AN:

1. This is the 1st place entry for "the rest of the story" contest on thedeadliestsin, written for The Jagan by pumpkinpeaches1

2. YYH is AU, IY is CU

3. References: Section breaks are a combination of my words and quotes from Edith Hamilton's Mythology, http: / www. timelessmyths. com/classical/hades. html#Deities, and http: /www. endicott-studio. com/rdrm/rrpersephone. html . References to YYH mythology come from http: /www. angelfire. com/ny/leighsanime/myth. html

4. There is a small lemon towards the end.

The Pomegranate Clause

The Underworld was a vague, shadowy place inhabited by shadows, and ruled by the gloomy god Hades. His subjects were not only the ghostly souls of the dead; there lived in the Underworld other immortal creatures, older than him yet accepting of his rule, such as Sleep and Death and Night personified, and the strange ferryman, Charon, who had been there long before Cronus had devoured his children; and there were those creatures that Hades had created himself, such as the Furies, the great torturers of evildoers. The Lord of the Underworld, the Rich One, the Great Host, lived out his days in this gloomy subterranean world, lonely among many, and wanting for nothing, yet missing something.

She alleviated his boredom.

That's what he always told himself. That's what he always told himself when his gaze was inevitably drawn to her, like a single candle in a dark room.

Hiei snorted. A dark room: what an apt description for this place. It had been night when Reikai had created the barrier that caused Meikai to be shut away from the rest of the world. It had been locked into permanent darkness, frozen in a single moment, with only the stars and three hazy red moons to relieve the inhabitants of the land from the oppressing darkness. It had been centuries since Hiei had seen what passed as the sun in this land.

All inhabitants of an entire world were trapped in eternal night, all because their esteemed ruler had to be an incompetent megalomaniac bent on world—worlds—domination. The fool couldn't even process youkai souls without help; what made him think he was capable of controlling billions of living people—and even more (human) souls? In any case, one psychopath tried to overthrow Reikai's goody-goody emperor and all of Meikai was punished.

That's bureaucracy: shit rolls downhill.

He would know; that shit usually rolled downhill to him and his…well, whatever the other three were to him. The thought of calling them friends made his lips curl in disgust. Even when alive, he preferred his solitude and found others useless unless they were strong enough to survive a spar with him. And yet they weren't acquaintances; as the only three now capable of surviving a spar with him in this world, after centuries of being shut off from even Makai, they knew each other far better than simple acquaintances ever would.

Allies; that was a suitable term.

The four of them were, for all intents and purposes, the only reason why Meikai had not collapsed in on itself before the barrier went up around them, and the only reason why hoards of angry youkai spirits had not destroyed the world afterwards in their attempts to get out. And over the centuries, they had settled into their own, separate but overlapping, roles.

Kuwabara was a damned fool who always set Hiei on edge with his stupid code he thought the rest of them should adhere to. From the time the idiot had landed in the Meikai—and exactly how the weakling had maintained a physical body, Hiei had no clue—shortly before the barrier encased them, Hiei had struggled with the urge to kill him. Yet he didn't because, as he and the others soon found out, he was the only one with whom the weaker—and, let's face it, sane—youkai souls felt comfortable discussing their issues. And if there was anything Hiei had learned during his lifetime serving under different tyrants, it was to not upset the masses.

Yusuke—the hanyou son of a youkai lord who, before his death, somehow managed to sit down long enough to rule a portion of Makai—was brash and sometimes annoying, but strong and knew what to do when it mattered, and Hiei respected that. He dealt with a breadth of levels of youkai, the ones more inclined to start something, but less inclined to do so in large numbers. Of course, back when they had new souls coming in, or during the chaos at the beginning of the barrier, both Kuwabara and Yusuke had spent their days with Hiei and Kurama, controlling the highest rung of youkai souls, just below their own level—evil and power-hungry.

Nowadays, Hiei and Kurama didn't really need their assistance. When any of the more powerful souls was planning something, Hiei took personal pleasure in torturing or obliterating the soul. And the fox let him have that duty because of his current, centuries-long hobby: how to dismantle the barrier separating Meikai from the other three worlds. He claimed he was close to a breakthrough—had been, for at least a century now. Hiei would believe it when he saw it.

And so they each had their parts: the empathetic negotiator, the brash enforcer of order, the bloodthirsty assassin, and the obsessive problem solver. However, centuries after the barrier surrounded them, this became a problem; they all had their roles to play, but there was no chaos surrounding them, not even a new upstart thinking he could take over. Boredom settled in.

And so, only a few decades ago, Hiei opened his Jagan…and watched.

It had taken him years to be able to see beyond his own realm and into the Makai. Ningenkai had never been of interest to Hiei, except for a few jobs he had been sent there to accomplish, but once he saw into Makai, he knew he could never stop there. After all, if he were able to see into Ningenkai, it would only be a matter of time until he could see into Reikai, and perhaps even discover the secret to the barrier surrounding them…and hold it over Kurama's head for the rest of their existence. It would take time, true, but that was something Hiei had plenty of.

So he watched.

It was rare that he left his dark realm to visit Olympus or the earth, nor was he urged to do so. He was not a welcome visitor. He was unpitying, inexorable, but just; a terrible, not an evil god. It came as a great surprise when, during one of his rare, solitary explorations of the world above that he saw a certain young goddess. Persephone was playing in a meadow with her companions, the Oceanids, when Hades saw and fell in love with her.

It had taken Hiei almost twice the amount of years as it took to see into Ningenkai than it did to see into Makai. Over three decades since he opened his Jagan for this purpose, and what was the first sight that greeted him upon his first glance into Ningenkai after over seven centuries?

A bright pink arrow headed straight for him.

Hiei reeled back in shock, and in the back of his mind, he noted that, had any of his allies been present, he would have been forced to seriously maim them into secrecy.

In the second just before he lost his concentration, he thought he'd caught sight of a bit of green…and a lot of skin.

Hiei thought it was odd that, whenever he put the Jagan to the task of looking into Ningenkai, he only saw this girl and her odd group of companions. Not that odd fully described them. In truth, it was a walking band of contradictions: a powerful miko who couldn't properly use her powers, an inu hanyou with divided loyalties, a perverted houshi, a female taijiya, a kitsune pup who treated the miko like a mother (and vice versa) and an obviously ancient and powerful nekomata (after all, like kitsune and their tails, only the powerful ones could transform like that) who deigned the group worthy—or entertaining—enough for her presence.

Whether the reason for their being together rested solely in those jewel shards they collected from insane youkai and humans, Hiei wasn't sure, but it was obvious that the group didn't hate each other, other than that obvious tension between the miko and the hanyou, especially when that other miko and her shinidamachuu came around.

Great. A love triangle. Because Hiei just loved spying for the latest gossip.

With any luck, soon he wouldn't be seeing this them any more. The miko's group was an odd mismatch of people, but together they were powerful—even more so if that jewel they were collecting was mystical in origin—and that power was probably the force drawing the Jagan to them, perhaps what allowed him to see into Ningenkai in the first place. The solution was simple: strengthen the Jagan so he wouldn't need them to stabilize his sight in Ningenkai, then he wouldn't have to bother with them anymore. Already, he was able to see for much longer than before, so it couldn't be too much longer until he would be free of this melodrama.

Simple.

'Frustrated' couldn't even begin to describe what Hiei was feeling at the moment. He was absolutely seething and about to explode.

He hadn't put that much work into training and strengthening the Jagan just to become stuck on some human girl's life story. For a full year.

He had thought that, after all this time, he was finally free of that girl and her companions. He felt a glimmer of what others may call relief, but he called inevitable success, when he saw only that old miko in her hut. And then he caught sight of her in that alluring—strange!—skirt of hers, pushing the door covering out of the way as she entered the hut.

Damn it!

If he were one of his cruder, less mentally advanced allies, he would have expressed his frustration outwardly by ranting and yelling at any who crossed his path, possibly even start a fight. But everyone in Meikai knew not to cross him when he was in a mood, and any character out of behavior would become fodder for endless entertainment for the others.

So he did what he did best: he used his anger as a focus. There was no way he was going to continue spending the rest of his eternity watching silent films of this girl.

The sound of water shocked him, almost as much as the purifying arrow had before. Never before had the Jagan allowed him to hear what went along with the glimpses into the other worlds.

There was splashing and giggling and, in the background, the sound of birds. Even though it was the miko he was seeing again—this time playing in a hot spring with the kit and the slayer—this new aspect to his glimpses of her tempered his anger. It was, after all, just another sign that the Jagan was getting stronger.

He returned his attention to the scene, deciding to make the most of it. The kitsune had calmed down, and now the bath had really begun. The girl—Kagome—massaged the soap into the kitsune's hair and tail, and laughed as the kit cannonballed into the water to rinse out the soap before moving onto her own. The kit eventually grew bored and shook off before heading in the direction of what Hiei assumed was their camp, leaving the two women to talk in hushed tones. Taking in Kagome's downcast eyes and tense demeanor, he could assume what the subject was.

He only listened to the rest of the conversation with half an ear. Nothing was discussed between the two that he hadn't already assumed after watching the group for so long. Instead, he concentrated on maintaining the link between the Jagan and Ningenkai to continue strengthening the implant. When the telltale headache of overuse began, he allowed the connection to fade, the girl's voice remaining in his mind long after that.

Two years. Two years had passed since that day when he first heard her voice. In that time, she had grown into herself, and into her powers, like the fierce, carnivorous horse youkai in the Makai forests that begun life stumbling about before becoming a dominant force. She was no longer some pathetic girl in impractical attire. She was now a confident woman—and those form-fitting jeans she wore now were a definite improvement.

She fascinated him. His passing curiosity had begun with the question of what would she do—what would happen to her that she would turn to her advantage—next. Through kidnappings and attempted murders, she gained allies. Through her own clumsiness, she gained strength. Through sheer passage of time, she became beautiful.

And through it all remained the love triangle. The hanyou was a fool, for only a fool could think that a soul that had passed on so bitterly could retain any emotions but hate and any desires but revenge. Her poisoned words passed through the hanyou to Kagome, doing the damage the miko desired. Even though he knew, by Kagome's own admission (to the taijiya, of course), that she no longer desired Inuyasha as anything more than a friend, he could tell that with every comparison and every "secret" meeting with the other miko, she could feel the barbs of betrayal wrapping tighter. And yet, she was careful that she didn't alarm the group with her emotion; she understood that she was the tenuous thread holding them all together.

Hiei respected that, admired that.

But what he respected even more than her restraint, putting the quest before her own petty emotions, was her power. It was obvious that it was her energy that had drawn the Jagan in the first place. It was strong, and it was alien to him, after so long in Meikai, and therefore that energy signature was attractive to the energy-seeking implant. And now, she could use it. In a matter of years, she had changed from some weakling, cowering in the background behind the hanyou, and later the monk and taijiya, shooting off arrows as needed and shooting off her mouth more often. Now, though…Now, she didn't hesitate to stand tall before an enemy, could do more than shoot a few arrows. She could defeat weak youkai, and hold off stronger youkai at least long enough for the others to arrive.

She was weak in Hiei's eyes, but had potential. He could imagine her becoming a fierce opponent if only someone would train her. Yet, all the hanyou could do was swing his sword about without any technique; the monk, while proficient with his staff, also relied largely on sutras and his kazaana; and the taijiya, the best candidate of the group, was held down by her guilt over the annihilation of her village—without any training, her friend would be less likely to rush out onto the battlefield and get herself killed; not that she didn't already rush in without self-preservation in mind.

If she were his student—

Hiei banished the thought before it could fully form. Even if she could enter Meikai, or he leave it, why would he want to deal with her? She was just another pathetic human, right?

…right…

Yes, two years had passed and he was no longer frustrated with his inability to see past this girl. Rather, another emotion had developed. He felt what he would not call fear, for Hiei feared nothing, or love, for the same reason, but he felt definite distaste at the idea that one day, he would see beyond Kagome, and never see her again.

She alleviated his boredom.

That's what he always told himself.

Hades, greatly wanting her, went immediately to his brother, Zeus. Knowing Persephone's mother, Demeter, would never allow the union, the two planned for Persephone's abduction by Hades. One day, while Persephone was alone in her meadow, Hades broke through the earth in his dark chariot and stole her away to his shadowy kingdom as Persephone cried out for her mother.

The sense of wrongness hit suddenly and strongly, even before he opened up his jagan to watch Kagome. In the back of his mind, he acknowledged that it shouldn't be possible to be so connected to a single individual in such a way, through such a strong barrier, but he knew that that feeling didn't originate from Meikai—it had to have come from Ningenkai.

It took no time at all to see the problem: the forest that contained the dry well was saturated with a dark aura—that of the other miko—and Kagome had somehow allowed herself to be trapped. She could only stand there, the malevolent energy crushing her as she gasped out the hanyou's name—to no avail.

She would die.

As powerful as he knew she had become, she was still only human, and he knew she would die, and there was nothing he could do to help her.

But it wasn't like Hiei to give up. Kagome was his. He would not allow her to die.

And so he pulled.

He pulled her toward him until all that kept him going was Kagome's gasps for Inuyasha that sounded like screams in his mind. Soon, it wouldn't be the hanyou's name she called—it would be his. With one final pull, he collapsed, his mind feeling like it had shattered into pieces, and so much worse. He could feel her, faintly, but she wasn't with him.

He saw a blur that had to be Kurama push past the debris in his way.

"Hiei? Hiei! I felt a spike of energy and…" He stopped, and Hiei could hear the horror in the fox's voice. A drop of black blood fell into Hiei's eye. Ah, the Jagan was bleeding; that would explain the indescribable pain.

"What happened?"

"Find…the miko…" He barely had the strength to cough out the words. And gods, his throat was raw.

"What? Hiei! Hi—!" And then he passed out.

Much like being kidnapped, Kagome was used to freefalling. She recognized that feeling of adrenaline and excitement and fear immediately.

What she wasn't used to was freefalling when, only a second ago, she had been standing in a meadow.

What she wasn't used to was not having someone there to catch her. She couldn't sense Inuyasha or Kirara, her usual rescuers, or Kouga or Sesshoumaru, or even a kidnapper who thought she was too valuable to die just yet. There was no one here. She could sense no life at all, just a faint sense of a lot of…some kind of energy.

There had been that almost recognizable darkness she had felt, and then that pull—the pull that had removed her from the crushing aura that Kikyou had unleashed. And yet, somehow, that same pull that had rescued her caused her to be here, falling to her death. She tried to open her eyes, to see what was around her, how close her death was, but she was falling fast enough that the wind prevented any clear vision, and as she waited for the last few seconds of her life to come to a close, she felt tears begin to form behind her eyes. She could remember so many times when she could have died—should have died—but this was the first time that she knew she would die.

…And so, it came as a complete surprise when she felt not the painful crunch of bones just before she died, but a pair of soft, strong arms holding her securely. When she opened her eyes, her savior, still moving quickly, was looking down on her with a small, kind smile. She grabbed a handful of his shirt and bawled.

Kurama stared at the woman—the miko—under the plush covers in wonder. A living miko in Meikai. Hiei had done the impossible, had done something Kurama had been trying to do for centuries.

How powerful was his friend? And what drove him to bring this particular human over? Was it for her power? Was she simply the first person he found? Or was there some deeper explanation?

She obviously held some importance to the fire apparition or he wouldn't have expended so much energy, and he wouldn't have sent Kurama to go find her. Not that it was a difficult task by any means. Even if she hadn't been a powerful miko, he could just have easily followed the sense of a living being. Thankfully, he had managed to find her before she fell into the Futtoutaiga, where she surely would have died a painful death as the waters burned her skin and filled her lungs. He had caught her and carried her back to the palace, under the watch of the more harmless souls watching from the shadows as she fell asleep crying in his arms.

Hiei was in his own bedroom next door, still passed out from exhaustion. Kurama resisted the urge to pace at his frustration—how much did he want to wake them both up and interrogate him. If Hiei could bring this girl over from Ningenkai, could he eventually destroy the barrier?

Before he could think any further, he was interrupted by Yusuke's hysteric laughter. "Yo, Kurama—haha—You'll never guess what the dimwit—"

"Hey!"

"—here says. He thinks we've got a live one." At this point he was practically doubled over laughing.

"I'm not the only one, Urameshi—a bunch of the little guys felt it too—and some say they saw a human! There's a living aura close by, I can feel it."

"Yeah, sure ya do."

"It's true," Kurama interrupted before Yusuke could bring himself to another laughing fit.

At Yusuke's reply of "What, seriously?" (as Kuwabara muttered "Told ya so.") Kurama jutted his thumb towards the bed, which only caused Yusuke to chuckle.

"Man, Kurama, you finally get past the barrier and the first thing you do is bring over a girl. Why am I not surprised, ya womanizer?"

Kurama glared at him, partially at his friend's blatant disrespect of his many previous, careful seductions, and partially at the fact that… "It wasn't me."

"But, if it wasn't you," Kuwabara ventured, "then who? Did she somehow stumble on a weak spot or somethin'?"

"It was Hiei."

That shut them up.

No one heard the Maiden except Hecate in her cave and Helios the Sun and her noble mother Demeter who immediately put on mourning clothes and began to search for her daughter.No one would tell Demeter the truth, so for nine days she wandered, grieving for her daughter. On the tenth day she was joined by Hecate who had heard Kore's cries but did not see who bore her away. Together the goddesses went to Helios who knows and sees all, and he informed them that it was Zeus who gave Kore away to Hades, his own brother, to be his wife and that Hades had carried her off screaming. Distraught Demeter decided to punish those who deemed take her daughter away, and withdrew her gift of grain from the land. Gods and mortals were threatened alike: humanity was in danger of starving and the gods received no offerings for there was no longer a harvest. Zeus took note of this and sent many other gods and goddesses, one after the other, to appease the wrath of Demeter. They offered her wonderful gifts, exhorted her to restore the grain, but she would have none of it; growing ever more angry, she vowed that she would never set foot on Olympus again until she saw her daughter's beautiful face.

"What did she say, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku, watching his companion walking from the woods, and catching in the corner of his eye a shinidamachuu heading in the opposite direction.

Inuyasha stopped in front of them, arms crossed, defensive. "Kikyou says she doesn't know what happened to Kagome."

"Like hell she doesn't!"

"Sango—"

"No, Miroku, I won't calm down! You," she said, pointing at Inuyasha, "said her scent was fresh in that clearing, and close to where Kagome disappeared. And you," her accusing finger shifted to Miroku, "said that the entire area was saturated with her aura, like there was some kind of spell." She put her hands on her hips, as if daring the two men to argue with her. "She has something to do with Kagome's disappearance, I'd stake Hiraikotsu on it."

"Now listen here," Inuyasha bit back, one hand shifting towards Tetsusaiga, "If Kikyou said she had nothing to do with it, then I believe her!"

"Oh yeah, because she's been so trustworthy in the past!"

"Bit—"

Miroku stepped between them, holding off the battle that was sure to ensue between his two hot-headed companions. "Stop it, both of you." After more than a week of searching for Kagome, or searching for Kikyou who was likely the last person to have seen Kagome, the entire group was frustrated—and very worried. "Shippou has only just been able to get to sleep. We're all worried about Kagome, and angry that we can't find her, but rather than unleash our tempers upon each other, we should think about what to do next." Both relaxed their stances, but continued to glare at each other.

"You're right."

"Keh."

"Now," Miroku said, sitting on a log around their small campfire, urging the other two to do the same, "did Kikyou say anything else?"

Inuyasha furrowed his brows and looked up towards the stars. "Not really. Just something about sensing some kind of energy just before Kagome disappeared, like the mouth of hell just opened up and swallowed her."

"Naraku?"

"I doubt it. If she had sensed Naraku, she would have said it was him."

"Perhaps she was referring to Meikai."

They all looked at Kirara, sitting quietly by the fire, in confusion. In return, she tilted her head to the side and mewed. A second later, Myoga popped his head out of her fur. "Myoga? Stupid flea, how long have you been there?"

"Ohh, Inuyasha-sama," the flea said, adding a few drops of exhaustion to his voice, "I've been searching for you since I heard Kagome-sama disappeared. I was so relieved when I found your camp and this wonderful nekomata allowed me to rest my weary legs…"

"Save it, flea," Inuyasha said, picking him up and squishing him. "What's this Meikai?"

"Yes, I heard about it during my training, but it was referred to only as a myth."

"Same here."

"Well," the flea said, escaping from Inuyasha's grasp and to Sango's shoulder, the farthest he could get from the hanyou, "it is possible it is just a myth, but all myth is based in truth. Long ago, Meikai was the world that demon souls went to once their bodies died, while human souls went to Reikai. However, it was ruled by a powerful creature named Yakumo, who tried to take over the other worlds. Luckily, a the peak of his invasion, something happened that weakened his army greatly, so Enma and his army were able to place a powerful barrier around the whole of Meikai—a barrier so powerful that nothing and no one can get in or out."

"So, you think it's possible that Kagome's in Meikai?" Sango asked. The thought was not comforting.

Myoga nodded. "It's possible. Barriers can weaken over time, and it has been many centuries. And it is the place that 'hell' originally referred to."

"That's great and all Myoga, but how the fuck are we gonna get there?"

"For that…there is a fabled opening, high in the mountains. If you are able to find it, perhaps the Tetsusaiga could break the barrier."

As Demeter grieved for her lost daughter, Persephone longed for the comforting arms of her mother, and the cheerful land of the living. She lost herself in depression, refusing all tokens and acts of appeasement from her gloomy husband, and refusing to eat the food of the dead. Miserable, the goddess of the spring became a shadow of her former self.

Kagome awoke slowly, stiffly, as if she had been still for a long time. After so much time fighting and getting injured in the past, it was a feeling she was used to. It was when she began to move her eyes, feeling the salt left over from tears encrusting them, that she heard a nearby rough voice call out, "Yo, Kuwabara, she's waking up. Go and get her something t'eat."

"Fine, whatever." The owner of that voice was pretty grumpy.

She took a few minutes to get used to the feel of the place she was in—unlike anything she'd felt before, on either side of the well, and yet so full of youki—before opening her eyes, which were immediately greeted by the green eyes of the red-haired man practically hovering above her.

"'Bout time you woke up," said the first voice. "Kurama's been going crazy with curiosity." She looked over to where he was, leaning against a wall on one side of the bed. With slicked back hair and that leather jacket, he certainly looked the part of a teenage rebel—though with the power she could feel from him, she knew that he was no teenager.

"Be quiet, Yusuke." Nor was the redhead. "Are you alright, miko?"

"Kagome. Please, just call me Kagome." She began to sit up in bed, slowly—she'd been injured enough to know the drill. "And I'm fine, I think. But where am I?"

"Don't worry about that. For now, just know you're safe. Though, I must say, for such a powerful miko, you take being surrounded by youkai extremely well."

"That's probably because I'm used to being surrounded by youkai." She smiled brightly at him and raised a finger. "In fact, it's hard to remember the last time I made friends with someone that wasn't trying to kill me. Or steal from me. Or kidnap me. Actually, I'm curious to meet whoever kidnapped me to…wherever we are."

"Ah." Kagome couldn't help but notice how his voice wavered over that sound. "That would be Hiei. You'll have to wait on that introduction. He passed out after pulling you through the barrier."

"Barrier?"

"Yes, the barrier that surrounds Meikai."

Meikai? Wasn't that in some story gramps told me about? Kurama must have seen her mind working and shushed her before she could ask another question. "For now, you should just relax. My name is Kurama, my companion here is Yusuke, and…" the door opened, revealing a tall, orange-haired man with what appeared to be some kind of strange fruit in a bowl, "This is Kuwabara."

"Hey there, we thought you might be hungry," he said, placing the bowl down by her hands. Still trying to remember where she'd heard of Meikai before, she was only offhandedly listening and mechanically put her hand in the bowl coming out with something that resembled a purple apple. It wasn't until she bit into the fruit that she remembered that old story her grandfather had told her, and then it was a struggle not to spit out her food in shock.

"Wait," she said, halting any conversation they had been trying to have with her or each other. "Do you mean Meikai, as in the netherworld—where demon souls go when they die? Am I dead or something? Is this where miko who don't hate youkai go? What did I do to deserve this?" She began to fling off the bed sheets, needing to get away. She knew she was panicking, but once she started she couldn't stop; it was like she wasn't in control of her own body.

Then she caught a glimpse of a dark figure in the doorway, dried blood all over him. "Calm down, onna." And just like that, staring into the eyes of that dark-haired youkai, feeling that familiar aura, she did.

She barely noticed someone catching her as her vision darkened.

"So you four are like, super-high-class youkai who keep all the youkai souls in line?" The first three she had met—Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara, as Hiei had collapsed from exhaustion, apparently from pulling her into this world, something she wasn't sure whether or not to thank him for—had just finished giving her a tour of the palace grounds and had stopped in the gardens to allow her to grab a quick snack—only her, as apparently they, being dead, had no need for any food. It was still difficult for her to wrap her head around the fact that she was in the youkai land of the dead, but now that she knew she wasn't dead, she was able to feel awe at everything she had seen so far.

"Yes, that is correct."

She leaned closer to Kurama, asking the question she'd been needling towards for the past few minutes. "You know, you two," she said, pointing at Kuwabara and Kurama, "don't look much like youkai. Believe me, I've had experience. I mean, Yusuke at least has those markings. And Hiei…well, even with his youkai depleted, his aura speaks for itself. But what about you guys? I mean, you look like perfectly normal humans."

"That's because the idiot here," Yusuke jumped in, receiving a glare from Kuwabara, "is just a tengu. He can transform and all, but this is his usual form. Explains the big schnoz, though."

While Yusuke defended himself from Kuwabara for that last comment, Kurama continued. "His forest was ravaged during a huge battle between warlords, so he ended up here."

"Okay, then what about you?"

"I was killed while on business in Ningenkai. This was the form I was in at the time, to blend in."

"Business." Yusuke snorted, walking away from the fight, victor for now. "That was the fox's favorite form to pick up human chicks, back in the good ol' days." The two hotheads snickered, ignoring Kurama's glare. "He probably copied it from some pretty-boy back when he was alive."

"Wait a sec. So…all of you are dead? I mean, I know this is where youkai souls end up, but you guys don't feel dead at all, not like the others I've felt."

"Well, yes and no. Most youkai spirits come here and either stay permanently or long enough to rest before being reincarnated. It's really not so different from Reikai's way of doing things. But when a particularly strong youkai dies, he can become a mei-youkai: his youki will remain with his soul after death and form a new physical body that operates similarly as when he was alive, with some exceptions."

"Such as?"

"Back when we could travel between worlds, we could live easily in Makai for weeks at a time, but for much less time in Ningenkai, and only the strongest among us could last more than a day in Reikai. Our bodies begin to shut down after a while outside of Meikai without certain nutrients."

"Nutrients."

"There are certain substances here that maintain our strength. Elsewhere, we can drink mortal blood to sustain ourselves, but it's really not enough. You know, now that I think about it, perhaps that is where all those myths about vampires in your world come from. There used to be many more of us, far more than were needed, and we were free to come and go as we pleased…"

"And man, were those the days!"

"You said it, Kuwabara."

She listened to their escapades and battles from their days among the living for a while until conversation died down.

"So…" she began hesitantly, her brows furrowed in confusion, "This may be a stupid question, but why doesn't this Yakumo just apologize or something? Surely being under surveillance or whatever is better than being shut off."

"Because the dude's nuttier than a fruit cake."

"And dead."

"Yeah, that was a really awesome day."

"Well then, why don't you guys tell the…the Reikai, right? Why not tell him that Yakumo's dead—by your hands! Surely something could be done!"

"When I said that we're shut off, Kagome, I meant it. No one, not even youkai souls, are permitted in or out, and there is no way of communicating between this world and another. The barrier makes it so we're like a closed off bubble floating around in space. I've been trying for…let's say a very long time to solve the problem, but Hiei pulling you through the barrier is the first bit of success any of us have had."

"You know," she mused, "it's too bad he didn't pull through Inuyasha. His red Tetsusaiga could have solved all your problems."

Sensing her mood, and doubting this was true, Kurama replied, "Or maybe there's a reason you were the one Hiei chose."

Kagome had said she was tired, that she was returning to the guest room where she had first woken up, but instead, she followed Hiei's aura to his room, just across the hall from her.

What Kurama had said made her wonder, why did Hiei choose her? Why did he feel so familiar to her, so comforting? She had her suspicions, but she needed to talk to this mysterious youkai.

His room was dark, and plain, which seemed to suit him. Aside from the bed, there was only a dresser and a chair, which she brought over to his bedside. Crimson covers were brought up to his chest, arms on either side on top of the covers. Even from this small glimpse, she knew that he was very well muscled—but not overly so; he had the body of one who worked to keep it that way, but not one who did nothing but work out.

His face was calm now, not twisted in pain and exhaustion like when she first saw him after she woke up. And that third eye—that strange thing with its own aura—was now bandaged, blood no longer dripped down his face.

Nervous, not knowing what else to do, she began to speak.

"Kurama says you somehow pulled me through from my world into yours, even though you have been trapped here for centuries with no way to contact the outside world. Yet, your energy didn't feel foreign to me. It feels similar to something that I felt for a long time, like the feeling you get when someone's watching you, a feeling that I got used to after a while. So I wonder, have you been watching me all these years, watching over me like some strange guardian angel?

"I'm no angel, miko." His voice was dark, smooth. "I'm the opposite."

Kagome smiled faintly. "And yet you saved me at the time of my greatest need, when I couldn't defend myself and had no one to help me. What else can I call you, if not my guardian angel?"

His eyes opened and met hers, and in that moment, her breath stuck in her throat.

"Hiei."

Kagome enjoyed spending her days at Hiei's side, and it was obvious to her that Hiei felt the same.

He liked her, she could tell. Kagome had known her fair share of youkai to be able to read him well. He wasn't the sort to go around proclaiming his love like Kouga; nor was he the type to flutter back and forth between old love and new, not being able to decide where his loyalty lay like Inuyasha.

No, Hiei was definitely more of a Sesshoumaru: quiet, intensely loyal to whatever cause he chose. He wasn't a superhero or a diabolical villain; rather, he was the honorable bad guy or the anti-hero of the group.

She recalled the times he had seen Sesshoumaru interacting with Rin. He cared deeply for her, like a father. It was always the small things: getting extra clothing for her in the winter, stopping to allow the girl to eat during the day and sleep at night, patting her head as she presented him with wildflower bouquets, fresh fish she caught on her own, or pictures drawn in crayons from Shippou's collection.

Yes, he was much more like Sesshoumaru; she could tell by the small things: that he calmly allowed her company—and jealously monopolized it, to the obvious surprise of the others; that he would pluck fruit for her from the tall trees when she began to feel hungry, as if he were reading her mind; the way his aura would envelop hers, not in an overpowering manner of youkai versus miko, but rather like a caress, a hug between lovers.

He may have been like Sesshoumaru, but she was definitely no Rin. Not with the way his eyes would capture hers, making her body heat up…

He saw her as something more, but the question was, what?

Knowing he was the one that had somehow pulled her through a supposedly impenetrable barrier, she knew he was powerful enough to wear her down if not outright overpower her through sheer skill and experience and, well…do whatever he wanted with her.

Yet, on the other hand, she considered, looking down at the blunted sword in her hands, being held after so long only by sheer willpower, If he simply wanted to do what he will to my body, why would he be training me to protect myself? Why would he be nice at all? He doesn't seem the sort to go through an elaborate ruse just to get what he wants.

She shook her head of her thoughts, knowing she needed to concentrate on her opponent for however much longer he decided this training session should be.

"Again."

"Yo. Kurama."

The fox sighed, frustrated. He was at a cliff near the barrier where Kagome had fell through, trying to detect a tear or something—but there was nothing.

"What, Yusuke?"

"Something's up with Hiei."

"Meaning…?" he asked, still barely listening.

Yusuke put his hand to his hair, frustrated. "I can't believe I'm the one who has to explain it to you, Kurama. You just can't stand that Hiei did something you couldn't—" Seeing Kurama's glare, Yusuke decided to stop before it turned into what would be a, in another situation welcome, brawl. "Don't you find it weird that, after decades of barely any contact with even us, Hiei can't seem to let that chick out of his sight? I mean, she's hot and all, but it's Hiei we're talking about. His idea of fun is slaughtering whoever decides to try an' take over. Now, he's being all nice; let's her follow him around, he's even training her! It's been weeks!"

Kurama finally turned to Yusuke and sighed. "I do admit, I've been wondering why he brought her over. I assumed at first it was perhaps her extraordinary raw power, but if what you are saying is true…She did say when she first appeared that she'd sensed some kind of danger before Hiei pulled her through the barrier. Perhaps he has other motives, and there is far more to the story than we know. As you said, we've seen him only rarely these past couple of decades." Kurama turned back to where Kagome had fallen through to Meikai and sighed. "As much as I'd like to observe them, it's obvious I'm not getting anything accomplished on my own."

"Ya gonna ask Hiei for help?"

"Of course not. He wouldn't help anyways. No, he'll have to deal with his jealousy issues while I run some tests on Kagome." And with stiff determination, he headed in the direction of the castle.

Hiei paced back and forth, frustrated and impatient beyond belief. And yet, he didn't act on his emotions because to do so would be to admit that he cared far more for the miko than he was willing to let Kurama—and, through dropped hints or outright gossip, Yusuke and Kuwabara—to know. Only a few weeks—and several years of spying—and he was ready to mate the miko. His instincts to protect what was his were on full alert, and yet, when Kurama had just that morning forcefully requested Kagome's presence—and she agreed to it, dammit!—he'd stalked out of the room in anger; now, he couldn't go back without admitting he was wrong, and suggesting certain…feelings.

So he kept track of her as he had in the past: with the Jagan. She seemed to be in good spirits, but bored, which was good—that meant she had no interest in the fox, that letch.

He looked up, aware that her and Kurama's aura's were no longer quite so close, and she was heading towards him. He closed the gap between him and as he appeared in front of her, her expression changed from exhausted to genuinely happy.

"You will follow me."

Kagome obeyed as, even though his words were gruff, he held his hand out to her and when she placed hers in his, lacing their fingers, he gave a small squeeze. He may have told her to follow, but, as he led her to a part of the realm she had never seen before, their shoulders bumped and there was a content silence between them.

It was a type of love Kagome had never experienced before, but it was the type of love her mother had described when talking about her father. She had loved Inuyasha, true; but that love was a first love, it was shy and passionate and frustrating…and there was competition that made her think, in the back of her mind, that she would never be her own person in Inuyasha's eyes. What her mother had described was like a steady fire, in comparison to a short-lived bonfire: to have passion in the relationship, but not let that passion rule you, to discover each others' faults, but cherish them, to be able to simply be together and be happy, not having to impress each other all the time, to know that any fighting between them would only make them stronger. A slow-burning fire.

Her thoughts were cut short at the sight of the clearing before her. It was filled with white- and yellow-colored flowers, petals rimmed in red. The trees surrounding the clearing, while a huge youkai variety, seemed to glow with an almost holy light. And, throughout the clearing were floating globes of light, about the size of a fist. As they watched in silence, several of them approached her, and she could have sworn she heard childish laughter.

"Hiei?" she asked, quietly so as not to disturb the scene before them.

"This is the place where the souls of youkai children too young and too powerless to have a form in death go. None with evil intent may enter." By this time, more of the globes—souls—had noticed them, and Kagome had attracted quite a crowd. "I know that you miss your kit," he said, beginning to release her hand and ignoring the question in her eyes. "Go, they wish for you to play with them."

Kagome decided to let it go—for that moment. She loved children, and she did miss her fox kit. He would be well taken care of by the others, but she knew that she had, in a way, taken the place of his mother. She returned her attention to the children surrounding her. Hiei had said that these were the children that had not yet acquired enough power to have a form in death. She imagined they couldn't have been more than toddlers, perhaps perished by disease or attack by other youkai or humans. Yet, in Meikai, they were able to have some bit of happiness, some bit of comfort amongst each other. And perhaps, if that barrier were to be broken, they could begin life anew. She began to play.

Hiei watched as she frolicked with the children, dancing and playing amongst the flowers. She was truly radiant with her hair down, dressed in a light yukata, with an expression of delight on her face. Compared to how she was after leaving Kurama, she looked completely reenergized. When she finally returned to him, about an hour later, she put her arms around him and kissed him, just long enough for their tongues to meet before she leaned back. "Thank you."

He only gave her a smirk before taking her hand and leading her to the next destination of the night, barely taking note that, even a year ago, already deeply entranced by the miko, he never would have imagined the changes wrought in him. Now, tonight could be an end or a beginning.

Eventually Zeus relented, and promised to send Hermes to retrieve Persephone and return her to Demeter, so long as Persephone had not eaten any food of the dead. However, unable to bear depriving herself any longer, and unknowing that she would soon be rescued, Persephone slipped away into a hidden area of the garden, just long enough to have a few seeds of a pomegranate, completely unaware that Hades' trusted gardener watched her.

Within fifteen minutes, they'd made it to their destination, a small area near a burbling stream concealed by a copse of trees. A blanket had been laid out, covering most of the grass, and there was a plate of foods that could be eaten cold. "Beautiful…" Kagome felt her heart swell at the romantic gesture as Hiei guided her down beside him to begin their simple meal, though she knew it was more for her than the strangely quiet fire apparition.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, but not willing to deny her curiosity much longer, Kagome waited until she had eaten her fill to address Hiei. "I never told you about Shippou."

Hiei tried not to let any emotion cross his face, but knew he failed, so he told her everything and waited for the outcome. He knew from his own experience and from watching her that she had a fiery temper that could make the bravest of youkai think twice before making her angry, thus he was surprised when, after telling her that he'd been spying on her life, at even the most intimate of moments, she did not become angry but rather thoughtful. It was even worse in his opinion: he could deal with anger, expected anger, but this mood was lasting a long time. Hiei cursed his inexperience with women—with other living beings in general.

"First of all, you should know that I am upset that you hid this from me for so long. It's one thing to spy on me; it's another to keep the secret for so long, especially since this is not the first time I asked you." When she finally looked at him again, into his eyes, as if she could see into his soul, it was with a strange expression, accepting yet apprehensive. "But before I decide anything, I have two questions." He nodded. "First question: Why did you bring me here, to Meikai I mean?"

That certainly wasn't what he expected. Sinking into the callous persona he used to deal with his allies, he almost said that it was because he didn't want such a powerful opponent to be killed by a simple trap, but that wasn't true—hadn't been true for a long time. He tried to think of what to say, and she seemed content to wait. Finally, looking back into her eyes with his emotions plain to see, he answered, "Without you, life would have lacked meaning. You are not an ordinary human, you are my Kagome. Mine. I will not allow you to die."

Smiling, she leaned forward, her lips close to his and said, "Question two: What is this place?"

"The place where lovers' souls go to meet each other."

Then she kissed him, slowly, tenderly. Hiei wasn't able to respond before she leaned away again, smiling. "I love you too."

Her declaration gave him momentum to take control, knowing that she wanted this just as he did. He brought her to him, adding more fire, more passion to the kiss; the moans and the heady scent of arousal he received in return made him hard. If just a kiss could do this to him, how long could he last? He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her at that moment, but, although she wasn't shy about it—she was from the future after all—he knew he was her first. And he would make sure he was her last.

He saw that her yukata was beginning to loosen around her shoulders and, not wanting to be separated by clothing any longer, he quickly dispatched his shirt as she worked on his belts, kissing and licking along his neck and chest. With him nude, he began working the yukata off, slowly parting it as he loosened the sash, taking his time on each breast, her moans and cries begging for more, before leaving a trail of kisses down her abdomen before arriving at his prize.

Beneath the lacy garment, her scent was strong, wonderful. Without a pause he disintegrated them. It was only when she felt a lick that she began to protest, but when he refused to stop, her cries rang out again, her face contorted in the most amazing way, before the sensitive woman reached a crescendo. If only watching her come could make him harder than he'd ever been, he wasn't about to wait to join her.

Rising up to her, she brought her arms around his body, bringing him closer. "Please Hiei…" Wanting nothing more than to appease both their need, he thrust into her. She was tight and slick and felt absolutely heavenly around his burning cock. He paused for a moment as a grimace of pain crossed her face and her nails dug a little into his back, but he'd prepared her well and soon she began thrusting against him, ready. He smiled, returned to her mouth, and began to quicken the pace.

What neither of the two noticed as passion took hold of their senses was the movement of the dragon, normally kept under the wraps of Hiei's arm, as it slowly crept along the fire apparition's arm to Kagome.

By his brother's order, Hades Hades harnessed his horses to his chariot and returned Persephone to the world above. Mother and daughter were overjoyed at their reunion when suddenly Demeter asked if Persephone had eaten any of the food of the Underworld. As she tried to decide whether to tell the truth, Hades' gardener appeared from the shadows and said that yes, the young goddess had indeed eaten six seeds from a pomegranate. Demeter, distraught, begged for Zeus to intervene. Not wanting to go back on his word, but not wanting the humans to continue to suffer, Zeus negotiated with Hades. Persephone had eaten six seeds, and would therefore spend six months of the year alongside Hades as Queen of the Underworld and six months with her mother. Thus, as each year Persephone descended to her husband's kingdom, Demeter's distress would cause the plants to sleep and nothing would grow, and as Persephone returned each year, the snow would melt and the once desolate landscapes would bloom again.

Kurama couldn't decide who was more baffled at the current predicament: Yusuke or Kuwabara. Honestly, if there had been any women of physical substance around them in the last few centuries, he imagined it would have happened much sooner. It was really all about picking the right one for Hiei. It was not a coincidence the only one to get through the barrier ended up being "the one".

"I still don't see what Kagome-chan sees in him. The shrimp's been a total bastard since I met 'im," Kuwabara groused.

"He still is a bastard. Nowadays, if we even mention Kagome's name, he's ready to slice our heads off. He just doesn't let her see it."

"Oh, no, Yusuke, she definitely knows how Hiei is, she just doesn't care."

"How would you know, Kurama?"

His eyebrow rose. "I was with her for almost an entire day. Do you really think I only ran tests? If I could seduce hundreds of women into my bed during my life—and death, for that matter—how could you think I couldn't get her to talk about her love life. And I do believe she loves him; she acknowledged his faults—all of them—and accepted them. She, being a miko, wouldn't take mating a youkai lightly."

"Great. So now they're in love and going at it like—"

"Hey, do you guys feel that?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. Kuwabara may be his buddy, but the guy could be so jumpy. "Feel wha—Shit!"

In his own room, Hiei was quickly throwing on clothes and strapping on his sword. Next to him, Kagome did the same, despite his instructions to "stay". Her glare was enough for him to back down, just this once, so long as she didn't venture to the front lines. Her hama-no-ya would be useful, but when youkai were both friend and enemy, they could be equally dangerous.

With her breasts bound and yukata tied, Kagome grabbed her quiver and bow and followed Hiei out to meet the hoard of youkai. Hiei had known when he'd temporarily torn the barrier that it would catch the interest of the souls in Meikai. Within the first few days, souls had flocked to them—mostly to Kuwabara—to inquire about their possible freedom. The only ones that hadn't stirred were the most powerful, the most dangerous among them. It was a small curiosity to him, but of no consequence until now. Now, he knew why they waited: after sensing Kagome's entry, one of them had gained enough control over the others to band them together, and now they were attacking.

Kurama nodded to him as he passed through the castle wall, and raised an eyebrow when he saw Kagome, but didn't press.

The youkai at the head of the hoard was a snake youkai, bald and narrow-eyed. When he spoke, it wasn't with a lisp or a hiss, but his voice was coated in disdain. "I am Dokueki, the strongest of youkai in Meikai. You will give me the miko or you will perish."

Yusuke had barely said "fuck you, mouse breath" before Hiei struck. Dokueki was barely able to dodge, but the youkai behind him was not so lucky.

Before Kagome knew it, the fight had begun in earnest. Hiei and the others were incredibly strong, but there were a lot of opponents for each of them. Not that they weren't enjoying it. Kagome was finding it a bit more difficult though. She was used to having to battle huge amounts of youkai—how many times had Naraku thrown hundreds of weak youkai at them for a battle strategy? At those times, her arrows and Miroku's kazaana were invaluable. Usually, she didn't have friends in the way. Her arrows were effective, but only when she had a clear shot. And slowly, she was attracting youkai with hungry eyes.

They're strong, but if Inuyasha and the others were here…

It was as she was reaching back for an arrow to hold off the newest group brave enough to approach her that she felt her arm wrenched back and heard the tear of her sleeve as the pain seeped in. The youkai was behind her, holding her on her toes by her arm, with one hand to her throat. In that moment, she closed her eyes, cried out her need and…

"KAGOME!"

Inuyasha?

With the sound of a sword cutting through flesh, she was dropped. Before her she saw the familiar red cloth of her friend and Miroku and Sango leaned down to check her over as Shippou rushed into her for a tearful hug.

"Kagome! We found the gateway to Meikai and Inuyasha tried and tried for hours with the red Tetsusaiga but it didn't work then suddenly it did and I missed you so so much!"

Oh, Shippou. Kagome did her best to hug him with the arm that didn't have pain shooting through it.

Inuyasha turned away from the battle as they were safe for now. "Come on, Kagome, we're going." But before he could lift her, Hiei, in an incredible burst of speed snatched her away, depositing her at the door to the castle wall.

"You're not going anywhere with her, hanyou." Just coming out of the midst of battle and preparing for a new one, Kagome couldn't help but notice he looked energized, and with his sword out, deceptively lazily at his side, she knew he was dangerous—a match for Inuyasha, if not stronger.

"You got a lotta nerve, shorty."

"Inuyasha, sit." The mild punishment gave Kagome enough time to position herself between the two possessive youkai. "You two will not be fighting each other. And," she said, turning to Inuyasha who was just then removing himself from the ground, "I will not be leaving. Not for a while. And besides," she continued, motioning to the remaining attacking souls, "there's another matter at hand, if all of you wouldn't mind helping out."

Miroku and Sango looked at each other with bemused expressions before motioning Kirara over to Kagome, who had begun to heal herself, and heading off. Inuyasha and Hiei were much more reluctant, which was strange for both of them, but neither one would leave the other with Kagome.

If the number of youkai attacking hadn't made a huge difference for the fighters beforehand, the addition of the Inutachi made the outcome of the battle obvious. However, even though one battle had ended, the other hadn't.

"I told you, she's coming with me!"

"And I told you, Inuyasha, don't talk like I'm not here! And put those swords away—you're not gonna attack each other!"

"Hn."

"Feh!"

"Look, Inuyasha," Kagome said, trying to calm herself, "I'm Hiei's mate. This," she indicated the dark dragon head resting on her shoulder where the fabric had ripped, the rest of its body was around hers, "isn't just a tattoo. I'm mated to Hiei. I wanted that. I can't—I won't give him up." At this, Hiei flashed a pointed smirk at the hanyou.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, angry and hurt. "So you're gonna give all of us up? You're gonna let Naraku have his way?"

Kagome slumped at Inuyasha's words. Hiei went to her, put an arm around her and growled at the hanyou. "No, Inuyasha, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we should compromise."

"How, Kagome? I can't just break through the barrier whenever you wanna visit your boyfriend. You heard Shippou, we almost thought it wouldn't work at all. And now the hole I tore is shrinking. We need to get outta here."

Kurama stepped forward. "I believe I have a solution."

"No shit, Kurama?"

He ignored Yusuke and concentrated on Kagome's and Hiei's intent eyes. "As your companion said, he ripped a hole through the barrier, a hole that is shrinking, but is still there. That means that communication with Reikai is possible. I bet they have alarms going off right now."

"Yeah, and we can get them to take down the barrier!"

"'Bout time."

They all rushed to the communication room, opening the door to the sound of, "Ogre, why didn't you tell me sooner? Prepare the special forces! Dammit, why did dad have to choose now to go on vaca—"

"Hello." Kagome greeted the frantic toddler on the screen.

"A human? What the hell are you doing in Meikai? Why hasn't Yakumo eaten you yet?" Koenma was practically crawling on his desk for all he was leaning forward

Hiei put Kagome behind him and glared. "You will treat my mate with respect."

"Mate?"

"And the crazy dude's dead, by the way, toddler," Yusuke piped up from the back.

"Don't call me toddler! Who killed him? When?"

"The four of us, way back when you idiots put up the barrier. Thanks for nothing!"

"Why you—"

"Lord Koenma, sir, the tear, the tear!" said the blue man behind the toddler prince.

"Ah, yes, that's right. Who tore the hole in the barrier."

"Keh, my Tetsusaiga can cut through any barrier. Piece of cake." There were more than a few rolled eyes, but they let him have his glory.

Koenma looked over them all for a minute, thoughtful and hmm-ing. "Miko."

"Yes?"

"Are you able to vouch for the characters of these four mei-youkai?"

Without hesitation, she replied, "Yes. I've spent nearly two months with them now, and I believe they are all honorable. But, Lord Koenma, more than that…Yakumo is dead, and so are all of his supporters. There are so many other souls living here, all of them youkai, but none of them by any means evil enough to be kept from reincarnation. They have been trapped, too, for the faults of one they couldn't refuse. The barrier needs to be removed."

"I see." He looked down to his folded hands, thinking on her words before looking up again. "I am not able to remove the barrier—"

"What!"

"Damn Reikai!"

"Quiet, both of you."

"Ah-hem. As I was saying, I cannot remove the barrier; that will have to wait until my father returns. I can however, stabilize that tear until something can be done. In the meantime, I can negotiate the terms of the dissolving of the barrier."

This was met by cheers.

It was a wondrous thing to see the first sunrise in Meikai for over five hundred years. It was even more wondrous to enjoy it in the arms of his mate. As the dark sky changed from near black to purple to orange, he held her, stroking the dragon, identical to the one on his arm, that had wrapped itself around her body, marking her as his, and basked in his memories of their last night of lovemaking before she had to return to her world.

The negotiation hadn't taken too long. Unfortunately, cleanup duty had been left in their hands again. Hiei and his allies would be co-ruling Meikai, and while Hiei had been spending his time with his mate, Kurama had been spending his days looking for assistants. However, in return for making a smooth transition, taking back the youkai souls in Reikai, and allowing themselves to be monitored, the barrier would disappear and everything would go back to normal—including visits to the living realms.

As an added bonus, one which Kagome had insisted on to the point of threatening the poor prince, with a special compact device, delivered via ferry girl shortly after the negotiations ended, she would be able to cross back and forth between Ningenkai and Meikai. And, should she somehow die—by sudden accident, as Hiei assured her they had very long lives in store—her soul would come to rest in Meikai.

Even knowing, however, that they could reach each other easily, both were reluctant to leave their embrace. Kagome had to return to her shard hunt, which she had been absent from for a couple months and the others, at Inuyasha's insistence, nearly just as long. Hiei knew he was in for a lot of frustration getting Meikai working again. Souls were already lining up to be reincarnation candidates—candidates because they couldn't let them all choose to do whatever they wanted on their own; most of the souls would be gone if that were to happen—and the Makai would experience quite a baby boom. So now they had to deal with whiny souls. He was sure that somewhere Yakumo was laughing at them; centuries had gone by and they still had to clean up after the bastard.

Kagome, cheek on his chest, stirred from her doze. "You know," she smiled faintly, "If I don't get going soon, Inuyasha's gonna come looking for me."

"Let him try."

Kagome's smile deepened and she turned her head so that it was no longer her cheek but her chin resting on his chest, so that she could see his face.

"I love you, Hiei."

She alleviated his boredom. That's what he used to tell himself.

"I love you, too, Kagome."

AN: Wow, this is my longest oneshot ever! I've been wanting to do a Hiei/Kag take on the Abduction of Persephone for a while—and have been imagining scenes for this fic since early fall 2009j—as it's my favorite myth and these two just work out so well for it.

However, I do have some apologies to make. I had been dreaming about the first half (Hiei watching Kagome) for a few months before writing things down outline-format so I wouldn't forget anything. Then, the April prompts came up for thedeadliestsin and got me off my butt and I started to flesh some things out. But it wasn't until the most recent fanart contest came up on the forum that I got really inspired—it was like pumpkinpeaches1's image came right out of my mind! And with this as my chosen prompt for the fanfic competition, I not only had inspiration, I had a deadline. It was as I was writing that I realized the problem: I only had half the fic thought out, and that just wasn't a finishing point to me. Thus, the second half of the story really just drags a bit. And I really dislike how passively I wrote Kagome-and how undetailed the romance part was. As a writer, and a planner, I really hate that it's not more planned out, and really, there should be twice as many scenes in the second half than there are now. I plan on slowly going back and adding them, but for right now, I need to concentrate on my internship.

Also, sorry about the bad lemon. I don't like writing them for a reason—I'm absolutely horrible at them. Usually I can avoid it, but I ended up writing myself into a corner. However, if anyone really likes writing them, and wants to rewrite this one, I'd welcome it and would love to credit you! Otherwise, at the moment, I'm brainstorming how to write that out.

Other than that, I'm really happy with how this turned out. It definitely needs work, but what fanfic doesn't? Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it!

If you liked this fic, I also recommend:

Goddess of the Spring by PC Cast (book)

Hope Springs Eternal: A Subterranean Romance by Quantum Witch

Hope Enthroned by DustyB