It was a calm fall afternoon when Mukuro and Hiei finally made to prepare for their leave. Shigure's hut was beginning to feel a little too familiar, and the pair of them were practically stir crazy for a breath of fresh air. They were not 'home bodied' people. They needed to roam, and to taste blood in their mouths. Shigure, for all his macabre joking, was simply too mundane for their heathonistic style. Still, despite it all, he had been a very loyal worker. He had saved Hiei's life without promise of pay. He had given them shelter without asking for equal exchange in gold or jewels. Mukuro would not forget the humane gesture, and as both she and Hiei finished putting away all signs of their presence, Mukuro managed to sneak Shigure away for a private word.
It was all to be worked out. She would give him a bonus for his troubles, and a raise for his loyalty. However, she would also double his work load, and he had to return to work in less than a weeks time of the date. Shigure, miffed and yet pleased, was stuck with a look of indignation that couldn't be produced twice. It was with a light heart but heavy feet that Shigure reluctantly and yet happily agreed to the switch. Satisfied, Mukuro knew that the only thing was to set out for human world post haste. Two weeks had passed since the surgery. Kurama no doubt had only just arrived in human world. Hiei and Mukuro were much faster than the sly fox... they could beat his time by a week.
Hiei was practically itching to slaughter something, his hand on the hilt of his sword even though they were only on the threshold of Shigure's hut. The sky above them was a soft blood orange, and a few lines of demonic crows migrated through the sky. Storms rumbled far off (common yet fleeting) and all around them, animals in the brush were getting ready to tuck in for the night.
"Well." Shigure paused, looking Hiei up and down, "I suppose this is it."
"Sentimental, Shigure?" Hiei sneered, releasing his hilt only to cross his arms over his chest.
"Sentimental?" Shigure repeated with a snort, "I'm fucking overjoyed. Get off of my doorstep you fatherless bastard. Don't come back till you get a fresher attitude for someone whose given you the gift of the jagan twice now. I won't be doing it a third time." Shigure warned. HIei rolled his eyes.
"Thank you." Mukuro spoke up, and the term was unfamiliar upon her dry lips. "Do not disappoint me, Shigure. My faith in you will not remain if you slack off."
Shigure merely shrugged his massive shoulders, looking off into the sunset.
"Sure you won't stay until morning?" He wondered aloud, "It'd save you a night in a cave at least."
Hiei stepped off the stoop, heading straight for the woods with such a determined stride that Mukuro had to follow hastily in order to keep up. Shigure, left without an answer, was left silent in his front door. He watched them go, marveling at how strong Hiei's gait was even though only two weeks ago he'd been unable to feed himself. Thus was the wonder of medicine, that men on the deaths door could be brought back to life... and how fast they ran back into the light.
This, in truth, beyond the blood and puss, was why Shigure wanted to be a doctor.
To watch them run away, eager to get back to normal, and inwardly grateful for him.
"Run." Shigure murmured, "As fast as you can. There be monsters out there..."
A bitter wind suddenly blew through the clearing of his home, and Shigure quickly closed the door. He would not be the fool left out in the cold.
They started off walking but ended up running. As Hiei and Mukuro reveled in the freedom of being alive for the first time in two weeks, they could not help themselves. They felt like children, able to taste the beauty of the world without having to put medicine under their tongue first- and oh how wonderful life was... oh how wonderful indeed.
The blood red of the sky was quickly fading to a dark crimson that would persist through the night. Even though a light spray of rain came from the sky, they did not halt in their pursuit of the northern demon world plains. For there, right in the hub of activity, the portal to human world lay waiting. It was their destination... and they would not stop.
Because they could not stop.
Side by side, Mukuro's legs hummed with the fire of passion and drive as Hiei tore across the field. Though neither of them were aware, both of them were grinning like maniacs as their hair rippled in the fierce wind and their clothing became soaked to the skin. What a change it was... to see him free and proud like a stag cantering through his hallowed woods. After seeing him so broken on Shigure's bed, after hearing him scream with unimaginable pain, it gave Mukuro new strength to see him smiling- to see him independent and happy once more. This was what she longed for most, even as her shoes became muddy from the prowl and her pants leg tore on a vine. This was what kept her alive- what kept her determined to find more in life... to run with him through the only world of their birth. To run with him through the Forest of Fools, where only the brave and resilient rose above the lower masses.
This forest was where they'd made their first mark on demon life. This forest was where they were happiest.
Night fell swiftly. They did not stop running till dawn came creeping over the hills and by then they were a good one hundred miles away from Shigure's old hut.
Deciding to sleep for a while in order to avoid being spotted by demons on the prowl for a meal, Hiei and Mukuro took shelter in an angular cave that had a deep belly. Content to lay in the dark and quiet the pair of them lay side by side against the rock, doing little more than letting their feet rest and closing their eyes. They might sleep, they might now. Either way, by noon they would be up and running again, no questions asked.
"How's your head?" Mukuro spoke up after about an hour of silence. Hiei shrugged.
"Fine." He grunted. "Shuttup. I'm sleeping."
"Liar." Mukuro grinned. "You don't sleep till you hold your sword."
Hiei opened his eyes with a cynical and irritated expression. Indeed, Mukuro had pinned him well for his sword lay untouched at his side. Mukuro grinned again as Hiei yanked his sword out of his belt and hugged it tight to his chest.
"Shut the fuck up." Hiei growled, "And go to sleep."
And so she relaxed into the wall, a dreamy smile growing upon her face as Hiei let out a small yawn and re-tucked his bandages behind one of his pointed ears. As his hand fell, it came to rest atop her thigh. Mukuro melted into the sensation of his familiar warmth, and the muscles in her aching legs slowly began to unclench.
His hand was close... tantalizingly close... and perhaps it was simply her having been cooped up for so long but she could not contain her imagination from reveling in the idea of putting her hand atop his own.
The act of stroking those digits, as sensual and sweet to savor as the act of sex itself.
She heard Hiei roll his head, and she opened her eyes to find that he was staring at her with a mixed expression of curiosity and incredulity.
He took his hand, which had lain upon her thigh, and tenderly plucked up her own hand which lay tucked into the crook of her metal elbow for warmth. Her one biological hand was smaller than her robotic one, too feminine for her liking, but in Hiei's grip Mukuro suddenly felt empowered.
Not that she needed him to feel empowered... but still.
Her heart suddenly began to race, though it was hard for her to fathom why. As Hiei looked at each of her fingers in turn, he noted that her thumb had a blister upon its knuckle.
He touched it, and from deep within his core his energy transmitted itself to Mukuro's finger, diminishing the little blister till it vanished completely.
Mukuro shivered.
Hiei spread his fingers upon her own, palm to palm so that their hands measured up against one another- they were perfectly matched. Though his own lengths might have been more squared at the ends, and broader in the base, they were still the same length as Mukuro's ovular tips. Mukuro, nervous and yet determined, spread her fingers even wider, and laced them between Hiei's own.
They stared at one another.
As Hiei leaned back against the wall once more, his eyes never left Mukuro's face. She relaxed too, her gaze locked upon his own, and their hands remained connected between their two bodies.
The minutes slipped by, and soon half an hour had passed. Hiei's eyes slowly began to close. Mukuro's eyes ere barely open at all.
Unsure of who was the first to do so, they both drifted off to sleep.
They awoke near noon in a compromising position, entwined around one another though they'd fallen asleep only holding hands. Hiei, the first to wake up, groaned as he realized he'd slept the wrong way on his forehead so now his jagan was pulsing with pain. Sitting up, he winced as he reached up to touch his gauze... it was wet. As he brought down his hand, he saw red on the tips of his fingers. Blood. Damnit.
"Mukuro." Hiei snapped, shaking her on the shoulder to rouse her up. She grumbled in her sleep, opening her eyes to see Hiei unwrapping the gauze around her forehead. "Fresh gauze." was all Hiei said, but it was more than enough to explain the situation. Suddenly alert, Mukuro immediately sat up and reached for her shoulder pack which Shigure had stuffed with supplies for their travel. As Hiei incinerated the bloody gauze upon the floor of the damp cave floor, Mukuro tossed him a fresh roll of clean white gauze. In the fires light, she checked his forehead to discover that the blood was only minor... Nothing but slight pressure; not to be worried about. Taking a sigh of relief, Mukuro applied a topical ointment to the edges of the jagan where a pinkish redness gave signs of infection. Hiei hissed at the touch, batting her hand away angrily. He even scooted further away across the cave floor, determined not to be coddled.
"What?" Mukuro snapped, "Stop being a fucking baby. You need to keep an ointment on the edges. The last thing you want to do is have to go back to Shigure, right?"
"Leave me alone-"
"Right?!"
Hiei scowled, giving her a dirty look.
"I do not need your mothering." Hiei snapped, "Now fuck off and do something useful, woman."
Irritated beyond belief, Mukuro rose up to give Hiei a rude hand gesture.
"Sometimes I don't know why I bother with you." Mukuro sneered, climbing up out of the angular cave. "I'm going hunting."
"Good!" Hiei snapped at her retreating back, "I'll be happy to see the back of you!"
"You'll be lucky to see any of me!" Mukuro snarled in retort, leaving the cave in huff. She was gone in seconds, leaving only a scattering of pebbles in her wake so that Hiei was alone in an instant for the first time in over two weeks.
Hiei, mean and surly as always, merely turned his back on the entrance of the cave and wrapped his jagan with fresh gauze. Outside, the warm afternoon wind blew into the cave, and a few leaves were carried on the breeze. Their cover would not protect them much longer. They needed to find a new cave, and quickly.
Women. The whole lot of them. Utterly ridiculous, ever flighty, whiney and impetulant. Always wanting to touch, always wanting to talk- was there ever a moment when Mukuro did neither? Hiei grimaced, noting that the blood on his gauze was still a heavy smell in the air. He would have to move soon, or risk being exposed-
"Yargh!"
Out of nowhere, Hiei was grabbed from behind by someone with extremely sharp claws, and teeth gnashed into his shoulder in a flurry of blood and pain!
Hiei crashed into the cave wall, his semi-exposed Jagan jarred by the impact as he managed to gain firm ground and back kick his attacker. A squeal, similar to that of a rodent, bounced on the cave, and Hiei spun around on his backside to see that he was being pursued by a low class demon, a rat spirit who had undoubtably been drawn in by the smell of blood carried on the wind. Angry and violent, Hiei did not even waste time to grab his sword which lay discarded at his side. He wanted to tear into the beast with both his hands! He wanted to murder the rat, to feel its warm blood hot between his teeth!
Hiei lunged, slamming into the rat with such force that the beast was knocked flat over onto its back. It howled, screeching for help even as Hiei bared his own set of sharp fangs and ripped into the rat's throat!
Blood gushed everywhere, pouring into Hiei's mouth like a macabre fountain so that his front was drenched in crimson. The rat, unable to gain breath drowned in its own fluids, and Hiei feasted with gory delight upon his new breakfast. Gruel and pathetic soup from Shigure's kitchen had been weak without true nutrition that a demon needed to thrive. His blood lust, normally satisfied from daily excursions with small birds, rats, and snakes, had been so deprived that now with a fat rat before him he could hardly control himself. He gorged on the flesh, threads of meat dangling from his chin as his pupils dilated. Yes! This was what he needed, this was what he lived for!
A shadow was cast upon the floor where he feasted, and Hiei looked up from his meal to see Mukuro holding three dead birds by their necks. She stared at him, slightly grossed out by his... meal...
"... Men." Mukuro grimaced, her lip curling with disgust as she turned away to sit down on the cave floor. Tearing out chunks of greasy feathers with her bare hands, Mukuro feasted on the pulpy flesh of the birds breast while avoiding looking at Hiei.
Hiei, slightly sobered by Mukuro's presence, sat up and wiped his chin.
"It foolishly attacked me." Hiei explained, but his words fell on deaf fears as Mukuro crunched through the bird's bones. He paused, looking about as he attempted to rub his sticky fingers upon his pants.
"I'm going to find a river." Hiei grumbled.
"You need one." Mukuro sneered.
"Shuttup bitch!" Hiei retorted, but it was without malice. As he left the cave for the first time on his own, Hiei peered about curiously. Mukuro had chosen an excellent spot last night, for they were well above the forest floor which lay about eighty feet below. It gave him an excellent birds eye view to search for streams, yet he came up with none. Determined, Hiei looked up to see the summit of the mountain was smoking. Yet the furls were white with steam... not black with kindling. Where there was steam, there was water, and Hiei was downright curious to find out what was at the mountain's peak. Beginning to climb, the noon wind blew about his face and carried the scent of sweat and blood upon its limbs. Dirt bit underneath his fingernails, his knees and toes scraped against the hard bedrock. Exhilarated, Hiei climbed faster, and could not resist the maniacal grin that spread across his bloodied face. After only a few minutes of climbing, he finally reached the top, and hoisted himself up by the arms to find a hot spring! What an incredible streak of luck, for hot springs were rare in the forest of fools which was simply too full of foliage for the bare rock needed. A few low class demons were frolicking in the shallow pools but upon seeing Hiei with blood all over his front and an evil grin about his face the group promptly screamed and scattered. A few of them even jumped over the mountains side, desperate to get away from what they supposed was a merciless killer.
They weren't far from the mark, but Hiei did have standards after all. Some demons simply weren't worth his time.
Like a child to play, Hiei flung himself into the water- and how glorious it felt. Hot and soothing, his aching muscles relaxed at once as all the blood upon his clothes washed away. Pulling off each article, Hiei stood nude in the hot spring which came up to his mid thigh, washing his clothes upon the rough rock edge as he splashed water all over his face and arms.
He stood, proud and tall, unashamed of his nakedness as he looked up to the sky where a fat sun gleamed down warm upon his shoulders and chest. He took a deep breath, letting the steam fill his nostrils as he washed his clothes again just for cleanliness sake. Wringing out his clothes so that dirty brown and red stains slipped through his fingers, Hiei laid they out over a higher rock summit which was free save for a few crows that preened their feathers and guarded tiny nests. They squawked at Hiei, but he let them be. They were different than demons who demanded things and kept greed in their heart. They were simply birds, and they even reminded him of Yukina in some context. After all... she adored anything with feathers.
A crow, slightly playful, waited until Hiei's back was turned to tug at a lock of his black and white hair. Irritated, HIei spun around and almost managed to grab the bird by its tail. The crow hopped away just in the nick of time, cawing with delight as Hiei's nostrils flared.
"Fuck you, don't think I won't roast you alive!" Hiei snarled at the bird. The bird simply cawed again, flapping its wings and clicking its long black beak.
"I would have thought the rat demon had filled your stomach, or are you really as gluttonous as you claim?"
Mukuro's voice floated loftily upon the air, and Hiei's irritation for the crow faded away like the steam rising up into the cool sky. He looked around, and there she was, watching him with barely hidden awe as he stood proudly nude before her.
"Can't stay by yourself for two seconds?" Hiei sneered, "Feeling lonely?"
"A demon broke his neck in a fall outside of the cave entrance." Mukuro explained, "I heard the screaming and thought I'd come investigate."
Hiei let his fingers trail in the warm water, looking across the small summit pond to where Mukuro stood on the ledge.
"Lucky for us." Hiei mused. "A hot spring, right above the cave."
"Very lucky." Mukuro agreed quietly. She stared at the water, slightly tense, but as her eyes slid to Hiei's form her mind seemed to wander from stress to other avenues of thought.
"Get in." Hiei grumbled, his normal irritation tick coming back once more. "Or are you scared of the water."
"I fear nothing." Mukuro rolled her eyes, yet she still did not step into the hot spring.
"Then what?" Hiei snapped.
Mukuro looked away, and it was then that Hiei saw the crimson glow upon her cheeks.
Her senses were heightened. The blood, the hot spring, the two weeks being pinned in... all of it added up to make her a coiled wreath ready to explode.
Hiei looked down at his naked body, certain that the image of his manhood wasn't helping matters. Still, he would be nude as he pleased, and Mukuro ought to take chance of the hot spring while it was presented to them.
He moved forward in the water, and the sound of his body sloshing against the waves made Mukuro shiver. Taking her bionic hand, Hiei finally reached to pull her in. She did not resist his tug, and so came to step into the hot waves. She made a small noise of relaxation underneath her breath as her pants and shoes became soaked with the mineral water.
She still refused to look at him, perhaps trying to prove her self control, but Hiei was never a man to control his passions, and so he ran a finger up her spine where acid eroded skin met supple flesh. She shivered.
With her back pressed to his front, Hiei took his time in fingering the worn out edges of her purple vest. It was aged and needed to be replaced, but neither of them cared for the errand. As he let his fingers slip underneath her white shirt, he rubbed her bare hips with the leathery pads on the tips of his digits. She let out a shaky breath.
"What?" Hiei grumbled, "What are you tense about? We're out of the fucking hut, we're free to do as we please... we've a good fight and kill to look forward to. What has you upset."
"I'm not upset." Mukuro snapped, "I'm cold."
"Oh." Hiei murmured, a sly grin spreading across his face that Mukuro was not privvy to see. "... I see..."
In one quick move, he grabbed her tight with his present hold, and shoved her hard down into the steaming spring water. Mukuro shrieked, angry beyond belief as she kicked and floundered in an attempt to lash out at Hiei. Hiei swam away, laughing as he broke through the surface of the water.
"Stupid woman!" Hiei sneered, "Never let your enemy get that close!"
"Enemy?!" Mukuro spat, stomping through the water now soaked to the skin from head to toe, "You are not nearly lucky enough- not nearly strong enough- to be declared something so personal to me!"
Hiei picked up a small boulder and chucked it at her. She blasted it apart with a simple release of energy, and a few of the crows scattered angrily.
"I fucking hate you!" Mukuro continued, "I hate everything about you! I hate the way you talk! I hate the way you smell! I hate the way you make everything so goddamn complicated!" Mukuro lunged in the water, but the sub gravity made her body heavier so that instead of crashing into Hiei, she simply crashed back into the hot spring. Grabbing her by the back of her shirt, Hiei hoisted her up so the she was stuck in his hold once more. She thrashed angrily, unable to get away, and in an attempt to draw blood smashed her head into Hiei's nose with a hard strike! He snarled, but did not let go as blood poured down his face and chin once more. Grabbing Mukuro with a renewed vigor, Hiei shoved her hard into one of the large boulders where his clothes lay. Now she was trapped between the rock and him. Unable to escape, she tried butting him in the nose again, but Hiei managed to dodge the blow.
What he did not intend was catching the blow with his lips.
Skin met skin, as the strike turned into a kiss without either of them intending for it to. Mukuro, still breathing heavily, broke the contact only to regain her sense of center as she stared into Hiei's eyes.
She'd broken his nose. Again. How many did that make the number?
Blood was upon his lips, and Hiei reached out to lick it with his tongue.
The act stirred something animalistic inside of Mukuro.
She leaned forward, this time with strength of her own, and as her lips captured his for the second time, they did not pull apart again.
Night fell, and Hiei was irritated once more.
Really, if a day came and passed when he wasn't irritated at some point, it would be a miracle of godly proportions. Yet after their afternoon excursion, Hiei and Mukuro had not made the progress they'd expected. Their bellies were full, their lusts were sated, and their legs were ready for a second pounding as the sky above turned from hot pink to darkest crimson. Hiei was dressed once more, clean and free of the stench of blood. His jagan was once again wrapped in clean gauze (though Mukuro had had to bribe him in order to get him to put on the ointment). As the pair of them stood at the mouth of the cave, Hiei took a deep sigh and looked to the North.
"We wasted time." He muttered.
Mukuro raised an eyebrow, catching him out of the corner of her eye, "Are you complaining?" She murmured, her tone insinuating more.
"No." He shook his head, "We just wasted time."
Mukuro unfortunately had to agree.
"We'll cover double ground tonight. No stopping, no resting." Hiei decided. "We won't sleep again till we reach Devil's Peak by the Northern Shore. From there it will only be two more days journey to the portal. Think you can handle that?" He added saucily. Mukuro silently flicked him off, and without another word leapt down the mountain.
Night was a special time in Demon World, in which the normal everyday cycle of murder, rape, pillaging, and burning was put on hold for the exhausted victors and the dying losers to sleep. As they sped through the forest the smell of blood, smoke, sex, and boiling meat filled the air. It made their heads spin, and so they took to higher ground through the canopy of thickening trees in order to avoid the low life on the ground.
They crossed from one territory to the next, hardly touched by passers by save for a few thieves that unwisely made the choice to attack them; their corpses fell to the earth in a bloody wave. Hiei and Mukuro managed to make it out of the southern ridge by the rise of the morning sun. Their legs were burning, their blood was pumping, but on they ran- two flashes of color and sound in an otherwise meaningless world.
A day came and went, with neither of them stopping for food or drink. By the time that the sun set for a second time, they were twice as far along as they imagined they would be, and Hiei was ready to throw up. How they'd managed to make it to Devils Peak in a days time, Hiei would never know, but did know that if he didn't sit down soon, he was going to fall down. Hard.
The terrain had changed from sweaty swamp to cool forest, and as Hiei finally stopped running to rest against a tree, he tumbled over to lay down on his side. He took deep rattling breathes, exhausted to the point of mind numbing delirium. Mukuro was right behind him, falling to her knees and dripping in cold sweat.
"Fuck." Hiei panted, his eyes fluttering closed, "Fuck-hate-fuck."
He'd run so hard for so long that he'd given himself a mild version of turrets.
Mukuro on the other hand was so winded that she simply couldn't speak. Yet both of them were now in prime positions for being attacked. Open and exposed, Hiei knew that they had to get under cover immediately in order to avoid being found by stronger demons. Even a lower class demon could pose a slight threat now since both of them were exhausted. After all, they'd travelled over three hundred miles in less than fifteen hours.
With all his final strength, Hiei lifted himself up on his forearms to look about for shelter. He could find none, yet an interesting decline in the ground about a hundred yards away looked promising. Perhaps if they went to lower ground, they could find a cave.
"Come-on-" Hiei grunted, crawling on his stomach to avoid moving his pulsing legs. Mukuro groaned, desperate to lay still, but Hiei grabbed her arm and forced her to move along. They staggered, half crawling half walking, to the very edge of the decline beyond which lay deep shrubbery full of thorns. Inside, there would be good cover, and possible a vacant burrow or two.
"No." Mukuro panted, "No-thorns-"
"Fuck it!" Hiei grunted, leaning over the decline and tumbling down the cliff! Mukuro, still attached to him by the arm, went right after him with an ungodly scream! They fell over one another, ass to elbows in a torrent of dirt, thorns, brush, and pebbles, till they broke through the deep shrubbery to become lost in the high tangle of thick vines. The dirt was cool, the cover was complete, and the pair of them were intertwined among brambles.
Content with their camouflage, Hiei closed his eyes... and fell almost instantly to sleep.
When Hiei next awoke, it was early morning and birds were directly above his head.
Morning dew was everywhere, and in the soft pale light the birds drank from the little droplets clinging to the thorns and vines. They bathed, stretching their wings and preening their chests... all of them perfectly unaware of the pair beneath their perch.
Hiei groaned, and a few of the birds fluttered away in fear.
Swallowing around his thick tongue, Hiei turned his head left and right to see that Mukuro had her head on his chest and was sound asleep. Oddly enough, he did not have the heart to wake her... he lay there perfectly content to let the time pass. The birds slowly returned, and as they began to warble Mukuro winced. They were waking her.
Reaching up, Hiei thumped the brush with his fist, and all the birds scattered in an instant so that quiet fell again. Mukuro's face relaxed, and so she returned to peaceful dozing.
They would travel at a normal pace from here on out. It would take only about a day or two to make it to the border. Once there...well... life would take a different pace.
Hiei could not stop himself from wondering what would happen when the two sides of his life merged into one universe. In Human World, Hiei was the visitor who seldom spoke and seldom stayed. He ate with his teammates, he slept in their residence, he watched them interact, and then he returned to Demon World. In Demon World, Hiei was the visitor who spoke his mind often and acted an ass to the woman he loved. He drank blood from his enemies throats, lounged about in trees and caves, fought viciously till sex came in the heated aftermath, and then returned to Human World.
What would happen when the time to speak and the time to stay silent merged.
"You're thinking." Mukuro murmured, not even having to open her eyes to know. She groaned, stretching and moving her head from his chest to his shoulder where she slung her one good arm across his breast. She stroked his collarbone. "Are you thinking about Shimo?"
"No." Hiei admitted. "I'm thinking about tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Mukuro proposed, letting the world roll across her tongue as if it were exotic, "Tomorrow will be what it will be. What's the point of thinking about it."
"Because tomorrow my life in human world and my life in demon world will merge."
Mukuro opened her one good eye, and the violet iris was a reflection of all things pure and simple in the world... of all things merciless and downright evil.
He loved that eye. He could stare at it forever... or punch it. Either way.
"Are you nervous." Mukuro murmured softly. Hiei shrugged, unsure of what to say.
"... What can I do?" Mukuro asked. "To help."
"I don't know." Hiei admitted, "Everything will be difficult to prepare for. I'm worried of what you'll think.. of what you'll say. Human World is not like Demon World. Demon World is about surviving. Human World is about... living."
Hiei paused.
"People have societal rules. People obey laws and listen to officials for orders. People go to school and work... without ever once questioning what else is out there beyond the border of the city. You'd think it would fucking vile." Hiei rolled his eyes, "But then..."
"Then?" Mukuro murmured.
Hiei swallowed again, looking out through the brush to see the morning sun slowly climbing into the sky.
"Then they get to have holidays with family. Then they have days where they can relax... and they go to movies or art festivals... they walk their dogs in the park... they do the washing, and cook family dinners, and catch up on personal lives. They play with their children and get to live... All without slaughter or blood."
Mukuro said nothing, and for a moment Hiei thought that his words had sunk in. Yet just when he'd imagined that Mukuro fully understood his thought pattern, she lifted her head up to stare at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
"... What the fuck is a movie?" Mukuro asked.
Hiei groaned, rolling his eyes.
As planned, it took them only a day and a half to reach the portal to human world. Hiei was rather proud of himself, having taken only four days to do what took Kurama two weeks. His legs were aching but Hiei still could not wipe the triumphant grin off his face. Still, the speed had come with a cost, and though they'd bathed in a hot spring only two days before, both Hiei and Mukuro smelt foul with sweat, dirt, mud, blood, urine, and grease. A river lay only a mile away from the portal, and so on the night they were to enter Hiei and Mukuro bathed together.
The brush overhanging the stream was full of sweet smelling flowers that normally would have given Hiei a migraine. Yet he was far too preoccupied with the prospect of what the end of the night would bring to take notice, and so as he bathed he could not help but frown. Mukuro on the other hand looked untroubled as she washed her acid drenched side with tender care.
"You look pensive." She spoke up.
"I'm just thinking." Hiei admitted, ducking his head under into the water to wash the grease out of his hair. As he came up for air, Mukuro was waiting for him with a smile.
"Still worried?" She asked, taking her clothes and scrubbing them in the stream.
"I-" Hiei was still too distracted, almost too distracted to speak, and so Mukuro was left on pins waiting for Hiei to finish a sentence he'd already forgotten.
"Hiei?"
"What?" Hiei snapped, growing slightly agitated. "What? What? What do you want now? You're always talking! You're always asking questions! Has it ever occurred to you that I don't know shit!? Shit!" Hiei seethed, taking deep breathes.
Mukuro held down a laugh, grinning from ear to ear.
"You really are pensive." She snorted. "What am I to do with you."
"Leave me to die!" Hiei sneered sarcastically, "Because without your guidance god only knows I'd be a tragic waste of life without direction!"
Mukuro didn't bat an eyelash, raising a hand to smack him hard over the back of the head so that he guffawed without meaning to. Rubbing his head angrily, he couldn't help but admit that her little thwack had served its purpose. He did feel slightly better... slightly.
"Nothing is going to change." Mukuro assured him, finishing her washing and stepping out of the stream, "Just the scenery. Nothing more."
Hiei could not help but disagree.
As they completed their bath, they returned to the portal with a casual pace. The sun was setting, and the last of its hot rays warmed their bodies so that by the time they reached the massive circular hole guarded by Mukuro's own men they were dry once more. The men looked downright delighted to see their boss again, scurrying about like mongrels as they attempted to look 'busy'. Hiei knew for a fact that the lazy bastards had probably done nothing all day save for sit on their asses and drink beer. Still, it was nice to have some familiarity.
Nose was there, as usual, and as Hiei approached the portal to stroke it's metallic outer ring, Nose spoke up with hesitant reproach.
"Master Hiei!" Nose's voice was practically a squeak, "You look well!"
"Did you expect me not to?" Hiei sneered. Mukuro, only a foot or so away, smiled a little at this as she signed a few various forms that soldiers thrust at her. They caught each others eyes.
"Clear the area." Mukuro ordered in a loud voice. "Return to the centipede and await orders from Kirin. Tell him you have seen me here."
"Is your presence expected in human world m'lord?" Nose asked, a little too curious for his own good. Hiei almost aimed a kick at the midget before Mukuro titled her head and gave Nose a warning glare.
"That is none of your concern." Mukuro's tone was icy, "Report to Kirin at the fortress. At once."
Nose looked deflated, his shoulders sagging as he scooted past Hiei and Mukuro with slight fear of their irritation. As the soldiers dispersed in groups, Hiei watched them go with narrowed eyes. They feared him and he knew it. None of them would meet his eyes, too frightened of what they would find when they looked into his face. They wanted nothing to do with him- only to obey him and get out of his way.
Which suited him just fine.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, all the guards were gone and the pair of them were left alone to their own devices.
"Well." Mukuro turned her back on the direction in which her soldiers had retreated, "Shall we?" She strode forward, walking up the metal stairs which lead to the portal's swirling face. Blue, green, and white light crashed like ocean waves upon one another. The magic, the energy, the spiritual power of the portal cast strange feelings of understanding upon the pair of them, and as the light became the only source of warmth with nights coming edge... Hiei and Mukuro stood before the portal not saying a word.
"... You said nothing would change." Hiei spoke up quietly, "But once we step through here, everything does. Everything." He repeated for emphasis. "The rules, the standards, the goals, the threats and dangers... all of it changes Mukuro. You may not know it yet but I do."
"Then I'll follow your lead." Mukuro agreed. "Though you still work for me. Don't forget that."
Despite her rude words, her hand sought his own. They clasped hands, and, with one last breath of familiar demon air, stepped forward.
The light swallowed them at once.
The plan was simple, really. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yukina, and Keiko, all had decided to take shifts at Yusuke's ramen stand until Hiei returned. Kurama was a constant presence, staying regardless of whether the team happened to be Kuwabara and Yukina or Yusuke and Keiko. The tip jar grew heavy only to be emptied, and as the money kept coming in from hungry customers Keiko began to plan the dream wedding she'd waited for since she was a little girl.
It was a cool Saturday night, and Kurama had been back in human world for five days. He wondered if Hiei was on his way yet, or if he was still in Shigure's hut recovering from the operation. Kurama wondered how the operation had gone, and if Hiei was well... or had... the worst-?
Kurama shook his head violently. He would not go there.
Not even in his thoughts.
"you alright man?"
Kurama looked up to see Kuwabara staring back at him. Tonight, Kuwabara and Yukina had taken the team charge, and as they closed up shop waiting for five A.M. to roll around the pair looked very tired indeed. Yukina was wiping up tables, and had taken the liberty of finding a few mixed vases to put small flowers in. They accented the shop nicely, and even gave it a homey touch. Her sweet replies to customers and fast service had gotten her handsome tips, and as Kuwabara counted the amount out Kurama sat at the bar with a half empty cup of sake in his hands.
"I'm fine." Kurama assured his friend. "Just wondering when Hiei will return."
"...Hiei..." Yukina murmured the name, and both men looked around to where she stood absent mindedly. She looked out the shop door into the darkened streets.
"I wonder what he will think when we tell him all that has occurred." Yukina spoke up again, "What will he say when he finds out that Shimo is not my brother. I fear that his temper will get him into trouble again. He can be very hot headed, can't he."
Kuwabara gave Yukina a tender smile at this.
"Yeah but he means well." Kuwabara offered, " I think he's got a short temper cause he's a midget." He joked.
"He's not a midget." Kurama muttered, chucking a crumpled up napkin at Kuwabara's face. Kuwabara caught it mid air, and both men held in chuckles as Kuwabara tossed the napkin into the trash can.
Yukina said nothing to this little quip, still staring out the door.
"... You okay, babe?" Kuwabara murmured. Yukina finally turned around, and there was a somber smile on her face.
"Tired." She whispered. There were many meanings to her word.
"Here." Kuwabara patted the bar, "I got a treat for you."
"A treat?" Yukina asked, amused and perplexed. She took the seat next to Kurama at the bar, and Kurama tossed back the rest of his sake as Kuwabara did something out of sight behind the bar.
"Some sweet hearts-" Kuwabara brought up a plate of frozen sweet mochi all in the shape of hearts, "For my sweet heart."
He put the plate in front of Yukina with the cheesiest smile a man could possess. Yukina blushed, a sweet smile of her own spreading from ear to ear.
"Thank you Kazuma." Yukina met his eyes, "I do not know what I would do without you. You are my confident in this terribly confusing world. I do believe I was meant to know you... if only to preserve my sanity."
Kuwabara blushed bright red.
"I... uh... I..." Kuwabara could have issued steam from his ears, and looked down at his feet. "I gotta... take out the ... trash."
He grabbed the trash can, which wasn't even full, and bagged it quickly to avoid looking at Yukina. She just smiled even wider and ate a mochi fondly.
Kurama watched the interaction, very amused.
As Kuwabara shouldered the trash bag, Kurama slipped off the bar stool to follow him out into the night air. It was a two man job, seeing that one had to carry the trash and another had to open the huge garbage lid. Yukina followed them, taking a mochi with her as she leaned against the door frame. Kuwabara and Kurama dumped the trash, and as the lid crashed closed a great sound rocketed through the air like a train rushing past.
... It was rather too loud for a trash can lid.
"... You hear somethin'?" Kuwabara spoke up, looking to Kurama for an answer.
Kurama and Yukina listened intently, and Kurama's heart skipped a beat as he heard a tell tale sign of rushing wind. Gasping aloud, Kurama looked around at once to meet Kuwabara's eyes.
Kuwabara stared back, neither of them speaking in plain shock. Could it be-? Was it really-?
Yukina bit her lip pensively.
"Stay here." Kuwabara urged Yukina, running around the counter to dash out of the shop like a mad man. Kurama patted Yukina on the shoulder for comforts sake as he left her side, following right after Kuwabara. The pair of them ran across the street which was empty of cars at such a late hour, and as they reached the steep brush on the other side, they could see glimmers of bright blue and green light.
"The portal!" Kurama looked to Kuwabara once more, and this time a smile was growing on his face. "It could be him, Kazuma!"
"Or some other creep!" Kuwabara warned, still on edge. "How do we know it's him?"
"We don't." Kurama admitted.
They waited in the following silence... and the blue green light vanished to be replaced by cool darkness once more.
A soft wind blew through the street... above them, the night stars glimmered down with gentle understanding.
They waited, impatiently and nervously.
A crunching of leaves underfoot.
The sound of multiple feet.
Kurama's heart was pounding, his hands were sweating, and as he looked to Kuwabara he saw his friends usually dark complexion turning pale from nerves. This, undoubtably, had been a moment Kuwabara had thought on for days now... ever since finding out Hiei's true identity. How would Kuwabara react? How would Hiei react?
The footfalls stopped, and suddenly a large patch of brush nearby was pulled aside by hands from the other end.
Two figures stepped through...
... And there he was.
Kurama let a breath of immediate relief, feeling like a hundred years had been lifted off his chest as he gazed upon a normal and healthy looking Hiei. Shigure had done a magnificent job, recreating the jagan which was now bandaged up on his forehead once more. Yet he was not alone, and as Hiei looked to Kurama and Kuwabara with slight surprise, his eyes were not the only ones gazing on them.
She had come.