed his eyes to wander down the youko's body, he had never been this close to the fox before. Somehow the fox had managed to amass more bites and bruises on his pale chest, neck, and arms since the last time they met. The fox had also somehow acquired a new foreign smell of rain and thunderstorm. At the sudden realization, Hiei felt a pang of resentment. Mukuro was right, foxes do have a short attention span.
"Easy there, Lord Heir. Let's take a timeout on our game, shall we? I don't think either of us want to attract any attention today." Youko Kurama flashed him a ravishing smile, then tilted his head to study him with a sudden spark in his eyes.
Hiei hated that. He found it inconceivable that the irksome fox was unaware of his own charisma. Clearly, he was using this power to his advantage. Averting his eyes, Hiei refused to be charmed by the fox and quickly nodded.
Immediately, the vines slipped away from his arms and he quickly released the fox's hair.
"Let's find a place more convenient to talk."
Youko Kurama got up and started walking briskly away from the stream. Hiei fell into step next to him.
The fire demon felt a myriad of confusing emotions: envy, displeasure, relief, eagerness...he discarded those feelings and settled for his default: annoyance. There was no reason for Hiei to feel pleased about seeing Youko Kurama. All the vile fox ever does is prance around and flirt. He was Mukuro's pet, for god's sake! Besides, this creature had no honor, associating with Mukuro and himself all the while working for Yomi. Yet, yet, Hiei had to admit that he felt attracted to the fox. He clenched his jaw. It was only because he felt indebted to the fox. That's really all there was to it, Hiei concluded, stealing a sideway glance at the graceful fox.
They've been trekking in silence for a while when the fox started humming a nondescript tune.
Agitated by this display of nonchalance, Hiei barked, "What were you doing back there?"
"Gardening."
Hiei arched his eyebrow at the strange answer. Still irritated, though Hiei wasn't sure if the feeling was triggered by the emotional roller coaster in his head or by the fox, Hiei withdrew his katana. "Speak plainly! We are out of the camp's sensory range now, I won't hesitate to cut you."
"Quick to anger, I see. But if you had wanted to cut me, you would've done so long ago, seeing that we've been out of range for a while," the fox observed, unfazed.
Hiei continued to glare.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you," the fox sighed and made a grand show of brushing his long hair off of his shoulders. "Yomi and I are having a minor disagreement on military tactics. I don't like what he's doing with all these little camps, so I'm asking my pets to keep an eye on them while I'm away." He withdrew a pouch full of seeds and dangled it in front of Hiei.
Hiding his surprise at the frank response, Hiei spat, "Weaklings, the lot of them. They would never succeed in an ambush."
"That's exactly my concern," Youko Kurama nodded in agreement, apparently unwilling to provide any more information on what the purpose of those camp were. "How many camps have you found?"
"Three more to the south," Hiei revealed before he could stop himself. Why was he offering information to the Youko?
Probably to reward his cooperation, Youko Kurama graced him with the sincerest smile he'd ever seen from the fox, "if you head north, you will find four more of these camps."
Hiei turned to leave so he could complete this pathetic mission, but something in the way the fox stood gave him pause.
"General Hiei," he began, looking a little uncertain. "I have two favors to ask of you."
Hiei frowned. What was the fox up to this time? At least the Youko was offering him a way to repay his debt. Good, no more emotional roller coasters.
"I need you to deliver a message to Mukuro."
"What?" Just his luck. First this stupid mission, and now the fox is asking him to be an errand boy.
"Tell her: 10 days." Golden eyes met red eyes, imploring him to help.
"What else?" Hiei was getting used to the fox's cryptic way of communicating.
"I need you to locate something for me," said the fox, pointing at his jagan.