"Good day, Lady Katana." Reuel said as he joined the ruler, Archelaus and Cleitenes on a small hill on the outskirts of one of the towns.
"Hello, Reuel." She said blandly without even looking up to acknowledge his presence. "How are Koray and Hiei's wounds?"
"Over the past couple of days they've healed up nicely." Reuel replied. "Aysuna will be letting them out of the hospital today, and then Koray wants to start training Hiei as soon as possible, since he can no longer control his power."
Katana sighed. "I should go and apologize to them... Since this is my fault for sending Hiei back to Spirit World."
"There's no need to think like that." Cleitnese said. "I think it's a good thing that Hiei no longer has the Jagan."
"Why's that?" The ruler inquired.
"The Jagan was restricting his abilities considerably. Although he did gain special powers with it, the fact remains that he could have become much stronger without it." Cleintnese explained. "In truth the Jagan is like a parasite that infects the body and forces it to function in a certain way. On top of the fact that it constantly consumes the wielder's aura, it forces them to use their own power in a different way. That's why most people who acquire the Jagan don't live long enough to use it."
"That makes sense." Archelaus said. "And since the Jagan is something from the demon plane of that world, then it stands to reason that even if Hiei was able to grow stronger with the Jagan, he never would have been able to surpass the strongest level of demon in that world."
"Which means that he never would have be able to reach our level of power." Reuel continued.
"Exactly. Which is why Koray's so eager to start training him. So he doesn't go out of control like when the Jagan was removed." Cleitnese concluded.
"If that's the case, then don't you think it sounds like the leader of the Black Knights was trying to help him?" Katana questioned.
"According to Hiei's friends, Athanasios claimed that he needs Hiei to do something, but that he first needed the Jagan removed." Archelaus replied.
"Did he say what this 'something' is?" Katana asked.
"Unfortunately, no."
For a while, the four of them remained silent as they each fell into their own thoughts.
"My Lady, if you don't mind, I have a question about Koray." Archelaus requested. Katana said nothing, so the General took it as a yes. "Why didn't you throw him in jail when he killed the race of fire demons?"
Katana didn't reply.
"Archelaus is right." Cleitenes continued. "Didn't that incident prove what you've been saying all along about Koray being too unstable? And besides that, due to his actions, the Black Knights have taken complete control of the Island of Fire! Although I do hold a certain respect for him, what he did was completely senseless!"
"Cleitnese... Do you even realize what those people did to him?!" Reuel demanded, sending his comrade a harsh glare.
"I don't believe I asked for either of your opinions." Archelaus stated boldly. "Lady Katana?"
"I don't know why I let him be... I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I guess I feel like I've gotten to know his a bit better since Hiei arrived. Before, he always kept to himself and did whatever he pleased without thinking about the consequences. He never seemed to be happy, and when I was a kid, he scared me. But now, I've seen him smile... And I see him completely dedicating himself to Hiei. I just can't think of him as a bad person anymore... And I think I can understand why the previous Lord paid so much attention to him."
"Yes... The previous Lord seemed to understand whatever Koray was going through... And trusted him, despite what other people said about him." Reuel said grimly.
Archelaus clenched his fists as en expression of rage took form on his face. "If I ever find the one who assassinated the previous Lord... I'll put him through an experience worst that the deepest pits of hell!"
**********
"So, how are you doing today?" Koray asked Hiei with a smile as they walked away from the hospital and headed to Koray's house.
"Fine." Hiei said simply.
"Really? Judging from you limp I'd say that you're not fully recovered yet." Koray teased.
"Shut up. You give me such a headache..." Hiei muttered as he placed his hand on his forehead. He flinched when he touched the spot where the Jagan used to be, as he nearly forgot there was nothing there anymore.
"I heard that spirit world erased you and your friends' memories." Koray stated more than asked.
"Yeah... Though I somehow got mine back. The others still don't remember a thing, so I tried to fill them in." Hiei explained.
"I see..." Koray said as he started smoking a cigarette and fell into thought.
"Hey... Have you ever heard the name Serafin before?" Hiei asked cautiously.
"I have. Though I want to know where you heard it. That's not a name that comes up in everyday conversation." Koray said, eyeing Hiei curiously.
Hiei paused to think. If the name was such a big deal, people would think he's crazy if he said that a voice in his head addressed itself that way. It would probably be better to find out who this Serafin person is first. "It was brought up once when we were with Athanasios." Hiei lied.
"I see." Koray smirked, accepting the answer. "I suppose it might benefit you to know who he is. Serafin is the name of one of the four demon Kings; the King of Fire. Along with him is the King of Wind, the King of Earth, and the King of Water."
"Kings?" Hiei muttered. "But I thought..."
"They don't exist in this world... Or rather on this plane of this world." Koray explained. Hiei became more confused. Koray sighed then continued. "Just like in your world there exists a Spirit World, a Human World, and a Demon World, here there are also separate 'worlds'. To be fair, everything I'm about to tell you is speculation since no one on this plane has solid proof that the others exist, but anyway... According to the theories, there exist two more planes that would commonly be referred to as 'heaven' and 'hell'. The plane that we're on now is a temporary existence, since everything dies. No one's been able to determine the purpose of this plane, but one thing that's agreed on, is that once people here die their essence moves on to one of the other two planes where an immortal 'life' is obtained. Call it a rebirth if you want."
"What does this have to do with Serafin and the other Kings?" Hiei asked.
"The theory is that humans go to 'heaven', where there exists a single entity to rule over them, and demons go to 'hell', where there exists four Kings who rule over them. One for each race of Demons."
"I see..." Hiei muttered, taking in the information.
"Though... The term 'King' may not be the best way to describe them." Koray said with a smirk. "The four Demon Kings are more along the lines of Gods." Hiei stared curiously. "You see, there isn't a single being or army that can surpass the power of any of the four Kings, and all of them are exactly equal in power."
"What about the so-called entity that rules 'heaven'?" Hiei asked.
"I'm not too sure. Though it can be assumed that it's equal to the demon Kings as well." Koray said with a shrug.
"Interesting..." Hiei muttered. "Even though you say it's all just theory, it seems to me like you firmly believe all this stuff about the Demon Kings. And when you spoke of their power, you made it sound like facts rather than speculation."
Koray simply replied with his usual smile. "In any case, you should really start to focus on training. You seem like a fast learner, so it shouldn't take too long to get you accustomed to your aura."
"Sure." Hiei shrugged. Although he would never openly admit it, he was looking forward to some training. Even though he disliked Koray's personality, Hiei respected his father as a fighter and was more than eager to learn his techniques. It was really the only thing he was good for.
**********
Two months later...
"Hey, you guys are back!" Aysuna exclaimed as she burst into Koray's house. "How was the training?"
"For someone who acts like such a moron, he can give some decent coaching." Hiei muttered as he lay sprawled out on the couch, half asleep. Koray sweatdropped, unsure of whether Hiei's intention was to insult or compliment him.
"Yeah, even we got some training!" Kuwabara stated gleefully. "I've never felt stronger!"
"It was definitely better than Grandma's training." Yusuke said.
"Koray had had a lot of valuable things to teach us." Kurama stated.
"It's good to hear you guys enjoyed yourselves." Aysuna smiled. "What about you, Yukina? I hope it wasn't too boring watching the boys beat each other up."
"Of course not." Yukina replied. "They all improved a lot, and I was able to heal any sever injuries they received."
"So Hiei, have you got a grasp on your powers now?" Aysuna questioned.
"Of course, otherwise we wouldn't have come back yet." Hiei muttered.
"He's roughly around the same level as he was before." Koray explained. "Like I thought, he's a fast learner, so he got the hang of things pretty quickly. And I was able to teach him some new techniques."
"That's great." Aysuna smiled. "By the way, sorry Reuel isn't here. He's off working, but should be back shortly."
"Ah, speaking of Reuel, I wanted to ask him a favour." Koray said. "I need to speak to Katana in private, so I was wondering if he could arrange that for me."
"Well, sure." Aysuna stared curiously. "What do you need to talk with her about?"
"Ah, it's really nothing that concerns you..." Koray stuttered. "But I guess I'll just meet up with him at your place, if that's alright."
"Okay." Aysuna said. The two of them left, leaving the group of boys and Yukina alone.
"Greeeat! We got the place to ourselves." Yusuke exclaimed as he stretched.
"Who's up for a game of cards?" Kuwabara asked. Yusuke and Kurama nodded. "What about you, Hiei?" When they got no answer, they all looked over to the couch where Hiei was now sound asleep.
"Heh. He did receive more training than us. Let's go upstairs and leave him to rest." Kurama said. "Yukina, are you coming?"
"Yes, I'll be up in just a moment." She said. The others went on ahead, while Yukina strolled into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for the group. She set a variety of finger foods and four drinks on a tray and then headed upstairs.
"Hold on a sec." She heard Hiei call out just before she started climbing the stairs.
"What is it? Are you going to play cards as well?" Yukina smiled.
"Um... No." Hiei stuttered awkwardly. "There's just... something I've been meaning to return to you."
"Huh? What is it?" Yukina asked as she set down the tray and sat beside Hiei. From Hie neck, Hiei took off a necklace with a gem that Yukina recognized as their mother's tear stone.
"This is yours." Hiei said as he handed his sister her heirloom. "I know how much it means to you, so I didn't want to keep it."
"Thank you." Yukina smiled.
Hiei looked away. "I'm sorry... I never really apologized to you for lying..."
"It's okay." Yukina said as she took hold of his hand. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself. You were just trying to protect me, so I have nothing to be angry about."
Hiei smiled. "Yukina... You're the most important person in my life. I'll always be there to protect you."