"What do you know of Perdurable Commands?"
Kurama lowered his hand from the spine of a book he'd been about to pull from the shelf of the castle's library. The room was dusty, unused. It was the only place he'd stepped into so far that seemed untouched. To him this meant that Amon had been telling the truth. She really hadn't entered the space. Hiei was right that aside from her omissions she was a fairly honest demon.
The question wrinkled his nose in distaste, however. With a look he confirmed that Hiei watched him expectantly, having slipped into the room unnoticed.
"Why?" Kurama hedged his answer, suspicious.
Amon's unfortunate past turned what could have been idle curiosity into a potential threat. While he didn't particularly trust the woman, he didn't want to accidentally be the cause of further bondage. Hiei seemed to be waiting impatiently for some sort of answer, but he didn't seem malicious. It was obvious his friend cared for the woman, it was unlikely that he posed the question with ill intent.
Still, he was awfully possessive of Amon. The right knowledge with the best intention could do catastrophic damage if the consequences weren't clear.
"Do you not know?" Hiei pressed, annoyed.
"I do. I'm just curious why you're asking me." Kurama allowed. His continued evasion earned him a deft scan, red eyes reading his guarded responses.
"They were brought up this morning during my post breakfast meeting." The king explained and now he seemed to be the one protecting a secret. "I have not heard of them, but they struck a cord with Amon."
"I imagine they would. She is likely quite familiar. Why not ask her?"
"She will not answer me."
There was a pause in their conversation then, each man regarding the other with some defensiveness lining their mouths and eyes. The silence grew in weight.
"They are not something to be trifled with." Kurama finally spoke. "They are quite dangerous, Hiei, especially for someone in Amon's position."
"What are they?" This time Hiei stepped forward with the question, head tilted just slightly. "Your hesitance tells me they are somehow worse than I've already surmised."
"You are in a unique position Hiei, of having something most don't. Slavemakers do not free their quarry. Amon's existence beyond her former Master is not just unusual, it's practically unheard of. I am sure it has been overwhelming and at times confusing for her." Kurama didn't answer him. "Her length of service is also unusual. She's an anomaly in many ways."
"I'm familiar with Amon's qualities." Red eyes narrowed. "Why aren't you answering me?"
"Because I don't know what you intend to do with the information."
Hiei pulled his shoulders back in confusion, mouth screwed up to the side for a moment. "I don't intend to do anything with the information except for have it."
"Hiei," the way Kurama said his name made it seem as though he should know better, "Perdurable Commands are exactly as they sound. Unbreakable tenants. They are rules than can never be disobeyed, even by the most stubborn or unruly being."
"Such as not being able to kill your master." Hiei breathed out angrily. "What happens if they are broken?"
"I've never heard of such a thing happening." Kurama admitted. "They are called perdurable for a reason."
"So then, let me ask you this." Hiei seethed out but his friend new the anger was directed at someone far gone from them, "What happens to the command if the master dies?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing?"
"I mean nothing. They are everlasting, Hiei. Unless by some miracle someone new is able to overrule them, they continue to exist. That is why they are so dangerous."
"Surely not if the demon is freed."
The look those veridian eyes leveled on him turned Hiei's stomach. It was as much an accusation as it was a silent way to call him an idiot. "Hiei. I think you know better than that."
Hiei watched Amon serve food to his small circle of allies with conflict in his chest. She smiled and offered basic etiquette. Platitudes. Her smile seemed the same as ever when she spoke to Kuwabara from the side, lowering his plate in front of him. A special assortment, something catered to his tastes.
Hiei bit into his hand fruit, eyes tracking the woman as she rotated through his supposed guests.
Her eyes met his and he felt a flutter in his ribcage. Her brow furrowed before she strode to him, refilling his tea. "Is the food not to your liking? I can have the kitchen make you something else."
His plate remained untouched.
"The food is fine."
Amon pursed her lips, but she didn't argue. He cataloged that against his memory of her compliance. "Are you not hungry?"
"I'm eating."
She eyed him. "You're being strange."
"Am I?"
"Yes. You are." Blue eyes bore into crimson, slightly narrowed but then she retreated. Hiei expected her to dote on the others, instead she watched them then exhaled. "I am sorry sirs but could you give the king a moment?"
"Uh, sure." Yusuke eyed Hiei then rose to his feet, a signal to the others to heed her request. "Come on guys. Let's take a walk."
"You didn't need to do that." Hiei scowled after the others filed from the room. His attention was particular forced upon Kurama as the other man mouthed a warning to him. "Amon. You didn't need to send them away. I'd also like to point out that it's not your place."
"You are not yourself. Why?" Amon turned to face him, feet spread and he was reminded of their first trip outside the castle together. "Sire, please, talk to me."
"Sire." Hiei once again scowled. "You made a point to be alone with me, Amon. Why is it so hard for you to-"
"Have it your way." Amon cut him off. She glared at the other staff in the room until they fled. Once they were truly alone she gripped the arms of his chair and spun him to face her. Hiei blinked, pulled back in his seat with surprise. "Hiei, I am asking you to talk to me."
That, he decided, was not helpful.
His silence earned a burdened sigh. "Is this because of this morning?"
"What?"
"This morning. You purposefully suggested I use the knife you gifted me and I didn't. Are you angry with me?" Amon pressed the question as harshly as she could, but she couldn't help the way her tone dipped off into something softer and constrained. Her anxiety showed as she chewed her lip while watching him. "Have I done something to disappoint you?"
"No." The word fell quickly from Hiei's lips without elaboration as he processed the expression on her face. "No, Amon, you did not disappoint me. This is about a different matter."
"The collar." She nodded, looking away from him. "Sire, I promise after tonight they will not be a problem. You will see. I can deliver them to you in a sealed box if you'd like."
"I'm not worried about the collars, Amon. Not right now." He tried to glare at her, but it fell short. Every denial of her suggestions robbed her of another ounce of confidence, her shoulders rolling forward, arms coming to wrap around herself.
It was just the other day he'd seen her seething with blood dripping from her teeth as proud as he'd ever witnessed. He felt frustrated that she could so easily be reduced back down to this whimpering creature.
Was this his doing? Was this a symptom of her servitude?
"I spoke to Kurama after our meeting with Aelin." Hiei offered sternly. "I asked him about Perdurable Commands."
Amon snapped her attention to his face so suddenly, then grew preternaturally still. Without blinking she held his gaze, eyes pinched at the corners. It was not the reaction he had expected from her, this lightning strike of tension with it's undercurrent of suspicion. "And what, pray tell, did he have to say on the topic?"
Her tone, cold and hot at the same time, caused Hiei to pause before answering. Her body language shifted even if her posture remained the same. Suddenly, she was not something trying to make itself small. She was something trying to contain an immenseness that threatened to overspill the boundaries of it's vessel. A tight-lipped rage tinted her voice, carefully controlled.
"He explained them." Hiei told her cautiously, reserved. "He explained the nature of the commands to me, something you would not do."
"I have told you before." Her words came with a display of teeth she tried to suppress.
"You haven't." He remained sure.
"I did. I told you I could not tell you how to release me, Hiei. I told you I could not explain the commands to you. You still found a way to free me." Amon allowed herself to uncoil, but there was a harshness to the motion, her usual fluidity gone. "What did he tell you? Did he suggest that you should try to undo my freedom?"
"That's asinine Amon, of course he didn't. Kurama has no love for slavery." Hiei stood up then, suddenly angry at the accusation. "You do not know him, but you cannot accuse him of such things. He's a pain in my ass but he is still one of my most trusted confidants."
"He does not know me. What business does he have speaking on things that so directly impact me?" She hissed in return, unable to control the outburst.
"He was explaining the significance to me, as I already told you. You need to calm down. He was informing me about how these rules control you, Amon. He did not wish to speak at all because he wasn't sure how I would use the information. If anything he was more protective of you than I was." Hiei's voice remained steady but his temper showed in the waves of energy coiling around him. "If you were more forthcoming, I wouldn't have sought him out."
"There is nothing to explain. I am not beholden to such commands anymore. There is nothing to say." Amon bared her teeth.
"You can't tell me the truth on the matter even if you wish to!" Hiei finally raised his voice, glaring upward into her eyes. He hadn't realized that she'd stepped up to him until that moment. Their bodies nearly touched. "I needed an impartial third party, Amon. I needed to know. I need to know. I have to know what is still left to be undone so I can work to fix Greyfield's control on you. I cannot have you living your life on eggshells because of a dead man's commands. I refuse to allow it."
There was a strained heartbeat between them, a suffocating heated silence. Amon tilted her head to the side, still staring down at him. She lowered her face until their noses nearly brushed.
"You've undone three of the four Perdurable Commands, sire," she spoke the title with some anger, "and the last of them I do not wish to be freed from, so there is nothing left for you to do. You've already released me, sir. You freed me. You have breathed life back into me. There is nothing left to discuss on the matter."
"Call me anything but my name again, Amon, and I will lose my temper." Hiei warned her sharply, his own anger bubbling up.
Hiei looked to side then, where his hand had come to grip the edge of the table. Amon's knife, his gift to her, pinned into the wood and angled against the web between his fingers with such precision she could have been a surgeon. Her eyes had never left his face. A single spot of blood welled up to the surface of his broken skin.
He could hear his pulse in his ears.
"You control me only out of my own volition. Do not forget that given my freedom I chose to follow you." She reminded him, an unusual darkness coating the words. Hiei was reminded of their training sessions, of finally understanding that she had to tame more dangerous instincts than he gave her credit for. "I serve you not out of obligation but out of admiration. You have my respect, my adoration. I choose to protect you. I choose to obey. I choose to serve. I choose to answer your questions. I choose to answer to your whims. I would not raise a hand to harm you that you did not desire me to raise. I will die before I allow anything to happen to you because I cannot imagine any alternative. But you do not own me, Hiei. You saw to that thoroughly." Amon lowered her head further, so close that her breath warmed his mouth as she continued to speak. "You demanded I fight you. You craved independence and defiance from me. If you raise a hand to me I may accept it because I expect you to have a reason, but I am not chained to you by force. I wear these shackles by choice. I want to be tethered to you."
Hiei had not realized, initially, that he had tipped his head opposite hers, his lips parted as though she may kiss him. "You're speaking awfully forcefully for a woman who accepted punishment so easily last night."
"You would never hurt me without reason. I trust you implicitly, my king." This time, with the way she breathed it, he didn't hate the title as it dripped from her lips to his own. "Greyfield is dead and so are his commandments. There is only you in my heart now, and that is not a bad thing, Hiei."
He thought he might go mad.
"Go to the caverns and wait for me, Amon. If I don't fight you now I might destroy something that you can't replace." It was all Hiei could think to do. His urges weren't feeling so physically violent but the type of physical he was craving was a forbidden fruit. "Let's put your pretty words to the test."
"Now is not the time-"
He grabbed her shirt front and yanked her down to his eye level, heat flaring around him like warmth off the sun. "This was not a suggestion or a request."
Her blue eyes dipped down to his mouth before raking back up to his scarlet gaze. "Yes, sir."
"That's what I want to hear." He assured her, grip tightening. "I'll try not to leave any marks that would get in the way of your speech later, Amon. Though it may prove difficult to keep my hands off of your throat when you keep exposing it so readily to me."
"Even you cannot stop tonight from happening." She promised.
He released her immediately, having to physically push her back from himself before he did something he could never take back. The thin ice she'd mentioned the other night cracked under him. He could only hope it continued to carry his weight.
"I am not sure this is wise." Kurama tried to speak reason into the situation as Hiei strode forward on his path to the caverns below the castle. "Just this morning you were worried about her blind obedience, Hiei."
"This is how I prove that's not the case." Hiei panned the line he'd decided was the truth as he'd changed. It was better than his earlier rationale of this being the only way to safely get his hands on her. "You're free to go elsewhere."
"I think it's better if we're nearby." Kuwabara interjected. "Just in case, you know?"
"In case what? In case she decides my voice box is a toy to chew through?" Hiei snorted in derision. "Do not flatter yourselves into believing you can control her anymore than I can. If she manages to keep me down let her do her worst."
"I think what the big guy means is that, it might be good to have referees on hand in case you get out of hand. Your energy is all over the place. It's been spiking and shifting all day." Yusuke explained, bored, with his arms folded behind his head. "Though, if she's good at fighting I wouldn't mind taking a number."
"Amon is not some exhibit." Hiei warned him, glaring over his shoulder at the man who stuck his tongue out in retaliation. "It took me months to get to this point with her. If you try to ruin this for me, your wife will be sobbing at your memorial."
"Aw, that's really sweet of you to host a memorial for me." Yusuke winked.
"Not by me, you idiot." Hiei threw the door to the caverns open and almost stopped in his tracks.
Amon stood below, stretching and speaking to Benji. For the first time, she wore a sleeveless training shirt. It had a turtleneck but no fabric below her shoulders. It fit against her like neoprene, hugging her, delving below the pants she wore that tied at the waist but fit loosely down to her ankles where they cuffed, resting atop the shoes she only ever wore down here in this dusty, dangerous place with him.
The gloves on her hands looked different, white cotton maybe?
Easy to burn.
He felt his pulse flutter, a heat unlike any other blooming in his chest at the sight of her like this. He knew the changes were for him, born of his complaints, a way to satisfy him and his requests. Despite his earlier bout of guilt over such things, he felt nothing short of affection now.
He couldn't wait to throw her to the ground by her shirt so he could determine the fabric for himself. His fingertips and palms itched with the desire to judge the threads.
Blue eyes danced over the stragglers dragging behind him with delicately veiled annoyance.
"Don't mind the audience, Amon. They insisted." Hiei descended the stairs to stand before her, chin tipped up so he could look at her face. "Do they bother you?"
"It makes no difference." She didn't seem to mean the words. Her attention instead went to Benji. "You are to stay out of the way, do you understand me? You can offer water when the king separates and walks your way. You do not approach. You do not intervene. Tell me you understand."
"I understand Miss Amon." Benji's head bobbed, his ears flopping with the motion. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Mr. King Hiei is very strong."
"He is the strongest." She nodded then stretched her arms over her head. "I'll be okay, Benji, as long as I listen to the fight itself."
"What does that mean?" He asked, eyes bright.
"It means, stay here with the water and the towels and be a good boy." Her hand found home in his curls and shifted them with a smile. Then she bowed at the waist to Hiei. "Sire."
"I will drag you by your hair, do not tempt me." He warned her bitterly, the use of the title eating at his mood quickly.
The glimmer of blue fire that met his attention when she rose sent a thrill down his spine. He wished the others weren't there. The things Amon and him did down here weren't meant to be watched. This was for them alone. He'd have to allow the exception purely for posterity. The way her eyes skipped over the others one by one made him feel that she felt the same. In the underbelly of the castle they were free to explore each other in a way prying eyes might find profane.
Not today.
It was for the best.
Now he couldn't crack.
"I suppose you could try." Amon allowed to him, eyebrow raised in an unusual suggestion of arrogance as she returned her attention to his face. She'd kept her voice so quiet.
Still, Yusuke whistled out long and slow.
Hiei offered her a grin that was more of a warning than anything else. "Are you ready?"
"Are you?" Amon inquired, but even as she spoke her eyes once again turned to their audience. Blue eyes found green and narrowed before shifting back to red. "I am all yours, sire, always and at your command."
"For the last goddamn time, Amon, do not call me sire in present company." Hiei spun on her with a snarl and struck out only to find his fist biting through the air as she bent back to avoid his strike.
Amon stepped back and deflected his next attack before her leg came down across his frame suddenly and with such force Hiei went back a few feet on his toes. The way his eyes lit up spoke that this was a new development to the others. His excitement lit up around him in unexpected sparks of gold. Amon came up behind him like a phantom and he only barely felt her, just enough to extend his hand to catch her shin centimeters from his neck. He forced her leg away and she spun with the motion, red dust rising as she drew a semi circle with her body, the toes of one of her shoes drawing a line in the dirt.
Hiei appeared before her like a shadow, fists lashing out. Her hands were barely able to keep up, deflecting his throws. When he landed his knee into her side it was a blindside attack, sending her reeling across the ground with a grunt as she came to a stop on her stomach.
"Did I break you?" Hiei spoke, arrogance tinged with genuine concern.
Amon got to her feet, dust streaked and soiled, but her eyes were bright and shining. "Not yet."
"Good."
His next hit connected with her palm when it had aimed for her cheek. He almost expected her to pry away with a broken wrist but instead her fingers wrapped around his fist, using the hold to drag him closer so that her knee could bit into the softness under his ribs. Once she had stolen the air from his lungs, she sent him down to the ground with a fist to the cheek. He barely had time to gather himself before she had him by the shirt, fist once again coming down against his face.
"A shame you'll have to be healed before your debut tonight." She uttered without remorse. "My beautiful king."
"Bruh." Yusuke kept his voice quiet but the look he cast at his friends spoke volumes.
"It's possible I may have made a miscalculation." Kurama admitted though the other two weren't sure what he was talking about. "I feel as though this is to prove me wrong as much as it is to appease Hiei's guilt."
"Miss Amon doesn't want to prove anything to you." Benji spoke confidently. He looked behind him to the men. "Miss Amon only values one man's opinion and it is Mr. King Hiei's. So I don't think you need to worry Mr. Kurama."
Yusuke and Kuwabara both cleared their throats in an attempt to hide their urges to laugh. Kurama inhaled sharply at the unintentional insult the boy had cast his way.
"Thank you, Benji." Kurama offered tightly, receiving an eager nod in response before the boy turned back to watch the fight.
Amon's leg hit Hiei's arms in a cross block, and she used the momentum built up to lift off her back foot and kick above his head, barely missing and landing a few feet away on her toes. Hiei lunged toward her and she shifted back from his strikes, eyes narrowed as she watched him lash out. When he got too close she batted his wrists away to deflect.
"You're getting faster." Hiei complimented her with a smirk. "But fast enough?"
He suddenly spun in an effort to land his own kick against her hip but she shifted back and away so that his toes barely grazed her pants.
"It appears so." She remarked in their momentary pause. "So far, at least."
Hiei nodded, and instead of attacking he began to stalk around her, watching her careful adjustments to keep him in sight, a new wariness crossing her features. "You look worried."
"I'm not."
He once again grinned at her, malice and affection whirling together in a maelstrom in his chest. She seemed to catch wind of the emotions, she took a half step back while rotating to continue to keep him where she could see him. He couldn't help the way he drug his attention down her from her face to careful feet, moving back up to eyes slowly. There was no reason to hide the flux of his energy from her. He wanted her to be a little afraid.
He wanted to see her pushed to the edge like every other fight between them. He wanted her in a corner with nowhere to go but through him.
"Are you tired?" She questioned, eyes narrowed. "It's not like you to take a break in the middle of a fight."
"You've had ample opportunity to attack." He pointed out from a place deep in his throat. "Why should I waste my energy on an exhausted pup when I came here to fight a wolf?"
"I am fairly certain I am older than you." She raised an eyebrow.
He tisked with a scant shake of his head. "And I'm fairly certain you're on your last leg."
That struck her in her pride, he saw the way she bristled. She slid a foot back, ready to lunge. He came to a stop and raised his chin. Baring his teeth he looked down on her, a dare. Her hands flexed and for a miniscule moment she glanced to his friends before offering the slightest of sneers.
Then she was landing a palm strike against his sternum, forcing him to skitter back from her assault as she spun to drop a kick down against his shoulder. He barely twisted away and when her foot cracked against the earth below, it caused the ground to splinter and cave in a small crater. He eyed the divot and then the woman who strode over it to face him. His fingers wrapped around her wrist as she threw a powerful punch, using the hold to drag her closer to him so he could hook a leg around one of hers. The action bent her backward, contorting her spine in a deep arch under his guidance, but he kept her aloft with his grip on her wrist, with the knee that pressed into her back.
"There's that pretty rage again." He lowered his face closer to hers, holding her gaze, and spoke in a voice low and deep. "I like what it turns you into."
She wrenched back, her free palm bracing against the ground as she flipped out of his hold into a handstand before her feet hit the ground.
Hiei remained lunged the way he'd been holding her for a moment before standing up straighter.
When her next assault came he brushed her hits to the sides. Amon didn't seem to notice that he was mimicking her earlier movements, her strange grace, practicing her careful steps and they way she seemed to glide with her body.
"I've never seen him move like that. It's almost like they're dancing." Kuwabara muttered under his breath. "It's kinda graceful."
"Almost." Kurama nodded, finger tapping at his chin. "He must have learned that from her. He hasn't mastered it yet, though. It seems starkly different than his usual style. It's definitely aimed more toward minimizing damage rather than executing the most force. It seems primarily defensive."
As though they could hear the others, Amon and Hiei spun around each other, backs nearly brushing as they swapped places, a movement that created upward spirals of dust. He pushed her arm to the side as she lashed out only to be taken across the jaw by the elbow of the same arm as she twisted in place on her toes to use all the momentum her punch had built and lost.
It wasn't until Hiei slid a foot behind him in preparation to assault that he realized the trap she'd sprung on him. Glancing behind himself, he spied the body of water that Amon had so destructively carved out of his training room. With a raised eyebrow he turned his attention to the woman only to widen his eyes as she appeared directly in front of him, fist twisted in his shirt. With an outstretched arm she forced his body back over the water, letting him struggled to keep his toes on the ledge.
"How does my rage look to you now?" She wondered, stepping closer but keeping her arm straight so that it forced him to lean further back. "Is it still pretty to you? Is this what you want to see from me?"
Hiei refused to look at the water, instead focusing on Amon's suddenly icy blue eyes, the stern set of her mouth. He brought on hand up to grip her arm as it held onto him. His warm palm soothed the gooseflesh rising as the cold of the water rose upward to them. "I want to see everything you have to offer, Amon. I can take it. I may be the only one who can."
Amon ignored his offer, and looked toward Benji. "Now would be a good time to offer the king's guests a beverage, Benji."
Hiei wasn't sure if it was her tone, or if it was the arrogance of so flippantly offering guidance while ignoring him that triggered a need to prove a point. Knowing her one true weakness, protecting him at any cost, he chose to step back as though he would let himself fall into the dark frigid abyss behind him. Amon's eyes flashed wide and she yanked him hard to her chest to keep him from plummeting down.
She barely had a second to process her own reaction before Hiei surged to find his footing so he could assault her. His strikes landed harder, with less reservation. She still tried to slip back, avoid any direct contact from his bone aching strength. A connection with her ribs resulted in sharp nails digging into his scalp, her grip on his hair so severe it threatened to yank the dark strands from the roots. Hiei followed her wordless command, the twist of her wrist and went down hard against the ground.
Knees on his biceps, bottom on his chest, Amon straddled the king with her hand buried in his thick dark strands. Her eyes shone like blue embers, like a summer sky caught aflame. She used her hold to force his head back before bending forward over him so that loose strands of red from her ponytail fell around them. Her other hand dared to take his throat with a delicate pressure of her palm against his windpipe, of her nails grazing against the sides of his neck.
A gentle threat.
But a threat nonetheless.
"I know I am not stronger than you." Amon spoke carefully, gently, for Hiei as though she could persuade him. "In an all out fight you would likely win. But do you yield?"
Likely Hiei mused silently. He was able to free one arm, raising his hand to pry her hand from his throat before sliding his fingers between hers, grip tight.
"I will yield when I am dead." He assured her warmly and then bucked his hips to disrupt her balance, ignoring Yusuke's loud 'Hot Damn'. He kept hold of their join hands and turned his grip into an arm bar. "And you, Amon? Knowing that I'll inevitably win, will you yield?"
The pressure on her elbow and shoulder threatened a break. Amon gave what lenience that she could to his hold. She knew he didn't want to hurt her. He never wanted to actually hurt her. She also knew that he was desperate to see her stand up to him, to maintain their status. He wanted her teeth pressed to his throat if only to prove she'd do it. If she let him break her arm he'd be in his head for the an indeterminate amount of time, blaming himself. He would treat her as fragile. Worse if she relented he'd fear she wasn't up to par, that she was still under the command of a ghost.
In an age before now, in a time before Greyfield, she would have made a startling choice to throw an enemy off her. She would have shown her hand, to a certain degree.
She would have done anything to win.
Greyfield was dead and the king was begging her, in his way. So she answered, a flicker of her old self reigniting that she thought had died long before chained in a cell in the dark.
Wrenching herself upwards and back, she let her shoulder pull from the joint. The sound visibly shocked the king who let her slip from his grip though one of her gloves remained in his hold. Garnet eyes flashed wide as though he'd made some terrible mistake. How quickly he blamed his own judgment, she told herself. He rolled, coming to his hands and knees to stare at her and her limp arm when she moved away from him.
Kuwabara started forward, as though he would put an end to the fight but stopped at Benji's outstretched hand, white gloved fingers spread wide. "Kid, move."
"Miss Amon said to stay out of the way until the king approached me." Benji frowned at him with glimmering green eyes, using the firm tone he'd been practicing with Amon. "Miss Amon is never wrong about things. You can't interfere."
"She's hurt." Kuwabara protested, flinging his arm toward the two demons. "You can see that, right?"
"Miss Amon has been hurt before. She's strong. She'll be okay." Benji promised him, turning his attention forward. "She told me to not worry, so I won't. Even if I want to."
Kuwabara hesitated then fell back with the others, beaten by the boy's faith in his mentor.
"She would tell me if she needed help." Benji muttered to himself, watching the fight carefully. It was a truth that he knew inherently. It was the intrinsic trust he had in the woman.
Kurama frowned at the back of his green head, then turned his stalwart attention back to the pair grappling.
"I have been through hell." She told Hiei, voice stern and eyes unblinking. It reminded him of the woman he'd seen in that forgotten study, watching a man die days after she'd killed him. Standing a short distance from the king, Amon placed her wrist between her knees, opposite palm on her shoulder and with a decisive movement she reset the joint. She barely made a sound through the ordeal, as grimace the main indication that she felt the pain at all. The scent of fresh rain perfumed the air as green light glowed around her hand pressed to the injury. "If you think you'll be the one to make me beg of my free will, you are mistaken my king. You may stain my knees, you may mark my body, but you will never be strong enough to make me bow my head through force. You will have to take it off first."
The three men watching exchanged looks, offering their own differing interpretations to her words silently with raised and lowered brows. Finally, Kurama looked down and sighed, hands lifted as though he were admitting defeat. Blue eyes glanced the movement, but only from the peripheral.
Good.
Let that teach the fox to speak on her behalf again.
A heat seared upwards from Hiei's navel to his brain, twining with his spine at her words. At the look on her face. The relentlessness. The rage. The absolutely determination to win. There was a pulse of power that swept from her stillness. It rushed over his skin like a crashing of waves, threatening to take him from his knees. As he looked up at her, he did so with a sense of awe he had not felt in ages.
"I am yours to use as you please." Amon assured Hiei, rising to her full height to look down on him as she rolled her shoulders back to stand tall, chin dipped so their eyes could meet. "As long as I allow it. As long as I will it. This land is yours, this kingdom ruled by your hand, but I am a free demon and I will never be a slave to any man again. No matter how many commands I accept, or what duties I perform. You will never own me."
"You know how to make a king feel better about his choices, that's for sure." Hiei rose to his feet. He eyed her shoulder though, a pinch touching his eyes even as she flexed her hand. "Yet, I know your will to please."
"You've known me for little more than a year." The statement held an edge, offered with a cold stare as though he should feel warned.
"Is that all? It feels like a lifetime more." Hiei grinned at her in response, teeth bared. The glove he'd managed to steal off of her turned to ash in his grip, filtering to the ground as dying embers. "Time is fickle that way."
They stood staring at each other. Hiei flexed his hand. Amon lowered her chin. Her eyes moved toward the entrance of the cavern where the others stood and observed as she considered her choices. How much she was willing to reveal to these strangers. She'd flay herself bare before the king in the right mood. His friends, however kind they were, did not have his same privileges.
"Don't look at them, Amon. Look at me." Hiei demanded. He slid one foot behind himself and raised his eyebrows. "What are you so afraid of?"
"Hurting you." She admitted, running her gloved fingers through her bangs, her bare hand by her side. "The last time we fought without my gloves I nearly drowned you. I am afraid I cannot control myself properly to keep you safe. After all, you told me not to use my power without you to monitor me. I have had no chance to practice."
"I'm not frightened."
She snorted in poor humor at his arrogant assurance. "That is exactly why you require me to be by your side. To make up for your own lack of judgment."
"Insulting a king?" Hiei grinned, crimson irises alight. "That's brave."
"I suppose we'll see." She lowered herself slightly, a crouch prepared to spring.
Hiei rushed her, a blur of black and heat, tendrils of red dust swirling up from around his heels and toes. Amon listed back and to the side, a movement of practice. In the blurs of his movement hers where enshrouded. Long nails connected to his sternum and drug to the side by his own momentum, following the curve of his ribs. Two bare fingers. A gasp, a pivot, a roll. Hiei hit the ground and rolled a few feet as his mouth fell agape, his lungs seized and empty.
As suddenly as it disappeared the air surged back into his chest. It was so disorientingly fast. Visceral. The line cut through his shirt by knife-sharp nails was the only indication he'd been touched, but he had felt the surge of energy, he'd smelled petrichor before he'd been robbed of all the air in his body.
She hadn't even cut into his flesh yet she'd managed to quite literally seize the air from his lungs and hold it hostage.
Staring up at the ceiling of the caverns, Hiei contemplated the situation. He didn't bother moving for a few seconds as he gathered his thoughts. The precision required for her to know what to do, and to execute the act so efficiently was nothing short of remarkable.
Yusuke frowned from his post, irritated as he spoke to his friends. "Did you see what happened?"
"No." Kuwabara and Kurama uttered in unison, both with their own frustrations.
"That's unfortunate." He muttered.
"Miss Amon is fast. She's strong." Benji informed them as if they didn't understand. The way he cast a look toward the three men reminded them of the woman herself. "She's stronger than the generals. And the king trusts her. You should too."
Crimson eyes rolled toward the woman who remained in her lunge after a few contemplative seconds. Blue eyes turned to meet his gaze without a smile, Amon's body a coil prepared to spring at the slightest move on his part.
"You are magnificent." Hiei offered breathlessly, eyes full of light, still on his back as he realized that, without reservation, even in her anger she still called herself his.
A dusting of pink crossed the woman's features before she turned away from him, suddenly embarrassed. "What good is a tool if it is not sharp?"
"I think we both know that you're more than that, Amon." Again her cheeks darkened and she jutted her face further away. He had no choice but to think the action was cute. Finally, Hiei rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up to standing."I think we've had enough today, don't you?"
"If the point is made, then yes, thank you." With the words she sank to sit on the ground, her bravado gone, legs stretched out in a V before her. Quickly, with effort, she pulled a secondary pair of gloves from her pocket, removing the remaining cotton covering so she could slide her hands into the leather as though she couldn't bare the brush of air over her skin. "I am tired."
"Good."
Hiei walked toward her, his fingertips tracing over her cheek downward to trace her jaw so that he could raise her chin with two fingers, guiding her to look at his face. "You impressed me, Amon. However, you'll need to explain how you managed to get me down."
Sweat trailing down her temple, skin warm to the touch with the heat of exertion she held his gaze readily. "Is a woman allowed no secrets, sire?"
"Perhaps someone's might have the privilege." His hold on her face adjusted, hand taking hold of her chin and jaw with a gentle firmness. "Call me sire again. You may be tired but I have another round in me, Amon."
Her lips flattened into a line and he released her, retracting his touch as though it could dispel the urge to drag her closer to him. He turned and tried to wipe the feeling of her skin from his hands by rubbing them against his stained pants. After, he fingered the ruined lines of his shirt, the frayed and cut threads revealing flesh underneath, as he walked to Benji.
"Water." Hiei demanded without any other preamble and Benji nodded, moving quickly to fill the request. When presented with the cold cup, the king downed the liquid as though he may never receive it again. After finishing the glass, red eyes landed on the boy's face. "Do not follow her example in this, Benji. It is rarely worth injuring yourself to escape a captor. You do not possess her ability to heal, and it would not serve you to copy her motives."
"Oh, I don't think I could even if I wanted to." Benji paled at the thought. "That sounded really painful."
"Good." Hiei rested his palm on the boy's crown. "I know you are tempted to follow her in most things."
"I don't like fighting." Benji admitted sheepishly, ducking into his shoulders. "I'm not like Miss Amon. I'm not very strong and I do not have a good pain tolerance."
Hiei nodded, having suspected as much. He removed his hand from Benji's head, turning slightly to spy Amon still sitting where he'd left her. She watched them with a secret smile. Red eyes looked down to his feet then back to the boy before patting Benji's shoulder and moving toward the stairs leading up to the door.
"Go help your mentor, Benji. I'm sure she has a full day planned."
"She said you'd say that." Benji beamed at him, brilliant and alarmingly innocent for an exchange in the underbelly of the castle. "Isn't Miss Amon so smart?"
"Mhmm." Hiei answered, already leaving them behind. He paused on the landing the sound of Amon's voice calling to him as she finally got to her feet.
"Air." She spoke firmly, confidently, patting at the dust on her pants as though this were a simple conversation and not a confession. "It is my other element, King Hiei. Once upon a time, it may have been my strongest."
He turned and stared down at her. "Air?"
"And water, as you know." She nodded, looking up at him finally with a warm grin. "Though I was always a bit of a late bloomer."
He considered her words for a moment. "I'll make sure to give you more time to practice."
"I wanted to apologize." Kurama's dark red hair falling over Amon's shoulder made the woman go still, pupils pinpoint at the fact she had not heard him approach her. Casually, she allowed the night's menu to fall from her hand to the counter top before stepping forward and away from him, rounding the island in the kitchen to keep herself facing the man who had snuck up on her.
She would bet her life on the fact that it was not a coincidence that he approached her when no other staff was present.
Warily, she glanced over him, head to toe and back up.
"You have no reason to offer me an apology." She informed him, plastering on a professional smile that did not reach her eyes.
Eyebrow crooked upwards, he took her in. "I disagree, and I think you know why."
"I do not." She assured him, smile refusing to slip. "I am in the middle of finalizing tonight's menu. Is there anything else you needed?"
Kurama frowned, assessing the woman before him. Her bruises and scrapes had been healed already and she looked none the worse for wear from her fight with Hiei just a few short hours before. Her declaration at the end of the fight had been for all of them, as much as it had been for the king, he was positive. An open secret for them to share. A precarious display of trust.
"When Hiei approached me earlier, I wasn't sure why he needed the information. I did not want to give away something you would prefer protected. I realize that I was wrong in my assumptions. I should not have interfered." Kurama explained to her, bare bones as he could.
Her armor cracked, her facade falling as she looked around the empty kitchen.
"King Hiei, despite his reputation, is plagued by certain concerns." Amon informed him without a smile. "Delicate suggestions from reputable sources can cause him to doubt. It can cause him to delve deeply into shallow waters."
Kurama nodded, opening his hands to her with a shrug. "Again, I did not mean any harm. It was quite the opposite."
"Am I supposed to thank you for your good intentions?" Amon wondered aloud, head tipped to the side as she studied him. "I am more than aware that you do not trust me, Mr. Kurama. I am also aware that the king knows this. I do not want to be the cause of strife between the two of you. I did not invite you here just to put myself between you."
"I think I am supposed to thank you for your good intentions, Amon." Kurama informed her with a genuine but small smile. "I know that Hiei was opposed to seeing us again, but I wanted to thank you for risking his ire to reunite us."
"I didn't do it for you." She assured him.
"I know." He acknowledged, still smiling, still soft. "I do not like the amount of secrets you have, but it is obvious that despite the unknown, you are genuine in your concern and adoration of my friend. Thank you. Sincerely."
"It is my pleasure to serve the king." Amon lifted her chin slightly, a challenge that went unanswered. "You're welcome, Mr. Kurama. Thank you for coming, whether he knew it or not, the king needed you here. From what I've gleaned, you are one of his closest friends."
"Gleaned?" Kurama grinned. "I think perhaps it's more than that, isn't it?"
"I'm not sure that it is." She hedged.
He laughed, but did not push it. "I would like to get to you know you better, Amon. For my own peace of mind. I am not always as kind as the others, but I do have Hiei's best interests at heart."
"Your suggestion?" Amon wondered, retracting as though he might reach over the counter between them and grab her.
"Tea. In the library." He continued to regard her with warmth. "I was in there earlier when Hiei found me, and I could tell you had not yet visited. I think a conversation over tea before you explore shouldn't be too tall of an order."
"Tonight is a big night." She hesitated. "I have a speech to make."
"I will not make you late."
"Did he learn that from you, or did you learn that from him? That quite style of command?" Amon regarded the fox before her, with his sparkling green eyes. Her lips pursed with the question.
"From me, I'd hazard." He answered simply. "Can I help you prepare for our date?"
"I would greatly prefer if you did not call it a date, nor interfere with the flow of my kitchen." She warded him off with a raised hand.
"Flow?" His question was drowned out by the sudden influx of staff into the kitchen, a flood of demons donning aprons and moving into the work stations. A gloved hand gestured to the crowd in a loose way. "I see."
"A schedule is no good if it is not kept." Amon informed him before handing the menu she'd been working on to the cook who reached for it. "There is an order to all things and I do not like them being disrupted."
"That's an understatement." The cook snorted before turning to the other staff. "Alright, prep stations here are your marching orders for the night, let's get through this with minimal causalities."
Marielle, tying an apron around her waist approached Amon silently but cast Kurama a glance. Amon offered a subtle shrug.
"We are going." Amon explained with raised hands as the cook rounded on her, about to bark an order. "I merely need a teapot and two cups."
"What kind of tea?" Marielle asked already at the cabinet looking through labeled jars.
"White." Kurama and Amon answered in unison. Amon gestured to the man as if to prove a point. "No sugar or cream."
"I suppose I should not be surprised that you know how I prefer my tea." Kurama guessed. "Thank you, Amon. I'll get out of your hair and meet you upstairs.I promise not to keep you too long."
After he was gone from the room nearly everyone turned to eye the redhead, who pursed her lips again. "It is not how you all think. He is a friend of the king's and I am honoring a request from him to converse over tea. There is nothing else to it."
"Does the king know?" Marielle asked, grimacing.
"I do not know, but doubtless he will find out." Amon sighed heavily, as though this were a great burden added to her plate. "What a pain."
"Oh, the human had another request." One of the cooks declared. "I think we can accommodate it though."
"The king's friends are honored guests, it is best we acquiesce to their needs within reason." As she spoke it sounded to everyone in the room as though Amon were trying to convince herself. She took the tray offered to her with a teapot and two cups. "Thank you all. I will see you tonight. Do not forget that after tomorrow's breakfast most of you are free to enjoy a week off. Those of you who will continue working you have my thanks. Your week off will follow the first."
"When is her week off?" A prep cook asked aloud after Amon left. "That would be the real vacation for us."
Marielle frowned at him. "Mind your business and do your work. Amon works hard for everyone's benefit. Besides, you weren't here before she arrived. You don't know how it was. We were overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated. At least now we know our expectations and get treated fairly."
Amon stood outside the door to the library for over a minute before striking up the resolve to enter, mostly driven by the need to prevent the tea from growing bitter for being over steeped. The space still felt forbidden to her, even though she'd been guaranteed that was not the case. Particles of dust filtered and danced through the air as she moved further in, the light catching stray pieces. Kurama had been correct, the room desperately needed a detailed cleaning.
It was a shame, Amon felt, as she looked at the many shelves housing tomes of various subjects, ages, and states of use. The books deserved better than dusty shelves and unwashed floors. She'd have to remedy the situation as soon as possible.
"Over here." Kurama waved at her from around a shelf. Following his guidance, she strode in that direction, rounding the shelf to find a small table in front of a wide set of glass doors leading to a balcony she had never noticed before.
Granted she rarely patrolled the grounds. It was no surprised she didn't know it existed. On the few trips out of the castle, she'd never faced this particular wing. Her understanding was the eastern wing was nearly abandoned, aside from the closest rooms to the main halls.
She set the tray of tea and light snacks onto the table, taking the time to arranged them for easy reach for the man she was entertaining. Her eyes kept straying to the glass doors and the light that poured in through the panes. Kurama seemed to catch her line of interest and strode over.
"We can open them." He explained easily, flicking the lock as though he'd done it a million and one times, then he threw the doors open.
Amon held her breath as the scents and noises of the market filtered in suddenly. Stepping closer she studied their vantage point and found herself overlooking the thick of the town center, the statue she'd commissioned of Mukuro standing proud with tokens of honor decorating her feet.
"I'm glad." She murmured to herself, softening at the sight. "I think the king will be happy to see that others share his affection."
"For Mukuro?" Kurama guessed, following her line of sight. "I admit, I was surprised to see such a response to her effigy. It was thoughtful of you to have it created."
"The people deserve a place to honor her. Her true grave is on the grounds and out of public view. That is for the king." Amon explained easily. "I am happy that they've been receptive."
"I see." Kurama nodded behind her, watching the kindness gracing her features. The sincerity of her declaration. "I think Hiei is appreciative, whether he's told you or not. She meant a great deal to him. Having her honored is a great kindness."
Amon merely offered a singular bob of her head.
"Would you sit with me?" He asked gently. "I promise this is not an interrogation, Amon. I sincerely just need to feel better about my friend relying on you so completely."
"You make it sound so contrasting to how it is." She agreed to his request, moving to the table. Still, she pulled his chair out for him before pouring their tea and claiming the seat across from his. "I rely on the king. Despite my claims, he could easily do without me."
"I'm not certain that's true." Kurama hedged. "You've helped him greatly."
She didn't contradict him, sipping the liquid quietly. Inhaling the scent of the brew, she closed her eyes to absorb the moment. She was in a library enjoying expensive tea above a bustling city full of life.
It was almost like she was a child again.
The feeling of it all brought a bit of peace to her heart, a balm on ancient scars.
"Thank you." Amon finally lifted her gaze to meet the veridian eyes across from her. She spoke with a warm softness, a smile to match. "This meeting place is bringing me great comfort, thank you for sharing it with me."
Kurama lowered his teacup without taking a sip, struck by her expression. Cautiously, he reached over the table and stole away the tear that had slipped down her cheek. She watched his hand warily but did not retract. When she realized what he'd done she reached up to her cheek herself, then seemed to remember she wore gloves and lowered her hand.
"I think I see now what Kuwabara has been sensing in you." Kurama admitted quietly, almost ashamed of his distrust suddenly.
"And that is?" Amon inquired quietly, pretending the previous had not happened. She swallowed and went back to cradling her teacup between her palms, the thumb of her right hand tracing the lip.
"A deep turmoil smothering a rather warm spirit." He set his cup down completely. "He described you as radiating sunlight when your walls fell, in case you didn't hear that part of the conversation."
"I did not." This smile was wan, but an attempt was made. "It's a kind sentiment."
"I agree with him." His words seemed to bring her out of her thoughts, and she finally met his gaze again. "Amon, what has happened to you?"
She swallowed and looked down at the liquid cooling in her teacup, studied her reflection in the still water. She weighed the details of her story against his intentions, against the king's wishes, against her own mortally wounded pride. He did not press, instead waiting patiently with a look of genuine concern.
"I was stolen." She finally spoke. "I was stolen from myself and I'm not sure that I'll get me back, fully."
Kurama leaned back, frowning as he watched her pick her sentences. He could tell from the way her eyes read an invisible script that she was practicing what to offer, what to protect.
"I was captured by a Slavemaker when I was still quite young. I had stopped at an inn on my way to a village in need of a hero. I never did get to take that warlord's head." She brought the cup to her mouth, inhaling the scent again and sipped it delicately. "For a century and a half, at least, I remained in his snare. He was not a kind man. He was not just or particularly strong of character."
"He is your monster." Kurama understood. "This is the man you helped kill?"
"I did not, technically, help. That would have gone against one of his Perdurable Commands." Amon shook her head, setting her cup on the table, allowing her hands to fall away from the ceramic. "I made it known how easy it might be to get to him if I weren't in the way. If I'm being honest, I figured they'd have to kill me to stop me." She gathered herself. "When I awoke, he was dead, and I made sure he stayed that way. Then I was captured and thrown into prison."
"You endured for so long. What changed?" He asked gently. "What forced your hand?"
"He killed someone to punish me." She explained and a quiet rage trailed into her tone. "He brutalized her to prove a point to me. He killed her the way he could not kill me. So, I made him pay." A new shine entered her eyes when she met his face with cool resolve. "I am good at keeping a balanced ledger, Mr. Kurama, and Greyfield had incurred too much debt to forgive."
The sudden shift from softness to sharpness piqued his interest, as she shifted slightly in her seat to straighten her back. Her hands stopped fidgeting he noticed. She held an undeniable confidence in her statement.
"Are there other names in your ledger?" He wondered curious if she'd answer.
"I have a book of receipts and will balance the debts at my earliest convenience." She did not smile, and this news did not make her gleeful to share. "The king is aware, in case you were wondering."
"I figured he would be, if you were willing to speak to me openly about it." Kurama nodded, finally reaching for his tea and sipping it.
"He is a good man, despite his thoughts about himself. I enjoy serving under him." She explained, smiling again, that gentle light coming back to the surface. "It is because of him that I can feel as though Alaric is my home. For the first time since I was a child, I am safe somewhere."
A pang hit Kurama in the ribs at her words, more guilt eating at him. "I misjudged you."
"You did not. You sensed a predator and that's what I am, Mr. Kurama. You simply misidentified the prey." She expressed, drinking from her own cup as they shared a look.
"Happy hunting." He lifted his cup to her in salute, and she chuckled in acceptance.