Disclaimer: All fandom-based and real-life entities, including other art and literary works mentioned in this piece do not belong to the author with the exception of original characters, plot, and subplots. The views and opinions of the characters do not necessarily reflect that of the author.

Zwischenzug

by four-eyed 0-0

Part I

"For he who fights and runs away
May live to fight another day;
But he who is in battle slain
Can never rise and fight again."

– Oliver Goldsmith, The Art of Poetry on a New Plan

o-o

Oblivious

"Ugh."

She lifted the helmet off her as she considered again the damage the rear of her bike had suffered. The license plate was dented, dangling off one of the hinges while the taillight was cracked down the middle. It would definitely need replacing, but as it would expire in July and she wouldn't be able to drive for who knows long, there wasn't really a need to worry herself bald.

She tugged the metal plate off with her good hand, testing how it held. It didn't even screech as she pulled. Groaning as she realized that she wouldn't be able to yank it off without injuring her left hand further as she couldn't do it singlehandedly (no pun intended) and settled for leaving it for later.

Tired and aching, she retrieved her handbag from the seat compartment and trudged up the pavement to the outdoor lifts. She jabbed at the call button, blowing off her eyes a lock of hair that escaped from her small bun and wiping her face with her sleeve. The lifts seemed to take forever, and she sang her hallelujahs when the doors finally opened and another tenant stepped out of it.

"Good morning," said the man automatically as they passed each other.

"Morning," she replied in a low voice, not bothering to look up as she pressed the button for her floor and for the doors to close. More than the fact that she looked like the skunk took aim at her face, she didn't know the man, and she was not in the mood for pleasantries when her arm was hurting like a jackhammer had pressed on it.

The lift doors slid closed and she leaned on one wall of the car, sighing. Her morning had been rough and she was useless until she recovered from her injury and found a new research facility to work on.

Briefly wondering how Stella-Bio would take up again after the incident, she was pulled out of her reverie as the doors opened and admitted her to her floor. She got out and walked down the outdoor hallway, halting at her front door. With much effort, she was able to fish out her keys from the bag slung on her shoulder.

The warmth from the central heating enveloped her as soon as she stepped off the threshold, letting her backside make contact with the polished wooden floor before she released a sigh of relief. She bent down to unzip her boots, reaching over to place them on the rack by the genkan. She toed the indoor slippers resting on the doormat and stood up, dragging her feet across the hallway.

Her right hand found the door handle and slid it open, tossing her bag on the dresser and pulling the curtains aside to bathe the room with sunlight. After much struggling and lip-biting, she was able to take off her jacket that was slightly torn from the impact, exposing her injury as she brought her left arm to the light.

The skin was red and raw, but for the most part, her arm was intact. No fractures and deep wounds, she could almost see the bruising that had settled in. Moving further to examine the extent of the damage, she tried bending her hand before a sharp pang of pain shot from her wrist. It was definitely broken but not something she could remedy.

She'd have sought the help of a professional, but she didn't want to lose precious money now that the facility wouldn't operate for a long time.

Thank the freaking gods.

She pulled the curtains shut once more and her good hand reached for the hem of her sleeveless turtleneck and tried worming her way out of it to no avail. Biting her already bruised lip once more, she used both hands while one was screaming for relief to take the troublesome garment off her.

Once her head popped out of it, she tossed the clothing into her hamper and stripped off her pants before making her way to the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink after she'd ridden herself of undergarments, turning every which way to survey for any more injury.

She found none, and plucked the hair elastic that held her disheveled hair together, dark tresses falling on her naked back, and stepped into the shower, drawing the curtains shut. The water stung her left arm and she settled for less soap, ignoring the pain throughout her ten-minute shower.

She reached for the towel hanging behind the door and dried herself before wrapping her hair with it and slipping into her bathrobe. Tiptoeing, she wrenched open the cupboard atop the sink to take the first aid kit, and she headed for the kitchen, flipping the lights on.

A stool scraped against the wood floor, and she sat herself, resting her left arm and the kit on the counter. She rolled up the sleeve of her bathrobe, wetting a ball of cotton with antiseptic before dabbing on the red skin. The sting brought tears to her eyes, and she sniffed them away.

Even when she wanted to, she couldn't blame anybody but herself. None of them solicited her help, and she brought this inconvenience upon herself.

Done with her arm, she proceeded to wrap her broken wrist with the same bandage. The sprain would heal on itself, and being jobless for most of the week would leave her plenty of time to recuperate. She was lucky her heroic stunt only left her with a broken wrist and bruised arm. For all she knew, she could've hit her head or broken her spine.

Her teeth clenched the end of the bandage as she reached over for the next length of cloth, knotting more to finish bandaging up to her palm. Clapping herself on the back for the neat work, she stood up and brought the kit back to the cupboard.

After dressing herself in her favorite sweatpants and shirt, she proceeded to write on her journal about the pandemonium that was her morning. She'd figured long before that writing things away would help her sort out her thoughts more than staring up the ceiling would.

Journal,

You have no idea how happy I am today. Not very happy, as the lab just went up in flames and I'm practically unemployed, but happy just because I didn't blow my brains out after crashing on some stupid fence.

o-o

"I have no idea," said the bespectacled woman, looking away from the seven of them. "The fire just broke out and next thing we knew we were outside and those weird things…" She trailed off, shuddering at the memory.

The fluorescent lamp of the hospital room provided stark lighting inside, the curtains drawn shut. Three out of ten beds were occupied, and the small party of the investigators used the bedside stools to sit themselves near the foot of the second bed, on the aisle between the two rows.

"Did they come from the inside?" asked Kurama, keeping his tone flat.

The man on the bed to the right of them answered, "We don't know."

"How did you escape?"

A scratching of the head and a man, lean and sallow-faced, snapped his fingers so that they all turned to him.

"Professor Aoshi…" he began, trying the words inside his already drying mouth. "Aoshi Chiaki. She's from the Molecular Sciences Division."

"What about her?"

"She distracted the… monsters."

Inoue cleared his throat for the umpteenth time. Kurama resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at his pompous attitude and overdone attempt to seem important. "How?"

The man looked up from fiddling with the blanket. "She was riding her bike and aimed for them. We managed to run but she crashed against a fence. I was about to help her with several others but she insisted that we run."

So that was why she was crying; she must have injured herself. But Kurama was probably getting ahead of himself.

"What happened then?"

"We escaped. She managed to pick herself up, and the last I saw of her, she paused by the gate."

"And then you were brought here," Kurama finished for them. Aoshi's saving her companions could exonerate her, and it made her less of a threat than he'd initially thought. "Was there any suspicious activity in the laboratory prior to this incident?"

"None that I can recall," said the other man, looking them straight in the eye. "It was a usual workday in the facility. We worked through Sundays and sometimes stayed overnight to finish an experiment."

"Last week? Last month?" said Kurama.

"Nothing," the woman said, exasperated.

Kurama turned to look at Hiei who shook his head. Not lying.

Yusuke detached a sneakered ankle from his knee, clapping his hands on his thighs. "All right, thank you for your answers, guys. Everything you said will stay between us."

The three witnesses did not answer. The police officers stood up and went away, closing the door behind them without preamble. With the four of them left, the sudden rise in Hiei's aura did not pass unnoticed, and the three witnesses fell backwards, heads plopping on the pillows. Kurama took out his Seed of Oblivion, repeating the process as he had done not too long ago.

When he finished, Yusuke asked, "What's next?"

"Botan," Kurama called, and a pop resounded in the room as the ferry girl appeared next to the door, oar in one hand and a manila folder in the other. Kurama smiled as she handed him the folder without his telling her.

"I knew you'd want it," she said by way of explanation.

The four males crowded to get a view of the three-page file. The first sheet contained the mug shot of a woman, calm and collected, on the top-right corner. Her dark eyes stared straight through, jet-black hair falling to the sides, framing her oval face.

Kurama's eyes darted through the profile, searching for the detail he needed.

Aoshi Chiaki. 27 years old. Japanese. Blood type: A.

His eyes zeroed in on a single box:

113-0022
Tokyo-to Bunkyo-ku Sendagi 2-chome 6-banchi 4-go-305

His finger pointed to the address. "We go here."

"By we—?" Yusuke started.

Kurama nodded. "Hiei will come with me. We can't risk her seeing us together. That can cause her to panic or do something brash, as she's aware of our capabilities. You and Kuwabara will follow after five minutes and stand guard by the gate, staying imperceptible and unnoticed. Hiei will send the signal if something needs to be done."

"And Hiei's going with you because he can scare her off," said Yusuke, before flashing the fire demon his two fingers. "Kidding. We know how much you love prodding in someone else's mind, big guy."

"You're not being funny."

"Really, loosen up, man."

Hiei only continued to ignore the detective.

"We're not taking the police officers with us?" whispered Kuwabara.

Yusuke laughed. "You're thinking that, too, bud? They're too stiff and boring for us, right?" he said, smirking.

"What are you going to do?" asked Botan, voice too high-pitched to project the desired effect of pre-eminence.

The four males turned to look at each other, amusement dancing in their eyes. Kurama handed the folder back to Botan, sticking out a hand in front of him for her to step aside and give them access to the door.

"Whoever gets past the north wing wins," said Yusuke.

"Then what?" said Kuwabara, laughing.

Yusuke paused, the picture of deep contemplation as a thumb made its way to his chin. "The winner gets bragging rights while the loser takes the tab for the ramen later."

Not.

Kurama got hold of the door handle amidst Botan's protests, opening it to the sight of the police officers, faces set, barricading the gloomy and otherwise empty hallway.

"Inspector, we're out of here," announced Yusuke, grinning.

"What do you mean—" was all Inoue was able to sputter before the four of them broke to a run, pushing and shoving to get past each other and burst outside first.

Boys will be boys, after all.

o-o

Curled up on the couch and hugging her knees to her chest, Chiaki's deep-set eyes reflected off the images from the silent TV. The news about the laboratory had aired about five minutes ago, and upon hearing the jackshit that the media had come up with, she pressed the mute button.

They'd passed the truth off as the second incident of an innocent, worldly fire, and even if in an alternate reality she never had to cross paths with the beasts this morning, she wasn't stupid to buy the story and garble it up without chewing.

Someone was bound to come to a conclusion that two facilities going up in smoke within a month was terribly fishy. She was almost surprised that the nosy journalists hadn't voiced this out, but she remembered that the aired story was nonsense.

She only took comfort in the fact that no dead human body was seen in the site. At least everyone was safe, even that lousy Yamamoto. She didn't like her boss entirely, but she wouldn't wish death on anyone anytime of the day. He must be thanking his lucky stars now, wherever he was.

She took the remote control and put the TV off for good, shifting in position to stare up at the ceiling, gingerly laying her arm on her belly. The straw-colored ceiling looked almost brown without light from the outside as she had drawn the curtains shut, and the darkness of her room made her feel sleepier.

What was she going to do with her life now?

She must have started counting sheep after a minute of blankly staring up the ceiling as she pictured her life for days from today, for when the sound of the doorbell rang throughout her apartment, she jerked awake with a slight gasp. Her arm started hurting once more, and she silently cursed the intruder for the trouble.

The doorbell rang again and she strode to the window, drawing a fraction the curtain at its end farthest from the front door to see her visitors from the best viewing angle.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of half of the strange people she'd seen vanquishing the humanoids, and she let go of the dark blue curtain almost instantly. She glued herself to the wall, the gears in her brain turning rapidly.

How did they find her? They couldn't have known who she was, unless… She mentally slapped her face. The license plate! Of course, Chiaki, what a way to get yourself in serious shit.

She knew she should've taken care of it. But she couldn't and so she didn't.

Ding dong.

This time, a man's voice registered in the haze that was her head, cool and steady, polite and inquisitive, "Professor Aoshi?"

Wow, they know that much? Her heart started hammering in her chest, her mind on overdrive, wracking her brain for a reason for them to seek her.

She remembered the news. They fabricated the truth and fed it to the public. They didn't want anyone else knowing about it and she saw them killing the… things.

Of course, just because they were busy with the hullabaloo, that didn't mean they were not aware of her making a movie out of their trouble. She didn't even bother staying hidden as she stayed for the free viewing. Popcorn would have been all that she needed.

Shit. Her hand connected with her collarbone, trying to calm herself. She knew the day would come that her curiosity would take take its toll on her. If they went out of their way to find her, then she must be in serious trouble.

As silently as she could, she scurried out into the hallway and bolted for her bedroom, charily sliding the door open not farther than the space she needed to admit her frame inside. It inevitably hissed and she cussed under her breath. She lunged for her dresser, opening one of the drawers and fumbled to take her journal from inside.

"Professor Aoshi?" the voice called again.

They knew she was here, she was sure of it. She opened the small leather-bound note, flitting through her latest entry. Her hand reached out to take a pen from the mug that sat on the dresser, eyes darting to the alarm clock next to it, and in the dim light she managed to write two sentences on the line after her signature in shaky kanji:

Redhead and gravity-immune-head came at around 8:12 A.M. If I don't live through today, they're the suspects.

She ripped the two sheets she'd consumed, too jittery to care that the two people standing in front of her door heard the sound over the deathly silent apartment. She folded the sheets and pressed them flat before she shoved them inside her bra, patting at the garment of her shirt to make sure it wasn't bulky for them to notice.

Like they're going to check out your boobs, Chiaki.

"Professor Aoshi?"

With newfound resolve, she marched up the hallway. "Coming!" she yelled, voice escaping her harried as she'd meant to. "Who is it?"

"Detectives."

Yeah, right. She could almost laugh at the situation, and perhaps it was panic already talking. Whoever this vile creature was, they knew how to play their game right.

But who was to say she didn't stand a chance?

She switched to her outdoor slippers and took one, calming breath as she placed one eye on the peephole. The two persons were still standing outside, the redhead the face of patience while the other was, well, not.

Her right hand found the metal baseball bat set by the door she kept for times like this before she slid the door open with her left hand, the pain surging through her body making her feel more alert. She pushed her head into the small space as wide as the length of the chain she didn't unlatch and forced a smile to her visitors, playing off as innocent.

She knew her attempt at preservation wasn't the best in form and tact but she was trying.

"How may I help you?" she asked, polite and curt.

The redhead bowed to her as the midget stared her in the eye. "Good morning, Professor."

Chiaki's eyes almost widened as she realized the redhead was, in fact, a man, the one who possessed the voice that had been calling her out. "Good morning…?"

Her unspoken question was answered as the two of them held up their police IDs and golden badges. She had yet to blink when they flipped them shut and tucked them away. If she'd been less suspicious, she'd have thought it was nothing; but she was sure it was deliberate.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

The redhead smiled at her before gesturing towards his companion. "He's Hiei and I'm Kurama. We're agents from the NPA."

A gurgle resonated from her throat as a laugh almost escaped her. "I didn't know the National Police Agency lets their agents use funny aliases. Is there someone called Fuji and Asama?"

Kurama the ginger offered her another smile. "I'm afraid there is."

"That's… cool." Chiaki raised an eyebrow before she cleared her throat. "What business do you have?"

"Pardon my intrusion, but would you rather that we discuss out in the open?"

Her eyebrow shot up once more. Nuh-uh. Can't let you get inside, smartass. For all she knew, they'd strangle her the moment she let them get past the threshold.

Her grip on the baseball bat tightened as she willed her voice to sound flippant and confident. "Surely it's not something that would require you to apprehend me as I have not killed anybody? I think I can manage."

The redhead's lips quirked, his smile faltering. Even then he didn't take her eyes off her. A moment of silence passed between them as they sized each other up. Even as death loomed over her, she was only half-convinced the soft-featured girlish man was anything but a professional slayer.

"She's safe, Kurama," said Hiei, the statement abrupt. His eyes had fixed on his taller companion who turned his head slightly to look at him.

"Safe?" The word was out before Chiaki could stop herself.

"Safe and oblivious," Hiei amended, fixing his red eyes on her.

Her heart jumped to her throat. How could she have not noticed it before? No, she was sure they were black only a while back. But now, they were… crimson… blood-red.

As far as red eyes went…

Her gaze transferred to the redhead without her noticing, and she whispered, more to herself, "Demons."

Kurama inclined his head, smiling again. "The professor's very perceptive, Hiei. Are you sure she doesn't know anything?"

"I am, fox."

Fox?!

As though he heard her internal exclamation, Kurama turned to her once more. "Yes, Professor. Demons. There are more of us, and you should be careful."

Chiaki's throat ran dry. For the life of her, she couldn't summon the right words to come out of her mouth. Her head was abuzz. It had been years since the demon shenanigans started cropping up everywhere but she'd never crossed paths with them, much less spoken with them.

And the demons had been behaving themselves well. So… why?

"No one is safe, and what you saw this morning is not something you should have. It was already too much for you to encounter those creatures, and no human should've seen any of it."

The way this person used "human" in his sentence… it was so distant and detached.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to remain… safe and oblivious."

"What—?"

Her eyes widened as Kurama held his palm up. For once she was able to think fast; her hand let go of the baseball bat—the sharp clanging of metal upon stone momentarily jarring her off her gears—before it connected with the lower half of her face. As the coarse yellow powder shot through the small distance between her and the redhead, she pulled herself inside and kicked the door closed, fumbling for the lock as she pressed her back against the wood.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Who are you?" she yelled through her fingers. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, trying not to inhale any of the powder but still craving more oxygen as her sight grew dim.

Shit. Shit. Shit. She must have inhaled some anyway.

She was waiting for their reaction, but a moment passed… and another. She was already dizzy and hyperventilating, ready to collapse on her knees.

When she thought she was on her way to Faintersville, laughter echoed through the material of the door. For a moment she thought it was dark, evil laughter—the kind that villains laughed after getting off their rockers—but as her vision cleared a bit, she realized it was a genuine, amused laugh, ringing in her ears.

"Professor Aoshi," said Kurama, still laughing. "We only wanted to alter your memories. It's always safer to be oblivious."

Chiaki couldn't help it. She took a deep breath before yelling again, muffled by her fingers, "Quit playing me for a fool, you liar. I don't trust you and I'm not in the mood for games. I'd rather die than forget your names after this."

Hiei's voice was urgent. "Kurama, let's go. She doesn't know anything."

Screw you, I know things! You're demons and you killed those… things!

"All right, then."

She thought they'd leave but a gentle knocking on the door made her jump out of her skin.

"Professor, are you still in there?"

Chiaki almost rolled her eyes, still breathing into her palm. If he was trying to feign concern…

"You should know that we're not here to harm you. But as my partner saw fit, you're off the hook."

Hearing this coming out of the redhead's mouth made her realize that they had indeed held her life dangling by their fingers only a minute ago. The thought itself brought to Chiaki's eyes tears of relief, and she took all her resolve not to sob there and then.

"Professor?" Kurama's voice came off more than concerned. "You've done well today. We're sorry for the trouble. Stay… safe and oblivious. Goodbye."

If only she wasn't feeling as relieved as she was, she'd have lashed out at them to point out the fact that she didn't even sign up for their game to receive a prize for having "done well." She didn't want any of it. At all.

She didn't dare move even as their footsteps faded into the background of her still racing heart. She just escaped death and something worse… ignorance.

The tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she let out a shuddering breath, letting her hand fall to her side as she sank to the cold stone floor, dragging her knees to her chest as she all but willed the tears to go away.

o-o

"She… what?" Kuwabara all but sputtered in his ramen, a bit of noodle sticking to his chin as he gaped openly at Hiei.

"Hid her journal entry in her undergarment," said Kurama, unable to help himself from smiling.

The three of them busted out laughing, faces red from the mental image only Hiei could conjure perfectly. The fire demon sat quietly, glaring at them as he chewed.

"And what did she write in the journal entry?" asked Yusuke.

"Her account of the incident," Kurama answered for Hiei who ignored Yusuke altogether, "and, 'Redhead and gravity-immune-head came at around 8:12 A.M. If I don't live through today, they're the suspects.'"

Yusuke shook his head in disbelief as he clapped his hands, still laughing. "You gotta give it to her."

Kurama couldn't agree more. It was obvious that Hiei himself saluted the professor for thinking ahead. It was a desperate but a lucky measure that she took.

Boys will be boys but chivalry is embraced by many a people, human or demon.

A/N:

* genkan = Japanese entryway: the part of a house or apartment where you take your shoes off (I don't think "entryway" is an accurate translation hence the usage)

* Japanese addresses follow a format that starts from the biggest to the smallest unit:

- Prefecture ("ken") - with suffixes "to" for Tokyo, "do" for Hokkaido, "fu" for Kyoto and Osaka as exceptions

- Municipality - (1) "shi" for cities, (2) "ku" for wards, (3) "cho" or "machi" for town or "mura" or "son" for villages (1 being the largest and 3 being the smallest type of municipality)

- City district - "chome" (number is assigned based on proximity to center of municipality)

- City block - "banchi" or "ban"

- House/building number - "go"

- Apartment number

- (not really an area) Postal Code - e.g. 113-0022

So, Chiaki's address (113-0022 Tōkyō-to Bunkyō-ku Sendagi 2-chōme 6-banchi 4-gō-305) means she lives in Apartment 305, 4th Bldg., 6th Block, Sendagi 2-chome, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo Prefecture. If you were to write her a letter coming from overseas, you'd probably want to write it this way to save you ink and space:

Aoshi Chiaki
2-6-4-305 Sendagi
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0022

... or if the post's coming from Japan:

Aoshi Chiaki #305
6-4 Sendagi 2-chome
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo-to 113-0022

Japanese addressing system is pretty elaborate and I suggest you read up on it if you'd like to understand better (sweats). The places (save for the numbers) used in Chiaki's address actually do exist.

* So again, thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter and to those who added this story to their faves and alerts! You rock my socks!

* Enjoyed the chapter? Didn't? Please drop a review! I need to know what you think! See you! :)