Chapter 12
The long grass was cold and wet on her bare legs and feet as Rin stalked through the trees. Ahead, a silhouette loomed against the lights of the hotel, a dark shape with twisting horns. Its back was to her, tail swishing through the underbrush as it stood sentry.
She crept closer, feeling out with her spiritual awareness as she did so, until she was only steps behind it. The demon smelled like a compost pile that hadn't been turned for a while, like rank and rotting green things. It shifted its weight and grumbled something to itself.
Dropping her invisibility, Rin summoned her Spirit Energy and thrust her knives, formed thin and wickedly sharp, into the pressure points on its lower back. They glowed with a soft light that only she could see. The demon got out half a croak before it collapsed like an unsteady house of cards. She crouched over it and stabbed the pressure points in its neck to make sure it would be out for a while.
No killing. That was her rule after the chaotic nightmare of the Dark Tournament. She had killed back then because it was life or death. Kill or be killed. She told herself then that she had no choice. But every night after she got back, she woke up screaming, seeing their faces, their screams of agony, the lakes of blood. Her knives were made for bloody, brutal, close quarters combat, a style of murder that could not be ignored or looked away from. Not if she wanted to survive. She had to be vicious and fast as her strikes drained the light from their eyes. But even if they were demons, they were still people with memories and lives that Rin had wiped out. Erased. They would be with her always, and she refused to add any more to their number. Therapy and medication could only do so much.
And yet many of her memories of the tournament were happy. The card games, the banter, the camaraderie, Yusuke's brash personality, Kurama's sly charm, Hiei's acerbic wit, Kuwabara's heart of gold... She realized now that she missed it. She missed the boys. Missed their group and the feeling of belonging. And though Botan had visited periodically for a while after Rin left, keeping her updated on all the goings-on with Sensui and the Demon World Tournament, they had lost touch, as even the closest of friends can. So her memories of her time with the Spirit Detective and his team were marked with both wistfulness and joy, pain and horror. There was a hole in her heart where the four of them belonged, far larger than she had ever been willing to admit.
Rin continued her circuit of the hotel grounds, looking for more demons. The area around the hotel was all hills and dense forest: ideal for demons to hide, but also ideal for a hunter looking to ambush her quarry.
Another silhouette came into view ahead. Using her spiritual awareness, she felt out the demon's aura. It radiated with power like a small sun; she could almost taste the sour electricity on the air. S-class for sure, and her acupuncture stun technique wouldn't work on a creature so strong. Instead of attacking, she left an energy knife concealed under a bush, infusing the knife with a tiny marker of her energy so that Hiei or Kurama could track it and take care of the enemy fighter. Rin was careful to make the spiritual signature so small as to be virtually undetectable unless someone was searching for her energy specifically.
Earlier, during their war council on the patio, Kurama had proposed a simple, elegant strategy: Yusuke, Shizuru, Botan, and Keiko would go back into the reception and distract Kuwabara and Yukina, while the stealth fighters - Rin, Hiei, and Kurama - would engage the enemy. The two demons would go after the stronger targets, while Rin would scout around, taking out weaker demons and flagging the stronger ones with her Spirit Knives. Hiei and Kurama would be attuned to her energy and looking for the markers she left behind.
"Aw, but I wanna fight," Yusuke whined as Keiko dragged him toward the patio doors by his arm. "I love fighting. You know that."
"Kuwabara will suspect something if all his friends mysteriously disappear," Keiko replied sensibly. "Shizuru's right. They have to do this quietly. And you, Yusuke Urameshi, are anything but quiet."
"Come on, Keiko," Yusuke pleaded. "Just one little fight."
"You're still making it up to me for all the parties we missed every time you go running off to Demon World, or did you forget?" Keiko said, flipping her hair with a grin. "Besides, what would happen if we were all gone and they attacked the reception, huh? Did you think of that, wise guy?" She punctuated those last two words in a way that reminded Rin intensely of Genkai.
The Spirit Detective grumbled but let himself be towed away.
"That girl is a saint," Rin said to herself in awe.
"Yes, but a saint of what, I'm not quite sure," Botan said with a magenta wink.
As he was dragged inside, Yusuke called, "A beast, a Saint Beast!"
Rin heard the distinct sound of Keiko's fist hitting Yusuke's arm and his mock-howl of pain as the patio doors swung shut.
Once the others had left, it was just Kurama, Hiei and Rin standing there.
"Shall we get started?" Kurama asked, motioning towards the patio railing.
After the showdown with Hiei, the fox had included Rin in his calculations. If nothing else, Kurama was practical, and he would use all of the game pieces at his disposal to secure a win. Regardless, Rin knew she would have to be on her best behavior to assuage his doubts.
Hiei grunted his assent, stripped off his suit jacket and dress shirt, and flung the clothes on a nearby chair, leaving him standing there in only a black undershirt. He stooped to untie his dress shoes, and Rin giggled before she could stop herself.
"What on earth are you laughing at?" he snapped, his cheeks coloring a faint pink in the moonlight.
"I just realized - every time I've seen you fight for real, you end up losing your shirt," Rin said, unable to control her snickering. "I guess at least it's good you took it off first and it didn't literally disintegrate this time."
Kurama ducked his head to hide his chuckling and said, "I'm afraid she does have a point, Hiei."
Hiei rounded on Rin, incensed. He tossed one of his shoes away with rather more force than was necessary. "You're the one who was so insistent about keeping these ridiculous clothes clean," he spat. "I am more than capable of covering them in blood, if that's what you want."
Rin couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, to the fire demon's consternation. It was just so classic Hiei. He looked stunned for a moment, then harrumphed and turned his back to her. The moonlight limned the planes of his back in silvery light, picking out each and every lean muscle beneath his tight undershirt. Rin realized she was staring and looked away, but not before Kurama caught her eye and quirked a brow.
Blushing, she said quickly, "Let's get going. The sooner we start, the sooner we can be back at the party and nobody gets suspicious."
As they gathered at the railing, Rin stared at the ten-storey drop and realized that she had no idea how she was going to get down. The enemy would have eyes all of the normal exits, so she couldn't just waltz out the front doors. The two demons would jump down, but regardless of her spiritual powers, she was still only human. A drop like that would leave her in no shape to walk, let alone fight.
"Guys, I think we forgot something," she said, pointing at the drop. "I can't fly."
Hiei pointedly ignored her and hopped up on the railing, but before he could make his exit, Kurama had already vaulted up and over. A cheery "Good luck" floated back on the breeze. His figure grew smaller and smaller as he plummeted to the ground, leaves blooming from his shoulders like a parachute opening to slow his fall. Rin and the fire demon watched wordlessly with twin nonplussed expressions.
Kurama, you asshole, Rin thought. She had already pissed Hiei off with the joke about being shirtless. There was a non-zero chance that he would just leave her up here.
"Um…" she said, giving Hiei a sidelong glance.
"Now the poor human girl needs my help," said Hiei as he turned to her, a slow, evil smile spreading over his face. "But I wonder if I may be too shirtless for you. I wouldn't want to offend your delicate human sensibilities." He crossed his arms and stared down at her imperiously, red eyes flashing in the dark, lips quirked up at one corner in a smirk.
Heat rushed to Rin's face. The fire demon jumped down next to her with a small puff of air from his landing, as quiet as a cat.
"I guess you could carry me piggyback," she said, trying to ignore his 'shirtless' comment and staring into space. "Or I could go out the employee entrance? They might not be watching that."
Before her brain had even registered the movement, Hiei had swept her up in his arms, bridal carry style.
"What, what! Oh my god, what are you doing?" she hissed as she flailed in his arms. "Put me down!" The wave of heat that suffused her body had nothing to do with the fire demon's natural warmth.
"Quiet."
That single sharp word of command spoken right in her ear surprised her so much that she stilled immediately. She could feel the feathery touch of his breath on her face, the shift and warmth of his body against hers, his hands gripping her bare skin, and the faint tinge of wood smoke that always clung to him. He jumped up lightly on the railing with her in his arms, as though she weighed nothing at all, then leapt into space.
"Don't drop me, don't drop me," she yelled in his ear as they flew through the air, wrapping her arms around his neck like a boa constrictor. Her stomach dropped perilously. She had always hated heights, which of course Hiei knew and had apparently remembered.
All at once trees surrounded them, dark shapes in the night, and she gripped him harder and pressed her face into his neck, not wanting to see the myriad potential collisions with tree trunks and branches. Hiei landed in a crouch on the leaf-strewn forest floor with barely a thump and set Rin on her feet as gently as you please.
"I hate you so much," she hissed at him as her legs shook and her heart pounded.
He only chuckled quietly as he disappeared into the trees.
Once her legs had stopped violently vibrating and she got her breath back, Rin went on the prowl. After she had marked the first S-class, she had taken out three more weaker demons, as well as finding and marking a second S-class.
She thought she heard a choked scream, cut off abruptly, from the dark forest in her wake. It lasted only a second and did not come again. She wondered whether it was Hiei or Kurama who had taken care of the target.
Looking at the hotel to get her bearings, Rin saw the lights of the lobby and the cars parked in front. She had circled the entire hotel, just as Kurama had planned, and now it was time to head to the parking lot and regroup. She crept behind parked cars, ducking low and holding the bundle of her dress around her waist so it wouldn't make a sound.
A person that could only be Sanzu Nokawa was waiting in front of the lobby doors, just outside of the warm pool of light cast from the hotel. Not close enough to be seen by guests inside, but near enough that he couldn't be easily ambushed. Rin could only see him in silhouette. Botan had said that the rebel leader had given them half an hour to deliver Yusuke, and that time was almost up.
Rin found her familiar blue car and slumped against it. Ever practical, Kurama had decided that her vehicle would be the rendezvous point, since they all knew what it looked like. A fleeting wish that she could just get in and drive away ran through her mind, but she pushed it away.
"Still adhering to that tiresome 'no killing' rule, I see," came Hiei's voice out of the darkness. He materialized next to her, a dark shadow that radiated heat. "You've become merciful in your old age."
Shaking her head, she said, "They're down, and that's what matters."
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Yes, I know: 'an enemy left alive is an enemy looking for revenge.' I remember your little saying."
"Hmph." Hiei crossed his arms.
"The grounds are clear," Kurama said as he appeared next to Hiei. "Shall we bring this exciting diversion to a close?"
The fire demon jerked his chin in a curt nod and the two of them strode out of the shadows side by side. Rin followed behind, her Spirit Knives sizzling in each hand.
The rebel leader turned at their approach so that he was backlit by the lights from the hotel. Sanzu Nokawa was tall and thin, eight feet at least, with close-cropped hair and bulging compound eyes like those of an insect. He was wearing a trench coat that brushed the ground, which reminded Rin unpleasantly of Toguro.
Rin shuddered and kept behind her two allies. When she reached out with her spirit senses, she saw that Nokawa's aura was huge. No pressure points that she could see; her sight tended not to work on more powerful demons. Hiei or Kurama could take him alone with difficulty or together easily, but she would only get in the way. Despite continuing to train after her departure from the Spirit Detective's group, she was nowhere near as strong as the two demons or this unwanted intruder.
"You aren't Urameshi." Nokawa said. His voice was high and almost… buzzing, like television static or the space between stations on the radio. He wasn't surprised, or even affronted. More disappointed than anything. "I told the ferry girl to bring me the Spirit Detective."
"I'm afraid our friend Yusuke is otherwise occupied at the moment," Kurama replied, smooth and calm as always, "And your friends are either dead or out of commission."
Next to him Hiei was still as a statue, every muscle tense, his eyes locked on the rebel leader. Rin couldn't see his expression, but she didn't need to. This demon had dared to disrupt Yukina's wedding, and that was a deed to be punished with a slow and painful death.
"Move and you die," Hiei said, his voice low and venomous as a rattlesnake. "Or go ahead, just try to leave. I'll eviscerate you anyway. It won't matter; your fate was sealed the moment you threatened my sister's happiness. And, for the record, the Spirit Detective's final fight is with me."
Sanzu Nokawa blinked, lids sliding over bulbous reflective eyes, then sighed. A long, thin tongue slipped out of his mouth and tasted the air. It reminded Rin of something, but she couldn't put her finger on what.
"She told me, but did I listen?" he said to himself. "No. Plan B it is, then."
The demon shrugged his shoulders, sloughing off the trench coat. Without the coat, Nokawa was skinny, so thin that his limbs looked like ramen noodles, and Rin thought she could probably clasp her hands around his wasp-thin waist with room to spare. She had never seen a demon with his build, but she knew better than to underestimate him.
Hiei and Kurama stalked forward in sync to flank the enemy. The two of them had been working together for so long that they didn't even need to talk. Rin gripped her knives tighter and activated her invisibility, moving so that she had a clear shot at the demon's head. She would aim for Nokawa's unsettling insectoid eyes.
A blast of air and dust hit them all at once, and Rin covered her eyes reflexively. Under the hail of debris, she saw something vibrating in the air around Nokawa. Then his feet left the ground.
Wings. He had wings concealed under his trench coat. But neither feathery nor scaled, their oily iridescence and shape was reminiscent of a dragonfly. Perfect for a spontaneous vertical takeoff, no runway required. Before any of them could react, Nokawa shot straight up and made for the top floor of the hotel.
"Yukina!" Hiei's voice was strangled.
The three of them ran for the hotel. Hiei and Kurama followed Nokawa, using the exterior hotel room balconies as stepping stones. Rin cursed, ran past the stunned front desk receptionist and milling guests, and charged upstairs.
Author's note: Apologies that this chapter was a little late! The holiday weekend disrupted my usual schedule. I can't believe I'm up to twelve chapters… this was supposed to be a short one-shot thing, but it seems my brain had other plans.
Thank you as always to all my wonderful readers and especially to Sammie46142 (who finally remembered her login info :P) for the review, Ghost of Magic and TsugumiSora for the favorite, and TsugumiSora for the follow!
