Hello again! Boy I got some writing DONE during that down time! The hardest part is going to be NOT posting it all at once ;)

This is chapter 4.1. As I wrote chapter 4 it just kept getting longer and longer, so I decided to break it up into 4.1 and 4.2 :) I will release 4.2 probably sometime tomorrow!

Enjoy!

-B.J.

(Updated: 11/13/15)

Chapter 4: Secrets of the Reikai: Part 1

It had been hours since they had last seen either Kirazuki or Hiei.

"Do you think one of them's dead?" Although Yusuke meant this as a light-hearted joke, the possibility of such an outcome seemed increasingly plausible. It was clear Hiei didn't like the little ice demoness, and it was clear she took obvious offense to his.. Choice of words when referring to her.

Kurama chuckled in response, shaking his head in a definite 'no', "They have strayed quite far from us, but both are alive."

"Should we… Go back to my place?" Kuwabara asked, growing increasingly bored with waiting for their return.

He was fast, but she was faster.

She was strong, but he was stronger.

Blow after blow, block after block they retreated farther and farther into the expansive forest, completely lost in a malicious, blood-hungry dance.

Hiei had to admit, it was almost pleasant to have someone who could finally keep up with him; had it not been an abomination created by the Reikai. He extended his blade above his head and down his back, hearing the chilled ice clink against it before propelling it out in front of him, Kira following flawlessly with the motion of his sword, flipping herself over his head.

She hopped backwards onto a branch in another tree, a smirk plastered across her face; this was the first time she had firmly landed since they had begun, "You're good," She called breathlessly as Hiei landed on a branch a few trees away.

"And you're tired," He spoke snidely from where he stood, before they were both gone in a flash once again.

By the time the trio arrived back at Kuwabara's, Keiko was already preparing to leave for the night. Botan sat nervously at the table, knotting her hands in her lap; Yusuke noticed immediately, "What's up, Botan?"

She looked up at him sheepishly, "Wait until after Keiko's gone," She whispered feverishly, waving with a large bubbly smile as Keiko exitted. They had told Keiko that Kira was Botan's cousin from a foreign country; Keiko didn't fully believe them, but hadn't pressed the issue, much to their appreciation. She exhaled a sigh of relief, "Well.. I did a little digging of my own, you see," She produced a videotape from her kimono, "And.. Well, I found this under Kirazuki's file." She held it out, but Yusuke hesitated taking it from her.

"Whats it about?"

"Well.. I'm not quite sure to be honest, I haven't watched it yet either."

Kuwabara lept in front of Yusuke, snatching the video from Botan, "Well let's watch it then!"

'Finally,' Hiei thought to himself as he watched Kira take a misstep on a branch, falling backwards off of it and nearing the ground quickly. He followed suit, but the very instant his feet touched the ground in front of her she had hooked both of her feet behind his ankles, taking the legs out from under him. In the same movement she pushed herself up and forward, drawing her weapon out. To her own surprise, as she landed straddling Hiei's upper torso with her sword pointed at his throat, his blade was already drawn to her own neck.

Kira noted how considerably warmer he seemed than her own body, it almost stung her inner legs, 'Fire demon,' She reminded herself with an ominous shudder. She hated fire. He had a particularly nasty gash across his well-defined chest, the blood now smeared across her thigh, "Looks like a draw," She smirked, quite out of breath as she relaxed her position, mindlessly sitting down on his stomach. He felt infinitely warmer than herself.

Hiei grunted from the sudden pressure on his abdomen; he also had a slight increase in respect for the...creature. Her swordsmanship was on par with his own, it was fascinating that a simulation could provide the same effective training as actual battle, "Hn, it would appear so."

Kira lifted herself to her feet grudgingly, retracting her own ice-blade, and extended a friendly hand out to Hiei; which he naturally declined, lifting himself up. Kira responded by rolling her eyes, "Honestly, you could at the very least be more pleasant. We are stuck on the same ship for the next few months,"

'Test 43' flickered across the screen, the scene set in the dimly lit room with large glass test tubes. A single infant floated motionlessly inside, "Begin infusion." A male voice spoke, followed by a 'click' sound. They watched as a large needle dropped into the tank, positioning behind the small infant. Another 'click' and the needle sprung forward into the back of its neck; the once still figure suddenly flailing desperately, lashing around within the liquid. "Subject 43 appears to have survived the initial infusion." A man spoke out of frame of the camera.

The screen changed again to another dimly lit room with a single metal chair in the center, placed behind a worn out table with some kind of device fitted to the top of it. A toddler sat in the chair with short white and grey hair. A young Kira; her hands in the rectangular contraption in front of her, "Initiate test 2." There was a click, and the young version of Kira cried out loudly as what appeared to be electricity pulsed up her arms.

Apparently they didn't get the desired effect, because the man spoke again, "One more time. Initiate test 3." Again the toddler screamed a heart-wrenching scream.

Finally they got the reaction they were looking for, the small box freezing in solid ice, "Subject 43 specialty: Ice."

Tears welled in Botan's eyes as she watched, bringing a quick hand up to cover her mouth.

"I barely tolerate the Detective. What makes you think I would have any interest in pleasantries?" Hiei sheathed his weapon finally, beginning to trail off in silence towards the clearing he had left his cloak in where they had started their match. He wondered silently to himself how they had managed to travel so far. How long had it been, anyway? Regardless, he didn't particularly feel like expelling any more energy on running, so walking it was.

Kira rolled her golden eyes, following after him, "Make the time pass a little faster; not make your comrades want to kill you; just for fun, to name a few." She listed off one by one, jogging to catch up with him until she was beside him.

"Unfortunately 'fun' and I don't mesh well together," He replied stoically, ignoring her presence at his side.

"Oh, I am so surprised.. No, let me just brood around and attempt to make everyone around me miserable by insulting them all the time." Kira's sarcasm flowed freely from her voice, her ears folded back in displeasure. She may have thought Yusuke and Kuwabara were particularly loud and obnoxious, but she really disliked Hiei.

"Essentially. And the feeling is mutual, mutt."

The screen was now lit with the room which had the coffin-like object placed in the middle, but it quickly flashed to an inside view of the 'coffin', where a young-teen appearing Kira lay still, her eyes closed peacefully as her chest rose and fell rhythmically. There were wires attached to her temples and chest, although it was unknown where they led, "Initiating first trial run of simulated battle: Makai."

'Click.'

Her body lay still for several minutes after the click, before those watching the video noticed a spike in her breathing, her chest starting to move up and down rapidly. "She found them," The male video-voice spoke again. Seconds later blood splattered on the camera lens, a terrifying gasp coming from the young Kira on the screen, blood seeping through her white t-shirt.

'That explains how she received that scar...' Kurama noted mentally to himself, listening to the gurgling gasps coming from the television as men in lab coats dragged her out of the machine.

"How come she was actually hurt if it was just a simulation?" Yusuke pondered from next to Botan on the couch.

No one in the room seemed to have an answer.