The rain had subsided to a gentle lull that rapped at the windows with each gust of wind. It was muggy, humid, and Kurama finally submitted to pulling his enormous girth of hair up into a bun to keep it off the back of his neck. Exhausted, he massaged his temple and took deep calming breathes on the front porch letting the rain drizzle onto his now bare feet.
It hurt to sit on the wood, and his backside longed for a cushioned chair, but Kurama did not want to go inside just yet, not until he knew that Kazuma had gone to bed. He was angry, that much Kurama knew, and rightly so, but there were things Kazuma had not known... would probably never know. If only he'd been aware; if only he hadn't been lied to. Perhaps the night would have turned out differently.
Above the now silent dojo, a soft roll of thunder spread across the black sky.
The stranger made a mistake when he reached out to shake Hiei's hand. Yusuke had been friends with Hiei since Hiei was nothing more than a underdog with a penchant for stealing artifacts, and still he'd never shaken Hiei's hand. Kurama had known Hiei even further before that, to a time when Hiei had been searching aimlessly and without hope in human world for Yukina's presence- shaking hands was something they'd never done.
Truth be told, Hiei might have shaken their hands if pressed, but this fool had offered Hiei a piece of his flesh to chew on and Hiei was just hungry enough- just mad enough- to take the bite.
Hiei leapt forward, his hand outstretched for the stranger's pale throat! Amid screams and protests from Yukina and Kurama, Kazuma Kuwabara burst forth like a bullet from a gun and seized Hiei around the waist from behind! The result was that Hiei's legs flew out from underneath him, still in mid motion, and both men crashed to the ground in a flurry of limbs, curses, clothing, and hair!
"God fuck it!" Yusuke cursed, stumbling as his legs became entwined with the sprawling pair, but Kurama grabbed Yusuke tight by the back of the shirt and pulled him up the stairs to keep him from falling prey to the fight.
"Stop!" Yukina begged, horrified at the sight before her. The young man, so far no more than a pale face with fair hair, stepped back unsure of himself. He looked over his shoulder, slightly nervous, and seemed to decide it was much safer standing amongst the women than attempting to waylay with the group of newly arrived men.
"Get off of me!" Hiei snarled, landing a well aimed kick at Kuwabara's loins so that the taller man howled in pain and instinctivly clamped his legs shut. Hiei made a leap, attempting to get to his feet and make after the stranger, but Kuwabara grabbed Hiei's ankle and he crashed back to earth again so that he landed flat on his face! Hiei spat out dust from the carpet, kicking out again and this time connecting with Kuwabara's jaw so that blood spurted out his nose.
"Every time!" Yusuke shouted, descending the stairs before Kurama could stop him. With such heated fighting, so many low blows, Yusuke's old habits of foul mouthing opponents had resurfaced. "Every time you bastards go at it, and I'm sick of it! I oughta kick both your asses, that would teach you to work together!"
It was the jarring crass language that broke Kurama from his nervous silence. Rather like a sufferer of PTSD, the cursing reminded Kurama of the tense times in the Dark Tournament, the Demon Tournament; in all the times where crisis had been imminent.
"Please!" Kurama blurted out, unable to contain his exasperation as Yusuke helped Kuwabara off the floor and gave his old friend a scathing look, "Control yourself! Both of you!" Kurama added, coming to stand between Kuwabara and Hiei like the unmovable barrier. Kuwabara scowled, perhaps feeling chided, but Hiei wasn't paying attention. His eyes were locked on the pale youth next to Yukina, a muscle in his jaw jumping from pure stress. He wanted to murder him, he wanted to rip out his throat! But Hiei also equally desired to know how this young man knew who Yukina was, how he was aware that she had a brother. Who was he, and what were his motives? Was he here to harm, or was he here to gain? Was there something that could be gained from filling Hiei's absent role? Hiei wracked his brain, trying to think of something that would be a valuable asset. Yet it had never been valuable, it had never been wise, to fill Hiei's shoes... So why did this man want to.
"Who the hell are you?!" Hiei shouted, fumbling to hold his sword correctly as he pointed the blade directly at the strangers throat, "Where- what-?!" Hiei couldn't get the words out, he couldn't focus enough and keep his temper under control. He felt a tight hand upon his shoulder, and startled to see Kurama directly behind him.
"Lower the sword." Kurama murmured out the side of his mouth, "Until we know he is an enemy and not an innocent fool."
"I have never heard of an innocent fool!" Hiei spat, but regretfully sheathed his sword unable to hold it without trembling violently. He took a step back, rubbing his face hard with his calloused hands in the hopes of jarring himself to the present. His heart was hammering in his chest, and Hiei found himself unable to stand still as he paced back and forth, his eyes never leaving the strangers face.
The pale boy did not look troubled, and that gave Kurama more cause for concern than he wished to admit. Those of obvious innocence and obvious guilt were the quickest to frighten. If the boy was unworried, then Kurama was certain there was more to his story than a simple mishaps.
Kurama smoothed a few of his crimson strands back, taking a slow breath through his nose and forcing a calm smile onto his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, aware of how overly silent the dojo foyer had become as all eyes fell to his commanding presence. Yukina was positively alarmed by the preceedings, biting her lip till it was white without blood and gazing from the man beside her to Hiei's angry hulking form. This man... whose approach had captured their undivided attention.
"Well-" Kurama coughed, penching for humor to relax the tension, "I must say that was an unforgettable first impression. Forgive my friends, they... have much cause for alarm." Kurama let the pause hold the heavy weight.
The boy simply smiled, his teeth like pearl.
"My name is Kurama." Kurama introduced himself, extending his hand slowly. Though the stranger was non the wiser, Kurama slipped a small seed into the palm of his hand. They shook, and as Kurama let his sinewy fingers wrap about the stranger's pale ones, he listened with his skin, he tasted with his senses.
The hand was not cold, nor warm. If anything, it felt room temperature and dry without sweat. The strangers hand was hard and smooth, like marble, and Kurama noticed that underneath the boys fingernails there was a stranger copper like stain. It all made no sense when left unpieced together, but the seed entrapped between both their fingers confirmed what Kurama already suspected. The boy was not an ice apparition, nor was he a fire apparition. Neither ki had alerted the seed, and yet... nothing else had either. Kurama could read no demon energy at all. He let his grip slid, and as his hand fell back to his side the seed lay wasted upon the floor. Kurama pursed his lips, pocketing his hand.
He would have to rely upon his intellect now, not that this wasn't his best strength.
"The men behind me are my teamates. My companions, if you will. Perhaps you may have heard of them." Kurama guestured to each in turn. "Kuwabara Kazuma" there was Kuwabara with his split lip and bleeding nose, "Urameshi Yusuke." Yusuke looking wary and cynical, not too mention angry, "... and Hiei." the final form, pacing hotly back and forth.
At Hiei's name, the boy smiled again.
"Have you heard of us?" Kurama offered.
"No." The boy replied, and Kurama faltered "I can't say I have."
"...No?" Kurama mused, scratching his chin with forced idle fashion, "Rather intruiging seeing as we're well known. What's your name? Where do you happen to come from?"
The boy did not answer right away, taking his time as he looked lovingly to Yukina who gave him a watery reproachful smile.
"My name is Shimo." The boy finally answered, "I come from the Hyouga."
At this, Kurama cast a look over his shoulder at Hiei. Upon hearing the term 'hyouga', Hiei's eyes widened significantly. From claiming to be Yukina's brother, to knowing that she came from the Hyouga, Shimo seemed to know far too much... and Kurama was keen to know why.
"The Hyouga?" Kurama repeated calmly, frowning as he spoke, "And... you believe that you are Yukina's brother? I'd rather like to know why. What makes you so certain that Yukina is your long lost twin?"
Shimo, once again, was not quick to speak, and Kurama took note of how often the young man needed to pause before opening his mouth. Was he thinking his words over, or did he simply feel unpressed for time? Did he feel that this was not a nervous encounter, and if so, why?
"I have wandered far in my journey." Shimo began, "I was raised by bandits after being cast aside. From there I became my own man, and have since then been searching for my dearest sister Yukina-"
"Enough!"
Without warning, Kurama was almost knocked off balance as Hiei bolted past him and grabbed Shimo tight by the throat with both fists! In a swift jet of speed, he carried them to the wall and slammed Shimo hard against it! Kurama heard pottery break as Hiei knocked over furniture, and cries arose as Hiei bared his teeth right in Shimo's face and let his hot breath blow across the boys pale features.
Kurama threw out a hand to stop Yukina from running forward, his eyes locked on his old comrade's back. Whatever Hiei did now, Hiei did out of fear for Yukina not himself. The room fell into another terrible swelling silence as Yusuke and Kuwabara waited with grave anticipation for the climax.
Shimo and Hiei stared at one another, eye to eye.
In the great gust of energy Hiei had used to swoop down upon Shimo and pin him to the wall, he'd been determined to behead the boy. Upon ramming him against the panneling, he'd felt a fire in his belly, ready to pounce and finish off the imposter who knew not only so much about Yukina but clearly about Hiei as well. His little story, though cut short, was a straight diatribe from Hiei's own early years, and Hiei could not shake off the unnerving feeling that Shimo knew more about Hiei that was possible of a stranger. Boys were forbidden in the Hyouga, and as far as Hiei knew he'd been the first one born for over 10,000 years. No other boy named Shimo had been cast off, no other girl named Yukina existed searching desperately for her twin. Such coincidences were not possible, and Hiei knew that Shimo had come here with the intent to use Hiei's own story as an alibi... to even look Hiei in the face as he said it. That knowledge alone was enough to set his blood aflame!
... And yet...
There was something strange about the boy, something hollow and empty that Hiei could not pin. His eyes were the same shade as Yukina's and yet they lacked warmth. They were not cold, they simple... lacked... Like red rocks, with no emotion. Though his hair was an aqua foam like Yukina's, it seemed to have no life to it, it hung limp around his pate unless blown by the wind. His skin, his lips, his teeth, the shell of his ears and his pectorals... all places where life was so obvious with flare and different feature, nothing seemed peculiar. Nothing seemed out of place. If anything, there seemed to be a distinct lack of peculiarity, and that unnerved Hiei to the core.
He could deal with S class demons hell bent on ruling the earth.
He could not deal with this.
"... What are you?" Hiei drawled, narrowing his crimson eyes as he gritted his teeth with apprehension, "How do you know the things you know."
It was a question full of meaning, meant only for Shimo and Hiei to understand.
Shimo never wavered in staring at Hiei, his empty eyes like that of a china doll as he titled his head in mock curiosity.
"Why do you fear me, Hiei?" Shimo replied with a question of his own, "What are you afraid of, when you look at me."
Hiei snapped.
He seized Shimo tight by the throat again, and threw him hard across the room! Shimo fell like a rag doll, his limbs sprawled about as he crashed into the sofa and toppled over the back of it! Yukina screamed, making to run to Shimo's aid, but Kurama held her back once again even as Hiei ripped off the band conceling his jagan.
He would not be talked to like a child. He would not be questioned like a child. He would not be made out as the inferior man. If this boy named Shimo wanted to see what fear was all about, if he'd come so very far and learned so very much in the hopes of catching Hiei's attention, who was Hiei to deny him?
Shimo gasped for breath, looking up in alarm as a great purple light filled the void between the two of them. For a split second, Shimo looked like he might run, as if he finally was beginning to understand the danger of the situation; but his revelation came too late and the jagan opened wide to scan Shimo with it's great bulging violet iris.
His mind unclenched like a fist, and as every nerve relaxed the jagan surged forward into Shimo's willing mind. The world around them was a mass of unfurling gray, but Hiei paid the others no mind as he scoured every corner of Shimo's consciousness, searching desperately for a clue to the boy's identity. Through the gloom of Shimo's mind, Hiei could not pick up on a single trace of personality or past encounters. Usually when Hiei was asked to scour the mind of an unwilling trespasser, he could hear voices, see flashes of scenery, even traces of deep pain or joy. It was common, understandable, for the mind was a multi layered organism capable of brilliant wonders and horrific chaos in one fell swoop. Yet Shimo was blank, and Hiei paused in concern.
Why was he blank?
And yet...
Hiei suddenly felt a strange cool tingling upon his skin, and as though he was sucked into a whirlpool of thought an explosions of light, color, sound, and feeling surrounded him! Flashes of icy terrain ran past, a landscape devoid of life and filled with snow: the Hyouga. A woman screaming, being held back by countless others, an elderly crone upon a cliff with her withered arms outstretched- clutching a bundle.
The bundle was dropped.
Hiei pulled back at once.
He stumbled backward, eyes wide and mouth open as Shimo cowered upon the floor with his hands over his face. Hiei covered up his jagan at once, eager not to be sucked back into Shimo's mind again on accident. As it was covered, the purple light faded as did the voices ringing in Hiei's ears. They'd covered up the shouting around him, and as angry voices finally reached Hiei's brain, he looked around irritated.
"What the heck is wrong with you, man?!" Kuwabara shouted, stumbling forward out of Yusuke's grip and helping Shimo off from the floor. Shimo clung to Kuwabara's meaty arms, looking pale and shaken, "Why have you gotta be such a jerk to everyone?! How could you just invade his mind like that!? Freaking creep!" Kuwabara's honor code and sense of human moral made things like the jagan's influence impossible to convey. He saw only Hiei's cruelty, his constant desire to be in control of the situation. Kuwabara might not understand the jagan's influence, but he was no fool. He knew that the jagan was powerful, that it was dangerous, and seeing Shimo's weakened color and sweating brow tipped the scale. He wiped dried blood from under his nose and fixed Hiei with a furious glare.
"I won't let you treat Yukina's brother like that! She's the love of my life, and her brother is my brother!" Kuwabara snapped.
Hiei did not know how to respond to that, and so he simply turned away with a scowl upon his face. Little did Kuwabara know that he was talking to Yukina's brother, holding an impostor up generously. Hiei did not care to delve into that pool of mixed emotion, knowing that it would only complicate this intense matter more.
He had assumed that Shimo was not from the Hyouga, but the jagan had proved him wrong... and now... Hiei could not conceive what the next logical step forward was.
Yukina was safe, that much Hiei could deduce. Shimo might be a stranger, but he was not an enemy spurred by Toguro, Sensui, Yomi, or any other enemy they might have made in the past. He was simply another frail leaf blowing in a haggard wind, one that Hiei could not contemplate if it meant taking his eyes off his eternal goal of survival.
Hiei did not look at Yukina, could not bear to see her sweet eyes so full of hurt and misunderstanding. He could not be the knight in shining armor that her heart desired. He could not make the world a better place, or help the sun to shine brighter on gloomy days. He could only ensure her safety one day at a time, a poor tribute to the sacrifice their mother had made so many centuries ago.
Hiei could not think of Hina. Not now, when others were near.
He stormed up the steps to the dojo's front door, not caring that the storm continued to rage outside. He needed to think, in private, where he could curse and snarl without others wondering if he'd gone mad. He needed to figure out where he stood, and what Shimo's memory had meant. If another ice maiden had given birth to a male, she had almost certainly given birth to a girl as well. If she'd named the girl Yukina- but there were simply too many coincidences! Surely-!
Hiei looked over his shoulder, his crimson eyes wary as they locked upon Shimo once more. He stood, still supported by Kuwabara's arm, and trembled underneath Hiei's fierce gaze. He was terrified of Hiei now, that much was obvious. Yukina looked exhausted, a hand propped upon her brow to massage her pounding temples. Genkai was just as silent as before, looking slightly disappointed. Kurama and Yusuke watched and waited, both of them too cunning of fighters to assume that the hysteria was overly simply because Hiei was leaving the room. Kurama caught Hiei's eye, trying to read his old companion's expression. Hiei did not know what his face looked like, and could only fathom that it was unreadable, for Kurama looked even more confused that before as Hiei turned away and slipped out the door into the howling wind.
The door shut, and a chorus of voices erupted all at once.
"What the hell is wrong with him?! Why do we keep hanging out with him when he's such a jerk!" Kuwabara snarled, "I ought to beat him to a pulp, that'll teach him to pick on innocent people!"
"Kazuma, control yourself." Kurama urged, stepping forward to observe Shimo closer, "Shimo is not injured he's merely shaken up. Hiei has great control over the jagan, he knows how to wield it properly-"
"Wield it properly?!" Kuwabara demanded, keeping Shimo upright even as he argued, "Look at him!" He nodded to Shimo, "He's as pale as a sheet! You call that wielding it properly!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Yusuke backed Kurama up, stepping behind the red head, and crossing his arms defensively over his chest, "We don't know crap shit about this guy, he could have been working for Yomi or some other nut! The jagan took the guess work out, I don't blame Hiei for using it."
"Don't dress up the facts!" Kuwabara snapped, "You guys are so suspicious of everyone, you'd think a kid walking down the street could be an enemy, and whose this Yomi guy-?!"
"We'll explain another day." Kurama assured Kuwabara, not wanting to open a second can of worms without closing the first one. "Yusuke, you'd best stay here. I'll speak with Hiei."
"What's the point!" Kuwabara snapped, still angry, "He never listens!"
"Oh contrair, Kazuma." Kurama mounted the foyer steps and took the dojo door in hand, "Hiei always listens. He just seldom informs you when." At that, he left, and Kuwabara made a noise between a scowl and a huff.
Hiei was no where to be found, and though the storm was weakening in intensity the wind continue to howl like a banshee. Kurama did not leave the safety of the covered front porch, checking each side of the wrap around before finally deducing that Hiei had fled the temple premises and was undoubtably long gone by now. What he'd seen, Kurama might never know, but it was clear from the shocked look on Hiei's face that it was not what he'd expected to see.
He tied his hair up into a bun, desperate to get relief from the muggy humidity before finally deciding to simply sit on the front stoop and wait for Hiei to return. Kurama had no guarantee that Hiei would even return at all, but he knew that the conflict regarding Shimo lay heavy on Hiei's mind... and Hiei would undoubtably want to question Shimo further.
Shimo... what an odd name, and what an odd boy to boot.
He looked like Yukina, no one could deny that, but he had no demonic energy that Kurama could detect and there was something about the lack of life in his eyes that set Kurama off guard. Anything, even vile discontent, would have been more desirable than... nothing. A sheer lack of emotion, a complete void of desire.
The hours slowly slipped by, and Kurama could hear heated conversation pick up and dwindle down inside the temple. He did not know what Yusuke thought of Shimo, but he was certain that Yusuke would not be taken for a fool even if Hiei was no longer on the rampage. Just because Hiei had not slit Shimo's throat did not necessarily mean that Shimo was harmless. There was something in the way that Hiei had stumbled out the door that made Kurama almost certain that he'd seen something unsettling. But what?
There was a creak upon the floorboards, and Kurama looked over his left shoulder to see Hiei crouched atop the railing of the boardwalk, looking deeply troubled even with his blank expression.
"Hiei!" Kurama murmured, rising up at once much to the relief of his aching backside. "What did you see? You took off so quickly, I didn't know where you went... Hiei?"
Hiei had not acknowledged Kurama's question, merely staring off into space as he fiddled with a blade of grass. Kurama waited pensively, drumming his fingers upon the railing even as Hiei pursed his lips and shook his head.
"You're no fool, Hiei." Kurama urged his silent companion, "Whatever you saw, it can be deduced, if only you'd confide it to me. I cannot help you with what I am not privy to."
"I don't need your help." Hiei snapped, finally speaking up and fixing Kurama with a surly glare. "I need... to think."
"Then think aloud, and share what you saw!" Kurama demanded, "Hiei I am just as concerned with Yukina's safety as you are, and if you saw something that troubled you I am just as eager to know!"
"I don't know what I saw!" Hiei lied, angry and unwilling to tell, "I saw- shit! Nothing! Black fog and specks of light. Nothing that mattered! He was bare like a corpse!"
"I saw the same thing!" Kurama agreed, "His eyes are completely devoid of life! Could he be a..." Kurama paused, unsure of what term would suit him best, "A doll, perhaps?"
"No." Hiei spat, for the memories in Shimo's mind were clear even now when he'd had many hours to cool down, "He had memories-"
"So you did see something!"
Hiei looked ready to commit murder, and Kurama contented himself with a quiet smirk as he waited for Hiei to confess what Kurama had been certain of all along. Hiei was the quiet type, rather cut throat and certainly a loner, but he was not unreadable.
"I saw... something." Hiei finally concluded, and Kurama waited for him to continue on, "I saw what I had seen... before."
"A memory that was familiar to you?" Kurama offered. "Where you in it?"
"... Once." Hiei murmured, falling silent into dour thoughts.
Kurama did not press, sensing that they were straying into dangerous territory. This information trouble Kurama further, and prompted his cunning mind to travel into a new concept. Could it be that someone, whether it was Shimo or another fiend, was using Hiei's memories to make a double? Someone that could easily pass off for Yukina's lost twin? Yet why, and to what end? What was the point of being Hiei, when Hiei had nothing of gain? He was powerful, yes, but there was no way to transfer demonic power from one person to another without massive chaos erupting. If it was Shimo's intent to use Hiei, wouldn't he have tried to kidnap Hiei and force him into submission?
Then again, only a fool would attempt either of these things.
"Hiei, is it possible that Shimo is attempting to use your own memories?" Kurama offered, "Could Shimo have manipulated the jagan to reflect what was already inside you?"
"No." Hiei shook his head, "No... there were certain details missing. Things that had always been there before."
Hiei looked away at this, and there was bitterness upon his face. Whatever memory Hiei had seen, it had not been a pleasant one, and Kurama felt rather sorry for his old friend.
"Then... could it be someone who was also in the memory might have created a false one in the same fashion? But even then, how?" Kurama murmured to himself, "And why?"
Hiei said nothing for a moment, chucking the spent piece of grass back into the brush. The tips of his fingers were now dyed green.
"The people in the memory..." Hiei paused, thinking of the other koorime with great distaste, "I doubt they would know how, would even care. They thought me dead until a hundred years ago."
"All the more reason to kill you again!" Kurama urged, "If they thought you dead but now know otherwise, wouldn't that give them reason to panic?"
"They don't care." Hiei snapped, eager to get off the painful topic, "They don't even know my name!"
"Knowing a man's name is not the only qualification for wanting his murder-"
"Kurama!" Hiei snapped, "Shuttup!"
Kurama fell silent at once, miffed and chided. There was something about being told to 'shuttup' that made him scowl- didn't Hiei understand that he was only trying to help? Then again... Hiei was not eager to be helped most of the time.
"I did not ask for your help, I do not want your help!" Hiei lied, angry at being chastised like a child. Kurama, unknowing of the memory in question and the pain that lingered there, had no idea that he was walking upon egg shells. If he had known, he might have been more tactful and considered that Hiei did not want to relive his youngest moments. As it was, Kurama merely rolled his emerald eyes at Hiei's resistance. It was not uncommon for Hiei to struggle against any type of assistance, but Kurama found it highly annoying in times like these.
"As you wish, but I still don't like this." Kurama murmured, pulling back and turning away. He paced down the boardwalk, taking his time as the wood creaked underfoot, "He knows something Hiei, I'm almost certain of it. If he was able to duplicate a memory similar to your own, then he knows about your past... or at least the part of your past which he duplicated. How long ago was the memory?" Kurama asked, turning around. "My fear still remains that Shimo has somehow confused your jagan. If he can confuse the jagan, what else could he do, and why couldn't I sense it?" Kurama berated himself, "Why when I've always been able to sense things before. Hiei... Do you think that he's managed to confuse your jagan? After all you are the bearer of the burden-"
Kurama turned around, intent on lecturing more, but he was greeted with an empty pocket of air where Hiei had once sat. Kurama was uncertain for how long Hiei had been gone, and though he felt slightly miffed for having been abandoned mid conversation, he knew it was Hiei's way. Hiei had much to do now, of that Kurama was certain.
Kurama thought fleetingly of Shimo's lifeless eyes, unable to shake their unnerving effect. He decided on the spot that while Hiei was away, he would keep a firm eye on the boy and make sure that Yukina would come to no harm. It was a tall order, given that he did not know the nature of his enemy, but it wouldn't be the first time Kurama had walked into battle that way. He could only pray, as he always prayed, that it would be the last.
Hiei knew the way well, but that did not make the way any shorter.
He stopped by Yusuke's abandoned ramen shop, it's door locked for the rest of the night with Yusuke still at Genkai's temple. They were pitiful protection, and Hiei was quick to slip inside without being detected. He would need food for the journey ahead, and he'd rather not stop once he was up to stride with his magnificently fast pace. Instead, he satisfied himself with Yusuke's spared stocks of dried meat, not bothering to write a note explaining himself. Dried meat was a commodity of little concern to him. Yusuke had more problems to worry about now than stolen supplies.
As Hiei left the shop, he felt a still in the storm, and looked up at the massive empty sky to see a few mindless stars staring down at him. They were uncaring, never aware of the suffering on earth below. They were never aware of anything.
Hiei wondered what that felt like.
As the storm above slowly dissipated in strength, Hiei moved off into the night, scaling his pathway down the well beaten rocky slope that outcropped Yusuke's lone ramen shop. They entrance to demon world, well secured now thanks to Hiei's hard work, was easy to detect if one knew what to look for. A slight change in the atmosphere, the hint of blood in the air, and even a thickening of energy was obvious once a demon had been in human world too long. Hiei was a common commuter, never staying in one place for more than a few days at a time, and so as he managed to shove aside the final thicket baring the way to the entrance he had no trouble in making his way down the ever steepening slope to the very bottom of the crag.
It was in this tiny, flat bedded area that a cave entrance could finally be seen.
Far inside the cave, after many twists and turns that so often rooted out human trespassers, Hiei would find the final avenue to demon world- a massive energetically charged ball of bright blue light, the only portal left in existence. It was through this portal that Hiei would begin his long trek... and so he flitted forward, never looking back.
He had a bone to pick with Shigure, master of the jagan craft.